US09743567B2

An object is to prevent electric wires from being brought into contact with, and being damaged by, an edge of a rigid pipe of an electromagnetic shielding component, without need for an additional component such as a cover for an end portion of the pipe, despite the increased density of the electric wires within a hollow space in the pipe. A shielding pipe includes an expanded-diameter portion that is an end portion whose inner and outer circumferential surfaces each have a diameter that is greater than diameters of inner and outer circumferential surfaces of a portion that is contiguous with the expanded-diameter portion. A ring-shaped coupling member holds an overlapping portion of a flexible shielding member, the overlapping portion being sandwiched between the coupling member and the inner circumferential surface of the shielding pipe. The overlapping portion overlaps the inner circumferential surface of the expanded-diameter portion.
US09743564B2

An electronic device may have a printed circuit to which electrical components are mounted. Electromagnetic shields may be mounted to the printed circuit over the components to suppress interference. A shield may have a metal frame covered with a conductive fabric. The conductive fabric may cover an opening in the top of the frame. An insulating layer may be formed on the lower surface of the conductive fabric to prevent shorts between components on the printed circuit and the conductive fabric. An insulating cap such as an elastomeric polymer cap may also be formed over each component to provide electrical isolation between the components and the conductive fabric. Shields may be formed by coupling shield cans to subscriber identity module shields or other metal structures in a device. Intervening wall structures may be removed to help provide additional shielding volume.
US09743562B2

Cooling apparatuses, cooled electronic modules, and methods of fabrication are provided which facilitate heat transfer from one or more electronic components to a liquid coolant in an operational mode, and drainage of coolant therefrom in a transport mode. The cooling apparatus includes a liquid-cooled heat sink configured to horizontally couple along a main heat transfer surface to the electronic component(s). The heat sink includes a thermally conductive structure with a coolant-carrying compartment through which coolant flows, and a coolant inlet tube and a coolant outlet tube affixed to the thermally conductive structure and in fluid communication with the coolant-carrying compartment to facilitate coolant flow through the compartment. The coolant-carrying compartment has a base surface, and the coolant outlet tube extends into the coolant-carrying compartment towards the base surface to facilitate withdrawal of the liquid coolant from the compartment in the transport mode of the cooling apparatus.
US09743553B2

A mobile terminal having a structure increasing heat dissipation efficiency, including a printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within a terminal body and having a heating element which generates heat mounted thereon, a frame having a space formed on one surface thereof and allowing the PCB to be installed therein, and a heat pipe supported by the frame, disposed on one surface of the frame, and connected to the PCB to dissipate heat generated by the heating element outwardly from the terminal body, wherein the frame includes a hold portion extending from an end portion thereof to cover at least a portion of the heat pipe in order to prevent the heat pipe from being released from the frame by external force applied to the terminal body.
US09743552B2

A fan control subsystem may control a plurality of fans in an information handling system to cool the information handling system. The fan control subsystem may determine a fan importance factor for each of the plurality of fans based on the presence and thermal priority ratings of one or more thermal components located in a respective thermal region associated with each of the plurality of fans. Upon detecting a failure of one of the plurality of fans, the fan control subsystem may regulate airflow within the information handling system based on the fan importance factors determined for the fans.
US09743551B2

An integrated thermal apparatus includes a piezoelectric device and a thermal module which includes a thermal plate contacting a heat source to remove heat from the heat source. The thermal plate has built-in heat sinks for maximizing the surface area for heat dissipation. Each piezoelectric device includes one or more piezoelectric elements. Through the actions of piezoelectric elements, a jet of air and an influx of air are generated to cool the heat sinks. The airflow also cools the surface of heat plate, which acts like a fan mounted on top of the heat source.
US09743547B1

Described herein is a system that includes a sled and a data storage device positioned within the sled. The sled includes a base, an electrical connector positioned within and movable relative to the base, and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is positioned within the base and movable, relative to the base and the electrical connector, between a locked position and a unlocked position. In the locked position, the locking mechanism restricts movement of the electrical connector in at least one degree of freedom relative to the base. In the unlocked position, the locking mechanism does not restrict movement of the electrical connector in the at least one degree of freedom relative to the base. The data storage device is co-movably coupled to the electrical connector.
US09743544B2

The present invention relates to a part of a housing producible by means of a mold and having at least one positioning element, which is arranged on one of the inner sides of the part of the housing. The positioning element is produced from the same mold half of the mold of the part of the housing used to produce one of the external sides of the part of the housing. The positioning element is also a component of this part of the housing, wherein the positioning element forms at least one reference surface. The positioning element is thereby produced from the same mold half used to produce that part of the housing to which another part of the housing, or a part to be arranged on and/or inside the housing, is to be added or attached by means of the positioning element. The tolerance during assembly is thus primarily determined by the positioning element. The positioning element and the reference surfaces assigned or belonging thereto define the position of the other part of the housing or of the part to be arranged on and/or inside the housing in its position to said part of the housing. Thus the accuracy of the position is determined only by one half of a mold and no longer by the other mold half. This results in the desired arrangement with more exact fit.
US09743540B2

A protective enclosure for an electronic device can include a structural layer having a plurality of openings. The structural layer can be made of a first material and provide rigidity to the protective enclosure. The protective enclosure can include an outer cushion portion made of a second material and disposed over an outer surface of the structural layer. The outer cushion portion can provide cushioning to the protective enclosure. The protective enclosure can include an inner cushion portion connected to the outer cushion portion and can be configured to protrude through the openings of the structural layer and extend beyond the structural layer, supporting the electronic device installed in the protective enclosure.
US09743537B2

A rollable display device includes a flexible display panel, a housing, and a guide part. The flexible display panel is configured to display an image. The housing is configured to house the flexible display panel when the flexible display panel is rolled inside the housing. The guide part is provided at an edge portion of the flexible display panel. When the flexible display panel is rolled inside the housing, the flexible display panel includes a plurality of display panel layers, the display panel layers being spaced apart from each other.
US09743534B2

A wiring board with a built-in electronic component includes a substrate having cavity, an insulating layer formed on the substrate such that the insulating layer is covering the cavity, a conductor layer formed on the insulating layer, and an electronic component accommodated in the cavity and including a rectangular cuboid body and terminal electrodes such that each electrode has a metal film form formed on outer surface of the body, and via conductors formed in the insulating layer such that the via conductors are connecting the conductor layer and electrodes. The electrodes are arrayed in a matrix having rows and columns such that adjacent electrodes in row and column directions have the opposite polarities, and the conductor layer includes a line pattern shunting first group of the electrodes in one polarity and a solid pattern shunting second group of the electrodes in the other polarity.
US09743515B2

A vinyl-compound-based resin composition containing a terminal vinyl compound (a) of a bifunctional phenylene ether oligomer having a polyphenylene ether structure, a naphthol aralkyl cyanate ester resin (b), a bisphenol A cyanate ester resin (c), a brominated flame retardant (d) and an inorganic filler (e). The resin composition is for use in a printed wiring board for high multilayer and high frequency, and is excellent in moldability, electric characteristics, peel strength, flame resistance and heat resistance after moisture absorption. Further, a prepreg comprising the above resin composition and a glass woven fabric, a metal-foil-clad laminate obtained by disposing a metal foil on one side or both sides of a stack of at least one prepreg and laminate-molding the resultant set, and a resin sheet obtained by applying a solution of the above resin composition to a surface of a metal foil or a film.
US09743505B2

The invention relates to a plasma torch, preferably to a plasma cutting torch, in which a plasma gas PG1 and/or PG2 flows through at least one feed through a housing of the plasma torch gas up to a nozzle opening. A hollow space connected to the feed(s) is also present within the housing and a valve which opens and closes an opening is arranged at the opening at said hollow space and a leading off of plasma gas PG1 and/or PG2 out of the feed(s) up to the nozzle opening can be achieved in the open state of this valve.
US09743503B2

An example laser apparatus of the disclosure may include an oscillator capable of outputting a laser beam, a slab optical amplifier capable of amplifying the laser beam outputted by the oscillator by passing the laser beam through an optical amplification region shaped like a slab and outputting the amplified laser beam, and a mirror disposed on an optical path of the laser beam to enter the slab optical amplifier or the amplified laser beam outputted from the slab optical amplifier, the mirror being movable in a direction parallel to a plane where the laser beam travels in the slab optical amplifier.
US09743500B2

A multi-view architectural lighting (MVAL) system includes one or more multi-view lighting units (“MV lights”) in which the apparent brightness and color of each MV light is individually and simultaneously controllable for different viewing angles. The MV lights can be pointed in arbitrary directions and installed in arbitrary locations in 3D space with respect to one another, consistent with the structure of a building, etc. This enables a lighting designer to create differentiated lighting experiences for different viewers based on their viewing angle with respect to the MV lights. A calibration system maps viewing locations to emitted light directions for each MV light. Using this information, the appearance of each MV light from a given viewing location relative to that MV light is set by adjusting the light (e.g., typically color and intensity, etc.) emitted in the corresponding direction/directions.
US09743497B2

A wireless load control system is provided including one or more wireless switch components and one or more load controller components optionally in one-to-one, many-to-many, many-to-one, and one-to-many wireless communication with each other. A wirelessly-controlled load controller assembly includes an enclosure adapted to fit within a junction box, the enclosure comprising a projecting fitting adapted to fit through an aperture of the junction box to maintain the enclosure in fixed relation to the junction box. A control circuit in the enclosure is provided with an antenna that extends through an antenna port that is disposed within the fitting so that when the load controller is mounted in a junction box, the antenna extends through the aperture of the junction box.
US09743494B1

A display case that includes a base for supporting an item that is being displayed; a cover engaged with the base, with the base forming an interior compartment for the item and having respective opened and closed positions relative to the base; a light source disposed in the interior compartment, supported at an internal surface of said cover and, when illuminated, casting a light beam on the item to highlight the item; and a sensor associated with at least one of the base and cover and for activating the light source. The sensor may include a motion detector, a light detector, a touch sensor or a proximity sensor.
US09743492B2

A system to compensate for luminance degradation of an emissive display is provided. The system employs a combination of a consumption rate limit and temperature to regulate and control display luminance for emissive displays (such as organic light emitting diodes). A consumption rate limit is employed to determine a display luminance ceiling at which to drive the display. By employing the aspects disclosed herein, the display systems may achieve a longer lifetime.
US09743491B2

According to some embodiments, information about at least one user associated with a light fixture network, having a plurality of light fixtures each equipped with a wireless communication device, may be received. A bio-algorithm to be applied to the light fixture network may then be determined based on the information about the at least one user. An appropriate lighting parameter (e.g., a luminescence, a wattage, a color characteristic, and/or a wavelength) for at least one of the light fixtures in the light fixture network may be dynamically calculated, and it may be arranged for the at least one light fixture to operate in accordance with the dynamically calculated lighting parameter.
US09743487B2

A method of evaluating visibility of a plurality of sub-pixel structures in a panel having a plurality of red sub-pixels, green sub-pixels, and blue sub-pixels arranged in stripes, the method including establishing a target sub-pixel structure different from the stripe sub-pixel structure of the panel by combining the plurality of pixels, and evaluating a displayed image by using the target sub-pixel structure.
US09743476B2

A light source control device includes a constant-current circuit that collectively supplies a current to a plurality of LEDs, a current detection circuit that divides the plurality of LEDs into groups and detects a current amount of a current supplied to each of the groups, and a microcomputer that detects an open fault in the LEDs on the basis of a ratio of the current amount in each of the groups and controls a current supplied from the constant-current circuit to be reduced in a case where an open fault is detected in the LEDs.
US09743466B2

An LED replacement lamp (20) is described. An LED lighting assembly (40) comprising LED lighting elements is electrically connected to filament emulation circuits, connected to electrical contacts at each of two opposite ends (22a, 22b) of an elongated member. The filament emulation circuits (42) each comprise a first resistor circuit (46) and a second resistor circuit (48) connected to first and second electrical contacts (26a, 24a). The first and second resistor circuits (46, 48) are connected to the LED lighting assembly (40) at a common terminal (50). In order to provide an LED replacement lamp for safe operation even in cases of component failure, and if the replacement lamp (20) is used in incorrect wiring configurations, the first and second resistor circuits (46, 48) each comprise a series connection of at least two resistors, in such a way that in case of failure of one of the resistors, the total resistance of the filament emulation circuits (42) remains above a determined resistance value.
US09743464B2

A heat exchanger device for a heater a motor vehicle, having a housing with at least one fluid channel disposed therein, with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, an element generating an alternating magnetic field, and at least one, preferably metallic, flat heating element around which a fluid can flow on one or both sides, whereby at least one further flat heating element is provided, which is configured to divide the at least one fluid channel into subchannels. A heater with a heat exchanger device is also provided.
US09743461B1

A system and method for intelligently and dynamically deploying a plurality of mobile robotic machines capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically to propagate wireless network connectivity comprising, at least, a mechanical framework, sensors, actuators, communications capability, an energy source, a propulsion means, a control mechanism, and a payload. The payload may comprise electronic or mechanical communication equipment to propagate services such as wireless networking services, in for example, a first responder or emergency environment, or electronic and mechanical jamming services in a military or anti-terrorism environment.
US09743459B2

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques and apparatus for optimizing long term evolution (LTE) connected discontinuous reception (CDRX) for single radio hybrid tune away devices. Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes entering a DRX mode wherein the UE alternates between an activity period and an inactivity period while connected to a first radio access technology (RAT) network, tuning away from the first RAT network for a tune away period to monitor signals in a second RAT network, determining when an inactivity timer for the DRX mode expires or will expire, and adjusting a value of the inactivity timer based, at least in part, on the determination.
US09743457B2

A wireless communication apparatus attachable to an information processing apparatus. The wireless communication apparatus includes a wireless communication interface configured to perform wireless communication. The wireless communication apparatus also includes a processor configured to input, on detecting an error in the wireless communication interface, a signal for recognizing a temporary interruption to the information processing apparatus, and to initialize the wireless communication interface.
US09743448B2

A first radio station (1) requests or instructs a second radio station (2) to prepare for communication with a radio terminal (3) on a second cell (20) while a first radio connection on a first cell (10) with the radio terminal (3) is established. Further, the first radio station (1) instructs the radio terminal (3) or the second radio station (2) to establish a second radio connection on the second cell (20) with the radio terminal (3) while maintaining the radio connection on the first cell (10) with the radio terminal (3). It is thus for example possible to enable a single radio terminal to establish radio connections with cells of a plurality of radio stations, in order to achieve carrier aggregation of cells operated by different radio stations.
US09743444B2

A communication apparatus configured to perform communication by radio with another communication apparatus based on a setting by configuration information, including: a storage unit configured to hold default configuration information; a transmission unit configured to transmit default configuration information held in the storage unit to the other communication apparatus; a reception unit configured to receive default configuration information from the other communication apparatus; and a control unit configured to perform setting for performing communication by radio with the other communication apparatus by the default configuration information.
US09743443B2

The present inventions, in one aspect, are directed to systems and circuitry for and/or methods of establishing communication having one or more pairing facilitator-intermediary devices (for example, a network connected server) to enable or facilitate pairing and/or registering at least two devices (e.g., (i) a portable biometric monitoring device and (ii) a smartphone, laptop and/or tablet) to, for example, recognize, interact and/or enable interoperability between such devices. The pairing facilitator-intermediary device may responsively communicates information to one or more of the devices (to be paired or registered) which, in response, enable or facilitate such devices to pair or register. The present inventions may be advantageous where one or both of the devices to be paired or registered is/are not configured (e.g., include a user interface or certain communication circuitry that is configured or includes functionality) to pair devices without use of a facilitator-intermediary device.
US09743437B2

A mobile station (MS) that sends a request message for establishing only one PDN connection which provides connectivity to a PDN associated with an APN, the PDN connection being used only for a communication between an external gateway device (EGD) and a plurality of terminal devices which include said at least one terminal device. The MS receives the APN, an EPS bearer ID, and an address block, the address block being allocated by the EGD to the PDN connection, and the EPS bearer ID being allocated to the PDN connection. The MS allocates an IPv6 prefix based on the address block to the at least one terminal device, and transfers, based on the EPS bearer ID, user data as a router from the at least one terminal device to the PDN associated with the APN via the PDN connection, wherein the user data being transferred from the terminal devices using an IP address configured based on the assigned IPv6 prefix.
US09743432B2

Uplink waveforms for operating long term evolution (LTE) in an unlicensed band (i.e., long term evolution-unlicensed (LTE-U) communication) are disclosed. Carrier aggregation (CA) and standalone (SA) are disclosed. LTE on the licensed channel may provide both control and data, LTE on the unlicensed channel may provide data. Managing variable transmission time interval (TTI) continuous transmission is disclosed for transmission over multiple subframes of an unlicensed carrier in LTE-U. Listen-before-talk (LBT) requirements of unlicensed carriers provide for additional channel occupancy constraints when scheduling resources for multiple UEs for variable TTI continuous uplink transmissions over multiple subframes. A joint control channel is disclosed that provides control information for all of the potentially available subframes to be scheduled for the uplink transmissions. In addition to management of the variable TTI continuous transmissions, adjustments to uplink signal parameters are also disclosed that address the constraints due to the LBT requirements of unlicensed carriers.
US09743431B2

A wireless device transmits a random access preamble (RAP) on a first cell of a first cell group. If a configured transmission of an uplink transport block (UTB) or an uplink control information (UCI) on a second cell of a second cell group overlaps in time with transmission of the RAP, the wireless device adjusts transmission power of at least one of the UTB or the UCI. If a configured transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) on a third cell overlaps in time with transmission of the preamble, the wireless device drops the configured SRS transmission if a calculated total transmission power exceeds a first value.
US09743430B2

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method, an apparatus, a wireless network node, a user equipment and a computer program product for random access in a wireless network. According to the method, a RoT level may be selected from a plurality of RoT levels according to a predetermined policy, and a time period with the selected RoT level may be determined for initiating a random access request.
US09743429B2

A source node in a multihop network determines whether to transmit in a channel based on whether the channel is occupied by a packet transmission with a large number of relays; whether the source node is in the data tones back-off zone; and the source node is in the busy tone back-off zone.
US09743426B2

In one example embodiment, a base station includes a processor configured to determine a window size indicating for how long a random access response transmission by the base station is to be searched and monitored. The base station further includes a transceiver connected to the processor and configured to transmit, over a downlink control channel, downlink control information including the determined window size.
US09743403B2

Methods and devices are provided for communicating data in a wireless channel. In one example, a method includes adapting the transmission time interval (TTI) length of transport container for transmitting data in accordance with a criteria. The criteria may include (but is not limited to) a latency requirement of the data, a buffer size associated with the data, a mobility characteristic of a device that will receive the data. The TTI lengths may be manipulated for a variety of reasons, such as for reducing overhead, satisfy quality of service (QoS) requirements, maximize network throughput, etc. In some embodiments, TTIs having different TTI lengths may be carried in a common radio frame. In other embodiments, the wireless channel may partitioned into multiple bands each of which carrying (exclusively or otherwise) TTIs having a certain TTI length.
US09743402B2

A system is provided that includes a control panel having first and second wireless transceivers, a beacon processor of the control panel that transmits a beacon through the first wireless transceiver, wherein the beacon defines a repeating superframe having a first time period and a second time period, a plurality of wireless devices that exchange messages with the control panel within a respective TDMA slots of the repeating superframe, and an access processor within the control panel that dynamically adjusts relative sizes of the first and second time periods to reduce or exclude WiFi access by portable user devices based upon a status of the plurality of wireless devicess wherein use of the second time period is polymorphic under IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15A protocols, and wherein relative priorities of the first and second time periods are inverted during transmissions between the control panel and other devices of the control panel.
US09743394B2

A method of a user equipment for performing TDD (Time Division Duplex) operation in a wireless communication system is discussed. The method according to one embodiment includes receiving RRC (radio resource control) signaling indicating whether or not a TDD subframe is being reconfigured; monitoring a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Chanel) related with reconfiguring the TDD subframe, if the RRC signaling indicates the TDD subframe is being reconfigured; and performing a TDD operation based on the PDCCH for the reconfiguring the TDD subframe, depending on whether a TDD uplink-downlink configuration indicates the TDD subframe is configured as a special subframe or not.
US09743393B2

Devices and techniques for dynamic patterned resource allocation in a wireless network are described herein. Components of a wireless station may obtain a set of dynamic patterns, where members of the set define a sequence of resource units for the wireless network. The components may receive a data unit from an access point of the wireless network, the data unit including a group designation for the wireless station. The components may select one of the set of dynamic patterns based on the received group designation and communicate on the wireless network using resource units specified by the selected dynamic pattern.
US09743392B2

A User Equipment (UE) can receive Downlink Control Information (DCI) from a base station. The DCI can contain a Channel State Information (CSI) request on a physical control channel in a subframe of a first serving cell. The CSI request can direct the UE to perform CSI measurements for at least one aperiodic Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) of a second serving cell. The UE can ascertain CSI-RS resources in a subframe of the second serving cell based on at least the DCI contents. The UE can determine CSI based on the ascertained CSI-RS resources. The UE can send the determined CSI to the base station.
US09743377B2

A method, a system and an apparatus for acquiring cell location information are disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The method includes the following steps: a serving mobile location center acquires the cell antenna location information from a network-side device; the serving mobile location center implements the positioning operation according to the cell antenna location information. In the present invention, the cell antenna location information comprising the information of the longitude, the latitude and the altitude and the like is pre-stored in the evolved Node B (eNodeB), Mobility Management Entity (MME) or Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), then according to network planning, the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) beforehand completes the configuration operation of the antenna location information of all the cell in the serving region, thereby further the various kinds of the current positioning technical schemes are improved.
US09743371B2

A control apparatus comprises: a synchronization unit that transmits control information set in a communication node to another control apparatus that operates in synchronization with the control apparatus and synchronizes with the another control apparatus; and a control information creation unit that creates control information to be set in a communication node to be controlled. If the created control information is first control information set temporarily in accordance with a notification from the communication node to be controlled, the control apparatus sets the first control information in the communication node without waiting to synchronize with the another control apparatus. If control information to be set is second control information other than the first control information, the control apparatus sets the second control information in the communication node after synchronizing with the another control apparatus.
US09743365B2

A power headroom calculation method and apparatus of a User Equipment (UE) are provided for a primary cell Power Headroom (PH) calculation in a Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) mobile communication system. The method includes determining whether an activated serving cell includes uplink data and/or uplink control signal to be transmitted, and determining PH of the activated serving cell according to whether the activated serving cell has the uplink data and/or uplink control signal.
US09743363B2

Techniques are described for contention-based wireless communications channel access that may improve the likelihood that a contention procedure will pass and allow a device to transmit an uplink or downlink transmission using the contention-based channel. Various disclosed techniques may determine a transmit power for a subsequent transmission based on channel characteristics during one or more clear channel assessment (CCA) time durations. The transmit power may be selected to provide a CCA threshold that may increase the likelihood that a device will win contention for the channel during the CCA procedure.
US09743362B1

A joint transmission power control and a transponder communication system, transmitting a plurality of uplink signals to a bent pipe transponder, combining the plurality of uplink signals to generate a combined downlink signal, transmitting the combined downlink signal to a ground hub, performing an estimate and pre-qualification process by the plurality of down link signals to determine a selected waveform, perform the join transmission power control of uplink margins are satisfied.
US09743358B2

A method and apparatus capable of minimizing power consumption occurring when a mobile device is changed from a sleep state to a wake-up state by partially controlling on/off of a display unit and partial booting control of a system function are provided. The method includes detecting a change of the mobile device from a sleep state to a wake-up state, turning on a display unit of the mobile device such that a first section of the mobile device displays an operating region, the first section including one or more portions of the display unit and less than an entire screen of the display unit and waiting for a system function registered in the operating region.
US09743351B2

Systems, methods, and devices for wireless communication are disclosed. In one implementation an apparatus for wireless communications is provided. The apparatus includes a receiver configured to receive a wake-up message that is a portion of a wake-up sequence. In certain implementations, the apparatus further includes a processing system operably coupled to the receiver and configured to wake the receiver for a period of time. The period of time can exceed at least a transmission period of the wake-up sequence plus a transmission period of the wake-up message. The apparatus can further include a transmitter configured to transmit a message acknowledging receipt of the wake-up message.
US09743350B2

There is provided a communications network comprising a network node and a resource limited node. The network node comprises a controller operable to estimate an optimal duty cycle for various operating modes of the resource limited node to minimize the overall resource consumption of the resource limited node; and a transmitter operable to notify parameters of the estimated optimal duty cycle to the resource limited node.
US09743344B2

Providing a mobile terminal with system information which enables the terminal to access one of the cells of a cellular telecommunications system includes transmitting from the telecommunications system to all terminals within the cell, including the terminal, a system information indicator that makes available to the terminal system information to provide access to the system. The system information indicator is transmitted on the broadcast channel (BCH). The system information indicator may be a sub-set of the system information conventionally transmitted on the BCH but which is sufficient to allow the mobile terminal to access the network and obtain in the downlink further system information. Alternatively, the information transmitted in the BCH may be a profile index value which directs the mobile terminal to retrieve from a store of the mobile terminal system information pre-stored on the mobile terminal.
US09743343B2

According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method for receiving information is provided, the method comprising determining whether there is a conflict between the reception of first information by a communication terminal from a first base station and the reception of second information by the communication terminal and depending on the result of the determination, controlling a receiver of the communication terminal to receive the first information from a second base station.
US09743340B2

The invention is a method and system for mobile communications. A mobile communicator communicates with a network routing center. The communicator monitors each of two or more wireless carriers for a service characteristic. The communicator selects, based on the monitored service characteristic, one of the two or more wireless carriers. The mobile communicator can then communicate with the network routing center using the selected wireless carrier.
US09743339B2

Various embodiments implement a set of low overhead mechanisms to enable on-demand routing protocols. The on-demand protocols use route accumulation during discovery floods to discover when better paths have become available even if the paths that the protocols are currently using are not broken. In other words, the mechanisms (or “Route Optimizations”) enable improvements to routes even while functioning routes are available. The Route Optimization mechanisms enable nodes in the network that passively learn routing information to notify nodes that need to know of changes in the routing information when the changes are important. Learning routing information on up-to-date paths and determining nodes that would benefit from the information is performed, in some embodiments, without any explicit control packet exchange. One of the Route Optimization mechanisms includes communicating information describing an improved route from a node where the improved route diverges from a less nearly optimal route.
US09743338B2

The present invention discloses methods and systems for transmitting data packets through a plurality of connections and through a gateway at a network node. The network node receives network performance observation report (NPOR) from the gateway. Based on the NPOR, the network node determines at least one of the plurality of wide area network (WAN) interfaces of the gateway for transmitting data packets. The network node then creates and transmits an instruction to the gateway. When the network node transmits the data packets to the gateway, the network node also creates and transmits an instruction to the gateway to determine the WAN interface(s) of the gateway for transmitting the packets.
US09743335B2

A mobile station that communicates with a base station includes, a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between the mobile station and the base station, a reception power measurement unit that measures a reception power of a reception signal received from the base station; a rain state determination unit that determines a transmission-path quality on the basis of a reception-power theoretical value corresponding to the distance and a reception power measured by the reception power measurement unit and selects a communication parameter on the basis of the determined transmission-path quality, and a modulation unit that generates a transmission signal to be transmitted to the base station by using a communication parameter.
US09743329B2

Embodiments of the present invention provide a base station handover method, an X2 interface setup method, a base station, a user equipment and a system. The method includes sending a handover request instruction to a second base station. The handover request instruction includes information of a first coordinated multi-point set of a user equipment. A handover request response is received from the second base station. The handover request response includes information of a second coordinated multi-point set allocated by the second base station for the user equipment. The information of the second coordinated multi-point set sent to the user equipment.
US09743327B2

Method in and network node (700; 140a, 111a, 131a, 110a-c, 130a-c) of a wireless communications system (100a-c), for managing radio traffic load in a first cell (115a-c). The first cell (115a-c) is served by a first base station (110a-c) and is at least partly is covered by a second cell (135a-c) served by the first base station (110b) or a second base station (130a,c). Information is obtained (201, 601) about a future load of radio traffic in the first cell (115a-c). The future load is associated with a first group of wireless devices (120a-d) and generation of the future load is in response to an occurrence of a future event. It is then provided (202, 602), based on the obtained information, a change of serving cell so that at least one wireless device (121a) of a second group of one or more wireless devices (121a-b) being served in the first cell (115a-c) by the first base station (110a-c), instead become served in the second cell (135a-c).
US09743326B2

Systems, methods, and instrumentalities to select a distributed gateway (D-GW). A WTRU may be configured to detect a request for an address associated with content. The WTRU may receive an address list associated with the content. The WTRU may select a distributed gateway (D-GW). If an address of a currently connected D-GW is included in the address list, the WTRU may select the currently connected D-GW. If the address of the currently connected D-GW is not in the address list and an address of an anchor D-GW that is not currently connected is included in the address list, the WTRU may select the anchor D-GW that is not currently connected. If the address of the currently connected D-GW is not in the address list and the address of the anchor D-GW that is not currently connected is not in the address list, the WTRU may select the currently connected D-GW.
US09743324B2

Some embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE) configured to modify at least one signal strength threshold value to provide improved operation for link budget limited devices when performing cell selection or reselection. In some embodiments, the UE may receive a threshold value indicating a minimum received signal strength for camping on a cell. The UE may determine an offset value based on operating parameters of the UE, and may determine a modified threshold value by applying the offset value to the received threshold value. The UE may then compare the modified threshold value to a signal strength measurement of a signal received from a base station associated with the cell. The UE may camp on the cell if the modified threshold value is less than the signal strength measurement, and not camp on the cell if the modified threshold value is greater than the signal strength measurement.
US09743323B2

A method and apparatus for performing cell reselection in a wireless communication system is provided. A user equipment (UE) in an idle mode camps on a second cell, and receives reselection information for dual connectivity, which indicates cell reselection to a first cell or cell reselection to a frequency of the first cell, from the second cell. If the UE supports dual connectivity, the UE performs cell reselection based on the received reselection information for dual connectivity.
US09743322B2

A method and an apparatus for processing a handover of a terminal in a mobile communication system are provided. The method includes determining, by a source evolved-NodeB (eNB), a handover of a User Equipment (UE) to a target eNB, obtaining information about content transmitted to the UE from a source cache server connected to the source eNB over a backhaul network, and transmitting the content information to a target eNB.
US09743319B2

A communication device for handling network configurations comprises a storage unit for storing instructions and a processing means coupled to the storage unit. The processing means is configured to execute the instructions stored in the storage unit. The instructions comprise receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message indicating a reconfiguration of at least one of a radio link control (RLC) configuration, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) configuration and a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration; performing the reconfiguration according to the RRC message, when at least one of following conditions is satisfied: the RRC message changes a secondary cell group (SCG) of the communication device, and the RRC message reconfigures a radio bearer from a SCG bearer to a MCG bearer; and stopping performing the reconfiguration, when none of the conditions is satisfied.
US09743317B2

The present invention relates to a method for requesting the selection of a master management apparatus through a server by a management apparatus enabling television white space (TVWS) apparatuses to coexist in a TVWS. The method includes the steps of: determining whether the trigger condition of the process for selecting the master management apparatus is satisfied; and requesting the selection of the master management apparatus by the server, wherein the master management apparatus is configured to determine a channel selection in the TVWS for terminals connected to the master management apparatus and a slave management apparatus, and the trigger condition can be based on the load balance parameters or geographical coverage parameters of the management apparatus.
US09743303B2

