US09775909B2

The viscosity of aqueous dispersions of normally solid organic peroxides may be advantageously lowered through the use of surfactants which are polyglyceryl esters of C6-C12 fatty acids. The reduction in viscosity facilitates milling the peroxides to reduce particle size and also provides dispersions of small particle size peroxides which may be readily poured or pumped.
US09775908B2

The subject of the present invention is a transdermal preparation containing pharmaceutically active ingredient, wherein the particles of the active ingredient are coated with highly volatile silicones or a mixture thereof, and these coated particles are dispersed in a gel or cream base. The volatile silicone component is hexamethyldisiloxane and/or octamethyltrisiloxane and/or decamethylpentacyclo-siloxane. A further subject of the present invention is a method for the preparation of such pharmaceutical compositions.
US09775905B2

An intrauterine device having at least one first pharmaceutically active ingredient and at least one first layer made of at least a first polymeric material, wherein between about 10 and about 60 v/v % of at least one particulate material is dispersed and/or incorporated in the first polymeric material. The presence of the particulate material will reduce the porosity of the polymer or otherwise obstruct the diffusion of the pharmaceutically active ingredient being released, thereby slowing its rate of release. In this way, it is possible to regulate the release rate and/or initial burst of the device, simply by adjusting the amount of particles/particulate material in the first layer, instead of having to adapt the size of the device to the desired release pattern, which requires expensive changes in production equipment and manufacturing processes.
US09775904B2

The present invention relates to dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonists and their medical use, for example in the treatment of disorders of the metabolic syndrome, including diabetes and obesity, as well as for reduction of excess food intake.
US09775901B2

Materials capable of delivering stabilized free radicals to targeted treatment sites. The materials comprise semi-crystalline, hydrolytically degradable polymers that are subjected to ionizing radiation to create stabilized free radicals therein. Upon exposure to oxygen containing aqueous media, the materials generate reactive oxidative species which are useful in biological processes.
US09775890B2

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for cell transplantation. In particular, the present invention provides a composition comprising procoagulant cells and at least one factor Xa inhibitor, preferably rivaroxaban, as well as at least one thrombin inhibitor, preferably bivalirudin.
US09775886B2

The present invention provides compositions comprising human placental telopeptide collagen, methods of preparing the compositions, methods of their use and kits comprising the compositions. The compositions, kits and methods are useful, for example, for augmenting or replacing tissue of a mammal.
US09775885B2

The present invention relates to a method for treating a bone loss disease, condition, or disorder in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to said subject a pharmaceutically effective amount of a composition comprising thrombomodulin lectin-like domain (TMD1).
US09775880B2

The present invention relates to a composition which comprises the following myelin basic protein peptides: MBP 30-44; MBP 83-99; MBP 131-145; and MBP 140-154. The composition may be used to treat a disease, in particular multiple sclerosis and/or optical neuritis and the invention also relates to such uses and methods.
US09775872B2

The present disclosure refers to topical pharmaceutical bases that possess antiviral properties. Further, these topical pharmaceutical bases are employed for preventing a patient to be infected by viral diseases. The topical pharmaceutical bases include Amazonian oils and resins, such as pracaxi oil and breu-branco resin. The synergistic effect of pracaxi oil combined with breu-branco resin results in a highly effective antiviral treatment. Suitable active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can be incorporated to the topical pharmaceutical bases to formulate topical pharmaceutical compositions, which improve antiviral effects. The synergistic effect provided by the combination of pracaxi oil and breu-branco resin enables lower dosage requirements of the associated APIs when topical pharmaceutical compositions are employed for preventing viral diseases.
US09775871B2

Herbal compositions and their use in the prevention and/or treatment of hepatitis are provided The herbal compositions comprise an extract of flowers, leaves, and roots from the plant genera Cordia, Annona, and Curcuma, respectively, wherein the specific species are Cordia lutea, Annona muricata and Curcuma longa.
US09775869B2

A composition having an extract of seed of Emblica officinalis. Methods of preparing extract of seed of Emblica officinalis. An amla seed blend composition having various ratios of extracts of seeds of Emblica officinalis. Nutraceutical or pharmaceutical methods for decreasing the total cholesterol, decreasing triglyceride, decreasing blood glucose level, enhancing HDL-C levels, increasing the HDL-C level to total cholesterol ratio, lowering LDL-C levels, decreasing the CRP level, decreasing the intima media thickening, reducing hair fall in mammals especially human beings. The extract of seed of Emblica officinalis, or the amla seed blend composition is more effective compared to extracts prepared from fruits of Emblica officinalis.
US09775861B1

An ophthalmic composition of water soluble ingredients provides additional moisture to the eye by promoting moisture absorption from the air and providing long lasting relief. The composition can include two groups of ingredients, one a liquid and the other a solid. Together, the ingredients form a substance that ranges from a liquid to a gel. Benefits of such composition include longer lasting symptom relief with less applications and increased moisture production.
US09775858B2

This document relates to methods and materials for reducing the risk of infection after a shoulder surgery or medical procedure. For example, this document relates to methods and materials for using a topical composition containing clindamycin or erythromycin to reduce the risk of or to prevent infection associated with shoulder surgeries or medical procedures.
US09775856B2

The present invention concerns the antidiabetic-activity of compounds type A, namely of 8-β-D-glucosylgenistein, which is not toxic to eukaryotic cells and has demonstrated to produce complete normalization of fasting hyperglycaemia, to reduce excessive postprandial glucose excursion, to increase glucose-induced insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. An alternative synthesis for this molecular entity and its binding ability to β-amyloid oligomers is also included in the present invention, which also comprises Genista tenera ethyl acetate extract for use as antihyperglycaemic, agent i.e. for lowering blood glucose levels in mammals that are pre-diabetic or have type 2 or type 1 diabetes.The inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase by Genista tenera ethyl acetate and butanol extracts and that of glucose-6-phosphatase by these two extracts and the diethyl ether plant extract is also part of the present invention.
US09775853B2

Compositions and methods for achieving hemostasis. Hemostatic compositions comprise a phospholipid, and optionally, an anti-infective agent. The hemostatic composition can be administered to a bleeding bone to achieve hemostasis.
US09775846B2

Biocompatible intraocular implants include a prostamide component and a biodegradable polymer that is effective in facilitating release of the prostamide component into an eye for an extended period of time. The prostamide component may be associated with a biodegradable polymer matrix, such as a matrix of a two biodegradable polymers. The implants may be placed in an eye to treat or reduce a at least one symptom of an ocular condition, such as glaucoma.
US09775844B2

Compounds and pharmaceutical compositions that modulate kinase activity, including PI3 kinase activity, and compounds, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of treatment of diseases and conditions associated with kinase activity, including PI3 kinase activity, are described herein.
US09775832B2

Provided is a pharmaceutical composition for oral administration enabling improved solubility, improved dissolution properties, and improved oral absorbability of (2R)—N-({5-[3-(2,5-difluorophenyl)-2-(1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazole-2-ylidene)-3-oxopropanoyl]-2-fluorophenyl}sulfonyl)-2-hydroxypropane imide amide (hereinafter referred to as compound A) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as well as size reduction. The pharmaceutical composition for oral administration contains an amorphous form of compound A or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, and a polymer.
US09775826B2

The present disclosure relates to management of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and associated condition. The present disclosure also relates to management of Hepatic Fibrosis. The present disclosure relates to administration of composition comprising pentameric type A procyanidin, trimeric procyanidin and tetrameric procyanidin, optionally along with pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, for management of Hepatic Fibrosis, Hepatitis C virus and associated conditions. The composition acts as an inhibitor at the entry stage of Hepatitis C virus into a cell. The composition inhibits different genotypes of Hepatitis C Virus.
US09775819B2

An oral solid dosage form containing nanoparticles is made by (a) reducing the particle size of at least one pharmaceutically active ingredient dispersed in a solution containing fish gelatin to form a nanosuspension and (b) freeze-drying the nanosuspension of step (a) to form the oral solid dosage form.
US09775818B2

The invention comprises methods for treating and preventing a bacterial infection in a subject, methods for preparing a medicament for use in treating and preventing a bacterial infection in a subject, and pharmaceutical and veterinary antibacterial compositions when used therein.
US09775817B2

Dosing regimen for transdermal delivery of hormones comprising a 28 day treatment cycle with a fixed treatment interval and a fixed rest interval.
US09775802B2

A process for producing a pharmaceutical suspension that comprises an active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) having low solubility, the process comprises: (a) preparing a first solution comprising a carboxy-containing vinyl polymer and a solvent; and (b) adding a compound of the API to said first solution under conditions of high-shear mixing for a time from about 5 minutes to about 5 hours, said compound being soluble in said solvent, thereby producing a suspension of particles of said API in a composition comprising said carboxy-containing vinyl polymer; wherein a concentration of said API in said suspension is higher than a solubility of said API in said solvent. The present invention also provides a suspension produced by such process.
US09775798B2

Compositions comprising electro-activated aqueous solutions and methods for the prevention and treatment of dysfunctional cardiovascular conditions are provided.
US09775796B1

A skin composition includes between 5% and 95% of polyethylene glycol and between 5% and 95% of glycereth. The composition is a gel that is formulated for application to an individual's skin.
US09775788B2

The invention provides an orally acceptable plaque indicator gel comprising a dye in sufficient concentration to visibly stain plaque upon application, optionally for use in combination with an orally acceptable plaque removal gel comprising an antiplaque agent in sufficient concentration to remove plaque and or kill bacteria upon application, in each case the gel having a specific viscosity permitting efficient application using a pen dispenser, as well as reduced dye or antiplaque agent concentration, together with methods of using the same.
US09775786B2

A one-part self-etching, self-priming dental adhesive having a pH of at most 2, which comprises an aqueous mixture containing (i) one or more polymerizable monomers optionally containing an acidic group, (ii) optionally one or more organic or inorganic acids, (iii) a polymerization initiator, and (iv) a thermal polymerisation inhibitor of the following formula (I):  wherein R′1 represents a hydrogen atom, or a saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms. R′2, which may be the same or different if more than one R′2 is present, independently represent a saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, and c represents an integer of from 1 to 4.
US09775779B2

Described herein is a 3-dimensional interchangeable icon bottle cap assembly, or cap with textured indicia, with top plates that interface with prescription bottle caps using icons, graphics and colors that help patients understand when to take their medication, what the medication is for, and provide the ability to keep track of medication compliance.
US09775771B2

An apparatus for reanimation of a patient that includes a plunger driven by a drive to perform a compressive massage on the patient's body, a position measuring device that measures the respective position of the plunger during its compressive massaging motion, and a holding device for the drive and the plunger.
US09775768B2

A therapeutic mat is described. The mat provides therapeutic relief in the form of vibratory motion and/or heat. The mat or pad is particularly useful as a floor mat in a vehicle. The mat includes provisions to enable powering the mat from a 12-volt direct current source, such as used in an automobile or other vehicle. A massage module can be removed from the mat to facilitate cleaning of the mat. The mat may also include one or more upwardly extending provisions for massaging the arch region of a user's feet. Also described are illuminated mats. The lights of a mat can operate based upon the operation of another mat, pulsations of the massage module, or based upon acoustic levels in the vehicle.
US09775765B2

The proposed method is intended for rhythmic stimulation of neurotrophic reflexes to simultaneous stretching of muscles in various sections of spine, joints of limbs and in the main muscles of a human body. The aforesaid method can be implemented by employing an exercise machine that provides for mechanical anti-phase oscillations of lodgments affecting various sections of the body and limbs without considerable movements of the neck-and-head lodgment in the vertical direction. The upper body and the lower limbs make in-phase reciprocal movements, while the pelvic area makes movements anti-phase relative thereto. A support for the neck-and-head part is installed to allow supporting natural movements of the head in the course of the aforesaid movements of the upper body. The design of the exercise machine is described in detail herein.
US09775763B2

Exoskeleton technology is described herein. Such technology includes but is not limited to exoskeletons, exoskeleton controllers, methods for controlling an exoskeleton, and combinations thereof. The exoskeleton technology may facilitate, enhance, and/or supplant the natural mobility of a user via a combination of sensor elements, processing/control elements, and actuating elements. User movement may be elicited by electrical stimulation of the user's muscles, actuation of one or more mechanical components, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the exoskeleton technology may adjust in response to measured inputs, such as motions or electrical signals produced by a user. In this way, the exoskeleton technology may interpret known inputs and learn new inputs, which may lead to a more seamless user experience.
US09775761B2

A compartmentalized cremation urn and system for retaining multigenerational cremains of humans and/or pets is provided. The multigenerational cremation urn may store multigenerational cremains in a single compartmentalized container as well as showcase images of the deceased. A removable lid is provided. The lid in a closed condition over the compartmentalized container may highlight a view area of the cremains. An image carousel may be provided on the top of the lid. The image carousel may provide a plurality of radially extending display frames for housing images capturing the memories of those inurned in the multigenerational cremation, wherein a user may selectively rotate the image carousel for viewing a lineage of loved ones of humans and/or pets across multiple generations.
US09775755B2

A power add-on device for powering a manual wheelchair includes a motorized component including dual electric motors and a power source electrically coupled to the electric motors, wherein each of the motors is configured to turn a respective one of a set of drive wheels. The power add-on device can include a latching mechanism adapted to attach the power add-on device to the camber tube of the manual wheelchair; and a controller, reachable by a person sitting in the manual wheelchair, that controls the latching mechanism, the motors, and a swing arm that allows the rear wheels of the manual wheelchair to be lifted off the ground. The front wheels of the manual wheelchair are allowed to be lifted several inches off the ground to avoid obstacles, or can be lifted by the user leaning back.
US09775753B2

The various embodiments disclosed herein relate to wheelchair systems for transporting a mobility-challenged passenger onto an aircraft and transfer that passenger into an aircraft seat. The implementations include systems with lift systems, belt systems, and/or transfer ramps.
US09775749B2

A method for mechanically deforming, such as by bonding, a substrate assembly. The substrate assembly may be advanced at first velocity toward a bonder apparatus. The bonder apparatus may rotate at a second velocity, which is less than or equal to the first velocity. The bonder apparatus may include a support surface and a process assembly. The substrate assembly may be contracted prior to advancing onto the bonder apparatus. A first process assembly may receive a leading portion of the substrate assembly and a subsequent process assembly may receive a trailing portion. The leading portion and the trailing portion define a product arc length, which is less than or equal to a process product pitch. One or more processes may be performed on the substrate assembly. The substrate assembly may then be removed from the apparatus and advanced through a metering assembly such that the substrate assembly exits at the first velocity and may be expanded such that the leading portion and the trailing portion are separated by the process product pitch.
US09775748B2

