US09340075B2
A TPMS auto localization system for on-demand tire parameter acquisition and an associated method includes a central unit configured to receive and transmit radio-frequency (RF) signals, and a tire module associated with a tire. The tire module is configured to measure one or more tire parameters based on a received low frequency (LF) command and transmit the one or more tire parameters to the central unit. A repeater module is associated with the tire module, and is configured to receive the RF signal from the central unit and translate the RF signal into a LF command to be transmitted to the tire module.
US09340071B2
A pneumatic tire with a designated installing direction to a vehicle, includes a tread portion with an inboard and an outboard tread edges, the tread portion provided with a pair of inboard and outboard center main grooves and a pair of inboard and outboard shoulder main grooves to form a center portion, a pair of middle portions, and a pair of shoulder portions, each of the inboard center main groove, the outboard center main groove and the inboard shoulder main groove having a groove width of from 10 to 20 mm, the outboard shoulder main groove having a groove width of from 2 to 5 mm, the outboard shoulder portion provided with outboard shoulder lateral grooves each extending from the outboard tread edge without reaching the outboard shoulder main groove, and the outboard middle portion provided with outboard middle lateral grooves.
US09340066B2
The invention relates to a wheel (1), particularly a partially light-metal wheel and/or a light-metal wheel for motor vehicles, essentially comprising a rim (2) and a wheel spider (3), wherein the wheel spider (3) is made of a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. According to the invention, the wheel (1) has a clamping ring (4). The wheel spider (3) can be fastened to the rim (2) by means of the clamping ring (4).
US09340065B2
A turn limited wheel lug nut and nut cap combination is provided. The combination includes a lug nut for retaining a wheel on a vehicle. The lug nut has an external lobe. The combination also includes a nut cap, which is turnable with respect to the lug nut. The nut cap has an internal cam, which cooperates with the external lobe to locate the nut cap with respect to the lug nut with not more than a partial turn. The nut cap also has a stop, which cooperates with the external lobe to limit the partial turn of the nut cap with respect to the lug nut. And, the nut cap has a retention feature, which cooperates with the external lobe to retain the nut cap on the lug nut.
US09340058B2
The present invention relates to a blanket for offset printing and a manufacturing method thereof. The blanket for offset printing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a cushion layer, a support layer, and at least two surface printing layers, wherein the at least two surface printing layers comprise a silicon-based resin in which at least one of a hardness value, a fluorine group content value, and a silicon oil content value is different. The blanket for offset printing according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the surface printing layer formed in at least two layers to prevent the surface printing layer from being swollen due to ink, thereby reducing a process waiting time and improving a process margin.
US09340051B2
When test print is performed for printing an image on a transparent sheet, an inexpensive sheet is used instead of the transparent sheet. A method for controlling a printing apparatus includes receiving a setting of the test print, and performing control to print the image as a mirror image on a second side of the transparent sheet if the setting of the test print is not received, and performing control to feed an alternative sheet instead of the transparent sheet to print the image as a normal image on a first side of the alternative sheet if the setting of the test print is received.
US09340045B2
A recording apparatus includes: recording modules; a storage; a receiver; a first path extending from the storage to the plurality of recording modules; 6a second path extending from the recording modules to the receiver; and third paths extending between the first path and the second path via first connection positions and second connection positions. The second path has one end connected to the receiver and the other end connected to a portion of the first path which is located upstream of the first connection positions. When the recording medium having passed through the first path once is conveyed to the first path again via the second path, the conveyor conveys the recording medium in a state in which a first surface and a second surface of the recording medium are reversed when compared with a stain which the recording medium passes through the first path in preceding conveyance.
US09340044B2
A holding member includes a base, a transparent sheet, first, second and third signs. The base has an adhesive part on which a sheet-shaped object is removably placed. The sheet holds the object between the base and itself. The first sign indicates a type of the holding member. The second sign indicates that the sheet is located at a closed position. The second sign on the sheet and the first and third signs on the base are located at a front part of the base with respect to an insertion direction of the holding member when the sheet is located at a closed position. The first to third signs are located between a front end of the adhesive part and a front end of the base with respect to the insertion direction when the sheet is located at the closed position.
US09340041B2
There is provided a drying device including a plurality of surface-emitting laser elements each having a plurality of laser elements and arranged along a feeding direction of a recording medium. First power supplying pads are respectively provided at both ends of an electrode on a laser illumination surface of each surface-emitting laser element in a width direction of the recording medium and a second power supplying pad is provided at one end of the electrode on a backside of each surface-emitting laser element in the feeding direction. The respective first power supplying pads of the surface-emitting laser element arranged at an upstream-side in the feeding direction and the second power supplying pad of the surface-emitting laser element arranged at a downstream-side in the feeding direction are connected to each other by wires.
US09340038B2
A drawing apparatus detects, as base coat information, a contour of a base coat region which is formed on a surface of a drawing object by applying a first ink used for a base coat on the surface of the drawing object with a drawing tool so as to fill in a design region surrounded with a contour of a design image, before the design image is printed on the surface of the drawing object, and adjusts a size of the design image and generates an adjusted design image which has a size sufficient to cover a whole area of the base coat region, based on the detected base coat information.The drawing apparatus then prints, by a print head, the adjusted design image on the base coat region at a position at which the adjusted design image covers the whole area of the base coat region.
US09340035B2
An ink jet printer in which a plurality of nozzles includes a failed nozzle that fails to discharge an ink droplet, a primary vicinal nozzle that forms a dot in an adjacent pixel which is adjacent in a direction intersecting a scanning direction to a dot-missing pixel which is caused by the failed nozzle and is continuous in the scanning direction, and a secondary vicinal nozzle that forms a dot in a secondary adjacent pixel which is adjacent to the adjacent pixel on the opposite side of the adjacent pixel from the dot-missing pixel, and a dot formation unit forms a dot by displacing the position of a dot formed by an ink droplet from the primary vicinal nozzle in the scanning direction and the position of a dot formed by an ink droplet from the secondary vicinal nozzle in the scanning direction.
US09340012B2
An image forming apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting head including a nozzle that ejects a droplet and a pressure producing unit that produces pressure to pressurize a pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle; and a head drive controlling unit that provides a driving signal to the pressure producing unit. The head drive controlling unit outputs the driving signal including at least a first driving pulse and a second driving pulse to eject droplets and a residual vibration suppressing pulse to suppress residual vibration in the pressure chamber without ejecting a droplet. The residual vibration suppressing pulse is output at such a timing that the residual vibration suppressing pulse has an opposite phase to a composite vibration Vab that is formed by superposition of a meniscus vibration Va generated by droplet ejection with the first driving pulse and a meniscus vibration Vb generated by droplet ejection with the second driving pulse.
US09340009B2
A printing apparatus includes a full-line printhead in which a plurality of chips, on each of which a plurality of nozzle arrays are juxtaposed, are arranged in the nozzle arrayed direction, and which prints by the entire width of a printing medium using a plurality of nozzles arranged on the plurality of chips. The printing apparatus discharges ink from a predetermined number of successive nozzles on each nozzle array of each chip toward a printing medium during conveyance, thereby forming a plurality of first patterns corresponding to at least one nozzle array of each chip on the printing medium in the nozzle arrayed direction, reads the plurality of first patterns from the printing medium during conveyance using a sensor, calculates the shift amount of an ink attached position based on the plurality of read first patterns and corrects the attached position of ink based on the shift amount.
US09340006B2
A system and method for securing a printer. The system including a server, comprising a nontransitory storage medium, storing program code configured to: receive a disconnect notice having a disconnect timestamp, the disconnect timestamp representing a time a printer was disconnected from a host computer; receive from a reader a request for validation, the request having a print timestamp derived from a security feature printed by the printer; compare the disconnect timestamp with the print timestamp to determine if the security feature was printed after printer was disconnected from the host computer.
US09339998B2
Apparatus for sealing or tying products, comprising a housing (2) with at least a first tape dispenser (3) and a star wheel (4), a slot (5) defined by or through the housing, wherein the star wheel extends at least partly in said slot, wherein the star wheel comprises a series of first cells (19) and a series of second cells (20), the first and second cells being intermittently disposed the star wheel, each cell being open to a periphery of the star wheel and two opposite sides thereof, wherein an urging device is provided having at least one edge portion for urging at least one product to be tied into one of the cells, especially a first cell.
US09339996B2
The present invention relates to a scratch-resistant micro- and/or nanostructured surface comprising a plurality of micro-scale and/or nano-scale surface elements, said surface being essentially unchanged when being subjected to 10 rubbing cycles according to A.A.T.C.C. test method 8-1972 using a cotton cloth and a total stamp weight of 300 g, and comprising a polymeric material having 1) an elongation at break of at least 10%, 2) an irreversible relative plastic deformation (permanent set) of less than 2% and a 3) a tensile strength of at least 5 MPa. The present invention furthermore relates to a hydrophobic micro- and/or nanostructured surface comprising a plurality of micro-scale and/or nano-scale surface elements and having a static contact angle against water of at least 90, said surface comprising a polymeric material having 1) an elongation at break of at least 10%, 2) an irreversible relative plastic deformation (permanent set) of less than 2% and a 3) a tensile strength of at least 5 MPa.
US09339995B2
A heat shrink film comprising a core layer having an upper and lower surface and comprising a blend of (A) less than 40% of an alpha-olefin copolymer that is a copolymer of ethylene or propylene with an alpha-olefin and (B) a polyolefin copolymer, and (C) an olefin homopolymer; a skin layer on the upper surface of the core layer; and a skin layer on the lower surface of the core layer. The film exhibits excellent shrinkage and is suitable as a shrink film to encapsulate a wide variety of articles including, for example, batteries.
US09339993B2
A thin lightweight glass fascia for appliances. The fascia may be a seamless shaped glass fascia for an appliance, such as a glass fascia that wraps around at least two opposing edges of an appliance. The glass fascia may seamlessly incorporate a display or control panel under the fascia. A mounting arrangement that facilitates quick fascia removal and replacement may be provided. The fascia may be a chemically-strengthened glass sheet having a thickness of less than 2.0 mm, and a near-surface region under a compressive stress, wherein the compressive stress (CS) at a surface of the first glass sheet is greater than 300 MPa and extends to a depth of layer of at least 20 micrometers.
US09339990B2
A Zr-based or Zr—Cu based metallic glass thin film (MGTF) coated on aluminum alloy substrate and a method of fabricating the metallic glass and MGTF coated on aluminum alloy substrate are disclosed. The Zr-based metallic glass thin film-coated aluminum alloy substrate of the present invention comprises: an aluminum alloy substrate; and a Zr-based metallic glass thin film located on the substrate, in which the Zr-based metallic glass is represented by the formula of (ZraCubNicAld)100-xSix, wherein 45=
US09339987B2
A composite sheet material and method for forming the same is provided that includes a substrate, a matrix, and a cover sheet. The substrate has a first face surface, a second face surface, and a plurality of edges, and includes a thermoplastic material. The matrix is attached to the substrate. The matrix includes a support component having a first melting point, and a thermoplastic component having a second melting point. The second melting point is less than the first melting point. The cover sheet imparts one or more surface characteristics to the composite sheet material during thermo-pressure formation of the composite sheet material.
US09339982B2
A method of forming a higher density bale of waste paper from two or more lower density bales of waste paper includes positioning the lower density bales intact and in side-by-side relationship with respect to each other, moving them to a compression zone, and compressing the bales together in the compression zone to form a higher density bale. The higher density bale can then be strapped to maintain its higher density configuration and shape. Thus, a larger tonnage of waste paper in bales can be loaded into a shipping container for transport. A rebaler for carrying out the method includes side feed and side retrieval of bales, significantly improving over traditional top feed machines.
US09339981B2
A modular plastic floor tile is formed by molding a body of a first polymer compound and overmolding features onto the body from a second polymer compound. The compounds may be different from each other in hardness and/or color. The overmolded features may include skins on the sides and bottoms of support member cores disposed below the tile lower surface.
US09339968B2
A mold device and a method related thereto for forming a plastic container from a preform. The mold device comprises a mold defining a mold cavity, a stretch initiation rod system for engaging an interior portion of the preform to define a stretch initiation area, and a centrally disposed pressure source positionable within the preform for introducing a pressurized fluid.
US09339966B2
A machine is provided for blow-molding articles from a strip of material. The machine has a mount with two frames mounted thereon. Each frame is connected to a movement actuator so as to be movable along a path of the strip between respective positions that are upstream and downstream relative to a travel direction of the strip through the machine. A pipe, a holder member, and a mold are mounted respectively on an item selected from the mount and the frames. A control unit is connected to the movement actuators to control them in such a manner as to generate a sequence of moving the guide pipe and the mold relative to the holder member and of opening and closing the mold in such a manner as to cause the strip to advance along the rectilinear path.
US09339965B2
The device serves for extruding and includes an extrusion head for connection to at least two extruders. Moreover, in the area of the extrusion head, at least one tool is arranged for shaping a product composed of at least two extruded materials. At least one expanding element is arranged in an area of the tool facing the extrusion head. The expanding element is constructed so as to be essentially smooth in an area of a first surface and has at least one flow path for the extruded material in the area of its second surface facing away from the first surface.
US09339936B2
A device for lifting and positioning an object generates a low pressure by a whirlwind for suctioning the object. The device includes a housing having a suction opening. The housing has at least one friction element which at least partly covers the suction opening. The friction element can have a three-dimensional structure. The device can facilitate handling of objects having a curved shape or rough surface.
US09339927B2
An accessory clamping mechanism for clamping an accessory to a working mandrel of a power tool wherein the working mandrel has a mandrel flange and a first longitudinal axis. The accessory clamping mechanism includes: at least one clamping member; a thrust member for supporting the clamping member; an elastic member by which the thrust member is biased towards a clamped position; a driving assembly for forcing the thrust member and the clamping member to move along the first longitudinal axis, the driving assembly comprising a driving member moved between a first position in which the accessory is in the clamped position and a second position in which the accessory is in a released position, the thrust member and the clamping member being driven by the driving member to move along the first longitudinal axis; and a motion converting member for driving the clamping member to move in a direction different from the first longitudinal axis.
US09339924B2
A hammer mechanism including: a motor; a piston reciprocatingly driven by the motor; a ram reciprocatingly driven by the reciprocating piston via an air spring; a beat piece supported in an axially slideable manner within a beat piece support structure which, during the normal operation of the hammer mechanism, is repetitively struck by the ram and which transfers the impacts to a cutting tool when held by the tool holder; wherein the beat piece comprises a first impact surface and the beat piece support structure including a second impact surface, the first and second impact surfaces coming into contact with each other when the beat piece axially slides to its furthest position away from the ram; and wherein the shape of the two surfaces relative to each other is arranged so that there is a non-uniform amount of contact between the first and second surfaces around the longitudinal axis.
US09339922B2
The present disclosure relates generally to crimping tool for crimping a cup washer to a bolt. The crimping tool includes several alignment features that prevent the crimping tool from being used in an orientation other than a desired orientation.
US09339915B2
The disclosure provides a PCD element containing a substrate and a PCD layer. The PCD has a top surface, a side surface, an intermediate surface, an unleached region containing a diamond body matrix and an interstitial matrix including a catalyst, and a leached region containing a diamond body matrix and empty space in the place of the interstitial matrix. The catalyst has been leached from the empty space in the place of the interstitial matrix. The unleached region is adjacent to a substantial portion of the side surface and the leached region is not adjacent to a substantial portion of the side surface, and the leached region is adjacent to the top surface or the intermediate surface. The disclosure also provides a system and method for leaching a PCD element including a liquid able to leach a catalyst and a protective member.
US09339914B2
Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a substrate polishing and slurry recycling system. The system includes an extendable gutter that may be positioned to collect processing slurry from the polishing pad during processing and deliver the consumed slurry to a reclamation tank. The reclaimed slurry may be treated and mixed with fresh slurry for delivery to the polishing pad during subsequent substrate polishing. The extendable gutter may be positioned in a second position during rinsing of the polishing pad so that rinsing fluid passes underneath the gutter and is removed from the system without mixing with the reclaimed slurry.
US09339911B2
The method is for sharpening a blade. An automatic sharpening apparatus is provided that has a housing with an elongate opening defined therein. A blade is placed inside the elongate opening. The blade is tightened between self-centered clamp holders. The rotation of the grinding wheel is turned on. The rotating grinding-wheel engages an underside of the blade and automatically moves along the blade by following a contour of the blade. While the grinding wheel moves along the blade, a counter-weight provides a counter-weight to the grinding wheel. The blade is sharpened while the blade is stationary inside the elongate opening of the housing.
US09339907B2
To provide a chip disposal device of a machine tool which surely separates and collects a cutting fluid adhering to a chip lump, thereby capable of reducing an amount of the cutting fluid discharged to the outside of the machine. The chip disposal device includes a liquid separating part 65 which separates and collects a cutting fluid adhering to chips, the liquid separating part 65 has a mounting part 66 which is provided continuously from an inclined discharge surface 20a and is inclined so as to get lower as it goes more apart outward from the inclined discharge surface 20a, and to which a first chip lump a1 conveyed by a first scraping plate 36a is transferred. Then, the first chip lump a1 on the mounting part 66 stays on the mounting part 66 until dropping by being pushed by a second chip lump a2 conveyed by a second scraping plate 36b following the first scraping plate 36a.
US09339905B2
In a tool changer, a turret can move toward and away from a spindle through a swinging movement about a swing shaft. Force applied to a turret mechanism unit at each phase in the swinging movement of the turret is calculated, and a swinging pattern of the turret is determined in accordance with the result of the calculation.
US09339901B2
Universal support poles and kits therefor are disclosed herein. The universal support poles and kits may comprise a ceiling mount and a floor mount. The universal support poles and kits may comprise at least three pole members. The pole members may be swage coupled together. Methods of assembling universal support poles are also disclosed herein.
US09339900B2
The present invention provides various aspects of support for a fabrication facility capable of routine placement and replacement of processing tools. Support aspects include support structure for processing tools, a clean environment carrier for a single substrate, and a quick disconnect flange which facilitates connecting and disconnect of electrical, liquid and gas utilities to a processing tool placed in the fabricator.
US09339899B2
A fastening method comprising using a control apparatus to select a first upsetting volume of an upsetting die, using a punch to push a first fastener into a workpiece and using the upsetting die to upset the first fastener, then using the control apparatus to select a second upsetting volume of the upsetting die, using the punch to push a second fastener into a workpiece and using the upsetting die to upset the second fastener, or using the punch and the upsetting die to form a clinch joint.
US09339888B2
A bonding apparatus includes a bonding arm which has a receiving portion facing a center axis of a bonding tool; a pair of capillary holding portions in contact with the bonding tool; a pair of piezoelectric elements configured to generate an ultrasonic vibration in contact with the capillary holding portions; and a pressurizing device which has a pressurizing member arranged to face the receiving portion of the bonding arm and a moving device configured to move the pressurizing member toward the receiving portion of the bonding arm. The pressurizing member is moved in a state in which the pair of piezoelectric elements, the pair of capillary holding portions, and the bonding tool are placed between the receiving portion of the bonding arm to cause the bonding arm to hold the pair of capillary holding portion and the bonding tool.
US09339887B2
In the bonding of an aluminum alloy material (11) to a steel material (12) by TIG welding, a tungsten electrode (1) which has a tip having a diagonally cut tip face (2) and asymmetrical to the electrode center axis (6) is used. The tungsten electrode (1) is oriented toward the welding line from the upper side of the aluminum alloy material (11) in such a manner that the tip face side of the tungsten electrode (1) faces the aluminum alloy material (11) side and the tip (2a) of the tip face (2) faces the steel material (12) side. In this manner, an arc (3) from the tip (2a) is directed to the steel material (12) side.
US09339883B2
A welding method, including: forming a molten solder in a solder bath, forming a dynamic flow of the molten solder from the solder bath, and contacting an object to be welded with the dynamic flow of the molten solder and conducting welding. The surface of the molten solder includes a reduction layer. The oxygen content of the molten solder is below 10 ppm.
US09339879B2
For machining a concave-convex gear in which concave teeth of the concave-convex gear and convex teeth of a mating gear are formed in a circumferential direction, to allow torque transmission to or from the mating gear, in a trajectory extracting step a relative movement trajectory of each convex tooth of the mating gear with respect to the concave-convex gear at the time when torque is transmitted is first extracted as a machining target. Then, in a machining step, the concave teeth of the concave-convex gear are machined on a disc-shaped workpiece by moving at least one of the disc-shaped workpiece and a working tool such that a relative movement trajectory of the working tool with respect to the disc-shaped workpiece coincides with the relative movement trajectory of each convex tooth of the mating gear with respect to the concave-convex gear extracted in the trajectory extracting step.
US09339874B2
A cutting tool including a body, a blade, a feed shaft, and a locking member. The body defines an axis and is adapted to be received by a spindle of a power tool. The blade is removably supportable on the body and rotatable about the axis for cutting a workpiece. A feed shaft is removably supportable in the body and rotatable about the axis for engaging a workpiece, the feed shaft being mountable in the cutting tool to engage and at least partially restrain the blade. The feed shaft further includes an opening transverse to the axis. The locking member is engageable with the body and with the opening in the feed shaft. Advancement of the locking member into the opening tightens both the blade and the feed shaft to the body.
US09339847B2
A vibrating aggregate for moving the processing device, the vibrating aggregate including at least a frame, a shaft having an axial line and being arranged to rotate with respect to the frame, as well as a first element connected to the shaft in such a way that the center of mass of the element is not on the axial line, and fitted to move along a circular path. The vibrating aggregate also comprises a second element coupled to the shaft and arranged to move along a linear path. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for processing mineral material, and a method for moving the processing device of an apparatus for processing mineral material.
US09339845B2
The present invention aims to provide a surface modification method for a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic elastomer, which can impart excellent sliding properties and durability against repeated sliding motion and can allow the surface to maintain the sealing properties, without using expensive self-lubricating plastics. The present invention relates to a surface modification method for modifying a rubber vulcanizate or a thermoplastic elastomer as an object to be modified, the method including: Step 1 of allowing a photopolymerization initiator to be adsorbed on a surface of the object to be modified; and Step 2 of radical polymerizing monomers, starting from the adsorbed photopolymerization initiator, by irradiation with UV light at a wavelength of 300 nm to 400 nm to grow polymer chains on the surface of the object to be modified.
US09339842B2
A method of transferring a dye to a composite material comprising applying the dye to a transfer media to create a colored transfer media, placing the colored transfer media into contact with the composite material, and applying, using an autoclave, at least one of heat, external pressure, vacuum pressure to infuse the dye to the composite material to create a colored composite material.
US09339841B2
An adjustable roller frame may include a frame, a pair of extension arms that are slidable within a channel in the frame, and a pair of cam assemblies that are used to selectively prevent and permit the extension arms to slide.
US09339833B2
In at least one embodiment, a paint applicator robot is provided. The robot may include a robotic arm including a hollow joint and a paint applicator, a color tree disposed between the hollow joint and the paint applicator, and a dual-lumen line extending through the hollow joint to the color tree. The dual-lumen line may include a paint supply path to the color tree and a paint return path from the color tree. The robot may include a plurality of the dual-lumen lines, for example, up to 48 dual-lumen lines, each providing a paint color to the color tree. The robot may be included in a robotic paint station and may be configured to receive paint from and return paint to a drop box connected to a paint recirculation system.
US09339828B1
A percussive sprinkler includes a base having a supporting portion and a mounting portion. An inlet pipe is secured on the mounting portion for guiding water into the percussive sprinkler. A guide frame is rotatably mounting on the inlet pipe. A watering tube is mounted on the inlet pipe and communicates with the inlet pipe for spraying water from the inlet pipe. The guide frame has a tube coupling extending therefrom near the inlet pipe and the watering tube is mounted onto the tube coupling such that the eater from the inlet pipe firstly sprays out from the watering tube before flowing to the spray head of the guide frame.
US09339821B2
An apparatus is disclosed for separating minerals in drilling fluid based primarily on density. The separator creates and maintains a slurry with a controllable density for separating minerals from drill cuttings. The density is controlled through the use of an electrode array. The separator comprises a primary separation chamber containing the dense slurry, and a multiple number of secondary separation chambers used to separate cuttings from the drilling fluid. The invention also contains inlet hardware allowing the mixed mineral suspension to enter the first separation chamber, and hardware allowing the three outlet (separated) streams to exit the device. One of the three outlet streams carries the minerals that have a density greater than the user selectable density set point, while the second carries the minerals that have a density less than the density set point, and the third carries clean drilling fluid.
US09339817B2
Disclosed herein are high-throughput sample processing systems and waste management systems, and methods of using the same.
US09339813B2
The invention relates to a substance determining apparatus for determining a substance within a fluid. Particles attach the substance and bind to a binding surface (30), wherein a sensing signal is generated depending on the bound particles. Binding events indicating a binding of a particle on the binding surface (30) are determined from the generated sensing signal, and the substance within the fluid is determined based on the determined binding events. During a procedure of determining a substance within a fluid, particles may bind to the binding surface and may leave the binding surface. Therefore, during this procedure a number of binding events can be determined being much larger than the number of bound particles. The determination of the substance within the fluid can therefore be based on a very large amount of data, thereby increasing the accuracy of determining the substance within the fluid.
US09339808B2
Surface-active solid-phase catalyst activity may be substantially improved by creating deliberate repetitive surface-to-surface contact between portions of the active surfaces of catalyst objects. While they are immersed in reactant material such contact between portions of the active surfaces of catalyst objects can substantially activate the surfaces of many heterogeneous catalysts. Examples are given of such action employing a multitude of predetermined shapes, supported catalyst structures, etc. agitated or otherwise brought into contact to produce numerous surface collisions. One embodiment employs a gear pump mechanism with catalytically active-surfaced gear teeth to create the repetitive transient contacting action during pumping of a flow of reactant. The invention is applicable to many other forms for creating transient catalytic surface contacting action. Optionally catalytic output of such systems may be significantly further improved by employing radiant energy or vibration.
US09339804B2
The present invention is directed to a method for the preparation of ruthenium catalyst (PCy3)2CI2Ru(phenylindenylidene) (Umicore catalyst “M1”). The method comprises a one-step reaction reacting the precursor compound (PPh3)2CI2Ru(3-phenylindenylidene) with PCy3 in a cyclic ether solvent (preferably THF) in concentrations in the range of 0.2 to 0.6 mol catalyst/I while simultaneously precipitating the product from the reaction mixture. A cyclic ether solvate product with high crystallinity and high purity is obtained.
US09339799B2
To provide a honeycomb structure capable of using as a catalyst carrier, which functions as a heater, and where a bonding layer is hard to break and an electrical resistance value is hard to rise; including a honeycomb segment bonded body where honeycomb segments are bonded by bonding layer, and a pair of electrode members disposed on a side surface of the bonded body, the electrode members is formed into a band shape, and in a cross section perpendicular to the cell extending direction, one electrode member is disposed on an opposite side across the center of the bonded body to another electrode member, and in at least a part of the bonding layer, inorganic fibers made of β-SiC and a metal silicide are included in a porous body where silicon carbide are bound with silicon in a state where pores are held among the particles.
US09339795B2
This invention relates to the process of using a catalyst for the photo-catalytic degradation of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in water. A Pd/Ce2O3—ZnO photo-catalyst is formed to react with MTBE dissolved in water sample and UV irradiated to reduce the MTBE concentration in the water sample. A 95-97% degradation of MTBE is observed using this process.
US09339791B2
Disclosed herein is a ceramic body comprising at least one phase comprising a pseudobrookite-type crystal structure and at least one phase comprising zirconium tin titanate. Also disclosed are porous ceramic honeycomb structures comprising a ceramic body comprising at least one phase comprising a pseudobrookite-type crystal structure and at least one phase comprising zirconium tin titanate and methods of preparing a ceramic body comprising at least one phase comprising a pseudobrookite-type crystal structure and at least one phase comprising zirconium tin titanate.
US09339786B2
The packing includes a pile of plates having corrugations forming a succession of positive and negative edges, each edge comprising fins, each fin being made up of at least one band cut out in one of the plates and remaining secured to the plate on at least one side, the band being deformed so as to create an orifice forming a discontinuity on the surface of the plate, wherein the direction of the edges of a plate forms a non-zero angle with respect to the direction of the edges of an adjacent plate. Each plate has at least one longitudinal zone parallel to one lip of the plate where the edges have no orifice, the zones being positioned in such a way that two adjacent plates have their zone one above the other so as to form at least one point of contact between a positive edge and a negative edge of the two adjacent plates.
US09339785B2
Hydroprocessing can be performed at low pressure using acoustic energy. For example, hydroprocessing a feedstock having one or more hydrocarbon compounds carried in, or mixed with, a transport gas involves flowing the feedstock through a reaction zone in a reactor that has a bulk pressure less than 68 atm and applying acoustic energy through the reaction zone. The hydrocarbon compounds are chemically reacted with a hydrogen source in the presence of a catalyst, wherein the reacting occurs in the reaction zone.
US09339784B2
Provided are methods and apparatus for forming electrode active materials for electrochemical cells. These materials include a metal (e.g., iron, cobalt), lithium, and fluorine and are produced using plasma synthesis or, more specifically, non-equilibrium plasma synthesis. A metal containing material, organometallic lithium containing material, and fluorine-containing material are provided into a flow reactor, mixed, and exposed to the electrical energy generating plasma. The plasma generation enhances reaction between the provided materials and forms nanoparticles of the electrode active materials. The nanoparticles may have a mean size of 1-30 nanometers and may have a core-shell structure. The core may be formed by metal, while the shell may include lithium fluoride. A carbon shell may be disposed over the lithium fluoride shell. The nanoparticles are collected and may be used to form an electrochemical cell. Besides fluoride components, these methods may be used to form oxides, chlorides, nitrides, and sulfides.
US09339781B2
The present invention relates to a method of preparing an aqueous dispersion of polymer encapsulated particulate material, the method comprising: providing a dispersion of the particulate material in a continuous aqueous phase, the dispersion comprising ethylenically unsaturated monomer and a stabilizer for the particulate material; and polymerizing the ethylenically unsaturated monomer by non-living free radical polymerization to form polymer that encapsulates the particulate material, thereby providing the aqueous dispersion of polymer encapsulated particulate material; wherein polymerization of the ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprises: (a) polymerizing a monomer composition that includes ionizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer so as to form a base responsive water swellable non-living polymer layer that encapsulates the particulate material; and (b) polymerizing a monomer composition that includes non-ionizable ethylenically unsaturated monomer so as to form an extensible, water and base permeable non-living polymer layer that encapsulates the base responsive water swellable polymer layer.