Logic of an access point may transmit a null data packet for beamforming training and transmit a beamforming report poll to the first station on a user list before receiving a transmission from the first station on the user list. Logic may wait for a timeout period to determine whether the first station on the user list will respond to the null data packet prior to transmitting the beamforming report poll. Logic may receive from the first station an indication that the first station is a slow beamforming report responder. Logic may reorder the user list to position a fast beamforming responder as the first station. And logic of the station may determine that the station is unable to complete and transmit the report so the logic may wait to transmit the beamforming report in response to a subsequent beamforming report poll frame.
US09743302B2

An apparatus determining network health in a network comprising base station transceivers in bidirectional communication with radios, each having an identifier and transmitting a signal including the identifier. First and second devices each receive the transmitted signal during normal over-the-air operation of the radio, measure signal parameters, and determine operating characteristics of the radio from the parameters. Each of the devices produce a responsive received signal when the first operating characteristics determined by the first device indicate a healthy first radio and the second device produces a responsive received signal when the second operating characteristics determined by the second device indicate a healthy first radio. The devices determine respective signal parameters of the respective received signals. The received signals are time aligned to insure that the devices have determined the respective signal parameters of the same transmitted signal. Network health is indicated by the first and second operating characteristics.
US09743301B1

Systems and methods discussed herein provide for real-time and near-real-time analysis of performance for cell towers in order to determine when a cell tower is underperforming in order to perform corrective action before underperformance becomes an increased maintenance and/or service concern. Data is received at periodic intervals from a plurality of cell towers and a plurality of scripts are executed on the data as it is received in order to analyze key performance indicators associated with each tower. The received data is analyzed using real-time data and in some cases by applying the real-time data to a previously developed model to determine if a cell tower is underperforming based on at least one key performance indicator associated with that cell tower.
US09743299B2

As disclosed herein, a method, executed by a computer, for analyzing a performance metric includes distributing link connection information for a network to each node in the network, pairing each node with another node in the network to provide paired nodes, testing a performance metric for the paired nodes, and generating a performance report for the network. The method may further include receiving link connection information for the network. The method may further include constructing a connectivity graph based on the received link connection information. The method can be used to test link performance within non-homogeneous networks. A computer system product and a computer program product corresponding to the method are also disclosed herein.
US09743294B1

In a general aspect, motion is detected by processing wireless signals using stored modem parameters. In some aspects, stored modem parameters are accessed from a memory of a wireless sensor device. The stored modem parameters represent a radio state previously used by a radio subsystem of the wireless sensor device in processing a first motion detection signal. The stored modem parameters are applied to the radio subsystem of the wireless sensor device, a second motion detection signal is processed at the wireless sensor device using the radio state represented by the stored modem parameters, and motion is detected based on the first and second motion detection signals.
US09743289B2

Systems and methods for prioritizing inter-frequency measurement are disclosed herein. User equipment (UE) may be configured to communicatively couple to an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (eNB). The eNB may determine a priority for performing each of a plurality of inter-frequency measurement. The eNB may indicate the priority of each measurement to the UE. The eNB may transmit lists of higher priority and lower priority measurement objects. The lists may be separate and/or concatenated. Alternatively, or in addition, each measurement object may include a priority indicator, or the priority may be determined from the type of measurement object. In some embodiments, the eNB may provide indications of normal priority and low priority measurement objects and/or indications of normal priority and high priority measurement objects. The UE may perform measurements according to the indicated priorities.
US09743288B2

A method and apparatus to mitigate radio frequency interference by a broadband mobile device by detecting, at the broadband mobile device, a geographically or physically proximate narrowband uplink transmission, wherein the narrowband uplink transmission is in close enough spectral proximity to at least one bearer channel of the broadband mobile device to result in interference on the narrowband reception when the broadband mobile device is transmitting and a narrowband mobile device is receiving, determining, based on the detected narrowband uplink transmission, a corresponding narrowband downlink frequency, monitoring the determined narrowband downlink frequency, detecting a narrowband downlink transmission at the monitored narrowband downlink frequency, and in response to detecting the narrowband downlink transmission at the monitored narrowband downlink frequency, modifying a broadband uplink transmission to ensure the broadband uplink transmission does not interfere with narrowband downlink reception.
US09743274B2

A method implemented in a user equipment (UE) includes obtaining an indication for changing a first source address to a second source address, where the first source address is used in a device to device communication session. The method further includes obtaining the second source address. The method further includes generating a message including the second source address. The method also includes transmitting the generated message using the first source address.
US09743269B1

In general, techniques are described for providing a continuous feedback system that dynamically updates data collection criteria and subscriber policies based on aggregated subscriber-specific and network usage data. For example, a method includes applying one or more subscriber specific policy and charging control (PCC) rules to network traffic to collect network traffic data for a plurality of subscribers, aggregating the network traffic data, and determining, based on the aggregated traffic data, whether subscriber independent data collection criteria need to be updated. The method may also include, responsive to determining that the data collection criteria need to be updated: updating the data collection criteria, translating the updated data collection criteria from updated subscriber independent data collection criteria into updated subscriber specific PCC rules, and applying the updated subscriber specific policy and charging control rules to additional network traffic to collect additional network traffic data.
US09743262B1

An auxiliary content delivery gateway. The gateway comprises a processor, a non-transitory memory, and an application stored in the non-transitory memory. When executed by the processor the application creates auxiliary content request messages comprising a collaborator mediation indication based on requests for auxiliary content received from a plurality of mobile communication devices and transmits the auxiliary content request messages to a plurality of auxiliary content sourcing channels, whereby the auxiliary content sourcing channels discern that the auxiliary content request messages do not constitute click-fraud based on the collaborator mediation indication in the auxiliary content request messages. The application further receives auxiliary content response messages from the plurality of auxiliary content sourcing channels and transmits selected auxiliary content to the mobile communication devices based on the auxiliary content response messages.
US09743246B2

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing resources of a mobile device based on a state of the device. In certain embodiments, systems and methods disclosed herein may adjust utilization of one more device systems and/or sensors based on a state of a device to better utilize device power or other resources. In further embodiments, systems and methods disclosed herein may utilize one or more power-efficient systems to determine when a device is in a transitory state and to schedule precise location determination events at times when the device is more likely to be located at a point of interest.
US09743245B1

One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus comprises a plurality of antennas and a processing system. The processing system is configured to transmit a first signal to and receive a second signal from an wireless node via each of the antennas. The processing system is further configured to determine a plurality of distances between each of the plurality of antennas and the wireless node based on the signals. The processing system is also configured to identify a position of each of the antennas in relation to the wireless node based on a known distance between two antennas of the plurality of antennas in a pair and the determined distances. The processing system is further also configured to command a movement of the apparatus based, at least in part, on the identified positions.
US09743241B2

Systems, apparatus and methods for estimating a location of a mobile device are presented. Before computing a location estimate, the mobile device groups a plurality of access points into two or more categories (for example, a first list of access points having a first characteristic and a second list of access points having a second characteristic). Round-trip time (RTT) measurements are computed for access points in the first list. A Short Interframe Space (SIFS) value may be determined for each access point in the first list or generally SIFT representing the first list as a whole. The RTT measurements are compensated with the appropriate SIFS value. The mobile device then computes its location or position fix estimate using the compensated RTT values while excluding less accurate RTT values from other access points. As a result, the location estimate eliminates adverse influent from some access points.
US09743226B2

A method for short-range wireless communication for an electronic device is provided, which comprises establishing a first connection to a first electronic device; transmitting audio data on a call received by the electronic device to the first electronic device based on the first connection; and receiving audio data on a call received by the first electronic device based on a second connection in a state where the electronic device and the first electronic device are connected through the first connection.
US09743225B2

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and devices for forming a communication link using Bluetooth. An embodiment of the present invention provides a method and device, including sending a first message for Bluetooth pairing to a second device, receiving a second message for the Bluetooth pairing from the second device based on the first message, and forming the communication link based on the received message. The first message comprises an identifier (ID) of the first device, and the second message comprises information related to the communication link.
US09743220B2

Techniques for employing channel inhibition (CI) with adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) in connection with Bluetooth (BT) are discussed. One example system employing such techniques comprises a BT master component operating on a plurality of channels via AFH; and a processor configured to: assign, based on a set of criteria, a first (e.g., ‘UNUSED’) status and a priority level to one or more channels, and a second (e.g., ‘USED’) status to each other channel; determine whether a total number of channels set as ‘USED’ is less than a minimum number of required channels; and in response to a determination that the total number of channels set as ‘USED’ is less than the minimum number, repeatedly assign a ‘USED’ status to a channel having a lowest priority level among channels with the ‘UNUSED’ status, until the total number of channels set as ‘USED’ equals the minimum number.
US09743218B2

Apparatus has at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable code stored therein which when executed controls the at least one processor: to respond to receiving a proxy connection initiation request message from a source, the proxy connection initiation request message being a request to provide a proxy and including an address of a target and an address of the source, by causing sending of an advertising message addressed to the target; and to respond subsequently to receiving a connection request message from the target by causing sending of a proxy setup request message addressed to the source.
US09743213B2

A multichannel acoustic system (MAS) comprises an arrangement of microphones, loudspeakers, and filters along with a multichannel acoustic processor (MAP) and other components to together provide and enhance the auditory experience of persons in a shared acoustic space such as, for example, the driver and other passengers in an automobile. Driver-specific features such as navigation and auditory feedback cues are described, as individual auditory customizations and collective communications both within the shared acoustic space as well as with other individuals not located in the space via enhanced conference call facilities.
US09743206B2

A minimum level for a stimulation signal used in room correction processing is determined by measuring background noise. The stimulation signal is repeated a number of times and resulting responses are recorded. The recording responses are averaged, and the average is subtracted from each recorded response to obtain the background noise present in each recorded response. A stimulation signal to background noise ratio is computed from the stimulation signal and background noise and compared to an SNR threshold to determine if the stimulation signal level is sufficient to support the room correction processing. The background noise may be AC hum introduced electronically into the response signal, acoustic noise introduced by AC ventilation systems or noise emitting devices (refrigerators, etc), and it may be structure-born noise introduced by shaking the microphone, e.g. a bus drives by, shaking the floor the microphone is standing on.
US09743203B2

A method of detecting defects in a high impedance network of a MEMs microphone sensor interface circuit. The method includes adding a high-voltage reset switch to a high-voltage high impedance network, closing the high-voltage reset switch during a start-up phase of the MEMs microphone sensor interface circuit, simultaneously closing a low-voltage reset switch of a low-voltage high impedance network during the start-up phase, simultaneously opening the high-voltage reset switch and the low-voltage reset switch at the end of the start-up phase, and detecting a defect in the high-voltage high impedance network or the low-voltage high impedance network immediately after opening the high-voltage reset switch and the low-voltage reset switch.
US09743197B2

The present disclosure relates to a method for reducing a listener's task-irrelevant auditory perception, the method comprising providing a measuring device or system configured for measuring the listener's alpha, beta gamma and/or theta activity and providing a generation device or system configured for generating an alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity boosting signal that, when provided to the listener will increase the listener's ongoing alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity. The listener's alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity is measured and if the measured alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity is below a predefined threshold, the listener's ongoing alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity is increased by the provision of the alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity boosting signal to the listener. This results in the listener's ongoing alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity being increased, resulting in facilitating reduction of task-irrelevant auditory perception, such as the auditory perception of noise or tinnitus, and thereby also increasing the listener's ability to understand speech under adverse listening conditions. The present disclosure further suggests using the listener's measured alpha, beta, gamma and/or theta activity to judge if the listener is ready to understand speech, and if this is not the case to delay a speech signal until a sufficiently high activity is present.
US09743194B1

Embodiments of a speaker spider for a loudspeaker or transducer are provided. The speaker spider may include a textile material formed of a woven pattern with a plurality of concentric corrugations. The weaving pattern and/or dimensions of the speaker spider may substantially homogenize and/or reduce stress on the speaker spiders during operation of the speaker. The weaving pattern of the textile material of the speaker spider may include a pattern formed of a plurality of substantially concentric circular shapes, and/or a pattern including threads tangential to the central opening.
US09743192B2

A speaker includes a first vibrator, a first driving unit, a second vibrator, a second driving unit and a supporting unit. The first vibrator is connected to a diaphragm, which vibrates, thereby emitting sound. The first driving unit vibrates the first vibrator, thereby vibrating the diaphragm. The second vibrator is connected to a weight member. The second driving unit is connected to the opposite side of the first driving unit to the first vibrator, and vibrates the second vibrator on the same vibration axis as the vibration axis of the first vibrator, thereby vibrating the weight member. The supporting unit supports a coupled body, configured by joining the second vibrator and the weight member, at two or more portions in the direction of the vibration axis.
US09743190B2

An acoustic diaphragm made at least in part from an expanded material. The expanded material includes one or more of cellulose, synthetic fibers and glass fibers. The expanded material has more than about 55% by volume voids.
US09743182B2

A system may include control circuitry for detecting a plosive event associated with a microphone transducer and in response to the plosive event, causing restoration of acoustic sense operation of the microphone transducer and a processing circuit associated with the microphone transducer. A system for configuring a filter having at least two frequency response configurations to achieve an effective frequency response configuration intermediate to the at least two frequency response configurations may include control circuitry for rapidly switching between the at least two frequency response configurations such that a weighted average frequency response of the filter corresponds to the effective frequency response configuration.
US09743181B2

A loudspeaker system includes a driver in an enclosure that provides a back volume which is sealed with respect to acoustic pressure waves produced by a driver diaphragm. An external microphone is located outside the back volume. An internal microphone located inside the back volume. A computational unit is coupled to the external microphone and the internal microphone and configured to determine a transfer function for an equalization filter. The transfer function determination is responsive to the external microphone and the internal microphone. A digital signal processor is coupled to a signal source, the driver, and the computational unit. The digital signal processor is configured to implement the equalization filter as determined by the computational unit, create a filtered audio signal from the signal source, and provide the filtered audio signal to the driver.
US09743170B2

Acoustic noise reduction (ANR) headphones described herein have current detection circuitry that is used to detect current consumed by ANR circuitry as a result of pressure changes due to a tapping of a headphone. Tapping may be performed to change an audio feature or operating mode. The current detection circuitry senses a characteristic of the current that can be used to determine an occurrence of a tap event. Examples of a characteristic include an amplitude, waveform or duration of the sensed current. Advantageously, the ANR headphones avoid the need for control buttons to initiate the desired changes to the audio feature or operating mode. Error detection circuitry included in the ANR headphones can distinguish between a valid tap events and an occurrence of a different type of event that may otherwise be improperly be interpreted as a tap event.
US09743164B2

A displaceable speaker assembly for a vehicle includes a housing, a speaker array rotatably coupled to the housing and including a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers (e.g., twiddlers), a drive unit coupled to the housing, and a lever assembly coupling the drive unit to the speaker array. The drive unit is operable to drive motion of the lever assembly, which, in turn, drives rotation of the speaker array relative to the housing.
US09743149B2

A TV display presents a grid of thumbnails representing content available for display from the Internet and next to the grid, a column of thumbnails representing content that conforms to a user-entered query. The conforming content is located by searching the Internet, from an EPG, from local TV storage, and from the TV's home network. Search result thumbnails are prioritized according to user navigation history.
US09743142B2

Apparatus and methods for enhanced tuner efficiency, wherein tuner resources function to permit multiple content streams to be demultiplexed and thus made available for subsequent display. In one embodiment, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) comprises a resource manager on which a guide application is run to control the tuning of an available tuner resource. This approach obviate reliance on OCAP or other proprietary vendor architecture applications. In another variant, the CPE is adapted to receive RF source data from a wideband tuner, or multiple tuners. The CPE may also be utilized in conjunction with other system configurations designed to enforce a security or other policies within a premises network. The CPE may also employ ‘look ahead’ capabilities to anticipate a QAM stream content before it is received.
US09743141B2

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for a viewing condition probability calculator. The viewing condition probability calculator enumerates a list of all viewing combinations for a tuning event, for a number of people N at a location. A probability for each of the viewing combinations is determined, using an independent probability of viewing for each of the N people at the location. A probability of a viewing condition is determined using the probabilities of a first set of viewing combinations that have a first common characteristic.
US09743123B2

There is provided a video playback system comprising a plurality of video playback channels, a memory, and a processor configured to transmit a first video content over a first playback channel, store a first video transmission being transmitted over the first video playback channel in the memory, start transmitting, at a second time, the first video transmission from the memory over a second playback channel, receive an update segment for replacing a first segment of the first video transmission and a location of the first segment in the first video transmission, detect the location of the first segment in the first video transmission, transmit the update segment in place of the first segment over the second video playback channel, revert to transmitting the first video transmission over the second video playback channel, and store a second video transmission being transmitted over the second video playback channel in the memory.
US09743121B2

Methods and apparatus to conditionally authorize content delivery at broadcast headends in pay delivery systems are disclosed. An example method includes generating a broadcast signal, receiving an authorization request to download a program from a receiver station, determining an authorization for the download and sending the authorization to a point-to-point content delivery server.
US09743119B2

Disclosed herein are video display systems and methods. An exemplary video display system includes a computerized media processing unit configured to receive content including video, audio, graphics and internet content from a plurality of content source devices providing such content and configured to output a blended video signal receivable by a display device; and wherein the video signal output by the media processing unit comprises a plurality of arbitrarily shaped video containers all displayable on the display device simultaneously, each of the plurality of video containers capable of being positioned and displaying video content independent of the video content of the other video containers; wherein the video content displayed in one container may comprise a GUI for control of size and position of each of the other of the plurality of video containers in response to user commands.
US09743117B2

A method for encoding a series of symbols using several models of the arithmetic or range coder type and including steps where each model is associated with a belonging criterion, the series is run through in order to determine, for each symbol, the encoding model to which each symbol belongs, according to the criteria; then a probability of occurrence of each symbol in the corresponding model is determined; then the series is run through by encoding each symbol successively; and a file is formed from the code thus obtained.
US09743112B2

A method and apparatus for entropy coding and decoding a transformation block are provided. The method of entropy coding a transformation block includes:determining, according to a certain scan order, a location of a last significant transformation coefficient having a non-zero value from among transformation coefficients included in a transformation block having a certain size; and coding information about the determined location of the last significant transformation coefficient by using a horizontal axis direction location of the last significant transformation coefficient and a vertical axis direction location in the transformation block of the last significant transformation coefficient.
US09743107B2

A method, an apparatus and a system for a rapid motion search applied in template matching are disclosed. The method includes: selecting motion vectors of blocks related to a current block as candidate motion vectors of the current block; after the uniqueness of a series of the candidate motion vectors of the current block is maintained, calculating the cost function of the candidate motion vectors in a corresponding template area of a reference frame, and obtaining the motion vector of the best matching template from the candidate motion vectors of the current block. In the embodiments of the present invention, there is no need to determine a large search range and no need to determine the corresponding search path template, and it is only necessary to perform a search in a smaller range.
US09743105B2

The invention relates to a method for encoding, a method for decoding, an apparatus, computer program products, an encoder and a decoder for video information. The motion vector for a block in a video image is predicted from a set of motion vector prediction candidates determined based on previously-coded motion vectors. A motion vector prediction candidate is included in the set based on the location of the block associated with the first spatial motion vector prediction candidate and in comparison with motion vector prediction candidates already in the set.
US09743104B2

In inter prediction that is performed by partitioning a first block, which is obtained by partitioning each picture, into one or more second blocks, a spatial merge candidate generating unit derives a spatial merge candidate without referring to a block included in a first block that includes a second block. In case of a mode where a coding block is divided by a horizontal border into prediction blocks arranged vertically, the reference index derivation unit of a time merge candidate sets reference index information of a time merge candidate to a value of reference index information of an encoded prediction block adjacent to a left edge of a prediction block subject to encoding.
US09743103B1

Encoding and decoding using advanced motion estimation may include encoding a video stream including a plurality of frames by generating a first encoded frame based on a first frame from the plurality of frames, generating a first reconstructed frame based on the first encoded frame, generating reference frame index information based on the first reconstructed frame, generating an encoded reference frame based on the first reconstructed frame, generating a second reconstructed reference frame based on the encoded reference frame, and generating a second encoded frame based on a second frame from the plurality of frames, the reference frame index information, and the second reconstructed reference frame.
US09743098B2

Methods of encoding and decoding for video data are described in which multi-level significance maps are used in the encoding and decoding processes. The significant-coefficient flags that form the significance map are grouped into contiguous groups, and a significant-coefficient-group flag signifies for each group whether that group contains no non-zero significant-coefficient flags. A multi-level scan order may be used in which significant-coefficient flags are scanned group-by-group. The group scan order specifies the order in which the groups are processed, and the scan order specifies the order in which individual significant-coefficient flags within the group are processed. The bitstream may interleave the significant-coefficient-group flags and their corresponding significant-coefficient flags, if any.
US09743095B2

A video compression system is disclosed that is optimized to take advantage of the types of redundancies typically occurring on computer screens and the types of video loss acceptable to real time interactive computer users. It automatically adapts to a wide variety of changing network bandwidth conditions and can accommodate any video resolution and an unlimited number of colors. The disclosed video compression encoder can be implemented with either hardware or software and it compresses the source video into a series of data packets that are a fixed length of 8 bits or more. Sequences of one or more of these packets create unique encoding “commands” that can be sent over any network and easily decoded (decompressed) with either software or hardware. The commands include 3 dimensional copying (horizontal, vertical and time) and unique efficiencies for screen segments that are comprised of only two colors (such as text). Embodiments are also disclosed that improve the video compression depending on the popularity of pixel colors.
US09743087B2

An image decoding method which can improve both image quality and coding efficiency is an image decoding method for decoding a coded stream which includes a plurality of processing units and a header for the processing units, the coded stream being generated by coding a moving picture, the processing units including at least one processing unit layered to be split into a plurality of smaller processing units, the image decoding method including specifying a hierarchical layer having a processing unit in which a parameter necessary for decoding is stored, by parsing hierarchy depth information stored in the header, and decoding the processing unit using the parameter stored in the processing unit located at the specified hierarchical layer.
US09743086B2

Provided is an image processing device including a selection section configured to select, from a plurality of transform units with different sizes, a transform unit used for inverse orthogonal transformation of image data to be decoded, a generation section configured to generate, from a first quantization matrix corresponding to a transform unit for a first size, a second quantization matrix corresponding to a transform unit for a second size from a first quantization matrix corresponding to a transform unit for a first size, and an inverse quantization section configured to inversely quantize transform coefficient data for the image data using the second quantization matrix generated by the generation section when the selection section selects the transform unit for the second size.
US09743082B2

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for encoding and decoding an image by skip encoding. The image-encoding method by skip encoding, which performs intra-prediction, comprises: performing a filtering operation on the signal which is reconstructed prior to an encoding object signal in an encoding object image; using the filtered reconstructed signal to generate a prediction signal for the encoding object signal; setting the generated prediction signal as a reconstruction signal for the encoding object signal; and not encoding the residual signal which can be generated on the basis of the difference between the encoding object signal and the prediction signal, thereby performing skip encoding on the encoding object signal.
US09743077B2

A mobile electronic device and a related method of processing video information are presented herein. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the method of processing video information captures video data with a source device, and determines that a segment of video content conveyed by the video data does not satisfy predetermined video quality criteria. In response to the determination, the method initiates corrective action to disregard the segment of video content.
US09743074B2

The shutter glasses for the display apparatus include a shutter-glasses communication unit which receives a first sync signal from the display apparatus displaying a three-dimensional (3D) image; and a shutter-glasses controller which generates an ON/OFF driving signal for a left-eye lens unit and a right-eye lens unit of the shutter glasses based on the first sync signal, the first sync signal including a pattern, based on which at least one sync pulse is periodically omitted in a second sync signal used in displaying the 3D image according to a frame driving frequency of the 3D image. The shutter-glasses controller generates an ON/OFF driving signal in sync with the first sync signal, so that the ON/OFF driving signal includes the sync pulse in a section corresponding to the omitted sync pulse of the second sync signal according to a time period of the first sync signal.
US09743068B2

Apparatus is provided to capture three-dimensional images of a subject's head. The apparatus comprises a plurality of stereographic digital cameras that are operable simultaneously and are disposed in a predetermined vertical planar relationship to each other. The plurality of stereographic digital cameras are positioned to capture a group of stereographic digital image pairs of a corresponding vertical hemispherical surface portion of the head of the subject when the subject is positioned in a predetermined location in front of the plurality of stereographic digital cameras. The apparatus further comprises a processing apparatus coupled to the plurality of stereographic digital cameras. The processing apparatus operates on the group of stereographic digital image pairs to generate a three-dimensional digital image file of at least a full vertical hemispheric portion of the head of the subject.
US09743062B2

A method of cropping a 3D content comprising at least a first view and a second view is disclosed that comprises: determining a first saliency map from the first view and a second saliency map from the second view; determining a final cropping window from the first and second saliency maps; and cropping the first view and the second view according to the final cropping window.
US09743061B2

Provided are a method and apparatus for decoding a multiview video and a method and apparatus for encoding a multiview video. The decoding method includes: receiving multiview image streams that configure the multiview video; obtaining, from a predetermined data unit header that includes information of a base-view picture included in a base-view image stream, picture order count (POC) information of the base-view picture; determining, using the POC information of the base-view picture, a POC of the base-view picture, based on an instantaneous decoding refresh (IDR) picture of a base-view; and determining, using the POC of the base-view picture, a POC of an additional-view picture that is included in a same access unit as the base-view picture and is transmitted.
US09743056B2

Embodiments of this disclosure disclose a method for processing a projection image, including: obtaining an image to be projected, with a first resolution; adjusting the resolution of the image to be projected, according to a second resolution supported by a projection display device, to obtain a first image with a third resolution, number of pixels in the row direction of an image with the third resolution is N times number of pixels in the row direction of an image with the second resolution, and number of pixels in the column direction of the image with the third resolution is M times number of pixels in the column direction of the image with the second resolution; dividing the first image into pixel blocks, integrating pixels in the pixel blocks, to obtain a second image and a third image; and projecting the second image and the third image alternately.
US09743053B2

A light source apparatus according to an embodiment of the present technique includes a first light source section, a second light source section, a third light source section, and a synthesis section. The first light source section includes a plurality of red laser light sources arranged in an array. The second light source section includes a plurality of green laser light sources arranged in an array. The third light source section includes a plurality of blue laser light sources arranged in an array. The synthesis section synthesizes red laser light emitted from the first light source section, green laser light emitted from the second light source section, and blue laser light emitted from the third light source section to generate white light.
US09743052B2

A projector that projects an image includes a communication section that sends a projection request command that requests another projector connected to the projector to project a test image, an imaging section that captures an image of the test image projected in response to the projection request command by the another projector, and a layout recognition section that recognizes a relative layout relationship between the projector and the another projector based on the image captured by the imaging section.
US09743051B2

Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention implement modular array cameras using sub-array modules. In one embodiment, an X×Y sub-array module includes: an X×Y arrangement of focal planes, where X and Y are each greater than or equal to 1; and an X×Y arrangement of lens stacks, the X×Y arrangement of lens stacks being disposed relative to the X×Y arrangement of focal planes so as to form an X×Y arrangement of cameras, where each lens stack has a field of view that is shifted with respect to the field-of-views of each other lens stack so that each shift includes a sub-pixel shifted view of the scene; and image data output circuitry that is configured to output image data from the X×Y sub-array module that can be aggregated with image data from other sub-array modules so that an image of the scene can be constructed.
US09743043B2

A technique allows delivering content in a videoconference among a plurality of conferees in multiple quality levels. Content distributed from a multipoint control unit that is connected to an endpoint that delivers the content to receiving endpoints may have two or more quality levels. The quality level can be adapted to the capabilities of the receiving endpoints and the current quality of the connection that is used to deliver the content toward the receiving endpoints. The quality level associated with an endpoint may change during a session dynamically, adapting the delivery mode to changes in the condition of the connection between the receiving endpoints and the multipoint control unit.
US09743038B2

Power divider networks are provided that have Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (“MoCA”) bypass paths. These power divider networks may include a housing having an input port and first and second output ports; a first impedance transformer that has a first winding coupled in series between the input port and a first node, a second winding coupled in series between a reference voltage and the first node; a second impedance transformer that has a third winding coupled in series between the first node and the first output port, a fourth winding coupled in series between the first node and the second output port; a resistance having a first end coupled to the first output port and a second end coupled to the second output port; a first inductor in series between the third winding and the first output port; a second inductor in series between the fourth winding and the second output port; and a third inductor and a first capacitor that are disposed in parallel between the first output port and the first end of the first resistance.
US09743035B2

A processing system includes a transport stream aggregator that receives a plurality of transport streams in a transport stream format and that generates an aggregated transport stream in response. The transport stream aggregator processes transport stream packets of the plurality of transport streams and replaces a packet synchronization field with a customized synchronization field. A processing device is configured to generate a processed video signal from the aggregated transport stream.
US09743030B2

A pixel portion includes a plurality of first pixel rows and a plurality of second pixel rows each being arranged so as to be adjacent to the first pixel row. Among the first pixel row and the second pixel row arranged so as to be adjacent to each other, during at least a part of a period from an end of the electric charge accumulation period in the second pixel row until an end of an output period in which signals from pixels in the first pixel row are output, electric charges accumulated in photoelectric conversion units of pixels in the second pixel row are reset.
US09743018B2

A radiation imaging system capable of obtaining excellent image quality is provided. The radiation imaging system includes a detection unit (205) configured to include a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a matrix and which output pixel values by converting radial rays into charges and to output image information, driving control means (204) for causing the plurality of pixels to perform a resetting operation until a signal indicating irradiation with radial rays is supplied and to stop the resetting operation and perform an operation of accumulating charges when the signal indicating irradiation with radial rays is supplied, and for performing an operation of reading pixel values of the plurality of pixels after the irradiation with radial rays is terminated so as to output image information corresponding to the irradiation with radial rays, correction coefficient obtaining means (207) for calculating correction coefficients in accordance with the image information output from the detection unit, and image correction means (208) for correcting the image information output from the detection unit using the correction coefficients calculated by the correction coefficient obtaining means.
US09743012B2

An image processing apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus via a network includes, a combining unit configured to combine a plurality of images captured under different exposure conditions, an exposure setting unit configured to acquire an image under a set exposure condition, a reception unit configured to receive a command for specifying an operation of the combining unit and the exposure setting unit from the external apparatus, and a first control unit configured to control a timing of the operation of the exposure setting unit, specified by the command received by the reception unit, based on an operation state of at least one of the combining unit and the exposure setting unit.
US09743005B2

An imaging apparatus including an incline detection device configured to detect an incline of the imaging apparatus, an image display device configured to display an image based on the image information, an incline computation device configured to compute an incline information that corresponds to a magnitude of the incline, an information storage device configured to store the incline information that is computed by the incline computation device, and a display processing device configured to display the image and an incline guide display corresponding to the incline information upon a screen of the image display device. The display processing device is configured to change a display format of the incline guide display in accordance with the magnitude of the incline.
US09742996B1

