US08418257B2

Collection user interface techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a plurality of inputs are recognized as gestures received via interaction with a user interface to navigate through a file system of a computing device and select representations of objects managed by file system of the computing device, at least two of which are accessible via different devices. In response, copies of the representations are displayed by the computing device in a collection portion of the user interface. An option is output in conjunction with the collection portion by the computing device that is selectable to initiate a command to be performed using the objects that have corresponding representations included in the collection portion.
US08418254B2

Systems and methods for screening applicants are disclosed herein. A method of screening applicants is performed by a screening server. The server begins by receiving a selection of screening services and an applicant profile that identifies an applicant. The screening continues by generating screening results specified by the selection of screening services based on the applicant profile. A property manager is then notified that the screening results are available for the applicant based upon the applicant profile. The screening results are then provided to the property manager based upon the applicant profile. Based on these screening results, the screener or porperty manager can make a decision about the applicant and communicate a decision action to the applicant.
US08418252B2

A network interface device includes a security database and a security services engine. The security database is configured to store patterns corresponding to predetermined malware. The security services engine is configured to compare data to be transmitted through a network to the patterns stored in the security database, and the security database is configured to receive updated patterns from the network.
US08418250B2

In one aspect, a method of classifying a computer object as malware includes receiving at a base computer data about a computer object from each of plural remote computers on which the object or similar objects are stored. The data about the computer object received from the plural computers is compared in the base computer. The computer object is classified as malware on the basis of said comparison. In one embodiment, the data about the computer object includes one or more of: executable instructions contained within or constituted by the object; the size of the object; the name of the object; the logical storage location or path of the object on the respective remote computers; the vendor of the object; the software product and version associated with the object; and, events initiated by or involving the object when the object is created, configured or runs on the respective remote computers.
US08418246B2

Systems and methods for mapping threats (or vulnerabilities to attacks) based on a correlation of location data, such as wireless location data or a physical location, with an network address associated with a threat are provided. In one aspect, methods and systems include receiving threat data, retrieving location data, correlating the threat data with the location data to create map data, and generating a map, based on the map data, displaying a geographical location of the threat. Threat locations may be determined for wired and wireless telecommunications systems.
US08418231B2

Media content is managed by defining a list of authorized recipients in a network accessible security information repository, recording media content at a client device, obtaining the list of authorized recipients at the client device, associating at least one of the authorized recipients with the media content, and transmitting the media content along with information identifying the at least one of the authorized recipients associated therewith from the client device to a network accessible media repository for storage therein. The media content includes audio, video, and/or image content.
US08418226B2

A tamper resistant servicing Agent for providing various services (e.g., data delete, firewall protection, data encryption, location tracking, message notification, and updating software) comprises multiple functional modules, including a loader module (CLM) that loads and gains control during POST, independent of the OS, an Adaptive Installer Module (AIM), and a Communications Driver Agent (CDA). Once control is handed to the CLM, it loads the AIM, which in turn locates, validates, decompresses and adapts the CDA for the detected OS environment. The CDA exists in two forms, a mini CDA that determines whether a full or current CDA is located somewhere on the device, and if not, to load the full-function CDA from a network; and a full-function CDA that is responsible for all communications between the device and the monitoring server. The servicing functions can be controlled by a remote server.
US08418225B2

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes receiving at a computing device that is in a locked state, one or more user inputs to unlock the device and to execute at least one command that is different from a command for unlocking the device. The method further includes executing in response to the user inputs to unlock the device an unlocking operation to convert the device from a locked state to an unlocked state. The method further includes executing the at least one command in response to receiving the user inputs to execute the at least one command. The at least one command executes so that results of executing the at least one command are first displayed on the device to a user automatically after the device changes from the locked state to the unlocked state.
US08418199B2

In a system, tabulated information on broadcasting programs is supplied through a network. When a user selects information on a desired program from the tabulated information of programs, supplemental information attached to the individual program information is converted into an remote control signal to remote-control a user's receiver to receive the desired program.
US08418198B2

A computer readable medium is disclosed containing computer executable instructions that when executed by a computer perform a method, the method including but not limited to monitoring video data for advertising data keys; correlating the advertising data keys with penetration data for an end user; and selecting advertising data for the end user based on the correlation. A system is disclosed that is useful in performing the method. A data structure embedded in a computer readable medium is disclosed that contains data used by the system and method.
US08418192B1

Described are techniques for executing an application. The application includes a plurality of partitions including business logic and one or more aspects. A first registration interface of an application programming interface is defined for registering a code entity and associated input and output parameters. A provider of a first aspect of the application is registered using the first registration interface to define the provider as a callback invoked from other code of the application programming interface that performs aspect weaving. The provider includes a first code entity and a first data entity of the first aspect. A second code entity of the business logic is executed that performs a call to the other code performing aspect weaving to obtain a second data entity of the business logic. The other code performing aspect weaving is executed and performs a callback to the provider of the first aspect.
US08418183B2

A resource use device that sends a resource information evaluation expression, which is a criterion for selecting resources, to a resource providing device. The resource providing device evaluates resource information on a resource using the resource information evaluation expression, adds a resource information value, which is the result of evaluation, to resource information and delivers the resource information to the resource use device.
US08418180B2

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are disclosed for ensuring processing fairness in simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) microprocessors. A clock cycle priority is assigned to a first thread and to a second thread during a standard selection state that lasts for an expected number of clock cycles by selecting the first thread to be a primary thread and the second thread to be a secondary thread. If a condition exists that requires overriding, an override state is executed by selecting the second thread to be the primary thread and the first thread to be the secondary thread. The override state is forced to be executed for an override period of time which equals the expected number of clock cycles plus a forced number of clock cycles. The forced number of clock cycles is granted to the first thread in response to the first thread again becoming the primary thread.
US08418165B2

Solution packages for a product for deployment on a collection of servers can be designed using one or more designers that provide user interfaces for visually arranging and configuring elements of the product. A package object model includes a managed object model that represents a package or feature manifest as defined by a product manifest XML schema. The object model can be used to create references to other project item and feature definitions. The extended object model can be used to generate an equivalent package or feature manifest XML file.
US08418160B2

A method to selectively remove memoizing functions from computer program code includes initially locating a memoizing function call in the program code. The method then replaces the memoizing function call with a simple object allocation. Using escape analysis, the method determines whether the replacement is legal. If the replacement is not legal, the method removes the simple object allocation and reinserts the original memoizing function call in its place. If the replacement is legal, the method retains the simple object allocation in the program code. If desired, certain compiler optimizations, such as stack allocation and scalarization, may then be performed on the simple object allocation. A corresponding computer program product and apparatus are also disclosed.
US08418155B2

Techniques are disclosed for automating the generation of parallel SIMD native source code in three major functional areas of data transmission, synchronization, and SIMD operations. An annotation standard is defined that is independent from native compilers and, coupled with a source-to-source compiler that provides high-level abstractions of data transmission, synchronization, and SIMD operations, relieves the need for programmers to work in a hardware-specific manner, while addressing issues of productivity and portability in a parallel SIMD computing environment.
US08418154B2

Techniques are disclosed for generating fast vector masking SIMD code corresponding to source code having a conditional statement, where the SIMD code replaces the conditional statements with vector SIMD operations. One technique includes performing conditional masking using vector operations, bit masking operations, and bitwise logical operations. The need for conditional statements in SIMD code is thereby removed, allowing SIMD hardware to avoid having to use branch prediction. This reduces the number of pipeline stalls and results in increased utilization of the SIMD computational units.
US08418149B2

A method and computer program product for monitoring the chronological order in which one or more portions of a first instance of a computer program are executed, thus generating a first data file. The chronological order in which one or more portions of a second instance of the computer program are executed is monitored, thus generating a second data file. The first and second data files are compared.
US08418140B2

Many current computer software platforms support user customization and version upgradability. Unfortunately, upgrading a computer software platform may result in significant loss of user customization data. Additionally, it may be advantageous for users to export and import their customization data to share as customized business solutions with other instances of the computer software platforms. Accordingly, a technique for creating and importing a configuration package and a technique for creating and utilizing an update package is disclosed herein. The configuration package allows configuration data of elements within a computer software platform to be exported and imported. The update package allows elements to be exported within the update package. The update package may be utilized in upgrading, overwriting, and/or creating a new instance of elements. When an existing element is upgraded with an update element within the update package, the existing element's original configuration may be retained.
US08418134B2

Methods and systems for managing property types, constraints, and other property validations in prototype-based dynamic programming languages, such as the JavaScript® programming language, are presented. A property definition is created for a target class by a programmer, and a properties class is automatically generated for the target class along with get and set methods to access and validate properties in the properties class. A properties class of a parent class can be automatically determined to exist and added such that the target class properties class inherits from the parent class properties class.
US08418129B1

A method is provided for automatically generating code to define and control a system of connected hardware elements. The method comprises: accepting a system configuration macro with sub-macros for system elements, subsystem elements, and connections there between; accepting a plurality of tables with a plurality of system element behaviors, a plurality of subsystem element behaviors, and a plurality of connection options; defining the system of connected elements in response to selecting sub-macros; defining the physical links between the system elements and the behavior of the system and subsystem elements in response to populating the selected sub-macro parameters; expanding the selected sub-macros; generating executable code; and, accessing the tables in response to parameters in the executable code. Advantageously, the form and function of the system can be defined with programming, or writing application specific code.
US08418124B2

A system and method for software policy management are provided. A compiled policy-enabled software application includes a policy enforcement point to export an information element to a policy manager. The policy manager includes a policy interpreter having a policy decision point to perform policy decision making based on the received information element from the policy enforcement point. Through a plurality of policy decision points, the policy manager can execute a wide range of policies for different compiled software applications. Policies can be modified centrally in the policy interpreter and changes can affect either one or more of the policy-enabled software applications. A policy manager browser can create and manage the policy decision making performed by the policy interpreter.
US08418121B2

The amount of analysis performed in determining the validity of a property of a digital circuit is measured concurrent with performance of the analysis, and provided as an output when a true/false answer cannot be provided e.g. when stopped due to resource constraints. In some embodiments, a measure of value N indicates that a given property that is being checked will not be violated within a distance N from an initial state from which the analysis started. Therefore, in such embodiments, a measure of value N indicates that the analysis has implicitly or explicitly covered every possible excursion of length N from the initial state, and formally proved that no counter-example is possible within this length N.
US08418111B2

A method and apparatus for achieving multiple patterning compliant technology design layouts is provided. An exemplary method includes providing a routing grid having routing tracks; designating each of the routing tracks one of at least two colors; applying a pattern layout having a plurality of features to the routing grid, wherein each of the plurality of features corresponds with at least one routing track; and applying a feature splitting constraint to determine whether the pattern layout is a multiple patterning compliant layout. If the pattern layout is not a multiple patterning compliant layout, the pattern layout may be modified until a multiple patterning compliant layout is achieved. If the pattern layout is a multiple patterning compliant layout, the method includes coloring each of the plurality of features based on the color of each feature's corresponding at least one routing track, thereby forming a colored pattern layout, and generating at least two masks with the features of the colored pattern layout. Each mask includes features of a single color.
US08418104B2

Methods and apparatuses to time-share resources having internal states are described. A first design of a system having a plurality of instances of a logical block to perform logical operations is received. The instances may have internal states. The system is automatically transformed to generate a second design having a fewer quantity of time-shared instances of the logical block. The plurality of the instances in the first design is replaced with the fewer time-shared instances in the second design. The time-shared instances in the second design have elements to time multiplex the internal states.
US08418103B2

Circuit behaviors are scaled to different operating conditions by using a generalized nonlinear model. Nonlinear transforms are applied to the operating conditions and/or to the circuit behaviors contained in a library set. The transformed quantities have a more linear relationship between them. Parameters for the linear relationship are estimated based on the data and operating conditions in the library set. These parameters and nonlinear transforms can then be used to scale circuit behaviors to operating points not contained in the library set.
US08418098B2

A verification system for verifying an integrated circuit design is provided. The verification system includes a functional block finding module configured to identify potential sensitive circuits in the integrated circuit design; and a search module. The search module is configured to find sensitive circuits from the potential sensitive circuits; and verify the sensitive circuits.
US08418097B2

Systems and methods are provided for a scheme and mechanism for performing static analysis of a sample time aware state diagram model to compute and propagate multiple samples rates associated with the state diagram model. A graphical intermediate representation of the state diagram model, such as a directed graph or control flow graph, is used to determine how the multiple sample rates are propagated via elements of the state diagram model. The graph provides a static representation of the control of flow, including alternative and/or conditional flow paths, of the state diagram model. The present invention determines the propagation of sample rates via analysis and traversal of the intermediate representation. By using the techniques of the present invention, a state diagram model may provide multiple sample rate outputs, such as by function calls and output signals to a graphical model, such as a model representing a dynamic system.
US08418092B2

A method of producing an integrated circuit (700) using a system-on-chip (SoC) architecture includes providing a first circuit (710) in a first island of synchronicity (IoS); and providing a source-synchronous data link (755/757, 765/767) between the first circuit (710) in the first IoS and a hard core (720) in a second IoS for communicating n-bit data elements between the first circuit (710) and the hard core (720). The source-synchronous data link (755/757, 765/767) includes a set of n data lines (755, 765) for transporting the n-bit data elements between the first circuit (710) and the hard core (720), and a source-synchronous clock line (757, 767) for transporting a source clock between the first circuit (710) and the hard core (720) for clocking the n-bit data elements. The hard core (720) does not include a bus interface adaptor for interfacing with the source-synchronous data link (755/757, 765/767).
US08418090B2

A method of estimating integrated circuit yield comprises providing an integrated circuit layout and a set of systematic defects based on a manufacturing process. Next, the method represents a systematic defect by modifying structures in the integrated circuit layout to create modified structures. More specifically, for short-circuit-causing defects, the method pre-expands the structures when the structures comprise a higher systematic defect sensitivity level, and pre-shrinks the structures when the structures comprise a lower systematic defect sensitivity level. Following this, a critical area analysis is performed on the integrated circuit layout using the modified structures, wherein dot-throwing, geometric expansion, or Voronoi diagrams are used. The method then computes a fault density value, random defects and systematic defects are computed. The fault density value is subsequently compared to a predetermined value, wherein the predetermined value is determined using test structures and/or yield data from a target manufacturing process.
US08418089B2

A computer readable non-transitory medium storing a design aiding program causes a computer to execute a process of determining worst-case corner candidates for each of a plurality of condition sets. The design aiding program causes the computer to execute a process of mapping the worst-case corner candidates that are within an allowable range. The design aiding program causes a computer to execute a process of determining the worst-case corner candidates that minimize the number of the worst-case corner candidates mapped to the condition sets by handling the worst-case corner candidates thus mapped as a single worst-case corner candidate to be worst-case corners.
US08418088B2

A method of efficient optical and resist parameters calibration based on simulating imaging performance of a lithographic process utilized to image a target design having a plurality of features. The method includes the steps of determining a function for generating a simulated image, where the function accounts for process variations associated with the lithographic process; and generating the simulated image utilizing the function, where the simulated image represents the imaging result of the target design for the lithographic process. Systems and methods for calibration of lithographic processes whereby a polynomial fit is calculated for a nominal configuration of the optical system and which can be used to estimate critical dimensions for other configurations.
US08418082B2

A method of defining a media editing application for creating media presentations. The method provides a composite display area for displaying a set of clip shapes that represent media clips. It also provides a consolidated editing tool for (1) identifying clip-shape edit points that are near a cursor's location as the cursor moves from track to track in the composite display area and (2) collectively selecting the identified clip-shape edit points along multiple track in order to receive an edit operation to collectively perform on said the clip-shapes of the identified edit points.
US08418072B1

Described are techniques for performing a data storage management task. A presentation technology service layer renders a user interface for user interaction in accordance with one or more rendering techniques. A user interaction template service layer includes one or more templates. Each of the templates describes processing to perform the data storage management task. A user interface data model mapping service layer communicates with at least one of a business logic service layer and a data storage interface layer to perform one or more operations in connection with the data storage management task and to map data received therefrom in a form for use by the user interface in accordance with a user interface data model.
US08418064B2

The present disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for displaying node information in wireless sensor networks. An exemplary system has logic that is configured to display a list of nodes in a wireless sensor network. The logic is further configured to display a plurality of function identifiers in response to a first user input identifying one of the nodes, and the function identifiers identify a plurality of functions and a script image of the one node. The logic is further configured to receive a second user input selecting one of the function identifiers and to transmit a remote procedure call through the wireless network to the one node in response to the second user input. The one node is configured to run the function or script image identified by the selected function identifier in response to the remote procedure call.
US08418059B2

An editing apparatus includes a designating unit configured to designate a color for use in an image including a plurality of objects, according to an instruction by a user, a determining unit configured to determine a combination of colors corresponding to the color designated by the designating unit, and a specifying unit configured to specify colors of the plurality of objects included in the image, by using the combination of colors determined by the determining unit.
US08418057B2

A method for displaying text arranged into word clusters on an electronic display including the steps of providing a text, arranging the text into a plurality of word clusters, where a plurality of clusters includes at least two lines and each line includes at least two words, and where at least one word can be emphasized. The provided text has a plurality of paragraphs with a plurality of sentences arranged into clusters each limited to a thought group based on a word or a plurality of words linked by commonality having an end defined by a text element. Cluster size can be constrained by an estimate of reader apprehension span and/or a readability analysis of the provided text based on word complexity which can take into account reader comprehension. An automated program configured to identify thought groups using such linguistic criteria can be employed to carry out the method.
US08418045B2

A network intermediate device and method are provided. The network intermediate device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a data transmitting/receiving part which receives frames which have header error check information, and a control part which controls the data transmitting/receiving part to start forwarding the frame before the entire frame is received by determining whether there are errors in the header using the header error check information. In this case, the frame may comprise a first field in which header error check flag information is recorded to notify whether to perform the forwarding after checking for errors in the header, and a second field in which the header error check information is recorded. If it is confirmed that the check and forward method is applied by the header error check flag information, the control part may verify the header error check information to determine whether errors occur in the header. Therefore, the relay of the frame can be stably performed within the minimum time.
US08418044B2

An error correction method corrects and replaces erroneous digital signal samples (having N companded bits) in a receiver after ascertaining by parity check that a sample is erroneous. The method chooses M MSBs where M is less than or equal to N, and produces M test samples, each test sample being obtained by inverting a single bit from the M bits, keeping other bits unaltered. Each test sample is expanded and passed through a selected low pass filter (e.g., 15 kHz) to obtain a filtered output and a differential value between the test sample and its filtered output. The test sample producing the least differential value is chosen to replace the erroneous signal sample. The technique is applicable in NICAM demodulators receiving 14 bit sample signals (at 32 kHz) companded to (N) 10 bits from which (M) 6 MSB parity encoded bits are chosen for producing test samples.
US08418041B2

A decoding method of an MPE-FEC (MultiProtocol Encapsulation-Forward Error Correction) RS (Reed-Solomon) decoder, includes: substituting a value corresponding to an erasure error position with 0 in a reception signal; calculating a syndrome by using the reception signal; calculating an erasure position polynomial by using erasure information; calculating a modified syndrome by using the syndrome and the erasure position polynomial; calculating an erasure error size polynomial by using the modified syndrome; calculating an error position by using the erasure position polynomial; calculating an error size by using a modified Forney's algorithm; and correcting an error through the error position and the error size.
US08418023B2

A method and system for decoding low density parity check (“LDPC”) codes. An LDPC decoder includes a control unit that controls decoder processing, the control unit causing the decoder to process the blocks of a low density parity check (“LDPC”) matrix out of order. A decoder embodiment may process the layers of the LDPC matrix out of order and/or perform partial state processing on out of order blocks of the LDPC matrix and/or generate R messages out of order.
US08418016B2

A first loss determination section 13 of a first communication device 10 determines that a data unit is lost if an acknowledgment response for the transmitted data unit from a second communication device 30 is not received within a predetermined time and retransmits the data unit when the determination is made. When a determination section 16 determines that a spurious timeout has occurred, a window control section 17 sets a target value for decreasing the size of a congestion window and then gradually decreases the size of the congestion window to the target value when the acknowledgment response is received. Therefore, in a case of executing a response algorithm for changing a slow start threshold and the congestion window, if a segment loss occurs subsequent to the spurious timeout, an efficient loss recovery is achieved and the throughput is improved.
US08418007B2

Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments of a so-called “X-press” test response compactor. Certain embodiments of the disclosed compactor comprise an overdrive section and scan chain selection logic. Certain embodiments of the disclosed technology offer compaction ratios on the order of 1000x. Exemplary embodiments of the disclosed compactor can maintain about the same coverage and about the same diagnostic resolution as that of conventional scan-based test scenarios. Some embodiments of a scan chain selection scheme can significantly reduce or entirely eliminate unknown states occurring in test responses that enter the compactor. Also disclosed herein are embodiments of on-chip comparator circuits and methods for generating control circuitry for masking selection circuits.
US08418001B2

A system and method provide system monitoring and detailed troubleshooting workflow guidance. Individual system components may be monitored and faulty system components identified. Subsequently, component-related, context-related, and/or user-specific troubleshooting workflow guidance associated with the faulty system component identified may be retrieved and/or determined by a processor and presented. The component-related guidance may be based upon which system component is faulty. The context-related guidance may be based upon the type of error with the faulty system component. The user-specific guidance may be based upon information specific to the user, such as user specifications, preferences, and configurations. The troubleshooting guidance may provide virtual guidance related to the workflow steps to be performed to identify the error with the faulty component and then correct the error identified. Accordingly, consistent, reproducible, and efficient troubleshooting may be performed using the troubleshooting workflow guidance presented. In one embodiment, the system monitored is a medical imaging system.
US08418000B1

A system for automated testing of functionally complex systems, comprising a test manager module operating on a server computer, a test data storage subsystem coupled to the test manager module and adapted to store at least test results, a test execution module operating on a server computer, and a test analysis module operating on a server computer and adapted to receive test data from the test data storage subsystem. The test manager module causes tests to be executed by the test execution engine, and on detection of an anomalous test result, the test manager module at least causes additional testing to be performed and causes the test analysis module to analyze the results of at least some of the additional testing in order to isolate at least one component exhibiting anomalous behavior.
US08417999B2

A mitigation enablement module for a computer that improves application reliability. When performing memory management operations, the mitigation enablement module and associated memory manager selectively use mitigations that are intended to prevent an application bug from cause an application error. The memory manager may selectively apply mitigations for each of one or more applications based on the likelihood that such mitigations are successful at preventing bugs from causing application errors. The likelihood is determined from historical information on whether the mitigations, when applied, prevented bugs from causing memory operations that could cause application errors. This historical information can be gathered on a single computer over multiple invocations of the application or may be aggregated from multiple computers, each invoking the application. The determined likelihood may then be used to determine whether or for how long to apply the mitigation actions for memory operations requested by the application.
US08417992B2

Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for system recovery. An operating system and a backup copy of the operating system are both maintained in a partition of a computational device. A boot loader receives an indication to load the backup copy of the operating system. The boot loader loads the backup copy of the operating system. The computational device is rebooted with the loaded backup copy of the operating system.
US08417989B2

A system and method of creating an extra redundancy in a RAID system is disclosed. In one embodiment, one or more RAID arrays are created. Each RAID array comprises a plurality of disk drives. Further, a respective dedicated hot spare is created for each RAID array. Furthermore, data is copied from each RAID array to the respective dedicated hot spare using a copyback process based on a predetermined controller usage threshold value.
US08417984B2

A system for dynamically scaling a power voltage including a system on chip (SoC) and a power control circuit. The SoC includes a plurality of application circuits. The SoC is configured to generate internal clock signals in response to an externally supplied clock signal. The SoC also generates a target voltage that changes based on a change of an operating current. The internal clock signals are respectively provided to the application circuits. The operating current is a sum or total current of the application circuits. The power control circuit generates an internal power voltage based on the target voltage and provides the internal power voltage to the SoC. The system for dynamically scaling a power voltage including a SoC may decrease power consumed in the SoC because the system of dynamically scaling a power voltage decreases a required voltage margin by changing a target voltage before a transition of the SoC current.
US08417983B2

Adjusting a clock source of a device clock to reduce wireless communication (e.g., radio frequency (RF)) interference within a device. The device clock may be derived from an input clock to a serial interface, e.g., coupled to a display, and may be initially driven by a first clock. Later, it may be determined that the serial interface clock is or will interfere with wireless communication. Accordingly, temporary clock signals may be provided to the device clock while the first clock is modified. Once modified, the modified clock signals may be provided to the device clock to reduce wireless communication interference.
US08417981B2

A method and device for converting between different time domains at a local unit utilizing an processor is disclosed. Time counters to count time in at least two different formats are located locally at each unit. Once a time conversion is initiated, a time stamp is received by the processor and the time counter in the new time domain commences calculating an adjustment count. Once the converted time is received from the processor, the received time plus the adjustment count are summed to provide a time base for the new time domain. The time counters continue counting in their respective time domains after conversion.
US08417976B2

An apparatus connected to a network via a network interface device and capable of executing encrypted communication with an external device on the network requests that a first algorithm to be used in the encrypted communication with the external device is changed to a second algorithm included in the network interface device when the apparatus detects that a condition for shifting to a power saving mode, in which power consumption is smaller than that in a normal power mode, is satisfied while the apparatus is operated in the normal power mode.
US08417975B2

A method for reducing power consumption of an electronic device is disclosed. In one embodiment, an indication that an electronic device is oriented in a first orientation is received. An indication of rotation of the electronic device around an axis is received. A command is then generated to cause an electronic compass module disposed within the electronic device to transition from an idle operating state to an active operating state and to generate a compass heading.
US08417969B2

A storage volume is encrypted using a particular encryption technique, the storage volume including an access application and one or more cover files. The access application can be executed by a computing device having an operating system lacking support for the particular encryption technique, and allows the computing device to access data on the storage volume encrypted using the particular encryption technique.
US08417966B1

Various embodiments of a system and method for reporting and measuring consumption of media content are described. Embodiments may include computing a set of registration hash values for an encrypted content file representing each of one or more content items. To distribute a content item to a consumer, an encrypted content file representing the content item is delivered to a content viewer system. At the content viewer system, a set of playback sums is computed that corresponds to segments of the content item actually played on the content viewer system. The playback hash values can be matched with registration hash values to establish that one or more segments of a content item associated with the matched hash values have been played.
US08417965B1

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method and circuit for secure definition and integration of a core into a circuit design without exposing the core. In one embodiment, a core development package is obtained. The core development package includes an encrypted core and a decryption key of the encrypted core. The decryption key is encrypted with an asymmetric cipher. The encrypted core is transmitted from the design tool to a trusted platform module. The decryption key is decrypted with a private key of the asymmetric cipher. The encrypted core is decrypted within the trusted platform module. One or more design tool operations are performed using the decrypted core.
US08417944B2

In a terminal device for controlling access to multicast services over a broadcasting network, an application outputs a user-preselected broadcast service request to a router that receives the broadcast services. The request contains an address of the selected service. The device includes a filtering entity that compares the address in the request with addresses in an address list generated on the basis of at least one filtering criterion, in order to authorize the transmission of the selected service from the router to the application so that the service is delivered when the address is included in the list.
US08417942B2

A method for identifying conference media traffic includes receiving a plurality of dummy packets and matching a series of the plurality of dummy packets to a signature key. The method also includes extracting a first identification from one or more of the plurality of dummy packets in response to matching a series of the plurality of dummy packets to a signature key and determining that a second identification associated with one or more encrypted media packets matches the first identification. The method also includes associating one or more encrypted media packets with a conference in response to determining that the first identification matches the second identification.
US08417935B2

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods disclosed herein enable synergy among a group of users by providing a real-time, secure collaboration environment that allows for cooperative interaction and decision making and provide the ability for users to simultaneously view, revise, and review a document or multimedia file that resides in a shared data storage location. Real-time, low latency, rich collaboration between producers and consumers provides organization efficiency, and this collaboration provides real-time, low latency transmission of data.
US08417931B2

A boot code may be segmented to allow separate and independent storage of the code segments in a manner that may enable secure system boot by autonomous fetching and assembling of the boot code by a security sub-system. The code fetching may need to be done without the main CPU running on the chip for security reasons. Because the boot code may be stored in memory devices that require special software application to account for non-contiguous storage of data and/or code, for example a NAND flash memory which would require such an application as Bad Block Management, code segments stored in areas guaranteed to be usable may enable loading remaining segment separately and independently. Each of the code segments may be validated, wherein validation of the code segments may comprise use of hardware-based signatures.
US08417922B2

A method and system to combine multiple register units within a microprocessor, such as, for example, a digital signal processor, are described. A first register unit and a second register unit are retrieved from a register file structure within a processing unit, the first register unit and the second register unit being non-adjacently located within the register file structure. The first register unit and the second register unit are further combined during execution of a single instruction to form a resulting register unit. Finally, the resulting register unit is stored within the register file structure for further processing. Alternatively, a first half word unit from the first register unit and a second half word unit from the second register unit are retrieved. The first half word unit and the second half word unit are further input into corresponding high and low portions of a resulting register unit to form the resulting register unit during execution of a single instruction. Finally, the resulting register unit is stored within the register file structure for further processing.
US08417921B2

The described embodiments provide a processor for generating a result vector that contains results from a comparison operation. During operation, the processor receives a first input vector, a second input vector, and a control vector. When subsequently generating a result vector, the processor first captures a base value from a key element position in the first input vector. For selected elements in the result vector, processor compares the base value and values from relevant elements to the left of a corresponding element in the second input vector, and writes the result into the element in the result vector. In the described embodiments, the key element position and the relevant elements can be defined by the control vector and an optional predicate vector.
US08417907B2

Prior to overwriting a block of data in a first volume of data on a primary host, the block of data is written to a first snapshot of the first volume. Subsequently, the first snapshot can be synchronized with a snapshot of a second volume of data on a secondary host, where the second volume is a replica of the first volume. To synchronize the snapshots, only a portion of the first snapshot (e.g., the block of data that was written to the first snapshot) is sent to the secondary host.
US08417902B2

This document discloses one-time-programmable (“OTP”) memory emulation and methods of performing the same. OTP memory can be emulated by managing reads and writes to a memory array in response to an instruction to write data to a OTP memory location and selectively setting a security flag that corresponds to the memory locations. The memory array can be a NAND Flash memory array that includes multiple pages of memory. The memory array can be defined by memory blocks that can include multiple pages of memory. When an OTP write instruction is received, previously stored data can be read from a first page of memory, combined with the new data and stored to a target page of memory. A security flag can be set to prevent the target page from being reprogrammed prior to an erase.
US08417900B1

A storage controller includes a memory controller that interfaces with memory that stores data. A first receive logic interface provides an interface to a host. A second receive logic interface provides an interface to a storage device. A power save module has a power save mode in which at least a clock of the memory controller is turned off while a clock for operating the first receive logic interface and the second receive logic interface is kept on.
US08417896B2

In a semiconductor memory computer equipped with a flash memory, use of backed-up data is enabled. The semiconductor memory computer includes an address conversion table for detecting physical addresses of at least two pages storing data by designating a logical address from one of logical addresses to be designated by a reading request. The semiconductor memory computer includes a page status register for detecting one page status allocated to each page, and page statuses to be detected include the at least following four statuses: (1) a latest data storage status, (2) a not latest data storage status, (3) an invalid data storage status, and (4) an unwritten status. By using the address conversion table and the page status register, at least two data (latest data and past data) can be read for one designated logical address from a host computer.
US08417892B1