US09339779B1
A shaking device for mixing nail polish mixes bottles of nail polish prior to use in order to achieve a uniform mixing of contents in the bottle. The shaking device includes a housing having a top side, a bottom side, and a peripheral wall extending between the top and bottom sides. A frame is mounted in an interior of the housing. A primary shaft is coupled to the frame. A container is coupled to the primary shaft and has an interior space configured for holding an object to be shaken. A motor is coupled to the frame. The motor is mechanically coupled to the primary shaft wherein actuation of the motor causes movement of the primary shaft and vibrates the object held in the container.
US09339777B2
The present invention relates to a method, an apparatus and a rotor for homogenizing a medium. The invention may be utilized in all areas of industry where mere homogenization of a medium or mixing of at least two flowing media is needed. A preferred application of the invention can be found in pulp and paper making industry where various chemicals have to be mixed with fiber suspensions. A characterizing feature of the invention is the symmetry of the homogenizing operation in the homogenizing chamber.
US09339772B1
A system for delivering vortex rings to an intended target includes a vortex ring generator, one or more component storage containers, and a component additive mechanism. The vortex ring generator is configured to deliver and air vortex rings. The component additive mechanism is configured to remove a component from at least one of the one or more component storage containers, generate a gas from the component, and to add the gas to a vortex ring after the vortex ring is generated by the vortex ring generator.
US09339770B2
A semipermeable gas separation membrane is plasma deposited from liquid organosiloxane monomer having at least three silicon atoms and an alpha hydrogen atom. The semipermeable membrane may be employed as a gas-selective membrane in combination with a porous substrate.
US09339763B2
The present invention relates to a system and a method for the concentration of slurry, especially mineral containing slurry. The invention provides a system comprising an electrophoresis unit and a separation unit, where the separation unit comprises a recipient, preferably of half cylindrical form, with adjusted flanks for separating the solid material or cake from the rotating anodes and a sliding carriage suitable for closing the recipient and stripping resting solid material from the flanks into the recipient before the solid material or cake is pressed out of the recipient by a piston.
US09339756B1
A solvent for absorbing H2S and CO2 is regenerated using two regenerators. Rich solvent is fed to a first regenerator producing a first acid gas stream from the top, and a partially regenerated solvent from the bottom. The partially regenerated solvent is fed to a second regenerator producing an overhead vapor stream from the top and a lean solvent stream from the bottom. A portion of the second regenerator overhead vapor stream may be cascaded to the first regenerator to contact rich solvent. The first acid gas stream and the remaining second regenerator overhead vapor stream are respectively fed to the first and second reaction zones of a two-stage Claus reaction furnace. Substantially all volatile organic contaminants are stripped in the first regenerator, and thus favorably destroyed in the first reaction furnace zone by virtue of higher local combustion temperatures and closer approach to oxidizing conditions.
US09339751B2
A filter for liquid or gaseous media has a cylindrical form in the closed position and a curved form in the open position. The filter includes a frame and at least one filter element arranged on the frame. Two circumferential ends of the frame are provided with fixing elements for fixing to each other in the closed position. In a plurality of first sections of the frame the frame has a first wall thickness. In a plurality of second sections of the frame the frame has a second wall thickness less than the first wall thickness. The wall thicknesses are measured in the radial direction in the closed position of the filter, respectively with a second section between two first sections.
US09339750B2
A filter (10) for removing oil from air exiting an air compressor or a vacuum pump includes a housing (11) and at least one filter element (12, 13), the end region of which is adhesively bonded to a flange (14). The flange (14) has a flanged edge (15) and a bead (16) which is adjacently arranged to the edge, the edge and the bead together forming a groove (17) into which the filter element (12, 13) and an adhesive (20) is introduced.
US09339727B2
A service may be provided to a set of people when the people satisfy a proximity criterion. In one example, that set of people comprises users of a particular application and/or registrants with a particular system. A location monitor may determine people's location based on position data received from those people's devices (which may be obtained pursuant to appropriate permission in order to respect the device owners' interest in privacy). When the location monitor determines, based on people's positions, that a proximity criterion has been satisfied, the location monitor may cause a service to be provided that would not otherwise have been provided if the proximity criterion had not been satisfied. By providing additional service when a proximity criterion is satisfied, a reward in the virtual world is used to encourage people to gather in the physical world.
US09339724B2
A computer graphics display system such as a video game system provides virtual camera 3-D viewpoint panning control based on a pointer. When the pointer is displayed within a virtual camera panning control region, the system automatically pans the virtual camera toward the pointer. When the pointer is displayed within a different region, panning is deactivated and the user can freely move the cursor (e.g., to control the direction a weapon is pointed) without panning the virtual camera viewpoint. Flexible viewpoint control and other animated features are provided based on a pointing device such as a handheld video game optical pointing control. Useful applications include but are not limited to first person shooter type video games.
US09339721B2
A toy ring is disclosed herein. The toy ring having: a platform; a plurality of posts positioned about the platform, a first one of the plurality of posts being pivotally mounted to the platform at a first end and configured for movement between a first position and a second position, wherein a second end of the first one of the plurality of posts, opposite the first end, moves in a first direction away from the platform when the first one of the plurality of posts is moved from the first position to the second position; an elastic member secured to each one of the plurality of posts, wherein the elastic member provides a biasing force to the first one of the plurality of posts in a second direction opposite to the first direction when the launching post is in the second position; and a moveable platform pivotally secured to the platform, wherein the moveable platform moves from a first position to a second position as the first one of the plurality of posts is moved from its first position towards its second position.
US09339716B1
A ball launching apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a funnel residing at an upper end of a housing. The funnel includes a channel for gravitationally directing a ball into a launch point within an interior compartment of the housing. The apparatus includes a hammer that strikes a ball through a chute, thereby releasing the ball from the housing. Both the distance at which the ball travels and the angle at which the ball leaves the chute may be adjusted by the operator. A method of exercising a dog is also provided herein.
US09339714B2
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to various components of a system for monitoring and/or tracking a user's performance during an activity involving an instrument that is swung. Exemplary embodiments can include a sensor module configured to be secured to the instrument. The sensor module can detect a swing event and/or an impact between the instrument and an object and can implement power management features to limit or manage a power consumption of the sensor module. The sensor module can transmit swing information to an electronic device associated with the user, which can display the swing information, process the swing information, and/or transmit the swing information to a remote system.
US09339709B2
A guide arm machine includes a guide arm and an equipment holder attached to the guide arm. The equipment holder is optimized to hold a sports equipment item. The guide arm is attached to a shaft so that the shaft defines a rotation axis around which the guide arm rotates. An adjustable main beam whose position is adjustable with respect to a stationary anchor, so that when the sports equipment item is held by the equipment holder and a position of the adjustable main beam is appropriately adjusted, rotation of the guide arm around the guide arm guides an athlete holding the equipment holder item into a desired motion that trains the athlete in efficient use of the sports equipment item.
US09339705B1
A pick-up device for picking up balls and other objects, includes an hollow ball container, including an extension section and an attachment unit, or alternatively a handle shaft and a handle bar; and a ball valve mechanism, which can include plurality of elastic strings, or springs, configured in a cross-over pattern, such that a user can hold the pick-up device and press the ball valve mechanism onto a ball, such that the ball passes the ball valve mechanism, and is stored inside the hollow ball container. The ball valve mechanism can alternatively include two springs mounted in slots on opposing sides of a lower end of the ball container; or an elastic string, which is woven in a horizontal/vertical interlacing pattern. The pick-up device can be elongated and tubular, or can include a rectangular ball container, and be made from a plastic material.
US09339703B2
Embodiments of golf bag bottoms and methods to manufacture golf bag bottoms are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US09339696B2
A golf ball includes a core and a three-layer cover disposed adjacent the core. The three-layer cover includes an inner cover, an intermediate cover, and an outer cover. The inner cover includes a non-ionomeric E/Y copolymer where E is an olefin and Y is a carboxylic acid. The inner cover has a hardness of about 45 to 68 Shore D. The outer cover includes a castable thermoset polyurethane and has a hardness of about 40 to 62 Shore D. The intermediate cover layer, disposed between the inner and outer cover layers, is formed from a polyester composition including about 40 wt % to about 99 wt % of a polyester thermoplastic elastomer and about 1 wt % to about 60 wt % of a plasticizer.
US09339695B2
Multi-layered golf balls having at least one layer made of a polyamide composition containing a transparent polyamide polymer are provided. The transparent polyamide may be blended with other transparent or non-transparent polyamides. Thermoplastic polyamide elastomers such as polyether-amide block copolymers may be used. In one version, the composition comprises a blend of transparent polyamide, acid anhydride-modified polyolefin, and plasticizer. The golf ball includes a core having at least one layer and a cover having at least one layer. The polyamide composition may be used to form any core, cover, or other layer in the golf ball. In one version, the polyamide composition is used to form the inner cover layer.
US09339694B2
Golf balls consisting of a dual core and a single layer cover are disclosed. The dual core consists of an inner core layer formed from a rubber composition and an outer core layer formed from a highly neutralized polymer composition. The Shore C hardness of the outer core layer's outer surface is preferably greater than the material hardness of the inner cover layer, and more preferably is 56 Shore D or greater.
US09339692B2
The present disclosure relates generally to exercise equipment for enabling a user to vary the effective muscle tension during the course of the performance of an exercise and, more particularly, to an exercise system for shifting an optimum length of peak muscle tension. In some embodiments, the system is an apparatus which comprises a force-generating element, e.g. a fluid cylinder, a user-input element which a user forcibly moves during the course of performance of an exercise, and also a coupling means, which is preferably a cable-pulley system, which transfers forces between the force-generating element and the user-input element. Finally, the apparatus comprises a control unit which controls and varies the level of force generated by the force-generating element during the course of performance of the exercise. The apparatus effectively varies the effective muscle tension through the generation of forces.
US09339689B2
A foot exercise device includes at least one attachment means for a foot and a sole that forms a closed accommodation space having one or more compressible chambers to accommodate a particulate material or a fluid. The surface of the sole reaches beyond the foot surface circumferentially around the sides.
US09339686B2
A high knees exercise apparatus includes a base, two actuator members, and two pedals. The base includes a supporting member and a pivot portion. The pivot portion has a pivot axis. The actuator members are pivotally connected to two sides of the pivot portion respectively and moving in response to each other reversely. Each of the actuator members includes a lower portion swinging along an arc path centered on the pivot axis. The arc path includes a first arc extended from a virtual vertical line passing through the pivot axis and an angle of the first arc is 45 degrees to 100 degrees. Each of the pedals is pivotally connected to a free end of each of the lower portions.
US09339684B2
A stationary exercise device having variable footpaths is disclosed. The exercise device includes a frame, a pair of supporting members that have a first end to rotate about an axis and a second end to move along a reciprocating path, a pair of pedals joined to the supporting members, and a guider assembly for adjusting an incline angle of the reciprocating path.
US09339683B2
A lightweight treadmill for walking which utilizes a short walking surface, a small and lightweight motor, strong but minimized frame design; and a remote display to make a compact, relatively lightweight and portable treadmill. In the preferred embodiment the treadmill uses. In the preferred embodiment a servomotor and pulley system to generate high-torque, thereby enabling walking at very slow speeds. The servomotor and pulley system fit within the low-profile treadmill base, eliminating the need for a housing at the front end of the treadmill. A walker may be attached to the treadmill for increased stability while walking.
US09339681B1
A weight plate for physical fitness weight lifting equipment so that the weight plate may be coupled to other weight plates and lifted in a stack. The weight plate includes a pivotal switch arm having a first end at which to receive a pushing force to cause the switch arm to rotate and an opposite end at which a fork is carried. A post runs through a center bore hole of the weight plate. The weight plate also includes an intermediate channel and a locking cavity that are aligned with one another at opposite sides of the bore hole. When the pivotal switch arm is rotated to a locked position, the fork is rotated through the intermediate channel, into surrounding engagement with the center post, and completely through the bore hole for receipt by the locking cavity by which the weight plate is reliably coupled to the post.
US09339675B2
A sprinkler head A has a main body including a pipe connection portion and a frame portion. In the frame portion, an outer circumferential surface protruding to the outside of the pipe connection portion is provided, and beam-like portions (inward flanges) with which a lever of a thermo-sensitive breakup portion engages and openings obtained by cutting off the outer circumferential surface from the side of the pipe connection portion to the beam-like portion are provided at opposite positions in the outer circumferential surface. Thereby, the weight of the frame portion can be largely reduced. Therefore, the weight of a sprinkler head is reduced, so that the weight load applied to the fire extinguishing system pipes in which a large number of sprinkler heads are installed can be reduced, and the work burden due to the weight load when the sprinkler heads are conveyed and installed in the fire extinguishing system pipes can also be reduced.
US09339673B2
An X-brace configuration locks a valve element in a latched position until a fusible element breaks releasing pressurized inert gas. Upon depressurization, the X-brace configuration releases the valve element to open and allow water flow through the flexible sprinkler assembly.
US09339672B2
A container holding a fire suppressing powder has a top, a cylindrical sidewall and a bottom with a hole, the bottom having a score line defining a segment. An explosive material housing containing an explosive material is mounted to a head of a mounting member. The mounting member has a lower portion smaller in cross-sectional dimension than the head, depending downward from the head and extending through the hole in the bottom. A retainer is secured around the lower portion of the mounting member below the bottom to secure the mounting member to the bottom. A fuse extends through the hole in the bottom, a passage in the mounting member, and into the explosive material housing. A plate is mounted within the container a selected distance below the top, the plate being movable a short distance toward and away from the top in response to ignition of the explosive material.
US09339667B2
A mineral mixture including at least' MgO and its equilibrium of Mg(OH)2, and MgCl2, in which MgO—Mg(OH)2 constitutes between 85 and 99.99% by weight; and MgCl2 constitutes between 0.01 and 15% by weight of the magnesium compounds in the mineral mixture. Preparations containing the salt mixture and the use of the mineral mixture for the production of a pharmaceutical preparation for the prevention or therapy of a condition, the condition being undesired eczema or psoriasis, are also described.
US09339664B2
A system for the physical manipulation of free magnetic rotors in a circulatory system using a remotely placed magnetic field-generating stator is provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to the control of magnetic particles in a fluid medium using permanent magnet-based or electromagnetic field-generating stator sources. Such a system can be useful for increasing the diffusion of therapeutic agents in a fluid medium, such as a human circulatory system, which can result in substantial clearance of fluid obstructions, such as vascular occlusions, in a circulatory system resulting in increased blood flow. Examples of vascular occlusions targeted by the system include, but are not limited to, atherosclerotic plaques, including fibrous caps, fatty buildup, coronary occlusions, arterial stenosis, restenosis, vein thrombi, arterial thrombi, cerebral thrombi, embolisms, hemorrhages, other blood clots, and very small vessels.
US09339662B2
Methods, systems, and devices for signal analysis in an implanted cardiac monitoring and treatment device such as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. In illustrative examples, captured data including detected events is analyzed to identify likely overdetection of cardiac events. In some illustrative examples, when overdetection is identified, data may be modified to correct for overdetection, to reduce the impact of overdetection, or to ignore overdetected data. New methods for organizing the use of morphology and rate analysis in an overall architecture for rhythm classification and cardiac signal analysis are also discussed.
US09339661B2
Embodiments are directed to a medical device, such as a defibrillator, for use with an accessory capable of collecting a parameter of a patient. The medical device is capable of at least performing a basic functionality, an advanced functionality, and of defibrillating the patient. The medical device includes an energy storage module within a housing for storing an electrical charge that is to be delivered to the patient for the defibrillating. The medical device includes a processor structured to determine whether a data set received from the accessory confirms or not a preset authentication criterion about the accessory. Although when the accessory is coupled to the housing the medical device is capable of the defibrillating and the basic functionality, the medical device is capable of the advanced functionality only when the accessory is coupled to the housing and it is determined that the preset authentication criterion is confirmed. Embodiments also include methods of operation and a programmed solution.
US09339660B2
An implantable medical device (IMD) is disclosed having one or more magnetic field sensors for measuring a strength of a magnetic charging field provided by an external charger and used to provide operational power to the IMD, for example, to charge its battery. The measured field strength data, or derivations of such data, are telemetered to the external charger, which further process the received data if necessary and can inform a user whether alignment between the external charger and IMD is sufficient, a misalignment direction, and/or a misalignment distance, so that the user can attempt to improve the alignment of the external charger. The one or more sensors are preferably placed at or equidistantly around a center axis of the IMD's charging coil. However, the sensors may be placed at any number of locations in the IPG, and at different distances from the center axis.
US09339654B2
Systems, methods and devices for paired training include timing controls so that training and neural stimulation can be provided simultaneously. Paired trainings may include therapies, rehabilitation and performance enhancement training. Stimulations of nerves such as the vagus nerve that affect subcortical regions such as the nucleus basalis, locus coeruleus or amygdala induce plasticity in the brain, enhancing the effects of a variety of therapies, such as those used to treat tinnitus, stroke, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
US09339642B1
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for effecting a physiological effect are provided. In some embodiments, a system is provided which comprises a plurality of current sources, where each current source having a positive output and a negative output and each being configured to provide a first current. The system may also include a plurality of stimulating electrodes electrically connected with the plurality of current sources such that at least a pair of the stimulating electrodes share at least one output of at least one of the plurality of current sources. The stimulating electrodes may be configured to provide electrical energy to tissue of a patient at the first current. The system may further include at least one sentinel electrode, and a first voltage monitor configured to monitor a first voltage across the at least one sentinel electrode and at least one of the plurality of stimulating electrodes.
US09339633B2
The present invention relates to a balloon catheter system for draining and/or supplying fluid from/into hollow organs, body cavities or cysts, comprising a conduit catheter with an open distal end, a hollow needle guided in a separate guide conduit and a balloon surrounding the catheter stem at the distal end of the conduit catheter. The conduit catheter with the hollow needle can be inserted from outside into the hollow organ via a guide catheter, into the body cavity or cyst, the balloon can be filled with filling medium via the hollow needle through an opening formed in the guided duct and provided in the lumen of the balloon, and it can be fixed in the hollow organ, body cavity or cyst. The hollow needle can be removed from the guide duct after filling the balloon. The balloon and the conduit catheter remain in the hollow organ, body cavity or cyst.
US09339630B2
A system for treating a vascular condition includes a catheter having an inner member and an outer member, the outer member concentrically arranged about the inner member and a retractable drug delivery device disposed at a distal end of the inner member. A coating disposed on at least a portion of an outer surface of the retractable drug delivery device includes at least one therapeutic agent.
US09339628B2
A catheter shaft including a metallic tubular member including a plurality of apertures formed in the tubular wall of the metallic tubular member to provide a desired degree of flexibility to the metallic tubular member. The metallic tubular member includes a tapered region intermediate a region and a second, reduced diameter region relative to the first region.
US09339623B2
A patient interface device (2, 60, 160, 204) includes a cushion (8, 66, 210), a frame (10, 68, 162, 206) having a faceplate portion. The cushion is coupled to the frame. The faceplate portion has a main orifice and holes adjacent the main orifice. The device further includes a coupling conduit (6, 64, 164, 212) having an inlet end, an outlet end coupled to the inlet end, and a hood member having openings provided on an outer periphery thereof. The inlet end is structured to receive a flow of breathing gas. The outlet end is coupled to the main orifice to deliver the flow of breathing gas to the main conduit. The hood member surrounds the outlet end and is disposed over the holes such that exhalation gasses will through the holes and be captured by the hood member and directed through the openings.
US09339619B2
A positive airway pressure apparatus is automatically adjusting. Pressure increases in response to apnea events when the apparatus is in one or more responsive states. Pressure does not increase in response to apnea events when the apparatus is in a non-responsive state. The apparatus switches between responsive and nonresponsive states depending upon any of a number of different criteria that help differentiate between open airway apnea events and closed airway apnea events.
US09339611B2
A passive safety needle device is disclosed having a housing, a needle hub, a needle cannula, a retractable sheath, a spring to bias the retractable sheath in a distal direction to cover the distal end of the needle cannula, a radial protrusion to cause the spring to move from the proximal spring position to the distal spring position, and a catch to secure the distal end of the spring to the distal end of the housing. The spring may bias the retractable sheath in a distal direction to cover the distal end of the needle cannula. The radial protrusion causes the spring to move from a proximal spring position to the distal spring position towards the catch located at the distal end of the housing.
US09339601B2
A support tool or a supply assembly that delivers a functional fluid to a patient includes an antenna array for receiving or sensing a navigation field. The navigation field can be generated from a localizer. The localizer can be incorporated or included in an implanted device.
US09339595B2
An apparatus including: a vacuum container configured to provide and substantially maintain a built-in vacuum pressure; a contact member configured to contact and substantially enclose a surface area; a vacuum device configured to couple the built-in vacuum pressure to the surface area thereby applying a suction force over the surface area; and a conduit coupled to the vacuum container; wherein the vacuum container is also configured to retain a substance collected from adjacent the surface area, wherein the conduit is configured to direct the substance to the vacuum container, and to maintain substantially the same level of vacuum pressure as the vacuum container, wherein the vacuum container comprises a collapsible container, and wherein the collapsible container comprises a spring member configured to maintain a tension in a wall of the vacuum container.
US09339590B2
This invention relates to a biomaterial comprising an injectable bioresorbable polysaccharide composition wherein the polysaccharide may be succinochitosan glutamate. This invention also relates to a biomaterial comprising an injectable bioresorbable polysaccharide composition in which resorbable particles may be in suspension, the said particles comprising or consisting essentially of chitin and/or chitosan, which may be free of any additional formulation modifying agents, and a process for manufacturing the same. This invention also relates to a medical device including said biomaterial and to a method of repair or treatment including the filling of cavities in the human face or body.
US09339573B2
An apparatus (1) for the sterilization of plastics material containers (10), and in particular of plastics material pre-forms (10), with a conveying device (2) which conveys the plastics material containers (10) along a pre-set conveying path, with at least one stressing device (4) which acts upon an external surface of the plastics material containers to be sterilized with a flowable medium. According to the invention the stressing device is arranged in such a way that it acts upon a pre-set area of the plastics material containers (10)—situated below an aperture of the plastics material pre-forms—with the sterilization medium.
US09339570B2
A sanitization cabinet for sanitizing items such as kitchen utensils using ultraviolet light type C (UVL-C). In some embodiments, the sanitization cabinet includes an enclosure having interior surfaces having mirror-type surfaces to increase the sanitizing efficiency relative to conventional UVL-C cabinets having like-power UVL-C light sources. Some embodiments include an article support having an article support region that contacts an article to be sanitized and is made of a material transparent to UVL-C. Transparent portions of an article support of the present disclosure may be additionally configured to direct UVL-C to contact regions and/or shadowed regions of the article. Other features, such as article stabilizing features, are provided to article supports of some embodiments. Methods of making an article support for a UVL-C based sanitization cabinet are also disclosed.
US09339563B2
This invention includes agents and compositions having MRI, PET, CT, X-ray, SPECT or optical signals, and methods for their use in the determination of a target. In some cases, a MRI, PET, CT, X-ray, SPECT, optical or other signal produced by the agent or composition can be affected by the presence of the target. Examples of targets that can be determined by this invention include, but are not limited to zinc, copper, iron ions and other biological targets. Example of application for imaging in vivo includes the function of pancreas and other organs.
US09339553B2
A liquid composition of an insoluble medicament and a preparation method thereof are disclosed. The composition includes insoluble medicament, oil for injection, phospholipid, and solvent; the percentage by weight of each component is as follows: insoluble medicament 0.01-10%, oil for injection 0%-20%, phospholipid 10-80%, solvent 20-89%. The preparation method for the composition includes the following steps: dissolving an insoluble medicament into solvent or oil for injection or a mixture thereof firstly, and then adding other components, and mixing uniformly; or dissolving an insoluble medicament into a mixture of other components, and mixing uniformly; or dissolving an insoluble medicament into part of solvent firstly, and then adding into a mixed solvent of other components and the remaining solvent, and mixing uniformly.
US09339549B2
A cationic graft-copolymer for a drug delivery system comprising a unit derived from a having a hydroxyl groups, namely, a cationic polysaccharide of the following formula (1) (C6H7O2(OH)3-a (OX)a)xH2O (1) and a unit derived from a polymerizable olefin compound of the following formula (2) (a, x, X, R4, R5, R6, and R7 are defined in claim 1-8); a process for preparing the same and a transfection reagent made therefrom.
US09339548B2
The present invention provides thermo-sensitive, mucoadhesive biopolymer formulations that enhance the penetration of therapeutics across the skin or mucosal surfaces. In a preferred embodiment, the biopolymer formulation comprises co-polymer of poloxamer 188 and propylene glycol, laurocapram and, optionally, one or more therapeutic agents. Also provided are uses of the biopolymer formulations for topical therapy of cancer including cervical cancer.
US09339538B2
The present invention relates to antigen-specific immune regulatory response. Methods for detecting an antigen-specific immune regulatory response, methods for selecting candidate vaccine recipients, and methods for improved vaccination strategies are presented.
US09339536B2
A vaccine composition comprising a fusion protein for inducing enhanced pathogen antigen-specific T cell responses is disclosed. The fusion protein comprises: (a) an antigen-presenting cell (APC)-binding domain or a CD91 receptor-binding domain, located at the N-terminus of the fusion protein; (b) a translocation peptide of 34-112 amino acid residues in length, comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO: 4, 2, 3, or 6, located at the C-terminus of the APC-binding domain or the CD91 receptor-binding domain; and (c) an antigen of a pathogen, located at the C-terminus of the translocation peptide; (d) a nuclear export signal, comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13; and (e) an endoplasmic reticulum retention sequence, located at the C-terminus of the fusion protein.
US09339523B2
Estrogenic extracts of Asparagus conchinchinensis (Lour.) Merr of the Liliaceae Family are provided. Also provided are methods of using said extracts to achieve an estrogenic effect, especially in a human, e.g. a female human. In some embodiments, the methods include treatment of climacteric symptoms. In some embodiments, the methods include treatment of estrogen receptor positive cancer, such as estrogen responsive breast cancer. In some embodiments, the methods include treatment or prevention of osteoporosis.
US09339515B2
Methods and compositions of the invention relate to the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.
US09339512B2
Provided is a lentiviral vector for delivery to the brain for use in treating a neurological condition, wherein the lentiviral vector is delivered directly to the brain by delivering the lentiviral vector via six or fewer tracts per hemisphere, at a single deposit point per tract.
US09339504B2
The compositions of the present invention composition comprise a therapeutically effective amount of particles comprising lamotrigine, in combination with granules comprising a disintegrant, and a sugar alcohol and/or a saccharide. These compositions are useful in treating epilepsy and bipolar disorder, particularly for patients with dysphagia, and to improve compliance with bipolar patients.
US09339494B2
Azaindoles having inhibitory activity on RSV replication and having the formula I compositions containing these compounds as active ingredient and processes for preparing these compounds and compositions.
US09339490B2
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods and supplements for increasing sex steroids and human growth hormone in a human being.
US09339486B2
Heterocyclic compounds which modulate cannabinoid receptors are presented. Pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds, methods of using these compounds as modulators of cannabinoid receptors and processes for synthesizing these compounds are also described herein.
US09339478B2
A pharmaceutical composition in the form of a tablet including a first portion and a second portion, wherein said first portion includes guaifenesin having an immediate release profile and a second drug having a sustained release profile, and wherein the second portion includes guaifenesin having a sustained release profile. The second drug can be in the form of a drug-resin complex. The second drug can be either an anti-tussive or a decongestant. The drug-resin complex includes a drug complexed to an ion exchange resin. The ion exchange resin can be a polystyrene sulfonate resin, polacrilex resin, polacrilin potassium, cholestyramine resin, or a colestyramine resin. The drug-resin complex can be provided with a coating, the coating thickness being selected to obtain the desired release profile. The drug-resin complex can be provided with a coating level of from 5% to 50%. The coating level can be from 10% to 35%.
US09339477B2
The present invention relates to an antimicrobial composition and a method for disinfection involving the antimicrobial composition. It particularly relates to an antimicrobial composition for personal cleaning, oral care or hard surface cleaning applications. It was found that compositions comprising thymol, selected propen-2-yl-methyl-cyclohexanols, and a carrier provide synergistic antimicrobial action. In a preferred aspect the composition also comprises 1 to 80%-wt of one or more surfactants.
US09339466B2
Polymorph forms of 4-trifluoromethyl-N-(3,3a,4,4a,5,5a,6,6a-octahydro-1,3-dioxo-4,6-ethenocycloprop[f]isoindol-2(1H)-yl)-benzamide are disclosed as well as their methods of synthesis and pharmaceutical compositions.
US09339463B2
Novel compositions, formulations and dosage forms comprising stabilized micronized opioid particles are disclosed. Exemplary opioids include oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, including as free bases or as salts. Stabilized micronized opioid particles having a Dv90 particle size distribution of less and or equal to 10μ or less than or equal to 20μ are disclosed. Methods for micronizing an opioid to provide stabilized micronized opioid particles are also disclosed.
US09339438B2
A telescopic female drug vial adapter including a spike component telescopically mounted on a skirt component for snap fit on and puncturing a drug vial in an actuated position. The telescopic female drug vial adapter is particularly suitable for implementation in a vented version to avoid wetting of its air filter during aspiration of liquid contents from a drug vial.
US09339433B2
This invention provides methods of diagnosing and treating syndromes of reversion to fetal consciousness in a neonate.
US09339428B2
An apparatus for a wheelchair caddy to be attached to a disabled rider adapted cycle or scooter that may include connectors connecting the caddy and cycle, a rear or double rear axle attached to the base of the caddy frame, a handle for the user to grip while pulling the wheelchair onto the caddy, a rod as an emergency brake, a ratcheting strap or straps and bungee cord for securing the wheelchair in the caddy, walled footwells for the securing the passengers feet, a secured foam rubber middle console, a fitted, padded back rest, thigh restraining straps, lower ribcage restraining straps and other features.
US09339420B2
An absorbent article having improved leakage protection when the wearer of the absorbent article is lying on their side. The absorbent article has a surge layer in liquid communication with a portion of the garment facing region and a portion of a side edge of the absorbent core.