A method for mechanically deforming a substrate assembly. The substrate assembly may advance at a first velocity toward a bonder apparatus. The bonder apparatus may rotate about an axis of rotation and include a support surface between a first member and a second member. The first and second members may rotate at the first velocity and may be separated by an initial angle. The first member may receive a leading portion and the second member may receive a trailing portion of the substrate assembly. The first member may decelerate to a second velocity, and, subsequently, the second member may decelerate to the second velocity. The first member and the second member may be separated by a process angle, which may be different than the initial angle. A central portion of the substrate assembly may be relaxed while the leading and trailing portion may be held at a process tension. The substrate assembly may then undergo one or more processes.
US09775747B2

A wound barrier pad is provided having a housing with a housing opening. The housing has a truncated conical shape. A base plate with an opening is disposed in the housing, and the housing is filled with a fluid or padding. The wound barrier pad may also be embodied to have a cylindrical shape, a rectangular shape or other shape. The wound barrier pad may be incorporated into a garment. In another embodiment the wound barrier pad includes a ring and an adhesive such that the wound barrier pad may be directly adhered to the patient, thus eliminating the need for the garment. In another embodiment there is a wound barrier device having a pad assembly and an anti-sheer member. The anti-shear member reduces frictional forces on the skin of a patient. In another embodiment a wound barrier assembly is provided for applying a negative pressure to a wound.
US09775745B2

A steerable laser probe may include a handle, and inner bore of the handle, an actuation lever of the handle, a housing tube, and an optic fiber disposed within the inner bore of the handle and the housing tube. The housing tube may have a first housing tube portion having a first stiffness and a second housing tube portion having a second stiffness. The second stiffness may be greater than the first stiffness.
US09775740B2

An assembly for preventing and treating skin dermatitis includes an air flow conditioning module positioned in the output air flow increasing or decreasing the temperature of the generated air flow as received from the fan responsive to a received control signal, a temperature sensor positioned in the output air flow sensing a current temperature of the output air flow as conditioned by the air flow conditioning module, an air flow conditioning control module is coupled to the air flow conditioning module and the temperature sensor for generating the control signal, and air flow conditioning control module that has a definable temperature range of the output airflow and for receiving the sensed current temperature from the temperature sensor, comparing the current temperature to the defined temperature range, and generating the control signal to provide the generated air flow at the nozzle is within the defined temperature range.
US09775739B2

A method and apparatus for preventing sleep apnea employs an external clamp that has a first pad that engages the upper lip beneath the nose and a second pad that engages the lower jaw on its underside, behind the mandibular symphysis. The pads are connected to each other by a flexible member, or brace. Preferably the second pad is rounded on that portion that contacts the lower jaw. The clamp is held in place by one or more straps, braces or springs that pass about the patient's head. The first pad is held such that it presses against the upper lip while the second pad closes the lower jaw and pulls it forwardly and upwardly using relatively small forces.
US09775732B2

An implant delivery system including a catheter having a delivery lumen; a pusher member slidably disposed in the catheter delivery lumen; a retaining member coupled to a distal end portion of the pusher member, the retaining member configured to retain an expandable implant in a collapsed configuration on the pusher member for delivery of the implant through the catheter delivery lumen; and an expandable actuator coupled to the distal end portion of the pusher member and operatively associated with the retaining member, wherein expansion of the actuator causes the retaining member to disengage from an implant carried on the pusher member, to thereby allow the implant to expand from the collapsed configuration.
US09775730B1

The described invention provides an endovascular stent device comprising a tubular structure comprising a circumference; wherein a flow-diverting portion of the circumference is covered by a flow-diverting material; a length (l) from a proximal end to a distal end; and an inner diameter (d); wherein the flow-diverting portion of the circumference comprises a length (l′); and the flow-diverting portion of the circumference covers at least 1% to at least 100% of the endovascular stent device. According to some embodiments, the flow-diverting material is adapted to increase blood vessel wall adherence and minimize risk of an endoleak.
US09775728B2

A prosthesis is disclosed for placement at an Os opening from a main body lumen to a branch body lumen. The prosthesis includes a radially expansible support at one end, a circumferentially extending link at the other end and at least one frond extending axially therebetween. The support is configured to be deployed in the branch body lumen, with the circumferentially extending link in the main lumen and the frond extendable across the Os.
US09775723B2

In one aspect, an instrument for placing a graft, implant and/or graft material at a target site for enhancing posterolateral fusion between two or more vertebrae is provided which includes a housing and an actuable trigger associated with the housing. A curved rigid access tube extends from the housing, the access tube terminating at a distal end. A sheath is disposed about, and moveable relative to the access tube, and a transmission is disposed in the housing. In an initial state, the sheath extends distally past the distal end of the access tube, a space being defined within the sheath distally of the distal end of the access tube to accommodate the graft, implant and/or graft material. The transmission is configured to cause an incremental displacement of the sheath relative to the distal end of the access tube upon an actuation of the trigger.
US09775720B2

A system comprising a fusion cage and at least one engagement member is provided. The fusion cage includes a first member and a second member. The engagement member is configured to retain the first and second members in an expanded state while simultaneously fixing the fusion case to adjacent vertebrae.
US09775719B2

An expandable vertebral body device, system, instrument, and methods of assembly and using the device, system, and instrument are disclosed. The vertebral body device includes a body with a first end and a second end, a first rotating member rotatably coupled to the first end, a second rotating member rotatably coupled to the second end, a first extension member moveably coupled to the first end, and a second extension member moveably coupled to the second end. The expandable cage system comprises a vertebral body device and an insertion instrument. Methods for assembling and using the vertebral body device and instrument are also disclosed.
US09775715B2

The invention relates to prosthetic knee joint comprising an upper part, which has an upper connecting means, and a lower part, which is pivotably mounted on the upper part and which has a lower connecting means. A vacuum pump with an inlet and an outlet, said pump being driven by the relative movement of the upper part to the lower part, is associated with the prosthetic knee joint.
US09775705B2

A catheter is described for the transvascular implantation of prosthetic heart valves, e.g., including self-expanding anchorage supports, to reduce the risk to the patient during the implantation. Accordingly, a prosthetic heart valve with anchorage supports is temporarily housed in a folded form in a cartridge-type unit during the implantation. The cartridge-type unit can be fixed on the proximal end of a guide system, which includes a flexible region that can be guided through the aorta. Actuating elements run through the interior of the hollow guide system, permitting sections of the cartridge-type unit to be displaced radially about their longitudinal axis and/or laterally in a proximal direction, thus allowing individual sections of the anchorage support and the associated prosthetic heart valve to be sequentially released.
US09775702B2

The present disclosure relates to an anchor. The anchor includes a suture bridge having a proximal end and distal end. The distal end of the suture bridge has a thickness greater than a thickness of the proximal end of the suture bridge. At least two ribs extend from the proximal end of the suture bridge to a proximal end of the anchor. At least one open helical coil wraps around the at least two ribs and extends, substantially, from the proximal end of the suture bridge to the proximal end of the anchor. The at least one open helical coil defines an internal volume communicating with a region exterior to the anchor through apertures between turns of the at least one open helical coil. The at least two ribs are engagable with a grooved shaft of a driver.
US09775699B2

In an embodiment, the present invention discloses a medical assembly, including a sub-urethral implant, a strap, a dilator, and a suture. The implant includes a first end portion and a second end portion such that the strap is configured to be attached to the first end portion of the implant. The strap is attached to the implant through a weld. The strap is further configured to be coupled to the dilator. The suture can be coupled to the dilator.
US09775693B2

An oral care implement, such as a toothbrush, which includes a handle and a replacement head utilizing a specially designed structure for coupling the replacement head to the handle of the oral care implement. The replacement head comprises a head and a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity for receiving a handle. A protuberance protrudes radially inward from an inner surface of the tubular sleeve for engaging a boss of a stem on the handle to impede rotation of the tubular sleeve about the stem in a first angular direction. A locking tab protrudes radially inward from the inner surface of the tubular sleeve for engaging an undercut surface of the boss to prevent axial disengagement of the tubular sleeve from the stem. The locking tab is circumferentially spaced from the protuberance so that a first axial channel exists therebetween for receiving a section of the boss.
US09775688B2

The present invention refers to an analog implant for a dental model which has such a geometry as to allow its height positioning, axial positioning and angular orientation in a bore or blind hole of a dental model, the analog implant having a distal portion and a proximal portion, where the proximal portion has a rotationally symmetric geometry in a cross-section which is perpendicular to the axis of the proximal portion, where the rotationally symmetric geometry is adapted to ensure securing against rotation and repositioning of the analog implant in a bore or blind hole of a dental model, the external geometry of the proximal portion being such that the analog implant can be removed from the dental model, and where a proximally positioned shoulder of the distal portion forms a height stop which allows precise height positioning of the analog implant on the dental model or on the soft tissue of the dental model, respectively.
US09775676B2

A surgical device according to an exemplary aspect of this disclosure includes, among other things, a tool at a distal end of the surgical device, and a joystick including a ball. Movement of the joystick results in movement of the tool. The surgical device further includes a housing including a socket receiving the ball of the joystick.
US09775669B2

A surgical instrument for treating tissue, the instrument including a housing and a shaft with an articulating portion and an end effector. The surgical instrument including a first casing connected to and rotatable with the proximal end of said shaft with an internal frame housed within the first casing and a plurality of posts supported by the internal frame and connected on their distal ends to at least one drive wire, and connected on their proximal ends to a threaded shaft; and a second casing connected to the first casing and rotatable therewith, said second casing housing the threaded shafts. The surgical instrument includes a first electric motor driving a first gear interfacing with the threaded shafts such that a first pair of the plurality of threaded shafts rotate in the same direction and cause the articulating portion to articulate in a first plane.
US09775667B2

An apparatus for operating on tissue has a body, an elongate shaft, and an end effector. The elongate shaft extends distally from the body. The elongate shaft has an articulation section that is operable to selectively deflect the end effector laterally relative to the elongate shaft. The articulation section presents a first indication section and a second indication section. The first and second indication section may be configured to visually indicate the direction and degree of articulation of the articulation section. The first and second indication section may alternatively be configured to indicate the angular orientation of the end effector about the longitudinal axis. The body may further comprise a knob that is operable to rotate the shaft about the longitudinal axis. The knob may include a third indication section and a fourth indication section that align with the first and the second indication sections of the articulation section, respectively.
US09775660B2

Bone anchor assemblies and methods are provided having a multi-component bone anchor that is configured to allow the shank of the bone anchor to be bottom loaded into a receiver member. In one embodiment, a bone anchor assembly is provided having a shank with a distal threaded portion and a proximal head portion, a ball having a spherical exterior surface and a central lumen sized to receive the head portion of the shank, and a clip configured to be engaged between the head portion and the ball such that the clip is effective to lock the ball in engagement with the shank.
US09775657B2

System, including methods, apparatus, and kits, for bone fixation using a fixation device including a mounting portion and a fastener that attaches to the mounting portion. In some embodiments, the fixation device may include first and second mounting portions configured to be disposed across a bone from each other and secured with a fastener that extends from one of the mounting portions, through the bone, and to the other mounting portion. The system also may include a tool to facilitate installation of the fixation device.
US09775656B2

An intramedullary orthopedic implant includes a body section having a first end that provides a point of insertion for the body section and a second end. The body section further includes wings extending away from the point of insertion for the body section. The intramedullary orthopedic implant further includes first and second legs extending from the second end of the body section. The first and second legs begin in a first implanted shape, are movable to a second insertion shape, and remain in the second insertion shape as long as the first and second legs are mechanically constrained.
US09775652B2

A bone plate system is provided. The system includes two or more fastener locks stacked on top of each other and located between two holes in a plate adapted to receive bone fasteners. An actuator is provided between the locks. As the actuator is advanced, the locks are moved sequentially into position, firstly, to prevent one or more bone fasteners from backing out of the plate while permitting the fasteners to angulate and, secondly, to lock the angulation of the bone fasteners while still providing back out protection in situ. An expandable bone plate having a top plate interconnected to a bottom plate by a rack and pinion is provided. The rotation of the pinion with a driver lengthens or shortens the plate incrementally for custom length adjustment. The length is fixed in position with the simple removal of the driver and no further step is required to lock the plate length.
US09775644B2

The invention is incorporated into a tissue removal and manipulation device for vaginal hysterectomies and related surgeries. The present invention solves the suturing problem of the prior art devices by providing a device that not only can manipulate the uterus during surgery but remove the uterus without the need for suturing.
US09775628B2

In some examples, an apparatus includes a working surface including at least one material removal member. The material removal member is configured to remove at least some of a first portion of a first material. A protrusion extends outwardly from the working surface. The protrusion extends beyond the at least one material removal member by a first distance. The protrusion is configured to inhibit the at least one material removal member from removing at least a second portion of the first material. The second portion has a thickness substantially equal to the first distance.
US09775623B2

A surgical clip applier includes a jaw assembly having first and second jaws. Each jaw defines an opposed surface configured to receive a portion of a surgical clip. The jaws are moveable between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position for forming the surgical clip about tissue. Each jaw includes a relief element disposed on a surface adjacent to and substantially transverse relative to the opposed surface thereof. The relief elements are cooperable to define a relief recess upon movement of the jaws to the approximated position. The relief recess is configured to receive at least a portion of a previously formed surgical clip during formation of a subsequent surgical clip about tissue adjacent to the previously formed surgical clip.
US09775621B2

Embolic coil implant systems and methods whereby coils are mechanically detachable are disclosed. The coils include a retention element that may be releasably retained within the distal end of an implant tool. The implant tool may include a fulcrum configured to engage a first filament and prevent the release of the coil when the first filament is engaged. Alternatively, an urging means and aperture may be disposed within the sidewall of the implant tool, and a first filament may, in conjunction with the aperture and sidewall, releasably retain the coil until the first filament is withdrawn. The implant tool may also include an alignment member for aligning the first filament.
US09775617B2