Systems, methods and a computer program product the differential storage and eviction for information resources from a browser cache. In an embodiment, the present invention provides differential storage and eviction for information resources by storing fetched resources in a memory and assigning, with a processor, a persistence score to the resources. Further embodiments relocate the resources from a sub-cache to a different sub-cache based on their persistence score, and remove the resource from the memory based on the persistence score.
US08417891B2

Embodiments of shared cache memories for multi-core processors are presented. In one embodiment, a cache memory comprises a group of sampling cache sets and a controller to determine a number of misses that occur in the group of sampling cache sets. The controller is operable to determine a victim cache line for a cache set based at least in part on the number of misses.
US08417888B2

Systems and methods are disclosed which allow various applications which may utilize a RAID system (or other types of applications) to be executed on the same set of computing devices which implement that RAID system. More particularly, in certain embodiments a virtualization layer may be executed on a data bank. A set of desired application programs may be executed using this virtualization layer, where the context for each instance of the applications, executing on the virtualization layer may be stored in a volume kept utilizing the RAID system.
US08417881B1

A system for wear-leveling of a non-volatile memory may include a controller configured to allocate memory blocks in the non-volatile memory, a logical-to-physical table populated with pointers to memory blocks in the nonvolatile memory, and a wear-leveling table configured to store two or more pointers to unallocated memory blocks in the non-volatile memory. The unallocated memory blocks are previously allocated to store data by the controller according to the pointers in the logical-to-physical table. The controller is further configured to identify two or more pointers in the wear-leveling table and to store data to the two or more memory blocks associated with the identified pointers.
US08417880B2

A system comprising a NAND flash memory device having a multiplicity of parameters; a flash controller configured to perform a NAND flash memory parameter automatic detection process including reading a device identifier of the NAND flash memory device and proceeding if a valid device identifier value is returned, detecting an address cycle and a block type of the NAND flash memory device, detecting a page size of the NAND flash memory device, detecting a spare size of the NAND flash memory device, detecting a memory size of the NAND flash memory device, and detecting a block size of the NAND flash memory device.
US08417870B2

A load-reducing memory module includes a plurality of memory components such as DRAMs. The memory components are organized into sets or ranks such that they can be accessed simultaneously for the full data bit-width of the memory module. A plurality of load reducing switching circuits is used to drive data bits from a memory controller to the plurality of memory components. The load reducing switching circuits are also used to multiplex the data lines from the memory components and drive the data bits to the memory controller.
US08417868B2

A method, apparatus and system enable offloading of encryption on partitioned platforms. More specifically, a partitioned platform may include a user partition for user applications, including a Virtual Private Network (“VPN”) application capable to creating a VPN connection for secure packet transmission. The partitioned platform may additionally comprise a dedicated partition including security agents to examine packets transmitted to/received by the dedicated partition. The dedicated partition may be assigned the Network Interface Card (“NIC”) on the host, i.e., all network traffic coming into or leaving the platform may be routed via the dedicated partition. In one embodiment of the invention, a driver in the user partition may offload cryptographic tasks to the dedicated partition, where clear packets may be examined by security agents, then encrypted prior to transmission.
US08417861B2

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a wire-free data center/server. The data center/server is wire-free in the sense that communication within a data unit of the data center/server (i.e., intra-data unit), between data units of the data center/server (inter-data unit), and between the data units and the backplane of the data center/server is performed wirelessly.
US08417855B2

A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software that is operable to disambiguate text input. In addition to identifying and outputting representations of language objects that are stored in the memory and that correspond with a text input, the device is able to employ contextual data in certain circumstances to prioritize output and to learn new contextual data.
US08417852B2

A system and methods of uploading payload data to user buffers in system memory and of uploading partially processed frame data to legacy buffers allocated in Operating System memory space are described. User buffers are stored in a portion of system memory allocated to an application program, therefore data stored in user buffers does not need to be copied from another portion of system memory to the portion of system memory allocated to the application program. When partially processed frame data is uploaded by hardware to a legacy buffer in system memory, a tag, uniquely identifying the legacy buffer location is transferred by the hardware to a TCP stack, enabling the TCP stack to locate the legacy buffer.
US08417841B2

Provided is a host device (10), which can establish a communication connection with a terminal device (20) and can be connected to a peripheral device (30), including a first communication section and a second communication section, via the first communication section. The host device (10) transmits information for identifying the terminal device (20) acquired from the terminal device (20) to the peripheral device (30) as communication destination identification information that allows the peripheral device (30) to identify a communication partner in a case of performing communications via the second communication section, when the host device (10) is connected to the terminal device (20) and connected to the peripheral device (30) via the first communication section.
US08417833B1

A method, system, and apparatus are directed towards selectively compressing data for transmission over a network. In one embodiment, a sending network device and receiving network device negotiates different compression modes to communicate data between them. An initial compression mode may be selected based on a network bandwidth. The sending network device then reads data, and compresses using the selected compression mode. The compressed data may then be written out. Ratios of compression and the write times are then employed to selectively adjust the compression mode for subsequent data compressions. In one embodiment, a compression ratio is also employed to determine whether to employ the selected compression mode, or to reduce the level of compression by using a different compression mode. The receiving network device having received information about the selected compression mode, then employs that compression mode to decompress the received data.
US08417830B2

A system and method for sharing multimedia broadcasting programs, which are applied among a plurality of PCs belonging to the same subnet. A wireless data terminal is configured in a first PC. When other PCs in the subnet want to share the multimedia broadcasting program with the first PC, they sending sharing requests to the first PC, and the first PC forwards the sharing requests to the wireless data terminal. After the wireless data terminal converts the multimedia broadcasting program to be in the format of streamlining media, it sends the program to the PCs initiating the sharing requests via the first PC. The multimedia broadcasting signal received through the wireless can be shared in a wired network.
US08417828B2

A method and apparatus provide streaming delivery of data such as media data (video, audio) using a non-streaming delivery mechanism such as HTTP along with server-side pacing of the delivery. An initial portion of the media data is preloaded to a client buffer in a bursting manner to minimize latency. The method may include client request verification, support for client self-pacing, and support for catch-up pacing reductions. A proxy server apparatus may also be used which employs both server-side and client-side pacing and may include caching and both cache and client preloading for minimized latency. A similar proxy server apparatus may be used to provide an efficient alternative to client polling for data from a polled data service, such as stock quotes etc., using streaming updates. The method may include support for stream modification through persistent client requests.
US08417822B2

The present invention relates to interactive virtual reality networked computer systems and methods that facilitate communication and operation in a virtual reality environment. The virtual reality networked computer system has an infrastructure that includes a number of users, hosts and servers. The interconnected hosts and servers allow users to effectively locate, activate, access and interact within virtual reality environments in a variety of different ways. For example, users can establish user groups such that interaction within the virtual reality environment occurs between hosts (accessed by users) without the need of a central or dedicated server.
US08417816B2

A content distribution network (CDN) comprising a hierarchy of content storage nodes (CSNs) or caches having storage space that is allocated between local space for storing locally popular content objects and federated space for storing a portion of the less popular content objects. Local space and federated space based upon changes in content object popularity and/or other utility factors. Optionally, parent/child (upstream/downstream) communication paths are used to migrate content between CSNs or caches of the same or different hierarchical levels to avoid utilizing higher price top hierarchical level communications channels.
US08417810B2

A counter system and method and computer program product for managing counter systems. Counter systems management includes receiving a count event associated with a counter, updating a first stage counter value based on the count event, determining whether to eject the counter value based on a random function of the counter state, and ejecting the counter value. A counter system comprises a first stage update unit configured to accept a count event and to eject a counter. A second stage update unit may be configured to accept an ejected counter value, and includes a second counting module configured to accumulate the ejected counter value.
US08417804B2

A system for presenting media programs is disclosed. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a multimedia system having a controller element to receive a request from a set-top box (STB) for an emulator that emulates a user interface of a media player, wherein the request identifies the media player, retrieve the emulator according to the identification of the media player, and transmit to the STB the emulator for emulating the user interface of the media player by way of the STB. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
US08417783B1

A system and method for removing ineffective features from a spam feature set. In particular, in one embodiment of the invention, the an entropy value is calculated for the feature set based on the effectiveness of the feature set at differentiating between ham and spam. Features are then removed one at a time and the entropy is recalculated. Features which increase the overall entropy are removed and features which decrease the overall entropy are retained. In another embodiment of the invention, the value of certain type of time consuming features (e.g., rules) is determined based on both the information gain associated with the features and the time consumed implementing the features. Those features which have relatively low information gain and which consume a significant amount of time to implement are removed from the feature set.
US08417777B2

A device and method is provided for signaling an affinity of a peer device. According to one embodiment, the device receives a wireless signal from the peer device and determines the presence of the peer device based on the received signal. The device is able to detect the peer device when the peer device is within the vicinity or a certain proximity of the device. The received signal carries an affinity code of the peer device so that the device can detect the affinity of the peer device by comparing the received affinity code with its preset affinity code. If the two affinity code match, the device generates an the user to the presence of another user and signals that the two users share the same affinity.
US08417776B2

Collecting and preserving evidence developed during an on-line investigation. Evidence gathered on-line is hashed with a time stamp from an external time source and stored. Other data pertinent to an investigation is also stored and may also be hashed. The evidence may be presented later in a report that demonstrates the authenticity of the evidence. A computer system for on-line investigations includes a CPU, memory, input/output facilities, a communication element, and a security element such as a dongle. Communication software enables the investigator to communicate over the Internet and gather evidence. Investigation software enables the computer system to store and hash the evidence; this may be done automatically. A database structure includes tables for investigator and suspect data, cases, evidence, and provision for storing a time stamp indicating when the evidence was collected.
US08417766B2

The present invention relates to methods, apparatus, and systems for providing peer-to-peer network acceleration. The system includes content servers and clients. Each of the clients is capable of functioning as a proxy server. A client generates a request for content, and the requesting client determines which of the content servers contains the requested content. The requesting client then determines that one of the clients is in a position to retrieve the requested content on the content server at lower latency than the requesting client. The client then functions as a proxy server for the requesting client, and the requesting client receives the requested content from the client acting as a proxy server.
US08417765B2

After a client device issues a request, a verification stub component receives the request. Then, the verification stub component obtains a current state of the client device from a client state table. The verification stub component evaluates whether the request is valid or not by analyzing a content and context of the request and checking the request against a protocol matrix. If the request is valid, the verification stub component updates the current state of the client device in the current state table, and forwards the request to a server device. Otherwise, the verification stub component creates a report describing the request is invalid, and evaluates whether the server can process the request. If the server cannot process the request, the verification stub component interrupts the request and forwards the report to the client device. Otherwise, the verification stub component provides the request to the server device.
US08417757B2

A modulo N calculating method for an M1*M2-bit binary integer, wherein N, M1 and M2 are integers, includes the steps of dividing the M1*M2-bit binary integer into M1 bits and performing AND operation on each M1 bits and a specific binary integer; and changing a value of an output register depending on the AND operation result and storing the value thereto. A modulo N calculating apparatus includes an input unit for receiving an M1*M2-bit binary integer, wherein N, M1 and M2 are integers; and an AND operation unit for performing AND operation on the M1*M2-bit binary integer and a specific binary integer. Furthermore, when the M1 and the N may be 4 and 3, respectively, the specific binary value may be 1010 or 0101.
US08417754B2

Techniques are generally described for generating an identification number for an integrated circuit (IC). In some examples, methods for generating an identification of an IC may comprise selecting circuit elements of the IC, evaluating measurements of an attribute of the IC for the selected circuit elements, wherein individual measurements are associated with corresponding input vectors previously applied to the IC, solving a plurality of equations formulated based at least in part on the measurements taken of the attribute of the IC for the selected circuit elements to determine scaling factors for the selected circuit elements, and transforming the determined scaling factors for the selected circuit elements to generate an identification number of the IC. Additional variants and embodiments may also be disclosed.
US08417748B2

Provided herein are algorithms and processes to extract endmembers from hyperspectral image data in real time. A Simplex Growing Algorithm is effective to estimate a p number of endmembers to be generated, to select one or more initial endmembers as a simplex of k members and to add a k+1 endmember to the simplex that yields a maximum simplex volume until k=p, thereby extracting one or more endmembers from the data. Alternatively, N-FINDR algorithms form an initial simplex set of p endmembers obtained from the hyperspectral image data, find a maximum volume of one or more initial p endmembers therewithin, replace one or more of the p endmembers within the simplex with one or more of the found p endmembers of maximum volume, and refind a maximum volume of p endmember(s) and replace p endmember(s) until no increase in p endmember(s) volume is found.
US08417746B1

A primary (e.g., master) file system stores multiple files and corresponding metadata. A view generator function receives template information (e.g., view configuration information) specifying types of metadata information associated with the multiple files stored in the primary file system. Based on processing of the metadata information in the primary file system as specified by the template information, the generator function produces metadata for inclusion in a secondary file system, which is used to satisfy search inquiries associated with the multiple files stored in the primary file system. According to one arrangement, the generator function replicates metadata information in the primary file system as specified by the template information for inclusion in the secondary file system. The secondary file system can include metadata from other sources as well that produced by the generator function. The secondary file system enables more efficient handling of search inquiries than applying search inquiries to the master file system.
US08417726B2

Method and apparatus for enabling the user to guide the synchronization of a source data structure with a target data structure. The guided synchronization stores the operations defined by the user and reapplies them to future synchronizations.
US08417721B1

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that that uses geographic data to identify correlated geographic synonyms in search queries. A correlated geographic synonym occurs when two terms that are possible synonyms should not be considered synonyms because they are associated with related geographic context. During operation, the system receives a term and a possible synonym for the term. The system then determines whether the term and the possible synonym are both present in a geographic data set. If so, the system uses the geographic data set to determine whether the possible synonym is a correlated geographic synonym for the term.
US08417719B1

A method, apparatus and system to derive salutations. User information for a user is accessed. A title salutation is selectively generated for the user when the user has a title identified within the user information and the use of the title has not been overridden, and another salutation has not been generated for the user. A military salutation is selectively generated for the user when the user has a military rank and a military title identified within the user information, the user is not separated from a military organization, a rank of the user has not been suppressed, and another salutation has not been generated for the user. A gender salutation is generated for the user when another salutation has not been generated for the user and the user information is in an acceptable format.
US08417716B2

Systems, methods, and computer program products are herein defined for identifying users of personal computers within a network for the purposes associating the personal computers with custodians in an electronic discovery system. Embodiments provide for a tool that accesses the personal computers via the network, locates and queries the profile list on each personal computer for user-identifying data, including network user identification, transmits, for each personal computer, computer-identifying data associated with the personal computer and user-identifying data associated with a user of the personal computer, determines matches between the network user identifications and custodian entries in a custodian directory; and, in response to determining the matches, links the computer-identifying data of the personal computer associated with the matched network user identification to the matched custodian entry in the custodian directory.
US08417715B1

The present invention comprises methods, system, and apparatuses for generating and delivering analytic results for any simple or highly complex problem for which data exists that software or similar automated means can analyze. The present invention thus contemplates methods, systems, apparatuses, software, software processes, computer-readable medium, and/or data structures to enable performance of these and other features. In one embodiment, a method of the present invention comprises extracting and converting data using a data management component into a form usable by a data mining component, performing data mining to develop a model in response to a question or problem posed by a user.
US08417712B2

Queries may be issued against an image store to produce a set of image instance relating to images in the image store that relate to the query. The relevance of the images to the query may be depicted by scaling the image instances according to the predicted relevance of the image to the query. The image instances may be further positioned within the image instance set query result, e.g., by clustering according to image relatedness or by similar predicted relevance of the images to the query terms of the query. The image instances may also be presented as smoothly zoomable images, such that the user may zoom in on the images in an efficient manner that facilitates realtime, gradual zooming with reduced resampling inefficiency.
US08417710B2

A method, information processing system, and computer readable storage medium manage public relations queries using semantic analysis. A public relations query expressed in natural language is received from a user. A set of relevant topics and subjects associated with the query are identified. A set of information sources are identified that comprise data associated with the set of topics and subjects based on the set of topics and subjects. A set of data from the set of information sources is identified that satisfies the query. A set of weights are assigned to the set of data that has been identified. A set of data elements within the set of data that comprises a set of weights above a given threshold are identified. A response to the query is generated using the set of data elements that has been identified.
US08417695B2

A solution for identifying related concepts of URLs and domain names includes using structural parsing to extract information from user input comprising a URL or domain name. The information includes one or more of a protocol, a location, and a subdirectory. Semantic parsing of the information is used to identify a first one or more concepts represented by one or more tokens within the extracted information. A content association map is queried to retrieve a second one or more concepts related to the first one or more concepts. Each of the concepts represents a unit of thought, expressed by a term, letter, or symbol. The concept association map includes a representation of concepts, concept metadata, and relationships between the concepts. The first one or more concepts and the second one or more concepts are ranked, and the ranked concepts are stored for displaying to one or more users of the computer platform.
US08417688B2

Methods, systems and computer program products are provided for converting a two-tier resource mapping to a one-tier resource mapping. A first mapping from intermediate data buffer to a data destination may be determined. A second mapping from a data source to the intermediate data buffer may also be determined. An optimized mapping from the data source to the data destination may be generated based on the first and second mappings. The optimized mapping may then be used instead of the first and second mappings to collect data from the data source to the data destination, thereby resulting in a one-tier resource mapping. In some instances, the mappings are sets of one or more queries.
US08417687B2

Update processing and the like of an index file relating to change of a hierarchical structure is performed. The index file is recorded in a recording medium with content files. The index file is generated based on attribute information of content files and folders including the content files. Content files and folders form a hierarchical structure in which the folders are in an upper hierarchy. In the index file, a prescribed number of entries (management information areas) corresponding to content files and folders, respectively, are provided. Second index information indicating second entries corresponding to folders or content files positioned in a lower hierarchy of folders in the upper hierarchy is provided at first entries corresponding to folders in the upper hierarchy in a list format. First index information indicating the first entries is provided at the second entries.
US08417671B1

A system and method for backing up data from a client computer system are described. The system may include the client computer system, a primary backup server computer system, and an alternate backup server computer system. The primary backup server computer system may be privately accessible to the client computer system via a virtual private network (VPN). The alternate backup server computer system may be accessible to the client computer system via a public or open network such as the Internet. The client computer system may be configured to backup a first set of data to the alternate backup server computer system at a particular time via the Internet in response to determining that the client computer system is not connected to the VPN at the particular time.
US08417669B2

Systems, methods and computer program product embodiments for auto-correction in database replication are disclosed herein. An embodiment includes receiving a log record of one or more database row changes on a table marked for replication. From the received log record, one or more insert operations on the marked table are identified. Each identified insert operation is automatically replaced with a first pair of operations, where each first pair comprises a delete operation associated with a new insert operation. Each first pair, when executed at a replicate database, acts to delete data at a first location identified by each identified insert operation prior to inserting data of the new insert operation at the first location. The embodiment further includes identifying, from the log record, one or more update operations on the marked table, and automatically replacing each identified update operation with a second pair of operations, where each second pair comprises a new delete operation associated with a new insert operation.
US08417664B2

A method for unloading a database includes copying a data set in physical sequence from a database to a data space and unloading the data set in hierarchical sequence from the data space.
US08417656B2

Techniques for building a model for performing diagnostics. In one embodiment, a set of models is determined based upon a topological relationship created upon receiving an alert or a request for which diagnostics are to be performed. An aggregate model is then generated based upon the set of models and the topological relationship. The aggregate model is then used for performing the diagnostics.
US08417654B1

A model refinement system refines initial split rules that define an initial decision tree to generate final split-rules. The model refinement refines the initial split rules by removing clauses that are satisfied by match scores that are less than a threshold match score to generate initial trimmed rules. Using the initial trimmed rules, the model refinement system classifies an initial training set and filters the initial training set to remove negative training pairs that are classified as duplicate pairs resulting in a filtered training set. An intermediate decision tree defined by intermediate split-rules is generated based on the filtered training set. Final split-rules are generated based on the intermediate split rules and input pairs of data records are classified as duplicate pairs based on attribute values of the input pairs and the final split-rules.
US08417652B2

A tracking unit includes a register for storing initial sequences and an accumulator for effecting a statistical treatment of the initial sequences, and ensures the statistical treatment relates to no more than a number of best sequences based on an evaluating algorithm. A generating unit employs the statistical treatment to present a new sequence. A measuring unit evaluates the new sequence according to the algorithm and cooperates with the tracking unit to effect providing the new sequence to the tracking unit when the evaluating indicates the new sequence is appropriate for the storing and statistical treatment. The measuring unit provides the new sequence to a regulating unit with an indication of efficacy of the new sequence. The regulating unit employs the indication to store a best-sequence-yet-received and responds to a criterion to order the generating unit to present a new sequence or to present the best-sequence-yet-received at an output locus.
US08417637B2

Computer-implemented method and system are provided for verifying a financial instrument. The method comprises receiving identification of a source of funds; generating, using at least one processor, a series of verifying transactions involving the source of funds, transaction details of the series of verifying transactions varying from one transaction to another; storing the variable transaction details; initiating the series of verifying transactions; receiving provided transaction details from a user; comparing the variable transaction details with the provided transaction details; and selectively approving the use of the source of funds by the user, based on a result of the comparison of the variable transaction details with the provided transaction details.
US08417635B2

A system, method, and computer program product are used for saving through use of transaction cards. This is done through associating a transaction account of the transaction card with one or more deposit accounts. An amount of funds to be deposited from the transaction account into the deposit account is established. A number of times a deposit will be made is established. A time duration between the deposits when more than one deposit will be made is established. An event that initiates at least a first one of the deposits is established. The amount of funds from the transaction card account is deposited into the deposit account based on the above criteria.
US08417628B2

A method and system using a communication network such as the Internet to allow registered users the flexibility to pay a bill by using traditional non-electronic payment methods after receiving an e-mail notification. The e-mail notification contains at least summary information which is formatted in the form of a remittance which can be included with the non-electronic form of payment allowing a user to retain the ability to pay a bill non-electronically while still being electronically notified that the bill is coming due. Additionally, a registered user has the option to pay a bill electronically after receiving the e-mail by clicking on an appropriate web address embedded within that e-mail. The registered user will either be directed to a biller website or a Customer Service Provider (CSP) and/or a Business Service Provider (BSP) website and given the option to pay the bill electronically.
US08417619B2

A disclosed system, method and computer readable storage medium includes mechanism for controlling cascade price movements in an electronic trading system. Price limits control the prices at which traders can place orders. An upper price limit prevents traders from placing orders above the upper limit and a lower price limit prevents traders from placing orders below the lower limit. The gap between the upper limit and the indicative market price as well as the gap between lower limit and the indicative market price is controlled so as to cause a breaking effect on very rapidly changing market price.
US08417617B1

A computerized system (10) and method for obtaining the best fill for an order using automated suborders is disclosed. The system (10) includes a client system (14) that proves a user interface (150) for inputting an order and a single click operation for initiating the order. The system (10) also includes a server system (12) that is in communication with the client system (14) and a plurality of trade execution locations (30). When the server system (12) receives the order from the client system (14), the server system (12) parses the order into a plurality of suborders. The server system (12) then sends each of the suborders to one of the market participants which are selected and sorted based upon having the best available price for a particular suborder. As such, if all of the suborders are filled, the best price is obtained for the order.
US08417616B2

A computer-implemented method and system is used for formation on an electronic exchange of a wide range of contractual relationships between a holder of rights or other assets and acquirers of rights and liabilities associated with such assets based on segregated asset participation units. Such parties to the contractual relationships can equally be individuals or business entities in any combination. Furthermore, in some circumstances, the terms of the contractual relation are defined by a sponsor who defines the terms and in some instances provides or arranges for services that are referenced in the contractual terms.
US08417615B2

Exemplary methods and systems for creating uncorrelated trading strategies and deriving associated implied probability distributions of the price of an underlying financial instrument at future times are disclosed, applicable to stock market prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates, commodity prices and credit spreads.
US08417613B1

The invention calculates an American option value by: creating a discrete approximation for a self-convolving probability distribution with a pre-determined number of points; creating a discrete approximation of a delta function for one entry of value 1 at a current time; creating probability distributions of returns for a stock underlying the option, for a plurality of times from a current time through an expiry for the option; calculating a probability distribution for a value for the option at expiry; and doing a series of reverse convolutions of the self-convolving distribution with each probability distribution of returns for the stock underlying the option, starting with the probability distribution for the return of the stock at the expiry, and obtaining the current value for the option.
US08417604B2

A data storage archive is provided for storing personal information and other data from a variety of disparate information sources. The information stored may be later electronically accessed and retrieved by users without requiring the users to carry physical documentation having the information stored thereon. The information may be stored in association with a user's financial account at a financial institution. For example, the information may be indexed or stored in an account identified by the user's financial account number or other financial identifier. In some arrangements, accessing the personal information may include a validation process using a security device separate from a device through which a user is attempting to access the information. Personal information may also be shared among financial account holders based on legal and financial relationships known to the financial institution. A user may also manually assign access privileges to other users.
US08417589B2

A method of conducting business for selling to a purchaser an article of apparel having interchangeable parts comprising the steps of offering for sale to a purchaser a multiplicity of base units of an article of apparel and a multiplicity of interchangeable components; providing a location for the purchaser to update the base unit with a purchase of a multiplicity of interchangeable components; creating an electronic purchaser user account to allow a purchaser to place an order of base units for the article of apparel and the interchangeable components; delivering the selected components to the purchaser; and updating the purchaser's user account to reflect the delivered components.
US08417586B2

Systems and methods for obtaining an offer for a sale of a desired product or a service are provided. The method includes iteratively transmitting a first signal including a first data message using a mobile transceiver device. Each of the first data messages includes information relating to the desired product or service. The method further includes receiving at least one of the first signals having the first data message and determining whether a product or service provider has the desired product or service available for sale. Finally, the method includes transmitting a second signal including a second data message to the mobile transceiver device. The second data message includes an offer to sell the desired product or service.
US08417585B2

Systems and methods are described for creating designs that can be imprinted on articles of merchandise. A wide range of designs may be selected by purchasers of customized merchandise, for one-off production or for production small or large quantity, without significantly compromising cost and speed of production. An online platform for selecting and combining designs in order to create customized merchandise that can be automatically manufactured. Searches of large design databases comprising uniquely identified design elements are enabled. The design elements can include one or more of fonts, colors, themes, shapes and images. Results of the searches can be selectively incorporated in customizable designs and can be embodied in merchandise.
US08417583B2

According to embodiments described in the specification, a method, system and apparatus for managing a bid tracking database are provided. The method comprises receiving at least one bid record at an interface, the at least one bid record comprising a bid price, a bid timestamp and a bid item identifier; receiving at least one auction record at the interface, the at least one auction record comprising a winning price, an end timestamp and an auction item identifier corresponding to the bid item identifier; maintaining the at least one bid record and the at least one auction record in a memory; determining whether the bid price matches or exceeds the winning price and whether the bid timestamp matches the end timestamp; and, when the determination is affirmative, writing the bid record to the bid tracking database maintained in the memory.
US08417577B2

A system for viewing shopping information on a social networking platform is disclosed. At the social networking platform, the system receives a request from a user device corresponding to a first user of the social networking platform to view a list of a second user of the social networking platform. The list may include items offered for transaction on a network-based commerce server. In response to receiving the request from the user device, the system forwards the request to the network-based commerce server, and then receives updated information for at least one item on the list from the network-based corner server. Then, the system communicates the updated information received from the network-based commerce server to the user device.
US08417570B2

A method and system for automated media delivery to mobile devices and mobile device lockscreens. The method includes receiving a first media request associated with a first target device, obtaining a first user account associated with the first media request, wherein the first user account comprises first user category criteria; selecting a first user-submitted media item based on the first user category criteria, and sending, to the first target device, the first user-submitted media object, wherein the first user-submitted media object is presented on a lock screen of the first target device. The method further includes receiving a second media request associated with the first target device, selecting a first advertiser-submitted media object based on the first user category criteria, and sending, to the first target device, the first advertiser-submitted media object, wherein the first advertiser-submitted media object is presented on the lock screen of the first target device.
US08417568B2

According to embodiments of the invention, an advertisement-generation system generates image-containing advertisements. The advertisement-generation system includes: at least one feature-selection guideline that specifies at least one recommended feature for image-containing advertisements based on advertiser inputs that specify at least one of advertisement-target-audience information, cost information, and advertiser-industry information; an image-clip library from which images are selected for inclusion in the image-containing advertisements; and at least one advertisement template that is based on the at least one feature-selection guideline; wherein the system automatically generates image-containing advertisements that contain one or more suggested colors that are automatically suggested based on one or more colors present on a web page that will host the image-containing advertisement.
US08417562B1

Systems and methods for generating a score for use in automated processing of correction submissions are presented. In one embodiment, a submission value from a correction submission obtained from a submitter is obtained. The submission value corresponds to a proposed correction of an attribute of an item, the item having a plurality of attributes that describe the item, and the submission value corresponds to one of the plurality of attributes of the item. The current attribute value of the item that corresponds to the submission value is obtained. A first set of characterization values is generated for the submission value according to a first set of criteria. A second set of characterization values for the current attribute value is generated according to a second set of criteria. Using the first and second sets of characterization values, a score is generated for the correction submission. The score is stored in a data store in association with the correction submission.
US08417560B2

In various embodiments, the influence of marketing assets upon an individual are analyzed. In particular, a record of the individual's interactions with a first marketing asset of a first marketing campaign may be stored in a database. Thereafter, the database may be queried to determine whether the individual interacted with the first marketing asset in accordance with defined criteria. If so, the individual may be associated with the first marketing campaign.
US08417553B2

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium are presented, for providing incident notifications. The systems and processes disclosed here automatically generate and send notifications relating to an incident in accordance with an enterprise's business rules and provide real time reporting of all communications relating to the incident.
US08417537B2

A system that uses a health-related dictionary component to establish responses to requests from devices and applications is provided. The innovation discloses uses of a health-related dictionary to enable retrieval of standardized lists and taxonomies in the healthcare space as well as localization of health-related data. Examples of these taxonomies include codes from medical coding vocabularies such as CPT (Current Procedural Terminology), layouts, templates, as well as references to units of measurements such as feet, inches, meters, liters, etc.
US08417534B2

A geoposition is determined at a point using a geoposition determining mobile communication device. A crop management zone is identified based on one or more predetermined crop management boundaries and the geoposition of the point. Information about the field is wirelessly communicated between the geoposition determining mobile communications device and a remote site. Analysis may be performed at the remote site with the results of the analysis communicated to the mobile communication device at the growing point. Information may be collected at the point which is stored or analyzed at the remote site. Information may include digital images of plant conditions which may be analyzed to determine conditions such as disease or pest infestation. Contextual information from a number of different types of sources may be used to provide meaningful analysis and feedback to the producer. The producer may define crop management zones using the geoposition determining mobile communication device.
US08417529B2

A method for prompting user input for a multimodal interface including the steps of providing a multimodal interface to a user, where the interface includes a visual interface having a plurality of input regions, each having at least one input field; selecting an input region and processing a multi-token speech input provided by the user, where the processed speech input includes at least one value for at least one input field of the selected input region; and storing at least one value in at least one input field.
US08417521B2

The present disclosure discloses a method, a device and a system for implementing a speech recognition function, in which a media resource control device controls a media resource processing device to recognize a speech input by a user via H.248 protocol. The method includes receiving, by the media resource processing device, an H.248 message carrying a speech recognition instruction and a related parameter sent by the media resource control device; performing speech recognition according to the speech recognition instruction and the parameter; and reporting a recognition result to the media resource control device. A corresponding device and system for implementing the speech recognition function is further provided.
US08417512B2