US09339415B2
A surgical blade may include a surgical incision guide configured to guide a surgical incision. The surgical incision guide may include one or more surgical incision guide marks. A surgical incision guide mark may be configured to provide information about a surgical incision. For example, a surgeon may compare a location of a surgical incision guide with a portion of a tissue to identify an incision depth. Illustratively, a surgeon may compare a location of a surgical incision guide with a portion of a tissue to identify an optimum incision depth to adjust an orientation of a surgical blade.
US09339379B2
A vascular implant for replacing a native heart valve comprises a self expanding stent supporting a valve body having leaflets. The stent preferably comprises an anchoring structure configured to prevent the implant from passing through the valve annulus. For delivery, the implant is compacted within a delivery device and secured at one end. During delivery the implant is partially released from the delivery device, and positioning of the implant can be verified prior to full release. The implant can be at least partially resheathed and repositioned if desired.
US09339377B2
A prosthesis can be configured to be deployed within a body cavity. The prosthesis has an expandable frame, a plurality of proximal anchors, and a plurality of distal anchors, where the various anchors are connected to the frame. Radial expansion of the frame can cause the ends of the proximal anchors and the ends of the distal anchors to draw closer together.
US09339366B2
Surgical instruments for prolapse repair are disclosed. The surgical instruments have straight portions and helical portions. Surgical methods for treating prolapse are also disclosed, including passing a distal end region of the surgical instruments through the obturator foramen, associating an implant with the surgical instruments, and securing the implant in place to stabilize the vagina.
US09339361B2
An apparatus for treating urinary incontinence, comprising: a node; a support section adapted for providing urethral support attached to the node; and, an anchoring section adapted for resisting movement of the apparatus attached to the node opposite the support section. Optionally, the support section is adapted to treat incontinence according to at least one of: SUTFS, colpo-elevation or colpo-distension.
US09339354B2
A membrane for alveolar bone regeneration to guide bone generation by adapting to a bone graft material, which fills a bone defect area, includes a central hole through which an implant is inserted into an alveolar bone, wherein the membrane includes: a coupling part to couple the membrane with the implant; a side bending part that is downwardly bent from the coupling part to have an overall curved shape with a gentle slope; and lateral covering parts that protrude from edges of the side bending part and are bent and curved toward an alveolar bone defect area, wherein the side bending part and the lateral covering parts are pre-formed in three-dimensions to fit a final shape of the alveolar bone that is to be regenerated.
US09339352B2
An orthodontic article is provided for bonding to a tooth structure comprising an orthodontic appliance, a layer of partially hardened hardenable composition adjacent the appliance, and a bonding adhesive adjacent the partially hardened hardenable composition. A method of making an orthodontic article for orthodontic bonding is provided, comprising partially hardening a hardenable composition adjacent the base of an orthodontic appliance.
US09339351B2
A dental spacer that is adjustable and attaches to a tooth. The dental spacer may include a ring with an inner surface and an outer surface. A screw may be secured to the ring to compress and expand the ring size. A spacer may be attached to the outer surface of the ring and may abut against an adjacent tooth. Therefore, the space between two teeth adjacent to a removed tooth may be preserved.
US09339345B2
A cutting apparatus for joint cutting system using robot includes a shaft combined with a motor in a part of a robot arm, a cutter having a cutting head at the end of the shaft, a sleeve in which the shaft is inserted, and a cutter support member having a sleeve base where the sleeve is fixed, characterized in that the sleeve is a standalone member of a hollow bar with a center hole and is separable from and combinable with the sleeve base. The sleeve and the sleeve base are so separable that it is possible to reinforce the strength of the sleeve, which retrains the bending force to the sleeve, though the diameter of the sleeve is minimized.
US09339343B2
In one implementation, a method is disclosed in which a lock sensing mode is entered for a robotic surgical instrument. In the lock sensing mode, the degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument are switchably reduced. Further in the lock sensing mode, one or more end effectors of the robotic surgical instrument are switchably clamped together in the robotic surgical instrument. An increased level of torque may also be applied to the end effectors to increase a gripping force applied by the one or more end effectors in response to the reduced degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument.
US09339341B2
A surgical end effector includes a clevis and two jaws pivotally coupled to the clevis. A wire is coupled to each jaw and extended through a guide way in the other jaw and through an end of the clevis. The jaws may be opened and closed by pushing and pulling on the two cables. Pulling on each wire creates a closing force in both jaws. A rocking pin may be pivotally supported by the clevis and pivotally coupled to the jaws to constrain the jaws to have opposite motions. The clevis may be coupled to an elongate shaft and the wires extended through the shaft to provide an endoscopic instrument. A wire guide may support the wires in the shaft such that they are able to transmit a compressive force without buckling. The wires may carry electricity to the jaws for electrocautery.
US09339339B2
A medical device and method for facilitating a surgery through a body opening is disclosed. The medical device includes a flexible member configured to be placed within the body opening so as to cover a portion of the body opening. The flexible member includes a distal end portion with a closed end, a proximal end portion with an open end and an elongate portion joining the proximal end portion and the distal end portion. The proximal end portion is configured to extend out of the patient's body opening to cover an area around and outside the patient's body opening.
US09339338B2
An adjustable stringer configured to string the ring handles of one or more surgical instruments, the stringer including two or more rod sections, wherein each rod section is configured to be inserted in one ring handle of the one or more surgical instruments, two or more angle sections, each angle section configured having one or more slidable connector sections, each slidable connector section configured to extend and retract along at least one of the two or more rod sections, and two or more releasable connectors, each releasable connector positioned between two of the two or more angle sections.
US09339326B2
An RF ablation device comprises an electrode including a DLC coating deposited on at least a portion thereof. A method of forming an RF ablation device, comprises forming a DLC coating on a portion of a metallic electrode.
US09339316B2
A dynamic bone fixation element can include a sleeve elongate along a first direction and a fixation member. The sleeve can define a channel that extends from a proximal end through to a distal end along the first direction. The channel has a first cross-sectional dimension. The fixation member has a head, a shaft extending from the head and elongate along a second direction, and an abutment member extending from the shaft and integral with the shaft, wherein the shaft extends through the channel such that the sleeve is captured between the abutment member and the head. At least a portion of the shaft that is within the channel has a second cross-sectional dimension that is less than the first cross-sectional dimension such that the fixation member is moveable with respect to the sleeve along a direction that has a directional component transverse to the first direction.
US09339315B2
A bone fastener for use in orthopedic surgery for fixing an implant to bone has a threaded or unthreaded shaft configured to engage bone and a head having a thread on an outer surface to engage the implant. The thread on the head of the fastener has a profile in cross section that includes peaks with a curved shape.
US09339310B2
Devices and methods for facilitating insertion of a spinal rod into a rod-receiving channel formed in a bone fixation element are described herein. In some embodiments, a reduction sleeve can include a through-bore sized to receive the bone fixation element and a transverse channel sized to receive the spinal rod and substantially aligned with the rod-receiving channel formed in the bone fixation element. The reduction sleeve can also include at least one break-off point for breaking and removal of the reduction sleeve The reduction sleeve can also include a plurality of threads for engaging a reduction instrument, an alignment mechanism so that the bone fixation element can only be inserted into the reduction sleeve when the rod-receiving channels are aligned, and an inwardly projecting protrusion formed on the inner surface of the reduction sleeve so that, once inserted, the projection contacts a top surface formed on the bone fixation element.
US09339307B2
A bone fixation device adapted to be coupled to bone anchors that allows movement of rods to permit a screw-rod construct to lengthen in response to bone growth without necessitating post surgical installation adjustment of the device. The bone fixation device includes a locking mechanism that is operably associated with a housing to allow relative movement of a rod and a housing in a first direction and inhibiting relative movement of the rod and the housing in a second direction.
US09339303B2
A stabilizer device for the spinal column, comprising first engagement means and second engagement means, which are adapted to be connected to each other by a rod-like element, the first and second engagement means being adapted to be fitted on first and second pedicle screws, which are adapted to be in turn inserted in two adjacent vertebrae, the first and second engagement means being fixable on the pedicle screws; the first and second engagement means accommodate bearing means, which are adapted to rotate within the first and second engagement means and to be fitted on the pedicle screws, in order to allow the fitting of the first and second engagement means on the pedicle screws.
US09339301B2
A system and method for ameliorating spinal column anomalies, such as scoliosis, includes bone screws which are to be implanted in the pedicle region(s) of individual to-be-derotated vertebrae and in vertebrae to which balancing forces must be applied as the spinal column is derotated en mass to achieve an over-all correction of the condition. A pedicle screw cluster derotation tool simultaneously engages multiple pedicle screws and transmits rotative forces to multiple vertebrae to effect a whole-spine correction. Precontoured spinal rods are engaged post-derotation to secure the correction.
US09339300B2
A dynamic stabilizing device (1) for bones (3), in particular for vertebrae, includes two bone anchoring elements (2) spaced from one another, which are connectable via fastening elements (4) with at least one rod (5) that is at least partly elastic. The rod (5) has an adjustable device (7) for affecting its elasticity, which is adjustable before and/or after the implantation of the stabilizing device (1). The adjustable device (7) is formed, such that it changes the free length of an elastic section (11) of the rod (5). The adjustable device (7) includes a carriage that is displaceable over the rod (5), and the carriage (20) engages the rod (5) on a peripheral side at least partially.
US09339298B1
An apparatus for treating spinal vertebrae of patients that require therapeutic mechanical effects. Two interconnected articulated U-shape frame assemblies 20; 70 provide the necessary supporting at adjustable relative angular disposition with respect to each other to conform with the characteristics of the spinal segment being treated. Upper frame assembly 20 is mounted at a predetermined location of a patient's spine. Connector assemblies 40; 40′ are mounted to upper assembly 20 and to telescopic tubular assembly 50 extension. Pivoting connectors 60; 60′ are connected to a tubular assembly 50 and provide pivoting movement in two ortographic planes for tubular assembly 50 and lower frame assembly 70.
US09339297B2
A system for flexibly stabilizing a vertebral motion segment by connecting a first vertebra and a second vertebra is disclosed. The system includes an elongate connection element with end portions interconnected by a flexible coupling member. The system includes first and second attachment portions for connecting the connection element to the vertebrae. A first resilient member is positioned between the first end portion and the first attachment portion, and a second resilient member is positioned between the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion. The system is designed such that the second resilient member is compressed when the first and second attachment portions move towards each other, and the first resilient member is compressed when the first and second attachment portions extend away from each other.
US09339295B2
Described here are devices and methods for accessing the pericardial space. The access devices may include a piercing member such as a needle and a proximal shoulder having a contact surface for contacting the pericardium as the piercing member pierces the pericardium. In some instances, the distance between the piercing member and the proximal shoulder may be adjustable.
US09339290B2
An ultrasonic surgical instrument is provided. The ultrasonic surgical instrument includes a housing having an elongated shaft extending therefrom. The shaft has a jaw member disposed at a distal end thereof. The jaw member is movable between an open configuration and a clamping configuration and includes a tissue contacting surface thereon. A cutting blade extends from a distal end of the shaft and operably couples to the housing and adjacent the jaw member to treat tissue. A selectively removable laminate liner is positionable over the tissue contacting surface of the jaw member and configured to prevent contact between the tissue contacting surface and the cutting blade when the cutting blade is treating tissue.
US09339288B2
A uterine fibroid tissue removal device includes an inner tube disposed within an outer tube and configured to be translated and rotated relative to the outer tube, and a unitary distal tip member attached to a distal end of the inner tube such that the distal tip member translates and rotates relative to the outer tube along with the inner tube, wherein a distal facing open cutting end of the distal tip member in fluid communication with an axial lumen of the distal tip member translates across a tissue resection window in a sidewall of the outer tube so as to sever tissue extending therethrough, the distal tip member axial lumen being in fluid communication with an axial lumen of the inner tube, wherein the axial lumen of the distal tip member is smaller in cross-sectional area than the axial lumen of the inner tube, and wherein the distal tip member has a length greater than a length of the resection window.
US09339283B2
A ureteral calculus suction instrument having a shaft through which a suction channel that can be connected to a suction device passes, wherein a collecting container having a distal opening and a proximal opening is arranged distally from the shaft, of which openings the proximal opening is connected to the distal end of the suction channel.
US09339282B2
A guidewire is provided with first and second helical members at the distal end of the guidewire. The helical members enmesh with each other in a retracted state. The second helical member is extended from the first helical member by rotating a tubular member and core member relative to each other. This causes the first and second helical members to be driven apart from each other along a helical path defined by the engagement between helical members.
US09339279B2
An implant and guide are described, together with methods for configuring the same. The implant and guide are for maxillofacial osteosynthesis and may be provided as a kit. Three-dimensional models of the pre- and post-operative anatomy are used to define attachment points. These attachment points are used to define a structure for the implant and the guide.
US09339278B2
A patient-specific acetabular guide can be used for preparing an acetabulum of a patient to receive an acetabular implant. The acetabular guide includes a patient-specific engagement surface designed to be complementary and mateable with a corresponding surface of the patient's pelvic anatomy. The acetabular guide is designed during a pre-operative plan for the patient by a three-dimensional reconstruction of the anatomy of the patient using two-dimensional medical images. The patient-specific engagement surface has a first portion mateable with a portion of the acetabulum of the patient. The acetabular guide includes a guiding element that extends from the acetabular guide opposite to the first portion of engagement surface. The guiding element defines a bore designed to be oriented along an alignment axis for an acetabular implant when the acetabular guide is engaged to the acetabulum.
US09339275B2
A delivery apparatus for a lumen occlusion device includes a pusher configured for releasably coupling with and pushing and pulling a proximal end of the occlusion device in a distal or proximal direction and a distal control wire capable of releasably coupling with the distal end and the proximal end of the occlusion device. The control wire may be configured for moving the distal end of the occlusion device in both proximal and distal directions allowing precise simultaneous control of both proximal and distal ends of the occlusion device. Control of both ends provides for placing the occlusion device in tension during delivery through a delivery catheter, thereby reducing delivery forces, achieving greater compaction of the occlusion device in the lumen, and precisely locating both distal and proximal ends of the occlusion device within the lumen.
US09339274B2
An occluder for sealing gaps between a medical device and adjacent body tissue includes an expandable body configured to fill the gaps between the medical device and the body tissue. The occluder includes a fastener at one end of the body and adapted to couple to a first end of the medical device, and an expandable disk at the other end of the body and adapted to couple to the medical device at a position spaced from the first end.
US09339273B2
The invention relates to improving a surgical system for bonding bodily tissue, comprising a surgical instrument having a bonding device for bonding bodily tissue, said bonding device comprising two tool elements displaceable relative to each other, wherein the instrument comprises a cutting device having a cutting element for cutting through tissue, and the cutting element is displaceably disposed relative to at least one of the tool elements, such that the cutting device is implemented in the form of an HF cutting device, wherein the cutting element comprises a cutting edge defining a cutting plane at an angle relative to a longitudinal axis defined by the instrument in the region of the bonding device.
US09339263B2
A dilator system includes a series of sequential dilators. A first dilator has an elongated body having a major axis and a minor axis, the minor axis being substantially normal to the major axis. A second dilator has an elongated body having a major axis and a minor axis, the minor axis of the second dilator being substantially normal to the major axis of the second dilator. A bore of the second dilator is configured to matingly receive the first dilator in such a way that the major axis of the second dilator is aligned with the minor axis of the first dilator and the minor axis of the second dilator is aligned with the major axis of the first dilator.
US09339256B2
Changes in tissue stiffness have long been associated with disease. Systems and methods for determining the stiffness of tissues using ultrasonography may include a device for inducing a propagating shear wave in tissue and tracking the speed of propagation, which is directly related to tissue stiffness and density. The speed of a propagating shear wave may be detected by imaging a tissue at a high frame rate and detecting the propagating wave as a perturbance in successive image frames relative to a baseline image of the tissue in an undisturbed state. In some embodiments, sufficiently high frame rates may be achieved by using a ping-based ultrasound imaging technique in which unfocused omni-directional pings are transmitted (in an imaging plane or in a hemisphere) into a region of interest. Receiving echoes of the omnidirectional pings with multiple receive apertures allows for substantially improved lateral resolution.
US09339254B2
An object information acquiring apparatus disclosed by this specification includes a detector configured to detect a photoacoustic wave generated from an object on which light is irradiated from a light source, a generator configured to generate, using the photoacoustic wave, an image indicating characteristic information in a photographing region in the object, an acquirer configured to acquire information concerning quantitativity of a measurement value of the photoacoustic wave in the photographing region, and an extractor configured to extract a region having quantitativity in the image on the basis of the information concerning quantitativity.
US09339251B2
According to one embodiment, an X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray image acquisition unit, a reference position acquisition part and a condition setting part. The X-ray image acquisition unit is configured to acquire frames of two dimensional X-ray image data corresponding to mutually different X-ray exposure directions using an imaging system. The reference position acquisition part is configured to obtain a spatially criterial direction and a spatially criterial position with reference to the frames of the X-ray image data. The condition setting part is configured to automatically set at least one of a control condition of the imaging system and an image processing condition of an X-ray image, based on information according to the criterial direction and the criterial position.
US09339245B2
A method for diagnosis and evaluation of tooth decay comprises: locating in an x-ray image the contour of the dento-enamel junction (DEJ); measuring optical density along contours substantially parallel to and on either side of the DEJ contour; and calculating at least one numerical decay value from the measured optical densities. A method for diagnosis and evaluation of periodontal disease comprises: measuring in an x-ray image a bone depth (BD) relative to the position of the cemento-enamel junctions (CEJs) of adjacent teeth; measuring bone density along a contour between the adjacent teeth; and calculating a numerical crestal density (CD) value from the measured bone density. Calibration standards may be employed for facilitating calculation of the numerical values. A dental digital x-ray imaging calibration method for at least partly correcting for variations of the optical densities of images acquired from the dental digital x-ray imaging system.
US09339235B2
A physiological monitoring system may determine physiological information, such as physiological rate information, and other information, such as signal-to-noise information, from a physiological signal. The system may generate at least one difference signal based on the physiological signal and sort the at least one difference signal to generate at least one sorted difference signal. The system may analyze the at least one sorted difference signal to determine at least two values indicative of noise. The system may determine a value indicative of a signal-to-noise ratio based on the two or more values indicative of noise.
US09339233B2
A lead has an electrically controlled switch at a proximal end of a rotatable shaft. The electrically controlled switch has a first configuration to electrically connect a first electric conductor to a second electric conductor for electrically activating the pin and has a second configuration to electrically connect the first electric conductor to the rotatable shaft for electrically activating the helix. Proper fixation of the helix to an organ is determined by switching the electrically controlled switch to the first configuration to render the pin electrically active and to electrically deactivate the helix. Upon determination of proper fixation of the helix to the organ, the electrically controlled switch is switched to the second configuration to render the helix electrically active and to electrically deactivate the pin.
US09339228B2
A thoracic garment for bringing an EM transducer to contact with a thoracic surface area of a wearer. The thoracic garment comprises a front thoracic garment piece and a back thoracic garment piece the front and/or back thoracic garment pieces having EM transducer(s), the front thoracic garment piece having an arrangement of passages formed therein or thereon, a handhold mechanically connected to the front thoracic garment piece, a positioning marker, and a plurality of straps each threaded in the arrangement of passages. The thoracic garment is configured to be adapted by the wearer which uses a first hand to hold the handhold for mounting the front thoracic garment piece against or close to the chest such that the positioning marker is positioned at the predefined position while using a second hand for pulling the straps.
US09339215B2
The invention relates to methods and apparatus for monitoring movement and breathing of two or more subjects occupying common bedding. Particularly, the invention relates to a method for monitoring movement of subjects located in a common bedding, the method comprising the steps of: —imaging the bedding by an optical sensor; —performing a motion estimation by producing motion vectors indicating the local displacement of corresponding image blocks between consecutive images, or images that are several frames apart, received from said optical sensor; —calculating motion clusters by measuring spatial and temporal correlations of the motion vectors; —segmenting the calculated motion clusters by assignment of each motion cluster to a corresponding subject, wherein the assignment of the motion clusters to the corresponding subject is based on the spatial and/or temporal similarity of the motion clusters among each other and on previous segmentation results.
US09339214B2
A body movement detection device is provided with a main body, a display unit, and a control unit, the control unit including an ascent/descent method detection unit that detects whether a user who is wearing or carrying the main body is ascending/descending using a lift device, a counting unit that counts the number of times that the user ascends/descends using the lift device and the number of times that the user ascends/descends without using the lift device, based on the detection result of the ascent/descent method detection unit, and a display control unit that causes the display unit to display each of the values counted by the counting unit. The method by which the user ascends/descends can thereby be clearly displayed.
US09339208B2
According to various embodiments, methods and systems for determining pressure in the lungs may employ tracheal pressure measurements. The tracheal pressure measurements may be obtained through a pressure monitoring lumen associated with a tracheal tube. Such systems may include a purging or flushing mechanism to keep the pressure monitoring lumen free of any obstructions. The flushing mechanism may utilize fluids delivered through the pressure monitoring lumen at a predetermined point in the breathing cycle and/or at a predetermined pressure relative to the respiratory gases. The resulting pressure measurements may be used to determine a more accurate estimate of lung pressure, which in turn may be used to control a ventilator and provide breathing assistance to a patient.
US09339207B2
A method for evaluating flow characteristics in a vessel of a patient includes the steps of positioning a catheter having a balloon at a measuring location within the vessel; transmitting an ultrasound signal into the vessel while the balloon catheter is within the measuring location; evaluating a reflection of the ultrasound signal to determine a flow parameter within the vessel while the catheter is in the measuring position; expanding the balloon within the vessel at the measuring location; and stopping the expanding step when the result of the evaluating step is that the flow through the vessel is substantially stopped. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise the step of detecting an endovascular electrogram signal. The method may be designed for evaluating flow characteristics in a vessel of a patient while enabling the prevention of a balloon from over-expanding and/or over-distending a vessel of a patient.
US09339206B2
An adaptor for endovascular electrocardiography includes a member having two ends and an inner lumen such that when one of the ends is connected to a catheter and the other end is connected to a syringe, fluid from the syringe is flushed into the catheter through the inner lumen. The adaptor also includes a metal insert, disposed along the inner lumen of the member, which connects through a sealed electrical connection to the outer side of the member.
US09339203B2
The present invention provides an improved, Internet-based system that seamlessly collects cardiovascular data from a patient before, during, and after a procedure for EP or an ID. During an EP procedure, the system collects information describing the patient's response to PES and the ablation process, ECG waveforms and their various features, HR and other vital signs, HR variability, cardiac arrhythmias, patient demographics, and patient outcomes. Once these data are collected, the system stores them on an Internet-accessible computer system that can deploy a collection of user-selected and custom-developed algorithms. Before and after the procedure, the system also integrates with body-worn and/or programmers that interrogate implanted devices to collect similar data while the patient is either ambulatory, or in a clinic associated with the hospital. A data-collection/storage module, featuring database interface, stores physiological and procedural information measured from the patient.
US09339198B2
The invention relates to headphones and a method for listening to music or some other audio signal, which headphones comprise at least one sound source such as a an earphone to be placed in the vicinity of the ear, for producing sound, and a galvanic conductor for feeding an electrical signal from a signal source, such as a music player or similar, to the sound source. In accordance with the invention at least one sound source is equipped with means for measuring heart rate, as well as means for forwarding heart-rate information wirelessly.
US09339196B2
The invention presents a non-invasive method and device of measuring the real-time continuous pressure of fluid fluctuating in an elastic tube and the dynamic compliance of the elastic tube, in which the theory of VLDT (Vascular Loading Decoupling Technique) is used. After searching the initial critical depth and determining the decoupled ratio, a DC controller generates a DC control gain to maintain the elastic tube at critical depth, and an AC controller employs the self-adaptive and Step-Hold control rules to create the pulsation of elastic tube without effect of surrounding tissues, and be capable of measuring the real-time continuous fluid pressure and dynamic compliance of elastic tube.
US09339193B2
According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method of measuring physiological adaptability of a subject is described. The method may include receiving, from a first sensor, a first data signal indicating a first biological function of the subject. The method may also include receiving, from a second sensor, a second data signal indicating a second biological function of the subject. The method may also include calculating an adaptability of the subject based on the first data signal and the second data signal. The method may also include reporting the calculated adaptability.
US09339189B2
During the transmission of sensor data of an implantable sensor with a measurement data recorder, an energy storage unit and a transmitter unit to an external data processing unit with a transmitter/receiver unit, a high-frequency energy carrier signal is firstly emitted from an energy supply unit. At least a part of the energy contained in the high-frequency energy carrier signal is stored in the energy storage unit of the implantable sensor. After the ending of the emission of the high-frequency energy carrier signal, a sensor measurement is carried out using the measurement data recorder of the implantable sensor. The measured sensor data are transmitted from the transmitter unit of the implantable sensor to the transmitter/receiver unit of the external data processing unit. The result is a transmission method, in which interference from the HF feed is avoided, with a compact design.
US09339184B2
A contact lens assembly has a central lens and a circumscribing flange, the lens having an eye contact surface shaped generally to a radius of curvature of a cornea of an eye. The flange comprises a sterile sponge-like liquid absorbent flexible material having a central aperture for fitting snugly about an outer circumference of the lens and extending radially outward therefrom. The flange may include an inner attachment ring for attachment to the outer circumference of the central contact lens.
US09339178B2
Devices, systems, and methods that utilize a technique of changing a position of the set of optical fibers of the fiber bundle in cooperation with the scanning of the imaging light across a proximal surface of the fiber bundle to improve the resolution of the scanned image. In particular, a bundle actuator can be provided to change a position of the set of optical fibers of the fiber bundle in cooperation with a scanning of the imaging light across the proximal surface of the fiber bundle to cover the areas of the gaps between the optical fibers and to increase a resolution of the scanned image.
US09339175B2
Embodiments of the present invention address the deficiencies of the art in respect to oral cavity medical assessment and provide a method, system and apparatus for mouth disease diagnosis and treatment. In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for scanning an oral cavity can include a mouth guard spreader that has a partially transparent receiving member that defines a receiving cavity, a first spreader portion and a second spreader portion coupled to the partially transparent receiving member. The apparatus further can include an image capture device for capturing images of the oral cavity disposed within the partially transparent receiving member of the mouth guard spreader. The apparatus yet further can include a storage device coupled to the image capture device for storing each captured image of the oral cavity.
US09339174B2
A device and method for viewing a body lumen are provided. An assembly of a capsule endoscope and an endoscope is inserted into a body lumen. The capsule endoscope is positioned within the body lumen at a predetermined distance from the endoscope, and images are obtained from opposite sides of a desired location in the body lumen. In vivo procedures may be performed, while images of the procedure are obtained from opposite sides of the procedure location.
US09339173B2
Several embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to medical visualization systems that comprise combinations of disposable and reusable components, such as catheters, functional handles, hubs, optical devices, etc. Other embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to features and aspects of an in-vivo visualization system that comprises an endoscope having a working channel through which a catheter having viewing capabilities is routed. the catheter may obtain viewing capabilities by being constructed as a vision catheter or by having a fiberscope or other viewing device selectively routed through one of its channels. The catheter is preferably of the steerable type so that the distal end of the catheter may be steered from its proximal end as it is advanced with the body. A suitable use for the in-vivo visualization system includes but is not limited to diagnosis and/or treatment of the duodenum, and particularly the biliary tree.
US09339171B2
An endoscope includes: an operation portion provided on a proximal end side of an insertion portion; one pair of pulling members extending from a bending portion; a pulley rotated by a motor; rotating bodies that are elastically deformable and arranged on the pulley; a suspension frame to which the pulling members are fixed; a manipulator provided to project from the operation portion, the manipulator being capable of applying an amount of force of pulling a part of a pulling member on the insertion portion side using a frictional resistance generated as a result of, upon a tilting operation being performed, the pulling member being pulled to reduce a diameter of the corresponding rotating body and the rotating body being thereby brought into contact with the pulley; and a force amount adjustment section capable of changing the amount of force of pulling by making an adjustment of a friction generation state.
US09339170B2
A medical device includes a capsule endoscope in which a magnet having a magnetization direction in an axial direction is mounted and a fin portion is provided at a rear end of an endoscope main body, and which can be self-propelled through the inside of a body; and a capsule controller which controls self-propulsion of the capsule endoscope from the outside of the body by generating a static magnetic field whose direction is controlled three-dimensionally, and an alternating magnetic field orthogonal to the static magnetic field. The capsule endoscope rotates upon receiving the static magnetic field so that the magnetization direction of the magnet is parallel to the direction of the static magnetic field and the fin portion vibrates by bending with movement of the magnet in response to the alternating magnetic field.
US09339169B2
Micro-patterned treads for endoscopes are disclosed. In an embodiment, the treads include a micro-patterned surface and a roller engaging surface. Micro-patterned tread bearing robotic capsule endoscopes are disclosed. In one embodiment, the endoscope includes a housing, a motor, a geared drive, rollers, and at least one micro-patterned tread. Methods of fabricating closed loop treads are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method includes forming a solid layer of PDMS on one side of double-sided tape and wrapping a micro-patterned PDMS strip together with the other side of the double-sided tape. In another embodiment, a method includes forming a timing belt PDMS strip on one side of double-sided tape and a micro-patterned PDMS strip together with the other side of the double-sided tape.
US09339165B2
A pad for cleaning a hard target surface. The pad may be removably attached to a device for cleaning debris from a target surface. The pad has a predetermined 90 degree peel force to prevent undue removal force from the device and prevent the pad from coming loose during the cleaning task.
US09339164B2
The cleanup system employs an associated clearing component, such as a tool comprised of plate portion and an adjacent squeegee and/or brush element, to close the top opening and entrance to a containment or receptacle unit with which it is pivotably interengageable, to thereby prevent leakage or escape of liquid, semi-liquid, and/or dry matter during transport.
US09339158B2
An automatic cleaning toilet seat assembly with a cover surrounding a toilet seat to define a conduit spanning from a back end to a front end of a toilet seat and with a width approximately from the inner circumferential surface to the outer circumferential surface, defining at least one liquid aperture fluidly coupled to a liquid source with a liquid matter, and defining at least one gas aperture in fluid communication with the conduit and fluidly coupled to a gas source with a gaseous matter, the assembly also having an electrical system operable to cause the liquid matter to discharge onto a portion of the toilet seat proximal to the back end of the toilet seat through the at least one liquid aperture and to cause the gaseous matter to discharge through the at least one gas aperture at a speed sufficient to transport the liquid matter through the conduit.