Methods of creating a 360 degree camera as a single unit with an integrated lighting array are provided. The lighting array is invisible to the camera when acquiring a spherical image. The creating includes selecting a housing for the 360 degree camera, the housing (i) configured to carry the integrated lighting array and (ii) having a plurality of surfaces that includes at least a first outer surface and a second outer surface; and, positioning a plurality of lenses on the housing to collect a plurality of imaging spaces that are stitched together to form the spherical image. In order to keep the lighting array at least substantially invisible to the lenses of the camera, the methods can include defining a plurality of blind spaces, n, each of which includes a blind area on the housing.
US09742992B2

A method of tracking an object in a plurality of image frames includes receiving an initial contour associated with the edge object in a first one of the image frames. A plurality of first measurement points distributed non-uniformly along the initial contour are determined. The first measurement points are biased to relatively high information portions of the initial contour. A set of subsequent contours are estimated from the initial contour in a second image frame. An identical plurality of second measurement points are determined along each of the set of estimated subsequent contours in the second image frame using the same non-uniform distribution of the first measurement points in the first image frame. The method selects at least one contour of the set of estimated subsequent contours using a confidence measure determined from the second measurement points as distributed along the selected subsequent contour.
US09742991B2

The present invention relates to a kiosk design for an advanced photographic system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a self-contained, automated photobooth kiosk. In embodiments of the invention, the photobooth kiosk is capable of taking a 360 degree panoramic photograph or sequence of photographs of a subject and surrounding background. For instance, a customer of the photobooth kiosk may stand in the center of the photobooth and have his or her picture taken with a plurality of specialized “machine vision” cameras, with the images sent to a central processor such as a computer for processing into a 360 degree panoramic photograph or video clip. After the photo-taking session, the customer may collect prints of the pictures at the kiosk, similar to presently available photobooths. The photobooth kiosk may be fully automated such that no operator is necessary, and all options and features desired by the customer may be self-selected by the customer prior to, during, and after the photo-taking session.
US09742990B2

An image file recorded on a non-transitory computer readable recording medium is presented. The image file is readable by a transmitting device in communication with a plurality of transceiving devices. The image file includes electronic image data, and tag information including transmission route information for transmitting the image file to at least one of the plurality of transceiving devices.
US09742989B2

An imaging device includes an imaging unit that is provided at a case body and images an object; an operation input unit utilized to input an imaging operation; a first instruction unit that instructs the imaging unit to execute the imaging when the imaging operation is input; a second instruction unit that instructs, based on a trigger other than the imaging operation, the imaging unit to execute the imaging; and a control unit that performs, based on a state of the case body, a control to invalidate any one of the instruction by the first instruction unit and the instruction by the second instruction unit.
US09742987B2

An image pickup display apparatus includes: a communication section that is capable of receiving a picked-up image from an image pickup unit; a display section that displays the picked-up image received by the communication section; an operation section for controlling image pickup by the image pickup unit; a state determination section that determines a state of a case in which the communication section, the display section and the operation section are housed; and a control section that receives a result of determination performed by the state determination section, to change a user interface provided by the display section and the operation section based on whether or not the case is arranged on another object.
US09742984B2

An image capturing apparatus comprises an image pickup device with a plurality of pixels each of which includes at least two photoelectric conversion portions, a readout unit configured to read out a first image signal and an added signal obtained by adding the first image signal and a second image signal, a subtraction unit configured to subtract the first image signal from the added signal, a focus detection unit configured to detect a focus state based on the first and the second image signal, and a limiter unit configured to suppress an output of the first photoelectric conversion portion and an output of the second photoelectric conversion portion not to exceed a predetermined threshold, wherein the limiter unit suppresses the output of the first photoelectric conversion portion and the second photoelectric conversion portion for different color filters.
US09742982B2

An image capturing apparatus capable of executing autofocus by at least one of a phase difference detection method and a contrast detection method using an image signal obtained from a set focus detection region and from which an imaging optical system and a converter lens are detachable. The image capturing apparatus comprises: a conversion unit configured to convert aberration information indicating a spherical aberration of the imaging optical system based on a magnification and aberration information of the converter lens in a case where the converter lens is mounted; a calculation unit configured to calculate a correction value for correcting a difference between a result of the autofocus and a focus condition of a captured image; and a control unit configured to control a position of a focus lens based on the result of the autofocus that has been corrected using the correction value.
US09742975B2

A wearable digital video camera (10) is equipped with wireless connection protocol and global navigation and location positioning system technology to provide remote image acquisition control and viewing. The Bluetooth® packet-based open wireless technology standard protocol (400) is preferred for use in providing control signals or streaming data to the digital video camera and for accessing image content stored on or streaming from the digital video camera. The GPS technology (402) is preferred for use in tracking of the location of the digital video camera as it records image information. A rotating mount (300) with a locking member (330) on the camera housing (22) allows adjustment of the pointing angle of the wearable digital video camera when it is attached to a mounting surface.
US09742969B2

An attachment optical system detachably mounted between a lens system and an image pickup apparatus, includes: a receiver receiving first information for correcting lateral chromatic aberrations caused by the lens system; a computer deriving, based on the first information and optical characteristics of the attachment optical system, second information for correcting lateral chromatic aberrations; and a transmitter transmitting the second information to the image pickup apparatus, in which the first and second information include information for obtaining lateral chromatic aberration amounts under conditions of zoom, focus and f-number, based on ratio of image height to maximum image height, in which the first and second information indicate shift amounts of blue/red relative to green radially about optical axis, and in which the shift amounts of blue/red in the first information and in the second information are properly set as functions of ratio of image height to maximum image height.
US09742964B2

An AV device including a first signal transmitter configured to output a video signal and a first audio signal corresponding to the video signal to a display device; a first signal receiver configured to receive a feedback signal of the first audio signal from the display device; a second signal transmitter configured to output a second audio signal corresponding to the video signal; and a controller configured to determine a processing delay time of the display device by comparing the first audio signal and the feedback signal, and control the second signal transmitter to delay the output of the second audio signal based on the determined processing delay time.
US09742962B2

An image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program stored in a recording medium are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry and the image processing method obtain a color image output from an image forming unit, predict an output color of the image forming unit to generate a predicted color specification value independent from the image forming unit, extract from the input image data a colorimetry area for color difference determination, obtain a colorimetric value of an area of the color image that corresponds to the extracted colorimetry area, using a colorimeter, and add a colorimetric error at the colorimeter due to a color arrangement on the input image data to the predicted color specification value, to obtain a corrected colorimetric value of the area of the color image.
US09742955B2

An image processing apparatus is capable of appropriately extracting a frame of an output target from a moving image. The image processing apparatus includes an analysis unit configured to analyze a plurality of analysis regions in each of a plurality of frames included in the moving image, an extraction unit configured to extract the frame of the output target from among the plurality of frames by comparing analysis results of the plurality of analysis regions in each of the plurality of frames analyzed by the analysis unit for each analysis regions corresponding to each other between the plurality of frames, and an output unit configured to output the frame of the output target extracted by the extraction unit.
US09742948B2

There is provided an image forming apparatus capable of adding and deleting applications, the apparatus comprising: a designating unit configured to designate an application and a file to be deleted; and a deleting unit configured to delete a designated file associated with the application designated by the designating unit.
US09742943B2

An image forming apparatus includes an opening closing unit openably arranged between first and second positions and an associating mechanism connecting a body unit with the opening closing unit and operating in association with the opening closing unit. The associating mechanism includes plural compression springs and a buffer member, urges the opening closing unit with a first compression spring among the plural compression springs when the opening closing unit is placed at the first position, urges the opening closing unit with the first compression spring and a second compression spring when the opening closing unit is placed at a third portion between the first portion and the second position, and buffers the motion of the opening closing unit with the buffer member when the opening closing unit is placed at a fourth position between the second position and the third position.
US09742940B2

An image reading apparatus includes an image scanning unit that is provided with a holding portion holding a flexible flat cable. The holding portion is protruded toward an upstream side in a sub scanning direction, and provided with a second wall part. The flexible flat cable that is extended from a connector is brought into contact with the second wall part. As for the flexible flat cable, a downward movement is regulated by a lower holding portion and an upward movement is regulated by an upper holding portion. Accordingly, the flexible flat cable does not rise.
US09742939B2

A push type key includes a base including a main body, a key portion having an operation surface, first and second elastic portions connecting between the main body and the key portion, and an electrical equipment substrate provided on a back side of the base. The substrate includes an operating portion acted on by the key portion when the key portion moves. The first and second elastic portions have symmetrical configurations with respect to a phantom line passing through a center of the key portion, as seen perpendicularly to the operation surface. The operating portion is disposed at a position closer to the first elastic portion than to the second elastic portion. The base is provided with a third elastic portion connecting the key portion with the main body or with the second elastic portion in a side of the second elastic portion with respect to the phantom line.
US09742936B2

A storage unit stores, for each state of an information processing apparatus, pieces of correspondence information indicating either a correspondence relation between pieces of content identification information and time information indicating latest times when the contents are displayed, or a correspondence relation between the pieces of content identification information and frequency information representing display frequencies of the contents. A selection unit selects the correspondence information corresponding to a current state of the information processing apparatus. A determining unit determines, as display content information identifying the content to be displayed, content identification information out of the pieces of content identification information included in the selected correspondence information, based on the time information or the frequency information corresponding to the pieces of content identification information included in selected the correspondence information. A display control unit performs control to display the content identified by the determined display content information.
US09742933B2

An image processing apparatus which is capable of improving ease of operation for users and also improving security when destinations are made public. The image processing apparatus is shared by a plurality of users and capable of selecting a destination from a plurality of address books and carrying out file transmission to the destination. It is determined whether or not a user has logged in, and when it is determined that the user has logged in, only personal addresses for the logged-in user are displayed on a display unit. The personal destinations displayed on the display unit are switched to destinations other than the personal destinations according to selection by the user. When it is determined that the user has not logged in, all destinations which are registered in the plurality of address books are displayed on the display unit.
US09742930B2

An image reading apparatus includes a gray reference member, a reading unit, an adjusting unit, a calibration unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute a first preprocessing and a second preprocessing. The first preprocessing includes: acquiring first black data from one line worth of image data; acquiring white data; calculating white-black difference data; acquiring first light gray data; and calculating first light gray-black difference data. The second processing includes: acquiring second black data from the one line worth of the image data; acquiring second light gray data; calculating second light gray-black difference data; calculating a change ratio by dividing the second light gray-black difference data by the first light gray-black difference data; and calculating calibration data by multiplying the white-black difference data by the change ratio. Shading of the image data is calibrated in response to the calibration data.
US09742918B2

Systems and methods for managing multi-tenant callback services may be provided via a multi-tenant services integration platform. Several multi-tenant software as a service applications may be offered as a hosted software solution via the multi-tenant services integration platform. Various applications may deploy and support a shared tenant and shared services environment where there can be many different customers (companies and users) running in their own virtual partition from a single application instance. The applications may be multi-tenant aware and integrated into an administration portal which integrates several shared tenant services. The tenant model may allow for customized application configurations to be run from a single application instance. Further, improved methods for providing callback management, calculating estimated wait times, and providing for callback initiation may be integrated in such multi-tenant services.
US09742916B1

Technology for connecting a customer with a customer service agent is provided. In one example, a method may include receiving an initial request from a customer to connect with customer service. A connection may be created between the customer and a customer service agent for the customer service. Customer information for the customer may be linked with agent information for the customer service agent for a predetermined period of time. When a subsequent request to connect the customer with the customer service is received within the predetermined period of time, the customer may be connected with the customer service agent using the linking of the customer information with the agent information.
US09742915B1

A real-time speech analytics system (“RSTA system”) detects a speech condition during a call involving a contact center agent and a remote party. Upon detecting the speech condition, an alert message is provided to an alert reporting module (“ARM”), which is configured to access various data to form a RTSA alert. In one embodiment, the RTSA alert is a transient alert indication overlaid on an agent icon on a grid where the agent icon represents the agent and is displayed to a contact center supervisor. Information on the type and severity of the alert may be conveyed by text and non-text images, such as icons, colors, or symbols. A number representing a cumulative number of alert messages received for each agent may be indicated in an alert bubble overlaid on the agent icon. A viewer is able to request detailed alert data upon selecting the alert bubble.
US09742909B2

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining availability statuses for users of a communication service provider system. One of the methods includes obtaining data identifying a plurality of availability status features for a user of a communication service provider system and a respective weight for each of the availability status features; determining a respective current value of each of the availability status features; and determining an aggregate user availability status based at least in part on the current values of the availability status features and on the weights for the availability status features.
US09742902B2

A smart phone includes photoelectric pulse wave sensing units that obtain photoelectric pulse wave signals from hands holding the smart phone, a touch screen on which a plurality of operation switches that accept operations performed by thumbs are displayed, and a switch arrangement changing unit that changes the arrangement of the displayed plurality of operation switches. The switch arrangement changing unit, when photoelectric pulse wave signals are obtained by the photoelectric pulse wave sensing units, changes the arrangement of the operation switches displayed on the touch screen in such a manner that the operation switches are arranged along a circular arc of a virtual circle whose center is located at a carpometacarpal joint of the thumb of a right hand performing operations and whose radius is the distance from the carpometacarpal joint to the tip of the thumb.
US09742888B1

An electronic device includes a case, a panel which includes a first surface including a contour line and is held by the case such that the first surface faces outward, the contour line being provided with a first recess, a first component located in the case, and a cover which is provided with a through hole or a cut for communication between the first component and the outside and is located to hide the first recess when the first surface is two-dimensionally viewed.
US09742880B2

In a system and method for accessing messages in a data store in a gateway, a data frame request, which is a structured SQL query, is received at the gateway. The received data frame request is applied to the gateway data store, which stores messages. A data frame is generated that comprises messages from the data store that are responsive to the received data frame request, the data frame having a format that is readable by a character editor.
US09742874B2

Upon reception of a connection request from a client terminal, a control device couples a providing server that provides a virtual desktop environment to the client terminal. The control device then causes the client terminal to transfer a file maintained in the client terminal to the providing server to which the client terminal is coupled, according to correspondence information in which path information in the client terminal is associated with path information in the virtual desktop environment for each file used by the client terminal for executing an application in the virtual desktop environment. This facilitates file transfer on the client terminal side for transferring the file to a server in the virtual desktop environment.
US09742860B2

Described herein are techniques for supporting bi-temporal data in a key value cache system. An embodiment provides bi-temporal data as the basic functionality of a key value cache system. An embodiment provides a redesign of the core data structures of a key value cache system, adds bi-temporal data storage in the key value hashing structure, and provides a temporality-aware memory space manager. Embodiments can achieve the same performance as current key value cache systems for regular queries (that is, the queries that only access the current versions of data) while supporting bi-temporal data.
US09742859B2

A first request is received from a device over a network. It is determined that the first request should be redirected, based at least in part on information included in the first request. A redirect message is sent to the device over the network. A second request is received that includes the address and the port number. Responsive to determining that the port number is on the predetermined list of port numbers, modifying the second request by removing the port number. The modified second request is sent to the address.
US09742853B2

The invention concerns computer systems that are specially adapted to propagate content over a dynamic network, substantially in real time, by virtue of the locational proximity of network joined client computers. Preferably, the content will also be proximity-weighted, and more preferably also rank-weighted, topic-weighted, time-weighted, query-weighted, vote-weighted, and/or location-weighted. The invention particularly concerns such computer systems that employ more than one such weighting. The invention particularly concerns such computer systems that operate using, or through, mobile devices, particularly for distributed computing applications, including social media applications and communications applications conducted over Restricted Computer Networks.
US09742852B2

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer program products for providing a remote device remote access to software functions. One method includes providing a list of second software functions to a first remote device that are not accessible by the remote device, wherein the remote device has remote access to a first software function; receiving from the remote device a request for a software function of the provided list of second software functions and upon receiving the request, providing the remote device remote access to the requested software function by transmitting access data for the requested software function to the remote device; and after providing the remote access to the requested software function, receiving from the remote device a deactivation command for the requested software function or the first software function and, based on the deactivation command, deactivating the remote access of the remote device to the requested software function or the first software function.
US09742842B2

Examples are disclosed for peer-to-peer data migration between nodes coupled via one or more peer-to-peer communication links.
US09742830B2

A method (and corresponding system and computer program product) providing control to open video conference is disclosed. One aspect enables participants of a video conference to asynchronously join and leave the video conference. Another aspect enables participants to merge multiple video conferences into a single video conference, or to split a single video conference into multiple video conferences.
US09742825B2

Systems and methods for configuring devices are disclosed. One method can comprise receiving an output signal representing user rights relating to a requested data and processing the output signal to generate validation data. The method can also comprise transmitting the validation data to a source of the requested data, wherein the validation data facilitates the transmission of the requested data.
US09742808B2

To verify compliance with a data access policy, a query result including data specified by a requesting entity and a representation of a data access policy is received from a database. Based on the representation of the data access policy included in the query result, it is verified whether the requesting entity is permitted to access the data included in the query result. Transmission of the data included in the query result to the requesting entity is controlled responsive to the verification. Related methods, systems, and computer program products are also discussed.
US09742791B2

In auditing a target Web site for security exposures, site specific remediation reports are generated to provide instructional data tailored to components of the Web server solution stack as determined by the auditing computer system. Stack and component identification is performed in a site independent manner based on an analysis of Web page data retrieved by the auditing computer system. Informational aspects of the received data are recognized, enabling further identification of component implementation aspects. Based on the informational and implementation aspects, site, solution stack, and component specific security audit tests are executed against the target Web site. Audit identified security exposures are recorded in correspondence with site, solution stack, and component implementation specific remediation instruction data.
US09742789B2

Disclosed are a method, device and system for intercepting a web address. The method comprises: triggering an interception program pre-injected in a browser process; the interception program obtaining web address information of a network connection upon detecting a network connection operation, and determining whether the web address information is malicious web address information; and if the web address information is malicious web address information, the interception program instructing the browser process to stop accessing the malicious web address information. The present disclosure can interrupt a connection of a malicious URL in time.
US09742774B2

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for determining a phishing website. The method comprises: a server determining whether a target website accessed by a client is a gray website, the gray website being a website neither in a preset blacklist nor in a whitelist; the client acquiring the browsing information of the gray website in the local client, and determining whether the browsing information meets a preset condition; if yes, determining that the gray website is a non-phishing website; if not, the client acquiring the domain name feature information of the gray website, and when the domain name feature information conforms to a pre-configured rule, determining that the gray website is a phishing website. Through the present disclosure, when the server cannot determine whether the website accessed by the client is a phishing website, or when the server fails, the latest generated phishing website can be intercepted the first time at the client, and most of the phishing websites can be intercepted, thereby ensuring the network security.
US09742771B2

A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may perform, for example, operations including receiving a request from a first device to access information content of a second device. The process further includes forwarding a token to the second device by way of a second wireless network, to obtain a second device token, and forwarding the token to the first device by way of the first network to obtain a first device token, wherein the first device forwards the first device token to the second device by way of a third network. A confirmation that the token was received at the first device is based on the result of the comparison indicating a match between the first device token and the second device token. Access to the information content of the second device is authorized in response to the confirmation. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09742766B2

The invention provides an easy to use credential management mechanism for multi-factor out-of-band multi-channel authentication process to protect user access to online portals. When opened, the client processing application generates a multi-dimensional code. The user scans the multi-dimensional code and validates the client processing application and triggers an out-of-band outbound mechanism. The portable mobile device invokes the authentication server to get authenticated. The authentication server authenticates the user based on shared secret key and is automatically allowed access to the online portal. The process of the invention includes an authentication server, a client processing application to generate an authentication vehicle or an embodiment (i.e. multi-dimensional bar code) and handle incoming requests, secret keys and a portable communication device with a smartphone application.
US09742765B2

Provided is an authentication system in which a client terminal that receives input of request information is connected to a server that executes a process with regard to the request information. The client terminal includes: a first authentication information generation unit that generates first authentication information based on information which is shared with the server; an encryption unit that generates encryption information; and a transmission unit that transmits the request information and encryption information to the server. The server includes: a reception unit that receives the request information and encryption information; a second authentication information generation unit that generates second authentication information; a decoding unit that generates reference information which is acquired by decoding the encryption information using the same common key method as in the client terminal while using the second authentication information as a key; and an authentication unit that compares the request information with the reference information.
US09742759B2

Techniques are presented herein for authenticating local process to a web service, both executing on a common host computer server. The local process may present a self-signed certificate to the web service. In response, the web service may identify a file system directory on the first computer server containing a file storing the self-signed certificate. If the subject information identifying the owner of the process matches file system metadata indicating an owner of the file, then the web service may consider the process as being authenticated to the web service.
US09742756B1

A user may access an Institution system via more than one communications channel, either by the same device (e.g., a mobile device accessing the Institution system via a voice channel and a data channel) or by different devices (e.g., a personal computer via a web channel and a phone via a voice channel). If a user is not currently authenticated to a communications channel and attempts to access the Institution system via a communications channel, the user may be authenticated using strong authentication. If the user is currently authenticated to the Institution system via a communications channel and would like to engage a second communications channel to access the Institution system, the user may authenticate to the second communications channel using both communications channels and weak authentication, such as single factor authentication or a challenge question.
US09742754B2

Methods, systems, and products authenticate a user to a device. A user selects or submits a media file for authentication. Features in the media file are compared to a set of criteria for authentication. The number of matching criteria, that is within a range of values for each criterion in the set of criteria, is determined. The number of matching criteria is compared to a threshold value. When the number of matching criteria equals or exceeds the threshold value, then the user that selected or submitted the media file is authenticated.
US09742750B2

In one embodiment, a user device may store state data for an application at an internet-accessible data storage 124 for access by other devices of the user. The target user device 140 may use an untrusted platform 142 to generate an access request 300 for an application state data set for a source application 114. The target user device 140 may send the access request 300 to the internet-accessible data storage 124. The target user device 140 may send an access credential 330 to the internet-accessible data storage 124.
US09742749B1

Techniques are described by which decryption key rotation may be accomplished to support the protection of live streaming content. During playback of content using a decryption key, the client begins acquisition of a second stream of the same content (including a new decryption key) such that the client can transition playback of the content from the first stream to the second with few or no visible artifacts from the viewer's perspective.
US09742747B2

A method may include allocating a number of public keys, where each respective public key is allocated to a respective entity of a number of entities; storing a number of private keys, where each respective private corresponds to a respective public key; storing one or more decryption algorithms, where each respective decryption algorithm is configured to decrypt data previously encrypted using at least one encryption algorithm of the encryption algorithms. Each respective encryption algorithm may be configured to encrypt data using at least one public key. Each respective decryption algorithm may be configured to decrypt data using at least one private key. The method may include receiving encrypted data, where the encrypted data is encrypted using a first public key and a first encryption algorithm, and the encrypted data is provided over a network.
US09742745B2

A method, corresponding client, server and system for communicating between a server and a client. The server and the client access at least one session extension key and/or a key associated with the session extension key, as an associated key. The server authorizes to extend an open communication session with the client until an expiration time only if the client sends to the server authentication data allowing the server to authenticate at least the client on a basis of the session extension key. The expiration time is a time at which the communication session is open completed by a predetermined extension time period.
US09742738B2

In one embodiment, a method includes providing a request to store at least a first piece of data. The request to store the first piece of data is a request to store the first piece of data in a first encrypted form on a cloud associated with the cloud application provider. The method also includes determining whether the cloud application provider is capable of encrypting the first piece of data, and providing the first piece of data to the cloud application provider if it is determined that the cloud application provider is capable of encrypting the first piece of data. If it is determined that the cloud application provider is not capable of encrypting the first piece of data, the method further includes encrypting the first piece of data to create the first encrypted form and providing the first encrypted form to the cloud application provider.
US09742737B2

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and computer-readable media related to testing tools for devices. In some embodiments, a plurality of public keys may be received from a server via a secured network connection where each of the plurality of keys corresponds to a respective private key associated with an access point. A time-of-flight (ToF) measurement protocol may be initiated with one or more access points. Data generated by ToF measurement protocol with the one or more access points may be received. In some embodiments, the one or more access points may be authenticated based at least in part on the plurality of public keys. A location of a user device may be determined based at least in part on the received data.
US09742722B2

The invention relates to a method of certifying that an email message sent through a sender email server from a sender to at least one destination address has been received by a destination email server managing the destination address, the method comprising providing a certification email server, which performs: receiving the email message sent through the sender email server; obtaining an electronic fingerprint of the message; obtaining the destination address from the field of the header of the message relating to the destination address of the message; sending the message to the obtained destination address; receiving from the destination email server a confirmation of the acceptance or refusal of the email message; generating a certification file comprising at least the electronic fingerprint of the email message and the confirmation of the acceptance or refusal of the email message from the destination email server.
US09742716B2

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that improve the workflow process for resolving data elements, such as email addresses. These technologies and techniques allow the user to perform such tasks in the same context as the activity or message. In addition, user can start and stop the resolution process at any point in the process of composing the activity or email. The activity cannot be finalized, such as an email message being sent, until all of the data elements are resolved.
US09742714B2

A communication server is disclosed. The communication server may receive, via at least one network interface, a request to add one or more new participants to a communication group; receive, from one or more members of the communication group, one or more selections indicating one or more selected portions of communication content for providing to the one or more new participants, wherein the communication content includes information transferred between a plurality of participants of the communication group prior to the one or more new participants being added to the communication group; determine, based on the one or more selections, a portion of the communication content for providing to the one or more new participants; and provide, via the at least one network interface, the portion of the communication content to one or more user devices associated with the one or more new participants.
US09742701B2

An apparatus for operating a low data-rate (LDR) link and legacy switch at a high data-rate (HDR) includes a first block and a second block. The first block receives input signals from the legacy switch and generates identical output signals. The second block receives the identical output signals and generates an HDR signal for communication over the LDR link coupled to an access point. Further, a media access control (MAC) interface communicates data at a first data rate with an Ethernet PHY block including a first-in-first-out (FIFO) module and a buffer. The FIFO receives data from the MAC interface at the first data rate and transmits data at a second data rate. The buffer receives data from the Ethernet port at the second data rate and transmits the received data at the first data rate in response to detection of an end of packet.
US09742700B2

In one embodiment, a method for enabling communication between two network fiber channel (FC) switches, includes: receiving at least one protocol frame at a first network FC switch, the at least one protocol frame being received from a second network FC switch connected to the first network FC switch and comprising information related to a manufacturer of the second network FC switch; retrieving a first identifier of the second network FC switch from the at least one protocol frame, the first identifier comprising primary manufacturer information identifying a manufacturer of the second network FC switch; determining that the retrieved first identifier does not match one of a plurality of peer switch manufacturer identifiers stored in a memory of the first network FC switch, each of the plurality of peer switch manufacturer identifiers identifying peer switches for which one or more features may be enabled for communicating with the first network FC switch; retrieving a second identifier of the second network FC switch from the at least one protocol frame when the retrieved first identifier does not match one of the plurality of peer switch manufacturer identifiers, the second identifier comprising secondary manufacturer information identifying the manufacturer of the second network FC switch; and upon determining that the retrieved second identifier matches one of the plurality of peer switch manufacturer identifiers, updating the plurality of peer switch manufacturer identifiers stored in memory of the first network FC switch to include the retrieved first identifier; and enabling at least one of the one or more features for the first network FC switch to communicate with the second network FC switch.
US09742696B2

One exemplary embodiment is directed to a network management system that uses physical layer information in performing a network management function. Another exemplary embodiment is directed to a method of tracking channel compliance using physical layer information.
US09742693B2

One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch. The switch includes a service management module and a packet processor. During operation, the service management module identifies a service provided by an appliance coupled to the switch via a local port. The packet processor constructs a notification message for a remote switch. The notification message includes information about the service and the appliance. In this way, the switch allows the remote switch to request the service.
US09742689B1

Systems and methods for high speed communications are described herein. In certain aspects, the systems and methods include innovative transceiver architectures and techniques for re-timing, multiplexing, de-multiplexing and transmitting data. The systems and methods can be used to achieve reliable high-speed point-to-point communication between different electronic devices, computing devices, storage devices and peripheral devices.
US09742687B2

A management system includes an information processing apparatus; a management apparatus; and a load balancing apparatus. And the management apparatus specifies a first processing entity that relates to a first application program whose performance is not guaranteed, upon detecting that a value related to a load of a second processing entity that relates to a second application program whose performance is guaranteed is equal to or greater than a first predetermined threshold, and requests the information processing apparatus to stop the first processing entity, and the information processing apparatus requests the load balancing apparatus to stop allocating processing to the first processing entity, stops the first processing entity upon detecting that a value related to a load of the first processing entity is equal to or less than a second predetermined threshold, and causes a third processing entity to start processing for the second application program.
US09742684B1

Disclosed are various embodiments for a service scaling application. Requests for predicted future usage of a service are obtained. Resources required to satisfy the requests are calculated and aggregated. Growth functions facilitate determining usage of a service over time. An acquisition of resources is then generated from the required resources.
US09742675B2

Technologies are generally described to manage bandwidth efficiency and fairness in cloud computing. According to some examples, bottleneck links may be determined in a network connecting communication device pairs. A first bandwidth allocation may be determined of a first subset of the communication device pairs communicating through the bottleneck links. A second bandwidth allocation may be determined of a second subset of the communication device pairs unable to communicate through the bottleneck links. Then, the first bandwidth may be adjusted based on an analysis of the first bandwidth, the second bandwidth, a first weight attribute associated with the first subset and a second weight attribute associated with the second subset.
US09742674B1

A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and multi-blade network traffic management apparatus that obtains, with a primary blade and one or more secondary blades, statistical data regarding network traffic respectively managed by each of the blades. The statistical data respectively obtained by each of the blades is stored by each of the blades in a respective database associated with each of the blades. A request for statistical data is received with the primary blade. Each of the databases is queried with the primary blade to retrieve at least a subset of the statistical data stored therein in response to the obtained request. The retrieved at least a subset of the statistical data is consolidated with the primary blade to generate a response to the received request.
US09742669B2

A method for aliasing of named data objects (in named data networks) and entities for named data networks (e.g., named graphs for named data networks). In various examples, aliasing of named data objects may be implemented in one or more named data networks in the form of systems, methods and/or algorithms. In other examples, named graphs may be implemented in one or more named data networks in the form of systems, methods and/or algorithms.
US09742668B1

In general, this disclosure describes a high-level forwarding path description language (FPDL) for describing internal forwarding paths within a network device. The FPDL enables developers to create a template that describes a section of an internal forwarding path within the forwarding plane of a network device. The FPDL provides syntactical elements for specifying the allocation of forwarding path structures as well as enabling the run-time construction of internal forwarding paths to interconnect the forwarding path structures in a manner specific to packet, packet flow, and/or interface properties, for example. In conjunction with late binding techniques, whereby the control plane of the network device provides arguments to template parameters that drive allocation by the packet forwarding engines of forwarding path structures specified by the FPDL, the techniques provide control plane processes a unified interface with which to manage the operation of the packet forwarding engines.
US09742665B2