The invention relates to a method, used by computers, for developing an ontology (70) of a text (10) in natural language, comprising the steps of: receiving text data from the text (10); extracting the syntax and meaningful words (20) from the text via a grammatical analysis (S100) of the received data; for each of at least some of the meaningful words (20) of the text: searching (S200) for a definition (40) of that word (20) by means of at least one electronic dictionary (30, 35), extracting the syntax and the meaningful words of that definition, and creating (S300) an elementary lexical graph (50) of that definition based on the syntax and the meaningful words of that definition; and merging (S400) at least two of the elementary lexical graphs (50) created, as a function of the syntax of the text, so as to create at least one semantic graph (60) of the text. The invention further concerns a computer program product and an electronic data processing system comprising code means adapted to implement the steps of the method of the invention.
US08417506B2

A tool for simulating an industrial control system is provided. The tool includes a simulation component to emulate one or more simulation models according to a simulated execution environment. A switch component is associated with the simulation component to selectively enable or disable variability in the simulation models.
US08417502B1

A mixer harmonics calculator system is described. The system is designed to perform rapid online calculation of mixer harmonics up to 10×10 RF and LO order using actual measured parametric data optionally supplemented with interpolated or otherwise calculated data. Output options from the mixer harmonics calculator include a comprehensive range of presentations of tabular and graphed data. The mixer harmonics calculator is designed to function either independently or within a more comprehensive electronic component database search system.
US08417501B2

A simulator for testing a wireless device is configured by using an indication of connected devices and channel model to be applied to an identified link received as input to calculate settings for function elements which modify signals to implement simulated effects defined by the channel model. The calculations are performed while a test is running, thereby avoiding delays associated with playback tests. Allocation of simulator paths and function elements are automated, and an indication of how the wireless devices are to be connected to the simulator is provided to the user.
US08417500B2

The invention concerns a sensor simulation system. The simulation system (1) comprises a generator (3) that generates a digital signal by direct digital frequency synthesis, based on the following parameters: a frequency, an amplitude, a phase and amplitude shift; a digital/analog converter (4), and a means (6) that modulates the signal received from said converter (4).
US08417495B2

A method of creating and using a neural network model for wellbore operations is disclosed. The method, in one aspect, may include defining a plurality of a wellbore parameter; calculating a plurality of output values of a tool operating parameter using the plurality of values of the wellbore parameter as input to a preexisting model; and obtaining a neural network model by using the plurality of values of the wellbore parameter and the calculated plurality of output values of the tool operating parameter. The neural network may be utilized for any suitable wellbore operation, including in conjunction with a drilling assembly for drilling a wellbore.
US08417475B2

The identification of preferred seed calculations used to guide the determination of displacement vectors in elasticity imaging may evaluate seeds using a combination of a measure of the similarity of the data of the seed in pre- and post-compression data and continuity of the data in a path in the neighborhood of the seed. This dual evaluation helps avoid downstream error propagation.
US08417472B2

A battery management system with synchronized data sampling for a battery pack including multiple battery cells is disclosed. The battery management system includes a plurality of local monitors coupled to a plurality of battery cells and operable for sampling status information for the battery cells. The battery management system further includes a central controller coupled to the local monitors and operable for broadcasting a sample command to the local monitor synchronously, wherein the local monitors start to sample the status information for the battery cells in response to the sample command.
US08417456B2

Downhole drilling vibration analysis uses acceleration data measured in three orthogonal axes downhole while drilling to determine whether drilling assembly's efficiency has fallen to a point where the assembly needs to be pulled. In real or near real time, a downhole tool calculates impulse in at least one direction using the measured acceleration data over an acquisition period and determines whether the calculated impulse exceeds a predetermined acceleration threshold for the acquisition period. If the impulse exceeds the threshold, the tool pulses the impulse data to the surface where the calculated impulse is correlated to efficiency of the assembly as the drillstring is used to drill in real time. Based on the correlation, operators can determine whether to pull the assembly if excessive impulse occurs continuously over a predetermined penetration depth.
US08417448B1

An electronic direction system accesses navigation data describing at least one instance in which a direction was missed during provision of electronic navigation along a route and tracks instances in which directions have been missed based on the accessed navigation data. The electronic direction system accounts for the tracked instances in which directions have been missed in handling provision of future directions.
US08417446B2

Systems and methods for generating and using geographic data are disclosed. For example, one method comprises generating and/or identifying an open area map. A route is generated using the open area map. A path segment record and/or a node record is created based on the generated route. The path segment record and/or the node record may be stored in a geographic database.
US08417445B2

A vehicle tracking system includes a wheel containing sensor circuitry capable of sensing various types of conditions, such as wheel rotation, wheel vibration caused by skidding, and specific electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals indicative of particular wheel locations. The sensor circuitry is coupled to an RF transceiver, which may but need not be included within the wheel. The wheel may also include a brake mechanism. In one embodiment, the wheels are placed on shopping carts and are used to collect and monitor shopping cart status and location data via a wireless network. The collected data may be used for various purposes, such as locking the wheel of an exiting cart if the customer has not paid, estimating numbers of queued carts, stopping wheel skid events that occur during mechanized cart retrieval, store planning, and providing location-based messaging to customers.
US08417443B2

Vehicle speed identification information for identifying vehicle speed of a vehicle on a road is obtained for a plurality of vehicles. Based on a distribution of the vehicle speed identification information, the vehicle speed identification information is classified into groups corresponding to motions of the vehicle. An occurrence probability of a motion of the vehicle is obtained based on the classification.
US08417434B2

A method of actively controlling pattern factor in a gas turbine engine includes the steps of issuing fuel into a combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine through one or more circumferentially disposed fuel injectors, determining an initial circumferential pattern factor in the combustion chamber, and adjusting fuel flow through one or more selected fuel injectors based on the initial circumferential pattern factor, to yield a modified circumferential pattern factor in the combustion chamber. The step of determining the circumferential pattern factor can include the steps of detecting a chemiluminescent signature within the combustor, correlating the chemiluminescent signature to an equivalence ratio, and computing the initial circumferential pattern factor based on the equivalence ratio. Alternatively, the step of determining the circumferential pattern factor can include the steps of measuring temperatures at a plurality of circumferential positions at the combustor exit and computing the initial circumferential pattern factor based on the measured temperatures.
US08417431B2

A method for controlling a powertrain for a hybrid electric vehicle having an engine and a motor and gearing for establishing power flow paths from the engine and the motor with common gear elements to vehicle traction wheels. An engine power bias is applied to an engine power command and a bias to a motor torque command to avoid an operating mode in which motor torque is at or near zero, whereby gear rattle due to torque disturbances is avoided.
US08417419B2

The invention relates to a device for locking (D) the steering column of a motorcycle (M), which includes a first module (200) secured to the rotating column and a second module (100) secured to the frame of the vehicle (M), which is stationary with respect to said column, said frame mechanically limiting the angular amplitude of rotation of said column, a module (200) including a locking bolt (211) projecting toward the other module (100), and the other module (100) including two flat bolts (110) projecting toward the other module (200). Said device is remarkable in that the two flat bolts (110) are arranged at the two ends of the angular course defined by said frame, so as to create an area of operation without possible locking between said two flat bolts (110), a locking area at each end of the angular course so that said locking bolt (211) can reach the end of the angular course and the corresponding locking area only in the retracted position of the locking bolt (211) or the flat bolts (110), and the deployment of said locking bolt (211) or the flat bolts (110) in the area of operation defined between the two flat bolts (110) prevents said locking bolt (211) from passing into the locking area during normal operation of the vehicle. The invention also relates to a process of operation of said device.
US08417413B2

In an oxygen sensor control apparatus, after start of fuel cut, the weighted average Ipd of corrected values obtained by multiplying the output value of a mounted oxygen sensor by a correction coefficient Kp is obtained as a representative value Ipe, representing the corrected values in the fuel cut period (S19). In the case where the number of times the representative value Ipe is continuously judged not to fall outside a second range (S21: NO) and to fall outside a first range (S23: YES) reaches 10 (a first number of times) (S26: YES), a new correction coefficient Kp is computed (S27). In the case where the number of times the representative value Ipe is continuously judged to fall outside the second range (S21: YES) reaches 4 (a second number of times smaller than the first number of times) (S29: YES), a new correction coefficient Kp is computed (S30).
US08417409B2

A public transit travel planning system and methodology that uses an extensive pre-processing approach of transit information prior to query time on order to determine optimal public transit routes for journeys. At query time, since the transit information has already been processed by the system, very little computation is needed in order to fulfill the query. The system then provides users with public transit directions in response to the queries for public transit journeys.
US08417406B2

A method is provided for the early induction of an additional start of an internal combustion engine in a vehicle with a hybrid drive including at least one electric drive unit and one internal combustion engine. When only the electric drive is in operation, then the internal combustion engine is additionally started no later than when the determined requested nominal drive torque exceeds the maximum possible drive torque of the electric drive unit. In order to initiate an additional startup of the internal combustion engine before reaching or exceeding the maximum possible drive torque of the electric drive unit by way of the requested nominal drive torque, the still unfiltered driver request torque or a limited driver request torque is evaluated.
US08417403B2

A vehicle includes a battery as a power storage device that can be charged and discharged, a booster unit, an inverter, and a motor generator operating as a vehicle driving unit receiving electric power supply from the battery to drive the vehicle, a coupling unit coupling the vehicle with an external power supply for charging the battery from the outside of the vehicle, and a control device performing control related to the battery. The control device determines whether or not a destination is a charging-available place where the battery can be charged from the outside of the vehicle, and if the destination is a charging-available place, performs control related to the battery so that the temperature of the battery is a charging-efficient temperature on arrival at the destination.
US08417395B1

The present invention relates to a missile or aircraft with a hierarchical, modular, closed-loop flow control system and more particularly to aircraft or missile with a flow control system for enhanced aerodynamic control, maneuverability and stabilization. The present invention further relates to a method of operating the flow control system.Various embodiments of the flow control system of the present invention involve different elements including flow sensors, active flow control device or activatable flow effectors and logic devices with closed loop control architecture. The sensors of these various embodiments are used to estimate or determine flow conditions on the various surfaces of a missile or aircraft. The active flow control device or activatable flow effectors of these various embodiments create on-demand flow disturbances, preferably micro-disturbances, at different points along the various aerodynamic surfaces of the missile or aircraft to achieve a desired stabilization or maneuverability effect. The logic devices are embedded with a hierarchical control structure allowing for rapid, real-time control at the flow surface.
US08417392B2

A qualification system for determining the effects of one or more upgrades or modifications to a chilled water plant is disclosed herein. The qualification system my collect various data from operating logs of a chilled water plant. The data may be collected in stages, where at least one first stage may be used to collect data used to identify representative log data. The representative log data may then be used to perform an accurate analysis to determine the effects of one or more upgrades or modifications. In this manner, the qualification system provides accurate analysis while reducing data entry. In addition, the qualification system may accept varying amounts of data such as to reduce percentage error or the like in its analysis.
US08417384B2

Provided is an information processing system including a display device for displaying an image on a display screen, and a robot apparatus for performing input/output of information from/to a user. The information processing system acquires a position of the display screen in a real space, and moves the robot apparatus based on the acquired position of the display screen.
US08417381B2

A system comprising a medication tray (10) and a docking station (20) for facilitating effective self-management of medication treatment by patients is provided. The medication tray (10) accepts medication filled containers (30) and mates with the docking station (20). The medication tray (10) receives prescription data at the time the medication tray (10) accepts the medication filled containers (30), which is then downloaded to the docking station (20). The docking station (20) monitors and reports to third parties, via a network (160), a patient's compliance with various medication treatment regimens. Medication containers (30) are provided with low bit tags (35) that provide container presence information to the docking station (20). The docking station (20) provides visual and/or audio signals regarding prescription data to a patient. The docking station (20) can query patients and appliances regarding patient's medication usage and health status.
US08417375B2

A method for dispensing a set number of items as a batch comprising the steps of: setting the set number of items in a batch; calibrating by forwarding items along a conveyor for a time interval; counting the number of items to fall off end of feeder in that time interval; calculating throughput per unit time; setting the conveyor to operate for a discrete time period calculated to approach but not exceed that required so that the running total reaches nut does not exceed the set number without otherwise adjusting conveyor settings; counting the number of items dispensed in the discrete time period; adding the number of items to fall off feeder in the discrete time period to running total, and repeating steps until the running total is greater or equal to the batch size wherein each iteration uses the number of particles per unit time in the preceding time period as basis for determining item through rate for calculating subsequent time period for operating the conveyor.
US08417371B2

The novel invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling one or more machines or a production cell with repeatable sequences using a machine controller, and to an operating unit in the form of a man-machine interface (MMI). The novel invention proposes making at least some of the operative control inputs for machine movement using haptic keys which can be programmed for their function and are applied to a screen and/or tactile touchscreen keys which can be seen and sensed, for example with an edge which can be sensed, with a respective associated screen field. The operator is thus provided with a guide function for operation, whether by the fact that he haptically senses the keystroke, for example via snap domes, or by the fact that he only tactually feels an edge around the screen key.
US08417369B2

A device for processing objects which are conveyed one after another in a continuous manner, or a quasi endless material web, includes tools revolving on a revolving path. In one variant of the device, the tools are controllably pivotable relative to the revolving path in a manner such that their pivot position is adapted in a controlled manner to the objects to be processed or the material web, independently of an orientation of the revolving path. In a further variant of the device, the device includes at least one drive, which are controllable in a manner such that the tools in groups or individually, may be driven simultaneously at different speeds on the revolving path. This, for example, is realized by way of two drives, wherein each second tool is coupled to the first drive, and the other tools to the second drive.
US08417366B2

Method and workstation automatically designing an arch-wire including compensations for auxiliary appliances or biological constraints exerting unknown forces to achieve a pre-planned treatment goal are disclosed. The adjusted customized arch-wire is designed after an initial customized arch-wire has been used to treat a patient and is at or near equilibrium. The initial custom arch-wire is first designed by producing a 3D computer-based, geometrical model of a patient's dentition, locating brackets on the digital tooth model, moving the digital tooth models to planned final positions and orientations, and then calculating a wire which fits in the slots of the brackets while the teeth are in their planned final positions and exerts no forces on the brackets. After a period of time the teeth will move under the force of the wire and will eventually move into positions such that the forces from all appliances and biological systems are in equilibrium. If the teeth are not in the final planned positions at that point in time, the adjusted custom arch-wire is designed and applied.
US08417364B2

A computer program product, apparatus and system are disclosed for managing a manual assembly sequence by electronically referencing unique identifiers associated with physical components to be assembled in the sequence. Certain embodiments facilitate management of an assembly of a consumer product. In one embodiment, RFID tags are used as unique identifiers. Such embodiments may use RFID tags to determine the presence of the components before each assembly step in the assembly sequence and to determine that the components are being assembled in sequence. Other embodiments determine whether the components are properly assembled after being assembled, that the distance between the components falls within a predetermined range, and/or that the components for an assembly steps is properly orientation with respect to other components.
US08417351B2

Apparatus and methods for monitoring a patient's blood oxygen content (through, e.g., an external finger probe using a pulse oximeter). If the patient's blood oxygen content falls below a selected level, a safe, yet effective, level of peripheral nerve stimulation would be delivered to the patient's wrist in the form of a milliamp current to arouse the patient.
US08417342B1

A device and method is provided for treating treat gastrointestinal disorders using electrical stimulation. In one advantageous form, the method uses mucosal EGG (mEGG) to analyze a patient's natural gastric electrical activity. The mEGG can be measured anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. From the mEGG, one can determine whether a patient is a good candidate for gastrointestinal electrical stimulation. For example, analysis of the frequency, amplitude and a ratio of frequency to amplitude can be used to determine who should receive gastrointestinal electrical stimulation, and at what the various stimulation parameters should be. The present method can be used to treat various disorders relating to gastrointestinal electrical activity. Ideally, the gastric electrical stimulation is delivered at a desired frequency and amplitude to effectuate normalization of gastric electrical current/activity, thereby treating disorders associated with gastric electrical activity. Advantageously, gastrointestinal electrical stimulation is effectuated by endoscopically delivering the electrostimulating device.
US08417332B2

A system for the endocardial stimulation/defibrillation of the left ventricle. This system includes a generator (60) and an endocardial lead. The lead includes a lead body (26) whose distal end (30) extends into the right ventricle (14) and is provided with a mechanism to anchor (32) the distal end to the interventricular septum (20). The lead body carries on it a stimulating and/or defibrillation electrode (38) (64, 66). A microcable (42) extends into the lead body and beyond, with an intermediate portion (56) crossing from one side of the interventricular septum (20) to the other, and an active free portion (58) that emerges in the left ventricle (16). The microcable is coupled to the generator, to produce an electric field (62) between, on one hand, the stimulation electrode (38) or defibrillation electrode (64, 66) of the lead body and, on the other hand, a bare region of the active free portion (58) of microcable (42).
US08417330B2

Embodiments of the invention provide electrode assemblies and associated methods for the iontophoretic transdermal delivery of therapeutic agents. Many embodiments provide a corrosion resistant electrode for the iontophoretic transdermal delivery of various therapeutic agents. Such embodiments allow for the iontophoretic transdermal delivery of therapeutic agents such as iron compounds for prolonged periods without any substantial corrosion of the electrode, impedance increases or discoloration or irritation of the skin. Embodiments of the invention are particularly useful for the long term treatment of various chronic medical conditions such as iron deficient anemia.
US08417328B2

An apparatus for the diagnosis of a biological sample is disclosed. An embodiments of the apparatus includes a probe, a probe head distally connectable to the probe, the probe head further comprising a plurality of electrode elements thereby forming an electrode array where each electrode element is variably actuatable to apply an electrical signal to the biological sample; an RF signal source for applying the electrical signal to the electrode array; an electrode selector adapted and configured to switch the electrical signal from the RF signal source between the plurality of electrode elements; and a detection circuit for analyzing a dielectric property received from the biological sample. Methods and kits for diagnosing a biological sample are also disclosed.
US08417327B2

When a defibrillator selects a dosage of energy or current to be delivered to a patient, the defibrillator selects an excitation current frequency and applies the excitation current at the selected frequency to the patient. The frequency of the excitation current is selected as a function of the dosage to be delivered. The patient's response to the excitation current at the selected frequency will accurately reflect the impedance that the defibrillator will “see” when delivering the selected dosage of energy or current.
US08417325B2

This document discusses, among other things, a system comprising a sensor signal processor configured to receive a plurality of electrical sensor signals produced by a plurality of sensors and at least one sensor signal produced by an implantable sensor, a memory that includes information indicating a co-morbidity of a subject, a sensor signal selection circuit that selects a sensor signal to monitor from among the plurality of sensor signals, according to an indicated co-morbidity, a threshold adjustment circuit that adjusts a detection threshold of the selected sensor signal according to the indicated co-morbidity, and a decision circuit that applies the adjusted detection threshold to the selected sensor signal to determine whether an event associated with worsening heart failure (HF) occurred in the subject and outputs an indication of whether the event associated with worsening HF occurred to a user or process.
US08417324B2

This invention relates to method and apparatus for collection of the complete fluorescence emission spectrum and the transient decay of a selected spectral band simultaneously with data acquisition times of less that one second. This invention is useful for studying human tissues and cells in vivo.
US08417322B2

In a method for diagnosing or helping to diagnose a bone tissue condition of a patient, a portion of bone tissue of the patient is irradiated using a light source. The bone tissue may be irradiated in vivo through the skin or via an incision, for example. Alternatively, a biopsy of the bone tissue may be irradiated. Then, spectral content information for light scattered, reflected, or transmitted by the bone tissue is determined, and is used, at least in part, to determine whether the patient has a bone tissue condition.
US08417315B2

A marker system includes a structure having a first surface and a second surface, a first marker located on the first surface, and a second marker located on the second surface, wherein the first marker and the second marker are arranged so that they face approximately a same direction, and so that they can be simultaneously viewed by an optical device, and wherein a first distance between the first marker and the optical device is different from a second distance between the second marker and the optical device when the first and the second markers are simultaneously viewed by the optical device.
US08417312B2

Systems and methods for processing sensor data are provided. In some embodiments, systems and methods are provided for calibration of a continuous analyte sensor. In some embodiments, systems and methods are provided for classification of a level of noise on a sensor signal. In some embodiments, systems and methods are provided for determining a rate of change for analyte concentration based on a continuous sensor signal. In some embodiments, systems and methods for alerting or alarming a patient based on prediction of glucose concentration are provided.
US08417310B2

A system includes a flexible sensor configured to be placed into a first configuration and a second configuration, wherein the sensor is configured to measure a physiological characteristic. The sensor may include a first memory device configured to store a first set of calibration data and a second memory device configured to store a second set of calibration data. The system may further include a monitor coupled to the sensor, wherein the first memory device is accessible by the monitor in the first configuration and the second memory device is accessible by the monitor in the second configuration.
US08417309B2

The present disclosure generally relates to a medical sensor configured to attach to a patient's finger. According to embodiments, a sensor body is attached to a ring such that the sensor body is limited to contact with the patient's finger. The ring may have a fixed diameter or be adjustable. The ring may also include an indicator that facilitates the determination of whether the ring applies appropriate tension to the patient's finger. The sensor body may comprise a strip attached to the ring at two points or a hood that covers the distal end of the patient's finger. The sensor body may be coupled to the patient's finger with adhesives or securing flaps.
US08417301B2

In some aspects, a portable electronic device, having a rear housing, an upper housing coupled to the rear housing and slideable relative thereto between a closed position and an open position, an antenna, and at least one element coupled to the antenna and configured to perform at least one of inhibiting low frequency shift and increasing high frequency sensitivity of the antenna.
US08417297B2

Provided are a mobile terminal and a method of providing a graphic user interface using the same. The mobile terminal includes a plurality of bodies. Various graphic user interfaces are provided according to a posture of the mobile terminal, which is formed by the plurality of bodies of the mobile terminal.
US08417296B2

An electronic device such as a portable electronic device may have an antenna and associated wireless communications circuitry. A sensor such as a proximity sensor may be used to detect when the electronic device is in close proximity to a user's head. Control circuitry within the electronic device may be used to adjust radio-frequency signal transmit power levels. When it is determined that the electronic device is within a given distance from the user's head, the radio-frequency signal transmit power level may be reduced. When it is determined that the electronic device is not within the given distance from the user's head, proximity-based limits on the radio-frequency signal transmit power level may be removed. Data may be gathered from a touch sensor, accelerometer, ambient light sensor and other sources for use in determining how to adjust the transmit power level.
US08417291B2

A method and apparatus for managing a phone book in a portable terminal are provided. The method includes determining whether at least one of a message and a call is generated for a phone number registered to the phone book, storing information on the at least one of the message and the call by mapping to the phone number and displaying the stored information together when the phone number registered to the phone book is displayed.
US08417284B2

There is provided a wireless communication apparatus including a base station information input portion to input base station information of a base station transmitting a radio wave having a wave reaching range including a particular location, the base station information acquired from a first memory storing a plurality of pieces of base station information containing a base station ID, a recording portion to record the base station information input to the base station information input portion into a second memory placed in the wireless communication apparatus, a reception portion to receive the radio wave transmitted from a surrounding base station, and a notification processing portion to perform prescribed notification processing based on a determination result whether the wireless communication apparatus exists in the particular location.
US08417283B2

Apparatuses and methods are disclosed for increasing calling capacity in a carrier by dividing timeslots on the carrier into sub-slots and for conveying usage and access rights information for each sub-slot on a carrier. A base station configures a control signal that is associated with each of a plurality of timeslots on a carrier. Each of the plurality of timeslots is divided into sub-slots and specific fields in the control signal are associated with each sub-slot. The base station provides, to mobile stations, at least one of a usage marker or access rights information through the control signal. The mobile stations use the usage marker or access rights information to determine whether transmission of voice traffic and control signaling is permitted on each sub-slot.
US08417281B2

A communication terminal with a camera includes a communicator for processing the sending and receiving of mail messages, a designator for designating any one of the mail messages received by the communicator as a browsing mail message, and a determiner for determining whether there is an image related to the browsing mail message. When a determination result by the determiner is negative, a first validator validates a defined camera setting, and when a determination result by the determiner is affirmative, a second validator validates a camera setting compliant with the related image. A creator creates an image along with the camera setting validated by the first validator or the second validator, and an attacher attaches the image created by the creator to a mail message using a sending source of the browsing mail message as a destination.
US08417279B2

A channel normally used to transmit acknowledgement of successful signal receipt and an indication of unsuccessful signal receipt is adopted to transmit power control information from a base station to a mobile station. The power control information can be encoded as a binary code where each value of the code is indicated by an acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement signal.
US08417269B1

A method of sending a message to a mobile station using a common domain name includes the steps of receiving an email containing a subject and a body, combining the subject and the body into a first message, and determining if the email contains an attachment. If the email contains the attachment, the first message can be converted into a MMS message, and if not, a number of characters in the first message can be counted. If the number of characters is less than or equal to 160 characters, the first message can be converted to a SMS message. If the number is greater than 160 characters and less than or equal to 1000 characters, the first message can be converted to an EMS message. In addition, if the number of characters is greater than 1000 characters, the first message can be converted to the MMS message.
US08417248B2

Methods and apparatus to schedule uplink transmissions in wireless communication systems, such as cellular communication systems, are disclosed. A disclosed example method comprises measuring channel conditions for a plurality of equipment devices at a base transceiver station of a wireless communication system, dividing an operating bandwidth of the base transceiver station into two or more non-overlapping portions, and instructing a first of the plurality of user equipment devices to transmit a sounding reference signal in a first non-overlapping portion during a sounding reference signal transmission interval.
US08417245B2

A method and wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for receiving a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) data is disclosed. A WTRU receives MBMS data segments from a first MBMS transmitting source along with segmentation information. The WTRU receives MBMS data segments and segmentation information from a second MBMS transmitting source. The MBMS data segments from the first MBMS transmitting source and the MBMS data segments from the second MBMS transmitting source are received in different order. The WTRU reassembles the MBMS data segments based on the segmentation information received from the first MBMS transmitting source and the second MBMS transmitting source.
US08417244B2

A device detects poor coverage associated with a source radio access technology (RAT) with which the device is connected, and connects to a target RAT. The device also measures the source RAT for a time period after connecting to the target RAT, and sends, based on the measurements, one or more measurement reports to the target RAT, where the target RAT forwards the one or more measurement reports to the source RAT. Alternatively, or additionally, the target RAT may detect that the handover was triggered too early and may inform the source RAT or command the UE to return to the source RAT. The device further stops the measuring and the sending when the time period expires. In this way, IRAT handover parameters may be automatically or manually tuned to minimize the number of handovers triggered too early, which may result in a more efficient cell configuration.
US08417240B2

A method includes obtaining, by an HSS, information related to a user subscribed IMS communication service identifier, and sending information of a user subscribed IMS communication service identifier to a SID-requiring network entity according to the information related to the user subscribed IMS communication service identifier.
US08417232B2

An application component operating method for an SDR terminal in which a plurality of application components are installed on middleware is provided. The method includes: configuring an essential application component commonly required for wireless access services; when a mode change between wireless access services is required, searching for an optional application component for supporting a desired wireless access service; when it is determined in the optional application component search step that the optional application component does not exist in the SDR terminal, downloading the optional application component; and configuring an application component by the essential application component and the optional application component for supporting the desired wireless access service.
US08417223B1

In one embodiment, a communication request from a remote requester is intercepted at the computing device. Based on the intercepted communication request, one or more voicemail features are enabled at the computing device, independent of carrier voicemail support. The remote requester may be, for example, a caller or a voicemail server, and the intercepted communication request may be a phone call or a voicemail notification, respectively. In another embodiment, a system at a computing device coupled to a network includes a communication request handler and a voicemail manager. The communication request handler intercepts a communication request from a remote requester at the computing device. The intercepted communication request may be a voicemail notification from a network server or a phone call from a caller. The voicemail manager enables one or more voicemail features at the computing device, independent of carrier voicemail support, based on the intercepted communication request.
US08417211B2

An in-vehicle system (IVS) captures data such as location data and in an emergency automatically places a call to an emergency call taker or PSAP via a wireless telecommunications network. After a voice call session is established, the IVS system transmits a predetermined control signal through the voice channel. The control signal directs the call taker system to prepare to receive data. Preferably, the control signal comprises at least one audio frequency tone. This may be done without human intervention. In this way, emergency information is transmitted accurately and with minimum delay. After transmission of essential information, the IVS system may switch on audio connections for live human voice conversation.
US08417208B2

Systems and methods are provided for suppressing radio interference from a noise source having an operating frequency. In accordance with an embodiment, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle may include, but is not limited to, a communications bus having a delay, an electric motor communicatively coupled to the communications bus, the electric motor configured to transmit an operational frequency of the electric motor to the communications bus, a radio communicatively coupled to the communications bus, and an audio amplifier communicatively coupled to the communications bus and further configured to be coupled to the radio via the communications bus, the audio amplifier comprising a filter configured to selectively filter radio signals of the radio based upon the operational frequency of the electric motor and a maximum change in angular velocity of the vehicle over the delay.
US08417206B2

Methods and systems for blending the audio output from a received FM signal between stereo and mono in which the L−R (left-minus-right) gain of the FM MPX may be adjusted as a function of RF signal to noise ratio (SNR) and the L+R (left-plus-right) noise level. During blending, the L−R gain based on the RF SNR and L+R noise may be reduced in a manner such that the total noise is kept substantially constant throughout the stereo-to-mono blend region.
US08417205B2

Techniques to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae used for wireless communications are described. A first embodiment of the techniques is a method to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae. The method includes monitoring at least one antenna during a fraction of at least one preamble period of a frame to derive at least one quality indicator corresponding to the antenna; storing the quality indicator derived from monitoring the antenna during the fraction of the preamble period of a frame; and selectively switching to a selected antenna after a number of frames, based on the quality indicator. A second embodiment is another method to select an antenna from a plurality of antennae. These embodiments can be applied in several wireless communication applications using multiple antennae.
US08417196B2

Apparatuses and methods for directional coupling are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a directional coupler, a termination impedance, a switch, and a control block. The directional coupler includes a power input terminal, a power output terminal, a couple terminal and a terminate terminal. The power input terminal can receive a radio frequency signal from a power amplifier, and the power output terminal can be electrically connected to a load. The switch has an ON state and an OFF state, and includes an input electrically connected to the terminate terminal and an output electrically connected to the termination impedance. The switch is configured to provide a relatively low impedance path between the input and the output when in the ON state and to provide a relatively high impedance path between the input and the output when in the OFF state. The control block can set the state of the switch.
US08417194B2

A method for determining pre-distortion of a power amplifier includes the following steps: providing a first power input signal to make the power amplifier generate a first power output signal; receiving a first receiving signal, which is acquired according to the first power output signal; detecting a predetermined gain of the power amplifier by means of the first power input signal and the first receiving signal; providing a second power input signal to make the power amplifier generate a second power output signal; receiving a second receiving signal, which is acquired according to the second power output signal; determining pre-distortion amplitude values and pre-distortion phase values of the power amplifier by means of the predetermined gain, the second power input signal and the second receiving signal.
US08417189B2

A high-frequency VNA system is provided using non-linear transmission line (NLTL or shockline) based samplers configured to provide scalable operation characteristics. Scaling to adjust noise performance vs. frequency is accomplished as follows: (1) increasing or decreasing the fall time of a shockline's output voltage waveform. This is accomplished by changing the number of Schottky varactors in a shockline, as well as changing the shockline's Bragg cutoff frequency by setting the spacing between Schottky varactors; (2) changing the structure of the pulse-forming network connected with the sampler by changing the length of the differentiator arms in the sampler pulse-forming network; and (3) changing the LO signal frequency applied to the shockline. Multiple NLTL based samplers are multiplexed to form a broadband reflectometer with the multiplexing circuitry selectively connecting one of the NLTL based sampler segments at a time to allow user selection of a desired performance vs. frequency response for each segment.
US08417187B2