US09339154B2
A compressible axle has first portion that telescopically interfaces within a cavity of a second portion. An end of the first portion has a well containing a lubricant with a side wall having orifice(s) for emitting lubricant and an open end sealed by a movable plunger. A compression spring within the cavity urges the first portion away from the second portion such that a closing force applied to compress the first portion further into the cavity compresses the compression spring and thereby applying force onto the plunger and expelling a portion of the lubricant at an area where the first portion telescopically interfaces with the cavity in the second portion. Nubs at ends of the compressible axle are sized and shaped to fit within corresponding depressions of the depressions in the frame.
US09339150B1
A sink overflow hole plug can include a plug body defining an interior chamber, and at least one protuberance extending into the chamber, wherein the protuberance is configured to be received by an external aperture of an overflow prevention channel of a drainage system of a plumbing fixture.
US09339131B1
A food shield has shield panels that are location adjustable and angularly adjustable in respect of support structures (posts) that are coupled to a mounting surface, such as a surface of a buffet table or cart. For location adjustment of a shield panel along length of a post, a bracket assembly includes outer and inner collar portions, a grip element positioned between the outer and inner collar portions, and a tightening element that tightens the connection of the assembled collar against support posts. For angular adjustment, each bracket assembly includes an indexing base, a rotatable arm assembly with an indexing hub, and a removable or retractable coupling element. Side panels are mounted to the same posts as the shield panels with removable clamps that engage exterior surfaces of the posts. The removable clamps have multiple parts that are variously inverted for joining the clamps to posts at different orientations.
US09339126B2
A refrigerated air curtain redirection unit can be retro fitted to the front base of a an existing reach-in commercial open-display refrigerated cabinet, or provided as original built-in equipment for a newly manufactured cabinet to reduce refrigerated air spillage. The unit has a body part that protrudes outwardly of the open frontage of the cabinet at an upward angle and there is an inwardly curved part at its top region whereby an air vortex is formed that acts to draw air from the curtain at its base into an air duct of the cabinet.
US09339118B2
An infant support includes a base and a backrest. The base is configured to rest upon a support surface and support an infant on the infant support. The base further includes a seat region and two arm portions. The backrest is pivotally coupled to the base between a storage configuration and an upright configuration. The backrest includes a front portion and a rear portion coupled together. The rear portion is configured to pivot between a closed position, in which the rear portion forms an interior cavity with the front portion, and an open position, where the rear portion is pivoted away from the front portion. The interior cavity is configured to receive and store napkins, wipes, or towels. The rear portion further includes an aperture and an operable door disposed proximate to the aperture. When the door is opened, the aperture provides access to the interior cavity for removing napkins, wipes, or towels from the infant support.
US09339114B2
A lounger includes at least a weatherproof base frame, a weatherproof lounger frame with at least two movably mounted lounger frame elements, and at least one weatherproof drive unit for supplying at least one drive device with electric energy. The drive unit preferably includes a combination of an accumulator, a solar cell, and a grid connection, and contributes in connection with a weatherproof design of the frames to portable and grid-power-independent lounger with an automatic adjusting functionality.
US09339106B2
A method of selecting information from a video source to be displayed on a single common display screen in a collaborative workspace, the method for use with a plurality of video source devices, each video source device including a device display screen and a wireless transmitter and presenting content on the device display screen, the method comprising the steps of dividing the common display screen into a plurality of presentation spaces, providing a separate control interface on each of the plurality of device display screens, each control interface including a selectable control for each of the plurality of presentation spaces and for each of the control interfaces, when a selectable control is selected, replicating the content from the device display screen on the presentation space associated with the selected control.
US09339103B1
A toothbrush device has a hollow handle, an open end, and a bristled brush. A tube of toothpaste is inserted into the handle and an internal roll bar assembly is actuated via a knob disposed on an exterior surface of the handle. The roll bar assembly traverses an interior space of the handle to collapse the toothpaste tube, squeezing the tube and conveying toothpaste through an interior conduit portion of the toothbrush. The toothpaste is subsequently dispensed from below the bristled brush portion, whereupon a user may brush their teeth in a normal manner using the device.
US09339099B2
A skin removal device includes a housing having a handle portion, a drum assembly coupled to the handle portion and including a drum, the drum having an abrasive outer surface configured to abrade skin of a user during rotation of the drum, and an electromechanical drive system disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to rotate the drum. The drum assembly is moveable in a lateral direction relative to the handle portion to enable insertion and removal of the drum assembly.
US09339083B2
A ski boot buckle for closing the shell of a ski boot includes a toothed plate for mounting on a first flap of the shell of the ski boot. The ski boot buckle also includes a lever system for mounting on another flap of the shell of the ski boot. In the lever system, a fastener is connected in a pivoting arrangement to an operating lever, and the operating lever is accommodated in a pivoting arrangement in a lever retainer. At least one spring element is additionally provided in the lever system for transferring the operating lever into a closed position. Another spring element is provided on the operating lever and can hold the operating lever and the ski boot buckle in the open position.
US09339081B2
A shoe heel shock absorber comprising a lower pedestal with a penetrating hole that penetrates through from a top surface to a bottom surface of the lower pedestal; a step edge is formed on an inner surface of the penetrating hole in the top surface of the lower pedestal; an air-cushion is fixed on the to surface of the lower pedestal, which comprises a straight hole and several second positioning holes which are through the air-cushion, and the second positioning holes correspond to the first positioning holes.
US09339079B2
The present invention relates to shoe, in particular a sports shoe. The shoe includes a sole plate having in a forefoot area a plurality of leaf spring elements, wherein the sole plate and the plurality of leaf spring elements are manufactured as a single piece. Each of the plurality of leaf spring elements has one free end not connected with the sole plate.
US09339078B2
Customized, form-fitting athletic articles with a heat moldable material that a wearer may heat to soften after purchase to conform the heat moldable material so the contours of the wearer's body may provide many advantages for consumers, such as increased comfort, performance, or safety. The heat moldable material may be incorporated into the upper of an athletic shoe. The heat moldable material may be sufficiently flexible so as not to impede the necessary movements of a wearer or the athletic shoe while performing activities, such as running, walking, jumping, etc. The heat moldable material may be reusable in that it may be reheated and remolded multiple times so that the article may be re-customized or re-fitted as needed. The article may also include a temperature sensitive indicator that indicates when the heat moldable material has been softened.
US09339068B2
The present invention is a pre-shaped article of clothing formed with an inner and/or outer layer and an intermediate layer secured to the inner or outer layer, wherein the intermediate layer includes an adhesive positioned thereon in a non- or discontinuous manner to secure the intermediate layer to the inner or outer layer. The adhesive is heat-activated to form bonds between the inner and/or outer layer and the intermediate layer without any application of compressive forces to the layers when forming the glove.
US09339067B2
Protective devices that are substantially simultaneously used as adjustable weighted resistance training devices are disclosed. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed to improved, adjustably weighted protective shin guards that can extend to integrate instep protection.
US09339060B2
A smoking device includes a recipient or able to receive burning products, preferably tobacco, and a filter element connected to the recipient, wherein the filter includes at least one breakable capsule, the capsule having a initial crush strength from 0.5 to 2.5 kp, and keeping a crush strength from 0.5 to 2.5 kp and a deformation of less than two third of its diameter prior to rupture after having been submitted to a smoking test. The invention is also relating to the capsule suitable for being incorporated in a smoking device, and to the process of manufacture of the capsule.
US09339054B2
A shelf stable fried product and a process for creating a shelf stable fried product is disclosed. Aspects include a process for managing fat migration, moisture migration, and cell degrading of a food product during frying. Aspects further include a resulting shelf stable food product that includes a crispy and/or crunchy texture and a desirable fat distribution.
US09339053B2
The invention discloses a technical process to prepare a self-reinforced starch composite used to produce capsules. This composite is made by uniformly mixing the matrix phase and the particulate reinforced phase at a proper proportion, the former being one or a combination of the starches selected from the group consisting of oxidized starch, cationic starch and esterified starch; and the latter, cross-linked starch or starch nanocrystals. This composite is processed into the forms of granules, films, or sheets by extrusion method and these different forms of the composite can be used to replace the gelatin as the raw material of capsules because its barrier property, processability, and mechanical properties are significantly improved.
US09339050B2
A process for producing a frozen confectionery product is provided, the process comprising: preparing a mix containing a gelling agent and having a total solids content of from 20 to 45 wt %; filling the mix into a mold and allowing the gelling agent to form a gel in the mold; freezing the gelled mix to form a product having a first form; removing the shaped product from the mold; and deforming the product while it is in the frozen state so that it takes up a second form.
US09339048B2
A chocolate confectionery and a method for manufacturing same chocolate confectionery where the chocolate confectionery has multiple pearls of flavor distributed evenly throughout a base chocolate wafer such that the flavor and consistency of the chocolate confectionery is consistent throughout. In one form of the chocolate confectionery, small pearls of flavor are suspended within the chocolate creating a pleasing flavor balance and mouth feel with overall lower sugar content and higher cocoa content.
US09339047B2
Provided is a concentrated coffee extract solution having a rich sweet aroma and a clear aftertaste. The concentrated coffee extract solution contains the following components (A) and (B): (A) at least one pyrazine selected from 2-methylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, ethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine and 3,5-dimethyl-2-methylpyrazine, and (B) at least one guaiacol selected from guaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol and 4-vinylguaiacol. A content weight ratio [(B)/(A)] of the component (B) to the component (A) is 0.6 or smaller.
US09339042B2
Provided, is a fully integrated system to monitor and control carcass weight to minimize weight loss in carcasses during the chilling cycle. This will be accomplished by incorporating a load cell and a radio frequency identification device on the trolley operating on the elevated track system extending through the packing plant, including the carcass chilling rooms. This method and apparatus will provide the needed location and weight data to control a water spray system to maintain a constant carcass weight during the entire chilling cycle.
US09339031B2
A composition is provided, comprising a non-ionic, water-soluble, hydrophobically modified lower alkyl hydroxyalkyl linear polysaccharide ether, wherein the hydrophobic group comprises a long-chain C10-C18 alkyl or alkenyl group, the lower alkyl group has 1-4 carbon atoms, and the hydroxyalkyl groups are hydroxyethyl and/or hydroxypropyl; and one or more agriculturally active ingredient. A method for treating a plant is also provided, comprising the step of contacting a plant with a composition of the invention.
US09339029B2
The present disclosure is directed to hydrazinyl lipidoids, formulations thereof further comprising at least one active agent, as well as methods of delivering the at least one active agent to a target organism.
US09339021B2
In one embodiment, the present invention eradicates pests, such as bedbugs, and toxic mold, for example, among other organisms that invade a dwelling, structure, building, vehicle, or other enclosure. The system includes a burner element having a heat exchanger in contact with the exhaust gas, the heat exchanger on the burner heats a heat transfer fluid (HTF). High pressure HTF flow is used to drive isolation pumps, electrical generators, fans, and other auxiliary equipment. A pressure management system within each heat exchanger ensures optimum flow of HTF. The fluid exchanger is either air-to-fluid or fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger.
US09339020B1
An improved fish hanger is provided where the hanger is constructed of, or at least made of, lightweight metal. The fishing hanger has a molded body with a curved bottom end that allows the body to pivot on a flat surface. This curved end of the fish hanger is able to hook a fish in a position that makes the skinning process possible on both sides. The device can be collapsible for ease of transport and storage.
US09339006B1
A pet kennel configured to restrain a pet indoors while allowing access to out-of-doors includes a bottom and a plurality of peripheral panels attached to the bottom and extending upwardly therefrom and wherein at least one of the panels is constructed of a durable mesh. A top is affixed to an upper edge of the plurality of peripheral panels. At least one access door is integrated in one of the panels and is selectively openable and closable for access to an interior of the kennel. One of the panels other than the panel with the door is removable therefrom and defines an end perimeter. A bracket assembly is joinable with an end of at least one of the panels other than the panel with the integrated door.
US09339000B1
The present invention provides an inbred corn line designated HBA2631, methods for producing a corn plant by crossing plants of the inbred line HBA2631 with plants of another corn plant. The invention further encompasses all parts of inbred corn line HBA2631, including culturable cells. Additionally provided herein are methods for introducing transgenes into inbred corn line HBA2631, and plants produced according to these methods.
US09338994B1
The present invention provides an inbred corn line designated GID2112, methods for producing a corn plant by crossing plants of the inbred line GID2112 with plants of another corn plant. The invention further encompasses all parts of inbred corn line GID2112, including culturable cells. Additionally provided herein are methods for introducing transgenes into inbred corn line GID2112, and plants produced according to these methods.
US09338988B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01046980. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01046980. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01046980 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01046980 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09338987B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01052118. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01052118. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01052118 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01052118 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09338977B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01046500. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01046500. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01046500 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01046500 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09338968B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01046072. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01046072. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01046072 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01046072 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09338962B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01045681. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01045681. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01045681 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01045681 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09338959B2
The present invention is in the field of soybean variety WN1118516 breeding and development. The present invention particularly relates to the soybean variety WN1118516 and its progeny, and methods of making WN1118516.
US09338958B2
The present invention is in the field of soybean variety GO1112037 breeding and development. The present invention particularly relates to the soybean variety GO1112037 and its progeny, and methods of making GO1112037.
US09338953B1
A novel maize variety designated PH1CH7 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1CH7 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1CH7 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH1CH7 or a locus conversion of PH1CH7 with another maize variety.
US09338942B2
A replaceable mower blade for attachment to a mounting member operatively connected to a mower is provided. The blade includes a central portion having opposing side edges, a top surface, and a bottom surface. The blade also includes a tip portion extending from the central portion. The central portion includes at least one attachment mechanism for operatively connecting the blade to the mounting member.
US09345183B2
The present invention provides a configuration of a computer-chassis containment or other electromagnetic device method for manufacture in which a “one-hit” solution may be implemented to provide adequate electromagnetic interference shielding (EMC shielding) and is configured such that shielding gaskets, “spoons” or other excessive structures may be reduced or eliminated completely. Two sheets of conductive material are formed into two and three-dimensional “patterns” and channels with contact points that are stamped, molded, cut, or extruded into one or more sides of a “box” providing sufficient EMI shielding.
US09345176B2
Provided is a power supply device that can suitably release heat with a small number of parts. In an AC-DC converter that is a power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a heat conductive member thermally connected to a base plate is thermally connected to an upper surface of a stacked coil board including a main circuit board and circuit boards. This configuration causes heat generated in the stacked coil board to be transferred to the base plate also from the upper surface of the stacked coil board via the heat conducting member, whereby the heat release effect can be increased. In addition, since the heat conducting member is the only member used for releasing heat, the heat release effect can be increased while the number of parts is kept from increasing.
US09345172B2
A cable management rack is provided within which a heat-generating device is mountable. The rack includes a first upright and a second upright attached to opposite respective lateral sides of a base and a top member, and respective side-facing panels. Each of the panels defines a plurality of vent holes arranged in an array. A cable management system includes a cable management rack for accommodating a heat generating device, a first baffle mounted with respect to a first upright of the rack and for redirecting a rearward flow of cool air sideways from a space adjacent a front side of the rack, and a second baffle mounted with respect to a second upright of the rack and for redirecting a sideways flow of exhaust air from the rack and through the second upright into a space adjacent a rear side of the rack.
US09345170B2
A heat exchange device that is coupled to an electronic device that includes an electronic component that generates heat, the heat exchange device includes: a first-channel through which a first-coolant that cools the electronic component flows; a heat-exchange-unit that performs heat exchange between the first-coolant and a second-coolant; a second-channel through which the second-coolant-flows; a first-coolant-detection-unit that detects leakage of the first-coolant from the first-channel; a collection-unit that collects the first-coolant that is leaked from the first-channel; a storage-unit that is provided in the first-channel and supplies the stored first-coolant to the first channel; a recovery-unit that is provided between the collection-unit and the storage-unit; and a control-unit that causes the recovery-unit to recover the first-coolant that is collected by the collection unit, into the storage-unit when the first-coolant-detection-unit detects leakage of the first-coolant.
US09345167B2
A container data center includes a container, a number of server cabinets received in the container, a heat dissipation apparatus, a ventilation pipe, and a control device. The container defines a number of air inlets and a number of air outlets. A number of first shielding plates movably coupled to the container to cover the air inlets and a number of second shielding plates movably coupled to the container to cover the air outlets. The container forms a cooling air channel at one side of the server cabinets and a heat air channel at an opposite side of the server cabinets. The ventilation pipe is communicated between the heat dissipation apparatus and at least one of the air inlets, the ventilation pipe defines a opening communicating with the heating air channel, and a third shielding plate is movably coupled to the ventilation pipe to cover the corresponding through hole.
US09345164B2
A electronic device includes a chassis, a panel, a cover and a security structure. The panel covers a side of the chassis. The cover covers another side of the chassis. The security structure includes a locking component, a positioning component and a linking shaft. The locking component is disposed on the panel and interfered with the chassis to lock the panel. The positioning component is disposed on the cover and interfered with the chassis to position the cover. The linking shaft is disposed between the locking component and the positioning component and stops the positioning component from being separated from the chassis. When a position of the locking component is adjusted to release the interference between the locking component and the chassis, the linking shaft is driven by the locking component to release the positioning component.
US09345155B1
A landscape controller housing can be used to enclose the electronic components of a landscape lighting system or an irrigation system includes a face pack that is pivotably and removably mounted in an outer housing. The face pack can be installed in the outer housing in a normal upright position in which a pair of pivot pins are each received in a corresponding bearing slot and a pair of locking pins are each received in a corresponding lock recess. The face pack can be swung through a predetermined angle to release the locking pins from the lock recesses to allow the face pack to be removed from the outer housing by sliding the pivot pins out of the bearing slots and removing the locking pins from the lock recesses. The face pack can be inserted into the outer housing into a substantially horizontal service position by sliding both the pivot pins and the locking pins into the bearing slots.
US09345154B2
An automatic locking mechanism is configured to lock a housing with a latching groove. The automatic locking mechanism includes a bracket and a magnet. An inclined surface is defined on an edge of the magnet. The bracket defines a groove. A restriction member is positioned in the groove configured to restrict the magnet. The housing is locked to the bracket when the magnet is simultaneously received in both the groove and the latching groove via the attraction of the magnet to the housing. The housing is released when the housing is continuously resisted against the inclined surface of the magnet until the magnet is completely received in the groove. In addition, an electronic device with the automatic locking mechanism is disclosed.
US09345153B2
This smartphone (100) has a battery lid (60) attached to the smartphone main body, and a locking member (70) which is held so as to rotatable by the smartphone main body and which rotates in response to a force received from the battery lid (60) so as to engage the battery lid (60). As a result of the engaging of the battery lid (60) by the locking member (70), the battery lid (60) is locked to the smartphone main body via the locking member (70). When viewed in perspective view from the back side of the smartphone (100), it can be seen that a housing unit (43) for housing a battery pack (50) is provided upon a lower case assembly (40).
US09345143B2
A wiring board includes an electrode pad having a first surface and a second surface located on an opposite side from the first surface, a conductor pattern connected to the first surface of the electrode pad, and an insulator layer embedded with the electrode pad and the conductor pattern. The insulator layer covers an outer peripheral portion of the second surface of the electrode pad.
US09345139B2
The use of a control module having at least one housing part and a multi-layer printed circuit board as the electrical connection between the inner space of the housing and components that are situated outside of the housing part is described. The multi-layer printed circuit board is the carrier for the electrical components of an electronic circuit, and is at the same time the thermal contacting to a housing part and/or a cooling element, particularly a hydraulic plate of the transmission, for a transmission control installed in an automatic transmission.
US09345131B2
A flexible electronic device including a component portion and at least one folded portion connected to the component portion is provided. The flexible electronic device has a plurality of flexed lines located on the single folded portion and a plurality of stress relief holes, wherein the stress relief holes are separated from each other, and at least a part of the stress relief holes is located on at least one of the flexed lines.
US09345130B2
The present invention relates to a conductive substrate comprising a conductive pattern having an improved concealment property and a touch panel comprising the same, and the conductive substrate according to the present invention comprises: a transparent substrate, and a conductive pattern comprising a conductive line provided on the transparent substrate, wherein the conductive pattern comprises two or more conductive lines spaced from each other in a longitudinal direction of the conductive line, and a distance between nearest-adjacent ends of two or more conductive lines spaced from each other is 15 μm or less. The conductive substrate according to the present invention can more efficiently conceal a metal line comprised in the conductive pattern.
US09345116B2
A light power socket adaptor may be positioned between an energy-saving light bulb and a light socket that may provide electrical power to the light bulb. Adaptors may include a motorized rotational mechanism that allows sensors to rotate in any direction. Light power socket adaptors may be network-enabled. Each node on a sensor network may operate independently. Each node may also function as a router so that it may forward data packets to other nodes if the data received is targeted for its own consumption. Adaptors may further include a motion sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, and a photo (day/night) sensor.
US09345111B2
This disclosure describes systems and techniques for managing streetlights. The subject matter included in this document is embodied in a method that includes receiving, at a computing device, information representative of a location and status of a streetlight included in a network of streetlights. The method also includes presenting a representation of the streetlight in a graphical user-interface in accordance with the received location and status information, and receiving information representing a selection of the streetlight for inclusion in a group of streetlights from the network. The method further includes initiating delivery of one or more control signals to the group of streetlights.
US09345094B2
A dimmable alternating current (AC) driven light emitting diode (LED) illuminating apparatus including a TRIAC dimmer configured to perform a dimming control using a phase control.
US09345085B2
An illumination apparatus of a high efficiency light emitting element and a driving circuit of a light emitting element controlling a series and parallel connection relationship between light emitting groups according to a voltage level of a driving voltage and controlling a sequential driving of the light emitting groups at the same time.
US09345083B2
The embodiments discussed herein relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for executing a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode of a boost converter in order to ensure that a switching frequency of the boost converter is a above an audible frequency threshold. In this way, a user operating a display device that is controlled by the boost converter will not be disturbed by audible noises generated at the display device. The PFM mode enforces an audible frequency threshold by using control circuitry designed to increase or decrease the frequency of a pulse signal depending on how the frequency of the pulse signal changes over time. The control circuitry can apply an additional load to the boost converter in order to increase the frequency of the pulse signal when the frequency is approaching the audible frequency threshold.
US09345075B2
An object of the present disclosure is to reduce a failure rate due to a prolonged life span of a cooling fan while maintaining a satisfactory heat dissipating performance. When a signal indicating a first light-up state is input, a control unit sets a current value of an output current to a predetermined value such that a cooling fan is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, and when a signal indicating a second light-up state is input, the control unit lowers the current value of the output current to a value lower than the predetermined value such that the rotation speed of the cooling fan is lower than the predetermined rotation speed. Therefore, the life span of the cooling fan may be prolonged while maintaining the satisfactory heat dissipating performance.
US09345074B2
In an organic EL display apparatus, a chromaticity change of image display due to deterioration in an OLED is corrected. The organic EL display apparatus includes an EC element layer formed of one kind or a plurality of kinds of electrochromic elements which are disposed on an OLED portion and develop colors. Each of the electrochromic elements has a peak in a transmission spectrum during development of a color in any one of the emission wavelength bands of the pixels corresponding to the plurality of colors. The electrochromic element receives a DC voltage from a driver so as to be driven. Chromaticity of image display is adjusted by controlling a color development intensity of the electrochromic element by using the DC voltage which is applied by the driver.
US09345073B1
A light emitting diode bulb includes a driving circuit board, a lighting unit, and a housing. The driving circuit board has one or more extending parts formed on one side, and a group of electrically connecting pins are disposed on the other side. An electrode is attached to one surface of each of the extending parts. The lighting unit is electrically connected to the electrodes. The housing packages the driving circuit board and the lighting unit, the electrically connected pins extend beyond the housing. The light emitting bulb has advantages of easy manufacture and low cost since the driving circuit board is electrically connected to the lighting unit directly and the housing then packages the driving circuit board and the lighting unit.
US09345071B2
An electrically operated heating device, in particular for a heating or air conditioning system of a vehicle, is provided, comprising a heating register with a layered heating element, for converting electrical energy into heat, and two electrically insulating and heat-conducting insulating layers, which respectively make contact, at least in certain regions, with one side of the layered heating element. The insulating layers and the layered heating element are braced with one another, an abrasion-counteracting sliding layer being arranged between at least one of the insulating layers and the layered heating element. Alternatively or in addition, at least one of the insulating layers and the layered heating element have, at least in the region of their mutual contact surfaces, a material pairing with which the abrasion of the contact surfaces goes below a predetermined limit value.
US09345066B2
A mechanism for indicating ambient temperature of an enclosure from temperatures determined within the enclosure. The temperatures may be obtained from two or more sensors at each of two or more locations within the enclosure. The enclosure may include an apparatus inside such as electronics of which power consumption may be determined. Data including temperatures of two locations within the enclosure at various electronics power consumption levels may be entered into a 2-D plot. An approximation of the 2-D plot may be effected with an appropriate equation to be solved for ambient temperature. The data of the 2-D plot plus temperatures of a third location and air flow levels in the enclosure may be entered into a 3-D plot. An approximation of the 3-D plot may be effected with an appropriate equation to be solved for ambient temperature.
US09345061B1
Disclosed are various embodiments that facilitate remote access to mobile communication devices. A video signal and an audio signal that may be generated in a phone device are captured. The video signal may correspond to a screen of the phone device. The signals are encoded into a media stream, which is sent to a computing device. Input data is obtained from the computing device, and the input data is provided to one or more applications executed in the phone device.
US09345056B2
A wireless communication apparatus includes an acquisition unit, a calculation unit, a selection unit, and a notification unit. The acquisition unit acquires location information of a first terminal and a second terminal that perform terminal-to-terminal communication without using a base station. The calculation unit calculates a distance between the first and second terminals based on the acquired location information of the first and second terminals. The selection unit selects a frequency to be used for the terminal-to-terminal communication based on the distance calculated by the calculation unit. The notification unit notifies the first and second terminals of a start of the terminal-to-terminal communication and the selected frequency.
US09345048B2
The exemplary embodiments of this invention reduce signaling overhead for machine type communications (MTC) devices that are assumed to transmit small messages and that have no or limited mobility. By using these assumptions, the exemplary embodiments of this invention provide a random access procedure for MTC devices to send small messages via a random access data channel (RADCH). An exemplary method includes: obtaining a subscription for a MTC device to use, for a period of time specified by the subscription, a RADCH to a wireless communication network; and transmitting bursts containing data on the RADCH in accordance with the subscription.
US09345047B2
Techniques are described for wireless communications utilizing multiple clear channel assessment (CCA) procedures for access to a radio frequency spectrum band. A first CCA procedure is performed to determine availability of the radio frequency spectrum band and to contend for use of the radio frequency spectrum band among a number of coordinated operators transmitting on the radio frequency spectrum band. A successful first CCA procedure results in winning the contention for the radio frequency spectrum band for a transmission period that is coordinated among the number of coordinated operators. Upon the successful first CCA procedure, a second CCA procedure is performed during a discontinuous transmission (DTX) period in the transmission period to determine continued availability of the radio frequency spectrum band. The timing of the DTX periods is determined based on timing of radio transmissions having priority use of the radio frequency spectrum band.
US09345036B2
A radar detector is used with a radio link, the radio link characterized by high duty factor operation of a radio transmitter. The radar detector is located a sufficient distance from the radio transmitter that the radar detector is not overwhelmed by the radio transmission signal in that channel and can detect sufficiently low level radar signals to ascertain potential radio interference at the radar from said radio transmitter. The results of the radar detection are communicated to the transmitter in a way that impacts the transmitter's use of the sensed channel. This communication can occur reactively when a radar detection is achieved (the absence of which indicates no radar has been detected) and/or can be a periodic or event-driven indication that the channel is available for operation (the information expiring if the result is not refreshed).
US09345035B2
A method and apparatus are described including scanning a channel, generating a report for the scanned channel, transmitting the channel report to an associated access point and receiving a channel assignment responsive to said channel report. Also described are a method and apparatus including scanning a channel, generating a first channel report, receiving a second channel report from an associated client, transmitting the first channel report and the second channel report to a server, receiving a channel assignment message from the server responsive to the first and second channel reports and transmitting the channel assignment message to the associated client. Further described are a method and apparatus including receiving a channel report from an associated access point, building an interference graph responsive to the channel report, determining channel assignments based on the interference graph and transmitting a channel assignment message to the associated access point.
US09345030B2
Provided are white space sharing control method, database device, agent device and communication system with which use of white space (WS) is controlled when a plurality of WS wireless devices compete for use of WS. In ST105, an application A proxy device arbitrates WS channel use requests received from a plurality of application A first WS wireless devices and combines these requests into one, and, in ST107, the application A proxy device transmits the arbitrated WS channel use request and location information to a frequency database apparatus. In ST108, the frequency database apparatus decides whether or not application A and application B are available on the basis of the “arbitrated WS channel use request and location information” and “priority ranking information according to use”. In ST109, the frequency database apparatus updates application A database information and application B database information on the basis of the decision result.
US09345009B2
A user terminal carries out the steps of receiving downlink control information for a first cell and a second cell allocated to the PDCCH of the first cell, generating retransmission control signals for each downlink data signal in predetermined PUCCH formats, allocating the generated retransmission control signals to a PUCCH resource of the first cell, and sending feedback, and, when the ratio of DL subframes is higher in the second cell than in the first cell, applies PUCCH format 3 to a retransmission control signal for a downlink data signal of the second cell demodulated by using downlink control information in which the CCE number is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and applies PUCCH format 1b to a retransmission control signal for a downlink data signal of the second cell demodulated by using downlink control information in which the CCE number is greater than the predetermined value.
US09345008B2
The present invention relates to a method and devices for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) having a large payload size in a carrier aggregation environment. The method for transmitting the UCI having a large sized payload in a wireless access system, as an embodiment of the present invention, comprises the steps of: finding the number of first resource elements allocated to channel quality information (CQI) information to be included in the UCI; finding the number of second resource elements allocated to a rank indicator (RI) information to be included in the UCI; finding the coding rate of data transmitted with the UCI, considering the number of the first resource elements and the number of the second resource elements; finding the number of third resource elements allocated to all of the UCI, on the basis of the coding rate of the data; and multiplexing to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and sending to a base station the UCI, on the basis of the number of the third resource elements.