A communication network control system (1) eliminates, in a communication network (G) in which a plurality of nodes (Ni) are connected via a plurality of links (2), a node (Nx) having a trouble and implements a reconnection in the communication network (G). The nodes (Ni) each comprise: a path information calculation means (3) that calculates path information of the communication network (G) when a trouble occurs in an adjacent node (Nx); an order information calculation means (4) that calculates, for a set of reconnection destination candidate nodes (Ni), order information in which the reconnection destination candidate nodes are sequenced in order of inter-node distance on the path information calculated by the path information calculation means (3); and a determination information calculation means (5) that calculates, on the basis of the order information calculated by the order information calculation means (4), such a combination that the inter-node distance on the path information in the whole communication network (G) after the reconnection becomes larger and that determines the calculated combination as a reconnection destination node of the local node (Ni).
US09742657B2

A method, in a network controller of a control plane in a software defined network (SDN) coupled to a network element (NE) of a data plane in the SDN, of resynchronizing forwarding table entries of the NE according to forwarding table entries of the network controller is disclosed. The method includes causing the NE to update a first subset of forwarding table entries from a set of one or more of forwarding table entries to include a post-synchronization indicator. The method continues with causing the NE to delete, following the update of the first subset of forwarding table entries, a second subset of zero or more forwarding table entries from the set of forwarding table entries, where each forwarding table entry from the second subset includes a pre-synchronization indicator.
US09742655B2

In one embodiment, an exploratory linktrace is initiated from an initiating network device with an exploratory linktrace message (ELM) having a target address. Each network device receiving the ELM may then propagate the ELM on a plurality of its ports to a plurality of downstream network devices based on the target address. In addition, each receiving network device returns an exploratory linktrace reply (ELR) for each of the plurality of ports, where each ELR is returned according to one or more mechanisms to mitigate stormed replies to the initiating network device.
US09742650B2

According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for determining the forward and reverse available capacity or tight link capacity of an IP path from a single endpoint includes the steps of: transmitting, from a source IP endpoint node toward a destination IP endpoint node, a forward packet train including a first plurality of IP test packets over the forward IP path; and receiving, at the source IP endpoint node, a corresponding reverse packet train from the destination IP endpoint node, the reverse packet train including a second plurality of IP test packets over the reverse IP path each of which correspond to a respective one of the first plurality of IP test packets. For those IP path capacity measurements embodiments which are TWAMP-based, no changes are needed to the TWAMP control protocol, e.g., since exemplary embodiments make use of padding octets to transfer additional information which can be used for available IP path capacity and tight IP link capacity calculations.
US09742646B2

A system and method for monitoring network connection quality utilizes software installed on a user computer to monitor a first network connection to a target server used for a desired activity and a second network connection to a benchmark server. Various network quality metrics are recorded and compared for each of the connections and displayed on a visual display so that the user may easily and accurately judge the health of the connection to the target server.
US09742645B2

Embodiments of the present application provide a method for measuring performance of multi-service in a tunnel, including: receiving a measurement message corresponding to a service packet, where a priority of the measurement message is the same as that of the service packet, and the measurement message includes at least one of the three: a packet loss measurement parameter, a delay measurement parameter, and a jitter measurement parameter; and measuring performance of a service in a tunnel according to a measurement parameter in the measurement message. According to the embodiments of the present application, a problem that performance measurement cannot be performed for different services transmitted in a tunnel in the prior art may be solved.
US09742641B2

A monitoring device and method for identifying the identity of users requesting database accesses. The data request from application servers to an application server are monitored and parsed. The SQL statements associated with the data request from the application server are also monitored and parsed, so are the SQL responses from the database server. The SQL responses are sent back to the user as data responses. The data responses are also monitored and parsed. The monitoring device matches the parsed data request with the parsed SQL statements, the parsed SQL responses, and the parsed data responses. By matching the string portion of these parsed data, the monitoring device can then identity the identity of the user making such data base request.
US09742639B1

An intelligent multi-level resource discovery and analysis system and method identify and characterize physical, logical and virtual resources of a multi-vendor, multi-class, multi-layer network by automatically generating and sending discovery commands that query resources as to their addresses, identities, characteristics and operational states, and by analyzing responses to the commands to identify continuously and in real time resource vendors, types, operating states, configurations of resources and network topology, and changes to resource and network conditions. Externally entered or dynamically discovered discovery parameters define the types and level of detail of information discovered and analyzed.
US09742635B2

Methods and apparatuses for implementing a mobile client network transition are provided. In an embodiment, a network transition priority list including measured quality-of-service data for each of a plurality of networks within communications range of a mobile client is received. Each of the plurality of networks is ranked in accordance with one or more network administrator policies. An updated network transition priority list is generated based on the ranking of the plurality of networks, and the updated network transition priority list is transmitted to the mobile client.
US09742629B2

A network configuration method includes receiving end user input indicative of a network configuration. The end user input may include: a plurality of service classes, a particular packet header field for each of the plurality of service classes, and a particular service class mixture for the plurality of service classes. The particular service class may be indicated by a particular value of the particular packet header field. The method may further include configuring an ingress router to prioritize packets sent to the end user in accordance with the network configuration and configuring an egress router to queue network packets sent from the end user in accordance with the network configuration.
US09742625B2

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for automatic automated electronic computing and communication system event analysis and management are disclosed. Automatic automated electronic computing and communication system event analysis and management may include identifying an event, generating a computer readable representation of the electronic computing and communication system using automated topology enumeration, identifying an element of the electronic computing and communication system based on the representation, identifying a metric for the element, automatically investigating to determine a value for the metric, generating a remediation priority for the element based on a metric weight associated with the metric and a network layer value associated with a network layer associated with a network layer role associated with the element, and generating a graphical representation of the electronic computing and communication system indicating the remediation priority.
US09742616B2

Devices and techniques for indicating packet processing hints are described herein. A device may receive a data packet. The device may extract a match-action attribute from the data packet that specifies an action to be applied to the data packet. The device may generate a hint field based on the match-action attribute. The hint field may include information to be used for handling the data packet. Other embodiments are also described.
US09742608B2

Methods and systems for signal transmission in millimeter wave (mmW) range. A set of sequences is used to encode a data signal for one layer in a group of layers. Each sequence in the set of sequences has a length equal to the number of resources shared among the group of layers. At least a portion of the sequences have a low density of non-zero values, and the non-zero values are assigned to a subset of the shared resources. Each sequence assigns a non-zero value to at most one resource of the subset of shared resources, and all non-zero values assigned by all sequences have equal power amplitudes.
US09742607B2

A transmitter transmits payload data using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbols. The transmitter comprises a frame builder configured to receive the payload data to be transmitted and to receive first signalling data for use in detecting and recovering the payload data at a receiver, and to form the payload data and the first signalling data into frames for transmission, the first signalling data forming a part of the frames with the payload data. A modulator is configured to modulate a first OFDM symbol with the first signalling data and to modulate one or more second OFDM symbols with the payload data. A signature sequence processor provides a signature sequence, a combiner combines the signature sequence with the first OFDM symbol, and a transmission unit transmits the first and second OFDM symbols. The signature sequence provided by the signature sequence processor comprises at least one of a first synchronization sequence or a second message sequence, the first synchronization sequence and/or the second message sequence being combined by the combiner with the first OFMD symbol. The first synchronization sequence is provided for a receiver to detect and to recover the first signalling data from the first OFDM symbol and the second message sequence provides message information to the receiver. The message information may be used to convey a specific message to a user such as an emergency warning relating to a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a tsunami warning.
US09742606B2

Pilot, preamble and midamble patterns are provided that are particularly suited for four transmit antenna OFDM systems. Pilots are inserted in a scattered manner for each of the four antennas, either uncoded, space-time coded in pairs, space-time frequency coded in pairs, or space-time-frequency coded.
US09742604B2

A broadcast signal receiver is disclosed. A broadcast signal receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a synchronization & demodulation module performing signal detection and OFDM demodulation on a received broadcast signal; a frame parsing & deinterleaving module performing parsing and deinterleaving of a signal frame of the broadcast signal; a demapping & decoding module performing conversion of data of at least one Physical Layer Pipe (PLP) of the broadcast signal into the bit domain and FEC decoding of the converted PLP data; and an output processing module outputting a data stream by receiving the at least one PLP data.
US09742590B2

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques and apparatus for using channel state information (CSI) feedback for multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmission. For certain aspects, a method of wireless communications generally includes generating a training frame and transmitting the generated training frame. The training frame typically includes first information identifying a group of one or more apparatuses and second information indicating whether each of the apparatuses in the group is to determine at least one characteristic of a channel. For other aspects, a method of wireless communications generally includes receiving a request at an apparatus and transmitting, in response to the received request, a packet using frame aggregation, wherein two or more frames are transmitted in a single transmission using a single header.
US09742582B2

A house monitoring system includes at least one sensor that detects a predetermined event, a master device that communicates with the sensor, and is connected to a fixed telephone network so as to perform calls to other fixed telephones, and a mobile phone terminal that includes a display/input unit, performs wireless communication with the master device by using a wireless router, and is connected to other mobile phones via a mobile phone network. When the sensor detects the predetermined event, the master device transmits information regarding the sensor having detected the predetermined event to the mobile phone terminal, and the mobile phone terminal displays the information regarding the sensor having detected the predetermined event transmitted from the master device on the display/input unit.
US09742581B2

A home network comprises at least one appliance having an appliance interactive display and an appliance communication module, a server having a server communication module, and a mobile device having a mobile interactive display and a mobile communication module. The mobile device or server is configured to send a message having an embedded interactive element to the at least on appliance when the server communication module or the mobile communication module is in communication with the appliance communication module.
US09742579B2

A system for testing Ethernet paths or links without adversely impacting non-test traffic. The system includes a test traffic generator that includes a scheduler that determines when a new test packet is generated. The test traffic generator includes a packet creator that builds a test packet and a transmitter for transmitting the test packet via the Ethernet path or link. The packet creator sends the test packet to the transmitter. The traffic generator includes a transmit credit block coupled to the transmitter or to the scheduler. The transmit credit block stores an amount of credits representing a number of bytes that are available to transmit and decrements the amount each time a non-test packet is communicated via the Ethernet path or link.
US09742578B2

A method of operating a node of a network is disclosed. The method includes receiving a data frame having a header with plural addresses. The node determines if a first address of the plural addresses is an address of a descendant of the node and if a second address of the plural addresses is a parent address of the node. If so, the node changes a second address of the plural addresses to its own address in response to the step of determining. The node then transmits the data frame to at least one descendant of the node.
US09742575B2

A network device executes a method to forward a packet that is encoded using an explicit list encoding of sparse multicast group membership information with Bit Index Explicit Replication. The method includes receiving a packet that includes a bitstring having a list of Bit Forwarding Router IDs (BFR-ids). The method further includes selecting a BFR-id identifying a destination Bit Forwarding Router (BFR) from the list for processing, looking up a forwarding bitmask for the destination BFR and a next-hop to reach the destination BFR in a bit index forwarding table, creating a copy of the packet, clearing the selected BFR-id from the packet, clearing BFR-ids from the packet and the copy of the packet based on the forwarding bitmask, and forwarding the copy of the packet to the next-hop neighbor.
US09742574B2

A peer-to-peer forwarding node supports the operation of a teleconference across a telecommunications network. The telecommunications network comprises a plurality of nodes including one or more source locations and one or more remote locations. The teleconference includes teleconference participants at each of the source and remote locations. The peer-to-peer forwarding node is located at a given one of the plurality of nodes. The peer-to-peer forwarding node comprises a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver receives a request from a telecommunications controller to provide peer-to-peer forwarding of a media signal to be received from a first one of the source locations to a first one of the remote locations and which further receives the media signal from the first one of said source locations. The transmitter forwards the media signal from the first one of the source locations to the first one of the remote locations.
US09742561B2

A method for authentication of a computing device so that shares of a secret may be delivered, over a network that uses a communications protocol which does not require use of an address, and on which an authentication server is listening, comprising the steps of dividing the secret into a first share and a second share, or more; destroying the secret; transmitting the second share, together with a unique identifier, out of band to a pre-designated location; erasing the second share from the computing device; storing the first share at the computing device; broadcasting the unique identifier over the network; accepting a request over the network from an authentication server to initiate an authentication protocol; responding to the request; receiving the second share from the authentication server; and reconstructing the secret using the received second share and the stored first share.
US09742559B2

Systems and methods for recognizing and reacting to malicious or performance-degrading behaviors in a mobile device include observing mobile device behaviors in an observer module within a privileged-normal portion of a secure operating environment to identify a suspicious mobile device behavior. The observer module may generate a concise behavior vector based on the observations, and provide the vector to an analyzer module in an unprivileged-secure portion of the secure operating environment. The vector may be analyzed in the unprivileged-secure portion to determine whether the mobile device behavior is benign, suspicious, malicious, or performance-degrading. If the behavior is found to be suspicious, operations of the observer module may be adjusted, such as to perform deeper observations. If the behavior is found to be malicious or performance-degrading behavior the user and/or a client module may be alerted in a secure, tamper-proof manner.
US09742549B1

Apparatus and methods for asynchronous clock mapping are provided herein. In certain configurations, an upstream server of a transport network generates clock difference data indicating a time difference between a server clock signal and a client clock signal, which have an asynchronous timing relationship with respect to one another. The clock difference data is generated with high precision by using one or more time-to-digital converters (TDCs). The clock difference data is included in a transmitted data stream, and is used by a downstream server to recover client information with enhanced accuracy.
US09742546B2

Disclosed herein is a wireless communication system. More particularly, disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for coordinating and reducing inter-cell interference in a wireless communication system. A method of transmitting channel state information (CSI) measurement resource information by a base station includes determining first and second subframe sets, in which CSI measurement will be performed, among a plurality of downlink subframes, transmitting information indicating the first and second subframe sets to a terminal, and receiving the CSI of each of the first and second subframe sets from the terminal. A subframe belonging to the first subframe set and a subframe belonging to the second subframe set do not overlap, and some of the plurality of subframes do not belong to either of the first and second subframe sets.
US09742528B2

The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for reducing the amount of messages sent in a communication network comprising a first communication network entity, a second communication network entity connected to said first communication network entity over a communication interface and one or more user equipments connected to said second communication network entity over a radio interface, whereby messages are sent on said interfaces using at least a first and a second protocol. General rules are provided for sending first protocol messages packed inside second protocol messages, so called “piggybacking”, and each first protocol message is provided with an instruction field defining a co-ordination of procedure steps to be taken for performing an action.
US09742524B2

The method comprising: applying, by a transmitter, a Forward Error Correction to an information block to be sent to a receiver and modulating said information block prior to its transmission, wherein the transmitter has knowledge of a channel frequency response seen by the receiver and the applying and modulating are performed at a variable-rate, at the transmitter side, by: transforming the information block into a number of smaller packets denoted as codeblocks fitting the input sizes accepted by the Forward Error Correction; selecting, a set of modulation and coding schemes to be independently applied to each of the codeblocks; including, information about the selected set of modulation and coding schemes within part of physical resources devoted to user data by reserving specific subcarriers and OFDM symbols; and mapping, said information within physical resources devoted to user data and not reserved for said selected set of modulation and coding schemes, first in order of ascending OFDM symbols and then of ascending subcarriers.
US09742523B2

One embodiment provides a network controller having physical interface (PHY) circuitry that includes transmitter circuitry configured to transmit data frames to a link partner over a channel link. The network controller also includes a link speed cycling module configured to cause the transmitter circuitry to transmit data frames to the link partner using at least one high rate link speed. The network controller also includes an equalization presets module configured to apply at least one equalization preset setting to the transmitter circuitry while the transmitter circuitry is transmitting the data frames to the link partner. The link speed module is further configured to cause the transmitter circuitry to dwell, for a transmitter dwell time period, for the at least one equalization preset setting at the at least one high rate link speed. The transmitter dwell time period allows the link partner to lock on to the transmitted data frames.
US09742522B2

A system for interference suppression onboard a satellite includes a beamforming module that processes radio-frequency (RF) signals originated from a plurality of antenna elements of an array antenna to generate multiple analog signals. At least one of the analog signals is an anti-interference signal. Analog-to-digital converters convert the analog signals to a number of digital signals. A processing module processes the digital signals to generate a phase and amplitude control signal. A summation module generates one or more composite signals with reduced interference.
US09742520B1

Components of an optical communications network are described at a node of the network providing switching from one or more degrees of received optical signal routed to a plurality of receivers. The switch at the node generally includes a passive reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) having drop or output ports that connector to optical channels leading to optical receivers without optical amplifiers between the ROADM outputs and the receivers. Configurations of the node and corresponding parameters are described that provide for use of lower cost components due to the absence of an array of optical amplifiers connected to the ROADM outputs.
US09742505B2

A testing device includes a connecting module and a processor electrically connected to the connecting module. The connecting module is electrically coupled with a plurality of communication devices under tests (DUTs) synchronously. The processor determines a schedule for the communication DUTs and tests the communication DUTs according to the schedule. A testing method is applied to the testing device to implement the operations.
US09742504B2

The present invention is generally a movable barrier system that employs a movable barrier operator with a signal translation module, which enhances the quality of communications between wired components of a movable barrier system, including long distance wired communications between controllers and position sensors. In an exemplary embodiment, position sensors comprising encoders are coupled to translation module for reducing electromagnetic interference or noise from various components that may otherwise interfere with the communication; error detection and error correction means may be further implemented to facilitate diagnostic monitoring of the system from a monitoring device.
US09742502B2

The present application provides an interaction method and system, and relates to the field of information interaction. The method comprises: in response to contact between a user body and an object, receiving a wave signal that is sent by the object and is transmitted by using a medium comprising at least a part of the user body. The system comprises: a receiving apparatus, configured to: in response to contact between a user body and an object, receive a wave signal that is sent by the object and is transmitted by using a medium comprising at least a part of the user body. The interaction method and system can help a user to naturally and efficiently complete an information interaction process, simplify an interaction process, and improve the interaction efficiency.
US09742501B2

The present invention relates to an optical communication system and an optical transmission device. By changing the ratio between the first segment and the segment or/and the amplitude of the second segment, the digital signal is modulated and transmitted in the form of an optical signal. Then a solar panel, which is used as the receiver for the optical signal, can receive the optical signal and give directly the one or more digital signal without demodulation. Thereby, the costs of using a solar panel as the optical receiver may be reduced and the transmission rate may be enhanced.
US09742496B2

Systems for a PLM configured active optical module (AOM) with native and non-native-network element support are provided. A system includes a non-native network element having a first port with a first inventory interface; a first pluggable AOM installed in the first port and coupled to the first inventory interface, where in response to a request to read a standard table entry the first pluggable AOM provides PLM information to the non-native network element in a format complying with a MSA or a standard for the inventory interface; an extended network element having a second port with a second inventory interface; and a second pluggable AOM installed in the second port and coupled to the second inventory interface, where in response to a request to read a non-standard table entry, processing devices provide PLM information to the extended network element in a format for a physical layer management system.
US09742482B2

A wireless communication device includes a polarity setting module configured to set a plurality of polarity modes for the wireless communication with the plurality of external devices. The plurality of polarity modes includes selected ones of at least: a first polarity mode, and a second polarity mode. The polarity setting module sets the plurality of polarity modes based on information received from the plurality of external devices. A framing module is configured to generate data for transmission to the plurality of external devices based on the plurality of polarity modes set by the polarity setting module.
US09742481B1

A device that dynamically selects between multiple antennas to provide a best antenna selection for a wireless link between the device and an access point. The device may have a switch connected to multiple antennas and may instruct the switch to select from the antennas in order to improve a signal quality of the wireless link regardless of orientation of the device or obstructions in proximity to the device. For example, the device may determine a first signal strength associated with the wireless link using a first antenna and a second signal strength associated with the wireless link using a second antenna and may select the first antenna or the second antenna based on the first signal strength and the second signal strength.
US09742480B1

A method for channel-state information determination in a wireless network comprises determining an initial channel-state information for a wireless channel based on a search of a plurality of sets of precoding codebook elements stored in a multiple input multiple output user equipment (UE) and determining a subsequent channel-state information based on the initial channel-state information.
US09742468B2

The method and solution can be mainly used for data transmission in cashless payment applications, especially those realized from the mobile phone while using RFID and/or NFC platform. The signals with different frequency are combined in antenna system (M) of the receiver (1) and transmitter (2) and then the carrier signal is separated from the result of the combined signals and the transmitted data are demodulated. The difference between the frequencies has a value, that corresponds to the size of the subcarrier frequency to which the receiver (1) is preset.During transmission the transformer connection coefficient can have the value k=0.2-0.001, while the antenna (3) of the receiver (2) is tuned narrowly to the transmitter's (2) frequency without considering the subcarrier frequency. The transmitter is preferably located on a memory card or on a card with a format and interface of a memory card, e.g. micro SD.
US09742464B2

An information handling system includes a stripline transmission line, the stripline transmission line including a plurality of conductors, each one of the conductors having a mitigation conductor section and a non-mitigation conductor section. The mitigation conductor section includes a first linear section having a first side surface and a second side surface, and a plurality of substantially semi-circular stubs extending from the first side surface of the first liner section. The mitigation conductor section is configured to mitigate near end cross talk between the mitigation conductor section and adjacent conductors.
US09742452B2

A local oscillator outputs a local oscillator signal that provides an upper side heterodyne mode or a lower side heterodyne mode for a received RF signal. A first converter converts the received RF signal into an IF signal, based on the local oscillator signal output from the local oscillator. An FM detector subjects the IF signal produced by conversion to detection. A first measurement unit measures a signal intensity of the IF signal before the IF signal is input to the FM detector. A second measurement unit measures a squelch voltage of a signal detected by the FM detector. A controller that controls the local oscillator based on the signal intensity measured by the first measurement unit and the squelch voltage measured by the second measurement unit.
US09742448B1

A method is provided for individually processing multiple frequency bands in a composite RF signal is disclosed. The composite RF signal is separated into a plurality of gain controlled and bandlimited frequency bands. The gain controlled and bandlimited frequency bands are then recombined to produce a controlled composite RF signal, which is then digitized by undersampling with an ADC to produce a plurality of unambiguous frequency bands convolved around baseband. The sample frequency can be substantially less than the Nyquist Limit of twice the highest frequency present for digitization. Each baseband signal is monitored for amplitude spikes therein. In response to an amplitude spike, the appropriate frequency band is modified by a control signal to hold the ADC to within its dynamic range.
US09742443B2

Transients caused by load modulation can fee compensated far by adjusting pulse shapes. A radio frequency (RP) carrier signal can be modulated using load modulation. For the modulated RF carrier signal a particular pattern can be detected for a symbol period that precedes a second symbol that does not use load modulation. In response to the detecting, a pulse shape of the first symbol can be adjusted to mitigate the transients.
US09742441B2

An apparatus and method associated with exploiting a characteristic in super-heterodyne receivers such that a modulated signal will be received on all channels simultaneously regardless of the channel selected on the receiver.
US09742439B1

A method and apparatus for a quasi-cyclic low density parity check (QC-LDPC) decoder utilizes a parity check matrix (H matrix) having a matrix value for each row and column position in the matrix. Each matrix value is associated with an initial soft information element where, for each one of the matrix values associated with a constrained row, the one of the matrix values is constrained to a set of constraint values associated with a set of initial soft information elements. The set of initial soft information elements excludes a number of soft information elements that immediately precede a first initial soft information element. The first initial soft information element is associated with a selected first matrix value associated with a first row that immediately precedes the constrained row, and with the same column as the one of the matrix values in the constrained row.
US09742437B2

Lossless data compression and depression devices and lossless data compression and decompression methods are provided. The lossless data compression device includes a processor and an entropy coding circuit. The processor is arranged to determine whether a raw data stream matches data items in a dictionary when a compression command for the raw data stream is received and output corresponding codewords according to the determination result. The entropy coding circuit is arranged to perform entropy coding on the corresponding codewords to obtain a compressed data stream.
US09742436B1

This disclosure relates to compressing and/or decompressing a group of similar data units, such as a table or queue of data units processed by a networking device or other computing apparatus. Each data unit in the group may only have values for fields in a master set. The described systems are particularly suited for hardware-level processing of groups of sparsely-populated data units, in which a large number of the data units have values for only a small number of the fields. In an embodiment, non-value carrying fields in a data unit are compressed based on a compression profile selected for the data unit. The compression profile indicates, for each master field, whether the compressed data unit includes a value for that field. Non-value carrying fields are omitted from the compressed data unit. The compression profile also permits compression of value-carrying fields using variable-width field lengths specified in the profile.
US09742433B2

A wireless device generates a High Efficiency Signal B (HE-SIG-B) field by Block Convolution Code (BCC) encoding and rate-matching a BCC block of the HE-SIG-B field, generates a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) including the HE-SIG-B field, and transmits the PPDU. A total number N is a total number of bits of the HE-SIG-B field that precede the BCC block, and is greater than 0. The BCC block has a puncturing pattern depending on the total number N. A wireless device receives a PPDU. The PPDU includes an HE-SIG-B field that includes an encoded BCC block. The wireless device de-rate-matches the encoded BCC block having a puncturing pattern depending on a total number N. The total number N is a total number of decoded bits of the HE-SIG-B field that preceded the BCC block, and the total number N is greater than 0.
US09742432B2

A method of compressing data output from one or more accelerometers configured to be transported, carried or worn by a user is provided. Acceleration values indicative of the movement of the user are measured at a first frequency and values representative of the measured acceleration values are generated at a second frequency, which is lower than the first frequency. The step of generating comprises: defining a plurality of time windows, each time window containing a plurality of measured acceleration values; and applying a transformation to the measured acceleration values within each time window to generate a plurality of transformed values. For each time window, storing at least one of said plurality of transformed values and/or one or more parameters associated therewith.
US09742422B2

A receiver having an analog to digital converter with adjustable reference voltages that are calibrated to account for process variations. The receiver comprises an analog to digital converter. The analog to digital converter includes a reference generator to generate a set of N reference voltages. The reference generator adjusts voltage levels of the set of N reference voltages based on one or more control signals. A plurality of comparators compare an input signal to the set of N reference voltages. A calibration circuit generates the one or more control signals for adjusting the voltage levels of the N reference voltages based on outputs of the comparators.
US09742416B2

A phase detector includes a counter to generate the integer portion of a number of complete cycles of an output clock at each active edge of a reference clock. A time to digital converter in the phase detector generates the fractional portion of the number of complete cycles of the output clock at each active edge of the reference clock. The sum of the fractional portion and the integer portion is subtracted from an accumulated value obtained by accumulating a pre-determined number to generate an error signal as the output of the phase detector. The counter is read at an active edge of one of two re-timed clocks derived from the reference clock. Each of the two re-timed clocks is generated based on a comparison of the fractional portion with a pair of thresholds. Errors due to metastability in reading the counter are thereby avoided.
US09742412B1

A wireless receiver has a preamble detection apparatus and method which waits until the expected arrival of a beacon frame, after which power is cyclically applied during a preamble detection interval and a sleep interval until a preamble is detected. During the preamble detection interval, power is applied to receiver components, and during the sleep interval, power is not applied. The duration of the preamble detection interval is equal to a preamble sensing interval, and if a preamble is detected, power remains applied to a preamble processor for a preamble processing interval. The duration of the sleep interval is the duration of a long preamble less the sum of two times the preamble detection interval plus the preamble processing interval. Phase lock loop (PLL) power is applied a PLL settling time prior to and during the preamble detection interval.
US09742405B2

A semiconductor integrated circuit includes: a first wire through which a signal is transmitted; a second wire that is not used for signal transmission; a switch that creates or breaks an electric connection between the first wire and the second wire; and a control circuit that controls the switch according to an potential of the signal, which is transmitted through the first wire, so that part of charge stored in a first wire capacitor of the first wire moves to a second wire capacitor of the second wire and is stored in the second wire capacitor and the charge stored in the second wire capacitor are drawn to the first wire capacitor to charge the first wire capacitor.
US09742402B1

A keyboard with a distance detecting function includes a plurality of keyswitches, and each keyswitch includes a keycap, a base, a supporting component, a recovering component and a distance detecting unit. The base has a guide slot structure. The supporting component has a first end connecting to the keycap, and a second end movably assembled with the guide slot structure. The recovering component is disposed between the supporting component and the guide slot structure. The distance detecting unit is detachably disposed on the base, and adapted to detect a movement of the keycap relative to the base for determining whether the keyswitch is actuated.
US09742398B2

Current sensing through a power semiconductor device with reduced sensitivity to temperature and process variations. An example arrangement includes a power switch coupled between a voltage input and an output voltage terminal supplying current to a load; a first isolation switch coupled between the voltage input and a first node; a comparator amplifier having a pair of differential inputs coupled to the first node and a second node outputting a voltage in response to the difference at the differential inputs; and a first current source coupled between a positive supply voltage and the first node to output a first current responsive to the voltage output from the comparator amplifier; wherein the first current is proportional to the current through the power switch and a ratio of the on resistance of the power switch and the on resistance of the first isolation switch. Methods and additional arrangements are also disclosed.
US09742397B2

An apparatus includes a first field effect transistor (FET) that has a body and is coupled in a circuit. The apparatus also includes a second FET that has a body and is coupled in the circuit. The circuit has an offset because of a mismatch. The apparatus further includes an offset correction circuit coupled to the body of the first FET and to the body of the second FET. The offset correction circuit provides a first offset correction signal to the body of the first FET and provides a second offset correction signal to the body of the second FET.
US09742388B2

A driver circuit includes normally-on transistors (Q1, Q2), control circuits (1, 2) that control the transistors (Q1, Q2), a capacitor (4) connected between power source nodes (1c, 1d) of the control circuit (1), a power source (7) connected between power source nodes (2c, 2d) of the control circuit (2), a MOSFET (16) connected between the power source nodes (1d, 2d), a control circuit (3) that turns on the MOSFET (16) when an output voltage VO reaches approximately 0 V, and a startup circuit that includes a Zener diode (20) connected in parallel to the capacitor (4) and that can charge the capacitor (4) with a Zener voltage even when the MOSFET (16) is off.
US09742380B1

An example a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit includes a sampling phase detector configured to receive a reference clock and a feedback clock and configured to supply a first control current and a pulse signal. The PLL further includes a charge pump configured to generate a second control current based on the first control current and the pulse signal. The PLL further includes a loop filter configured to filter the second control current and generate an oscillator control voltage. The PLL further includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) configured to generate an output clock based on the oscillator control voltage. The PLL further includes a frequency divider configured to generate the reference clock from the output clock.
US09742379B2

A voltage clamp circuit which operates using a voltage controlled current source where the change of the polarity of the voltage controlled current source controls whether it is clamping or not. While clamping, the stability of the control loop uses the capacitance of the output to create and single pole roll-off of the loop gain and while not clamping, uses the capacitance of the circuit which sets the clamping voltage to produce the roll-off. The circuit operates in a linear fashion both while clamping and not clamping, which allows for a faster response when clamping is needed.
US09742377B2

A filter includes: one or more series resonators that are connected in series between an input terminal and an output terminal; one or more parallel resonators that are connected in parallel between the input terminal and the output terminal; and a laterally coupled resonator that is connected in parallel with at least one of the one or more series resonators.
US09742357B2

Embodiments of the disclosure may include a method and apparatus for improving the efficiency and extending the operation time between recharges or replacement batteries of a portable audio delivery system. The audio delivery system may include a processor, an audio processing device, a speaker, and a rechargeable power source. The audio delivery system is generally configured to generate and/or receive an audio input signal and efficiently deliver an amplified, high quality audio output signal to a user. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the audio processing device of the audio delivery system may include a switch mode power supply (SMPS), a signal delay element, an envelope detector, and a switching signal amplifier.
US09742347B2