A surgical stapling device for joining tissue portions includes a handle assembly, and a tubular body portion having a staple cartridge assembly containing a plurality of surgical staples in an annular array. The surgical stapling device includes an anvil assembly having a shaft for removably connecting the anvil assembly to the tubular body portion. The anvil assembly and the tubular body portion are juxtaposed with respect to one another along the shaft and are arranged so as to be approximated with respect to one another. The surgical stapling device includes a buttress material supported by the tubular body portion and disposed between the anvil assembly and the staple cartridge assembly. The surgical stapling device includes a suture material that is adapted for engagement with the tubular body portion and the buttress material to secure the buttress material to the tubular body portion.
US09775616B2

The present disclosure is directed to devices for approximating body vessels and method for performing the same. In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, the device includes an inner member having a first expandable anchor operatively coupled near a distal end thereof, an outer member having a second expandable anchor, and a sleeve disposed about at least a portion of the inner member and the outer member.
US09775613B2

An end effector for stapling and cutting tissue comprising a shaft portion extending along a longitudinal axis, a first jaw, and a second jaw is disclosed. One of the first jaw and the second jaw comprises a plurality of staple cavities arranged in a plurality of curved staple cavity rows, wherein the second jaw is moveable relative to the first jaw between an open orientation and a closed orientation. The second jaw is configured to tilt laterally about the longitudinal axis between the open orientation and the closed orientation. The second jaw comprises an intermediate portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion is structured to clamp tissue against the first jaw before the intermediate portion when the second jaw moves from the open orientation toward the closed orientation.
US09775600B2

Devices and methods for minimally invasive suturing are disclosed. One suturing device for minimally invasive suturing includes a proximal section a distal end, and an intermediate region therebetween. The device includes a suture head assembly having a suturing needle with a pointed end and a second end. The suturing needle is capable of rotating about an axis approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the device, wherein the pointed end of the suturing needle is positioned within the suture head assembly prior to deployment of guides that are adapted and configured to guide the needle around a circular path when advanced by a drive mechanism having a needle driver for engaging and rotating the suturing needle.
US09775595B2

The invention relates to a knee spacer for temporary replacement of an artificial knee joint, whereby the knee spacer comprises a tibial component (11) and a separator (12), whereby the tibial component (11) comprises a running surface (14) by means of which the tibial component (11), in the patient-inserted state, can be placed against a femoral component (28) in mobile manner, and whereby the separator (12) comprises a contact surface (15) for placing on the tibia (22) and the contact surface (15) is adjustable at a variable distance from the running surface (14) of the tibial component (11).The invention also relates to a method for adapting a knee spacer to a treatment scenario, comprising a tibial component (11) and a separator (12), whereby the tibial component (11) comprises a running surface (14) for placing against a femoral component (28) in mobile manner, and the separator (12) comprises a contact surface (15) for placing on the tibia (22), whereby the method involves adjusting the distance between the contact surface (15) and the running surface (14).The invention also relates to the use of a knee spacer of this type as temporary place-holder in a knee of a patient.
US09775592B2

Embodiments are described for closing vascular access ports, such as arteriotomies, which involve placement and deployment of an expandable device configured to prevent blood flow across a subject arteriotomy while also keeping disturbance of intravascular flow to a minimum. Suitable prostheses may comprise one or more frames constructed from lengths of flexible materials, such as shape memory alloys or polymers. Such frames may be coupled to sheetlike or tube-like structures configured to spread loads, minimize thrombosis which may be related to intravascular flow, and maintain hemostasis.
US09775585B2

In general, embodiments of the ultrasound imaging system save power in relation to a predetermined active aperture and or a predetermined update depth. With respect to a predetermined active aperture, the imaging system saves power by reducing or turning off a predetermined portion of the receive electronics when the predetermined receive electronics portion is not operating in relation to the active aperture range. That is, in a first power saving mode, the predetermined receive electronics portion operates only when it is collecting and or processing the data inside the active aperture range. Furthermore, with respect to a predetermined update depth, the imaging system saves power by reducing the operational frequency as the predetermined receive electronics portion collects or process the data from a deeper area. That is, in a second power saving mode, the predetermined receive electronics portion operates less frequently when it is collecting and or processing the data from the middle or far range than the near range. Lastly, the imaging system saves power by modifying the operation as the predetermined receive electronics portion collects or process the data depending upon the active aperture and or the update depth. That is, in a third power saving mode, the predetermined receive electronics portion operates at least less frequently when it is collecting and or processing the data from the outside the active aperture and or at a far update depth. In other words, the third power saving mode is a hybrid or combination of the first and second power saving modes.
US09775583B2

The method of positioning a Doppler ultrasound transducer for performing blood flow measurement according to the invention comprises the steps of: detecting a pressure oscillation signal from an inflated cuff placed on patient's artery; detecting an ultrasound pulse signal from the Doppler ultrasound transducer placed along the artery; deriving a first signal from the pressure oscillation signal and the ultrasound pulse signal, the first signal indicating the degree of synchronization between the pressure oscillation signal and the ultrasound pulse signal; and outputting an indication signal to indicate the Doppler ultrasound transducer is in a desired position when the first signal satisfies a predefined condition. Since the synchronization property of the cuff pressure oscillation signal and the ultrasound signal caused by the blood flow is utilized to determine whether the transducer is well positioned or not, ultrasound signal, which is a pulse signal but not reflecting the blood flow of the artery, could be determined as not in synchronization with the oscillation signal and therefore the accuracy of the positioning could be improved.
US09775580B2

A method includes modulating a flux of emission radiation between a first lower flux level and a second higher flux level in coordination with a cardiac cycle signal so that the flux is at the first lower flux level during a first cardiac motion phase having a first higher cardiac motion and is at the second higher flux level during a second cardiac motion phase having a second lower cardiac motion. The method further includes reconstructing the projection data with a first reconstruction window, which applies a first higher weight to a first sub-set of the projection data that corresponds to the first cardiac motion phase and the lower first flux level and a second lower weight to a second sub-set of the projection data that corresponds to the second cardiac motion phase and the higher second flux level, to generate first volumetric image data.
US09775570B2

Systems and electronic processes for reducing electronic alarms in a medical patient monitoring system. For example, a system for reducing electronic alarms can include an optical sensor and one or more hardware processors in electronic communication with the optical sensor. The one or more hardware processors can be programmed to measure oxygen saturation values of a patient over a first period of time, determine if at least one oxygen saturation value obtained over the first period of time exceeds a first alarm threshold, determine whether a first alarm should be triggered based on the determination that the at least one oxygen saturation value obtained over the first period of time exceeds the first alarm threshold, determine a second alarm threshold to be applied during a second period of time subsequent to the first period of time, the second alarm threshold replacing the first alarm threshold.
US09775567B2

Described herein are methods and systems for calculating a corrected Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR). An illustrative method includes delivering a first pressure sensing device including a pressure sensor to a location in a blood vessel having a stenosis, positioning the pressure sensor distal to the stenosis, measuring the distal pressure, measuring the proximal pressure, and calculating a corrected FFR using the measured proximal and distal pressures and applying a correction factor or correction equation. The corrected FFR may approximate a FFR that would have been obtained if the pressure measured downstream of the stenosis was measured using a second pressure sensing device having a second maximum cross-sectional area in a distal portion of the second pressure sensing device that is different from the first maximum cross-sectional area.
US09775563B2

Method and apparatus for inserting at least a portion of a sensor into a patient is provided.
US09775558B2

Sleep apnea can be treated using positive airway pressure. Methods and systems for determining a level of airway obstruction allow beneficial adjustments to the level of expiratory positive airway pressure used to treat a subject.
US09775532B2

A system and method for communicating data and signals through the Medical Implant Communication Service Band using a repeater or base station in the proximity to an implantable device within a patient is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the device is capable for early detection and monitoring of congestive heart failure in a patient. Impedance measurements, or other health parameters depending on the type of implantable device or sensor used, are sent using a bi-directional low-power radio operating in the MICS band to a nearby base station which may provide signal processing and analysis. The base station may have an interface to one or more communications networks to connect to a remote location. The system and method of the present invention permits a healthcare professional to monitor an ambulatory patient's condition at a remote location and to program the implanted device.
US09775526B2

In the present invention, a pump driving circuit includes a step-up unit that steps up a first DC voltage from a power supply and outputs it as a second DC voltage, and an H bridge unit that has first and second series circuits that each include two switching elements connected in series between a high potential corresponding to the second DC voltage and a reference potential. According to a control signal from the control unit, the two switching elements of the first series circuit and the two switching elements of the second series circuit are switched on and off. A voltage generated between a first contact point between the two switching elements of the first series circuit, and a second contact point between the two switching elements of the second series circuit is used as a driving voltage for driving a pump.
US09775518B2

In one implementation, an apparatus estimates body core temperature from an infrared measurement of an external source point using a cubic relationship between the body core temperature and the measurement of an external source point is described, estimates temperature from a digital infrared sensor and determines vital signs from a solid-state image transducer, or determines vital signs from a solid-state image transducer and estimates body core temperature from an infrared measurement of an external source point using a cubic relationship between the body core temperature and the measurement of an external source point; after which the estimated and/or determined information is transmitted to an external database.
US09775513B1

Systems for determining an individual's current focal plane by measuring parameters associated with binocular vision focusing using one or two contact lenses are provided. In an aspect, a system includes a first contact lens and a second contact lens respectively configured to be worn over first and second eyes of an individual. The first contact lens and the second contact lens respectively include first and second substrates, and first and second circuits respectively disposed on or within the first and second substrates and configured to respectively generate first data related to a focal trajectory of the first eye and second data related to a focal trajectory of the second eye, wherein the first circuit employs the second contact lens to generate the first data and the second circuit employs the first contact lens to generate the second data.
US09775508B1

A computer-implementable method of analyzing tissues of a retina. A polarization-sensitive (PS-OCT) image data set of the retina is received from a polarization-sensitive device, each element in the polarization-sensitive image data set being associated with an intensity value ({I1, . . . , IL}) and a polarization direction ({P1, . . . , PL}). A likelihood score is determined for each element of the polarization-sensitive image data set based on the intensity value of the element and a degree of divergence (μ*TP or D2) of the polarization direction associated with the element from a reference polarization direction (μ*) associated with the polarization sensitive image data set, wherein the likelihood score indicates whether said element is drawn from a directionally polarized distribution or a depolarizing distribution, Elements of the polarization-sensitive image data set are classified using the determined likelihood scores to analyze tissues of the retina.
US09775505B2

Disclosed is a laryngoscope insertion section having a curved superior surface and a curved inferior surface, and a channel extending from the proximal end the channel having an inferior internal surface with a greater curvature than the curvature of the inferior surface. The insertion section is compatible with laryngoscope hardware optimized for indirect viewing, yet enables direct viewing. Additionally, the distance between the inferior and superior surfaces is at a maximum within the intermediate portion, and enables the dimensions of the proximal and distal portions to be minimized. Thus, the intermediate portion, which is located in the patient's oral cavity in use, is provided with greatest depth and therefore strength where the greatest forces are received, whereas the distal and proximal portions are of reduced dimensions to as to minimize trauma to the patient's airway and mouth areas, respectively, in use. Further structural features providing the insertion section with improved strength, with a minimum of material and size, are also disclosed.
US09775501B2

An endoscope has an insertion portion inserted through a living body, an illumination fiber arranged at a distal end of the insertion portion and irradiates the living body with illumination light, a detection fiber which detects return light from the living body, an actuator which swings a free end of the illumination fiber, and a ferrule which has a through-hole based on a diameter of the illumination fiber and is arranged between the illumination fiber and the actuator. The actuator has an actuator arranged at a first side face of the ferrule and an actuator arranged at a second side face of the ferrule that is different from a face point-symmetric to the first side face with respect to an axial direction of the illumination fiber.
US09775495B2

An operation device for an into-bore introduction device, includes: a projecting portion formed to project from a grasping section in a radial direction to a longitudinal axis of the grasping section, in a surface between a surface on which a bending operation knob is disposed and a surface on which operator's palm abuts to grasp the grasping section, in the grasping section; a pressing switch disposed on the projecting portion; and an inclined surface formed distantly by as much as a predetermined distance from the pressing switch, and in which an amount of the inclined surface to project outside in the radial direction is decreased on an insertion section side of the projecting portion.
US09775492B2

An imaging device includes: first and second image sensors; a first communication controller configured to be connected to the first image sensor; a first clock generator that generates a first clock signal that is a reference for operation of the first communication controller; a second communication controller configured to be connected to the second image sensor; a second clock generator that generates a second clock signal that is a reference for operation of the second communication controller; a reference synchronization signal generator that generates a reference synchronization signal; and an imaging synchronization signal generator that generates an imaging synchronization signal which is a trigger for determining timings of imaging by the first and second image sensors, and outputs the imaging synchronization signal to the first and second communication controllers at a timing when a predetermined period of time has elapsed from a reference timing based on the reference synchronization signal.
US09775491B2

A method for visualizing a 3D dental restoration on a 2D image of the mouth of a patient, the method including obtaining a 3D dental model of at least a part of the patient's oral cavity, designing the 3D dental restoration, obtaining the 2D image of the mouth of the patient, estimating a virtual camera comprising at least one virtual camera property corresponding to at least one physical camera property of the physical camera used to obtain the 2D image, viewing the 3D dental restoration using the virtual camera, determining the visible area of the 3D dental restoration, which is not overlapped by surrounding anatomic features when viewed with the virtual camera, imaging the visible area of the 3D dental restoration with the 2D image. This provides an image which with high accuracy gives the dentist and the patient a visual presentation of the final result of a dental treatment.
US09775490B2

The present invention relates to articles for cleaning hard surfaces and in particular to remove large particles and hairs from large surfaces. The articles comprise an adhesive having specific Theological properties that provide increased efficacy in capturing and trapping large particles and hairs.
US09775489B1

A dishwasher has a tub that defines a treating chamber with an access opening. A door assembly selectively permits access to the treating chamber and may carry electronics for the dishwasher. Appropriately placed chamfered fins in a crown in the door aids in assuring a flush fit and finish in a front panel of the door assembly.
US09775484B2

A surface cleaning apparatus, wherein the suction motor is operable using current supplied from an energy storage member when the power cord is removed and operable using current supplied from an external source when the power cord is in electrical communication with the suction motor.
US09775480B2