US09345006B2
Apparatus including at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining at least one control symbol and at least one channel from a channel set for an at least one control symbol representing the at least one control signal for at least one output port; and determining at least one further control symbol and at least one further channel from the channel set for the at least one further control symbol for at least one further output port, wherein the at least one further control symbol and the at least one further channel is dependent on the at least one control symbol and the at least one channel.
US09345004B2
An approach is provided for performing control signaling. Data and control information are received. The control information is orthogonalized using block-level spreading. The data and the orthogonalized control information are multiplexed at a symbol-level.
US09345002B2
The present disclosure discloses a dynamic spectrum allocation method and device based on channel management. The method comprises the following steps: a network node generates a channel set according to an available channel list and channel classification information, and maintains and updates the channel set; and the network node selects a spectrum from the channel set and allocates the spectrum. The device comprises: a channel set generation module configured to generate a channel set according to an available channel list and channel classification information and maintain and update the channel set; and a spectrum allocation module configured to select a spectrum from the channel set and allocate the spectrum. The present disclosure can reduce the delay in the spectrum resource reconfiguration of a CR system, improves the overall performance of spectrum resource reconfiguration and increases the utilization efficiency of a spectrum.
US09344997B2
A method, apparatus, and computer program for selecting a communication mode for a terminal device is described herein. A communication mode is selected for a terminal device on the basis of a difference between an estimated radio channel between the terminal device and a base station and an estimated radio channel between the terminal device and another terminal device. The communication mode is selected from a group comprising a plurality of different configurations to multiplex communication over the first radio link with communication over the second radio link.
US09344987B2
Methods and apparatus to provide extended voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services are disclosed. An example residential gateway comprises a radio frequency (RF) detector to detect a presence of a cellular communication device, a service controller to enable a VoIP communication device when the cellular communication device is present, wherein the VoIP communication device and the cellular communication device are different devices.
US09344986B2
A method that implements a timing advance for an uplink communication from a user equipment (UE) comprises: selecting at least one subframe; reducing a duration of at least one selected symbol of each of the at least one subframe to generate at least one reduced duration subframe; replacing a remaining portion of payload data of each of the at least one selected symbol with a pre-selected replacement value; by-passing each of the at least one selected symbol during pre-transmission processing of the at least one reduced duration subframe; processing any remaining symbols of the at least one reduced duration subframe, such that a processing time of the remaining symbols of the at least one reduced duration subframe is reduced by at least the value of the timing advance; and transmitting the at least one reduced duration subframe via the uplink communication to the base station.
US09344984B2
A method and user device are for communicating data from the user device by transmitting a synchronizing preamble having no timing advance, the synchronizing preamble comprising a base sequence that has been cyclically shifted by N shift index durations. The user device receives from a network station a response that indicates that a preamble was received from the user device having the base sequence cyclically shifted by N−1 shift index durations. The user device determines, based at least partially on the response, that corrective action is appropriate. The user device performs one of transmitting a modified form of synchronizing preamble, transmitting the data as a data message having a timing advance, and barring further attempts to transmit the data to the network station for a defined duration.
US09344976B2
A wireless transmission apparatus that transmits transmission data in each of a plurality of system frequency bands using a transmission power controlled so that a total transmission power of each of the plurality of system frequency bands is less than a maximum transmit power, where the maximum transmit power incase of transmitting the transmission data simultaneously using two or more system frequency bands in the plurality of system frequency bands is less than a maximum transmit power in case of transmitting the transmission data using single system frequency band in the plurality of system frequency band.
US09344972B2
The present invention relates to an uplink power control method and apparatus and an uplink signal receiving method and apparatus using the same. According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of receiving an uplink signal, the method of including selecting receiving points in a CoMP (Coordinated Multi-Point) system, transmitting CoMP setting information to UE, and receiving uplink transmission from the UE, wherein uplink transmission power used for the uplink transmission is controlled based on an effective path loss calculated by using at least one of path losses between the UE performing the uplink transmission and points in the CoMP system. According to the present invention, when uplink transmission power control is performed in the uplink CoMP system, path losses for a plurality of receiving points are reflected so that power control may be exactly done.
US09344969B2
A mobile phone initially probes while in an open-loop mode with an estimated power level based on the received power level from a base station. If a response is not received, power is incremented, and a subsequent probe is sent. The process is repeated until a response is received or when maximum power is reached. If a response is still not received, the mobile phone tests for changing its location state. When BTS probes are unsuccessful and maximum power is reached, available sensors are sampled and tested for a change of state, e.g., by way of an inclinometer, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a GPS, standard 802.11, or employing a Bluetooth, and the like. If no state change is detected, a delay block is entered, reducing the probing rate and the power consumption rate. If a state change is detected, the delay block is bypassed and probing resumes immediately.
US09344956B2
A communication system is described in which a base station operating in a hybrid or closed access mode requests deletion of the copy of the CSG-Id list maintained at the corresponding mobility management entity in the core network, when the base station changes its operation mode to an open (non-CSG) access mode.
US09344955B2
There is provided a method, including: causing, by a second node, reception of a discovery message on a radio layer directly from a first node, wherein the discovery message indicates at least the prefix of the internet protocol, IP, address corresponding to the first node; detecting whether or not there exist an application layer connection between the first node and the second node, wherein the application layer is a higher layer than the radio layer and the detection is at least partly based on the acquired prefix; and upon detecting that the application layer connection exists, indicating the existence of the application layer connection to a network element associated with the second node.
US09344952B2
Example methods disclosed herein to provide a map to a wireless device include, in response to a request received from the wireless device, processing wireless session records to determine respective status of a plurality of wireless services in a first geographic region associated with the wireless device. Disclosed example methods also include, based on the processing of the wireless session records, generating map data identifying a location of the wireless device, a status of a first one of the wireless services in a second geographic region included in the first geographic region, and a status of a second one of the wireless services in a third geographic region included in the first geographic region. Disclosed example methods further include transmitting the map data to the wireless device.
US09344946B2
A method and arrangement in a first network node, which is serving a user equipment, for determining whether a handover of the user equipment is to be made to a second network node. The first network node and the second network node are configured for wireless communication with each other over a backhaul link in half-duplex communication mode. The first network node obtains an estimation of data-rate performance over the backhaul link, and determines whether to hand over the user equipment to the second network node based on the obtained estimation of the data-rate performance over the backhaul link.
US09344942B2
Embodiments are directed to an application-layer handoff of an access terminal from a first system of an access network to a second system of the access network during a communication session within a wireless communications system. In an embodiment, the access terminal sets up a communication session on the first system. A multimedia client measures application-layer performance parameters for the communication session supported by the first system, and determines whether to handoff the communication session to a second system based at least in part on the application-layer performance parameters. If the multimedia client determines to handoff the communication session to the second system, the multimedia client initiates the handoff and the communication session is transitioned to the second system.
US09344941B2
User equipment and method of notifying a wireless communication network of impending autonomous cell reselection from a serving cell to a second cell. The user equipment comprises: monitoring logic, determining logic and notification logic. The monitoring logic is operable to monitor signals received from said serving cell and said second cell; the determining logic is operable to determine whether the signals received from said serving cell and said second cell meet predetermined cell reselection warning criteria, and the notification logic is operable, if said predetermined cell reselection warning criteria are met, to notify said serving cell of said impending autonomous user equipment cell reselection to said second cell. Accordingly, user equipment is operable to send an indication of cell reselection to a network prior to fully triggering a cell reselection procedure, thereby allowing a network to make preparations for an impending cell reselection event, thereby minimizing potential disruption to a network user.
US09344938B1
A method and corresponding system and apparatus to help manage UE context records. When a network controller detects that it is at or approaching a context record storage limit, such as might be imposed by license agreement for instance, the network controller offload one or more of its stored UE context records to another network controller to be stored temporarily by the other network controller until needed, even though the other network controller is not serving the UE(s) at issue.
US09344926B2
The present invention discloses a base station and a handover processing method for digital trunking communication. The handover processing method comprises: a base station transmitting a System Parameter and Neighbor Channel Assignment Message (SNCAM) to a terminal at a normal period; the base station receiving a handover request from the terminal; the base station transmitting the SNCAM to the terminal at a preset period; the preset period is set to be shorter than the normal period and ensures that the power consumption of the base station is lower than a threshold which leads to power overload. The present invention has increased the possibility that the terminal receives the SNCAM, and can also avoid the power overload of the system, thus not only the user experience is improved, but also the life of the base station is prolonged.
US09344917B2
A method for implementing a baseband resource pool in an LTE base station is provided. The LTE base station includes a main control module, a master board a slave board. The master board and the slave board each include a baseband processing module. The main control module configures information of a cell needing load sharing on the master board to the slave board, and configures user information in the cell to each of the master board and the slave board, or configures the user information to each of the master board and the slave board according to load balance. The master board and the slave board each perform load sharing processing on an SRS signal of a user. The slave board including the baseband processing module is added, thereby improving the baseband processing capability of the LTE base station.
US09344915B2
A mobile communication method is applied to a mobile communication system including a general base station that manages a general cell and a specific base station that manages a specific cell having a coverage area smaller than a coverage area of the general cell. The mobile communication method comprises: a step A of transmitting, from a general mobile terminal to the specific base station, an RACH signal for interference detection, the general mobile terminal being a mobile terminal in a connected state in the general cell; and a step B of notifying, by the specific base station, the general base station of a detection result of the RACH signal for interference detection.
US09344907B1
In some aspects, a wireless-spectrum analysis technique includes obtaining, at a computer system, a simulated spatial distribution of a wireless signal parameter (e.g., spectral power). The simulated spatial distribution is based on a computer-simulation of wireless signal propagation in a geographic region. A measured spatial distribution of the wireless signal parameter is obtained at the computer system. The measured spatial distribution is based on measurements performed by wireless sensor devices in the geographic region. Each of the wireless sensor devices is configured to provide local parameter measurements based on wireless signals detected by the wireless sensor device. The simulated spatial distribution is compared with the measured spatial distribution. In some instances, the simulated spatial distribution geographic region is modified based on the comparison.
US09344900B2
Embodiments relate to an apparatus (2) for a mobile relay station transceiver (4; 10, 12) in a mobile communication system comprising a donor interface (6) for communicating with a donor base station transceiver, the donor interface (6) being operable to submit a request for a tracking area update to the donor base station and a relay interface (8) for communicating with another apparatus for a relay station transceiver, the relay interface (8) being operable to receive tracking area information from the other apparatus for a relay station transceiver.
US09344899B2
When one base station forms a plurality of cells that use different frequency bands, a handover caused by movement between cells can be successfully performed with a high probability. A radio base station adapted to communicate with a radio communication terminal, comprising: a communication unit which performs a first communication with the radio communication terminal by using a first frequency, wherein the communication unit performs a second communication with the communication terminal by using a second frequency that is different from the first frequency; and a controller which performs a control, of at least one of a first power of the first communication and a second power of the second communication, based on a first power-related quality of the first communication and a second power-related quality of the second communication.
US09344893B2
A method for remotely managing a private radio cell connected to a public radio network, wherein an end device unknown to the radio cell authenticates itself to an access computer of the private radio cell. After successful authentication of the unknown end device, the access computer transfers a first message to a communication device managing the private radio cell with the first message requesting the use of the private radio cell by the unknown end device or of an installation linked with the private radio cell. The managing communication device transfers to the access computer or the unknown end device a second message permitting the use, when the requested use of the private radio cell by the unknown end device or its user is complied with. The requested use of the private radio cell by the unknown end device or its user is refused when it is not complied with by the communication device.
US09344892B1
Methods and apparatuses are described for mobile device authentication and call routing using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling. A server computing device receives a request to establish a call between a mobile device and a remote device, the request including context parameters and automatic number identification data. The server retrieves a first phone number and a dial delay value based upon the context parameters, generates a security token and a request token, and stores the security token, the request token, the context parameters, and the ANI data in a database record. The mobile device dials the first phone number to establish a connection with a telephony application. The mobile device generates DTMF tones based upon the request token and transmits the DTMF tones to the telephony application. The telephony application validates the request token and requests a second phone number to connect the mobile device and the remote device.
US09344883B2
A system and method for managing access to a Wi-Fi system include redirecting an access request, comprising a user credential, from a wireless user device to an authentication server, obtaining, from a first database, a list of a plurality of authentication databases from which users may be authenticated, the list including a protocol required for communication with each of the authentication databases, transmitting a request to each of the listed authentication databases using the identified protocol, and permitting the user access to the Internet through the Wi-Fi system if the user is authenticated by at least one of the listed authentication databases.
US09344873B1
Disclosed is a method and system to help better manage resources when a mobile terminal is roaming while within a home-carrier coverage hole or while otherwise threshold close to home carrier coverage. In accordance with the disclosure, a mobile terminal's home carrier will determine that the mobile terminal is being served by a roaming carrier's cell site that is threshold close to a home carrier's cell site, and the home carrier will responsively assign to the mobile terminal an IP address that the home carrier is configured to block.
US09344847B2
The present invention relates to a system which enables to determine locations of subscribers in indoor and/or small outdoor areas by means of mobile devices and to make notifications specific for subscribers over mobile device according to this location information determined. The inventive system comprises mobile device, receiver, detection unit, sound emission apparatus, wide area location monitoring unit, database, small area location monitoring unit, database and notification platform.
US09344839B2
A system and method for pushing information from a host system to a mobile data communication device upon sensing a triggering event is disclosed. A redirector program operating at the host system enables a user to continuously redirect certain user-selected data items from the host system to the user's mobile data communication device upon detecting that one or more user-defined triggering events has occurred. The redirector program operates in connection with event generating applications and repackaging systems at the host system to configure and detect a particular user-defined event, and then to repackage the user-selected data items in an electronic wrapper prior to pushing the data items to the mobile device.
US09344838B2
A data transmission method and apparatus are disclosed, and a terminal with a touch screen. The method includes: when a touch on a file displayed on a touch screen is detected, determining whether an attribute of the touch meets a preset condition, where the attribute of the touch includes at least one of the following: a duration of touching the file, a track of dragging the file, and a final object location to which the file is dragged; and when the attribute of the touch meets the preset condition, transmitting the file to an object terminal through an established short-distance wireless communication data channel. Data transmission efficiency can be improved with the embodiments of the present invention.
US09344834B2
A communication method in a wireless access network and a wireless access network device are provided. The communication method comprises: setting a third-party application platform for processing a third-party application request of a user equipment (UE) in the wireless access network; the third-party application platform monitoring an uplink message from the UE, parsing and determining whether the uplink message is an uplink third-party application message; the third-party application platform performing local processing on the uplink third-party application message using a third-party application program of the third-party application platform when determining the uplink message is the third-party application message. In the embodiments of the present document, the number of nodes and a distance traveled by the data traffic transmitted in a network can be reduced, the uplink and downlink traffic of the base station egress can be reduced, and the user experience and network efficiency can be improved.
US09344831B2
A cellular phone includes a telephone line communication part, a telephone functional part for making a telephone call via the telephone line communication part, an entry qualification holding part for holding fixed-term entry qualification information in which an entry target is specified, which is received via the telephone line communication part, and an entry communication part for transmitting the fixed-term entry qualification information held by the entry qualification holding part.
US09344830B2
In an embodiment, there is provided a method for handling Machine to Machine M2M services in a communication system, said method comprising a step of, for charging for IP Connectivity Access Network IP-CAN bearer services in said communication system: providing global charging information for a plurality of terminals using a same M2M service.
US09344820B2
A mass audio notification system is provided, comprising a network, a plurality of speakers connected to the network, and at least one server connected to the network. The server can send audio data to at least one of the plurality of speakers via a transport link, and the server can send control commands to at least one of the plurality of speakers. The transport link can include a first protocol based on internet protocol.
US09344819B2
A securing mechanism comprising a plurality of outwardly projecting members having a plurality of contact points that are configured to contact a surface of an opening when disposed on a space access device that is inserted in the opening, the securing mechanism being configured to apply a pressure to a contact surface within the opening less than approximately 10000 kPa.
US09344796B2
A system and method for reducing harmonic noise caused by two or more noise sources by causing one or more loudspeakers to produce sounds that are at about the same frequencies as the noise and of substantially opposite phase. There is a noise canceller associated with each noise source. Each noise canceller includes a harmonic sine wave generator that generates an output sine wave. Each noise canceller also has an adaptive filter that uses a sine wave to create a noise reduction signal that is used to drive one or more transducers with their outputs directed to reduce noise caused by the noise sources. There is an overlap detector that compares the harmonic frequencies and, based on their proximity, alters the operation of one or more adaptive filters.
US09344791B2
The present disclosure discloses a music earphone, which comprises an auricle-shaped shell, a cover, and a cavity formed by the auricle-shaped shell and the cover. A receiver(s) is disposed in the cavity, a sound aperture is disposed at an upper end of the shell, an edge of the sound aperture extends towards the interior of the cavity to form a cylindrical hearing tube, a lower end of the hearing tube is fixedly connected with the receiver(s), and a lower end of each of the receiver(s) is connected with a conductor. The music earphone allows the shell to match the auricle of a user in a breathable manner, filter out the external noise while still enabling the user to hear the external communication sound, improve the music quality, and guard the traffic safety of the user.
US09344788B2
A motor vehicle audio system, and a method of operating such a system. There is at least one rear far-field speaker that is located behind a front seat of the motor vehicle, and at least one near-field speaker located in front of the far-field speaker and close to an intended position of a listener's head. There is an audio signal processor configured to detect when the rear far-field speaker is shut off while the near-field speaker remains on, and in response automatically increase the output energy of the near-field speaker.
US09344785B1
A speaker assembly includes a rigid, structurally stable and self-supporting speaker housing, a first mid-range driver mounted within the speaker housing, a second mid-range driver mounted within the speaker housing, and a high frequency driver mounted within the speaker housing. A high frequency housing spacer is secured around the high frequency driver and positioned within the speaker housing to divide the speaker housing into separate and distinct compartments for the first and second mid-range drivers.
US09344784B2
An earphone with dual loudspeakers includes a casing, a retaining member, a tweeter, and a woofer. The casing has a first sound outlet passage and an accommodation space therein. The retaining member is installed in the accommodation space. Two ends of the retaining member are formed with a first accommodation cavity and a second accommodation cavity, respectively. The tweeter and the woofer are respectively installed in the first and second accommodation cavities and then installed in the casing. The tweeter has a sound outlet side facing the first sound outlet passage. A second sound outlet passage is formed between the outer wall of the tweeter and the inner wall of the first accommodation cavity. The second sound outlet passage communicates with the first sound outlet passage. The woofer has a sound outlet side facing the second sound outlet passage.
US09344783B2
In a low frequency transducer system a multi-compression chamber, an inverse horn structure is employed in combination with a resonance-distortion filter chamber. The filter chamber effectively expands the effective enclosure volume at low frequencies and connected to one of the compression chambers filter parasitic resonances and distortion and allowing the system to more efficiently reproduce low frequencies while being able to use smaller diameter transducers and maintaining good system sensitivity. Compression chambers are organized for constant or continuous compression on a section-by-section basis throughout the inverse horn system.
US09344774B2
System and method for recognition of items in media data and delivery of information related thereto
The system and method disclosed herein relate to the establishment of both the location and identity of individual items in pictures or videos. Once the one or more items in the picture/video are identified and matched to images in a reference database, the locations of the items are established and additional information relating to the items is accessed. Collectively, the position data and additional data is merged in the electronic pictures or videos and then provided to a user as a merged data stream. Additional functionality related to those identified items can occur when those identified locations are “pointed to”, “clicked” or otherwise selected (e.g., purchase an item, request information, select another video stream, play a game, share the item, rate, “Like”, and the like).
US09344766B2
A user is enabled to assign channel numbers to his favorite content, including TV stations, Internet sites, local applications, and recorded content. In this way, the user's favorite content sources are grouped so that they can be quickly accessed using channel up/down commands regardless of, e.g., the actual channel number of a favorite TV station.
US09344764B1
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for facilitating initiation of communication actions in accordance with cable attributes. In one embodiment, cable attributes are referenced that indicate utilization of a cable device at a time a communication event is directed to a user device. The user device and the cable device may be associated with the same user. Communication actions to apply in accordance with the communication event are determined based on at least one of the cable attributes. Thereafter, the communication actions are initiated, for example, such that a user is provided with an indication of the communication event visually via the cable device and/or audibly via the user device, depending on the particular cable attributes.
US09344762B2
A set top box or like device utilizing trusted applications in conjunction with an untrusted software framework. In one implementation, trusted or certified applications are received from a service provider for execution by a software framework of the device. Certification of a trusted application may entail, for example, verifying that the application is executable by the device in a manner consist with the industry standard certification process. The software framework may comprise, for example, an Android framework supported by an underlying. Linux operating system environment and isolated in a Linux resource container. A secure access client/server interface may also be provided to support interactions between the software framework and trusted portions of the device. In further embodiments, both trusted applications and a set top box application utilized by the device to perform traditional set top box operations are implemented in at least one version of an Android or like framework.
US09344759B2
An example method comprises determining, by a computing device, an indication of video content, determining, by the computing device and based at least in part on the indication, one or more candidate albums, selecting, by the computing device, a particular candidate album of the one or more candidate albums based at least in part on a match between an audio fingerprint of an audio track included in the video content and an audio fingerprint of an audio track included in the particular candidate album, and sending, by the computing device, a message that associates the video content with the particular candidate album.
US09344757B2
A system and method for providing awareness in a hospitality environment are presented. In one embodiment, a vertical and horizontal array of set-top boxes is provided and each set-top box includes an identification corresponding to the room in which the set-top box is placed. Each set-top box includes a wireless transceiver that periodically transmits an identification beacon that is received by a proximate wireless-enabled interactive device. The proximate wireless-enabled interactive device, in turn, broadcasts data packets including an indication of the strength of set-top box identification signals received. The broadcasts are received by a server via an array of wireless routers. The location of the proximate wireless-enabled interactive device is determined based on the signal strength information in the data packets.
US09344753B2
Mobile input and sensor device for a computer-controlled video entertainment system, in particular a mobile input and sensor device providing user-related input data to said system. This provides an easy-to-handle mobile input and sensor device having direct access to an IP-based network, for transmitting sensor signals or data derived thereof as user-related input data via the IP-based network to a remote computing device or server, preferably to a cloud of servers, which then process these input data for controlling the running entertainment program. The mobile input and sensor device can be made simple, since it is designed to detect user activities and to generate sensor signals which are transmitted as input data to the remote computer(s) or server(s). The mobile input and sensor device directly communicates with any IP-based computing device (gaming server or the like) installed remotely and having powerful hardware and software to process the received input data.
US09344750B2
A method and system for scheduling commercial advertisement are described in which a data processing system having the spot scheduler solver may be operable to receive an advertiser's order to place advertisement or commercial spots into one or more commercial television breaks. The order may comprise various constraints and requirements corresponding to the spots. The spots may be assigned to inventory buckets within the commercial breaks based on the constraints and requirements. When a conflict arises, a prioritization scheme may be performed to complete the assignment of spots not assigned and to generate a commercial break schedule. The prioritization scheme may be based on spot arrival lead time or on maximizing the sum of the rates corresponding to the spots. The data processing system may maximize the spread of the spots over the commercial break schedule. The commercial break schedule may be adjusted when additional orders are received.
US09344743B2
A method for in-loop filtering in a video encoder is provided that includes determining filter parameters for each filtering region of a plurality of filtering regions of a reconstructed picture, applying in-loop filtering to each filtering region according to the filter parameters determined for the filtering region, and signaling the filter parameters for each filtering region in an encoded video bit stream, wherein the filter parameters for each filtering region are signaled after encoded data of a final largest coding unit (LCU) in the filtering region, wherein the in-loop filtering is selected from a group consisting of adaptive loop filtering and sample adaptive offset filtering.
US09344742B2
A method for encoding a frame having a plurality of blocks in a video stream using transform-domain intra prediction is disclosed. The method includes generating, using a two-dimensional transform, a set of transform coefficients for a current block; generating, using a one-dimensional transform, a set of transform coefficients for previously coded pixel values in the frame; determining, using the set of transform coefficients for the previously coded pixel values, a set of transform coefficients for a prediction block; determining a residual based on the difference between the set of transform coefficients for the current block and the set of coefficients for the prediction block; and encoding the residual.
US09344741B2
Initial value is selected when motion estimation is performed using predicted motion vector in video codec in which multiple references are allowed, and coding amount of motion vectors is reduced using predicted motion vector. Motion vector encoding apparatus includes predicted motion vector generator that generates adjacent motion vectors of current block with respect to each of reference pictures and generates each predicted motion vector of the current block from the generated adjacent motion vectors, motion estimator that determines final motion vector of the current block and final reference picture corresponding to the final motion vector with regard to search regions of the reference pictures, differential unit that obtains difference between the final motion vector of the current block and final predicted motion vector corresponding to the determined final reference picture among the predicted motion vectors, and unit for encoding information about the final reference picture and the difference.
US09344730B2
An image decoding apparatus that includes a motion compensation prediction circuit configured to conduct motion compensation prediction for each of blocks to be decoded by using the reconstructed image, an inverse transformation circuit configured to conduct inverse orthogonal transformation for the data of the blocks to be decoded, and a determination circuit configured to determine a filtering strength and whether or not to conduct filtering, with respect to each of the boundaries. In addition, the determining circuit is configured to determine filtering is conducted when at least one of the two adjacent blocks is intra-coded, and filtering is not conducted when both of the two adjacent blocks are not intra-coded, a non-zero transformation coefficient is not coded in both of the two adjacent blocks, the two adjacent blocks are predicted by the same reference frame, and an absolute value of a difference between motion vectors of the two adjacent blocks is smaller than a specified threshold value.
US09344728B2
Provided is a method that derives an intra prediction mode of a prediction unit, determines a size of a current block using transform size information, generates a prediction block of the current block according to the intra prediction mode, generating a residual block of the current block according to the intra prediction mode and generating a reconstructed block of the current block using the prediction block and the residual block. The sizes of the prediction block and the residual block are set equal to a size of a transform unit. Therefore, the distance of intra prediction becomes short, and the amount of coding bits of residual block is reduced by generating a prediction block very similar to original block. Also, the signaling bits required to signal intra prediction mode decrease by generating MPM group adaptively according to the neighboring intra prediction modes.
US09344710B2
An image signal processing device is provided which includes a receiving unit for receiving an image signal and setting information for each predetermined unit of the image signal including image type setting information to define whether the image signal represents a stereoscopic image and gamma correction setting information to define a gamma correction amount for the image signal, a gamma correcting unit for performing gamma correction for the image signal based on the gamma correction setting information included in the setting information received by the receiving unit, and a stereoscopic image processing unit for selectively performing a process to display the stereoscopic image for the image signal corrected by the gamma correcting unit based on the image type setting information included in the setting information received by the receiving unit.
US09344705B2
Improved field-of-illumination (FOI) and field-of-view (FOV) matching for 3D time-of-flight cameras is provided using light emitters with rectangular reflectors. A better adjustment of the FOI with the camera's FOV has the following advantages: optimal use of emitted light and reduced multi-path problems. Furthermore, embodiments bring the benefit for rather low-cost customization of the illumination to match the FOI to the specified FOV.
US09344704B2
Provided are a method of recording video data, a method of replaying a video data, and a display device using the same. The method of recording video data receives and stores data provided from the outside, determines whether the received video data is 3D video data, sets a video format for replaying the 3D video data when the received video data is the 3D video data, and stores a video type of the 3D video data and the set video format.
US09344702B2
A method of encoding an image pair (L,R) corresponding with two views of a multi-view signal, the method comprising generating a first combined image (LeRo) based on a first low pass filtered version of a first image of the image pair and a first low-pass filtered version of the second image of the image pair, generating a base-layer (LR-bas) by encoding the first combined image (LeRo), generating first and second disparity based predictors (LpredD,RpredD) and respectively associated first and second block-based displacement vectors (LHvec,RHvec) associated with the image information encoded in the base layer (LeRo′), the first and second block-based displacement vectors (LHvec,RHvec) being generated using disparity information present in the first and second images (L,R), the image information encoded in the base-layer (LeRo′) and the respective first and second images (L,R), generating an enhancement-layer (LR-enh; L-enh,R-enh) by encoding the first and second images (L,R) using the first and second disparity based predictors (LpredD, RpredD).
US09344699B2
Provided is an information processing apparatus including a recording unit, a chapter generation unit, a metadata acquisition unit, and a setting unit. The recording unit is configured to record a program. The chapter generation unit is configured to generate one or more chapter points based on a feature amount of the recorded program. The metadata acquisition unit is configured to acquire metadata on the program, that includes information on a start time and end time of each section sectioning the program. The setting unit is configured to allocate, when a section to be reproduced in the recorded program is designated, two different chapter points to a start time and end time of the section given by the acquired metadata, and set an interval between the two chapter points as a reproduction range of the designated section.
US09344695B2
An automatic projection image correction system (1) includes: a projection image frame detection unit (101) that detects straight lines forming a frame of a screen-projected image which is projected onto a screen by a projector from a captured image obtained by capturing the screen-projected image using a camera; and a projector plane parameter estimation unit (102) that sets coordinate axes to a projector image, which is an original image of the screen-projected image, and the captured image and estimates at least one of a distance between the screen and the projector, an inclination of the screen with reference to an optical axis of the projector, and a zoom ratio of the projector, using an inclination of the optical axes of the projector and the camera, a distance between the optical centers of the projector and the camera, an intrinsic parameter of the camera, coordinate data of the detected straight lines at coordinates of the captured image, and coordinate data of straight lines corresponding to the frame at coordinates of the projector image.
US09344693B2
There is provided a drive control apparatus that includes a horizontal control section, and a vertical control section. The horizontal control section controls a scanning mirror for horizontal scanning with laser light, the scanning mirror being driven at a fixed frequency in a horizontal direction. The vertical control section controls the scanning mirror for vertical scanning based on the frequency at which the horizontal control section drives the scanning mirror in the horizontal direction, the vertical control section outputting a vertical drive signal to control the scanning mirror for vertical scanning, the vertical drive signal including an interval in which the laser light is directed vertically from top to bottom and an interval in which the laser light is directed vertically from bottom to top, the intervals alternately producing an output of a predetermined amount.
US09344686B2
A wearable scribing system includes glasses with a camera, speakers, a microphone and a display which communicate information to a remote system via a receiver/transmitter device. A scribe at the remote system inputs the information into an electronic health record. The wearable scribing system enables direct physician to physician communication.