A method and apparatus for mounting a solar collector panel by itself or supported within a frame, to a surface comprising: a strap assembly, a first attachment device attached to and between the panel or frame and the strap assembly; and a second attachment means for attaching the strap assembly to the surface. The strap assembly comprises a plurality of straps attached end to end. The first attachment device could be a bolt, a screw, adhesive, etc. Alternatively, there could be a support between the panel or frame and the strap assembly. The second attachment means may be: a nail, a spike, adhesive, bolting to a stud attached to the surface, welding, ballast, adhesive tape or combinations of these.
US09742339B2

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for controlling an inverter. The apparatus determines the phase of an command voltage in a restart section taking into account the frequency of an input voltage to an electric motor when an input power is reduced below a rated power, the frequency of the input voltage into the electric motor at the time of restarting, a time period for generating a torque, and the phase of the input voltage to the electric motor at the time of the restarting.
US09742337B2

A power conversion apparatus includes a pair of switching elements that are connected in series between a higher potential side terminal and a lower potential side terminal to form upper and lower arms; a coil whose end is connected between the pair of switching elements; and a controller that calculates, based on a voltage between the higher potential side terminal and the lower potential side terminal and an inductance of the coil, a time rate of change of a current value of a current flowing through the coil, and switches, based on the calculated time rate of change of the current value, between a single arm drive mode in which only one of the pair of switching elements is driven to be turned on/off and a double arm drive mode in which the pair of switching elements are driven to be turned on/off in opposite phase.
US09742333B2

To achieve smooth switching of control without fluctuations in speed and torque, an excitation current command is allowed to transit linearly or in accordance with the function of speed between a value under sensorless vector control and a value under low-speed region control in accordance with a speed command or estimated speed in a speed region where the control is switched or in an adjacent speed region where sensorless vector control is performed. Therefore, abrupt variations in excitation current are reduced before and after the switching of the control.
US09742327B2

A motor drive controller includes: a motor driver that applies a voltage to each phase of a motor to rotate; a rotational position detector that detects rotational position of the motor and generates rotational position information indicating the rotational position; and a controller that outputs, to the motor driver, driving control signals for repeatedly adjusting an advance angle and a lag angle at energization switching of the each phase of the motor in a prescribed pattern based on the rotational position information generated by the rotational position detector.
US09742311B2

A method of controlling an inverter includes receiving output voltage target waveforms for phases of an inverter, generating uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveforms for the inverter phases, selecting an uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveform for one of the inverter phases based on the magnitudes of the uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveforms, and applying a compensation signal to the selected uncompensated midpoint duty cycle waveform. An inverter controller and inverter employ the method for generating switch command signals for solid-state switch devices of the inverter.
US09742307B2

Disclosed is a rectifying circuit for high-frequency power supply that rectifies an alternating voltage at a high frequency equal to or higher than 2 MHz, the rectifying circuit for high-frequency power supply including a current doubler rectifier circuit that rectifies the alternating voltage inputted from a reception antenna for power transmission 10, a partial resonant circuit that causes the current doubler rectifier circuit to perform partial resonant switching in a switching operation at the time of rectification, a matching functional circuit that has a function of matching a resonance condition to that of the reception antenna for power transmission 10, and a function of matching the resonance condition to that of the partial resonant circuit, and a smoothing functional circuit that smooths the voltage rectified by the current doubler rectifier circuit into a direct voltage.
US09742303B2

According to some aspects, a power conversion system for converting electrical power produced by a generator is provided. The power conversion system comprises at least one first power converter configured to convert alternating current from the generator to direct current, at least one second power converter configured to convert the direct current to alternating current, and least one controller configured to reconfigure the at least one first power converter to convert direct current to alternating current and/or to reconfigure the at least one second power converter to convert alternating current to direct current.
US09742302B2

A zero-crossing detection circuit can include: a state judging circuit that generates a judging signal based on whether a body diode of a synchronous power switch is conducting when the synchronous power switch is off; a regulation voltage generator that reduces a regulation voltage when the judging signal indicates that the body diode is conducting, and increases the regulation voltage when the judging signal indicates that the body diode is not conducting, where a detection voltage includes a sum of the regulation voltage and a voltage at a first terminal of the synchronous power switch; and a comparison circuit that compares the detection voltage against a voltage at a second terminal of the synchronous power switch, and generates a zero-crossing detection signal that is activated to turn off the synchronous power switch when the detection voltage equals the voltage at the second terminal of the synchronous power switch.
US09742297B2

A power delivery (PD) device includes: an AC/DC converter connected to an AC input, the AC/DC converter configured to change the AC input to a desired voltage value to be output in accordance with a first voltage changing control signal supplied from outside; and a DC/DC converter connected between an output of the AC/DC converter and a DC output, the DC/DC converter configured to change the output from the AC/DC converter to a desired voltage value to be output as a DC output in accordance with a second voltage changing control signal supplied from outside, wherein the AC/DC converter at a previous stage and the DC/DC converter at a subsequent stage are interlocked to change the output voltage to desired target voltage. There can be provided the PD device capable of delivering power with high power efficiency over the wide voltage ranges.
US09742283B2

A power supply control IC includes: a switching control circuit of a fixed on-time type configured to generate an output voltage from an input voltage by driving an inductor by complimentarily turning on/off an output transistor and a synchronous rectification transistor based on a result of comparison between a predetermined reference voltage and a feedback voltage in accordance with the output voltage. The switching control circuit extends an on-time of the output transistor more when a backflow of a coil current is detected than when the backflow is not detected.
US09742282B2

A switching power voltage regulator includes a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal generator, an output circuit and a feedback circuit. The PWM signal generator is configured to generate a PWM signal. The feedback circuit is configured to provide a feedback signal to the output circuit according to an output voltage of the output circuit. The output circuit includes an inductor, a plurality of inverters, and a driver. Each of the inverters includes a first transistor and a second transistor. When the inductor needs to be charged, the driver selectively switches one or more corresponding first transistors on according to the feedback signal.
US09742274B2

A DC-DC voltage converter including a main switch formed by a normally ON switch element connected in series with a normally OFF switch element including a control circuit, a load in series with the main switch, the main switch and the load being configured to be connected to terminals of a DC voltage source. A voltage source, that can be used for controlling is obtained by connecting a main peak detector circuit to the mid-point of the main switch. The control circuit of the normally OFF switch element can be supplied with the DC voltage that makes the entire device self-supplied. Such a converter can, for example, find application in aeronautics.
US09742270B2

A voltage regulator is controlled to improve supply voltage rejection by cancelling an alternating component of a supply voltage signal that is capacitively coupled to a high-impedance node within the voltage regulator. This cancellation is done by capacitively coupling an inverted version of the alternating component to the high-impedance node to thereby substantially cancel the alternating component present on the high-impedance node. The high-impedance node may be a high-impedance voltage reference node of the voltage regulator.
US09742268B2

A method for controlling a boost converter which generates an output voltage according to an input voltage. The boost converter includes an inductor, a first transistor, a second transistor, and a capacitor. The first transistor is coupled between the inductor and a ground. The second transistor is coupled between the inductor and an output terminal. The capacitor is coupled to both the second transistor and the output terminal. The method includes: charging the capacitor by repeatedly turning on the second transistor within a first time interval; turning on the first transistor and the second transistor by turns according to a first switching frequency within a second time interval; and turning on the first transistor and the second transistor by turns according to a second switching frequency within a third time interval. The first switching frequency is smaller than the second switching frequency.
US09742265B2

A power supply apparatus (10) includes a voltage input side (102), a power switch circuit (104), a voltage output side (106), a pulse width modulation signal generating circuit (108) and a burst frequency detection circuit (110). According to a pulse width modulation signal (114), the pulse width modulation signal generating circuit (108) controls the power switch circuit (104), so that the power supply apparatus (10) enters a burst mode. The burst frequency detection circuit (110) detects a burst frequency of the power switch circuit (104). The burst frequency detection circuit (110) informs the pulse width modulation signal generating circuit (108) that the burst frequency is in an audio frequency range if the burst frequency is in the audio frequency range. The power supply apparatus (10) leaves from the burst mode to avoid audio noise.
US09742261B2

The present application relates to AC power supplies and in particular to power factor correction circuits in AC-DC converters. The application provides an active power factor correction circuit in which zero voltage switching is inherently achieved using a passive snubbing approach employing a saturable transformer.
US09742255B2

An apparatus comprising: a permanent magnet providing magnetic flux; an electric field generator comprising at least one conductive loop and high permeability material configured to direct magnetic flux preferentially through the at least one conductive loop adjacent a first portion of a length of the at least one conductive loop; and a supporting system configured to support the permanent magnet at a distance from the electric field generator and enable relative movement between the permanent magnet and the electric field generator. A corresponding method.
US09742251B2

Certain aspects relate to topologies for an interior permanent magnet (IPM) electrical machine having increased saliency torque, increased flux-linkage, reduced magnet leakage flux, and reduced detrimental slotting effects compared to existing IPM electrical machines. The IPM electrical machine includes a rotor having a number of poles and a flux barrier formed along the edge of the rotor between poles. The flux barrier contains a magnet or set of magnets having a varying thickness, with a central thickest portion located along the d-axis of the rotor. A magnet retention structure, which may be formed integrally with the rotor or provided as a separate structure, surrounds the rotor and magnets. The rotor and magnets combine to form a smooth circular profile having no air gaps.
US09742245B2

A ground wire connection structure for a motor includes: a frame that has electrical conductivity; a flange that is integrated with the frame on one axial end surface of the frame and has electrical conductivity; a protrusion that is protruded outward from a flange surface of the flange and has a through hole; and a conductive pin that has a press-fit portion press-fitted and fixed into the through hole, a diameter-increased head portion, and a solder cup protruded from the head portion to allow an exposed tip end of a ground wire to be inserted and joined into the inside.
US09742241B2

A low profile pump motor lead protector with a head guard and a trailing guard, the head guard including a front section with a front end and a rear section with a rear end, the trailing guard having a pin end for insertion in a head guard socket, the lead protector for protecting a motor lead of a pump and motor assembly of a downhole production string for surfacing fluid from a reservoir such as a subterranean oil well.
US09742238B2

A method for producing a housing arrangement for a an electric machine provides a closure part and a carrier part. An opening of the carrier part is placed onto a spigot on the closure part. The spigot is shaped to engage behind the carrier part. A housing arrangement for an electric machine is also provided. The housing arrangement has a closure part and a carrier part fixedly connected to the closure part.
US09742237B2

A motor control apparatus includes a motor, a motor controller, and a connection line. The motor is mounted to a vehicle and has a metal housing. The motor controller is separately provided with the motor, includes a housing and a circuit portion, is connected to the motor through a load line, and drives the motor by a drive current transmitted through the load line. A ground line of the circuit portion is connected to a body of the vehicle as a body earth. The connection line directly connects the metal housing of the motor and the circuit portion of the motor controller without through the housing of the motor controller.
US09742236B2

A terminal of a vehicle traction motor includes a plurality of bus bars placed on an assembly jig, a plurality of insulation spacers, where an insulation spacer is inserted between the a pair of bus bars, and a terminal mold placed over the plurality of bus bars and the plurality of insulation spacers, the terminal mold being coupled to an outermost bus bar of the plurality of bus bars, wherein a diameters of each of the plurality of bus bars is different from the other bus bars, and a diameters of each of the insulation spacers is different from the other insulation spacers.
US09742230B2

A permanent magnet rotor including a rotor core and permanent magnets. The rotor core includes a plurality of magnetic induction blocks. A plurality of radial recesses are formed between every two adjacent magnetic induction blocks for mounting the permanent magnets. The magnetic induction blocks protrude at both sides of the opening of the radial recesses to form hook blocks. The permanent magnets include a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet. The first permanent magnet includes a north pole strong magnetic surface and a south pole weak magnetic surface. The second permanent magnet includes a north pole weak magnetic surface and a south pole strong magnetic surface. The first permanent magnet and the second permanent magnet are alternately disposed in the radial recesses.
US09742216B2

A wireless charging system for a variable charging mode includes: an information receiver configured to receive information about a wireless power receiver including a wireless charging mode that is supported by the wireless power receiver through a wireless communication connected to the wireless power receiver; wireless power transmitting units configured to wirelessly transmit power by a plurality of different wireless charging modes; and a controller configured to control the wireless power transmitting units to wireless transmit power by the wireless charging mode corresponding to the received information.
US09742202B2

A power-receiving structure is provided in a ship and includes a power-receiving coil capable of wirelessly receiving electric power from a power-supplying coil on a land-side and an outer wall surface-forming section forming an outer surface of side of the ship, and the power-receiving coil is provided on an inside of the ship from the outer wall surface-forming section, and an electromagnetic field-transmissive section formed of a material through which an electromagnetic field propagates is provided in an opposing portion to the power-receiving coil in the outer wall surface-forming section. According to the present invention, the power-receiving coil is not protruded from the outer surface of side of the ship and can wirelessly receive electric power from the power-supplying coil on the land-side through the electromagnetic field-transmissive section. Accordingly, the power-receiving coil does not disturb the navigation of the ship and is not required to be pulled into the ship after the supply of the electric power to the ship is finished.
US09742199B2

A contactless power supply system includes a first power transmission coil, a plug power reception coil, a plug power transmission coil, and a first power reception coil. The first power transmission coil and the plug power reception coil are configured to satisfy a relational equation of (L2a/L1)1/2=G1/K1=N2a/N1, where L1 represents a self-inductance of the first power transmission coil, L2a represents a self-inductance of the plug power reception coil, N1 represents a winding number of the first power transmission coil, N2a represents a winding number of the plug power reception coil, K1 represents a coupling coefficient of the first power transmission coil and the plug power reception coil, and G1 represents a voltage conversion gain of the voltage applied to the plug power transmission coil relative to the voltage applied to the first power transmission coil.
US09742198B2

A redundant path power subsystem comprises a plurality of phase regulators in a multi-phase power converter. The plurality of phase regulators comprises at least N+2 phase regulators. N phases are sufficient to serve an electrical load coupled with the redundant path power subsystem. The redundant path power subsystem also comprises a plurality of power supplies, and a plurality of input and control paths between the plurality of power supplies and the plurality of phase regulators. The plurality of input and control paths comprises a plurality of multiplexing logic devices and a plurality of phase controllers. The plurality of phase controllers is configured to control the plurality of phase regulators. The plurality of multiplexing logic devices is configured to multiplex control signals from the plurality of power supplies and a microprocessor for the plurality of phase controllers.
US09742189B2

The present invention relates to a system for controlling microgrid facilities. In particular, the microgrid control system provided is capable of controlling multiple facilities according to characteristics of the facilities in order to achieve economic efficiency, environmental friendliness, and continued operability. The microgrid control system for controlling the operations of the multiple power facilities is provided with: a power supply activation/suspension planning unit that has a prediction unit for predicting outputs or loads of power supply facilities or load facilities and a prediction unit for predicting prediction errors contained therein; and an economical load allocation unit that determines command values related to the distribution of loads to be borne by currently running power supply facilities.
US09742184B2

A system for clearing power transmission line faults includes a sensor network configured to communicate with a transmission line and configured to detect one or more faults on the transmission line, a crowbar configured to coordinately switch first and second ends of a section of the transmission line to respective termination points, wherein the crowbar includes first and second grounding switches disposed respectively at about the first and second ends of the section of the transmission line, and a controller configured to receive information from the sensor network and configured to control the switching of the crowbar in response to the information.
US09742178B2

Feedthrough assemblies for medical devices having various embodiments of strain relief members extending around portions of the feed through pin are described.
US09742174B2

An electrical-accessory module (130) for engaging in an electrical box (110) includes a casing (131) made of insulating material, and that includes a side wall (132) that is closed at the front by a front wall (134) for defining an inside space for receiving an electrical mechanism (140). The electrical-accessory module includes firstly snap-fastener elements (137) adapted to catch onto the electrical box, which snap-fastener elements include at least one catch member (137A) that is movable between a retracted position in which it does not hinder the insertion of the casing into the electrical box, and an extended position in which it is adapted to catch directly onto the electrical box, and secondly release elements (137C) for releasing the snap-fastener elements, which release elements are accessible via the front, through an access opening (139) provided in the front wall, so as to return the catch member into its retracted position.
US09742172B2

Novel tools and techniques are provided for implementing MediaLink Interconnection Boxes (“MIBs”). In some embodiments, a plurality of MediaLink Interconnection Boxes (“MIBs”) or media interconnection devices, which may be disposed throughout a recreational vehicle (“RV”) park or other bulk service provider application sites, or the like, may serve as demarcation units designed to each provide an accessible indoor or outdoor interface where long-term or temporary/transient customers can directly connect to land line service (e.g., POTS service), video or television service, and/or Ethernet or Internet services provided by one or more service providers. Fiber-to-Drop-Point (“FTDP”) and/or point-to-point fiber insertion within a passive optical network (“PON”) communications system may be implemented using apical conduit systems in conjunction with the MIBs. Alternatively, traditional ground-based or buried line interconnections (or a combination of the apical conduit system and such traditional interconnections) may be implemented in conjunction with the MIBs.
US09742170B2

An electrical junction box includes a housing attachable to an object to be attached, a housing support member holding the housing and attachable to the object to be attached, and male and female screw members. The housing support member includes a first portion to be engaged with a first engaging portion in the housing, thereby achieving positioning therewith, a second portion to be engaged with a second engaging portion in the housing, thereby achieving positioning therewith, an extending portion extending between the first and second portions to be engaged, and a through hole provided to an end of the extending portion on the second portion to be engaged side. The housing has a through hole. The through holes are disposed to be concentric in a state that the first and second portions to be engaged are respectively engaged with the first and second engaging portion.
US09742166B2

A wire harness is provided with an electrically conductive path, and a tubular sheath member into which the electrically conductive path is inserted. The sheath member includes a straight portion having strength to limit bending. A bellows-shaped portion which is wavy in shape in a tube circumferential direction, is formed in a portion of the straight portion in a sectional view. The bellows-shaped portion is more flexible than a portion of the straight portion other than the bellows-shaped portion.
US09742162B2

In order to develop a gas-insulated medium-voltage switchgear assembly, which has an encapsulated container for accommodating components of the medium-voltage switchgear assembly, a grounding contact and a grounding busbar terminal provided on the outer side of the container, such that it has a simple and economical design, it is proposed that the grounding contact is secured by integral bonding in a container opening and has the grounding busbar connection terminal.
US09742149B2

In the method for controlling a tunable wavelength laser, information designating an oscillation wavelength is inputted. A driving condition for causing laser oscillation at a first wavelength is acquired from a memory. A control value of wavelength characteristics of the etalon and a difference between the first wavelength and a second wavelength are referred to, and a control value of wavelength characteristics of the etalon for causing laser oscillation at the second wavelength is calculated. The control value of wavelength characteristics of the etalon are assigned to the tunable wavelength laser, and a wavelength is controlled so that a wavelength sensing result becomes a first target value. Information indicating a wavelength shift amount from the designated oscillation wavelength is inputted. The wavelength sensing result is calculated as a second target value. The wavelength is controlled so that the wavelength sensing result becomes the second target value.
US09742147B2

After forming a first trench extending through a top semiconductor layer and a buried insulator layer and into a handle substrate of a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, a dielectric waveguide material stack including a lower dielectric cladding layer, a core layer and an upper dielectric cladding layer is formed within the first trench. Next, at least one lateral bipolar junction transistor (BJT), which can be a PNP BJT, an NPN BJT or a pair of complementary PNP BJT and NPN BJT, is formed in a remaining portion of the top semiconductor layer. After forming a second trench extending through the dielectric waveguide material stack to re-expose a portion of a bottom surface of the first trench, a laser diode is formed in the second trench.
US09742132B1

An electrical connector includes an insulating body, plural conductive terminals, and a shielding body. The insulating body includes a top board, a bottom board, and two side boards that form a docking chamber. The top board has a first surface, the bottom board has a second surface facing to the first surface, and plural terminal grooves are formed on the first surface and the second surface. Each of the conductive terminals has a contacting portion and a tail portion connected to the contacting portion. The contacting portion is located in a corresponding one of the terminal grooves, and the tail portion is extended to outside of the insulating body. The shielding body has two side walls opposite to each other and is fixed to an opening of the docking chamber in which two convex portions are respectively located on inner surfaces of the side walls.
US09742129B2

A pin for a subsea connector having an electrical conductor, an insulating sleeve around the conductor and a conductive layer provided on a portion of the outer surface of the insulating sleeve. The insulating sleeve has a recess that extends in an axial direction over a portion of the insulating sleeve. The conductive layer is provided in the recess.
US09742120B2

An electrical plug connector includes an insulated housing and a plurality of plug terminals. The insulated housing includes a base portion and a semi-tubular portion extending from one side of the base portion. The semi-tubular portion includes a portion, a front stopping portion at a front lateral surface of the portion, and a plurality of side blocks extending outward from two sides of the portion. The plug terminals include a plurality of signal terminals, one or more power terminal, and one or more ground terminal. The plug terminals are held in the insulated housing and at the surface of the portion.
US09742116B1

A connector includes a male housing having a male beak, a plurality of male terminals, a female housing having a female lock portion climbing over the male beak to be locked to the male beak in a fitted state with the male housing, a plurality of female terminals aligned in the alignment direction in the female housing and connected to the respective male terminals in the fitted state, a CPA member having a CPA lock portion capable of being locked to the female lock portion at a fitting assurance position, and short-circuiting pieces provided in the female housing and short-circuiting the adjacent female terminals in the female housing in a non-fitted state. Contact positions between the female terminals and the short-circuiting pieces and locking positions at which the female terminals are locked in the female housing are different from each other about a fitting direction when viewed therefrom.
US09742115B2

A connector includes a first housing including a first lock part, a second housing including a second lock part that can be locked to the first lock part, and a fitting detection member that can move from an initial position to a fitting assured position with the second lock part locked to the first lock part and includes a third lock part that can ride over the first lock part and the second lock part in succession along with the movement from the initial position to the fitting assured position to be locked to the second lock part at the fitting assured position. The first lock part includes a drawing slope surface inclining from a protruding tip toward a first lock face and a protrusion protruding from the drawing slope surface. The second lock part includes a notch that can house the protrusion.
US09742109B1

An electrical connector system includes a connector and a header. The header includes a substantially T-shaped member having a proximal portion substantially rectangular in shape having a first width and a distal portion substantially rectangular in shape having a second width greater than the first width. A first and a second end portion of the distal portions are substantially T-shaped viewed end on. The first and the second end portions include a plurality of guides and shoulders. The connector includes a substantially rectangular member having a proximal portion having a first thickness and a distal portion having a second thickness less than the first thickness on a bottom side of the substantially rectangular member. The proximal portion includes first and second proximal feet and first and second distal feet. Each foot includes a foot retention shoulder and one or more guides.
US09742096B2

Connector receptacles having protective structures for connector contacts. One example may provide a connector receptacle having one or more contacts that are reinforced with a protective piece around a portion of the contact. Another example may provide a connector receptacle having two or more contacts reinforced with adjacent protective pieces to provide additional protective reinforcement. Another example may provide a connector receptacle having two or more contacts reinforced with interlocking protective pieces. These protective pieces may protect contacts in a connector receptacle from damage when a device, module, or connector insert is inserted into the connector receptacle at an oblique angle, when a device, module, or insert is stressed while in the receptacle, or when a device, module, or insert is removed from the receptacle at an oblique angle.
US09742093B2

A power box adapted for use with a vacuum cleaning unit adapted to be carried on the back of a user, comprises an external housing including a power outlet recessed therein, the recessed power outlet further comprising a male power attachment, wherein the power box further comprises structures for receiving a power nozzle adapted for use with the vacuum cleaning unit.
US09742089B2

The metal terminals are a first terminal, and a second terminal mated with the first terminal, the first terminal has a first main body portion, a first contact portion, and a first lock portion, the second terminal has a second main body portion, a second contact portion contacting the first contact portion, and a second lock portion locking the first lock portion. The first lock portion includes a first engaging portion arranged on a surface of the first main body portion, and the second lock portion including a pair of second engaging portions arranged on opposing surfaces of the second main body portions.
US09742088B1

Electrical contact or electrical connector having the electrical contact. The electrical contact has a mating segment that is configured to engage another contact and has a contact end and a contact surface. The contact surface includes a mating zone that is located a distance from the contact end. The mating zone is configured to intimately engage the other contact for electrical communication between the electrical contact and the other contact. The mating segment has a stub portion that extends between the contact end and the mating zone. At least a portion of the contact surface along the stub portion has a textured area that is more textured than the contact surface at the mating zone. The textured area is configured to dampen reflected energy that propagates between the mating zone and the contact end.
US09742087B2

A connector is provided which has an actuator able to rotate around a pressure-applying portion arranged below upper beams between an open orientation and a closed orientation, and a stopping portion. The actuator is able to move with the actuator in the closed orientation between a first position where the stopped portion of the actuator comes into contact with the stopping portion to prevent rotation of the actuator from the closed orientation to the open orientation, and a second position where the stopped portion of the actuator has moved away from the stopping portion to allow rotation of the actuator from the closed orientation to the open orientation.
US09742081B1

A press-fit circuit board connector is provided including a housing having a mating end and a mounting end. The housing has a contact holder including a plurality of contact channels. Contacts are received in corresponding contact channels. Each contact has a mating pin and a mounting pin opposite the mating pin. The mating pin is compliant and configured for compliant mating with a corresponding socket contact of a mating connector. The mounting pin is compliant and configured for press-fit mechanical and electrical connection to a circuit board. The mating pins of the contacts are arranged at the mating end to define a pin mating interface having a first pattern and the mounting pins of the contacts are arranged at the mounting end to define a pin mounting interface having a second pattern different than the first pattern.
US09742077B2

A system according to one embodiment includes a phased array antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements, the plurality of antenna elements configured in a planar array, wherein each of the plurality of antenna elements generates a beam pattern directed at an angle out of the plane of the planar array; and driver circuitry coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements, wherein the driver circuitry comprises a plurality of transceivers, the plurality of transceivers configured to provide independently adjustable phase delay to each of the plurality of antenna elements.
US09742075B2

A hybrid active array approach can combine aspects of a passive and active array architecture with transmitter, high power, and cooling components positioned in one location, e.g., below a ship deck, apart from a radiating location. Waveguides or signal transmission lines can convey a transmit signal from the transmitter to the radiating location, e.g., to a beamforming network (BFN), hybrid transmit/receive modules (HTRM), and a plurality of antenna elements. The exemplary BFN can set an amplitude distribution of an antenna aperture associated with the BFN, HTRMs, and plurality of antenna elements to control both transmit and receive sidelobes where low or reduced sidelobes on transmit reduces radiation outside of the main beam further reducing signal returns in one or more sidelobes sections of the antenna elements. In a receive mode, a reverse can occur and additional beamformers can be utilized for beamforming the receive beams.
US09742072B2

The printed-circuit board arrangement is used for the electrical connection of an amplifier unit to at least two antenna elements, whereas the at least two antenna elements are embodied on the printed-circuit board arrangement. The antenna elements are coupled via a three-line system to the amplifier unit, where the three-line system comprises three strip lines mounted on the printed-circuit board arrangement extending parallel to one another.
US09742071B2

An antenna of the present disclosure has a housing having a shallow cavity in a top of the housing and a shallow cavity in a bottom of the housing. The antenna further has a substantially circular radiating element disposed in the shallow cavity on the top of the housing, the radiating element having an are shape slot. In addition, the antenna has a substantially circular parasitic element disposed in the shallow cavity on the bottom of the housing.
US09742065B2

A magnetic field focusing assembly includes a magnetic field generating device configured to generate a magnetic field, and a split ring resonator assembly configured to be magnetically coupled to the magnetic field generating device and configured to focus the magnetic field produced by the magnetic field generating device.
US09742045B2

A lithium electrochemical storage battery including: at least one electrochemical cell; two current collectors, one of which is connected to the anode and the other to the cathode; and a casing of longitudinal axis X, the casing including a cap, a bottom, a lateral jacket joined both to the bottom and to the cap, and a central core arranged along the axis X, the central core being hollow at least over some of its height and made of a material the melting point of which is higher than the temperature reached by the cell when it malfunctions, the hollow portion of the central core opening onto the exterior of casing via the bottom and/or the cap and the central core having, at least one end of its hollow portion, an internal thread into which an external thread of a part forming one pole of the storage battery may be screwed.
US09742037B2

A nonaqueous electrolyte battery includes: a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, wherein the positive electrode contains, as a positive electrode active material, a positive electrode material having a surface composition represented by the following formula (I); the nonaqueous electrolyte contains a halogenated carbonate represented by any of the following formulae (1) to (2) and an alkylbenzene represented by the following formula (3); a content of the halogenated carbonate is 0.1% by mass or more and not more than 50% by mass relative to the nonaqueous electrolyte; and a content of the alkylbenzene is 0.1% by mass or more and not more than 5% by mass relative to the nonaqueous electrolyte
US09742036B2

An anode material capable of obtaining a high capacity and superior charge-discharge efficiency, and an anode and a battery using the anode material are provided. An anode includes an anode material including an active portion including at least one of silicon and tin as an element and a coating portion of a metal oxide arranged on a part of a surface of the active portion. The ratio of the coating portion to the active portion is within a range from 0.01 wt % to 10 wt % inclusive. Thereby, a high capacity and superior charge-discharge efficiency can be obtained.
US09742033B2

A non-aqueous electrolytic solution comprising a non-aqueous solvent and an electrolyte, which further contains a combination of a nitrile compound and an S═O group-containing compound (or a dinitrile compound) in an amount of 0.001 to 10 wt. % imparts improved cycle performance and storage property to a lithium battery, particularly a lithium secondary battery.
US09742031B2

The present invention discloses a lithium battery, which comprises of a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode current collector substrate, a separator and electrolyte between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode current collector substrate. The positive electrode plate comprises a positive electrode collector, a positive electrode active material-containing positive electrode layer attached to the positive electrode collector and positive electrode tab welded to the positive electrode collector. The negative electrode current collector substrate comprises a negative electrode current collector and negative electrode tab welded to the negative electrode current collector. The negative electrode current collector substrate is a current collector substrate with 6˜60 μm thickness having a planar or concavo-convex structure which is made from metal foil material or metal mesh with 6˜25 μm thickness. The electrolyte contains lithium salt and solvent, wherein the lithium salt is lithium hexafluorophosphate and its concentration in the electrolyte is between 1.5˜7 mol/L. The lithium battery of the present invention has characteristics of high power, high energy and low self-discharge rate. Meanwhile, the present invention also discloses a preparation method of the lithium battery and use thereof.
US09742029B2

A secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte layer including non-aqueous electrolytic solution and a polymer compound. The polymer compound includes a graft copolymer. The graft copolymer includes a block copolymer as a main chain, and includes one or both of a homopolymer and a copolymer as one or more side chains. The block copolymer includes, as polymerization units, vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene. The homopolymer includes, as a polymerization unit, one selected from the group consisting of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, monomethyl maleate, trifluoroethylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene, acrylic acid, and methacrylic acid. The copolymer includes, as polymerization units, two or more selected from the group consisting of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, monomethyl maleate, trifluoroethylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene, acrylic acid, and methacrylic acid.
US09742027B2