An all in the head surface cleaning apparatus may include a surface cleaning head having an air flow path extending from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet and a brush motor drivingly connected to a moveable brushing member and the brush motor may have a brush motor axis. The surface cleaning head may include a cyclone comprising a cyclone chamber and a dirt collection chamber external to the cyclone chamber. The cyclone may have a longitudinal cyclone axis. The surface cleaning head may have a suction motor having a first end, a second end and a suction motor axis extending between the first and second ends. The suction, cyclone and brush motor axes may be generally parallel. The cyclone chamber may have an air outlet end that is opposed to and faces an air inlet end of the suction motor.
US09775473B2

An illuminating soap module includes a shell defining a cavity for holding liquid soap. The shell may include one or more openings. The one or more openings may include a dispenser, a plug, a light module, and combinations thereof. The illuminating soap module is configured to illuminate upon a triggering event.
US09775471B1

A temporary barrier for enclosing a bathing enclosure such as a bathtub-shower combination or simply a shower enclosure uses a frame that sits atop a front surface of the enclosure such as on the top of the bathtub and abuts each of the opposing outside walls of the enclosure. A pair of sliding shower doors is slidably disposed within the frame, or alternately, a pair of doors is pivotally attached within the frame, or one door pivotally attached with a fixed panel next to the pivoting door. A pair of tensioning mechanisms is attached, one each to each of the horizontal members of the frame, in order to securely wedge the frame between the outside walls.
US09775468B2

The device comprises a square metal base plate with an anchor post, a tine holder that fits over the base plate anchor post, and a plurality shaped tines of circular cross-section that are inserted into the tine holder. The shaped tines are inserted into the food to be cooked. A plurality of tines are inserted into a hole on the tine holder. The tine holder assembly is then set atop the anchor post on the base plate such that the food is positioned vertically. The device is then placed directly on top of the upper grill surface.
US09775464B2

A rotisserie having a first support structure with a rotisserie motor affixed thereto, the rotisserie motor having a receptacle for receiving a spit rod. A second support structure defines a slot for receiving the spit rod. The first and second support structures are mounted to side shelves on a grill on opposite sides of a cooking grate. The side shelves each define at least one mounting aperture for retaining the support structures in upright positions.
US09775460B2

A cooking apparatus comprises a cooking chamber configured to hold a cooking medium therein, a lid configured to cover the cooking chamber, and a sealing member disposed between the lid and the cooking chamber to create a seal between the cooking chamber and the lid. The lid comprises a lid liner and a retaining member disposed on an inner surface of the lid, the retaining member configured to retain the sealing member adjacent to an edge of the lid. The sealing member comprises a lip portion comprising an upper leg and a lower leg, each disposed at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the sealing member to substantially form a V shape at one longitudinal end of the sealing member, and a ridge portion comprising an upper ridge and a lower ridge, each disposed at an opposite longitudinal end of the sealing member.
US09775458B2

An under cabinet brewing cartridge holder includes a cartridge rack which both pivots at the rear and slide forward to clear a downward reaching lip along a front edge of the cabinet. The cartridge rack includes opposing lateral pins near the rack rear, which pins slide in horizontal slots in holder side walls. A sloped rear surface limits the downward pivot of the rack, and magnets retain the rack in the stored position. In another embodiment, a second under cabinet brewing cartridge holder includes unequal length arms attach a second rack to a slider engaging the horizontal slots. The second rack pivots down and away from the holder and slides forward and rearward.
US09775451B1

An multi-position adjustable pillow intended to support a user's head, neck, shoulders, lower back, legs, and/or knees is provided. The pillow may include a cover sized to fit around a plurality of support pieces, including a top support piece and one or more removable bottom support pieces. The cover includes an aperture adapted to allow at least a bottom support piece to be inserted or removed. The aperture may be securable by a zipper or other fastening means. The support pieces may be made of a soft material, such as foam. The bottom support pieces may be made of a material that is of greater density and of lower firmness than the top support piece.
US09775447B2

An illuminated shelving system is provided having light bars attached to the shelves. The light bars are electrically connected to a power strip that conducts electricity from a wall outlet to a plurality of light bars.
US09775445B2

A collapsible swing frame for supporting a child receiving receptacle includes first and second support members, and upper swing mechanism, and a cross-brace pivotally coupled between the first and second support members. Preferably, the collapsible swing frame is movable between an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration. Preferably, the cross-brace provides a rigid and substantially supportive connection between the first and second support members.
US09775431B2

In the specification and drawings an accessory cart is described and shown with a base, a housing element that is connected to the base and extends upward from the base, and a platform, which is connected to the housing element with the height of the platform being automatically adjustable.
US09775429B2

An ice scraper blade and/or brush mounted to a handle which has an anatomically designed grip. Attached to the handle is a cover to protect the user's hand from snow, ice, water, and cold. The cover has a sleeve with a first side made of waterproof fabric and a second side which is insulated with a suitable thermo-insulating fabric. In a first position of the cover, the first side of the sleeve is exposed to the outside for protecting the user's hand against the elements. In a second position of the cover, the sleeve is reversed so that the first side of the sleeve is on the inside, for enclosing ice, water and snow that may be adhered to the ice scraper blade and/or brush. The cover is also provided with a fastening arrangement that is placed at the second end of the sleeve, which prevents entering of snow and ice into the cover in the first position, and which contains the ice, water and snow inside the cover in the second position.
US09775426B1

A mobile computer-holding device includes a pocket for holding a mobile computer. The mobile computer-holding device includes a strap that is attached to an upper portion of the pocket and that is arranged to be detachably affixed to a lower portion of the pocket, so as to affect an angle of the upper portion of the pocket with regard to a portion of the pocket within which the mobile computer is held.
US09775413B1

A versatile jewelry includes a main body having a inner surface arranged to be worn against the wrist and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. First and second end portions define a clearance sized to receive the wrist when the main body is donned by the user. A circumferential groove is formed in the main body. A hair band is adapted to be selectively disposed within the groove and to span the clearance at a height above the inner surface. The main body is arranged to substantially hold the hair band in place when the hair band is disposed in the groove. The hair band has an elasticity and the main body has a rigidity arranged to resist the elasticity of the hair band and to distribute pressure from the hair band away from the wrist.
US09775409B2

Described are materials for a shoe upper, in particular for soccer shoes, with a particularly low weight. The material includes an inner polyurethane layer, an outer polyurethane layer, and a textile reinforcing layer. The textile reinforcing layer is arranged between the inner polyurethane layer and the outer polyurethane layer. The inner polyurethane layer and the outer polyurethane layer comprise thermoset polyurethane. The textile reinforcing layer comprises apertures through which the inner polyurethane layer and the outer polyurethane layer are connected to each other.
US09775408B2

An article of footwear may include an outer member comprising a first ground engaging member extending substantially downward from the outer surface of an outer member. Ground engaging members may be auxetic structures that can increase their dimensions in a direction that is orthogonal to the direction of applied force or tension. The outer member may have a substantially uniform thickness. Ground engaging member shapes may include various polygonal features. The first ground engaging member may have a substantially three-pointed star-shaped pyramidal structure. The first ground engaging member may have three arm portions, a central region, a central tip, and an apex. The outer member may have an inner surface with apertures that correspond with the ground engaging members of the outer surface.
US09775407B2

An article of footwear is disclosed that includes a sole structure having a fluid-filled bladder element. The bladder element includes multiple fluid-filled cushioning components each having a single central opening extending completely therethrough and a continuous fluid-filled cavity surrounding the central opening. The cushioning components are spaced apart from one another so that an outer surface of each of the cushioning components is substantially decoupled from an outer surface of an adjacent one of the cushioning components. A method of manufacturing a sole structure of an article of footwear comprises forming such a bladder element.
US09775397B2

An elongated guide that is removably attachable to a hardhat and a visor that is removably mountable to the elongated guide.
US09775396B1

A head guard is provided. The head guard includes one or more sensors as part of an sensory input and communications system. The head guard wirelessly communicates data to remote computing devices for intelligent data collection.
US09775385B2

An improved fishing or hunting wader, exposure suit or foul weather pants/bib incorporates a novel waterproof connectable hatch to provide access for urination. The low profile and lightweight waterproof hatch is centered over the groin area and allows the wearer of a fishing wader, or similar foul weather gear pants, to be able to quickly open the hatch and urinate without removing the cumbersome garment. A hinged or connectable lid may swing upwards and downwards and features a hook-and-loop fastener, a magnetic, or mechanical fastener so that the lid is held up in place and out of the way. After urination, the lid may conveniently snap back into place against a seal or O-ring thereby forming a water tight seal.
US09775373B2

Disclosed are sweetened consumables and methods of forming said sweetened consumables that comprise certain sweeteners and at least one sweetness enhancer in a concentration near its sweetness detection threshold. The sweeteners include sucrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, saccharine, or combinations thereof. The sweetness enhancer is selected from naringin dihydrochalcone, mogroside V, swingle extract, rubusoside, rubus extract, rebaudioside, and stevioside.
US09775371B2

This invention relates to alkyl 5-acyloxydecanoate having formula (1) as follows: wherein R1 denotes a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having one to four carbon atoms, R2 denotes an alkyl group having one to four carbon atoms, with the proviso that the case where R1 is a methyl group and R2 is a methyl group or an ethyl group is excluded, which is capable of giving to food products or the like a characteristic flavor, or a sensory impression, of milk, fat or cream, and to the use of the same in flavoring compositions.
US09775370B2

The invention relates to a novel technique for germinating a sproutable food such as rice, other types of cereals, or seeds. Provided is a novel germination technique capable of increasing a content of glutamate, accelerating an enrichment of gamma-aminobutyric acid, and exerting excellent functionality for the body, and a novel functional food material or pharmaceutical agent. A sprouted cereal is produced by soaking the cereal in a soaking solution prepared by addition of at least one carbonate selected from alkali metal carbonate, and alkaline earth metal carbonate to water to make the cereal absorb the soaking solution, followed by allowing the cereal to germinate under predetermined conditions.
US09775357B2

This invention provides low-dose, low-concentration formulations of phytotoxic trace inorganic compounds for use in methods and systems for selectively and effectively controlling invasive plants.
US09775339B1

The present disclosure relates to methods for forming an antimicrobial nanostructure and antimicrobial articles. The methods may include: providing a master template of a layout of the antimicrobial nanostructure on a silicon substrate, depositing a silicon nitride layer on a top surface of the silicon substrate, forming a patterned lithographic resist mask layer on a top surface of the silicon nitride layer, generating certain silicon pillars according to the patterned lithographic resist mask using a resist and reactive ion etching, forming certain lateral silicon nanospikes on the silicon pillars by performing metal assisted chemical etching (MacEtch), and removing the silicon nitride layer and bonding a top cover glass on the silicon pillars to form the antimicrobial nanostructure having lateral silicon nanospikes. The antimicrobial article may include a component of an electronic device, a biomedical article, a household product, a food grade article, a transportation component, or a public building component.
US09775337B2

A system for directing a bird away from equipment includes an emitter configured to transmit a beam of audio-modulated ultrasonic sound. The beam of audio-modulated ultrasonic sound is configured to frequency down-convert in the atmosphere to produce a specified audible sound for a bird at a selected distance away from the emitter.
US09775336B2

In an embodiment, an acoustic projector includes an acoustic transmit transducer capable of producing a sound pressure radiation in response to a driver signal received from a transmit source, an acoustic receive transducer capable of producing a source level signal in response to receiving at least a portion of the sound pressure radiation, and a controller configured to monitor the source level signal and report the source level signal monitored.
US09775333B2

This invention is characterized by a reel body, a pinion gear that is supported by the rotation function of the reel body, a one-way clutch that is fitted to the pinion gear and that limits the rotation of the pinion gear to one direction, a rotor that is fitted to the pinion gear and rotates with it while also containing a boss section, a part of which is connected to the pinion gear and extends to the one-way clutch, a magnetic body that is formed and makes a circuit around the periphery of the rotation direction of the boss section, a magnet that is configured facing the rotational radius direction with a gap in the magnetic body, with the magnet that faces the rotational radius direction with a gap in the magnetic body being sandwiched between the magnetic plates in a direction facing the spool shaft, and the magnetic sealing mechanism wherein is found magnetic fluid that is placed in the gap between the magnetic plates and the magnetic body, and whereby the space between the cover member and the magnetic body is sealed.
US09775326B1

A pet ramp system has a central pier and at least one ramp with an axle that is received in an axle receiver disposed near the top of the pier. The axle is disposed inwardly, in both a fore and aft direction and in a transverse direction, from a base perimeter of the pier. The pier's axle receiver(s) permit installation of the ramp axle when the ramp is in a vertical orientation, but the receiver(s) will not permit separation of the ramp from the pier when in use.
US09775324B2

A milk conduit, that connects to a teatcup to be attached to a teat of an animal to be milked, includes a first end portion defining a first end and configured to be connected to the teatcup, a second end portion defining a second end, and a conduit portion located between the first end portion and the second end portion. The milk conduit defines a milk channel extending through the first end portion, the conduit portion and the second end portion. The first end portion is received in an opening extending through a bottom wall of the teatcup. The first end portion includes a first circumferential groove configured that engages in the bottom wall of the teatcup.
US09775323B2

An exchangeable expendable part of a milking arrangement includes an identification tag with data by which a model or a manufacturing date of the exchangeable expendable part is uniquely identified. The tag is readable by a reader arranged to repeatedly read the tag and to forward the readings to a computer system, whereby the computer system identifies the model and/or a manufacturing date of the part based on the readings; and, in response to the identified model and/or manufacturing date, i) alerts an operator, ii) monitors and/or controls the milking arrangement, and/or iii) makes the model and/or the manufacturing date of the part available to an operator. Exchangeable expendable parts include teat cup liners, cartridges including teat cup liners, and milk or vacuum tubes connected to teat cups.
US09775320B2

The invention relates to the soybean variety designated 01058744. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety 01058744. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety 01058744 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety 01058744 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09775317B1

A novel maize variety designated X13H899 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof are produced by crossing inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant by crossing hybrid maize variety X13H899 with another maize plant are disclosed. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X13H899 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X13H899, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X13H899. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X13H899.
US09775316B1

A novel maize variety designated X00H319 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof are produced by crossing inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant by crossing hybrid maize variety X00H319 with another maize plant are disclosed. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X00H319 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X00H319, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X00H319. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X00H319.
US09775312B2