US09344684B2
Described herein are systems and methods for managing video data. Embodiments are described by reference to a Digital Video Management (DVM) system, for example methods for facilitating collaborative incident management. In overview, a DVM system provides a user interface, which is renderable at a plurality of client terminal. This allows an operator of each client to independently view DVM content items. In some cases the user interface is provided by components delivered to the clients via a web-server arrangement. The user interface is configured thereby to allow an operator of a first client terminal to provide a request to share a specified DVM content item with the operator of a second client terminal. In response to this request, the content item is delivered to the operator of the second client terminal.
US09344682B2
A multimedia provider multicasts a main multimedia stream comprising a mixture of intra and inter frames and multicasts an associated auxiliary stream comprising intra frames. At least a portion of the intra frames in the auxiliary stream are generated based on same multimedia data as at least a portion of the inter frames of the main stream. The provider also transmits a stream information channel comprising information descriptive of time instances of intra frames in the main and auxiliary streams. This information allows a set top box to selectively connect, in connection with session set-up and channel switch, to the main or auxiliary stream to receive an intra frame with as a low delay as possible.
US09344680B2
A server obtains video data and layout information. The layout information includes at least a portion of identification information and status information associated with each other. The status information relates to a display condition of each of a plurality of captured images in a video display region. The server judges whether a specific captured image is included in the video display region. The server determines update frequency information when the specific captured image is not included in the video display region. The update frequency information sets a portion of a plurality of inter-frame coded image data included in the video data of the second communication device as a non-target for transmission. The server transmits the video data in which the portion of the plurality of inter-frame coded image data are not included.
US09344679B2
A transmission terminal transmits content data to another transmission terminal via a network. A transmission management system processes a session among a plurality of the transmission terminals or for the single transmission terminal. The transmission terminal requests a user to input execution authentication information when an authentication medium is connected thereto. The authentication medium associates program identification information with the execution authentication information and stores them. The transmission terminal determines whether the execution information from the user is coincident with the stored one and transmits the associated program identification information to the transmission management system at a time of coincidence. The transmission management system then transmits a transmission instruction to the program providing apparatus to transmit the corresponding program to the transmission terminal.
US09344677B1
A method and computing system for defining a group of participants for a videoconference. A request is received from a first participant of the videoconference to initiate an image capture utility, wherein the first participant is included within the group of participants. At least a portion of the group of participants is notified of the intent of the first user to initiate the image capture utility.
US09344676B2
An apparatus and a method for providing a video telephony service in a mobile communication terminal are provided. The apparatus for providing the video telephony service in the mobile communication terminal includes a controlling unit for receiving preferred video format information from a peer mobile communication terminal during a signaling procedure with the peer mobile communication terminal for the video telephony service and for determining a video format to use in the video telephony service using the received preferred video format, and a video codec for encoding and decoding video data that is transmitted to and received from the peer mobile communication terminal, using the determined video format.
US09344666B2
A method for presenting interactive multimedia programs includes selecting a multimedia program for presentation, the program having one or more segments and a plurality of additional content items, where each of the items is associated with at least one of the segments and is responsive to at least one of a plurality of pre-defined queries for the program. The method also includes receiving at least one user query during presentation of the program, identifying one of the pre-defined queries corresponding to the user query, and retrieving one of the items associated with a current segment of the program and responsive to the identified one of the pre-defined queries.
US09344665B2
Various arrangements are presented for handling broadcast television commercials. A television receiver may receive, from a television service provider, metadata that indicates a commencement of a television commercial break and an expected duration. Based on the metadata, the television receiver may initiate a countdown timer such that the countdown timer is based on the expected duration of the television commercial break and counts down. The television receiver may output for presentation a remaining duration based on the countdown timer as the countdown timer counts down.
US09344662B2
Provided is a solid state imaging device including: a pixel portion where pixel sharing units are disposed in an array shape and where another one pixel transistor group excluding transfer transistors is shared by a plurality of photoelectric conversion portions; transfer wiring lines which are connected to the transfer gate electrodes of the transfer transistors of the pixel sharing unit and which are disposed to extend in a horizontal direction and to be in parallel in a vertical direction as seen from the top plane; and parallel wiring lines which are disposed to be adjacent to the necessary transfer wiring lines in the pixel sharing unit and which are disposed to be in parallel to the transfer wiring lines as seen from the top plane, wherein voltages which are used to suppress potential change of the transfer gate electrodes are supplied to the parallel wiring lines.
US09344644B2
A method for use in an electronic device is provided, including: acquiring a first picture through a first image sensor; acquiring a second picture through a second image sensor; detecting, by a processing circuitry, an image of a body part in the second picture; creating a third picture based on the image of the body part; and displaying the first picture together with the third picture as a preview image.
US09344638B2
Systems, methods, and computer readable media to capture and process high dynamic range (HDR) images when appropriate for a scene are disclosed. When appropriate, multiple images at a single—slightly underexposed—exposure value are captured (making a constant bracket HDR capture sequence) and local tone mapping (LTM) applied to each image. Local tone map and histogram information can be used to generate a noise-amplification mask which can be used during fusion operations. Images obtained and fused in the disclosed manner provide high dynamic range with improved noise and de-ghosting characteristics.
US09344636B2
Techniques to capture and fuse short- and long-exposure images of a scene from a stabilized image capture device are disclosed. More particularly, the disclosed techniques use not only individual pixel differences between co-captured short- and long-exposure images, but also the spatial structure of occluded regions in the long-exposure images (e.g., areas of the long-exposure image(s) exhibiting blur due to scene object motion). A novel device used to represent this feature of the long-exposure image is a “spatial difference map.” Spatial difference maps may be used to identify pixels in the short- and long-exposure images for fusion and, in one embodiment, may be used to identify pixels from the short-exposure image(s) to filter post-fusion so as to reduce visual discontinuities in the output image.
US09344630B2
In a digital camera, when a photographer holds the digital camera and decides an imaging area (the area currently being captured by live-view), a CPU performs a first imaging processing (temporary imaging). Next, when the photographer sets the digital camera on a suitable surface (such as a desk), and moves into the imaging area, the CPU moves the optical zoom further to the wide-angle side than during the temporary imaging, and performs a second imaging processing (actual imaging) after a self-timer reaches time up. Then, the CPU performs positioning between the temporarily captured image and the actually captured image, and clips an image of the imaging area defined by the temporarily captured image from the actually captured image. According to the present invention, the degree of freedom of a camera setting location during self-timer imaging is increased and an image including an intended imaging area is easily captured.
US09344629B2
The present invention discloses a method of capturing images and an image capturing device using the method. The image capturing device has a first lens module and a second lens module having a view angle which is smaller than that of the first lens module. The method comprises: increasing an exposure time and reducing a light sensitivity value of the first lens module and capturing a first image by using the first lens module; reducing the exposure time and increasing the light sensitivity value of the first lens module and capturing a second image by using the second lens module; extracting a plurality of image features from the first image and the second image respectively and determining a region corresponding to the second image in the first image; and merging the second image into the region in the first image to generate an output image.
US09344620B2
An imaging device comprising a photographing lens, an imaging element; a first interpolation device, a second interpolation device, a focusing confirmation image generation device configured to at least generate a first image and a second image respectively from the pixel values of the first and second interpolation pixels calculated by the first and second interpolation device and generating a focusing confirmation image based on the first and second images, and a display device configured to display the focusing confirmation image generated by the focusing confirmation image generation device.
US09344612B2
A support apparatus with adjustable mechanisms hold a spherical field-of-regard image and audio sensor assembly located at its distal end in front of a users face such that the user's fine focus field-of-view of the foreground is not blocked by the mast or the sensor assembly. Automated mechanisms rotate and extend the armature and sensor assembly into position for face-to-face panoramic hands-free video teleconferencing, gaming, or logging. A portable wired or wireless host electronic device with a personal assistant application and sensor correlation system interactively communicates with support apparatus circuitry and servos, imagery, audio, eye and ROI tracking, neural, and user input and feedback systems to orchestrate responses to a local or remote user. A sensor assembly includes a VLSIC multi-ROI processing system with integrated camera and display that hides the assembly and provides information to a user or onlooker.
US09344602B2
There are provided: an attribute determination unit configured to determine an attribute of an object included in image data to be subjected to printing processing; a color conversion unit configured to convert the color space of the image data into a color space compatible with a printing apparatus in accordance with the determination results obtained by the attribute determination unit; an edge determination unit configured to determine an edge of an object included in the image data whose color space has been converted by the color conversion unit; and a black monochromatization unit configured to convert the color of a pixel, which is a pixel of an achromatic object of the objects of the image data whose color space has been converted into the color space compatible with the printing apparatus and which is a pixel determined to be an edge by the edge determination unit, into black alone.
US09344601B2
Method for antiforgery marking and authentication of printed products, includes the following steps: printing sample prints with a given printer of an image that is to be associated to a product (P); digitally acquiring the prints, to obtain digital images; processing the images acquired for extracting therefrom one or more intrinsic characteristics identifying the printer used; and incorporating in the printed product (P) an identification marking containing information associated to the printed product and to the characteristics identifying the printer and a print of the image.
US09344597B2
An email-to-facsimile (fax) processing system efficiently services requests issued by customers of the system in a fair and impartial manner. The system illustratively includes a plurality of components configured to provide email-to-fax processing services over a network. The components of the email-to-fax system include computer nodes executing software processes and/or services embodied as one or more FaxEmail routers, FaxEmail pollers, Rendering servers and Fax assemblers. The email-to-fax processing services provided by the components illustratively include email storage and retrieval services, email-to-fax conversion services and fax organizational transmission services. One or more of these services may be performed by the components in a randomized fashion to ensure that the customer requests, such as email-to-fax requests, may be fairly and impartially processed by the system.
US09344589B2
An image processing apparatus includes an image data input unit reading an input image and acquiring input image data on a per line basis; an effective image data generation unit generating effective image data based on the input image data acquired by the image data input unit; an address generation unit generating addresses of transmission destinations of the input image data; an image data transmission unit transmitting the input image data to the transmission destinations designated by the addresses generated by the address generation unit; and an adjustment unit adjusting an operation of the image data transmission unit in a manner so that margin data can be transmitted in periods other than periods when effective image data are transmitted.
US09344588B2
An information processing apparatus connectable to a contents providing apparatus obtains a list of the identifiers of contents saved in the contents providing apparatus, and obtains accessibility information of the contents saved in the contents providing apparatus. Based on the obtained accessibility information, the information processing apparatus specifies at least one identifier of contents set to be accessible, among the identifiers of the obtained list. The information processing apparatus sets the specified identifier as parameters of a first program for accepting a user operation of designating the content. The information processing apparatus specifies the at least one identifier using a second program different from the first program.
US09344586B2
A communication apparatus includes a first communication unit configured to communicate in a bidirectional communication mode for performing bidirectional message communication with an apparatus at the other side and in another mode for accepting an access to a predetermined storage area from the apparatus at the other side, a control unit that has an active mode having a first power consumption and an inactive mode having a lower power consumption than the first power consumption, and a detection unit configured to detect that the control unit is in the inactive mode, wherein when the control unit is in the inactive mode, and the first communication unit performs the bidirectional communication mode with a communication partner, and a predetermined service is designated by the communication partner, the first communication unit communicates information according to the predetermined service designated by the communication partner while the control unit is in the inactive mode.
US09344582B2
A terminal configured to perform communication using a base station, includes a communication device that acquires billing information stored on an external storage device via a radio communication link with the external storage device, and a controller that performs a transmission operation to transmit the billing information acquired from the external storage device to a billing device, the billing device being connected to the base station via a network, storing original billing information for use in billing related to the communication that the terminal performs using the base station and temporarily switching from the original billing information to the received billing information when the billing information is received from the external storage device.
US09344567B1
A method and apparatus of processing multiple user call records via an IVR call processing application is disclosed. One example method may include receiving a call from a user device, obtaining first user information from a user account stored in a user databank. The first information may be associated with a first call record established during a first previously received call from the user device. The method may also include establishing a first confidence level based on the first user information and obtaining second user information from the user account stored in the user databank. The second user information may be associated with a second call record established during a second previously received call from the user device. The method may also include establishing a second confidence level based on the second user information and transmitting an offer to the user device based on the first confidence level and second confidence level.
US09344565B1
A user may accelerate or decelerate the speed of playback of a recorded message provided by an interactive voice response (IVR) system at any time during the course of listening to the recorded message. The user may provide speed control instructions using predetermined keys or buttons on a communications device to modify the speed of the recorded message playback. Alternatively or additionally, the user may speak words to adjust the speed that a recorded message is being played to them. A speed control instruction may cause some or all of the recorded message to be repeated.
US09344540B2
An integrated cell phone case and lighter comprises a phone casing, a bottom backing and a removable lighter and is sized and shaped to be placed on over a conventional cell phone in a manner such that it substantially covers the cell phone on all sides except for the side with the touch screen. The phone casing is a viscoelastic body that includes a phone holding level for holding a cell phone and a lighter holding level adapted to enable a lighter to be stored in a the lighter holding compartment thereon. The bottom backing is a rigid shell which is sized to fit over the combined cell phone and phone casing assembly. The removable lighter is defined by a battery operated, butane refillable lighter in a modified rectangular exterior that includes side recesses and a finger gripping.
US09344534B2
A data transmission method and apparatus are disclosed. A 3G AE and a 3G RE are deployed between a sender device and a receiver device, M channels are established between the 3G AE and the 3G RE, and M is larger than or equal to 2. The method includes that, the 3G AE encapsulates data sent by the sender device into N PDUs, and transmits the N PDUs to the 3G RE through the M channels between the 3G AE and the 3G RE; and the 3G RE restores the received PDUs to the data sent by the sender device, and sends the data to the receiver device; where N is larger than or equal to 2, and equal to or different from M.
US09344527B2
Methods, systems and computer readable media for network migration as described. The method can include receiving, at a processor, an indication to initiate a migrate start. The method can also include initiating, at the processor, a migrate start including forwarding traffic in a first protocol based on a first table while building a second table to forward traffic in a second protocol different from the first protocol. The method can further include performing a migrate cutover when it is determined that one or more MAC addresses for an active session have been learned and stored in the table. The method can also include completing a migration when an indication is received to complete the migration. The method can also include aborting the migration based on a received indication to abort the migration.
US09344523B2
A system and method are directed towards providing non-requested content to a mobile terminal based on characteristics of, and tracked usage of the mobile terminal to request content through an online portal service, which provides access to content in multiple subject areas. A mobile user profile is created from the characteristics and patterns of the tracked usage. The tracked usage information includes the time, location, frequency at which the content was requested. Based on the mobile user profile information, content related to previously requested content is provided to the mobile terminal upon a trigger that is related to the requested content. The trigger event may include the mobile terminal returning to a location from which certain content was previously requested. The non-requested content may further be based on a related general user profile that indicates usage of an alternate electronic device to access content through the portal.
US09344520B2
A method implemented on a computing device for conducting a video conference includes identifying at least some attendees of the video conference, acquiring a social graph associated with at least some of the attendees, and presenting at least a representation of a portion of the social graph to the attendees during said video conference.
US09344516B2
A file system monitoring layer is positioned between a virtual file system (VFS) encryption layer and a lower level file system layer. The file system monitoring layer stores a list of applications that are allowed to access encrypted files stored in the lower level file system. The monitoring layer receives from the VFS encryption layer a request by an application to access an encrypted file. If the application is not listed on the list, the VFS encryption layer is instructed to provide the application a denial of service. If the application is listed, the VFS encryption layer is instructed to decrypt the encrypted file for the application.
US09344515B2
A precaching system identifies an object, such as a media file, that a user accesses and then analyzes a social graph of the user to identify social graph contacts that may be interested in the object. Based on the content of the object—and the interests and connections of contacts in the social graph—the precaching system determines whether a particular contact in the user's social graph is likely also to access the object. For example, the precaching system may determine a hit score corresponding to the object and a likelihood that the particular contact in the social graph will access the object. If the precaching system determines that the likelihood that the particular contact will access the object meets or exceeds a threshold probability level for precaching the object, the precaching system precaches the object near the contact in anticipation that the contact will access the object.
US09344513B2
A method and system for HTTP request service identify a true URL content regardless of whether the target URL is redirected, and send the true URL content to a client. The requesting and sending of the redirected URL content is done internally in the HTTP server system and do not require the client to have the ability to receive and execute a URL redirection command. The server system receives a URL request from the client and generates within the server a response to the URL request. If the response does not contain any redirection information, the true URL content includes the target URL content; and if the response contains redirection information indicating a redirected URL, the true URL content includes a redirected URL content associated with the redirected URL. The client receives the true URL content in either case by submitting a request for the target URL once.
US09344512B2
In an embodiment, a client device transmits a request for an initial web resource to a proxy server. The proxy server requests the initial web resource on behalf of the client device in response to the client device's request. The proxy server then executes a web resource redirection procedure (which involves one or more redirects) that is independent of interaction with the client device and results in the proxy server obtaining web resource content. The proxy server delivers the web resource content to a proxy client application on the client device along with instructions for simulating, on the client device, the web resource redirection procedure between the proxy client application and a mobile web browser on the client device. The proxy client application on the client device then simulates the web resource redirection procedure that occurred at the proxy server as instructed.
US09344503B2
An interface device having a first connection to a vehicle communication unit which is designed to carry out a vehicle-to-environment communication is described, the interface device having a second connection to an infrastructure unit and a computing unit which is designed to convert the signals between the first and second connections. In addition, a vehicle communication unit equipped with the interface device and a use of a vehicle communication unit are described.
US09344498B2
A method for managing storage functions in a data replication environment is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes continually monitoring for changes to a storage configuration at a secondary site. Upon detecting changes to the storage configuration at the secondary site, the method transmits remote metadata describing the changes to the primary site and stores the remote metadata at the primary site. The method then initiates a storage management function at the primary site which is mirrored to the secondary site. In order to perform the storage management function, the method reads the remote metadata at the primary site to determine the storage configuration at the secondary site. The method then performs the storage management function at the primary site in a way that takes into account the storage configuration at the secondary site. A corresponding apparatus, system, and computer-readable medium are also disclosed and claimed herein.
US09344493B1
A device may receive, from a load balancing device, configuration information that identifies a set of nodes for which a status is to be determined. The device may generate a data structure. The data structure may store information that identifies a status of the set of nodes. The device may transmit a status request to one or more nodes. The device may determine the status of the one or more nodes based on transmitting the status request. The device may update the data structure based on determining a change in status of the one or more nodes. The device may provide, to the load balancing device, information that identifies the change in status of the one or more nodes based on updating the data structure.
US09344476B2
A technique is disclosed for controlling data packet transmissions from a server to a client having a client buffer in accordance with a waiting mode and a dynamic mode. The waiting mode is performed before packets containing data encoded subject to a current bit rate have reached the client buffer; the dynamic mode is performed otherwise. In the waiting mode, down-switches to lower bit rates are allowed but up-switches to higher bit rates are disabled. In the dynamic mode, up-switches and down-switches are both allowed, with adjustments in the bit rate of packets controlled based, in part, on the amount of data contained within the client buffer when packets containing data encoded subject to the current bit rate first reached the client buffer. The two modes help avoid unnecessary rate switches.
US09344473B2
Systems, methods, software, and apparatus are described for facilitating the distribution and management of fragmented content. In one embodiment, a packager packages content into fragments and generates a manifest including policies and metadata associated with the content. A downloader obtains the manifest, and uses it to obtain the content from one or more uploaders. For example, a downloader might forward a search request to one or more trackers, which, in turn, are operable to locate one or more uploaders that can meet the request, subject to any relevant policy limitations. The uploaders forward fragments to the downloader, subject to any relevant policy. The downloader assembles the content from the fragments. The operations and interactions of the entities can be subject to policy limitations associated with the fragments, the content as a whole, or the like.
US09344461B2
Method, user device and computer program product communicating data between a first endpoint and a second endpoint. A plurality of logical communications channels are allocated between the first and second endpoint. In dependence of a trigger, a probe message is transmitted from the first endpoint to the second endpoint over each of the plurality of logical communications channels. The performance of each of the plurality of logical communications channels is determined in dependence on the transmission of probe messages. A first logical communications channel is selected in dependence on the performance determination. Data is streamed between the first and second endpoints over the first logical communications channel.
US09344445B2
This disclosure describes techniques for determining whether a network session originates from an automated software agent. In one example, a network device, such as a router, includes a network interface to receive packets of a network session, a bot detection module to calculate a plurality of scores for network session data based on a plurality of metrics, wherein each of the metrics corresponds to a characteristic of a network session originated by an automated software agent, to produce an aggregate score from an aggregate of the plurality of scores, and to determine that the network session is originated by an automated software agent when the aggregate score exceeds a threshold, and an attack detection module to perform a programmed response when the network session is determined to be originated by an automated software agent. Each score represents a likelihood that the network session is originated by an automated software agent.
US09344440B2
A node in a communication network determines a data rate capacity of one or more nodes of the communication network and creates a single managed object grouping for each node of the one or more nodes having a same data rate capacity. The node establishes one or more static thresholds for the single managed object grouping based on the data rate capacity. The static thresholds are independent of a baseline condition of detected data rates at each node of the single managed object grouping. The node further detects a current rate of received data at each node of the single managed grouping and triggers at least one alert for each node of the single managed grouping when the current rate of the received data at a particular node exceeds the one or more static thresholds.
US09344436B1
Methods and apparatuses are described for proximity-based and user-based access control using wearable devices. A short-range frequency reader coupled to a target device detects a plurality of wearable devices in proximity to the reader, each wearable device comprising a short-range frequency antenna. The reader identifies, for each wearable device, a user wearing the wearable device. The reader determines, for each wearable device, a distance from the reader and an orientation in relation to the target device. The reader determines a level of access available to the target device based upon the identity of each user, the distance of each wearable device from the reader, the orientation of each wearable device in relation to the target device, and the distance of the wearable devices from each other in a three-dimensional space.
US09344430B2
A first request to change a permission of a first user for accessing a first resource is received via a service application programming interface (API) of an authorization server. In response to the first request, a first resource-based permission data structure associated with the first resource is accessed to identify an entry associated with the first user, wherein the first resource-based permission data structure has a plurality of entries corresponding to a plurality of users, respectively, each user being associated with one or more permissions for accessing the first resource. Further, one or more permissions in the identified entry associated with the first user are updated.
US09344429B2
A content protection method includes generating content protection information regarding a content to be protected by a content producer, and generating a content name indicating a location of the content in content name based networks based on the content protection information. The content protection information may include at least one of marking information indicating whether the content is protected and policy information indicating a disclosure range of the content.
US09344427B1
Techniques and constructs to facilitate multiple authentications of passwords are described. For instance, the disclosure describes systems and processes that authenticate a password and return an encrypted password that may be subsequently decrypted for additional authentications.
US09344421B1
Systems and methods of authenticating user access based on an access point to a secure data network include a secure data network having a plurality of a network access points serving as entry points for a user to access the secure data network using a user device. The user is associated with a user identity, each network access point with a network access point identity. The user uses a user device to send an access request, requesting access to the secure data network, to the network access point, which then sends an authentication request to an identity server. The identity server processes the authentication request, by validating the combination of the user identity and the network access point identity, and responds with an authentication response, granting or denying access, as communicated to the user device via an access response.
US09344419B2
Systems and methods for user authentication within federated computing systems are provided. In a session, a user can be authenticated multiple times by different authentication methods for different servers of the federated system, however, once the user has been authenticated by any given authentication method, the user need not repeat that method. Systems of the present invention comprise a plurality of servers including an authentication server. The authentication server maintains authentication records for users, where each record includes which authentication methods apply to which servers. When a user first seeks access to a particular server, the server identifies the user and the server to the authentication server. If the user has already been authenticated elsewhere according to the authentication method required by the new server, the authentication server indicates to the new server that the user is authenticated, else the authentication server invokes the necessary authentication method.
US09344412B2
A system, method, and nodes for managing shared security keys between a User Equipment, UE, an authentication node such as an SCF/NAF, and a service node such as a BM-SC or AS. The SCF/NAF allocates to each BM-SC, a different SCF/NAF identifier such as a fully qualified domain name, FQDN, from the FQDN space the SCF/NAF administers. The SCF/NAF then locally associates these allocated FQDNs with the connected BM-SCs and with different services. The network sends the correct FQDN to the UE in a service description for a desired service, and the UE is able to derive a security key using the FQDN. When the UE requests the desired service, the SCF/NAF is able to associate the service identifier with the correct FQDN and an associated BM-SC. The SCF/NAF uses the FQDN to obtain the security key from a bootstrapping server and sends it to the associated BM-SC. As a result, the UE and the associated BM-SC share a specific security key.
US09344405B1
A method for establishing a secure communication session over communication paths between one or more client devices and one or more server computers according to a communication protocol includes initiating the session including passing communication through a proxy on a device on the communication paths, passing session initiation information between the client devices and the server computers via the proxy, passing encrypted content between the client devices and the server computers over secure communication sessions, each established for exclusive access from one client device and one server computer based on the exchanged session initiation information between said client device and said server computer whereby the proxy does not have access to the content, and modifying, using the proxy, at least some information passing between a client device and a server computer such that the communication to and from the server computer adheres to the communication protocol.
US09344404B2
In one embodiment, a method includes establishing a connection with an access-point (AP) device via a first communication path. The method further includes establishing a connection with a proxy device for the AP device via a second communication path that is distinct from the first communication path. In addition, the method includes determining a set of connection credentials maintained by the AP device. Furthermore, the method includes determining a set of connection credentials maintained by the proxy device. Additionally, the method includes identifying a correct set of connection credentials. The correct set includes at least one of the first set and the second set. The method also includes synchronizing the first set and the second set according to the correct set.
US09344400B2
A method of discovering addressing information of one or more upstream devices to respond to specific messages by a second device on behalf of the one or more upstream devices in a network includes acquiring the addressing information in an upstream direction from one or more downstream devices to the one or more upstream devices. The method further includes acquiring the addressing information in a downstream direction from the one or more upstream devices to the one or more downstream devices. The method further includes responding to specific messages using the acquired addressing information about the one or more upstream devices.
US09344396B2
Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for managing a virtual meeting room communication session. The method includes establishing a persistent virtual meeting room communication session, the virtual meeting room communication session including shared resources available to virtual meeting room communication session participants, displaying to meeting participants a set of connected graphical elements representing a structure of the virtual meeting room communication session via a graphical user interface (GUI), receiving from one of the meeting participants input associated with the set of connected graphical elements, the input having an action associated with the virtual meeting room communication session, and performing the action based on received user input. The virtual meeting room communication session can persist when no participants are in the communication session. The persistent virtual meeting room can record changes in session context such as a record of session control events, resource changes, and participant listings.
US09344394B2
To perform thread-based message prioritization, metadata may be extracted from a received electronic message. Based on the extracted message metadata and accumulated metadata extracted from previously received messages, a message thread to which the received electronic message belongs may be identified. Based on a set of thread priority assessment criteria, a priority level for the message thread may be determined. At least part of the message thread may be processed according to the priority level. The processing may be altering a notification behavior of an electronic messaging client for electronic messages of the message thread. Thread priority assessment may be based on user-configurable criteria that may be set via a graphical user interface. Message thread identification may also be based on user-configurable criteria that may be set via a graphical user interface.
US09344392B2
Methods including computer program products for receiving a request from a first device, the request incorporating a message. One or more users from a first set of one or more users are selected where each of the selected one or more users is associated with a second device that is in a proximity to a current location of the first device. The message and the current location of the first device are sent to each of the second devices associated with the selected one or more users.
US09344386B2
A method and apparatus for providing load balancing of subscriber session in a multi-slot gateway employing utilization counts are disclosed. A process of load balancing is configured to increase the session count when a subscription or subscriber session is created in a line card coupled with an active slot. The utilization count associated with the active slot is incremented when the value of session count reaches a predefined session value such as 100,000. After updating an active slot table associated with the active slot in accordance with slot numbers and utilization counts, the content of active slot table is copied to another active slot table associated with a second active slot.
US09344385B2
Circuits comprising an asynchronous programmable interconnect with fan out support that include a multi-port switch and a first and second buffer-switch circuit, and methods of forming such circuits, are provided. Additional circuits and methods are disclosed.
US09344384B2
An appliance receives packets that are part of a flow pair, each packet sharing an application protocol. The appliance determines an estimated application protocol of the packets without performing deep packet inspection on any packets. The estimated application protocol may be determined by using an application protocol estimation table. The appliance then predicts the inter-packet interval between a packet previously received by the appliance and a next packet not yet received by the appliance. The inter-packet interval may be determined by using an inter-packet interval prediction table. The appliance then preloads packet flow data in a cache before the next packet is predicted to arrive at the appliance. Upon receiving the next packet, the packet flow data is preloaded in the cache. This reduces packet processing time by removing waiting periods previously required to cache packet flow data from an external memory after receiving the next packet.
US09344381B2
Methods, systems, and computer program products for event management in a distributed processing system are provided. Embodiments include receiving, by the incident analyzer, one or more events from one or more resources, each event identifying a location of the resource producing the event; identifying, by the incident analyzer, an action in dependence upon the one or more events and the location of the one or more resources producing the one or more events; identifying, by the incident analyzer, a location scope for the action in dependence upon the one or more events; and executing, by the incident analyzer, the identified action.
US09344374B2
Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems include a router receiving a first network packet being transmitted across a network path from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, determining that the first network packet does not include a requested rate, modifying the first network packet to include a requested rate in response to determining that the received network packet does not include a requested rate, and transmitting the modified first network packet along the network path to the second endpoint.
US09344373B2
A tool for packet transmission and delivery in a distributed system. The tool determines one or more packets is classified as a L3 packet. The tool determines translation of the one or more packets classified as L3 packets to one or more corresponding net devices. The tool sends the one or more packets classified as a non L3 packet to a user space packet dispatcher service.
US09344356B2
A method of transmitting a packet from a distributed trunk (DT) switch and a computer-readable medium storing instructions therefor is described. The method comprises receiving a packet from a device connected to the DT switch, transmitting the received packet via a non-distributed trunk port of the DT switch, and forwarding the received packet via a DT port of the DT switch for each received packet based on a determination of whether to forward the received packet based on an address of the received packet. The method also comprises forwarding the received packet via a distributed trunk interconnect port for each received packet received via one of a non-DT port and a DT port.
US09344355B2
In one embodiment, a plurality of communication paths in a second direction in a communication network is determined, based on reversing communication paths established in a first direction in the communication network. Then, a path quality of the communication paths in the second direction is monitored. Based on the monitored path quality, it is then determined whether the communication paths in the second direction satisfy a communication requirement. Finally, a particular communication path of unacceptable quality in the second direction is detected when the particular communication path in the second direction fails to satisfy the communication requirement.