A first method for fabricating an anode for use in sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries includes mixing a conductive carbon material having a low surface area, a hard carbon material, and a binder material. A carbon-composite material is thus formed and coated on a conductive substrate. A second method for fabricating an anode for use in sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries mixes a metal-containing material, a hard carbon material, and binder material. A carbon-composite material is thus formed and coated on a conductive substrate. A third method for fabricating an anode for use in sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries provides a hard carbon material having a pyrolyzed polymer coating that is mixed with a binder material to form a carbon-composite material, which is coated on a conductive substrate. Descriptions of the anodes and batteries formed by the above-described methods are also provided.
US09742023B2

A fuel cell contains two or more fluid-supplying internal manifolds and fluid-discharging internal manifolds for each fluid. External manifolds include fluid-supplying external manifolds, which connect to the fluid-supplying internal manifolds, and fluid-discharging external manifolds, which connect to the fluid-discharging internal manifolds, for each fluid. The respective fluid-supplying and fluid-discharging external manifolds are positioned approximately in parallel with each other, extending in the width direction of a cell laminate body.
US09742022B2

A solid electrolytic fuel battery having a battery structure part that includes a plurality of cells each composed of fuel electrode layers, a solid electrolytic layer, and air electrode layers. A cell separation part is arranged between the plurality of cells, and formed of a material containing ceramics. A gas supply path structure part has fuel gas supply paths to supply a fuel gas to each cell, and an air supply path to supply air to each cell. The air supply path is arranged in an inside of the battery structure part.
US09742021B2

Stable solutions comprising high concentrations of charged coordination complexes, including iron hexacyanides are described, as are methods of preparing and using same in chemical energy storage systems, including flow battery systems. The use of these compositions allows energy storage densities at levels unavailable by other iron hexacyanide systems.
US09742012B2

A fuel cell having a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) comprising an electrolyte membrane, an anode and a cathode; and a gas diffusion layer (GDL) combined with both surfaces of the MEA is provided. In particular, the GDL includes a first layer having a first surface that comes in contact with a reaction region of the MEA, a second layer formed on a second surface of the first layer, and a third layer formed along a peripheral portion between a first region in which both the first layer and the second layer are formed and a second region in which only the second layer is formed. The first layer may be a first microporous layer, the third layer may be a second microporous layer having a viscosity lower than that of the first microporous layer, and the second layer is not the first microporous layer and the second microporous layer.
US09742011B2

A family of customizable tethering molecules for tethering cofactors such as, but not necessarily limited to, nicotinamine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/NADH, NAD(P)+/NAD(P)H) to substrates or structures formed from or including graphene-like materials is described. The tethered cofactor can then be used, for example, as biosensors employed for clinical diagnostic, food industry, medical drug development and environmental and military applications, as well as in reagentless biofuel cells for power generation.
US09742010B2

A catalyst layer material, a method for fabricating the same, and a fuel cell are provided. The catalyst layer material utilized for the fuel cell includes a catalyst support and a catalyst distributed on the catalyst support. The catalyst support contains TixM1−xO2, wherein M is selected from the group consisting of a Group IB metal, a Group IIA metal, a Group IIB metal, a Group IIIA, a Group VB metal, a Group VIB metal, a Group VIIB metal and a Group VIIIB metal, and 0
US09742009B2

At least one foil surface of an aluminum foil is roughened; and in arithmetic mean roughnesses Ra, stipulated in JIS B 0601:2001, of the roughened surface(s), A, which is the arithmetic mean roughness Ra measured in a direction at a right angle to a rolling direction during foil rolling, and B, which is the arithmetic mean roughness Ra measured in a direction parallel to the rolling direction during foil rolling, satisfy the following relationships: 0.15 μm≦A≦2.0 μm; 0.15 μm≦B≦2.0 μm; and 0.5≦B/A≦1.5. Preferably 50-1000 μg/m2 of oil is adhered to the roughened foil surface. The oil is preferably rolling oil.
US09742006B2

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a lithium iron phosphate nanopowder coated with carbon, including the steps of (a) preparing a mixture solution by adding a lithium precursor, an iron precursor and a phosphorus precursor in a triethanolamine solvent, (b) putting the mixture solution into a reactor and reacting to prepare amorphous lithium iron phosphate nanoseed particle, and (c) heat treating the lithium iron phosphate nanoseed particle thus to prepare the lithium iron phosphate nanopowder coated with carbon on a portion or a whole of a surface of a particle, and a lithium iron phosphate nanopowder coated with carbon prepared by the above method. The lithium iron phosphate nanopowder coated with carbon having controlled particle size and particle size distribution may be prepared in a short time by performing two simple steps.
US09742002B2

A positive electrode composition for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprises a lithium transition metal complex oxide represented by a general formula LiaNi1−x−yCoxM1yWzM2wO2, where 1.0≦a≦1.5, 0≦x≦0.5, 0≦y≦0.5, 0.002≦z≦0.03, 0≦w≦0.02, 0≦x+y≦0.7, M1 represents at least one selected from the group consisting of Mn and Al, and M2 represents at least one selected from the group consisting of Zr, Ti, Mg, Ta, Nb and Mo; and a boron compound comprising at least boron element and oxygen element.
US09741992B2

A bus bar module includes bus bars and block circuits. A voltage detection circuit included in each block circuit detects voltage values of electric storage elements via lines connected to the respective bus bars. The number of the electric storage elements assigned to a first block circuit is an even number equal to or larger than a minimum number and smaller than a maximum number. The number of the electric storage elements assigned to a second block circuit is equal to or larger than the minimum number and smaller than the maximum number. The number of the electric storage elements assigned to each third block circuit is the maximum number.
US09741986B2

The present invention provides an electrode for an electrochemical device comprising: an electrode current collector; an electrode active material layer formed on a part of at least one surface of the electrode current collector, and comprising an electrode active material; a packed bed formed on non-coating areas of both sides of the electrode current collector, on which the electrode active material layer is not formed, coated to be continuous with the electrode active material layer, and comprising a mixture of a first inorganic particles and a first polymer binder; and a separation layer formed simultaneously on the surfaces of the electrode active material layer and the packed bed, and comprising a mixture of a second inorganic particles and a second polymer binder.
US09741983B2

A battery unit (1) comprising a plurality of electrochemical cells (2), which each have an electrode arrangement (3) comprising a cathode contact-making element (4) and an anode contact-making element (5), and an accommodating device (6) comprising a plurality of accommodating units (7), which are each separated from one another by side walls (8), wherein in each case the electrode arrangement (3) of an electrochemical cell (2) of the battery unit (1) is introduced into the accommodating units (7), and the accommodating units (7) are closed by at least one electrolytic barrier (10), which is connected to the accommodating device (6), in such a way that the closed accommodating units (7) with the electrode arrangements (3) arranged therein form the electrochemical cells (2) of the battery unit (1).
US09741965B2

Various embodiments may relate to a method for processing an electronic component. The method includes applying a planar structure provided with predetermined separation locations to the electronic component, and removing a part of the applied planar structure, wherein removing includes separating the planar structure at the predetermined separation locations.
US09741964B2

The present invention provides a frameless display device and a manufacturing method thereof, in which a conductive connection body is formed on a substrate; a first via is formed in a protective layer to be located above the conductive connection body and a second via hole is formed in the substrate to be located under the conductive connection body. A circuit layout layer is connected through the first via with the conductive connection body and a flexible connection circuit connected to a drive circuit board is connected through the second via with the conductive connection body thereby achieving electrical connection between the drive circuit board and the circuit layout layer. The method is simple and easy to operate and in a frameless display device so manufactured, the flexible connection circuit and the drive circuit board are both arranged at a back side of the substrate without occupying an effective display zone thereby achieving frameless displaying and improving displaying quality.
US09741963B2

Disclosed herein are sealed devices comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, an inorganic film between the first and second substrates, and at least one weld region comprising a bond between the first and second substrates. The weld region can comprise a chemical composition different from that of the inorganic film and the first or second substrates. The sealed devices may further comprise a stress region encompassing at least the weld region, in which a portion of the device is under a greater stress than the remaining portion of the device. Also disclosed herein are display and electronic components comprising such sealed devices.
US09741962B2

An organic light emitting diode display includes: a substrate including a display area displaying an image and a peripheral area enclosing the display area; a plurality of signal lines formed in the display area; a plurality of pixels connected to the plurality of signal lines; a plurality of fan-out lines formed in the peripheral area and connected to the plurality of pixels; a first interlayer insulating layer covering the plurality of fan-out lines; a second interlayer insulating layer covering the first interlayer insulating layer and including a first sealant opening exposing a portion of the first interlayer insulating layer; and an etching preventing member positioned in the first sealant opening and overlapping the plurality of fan-out lines in plan view.
US09741959B1

A light emitting device includes an electrode layer, a first metal layer, an organic material layer and a second metal layer stacked sequentially. The first metal layer includes a first metal portion and a second metal portion separated from the first metal portion at a first lateral distance, and the first metal portion and the second metal portion have a first period. The organic material layer includes a first emitting region separating the first metal portion and the second metal portion. The first lateral distance and the first period enable a lateral plasma coupling generated between the first metal portion and the second metal portion, such that light generated by the organic material layer at the first emitting region has a gain in a first waveband, or a peak wavelength of the light generated by the first emitting region shifts to the first waveband.
US09741955B2

An object is to provide a light-emitting element with high emission efficiency. Another object is to provide a light-emitting element with a long lifetime and high reliability. Another object is to provide a light-emitting element driven at low voltage. A first light-emitting layer whose one surface is in contact with a hole-transport layer, and a second light-emitting layer which is in contact with the other surface of the first light-emitting layer and includes a bipolar host material and a light-emitting substance are provided, where the hole-transport property of the first light-emitting layer is higher than that of the second light-emitting layer. A recombination region of holes and electrons is preferably provided in the light-emitting layer. The hole-transport layer preferably includes an anti-reducing substance.
US09741950B2

The invention provides a polycyclic aromatic compound or a salt thereof having a partial structure represented by the following general formula (I): wherein X, ring A, ring B, ring C, and ring D are as defined in the specification.
US09741942B2

The present invention relates to compounds according to formula (1), a method for producing these compounds and electronic devices, in particular organic electroluminescent devices containing said compounds.
US09741927B2

A method and system for providing a magnetic junction usable in a magnetic device are described. The magnetic junction includes a reference layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer and a free layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the reference layer and the free layer. The free layer has a gradient in a magnetic ordering temperature such that a first portion of the free layer has a first magnetic ordering temperature higher than a second magnetic ordering temperature of a second portion of the free layer. The first portion of the free layer is closer to the reference layer than the second portion of the free layer. The magnetic junction is configured such that the free layer is switchable between stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction.
US09741926B1

A magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) device is disclosed. The device described herein has a thermal stability enhancement layer over the free layer of a magnetic tunnel junction. The thermal stability enhancement layer improves the thermal stability of the free layer, increases the magnetic moment of the free layer, while also not causing the magnetic direction of the free layer to become in plan. The thermal stability enhancement layer can be comprised of a layer of CoFeB ferromagnetic material.
US09741923B2

Magnetic random-access memory (RAM) cells and arrays are described based on magnetoresistive thin-film structures.
US09741901B2

Two-terminal electronic devices, such as photodetectors, photovoltaic devices and electroluminescent devices, are provided. The devices include a first electrode residing on a substrate, wherein the first electrode comprises a layer of metal; an I-layer comprising an inorganic insulating or broad band semiconducting material residing on top of the first electrode, and aligned with the first electrode, wherein the inorganic insulating or broad band semiconducting material is a compound of the metal of the first electrode; a semiconductor layer, preferably comprising a p-type semiconductor, residing over the I-layer; and a second electrode residing over the semiconductor layer, the electrode comprising a layer of a conductive material. The band gap of the material of the semiconductor layer, is preferably smaller than the band gap of the I-layer material. The band gap of the material of the I-layer is preferably greater than 2.5 eV.
US09741883B2

A floating cover sheet of a liquid reservoir is configured to rest on the liquid surface and includes a plurality of elongated sheet panels each defining edges and a lower region. The sheet panels are connected to one another and each of the sheet panels has a buoyant carrier sheet disposed in the lower region thereof. The buoyant carrier sheet is made of plastic and defines a carrier surface. A plurality of panel-shaped solar modules are applied to corresponding ones of the carrier surfaces of the carrier sheets. The solar module has a width less than the width of the corresponding sheet panel so as to define, on each sheet panel, a strip of carrier material free of the solar module corresponding thereto and configured to be walked on and to be slip resistant.
US09741871B2

A junction field effect transistor (JFET) comprises an insulating carrier substrate, a base semiconductor substrate formed on the insulating carrier substrate and a gate region formed on the base semiconductor substrate. The gate region forms a junction with the base semiconductor substrate. The JFET further comprises a first source/drain region formed on the base semiconductor substrate and located on a first side of the gate region and a second source/drain region formed on the base semiconductor substrate and located on a second side of the gate region. A gate stack is deposited on the gate region, a first source/drain stack is deposited on the first source/drain region and a second source/drain stack is deposited on the second source/drain region. At least one of the gate stack, first source/drain stack and second source/drain stack overlaps onto another one of the gate stack, first source/drain stack and second source/drain stack.
US09741858B2

The present invention provides an amorphous silicon semiconductor TFT backboard structure, which includes a semiconductor layer (4) that has a multi-layer structure including a bottom amorphous silicon layer (41) in contact with a gate insulation layer (3), an N-type heavily-doped amorphous silicon layer (42) in contact with a source electrode (6) and a drain electrode (7), at least two N-type lightly-doped amorphous silicon layers (43) sandwiched between the bottom amorphous silicon layer (41) and the N-type heavily-doped amorphous silicon layer (42), a first intermediate amorphous silicon layer (44) separating every two adjacent ones of the lightly-doped amorphous silicon layers (43), and a second intermediate amorphous silicon layer (45) separating the N-type heavily-doped amorphous silicon layer (42) from the one of the lightly-doped amorphous silicon layers (43) that is closest to the N-type heavily-doped amorphous silicon layer (42). Such a structure further reduces the energy barrier between the drain electrode and the semiconductor layer, making injection of electron easier and ensuring the ON-state current is not lowered down and also helping increase the barrier for transmission of holes, lowering down the leakage current and improving reliability and electrical stability of the TFT.
US09741856B2

Embodiments of the present invention provide a structure and method of minimizing stress relaxation during fin formation. Embodiments may involve forming a looped spacer on an upper surface of a substrate and adjacent to at least a sidewall of a mandrel. The mandrel may be removed, leaving the looped spacer on the substrate. An exposed portion of the substrate may be removed to form a looped fin below the looped spacer. The spacer may be removed, leaving a looped fin. A looped fin formation may reduce stress relaxation compared to conventional fin formation methods. Embodiments may include forming a gate over a looped portion of a looped fin. Securing a looped portion in position with a gate may decrease stress relaxation in the fin. Thus, a looped fin with a looped portion of the looped fin under a gate may have substantially reduced stress relaxation compared to a conventional fin.
US09741838B2

A semiconductor device includes a plurality of gate electrodes. Each gate electrode includes a first portion extending from a first end to a second end and a second portion extending parallel the first portion from a first end to a second end. The first and second portions are spaced from each other. A third portion of at least one gate electrode connects the first end of the first portion to the first end of the second portion of the gate electrode. A first insulating film is on the plurality of gate electrodes. A first interconnect portion is disposed on the first or second portion the gate electrode to electrically connecting the gate electrode to a gate pad. A second interconnect portion is disposed on semiconductor regions between the gate electrodes and electrically connects the semiconductor regions to an emitter pad.
US09741837B2

A bidirectional IGBT device, including a cellular structure including: two MOS structures, a substrate drift layer, two highly doped buried layers operating for carrier storage or field stop, two metal electrodes, and isolating dielectrics. Each MOS structure includes: a body region, a heavily doped source region, a body contact region, and a gate structure. Each gate structure includes: a gate dielectric and a gate conductive material. The two MOS structures are symmetrically disposed on the top surface and the back surface of the substrate drift layer. The heavily doped source region and the body contact region are disposed in the body region and independent from each other, and both surfaces of the heavily doped source region and the body contact region are connected to each of the two metal electrodes. The gate dielectric separates the gate conductive material from a channel region of each of the MOS structures.
US09741836B2

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, a third semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type, a fourth semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type, a first electrode connected to the second semiconductor layer and the fourth semiconductor layer, a second electrode facing the second semiconductor layer with an insulating film interposed, a fifth semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type, a sixth semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type, a seventh semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type, a third electrode connected to the fifth semiconductor layer and the seventh semiconductor layer, and a fourth electrode facing the fifth semiconductor layer with an insulating film interposed.
US09741835B2

A transistor cell region of a semiconductor device includes transistor cells that are electrically connected to a first load electrode. An idle region includes a gate wiring structure that is electrically connected to gate electrodes of the transistor cells. A transition region, which is disposed between the transistor cell region and the idle region, includes at least one sensor cell that is electrically connected to a sense electrode. The at least one sensor cell is configured to convey a unipolar current during an on state of the transistor cells.
US09741824B2

The present disclosure provides a method for forming a semiconductor device. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a gate structure on the semiconductor substrate; and forming trenches in the semiconductor substrate on both sides of the gate structure. The method also includes forming a stress layer on inner sidewalls of each trench to fill up the trench; forming an interlayer on the stress layer, and forming a capping layer on the interlayer, wherein a top surface of the capping layer is higher than a top surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a lattice mismatch between the interlayer and the capping layer is lower than a lattice mismatch between the capping layer and the stress layer.
US09741815B2

In some aspects, methods of forming a metal selenide or metal telluride thin film are provided. According to some methods, a metal selenide or metal telluride thin film is deposited on a substrate in a reaction space in a cyclical deposition process where at least one cycle includes alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a first vapor-phase metal reactant and a second vapor-phase selenium or tellurium reactant. In some aspects, methods of forming three-dimensional architectures on a substrate surface are provided. In some embodiments, the method includes forming a metal selenide or metal telluride interface layer between a substrate and a dielectric. In some embodiments, the method includes forming a metal selenide or metal telluride dielectric layer between a substrate and a conductive layer.
US09741805B2

A deterioration of a gate threshold voltage, which is caused by a stress and a thermal hysteresis when wire bonding for a surface of an electrode layer of a semiconductor device is performed, can be suppressed. The semiconductor device includes a metallic film provided at a surface of a semiconductor chip, and a wire bonded to an upper surface of the metallic film. The metallic film has a plurality of grains, particle diameters of the grains are substantially equal to or more than a thickness of the metallic film.
US09741802B2

A semiconductor device with a breakdown preventing layer is provided. The breakdown preventing layer can be located in a high-voltage surface region of the device. The breakdown preventing layer can include an insulating film or a low conductive film with conducting elements embedded therein. The conducting elements can be arranged along a lateral length of the insulating film or the low conductive film. The conducting elements can vary in at least one of composition, doping, conductivity, size, thickness, shape, and distance from the device channel along a lateral length of the insulating film or the low conductive film, or in a direction that is perpendicular to the lateral length.
US09741799B2

A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a silicon carbide semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film formed on the silicon carbide semiconductor layer, and a gate electrode provided on the gate insulating film, wherein the gate electrode has a polysilicon layer at least on a side of an interface with the gate insulating film, and the gate insulating film has an oxide film derived from the polysilicon layer, at an interface between the gate insulating film and the polysilicon layer of the gate electrode.
US09741797B2

An insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device includes: a drift layer of a first conductivity type on a silicon carbide substrate of 4H type with a {0001} plane having an off-angle of more than 0° as a main surface; a first base region; a source region; a trench; a gate insulating film; a protective diffusion layer; and a second base region. The trench sidewall surface in contact with the second base region is a surface having a trench off-angle of more than 0° in a <0001> direction with respect to a plane parallel to the <0001> direction. The insulated gate silicon carbide semiconductor device can relieve an electric field of a gate insulating film and suppress an increase in on-resistance and provide a method for manufacturing the same.
US09741796B2

A graphene-based valley filter includes a bottom gate, a bilayer graphene and two top gates. The bilayer graphene is deposited on the bottom gate and includes scattering defects. The top gates are deposited on the bilayer graphene. The top gates define a channel in the bilayer graphene, and the scattering defects are located in the vicinity of the channel. A vertical electric field is formed to open a band gap and produce electronic energy subbands in the channel. A transverse in-plane electric field is formed to produce pseudospin splitting in the subbands of the bilayer graphene. The scattering defects are for producing scattering between two opposite energy valley states of the bilayer graphene, couples subband states of opposite pseudospins and opens a pseudogap at a crossing point of the two subbands. Electrons are passed through the channel to become valley polarized in the bilayer graphene.
US09741793B2

An electronic apparatus includes a semiconductor substrate and first and second transistors disposed in the semiconductor substrate. The first transistor includes a channel region and a drain region adjacent the channel region. The second transistor includes a channel region, a false drain region adjacent the channel region, and a drain region electrically coupled to the channel region by a drift region such that the second transistor is configured for operation at a higher voltage level than the first transistor. The respective channel regions of the first and second transistors have a common configuration characteristic.
US09741783B2

A display panel including: a first substrate; a second substrate opposing the first substrate; a sealing substructure on the first substrate, the sealing substructure surrounding a display unit having a plurality of pixels, the sealing substructure including a metal mesh layer having a mesh shape; and a sealing member between the sealing substructure and the second substrate to seal between the first substrate and the second substrate.
US09741775B2

A display device includes a plurality of pixels on a substrate including an insulating surface. Each of the plurality of pixels includes: a transistor above the insulating surface; a planarization film covering the transistor; a pixel electrode above the planarization film and electrically connected with the transistor; an insulating layer filled in a recess located around the pixel electrode between the pixels adjacent to each other; a light-emitting layer covering a surface of the pixel electrode and at least a part of a surface of the insulating layer; and a counter electrode above the light-emitting layer. A distance between a surface of the substrate and a face of the light-emitting layer in contact with the insulating layer is equal to or smaller than a distance between the surface of the substrate and a face of the light-emitting layer in contact with the pixel electrode.
US09741767B2

Provided is an electronic device including a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory may include: a vertical electrode formed over a substrate; a plurality of first memory elements and a plurality of first interlayer dielectric layers alternately stacked along a first side surface of the vertical electrode; and a plurality of second memory elements and a plurality of second interlayer dielectric layers alternately stacked along a second side surface of the vertical electrode, and the plurality of first memory elements correspond to the plurality of second interlayer dielectric layers, respectively, in the vertical direction.
US09741764B1

A memory device may include a substrate, a first conductive line on the substrate and extending in a first direction, a second conductive line over the first conductive line and extending in a second direction crossing the first direction, a third conductive line over the second conductive line and extending in the first direction, a first memory cell at an intersection of the first conductive line and the second conductive line and including a first selection element layer and a first variable resistance layer, and a second memory cell at an intersection of the second conductive line and the third conductive line and including a second selection element layer and a second variable resistance layer. A first height of the first selection element layer in a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions is different than a second height of the second selection element layer in the third direction.
US09741759B2

Image sensor and method of manufacturing the same are provided. The image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate including a pixel area, a voltage connection area, and a pad area, a plurality of photoelectric conversion devices in the pixel area, an anti-reflective layer on a back side of the semiconductor substrate and on the plurality of photoelectric conversion devices, a device isolation structure between the plurality of photoelectric conversion devices, at least one voltage connection structure in the voltage connection area, and electrically connected to the device isolation structure, at least one voltage applying device electrically connected to the at least one voltage connection structure, an internal circuit including at least one conductive inner wire and at least one conductive inner via in an insulating layer, and a through via structure in the pad area.
US09741755B2

An image sensor is described having a pixel cell unit. The pixel cell unit has first, second and third transfer gate transistor gates on a semiconductor surface respectively coupled between first, second and third visible light photodiode regions and a first capacitance region. The pixel cell unit has a fourth transfer gate transistor gate on the semiconductor surface coupled between a first infrared photodiode region and a second capacitance region.
US09741747B2

A display device comprising a display panel that includes an active area, the active area including a data line positioned on a substrate in a first direction and transferring a data signal, a gate line positioned on the substrate in a second direction and transferring a gate signal, a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line, and a plurality of pixels driven by the thin film transistor, a first pad coupled to a first signal line disposed in a data signal area wherein the first signal line is connected to the data line, and a first non-signal line disposed in a first non-signal area wherein the first non-signal line is disconnected from the data line, the first non-signal area being disposed outside the data signal area, a second pad coupled to a second signal line disposed in a gate signal area wherein the second signal line is connected to the gate line, and a second non-signal line disposed in a second non-signal area wherein the second non-signal line is disconnected from the gate line, the second non-signal area being disposed outside the gate signal area; and a dummy pattern disposed between the data signal area and the first non-signal area, or disposed between the gate signal area and the second non-signal area.
US09741745B2

The present disclosure discloses an array substrate including a display area and a data lead area. The display area includes data signal lines and gate lines. The data lead area includes peripheral wirings connecting the data signal lines and wiring terminals. The peripheral wirings include a plurality of metal traces which are corresponding to the data signal lines in a one-to-one manner and manufactured from a same layer as the gate lines. Each of the metal traces is connected to one of the data signal lines which is corresponding to the each of the metal trace.
US09741741B1

An IC includes logic cells, selected from a standard cell library, and fill cells, configured for compatibility with the standard logic cells. The fill cells contain structures configured to obtain in-line data via non-contact electrical measurements (“NCEM”). The IC includes such NCEM-enabled fill cells configured to enable detection and/or measurement of a variety of open-circuit and short-circuit failure modes, including at least one via-open-related failure mode, one AACNT-short-related failure mode, one GATE-short-related failure mode, and one GATECNT-short-related failure mode.
US09741740B2

A well potential supply region is provided in an N-type well region of a cell array. Adjacent gates disposed in both sides of the well potential supply region in the horizontal direction and adjacent gates disposed in further both sides thereof are disposed at the same pitch. In addition, an adjacent cell array includes four gates each of which is opposed to the adjacent gates in the vertical direction. In other words, regularity in the shape of the gate patterns in the periphery of the well potential supply region is maintained.
US09741716B1

A method of forming a vertical FET device and a horizontal FINFET device on a common semiconductor substrate includes forming, on the semiconductor substrate, vertical device fins for the vertical FET device and the horizontal FINFET device with a sacrificial layer and a hard mask (HM) layer. The method also includes forming a vertical FET device doped source and drain (S/D) on the substrate, forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) and a bottom spacer, removing the HM layer and the sacrificial layer for horizontal FINFET device, and forming a sacrificial gate. The method further includes forming an oxide inter dielectric (ILD) layer, and opening the sacrificial gate, forming high-k vertical FET device gate and a high-k horizontal FINFET device gate, and forming contacts.
US09741713B1

A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate of n-type or p-type, a well of a type opposite the substrate, the well acting as the base of a diode, a first region of the same type as the substrate at a top of the well, a second region of the same type as the substrate is situated separate from the first region at the top of the well, the first region acting as an emitter of the diode and the second region acting as a collector of the diode, and a gate situated between the first region and second region over a top surface of the well.
US09741706B2

Approaches for checking a design of an integrated circuit using an antenna rule are provided. A method includes determining a figure of merit for a transistor based on a resistance of a shunt path of the transistor relative to the size of the antenna and the size of the transistor. The method also includes comparing the determined figure of merit to a limit. The method further includes deeming the transistor to pass the antenna rule when the figure of merit is less than the limit, and deeming the transistor to fail the antenna rule when the figure of merit is greater than the limit. The determining and the comparing are performed by a computer device.
US09741700B2

The present disclosure provides a lighting device comprising: a reflective element layer; an optical resin layer formed on the reflective element layer; a transparent electrode film layer formed on the optical resin layer; and a plurality of light-emitting units formed on the lower surface of the transparent electrode film layer. The lighting device allows the fundamental cause of the hot spot phenomenon to be eliminated, shows excellent luminous efficiency by efficiently performing the function of a surface light source, and enables the kinds of raw materials and the number of production processes to be reduced by eliminating the use of a PCB board and selectively applying second reflective patterns.
US09741695B2

A 3-dimensional hybrid package including an integrated circuit chip stack formed on a laminate, the integrated chip stack further including a first chip and a second chip. The first chip is connected to the laminate through first solder bumps, each associated with a first through-silicon via (TSV), and first metal leads embedded in a first polymer tape that extends from first peripheral metal pads formed on a back side of the first chip to the laminate. The second chip is connected to the first peripheral metal pads on the back side of the first chip through second solder bumps formed on a front side of the second chip. The second chip is connected to the laminate by second metal leads, embedded in a second polymer tape that extend from second peripheral metal pads formed on a back side of the second chip to the laminate.
US09741694B2

A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The method comprises: providing a first semiconductor workpiece; bonding a second semiconductor workpiece to a first surface of the first semiconductor workpiece; forming a first electrically conductive via through the second semiconductor workpiece to the first semiconductor workpiece; bonding a third semiconductor workpiece to a second surface of the first semiconductor workpiece, the second surface being opposite to the first surface; and forming a second electrically conductive via through the first semiconductor workpiece and the third semiconductor workpiece to the second semiconductor workpiece such that the first electrically conductive via and the second electrically conductive via are electrically connected.
US09741691B2

Systems and methods relate to power delivery networks (PDNs) for monolithic three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D-ICs). A monolithic 3D-IC includes a first die adjacent to and in contact with power/ground bumps. A second die is stacked on the first die, the second die separated from the power/ground bumps by the first die. One or more bypass power/ground vias and one or more monolithic inter-tier vias (MIVs) are configured to deliver power from the power/ground bumps to the second die.
US09741689B2

A package includes an interposer, which includes a first substrate free from through-vias therein, redistribution lines over the first substrate, and a first plurality of connectors over and electrically coupled to the redistribution lines. A first die is over and bonded to the first plurality of connectors. The first die includes a second substrate, and through-vias in the second substrate. A second die is over and bonded to the plurality of connectors. The first die and the second die are electrically coupled to each other through the redistribution lines. A second plurality of connectors is over the first die and the second die. The second plurality of connectors is electrically coupled to the first plurality of connectors through the through-vias in the second substrate.
US09741672B2

An integrated circuit, a method of forming an integrated circuit, and a semiconductor are disclosed for preventing unauthorized use in radiation-hard applications. In one embodiment, the integrated circuit comprises a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure, a radiation insensitive sub-circuit, and a radiation sensitive sub-circuit. The SOI structure comprises a silicon substrate, a buried oxide layer, and an active silicon layer. The radiation insensitive sub-circuit is formed on the active layer, and includes a partially depleted transistor. The radiation sensitive sub-circuit is formed on the active layer, and includes a fully depleted transistor, to prevent operation of the radiation sensitive sub-circuit under specified radiation conditions. Each of the partially depleted transistor and the fully depleted transistor includes a channel region formed in the active silicon layer, and the channel regions of the partially depleted transistor and the fully depleted transistor have substantially the same thickness but different doping concentrations.
US09741665B2