An edible bean seed designated as <12324-1> or Radiant, a sample of the edible bean deposited under accession no. PI 678952 is disclosed. Methods of using the edible bean seed designated as <12324-1> or Radiant for breeding new varieties of bean seed are also disclosed, as well as seeds of the edible bean seed designated as <12324-1> or Radiant.
US09775304B2

A modular cell that may be used with other cells to form a matrix under a load bearing feature, the cell being a single piece molding that supports a compressive load placed thereon, the molding including a void space defined within: a skirt shaped support member defining a substantially planar surface with an opening therein; and at least one leg integral to and extending from the support member. The cell further includes at least one separate linking member that releasably links together multiple cells to form a matrix of cells. The cells may be linked together vertically and/or horizontally. The cell and matrix include greater load bearing capacity and rigidity through aligned legs to carry the weight as well as interlinking members that act to share the load among the various cells. The design also requires less material hence is cheaper to produce. The void space is also easily accessed hence allowing for easy access, filling and laying of utility lines where needed.
US09775301B2

A cultivation system moves containers between a growing area and a monitoring area. The containers hold cultivation beds for cultivating plants, and the cultivation system includes: a grow light emitting unit emitting grow light for growing the cultivated plants in the containers located in the growing area; an imaging unit capturing the cultivated plants in the containers located in the monitoring area; and a control unit causing the grow light emitting unit to stop emitting the grow light when the imaging unit captures the plants.
US09775297B2

A bubble up auger includes a tubular housing, a screw auger and a baffle. The tubular housing includes an inlet opening having a first width end adjacent a first end of the tubular housing and a second width end opposite the first width end. The baffle extends from the inlet opening, outwardly from the central longitudinal axis of the tubular housing and towards the first end of the tubular housing.
US09775280B2

An agricultural product distribution system that includes an inductor box configured to receive agricultural product and conveyed air to combine the agricultural product and the conveyed air. The agricultural product distribution system also includes a removable baffle configured to control an amount of the conveyed air that flows into each port of the plurality of ports. Furthermore, the inductor box is configured to enable the removable baffle to be slidingly inserted into the inductor box, and the removable baffle comprises a tang configured to at least partially block insertion of the removable baffle into the inductor box while the removable baffle is oriented at an undesirable orientation.
US09775274B2

An agricultural implement has a ground opening and closing assembly that readily allows for adjustment of a pair of closing disks into different, discreet or infinitely variable, home positions that vary in height, disk spacing and fore/aft dimension. In one form, a pair of disk mounts have a pair of mounting receptacles for each support arm. Each support arm is configured to be inserted into one of the receptacles to set the height and fore/aft position of the associated closing disk. Mounting openings can be formed in the disk mounts and the support arms, and a simple pin mechanism received in aligned mounting openings can effect manual disk adjustment without tools. The disk mounts and the support arms can have multiple mounting openings spaced apart differently from the ground opening member to vary the spacing between the closing disks.
US09781864B2

A cooling apparatus that cools an electronic apparatus accommodated in a cabinet, the cooling apparatus includes: a plurality of cooling fans attached to the cabinet; and a control unit that controls a rotation speed of the cooling fans that have been grouped into a plurality of groups, for each of the groups, depending on a group temperature that typifies each of the groups to which the cooling fans belong.
US09781861B2

A tablet information handling system manages thermal conditions with selective installation of either a wireless wide area network interface card or an air moving device in an internal communication link card slot, such as an M.2 card slot. If an air moving device is installed, then greater thermal demands may be managed at the tablet information handling system, such as greater CPU clock speeds for a given CPU, internal housing or skin temperature. For example, a piezoelectric bellows-based fan having substantially the same footprint as a WWAN NIC and powered from the communications slot interface aids distribution of thermal energy whether or not the tablet housing has air vents.
US09781860B2

A method (19) of cooling a heat generating device (2) where the cooling rate (17, 18) of the heat generating device (2) is determined using the rate of change of the temperature (16) of the heat generating device (2).
US09781851B2

An electronic device includes a framework defining a number of receiving grooves and a number of modules detachably retained in the receiving grooves. Each receiving groove has a respective notch at a bottom thereof. Each of the modules includes an insulative housing defining a receiving room, a cover having an opening, and an elastic member received in the receiving room. The elastic member has a tuber extending through the opening to engage the notch and a pair of ear portions welded on an inner surface of the cover.
US09781841B2

A soldering apparatus includes a reflow oven, a transmission mechanism, and a controlling unit. The reflow oven includes an inlet and an output mechanism. The output mechanism includes two guide rails and two link belts. An end of a first guide rail has a first alignment structure. The two link belts are movably disposed on the guide rails for outputting a printed wiring board. A distance between the guide rails is previously adjusted to be equal to a width of the printed wiring board. The transmission mechanism includes two tracks and two conveyor belts. An end of a first track has a second alignment structure. The two conveyor belts are movably disposed on the two tracks for transporting the printed wiring board. The controlling unit controls a movement of the first track, so that the first alignment structure and the second alignment structure are automatically aligned with each other.
US09781838B2

Provided are a gas sensor and a method of manufacturing the same. The gas sensor may include a transition metal chalcogenide layer on a substrate, a metal nano material on the transition metal chalcogenide layer, and an electrode on the transition metal chalcogenide layer with the metal nano material.
US09781835B2

Provided is a printed circuit board including: an insulating layer; electronic devices embedded in the insulating layer; and an adhesive layer for fixing the electronic devices.
US09781825B2

A flex circuit including a plurality of layers folded on a first fold line and folded on a second fold line is disclosed. The plurality of layers may include a first conductive layer, an insulating layer adjacent the first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer adjacent the insulating layer. The flex circuit may include a plurality of slits extending through each layer of the plurality of layers, the plurality of slits disposed on the first fold line and the second fold line.
US09781823B2

The border routing of conductive traces in devices, such as displays, touch sensor panels, and touch screens, to improve border area space usage, thereby reducing device size, and to reduce trace resistance, thereby improving device operation, is disclosed. The conductive traces can form a staggered stair-step configuration in the device border area, in which the average widths of the traces can be different from each other and each trace can have segments with different widths. The conductive traces can be coupled to an active area of the device to transmit signals to and from the active area in accordance with a device operation. The varying widths can help improve the border area space usage, reduce trace resistance, and reduce the differences in resistance between traces.
US09781815B2

An intelligent lighting device is described, said device comprising optical means adapted to illuminate, and to transmit and receive an optical control signal.
US09781811B2

An example of a lighting system includes intelligent lighting devices, each of which includes a light source, a communication interface and a processor coupled to control the light source. In such a system, at least one of the lighting devices includes a user input sensor to detect user activity related to user inputs without requiring physical contact of the user; and at least one of the lighting devices includes an output component to provide information output to the user. One or more of the processors in the intelligent lighting devices are further configured to process user inputs detected by the user input sensor, control lighting and control output to a user via the output component so as to implement an interactive user interface for the system, for example, to facilitate user control of lighting operations of the system and/or to act as a user interface portal for other services.
US09781806B1

A light-emitting diode (LED) driving device and a short protection method for a driving device are provided. The driving device includes an LED module, a driving circuit, a reference voltage setting circuit, a voltage comparison circuit, and a power supply. A first node of the LED module receives a lighting voltage, and a second node of the LED module has a first voltage. The reference voltage setting circuit receives the lighting voltage to generate a reference voltage. The voltage comparison circuit determines whether the first voltage is greater than the reference voltage when the LED module is turned off. When the first voltage is greater than the reference voltage, the voltage comparison circuit generates a short signal. The power supply supplies power to the LED module and determines whether to shut down the power of the LED driving device according to the short signal.
US09781804B2

A light regulating apparatus includes a converter, a load circuit, and a controller. The converter is configured to output a load current signal according to a controlling signal. The load circuit is driven by the load current signal. The controller is configured to generate the control signal. The controller includes an error calculation unit, a regulation unit, a feed forward compensation unit, and an addition unit. The error calculation unit is configured to generate a first error signal according to a reference current signal and a feedback signal. The regulation unit is configured to generate a regulating signal according to the error signal. The feed forward compensation unit is configured to generate a feed forward compensation signal according to the reference current signal. The addition unit is configured to generate the control signal according to the regulation signal and the feed forward compensation signal.
US09781802B1

An illumination correcting apparatus capable of adjusting at least one light source board includes a main unit, a calibrating board and an image capturing device. The main unit is electrically connected to the at least one light source board to adjust an illumination value of the at least one light source board, and includes a calculating module. The calculating module chooses one of the at least one light source board to be a target light source board and calculates a correcting illumination value. The calibrating board is disposed in a light emitting path of the light source board. The image capturing device is electrically connected to the main unit to capture an image and transmit the image to the main unit. The main unit calculates the correcting illumination value in accordance with the illumination of the image, distances between the at least one light source board and the calibrating board, and the target illumination value.
US09781795B1

Alight fixture receives AC power via a light switch to drive light emission of a light emitting module, and is switchable among multiple states that include a brightness selecting state and a selected brightness state. The light fixture causes the light emitting module to cyclically emit light according to multiple brightness levels in sequence in the brightness selecting state, and to emit light according to one of the multiple brightness levels in the selected brightness state.
US09781789B1

An LED driver for driving a plurality of series-coupled LEDs includes a bypass switch having first and second terminals coupled across a portion of the LEDs and a control terminal. A slew rate control circuit is responsive to a command input signal and to a feedback voltage associated with the bypass switch and is configured to generate a bypass switch control signal with a controllable slew rate. The slew rate control circuit is further configured to detect a rate of change of the switch feedback voltage and establish the bypass switch slew rate in response to the detected rate of change. Also described is method for controlling a bypass switch coupled across a portion of a plurality of series-coupled LEDs including detecting a rate of change of a voltage associated with the bypass switch and generating a control signal for the bypass switch in response to a command input signal and to the detected rate of change of the voltage.
US09781776B2

Disclosed is a heating system for molten metal handling devices, examples of which are troughs, launders and other vessels. The heating system may include a refractory containment body, heater assembly, a containment shell and a thermal inducing interface between the heater assemblies and the containment shell and/or refractory body.
US09781774B1

A heating element includes a filament that conducts electricity. In some embodiments, the filament is encapsulated in a silicon nitride cover. The heating element provides a heating zone located relatively closer to the tip of the heating element and relatively further from a connection where electrical leads connect to the filament.
US09781768B2

A first base station and a second base station, comprised in a wireless communication network, for managing a communication interface that is already set-up for communication between said base stations. The first base station determines to release said communication interface and sends, in response to the determination, a release message to the second base station. The release message commands the second base station to release the communication interface and comprises an indicator that indicates that it shall be avoided to attempt to again set up the communication interface and/or to set-up any further communication interface between the first base station and the second base station.
US09781765B2

A first communication apparatus may comprise a memory configured to store a wireless profile being used in a first wireless network in a case where the first communication apparatus operates as a child station of the first wireless network. The first communication apparatus may determine, after the first wireless network in which each of the first communication apparatus and a second communication apparatus operates as a child station and a third communication apparatus operates as a parent station has been formed, whether a wireless connection between the first and third communication apparatuses is disconnected, and form a second wireless network in which the wireless profile is used in a case where it is determined that the wireless connection is disconnected, the second wireless network being a network in which the first communication apparatus operates as a parent station and the second communication apparatus operates as a child station.
US09781760B2

A user terminal according to one embodiment supports D2D communication. The user terminal includes a controller configured to perform repetition of same control information using first and second control resources allocated continuously or discontinuously in a time direction, in a control region having a predetermined time length and a predetermined frequency bandwidth. The controller is configured to determine positions of the first and second control resources in the time direction such that the second control resource does not overlap with a control resource of another user terminal in the time direction, even if the first control resource overlaps with the control resource of the another user terminal in the time direction.
US09781759B2

A method, corresponding apparatuses, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for operating a companion device and a companion device are provided. A method comprises detecting, at a companion device, presence of a primary device that is paired with the companion device according to at least one short-range radio communication technique. The method additionally comprises connecting the companion device to a cellular network upon detecting that the primary device is not present. With the claimed inventions, the battery life of the companion device can be extended.
US09781757B2

The present invention is to provide with the connection information on adjacent devices capable of connecting from a communication terminal. A connection information sharing server 200, communicatively connected with a communication terminal 10 and provided with a terminal location database 250 storing the location of devices in the storage unit, acquires the location information on the communication terminal 10, extracts adjacent devices 50 within a predefined distance from the terminal location database 250 based on the acquired location information, determines the connection methods available for connecting the communication terminal 10 with the adjacent devices 50, and transmits the determined connection method together with the information on the adjacent devices 50 to the communication terminal 10.
US09781752B2

Systems and methods for allocating a physical cell identifier (PCI) to a cell are described. In one implementation, the method comprises identifying allocated physical cell identifiers based on PCI data and generating a near PCI list and a far PCI list based on the allocated PCIs and a RSRP threshold value. Further, the method comprises determining cell group IDs and a cell IDs from the near PCI list and the far PCI list. Further, the method comprises assigning the cell group IDs to a first bin and the cell IDs to a second bin. Further, the method comprises prioritizing the cell group IDs in the first bin based on effective distance and the cell IDs in the second bin based on an effective RSRP value. Further, the method comprises allocating the PCI, to the cell, determined based on the prioritized cell group IDs and the cell IDs.
US09781736B2

Inter-cell interference can be reduced by re-assigning uplink scheduling responsibilities for a user equipment (UE) from a controller associated with a serving access point (AP) to a controller associated with a neighboring AP, as the controller associated with the neighboring AP may have better access to channel information corresponding to interference experienced by the neighboring AP as a result of uplink transmissions from the UE. After the re-assignment, the controller associated with the neighboring AP may independently schedule an uplink transmission parameter (e.g., a transmit power level, a modulation coding scheme level and/or a precoder) of the UE in a manner that mitigates inter-cell-interference in the neighboring cell.
US09781728B2

A method and an apparatus of a coordinator forming a coordinated communication system for enhancing cell edge terminal throughput are provided. The method includes receiving information on Sound Reference Signal (SRS) reception power at a terminal for respective cells of a scheduler belonging to the coordinator from the scheduler, generating terminal distinction information for indicating whether a terminal is a cell edge terminal based on the SRS reception power information or Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) estimated from the SRS reception power information, generating interference relationship information between terminals and cells based on the SRS reception power information or estimated SINR, and transmitting the terminal distinction information and interference relationship information to the scheduler.
US09781725B2