US09344347B2
In a delay time measuring apparatus a sequence number, data length, and receiving time of a data packet transmitted from a source unit to a destination unit are stored in a storage section. In addition, an ACK number and receiving time of an ACK packet returned from the destination unit to the source unit are stored in the storage section. After that, a calculation section obtains an ACK packet an ACK number of which is equal to a value obtained by adding data length of a second data packet of two successive data packets transmitted without waiting for the ACK packet to a sequence number of the second data packet of the two successive data packets from the storage section. Then the calculation section calculates round trip time from receiving time of the second data packet of the two successive data packets and receiving time of the ACK packet obtained.
US09344346B2
A method for transferring Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) packets in connectionless networks, the MPLS packets passing a number of inner MPLS switching nodes on a transmission path between a sender and a destination as well as at least two MPLS edge routers, each MPLS edge router being a transition between a core network and a connection network, include: producing an address stack or label stack for an MPLS packet to be sent. The address stack or label stack includes address information on the inner switching nodes to be passed on its transmission path and address information for the at least two edge routers to be passed on its transmission path.
US09344345B2
Spin torque transfer memory cells and methods of forming the same are described herein. As an example, spin torque transfer memory cells may include a self-aligning polarizer, a pinned polarizer, and a storage material formed between the self-aligning polarizer and the pinned polarizer.
US09344336B2
A system and method of managing virtual link state includes receiving, at a first device, a first status update associated with the virtual link from a second device. The first status update includes a first management status value (RM) and a first operational status value (RO). The system and method further includes determining a second management status value (LM) associated with the first device, determining a second operational status value (LO) based on the first status update and the RM, transmitting a second status update for the virtual link to the second device, the second status update including the LM and the LO, and determining a state of the virtual link based on the RM, the RO, the LM, and the LO. The first device is configured to be coupled to the second device using a physical network link partitioned into a plurality of first virtual links including the virtual link.
US09344335B2
Network communication and cost awareness techniques are described. In one or more implementations, functionality is exposed through one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) that is accessible to a plurality of applications of the computing device to perform network communication. Data is returned to one or more of the plurality of applications regarding a cost network used to perform the network communication.
US09344334B2
A networking policy implementation for a multi-virtual machine appliance that includes a method for selecting a network implementation by applying a network policy to existing network configurations within a virtualization environment of a computing device. A control program that executes within the virtualization environment, receives an event notification generated by a virtual machine in response to a lifecycle event. The control program, in response to receiving the notification, invokes a policy engine that applies a network policy to existing network configurations of the virtualization environment. This network policy can correspond to the virtual machine or to a network object connected to virtual interface objects of the virtual machine. The policy engine then identifies an existing network configuration that has attributes which satisfy the network policy, and selects a network implementation that satisfies the network policy and the network configuration.
US09344330B2
In a computer-implemented method of generating event notifications, in-home data is received. The in-home data and environment data (e.g., weather, law enforcement, etc.) is generated by, or based on information generated by, a device located at a residence of an individual, and is analyzed to determine whether it is indicative of an event that should be reported to one or more neighboring residences and/or businesses. If the data is indicative of such an event, a notification is generated and transmitted to the relevant residences and/or businesses.
US09344317B2
An OFDM signal modulation method based on compressed sensing is provided, the method includes: acquiring a demodulation parameter of a receiver, where the demodulation parameter includes Tnyq of a periodic square signal of the receiver in sampling, Tnyq is a length of a minimum timeslot during which the periodic square signal maintains a high level or a low level; performing an OFDM modulation on an inputted information symbol to generate an OFDM baseband signal, and controlling a sampling interval TsampleOFDM=Ts/k of the OFDM baseband signal to be integral multiple of Tnyq, where Ts is a duration of valid data in the OFDM baseband signal, and k is the number of sub-carriers in the OFDM baseband signal; and up-converting the OFDM baseband signal and transmitting the processed signal to the receiver. Also provided are a demodulation method, device and system.
US09344312B2
A method of transmitting multiple frames in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system supporting multi user-multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) is provided. The method comprises transmitting a first frame and a second frame consecutively to a first station (STA) and transmitting a third frame and a fourth frame consecutively to a second STA, wherein a transmission start time of the first frame and a transmission start time of the third frame are aligned to each other, and wherein a transmission start time of the second frame and a transmission start time of the fourth frame are aligned to each other.
US09344310B2
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a method for performing properizing frequency shift (p-FRESH) vectorizing, the method comprising: converting a scalar-valued input signal of length L into a 2L-by-1 vector-valued output signal including complex conjugate signal of the input signal; modulating the input signal and the complex conjugate signal each with L different carriers; and bandpass filtering the modulated signal to form the output signal, wherein the output signal is band-limited to a half-Nyquist zone (F+).
US09344305B2
An automatically calibrated differential amplifier including: an input stage differential amplifier configured to receive a input differential signal, to differentially amplify the input differential signal to generate an input stage output differential signal, and to have an input stage bias current; and a replica stage differential amplifier configured to automatically calibrate the input stage bias current in response to process or environmental variations. The differential amplifier may be included, for example, in a comparator and a multilevel receiver.
US09344304B1
A switching apparatus comprises a number of instantiations of switching load cells operating at a first voltage and at a second voltage to switch a digital structure. The instantiations are turned on by a respective control bits. Each load cell comprises a charging capacitor coupled to a power amplifier. An output node can be coupled to a load capacitance. Switching circuitry couples the charging capacitor to the load capacitance and connects a voltage regulator to the output node to regulate voltage to the second voltage. The timing logic couples the charging capacitor to the first voltage, couples the charging capacitor to the load capacitance and disconnects the first voltage from the charging capacitor during a switching event, disconnects the charging capacitor from the load capacitance and connects the voltage regulator to the output node after the switching event. The apparatus may be embodied in envelope tracking.
US09344302B2
A transceiver for orthogonal frequency division multiplex communication has a transmitter module (1) and a receiver module (2). The transmitter (1) has an l-path (3) and a Q-path (4) to receive signals on a number of subcarriers provided by a signal generator (9). The receiver module (2) has a receiver l-path (7) and a receiver Q-path (8) to deliver signals to a processor (15). IQ imbalance is calculated for each of the transmitter and receiver by the signal generator sending a sample signal (Xl(k), XQ(k)) over a one of the transmitter paths. The signal is then applied to one or each of the inputs to the receiver paths (7,8) to generate receiver output signals Yl(k), YQ(k), RQ(k). The processor (15) is responsive to the output signals to calculate the transmitter and receiver IQ imbalance for that subcarrier. A calibrator (19) and compensator (20) are responsive to the calculated IQ imbalance to correct or compensate each subcarrier of the transceiver band.
US09344296B2
An automation network connected to an automation installation configured to perform an automation process executable in at least two states, where the access protection accessory comprises network ports, a digital storage medium configured to store at least first and second rules, and a processor configured to read the at least first and second rules, process the rules and receive and forward data via the network ports, and receive at least one signal comprising advice of a change in the state of the automation process. The first rules, in a first state of the automation process, define which received data are forwarded and which received data are not forwarded, and following reception of the at least one signal the second rules define which received data are forwarded and which received data are not forwarded.
US09344292B2
Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to facilitate configuration and naming of a multimedia playback device on a local playback network are disclosed. An example method includes identifying and analyzing local network topology to identify playback device(s) connected to the network at location(s). The example method includes analyzing a playback device to be added and comparing the playback device to be added to the playback device(s) already connected to the network. The example method includes displaying available option(s) to name the playback device to be added based on the analysis of the network, the already connected playback device(s) and the playback device to be added to the network. The example method includes naming the playback device to be added based on a selected available option.
US09344287B2
Embodiments disclosed herein provide advantageous methods and systems that use multicast communications via unreliable datagrams sent on a protected traffic class. These methods and systems provide effectively reliable multicast delivery while avoiding the overhead associated with point-to-point protocols. Rather than an exponential scaling of point-to-point connections (with expensive setup and teardown of the connections), the traffic from one server is bounded by linear scaling of multicast groups. In addition, the multicast rendezvous disclosed herein creates an edge-managed flow control that accounts for the dynamic state of the storage servers in the cluster, without needing centralized control, management or maintenance of state. This traffic shaping avoids the loss of data due to congestion during sustained oversubscription. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.
US09344282B2
Facilitating management of digital certificates is addressed. More specifically, digital certificates as well as public and private keys can be stored in a centrally accessible location and dynamically acquired from the location as needed. Additionally, binding of digital certificates and associated keys can be implicit and determined as a function of a host name provided during protocol negotiation, for example.
US09344277B2
A method of determining whether a mass serialization engine is cryptographically secure is provided herein. The method includes performing (202) a specified number of mass serializations to generate a corresponding number of mass serialization sets. A size of the mass serialization sets is increased from a first portion size to a second portion size by the mass serialized engine. The method further includes determining (204) a corresponding number of collisions for each of the specified number of mass serializations. Additionally, the method includes comparing (206) the number of collisions to an expected number of collisions. Further, the method includes determining (208) whether the mass serialization engine is cryptographically secure based on the comparison.
US09344263B2
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for transmitting uplink control information, including the steps of: generating a plurality of HRAQ-ACKs (Hybrid ARQ Acknowledgements), selecting one or more PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) resource indexes corresponding to the HARQ-ACKs from a plurality of PUCCH resource indexes, and transmitting one or more modulation symbols corresponding to the plurality of HARQ-ACKs using resources corresponding to the one or more PUCCH resource indexes, in which, when a number of the plurality of HARQ-ACKs is two, the one or more modulation symbols are transmitted only in a first multiple antenna transmission manner, and when a number of the plurality of HARQ-ACKs is three or more, the one or more modulation symbols are transmitted in any one of a plurality of second multiple antenna transmission manners.
US09344260B2
The present disclosure proposes a base station and a user equipment which utilize a multi-subframe scheduling mechanism. The multi-subframe scheduling mechanism includes at least but not limited to the base station transmitting via a transmitter a first subframe which includes a first control channel. Upon receiving the first subframe via a receiver, the UE would decode a first control information from the first control channel. The UE would decode from the first control information a first transmission resource located in the first subframe and then determine whether the first control information indicates a second transmission resource located in a second subframe based on a bit from a bit sequence, wherein the bit corresponds to the first subframe. The UE would receive via the receiver the second transmission resource located in the second subframe if the bit of the bit sequence is in a first state.
US09344259B2
There is provided a communication device and a base unit, and methods thereof, for determining control information. The communication device receives a control channel message associated with the communication device in a control region on a first carrier from a base unit. The communication device also determines a set of resources in a search space within the control region, attempts to decode the set of resources in the search space for the control channel message, and determines control information from the decoded control channel message. The base unit generates a control channel message comprising control information associated with the communication device, determines a set of resources in a search space within a control region, selects a subset of resources within the determined set of resources for transmitting the control channel message, and transmits the control channel message on the selected resources in the control region on a first carrier.
US09344258B2
A method and apparatus are provided for manually or automatically configuring radio frequency (RF) resources for a customer premises base station (CPBS). In an embodiment, the CPBS prompts a user for RF resource configuration parameter values, and the user inputs RF resource configuration parameter values, such as physical features of a customer's premises, to the CPBS. The CPBS then conveys RF resource configuration information to a wireless broadband communications system operator, wherein the RF resource configuration information is based on the RF resource configuration parameter values received from the user, and in response to conveying the received RF resource configuration information, the CPBS receives an RF resource allocation. Another embodiment provides for the CPBS to collect RF resource configuration parameter values associated with a customer's premises in an automated fashion that serve as a basis for an RF resource allocation adjustment by a system operator.
US09344255B2
A method for mitigating interference in a wireless communication system includes a first transmission point determining the number of subframes that need to be shifted at a second transmission point using information from the second transmission point for an ABS configuration, wherein the ABS configuration is for a UE belonging to a third transmission point.
US09344248B2
A method in a wireless communication terminal is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first signal including a desired second signal and an interference component, wherein the interference component includes at least a third signal transmitted in an Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) by a neighbor cell, and configuring the wireless communication terminal to employ interference reduction to process the first signal based on a configuration of the interference component.
US09344247B2
Disclosed are a method for transmitting and receiving a UE-specific reference signal and an apparatus for same. A method for a base station transmitting the UE-specific reference signal in a wireless communication system, according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprises a step of the base station transmitting the UE-specific reference signal to the UE by using a pre-determined pattern, wherein the predetermined pattern can be a pattern which is mapped onto an RE, in which the UE-specific reference index is an index including symbol indexes 0, 3 and 6 from an even-numbered index slot within one resource block (RB), or mapped onto an RE in which the UE-specific reference index is an index including symbol indexes 2 and 5 from an odd-numbered index slot within the RB.
US09344243B2
A method, system, base station and wireless terminal are provided for transmission of a set of mixed pilots that includes both common and dedicated pilots. The method includes selecting a number D of dedicated pilots having regard to performance of the communication link, D≧0, selecting a first pre-coder for pre-coding D dedicated pilots based on some criteria, performing a first pre-coding of the D dedicated pilots with the first pre-coder to produce a set of pre-coded dedicated pilots, performing a second pre-coding of the set of pre-coded dedicated pilots and a set of common pilots to produce a set of mixed pilots, and transmitting data from the transmitter on the communication link with the set of mixed pilots.
US09344240B2
A method and an apparatus for transmitting and receiving signals modulated with 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (256QAM) for use in a mobile communication system are provided. The method includes receiving a first signal from a terminal, determining a modulation application criterion for data communication with the terminal based on the first signal, receiving a second signal including an index from the terminal, and determining a modulation scheme to be applied to at least one of the signals communicating with the terminal based on the modulation application criterion and the received index.
US09344235B1
Disclosed are network managed volumes that enable simplified and more efficient use of information technology assets by allocating physical disk drives as needed. A pool of storage can be defined and populated with physical disks that are accessible in a storage area network. Virtual volumes are created from the storage pool, with each virtual volume being separately allocable to a host device (e.g., client, application server, etc.). Thus, host devices that have been allocated these virtual volumes perceive ownership of the entire volume, without requiring a present allocation of physical storage space having the same characteristics, but with seamless introduction of physical resources as needed.
US09344226B2
This transmission comprising a first transmission of a packet (52), comprising the steps consisting in: a first processing (54) of said packet (52) to obtain a first packet (56); and a coding (57, 59) of the first packet (56); wherein, when the first coded packet is received erroneous, the method comprises a second transmission of said packet, comprising: the steps implemented in the transmitter, consisting in: a second processing (84) of said packet (52) to obtain a second packet (86); and a coding (87, 89) of the second packet (86); and the steps implemented in the receiver, consisting in: a modification of the first and/or the second coded packets to obtain two packets in which the difference due to the first and second processings is compensated for: a combination (110) of both packets according to a HARQ procedure; and a decoding (112) of the combined packet.
US09344223B2
A method for transmitting an uplink signal at a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system includes receiving, from a Base Station (BS), an uplink scheduling grant for multi-antenna transmission; transmitting the uplink signal precoded using precoding information included in the received uplink scheduling grant to the BS; and retransmitting the uplink signal to the BS according to Acknowledgment/Negative Acknowledgment (ACK/NACK) corresponding to the transmitted uplink signal. The retransmitted uplink signal is precoded using precoding information included in a most recent uplink scheduling grant or a predetermined precoding matrix if an uplink scheduling grant for the retransmission is not received from the BS.
US09344222B2
A wireless communication system which performs data transmission using spatially multiplexed streams from a first terminal including N antennas to a second terminal including M antennas (N is an integer of 2 or more and M is an integer of 1 or more) is disclosed. The system includes notifying means, training means, channel matrix estimation means, beamforming information feedback means, transmission weight matrix setting means, and beamforming means.
US09344221B2
An interleaving method by a transmitting device is provided. The transmitting device divides a bandwidth into a plurality of bands, and divides an interleaver matrix into a plurality of matrices corresponding to the plurality of bands respectively in a predetermined direction. Next, the transmitting device arranges data of a user assigned to a corresponding band among the plurality of bands in each matrix of the plurality of matrices.
US09344201B2
Shielded extremely high frequency (EHF) connector assemblies are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a first extremely high frequency (EHF) shielded connector assembly configured to be coupled with a second EHF shielded connector assembly. The first EHF connector assembly can include a first EHF communication unit operative to contactlessly communicate EHF signals with a second EHF communication unit included in the second EHF shielded connector assembly. The first connector can include a connector interface that includes a configuration to interface with a respective connector interface of the second EHF shield connector assembly, and several different material compositions that, in conjunction with the configuration, provide shielding to prevent or substantially reduce EHF signal leakage when the first EHF assembly connector is coupled to the second EHF assembly connector and the first EHF communication unit is contactlessly communicating EHF signals with the second EHF communication unit.
US09344200B2
An electrical device that includes a first semiconductor device positioned on a first portion of a substrate and a second semiconductor device positioned on a third portion of the substrate, wherein the first and third portions of the substrate are separated by a second portion of the substrate. An interlevel dielectric layer is present on the first, second and third portions of the substrate. The interlevel dielectric layer is present over the first and second semiconductor devices. An optical interconnect is positioned over the second portion of the semiconductor substrate. At least one material layer of the optical interconnect includes an epitaxial material that is in direct contact with a seed surface within the second portion of the substrate through a via extending through the least one interlevel dielectric layer.
US09344199B2
An optical receiver receives coherent light. The optical receiver includes an amplitude adjuster, a signal processor, and a controller. The amplitude adjuster adjusts amplitude of an input signal to output an analog signal. The signal processor receives a digital signal generated from the analog signal output from the amplitude adjuster, extracts clock components from the digital signal, and after establishing synchronization between the clock components and data components, extracts the data components from the digital signal to process the data components. The controller sets amplitude of the analog signal to first amplitude before establishment of synchronization by the digital signal, and changes the set amplitude to second amplitude that is smaller than the first amplitude after the establishment of synchronization.
US09344195B2
A technique in which an outgoing signal is encoded to have multiple signal levels to modulate a light source, in which respective signal levels are indicative of different signal states of more than one bit. The multi-level signal is transmitted on a passive optical network (PON) having passive splitters to split the modulated light to transmit the light having multiple signal levels to a plurality of destinations via the PON.
US09344192B1
In accordance with the present invention, a driver chip is provided for transmitting optical signals over an optical fiber. The driver chip includes, in combination, a tapped delay equalizer, an amplifier and control circuitry. Operationally, the tapped delay equalizer modifies an input digital signal to create a compensated signal by compensating for anticipated impairments and distortions introduced during signal transmission. The amplifier then receives the compensated signal to provide gain and bias in order to establish a proper operating point for an E/O device. The control circuitry is interconnected with the tapped delay equalizer and with the amplifier to establish and control tap weights for the tapped delay equalizer to compensate for electrical and optical bandwidth limitations, along with optical dispersion effects.
US09344191B2
A method, a controller, and an optical section include performing an analysis to determine an amount of power offset on any in-service channels in an optical section due to a capacity change with a channel; defining a step size to ensure the capacity change does not exceed an offset limit based on the analysis; performing the capacity change in one or more iterations using the step size to limit the capacity change; and performing an optimization between each of the one or more iterations to adjust amplifier gains in the optical section to compensate for offsets on the in-service channels caused by a previous iteration.
US09344190B2
Methods and systems are provided for flexible placement of spectral inverters in an optical network. The method includes identifying a first transmission path coupling a transmitter and a receiver. The first transmission path includes a first node for assignment of a first spectral inverter. The method further includes estimating a first optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) penalty of nonlinear phase noise (NLPN) on the first transmission path with the first spectral inverter assigned to the first node, and based on the first estimated OSNR penalty of NLPN being less than an NLPN penalty threshold, assigning the first spectral inverter to the first node.
US09344189B2
A system for supervision of a passive optical network includes an OTDR device, generating N+1 OTDR signals of wavelengths λU-λN, and transmitting the signals towards ONUs. The system includes a splitter having N output branches. An input of the splitter is connected to the output of the OTDR device and the output branches of the splitter are indirectly connected to the ONUs. The splitter splits the OTDR signals and forwards them towards the ONUs. The system includes a wavelength isolator having inputs connected to the splitter output branches. The wavelength isolator isolates, on individual inputs, one predetermined wavelength of the received OTDR signals per individual input, where two inputs of the wavelength isolator do not isolate the same wavelength, and forwards, from each of the inputs of the wavelength isolator, the OTDR signals to associated outputs towards the ONUs connected to the wavelength isolator by individual fiber links.
US09344184B2
A method for the transmission of process data between different devices that are involved in a process for the production of food, in particular devices involved in a filling line, wherein the data communication between two devices takes place exclusively between at least one transmitter of a first device and at least one receiver of a second device, and/or between at least one transmitter of the second device and at least one receiver of the first device.
US09344179B2
Embodiments may comprise an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system operating in the 1 GHz and lower frequency bands. In many embodiments, the physical layer logic may implement orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols encoded with 32 sub-carriers such as twenty data sub-carriers, four pilot sub-carriers, seven guard sub-carriers, and one direct current (DC) sub-carrier. Many embodiments may transform the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols between frequency and time domains with a 32-point, fast Fourier transform or inverse fast Fourier transform. Some embodiments may up-convert and transmit a communication signal with the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols at one megahertz. Further embodiments may receive and detect communications signal with the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols at one megahertz.
US09344176B2
In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for spatially filtering inter-cell co-channel interference in the elevation plane, which in turn will improve network spectral efficiency.
US09344164B2
The embodiments of the disclosure relate to the technical field of wireless communications, and particularly relate to a method, a system and a device for feeding back and receiving a Pre-coding Matrix Indicator (PMI), which is used for feeding back a vertical dimension PMI. The method for feeding back the PMI provided by the embodiments of the disclosure comprises: confirming the PMI needed to be fed back, wherein the PMI comprises a horizontal dimension PMI and a vertical dimension PMI, or a PMI combined by horizontal dimension and vertical dimension (801); feeding back the confirmed PMI in a non periodic Channel State Information (CSI) feedback mode or a periodic CSI feedback mode (802). Since the capability of feeding back the vertical dimension PMI, dynamic 3D beam shaping technology can be implemented and the throughput of the user equipments in the edge of cell and the average throughput can be improved.
US09344163B2
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method and a terminal for implementing multi-antenna transmission. The method includes: setting a group of low-correlation antennas and a group of high-correlation antennas, where the correlation between antennas in the group of low-correlation antennas is lower than the correlation between antennas in the group of high-correlation antennas; receiving a response message carrying a transfer mode switching instruction fed back by an evolved NodeB; and extracting the transfer mode switching instruction from the response message fed back by the evolved NodeB; if the transfer mode switching instruction is corresponding to a first transfer mode, switching to the group of low-correlation antennas to transmit signals; and if the transfer mode switching instruction is corresponding to a second transfer mode, switching to the group of high-correlation antennas to transmit signals.
US09344161B2
Mechanisms for wireless local area network coverage enhancement using dynamic antennas are provided. The dynamic antennas may be used, for example, in an antenna apparatus of an access point. The access point maps a plurality of virtual access points (VAPs), each VAP corresponding to at least one of a plurality of directional antenna patterns of the antenna apparatus. The processor transmits broadcast communication on each of the VAPs a further distance from the access point as compared to transmitting on an omnidirectional antenna pattern of the antenna apparatus.
US09344160B2
A data transmission method and system, transmitter and receiver. The method includes: mapping, by a transmitter, a plurality of data streams to a plurality of antennas of the transmitter by using precoding matrices and transmitting the plurality of data streams to a receiver via the plurality of antennas, wherein the transmitter selects the precoding matrices by taking a resource block as a granularity. With the embodiments of the present invention, the transmitter may transmit data streams to the receiver by using the precoding matrices W, and selects the precoding matrices W by taking a resource block (RB) as a granularity, so as to support DM-RS demodulation, and the receiver is not needed to perform PMI feedback, which is also applicable to a scenario where user feedback is not supported or PMI feedback is inaccurate, thereby achieving open-loop spatial multiplexing CoMP transmission.
US09344139B2
A transceiver is disclosed comprising a transmitter; a receiver; and a signal transmission arrangement. The transmitter comprises a power amplifier, and the signal transmission arrangement is arranged to transmit signals provided from the transmitter through its power amplifier, and arranged to receive signals and provide them to the receiver. The transceiver further comprises an auxiliary power amplifier which has controllable phase shift and gain; a first impedance element; a second impedance element; and a controller. The auxiliary power amplifier has its input connected to the input of the power amplifier of the transmitter, the first impedance element is connected between an output of the auxiliary power amplifier and an input of the receiver, the second impedance element is connected between an output of the power amplifier of the transmitter and the input of the receiver, and the controller is arranged to control the auxiliary power amplifier to provide a signal that has a phase and amplitude in relation to the output of the power amplifier of the transmitter and the impedances of the first and second impedance elements such that the transmitter contribution at the input of the receiver is suppressed. A method, computer program and communication device is also disclosed.
US09344134B2
The disclosure provides a mobile terminal and a processing method thereof; the method includes the following steps: when detecting that an external device is plugged in, the mobile terminal determines the type of the external device according to the logic levels of the internal data signal lines in the mobile terminal, wherein the type includes a charger and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) host device; the mobile terminal charges itself or transmits data with the external device according to the determined type of the external device. With the disclosure, the performance of the mobile terminal is improved, and the user experience is enhanced.
US09344131B2
Management of multiple subscriber identity modules is disclosed. A method comprises: obtaining data relating to subscriber identity modules of a wireless communication system; obtaining data relating to a mobile terminal; transmitting the data relating to the subscriber identity modules and the data relating to the mobile terminal to a service provider server; and receiving a selection from the service provider server of at least one optimal subscriber identity module from among the set of the subscriber identity modules for use by the mobile terminal.
US09344129B2
An apparatus comprises at least one transmit amplifier and rectification circuitry located in the at least one transmit amplifier, which is configured to receive a RF signal and provide a rectified voltage, which is selectably added to a voltage supplied by a battery to generate a DC voltage supply signal that is a function of RF power level. A controller is configured to select between providing the VBAT or the VSupply signal to a transmit switch depending on one or more of a logic state and a mode of operation. An alternate apparatus comprises a charge pump circuit configured to quickly raise a voltage supplied to it and store the output voltage on a capacitor and then either shift a first frequency provided by a charge pump oscillator to a lower second frequency or turn off a charge pump clock to maintain a voltage on the capacitor during a transmit mode.
US09344126B2
Disclosed are a receiving apparatus, a receiving method, and a program capable of reliably obtaining predetermined information. In a case where a broadband signal where the same control information is arranged in different frequency bands is received and processed, a frequency where the control information is stably received is detected, and the control information is obtained again using the detected frequency. This frequency detection is performed by detecting a frequency capable of avoiding a no-signal band in a signal array of the broadband signal determined based on the obtained control information and the like. This technology can be applied to a receiving apparatus that receives a signal conforming to a DVB-C2 standard.
US09344118B2
An apparatus for generating indexes of an interleaver for input data comprises: a main processor for calculating an index for a predetermined bit of the input data; and an index operator for receiving the index calculated by the main processor, calculating in parallel indexes for bits after the predetermined bit, and deriving a plurality of indexes. The main processor calculates the index for ith to (i+15)th bits of the input data where i is an integer equal to or larger than 0, and transfers a result of (128*f2)modK to the index operator. The index operator calculates an index for an (i+j+16)th bit where j is an integer which satisfies 0≦j≦7 by using an equation of Π(i+j+16)=(2*Π(i+j+8)−Π(i+j)+128*f2)modK where K is a size of the input data and f2 is a coefficient calculated from K.
US09344117B2
Methods and systems for efficient Reed-Solomon (RS) decoding are provided. The RS decoding unit includes both an RS pseudo decoder and an RS decoder. The RS pseudo decoder is configured to correct a small number of errors in a received codeword, while the RS decoder is configured to correct errors that are recoverable by the RS code. The RS pseudo decoder runs in parallel with the RS decoder. Once the RS pseudo decoder successfully decodes the codeword, the RS decoder may stop its processing, thereby reducing the RS decoding latency.
US09344116B2
A method for determining a layer stoppage in LDPC decoding is provided. The method may include determining the occurrence of the layer stoppage to detect and record a convergence of a layer arithmetic unit after the performance of a layer decoding operation using LDPC decoding, and in a subsequent iteration operation stopping an operation of the layer arithmetic unit that has converged and repeating determining the layer stoppage for the layer arithmetic unit that has not yet converged. An output of the non-convergent layer may be diverted to the next non-convergent layer while bypassing the convergent layer without interrupting the subsequent iteration operation while maintaining the overall error correction capability.
US09344113B1
A data compression architecture comprises a shift register structure comprising first and second parallel paths, each comprising several shift register elements for storing previously received data characters. Each shift register element in the first path is paired with a respective shift register element in the second path. An input shift register stores input data characters in pairs during successive clock cycles. Logic circuitry compares the input data characters with each of the previously received data characters stored in the pairs of shift register elements to detect a match during one or more clock cycles. The logic circuitry determines a length of a sequence of received input data characters by determining a number of clock cycles during which a match is detected in a particular pair of shift register elements, and applies a correction factor based on a type of match detected at a beginning and end of the sequence.
US09344110B2
A delta-sigma modulator capable of outputting an output signal including a plurality of signals having different frequencies. The delta-sigma modulator includes: a plurality of input ports to which a plurality of input signals having different frequencies are inputted, respectively; a plurality of loop filters provided corresponding to the plurality of input ports, respectively; an adder configured to add outputs of the plurality of loop filters; and a quantizer configured to quantize an output of the adder. The plurality of loop filters each receive the input signal inputted to the corresponding input port and a feedback signal of an output of the quantizer. The plurality of loop filters each have a characteristic of stopping noise in the vicinity of a frequency of the input signal inputted to the corresponding input port.
US09344106B2
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) includes a plurality of comparators connected to the ADC. The ADC further includes a plurality of switches, wherein switches connected to a corresponding comparator of the plurality of comparators are configured to alternate the corresponding comparator between normal operation and a calibration configuration. The ADC further includes at least one comparator of the plurality of comparators other than the corresponding comparator is configured for normal operation if the corresponding comparator is configured for calibration.