A method includes forming a photo resist over a semiconductor substrate of a wafer, patterning the photo resist to form a first opening in the photo resist, and implanting the semiconductor substrate using the photo resist as an implantation mask. An implanted region is formed in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the implanted region is overlapped by the first opening. A coating layer is coated over the photo resist, wherein the coating layer includes a first portion in the first opening, and a second portion over the photo resist. A top surface of the first portion is lower than a top surface of the second portion. The coating layer, the photo resist, and the implanted region are etched to form a second opening in the implanted region.
US09741664B2

Generally discussed herein are systems and apparatuses that include a dense interconnect bridge and techniques for making the same. According to an example a technique can include creating a multidie substrate, printing an interconnect bridge on the multidie substrate, electrically coupling a first die to a second die by coupling the first and second dies through the interconnect bridge.
US09741663B2

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes an underlayer formed on a substrate, a catalyst layer disposed on the underlayer and extending in an interconnect length direction. The device further includes an upper graphene layer formed on an upper face of the catalyst layer, and side graphene layers provided on two respective side faces of the catalyst layer, the two side faces extending in the interconnect length direction.
US09741662B2

A semiconductor device includes an electrode material diffusion suppression layer provided either between a gate electrode and a gate insulation film, between Al-containing ohmic electrodes and an Au interconnection, and below the gate electrode and above the Al-containing ohmic electrodes, the electrode material diffusion suppression layer having a structure wherein a first the TaN layer, a Ta layer, and a second the TaN layer are stacked in sequence.
US09741661B2

A logic semiconductor device includes a plurality of active patterns extending in a horizontal direction and being spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction, an isolation layer defining the active patterns, a plurality of gate patterns extending in the vertical direction on the active patterns and the isolation layer, the gate patterns being spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, a plurality of lower wirings extending in the horizontal direction over the gate patterns, a plurality of upper wirings extending in the vertical direction over the lower wirings, a through contact connecting at least one upper wiring of the upper wirings and at least one gate pattern of the gate patterns, the through contact extending from a bottom surface of the upper wiring to a position under a bottom surface of one of the lower wirings relative to the active patterns.
US09741659B2

Electrical connections for chip scale packaging are disclosed. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a post-passivation layer disposed over a substrate, the substrate having a first direction of coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch. The semiconductor device includes a first opening through the post-passivation layer, the first opening comprising a plurality of elongated apertures. A longest of the plurality of elongated apertures comprises a first dimension, wherein the first dimension is aligned substantially perpendicular to the first direction of coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch.
US09741648B2

A wiring board includes an insulating substrate having a plurality of laminated insulating layers and a mounting part in one surface of the insulating substrate, a large number of semiconductor element connection pads, a large number of external connection pads, and a solid pattern extending from a region corresponding to the mounting part to the peripheral portion of the insulating substrate, and including a straight line shaped current path without intervention of gas vent openings.
US09741642B1

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a semiconductor package with partial plating on contact side surfaces. The semiconductor package includes a top surface, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and side surfaces between the top and bottom surfaces. Contacts are located on peripheral edges of the bottom surface. Each of the contacts includes a first surface that is flush with the bottom surface, a second surface that is flush with one of the side surfaces, and a third surface between the first surface and the second surface. Each of the side surfaces can include a step such that the area of the bottom surface is differently sized from the area of the top surface and the third surface is located at the step. The first surface is plated, while the second surface is exposed (not plated). At least a portion of the third surface is plated.
US09741640B2

A light-emitting element according to the present invention includes a semiconductor light-emitting element having a front surface and a rear surface so that light is extracted from the rear surface, and having a first n-side electrode and a first p-side electrode on the front surface, and a support element having a conductive substrate having a front surface and a rear surface as well as a second n-side electrode and a second p-side electrode formed on the front surface of the conductive substrate, the first n-side electrode and the second n-side electrode, and the first p-side electrode and the second p-side electrode are so bonded to one another respectively that the semiconductor light-emitting element is supported by the support element in a facedown posture downwardly directing the front surface, and the support element has an n-side external electrode and a p-side external electrode formed on the rear surface of the conductive substrate, a conductive via passing through the conductive substrate from the front surface up to the rear surface for electrically connecting the second n-side electrode and the n-side external electrode and/or the second p-side electrode and the p-side external electrode with each other, and an insulating film formed between the via and the conductive substrate to cover the side surface of the via.
US09741638B2

One or more heat pipes are utilized along with a substrate in order to provide heat dissipation through the substrate for heat that can build up at an interface between the substrate and one or more semiconductor chips in a package. In an embodiment the heat pipe may be positioned on a side of the substrate opposite the semiconductor chip and through-substrate vias may be utilized to dissipate heat through the substrate. In an alternative embodiment, the heat pipe may be positioned on a same side of the substrate as the semiconductor chip and may be thermally connected to the one or more semiconductor chips.
US09741635B2

An electronic component includes one or more semiconductor dice embedded in a first dielectric layer, means for a spreading heat in directions substantially parallel to a major surface of the one or more semiconductor dice embedded in a second dielectric layer and means for dissipating heat in directions substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the one or more semiconductor dice.
US09741633B2

A semiconductor package can include a semiconductor chip on a substrate inside the semiconductor package and an electrode pad spaced apart from the semiconductor chip on the substrate inside the semiconductor package. A wire can be inside the semiconductor package, to connect the electrode pad to the semiconductor chip and a barrier member can be on the substrate fencing-in the semiconductor chip, where the electrode pad and the wire can be in an interior portion of the substrate. A sealing material can be in the interior portion of the substrate fenced-in by the barrier member, where the sealing material covering the semiconductor chip, the electrode pad, and the wire.
US09741630B2

An electronic component package includes a wiring part including an insulating layer, a conductive pattern formed on the insulating layer, and a conductive via connected to the conductive pattern through the insulating layer, an electronic component disposed on the wiring part, a frame disposed on the wiring part and having a through hole accommodating the electronic component, an adhesive layer bonding the wiring part and the frame to each other, and an encapsulant filling at least a portion of the through hole.
US09741627B2

The present invention provides an etching apparatus suitable for etching polysilicon on a substrate or bulk silicon constituting the substrate. The present invention relates to an etching apparatus including a gas-flow adjusting means that allows etching gas to flow from a periphery of a substrate to substantially a center of the substrate, and relates to a technology capable of etching polysilicon or bulk silicon at a uniform thickness on an entire substrate surface. In addition, the gas-flow adjusting means is installed in a vertically movable manner, and an etching speed can be controlled by an adjustment of the gas-flow adjusting means.
US09741626B1

A method of forming a vertical transistor includes forming at least one fin on stacked layers. The stacked layers include a substrate, a doped silicon layer, and an intrinsic layer interposed between the pair of fins and the substrate. The method further includes forming a spacer hardmask over the pair of fins, and forming a bottom spacer. Forming the bottom spacer includes selective oxidation of the SiGe layer.
US09741619B2

Methods for dicing a wafer is presented. The method includes providing a wafer having first and second major surfaces. The wafer is prepared with a plurality of dies on main device regions and are spaced apart from each other by dicing channels on the first major surface of the wafer. A film is provided over first or second major surface of the wafer. The film covers at least areas corresponding to the main device regions. The method also includes using the film as an etch mask and plasma etching the wafer through exposed semiconductor material of the wafer to form gaps to separate the plurality of dies on the wafer into a plurality of individual dies.
US09741615B1

Structures for contacting a fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET) and associated methods. First and second gate structures are formed. The second gate structure is separated from the first gate structure by a space that crosses over a top surface of a fin. At least one layer is formed in the space, and a hardmask layer is formed on the at least one layer. An opening is formed in the hardmask layer at a location that is above the top surface of the fin and that is between the first gate structure and the second gate structure. The at least one layer is etched at the location of the opening to form a contact hole extending through the at least one layer to the top surface of the fin. A contact, which is formed in the contact hole, is coupled with the top surface of the fin.
US09741608B2

An integrated circuit device includes spaced apart conductive patterns on a substrate surface, and a supporting pattern on the substrate surface between adjacent ones of the conductive patterns and separated therefrom by respective gap regions. The adjacent ones of the conductive patterns extend away from the substrate surface beyond a surface of the supporting pattern therebetween. A capping layer is provided on respective surfaces of the conductive patterns and the surface of the supporting pattern. Related fabrication methods are also discussed.
US09741601B2

Semiconductor component comprising at least two semiconductor regions are disclosed. In one embodiment the semiconductor regions of the semiconductor component are electrically isolated from one another by an insulator, and a deposited, patterned, metallic layer extends over the semiconductor regions and over the insulator.
US09741592B2

A method and structure for stabilizing an array of micro devices is disclosed. The array of micro devices is formed on an array of stabilization posts formed from a thermoset material. Each micro device includes a bottom surface that is wider than a corresponding stabilization post directly underneath the bottom surface.
US09741583B2

A substrate treatment method includes: forming a plurality of circular patterns of a resist film on a substrate; thereafter applying a first block copolymer; then phase-separating the first block copolymer into a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer; thereafter selectively removing the hydrophilic polymer; then selectively removing the resist film from a top of the substrate; thereafter applying a second block copolymer to the substrate; then phase-separating the second block copolymer into a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer; and thereafter selectively removing the hydrophilic polymer from the phase-separated second block copolymer. A ratio of a molecular weight of the hydrophilic polymer in the first block copolymer and the second block copolymer is 20% to 40%.
US09741581B2

A method for preventing buckling in a substrate using a tensile hard mask is provided. The method may include forming a mask over a substrate, the hard mask including a first area having a pattern for forming a plurality of openings and an adjacent second area free of openings, and the hard mask includes a tensile stress therein. The hard mask may be used to form the plurality of openings in the substrate. Partially eroding the hard mask leaves the substrate with the plurality of openings therein and a substantially planar surface, having diminished buckling.
US09741579B2

A plasma processing apparatus includes a sample stage disposed in a processing chamber within a vacuum chamber. A wafer mounted on a top surface of the sample stage is processed by using plasma formed in the processing chamber. The plasma processing apparatus further includes electrodes disposed on a part on a center side and a part on a peripheral side within the sample stage and supplied with radio frequency power. Large amplitude and small amplitude are repeated with a predetermined period in each of the radio frequency powers supplied respectively to the electrode on the center side and the electrode on the peripheral side. A control apparatus adjusts a length of large amplitude term, or the length of the large amplitude term and a ratio of the length to a period in each of the radio frequency powers to different values.
US09741574B2

Provided is a method of cyclically depositing a thin film including: performing an oxide depositing operation of repeatedly performing a deposition operation, a first purge operation, a reaction operation, and a second purge operation, wherein the deposition operation deposits silicon on a target by injecting a silicon precursor into a chamber into which the target is loaded, the first purge operation removes a non-reacted silicon precursor and a reacted byproduct from inside the chamber, the reaction operation supplies a first reaction source including oxygen into the chamber to form the deposited silicon as an oxide including silicon, and the second purge operation removes a non-reacted first reaction source and a reacted byproduct from the inside of the chamber; and performing a plasma processing operation of supplying plasma made of a second reaction source including nitrogen to the inside of the chamber to process the oxide including the silicon.
US09741572B1

A method of forming an oxide layer is provided in the present invention. The method includes the following steps. A first oxide layer is formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a quality enhancement process is then performed to etch the first oxide layer and densify the first oxide layer at the same time for forming a second oxide layer. The first oxide layer is etched and densified at the same time by a mixture of dilute hydrofluoric acid (DHF) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the quality enhancement process. The thickness of the second oxide layer may be reduced and the quality of the second oxide layer may be enhanced by the quality enhancement process at the same time.
US09741571B2

Disclosed is a bipolar semiconductor device, comprising a semiconductor body having a first surface; and a base region of a first doping type and a first emitter region in the semiconductor body, wherein the first emitter region adjoins the first surface and comprises a plurality of first type emitter regions of a second doping type complementary to the first doping type, a plurality of second type emitter regions of the second doping type, a plurality of third type emitter regions of the first doping type, and a recombination region comprising recombination centers, wherein the first type emitter regions and the second type emitter regions extend from the first surface into the semiconductor body, wherein the first type emitter regions have a higher doping concentration and extend deeper into the semiconductor body from the first surface than the second type emitter regions, wherein the third type emitter regions adjoin the first type emitter regions and the second type emitter regions, and wherein the recombination region is located at least in the first type emitter regions and the third type emitter regions.
US09741566B2

Embodiments herein provide apparatus and methods for performing an etching process on a spacer layer with good profile control in multiple patterning processes. In one embodiment, a method for patterning a spacer layer during a multiple patterning process includes conformally forming a spacer layer on an outer surface of a patterned structure disposed on a substrate, wherein the patterned structure has having a first group of openings defined therebetween and etching the spacer layer disposed on the substrate while forming an oxidation layer on the spacer layer.
US09741563B2

A method for forming a stair-step structure in a substrate is provided, wherein the substrate has an organic mask, comprising at least one cycle, wherein each cycle comprises a) depositing a hardmask over the organic mask, b) trimming the organic mask, c) etching the substrate, d) trimming the organic mask, wherein there is no depositing a hardmask between etching the substrate and trimming the organic mask, e) etching the substrate, and f) repeating steps a-e a plurality of times forming the stair-step structure.
US09741562B2

Provided is a method for forming a silicon film, and more particularly, to a method for forming a polycrystalline silicon film including pretreatment process in a process for forming a silicon film. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for forming a polycrystalline silicon film by annealing a amorphous silicon film deposited on a base, the method includes a pretreatment process of allowing a pretreatment gas including at least one of N, C, O and B to flow.
US09741555B2

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, includes: supplying a first precursor and a first nitriding agent onto a substrate having a surface formed thereon with an oxygen-containing film in order to form an initial film on the oxygen-containing film; modifying the initial film into a first nitride film by nitriding the initial film with plasma; and supplying a second precursor and a second nitriding agent onto the substrate in order to form a second nitride film on the first nitride film.
US09741541B1

A high frequency plasma apparatus includes a reaction chamber, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a plurality of feed points located at one of the two electrodes at least. The feed points are used to simultaneously generate a first standing wave and a second standing wave, with different temporal and spatial patterns. By adjusting amplitudes of the two standing waves and the temporal and spatial phase differences between the two standing waves appropriately, plasma uniformity of the high frequency plasma apparatus can be effectively improved.
US09741540B2

In a method for surface treatment of an upper electrode, a first step is performed to roughen a facing surface of the upper electrode facing a lower electrode while depositing a CF-based deposit on the facing surface by using a plasma of a processing gas by supplying a first and second high frequency powers to the lower and upper electrode. A second step is performed to remove a part of the CF-based deposit by using a plasma of a processing gas by supplying the second high frequency power to the upper electrode only, and a third step is performed to remove the CF-based deposit remaining in the second step by using a plasma of a processing gas by supplying the first and second high frequency powers to the lower and upper electrode. Further, the first, second and third steps are repeated multiple times.
US09741534B2

A monitoring device includes a filtering section that extracts and outputs at least one of a high frequency component or a low frequency component of a beam current received from a detection output section of an ion implantation device; and a computation section that computes at least one of a value corresponding to a content ratio of the high frequency component in the beam current, or a value corresponding to a content ratio of the low frequency component in the beam current.
US09741533B2

Provided is an image type electron spin polarimeter. It at least comprises a scattering target, a two-dimensional electron detector and an electron bending unit, wherein the electron bending unit is used for bending the orbit of the incident (scattered) electrons to a first (second) angle to arrive the scattering target (two-dimensional electron detector) with an optimal incident angle, and to transfer the image of the electron intensities from the entrance plane (scattering target) to the scattering target (two-dimensional electron detector) with small aberrations, and to separate the orbits of incident and scattered electrons to increase the degree of freedom of the geometric configuration of each component of the spin polarimeter. At least one of the first and second angles is not 0°, thereby achieving the first transfer of the two-dimensional image of electron intensities on the entrance plane to the scattering target and the second transfer from scattering target to the two-dimensional electron detector respectively with small aberrations, and then achieving multichannel measurements of the electron spin.
US09741529B2

A micro-chamber for inspecting sample material can be filled with sample material immersed in a liquid without the need of applying vacuum tubing's to the micro-chamber. The micro-chamber includes an inspection volume for holding the sample material for observation. The inspection volume is defined by a first rigid layer, a second rigid layer spaced from the first rigid layer, and a hermetic seal between the first and the second rigid layers. One of the rigid layers includes thin part can be punctured. The liquid with immersed sample material, when placed upon the thin part, is sucked into the evacuated inspection volume when the thin part is punctured.
US09741523B2

According to one embodiment, an X-ray tube includes an elongated anode target, a cathode, and a vacuum envelope. The cathode includes an electron emission source and a converging electrode including a trench portion. The trench portion includes a closest inner circumferential wall, an upper inner circumferential wall, and a lower inner circumferential wall. The electron emission source projects towards a opening of the trench portion from a boundary between the closest inner circumferential wall and the upper inner circumferential wall.
US09741517B2

An electromagnetic relay includes plural pairs of fixed terminals each including an external input/output terminal and an external output/input terminal that can be electrically connected to the external input/output terminal the external input/output terminal and the external output/input terminal being paired with and separated from each other. A tip portion of the external input/output terminal and a tip portion of the external output/input terminal paired with each other are aligned along a straight line extending in a direction substantially parallel to a virtual straight line in a plan view, and the straight lines on which the respective pairs of the tip portions are aligned are offset from each other in a direction vertical to the virtual straight lines.
US09741510B2

A switch device includes a substrate including stationary contacts arranged side by side, a contact including linear parts having elasticity and movable contacts, a housing holding a base of the contact and including beams having elasticity each of which is disposed above the corresponding one of the linear parts, and a slider disposed above the housing. A first pressing part is formed on a lower face of each of the beams, and a pressed part is formed on an upper face thereof. Second pressing parts are formed on the slider. When the slider moves in the front-back direction in conjunction with the operation of an operation knob, the second pressing parts press the pressed parts to bend the beams downward, the first pressing parts press the linear parts to bend the linear parts downward, and the movable contacts come into contact with the stationary contacts.
US09741509B2

Slide input component assemblies of an electronic device and methods for making the same are provided. In some embodiments, a slide input component assembly may include a slide button subassembly that may have a knob, a base, a retention mechanism that may couple the knob to the base, and a shell part that may be provided about at least a portion of the base. The slide input component assembly may also include a slide switch subassembly that may have a switch that may be configured to move along a switch path when the slide button subassembly moves along a button path.
US09741496B2

A stacked-type solid electrolytic capacitor package structure includes a capacitor unit, a package unit, and a conductive unit. The capacitor unit includes a plurality of first stacked-type capacitors sequentially stacked on top of one another, and each first stacked-type capacitor has a first positive portion and a first negative portion. The package unit includes a package resin body for enclosing the capacitor unit. The conductive unit includes a first conductive terminal and a second conductive terminal. The first conductive terminal has a first embedded portion and a first exposed portion, and the second conductive terminal has a second embedded portion and a second exposed portion. An outermost one of first stacked-type capacitors has a plurality of first exposed soldering microgrooves formed on an outer surface thereof for contacting the package resin body. The instant disclosure further provides a method of manufacturing a stacked-type solid electrolytic capacitor package structure.
US09741495B2

A solid electrolytic capacitor comprising a capacitor element disposed on an insulating substrate, in which a positive electrode lead-out structure electrically connected to a positive electrode member of the capacitor element comprises a first positive electrode connection member disposed on the insulating substrate, a positive electrode terminal disposed on the insulating substrate, a pillow member configured to electrically connect the positive electrode member to the first positive electrode connection member, and a positive electrode bonding member. The first positive electrode connection member has a recessed portion or a through hole. The positive electrode bonding member partially enters the recessed portion or the through hole, and is in contact with an edge of a bottom surface of the pillow member at a position above the recessed portion or the through hole, or at the nearby position.
US09741491B2

A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes a multilayer ceramic element with first through sixth surfaces, a center outer electrode located between a first-side outer electrode and a second-side outer electrode on the multilayer ceramic element. A first plated film is provided on the center outer electrode, second plated films are provided on the first-side outer electrode and the second-side outer electrode, respectively, and a thickness of each of the second plated films is greater than a thickness of the first plated film.
US09741487B2

An apparatus (300) for supplying power to a load in a capacitive power transfer system comprises a power generator (350) operating at a first frequency; a transmitter comprising a plurality of first electrodes (310) connected to a first terminal of the power generator (350) and a plurality of second electrodes (320) connected to a second terminal of the power generator (350) of a transmitter portion of the apparatus (300); and a plurality of inductors (340), wherein each inductor of the plurality of inductors is connected between a pair of a first electrode and a second electrode of the plurality of first and second electrodes, wherein each inductor comprises, together with a parasitic capacitor (330) formed between each pair of the first electrode and the second electrode, a resonant circuit at the first frequency in order to compensate for current loss due to parasitic capacitances.
US09741486B2

The invention relates to a differential mode and common mode choke comprising: a ferromagnetic core comprising three branches (1, 2, 3) extending between a bottom part (5) and a top part (4), a first coil (b1) wound around the first lateral branch (1), a second coil (b3) wound around the second lateral branch (3), the first lateral branch (1) being separated from the top part (4) by a first air gap (e1) and from the bottom part (5) by a second air gap (e10), the second lateral branch (3) being separated from the top part (4) by a first air gap (e3) and from the bottom part (5) by a second air gap (e30), the central branch (2) being separated from the top part (4) by a first air gap (e2) and from the bottom part (5) by a second air gap (e20).
US09741473B2

The present invention is a cable, which carries signal, having an integrated coiling and reinforcing wrapper. The cable has a segment near an end that is stiffer than the cable generally. This segment can be bent by hand, and once bent, will retain its bent shape. If the flexible part of the cable is wrapped into a coil, or otherwise gathered together, then the stiffer portion can be bent around the gathered portion to secure it in its gathered form.
US09741471B2

A semifinished wire (1) for a superconducting wire containing Nb3Sn has a Cu stabilization cladding tube (2), a ring-shaped closed diffusion barrier (3) in the inside of the Cu stabilization cladding tube (2) and a plurality of PIT elements (6) in the inside of the diffusion barrier (3), each having a cladding (8) containing Cu, a small tube (9), and a powder core (10) containing Sn. The small tube (9) consists of Nb or an alloy containing Nb and the diffusion barrier (3) has a percentage of area ADF in cross-section of the semifinished wire (1) of 3% ADF 9% and a wall thickness WDF with 8 μm≦WDF≦25 μm. A plurality of filler elements (5) are arranged inside the diffusion barrier (3), with the inner sides of the filler elements (5) abutting the PIT elements (6).
US09741467B2

A coating composition includes a fluoroethylene vinyl ether copolymer, a cross-linking agent, and water. The coating composition reduces the operating temperature of an overhead conductor by at least about 5° C. or more compared to a similar uncoated overhead conductor when the operating temperatures of each overhead conductor are measured at about 100° C. or higher and the coating composition is substantially free of solvent. Methods for making a coating composition and for making a coated overhead conductor are disclosed.
US09741465B2

In accordance with an embodiment, an electrical cable can be configured to electrically connect to contact pads that are carried by a substrate. The electrical cable can include at least one, such as a pair, of electrical signal conductors and at least one, for instance a pair, of electrically conductive drain wires. A drain wire in the electrical cable can define a first surface that is configured to face the signal conductors and a second surface that is opposite the first surface. The drain wire can define a width that is greater than 0.12 mm as measured from the first surface to the second surface along a straight line. At least one auxiliary wire can be attached to at least one drain wire. The auxiliary wire can be configured to attach to the substrate.
US09741464B1

A conductive ground tab template is provided and a corresponding method for providing a ground utilizing the same. According to one aspect, a conductive ground tab template includes a barrier layer and an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer provides for removable attachment to a structure. A cutout region of the conductive ground tab template is encompassed by the barrier layer and has a configurable arrangement for receiving conductive material and creating a ground tab.
US09741459B2

A modularized system for processing, storing and/or disposing of a hazardous waste material is described. In one exemplary embodiment, the modularized system includes a container configured to sealingly contain hazardous waste material; a first cell, the first cell comprising a first area for manipulating the container; and a second cell, the second cell comprising a second area for manipulating the container. The second cell is isolated from the first cell. The first cell is held at a first pressure and the second cell held at a second pressure, the first pressure being less than the second pressure. An interlock couples the first cell to the second cell. The first cell, second cell and interlock are configured to allow the container to be transferred from the first cell to the second cell while maintaining at least one seal between the first cell and the second cell.
US09741457B2

Method and apparatus for heating and/or compressing plasmas to thermonuclear temperatures and densities are provided. In one aspect, at least one of at least two plasmoids separated by a distance is accelerated towards the other. The plasmoids interact, for instance to form a resultant plasmoid, to convert a kinetic energy into a thermal energy. The resultant plasmoid is confined in a high energy density state using a magnetic field. One or more plasmoids may be compressed. Energy may be recovered, for example via a blanket and/or directly via one or more coils that create a magnetic field and/or circuits that control the coils.
US09741454B2

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array having a first group of main blocks, a second group of main blocks and redundancy blocks replacing the first group of main blocks or the second group of main blocks, a repair logic suitable for enabling a replacement signal when one or more of the second group of main blocks are defective, a control logic suitable for generating an address for the second group of main blocks in response to a dedicated command for access to one or more of the second group of main blocks, and an address decoder suitable for selecting one or more of the redundancy blocks based on the address for the second group of main blocks when the replacement signal is enabled.
US09741451B2

A data storage device including a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of chips, each of the chips includes a plurality of pages, the pages are arranged to assemble into a super block, the pages of the super block are numbered 0˜X from top to bottom of the super block, the pages with number 0˜Y−1 constitute a data area, and the pages with numbers Y˜X constitute a RAID parity area. The controller corrects data of the data area according to data of the RAID parity area when the data in the data area cannot be successfully read.
US09741426B2

A semiconductor memory device may include: a plurality of memory mats; and a plurality of sense amplifier arrays arranged alternately with the memory mats, each sense amplifier array being suitable for sensing and amplifying data of memory mats adjacent thereto, wherein during a data sensing operation to a memory mat among the plurality of memory mats, in addition to a sense amplifier for the memory mat and sense amplifiers positioned immediately above and below the sense amplifier for the memory mat, at least one additional sense amplifier closest to the sense amplifier for the memory mat is also activated for providing additional amplification.
US09741425B2

A memory device includes a first memory bank comprising first and second memory blocks; a second memory bank comprising third and fourth memory blocks; and a bank selection unit suitable for selecting a memory bank corresponding to a bank address among the first and the second memory banks when an active command is applied, wherein the selected memory bank performs row access on a word line of an unselected memory block, while activating a word line of a memory block that is selected by a block address among memory blocks of the selected memory bank.
US09741410B2

Within a memory 2 comprising an array 4 of bit cells 6 write driver circuitry 14 uses a boosted write signal which is boosted to a lower than normal level during a write operation. Column select transistors 16 are driven by column select circuitry 12. The column select signal is boosted to a lower than normal level when a column is unselected and to higher than a normal level when a column is selected. Voltage boost circuitry, such as charge pumps 20, 22 are employed within the column select circuitry 12 to achieve these boosted levels for the columns select signal.
US09741401B2

Provided is a reception circuit provided in a chip, the reception circuit including a controller that generates a reception control signal which is activated for a preset time on a basis of a first control signal individually provided to a plurality of chips, a buffer that receives a second control signal commonly provided to the plurality of chips, and a delay circuit that receives the second control signal from the buffer in response to the reception control signal and provides the second control signal to other elements in the chip.
US09741397B2

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory array including a plurality of element blocks, the plurality of element blocks including end-portion element blocks arranged at an end portion of the memory array, and at least one dummy block disposed adjacent to the end-portion element blocks, the at least one dummy block being not in practical use. A layout pattern of the at least one dummy block is configured to correspond to only a portion of a layout pattern of the plurality of element blocks.
US09741393B2

A method of shortening a video includes: determining shortened key frames by selecting one key frame for every preset time interval of a time line of the video or for every preset position interval of a camera which captures the video, from among original key frames of the video; determining event key frames from which an event is detected, from among the original key frames; determining event-preserved key frames using the shortened key frames and the event key frames; and generating a shortened video using the event-preserved key frames.
US09741385B1

Systems and methods of digital automatic power control are presented. A preamplifier circuit may include a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit to sample a power signal, such as a from a laser power monitor. The preamplifier may store the sample in an internal preamplifier memory. The sample may be utilized to update a current output of the preamplifier that affects the power signal. These systems and methods may be particularly useful for lasers and heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which may be utilized during a read mode or a write mode of a HAMR data storage device.
US09741383B2

A track of an optical disk is formed by wobbling and divided into zones, a clock ratio of a recording clock to a wobble clock is preset for each zone, a wobble signal is detected from the optical disk, the wobble clock is generated from the wobble signal, a present position is identified by reproducing ADIP indicating a position of the track from the wobble signal and the wobble clock, the recording clock is generated with respect to the wobble clock, a data address present position is identified from the present position, a start end position of the ADIP in a recording target zone, a start end position of the data address in the recording target zone, and the clock ratio, a recording start position is identified based on the data address present position; and the data is recorded from the recording start position of the recording target zone.
US09741374B1

A head includes a head body having a medium facing surface, and a protective film covering the medium facing surface. The head body includes a main pole, a waveguide, a plasmon generator, and a main light-blocking section. The waveguide has an entrance end face and an exit end face. The plasmon generator has a near-field light generating surface. The medium facing surface includes a first region including neither of the exit end face and the near-field light generating surface, and a second region including the exit end face and the near-field light generating surface. The protective film includes a first portion covering the first region, and a second portion covering the second region. The main light-blocking section is located to intersect an imaginary straight line connecting the entrance end face and the first region.
US09741372B1

A double pinned magnetoresistance element has a temporary ferromagnetic layer, two PtMn antiferromagnetic pinning layers, and two associated synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) pinned layer structures, the temporary ferromagnetic layer operable to improve annealing of the two PtMn antiferromagnetic pinning layers and the two associated SAFs to two different magnetic directions that are a relative ninety degrees apart.
US09741365B2

An apparatus, according to one embodiment, includes: a controller having: a first circuit having a reference resistance, a second circuit having an adjustable resistance, and logic integrated with the controller, executable by the controller, or integrated with and executable by the controller to perform the following process: compare output voltages of the first and second circuits, alter the resistance of the second circuit until the output voltage of the first circuit is less than or equal to the output voltage of the second circuit, and extract setting information in response to determining that the output voltage of the first circuit is less than or equal to the output voltage of the second circuit.
US09741362B2

The present document relates to audio source coding systems which make use of a harmonic transposition method for high frequency reconstruction (HFR), as well as to digital effect processors, e.g. exciters, where generation of harmonic distortion add brightness to the processed signal, and to time stretchers where a signal duration is prolonged with maintained spectral content. A system and method configured to generate a time stretched and/or frequency transposed signal from an input signal is described. The system comprises an analysis filterbank (101) configured to provide an analysis subband signal from the input signal; wherein the analysis subband signal comprises a plurality of complex valued analysis samples, each having a phase and a magnitude. Furthermore, the system comprises a subband processing unit (102) configured to determine a synthesis subband signal from the analysis subband signal using a subband transposition factor Q and a subband stretch factor S. The subband processing unit (102) performs a block based nonlinear processing wherein the magnitude of samples of the synthesis subband signal are determined from the magnitude of corresponding samples of the analysis subband signal and a predetermined sample of the analysis subband signal. In addition, the system comprises a synthesis filterbank (103) configured to generate the time stretched and/or frequency transposed signal from the synthesis subband signal.
US09741352B2