Methods and apparatus for compensating for the effects of interference between multiple wireless communication apparatus. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a first wireless communication apparatus operating in a first band and a second wireless communication apparatus operating at least partly in the first band, where the second wireless communication apparatus operates according to a different communication protocol than the first wireless communication apparatus. Interference is compensated for between the first wireless communication apparatus and the second wireless communication apparatus by selecting and operating according to one of a plurality of operational protocols. In another embodiment, the first wireless communication apparatus and the second wireless communication apparatus operate in a closed-loop relationship to cooperatively compensate for communication interference.
US08417185B2

A wireless device for use with speech recognition applications comprises a frame generator for generating successive frames from digitized original audio signals, the frames representing portions of the digitized audio signals. An autocorrelation circuit generates a set of coefficients for each frame, the coefficient set being reflective of spectral characteristics of the audio signal portion represented by the frame. In one embodiment, the autocorrelation coefficients may be used to predict the original audio signal to be subtracted from the original audio signals and to generate residual signals A Bluetooth transceiver is configured for transmitting the set of coefficients and/or residual signals as data to another device, which utilizes the coefficients for speech applications.
US08417175B2

A toner image formed on an image bearing member is transferred onto a recording material so as to overflow from an edge portion of the recording material, thereby enabling the toner image to be formed so as to extend to the edge portion of the recording material. To suppress the deposition of the toner in the edge portion of the recording material, a cleaning member for cleaning the edge portion of the recording material obtained after the fixing is provided. In order to make a trailing edge of the recording material come into contact with the cleaning member, the recording material which has passed through a fixing apparatus is temporarily switched back, thereby allowing the trailing edge portion of the recording material to collide with the cleaning member.
US08417171B2

A printing method for producing a textured thin film image (142) upon a receiver (20(R)) is provided. The method may include the steps of a. depositing one or more toner images (50) to form a predetermined adhesive image (50) with more than one level of height; and b. applying and fixing a foil (30) to at least a portion of the adhesive image to create a textured thin film image (142).
US08417162B2

An image forming apparatus detects a plurality of times by changing velocity of a photosensitive drum, color misregistration generated when a developing roller separates from a photosensitive drum and calculates a relation between the velocity of the photosensitive drum and the color misregistration. A velocity of the photosensitive drum is changed and an arbitrary peripheral velocity difference is set between the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer belt based on the calculated result.
US08417155B2

An image forming apparatus has a high-speed mode and a low-speed mode and includes a speed switch unit configured to select the high-speed mode or the low-speed mode by switching a rotation direction of a drive source. The speed switch unit includes a drive gear attached to a rotating shaft of the drive source; a first drive gear series transmitting a rotating power of the drive source upon rotation in a first direction to an image carrier; and a second drive gear series transmitting a rotating power of the drive source upon rotation in a second direction to the image carrier, the second drive gear series having a larger reduction ratio than the first drive gear series. The speed switch unit causes the drive gear to be selectively connected to the first drive gear series or the second drive gear series depending on the rotating direction of the drive source.
US08417151B2

A component replacement support tool for a fusing unit with a roller that contains a lamp cartridge includes a roller insertion/removal guide shaft and a lamp protection member detachably housed in the roller insertion/removal guide shaft. The fusing unit includes a replacement opening via which the roller or the lamp cartridge can be removed from or inserted into the fusing unit along an axis of the roller for replacement. The roller insertion/removal guide shaft is inserted into the roller along the axis of the roller and fixed so as to guide the roller when the roller is removed from or inserted into the fusing unit via the replacement opening. The lamp protection member is inserted between the roller and the lamp cartridge when the lamp cartridge is pulled out of or inserted into the roller along the axis of the roller via the replacement opening.
US08417149B2

A transfer unit has a belt unit having a belt and a cleaning unit for cleaning the belt. The belt unit and the cleaning unit are integratedly provided. The cleaning unit is movable for the belt unit. The transfer unit is detachable for an apparatus main body. A position of the cleaning unit for the belt unit before the transfer unit is attached to the apparatus main body is different from a position of the cleaning unit for the belt unit after the transfer unit is attached to the apparatus main body.
US08417137B2

A fixing device includes a rotary fixing member, a counter member to contact the rotary fixing member, a first heater to heat the rotary fixing member, a driving unit to rotate the rotary fixing member, a temperature detector to detect a temperature of the rotary fixing member, and a contact-and-separation unit to switch between contact and separation states of the rotary fixing member relative to the counter member. In a temperature-raising operation, the driving unit causes the rotary fixing member to rotate when the temperature detector detects that the temperature of the rotary fixing member has reached a first setting temperature. The contact-and-separation unit causes the rotary fixing member in rotation and the counter member to contact each other when the temperature detector detects that the temperature of the rotary fixing member has reached a second setting temperature that is higher than the first setting temperature.
US08417136B2

Provided are an image forming apparatus, a fixing device, and an image forming system using the same, including: an image forming section for transferring a toner image onto a recording sheet; a first and second fixing rollers for thermally fixing the toner image on the recording sheet; a first and second temperature sensors each provided at a plurality of positions in a longitudinal direction of the fixing roller; and a rocking section for reciprocally shifting at least one of the fixing rollers in the longitudinal direction of the fixing roller, wherein the temperature gradient of each of the fixing rollers is detected, a central position of reciprocal shift of one fixing roller which can be shifted is set such that the temperature gradient of the other fixing roller is cancelled, and then the one fixing roller is reciprocally shifted by the rocking section.
US08417132B2

An image forming apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an exposure section configured to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing section configured to supply developer to the electrostatic latent image to form a developer image, a first carrier configured to rotate while carrying thereon the developer image formed by the developing section, a second carrier configured to interpose a recording medium with the first carrier and configured to indirectly carry the developer image transferred from the first carrier to the recording medium, and a correction section configured to correct a formation position of the electrostatic latent image with using a correction value which is based on a use level of developer corresponding to at least one of an amount of developer and a coverage of developer in the developer image.
US08417131B2

A developing device is provided. The developing device includes: a rotatable developer carrier which is configured to carry developer; a housing including a first resin frame which includes a pair of sidewalls supporting both end portions of the developer carrier in a rotational axial direction thereof, and a second resin frame which is connected to the first resin frame; and a receiving-side coupling member which is provided rotatably to one of the sidewalls and is configured to couple with a driving-side coupling member in the rotational axial direction to transmit driving force to the developer carrier. The receiving-side coupling member is overlapped with a connection part between the first frame and the second frame as viewed from the rotational axial direction.
US08417126B2

A polarization multiplexing transmitter which generates polarization-multiplexed signals which are arbitrarily polarization-scrambled at high speed, without adding a polarization modulator and a polarization scrambler. In the transmitter, an orthogonally polarized signal generator includes two optical modulators which modulate the electric fields of optical signals and generate two optical signals with mutually orthogonal polarized waves. The transmitter includes electric field mappers which convert two data strings into electric field signals, polarization mappers which give different polarized waves to the two signals, polarization rotators which rotate the polarized waves of the signals uniformly, a polarization multiplexer which multiplexes the two polarization-rotated signals, a polarization demultiplexer which demultiplexes the multiplexed signal into polarized wave components of optical signals generated by the orthogonally polarized signal generator, and a driver. The optical modulators are driven to make the two demultiplexed electric field signals consistent with the electric fields of optical signals modulated by the modulators.
US08417116B2

Disclosed is an RoF system providing an HD wireless communication service. The RoF system includes the base station for transmitting and receiving each of the TDD/FDD individual signals and TDD/FDD combined signals, channel-combining downstream signals for a TDD scheme with downstream signals for an FDD scheme, and generating TDD/FDD mode control signals; a base station donor for receiving downstream RF signals from the base station, converting the resultant signals into downstream optical signals, outputting the converted signals, and delivering upstream optical signals, which are input to the remote station from the wireless terminals, to the base station; and the remote station for switching a corresponding duplexing mode operation according to wireless service channel states of the wireless terminals, converting the downstream optical signals transmitted from the base station donor into service RF signals, amplifying the converted service RF signals, and providing the amplified service RF signals to the wireless terminals through antennas.
US08417110B2

An image pickup apparatus which is capable of shooting a still image and a moving image and displaying an exposure parameter interlocking range. A light metering unit meters an object brightness. A camera microcomputer performs exposure control such that an exposure becomes equal to a target exposure determined based on a result of metering by the light metering unit. The camera microcomputer causes the image display section to display a first image representing the object brightness metered by the light metering unit and a second image representing an object brightness that can be set as the target exposure by the exposure control.
US08417109B2

A photographing device, which includes a photographing section; a display section that displays a photography image taken by the photographing section; a person indicator setting section that sets a person indicator prepared beforehand on the display screen; an operation section that operates a target position and/or a target size of the person indicator; a person detection section that detects a position and/or a size of a person in the photography image; a comparison section that compares the detected position and/or size of the person in the photography image with the target position and/or size; a guiding instruction section that generates an instruction for the person to be photographed to guide toward a direction coinciding with the compared result; and a control section that controls the photographing section such that, when a predetermined condition is satisfied after the compared result falls within a predetermined allowable error, a shutter is activated.
US08417106B2

A focus detection device, which detects a defocus amount based on a phase difference between a pair of object images that are obtained by pupil division and projected onto a pair of areas on a line sensor, includes a parallel line sensor having two line sensor arrays arranged adjacently in parallel, and a correction calculator which corrects the defocus amount according to a phase difference between output signals of the two line sensor arrays of the parallel line sensor.
US08417099B2

To provide a multiplexing method which facilitates a reproduction process and reduces unpleasantness felt by a viewer about image quality.The multiplexing method includes: a step of judging whether or not a clip to be coded should be coded as part of a continuous reproduction unit in which bitstreams are structured so as to allow continuous reproduction (S100); a step of determining a color space that is common within the continuous reproduction unit when it is judged that the clip should be coded as part of the continuous reproduction unit (S110); a step of generating bitstreams by coding the clip to be coded according to a determined color space (S112); and a step of packet-multiplexing bitstreams (S118).
US08417098B2

A hard disk recorder that can help to configure a group of information of a periodically broadcasted program includes: a remote control receiver that receives an instruction from a user; a controller that determines whether an instruction to record a broadcast program also designates a periodical interval applied to record the broadcast program, and if so then determines a series ID common among a group of broadcast programs and depends on whether series ID is shared to search broadcast program title information for and retrieve information corresponding to group of broadcast programs, and generates a play list including the retrieved information; an antenna receiving a broadcast signal of a broadcast program; a tuner extracting a broadcast signal; a HD device recording a series ID, broadcast program title information, and a broadcast signal in association with each other; and a video output device outputting the play list.
US08417092B1

A system, method, and program product for recording presentable data accessed through interactive links displayed within an interactive television program are disclosed. In accordance with the present invention, an interactive television recording device receives an interactive television signal containing one or more interactive links associated with presentable data. In response to receipt of a record command, the interactive television recording device records the interactive television program, and the presentable data associated with the one or more interactive links are accessed and recorded into a designated storage medium. In a preferred embodiment, the interactive television signal and the one or more interactive links are stored on a first data storage medium, while the presentable data are separately stored on a second data storage medium. If a play command is received, the interactive television recording device plays the interactive television signal from the first data storage medium. If the user activates an interactive link, the interactive television recording device retrieves and plays the presentable data associated with the interactive link from the second data storage medium.
US08417089B2

The present invention is directed to a recording apparatus and method for setting, when moving images are recorded on a plurality of recording media, whether to independently record additional information on each of the recording media.
US08417084B2

Disclosed herein is a carrier for an optical fiber having a plurality of optical sensors located thereon. The carrier has a test section comprising a cavity and at least one geometric discontinuity, wherein in response to a pressure applied to the test section, a stress concentration is formed proximate to the geometric discontinuity, and wherein the optical sensor is adhered to at least a part of the geometric discontinuity. The cavity may be filled with a liquid or a gel. A temperature optical sensor may also be provided adjacent to the pressure optical sensor.
US08417082B2

An enclosure (10) for optical fibre cable or patch cord connections comprising a casing (20), an optical connection adaptor (80), a holder (90) for the connection adaptor, and cable or cord strain relief means attachable to the casing, wherein the holder is integral with or secured or securable within the casing and allows limited axial movement of the adaptor inside the holder over an axial distance (α) greater than the distance of flexural distortion of the casing which is caused at the point of strain relief attachment by manual traction on the cable or cord outside the casing.
US08417081B2

An optocoupler including: a substrate comprising a photodetector; a transparent electrically-insulating layer disposed over the photodetector; and an organic electroluminescent device having an organic electroluminescent layer disposed between a first and a second electrode disposed over the transparent electrically-insulating layer; the photodetector arranged to detect light emitted from the organic electroluminescent device; wherein the optocoupler comprises a second current path between the first and second electrodes in addition to a first current path between the first and second electrode which in operation causes the organic electroluminescent layer to emit light.
US08417075B2

A multi-channel electro-magnetic rotary joint has been invented in which one or more electro-magnetic signals can be transmitted simultaneously from a rotating collimator array and a stationary collimator array in air and in other fluids. A metamaterial de-rotating mechanism is positioned in the path between said rotating collimator array and said stationary collimator array, and arranged tier rotation relative to each collimator arrays at a rotary speed equal to one-hall the relative rotational rate between said rotating and stationary collimator arrays.
US08417066B2

Methods and systems for achieving high sub-pixel precision while processing a video signal are provided. Aspects of the method may include selecting IIR filter coefficients for implementing an IIR filter for filtering a video signal during scaling. Polyphase filter coefficients may be selected for implementing a polyphase filter for filtering the video signal during the scaling. The video signal may be filtered using a combination of the IIR filter having the selected IIR filter coefficients and the polyphase filter having the selected polyphase filter coefficients. The polyphase filter coefficients may implement a finite impulse response (FIR) filter for filtering the video signal. The video signal may be phase-shifted. The scaling of the video signal may comprise upscaling or downscaling the video signal. The video signal may be converted from a first format to a second format by combined IIR-filtering and polyphase filtering.
US08417063B2

According to one embodiment, an image processing apparatus connected to an external memory and a cache memory. The apparatus includes a counter, a coordinate calculator, a tag checker, a pixel referring module, a pixel value calculator and an outputting module. The counter determines a converted coordinate according to a predetermined execution sequence. The coordinate calculator calculates a unconverted coordinate used to calculate a converted pixel value located at the converted coordinate. The tag checker generates a conversion request to calculate the converted pixel value with reference to an unconverted pixel located at the unconverted coordinate. The pixel referring module reads the unconverted pixel from the cache memory based on the conversion request when the unconverted pixel is stored in the cache memory. The pixel value calculator calculates the converted pixel value with reference to the read unconverted pixel. The outputting module writes the converted pixel having the calculated converted pixel value into the external memory.
US08417062B2

A coordinate system mapping between each image and the reference image of fisheye images are computed and used to resample each image to align with the reference image directly in the fisheye image space.
US08417053B2

Determining if an input image is a foggy image includes determining an average luminance gray level of the input image, performing Sobel image processing on the input image to generate a Sobel image of the input image when the average luminance gray level of the input image is between a first image average luminance and a second image average luminance, determining a first normalization value and a second normalization value of the input image, determining a mean value and a standard deviation of the Sobel image when the first normalization value and the second normalization value are less than a first threshold value, and determining the input image as a foggy image when a sum of the mean value and the standard deviation is less than a second threshold value.
US08417051B2

A system and method for emphasizing and/or de-emphasizing features in a digital image. In an embodiment of the invention, the image is processed by a series of filters, which decompose the image into a series of sub-bands. Each sub-band is then processed by an emphasis circuit. In an embodiment of the invention, the emphasis circuit is connected to an input representing a particular sub-band. Each filter, therefore, is connected to its own respective emphasis circuit. The result is a series of emphasis circuit outputs, which are then combined. The result of the combination is the processed image, containing one or more emphasized or deemphasized features. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the sub-bands are combined in a weighted fashion. The sum of the weighted sub-bands is then applied to a single emphasis circuit. The output of the emphasis circuit, in this embodiment, is a processed image having one or more emphasized or deemphasized features.
US08417029B2

An image in which at least one color component among a plurality of color components in an input color image has a resolution lower than that of the other color components is held as a base image. A rectangular region that includes an object image is extracted, a region of the object image and a region of a background image are specified in the rectangular region, and fill-up processing of the specified object image is executed in the base image. Fill-up processing executed at a boundary between the object image and the base image differs from fill-up processing executed at a boundary between the object image and the background image.
US08417016B2

An acceptor device for sheet objects such as banknotes, comprises a sensor to derive data corresponding to a spatial array of data samples from a face of a sheet object, said data being configured in a sampling frame that lies within a range of positional relationships to a reference frame. The acceptor device also comprises a processor operable to process the data to determine the relationship between the reference frame and the sampling frame for the sensed data, and being operable to transform pre-selected regions of the sensed data from the sampling frame so as to correspond to data in the reference frame, and to make a comparison of the transformed data with reference data corresponding to the pre-selected regions in the reference frame and to the sheet object depending on the outcome of the comparison.
US08417015B2

A method and system for automatically evaluating quality of a slide-mounted tissue sample includes receiving a digital image of a magnified portion of the slide-mounted tissue sample. At least one quantitative quality indicator is automatically determined for at least one of the samples, and the digital image of the magnified portion of the sample. Each of the quantitative quality indicators is automatically compared to a respective minimum acceptable quality threshold. The quantitative quality indicators and associated quality thresholds are selected for suitability with an automated quantitative immunoassay. Failure of one or more of the quantitative quality indicators to meet its respective minimum acceptable quality threshold suggests that the sample is unsuitable for subsequent automated pathological evaluation. Results can be examined at a user interface allowing for user inspection of samples determined to be unsuitable, the user interface also having provisions for manual override of the determination.
US08417007B2

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a data acquisition unit, a correction unit, a sorting unit and an image reconstruction unit. The data acquisition unit acquires data for imaging and projection data. The correction unit performs motion correction of the data using respiratory motion data obtained based on the projection data. The sorting unit sorts the data after motion correction into a cardiac time phase order based on electrocardiographic information. The image reconstruction unit reconstructs three-dimensional image data based on the sorted data after motion correction.
US08417006B2

A system and method for improved viewing and navigation of large digital images, such as whole slide images used in microscopy. The system and method displays the digital image along with movable navigation and field of view boxes that enable a viewer to pan the digital image in an accurate manner, and also performs automatic absolute reorientation of the digital image and automatic relative reorientation of subsequent digital images in relation to the first digital image.
US08417004B2

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a method may include mapping an ellipse with its center at the origin of an xy-coordinate plane to a circle with its center at the origin of the xy-coordinate plane. The method may also include transforming a three-dimensional subject image including a curved profile in the xy-coordinate plane to an intermediate image based at least on the mapping of the ellipse to a base circle. The method may further include transforming the intermediate image to a transformed image having a linear profile by distorting each of one or more points of interest of the intermediate image based at least on a dimension of the circle and a coordinate of such point.
US08416997B2

A method for automatically identifying persons in digital media assets associated with a database of individual user accounts, comprising: providing access to a database of individual user accounts, wherein the database includes connections between the individual user accounts; receiving a digital media asset associated with a first individual user account; analyzing the received digital media asset to detect an unidentified person; designating collections of digital media assets associated with the first individual user account and other connected individual user accounts; training person identifiers for the previously identified persons by analyzing digital media assets containing the previously identified persons; using a processor to identify the detected unidentified person using the trained person identifiers; and associating metadata providing an indication of the one or more identified persons with the received digital media asset.
US08416994B2

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.
US08416993B2

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for motion segmentation in the field of motion detection, whereby an initial motion map is processed to a more accurate final motion map which identifies the non- and the movement of pixels between at least two successive images, said apparatus comprising a processing-segmentation device and a combination-logic device. In this apparatus the initial motion map is processed to three different feature maps, describing static edges, moving edges and moving flat areas between at least two successive images, respectively. The present invention is further directed to a corresponding method adapted for motion segmentation in the field of motion detection.
US08416986B2

Systems and devices for processing image or other data using non-linear methods to compensate for localized slopes are described. In one implementation, the slope of the sample values in an image or other dataset is estimated in one or more directions using a non-linear filter, such as a median filter. The values of at least some of the samples of interest are compensated using the estimated slope values to remove the effects of the slope. The compensated values may then be processed to determine if the target is present in the samples of interest, or for any other purpose.
US08416982B2

An image processing method performs reduction processing on an input image to acquire a reduced image, extracts a feature point from a group of images including the input image and one or more of the reduced images, determines as a matched feature point the feature point extracted from a matching position in each of two or more images in the group of images, calculates a local feature quantity of the matched feature point determined by the determination unit, and registers the calculated local feature quantity as a local feature quantity of the input image.
US08416980B2

A sensory signal output apparatus is provided. The sensory signal output apparatus, includes: a magnetic circuit vibrating in response to an alternating signal flowing through a coil; and an elastic support means elastically supporting the magnetic circuit to surround the circumferential outer surface of the magnetic circuit from one side direction thereof, in which coupling recesses are formed at the circumferential outer surface of the magnetic circuit to be spaced apart from each other, and a coupling piece is provided at a periphery of the elastic support means to be coupled to the coupling recess, the coupling piece is attached to and inserted into the coupling recess. In the sensory signal output apparatus, an elastic support means is inserted into and coupled to a magnetic circuit without using a curling operation to provide easy coupling.
US08416978B2

[Problem to be Solved] To provide a high-sensitive compact vibration pickup microphone, suitably used as a talking microphone in high ambient noise environments or as a speech recognition input microphone, with high microphone sensitivity, resistance to sliding noise, and insensitivity to external noise and vibration.[Solution] A vibration pickup microphone comprising a housing 1 provided with a first space 5 and a second space 6, an external diaphragm 2 disposed over the first space 5, and a microphone unit 3 that is contained in a rear end portion of the second space having an air gap 8 maintained 6, wherein by disposing the external diaphragm 2 over it, an air chamber 7 formed in the first space 5 and an air gap 8 formed in the second space 6 are communicated via a thin passageway 4, so that vibration of voice picked up by the external diaphragm 2 is transmitted to the microphone unit 3 as sound waves, and then frequency components higher than voice frequencies within frequency components of the sound waves are attenuated in its transmitting path.
US08416976B2

A voice conference system has a first voice-conference device having a speaker directed toward a first conferee and a second speaker directed toward a second conferee in one talk session room, and a second voice-conference device having a speaker directed to a third conferee and a fourth speaker directed toward a fourth conferee in another talk session room. When the first conferee talks, voice collecting beam signals picked up by microphones of the one voice conference device in excess of a predetermined threshold value are selected. The one voice conference device acquires voice collecting direction information, and then transmits voice communication data containing the voice collecting beam signal and the acquired voice collecting direction information to the another voice conference device, which acquires the voice collecting direction information from the received voice communication data, and emits the voice of the first conferee from the first speaker.
US08416974B2

A hearing aid device has a shell that fits into the upper part of the concha of the outer ear of a hearing-impaired person, and connecting element that is held in the concha of the outer ear and terminates in an ear piece in the ear canal. The combination of the shell and the connecting element in the concha retain the hearing aid in the outer ear.
US08416968B2

An audio device and an audio input/output method are described, which is coupled to an audio port, and includes a capacitor, a load, an output amplifying module, and an input amplifying module. The capacitor and the load are coupled to the audio port. The output amplifying module is operated at a first working voltage, for outputting a first audio signal to the audio port. A direct current (DC) level of the first audio signal is substantially zero volts. The input amplifying module is operated at a second working voltage, in order to receive a second audio signal from the audio port. When the audio port is in an output state, the output amplifying module is enabled and the input amplifying module is disabled, and when the audio port is in an input state, the input amplifying module is enabled and the output amplifying module is disabled.
US08416964B2

A method for processing signals for reducing noise components in a vehicular microphone system (500A) compares (517) a plurality of noise component values (511, 513, 515) for at least one frequency band of plurality of frequency bands. At least one frequency band is then downwardly expanded (521) by a predetermined expansion ratio (523) for providing a noise reduced signal (535) when determining a value is below a predetermined threshold (519).
US08416963B2

The present invention relates to a system for providing a personalized driving sound by using an active sound design. The system includes a sound design tool, a memory card, and an audio system. The sound design tool enables a user to create the driving sound. The memory card receives and stores the created driving sound from the sound design tool. The audio system outputs the driving sound stored in the memory card.
US08416951B2

The invention relates to a method of generating a pseudorandom string of terms belonging to a finite body K of cardinal q≧2 intended to be used in a cryptography procedure, said method comprising the iterative calculation of a system (Γ) of m polynomials with n variables belonging to the finite body K. According to the invention, the coefficients of these m polynomials are regenerated at each iteration. The invention also relates to pseudorandom string generator intended to implement this method.
US08416941B1

Embodiments of the technology disclosed herein provide an overall, or holistic view, of an enterprise's interaction with its customers. These embodiments can also provide a holistic view of other types of interactions. In one particular embodiment, a system collects and aggregates information related to user inquiries and/or response generated by different types of response systems. Such an embodiment could collect data about phone response system activities and aggregate that information with data about automated response system activities. Other embodiments collect and aggregate information related to customer information, contact resolutions and other information. Other embodiments of the disclosed technology generate reports based on aggregated information and/or generate recommendations to address problems with the individual response systems or the overall strategy for responding to customer inquiries.
US08416936B2

A conference call management method and system. The method includes receiving by a computer processor from a conference call administrator, a command for enabling a first conference call. The computer processor enables the first conference call thereby allowing telecommunications between the conference call administrator and a first participant. The computer processor locks the first conference call such that additional participants are unable to access the first conference call. The computer processor receives from a second participant, a conference call request for accessing a second conference call and routes the second participant to a virtual holding area. The computer processor enables the second conference call and routes the second participant from the virtual holding area to the second conference call.
US08416928B2

Methods, apparatuses, and media for extracting phone numbers from voice mail messages are disclosed. Embodiments may include a method for determining a phone number in a voice mail message that includes analyzing a message and determining phone number(s) associated with the message based on the analysis. Embodiments of the method may also include generating a macro based on the determined phone number(s) and performing a macro action for at least one generated macro. In some embodiments, analyzing the message and determining phone number(s) associated with the message may include detecting a trigger word and parsing words in the message after the detected trigger word. In other embodiments, analyzing the message and determining one or more phone numbers associated with the message may include analyzing a voice-to-number dictionary and determining phone number(s) based on the dictionary. The macro action may include dialing, storing, deleting, etc. a phone number.
US08416924B1

A customer-directed rounded-amount investment method includes determining whether a debit-card transaction is a qualifying transaction, determining whether the debit-card transaction is an odd-amount transaction and, if the transaction is an odd-amount qualifying transaction, crediting a customer-directed account in a rounded-difference amount.
US08416923B2

A method for providing clean endpoints including managing a collection of endpoints; testing communication of an endpoint of the collection of endpoints; and generating a cleanliness score for the endpoint according to results of the test. The method functions to create a metric that can be used to evaluate undesired communication activity and functionality of an endpoint. The method may be implemented by any suitable platform providing endpoint addresses to clients, which may include service providers, internet-telephony platforms, or any suitable entity. The method is preferably applied to telephony endpoints used in internet-telephony applications, but may be used in any suitable application.
US08416920B2

A target for X-ray generation has a substrate and a target portion. The substrate is comprised of diamond and has a first principal surface and a second principal surface opposed to each other. A bottomed hole is formed from the first principal surface side in the substrate. The target portion is comprised of a metal deposited from a bottom surface of the hole toward the first principal surface. An entire side surface of the target portion is in close contact with an inside surface of the hole.
US08416915B2

A mammography system using a tissue exposure control relying on estimates of the thickness of the compressed and immobilized breast and of breast density to automatically derive one or more technic factors. The system further uses a tomosynthesis arrangement that maintains the focus of an anti-scatter grid on the x-ray source and also maintains the field of view of the x-ray receptor. Finally, the system finds an outline that forms a reduced field of view that still encompasses the breast in the image, and uses for further processing, transmission or archival storage the data within said reduced field of view.
US08416914B2

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program having instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to acquire a set of projection data corresponding to a plurality of image voxels and to calculate coefficients of a regularizing function configured to penalize differences between pairs of the plurality of voxels that are not immediate neighbors. The instructions also cause the computer to iteratively reconstruct an image from the set of projection data based on the regularizing function.
US08416901B2

The embodiment of the present disclosure discloses a method and apparatus for detecting frequency deviation of a clock. The method includes: counting the clock to be detected to acquire current counting information; filtering the current counting information to acquire filtered data; and acquiring the frequency deviation of the clock to be detected from the filtered data. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the detection accuracy of frequency deviation is improved by filtering the counting information acquired by counting the clock to be detected, and appropriately increasing an amount of information after the filtering, so as to perceive the occurrence of any abnormal dithering, and avoid neglecting of any abnormal condition in periodic or aperiodic queries.
US08416896B2

Aspects of a method and system for channel estimation in a MIMO communication system with multiple RF chains for WCDMA/HSDPA may comprise receiving a plurality of communication signals from a plurality of transmit antennas. A plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates may be generated based on phase rotation of the received plurality of communication signals. A matrix of processed baseband combined channel estimates may be generated based on the generated plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates. A plurality of amplitude and phase correction signals may be generated based on the generated plurality of vectors of baseband combined channel estimates. An amplitude and a phase of at least a portion of the received plurality of communication signals may be adjusted based on the generated plurality of amplitude and phase correction signals, respectively.
US08416891B2

A receiver receives information from a physical broadcast channel signal, wherein the receiver includes a blind processing and decoding unit that utilizes a hypothesis about how many transmit antennas were used to transmit the signal. Received signal characteristics are detected that indicate how many transmit antennas were used. Each transmit antenna hypothesis in a stored list represents how many transmit antennas were used. For each of the stored hypotheses, a probability value is determined based, at least in part, on the detected signal characteristics. The list of hypotheses is modified to associate the probability values with respective ones of the transmit antenna hypotheses. The modified list is used to provide antenna hypothesis probabilities, and the blind processing and decoding unit is operated such it begins with a most probable antenna hypothesis and continues with increasingly less probable antenna hypotheses until successful decoding occurs or all antenna hypotheses have been made.
US08416890B2

In one embodiment, a wireless device for a wireless data communication system including the wireless device and a base station. The base station includes a plurality of first groups and a signal-processing unit. Each first group includes a receiver and at least one antenna connected to the receiver. The signal-processing unit includes memory and a processor adapted to process signals received by the first groups using a Maximum Likelihood Detection (MLD) method. The wireless device includes a plurality of second groups, each second group adapted to transmit a wireless signal to at least one first group via a corresponding communication channel. Each second group further includes a transmitter and at least one antenna connected to the transmitter. The signal-processing unit is adapted to store, in the memory, information corresponding to one or more transfer functions, each transfer function corresponding to transmission of a wireless signal from an antenna of the second groups to an antenna of the first groups. The transmitters and receivers are adapted to operate at essentially the same frequency or frequency band. Two or more of the communication channels are generated simultaneously. Each transmitter is adapted to modulate an information signal on a radio-frequency signal according to a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) method to transmit QAM symbols. Each receiver is adapted to demodulate information signals from a received radio-frequency signal according to the QAM method.
US08416889B2