Provided is a communication control device including an information acquisition unit acquiring first information concerning a position a guard area for a first wireless communication system and second information concerning a position of a master node of a second wireless communication system which is secondarily operated using a frequency channel used by the first wireless communication system, a determination unit determining, using the first information and the second information acquired by the information acquisition unit, whether or not an interval between a reference point of the first wireless communication system and the master node meets a condition which depends on a width of the guard area and a communication distance assumed for the second wireless communication system, and a control unit causing the second wireless communication system to be operated with a given transmission power if the determination unit determines the interval meets the condition.
US09781723B2

A base station (11) for a wireless radio network (10) comprises a plurality of antennas (12) for transmitting radio frequency signals between the base station (11) and a user equipment (16). The base station (11) receives at each antenna (12) of a subset of the plurality of antennas (12) a training signal sent by the user equipment (16) in a first frame (20) and determines an antenna configuration parameter for each antenna (12) of the subset of the plurality of antennas (12) based on the training signal received in the first frame (20) for a subsequent transmission of payload information (33, 34) between the base station (11) and the user equipment (16) in a second frame (30) which is different from the first frame (20).
US09781716B2

A high priority service sending method and device in a direct mode, and a high priority service receiving method and device in a direct mode. The receiving method includes: after sending a voice frame in a voice call sending state, a user terminal receiving and detecting a priority frame in another time slot with respect to the time slot occupied by the voice call; and if the priority frame is detected, then stopping the voice call and receiving a high priority service frame in the other time slot. Using the present invention can enable an interphone in a transmitting state in a direct mode to send or receive a high priority service as well.
US09781711B2

The present invention relates to wideband wireless access system, and more particularly to an effective method for transmitting control information during the combination of multiple carriers. As one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method by which a base station allocates a carrier to a terminal in a wideband wireless access system supporting multiple carriers, the method comprising: transmitting, to the terminal, a terminal specific or terminal group specific carrier allocation information that includes information about at least one of control information and data; and transmitting, to the terminal, a carrier combination control information that includes information about a change in the at least one candidate carrier available.
US09781708B2

In a wireless communication system comprising at least one evolved Node-B (eNB) and a plurality of wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), a non-contention based (NCB) channel is established, maintained, and utilized. The NCB channel is allocated for use by one or more WTRUs in the system for utilization in a variety of functions, and the allocation is communicated to the WTRUs. The wireless communication system analyzes the allocation of the NCB channel as required, and the NCB channel is reallocated as required.
US09781687B2

A method for controlling transmission power in accordance with a total transmission power limit in a multi-radio wireless communication device including a master radio and a slave radio is provided. The method can include the wireless communication device determining, at the master radio, a transmission power of the master radio. The method can further include the wireless communication device providing information indicative of the transmission power of the master radio from the master radio to the slave radio. The method can additionally include determining, at the slave radio, an allowable transmission power for the slave radio. A sum of the allowable transmission power and the transmission power of the master radio may not exceed the total transmission power limit.
US09781684B2

Wireless networks share UE location information in order to identify possible inter-network aggressors. If a first network determines, based on the location data it receives from a second network, that one of the first network's UEs may cause excessive interference to one or more of the second network's UEs, the first network grants A-MPR to its UE (e.g., by signaling the UE). The first network's UE can then lower its transmit power in order avoid interfering with the second network's UE.
US09781678B2

A mobile terminal device, when detecting that a display state of a screen transitions from non-display to display, starts a scanning operation of searching for an access point. If an access point of the same access point identification information is found successively a given number of times N, the mobile terminal device suspends the scanning operation of searching for an access point. If movement of the mobile terminal device is detected subsequent to suspending the scanning operation of searching for the access point, the mobile terminal device resumes the scanning operation for the access point.
US09781677B2

In one embodiment, a method for saving power on a mobile device includes receiving an indication of termination of a power-save mode of the mobile device, and requesting presence information for a plurality of peers of a user from a server or a P2P communication network in response to the received indication.
US09781675B2

Systems and methods are disclosed that may detect a likely presence of a narrow band signal in the presence of wide-band interference without powering up a wireless receiver. A wireless device may receive a wireless signal, measure a first energy level in a first frequency band associated with an expected frequency band of the narrow band wireless signal, measure a second energy level in a second frequency band that is offset from and non-overlapping with the first frequency band, and determine whether a difference between the first energy level and the second energy level exceeds a threshold. A wireless receiver of the wireless device may be powered up based at least in part on the difference between the first energy level and the second energy level exceeding the threshold.
US09781669B2

Systems and methods for Secondary Cell (sCell) selection for wireless devices operating according to a carrier aggregation scheme in a cellular communications network are disclosed. More specifically, in some embodiments, a statistics-assisted sCell selection process is utilized for sCell selection. This statistics-assisted sCell selection process improves the efficiency of sCell selection, particularly where there are multiple candidate sCells on multiple carrier frequencies.
US09781655B2

A method that incorporates the subject disclosure may include, for example, identifying, by a network device comprising a processor, a bearer path through a communication network for carrying internet protocol packets associated with a calling session between a first mobile device and a second mobile device and activating, by the network device, a bridging bearer path at a nearest network element to generate a direct tunnel for carrying the internet protocol packets associated with the calling session and to modify the bearer path to a shortest bearer path, where the nearest network element comprises a network element that is communicatively coupled to both the first mobile device and the second mobile device and that is closest to the first mobile device and the second mobile device. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09781654B2

A method and apparatus for supporting communication buffer status reports (BSRs) are disclosed. A wireless device may transmit data to at least one group of wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs). The wireless device may produce a BSR, which may include an indication associated with a group of WTRUs and an indication of an amount of data that the wireless device has buffered to transmit to the group of WTRUs. The wireless device may transmit the BSR to an eNodeB (eNB). The BSR may include a plurality of indications associated with a respective plurality of groups of WTRUs and respective indications of amounts of data that the wireless device has buffered to transmit each of the plurality of groups. The indication of the amount of data that the wireless device has buffered to transmit to the group of WTRUs may identify a total across all logical channels of the group of WTRUs.
US09781649B2

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication enable user equipment operating in a current cell that provides a multimedia broadcast/multicast service to distinguish between neighboring cells that have different operational characteristics. The presence of a neighboring cell is identified while the user equipment is operating in a first cell and it is determined whether the neighboring cell provides services different from the services provided in the current cell, based on information maintained by the user equipment. The user equipment may move to the neighboring cell to obtain better or different service.
US09781648B2

A user terminal includes a controller configured to perform a network selection operation for selecting an access network in which the user terminal exchanges traffic from among a cellular RAN (Radio Access Network) and a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The controller performs processes of: receiving wireless LAN identifiers for using the network selection operation, the wireless LAN identifiers broadcasted from a cellular base station, and receiving offload related information for prompting the user terminal to steer the traffic to the wireless LAN, the offload related information broadcasted from the cellular base station.
US09781643B2

A method at a mobile device for increasing measurement gaps to facilitate inter-radio access technology measurements is provided. The method at the mobile device: receiving inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurement configuration information from the network; when the device is actively connected, determining whether a triggering criterion is met, based on the received information; and if the triggering criterion is met, increasing the time available for measurements.
US09781640B2

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the invention there is at least a method and apparatus to perform operations of receiving, by an access node, from a user equipment a physical cell identity of a neighbor cell in a communication network; determining information including at least one of an angle of arrival and UE Rx-Tx time difference with respect to the user equipment of the communication network; and storing the determined information in a neighbor relation table to use in network operations.
US09781637B2

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a link failure recovery method and apparatus. The method includes: first receiving, by a primary base station, failure report information sent by a user equipment, acquiring, according to the failure report information, an identifier of a data radio bearer (DRB) that needs to be reconfigured, and reconfiguring a parameter for the DRB that needs to be reconfigured; and then sending, by the primary base station, a first reconfiguration message to the user equipment, so that the user equipment reconfigures a failed DRB according to the first reconfiguration message. The present invention is applicable to the field of communications systems.
US09781622B2

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for making network optimization decisions based on observed network node performance information. Network nodes may continuously report performance measurement information to network servers. Observers may request registration with the servers and access to the mode measurement information. The observer may specify a measurement threshold that, when met, causes the server to report node measurement data to the observer. The node measurement data enables the observer to make network optimization and control decisions. An optimal radio frequency might be selected; a node might switch between different gateways or cause a handoff from one gateway to another for efficient traffic routing. A user could observe measurement data for friends and receive notice when friends are in close proximity or engaged in like activity such that a social contextual community might be formed.
US09781611B2

A device includes a receiver, a determiner, and a demodulator. The receiver is configured to receive from a base station a reference signal having a power level such that a sum of the power level and a processing gain of a channel estimator of the device corresponds to a predetermined demodulation penalty for the device. The determiner is configured to determine the power level. The demodulator is configured to demodulate a data signal received from the base station based on the power level and a channel estimate generated based on the reference signal.
US09781605B2

A cell activation method and apparatus. After multiple cells to be activated are determined, the multiple cells are activated in sequence according to a priority sequence of the multiple cells, so that in a case in which base station resources are insufficient, an important cell ranking higher in the priority sequence is preferentially activated to preferentially occupy the base station resource and provide a service to the outside, and further, stability of a wireless communications system is improved.
US09781595B2

A wireless communication device includes a user interface device, a subscriber identity module card slot, a memory, and a processor. The subscriber identity module card slot is configured to receive a subscriber identity module card that includes subscriber identity module card information. The processor is configured to, in response to detection of a subscriber identity module card within the subscriber identify module card slot, present, via the user interface device, an option to store a copy of the subscriber identity module card information to the memory.
US09781587B2

A base station, which accommodates a user terminal that transmits a discovery-use signal used for discovering a communication partner terminal in D2D communication that is direct device-to-device radio communication in a mobile communication system that supports the D2D communication, comprises a control unit that controls transmission of power control information for designating transmission power of the discovery-use signal to the user terminal.
US09781583B2

A device and service discovery method and a piece of device middleware are provided. The method includes that a user terminal device broadcasts its own device information and service capability information, and searches for information about a surrounding service network, information about a device not joining the service network and service capability information about the device; if it is discovered that a service network, which has a service capability needed by the user terminal device to accomplish a service, exists in the surrounding area, the user terminal device is configured to join the service network, and interact with a central node of the service network to accomplish the service; and if the service network is not discovered, the user terminal device selects a central node from devices which do not join a service network and have a service capability needed by the user terminal device to accomplish the service, is configured to generate a service network according to the selected central node, and interact with the selected central node to accomplish the service. A ubiquitous service can be provided through discovery, acquisition and networking of surrounding available service resources.
US09781582B2

Short data is transmitted during a call hang time hold off period in a wireless communication system. During an active call on a voice channel, a radio controller detects deactivation of a push-to-talk (PTT) input at a transmitting mobile station (MS) via an uplink channel portion of the voice channel and identifies a particular MS in the wireless communication system in need to transmit short data. Responsively, the radio controller causes a call hang time hold off request to be transmitted via a downlink channel portion of the voice channel to all MSs in the active call instructing the mobile stations to delay call hang time during a call hang time hold off period. The radio controller then causes a short data transmission request to be sent to the particular MS instructing the particular MS to transmit inbound short data during the call hang time hold off period.
US09781579B2

Disclosed are a method and device for realizing WIFI talkback of a terminal, related to the field of mobile communications technologies, wherein the method includes the following steps: a calling terminal initiating a request for obtaining a dynamic IP address via a WIFI wireless local area network (LAN); after receiving the request, a called terminal judging whether the calling terminal has successfully obtained the dynamic IP address; if the called terminal determines that the calling terminal has successfully obtained the dynamic IP address, it determining whether the calling terminal has enabled a talkback function; if the called terminal determines that the calling terminal has initiated the talkback function, the called terminal sending a message to the calling terminal for indicating that the called terminal is online, thereby enabling the calling terminal and the called terminal to perform the WIFI talkback.
US09781571B2

Systems and methods of registration of an anonymous tag having an owner with a location service include authenticating a tag sensor associated with the owner of the tag with the location service. The tag is placed within a defined transmission distance of the tag from the tag sensor associated with the owner. The tag is activated while it is within the defined distance from the tag sensor to initiate transmission of the self identification. The transmitted self identification is received at the tag sensor to detect the tag. It is determined that the detected tag is not yet registered with the location service and an identification of the tag and the owner is transmitted to the location service from the tag sensor to register the tag as belonging to the owner at the location service to limit registration of the tag at the location service.
US09781569B2

A positioning method includes acquiring global positioning system (GPS) position data associated with a mobile platform from a plurality of GPS satellites observable by the mobile platform. A set of wireless range measurements associated with the mobile platform and a plurality of wireless access points in communication with the mobile platform are acquired. The method further includes receiving, from a server communicatively coupled to the mobile platform over a network, wireless position data associated with the plurality of wireless access points. A corrected position of the mobile platform is determined based on the wireless position data, the wireless range measurements, and the GPS position data.
US09781562B1

Systems and methods are disclosed for venue experience management. In one implementation, one or more inputs originating at one or more sensors of a first device are received at a communication interface of a location determination device, one or more inputs originating at one or more sensors of a second device are received at the communication interface of the location determination device, a processing device of the location determination device processes the one or more inputs originating at the one or more sensors of the first device in relation to the one or more inputs originating at the one or more sensors of the second device to determine a relative proximity of the first device in relation to the second device, and one or more actions are initiated based on the relative proximity of the first device in relation to the second device.
US09781556B2

Embodiments for providing network-assisted to direct device discovery switch are generally described herein. In some embodiments, location information is received at an evolved packet core (EPC) from at least a first and a second user equipment (UE). A network-assisted device-to-device (D2D) request is received from the first UE for establishing a D2D wireless connection with the second UE. Proximity of the first UE and the second UE are monitored. Before detecting the second UE being in proximity to the first UE, direct discovery is determined to be more resource efficient than continuing to provide network-assisted D2D discovery. An indication is provided to the first UE and the second UE to perform direct discovery based on information provided in the indication.
US09781553B2

Distributed communication systems provide location information to mobile terminals that may not be able to receive otherwise global positioning system (GPS) information from GPS satellites. Providing location information to clients inside a building or other location may make location based services, such as emergency (E911) services, possible based on the location information. The distributed communications system may be provided location information about its components through a number of techniques. Once the distributed communications system has the location information, such location information may be passed to clients.
US09781552B2