The present invention relates to a method for processing an audio signal, comprising: a step of performing a frequency conversion process on an audio signal to obtain a plurality of frequency transform coefficients; a step of selecting either a general mode or a non-general mode, on the basis of a pulse ratio, for the frequency transform coefficients having a high frequency band from among the plurality of frequency transform coefficients; and a step of performing, if the non-general mode is selected, the following steps: extracting a predetermined number of pulses from the frequency transform coefficients having the high frequency band, and generating pulse information; generating an original noise signal from the frequency transform coefficients having the high frequency band, excluding the pulses; generating a reference noise signal using the frequency transform coefficient having a low frequency band from among the plurality of frequency transform coefficients; and generating noise position information and noise energy information using the original noise signal and the reference noise signal.
US09741351B2

A method including steps of decoding an encoded audio signal indicative of encoded audio content (e.g., audio content captured during a teleconference) to generate a decoded signal indicative of a decoded version of the audio content, and performing adaptive quantization noise filtering on the decoded signal. The filtering is performed adaptively in the frequency domain in response to data indicative of signal to noise values in turn indicative of a post-quantization signal-to-quantization noise ratio for each frequency band of each of at least one segment of the encoded audio content. In some embodiments, each signal to noise value is a bit allocation value equal to the number of mantissa bits of an encoded audio sample of a frequency band of a segment of the encoded audio content. Other aspects are decoder, or post-filter coupled to receive a decoder's output, configured to perform an embodiment of the adaptive filtering.
US09741346B2

A method for estimating the reliability of a result of a speaker recognition system concerning a testing audio and a speaker model, which is based on one, two, three or more model audios, the method using a Bayesian Network to estimate whether the result is reliable. In estimating the reliability of the result of the speaker recognition system one, two, three, four or more than four quality measures of the testing audio and one, two, three, four or more than four quality measures of the model audio(s) are used.
US09741344B2

System and method for operating electric devices based on voice commands, as well as electric devices that can be controlled via voice commands. An electric device comprises an audio sensor to capture audio that contains speech; and a transmitter to transmit the captured audio to a remote server, together with a dictionary identifier that indicates to the remote server which particular dictionary or vocabulary-set to utilize for performing speech recognition on the recorded audio. The remote server performs speech recognition using the relevant dictionary table; and selects a command-code that is transmitted back to the electric device, to trigger an operational modification of the electric device.
US09741340B2

Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable media for enhancing speech recognition accuracy. The method includes dividing a system dialog turn into segments based on timing of probable user responses, generating a weighted grammar for each segment, exclusively activating the weighted grammar generated for a current segment of the dialog turn during the current segment of the dialog turn, and recognizing user speech received during the current segment using the activated weighted grammar generated for the current segment. The method can further include assigning probability to the weighted grammar based on historical user responses and activating each weighted grammar is based on the assigned probability. Weighted grammars can be generated based on a user profile. A weighted grammar can be generated for two or more segments. The weighted grammar is weighted based on a user profile which consists of information about a number called from, demographic information, account information, a time of day, and a date. Exclusively activating each weighted grammar can include a transition period blending the previously activated grammar and the grammar to be activated.
US09741333B2

A programmable Active Noise Compensation (ANC) system for an audio input includes a parameter store structured to store a number of various filter parameters. A mode of operation is selected that represents the type of environment the ANC system is operating in—feed-forward, feed-back, or combined feed-forward and feedback. Different filter parameters are retrieved from the parameter store based on the selected mode and desired operation. Audio inputs are sampled at a relatively high sample rate that matches inputs from a feed-forward and feedback microphone that may be present in the system. Parameters and instructions may be changed in the system responsive to changing conditions of the compensation system.
US09741330B2

A microphone module disposed in an electronic device for reducing echo noise. The microphone module includes a casing, a first diaphragm disposed in the casing, a second diaphragm disposed in the casing and a substrate disposed between the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm and joined to the casing to define a first space and a second space which are isolated and separated from each other. The first diaphragm is disposed in the first space, the second diaphragm is disposed in the second space, and the substrate is electrically connected with the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm.
US09741326B2

An electronic device and a method for controlling the electronic device are provided. The method includes receiving at least one input sound from a user, determining one of a plurality of reference sounds included in a guide track as a device playing sound corresponding to the at least one input sound, and playing the device playing sound.
US09741325B2

A foldable floor stand for guitar, comprises supporting rods, whose top ends are intermeshed, and aluminum tubes connecting with bottom ends of the supporting rods to support a guitar; two plastic engagers are set on top of the supporting rods, a rotatable pad apparatus contacting with guitar surface is arranged on side of the plastic engager supporting the guitar. Due to adopting a pad apparatus to make the plastic supporting panel and back face of the guitar contact in surface, frictions are increased and placements of a guitar or other music instruments onto the stand are more stable, more secure, harder to slide and fall. Connecting supporting rods and aluminum tubes moveably, makes it convenient to adjust positions of supporting rods, to adopt different styles of guitars; it is possible to fold supporting rods wholly inside range of aluminum tubes, making it convenient to carry.
US09741314B2

There is an image data processing circuit including a memory storing input image data, the input image data being limited to a specific number of colors or to a specific image range, and a correction processing part replacing, when a predetermined tone change is present between a pixel in image data previous by one frame whose data is stored by the memory and a pixel in image data in a current frame whose data is input, a relevant pixel in the current frame with a color of a specific tone. The memory is built in an integrated circuit included in the correction processing part.
US09741310B2

A method of driving a display panel includes charging a pixel with first data during a first charging period, comparing a first grayscale of the first data and a second grayscale of second data, charging the pixel with compensated data during a second charging period if the first grayscale is greater than the second grayscale, and charging the pixel with the second data during a third charging period.
US09741309B2

To suppress degradation of a transistor. A method for driving a liquid crystal display device has a first period and a second period. In the first period, a first transistor and a second transistor are alternately turned on and off repeatedly, and a third transistor and a fourth transistor are turned off. In the second period, the first transistor and the second transistor are turned off, and the third transistor and the fourth transistor are alternately turned on and off repeatedly. Accordingly, the time during which the transistor is on can be reduced, so that degradation of characteristics of the transistor can be suppressed.
US09741307B2

A display apparatus includes a timing controller for converting data values of black image signals to have one polarity with respect to a common voltage and for converting data values of low gray scale image signals to have one polarity with respect to the common voltage, a data driver for converting the image signals outputted from the timing controller into data voltages, and a plurality of pixels for receiving the data voltages in response to gate signals to display an image. The low gray scale image signals displays a gray scale equal to or less than a reference gray scale at a surrounding temperature lower than a reference temperature.
US09741302B2

In a frame 1, a sum total of luminance of a sub-pixel (SRX) and a sub-pixel (SRx) is caused to correspond to pixel data (DR1) while setting luminance of a sub-pixel (SRX) which is provided in a pixel (PRX) of a picture element (EX) to be higher than luminance of the sub-pixel (SRx) which is close to the sub-pixel (SRX) in the vertical direction in the pixel (PRX), and in a frame 2, a sum total of luminance of the sub-pixel (SRX) and the sub-pixel (SRx) is caused to correspond to pixel data (dR2) while setting luminance of the sub-pixel (SRx) to be higher than luminance of the sub-pixel (SRX).
US09741297B2

An image display apparatus includes a conversion analog signal generator. A histogram value output section outputs histogram value data of image data of pixels of a line. An accumulator accumulates the histogram value data. The cumulative sums represent the number of analog switches turned off among a plurality of analog switches. A ramp signal data generator generates ramp signal data having a non-linear slope variably-controlled in accordance with the cumulative sum so as to reduce voltage fluctuation of the ramp signal due to load variation caused depending on the number of analog switches turned off. A DA converter converts the ramp signal data to an analog ramp signal and supplies the analog ramp signal to the plurality of analog switches.
US09741294B2

A display device includes: a display panel that displays an image; an optical sensor which measures an irradiation amount of light emitted by a display panel as a measured optical value; a measured value revising unit which revises a revision target measured optical value using a function and outputs it as a revised measured optical value; and a signal processing unit which generates from the revised measured optical value, a control value and generates a post-processing video signal from the control value and an input video signal supplied from an external device. The function represents a change in the irradiation amount during a disabled period in which the signal processing unit disables a stabilizing function of keeping the irradiation amount of the light source of the display panel constant.
US09741285B2

An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes a plurality of lines disposed to include crossing points where lines insulated from one another by an insulation layer cross. If a defect occurs at one of the crossing points, the lines may be shorted together and the apparatus malfunctions. A method of identifying a shorted crossing point uses a test light-emitting device that is disposed to correspond to the crossing point and to emit light when a short is present at its corresponding crossing point.
US09741279B2

A method for characterizing and eliminating the effect of propagation delay on data and monitor lines of AMOLED panels is introduced. A similar technique may be utilized to cancel the effect of incomplete settling of select lines that control the write and read switches of pixels on a row.
US09741276B2

An electro-optical device includes: a display unit having a plurality of pixel circuits each including a driving transistor and a light emitting element that emits light depending on a current output from the driving transistor when a voltage is applied to a gate terminal of the driving transistor; and a test unit having a test unit connection switch connected to the gate terminal of the driving transistor of each of the pixel circuits, and a test voltage supply circuit connected to the gate terminal of each of the driving transistors through the test unit connection switch and configured to supply a test voltage to the gate terminal of each of the driving transistors when the test unit connection switch is turned on.
US09741260B2

An apparatus assists educators in selecting achievement tools to meet an applicable one of a plurality of sets of educational standards. A first table holds a plurality of educational standards and a plurality of linked keywords. A second table holds a plurality of achievement tools, such as lesson plans, assessments and resources, and a plurality of linked keywords. A table manipulator program permits an educator to select an educational standard and shows achievement tools applicable to the selected educational standard by having a matching of keywords linked to the achievement tools to keywords linked to the educational standards.
US09741252B2

A flight management assembly including two guidance systems, each one provided with a flight management system. The flight management systems are independent and hosted in different computer equipment. Each of the flight management systems being configured to carry out at least a computation of guidance commands for the aircraft. The flight management assembly also includes a monitoring unit hosted in computer equipment different from the computer equipment hosting the flight management systems and configured to monitor at least the guidance commands computed by the two flight management systems to detect and identify a defective flight management system.
US09741247B2

There is provided a parking monitoring system comprising one or more sensors adapted to be deployed within a parking slot; a controller unit adapted to be connected to the one or more sensors for receiving information from the one or more sensors when a vehicle is parked in the parking slot, wherein the received information comprises activation and de-activation signals of the one or more sensors; and wherein the controller unit is adapted to determine whether the vehicle parked within the parking slot is allowed to be parked inside the parking slot based on the received activation and de-activation signals. The system is particularly adapted to monitor whether vehicles of certain categories such as bicycles, vans, cars and trucks are parked within their respective parking zones reserved for these categories of vehicles.
US09741244B2

A control device executing a networking framework for controlling a network of smart objects registered with a framework may interact with only those smart objects in a room. A radio frequency signal broadcast on the networking framework for reception by smart objects registered with the networking framework may cause each of the plurality of smart objects to transmit an ultrasound signal that may include an identifier, such as a generic identifier of the smart object that was assigned during registration with the network framework. The control device may receive the ultrasound signals only from the smart objects in the room. The control device may rename each smart object from which ultrasound signals were received with new identifying information that may include a reference to the room. The device may then communicate with the smart objects via the networking framework using the new identifying information.
US09741241B2

An electronic device may include a position detecting unit that detects a position; a time detecting unit that detects a time; a communicating unit that communicates with a first device provided separately from the position detecting unit and the time detecting unit; and an instructing unit that instructs, via the communicating unit, a first detecting unit provided to the first device to perform detection according to a detection result of the position detecting unit and the time detecting unit. An electronic device may include a position detecting unit that detects a position; a time detecting that detects a time; a physical amount detecting unit that detects a physical amount of an ambient environment according to a detection result position detecting unit and the time detecting unit; and a human detecting that performs detection about human according to a detection result of the physical amount detecting unit.
US09741234B2

The present invention relates to a method and system for broadcasting a panic alert notification in a communication network comprising a primary user and at least one secondary user. The method comprises the steps of receiving data relating to a panic alert and processing information and geo-location of the primary user. Further, a list of one or more secondary users to be notified of the primary user's emergency situation is determined and a broadcast alert message is transmitted to the one or more secondary users. The step of determining a list of one or more secondary users comprises determining a search range criteria in the vicinity of the geo-location of primary user, identifying a list of secondary users within the search range criteria and determining one or more first level and second level secondary users by mapping the list of secondary users with a list of users known to the primary user.
US09741228B1

A system and method for facilitating personal safety tracking monitoring via an apparatus with multiple sensors are disclosed. The sensors may include a water sensor, an accelerometer, a water pressure sensor, an ambient temperature sensor, and/or any other sensors. The apparatus may be configured to generate various alerts in response to signals generated by the sensors. For example, the apparatus may generate a drowning alert when a submersion signal is generated and a drowning acceleration signature is detected in the same period. As another example, an abduction alert may be generated when an abduction acceleration signature and an out-of-boundary situation is detected for the apparatus. The alerts generated by the apparatus may be transmitted to a server or a client device associated with the apparatus for further processing, which may include generating a notification for presentation on the client device in response to an alert being received from the apparatus.
US09741226B1

A method for monitoring a status of an entity presents an interface for defining status parameters for configuring a monitoring profile, receives input defining status parameters for configuring the monitoring profile, establishes the monitoring profile for a monitored entity based upon the received input defining status parameters for configuring the monitoring profile and executes the established monitoring profile according to the defined status parameters. A processor generates a user interface for receiving input defining status parameters for configuring a monitoring profile, establishes the monitoring profile for a monitored entity based upon the received input defining status parameters for configuring the monitoring profile and executes the established monitoring profile according to the defined status parameters.
US09741221B1

A life safety system for mitigating injuries and fatalities to occupants of a multi-zone structure comprising a plurality of controllers, and coupled to said controller, a plurality of digital imaging devices, a plurality of locking mechanisms, a plurality of dispersion points for the dispersion of at least one dispersible substance, and a plurality of thermostatic members. The life safety system further comprises at least one monitoring location physically removed from at least one of said controllers and from at least one of said dispersion points and from at least one of said locking mechanisms and from at least one of said thermostatic members.
US09741219B1

A tamper-proof building alarm system comprising a number of sensing devices for sensing when a building entry point has been opened and an alarm unit comprising a tamper-proof housing and an alarm assembly. The tamper-proof housing includes a mounting base and a cover. The cover at least partially encloses the housing and prevents lateral access to the alarm assembly. The tamper-proof housing may include a locking system such that only authorized users have access to the alarm assembly.
US09741216B1

A sensor records information about skin stretch perceived by a user based on an interaction with a real object. The sensor includes a mechanical housing configured to be worn on a finger of a user, and a mechanism coupled to the mechanical housing. The mechanism includes a first bearing that rotates in a first direction in response to an interaction with a surface. The mechanism also includes a second bearing coupled to the first bearing, such that rotation of the first bearing causes the second bearing to rotate in a direction opposite to the first direction. The second bearing is in contact with a portion of the finger, and includes a feedback surface that simulates a force associated with the interaction with the surface. The sensor includes a controller configured to monitor rotation of the second bearing and record skin stretch information responsive to the interaction with the surface.
US09741215B2

Embodiments include wearable haptic feedback devices and methods of fabricating wearable haptic feedback devices. In an illustrative embodiment given by way of non-limiting example, a wearable haptic feedback device includes: a wearable headgear cap; a web disposed within the cap; a plurality of haptic elements disposed about the web and configured to provide haptic feedback to a user; and an interface circuit configured to operatively couple the plurality of haptic elements to an electronic system.
US09741209B2

Gaming devices, gaming systems, methods of conducting a wagering game, and computer programs for executing a wagering game are presented herein. A gaming system for conducting a wagering game is disclosed, which includes an input device for receiving wagers, a display for displaying the wagering game, and a controller. The controller is configured to: determine whether one or more progressive jackpots are active, each jackpot having a respective progressive value and a respective trigger value; randomly determine an outcome of the base game; determine if the base-game outcome has an award associated therewith; if one or more progressive jackpots are active and the base-game outcome has an award associated therewith, provide the award to the player and increment the progressive value for each active jackpot by at least the base-game award; and, if the incremented value of an active progressive jackpot is equal to or greater than its respective trigger value, award the incremented value to the player.
US09741190B2

There is a need to effectively determine which users should be given priority for using a public service. A way of improving the public service can be to acquire information on congestion degree in use of the public service, to determine whether the congestion degree is higher than a specified level or not, and to transmit information that urges cease of the use of the public service being used to users who have higher utilization of the public service than other users among a plurality of users if the congestion degree is higher than the specified level.
US09741187B2

An access control system that comprises a storage for storing a plurality of user profiles of a plurality of users, each one of the plurality of user profiles is associated with a unique identifier of one of the plurality of users and defining access credentials of a respective the user to each of a plurality of gates, a central unit having at least one processor and an access manager module executed by the processor, and a plurality of gate control units which includes a reader to read information and a gate controller adapted to instruct an opening of at least one of the plurality of gates based on an analysis which is performed in the central unit of information extracted from an output of the reader.
US09741184B2

A door handle including light emitters for emitting light out of the handle, light detectors, lenses oriented relative to the emitters and detectors such that for each emitter-detector pair, when a reflective object is located at a target position near the handle, corresponding to that emitter-detector pair, then the light emitted by that emitter passes through one of the lenses and is reflected by the object back through one of the lenses to that detector, a keyless lock that, when activated, scans for a digital key via wireless communication, and a processor operable to synchronously activate emitter-detector pairs, to recognize from the amounts of light received by the activated detectors, and from the target positions corresponding to the activated emitter-detector pairs, that the object is approaching the handle and performing a sweep gesture and, in response thereto, to activate the keyless lock.
US09741181B2

Images of items are evaluated. A first image of the item, having a view of two or more of its surfaces, is captured at a first time. A measurement of at least one dimension of one or more of the surfaces is computed and stored. A second image of the item, having a view of at least one of the two or more surfaces, is captured at a second time, subsequent to the first time. A measurement of the dimension is then computed and compared to the stored first measurement. The computed measurement is evaluated based on the comparison.
US09741180B2

Mail processing systems and methods. A method includes receiving a plurality of mailpieces in the mail processing system and associating a unique identifier with each of the plurality of mailpieces. The method includes obtaining destination address information for each of the plurality of mailpieces and comparing the destination address information with a potential move table to determine destination addresses for which there is a potential change of address. The method includes sending the destination address information to a change of address (COA) server and receiving COA results from the COA server. The method includes printing destination information on each mailpiece according to the COA results.
US09741168B2

An object classification unit 504 classifies objects placed in a virtual three-dimensional space into objects to be displayed on an optical transmission type HMD and objects to be displayed on a monitor 300 which is observed through the optical transmission type HMD. A video outputting unit 506 outputs a video of each object to the monitor 300 or the optical transmission type HMD based on a classification by the object classification unit 504.
US09741166B2

A method of creating a panoramic peripheral image may include identifying a virtual observer at a position in a modeled scene. Peripheral images of the modeled scene may be obtained, including views at multiple angles from the virtual observer. The peripheral images may be arranged to depict a panoramic peripheral view of the modeled scene.
US09741164B2

A three-dimensional (3D) map display system displays a 3D map on which a ground surface and a feature are represented three-dimensionally. The 3D map display system includes (a) a map database for storing map data representing a 3D shape of the ground surface and the feature, (b) a first drawing unit for drawing the ground surface and the feature by executing depth determination by referring to the map database, and (c) a second drawing unit for drawing a target feature, which is a feature in which at least a part thereof is hidden by a ground surface or other features in the drawing by the first drawing unit, by overwriting the target feature on a drawing result by the first drawing unit by using the map data without executing depth determination with respect to the drawing result by the first drawing unit.
US09741159B2

To simulate the effect of shadows in an image being rendered a light source bounding frustum is produced for a tile for a light source, and used to determine a set of geometry for the tile that could cast a shadow in the tile. The determined set of geometry is then used to determine a light source visibility parameter for each sampling position in the tile by determining for each tile screen space sampling position, whether rays cast between the tile sampling position and a set of sampling positions representing the light source would intersect occluding geometry or not. The determined number of visible light source sampling positions for each tile sampling position is used to determine a light source visibility parameter value for each tile sampling position, and the determined light source visibility parameters are then used to modulate the light source when shading the geometry.
US09741158B2

A graphics processing unit (GPU) is provided. The GPU includes a tiling unit and a rasterizer. The tiling unit is configured to determines primitives touching a corresponding tile in tiles in an image frame, to determine at least one representative primitive of the primitives using a depth value of each of the primitives, and to generate visible primitives of the primitives for the corresponding tile using a depth value of the at least one representative primitive. The rasterizer is configured to rasterize the at least one representative and the visible primitives.
US09741156B2

A materials trouble shooter is provided for use with 3D models in computer graphics. An error texture is displayed that is distinguishable from textures without errors. If a texture is missing or is applied incorrectly to the 3D model, an error texture is displayed using an error shader instead of a regular shader for the texture for which an error in loading or application has been detected.
US09741155B2

A method and apparatus for rendering graphics data are provided. The graphics data rendering method includes calculating a number of overlapping objects by tile in a first frame. The graphics data rendering method determines a tile size of a second frame based on the calculated number of the overlapping objects, divides the second frame based on the determined tile size, and renders the second frame by divided tile.
US09741148B2

A system includes hardware processor(s), an HMD, an input device, and an onion skin animation module. The animation modules is configured to receive a character rig of a 3D character, receive a first 3D animation of the 3D character, the first 3D animation defines a motion sequence of the 3D character based on the character rig, create a virtual time bar within the virtual environment, the virtual time bar displaying a timeline associated with the first 3D animation, identify a first animation time within the first 3D animation, the first animation time is a point in time during the motion sequence, create a first pose object of the 3D character in the virtual environment, pose the first pose object based on the first 3D animation at the animation time, and positioning the first pose object within the virtual environment proximate the first animation time on the virtual time bar.
US09741133B2

The present disclosure is directed to identifying shapes in an image. For example, a shape identification system may identify an unknown shape represented by a Bézier path that has at least one Bézier curve. The shape identification system may also identify a stored Bézier path that has at least one stored Bézier curve, for example, in a database of known shapes. Using the Bézier curve of the unknown shape and the stored Bézier curve of the known shape, the shape identification system can determine a transformation matrix that transforms the transforms the Bézier curve of unknown shape to the stored Bézier curve of the known shape. Then, the shape identification system can compare the transformed Bézier curve to the stored Bézier curve to determine whether the unknown shape matches the known shape.
US09741131B2

Disclosed herein is a framework for facilitating image processing. In accordance with one aspect, the framework receives first image data acquired by a first modality and one or more articulated models. The one or more articulated models may include at least one section image acquired by the first modality and aligned with a local image acquired by a second modality. The framework may align an anatomical region of the first image data with the section image and non-rigidly register a first region of interest extracted from the section image with a second region of interest extracted from the aligned anatomical region. To generate a segmentation mask of the anatomical region, the registered first region of interest may be inversely mapped to a subject space of the first image data.
US09741129B2

Automatic tracking by a camera (16) of an object (12) such as on-air talent appearing in a television show commences by first determining whether the object lies within the camera field of view matches a reference object. If so, tracking of the object then occurs to maintain the object in fixed relationship to a pre-set location in the camera's field of view, provided the designated object has moved more than a threshold distance from the pre-set location.
US09741126B1

A method for segmenting a mesh, the method may include receiving or generating the mesh, wherein the mesh is a three dimensional surface mesh that represents a three dimensional object and comprises vertexes, edges and faces; finding, by a computerized search module, first edges of the mesh that have an edge angle below an edge angle threshold; wherein each first edge is a border of a pair of faces of the mesh and wherein an edge angle of a first edge is an angle between normals to the pair of faces; finding, by the computerized search module, first vertices of the mesh that have a negative angular defect that is below a negative angular defect threshold and have exactly one neighboring first edge; wherein each first vertex is shared by multiple faces of the mesh; wherein an angular defect of a first vertex is responsive to angles between all pairs of neighboring faces of the edges that share one of the multiple faces; finding, by the computerized search module, second edges of the mesh that link the first vertices of the mesh; clustering faces of the edge to provide first clusters by joining faces of the mesh that share and edge of the mesh that is not a first edge and is not a second edge; searching, by the computerized search module, for cutting edges out of the boundaries between the first clusters; and segmenting, by a computerized segmentation module, the mesh along the cutting edges to provide mesh segments.
US09741122B2

A method is provided for determining the distance between two optical boundary surfaces spaced apart from each other in a first direction. A first image is ascertained wherein the plane into which the pattern acquired coincides with a first of two optical boundary surfaces or has the smallest distance to the first optical boundary surface in a first direction. A position of the first image in the first direction is determined. A second image is ascertained wherein the plane into which the pattern acquired coincides with a second of two optical boundary surfaces or has the smallest distance to the second optical boundary surface in the first direction. The position of the second image in the first direction is determined. The distance is calculated by means of determined positions of the first and second image.
US09741121B2

A photo localization application is configured to determine the location that an image depicts relative to a 3D representation of a structure. The 3D representation may be a 3D model, color range scan, or gray scale range scan of the structure. The image depicts a particular section of the structure. The photo localization application extracts and stores features from the 3D representation in a database. The photo localization application then extracts features from the image and compares those features against the database to identify matching features. The matching features form a location fingerprint, from which the photo localization application determines the location that the image depicts, relative to the 3D representation. The location allows the user to better understand and communicate information captured by the image.
US09741120B2

An infrared imaging detection and positioning method for an underground building in a planar land surface environment comprises: obtaining an original infrared image g0 formed after stratum modulation is performed on an underground building, and determining a local infrared image g of a general position of the underground building in the original infrared image g0; setting an iteration termination condition, and setting an initial value h0 of a Gaussian thermal diffusion function; using the local infrared image g as an initial target image f0, and performing iteration solution of a thermal expansion function hn and a target image fn by using a maximum likelihood estimation algorithm according to the initial value h0 of the Gaussian thermal diffusion function; and determining whether the iteration termination condition is met, if the iteration termination condition is met, using the target image fn obtained by means of iteration solution this time as a final target image f; and if the iteration termination condition is not met, continuing to perform iteration calculation. In the method, by performing demodulation processing on the infrared image formed after stratum modulation is performed on the underground building, the display of the infrared image of the original underground building is clearer, and the real structure of the underground building can be inverted.
US09741119B2

A display apparatus including a camera configured to capture a user's figure, a storage configured to store information about stress areas on a body in accordance with corresponding postures of a user, a processor configured to determine a user's posture from an image captured by the camera, determine a position of one or more stress areas on a body corresponding to the determined posture based on the stored information about the one or more stress areas on the body, and process a stress-related image, in which the determined one or more stress areas are marked on an image corresponding to a user's figure, and a display configured to display the stress-related image.
US09741117B2

An apparatus includes a plurality of camera units where each camera unit has a lens, a sensor that can detect at least three colors, and camera unit calibration data for each camera unit is stored in non-volatile, non-transitory memory. The apparatus also includes multi-camera auto white balance synchronization logic that is operatively coupled to each camera unit. The multi-camera auto white balance synchronization logic is operative to determine common white balance results based on the camera unit white balance results per frame and the camera calibration data. The common white balance results are provided to image signal processing pipelines such that a merged frame can be obtained by combining the frames of each camera after performing white balance and color correction using the common white balance results.
US09741105B1

An apparatus includes an input circuit configured to receive a sequence of pictures and a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be configured to (i) remap image data of a first picture based upon a respective picture brightness values for the first picture and a second picture selected from the sequence of pictures, and (ii) perform temporal filtering between the first picture and the second picture utilizing the remapped image data.
US09741101B2

An electronic device may include a finger biometric sensor that includes an array of electric field sensing pixels and image data output circuitry coupled thereto and capable of processing the image data from each of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels. The electronic device may also include a dielectric layer over the array of electric field sensing pixels and causing electric field diffusion so that the image data output circuitry generates image data corresponding to a blurred finger image. The electronic device also includes deblurring circuitry coupled to the image data output circuitry and capable of processing the image data from each of the plurality of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels to produce processed image data representative of a deblurred finger image.
US09741099B2

Systems and methods for local tone mapping are provided. In one example, an electronic device includes an electronic display, an imaging device, and an image signal processor. The electronic display may display images of a first bit depth, and the imaging device may include an image sensor that obtains image data of a higher bit depth than the first bit depth. The image signal processor may process the image data, and may include local tone mapping logic that may apply a spatially varying local tone curve to a pixel of the image data to preserve local contrast when displayed on the display. The local tone mapping logic may smooth the local tone curve applied to the intensity difference between the pixel and another nearby pixel exceeds a threshold.
US09741098B2

A digital camera includes an image optimization engine configured to generate an optimized image based on a raw image captured by the digital camera. The image optimization engine implements one or more machine learning engines in order to select rendering algorithms and rendering algorithm arguments that may then be used to render the raw image.
US09741089B2

A tile-based graphics processing pipeline comprising a rasteriser 3, a renderer 6, a tile buffer 10 configured to store rendered fragment data locally to the graphics processing pipeline prior to that data being written out to an external memory, a write out stage 13 configured to write data stored in the tile buffer to an external memory, and a programmable processing stage 14. The programmable processing stage 14 is operable under the control of graphics program instructions to read fragment data stored in the tile buffer 10 on a random access basis, perform a processing operation using the read fragment data, and write the result of the processing operation into the tile buffer 10 or to an external memory.
US09741086B2

The present invention provides an image processing method that allows filter processing to be easily and appropriately performed on divided images. An image processing unit 105 performs the filter processing on pixels in a divided image 1, and pixels that do not require reference to pixels in a divided image 3 that are not stored in a pixel storage unit 103, among margin pixels 3T stored in the pixel storage unit 103. Further, an image processing unit 106, which performs the filter processing in parallel with the image processing unit 105, performs the filter processing on pixels that do not require reference to the pixels in the divided image 1, among pixels in the divided image 3.
US09741084B2

A method and system for providing remote access to data for display on a client computer via a computer network is provided. A first and second server computer connected to a computer network execute a first and second server remote access program, respectively, for communicating with an associated first and second application program. The client computer, which is also connected to the computer network, executes a client remote access program for simultaneously communicating with the first and second server remote access programs via a first and second communication link. The first and second server remote access programs determine first and second presentation data indicative of an application state of the first and second application programs. The client remote access program receives the first and the second presentation data and determines display data in dependence thereupon for substantially simultaneously displaying the first and the second presentation data.
US09741082B2

Various embodiments herein include at least one of systems, devices, methods, and methods for distributed HVAC system cost optimization. Such embodiments are generally implemented within a controller of HVAC system component, such as within boiler, cooler, air handling unit, and rooftop unit controllers. In some embodiments, multiple controllers exchange data to control various components of an HVAC system. One of the controllers, such as a primary plant of the system for heating or cooling, is designated as a master controller and the other component controllers are designated as slave controllers. Each controller, both master and slave controllers, includes at least one model that models variable settings of the component or components for which the respective controller is responsible. The model is utilized by the respective controller to both adjust the modeled variable component settings and to determine a cost-variable of operation.