US09344099B2
Embodiments are described for a method of continuously measuring the ratio of frequencies between the transmit and receive clock domains of a heterochronous system using an array of digital frequency measurement circuits that provide overlapping frequency and detection interval measurements within single counter periods required for a single frequency measurement circuit to complete a frequency measurement. Embodiments may be used in a predictive synchronizer to provide low latency, continuous frequency measurements for system-on-chip (SOC) devices that employ frequency drift or ramping to reduce power consumption and overheating conditions.
US09344094B2
In some embodiments, provided are AFC circuits and methods for calibrating a second setting of an oscillator while a first setting is controlled by a temperature compensated control.
US09344088B1
A driver circuit includes first and second pluralities of series-connected inverters for pre-driving an input signal to first and second drive transistors, and a plurality of capacitors. The first and second drive transistors coupled to the last inverter of the first and second pluralities of series-connected inverters. Each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors coupled between the output terminals of corresponding inverters of the first and second pluralities of series-connected inverters. In another embodiment, a plurality of discharge circuits is coupled to the first plurality of series-connected inverters. Another embodiment includes a combination of capacitors and discharge circuits coupled to the first plurality of series-connected inverters. The embodiments provide a driver circuit with high frequency voltage regulation.
US09344086B2
A receiving circuit for a core circuit is provided and includes a first receiving-path unit. The first receiving-path unit is capable of receiving an input signal and outputting an output signal to the core circuit according to the input signal. The first receiving-path unit includes an input buffer which is capable of operating in a core power domain of the core circuit and receiving a first clamped signal. When a level of the input signal is substantially equal to or lower than a first predetermined voltage level, the input signal is passed to the input buffer to serve as the first clamped signal, and the input buffer is capable of outputting the output signal in the core power domain according to the first clamped signal. When the level of the input signal is higher than the first predetermined voltage level, the input signal is not passed to the input buffer.
US09344085B2
A keypad with optical sensors is provided. The keypad comprises keycaps, each keycap having a top surface. One or more optical sensors are located beneath top surfaces of adjacent keycaps. One or more light guides extend from a respective optical sensor towards the top surfaces.
US09344078B1
A monolithic integrated circuit includes a low-voltage control circuit, a vertical power transistor, and a source follower. The vertical power transistor includes at least a drain. The source follower includes a drain that is coupled to the drain of the vertical power transistor, a gate that is coupled to a limit voltage node, and a source that is coupled to a high impedance node. The source follower is arranged such that a source voltage at the source of the source follower is a voltage-limited version of the drain voltage of the vertical power transistor. The low-voltage control circuit includes a driver and protection circuit that is arranged to detect the source voltage, to drive the vertical power transistor, and to adjust how the vertical power transistor is biased based, at least in part, on the source voltage.
US09344077B2
A circuit, which includes a high voltage driver, is disclosed. The high voltage driver includes a P-type field effect transistor (PFET) and a source bias circuit. The source bias circuit receives a low voltage input signal and applies a direct current (DC) bias to the low voltage input signal to provide a DC biased signal. The PFET has a first source, a first gate, and a first drain. The first source receives the DC biased signal. The first gate receives a first low voltage DC supply signal. The first drain provides a high voltage output signal based on the DC biased signal and the first low voltage DC supply signal. In this regard, the high voltage driver receives and translates the low voltage input signal to provide the high voltage output signal.
US09344075B2
A system may measure a first sample, of a first signal, using an undersampling signal. The system may measure a second sample, of a second signal, using the undersampling signal. The undersampling signal may have a frequency that is based on a frequency of the first signal or a frequency of the second signal. The system may detect, based on measuring the first sample, a first edge of the first signal. The system may detect, based on measuring the second sample, a second edge of the second signal. The system may determine a delay, associated with the first signal and the second signal, based on detecting the first edge, based on detecting the second edge, based on a first cycle time of the undersampling signal, and based on a second cycle time of the first signal or the second signal.
US09344073B2
A semiconductor device includes: a power supply; a circuit block that has at least one storage element and operates by receiving a power supply voltage from the power supply; a power management unit that controls the power supply to change the power supply voltage; and a storage element monitor circuit that generates a first malfunction signal at a first margin voltage that is higher than a voltage at which the storage element does not normally operate in a case where the power supply voltage lowers, wherein the power management unit controls the power supply so that the power supply voltage does not become lower than the first margin voltage.
US09344064B2
Embodiments of an integrated circuit (IC) comprising frequency change detection circuitry are described. Some embodiments include first circuitry to generate a second clock signal based on a first clock signal, wherein the first clock signal has a first clock frequency, and wherein the second clock signal has a second clock frequency that is an integral multiple of the first clock frequency. The embodiments further include second circuitry to obtain samples by oversampling the first clock signal using the second clock signal. Additionally, the embodiments include third circuitry to detect a change in the first clock frequency based on the samples.
US09344061B1
A new type of variable coaxial, low frequency capacitor uses two cylindrical blocks, which are interdigitally insertable into each-other to create an adjustable capacitance. Each block is made using a conductive (aluminum, brass or copper) strip which is mounted vertically on a conductive basis and is wound in spiral form around a center axis. The blocks are guided coaxially into each-other and the relative orientation angle allows approaching the surfaces of the conductive strips from a maximum distance, which is half the width of the spiral gap, to full galvanic contact. The block penetration is motor controlled and a cascade of three or four such capacitors and associated lengths of coaxial cable is used to make wideband impedance tuners operating in the low MHz frequency range.
US09344057B2
For a tuning-fork type crystal resonator plate, a crystal plate having a crystal orientation is used. The tuning-fork type crystal resonator plate includes: a base portion; and a pair of first and second leg portions protruding from the base portion in one direction. In the first leg portion and the second leg portion, grooves are formed so that each of the grooves is biased relative to a center of the corresponding first or second leg portion in a width direction. A lowermost point of the groove is positioned in a middle of the groove in the width direction (width direction of the first leg portion and the second leg portion) in a state viewed from an end surface of the first and second leg portions in the width direction.
US09344049B2
An audio system is configured to support a number of wireless microphones, and each of the wireless microphones has one or more touch sensitive mute switches and a touch sensitive mute guard band switch. The mute guard band switch is connect to an electrically conductive surface that is proximate to a microphone peripheral surface that a user is likely to touch when they move the microphone. Logical instructions running in conjunction with a DSP associated with the microphone cause the audio system to override any mute commands it receives from any of the mute switches during the time that the guard band switch is activated.
US09344046B2
Methods, systems, and apparatuses for detecting and suppressing analog error in an output stage of a digital class-D amplifier are described. In embodiments, the digital class-D amplifier includes a PWM stage, an output stage, and a feedback circuit. The PWM stage receives the signal difference between an input digital signal and a feedback digital signal, generates a digital pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal based thereon, and provides the digital PWM signal as a first component of the digital feedback signal. The output stage receives the digital PWM signal and generates an analog output signal for driving a load responsive to the digital PWM signal. The feedback circuit combines an analog representation of the PWM signal and the analog output signal to generate a second component of the digital feedback signal.
US09344043B2
The embodiments of the present invention provide a output buffer circuit, comprising: a first stage operational amplifying circuit configured as a differential input circuit; a second stage operational amplifying circuit configured as a common source amplifying circuit having an active load; and a feedback circuit provided between the first stage operational amplifying circuit and the second stage operational amplifying circuit and configured to have driving capability of providing source current and sink current alternately. By forming a unit gain amplifier comprising the first stage operational amplifying circuit, the second stage operational amplifying circuit and the feedback circuit connected therebetween, the output buffer circuit has the driving capability of providing source current and sink current alternately. No special voltage stabilizing circuit is needed, thus the circuit structure is simple and the chip area is decreased; since the power consumption can be reduced without a special voltage stabilizing circuit, the fluctuation of the output voltage is suppressed at the same time, the stability of the circuit is ensured in operation and offset is suppressed optimally, the output signal is more accurate and the quality of image displayed is improved.
US09344034B2
An oscillator and a semiconductor integrated circuit device with an internal oscillator capable of compensating the temperature characteristics even when there is a large parasitic capacitance too large to ignore directly between the output terminals of the oscillator. In an oscillator containing an inductance element L, and a capacitive element C, and an amplifier each coupled in parallel across a first and second terminal, the amplifier amplifies the resonance generated by the inductance element and capacitive element and issues an output from the first terminal and the second terminal, and in which a first resistance element with a larger resistance value than the parasitic resistance of the inductance element between the first terminal and the second terminal, is coupled in serial with the capacitive element between the first terminal and the second terminal.
US09344022B2
The present disclosure includes circuits and methods for driving resonant actuators. In one embodiment, a drive signal is applied to an actuator during a portion of a plurality of half cycles of a period of the drive signal. The actuator has a resonant frequency and may vibrate in response to the drive signal. An induced voltage is generated on terminals of the actuator in response to the vibration. A detection circuit may detect when the induced voltage on the actuator crosses a threshold after the drive signal is turned off. The drive signal may be triggered based on when the induced voltage crosses the threshold to align a frequency and phase of the drive signal with the resonant frequency and a phase of the actuator.
US09344020B2
A power conversion apparatus includes arms in each of which one or more unit converters each including a capacitor and capable of outputting an arbitrary voltage are connected in series, and a point P as a first node to which one end of the respective arms are Y-connected, and a point N as a second node to which a neutral terminal of the rotary electric machine is connected. The other end of the respective arms are connected to one ends of respective phase windings of a rotary electric machine.
US09344016B2
A storage module voltage equalizer includes a plurality of voltage equalization circuits that are prepared to correspond to a plurality of storage cells which are arranged to be lined up in a first direction, and equalize an inter-terminal voltage of the plurality of storage cells, and a plurality of mounting substrates that are stacked, in which the plurality of voltage equalization circuits are mounted, in a distributed manner, on the plurality of mounting substrates.
US09344009B2
An object is to reduce, with the control circuit of the full-bridge inverter circuit, distortions in an output signal of the inverter circuit resulting from an error in control of the switching of the high-side transistors and low-side transistors included in the first half-bridge circuit and the second half-bridge circuit. The pulse width of a signal that controls ON/OFF of the high-side transistors and low-side transistors included in the first half-bridge circuit and the second half-bridge circuit is reduced, i.e., the duty cycle of the signal is reduced. This results in a reduction in short-circuit periods during which both the high-side transistor and the low-side transistor are on, thereby reducing distortions in a signal.
US09344004B2
The invention relates to a power conversion system, wherein a first switch is connected between a input voltage source and a second switch, wherein the second switch is connected to a third switch, wherein the third switch is connected to a fourth switch, wherein the fourth switch is connected to the input voltage source, wherein a first diode is connected between a neutral point and the second switch, wherein a second diode is connected between the third switch and the neutral point. Two or more current transformers are arranged such that a drive signal is produced in an interleaved mode.
US09344003B2
A control section generates a quasi-sine wave with a plurality of gradation voltages including power supply voltages from DC power supplies with different voltages and one or more potential differences between two of the power supply voltages. Specifically, the control section generates the quasi-sine wave by, in a time range where a sine wave voltage is at two gradation voltages, generating a PWM signal with one gradation voltage set at a low level and the other gradation voltage set at a high level. The timing for switching the PWM signal is determined using an intersection between a sine wave and a triangular wave in the time range where the sine wave voltage is at two gradation voltages, where the triangular wave is generated with one gradation voltage set at a low level and the other gradation voltage set at a high level.
US09344002B2
An adaptive sampling circuit of the power converter according to the present invention comprises a sample-and-hold unit and a signal-generation circuit. The sample-and-hold unit is coupled to a transformer to generate a feedback signal by sampling a demagnetized voltage of the transformer in response to a sample signal. The signal-generation circuit generates the sample signal in response to a magnetized voltage of the transformer, the demagnetized voltage of the transformer, a switching signal and a code. The sample signal is used for sampling the demagnetized voltage. The feedback signal is correlated to an output voltage of the power converter. The switching signal is generated in response to the feedback signal for switching the transformer and regulating the output of the power converter. The adaptive sampling circuit is used to precisely measure the demagnetized voltage of the transformer without the limitation of the transformer design.
US09343994B2
A power conversion apparatus including a three-phase transformer interconnected to a three-phase power system, the three-phase transformer including a primary winding group that receives three-phase electric power of the three-phase electric power system, a first secondary winding group and a second secondary winding group that receive electric power transferred from the primary winding group, and a first converter group and a second converter group connected to the first and second secondary winding groups, respectively, the power conversion apparatus further including a DC output terminal group connected to at least one of other ends of the first to third converter arms provided in the first converter group, and connected to at least one of other ends of the fourth to sixth converter arms provided in the second converter group.
US09343993B2
A DC/AC converter includes a DC/DC conversion stage with galvanic isolation and a DC/AC conversion stage, wherein the DC/DC conversion stage comprises a pair of first side terminals providing or receiving a first DC voltage, a pair of second side terminals providing or receiving a second DC voltage and coupled to the DC/AC conversion stage, at least one first side converter circuit coupled between the pair of first side terminals, a series connection of a plurality of second side converter circuits coupled between the pair of second side terminals, and at least one transformer circuit coupling the plurality of second side converter circuits to the at least one first side converter circuit, wherein a connection point between two of the plurality of second side converter circuits is coupled to the DC/AC conversion stage and forms a neutral phase point thereof.
US09343988B2
Circuits, systems, and methods of current mode regulation include a primary side for receiving an input signal and a secondary for outputting an output signal. A regulator spans the primary and secondary sides in a configuration by which the input signal may be rectified and thereafter provided to the output node as an output signal. A current monitor is provided at the output node for comparing the output signal to a reference. A communication link is included for providing feedback to the primary side of the regulator for use in regulating the signal.
US09343985B2
The power supply apparatus includes a transformer having a primary side and a secondary side insulated from each other, a switch element for switching current flowing in the primary side of the transformer, a control part configured to control an operation of the switch element, and two feedback parts configured to detect an output voltage from the transformer so as to output, to the control part, a detection signal in accordance with the output voltage for feedback to the primary side of the transformer.
US09343982B2
A circuit for controlling a programmable power converter is provided. The circuit comprises a control circuit, a switching controller, and a first opto-coupler. The control circuit generates a programmable voltage-reference signal for regulating an output voltage of the programmable power converter. A feedback circuit of the control circuit detects the output voltage for generating a feedback signal in response to the programmable voltage-reference signal and the output voltage. The switching controller detects a switching current of a transformer for generating a switching signal coupled to switch the transformer for generating the output voltage and an output current in response to the feedback signal and the switching current of the transformer. The first opto-coupler transfers the feedback signal from the control circuit to the switching controller. The control circuit is at the secondary side of the transformer and the switching controller is at the primary side of the transformer.
US09343974B2
A power source apparatus includes a transformer configured to output a voltage, a feedback unit configured to output a feedback signal based on the voltage output from the transformer, and a driving unit configured to drive the transformer according to a setting signal for setting the output voltage and the feedback signal. Whichever of a voltage of positive polarity and a voltage of negative polarity is output, the feedback unit controls the voltage output according to a value of a difference between the output voltage and a threshold value.
US09343959B2
Embodiments relate to circuits, systems and methods for providing interruption protection for sensors and other devices. One example embodiment includes an interruption protection circuit comprising at least one charge pump and at least one buffer capacitor configured to maintain and/or provide sufficient voltage for output signals of sensors or other devices during micro-breaks or other interruptions.
US09343951B2
Disclosed are a high-voltage protection circuit, a high-voltage protection method and a power supply. The high voltage protection circuit comprises a main relay, an auxiliary relay, a first resistor, a second resistor, a first capacitor and a second capacitor, wherein one end of the main relay is connected to the input port of a live line, and the other end thereof is connected to the output port of the live line; one end of the auxiliary relay is connected to the input port of the live line, and the other end thereof is connected between the first resistor and the second resistor; one end of the first capacitor is connected to the output port of the live line, and the other end thereof is connected to a neutral line parallel to the live line; the second capacitor is connected to both ends of the main relay in parallel; and the second resistor and the first resistor are connected between the input port and the output port of the live line in series in sequence. The present invention can effectively solve the problem that quick recovery cannot be achieved in an energy-saving mode, so that the system achieves high efficiency and energy saving, and can ensure high-voltage protection in an energy-saving mode through the bridge connection of the second capacitor to both ends of the main relay, and the adjustment of the capacitance values of the first capacitor and the second capacitor.
US09343940B2
A motor-driven compressor is provided that includes a housing made of a metal material, a compression portion, an electric motor, a cover made of a metal material, a motor drive circuit accommodated in an accommodation space defined by the housing and the cover, an elastic sealing member located between the housing and the cover, and an extended portion provided in at least one of the housing and the cover. The compression portion and the electric motor are accommodated in the housing. The cover is attached to the housing. The motor driver circuit drives the electric motor. The extended portion extends in a direction toward an opposing one of the housing and the cover and is arranged inside the sealing member. The extended portion includes an outer peripheral surface. The sealing member is arranged to be in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the extended portion.
US09343921B2
A power supply apparatus includes a power supply unit that wirelessly supplies power to an electronic device including a first unit that wirelessly receives power from the power supply apparatus, and a control unit that execute control, if an external apparatus, including a battery, and the electronic device are connected, to select the first unit to charge the battery by the first unit.
US09343916B2
A modular charging device includes a chassis, a plurality of cradle mounts and a power distribution unit including a power outlet corresponding to each of the said cradle mounts. Each mount is suitably adapted for detachably affixing a cradle to the chassis, and a charging plug of each cradle is electrically connectable to the power distribution unit via a fly lead providing an electrical connection between the said charging plug and the power outlets. The use of a modular chassis and cradle mount system may conveniently enable each cradle to be attached or detached individually, meaning that the component parts can be removed and replaced upon failure, or for upgrade, with minimal effort. Additionally, the invention suitably permits charging of multiple mobile communication devices or batteries for same.
US09343913B2
A charging device that includes a first battery charged at a first rate and a second battery that is charged at a second rate, which is faster than the first rate. The charging device includes an interface that receives electric power from a charger; a first switch disposed between the interface and the first battery; a second switch disposed between the second battery and the first battery; a battery voltage detection circuit that detects a voltage of the second battery; a charger detection circuit connected to the interface that detects whether power is being received from the charger; and a switch control circuit that controls the first switch and the second switch based on outputs of the charger detection circuit and the battery voltage detection circuit.
US09343901B2
A short-circuit protection circuit adapted to a voltage regulator module is provided. The voltage regulator module includes a high side transistor and a low side transistor. The short-circuit protection circuit includes a short-circuit detecting circuit, a first switch, and a second switch. The short-circuit detecting circuit includes a detecting terminal coupled with the high side transistor. The high side transistor is connected with the low side transistor and a load, and the low side transistor is coupled with a ground. The first switch is connected with the low side transistor in parallel. The second switch coupled between the high side transistor and the power supply. The first switch is turned on before the power supply is powered on, the short-circuit detecting circuit sends a detecting voltage to the high side transistor via the detecting terminal to determine whether the high side transistor is short-circuited to control to second switch.
US09343883B2
A raintight compression connector has a connector body with first and second portions and a bore extending therethrough. The first portion is dimensioned for receipt of an EMT or RMC conduit. A gland nut threads onto the first portion and a split compression ring contacts the gland nut so as to secure the connector body to the conduit. An upper sealing ring makes sealing contact with the conduit; and a wedge-shaped sealing ring is positioned in the bore of first portion against a shoulder formed in the first portion. The sealing ring contacts a terminating face of the conduit so as to pliably deform around the face so as to form a watertight seal. The second portion is securable to an enclosure. A coupler with two portions similar to the first portion of the connector has corresponding components to form a watertight seal with two conduits.
US09343870B2
A semiconductor laser diode with integrated heating generally includes a lasing region and a heating region integrated into the same semiconductor structure or chip. The lasing region and the heating region include first and second portions, respectively, of the semiconductor layers forming the semiconductor structure and include first and second portions, respectively, of the active regions formed by the semiconductor layers. Separate laser and heater electrodes are electrically connected to the respective lasing and heating regions for driving the respective lasing and heating regions with drive currents. The heating region may thus be driven independently from the lasing region, and heat may be conducted through the semiconductor layers from the heating region to the lasing region allowing the temperature to be controlled more efficiently.
US09343864B2
A planar optical waveguide amplifier includes an active optical waveguide (203) containing rare-earth ions embedded in a passive optical waveguide (202) that guides the pump power.
US09343854B2
A coaxial connector plug includes a first outer conductive unit that includes a first outer conductor that has a substantially ring-like shape in a portion of which a cutting portion is formed when viewed in plan and first and second outer terminals that are drawn out downwardly from the first outer conductor and a first central conductive unit that includes a first central conductor disposed in an area surrounded by the first outer conductor when viewed in plan. The first and second outer terminals are disposed, when viewed in plan from above, further toward the side on which the cutting portion is formed than a second line with the cutting portion interposed between the first and second outer terminals, the second line being perpendicular to a first line, which connects the center of the first outer conductor and the cutting portion, and passing through the center.
US09343851B2
Pluggable connector including a connector housing having a leading end configured to mate with a receptacle assembly. The connector housing has an interior cavity. The pluggable connector also includes a communication assembly held by the connector housing. The communication assembly includes internal electronics located within the interior cavity, and a mating terminal located proximate to the leading end. The mating terminal is communicatively coupled to the internal electronics. The pluggable connector also includes a thermal-transfer assembly that is disposed within the interior cavity. The thermal-transfer assembly includes first and second thermal-transfer modules that each include a plurality of spaced-apart projections. The corresponding projections of the first and second thermal-transfer modules are interleaved with one another. The first thermal-transfer module is coupled to the internal electronics, and the second thermal-transfer module is coupled to the connector housing.
US09343849B2
An interface connector includes a connection terminal unit configured to be connected with an external connector, and a metallic shell configured to enclose the connection terminal unit. The metallic shell includes a first shell unit, in which the connection terminal unit is mounted, and which is grounded with a printed circuit board, and a second shell unit mounted to be separated and spaced from the first shell unit. An electronic device comprises a connection terminal unit configured to be connected with an external connector and a metallic shell configured to enclose the connection terminal unit, wherein the metallic shell comprises a first shell unit in which the connection terminal unit is mounted, and a second shell unit mounted to be separated and spaced from the first shell unit.
US09343828B2
An apparatus includes an insulated body, a conductive contact disposed in the insulated body, and a button disposed on the insulated body. The insulated body can receive a wire through an opening in the insulated body. The conductive contact contacts the wire and secures the wire through a compression force exerted on the wire. The button has a neutral position and a depressed position, and the button in the depressed position is configured to reduce the compression force exerted on the wire.
US09343827B2
A connecting terminal includes a housing, a current rail, and a spring clamp. The housing includes a conductor inlet opening configured to receive a conductor to be clamped. The housing also includes a conductor guide configured to guide the conductor to be clamped. The conductor guide includes a web-shaped extension of the conductor inlet opening and extends from the conductor inlet opening in an insertion direction of the conductor to be clamped. The current rail and the spring clamp are disposed in the housing.
US09343808B2
A system and method may include a plurality of transmit and receive antennas covering one sector of a cellular communication base station; a multi-beam RF beamforming matrix connected to the transmit and receive antennas; a plurality of radio circuitries connected to the multi-beam RF beamforming matrix; and a baseband module connected to the radio circuitries. The multi-beam RF beamforming matrix may be configured to generate one sector beam and two or more directional co-frequency beams pointed at user equipment (UEs) within the sector, as instructed by the baseband module. A number M denotes the number the directional beams and a number N denotes the number of the radio circuitries and wherein M>N.
US09343805B2
An antenna is provided, having a foil sheet, an antenna structure and a connector. The foil sheet includes a front side and a back side, while the antenna structure is printed on the front side using a conductive ink. The antenna structure includes a contact pad. The connector is connected to the contact pad and includes a metallic blade extending through the foil sheet and the contact pad.
US09343795B1
The various technologies presented herein relate to waveguide dividers and waveguide combiners for application in radar systems, wireless communications, etc. Waveguide dividers-combiners can be manufactured in accordance with custom dimensions, as well as in accordance with waveguide standards such that the input and output ports are of a defined dimension and have a common impedance. Various embodiments are presented which can incorporate one or more septum(s), one or more pairs of septums, an iris, an input matching region, a notch located on the input waveguide arm, waveguide arms having stepped transformer regions, etc. The various divider configurations presented herein can be utilized in high fractional bandwidth applications, e.g., a fractional bandwidth of about 30%, and RF applications in the Ka frequency band (e.g., 26.5-40 GHz).
US09343793B2
A millimeter wave bands semiconductor package includes a metal base body, a circuit board, and a metal cover body. The base body has a first penetration hole and a second penetration hole. The circuit board is disposed on the base body and has an input signal line and an output signal line on a front side surface thereof. The cover body is disposed on the circuit board and has a first non-penetration hole and a second non-penetration hole. The cover body is disposed such that the first non-penetration hole is disposed directly above the first penetration hole of the base body and the second non-penetration hole is disposed directly above the second penetration hole of the base body. Further, the first non-penetration hole and the first penetration hole constitute a first waveguide and the second non-penetration hole and the second penetration hole constitute a second waveguide.
US09343791B2
A frequency-tunable microwave-frequency wave filter with dielectric resonator, comprises a metallic cavity and at least one stack along a rotation axis, the resonator-forming stack being disposed inside the cavity and comprising at least a first and a second element each made of dielectric material, the second element being mobile in rotation with respect to the first element around the rotation axis and exhibiting a first position and at least one second position separated by an angle of rotation, and the elements exhibiting shapes such that the overall geometry of the stack is different in the at least two positions, the stack forming a first resonator adapted so that the filter exhibits a first central frequency when the second element is in the first position, and forming a second resonator adapted so that the filter exhibits a second central frequency when the second element is in the second position.
US09343790B2
This invention provides novel combline resonators with multiple conductors and multiple dielectrics for compact filters and multiplexers with improved electric response. The novel combline resonator consists of multi-conductors being made up for the simplest case of an inner metallic post, an intermediate conductor, and an enclosure. This structure provides two resonant modes that can be used for realizing compact microwave filters and multiplexers. Such filters offer the low cost, compact size and ease of manufacturing features of traditional combline resonator filters, with additional size reduction due to the fact that a single physical cavity provides two electrical resonators. In addition, the new cavity inherently introduces a transmission zero in the guard-bands enhancing the filter selectivity.
US09343787B2
A lithium air battery is provided. The battery comprises: an anode compartment; a cathode compartment supplied with an O2 source; and a lithium ion conductive membrane separating the anode compartment from the cathode compartment. The anode compartment comprises an anode having lithium or a lithium alloy as active metal and a lithium ion electrolyte, while the cathode compartment comprises an air electrode and a sodium ion electrolyte. The anode compartment is separated from the cathode compartment by a lithium ion conductive membrane that is not permeable to sodium ions. In a preferred embodiment the cathode compartment contains an ionic liquid.
US09343785B2
A vehicular battery cooling device in which a rear seat is disposed on the upper surface of a rear floor panel, a battery pack is disposed on the upper surface of the rear floor panel at the rear of the rear seat, and an air intake duct extending from the battery pack to the vehicle front is installed between the cushion part of the rear seat and the rear floor panel. A concave part extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is formed in the lower surface of the cushion part in the central portion in the vehicle width direction, an opening is formed at the front end of the air intake duct, and the air intake duct is formed so as to have a strength capable of supporting the weight of a passenger and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the cushion part.
US09343783B2
Described embodiments include a system and a method. A system includes at least two individually controllable electrochemical cells configured to output electric power. Each individually controllable cell includes an electrolyte, and a first working electrode configured to transfer electrons to or from the electrolyte. Each individually controllable cell includes a second working electrode configured to transfer electrons to or from the electrolyte. Each individually controllable cell includes a gating electrode spaced-apart from the second working electrode and configured if biased relative to the second working electrode to modify an electric charge, field, or potential in the space between the electrolyte and the second working electrode. The system includes a control circuit coupled to apply a respective biasing signal to each gating electrode of each controllable cell of the at least two controllable cells.
US09343774B2
Disclosed is a method for forming lithium hexafluorophosphate by reacting together phosphorus trichloride, chlorine and lithium chloride in a nonaqueous organic solvent and then making the reaction product formed in the solvent react with hydrogen fluoride. This method is characterized by that a lithium hexafluorophosphate concentrated liquid is obtained by conducting a filtration after making the reaction product formed in the solvent react with hydrogen fluoride and then subjecting the filtrate to a concentration by degassing. By this method, it is possible to easily produce a high-purity, lithium hexafluorophosphate concentrated liquid at a low cost.
US09343769B2
A method of manufacturing a fuel cell, more particularly a method of manufacturing a ceramic fuel cell and in particular a method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell, is described herein. The method includes forming at least one sheet of electrolyte material, depositing anode electrode and cathode material on the electrolyte material, forming apertures through the electrolyte material, arranging the electrolyte material in a stack, dividing the electrolyte material into pieces, depositing additional electrode material on the surfaces of the pieces, and depositing additional electrode material on the surface of the apertures of the pieces in order to form a fuel cell.
US09343759B2
The problem is that a large force is required to open a flow-dividing shut valve provided in an air supply path for supplying the air to a fuel cell stack at a start of a fuel cell system. This problem is solved by reducing a pressure difference between upstream and downstream of the flow-dividing shut valve, before the flow-dividing shut valve is opened, at a start of the fuel cell system.
US09343751B2
The provision of a porous electrode substrate that has large sheet strength, low production costs, high handling properties, high thickness precision and surface smoothness, and sufficient gas permeability and electrical conductivity. A porous electrode substrate including a three-dimensional entangled structure including short carbon fibers (A) dispersed in a three-dimensional structure, joined together via three-dimensional mesh-like carbon fibers (B). A method for producing a porous electrode substrate, including a step (1) of producing a precursor sheet including short carbon fibers (A), and short carbon fiber precursors (b) and/or fibrillar carbon fiber precursors (b′) dispersed in a two-dimensional plane; a step (2) of subjecting the precursor sheet to entanglement treatment; and a step (3) of subjecting this sheet to carbonization treatment at 1000° C. or higher. It is preferable to include a step (4) of subjecting the sheet to hot press forming at lower than 200° C. between step (2) and step 3), and to further include a step (5) of subjecting the sheet after hot press forming to oxidation treatment at 200° C. or higher and lower than 300° C. between step (4) and step (3).
US09343738B2
An active electrode material for electrochemical devices such as lithium ion batteries includes a lithium transition metal oxide which is free of sodium and sulfur contaminants. The lithium transition metal oxide is prepared by calcining a mixture of a lithium precursor and a transition metal oxalate. Electrochemical devices use such active electrodes.