An OFDM receiver includes a sampling circuit configured to sample an incoming signal received through a transmission channel and an estimation circuit configured to receive samples of the incoming signal and to estimate transmission channel response and eventual differences of synchronization offsets introduced at a receiver side. An equalizer may be coupled to the estimation circuit and configured to compensate an effect of the transmission channel response and of the differences of synchronization offsets on the received samples and to generate equalized samples. An OFDM detector may be configured to generate a stream of demodulated digital symbols based upon the equalized samples.
US08416873B2

A method and apparatus is provided for demodulating a desired data stream in a MU-MIMO communication system where only the precoder for the desired data stream is known a priori. The receiving terminal according to various embodiments of the present invention estimates the precoder for one or more interfering data streams. The receiving terminal can then use the known precoder for the desired data stream and the estimated precoders for the interfering data streams to perform MMSE demodulation.
US08416866B1

This disclosure is directed to systems and methods that compensate for a phase change that results from a change in RF gain, a “phase glitch,” that would otherwise degrade the performance of a multiple sub-carrier communication system, such as OFDM. Pilot symbols are used to estimate the phase change, allowing the pilot and data symbols to be compensated by the estimated phase change. Preferably, the compensated pilots are used to per form a second iteration of phase change estimation that determines residual phase glitch. Thus, following the second estimation of phase change, data symbols can be compensated for the estimated residual phase change.
US08416860B2

A deblocking filter, an image encoder, and an image decoder perform edge-filtering of moving-image data which can be divided into blocks, on groups of a predetermined number of pixels arrayed across edges between the blocks, and include: a processing unit concurrently performing column-direction-edge filtering on more than one first group of pixels which are arrayed in rows across ones of the edges oriented in a column direction, the ones of the edges belonging to a macroblock to be currently processed; and an rearrangement unit rearranging pixels being included in the more than one first group of pixels and the macroblock and having been processed by the processing unit, into more than one second group of pixels in respective columns.
US08416856B2

A circuit for computing sums of absolute difference (SAD) is provided. The circuit has an absolute difference circuit, a first adder, a first register and a first selective circuit. The absolute difference circuit receives a first data PMi,j and a second data PSi,j and output a absolute difference data ADi,j, wherein ADi,j=|PMi,j−PSi,j|. The first adder receives and adds the absolute difference data and a first accumulative data, and outputs a first sum. The register receives and locks the first sum according to a first preset timing sequence, and outputs a first sum of absolute difference data. The first selective circuit receives and selects the first sum of absolute difference data or 0, and outputs the selected data as the first accumulative data.
US08416839B2

To receive a radio navigation signal modulated by a modulation waveform, the modulation waveform comprising a component BOC(n1,m) and a component BOC(n2,m), n2 being strictly less than n1, a correlation is performed between a prompt local waveform and the modulation waveform and a correlation is performed between a shifted (forward or backward) local waveform and said modulation waveform, over a time interval of duration T. The prompt local waveform is generated in the guise of a binary waveform comprising over said time interval at least one waveform segment BOC(n2,m) of a total duration of (1−αA)T over said time interval, αA being a parameter greater than or equal to 0 and strictly less than 1. The shifted local waveform is generated in the guise of a binary waveform comprising over said time interval at least one waveform segment BOC(n1,m) of a total duration of αBT over said time interval, B being a parameter strictly greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1, and αA being different from αB.
US08416837B2

The present invention provides a signal modulation method which includes the following steps: a input signal is channel encoded, and the channel encoded signal is processed by the following one or several ways: channel scrambling, interleaving, duplicating and puncturing; the signal being processed is divided into two components I and Q, wherein the two components I and Q compose a signal pair; the signal pair is divided into more than one path, and respective path of signal is quadrature phase shift keying spectrum spreading modulated using different spectrum spreading sequence and is orthogonally modulated in order that the peak-to-average power ratio of the respective paths of signal being orthogonally modulated are obtained; and a path of signal having the smallest peak-to-average power ratio is selected to be outputted as an output signal. The signal modulation method can reduce the signal PAPR significantly, not only is propitious to the design of the power amplifier, but also reduces the cost of the power amplifier.
US08416829B1

In one general embodiment, a thin film structure includes a substrate; a first corrosion barrier layer above the substrate; a reflective layer above the first corrosion barrier layer, wherein the reflective layer comprises at least one repeating set of sub-layers, wherein one of the sub-layers of each set of sub-layers being of a corrodible material; and a second corrosion barrier layer above the reflective layer. In another general embodiment, a system includes an optical element having a thin film structure as recited above; and an image capture or spectrometer device. In a further general embodiment, a laser according to one embodiment includes a light source and the thin film structure as recited above.
US08416828B2

An array of discrete catalyst elements is contained in a heated module external to the main laser vessel with an auxiliary gas flow loop connecting them so as to provide independent control of catalyst temperature and gas flow rate to achieve high CO+1/2O2 to CO2 recombination under high pulse repetition frequency operation for a sealed laser. Catalyst elements in the form of cylinders with holes through their centers are mounted on multiple parallel rods or catalysts in the form of small spherical or cylindrical elements are contained in multiple packets arranged in the module so as to minimize flow impedance and maximize laser gas recycling throughput. The cylindrical catalyst module is constructed so as to allow for rapid heating to operating temperature while withstanding atmospheric differential pressures during laser processing.
US08416821B2

A surface emitting laser element includes a light emission part having a mesa structure. The light emission part includes a lower reflector; a resonator structure including an active layer; and an upper reflector. The lower reflector, the resonator structure and the upper reflector are laminated on a substrate. A peripheral part of a top surface of the mesa structure is covered by a dielectric layer that has a tapered surface such that a thickness decreases in a direction toward an outermost part, a taper angle of the tapered surface with respect to a surface of the substrate is smaller than a slope angle of a side wall of the mesa structure with respect to the surface of the substrate, and an end part of the dielectric layer coincides with an end part of the upper reflector.
US08416805B2

Methods for increasing upstream bandwidth utilization in an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) use in some instances round-down instead of round-up occupancy values reported to an optical line terminal. An optical network unit determines whether the occupancy needs to be round-up or round-down and reports the occupancy in either round-up or round-down report units to the optical network terminal.
US08416804B2

An apparatus and method for providing a user interface for facilitating communications between devices are provided. According to one aspect, an interface device provides communications between a first device and a second device. The interface device has an input for receiving data in a first format from the first device. Logic within the interface device is configured to receive a request to interact with the interface device and to provide a user interface in response to receiving the request. The logic identifies a second device for receiving the data from the first device. The logic identifies a second format that is compatible with the second device and translates the data to the second format. The interface device further has an output for transmitting the translated data to the second device.
US08416803B1

A device and method for transmitting data over a wireless network, based on a low latency interconnect bus protocol. The low latency interconnect bus protocol is a layered protocol containing a Wireless Medium Access Control (WMAC) layer for constructing a WMAC frame from the data, and a Wireless Physical (WPHY) layer for constructing a WPHY frame from the WMAC frame. The WMAC frame includes an aggregation of a plurality of MAC Service Data Units (MSDUs), and is capable of providing a reliable link by implementing an implied ACK and a block ACK. The WPHY frame is configured to provide a mechanism for a bi-directional communication between components; and the content of the WPHY frame is determined according to a communication state between two communicating components.
US08416801B2

In a trading system market data from a matching engine is distributed by a broker to a plurality of trading floors repeatedly every T seconds, typically one second. This one second distribution period is divided into a plurality of time slots and each trading floor is randomly assigned to a slot. Data for a given trading floor is calculated and distributed during the time slot assigned to that floor. The position of a trading floor relative to others is varied by swapping a pair of adjacent time slots every J distribution periods.
US08416792B2

A networked telephony system and method allow users to deploy on the Internet computer telephony applications associated with designated telephone numbers. The telephony application is easily created by a user in XML (Extended Markup Language) with predefined telephony XML tags and easily deployed on a website. The telephony XML tags include those for call control and media manipulation. A call to anyone of these designated telephone numbers may originate from anyone of the networked telephone system such as the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone System), a wireless network, or the Internet. The call is received by an application gateway center (AGC) installed on the Internet. Analogous to a web browser, the AGC provides facility for retrieving the associated XML application from its website and processing the call accordingly. The architecture and design of the system allow for reliability, high quality-of-service, easy scalability and the ability to incorporate additional telephony hardware and software and protocols.
US08416788B2

Contiguous data packets of a single communication session between endpoints are gathered for compression, and at least the payloads are compressed collectively via a single compressible buffer. The original headers, which may or may not be compressed, and the compressed payloads are transmitted from a sending packet compression device to a receiving packet compression device that performs decompression to the compressed payload and may also decompress headers if they have been compressed at the sending end. The original contiguous data packets including headers and payload may be reconstructed at the receiving packet compression device by matching the headers to the corresponding payloads. The reconstructed data packets are injected back into the single communication session, and the presence of the original headers in the reconstructed data packets may thereby maintain the endpoint-to-endpoint authentication protocols.
US08416785B2

A method and circuit for implementing multiple active paths between source and destination devices in an interconnect system while removing ghost packets, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. Each packet includes a generation ID and is assigned an End-to-End (ETE) sequence number in the source interconnect chip that represents the packet position in an ordered packet stream from the source device. The packets are transmitted from a source interconnect chip source to a destination interconnect chip on the multiple active paths. The generation ID of a received packet is compared with a current generation ID at a destination interconnect chip to validate packet acceptance. The destination interconnect chip uses the ETE sequence numbers to reorder the accepted received packets into the correct order before sending the packets to the destination device.
US08416779B2

A stored transmission packet having a structure intended for use in a new link-adaptation mechanism, and a method and an apparatus for transmitting the transmission packet using the same are disclosed. The structure includes a payload composed of a plurality of transmission data units, a MAC header appended to the payload, and a PHY header appended to the MAC header, wherein the payload includes a link recommendation command in which information on a transmission mode is recorded, among a link-adaptation mechanism including Link Assessment, in which the state of a channel used to transmit and receive the transmission packet and the quality thereof is assessed, Link Recommendation, in which a transmission mode suitable for a current channel state is recommended using the result of Link Assessment, and Link Adjustment, in which the channel state is adjusted using information on the recommended transmission mode.
US08416778B2

The invention relates to a method for managing multicast traffic in a data network, and network equipment using said method. Hosts receive from a network interface of a router traffic sent by sources in a multicast group. The hosts and the router communicate with one another by using a multicast host-router communications protocol by which the hosts send to the router messages to request multicast traffic from sources in a multicast group. The router receiving one of said messages obtains in said message identifying data which identify the host that has sent said message, and said router stores in specific records for each network interface of the router, host and multicast group information about the sources the traffic of which has been requested by said host in said messages sent to the router.
US08416769B2

An open architecture platform bypasses data from the facilities of a telecommunications carrier, e.g. an incumbent local exchange carrier, by distinguishing between voice and data traffic, and handling voice and data traffic separately. An SS7 gateway receives and transmits SS7 signaling messages with the platform. When signaling for a call arrives, the SS7 gateway informs a control server on the platform. The control server manages the platform resources, including the SS7 gateway, tandem network access servers (NASs) and modem NASs. A tandem NAS receives the call over bearer channels. The control server determines whether the incoming call is voice traffic or data traffic, by the dialed number, and instructs the tandem NAS how to handle the call. Voiced traffic is transmitted to a switch for transmission from the platform. Data traffic is terminated at a modem NAS, where it is converted into a form suitable for a data network, such as a private data network or an Internet services provider (ISP). The converted data is sent by routers to the data network. The data network need not convert the data, as the function has already been provided by the platform. In lieu of a conversion, the modems can create a tunnel (a virtual private network) between a remote server and the data network.
US08416746B2

A method for execution by a mobile station (MS) in a mobile communications network, the method comprising: receiving a first MS identifier from the network during a ranging operation involving the MS; using the first MS identifier to extract the contents of at least one message received from the network during said ranging operation; using a second MS identifier, different from the first MS identifier, to extract the contents of at least one message received from the network after said ranging operation is complete. Also, a method for execution by the base station, comprising: outputting a first message destined for the MS, the first message including a first identifier for use by the MS during a ranging operation; determining that said ranging operation is complete; outputting a second message destined for the MS, the second message including a second identifier for use by the MS in subsequent communication with the network.
US08416745B2

Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate performing scalable transmission power offsets for an access terminal to ensure that a listening base station can hear a signal transmitted from the access terminal. The power offset is generated as a function of a reverse link channel quality indicator feedback loop to permit the access terminal to adjust transmission power sufficiently without excessive power boosting, such as can occur under a static power-boosting scheme. Monitored parameters associated with channel quality indications may comprise erasure rate indicators provided by base stations in response to CQI signals from the access terminal, as well as mean received power levels associated with superframe preamble received at the access terminal.
US08416743B2

Methods and apparatuses for a specific station, operating as a non-AP (Access Point) station permitted to operate within available channels not used by a licensed device, to operate as an AP station in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) are disclosed. A specific protocol related to a registration of a station's location to operate within a white space id defined whose Information IDs comprises a registration request and a registration response. Using the defined registration request and registration response, the station can register its geographical location with a Registered Location Server (RLS), and operate as an AP STA within WS.
US08416733B2

Techniques for performing time tracking in a communication system utilizing a cyclic prefix are described. In an aspect, a receiver may detect for large timing errors based on early and late received samples obtained with early and late FFT windows, respectively. The receiver may derive first and second channel impulse response (CIR) estimates based on the early and late received samples, respectively, determine an early channel energy based on the first CIR estimate, determine a late channel energy based on the second CIR estimate, compute an update amount based on the early and late channel energies, and update the FFT window position based on the update amount. In another aspect, the receiver may perform time tracking with an inner time tracking loop (TTL) and an outer TTL. The receiver may update the FFT window position in coarse steps with the outer TTL and in fine steps with the inner TTL.
US08416731B2

Methods, devices and systems for improved transmission in a remote node-based wireless communication system is provided. In one embodiment, a method of wireless communication comprises receiving a downlink signal from a first node, demodulating said received downlink signal, generating a channel quality measurement (“CQM”) value of said demodulated downlink signal, determining said CQM value exceeds a first threshold, modulating said demodulated downlink signal to form a processed downlink signal, and cooperatively transmitting said processed downlink signal with said first node to a wireless device.
US08416729B2

User cooperation is an emerging transmission framework where users act as relays of each other to provide extra diversity paths for better overall performance. In various embodiments, systems and methods for transmitting data from a basestation to a mobile device in an adaptive communications network including user cooperation are provided. Among various embodiments, relaying is performed according to a time division duplex (TDD) system according to either a downlink-assisted relaying (DAR) which performs a relaying operation in a defined supplemental downlink timeslot or according to an uplink-assisted relaying (UAR) which performs a relaying operation in a defined supplemental uplink timeslot. Among other embodiments, relay transmissions according to a max-throughput scheduling algorithm which achieves a maximum system throughput without imposing any fairness constraints on users or according to a round-robin scheduling algorithm which achieves absolute fairness in terms of delays among the considered users. The downlink throughput is optimized from the basestation to the mobile device utilizing either amplify-and-forward (AF) or decode-and-forward (DF) cooperation protocols.
US08416727B2

A method and apparatus is provided for communicating a group message packet among wireless communication devices (WCDs) over a wide area communication network that includes a first infrastructure device (ID), a second ID and a third ID. A first communication connection is established between an envoy packet duplicator module (EPDM) that is in communication range of a source wireless communication device (WCD) and a first envoy module implemented at the first ID that is in communication range of a first destination WCD. The EPDM is implemented at the third ID. The source WCD communicates a group message packet from the source WCD to a third envoy module implemented at the third ID, which forwards the group message packet to the EPDM. The EPDM generates a first copy of the group message packet destined for the first destination WCD, and communicates the first copy of the group message packet to the first envoy module.
US08416719B2

Embodiments of a method and apparatus for generating an estimated non-linear echo signal are disclosed. One method includes receiving a plurality of data inputs. The plurality of data inputs are partitioned into subsets. A weight vector is computed for each of the subsets. A vector of addresses to memory locations is computed for each of the subsets. Values of interpolants are accessed at the memory locations (interpolation sites) based on the vector of addresses for each of the subsets. The estimated non-linear echo signal based is calculated on the values of the interpolants and the weight vector corresponding to each subset.
US08416715B2

Gaze tracking or other interest indications are used during a video conference to determine one or more audio sources that are of interest to one or more participants to the video conference, such as by determining a conversation from among multiple conversations that a subset of participants are participating in or listening to, for enhancing the audio experience of one or more of the participants.
US08416713B2

A computer algorithm (36) employing decision trees in order to assign wireless communication nodes (12-19,39-43) in a derived spatial arrangement. In a first embodiment, the algorithm (36) assigns nodes to an array of positions corresponding to the positions of luminaires (2-9) in a lighting array (1) to enable the lighting array (1) to be commissioned automatically. In a second embodiment, the algorithm (36) assigns nodes to control groups (49-51) such that the member nodes of a particular control group (49-51) may be controlled by a single switch or sensor (46-48). The use of decision trees allows the final assignment of nodes to be delayed until more information has been taken into account, thus, the algorithm (36) is able to select the best overall configuration.
US08416707B2

A method is provided for determining a transmission rate of a control response frame for acknowledging data receipt in a wireless local area network. The method includes obtaining transmission parameters of a transmitting station from a data transmission frame received from the transmitting station, searching a receiving station for transmission parameters which correspond to the transmission parameters of the transmitting station, determining the transmission rate of the control response frame according to transmission parameters of the receiving station if the transmission parameters corresponding to the transmission parameters of the transmitting station are found in the receiving station, and determining a maximum rate among a set of basic transmission rates to be the transmission rate of the control response frame if the transmission parameters corresponding to the transmission parameters of the transmitting station are not found in the receiving station.
US08416706B2

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided in which a plurality of uplink carriers are utilized in a cellular communications system. In an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless terminal configured for use in a cellular network transmits an uplink with a plurality of uplink carriers including an anchor carrier and a secondary carrier, and receives a downlink with a plurality of downlink carriers. Here, the wireless terminal provides feedback information, such as a channel quality indicator and an acknowledgment, corresponding to the plurality of downlink carriers, on an uplink channel on each of respective carriers in a subset of the plurality of uplink carriers.
US08416704B2

A radio communication system of a frequency hopping system, which carries out time division multiplex by TDMA and carries out communications while changing over two or more frequencies with respect to a radio link, wherein radio resources are efficiently utilized by establishing a plurality of radio links. A first communication apparatus periodically transmits control data by a frame cycle and a second communication apparatus which is a communication partner thereof receives the above-described control information during standby and secures synchronization in timing of frames and slots and timing of frequency hopping. Communication signals between both communication apparatuses and control information are overlapped in a slot to establish radio links. Once radio links are established in a plurality of slots other than a slot for transmitting control information, control is performed such that the control information is overlapped in the slots in which a radio link is established.
US08416702B2

A transfer path of a multicast packet is set to an output port, from among a plurality of outputs each associated with a plurality of input ports, which is specified to output the multicast packet. The number of completed path setting processes which is the number of processes for which path setting has been completed, is counted. It is determined whether or not the number of completed processes counted is identical with the number of processes for executing the multicast communication. When it is determined that the numbers are identical with each other, it is recognized that the transfer path setting of the multicast communication has been completed.
US08416699B1

A physical layer device for a network interface, in which the physical layer device includes a cable-test module and a data processing module. The physical layer module is configured to selectively test a cable connected to the physical layer device and to generate test data. The data processing module includes a first processor configured to process the test data and to generate test results indicating a cable status of the cable. The first processor is configured to selectively communicate the cable status to a second processor of a medium access controller.
US08416692B2

The present application relates to network configurations and specifically to scalable load balancing network configurations. One implementation includes an external client coupled to a scalable load balancing system. The scalable load balancing system includes a load balancing layer that is configured to encapsulate individual incoming packets of a packet flow from the external client. The load balancing layer is further configured to route the incoming packets to target devices on the system. The target devices can span multiple IP subnets. The incoming packets can pass through one or more load balancers of the load balancing layer before reaching individual target devices. Individual target devices can be configured to route at least some outgoing packets of the packet flow to the external client without passing through any of the one or more load balancers.
US08416690B2

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for responding to congestion levels in a communication system by rate adaptation. A congestion condition is indicated by marking data packets. In response to receiving an indication of congestion, a data rate is reduced. A rate reduction inhibit timer is started, and further rate reduction is initiated if congestion is indicated after the rate reduction inhibit timer has expired. A rate increase timer is used to initiate a rate increase if no indication of congestion is received during a rate increase time.
US08416683B2

The present invention discloses a method for protecting a data service in Metropolitan Area Transport Networks, a work path for services transport is established between a source node and a work destination node of the services in the Metropolitan Area Transport Network, and the method includes: setting a protection destination node using the nodes except the work destination node, and establishing a protection path between the source node and the protection destination node to protect the services of the work path; detecting by the source node the failure state of the links of the work path and the protection path, and the failure state of the nodes in the links; detecting by the work destination node and the protection destination node the failure state of the links connecting themselves with data devices, respectively, and notifying the source node when there is the failure state; switching the data services of the work path to the protection path after the source node detects the failure state of the link of the work path or the failure state of the nodes in the link, or receives a failure state notice from the work destination node.
US08416682B2

The present invention relates to a method and an implementing apparatus for cooperative multi-hop routing in a wireless network. According to the method the diversity gains and the interrupt probabilities in a cooperative communication manner between master nodes in the route are obtained, and the segmenting mode for sending packet data is determined accordingly, thus implementing cooperative communication in a multi-hop route, where signals having same information are sent through different paths, and multiple independently faded copies of data symbols may be obtained at a receiver end, thus obtaining higher reception reliability and higher transmission capacity, and improving performance of a communication process.
US08416681B2

A network system having duplicate lines of a primary system and a backup system between a transmitter apparatus and a receiver apparatus is provided. Each of the transmitter apparatus and the receiver apparatus includes an arithmetic operator for conducting a BIP-8 arithmetic operation and a CRC arithmetic operation on an input signal and thereby detecting a bit error. The transmitter apparatus transmits data to both lines. The receiver apparatus includes a switcher. When a bit error is detected in received data of the primary system. the switcher switches control of the primary system and the backup system. Hitless protection switching of a VC path is executed.
US08416680B2

In a communication apparatus, a receive data processor receives data and retrieves a group data record corresponding to the received data out of a group data memory. A forwarding processor forwards the received data according to the group data record retrieved by the receive data processor. The group data memory stores group data records which associate protection group identifiers with path selection data. The protection group identifiers each identify a protection group that provides logical paths constituting a redundant logical path for transporting a group of data, and their corresponding path selection data specifies which logical path to use to forward data in that protection group.
US08416667B2

Optically detectable marks readable by a wide range of optical systems are included on an optical storage medium. Among other uses, the marks may be used to determine the type of the optical storage medium in an optical device capable of reading multiple types of optical storage media.
US08416666B1

The present invention is related to systems and methods for characterizing circuit operation, and more particularly to systems and methods for modifying a data decoding process.
US08416662B2

An optical disc drive includes a disc holder, a pickup head, a focus servo, an S-curve identifying unit, a first counter, a second counter, a judging unit, a disc identifying unit, and a system controller. The optical disc drive can detect whether a disc exhibits vertical deviation. Upon detection, the optical disc drive restricts the maximum speed of data reading and writing. The judging unit determines whether the disc exhibits vertical deviation based on a comparison result of the number of the one or more S curves with a first preset value.
US08416659B1

Aspects of the disclosure provide a signal processing circuit to reduce signal distortions due to optical aberrations. The signal processing circuit includes a circuit configured to receive an electrical signal corresponding to a light beam reflected by a storage medium and filter the electrical signal to reduce distortions due to, for example, birefringence aberration in the light beam, and an equalizer configured to equalize the filtered electrical signal. In an example, the circuit is a median filter.
US08416656B2

A reproducing method includes: irradiating a laser spot for servo to which astigmatism making up a generally 45-degree angle in the tangential direction of an information recording track has been applied, and one or more laser spots for reproduction, onto a recording medium where a track group is formed with multiple information recording tracks adjacent with a narrower track pitch than a track pitch equivalent to optical cut-off, and also where a track group pitch is wider than the track pitch equivalent to optical cut-off; and subjecting one or more laser spots for reproduction to on-track control as to one of the information recording tracks by taking a tangential push pull signal obtained from reflected light information of the laser spot for servo as a tracking error signal, and performing tracking servo control using this tracking error signal, and reproducing data from the reflected light information thereof.
US08416653B2

The directory information on a file system recorded on an optical disc is cached onto a hard disk as a directory table. When accessing a file on the optical disc, a processor references the directory table so as to obtain information related to a position, on the disc medium, where the file to be accessed is located, without accessing the directory information on the optical disc. A disc I/O controller moves a pickup unit to the location indicated by the positional information on the file to be accessed and reads the data on the file. The pickup unit is used to detect signals from the optical disc.
US08416651B2

A servo processor for an optical disk drive is provided that includes: an analog-to-digital converter for converting versions of photodetector output signals into digital signals; and a digital signal processor configured to receive the digital signals, the digital signal processor being further configured to determine a focus error signal (FES) and a tracking error signal (TES) from the digital signals, the digital signal processor being further configured to process TES and FES through servo algorithms to produce tracking and focus control signals.
US08416640B2

A method for acquiring three-dimensional seismic data for sub-surface geologic features wherein a seismic source array is moved along a survey pattern having a plurality of source lines of unequal lengths that are substantially parallel to each other and intersect a receiver line. The survey pattern can be repeated in an overlapping and interleaved fashion to survey a larger area.
US08416633B2

A method and system are provided for maintaining a virtual ground node of an SRAM memory array at a minimum level sufficient for maintaining data retention. A circuit can maintain the virtual ground node at a virtual ground reference voltage of VDD−(1.5*Vth), or maintain 1.5*Vth across the memory cells, where Vth is a threshold voltage of an SRAM memory cell transistor and VDD is a positive supply voltage. By tracking the Vth of the memory cell transistors in the SRAM array, the circuit reduces leakage current while maintaining data integrity. A threshold voltage reference circuit can include one or more memory cell transistors (in parallel), or a specially wired memory cell to track the memory cell transistor threshold voltage. The value of the virtual ground reference voltage can be based on a ratio of feedback chain elements in a multiplier circuit.
US08416626B2

A set of non-volatile storage elements are subjected to a programming process in order to store data. During the programming process, one or more verification operations are performed to determine whether the non-volatile storage elements have reached their target condition to store the appropriate data. Programming can be stopped when all non-volatile storage elements have reached their target level or when the number of non-volatile storage elements that have not reached their target level is less than a number or memory cells that can be corrected using an error correction process during a read operation (or other operation). The number of non-volatile storage elements that have not reached their target level can be estimated by counting the number of non-volatile storage elements that have not reached a condition that is different (e.g., lower) than the target level.
US08416625B2

In one embodiment, a bit-line driver has a first driver having a source terminal coupled to a high-voltage supply bus and a drain terminal coupled to the bit-line, and a second driver having a source terminal coupled to a high-voltage return bus and a drain terminal coupled to the bit line. The bit-line driver also has a first pre-driver coupled to a gate terminal of the first driver and a second pre-driver coupled to a gate terminal of the second driver. The first and second drivers use a first type of transistor, and the first and second pre-drivers use a second type of transistor. The first type of transistor is rated at a higher voltage than the second type of transistor.
US08416624B2

Techniques are presented for use in memory devices to improve reliability and endurance by reducing the widening in state distributions, that occurs after multiple write/erase cycles. One set of techniques uses a pre-conditioning operation where a pulse series, which may include program and gentle erase, are applied to one or more wordlines while a voltage differential is applied in the wordline direction, bitline direction, or both. Another set of techniques uses a dual or multi-pulse program process, where an increased wordline-to-wordline differential used in the first pulse of a pair.
US08416620B2

A magnetic tunnel junction having a ferromagnetic free layer and a ferromagnetic pinned reference layer, each having an out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and an out-of-plane magnetization orientation, the ferromagnetic free layer switchable by spin torque. The magnetic tunnel junction includes a ferromagnetic assist layer proximate the free layer, the assist layer having a low magnetic anisotropy less than 700 Oe and positioned to apply a magnetic field on the free layer.
US08416617B2

A semiconductor device includes phase-change memory cells and an access circuit. The access circuit generates a plurality of bitwise comparison signals indicating different comparison events for respective write and read bit groups. At least a portion of the write data is then written to the phase-change memory cells according to a number of activated comparison signals for each comparison event, as well as according to a ratio of a set current pulse width and a reset current pulse width as applied to the of phase-change memory cells.
US08416610B2

Disclosed are methods, systems and devices including local data lines. In some embodiments, the device includes a local data line connected to a plurality of access devices, at least a portion of a capacitor plate connected to the plurality of access devices, and a global data line connected to the local data line by the capacitor plate.
US08416608B2

Methods, devices, and systems associated with multilevel phase change memory cells are described herein. One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include operating a phase change memory device by placing a phase change memory cell in a reset state and applying a selected programming pulse to the phase change memory cell in order to program the cell to one of a number of intermediate states between the reset state and a set state associated with the cell. The selected programming pulse includes an uppermost magnitude applied for a particular duration, the particular duration depending on to which one of the number of intermediate states the memory cell is to be programmed.
US08416601B2

A phase change memory apparatus includes: a plurality of sub blocks; a latch block connected in common with the sub blocks through a read bus and configured to latch data from one of the sub blocks; and a comparator connected in common with the sub blocks to receive data from a write bus, and configured to compare data of the latch block with the data of the write bus to generate a comparison signal, which is effective in improving areal efficiency by sharing the latch block among the sub blocks in the unit mat.
US08416600B2

Apparatus and methods are disclosed herein for a reverse-connection STT MTJ element of a MRAM to overcome the source degeneration effect when switching the magnetization of the MTJ element from the parallel to the anti-parallel direction. A memory cell of a MRAM having a reverse-connection MTJ element includes a switching device having a source, a gate, and a drain, and a reverse-connection MTJ device having a free layer, a fixed layer, and an insulator layer interposed between the free layer and the fixed layer. The free layer of the reverse-connection MTJ device is connected to the drain of the switching device and the fixed layer is connected to a bit line (BL). The reverse-connection MTJ device applies the lower IMTJ capability of the memory cell caused by the source degeneration effect to the less stringent IMTJ(AP->P) while preserving the higher IMTJ capability for the more demanding IMTJ(P->AP).
US08416597B2

A control device for a rectifier of a switching converter, the converter powered by an input voltage and suitable for providing an output current. The rectifier is suitable for rectifying an output current of the converter and includes at least one transistor. The control device is suitable for driving the at least one transistor. The control device has a first circuit suitable for identifying the start and the end of every converter switching half-cycle and measuring the duration thereof, a second circuit suitable for generating a signal for turning on the transistor after a given number of measured converter switching half-cycles and when the output current of the converter becomes greater than a reference current.
US08416590B2

The present power supply device includes a microcomputer that detects a current input to an active filter, a voltage input to the active filter, and a voltage output from the active filter, decreases a target voltage as the input current increases, and controls an IGBT to turn on/off the IGBT to match the input current and the input voltage in phase with each other and also match the output voltage to the target voltage. Thus, as the input current increases, the target voltage is decreased. A power supply terminal can have a voltage with a low noise level.
US08416587B2