An electricity storage device includes a storage battery charged by a charging device, a first connector that detachably connects the electricity storage device with the charging device, a first communicator that performs wireless communication with an information terminal, a second communicator that performs wired communication with the charging device when the electricity storage device is attached to the charging device via the first connector, and a controller that causes, when the first communicator receives, from the information terminal, a wireless setting value for the charging device to establish wireless connection to a specific access point, the second communicator to transmit the wireless setting value to the charging device.
US09781551B2

Described herein is an adapter that can facilitate communications between a bi-polar serial communications port of a network device and a mobile device that communicates wirelessly. The adapter can include circuitry configured to communicate and receive wireless signals to and from the mobile device over air at least at 1 Mbit/s. Such circuitry can also be configured to consume at most 0.5 W and convert a wireless signal into a unipolar signal, and vice versa. The adapter can also include an energy storage component configured to store energy from a bi-polar serial signal received from the port. The adapter can also include circuitry, configured to receive the stored electrical energy and convert a unipolar signal to a bi-polar serial signal compatible with the port using the received energy. The adapter can also include circuitry configured to convert a bipolar signal to a unipolar signal.
US09781549B2

A NFC object reader's NFC antenna system configured to dynamically change an element of the NFC antenna system to maintain the NFC antenna system's antenna default resonant frequency. The NFC antenna system can be configured to include a tuning subsystem, integrated with sensors to trigger tuning of NFC antenna system's antenna.
US09781546B2

A datacenter server information handling system topology is determined from Bluetooth Low Energy beacon signals communicated with a mobile information handling system that provides multiple ranges temporally related as the mobile information handling system moves through the datacenter. Server information handling system positions are determined and mapped relative to each other and also relative to position information detected in the datacenter, such as with a camera or accelerometer disposed in the mobile information handling system.
US09781542B2

Techniques for managing discussion sharing on a mobile platform, comprising a power application. The power application may include, among other components, a power monitoring component to monitor at least one component and/or at least one application of a mobile device to determine device profile information, and a power management component to provide the determined device profile information of a mobile device to a server device and receive predicted information representative of forecasted power utilization of the mobile device and/or context sensitive recommendation information representative of one or more context sensitive recommendations for the mobile device.
US09781526B2

Various methods and apparatus for processing audio signals are disclosed herein. The assembly may be attached, adhered, or otherwise embedded into or upon a removable oral appliance to form a hearing aid assembly. Such an oral appliance may be a custom-made device which can enhance and/or optimize received audio signals for vibrational conduction to the user. Received audio signals may be processed to cancel acoustic echo such that undesired sounds received by one or more intra-buccal and/or extra-buccal microphones are eliminated or mitigated. Additionally, a multiband actuation system may be used where two or more transducers each deliver sounds within certain frequencies. Also, the assembly may also utilize the sensation of directionality via the conducted vibrations to emulate directional perception of audio signals received by the user. Another feature may include the ability to vibrationally conduct ancillary audio signals to the user along with primary audio signals.
US09781509B2

A signal processing apparatus acquires an audio signal of channels using a sound acquisition unit, at least a part of which is within a housing of the apparatus, and obtains an audio signal of channels from a microphone provided outside the housing. The apparatus processes an audio signal in accordance with a first propagation characteristic indicating propagation of sound associated with a direction of a sound source, in a case of processing an audio signal acquired by the sound acquisition unit and processes an audio signal in accordance with a second propagation characteristic different from the first propagation characteristic, in a case of processing an audio signal obtained by the microphone. The signal processing apparatus estimates a sound source direction using an audio signal processed by the first processing unit or an audio signal processed by the second processing unit.
US09781500B2

An earphone device includes a housing having a driver unit, and a sound guide tube mounted on a front surface of the housing to protrude from the front surface, in which the sound guide tube is disposed at a position deviated from a center position of the housing.
US09781499B2

Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device that includes a plurality of audio acquisition areas. Each of the plurality of audio acquisition areas can include a microphone element to detect audio data, an audio opening that allows the audio data to travel to the microphone element, and a windscreen that covers at least the audio opening. An audio module can be configured to receive the audio data from each of the plurality of audio acquisition areas and enhance the audio data.
US09781498B2

[Problem] To provide, at a lower cost, a microphone stand the height of which can be adjusted by an easy operation.[Solution] A support strut (5) of an acoustic characteristic measurement microphone comprises two rectangular-tube-shaped attachment parts (1, 2) that are attached to each other in the axis direction by inserting one of the attachment parts into the other such that the one can slide within the other in the axis direction. A plurality of height adjustment slits (19) that are aligned in the height direction of the microphone stand are formed in a corner portion of the one attachment part (1). In the other attachment part (2), an attachment slit (22) is formed at a position where the plurality of height adjustment slits (19) pass due to the sliding of the two attachment parts (1, 2) in the height direction of the microphone stand. A cord (71) of the acoustic characteristic measurement microphone (7) placed on the top of the microphone stand is pushed into and fixed to the interior of two slits (19, 22) that have been positioned by the sliding of the two attachment parts.
US09781496B2

Systems and methods including a wireless device in communication with, controlling, and providing streaming media to a worksite audio device. The worksite audio device, such as a radio, includes a rugged structure enabling its use on construction sites. The worksite audio device is powerable via a power tool battery pack or AC source, and includes a charger circuit to charge an inserted power tool battery using power from the AC source. The worksite audio device is in communication with an external wireless device, such as a smart phone. The worksite audio device outputs to the smart phone battery status information, such as temperature and state of charge, as well as other information about the audio device. The smart phone displays the status information received from the audio device. Additionally, a user may control the audio device via a graphical user interface of the smart phone.
US09781492B2

Systems and methods for discovering and interacting with video on a frame level are disclosed. A person viewing a video can capture a frame from a video using a mobile device. The captured frame and information about items within the frame are displayed on the user's mobile device. The user can learn about the items or interact with the displayed items such as purchasing the items using the mobile device.
US09781488B2

A system for adaptively streaming video content over an IP network and an encoding device, the system comprising devices and non-transitory computer-readable storage media having executable computer modules, comprising: a sender device interacting with the network, the device configured to send a video stream to the network and to receive a recovery packet stream from the network; a receiving device configured to receive the video stream and to transmit a recovery packet stream back to the sender through the network; and a bandwidth probe configured to be periodically sent with the video stream to the receiving device to determine an instantaneous network bandwidth; wherein the sender device is configured to command the encoding device to adapt the video stream, based upon the instantaneous network bandwidth and the recovery packet stream.
US09781487B2

A device may receive information that identifies available content associated with multicast streams available for transmission via a network. The device may determine content selected from the available content. The selected content may be associated with a multicast stream available for transmission via the network. The device may receive the multicast stream associated with the selected content via an air interface. The device may process the multicast stream into a format compatible with a connection interface. The device may output the processed multicast stream to a display device, that is different from the device, via the connection interface.
US09781485B2

Master element for a distributed playback architecture for a media data, having: a payload data source for providing payload data packets; a beacon packet creator for creating beacon packets useable for synchronizing a playback process of the payload data packets at, at least one, slave element in the distributed playback architecture; and a network interface for transmitting an interleaved packet stream to the at least one slave element, the interleaved packet stream having the payload data packets provided by the payload data source and the beacon packets created by the beacon packet creator. A corresponding slave element, the distributed playback architecture, a method, and a computer program product are also disclosed.
US09781481B2

A video encoding method for encoding a current motion vector of a current block, includes: deriving a plurality of candidate predictive motion vectors by using motion vectors of adjacent blocks of the current block; selecting a predictive motion vector of the current block from among the candidate predictive motion vectors; generating a differential motion vector by subtracting the predictive motion vector from the current motion vector; and encoding, into a bitstream, the differential motion vector and a predictive motion vector index for indicating which candidate predictive motion vector is selected as the predictive motion vector among the candidate predictive motion vectors, where the deriving of the candidate predictive motion vectors includes: deriving a first candidate predictive motion vector based on adjacent blocks located at left side of the current block; and deriving a second candidate predictive motion vector based on adjacent blocks located at upper side of the current block.
US09781479B2

Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that provides recommendations to a user viewing a media asset. For example, the media guidance application may provide a recommendation of a media asset based on a user's profile and may modify the user's profile based on the user's actions and keywords in the content of the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the media asset is of interest to a user and in response may update the user's profile based on keywords in the media asset. If the media guidance application determines that the media asset is of interest to the user, it may add keywords in the content of the media asset to the user's profile and increase their corresponding weights. Otherwise, the media guidance application may decrease the weights in the user's profile corresponding to keywords in the media asset.
US09781477B2

Systems and methods for transmitting a multimedia stream over a communication link on a network are disclosed. The systems and methods adaptively adjust encoding parameters based on monitoring changing conditions of the network. A transmitter includes an adaptive-rate encoder that adaptively adjusts a video encoding bit rate in response to changing conditions of the communication link. The encoder maintains tight rate control by utilizing slice processing and sub-frame rate adaptation, as well as maintaining a headroom between the channel bit rate and the video encoding bit rate. The adaptive-rate encoder also embeds intra-frame constraints in predictive frames traffic in order to reduce latency.
US09781459B2

A method and an apparatus can include a system processor control and a system controller. The system controller can retrieve data from at least one database, the data including information associated with at least one of subscribers, multimedia content, and customer premises equipment. The system processor can formulate an input dataset from the retrieved data, perform nonlinear manifold clustering on the input dataset to formulate clusters, and determine a recommendation of multimedia content, the recommendation of multimedia content being based on a metric distance between a subscriber and a multimedia content. The system controller can transmit, to a customer premises equipment of the subscriber, the recommendation of multimedia content.
US09781456B2

A TV audience survey system for determining the TV viewing activities of a plurality of individuals in a household includes a master device and multiple tags, each tag assigned to an individual. After an individual logs into the system and starts watching the TV, the master device communicates with the corresponding tag repeatedly to accumulate data representing the individual's TV viewing activities. Such data can be used to determine when the individual stops watching the TV for an extended period of time without logging out of the system and when the household member remains watching the TV after logging or being logged out of the system. The master device then reports the accumulated data to a remote server, which uses the data to determine whether the individual complies with the logging protocol defined by the TV audience survey system and update the TV viewership data associated with this household.
US09781455B2

Methods and apparatus for metering media feeds in a market are disclosed. An example method includes extracting a primary code from metering data received from a media presentation location. Extracting a breakout code, different than the primary code, from the metering data. Identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, first media associated with the primary code. Identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first regional network associated with the breakout code. Storing, by executing an instruction with the processor, information indicating that the first media was presented on the first regional network.
US09781452B2

Systems and methods for evaluating online videos. One method includes receiving a URL; determining a URL type; detecting whether the URL includes one or more videos; determining at least one of a size of the video, a position of the video on a web page of the web page URL, whether the video is set to autoplay, and whether the video is set to mute; computing a score based on one or more of the size of the video, the position of the video on the web page of the web page URL, whether the video is set to autoplay, and whether the video is set to mute; obtaining at least two frames of at least part of the video, wherein each frame is obtained at one or more predetermined intervals during playback of the video; and classifying each detected video based on the at least two frames.
US09781447B1

A system, apparatus, and method for encoding and decoding a video stream having a plurality of frames are disclosed. Disclosed implementations encode frames having a plurality of planes that include representations of color video data, for example YUV, relying on correlation between planes to form prediction blocks to predict blocks of another plane. Disclosed implementations use lookup tables formed from pixels peripheral to the blocks to transform blocks into prediction blocks. For example, blocks from the Y plane can be used to predict blocks from the U or V planes, or blocks from U or V planes can be used to predict blocks from the Y plane.
US09781439B2

A method of encoding video data including a sequence of digital image frames, in a pipelined processing system is provided. The method includes dividing each frame in the sequence into a plurality of sections, each section including a horizontal band across a frame. The method further includes subdividing each section into a plurality of macroblocks, and encoding a representation of each macroblock in each section to form an output stream. The sections of each frame are processed during adjacent steps in a pipeline of the pipelined processing system.
US09781437B2

An image coding method in which a chroma component and a luma component of an input image including one or more transform blocks are transformed to code the input image. The luma component has the same size as the current transform block. The chroma component is smaller than the current transform block. In the method, when the current transform block has a first minimum size, the chroma component is transformed on a basis of a block resulting from binding a plurality of the chroma blocks to has the same size as the luma block, and when the current transform block has a size other than the first minimum size, a CBF flag indicating whether or not coefficients of the chroma component include a non-zero coefficient is not coded.
US09781435B2

Methods and systems for processing instructions by an online video game hosting system are provided. One example method includes receiving a control signal for a video game. The control signal is received by a server of the online video game hosting system, and the control signal is transmitted from a client device to the server over a network. Then, executing the online video game by the server while receiving the control signal. The executing causes generation of a sequence of video frames and encoding the sequence of video frames to generate a first compressed sequence of video frames and generate a second compressed sequence of video frames. Transmitting the first compressed sequence of video frames to the client device over the network for decoding by the client device to produce a first decoded sequence of video frames for displaying on a display of the client device. Receiving feedback information from the client device, the feedback information used to determine whether one or more of the first compressed sequence of video frames has been successfully decoded at the client device and modifying the encoding of the sequence of video frames in response to the feedback information. The second compressed sequence of video frames are directed to a storage associated with the server and wherein the quality of the second compressed sequence of video frames is higher than a quality of the first compressed sequence of video frames.
US09781429B2

An image coding method and apparatus considering human visual characteristics are provided. The image coding method comprises (a) modeling image quality distribution of an input image in units of scenes such that the quality of an image input in units of scenes is gradually lowered from a region of interest to a background region, (b) determining a quantization parameter of each region constituting one scene according to the result of modeling of image quality distribution, (c) quantizing image data in accordance with the quantization parameter, and (d) coding entropy of the quantized image data.
US09781428B2

An image coding method and apparatus considering human visual characteristics are provided. The image coding method comprises (a) modeling image quality distribution of an input image in units of scenes such that the quality of an image input in units of scenes is gradually lowered from a region of interest to a background region, (b) determining a quantization parameter of each region constituting one scene according to the result of modeling of image quality distribution, (c) quantizing image data in accordance with the quantization parameter, and (d) coding entropy of the quantized image data.
US09781417B2