Methods and circuits for synchronous rectifier control are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a synchronous rectifier control circuit can include: (i) a first sense circuit to sense a voltage between first and second power terminals of a synchronous rectifier device prior to a turn-on of the device, where a timing of the turn-on of the synchronous rectifier device is adjustable using a first control signal generated from the first sense circuit; (ii) a second sense circuit configured to sense a voltage between the first and second power terminals after a turn-off of the device, where a timing of the turn-off of the device is adjustable using a second control signal generated from the second sense circuit; and (iii) a driver control circuit configured to receive the first and second control signals, and to generate therefrom a gate control signal configured to drive a control terminal of the synchronous rectifier device.
US08416584B2

A power supply including a converter, a capacitance, and a hiccup control module. The converter converts an input voltage to both an output voltage and a preliminary standby voltage when in its active state. The capacitance stores the preliminary standby voltage which is charged to an upper voltage level when the converter is in its active state and which is discharged to a lower voltage level when the converter is in its inactive state. During the standby mode, the hiccup control module operates the converter in hiccup mode by toggling between placing the converter into its inactive state when the preliminary standby voltage is charged to the upper voltage level and placing the converter into its active state when the preliminary standby voltage is discharged to the lower voltage level. The hiccup mode of the power supply eliminates a need for a separate standby converter.
US08416583B2

An energy output circuit and its control method includes a switch device (2), a transformer (4) and a controller (1). The switch device (2) is connected between a primary of the transformer (4) and an input power source in series. The controller (1) calculates an energy output waveform and sends a command according to a request or a level to control the switch device (2), to control the on/off time of the primary of the transformer (4). The transformer (4) is an ordinary low-frequency transformer.
US08416582B2

A DC-DC converter includes a plurality of switch elements connected in series between both ends of a DC power source, a series circuit of a primary winding of a transformer and a capacitor, connected between a connection point of the plurality of switch elements and an end of the DC power source, a rectifying-smoothing circuit to rectify and smooth a voltage generated by a secondary winding of the transformer into a DC voltage, and a controller to change a switching frequency of the plurality of switch elements according to a feedback signal generated from the DC voltage and alternately turn on/off the plurality of switch elements. The controller includes a nonlinear response unit 11a to nonlinearly change the switching frequency according to a feedback amount represented by the feedback signal.
US08416580B2

According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a first housing comprising a first wall and a second wall located on an opposite side of the first wall; a second housing; a hinge configured to connect the first housing to the second housing so that the first housing and the second housing can be pivoted relative to each other; a component housed in a component housing portion formed at the first wall; and a fixing member comprising a housing fixing portion fixed to the first housing, a hinge fixing portion to which the hinge is fixed, and a supporting portion configured to support the component at a location close to the first wall, the supporting portion being located between the first wall and the second wall.
US08416577B2

The present invention relates to a coreless substrate and a method for making the same. The method for making the coreless substrate includes: (a) providing a carrier and a first conductive layer, wherein the carrier has a first surface and a second surface, and the first conductive layer is disposed on the first surface of the carrier; (b) forming a first embedded circuit on the first conductive layer; (c) forming a first dielectric layer so as to cover the first embedded circuit; (d) removing the carrier; (e) removing part of the first conductive layer so as to form at least one first pad; and (f) forming a first solder mask so as to cover the first embedded circuit and the first dielectric layer and to expose the first pad. Therefore, the coreless substrate of the present invention has high density of layout and involves low manufacturing cost.
US08416576B2

An integrated circuit card includes a laminate, solder bumps, a die and a package. The laminate includes a core board sandwiched between two conductive layers. The conductive layers are connected to each other with solder bumps filled in apertures defined in the core board. The die is provided on one of the conductive layers. The package is provided on the die and an area of the conductive layer around the die.
US08416573B2

A fluid cooling system comprising a pipe unit through which coolant fluid flows. The pipe unit is provided with one or more actuators at least a part of which is formed of shape memory alloy. The actuators are configured to extend by applied heat.
US08416571B2

A storage apparatus includes: a storage drive providing a physical storage area for creating a logical storage area used by an external apparatus; a storage controller including a plurality of central processing units (CPUs) executing data write processing from the external apparatus to the storage drive, and data read processing from the storage drive; a plurality of cooling fans cooling the storage drive; a temperature sensor detecting a temperature of air introduced or discharged by the cooling fans; and a revolving speed sensor detecting a revolving speed of each cooling fan. Any of the CPUs executes operation control processing in which, through a data network path to the storage drive for the data write and read processing, measurement values of the temperature and revolving speed sensors are acquired and a revolving speed setup value of the fans is calculated and is transmitted to the cooling fans.
US08416564B2

An expansion interface module having a signal gain circuit is disposed on a case panel of a computer and electrically connected to a main board which is disposed within the computer. The expansion interface module includes a circuit board, a connecting port, a signal gain circuit and a plurality of connectors. The connecting port, the signal gain circuit and the connectors are located at the circuit board and electrically connected thereto. The main board delivers signal to the circuit board through a cable which is connected to the connecting port located on the circuit board, the signal gain circuit amplifies and enhances the signal, and then the connectors output the amplified and enhanced signal to external devices, thus, the signal will not be attenuated, damaged or lost during over transmission distance.
US08416562B2

A mounting apparatus for a data storage device includes a bracket, a plurality of shock absorbers positioned between the data storage device and the bracket, a plurality of fasteners, and two elastic members. The bracket includes a bottom plate, and two sidewalls. Each of the plurality of shock absorbers includes a shock absorber pad, and a bushing protruding from an outer side of the shock absorber pad. The shock absorber pad defines a first through hole therein. Each of the plurality of fasteners includes a post and a head portion. The post is passed through the bushing, the first through hole of the shock absorber pad to engage one of a plurality of second mounting holes of the data storage device. Each of the two elastic members is fixed to the inner side of one of the two sidewalls of the bracket.
US08416548B2

A device for controlling a transistor, the device comprising an amplifying device (15) for controlling the transistor gate via an output control signal, the device including a first input connected to the transistor drain, the whole assembly forming a first connection, a second input connected to the transistor source, the whole assembly forming a second connection. The control device also comprises: at least one protecting device including at least one switching element (T1) which is inserted in series in the first connection of the amplifying device (15) to prevent a leakage current from passing through the first connection, and a device generating a regulating voltage to control the transistor, the generating device being configured such that there exists the same number of semiconductor junctions between the first and second connections. The invention is in particular applicable on battery charging devices.
US08416547B2

Described herein is technology for, among other things, short-circuit protection. The technology involves sensing a current that is based on an output current and generating a current sense signal in response. The technology further involves buffering the current sense signal. The technology further involves limiting the output current when it exceeds a threshold value.
US08416546B2

A method for detecting the state of a load device which can be connected to a switching connection, wherein the switching connection can be coupled to, and decoupled from, a predefined switching potential. A voltage drop across the switching connection is used as a basis for detecting whether the load device is connected to the switching connection, the load device is not connected to the switching connection or there is a short circuit between the switching connection and a first or a second switching potential. An additional current source is connected to the switching connection at the same time as the switching connection is decoupled from the predefined switching potential.
US08416542B2

Disclosed is an electronic device capable of controlling a power supply interrupt according to the state of water leakage. A portable telephone (1) is equipped with a water leakage detection unit (60) that detects a physical quantity which changes according to the state of water leakage and a CPU (49) that interrupts a power supply in response to the detection result from the water leakage detection unit (60). When the electrostatic capacity detected by the water leakage detection unit (60) is greater than or equal to a threshold value A and less than a threshold value B, the CPU (49) continues to interrupt the power supply until a time T1 elapses, and when the electrostatic capacity detected by the water leakage detection unit (60) is equal to or greater than the threshold value B, said CPU continues to interrupt the power supply until a time T2 which is longer than the time T1 elapses.
US08416531B2

Embodiments provide head suspension load beams formed from a sheet of material with one or more stiffening members molded on the sheet. In some cases the sheet material includes an out-of-plane portion extending out at a nonzero angle, and the stiffening member includes a rib formed on the sheet material about the out-of-plane portion of the sheet material. In some cases a void extending through the sheet material connects portions of a stiffening member on opposite surfaces of the sheet material. Ribs of stiffening material may also provide flow pathways for directing moldable material to portions of the sheet, such as for forming a rib about the sheet edge. A method of making a load beam includes placing a sheet material within an injection mold and bending a portion of the sheet material during the molding process.
US08416524B2

A spindle motor includes a base portion, a rotor hub, a stator, and a circuit board. The base portion preferably includes a through hole and is arranged to spread out radially around a central axis. The rotor hub is arranged above the base portion to rotate about the central axis. The stator is arranged above the base portion, and includes coils each including at least one lead wire. The circuit board is arranged radially outward of the through hole, and arranged on a lower surface of the base portion. The base portion includes a communicating groove arranged to join the through hole and the circuit board to each other. The at least one lead wire of the coils is arranged to pass inside the through hole and the communicating groove to be electrically connected to the circuit board. The through hole is sealed with a sealant.
US08416522B1

A disk drive motor hub includes a top cylindrical portion defining a longitudinal axis, a middle cylindrical portion proximate the top cylindrical portion, and a bottom cylindrical portion proximate the middle cylindrical portion. The middle cylindrical portion defines an upper mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the upper mounting surface extending radially beyond the top cylindrical portion, and the bottom cylindrical portion defines a lower mounting surface substantially normal to the longitudinal axis, the lower mounting surface extending radially beyond the middle cylindrical portion.
US08416510B2

An imaging lens includes a first lens group having a first lens that directs a concave surface to an image plane side and is negative; a second lens group having a second lens that directs a concave surface to an object side and is positive; an aperture; a third lens group having a third lens that is positive; and a fourth lens group having a joined lens that is composed of a fourth lens that is positive and a fifth lens that is negative. In the configuration, when the whole lens system has a focal length f and a composite focal length of the first lens group to the third lens group is Fa, the imaging lens satisfies the following relation: 0.3
US08416507B2

A zoom lens assembly includes a first barrel including a first lens group; a second barrel including a second lens group that is aligned with respect to an optical axis of the first lens group, the second barrel disposed in front of the first lens group so as to be position-adjustable along the optical axis with respect to the first barrel; and a first ray shielding plate disposed in front of the first barrel and between the first barrel and the second barrel, and whose position is varied to be close to a center of the optical axis or to be distant from the center of the optical axis so as to block a portion of incident light that enters into the first barrel according to relative positions of the first barrel and the second barrel.
US08416500B2

A device for beam forming includes at least two laser light sources capable of emitting laser radiation and an optical device capable of influencing the laser radiation such that the laser radiation has an intensity distribution in a working plane that at least partially corresponds to a top-hat distribution at least with regard to one direction. The laser beam may be at least partially overlapped by the optical device. The laser beam is a single-mode laser beam at least with regard to a direction perpendicular to the distribution direction.
US08416497B2

A lens array unit focuses the light emitted from light emitting elements on the photoconductive drum. A longitudinally extending lens array includes a plurality of lenses and projections. The lenses are aligned in a row substantially perpendicular to optical axes of the lenses. The projections are disposed on both sides of the row, and extend outwardly further than the lens surfaces to protect the lens surfaces of the plurality of lenses. A light shielding member includes a mounting portion that holds the lens plate and a light shielding portion that shields part light passing through the lenses.
US08416494B2

A screen includes; a plurality of layers including a diffusion layer that diffuses incident light; an elastic member that movably supports the diffusion layer with respect to an arbitrary holding part; and a driving unit that moves the diffusion layer in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of light that is incident to the diffusion layer.
US08416490B2

A catadioptric projection objective for imaging a pattern provided in an object plane of the projection objective onto an image plane of the projection objective has a first, refractive objective part for imaging the pattern provided in the object plane into a first intermediate image; a second objective part including at least one concave mirror for imaging the first intermediate imaging into a second intermediate image; and a third, refractive objective part for imaging the second intermediate imaging onto the image plane; wherein the projection objective has a maximum lens diameter Dmax, a maximum image field height Y′, and an image side numerical aperture NA; wherein COMP1=Dmax/(Y′·NA2) and wherein the condition COMP1<10 holds.
US08416479B2

Holographic display device comprising a first EASLM and a second EASLM, the pair permitting independent modification of phase and amplitude, in which holographic reconstruction is visible through one or more virtual observer windows. An advantage is that an observer may view a holographic reconstruction through one or more virtual observer windows from a device housing a pair of EASLMs which permit independent modification of phase and amplitude.
US08416477B2

A method and systems for calibrating a document scanner are provided. The scanner calibration method includes providing a geometrically operative black absorption device having a structural geometry that is capable of receiving light and limiting propagation of the received light, where the black calibration target has a total light reflectance of less than one percent. The method further includes powering on a light source of a document scanner to provide light toward the black absorption device, where the light source generates a noise signal when providing the light. The method further includes detecting, by a sensor of the document scanner, light reflected from the black absorption device and generating calibration signals based on the reflected light and the noise signal.
US08416464B2

Line spacing values in a document image are extracted and a variance is calculated for fluctuations in the line spacing values. When the calculated variance is higher than a preset threshold value, the document image is determined as having watermark information embedded therein. Such use of the variance in the line spacing values enables high-speed determination of the presence or absence of line-spacing watermark information. At this time, it is possible to speed up the determination by using only some line spacing values in the document, instead of using all line spacing values.
US08416458B2

Disclosed are methods and apparatus for reproducing an image using one or more halftone screens for one or more respective colorants in the methods and apparatus reducing the beating of one or more excitation frequencies with one or more harmonic frequencies associated with the halftone screens. According to an exemplary method, one or more halftone screens are selected such that the fundamental frequency of an excitation frequency coincides with a harmonic frequency of a halftone screen.
US08416457B2

A printing apparatus is adapted to perform printing of image data corresponding to a plurality of pixels representing a predetermined image. The printing apparatus includes a halftone processing section including a comparison section and an error diffusion section. The comparison section is configured to compare, for at least one of the pixels, a related grayscale value relating to a data grayscale value of the input image data with a corresponding one of a plurality of thresholds included in a dither mask. The error diffusion section is configured to generate dot data for indicating the presence or absence of formation of a dot in each of the pixels according to an error diffusion method, on the basis of the data grayscale values of the input image data, and to control the easiness of the dot formation according to the error diffusion method, on the basis of a comparison result of the comparison section.
US08416455B2

An image-processor includes an acquiring unit and a correcting unit. The acquiring unit acquires image data and ambient light data indicating a degree of a first color temperature with respect to a second color temperature. The first color temperature represents a color temperature for a first ambient light. The second color temperature represents a color temperature for a second ambient light. A first image, which corresponds to the image data, is perceived in the first ambient light as an image having one color appearance. The first image is perceived in the second ambient light as an image having another color appearance. The correcting unit corrects the image data such that a color appearance of the first image under the first ambient light are reproduced under the second ambient light. The correcting unit corrects the image data based on the ambient light data such that an image based the corrected image data is brighter as the second color temperature is higher than the first color temperature and such that the image corresponding to the corrected image data is darker as the second color temperature is lower than the first color temperature.
US08416452B2

An image forming apparatus includes: an image output unit that outputs an image; and an image processing unit that converts an input image signal to an output image signal and outputs the image signal to the image output unit, the image output unit having: an image carrier that carries at least a latent image; plural developer containers containing mutually different color developers used for developing the latent image carried on the image carrier; and a transport member for repeated operations of attachment of the developer contained in one of the plural developer containers, transport of the attached developer to the image carrier, and removal of remaining developer, and the image processing unit having a change unit that changes a color conversion characteristic of an image signal in correspondence with color mixture of the mutually different color developers.
US08416450B2

For use with lazy-portrait narrow-end to narrow-end (LPEE) formatted document pages printed on a continuous web of material, a system and method for assembling correctly page-sequenced document sets that utilizes a slitter for separating the LPEE formatted document pages into two separate streams of continuous sheets, a turn-bar assembly positioned to flip only one of the continuous sheet streams, a cutter that produces separates pages from both the flipped stream of sheets and non-flipped stream of sheets, a collator for collating all of the separate pages into the correctly page-sequenced document sets, and a controller for tracking the LPEE formatted document pages and overseeing the assembly of the correctly page-sequenced document sets.
US08416442B2

The present invention provides a communication system including: a transmitter section that transmits a signal having a predetermined waveform; plural receiver sections that receive the signal via signal transmission paths; a physical quantity measuring section that measures a physical quantity of the signal transmission paths, based on the transmission time of the signal from the transmitter section to the receiver section; a correction section that corrects a signal received via the signal transmission paths, and corrects a signal transmitted from the transmitter section and outputs the signal to the signal transmission path; and a setting section that sets, in the correction section, a correction amount in accordance with the physical quantity for correcting a signal received via the signal transmission path, and/or a correction amount in accordance with the physical quantity for correcting a signal transmitted from the transmitter section and outputting to the signal transmission path.
US08416440B2

A mechanism for reserving a line for use in facsimile transmission before issuance of a user's instruction to execute facsimile transmission is provided. To accomplish this, when a user has initiated settings for facsimile transmission (step S601), a line that is in the “open” state is reserved with reference to a line-use status table (step S603). Then, upon receipt of a user's instruction to execute facsimile transmission (step S605), the reserved line is acquired and facsimile data is transmitted using the acquired line (step S606).
US08416433B2

A method for driving a device that enables using a device without using a conventional device driver that is dependent on the operating system of the computer. The method has a binary data conversion step which receives a mark-up language document written in a mark-up language and converts the mark-up language document to binary data composed of commands and data that can be processed by the device. The method also includes a binary data output step in which the converted binary data is output to the device.
US08416430B2

Disclosed is an information processing apparatus in which various kinds of information are processed in either the real time processing mode or the non-real time processing mode. The apparatus includes an operation display section to accept an inputted instruction, an image processing section to apply a processing to image information and a processor provided with a plurality of same cores. The real-time processing unnecessary process that is related to the operation display section, is fixed onto one of the plurality of same cores so that the one of the plurality of same cores is in charge of controlling the real-time processing unnecessary process, while, the real-time processing necessary process that is related to the image processing section, is fixed onto another one of the plurality of same cores so that the other one of the plurality of same cores is in charge of controlling the real-time processing necessary process.
US08416424B2

A laser self-mixing measuring device is provided, comprising a laser with a laser cavity and a surface arranged along the optical path of the laser beam which redirects incident laser light back into the laser cavity. The surface comprises a periodic structure which diffracts the laser light into partial beams.
US08416422B2

A lightwave interference measurement apparatus includes a phase detector configured to detect a phase of a signal of an interference between light from a distance-measurement light source and reflected on a reference surface and light from the distance-measurement light source and reflected on a target surface, an intensity detector configured to detect an intensity of light from a non-distance-measurement light source having a wavelength different from that of the distance-measurement light source and reflected on the reference surface and an intensity of light from the non-distance-measurement light source and reflected on the target surface, and an analyzer configured to calculate a geometric distance based on an optical path length calculated from the phase and a wavelength of the distance-measurement light source, and an average value of a vapor pressure distribution between the target surface and the reference surface calculated from intensity information of the light from the non-distance-measurement light source.
US08416416B2

The invention provides an SPR measuring method and a measuring system thereof. According to the measuring method, first, a linear-polarized coherent broadband pulsed light beam is incident onto a surface of a sample under detection of a SPR sensing device to cause reflection; next, a time-domain monotonous chirp is performed on the incident coherent broadband pulsed light and/or the SPR reflected light; finally, the time-domain monotonically chirped SPR reflected light beam is detected, and information of the SPR effect is obtained according to the detected signal. According to the invention, the spectrum detection method used in conventional slow wavelength interrogation is converted into the high-speed real-time detection of time-domain pulse shape signals. Thus, the procedure of the SPR reaction may be monitored closely, and dynamical curves with very high time resolution may be obtained, in that case, fast biochemical reaction procedures may be monitored. As each part of the measuring system may remain fixed during the measurement, a compact, miniature and portable system may be realized. The interrogation part of the sensing system is easy-to-realize, of low cost and compatible with various SPR devices and components.
US08416412B2

There is provided a method for determining residual errors, compromising the following steps: in a first step, a test plate comprising a first pattern is used, and in a second step, a test plate comprising a second pattern which is reflected and/or rotated with respect to the first step is used.
US08416406B2

A sensing device that produces a Raman signal includes micro-rods or nano-rods arranged on a substrate in a two-dimensional (2D) array, each of the rods having a length in a single row being substantially the same, with the rod length of each row being different from the rod length of each other row. Each row of rods has a respective resonant vibration frequency that varies from row to row. A source of vibration energy, operatively connected to the substrate, excites vibration in each of the rods such that a responding row resonates when an exciting frequency approaches the resonant vibration frequency of the responding row. A method includes exposing the 2D array to a light source and analyzing Raman scattering at each rod of the 2D array to render a Raman map.
US08416402B2

To provide a defect inspection apparatus for inspecting defects of a specimen without lowering resolution of a lens, without depending on a polarization characteristic of a defect scattered light, and with high detection sensitivity that is realized by the following. A detection optical path is branched by at least one of spectral splitting and polarization splitting, a spatial filter in the form of a two-dimensional array is disposed after the branch, and only diffracted light is shielded by the spatial filter in the form of a two-dimensional array.
US08416399B2

A method for determining the surface topography of a coated object and for the simultaneous spatially resolved determination of the thickness of the layer on the coated object. It is provided that the surface topography is measured with the aid of white-light interferometry, the thickness of the layer is measured by the principle of reflectometry, and by using, for both measurements, a shared radiation source having an electromagnetic radiation spectrum, which is reflected from the layer surface in a first wavelength range contained in the radiation spectrum and which penetrates into the layer in a second wavelength range contained in the radiation spectrum. Also described is a corresponding optical measuring instrument. The method and the optical measuring instrument make simultaneous highly accurate surface measurement of the surface topography and of the layer thickness of coated objects possible.
US08416393B2

Provided is a lithography system operation to include a first aperture or a second aperture. Each of the first and second apertures has two pairs of radiation-transmitting regions where one pair of radiation-transmitting regions are larger than a second pair. For an aperture, each pair of radiation-transmitting regions are on different diametrical axis. In an embodiment, one aperture is used for x-dipole illumination and the second aperture is used for y-dipole illumination.
US08416369B2

A polarizer protective film containing a cellulose acylate having a total acyl substitution degree of from 2.2 to less than 2.5 and a polymer prepared by polymerizing an acrylate ester or a methacrylate ester.
US08416366B2

A liquid crystal display (LCD) and a back light module are provided. The back light module includes a light guide plate (LGP) and a plurality of light-emitting devices. The LGP has a plurality of partitioning grooves, a bottom surface, a light exiting surface, a first side and a second side. The bottom surface is opposite to the light exiting surface. The first side and the second side are located at the two opposite side surfaces of the LGP. The extension direction of each of the partitioning grooves extends from the first side towards the second side. Each of the partitioning grooves has an opening and the opening is located at the bottom surface. The plurality of light-emitting devices are disposed at least one of the first side and the second side. The liquid crystal panel of the LCD is disposed at the light exiting surface.
US08416362B2

To provide an electric circuit structure with which the occurrence of sound generation caused by vibration of a circuit element mounted on a flexible substrate connected to a circuit board is suppressed. The electric circuit structure includes a mechanical member (9) in the form of a frame having a closed bottom; a circuit board (1) on the surface of which an electric circuit element is formed, the circuit board being accommodated in the mechanical member (9); a flexible substrate (10) that has a connecting terminal formed on one end (10a) thereof, the connecting terminal being connected to an electrode terminal (7) formed on the circuit board (1), and that is folded back and fixed to a rear face of the mechanical member (9) at the other end opposite to the one end (10a); and a circuit element mounted on a portion of the flexible substrate (10) that is folded back to the rear face of the mechanical member (9), wherein the flexible substrate (10) is fixed to the rear face of the mechanical member (9) via a nonwoven fabric adhesive tape employing a nonwoven fabric as a base material.
US08416357B2

A display device includes a pixel electrode disposed on a first substrate, and including a first portion, a second portion and a connection portion disposed between the first portion and the second portion, a capacitor line disposed on the first substrate and between the first substrate and the connection portion, a nonsymmetrical shaped capacitor electrode disposed on the first substrate and overlapping the pixel electrode and the capacitor line, and electrically connected to the pixel electrode through contact holes, and a common electrode disposed on a second substrate and including first and second opening patterns disposed overlapping the first portion and the second portion of the pixel electrode, respectively.
US08416356B2

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate which sandwiches a liquid crystal between itself and the first substrate, wherein the first substrate has thin film transistors and a wiring connection portion in which are formed terminals connected to the thin film transistors, a wiring substrate connected to the terminals is disposed in the wiring connection portion, the second substrate is a plastic substrate, and has an adhesive layer and an inorganic insulating layer formed on top of the adhesive layer, and the adhesive layer covers the wiring connection portion and one portion of the wiring substrate.
US08416354B2

The present invention discloses a display apparatus with display switching modes, the display apparatus includes a display device; an image mode switch device formed corresponding to the display device, wherein the image mode switch device includes: a liquid crystal layer; a first electrode set on a side of the liquid crystal layer; a second electrode set between the first electrode and the liquid crystal layer; a third electrode set on another side of the liquid crystal layer; and a voltage providing device electrically coupled to the image mode switch device to supply different voltage to the first electrode, the second electrode and the third electrode for switching displaying mode; the display apparatus may display the 2D, 3D and IP stereo image by using the electrodes with different pattern and voltage on the first electrode, the second electrode and the third electrode.
US08416353B2

A 3D display system has a timing control device for synchronizing the opening and closing of shutters on a viewing apparatus. The display system comprises a display unit configured to alternately show a right image and a left image in a sequence. The display unit has a backlight unit to illuminate a display panel. The light output from the backlight unit is frequency-modulated with one frequency when a right image is displayed and another frequency when the left image is displayed. The viewing apparatus has a photo-detector and a frequency discrimination circuit to detect the modulation frequencies in the light output. Based on the detected modulation frequencies, the shutters on the viewing apparatus can be opened and closed in a coordinated way.
US08416352B2

An alignment marker includes first marker element pieces for a first viewpoint and second marker element pieces for a second viewpoint different in plan shape. The first and second marker element pieces are respectively formed by dividing marker elements in such a way as to be equal in width to a predetermined marker element pitch. These pieces are arranged at the marker element pitch along an optical image separation direction of the optical image separation element. A predetermined number of the adjoining first and second pieces constitute one repetition cycle. A width of the repetition cycle is in accordance with an arrangement pitch of constituent elements of the optical image separation element. An existing optical image separation element can be used without the formation of the markers thereon and the alignment operation can be performed with a usual aligning and bonding apparatus.
US08416350B2

A detachable screen guard assembly mounted on a screen frame of a monitor comprising a screen protector and a fastening apparatus. The screen protector is transparent and made of glass, acrylic, or plastic having excellent transparency.The fastening apparatus includes at least one couple of a hooking member and a bracket member. The bracket member is mounted on the screen frame and the hooking member is mounted on the screen protector. The hooking member attaches mechanically to the bracket member. Because the hooking member can be disengaged from the bracket member, the screen protector can be detached from the screen frame to be cleaned or mounted on another monitor that has a bracket member installed.The invention also includes a method for securing a screen protector to a monitor by strapping the screen protector to the monitor support.
US08416347B2

In a method of automatically selecting audio format for output signal of a tuner, a SAW filter is configured to a bandwidth of 5.5 MHz for filtering IF signal so as to generate CVBS signal and SSIF signal. Then, band-pass filters are used to detect a back porch of the CVBS signal thereby determining whether signal amplitude at a center frequency of 4.43 MHz is greater than that at a center frequency of 3.58 MHz. Finally, a bandwidth of 4.5 MHz is assigned to the SAW filter for filtering the intermediate frequency signal to re-generate the CVBS signal when the amplitude at 4.43 MHz is smaller than that at 3.58 MHz. Further, a video decoder decodes the CVBS signal to determine a video format from NTSC, PAL-M, and PAL-N formats, and an audio decoder decodes the SSIF signal to determine an audio format from MN, BG, DK, and I formats.
US08416345B2

A host computer includes a display and a TV module. The TV module includes an obtaining module, a network module, and a subtitle displaying module. The obtaining module obtains a TV program and details relevant to it by means of the TV module. The network module finds subtitle data via a network according to the program name and a selected language. The subtitle displaying module displays the subtitles synchronously with the TV program.
US08416339B2

A method for using a capture device to capture at least two video signals corresponding to a scene, includes: providing a two-dimensional image sensor having a plurality of pixels; reading a first group of pixels from the image sensor at a first frame rate to produce a first video signal of the image scene; reading a second group of pixels from the image sensor at a second frame rate for producing a second video signal; and using at least one of the video signals for adjusting one or more of the capture device parameters.
US08416338B2

There is provided an imaging device which detects a focused position focused on a desired subject in an imaging range in response to a detection instruction, acquires the image data obtained by imaging the subject image at the focused position as saving image data in response to a release instruction, and sequentially changing a focal position with the focused position as a reference and acquiring the image data obtained by imaging the subject image at a plurality of changed different focal positions as saving image data.
US08416329B2

Unit cells each having a plurality of photodiodes 101a and 101b, a plurality of transfer MOSFETs 102a and 102b provided in correspondence to the plurality of photodiodes, respectively and a common amplifying MOSFET 104 for amplifying and outputting signals read out from the plurality of diodes are arranged two-dimensionally, and, plural photodiodes are disposed around the photodiode 101b and trapping regions 130, 134, 135 and 132 are for trapping excessive carriers from the photodiode 101b are provided between the photodiode 101b and the plural photodiodes, respectively.
US08416327B2

A plurality of image pickup areas is disposed in a semiconductor substrate so as to be separate from one another. Disposed in each of the image pickup areas are rows and columns of unit pixels, each of which includes a photoelectric conversion part and signal scanning circuit parts. Formed on the image pickup areas of the semiconductor substrate and opposite a interconnect layer formed on the semiconductor substrate are optical image formation lenses used for forming object images. Further, between the image pickup areas on the semiconductor substrate is a driving circuit area in which driving circuits are formed for driving the signal scanning circuit parts.
US08416326B2

An NchMOS transistor Q71 on the input side of a current mirror 70 is made function as a voltage operating-point setting portion so that a pixel signal line potential (voltage of a horizontal signal line 20) would be constantly stable nearly at the GND. Then, an amplification factor and linearity become good in an amplification transistor in the solid imaging device 3. A current copier 90 is made function as a current sampling portion so as to receive a signal current IIN of the solid imaging device 3 through the current mirror 70 to carry out sampling of a pixel signal in a resetting period in the shape of current component as the pixel signal is. Calculating differential between a current component in a detecting period and an offset current, which is the current component in a resetting period in sampling, allows an offset component included in the pixel signal to be removed and only pure signal Isig to be picked up at an output terminal Iout, so that the FPN restraining function can be fulfilled.
US08416314B2

A method for processing images includes: obtaining video images or capturing a series of images in real time; detecting difference between two adjacent images, and reserving one of the images when the difference is less than a preset threshold; detecting feature information of the obtained images; and performing definition-related treatment for the images detected as having the feature information, comparing definition of each image with a preset definition criterion, and reserving clear images.
US08416311B2

In one embodiment, the ADC includes a modulator configured to generate a symbol sequence, an operand generator configured to generate operands, and a selector configured to selectively output at least one of (1) a reference value and (2) at least one of the operands based on the symbol sequence. The ADC further includes an accumulator configured to accumulate output from the selector.
US08416296B2

Techniques are disclosed for detecting the occurrence of unusual events in a sequence of video frames Importantly, what is determined as unusual need not be defined in advance, but can be determined over time by observing a stream of primitive events and a stream of context events. A mapper component may be configured to parse the event streams and supply input data sets to multiple adaptive resonance theory (ART) networks. Each individual ART network may generate clusters from the set of inputs data supplied to that ART network. Each cluster represents an observed statistical distribution of a particular thing or event being observed that ART network.
US08416295B2

A surveillance data recording device includes a display, a digital tuner, and a control mechanism. The display displays a received surveillance data signal over a first bandwidth. The control mechanism allows a user to select a frequency band of interest. The digital tuner truncates the received signal to produce a narrowband signal comprised only of portions of the received signal that are within the frequency band of interest. A digital storage unit, such as a fixed or removable hard drive or solid state storage device, stores the narrowband signal over a period of time.
US08416294B2

A positioning device comprising: a movement measurement unit that measures relative position variation; a positioning unit that enables measurement of positional information; and a control unit that starts continuous measurement of position variation by the movement measurement unit and measurement of positional information by the positioning unit at each predetermined timing for at least a specified position, and determines a position determination spot based on positional information of any of the at least two positions in a case that the difference between the amount of position variation and the amount of relative position variation is determined by the determining unit to be within a predetermined range, and calculates positional information of the specified position based on positional information of the position determination spot and information of position variation that has been continuously measured by the movement measurement unit.
US08416289B2

A light-field display is provided that renders a light-field at one or more viewing apertures through a microlens array. The light-field display includes a display such as a monitor that is positioned behind the microlens array. The monitor and the microlens array are positioned so that light emitted from a pixel of the monitor reaches the one or more apertures through at most one microlens from the microlens array. For each microlens in the microlens array, the pixels of the monitor visible through that microlens of the microlens array at the one or more apertures is determined, and a light-field is then rendered at each of the one or more viewing apertures by rendering the determined pixels corresponding to each microlens.
US08416284B2

A stereoscopic image capturing apparatus includes a first image acquisition unit including a first image formation lens unit forming an image of an object, and a first image sensor having a plurality of capturing pixels to receive the image formed by the first formation lens unit, and a second image acquisition unit including a second image formation lens unit forming a image of the object, a first lens array unit having a plurality of lenses to receive the image formed by the second image formation lens, and a second image sensor having a plurality of capturing pixels to receive the formed image through the first lens array unit. The second image acquisition unit is disposed at a distance in a horizontal direction from the first image acquisition unit when viewed from the object.
US08416270B2

The present invention provides a labeling method for a blu-ray disc, which includes following steps: an initial radius is selected on a blank area of the blu-ray disc, and a pattern is determined; an initial physical sector number is calculated using the initial radius, and the pattern is transformed into a description data; according to the initial physical sector number and a size of the description data, a sequential recorded region of the blu-ray disc is divided into at least two sequential recorded regions, and information of the at least two sequential recorded regions are updated in a table of content, wherein an initial position of one of the sequential recorded regions is the initial physical sector number, and a length of the one of the sequential recorded regions is the size of the description data; the description data is written from the initial physical sector number.
US08416263B2

Technologies are generally described for aligning objects in augmented reality. In some examples, a processor may be adapted to receive detected image data and virtual object data. In some examples, the processor may further be adapted to generate and apply weights to log-likelihood functions at intensity and feature levels based on the virtual object data and detected image data. In some examples, the processor may further be adapted to add the weighted log-likelihood function at intensity level to the weighted log-likelihood function at feature level to produce a cost function. In some examples, the processor may further be adapted to determine transformation parameters based on the cost function that may be used to align the detected image data with virtual object data.
US08416250B1

Aspects of the invention relate generally to enforcing elements of the OpenGL ES specification when emulating on top of OpenGL. More specifically, systems and methods herein allow a user to simulate the features of VertexAttrib #0 of OpenGL ES while using OpenGL. For example, by tracking a user's use of various functions, the use may be able to set VertexAttrib #0 to a constant value and query OpenGL for this value.
US08416249B2

A hook processing module hooks and preempts to a specific drawing command issued by an application program, and draws an image in an image data storage area within the RAM according to the acquired drawing command. VNC server acquires the image from the image data storage area, and transfers the acquired image to a projector via a network.
US08416230B2

An integrated circuit is disclosed that includes a display management circuitry configured to control the operation of a display panel in combination with a power management circuitry configured to control the power consumption of a panel backlight.
US08416227B2

A liquid crystal panel with built-in sensors 11 includes, in a pixel array 17, a plurality of pixel circuits 1 and a plurality of optical sensors 2 which are arranged two-dimensionally. Infrared light transmitting filters 3 that allow infrared light to pass therethrough and cut off visible light are provided in respective paths of light entering the optical sensors 2. A backlight 15 including white LEDs 4 and infrared LEDs 5 is provided on a back surface of the liquid crystal panel 11. With this, reflected light of backlight light including infrared light is detected by the optical sensors 2 without receiving the influence of visible light, and thus a touch position is detected with high accuracy, irrespective of display data.
US08416224B2

Operating methods of an array of electromechanical pixels resulting in efficient and reliable operation of light modulating elements. The invention simplifies the design of electromechanical light modulators and permits the construction of large size displays with greater mechanical tolerances on glass substrates.
US08416221B2

A method and an apparatus for selecting media files are provided. In the present invention, three keys are used for selecting a plurality of media files, wherein one of the keys is used for rotating and selecting a presently displayed media file, one of the keys is used for directly selecting the presently displayed media file, and another key is used for skipping the presently displayed media file. Complete select functions can be executed to a plurality of media files stored in any path by using foregoing three keys. The selected media files are stored in another path as being selected without spending time in actions such as moving, copying, and deleting, etc. Thus, the media file select operation is greatly simplified.
US08416215B2

A system based on a standard resistive touch screen that is capable of detecting double point or finger taps or gestures, and districting them from single point or finger taps or gestures. The system uses either a standard analog touch controller capable of four measurement types or a modified analog touch controller capable of six or more measurement types, and the fixed known resistance ratio of the touch film layers, to calculate an approximation of the location of up to two separate touch points on the screen. A collection of the location samples is used to detect different single and double finger gestures.
US08416211B2

A light sensitive screen includes at least one sensing element each being configured to detect a force applied to a position of the light sensitive screen and generate an electrical signal when a force is detected, and a sensor module configured to receive and process the electrical signal from the at least one sensing element. The sensor module may amplify the electrical signal from one of the at least one sensing element and generate an amplified signal, compare the amplified signal with a threshold and generate a comparing result, and generate a digital signal based on the comparing result, the digital signal including information as to whether the position of the light sensitive screen is touched.
US08416208B2

Disclosed herein is a display apparatus having a touch screen panel including: a housing of which first surface is open; a main circuit substrate that is built-in the housing; a display unit that is connected to the main circuit substrate and is disposed to face the opened first surface of the housing; and a touch screen panel that is connected to the main circuit substrate and is positioned on the upper portion of the display unit and includes an active region disposed on the first surface and inactive regions that are extended from the active region and are disposed at side surfaces of the housing or on a second surface opposite to the first surface.
US08416205B2

A computing device with a touch screen display simultaneously displays on the touch screen display a plurality of user interface objects displayed at a first magnification level in a display area. The device detects a first contact on a first handle activation region for a first handle of a user interface object. In response to continuing to detect the first contact at for a predefined amount of time, the device zooms the display area to a second magnification level. While the display area is at the second magnification level, the device: detects a movement of the first contact across the touch screen display; moves the first handle in accordance with the detected movement of the first contact; and detects liftoff of the first contact. In response to detecting liftoff of the first contact, the device zooms the display area to the first magnification level.
US08416204B2

The present invention provides an information processing apparatus capable of displaying a plurality of elements at a display unit by being superimposed and selecting an arbitrary element rapidly and easily among the plurality of elements by the user and an information processing method. The information processing apparatus includes an input reception unit to which signals are input from a first operation unit and a second operation unit, and a display control unit by which a plurality of first elements and a plurality of second elements are displayed by being superimposed. The first elements are arranged to be selectable or movable in accordance with the input of the first operation unit on a virtual first layer and the second elements are arranged to be selectable or movable in accordance with the input of the second operation unit on a virtual second layer which differs from the first layer.
US08416197B2

A system and a method are disclosed for fast pen tracking a low latency display updates on an electronic paper display. Pen input information is received on an electronic paper display that updates at a predetermined display update rate. A line drawing module of the electronic paper display driver determines at least one pixel to activate based on the received pen input information. The at least one pixel is updated independent of the display update rate of the electronic paper display. Active pixel state information is maintained separately for each pixel in real time until the pixel update is complete and the pixel is deactivated. In some embodiments, a future pixel to activate is determined based on the received pen input information. The future pixel is deactivated if pen input information is not received on the activated pixel for a predetermined amount of time.
US08416188B2

A system for controlling movement of a cursor on a display device, the system comprising: a substrate having a position-coding pattern disposed on or in a surface thereof; a sensing device comprising: an image sensor for optically imaging the position-coding pattern; and a processor configured for: generating absolute motion data by determining a plurality of absolute positions of the sensing device relative to the surface using the imaged position-coding pattern; generating orientation data indicative of an orientation of the sensing device relative to the substrate; and using the orientation data to translate the absolute motion data into relative motion data, said relative motion data being indicative of relative motion of the sensing device from the perspective of a user; and communication means for communicating the relative motion data to a computer system; and the computer system configured for: receiving said relative motion data from the sensing device; interpreting said relative motion data as cursor movement; and generating cursor control commands for said display device.
US08416182B2

An apparatus and method for driving a liquid crystal display (LCD) device is disclosed. The apparatus for driving a liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel for receiving a video signal and a clock signal, and displaying them, a backlight for emitting light on the LCD panel, a timing controller for controlling the LCD panel and the backlight, a signal generator which has the same frequency as that of a horizontal synchronous signal by modulating the clock signal, and generates a signal synchronized with the horizontal synchronous signal, and an inverter which receives a signal from the signal generator, allows a driving frequency of the light source to be the same as that of the horizontal synchronous signal, and allows the received signal to be synchronized with the horizontal synchronous signal.
US08416174B2

A display apparatus includes a substrate having a metal layer, a display device disposed on the substrate, with the display device including a display portion and a driving portion, and a sensor portion for detecting a coordinate using electromagnetic induction. The sensor portion is arranged on an opposite side of the substrate from where the display device is disposed, and the metal layer of the substrate has an electromagnetic wave transmissive structure.
US08416172B2

An exemplary liquid crystal display (1) includes a first substrate assembly (11), a second substrate assembly (12) parallel to the first substrate assembly (11), a liquid crystal layer (13) sandwiched between the first substrate assembly and the second substrate assembly, and a discharging circuit (120). The first substrate assembly includes common electrodes (110) formed thereat. The common electrodes are parallel to each other. The second substrate assembly includes scanning lines (1211) that are parallel to each other and that each extends along a first direction, and signal lines (1212) that are parallel to each other and that each extends along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The discharging circuit is electrically connected with the common electrodes.
US08416168B2

A liquid crystal display (“LCD”) includes; a gate line, a plurality of pairs of a first data line and a second data line which border a plurality of pixel regions and are disposed respectively on both sides of each pixel region, a plurality of pairs of first and second thin-film transistors (“TFTs”) which are connected to the gate line and a pair of the first and second data lines, and a first and second subpixel electrode disposed in each pixel region and connected to the first and second TFTs, respectively, wherein the pixel regions include first through third pixel regions arranged in the first direction, wherein at least one of the first and second TFTs of the second pixel region is disposed on a same side of an adjacent data line as the first and second subpixel electrodes of one of the first and third pixel regions.
US08416165B2

A display device including a signal processing module which can contribute to the reduction of power consumption and a calorific value is provided. The display device includes a signal processing module and a display panel. The signal processing module includes a memory that is divided into two or more sub-memories that can be powered on separately, and an image signal processor to generate a second image signal from a first image signal using the memory. The display panel displays an image corresponding to the second image signal, and the first image signal has a first bit size or a second bit size less than the first bit size. Power is selectively supplied to the sub-memories according to the bit size of the first image signal.
US08416160B2

The present invention relates to a light emitting device for preventing a cross-talk phenomenon and a pectinated pattern. The light emitting device includes data lines, scan lines, pixels and a discharging circuit. The data lines are disposed in a first direction, and the scan lines are disposed in a second direction different from the first direction. The pixels are formed in cross areas of the data lines and the scan lines. The discharging circuit discharges at least one data line to a first discharge voltage during a first sub-discharging time of a discharging time, and changes the first discharge voltage into a second discharge voltage during a second sub-discharging time of the discharging time. The light emitting device discharges data lines to discharge voltages corresponding to cathode voltage of pixels, and so cross-talk phenomenon and pectinated pattern is not occurred in the light emitting device.
US08416150B2

A method and system for determining a position for an interstitial diffuser for use in a multi-component display is disclosed. Embodiments utilize a camera to capture images of visual output from one or more display screens of a multi-component display, where each image may be taken with an interstitial diffuser at a different position between the display screens. The images may be used to analyze the Moiré interference and blur of the visual output at each position of the diffuser. Moiré interference values for each diffuser position may be determined by processing images captured of the visual output while each display screen displays a white image. Blur values for each diffuser position may be determined by comparing images captured of the visual output with a reference image.
US08416144B2

The present invention relates to a reflector 20; 30; 40 for use in an antenna 10; 50. The reflector 20; 30; 40 is arranged to be used as an earth plane of the antenna 10 and the reflector is corrugated to form current pockets. The reflector 20; 30; 40 comprises at least two separate parts 21, 22; 21, 22, 31, 32; 41, 42, and the parts are electrically coupled to each other to commonly form the earth plane of the antenna 10; 50. The invention also relates to an antenna including a reflector, and to a method for manufacturing a reflector.
US08416141B2

The invention relates to a dual polarized radiating element for a cellular base station antenna, comprising a reflector surface for reflecting radiation energy, four radiating monopoles distributed around an aperture area, each radiating monopole comprising a footing protruding from said reflector surface and a flange located above the reflector surface and protruding from said footing radially towards the outside, the flanges from adjacent monopoles extending radially perpendicular to each other. The element further comprises four element feeds, each capacitively coupled to a respective monopole and protruding radially therefrom within the aperture area, and powering means connected to the element feeds.
US08416139B2

An electronic device comprising a first conductive unit and a second conductive unit disposed such that a gap exists between the first component and the second component. The electronic device further includes one or more components disposed along the gap and configured to counteract one or more capacitance effects in the gap, wherein at least one of the first conductive unit and the second conductive unit represents a part of an antenna. By counteracting the capacitance effects in the gap, certain radiation attributes of the antenna, such as radiation efficiency, can be improved. The one or more components are also employed to counteract one or more capacitance effects in a slot of a conductive unit in an electronic device.
US08416136B2

A monopole antenna is disposed on a substrate including a first surface and a second surface. The monopole antenna includes a feeding point, a radiation unit, and a reflecting element. The radiation unit is disposed on the first surface of the substrate, and includes a feeding section, a first radiation section, a second radiation section, and a third radiation section. The feeding section, the first radiation section, and the second radiation section are connected sequentially. The feeding point is electrically connected to the feeding section. The second radiation section and the feeding section are respectively placed at two sides of a longitudinal axis of the first radiation section. The third radiation section is electrically connected to the first radiation section. The reflecting element is disposed on the second surface of the substrate, and corresponds to a position of the second radiation section.
US08416132B2

A navigation device configured to connect to any type of communication device, such as a two-way radio or a cellular phone. The navigation device includes a LCD display and a user input device. The navigation device displays on the LCD the relative distance and direction of other navigation devices relative to the navigation device, as well as the speed, distance traveled, current location, altitude, temperature of the other navigation devices. Also, the user interface allows the user to scroll through different menu options and display options of the LCD. The navigation device is additionally configured to send text messages to other navigation devices. The navigation device transmits three NMEA sentences allowing text messages, waypoint names and locations, speed, course, direction and altitude to be sent between navigation devices.
US08416121B2

A frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) system includes a first memory receiving a clock signal and storing voltage digital values of I FMCW signals, a second memory receiving the clock signal and storing the voltage digital values of the Q FMCW signals, a first digital-to-analog converter (DAC) connected to the first memory and receiving the clock signal for converting the voltage digital values of the I FMCW signal to a first analog voltage, a second digital-to-analog converter (DAC) connected to the second memory and receiving the clock signal for converting the voltage digital values of the Q FMCW signal to a second analog voltage, an I low-pass filter connected to the first DAC smoothing the I FMCW signal and a Q low-pass filter connected to the second DAC smoothing the Q FMCW signal.
US08416119B2

According to one embodiment, a weather radar apparatus includes a transmitting/receiving unit configured to transmit a radar wave to an observation target and receive a reflected wave, a distribution unit configured to distribute a received signal of the reflected wave to a main path and at least another path, an extraction unit configured to extract, from a signal of the other path, an interference wave signal extracted from another radio station, and a removing unit configured to remove the interference wave signal extracted from a signal of the main path.
US08416114B2

An A/D conversion circuit includes a pulse transit circuit, first and second pulse transit position detection circuits, and a digital signal generation circuit. The first pulse transit position detection circuit detects a transit position of the pulse signal output from the pulse transit circuit and generates a logical signal according to the transit position. The second pulse transit position detection circuit detects the circling number of the pulse signal output from the pulse transit circuit and generates a logical signal according to the circling number. The digital signal generation circuit synthesizes the logical signals output from the first and second pulse transit position detection circuits and generates a digital signal according to a size of an analog signal VA. The pulse transit circuit is configured so that a sum of the number of the inverting circuits that the pulse signal transits in an N-th period (N denotes a natural number) and the number of the inverting circuits that the pulse signal transits in an (N+1)-th period is a power of 2.
US08416111B2

Provided are, among other things, systems, methods and techniques for converting a continuous-time, continuously variable signal into a sampled and quantized signal. According to one implementation, an apparatus includes multiple processing branches, each including: a continuous-time quantization-noise-shaping circuit, a sampling/quantization circuit, and a digital bandpass filter. A combining circuit then combines signals at the processing branch outputs into a final output signal. The continuous-time quantization-noise-shaping circuits include adjustable circuit components for changing their quantization-noise frequency-response minimum, and the digital bandpass filters include adjustable parameters for changing their frequency passbands.
US08416109B2

A superconducting bandpass sigma-delta modulator and a method for analog-to-digital signal conversion is disclosed. The superconducting bandpass sigma-delta modulator includes coupled resonators having a desired impedance ratio. A first resonator connects to a comparator, which comparator generates single-flux-quantum pulses. A feedback loop links from the comparator to a second resonator and includes a current amplifier. A digital RF receiver system is also disclosed. This system includes a second order bandpass sigma-delta modulator, which has a desired impedance ratio between resonators and a feedback loop with current amplification. The system further has an antenna configured to receive a GHz frequency radio transmission and to yield an analog signal which is accepted by the sigma-delta modulator.
US08416101B2

An air conditioner and a method for controlling an air conditioner are provided. The air conditioner includes an air-conditioning device that air-conditions an indoor space, a lighting device that illuminates the indoor space, an input device that receives signals to operate the air-conditioning device and for selecting a sleep mode, and a controller that controls the lighting device and the air-conditioning device. When the input device receives the signal for selecting the sleep mode, the lighting device is controlled to sequentially perform a sleep entry operation in which the indoor space is illuminated to have a predetermined luminance and color temperature for a predetermined time, a sleep operation in which the indoor space is illuminated to have a predetermined luminance and color temperature until a wakeup time, and a wakeup operation in which the indoor space is illuminated to have a predetermined luminance and color temperature.
US08416100B2

A method and device performs onboard monitoring of a horizontal position of a taxiing aircraft, in which the monitoring of the horizontal position is based on separately determined height differences of the aircraft. A predetermined threshold value is compared with a first height difference calculated using repetitively determined first current height positions received by an onboard positioning device over a first duration. The predetermined threshold value is also compared with calculated second height differences calculated from two successively measured second current height positions determined by an altimeter over a second duration that is less than or equal to the first duration. A warning signal, signaling a problem with the reliability of the monitored horizontal position of the taxiing aircraft, is emitted in the event none of the second height differences is greater than the threshold value, and the first height difference is greater than the threshold value.
US08416099B2

The different advantageous embodiments provide a system comprising a dynamic transmission process and a processor unit. The processor unit is configured to run the dynamic transmission process. The dynamic transmission process is configured to receive environmental information. The dynamic transmission process determines whether to send the environmental information to a subscriber.
US08416094B2

A motion sensor capable of detecting the direction of motion in three dimensions is disclosed. The motion sensor can be built into a printed circuit board allowing for simple and cost effective manufacturing. The motions sensor is designed to utilize a through hole in a printed circuit board, which is capped by on each side by housings creating a cavity where a spherical metal ball can move in three dimensions. This interior surface of the through hole and the housings have conductive element that when in contact with the spherical metal ball close a circuit creating an electrical signal indicative of direction.
US08416092B2

Two sensors (20, 30) which cooperate with one another are used in the interior of an activator (10) in order to trigger functions in a vehicle, said sensors (20, 30) being a proximity sensor (20) with a capacitive electrode (21) and a pressure sensor (30) with a pressure measuring element (31). The intention is that the pressure measuring element (31) will be acted on when pressure is applied manually (44) to an application point (43) on the outside of the actuator (10). It is proposed that in order to improve the method of functioning that the electrode (21) of the proximity sensor (20) be provided with a breakthrough (22) and that the pressure transmission between the application point (43) on the actuator (10) and the pressure measuring element (31) be lead through the breakthrough (22) in the electrode (21). The space between the application point (43) and the pressure measuring element (31) is spanned by a pressure transmitting means (50) which passes through the breakthrough (22). The functioning of the proximity sensor (20) is not hampered just as the functioning of the pressure measuring element (31) is unimpeded.
US08416086B2

This invention teaches further improvements in methods for forewarning of critical events via phase-space dissimilarity analysis of data from biomedical equipment, mechanical devices, and other physical processes. One improvement involves objective determination of a forewarning threshold (UFW), together with a failure-onset threshold (UFAIL) corresponding to a normalized value of a composite measure (C) of dissimilarity; and providing a visual or audible indication to a human observer of failure forewarning and/or failure onset. Another improvement relates to symbolization of the data according the binary numbers representing the slope between adjacent data points. Another improvement relates to adding measures of dissimilarity based on state-to-state dynamical changes of the system. And still another improvement relates to using a Shannon entropy as the measure of condition change in lieu of a connected or unconnected phase space.
US08416085B2

A method, a system, and a computer-readable medium are provided for generating an alert based on a physiological characteristic of a patient. A user interface window is configured to allow a user to define a first alert value, an indicator of a physiological characteristic of a patient associated with the first alert value, and an application type indicator for the alert rule indicating a group for which to apply the alert rule. A value and a characteristic indicator of the physiological characteristic of the patient are received. A group indicator associated with the patient is received. The received first alert value is identified by comparing the received characteristic indicator to the indicator. The received value is compared to the identified first alert value, and the received group indicator is compared to the application type indicator. An alert is generated based on the comparison.
US08416073B1

Disclosed are various embodiments employed to generate location and proximity based reminders. To this end, a device is configured to generate its geographical location using a positioning system. The device detects when it impinges upon at least one geographical trigger based upon its geographical location. A predefined reminder is generated in the device when the device impinges upon the geographical trigger.
US08416072B2

A real-time method and system for locating a mobile object or person in a tracking environment while conserving electrical energy in a battery-operated tracking tag associated with the object or person are provided. The method includes modulating a first carrier signal with a first packet including a first set of identification data having a first length to obtain a first modulated signal. The first set of data identifies the tag associated with the object or person. The method also includes transmitting the first modulated signal containing the first packet. Transmission of the first modulated signal consumes a first amount of electrical energy. The first modulated signal has a first precision and a first range within the environment. The method further includes modulating a second carrier signal with a second packet including a second set of identification data reduced in length from and based on the first set of identification data. The method still further includes transmitting the second modulated signal containing the second packet. Transmission of the second modulated signal consumes an amount of electrical energy reduced from an amount of electrical energy consumed if the second set of identification data was not reduced in length. The method further includes receiving and demodulating the first and second modulated signals to obtain the first and second packets. Finally, the method includes processing the first and second packets of the received demodulated signals to obtain location of the tag within the tracking environment wherein total transmission energy is reduced.
US08416069B2

An embodiment of a communication system can control transmission of a data signal to a power distribution network based on signal data measured from the power distribution network. The signal data may represent an amount of crosstalk or an amount of noise experienced on the power distribution network. The signal data and an identification of at least one active power line coupler unit can be used to determine an adjustment to one or more power line coupler units. A control signal that represents the adjustment can be used to adjust the power line coupler units.
US08416068B2

The present invention relates to an automatic networking apparatus for vehicles for a vehicle with a first component and a second replaceable component, and it comprises a first identity recognition module disposed on the first component and a second identity recognition module disposed on the second component. When the second identity recognition module turns into a networking mode, it transmits a low-frequency wake-up signal through a low-frequency signal transmission circuit to wake up the first identity recognition module. A low-frequency sensor circuit of the first identity recognition module is able to sense the low-frequency wake-up signal, and responds to the low-frequency wake-up signal to transmit an identity code corresponding to the first component through the high-frequency signal transmission circuit. The high-frequency signal receiving circuit of the second identity recognition module can receive the identity code of the first component and store the received identity code. In the following data transmission, the second identity recognition module can send the data with the identity code of the first component loaded with, so that a receiving apparatus of the first component identifies it. The present invention features in networking automation, simple installation, and convenient maintenance.
US08416065B2

An overlay includes a sheet corresponding to a plurality of keys that are associated with an application for a portable electronic device. An identifier is associated with the application. The identifier is identifiable by the portable electronic device, such that the application is opened upon identification of the identifier.
US08416063B2

Provided are a method and apparatus for stopping power supply to a radio frequency identification (RFID) system. The apparatus includes: a power supplier supplying power to a high RFID tag; an input unit rectifying and boosting an input predetermined frequency band signal and outputting a direct-current (DC) voltage signal; a wake-up determiner comparing a voltage of the DC voltage signal output from the input unit with a predetermined reference voltage and outputting a HIGH signal or a LOW signal; and a switch stopping power supply to the high RFID tag if the wake-up determiner outputs the LOW signal.
US08416061B2

A method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for controlling a range of a radio frequency identification tag signal. The process identifies an operative range for the radio frequency identification tag signal of a radio identification tag. The process then selects a set of conductive paths in the radio frequency identification tag corresponding to the desired operative range. The set of conductive paths controls the range of the radio frequency identification tag signal in the radio identification frequency tag.
US08416060B2

A method and device enables reading radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in a localized area. The method according to one embodiment includes commencing transmission of an interference signal from a reader device (step 505). A command signal is then transmitted from the device while the interference signal is still being transmitted (step 510). The command signal instructs non-target RFID tags to not respond to an interrogation signal, and the target RFID tags do not process the command signal because the command signal is blocked by the interference signal. Transmission of the interference signal from the device is then stopped (step 515). The interrogation signal is then transmitted from the device after the interference signal is no longer being transmitted (step 520). Finally, a response signal is received at the device from the target RFID tags that enables the device to read only the target RFID tags (step 525).
US08416046B2

To provide a reactor with which resin can fully be packed between a core and a coil with ease, and in which the core can easily be handled when the reactor is manufactured. The reactor includes: a coil 10 formed with paired coil elements 10A and 10B that are made of a spirally wound wire, the coil elements being coupled to each other in a paralleled state; internal core portions 22 that are fitted into the coil elements 10A and 10B to structure a part of an annular core 20; and exposed core portions 24 that are exposed outside the coil elements 10A and 10B to couple the internal core portions 22 to each other, to thereby form the rest of the annular core 20. The reactor includes an external resin portion that covers at least a part of an assembled product 1A made up of the coil 10 and the core 20. In each of the exposed core portions 24, a cut-out corner portion 24g is provided to at least part of a joining portion of an inner end face 24f facing the end face of the coil and an adjacent face (side face 24s) that is continuous to the inner end face 24f, whereby the resin can easily be packed between the coil 10 and the core 20, and it becomes possible to prevent chipping off when handled.
US08416037B2

A phase shifter using a Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators (BAWR) is provided. The phase shifter using a BAWR may use a property of a phase shift with respect to a frequency of the BAWR, and also use at least one capacitor, at least one inductor, and the like.
US08416035B2

A multiband matching circuit of the present invention includes an inductive element having one end connected to an input terminal, a first switch having one end connected to the other end of the inductive element and the other end grounded, a capacitive element having one end connected to the input terminal, a second switch having one end connected to the other end of the capacitive element and the other end grounded, a first-band matching circuit that is connected between the other end of the inductive element and a first output terminal and performs impedance matching in a first frequency band, and a second-band matching circuit that is connected between the other end of the capacitive element and a second output terminal and performs impedance matching in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band.
US08416033B2

A compact multi-band hybrid ring (rat-race) coupler utilizing a ring of composite right-handed and left-handed (CRLH) transmission lines (TLs) and multiple ports, provides miniaturization and the ability to operate at arbitrary frequency bands unlike conventional couplers. The hybrid ring is made compact, such as by constraining phase delay contributions |φ1|, |φ2|≦270°. The coupler can be used in many applications, for example as a mode decoupling network in a dual-band front-end MIMO system. The inclusion of a CRLH delay line is also described which alters the phase relationship of the signals and is particularly well suited for extending pattern diversity in response to frequency.
US08416025B2

A reference assisted control system and method thereof are disclosed. The method comprises: receiving a first input signal and a second control signal; generating a first intermediate signal in accordance with a difference between the first input signal and the first output signal; filtering the second control signal to generate a second intermediate signal; performing a weighted sum of the first intermediate signal and the second intermediate signal to generate the control signal; and outputting the first output signal in accordance with the control signal.
US08416014B2

A switched capacitor notch filter for sampling an input signal using multiple sampling capacitors during multiple non-overlapping time periods. The charge from one set of sampling capacitors is averaged and transferred to the filter output during one non-overlapping time and the charge from another set of sampling capacitors is averaged and transferred to the filter output during a second non-overlapping time period.
US08416008B2

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatuses for impedance-matching radio frequency power transmitted from a radio frequency generator to a plasma load in a semiconductor processing chamber. Impedance-matching can be performed via a match network having a variable-reactance circuit. The variable-reactance circuit can comprise one or more reactive elements all connected to a first terminal and selectively shorted to a second terminal via a switch. The switch can comprise a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) or insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) controlled via bias circuitry. In an on-state, the BJT base-emitter junction is forward biased, and AC is conducted between a collector terminal and a base terminal. Thus, AC passes through the BJT primarily from collector to base rather than from collector to emitter. Furthermore, the classic match network topology used with vacuum variable capacitors can be modified such that voltages do not overload the BJT's in the modified topology.
US08416006B1

An electronic device comprising a level shifter for performing a voltage shift of a low level input signal of a first voltage domain to a high level output signal of a second voltage domain, the level shifter having a high-side transistor in series with a low-side transistor so as to provide an output node between the channel of the high-side transistor and the channel of the low-side transistor for driving a load with the high level output signal of the second voltage domain. The level shifter being configured to have a first state in which the high-side transistor is conducting and the low-side transistor is not conducting, a second state in which the low-side transistor is conducting and the high-side transistor is not conducting and a third state in which the high-side transistor is not conducting and the low-side transistor is not conducting.
US08416004B2

A circuit module includes: control object circuits which start operations when a power supply voltage reaches a target value; a current sink circuit which consumes a current supplied thereto; and a power supply activation control unit which increases the current flowing into the current sink circuit at a predetermined rate before starting the operations of the control object circuits and which starts the operations of the control object circuits and simultaneously blocks the supply of the current to the current sink circuit in a case where an amount of the current flowing into the current sink circuit is equivalent to an amount of current to be increased by starting the operations of the control object circuits when the power supply voltage reaches the target value.
US08416000B2

In a semiconductor device capable of radio communication, a stable clock signal is generated even if a reference clock signal for generating a clock signal has varied frequencies in each cycle. A clock signal generation circuit includes an edge detection circuit that detects an edge of an input signal and generates a synchronization signal, a reference clock signal generation circuit that generates a clock signal which functions as reference, a counter circuit that counts the number of edges of rise of the reference clock signal in accordance with the synchronization signal, a duty ratio selection circuit that selects a duty ratio of a clock signal from a count value, and a frequency division circuit that generates the clock signal having the selected duty ratio.
US08415998B2

A PLL circuit, has a phase comparator for comparing phases of a reference clock and a feedback clock, and outputting a phase comparison signal indicating the phase difference; a charge pump circuit, which, during a time period corresponding to the phase difference, outputs a first charge pump current and a second charge pump current; a loop filter, having a capacitor storing electric charge based on the first and second charge pump currents, which generates a control voltage due to stored electric charge; an oscillator generating an output clock at a frequency according to the control voltage; a frequency divider frequency-dividing the output clock and outputs the feedback clock; and a charge pump adjustment circuit, which, when in a locked state, adjusts current quantity of the first or the second charge pump current such that the phase difference is suppressed, according to the phase difference indicated by the phase comparison signal.
US08415989B2

A switching device has a main IGFET having a Schottky barrier diode D3 for blocking an inverse current built therein, a protective switch means, and a protective switch control means. The protective switch means is connected in between a drain electrode D and a gate electrode G of the main IGFET. The protective switch control means turns on the protective switch means when an inverse voltage is impressed to the main IGFET. Thereby, the main IGFET is protected from the inverse voltage.
US08415984B2

Provided is an electronic circuit system which facilitates skew timing adjustment while preventing increase of power consumption. An electronic circuit system includes: a track hold circuit module formed by a hierarchical tree structure of track hold circuits which can track-hold an analog value of an analog signal; and a control signal generation module which supplies an operation control signal to each of the track hold circuits in the hierarchical tree structure. In the hierarchical tree structure, the number of track hold circuits of each of the hierarchies is stepwise changed from the first hierarchy of the input side to which an analog signal is inputted, toward the final hierarchy of the final output side as the number of hierarchies is increased.
US08415957B2

A capacitance measurement circuit and method are provided. A storage capacitor is pre-charged. Charge transfer is performed between an under-test capacitor and the storage capacitor. The storage capacitor is discharged and charged according to a relationship between a voltage of the storage capacitor and a reference voltage. The capacitance of the under-test capacitor is measured according to the voltage on the storage capacitor.
US08415955B2

An electrical test device including at least one transducer to detect a status of a circuit under test, and at least one indicator located remotely from the at least one transducer to display the status of the circuit under test.
US08415952B2

A superconducting magnet coil interface and method providing coil stability are provided. A superconducting coil arrangement includes a superconducting coil and a thermal interface coupled to the superconducting coil. The thermal interface is configured to intercept frictional heat before reaching the superconducting coil. The superconducting coil arrangement further includes a plurality of channels extending within at least a portion of the thermal interface and towards the superconducting coil. The plurality of channels are configured to receive therein a cooling liquid.
US08415948B2

A current sensor includes an annular magnetic core that includes a closed magnetic path including a void in a portion thereof, and a magnetic body for focusing flux of a magnetic field generated around a conductor that carries a measured current, and a magnetic detecting portion for detecting flux of a magnetic field generated in the void of the magnetic core. The magnetic core includes a plurality of pairs of stepped portions on a pair of opposing end surfaces that form the void, the stepped portions descending along a direction separating from the conductor.
US08415942B2

A method and apparatus for measuring current includes sensing a first voltage at the output of an amplifier and computing a current based on the first voltage and the resistance of a first resistive element, which is electrically coupled between an inverting input of the amplifier and the output of the amplifier, if the first voltage is below a predetermined level. The method also includes sensing a second voltage at the output of a buffer and computing a current based on the first and second voltages and the resistances of the first resistive element and a second resistive element, which is electrically coupled between the inverting input of the amplifier and an input of the buffer and is also electrically coupled to the output of the amplifier through a at least one diode, if the voltage output from the amplifier is above the predetermined level.
US08415931B2

A power supply device includes: a rectifier having a full-wave rectification circuit whose low side elements are made of MOSFETs; an electrical load supplied with DC power from the rectifier; and a control circuit having a load voltage detector and an AC voltage detector for detecting an input terminal voltage from a permanent-magnet generator; wherein when a terminal voltage across the electrical load is lower than a predetermined value, the control circuit operates the rectifier in full-wave rectification mode, whereas when the terminal voltage across the electrical load is higher than the predetermined value, the control circuit short-circuits input terminals of the permanent-magnet generator with each other, and when power for driving the control circuit is not secured, the control circuit retains the full-wave rectification mode even if the terminal voltage across the electrical load is higher than the predetermined value.
US08415930B2

Provided is a power supply device including: a magneto generator (1), which includes: a rotor including a magnet forming a magnetic field; and a stator which generates an alternating current in stator windings by rotation of the rotor; a rectifying unit (3) which rectifies the alternating current generated by the magneto generator to a direct current; a variable transformation-ratio direct current voltage transformer (40) which transforms an output voltage of the direct current of the rectifying unit to a voltage between input terminals of an electrical load (2) to which electric power is supplied; and a voltage control unit (5) which controls a transformation ratio of the variable transformation-ratio direct current voltage transformer in accordance with at least one of an operating state signal regarding the rotation of the rotor of the magneto generator and an electrical load state signal of the electrical load.
US08415921B1

A toolbox device for allowing a user to charge a battery pack of a battery-powered tool. The device features a first half housing pivotally attached atop a second half housing with an inner compartment, the second half housing is longer than the first half housing thereby exposing a top area of the second half housing with a battery pack compartment. An AC-DC converter unit is operatively connected to contact strips disposed on the inner surface of the battery pack compartment. A male power plug is operatively connected to the AC/DC converter unit, the male power plug is adapted to receive a power cord for a standard power outlet. A charger component for accepting a battery pack is adapted to be inserted into the battery pack compartment. When inserted into the battery pack compartment, the interchangeable charger component operatively connects to the contact strips.
US08415916B2

A method and an arrangement are disclosed for identifying one or more parameters of an induction machine when the induction machine is connected to the output phases of a voltage source inverter and the induction machine is in standstill state. The method can include a first phase for magnetizing the machine by providing a first DC magnetization current until the induction machine reaches steady state, the current reference of the inverter having a first value (idc—ref1). A first maximum value (imz—max) of the stator current (isd) is measured during a zero voltage vector. In a second phase, the machine is magnetized by providing a second DC magnetization current, the current reference having a second value (idc—ref2) which is higher than the first reference (idc—ref1). A second maximum value of (isdz—max) the stator current is measured during a zero voltage vector, and a parameter of the induction machine is estimated when the measured first and second maximum values are equal.
US08415915B2

An article of manufacture is provided having computer readable program code embodied therein which implements modeling of a system (e.g., an electromagnetic aircraft launch system) having at least a linear motor and a block switching controller. The computer readable program code implements the following steps: (a) generating a model of the system, the model having a plurality of sub-models, the plurality of sub-models comprising at least a sub-model of the linear motor and a sub-model of the block switching controller; (b) inserting at least one simulation artifact (e.g., a capacitive element) into the system model between two sub-models, the simulation artifact creating a virtual voltage state; and (c) simulating the operation of the system using the generated model. The insertion of a simulation artifact into the model between sub-models can enable the sub-models to be independently modeled in different reference frames (e.g., the stator abc-reference frame and the dq-reference frame).
US08415908B2

A driving apparatus drives a brushless motor that includes a plurality of windings. The apparatus comprises a plurality of switch half-bridges connected to a power line and to the windings, a memory adapted to contain a plurality of signal profiles to be cyclically applied to the plurality of windings of the motor, a multiplier for multiplying the profile values of the signals from the memory by a scale factor, a control circuit adapted to generate PWM signals for the switches of the plurality of switch half-bridges according to values output by the multiplier, a polarity detector configured to detect the polarity of the current passing trough at least one winding of the motor and a scale factor controller configured to modify the scale factor according to the detected current polarity and so as to make each signal profile to be applied to each winding of the motor either higher than the back-electromotive force or equal to the back-electromotive force generated by the motor.
US08415904B2

An integrated motor drive and battery recharge apparatus includes a battery, an electric motor having N separate motor windings each having a first and a second leg, a contactor having a plurality M of poles, each pole having a first side and a second side, the inverter having 2N switching poles and a capacitor each coupled in parallel with the battery, and PWM control circuitry configured to control the state of each switching pole. Each leg of each motor winding is coupled to a phase node of a corresponding inverter switching pole, at least two of the motor winding legs (or taps thereof) are coupled to the corresponding first sides of the contactor poles, a power source/sink is coupled to the corresponding second sides of the contactor poles, and in one aspect a capacitor is coupled between each pair of contactor poles.
US08415900B2

A system for auto-commissioning a light fixture may position the light fixture based on sensor data received from at least one sensor. In order to focus the light fixture on a target location, the system may vary the position of the light fixture and determine a position of the light fixture where the light level received by the photosensor reaches a determined light level. The system may adjust a light characteristic of light emitted by the light fixture so that the color of light received by the photosensor at the target location matches a target light characteristic, such as color or intensity. The system may determine a focus position and a light characteristic for multiple target locations. The system may auto-commission multiple light fixtures.
US08415897B2

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for cooperatively controlling ambient level lighting in a controlled area, and task level lighting for task areas in the controlled area, wherein each task area is a separate sub-area of the controlled area.
US08415890B2

A power converter for constant loads includes an energy transfer element, a switch, a controller, and a compensation circuit. The energy transfer element is coupled to receive a rectified voltage having a blocked portion that corresponds to a phase angle. The controller is coupled to control switching of the switch to regulate an output current of the power converter in response to a plurality of signals. The plurality of signals includes a peak input voltage signal and a feedback signal. The compensation circuit is coupled to output a compensation signal to adjust at least one of the plurality of signals in response to the phase angle exceeding a phase angle threshold. The compensation circuit does not output the compensation signal and does not adjust the at least one of the plurality of signals when the phase angle is less than the phase angle threshold.
US08415889B2

Certain embodiments provide an LED lighting equipment including a lighting main body. An LED power device has a DC power source and a DC-DC converter having an input terminal connected to the DC power source and the DC-DC converter having an output terminal. An LED light source has a board and a plurality of LED packages; each including a plurality of LED chips connected in series. The LED packages are mounted on the board and connected in series to the output terminal of the DC-DC converter.
US08415888B2

An illumination control terminal includes a frame; a handle cover pivotably rotatably attached to the frame. An operation switch unit is arranged on a front surface of the handle cover. Provided on a rear surface of the handle cover are a setting operation unit for setting a set time at which lamps are turned on or off and a locking portion which keeps the handle cover in a closed state. Provided on a front surface of the frame are a display unit for displaying setting contents and a locked portion engaging with the locking portion. The terminal further includes a storage unit storing a setting program set by the setting operation unit and a terminal control unit for outputting a control signal on an on/off operation of the lamps, either upon pushing the operation switch unit or according to the setting program.
US08415879B2

An exemplary printable composition of a liquid or gel suspension of diodes comprises a plurality of diodes, a first solvent and/or a viscosity modifier. An exemplary diode comprises: a light emitting or absorbing region having a diameter between about 20 and 30 microns and a height between 2.5 to 7 microns; a plurality of first terminals spaced apart and coupled to the light emitting region peripherally on a first side, each first terminal of the plurality of first terminals having a height between about 0.5 to 2 microns; and one second terminal coupled centrally to a mesa region of the light emitting region on the first side, the second terminal having a height between 1 to 8 microns.
US08415877B2

An OLED device having rear electrodes. The device comprises a substrate whereon a light emitting region is provided, an anode layer wherein an anode terminal is formed on one side of the top of the light emitting region, an organic layer laminated onto the light emitting region of the anode layer, a cathode layer wherein a cathode terminal is formed on one side of the top of the light emitting region, a protective film which seals the light emitting region, a rear electrode for anode of which one side is connected to the anode terminal and the other side is formed from the upper surface of the cathode layer whereon the protective film is provided, and a rear electrode for cathode of which one side is connected to the cathode terminal and the other side formed from the upper surface of the cathode layer whereon the protective film is provided.
US08415875B2

An organic light emissive device comprising: a first electrode; a second electrode; and an organic light emissive region between the first and second electrodes comprising an organic light emissive material which has a peak emission wavelength, wherein at least one of the electrodes is transparent and comprises a composite of a charge injecting metal and another material which is codepositable with the charge injecting metal, the other material having a different refractive index to that of the charge injecting metal and wherein the other material has a lower degree of quenching at the peak emission wavelength than the charge injecting metal whereby quenching of excitons by the at least one electrode is reduced, the charge injecting metal comprising either a low work function metal having a work function of no more than 3.5 eV or a high work function metal having a work function of no less than 4.5 eV.
US08415874B2

An organic light-emitting device including: a substrate; a first electrode disposed on the substrate; a second electrode disposed on the substrate and comprising silver (Ag); an emission layer between the first electrode and the second electrode; an electron injection layer between the emission layer and the second electrode and comprising a mixture of an alkali metal-containing compound and a first metal; and a capping layer disposed on the second electrode.
US08415873B2

An organic light emitting display device that prevents distortion of the image by preventing the transmitting light from scattering, and by preventing the degradation of the brightness and color coordinates caused by external light transmitting through the organic light emitting display device. The device includes a transmitting region and separate pixel regions interposed within the transmitting region; thin film transistors, a passivation film covering each thin film transistor; a pixel electrode that is electrically connected to the corresponding thin film transistor; an opposite electrode that faces the pixel electrode and is able to transmit light; an organic light emission layer that is interposed between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode; a first electrode formed on a second surface of the substrate; a second electrode facing the first electrode; and a light transmission adjusting layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode.
US08415872B2

An OLED display device includes a substrate; an organic light emitting element having a first electrode formed on the substrate, an organic emission layer disposed on the first electrode, and a second electrode disposed on the organic emission layer; a common power bus line disposed between the organic light emitting element and an edge of the substrate on the substrate and electrically connected with the first electrode; a driving power bus line neighboring the common power bus line on the substrate, disposed between the organic light emitting element and the edge of the substrate, and electrically connected with the second electrode extended from a portion corresponding to the organic emission layer; and a connection wire made of the same material as the second electrode on the common power bus line, separated from the second electrode, and electrically connected with the common power bus line.
US08415871B2

An image display apparatus has a plurality of phosphor films two-dimensionally disposed on a substrate, a matrix-pattern rib formed on the substrate to partition between the phosphor films, a plurality of metal backs each covering at least one phosphor film, and resistance wirings having a sheet resistance higher than that of the metal backs for electrically connecting the plurality of metal backs to each other. The resistance wirings are disposed to the apexes of the matrix-pattern rib and composed of a plurality of column lines and a plurality of row lines, the metal backs have first portions for covering the phosphor films on the substrate and second portions formed along the rib to connect the first portions to the column lines.
US08415868B2

A lamp (10) for an automotive headlamp and a method for manufacturing such kind of a lamp (10) is provided, wherein the lamp (10) comprises a burner (12) for emitting light, a metal holder (20) connected to the burner (12) for supporting the burner (12), a first socket part (32) made from a heat-resistant plastic material, which is connected to the burner (12), and a second socket part (34), through which a part of the burner (12), which is connected to a first electrical pole (14), is led for connecting the burner (12) to a voltage source, wherein the second socket part (34) is arranged adjacent to the first socket part (32) such, that at least one insulating gap (42) for providing voltage resistance in mainly radial and/or axial direction is provided. Due to the first socket part (32) it is possible to receive the hot burner (12) by the socket without impairing the heat resistance, wherein the second socket part (34) may be made from a cheaper material. This leads to a reduction of production costs without impairing the heat resistance or the voltage resistance provided by the insulating gap (42) between the first socket part (32) and the second socket part (34).
US08415866B2

A known lamp module for spectral analysis devices includes a lamp receptacle body having a cavity for receiving a deuterium lamp having a lamp bulb made of synthetic quartz glass. The cavity has a beam outlet opening closed with an optical transmission element. In order to provide a lamp module having a deuterium lamp with an ozone filter that exhibits a long service life, that can be manufactured economically, and that ensures a high intensity in a wavelength range between 190 nm and 250 nm, such a known lamp module is provided with a VUV edge filter in the beam outlet opening on the side of the optical transmission element facing the deuterium lamp.
US08415864B2

A rotating electrical machine includes a frame, a flange, a rotor, a stator, and a plurality of reinforcing bars. The frame has a plurality of side surfaces surrounding a space to form a substantially polygonal shape in a plane perpendicular to an axial direction of the frame. The side surfaces have a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface. The frame has an end portion in the axial direction. The flange is provided at the end portion of the frame. The rotor is provided in the space and includes a shaft that is rotatably supported by the flange. The stator is provided in the space to be fixed to an inner section of the frame and to surround the rotor. The reinforcing bars intersect each other and are provided on the first side surface and the second side surface, respectively.
US08415862B2

This piezoelectric vibrator is provided with a package that is structured to include a first substrate and a second substrate that are bonded to each other such that a cavity is formed therebetween, an internal electrode portion that is formed on the first substrate and housed in the cavity, a piezoelectric vibrating reed that is sealed in the cavity and also is electrically connected to the internal electrode portion in the cavity, an external electrode portion that is formed on an external surface of the first substrate, a through electrode portion that is disposed so as not to be overlapped by the external electrode portion in a thickness direction of the first substrate, while one end of the through electrode portion is electrically connected to the internal electrode portion and another end of the through electrode portion is formed on the external surface of the first substrate while penetrating through the first substrate, and a routing wiring portion that electrically connects the through electrode portion and the external electrode portion.
US08415859B2

A piezoelectric nanodevice may include a first substrate having formed thereon a multiple number of nanorods and a second substrate having formed thereon a multiple number of piezoelectric nanorods. The first substrate associates with the second substrate to generate friction between the nanorods of the first substrate and the piezoelectric nanorods of the second substrate.
US08415858B2

Piezoelectric vibrating pieces are disclosed having selectively roughened surfaces. An exemplary piece is made of a piezoelectric material configured as a piezoelectric substrate. The piece also includes at least one excitation electrode and at least one extraction electrode. The substrate has opposing main surfaces initially having low surface roughness. At least one main surface is formed in a mesa or reverse mesa manner, wherein the central region has a different thickness than the peripheral region. The central region has relatively low surface roughness (irregular unevenness), while the peripheral region has relatively high surface roughness. The excitation electrode is formed on the central region (mesa or reverse mesa) while the extraction electrode (connected to the excitation electrode) is formed on the peripheral region.
US08415856B2

A rotor for an electric rotating machine includes a rotor core and a plurality of magnetic poles. The rotor core is formed of a plurality of magnetic steel sheets laminated in the axial direction of the rotor core. The magnetic poles are formed on a radially outer periphery of the rotor core. The magnetic poles are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotor core so that the polarities of the magnetic poles alternate between north and south in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, the magnetic steel sheets forming the rotor core are welded so that a plurality of welds are formed on one of radially outer and inner surfaces of the rotor core. Each of the welds has a pair of axial end portions that are offset from each other in the circumferential direction of the rotor core and electrically connected to each other.
US08415846B2

A stator unit for an electric motor, in particular an external rotor motor, includes a stator with a stator laminate stack and stator windings and a stator bushing and a stator flange which is formed at one end. A housing flange of a housing for accommodating a motor controller or the like is fastened on the stator flange, and with motor connection contacts, which run from the stator through through-openings in the housing flange, and with fastening means, which run through fastening holes in the housing flange and are fastened in the stator. A sealing disk is arranged between the stator and the housing flange. The sealing disk has sealing regions made from elastic plastic, which are arranged and designed in such a way that direct and/or indirect sealing of the through-openings and/or the fastening holes is provided against the ingress of moisture.
US08415844B2

There is provided a base assembly for a motor, including: a base member having a shaft system of the motor mounted therein; a pulling plate bonded to the base member to prevent excessive floating of the motor; and at least one adhesive filling part formed in the pulling plate, and providing an adhesion space for an adhesive used for bonding the pulling plate to the base member to increase a contact area with the adhesive.
US08415838B1

A linear motor includes an assembly of two or more sets of magnets and pole pieces wherein the assembly is coaxially affixed inside of a housing, which results in an air gap therebetween. The magnets are positioned so that each magnet has opposite directions of magnetization relative to its adjacent magnet. The embodiment of the motor includes a coil carrier having a single electrical coil of two or more sections with each section wound in the opposite direction to the adjacent section and positioned into the corresponding winding areas of the carrier. The coil carrier is movably positioned into the air gap and further to surround the assembly, thereby moving along an axial direction of the motor when electricity is applied to the coil.
US08415835B2

A plug-in power line conditioner is configured to receive an AC voltage from a circuit and insert a correction signal onto the circuit.
US08415834B2

A power feeding system includes: a power feeder including a mount, a primary coil, a moving means, a query output means outputting a query, a receiving means receiving notification information, a primary coil direct-current driving control means controlling the primary coil to be driven with a direct current, a query control means allowing the query output means to output a query, and a primary coil alternating-current driving control means controlling the primary coil to be driven with an alternating current; and a power-receiving equipment including a secondary coil, a sensing means disposed at a position where the sensing means can sense the query, a secondary coil direct-current driving control means controlling the secondary coil to be driven with a direct current, a notification information output means, and a secondary coil alternating-current driving control means controlling the secondary coil so that electromotive force induced by the primary coil is exerted.
US08415832B2

This invention generally relates to cable compensation, and is particularly applicable to cable compensation for an AC-DC voltage converter. In one embodiment, a cable compensation apparatus for compensating voltage drop of a cable connected between an electrical power supply and an electrical device comprises: a first capacitor; a timer circuit to time a predetermined time period; a current source to supply to said first capacitor during substantially said predetermined time period a first current substantially proportional to an output current outputted by the power supply to the cable; and a control circuit to adjust an output voltage outputted by said power supply to said cable dependent on a voltage on said first capacitor. The compensation in some embodiments is programmable by means of a discrete capacitor component.
US08415831B1

A High-Density Cabinet (HDC) that houses standard rack-mountable electronic equipment in a high-density configuration that also protects the equipment from transient electrical-supply problems. The standard HDC configuration provides up to 7,200 Watts of power at 110V or 220V AC with a backup supply lasting 30 minutes. The rack used for the HDC is approximately 2′5″ wide, 7′4″ high and approximately 3′2″ deep. The batteries in the HDC are located in the base of the HDC; the UPSs are located at the bottom of the HDC on a hinged-tray. This equipment takes up the bottom six RUs of the HDC; leaving 36 RUs available for production electronic equipment. The HDC also uses DIN-Rail blocks, which allow the safe, accessible, and unobtrusive connection of approximately 72 AC power cords into 36 sets of DIN-Rail blocks, in a space about 18″ high by 4″ wide and 2″ deep.
US08415829B2

A transportable modular multi-appliance device comprises a container, a primary power source for producing AC power, a plurality of AC-powered functional modules, AC outlets, sensors, and a controller. The primary power source is inside the container, and the functional modules are removably mounted inside the container and removably electrically coupled to the primary power source to receive AC power therefrom. The AC outlets are also electrically coupled to the primary power source. The sensors detect conditions inside the container and associated with the functional modules, and the controller is coupled to the primary power source and to the sensors and configured to automatically control the primary power source and allocate the AC power among the functional modules and the AC outlets in response to inputs from the sensors.
US08415824B2

According to the disclosure, a power sub-assembly (3) for a micro-hybrid system (1) in an automobile includes an AC-DC converter (8) with a transistor bridge (13), an energy storage device (10) and a power bus (9) including at least two cylindrical conductors (22, 22′). According to the disclosure, conductors (22, 22′) include respective coaxial cylindrical surfaces (23, 23′). The power bus integrated in the power subassembly allows for a parasitic inductance that is by far lower than that of the standard cables in power subassemblies of the prior art, particularly in order to avoid overvoltage at the terminals of the transistors in the AC-DC converter.
US08415809B2

An integrated circuit (IC) package having a packaging substrate, an IC disposed onto the packaging substrate, and a rigid support member attached to the substrate layer through an adhesive spacer is provided. The packaging substrate includes multiple decoupling capacitors positioned thereon around the IC. A heat sink is placed over the IC. The rigid support member provides enhanced structural support for the IC packaging and there is ample space between a bottom surface of the rigid support member and the packaging substrate to allow the placement of the decoupling capacitors underneath the rigid support member.
US08415801B2

There is provided a semiconductor device including: a circuit board formed by bonding a first and a second metal plates to both surfaces of an insulating substrate respectively, at least one semiconductor element to be bonded to an external surface of the first metal plate through a first solder, and a radiating base plate to be bonded to an external surface of the second metal plate through a second solder, wherein the first and the second solders are constituted by solder materials of the same type, and a ratio of a sum of thicknesses of the first and the second metal plates to a thickness of the insulating substrate is set in a predetermined range to ensure an endurance to a temperature stress of each of the first and the second solders.
US08415800B2

A method of closely interconnecting integrated circuits contained within a semiconductor wafer to electrical circuits surrounding the semiconductor wafer. Electrical interconnects are held to a minimum in length by making efficient use of polyimide or polymer as an inter-metal dielectric thus enabling the integration of very small integrated circuits within a larger circuit environment at a minimum cost in electrical circuit performance.
US08415785B1

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus comprising a substrate layer, a metal ring structure disposed on the substrate layer, the metal ring structure having an opening defined therein, and a solder mask layer coupled to (i) the metal ring structure and (ii) the substrate layer through the opening defined in the metal ring structure, the solder mask layer having a solder mask opening defined therein, wherein an edge of solder mask material defining the solder mask opening overlaps a portion of the opening defined in the metal ring structure. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US08415783B1

A packaged integrated circuit (“IC”) has a daughter IC die stacked on a backside of a parent IC die. Backside fill material is applied to the backside of the parent IC die to provide a planarized surface.
US08415769B2

Integrated circuits (1) on a wafer comprise a wafer substrate (2) and a structure applied on a surface (4) of the wafer substrate (2). The structure forms a plurality of integrated circuits (1) formed on the wafer substrate (2) and the integrated circuits (1) are separated by saw lines (6, 7). The structure comprises a plurality of superposed layers (9a-9e) formed on the wafer substrate (2) and a top layer (10) formed on the superposed layers (9a-9e). The integrated circuit (1) on the wafer further comprise a plurality of alignment marks (3) intended for aligning a separating device (18) for separating the integrated circuits (1) on the wafer into individual integrated circuits (1) during a separation process, wherein the alignment marks (3) are formed from at least one of the superposed layers (9a-9e).
US08415768B1

A compliant monopolar micro device transfer head array and method of forming a compliant monopolar micro device transfer array from an SOI substrate are described. In an embodiment, the micro device transfer head array including a base substrate and a patterned silicon layer over the base substrate. The patterned silicon layer may include a silicon interconnect and an array of silicon electrodes electrically connected with the silicon interconnect. Each silicon electrode includes a mesa structure protruding above the silicon interconnect, and each silicon electrode is deflectable into a cavity between the base substrate and the silicon electrode. A dielectric layer covers a top surface of each mesa structure.
US08415764B2

An integrated circuit device includes a semiconductor substrate having a top surface; at least one insulation region extending from the top surface into the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of base contacts of a first conductivity type electrically interconnected to each other; and a plurality of emitters and a plurality of collectors of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type. Each of the plurality of emitters, the plurality of collectors, and the plurality of base contacts is laterally spaced apart from each other by the at least one insulation region. The integrated circuit device further includes a buried layer of the second conductivity type in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the buried layer has an upper surface adjoining bottom surfaces of the plurality of collectors.
US08415757B2

A photosensitive optoelectronic device having an improved hybrid planar bulk heterojunction includes a plurality of photoconductive materials disposed between the anode and the cathode. The photoconductive materials include a first continuous layer of donor material and a second continuous layer of acceptor material. A first network of donor material or materials extends from the first continuous layer toward the second continuous layer, providing continuous pathways for conduction of holes to the first continuous layer. A second network of acceptor material or materials extends from the second continuous layer toward the first continuous layer, providing continuous pathways for conduction of electrons to the second continuous layer. The first network and the second network are interlaced with each other. At least one other photoconductive material is interspersed between the interlaced networks. This other photoconductive material or materials has an absorption spectra different from the donor and acceptor materials.
US08415756B2

There are provided a semiconductor device in which short circuit failures in magnetic resistor elements and the like are reduced, and a method of manufacturing the same. An interlayer insulating film in which memory cells are formed is formed such that the upper surface of the portion of the interlayer insulating film located in a memory cell region where the magnetic resistor elements are formed is at a position lower than that of the upper surface of the portion of the interlayer insulating film located in a peripheral region. Another interlayer insulating film is formed so as to cover the magnetic resistor elements. In the another interlayer insulating film, formed are bit lines electrically coupled to the magnetic resistor elements. Immediately below the magnetic resistor elements, formed are digit lines.
US08415744B2

The present invention relates to methods and devices for reducing the threshold voltage difference between an n-type field effect transistor (n-FET) and a p-type field effect transistor (p-FET) in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuit located on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. Specifically, a substrate bias voltage is applied to the CMOS circuit for differentially adjusting the threshold voltages of the n-FET and the p-FET. For example, a positive substrate bias voltage can be used to reduce the threshold voltage of the n-FET but increase that of the p-FET, while a negative substrate bias voltage can be used to increase the threshold voltage of the n-FET but reduce that of the p-FET. Further, two or more substrate bias voltages of different magnitudes and/or directions can be used for differentially adjusting the n-FET and p-FET threshold voltages in two or more different CMOS circuits or groups of CMOS circuits.
US08415742B2

Semiconductor memory devices and methods of forming semiconductor memory devices are provided. The methods may include forming insulation layers and cell gate layers that are alternately stacked on a substrate, forming an opening by successively patterning through the cell gate layers and the insulation layers, and forming selectively conductive barriers on sidewalls of the cell gate layers in the opening.
US08415740B2

Provided is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, that buried gate electrodes are formed in a pair of trenches in a substrate, so as to be recessed from the level of the top end of the trenches, a base region is formed between a predetermined region located between the pair of trenches, and a source region is formed over the base region.
US08415739B2

A semiconductor component that includes an edge termination structure and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor component. A semiconductor material has a semiconductor device region and an edge termination region. One or more device trenches may be formed in the semiconductor device region and one or more termination trenches is formed in the edge termination region. A source electrode is formed in a portion of a termination trench adjacent its floor and a floating electrode termination structure is formed in the portion of the termination trench adjacent its mouth. A second termination trench may be formed in the edge termination region and a non-floating electrode may be formed in the second termination trench. Alternatively, the second termination trench may be omitted and a trench-less non-floating electrode may be formed in the edge termination region.
US08415736B2

A MONOS type non-volatile semiconductor memory device which is capable of electrically writing, erasing, reading and retaining data, the memory device including source/drain regions, a first gate insulating layer, a first charge trapping layer formed on the first gate insulating layer, a second gate insulating layer formed on the first charge trapping layer, and a controlling electrode formed on the second gate insulating layer. The first charge trapping layer includes an insulating film containing Al and O as major elements and having a defect pair formed of a complex of an interstitial O atom and a tetravalent cationic atom substituting for an Al atom, the insulating film also having electron unoccupied levels within the range of 2 eV-6 eV as measured from the valence band maximum of Al2O3.
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