HDR images are coded and distributed. An initial HDR image is received. Processing the received HDR image creates a JPEG-2000 DCI-compliant coded baseline image and an HDR-enhancement image. The coded baseline image has one or more color components, each of which provide enhancement information that allows reconstruction of an instance of the initial HDR image using the baseline image and the HDR-enhancement images. A data packet is computed, which has a first and a second data set. The first data set relates to the baseline image color components, each of which has an application marker that relates to the HDR-enhancement images. The second data set relates to the HDR-enhancement image. The data packets are sent in a DCI-compliant bit stream.
US09781414B2

An apparatus and method of deriving a motion vector predictor (MVP) for a current MV of a current block in Inter, Merge or Skip mode are disclosed based on motion vector (MV) attribute search. The system determines first MV attribute search comprising whether a given MV pointing to the target reference picture in the given reference list, or whether the given MV pointing to the target reference picture in other reference list, and determines second MV attribute search comprising whether the given MV pointing to other reference pictures in the given reference list, or whether the given MV pointing to the other reference pictures in the other reference list. The MVP for the current block is then determined from the neighboring blocks according to a search order.
US09781411B2

A three-dimensional volumetric display includes a light source that generates a two-dimensional image output and a transparent scattering volume, coupled to the light source on a first face of the scattering volume, that scatters the image output of the light source in a direction perpendicular to the light axis of the output of the light source; where the scattering volume comprises a three-dimensional array of scattering elements arranged in a plurality of scattering planes tilted relative to the first face of the scattering volume.
US09781410B2

An apparatus and method for outputting view images by tracking a gaze of a user are provided. The image processing apparatus estimates movement of a gaze of a user using a camera, and determines an output order of view images according to the gaze movement.
US09781407B2

An image display device includes: an image display unit (100) that displays a plurality of parallax images corresponding to the number of view points for stereoscopic viewing on a screen of a display panel (100a); a parallax barrier (101) that is arranged facing the screen, and performs optical separation of the displayed parallax images; and an adaptive pitch adjustment unit (103) that adjusts, for each of regions of the display panel (100a), perform adjustment on a pitch of the parallax barrier (101) corresponding to the region in accordance with an amount of distortion of the display panel (100a) in the region.
US09781405B2

Systems and methods provide accurate pixel depth information to be applied to a single image taken by a single camera in generating a three-dimensional (3D) image. In particular, two or more images can be captured during, e.g., lateral movement of a camera to ascertain depth in a scene on a pixel level. Use of an optical image stabilization (OIS) system that can provide at least three axes of stabilization eliminates the variability associated with conventional systems that create problems with image registration. Further still, and because actual pixel depth information is being calculated rather than merely generating stereoscopic images to trick the eyes into perceiving depth, the pixel depth information that is calculated can be leveraged in other ways, such as for providing automated measurements merely by taking a picture of an object or scene.
US09781403B2

A method and an apparatus are provided for generating a stereoscopic file. The apparatus includes a memory configured to store a stereoscopic file, the stereoscopic file including an svmi box for stereoscopic video media information, the svmi box including a first value indicating a stereoscopic composition type, and an scdi box for stereoscopic camera and display information, the svmi box including a second value associated with two cameras of a stereoscopic camera; a reproduction device configured to parse the svmi box and the scdi box to reproduce the stereoscopic file; and a display device configured to display the reproduced stereoscopic file.
US09781402B2

The present invention relating to an information processing device, information processing method, playing device, playing method, and program that enables playing of stereo image (3D image) contents appropriately.In the case that 3D playing using Base view video and D1 view video is instructed, “10000.ilvt (ref_to_D1-B_interleaved_file_name) described in interleaved_file_info ( ) of the PlayList file is specified, and Base view video chunks and D1 view video chunks are read out from an optical disc through a UDF file system. The Base view video chunks and D1 view video chunks that are read out are supplied to a decoder unit and played. The present invention is applicable to a playing device compatible with the BD-ROM standard.
US09781394B2

Various embodiments may relate to a lighting device, including an excitation radiation source and a two-sided luminescent-material wheel. At least one luminescent material is provided on each of the two sides of the two-sided luminescent-material wheel, thus both on the front side and on the opposite back side. The luminescent materials on both sides are excited sequentially in time. For this purpose, at least one transmissive region is provided in the rotating luminescent-material wheel, through which transmissive region the excitation radiation can radiate, which excitation radiation can be deflected onto the luminescent material on the back side by means of an optical unit.
US09781392B2

A mechanism is described for facilitating personal assistance for curation of multimedia and generation of stories at computing devices according to one embodiment. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes receiving, by one or more capturing/sensing components at a computing device, one or more media items relating to an event, and capturing a theme from the one or more media items, where the theme is captured based on at least one of activities, textual content, and scenes associated with the event. The method may further include forming a plurality of story elements to generate a story relating to the event, where the plurality of story elements are formed based on at least one of one or more characters, the theme associated with the event, and one or more emotions associated with the one or more characters, wherein the story is presented, via one or more display devices, to one or more users having access to the one or more display devices.
US09781390B2

An independent auditing and ad service system that may be utilized with a system for presenting marketing campaigns to audiences via a network of players in public locations. Independent agents in the players monitor media content that is presented to audiences during marketing campaigns and generate independent agent playlogs that are provided to a content registry service which compares the independent agent playlogs with playlogs that are provided by a network operator to validate the network-operator-generated playlogs. The independent agent playlogs may also be provided to an analytics service where they are used to analyze the performance of marketing campaigns. From the analyzed performance, the service may determine that the media content presented to audiences via the media players should be changed. The independent agents may be instructed to implement recommended changes by modifying the media content being presented on the players.
US09781381B2

Super-resolution of dynamic scenes using sampling rate diversity, processes and systems thereof are provided. The method implementing the processes includes: in a first stage, super-resolving secondary low-resolution (LR) images using a set of primary LR images to create LR dictionaries to represent polyphase components (PPCs) of high resolution (HR) patches of images; and, in a second stage, reverting to a single frame super-resolution (SR) applied to each frame which comprises an entire image, using the HR dictionaries extracted from the super-resolved sequence obtain in the first stage.
US09781377B2

A method for recording media content based on media content fingerprints is described. A media device records content received in a content stream from a scheduled start time of a media content to a scheduled end time of the media content to create a content recording. The media device derives one or more fingerprints from the content recording. A fingerprint database is queried with the one or more fingerprints to determine that a first portion of the content recording comprises an advertisement and a second portion of the content recording comprises the media content. In response to a request to play the content recording, starting playback of the content recording at the beginning of the second portion of the content recording.
US09781376B2

According to one embodiment, television receiver includes display and housing. The display includes screen, first and second ends, and first corner. First end extends along first direction. Second end extends along second direction. The housing includes first and second members, and opening. The first member includes first and second walls. First wall covers the first end from front of the screen. Second wall extends from circumference of the first wall towards back of the screen and covers the first end. The second member includes third and fourth walls. Third wall covers the second end from the front. Fourth wall extends from circumference of the third wall towards the back and covers the second end. Part at which the first and the second members are abutted is configured straight and intersects the first and second directions between second corner and position away from third corner in direction along first/second direction.
US09781372B2

A driver includes a first level shifting unit generating a second signal swinging in a second threshold range in response to a first signal swinging in a first threshold range, a second level shifting unit generating a third signal swinging in a third threshold range in response to the second signal, a first pull-up driving unit driving an output terminal with a first high-voltage in response to the second signal, a first pull-down driving unit driving the output terminal with a first low voltage in response to the third signal, a second pull-down driving unit driving the output terminal with a second low voltage higher than the first low voltage in response to the fourth signal, and a first path coupling unit coupling the second pull-down driving unit with the output terminal in response to the second signal.
US09781371B2

A solid state image sensor includes a pixel array, as well as charge-to-voltage converters, reset gates, and amplifiers each shared by a plurality of pixels in the array. The voltage level of the reset gate power supply is set higher than the voltage level of the amplifier power supply. Additionally, charge overflowing from photodetectors in the pixels may be discarded into the charge-to-voltage converters. The image sensor may also include a row scanner configured such that, while scanning a row in the pixel array to read out signals therefrom, the row scanner resets the charge in the photodetectors of the pixels sharing a charge-to-voltage converter with pixels on the readout row. The charge reset is conducted simultaneously with or prior to reading out the signals from the pixels on the readout row.
US09781370B2

The invention relates to a pixel of a CMOS imager, the pixel comprising: an infrared photodiode suitable for generating an electric current when it is exposed to an optical radiation having a wavelength greater than 950 nanometers, a conversion circuit able to receive electrons and deliver a voltage with a value varying as a function of the number of received electrons, a first switch connected between the infrared photodiode and the conversion circuit.
US09781358B2

In the broadcast video environment, it may sometimes be necessary to switch between 12G-SDI, which is a 12 Gbps interface on a single link, and quad-link 3G-SDI, which uses four 3 Gbps physical links. A routing switcher is disclosed herein that routes 12G-SDI signals between input ports and output ports. However, the apparatus also has the capability to receive quad-link 3G-SDI signals at its input ports and internally convert from quad-link 3G-SDI to 12G-SDI. The apparatus also has the capability to internally convert a 12G-SDI signal into a quad-link 3G-SDI signal for output on its output ports. Additional processing, such as link healing and/or deskewing of incoming quad-link 3G-SDI signals may be performed.
US09781356B1

Various examples are directed to displaying a panoramic video at an interface comprising a focus region and a thumbnail region. The focus region may display an active field-of-view of the panoramic video, where the active field-of-view is a portion selected from the full field-of-view of the panoramic video. The thumbnail region may display a thumbnail version of the panoramic video comprising a thumbnail field-of-view that is equivalent to the full field-of-view. A distribution of color saturation levels of the thumbnail version may indicates a distribution of fields-of-view selectable from the full field-of-view.
US09781353B2

An image processing apparatus includes a transformation circuit that performs a predetermined transformation process based on a reference area referred from an input image stored in a first memory corresponding to each divided area that divides an output image to be generated into multiple areas and a second memory that stores a transmission area including a logical OR area of the multiple reference areas. The transformation circuit transfers the transmission area from the first memory to the second memory and performs the predetermined transformation process based on the reference area included in the transmission area transferred to the second memory.
US09781349B2

The invention relates to capturing, processing, and displaying panoramic content such as video content and image data with a panoramic camera system. In one embodiment, a method for processing panoramic video content may include capturing video content in a data storage medium of a panoramic camera; dividing the captured video content into multiple analysis portions; detecting sound associated with at least one of the analysis portions; identifying content of interest from which at least one sound has been detected; and, automatically panning a field of view for the captured video content in response to the identified content of interest.
US09781338B2

A method for counting and aggregating a pre-determined number of articles includes: driving, by a conveyor, an article stream to move to an end of the conveyor in a single layer state; conveying the article stream in a periodic motion; after the articles in the article stream leave the conveyor, accurately counting the number of the articles; and when a total number of articles in a combination of temporary storage bin is the same as a target number, transporting all articles in the combination of temporary storage bin to a storage device. Article batches are separately delivered to different temporary storage bins, and the total number of articles in temporary storage bins in different combinations is calculated, so as to obtain with a combination in which the number of articles is the same as the target number. The operation efficiency is improved and the manufacturing cost of device is reduced.
US09781335B1

A single user input element in an image capture device is used for both photo and video capture. Based on a first user interface activity, a timing reference is engaged at a first reference time. In a first case, photo capture is performed. In the first case, a second reference time is based on a second user interface activity, and the timing reference indicates a passage of time between the two reference times is shorter than a particular time interval. In a second case, video capture is performed. In the second case, the timing reference indicates a passage of time since the first reference time is equal to or longer than the particular time interval. Video capture is stopped based on a subsequent user interface activity. The user interface activities may comprise detecting actions based on the same type of physical manipulation of the single user input.
US09781332B2

An image pickup apparatus includes an imaging optical system, an image pickup element including a plurality of pixels, a lens array configured such that rays from the same position on an object plane are incident on pixels of the image pickup element different from each other depending on a pupil region of the imaging optical system through which the ray passes, an image processing unit configured to perform image processing for the input image acquired by the image pickup element to generate the output images, and a control unit configured to drive the imaging optical system to perform focus control, the image processing unit is configured to acquire information on a refocus control range, and the control unit is configured to perform the focus control based on the information on the refocus control range.
US09781323B1

A camera module includes a circuit board, an optical lens, an insulating member, a photosensitive sensor, and an integral encapsulating support structure. The insulating member is disposed on the periphery of a photosensitive area of the photosensitive sensor to prevent the photosensitive sensor from contacting to and being damaged by the formation mold during the forming process of the integral encapsulating support structure and to prevent the fluid material from flowing to the photosensitive area of the photosensitive sensor.
US09781307B2

A geographically remote computing device transmits an image to a central computing device. The geographically remote computing device also communicates specifications of a substrate or substrates to be imaged to the central computing device. The central computing device selects a geographically remote fulfillment printer. A local, but geographically diverse distribution system is available according to the invention. The central computing device chooses the geographically remote fulfillment printer as a function of factors such as the selected image and substrate, printer capabilities, and the consumer's location. Image quality and consistency is maintained by the central computer selecting an appropriate geographically remote computing device and providing printer the appropriate instructions, rather than the instructions for printing being determined locally at the printer.
US09781305B1

A replaceable item for a host device, such as a print substance cartridge for a printing device, stores multiple identities. For each identity, the replaceable item stores multiple authentication values, or passwords. The replaceable item selects an identity, and in response to a request for an authentication value from the host device, sends the requested authentication value for the selected identity.
US09781304B2

There is provided an information processing apparatus and a control method thereof. The information processing apparatus and a control method acquires user information from an external apparatus by using near field wireless communication, determines how to handle the acquired user information according to a type of a screen displayed by a display unit. For example, when the displayed screen is an authentication screen, authentication processing is executed by using the acquired user information.
US09781301B2

An apparatus may include a transparent platen, a command interface, a scanner unit, a controller and an indicator. The command interface is to receive externally originating instructions including a selected scaling value, other than 100%, for a scanning operation of a document resting against the transparent platen, wherein contents of the document to be scanned are proportionally magnified or shrunk based on the selected scaling value The controller controls a scanner unit to capture a portion of the transparent platen, the portion having borders automatically determined and proportionally changed by the controller based upon the selected scaling value. The indicator provides a visible indication of the portion.
US09781297B2

A system and method for capturing and rendering of images includes a wearable or portable data device including a digital camera. A data storage includes data specifying a default image printer and default print settings for digital images. An image capture operation triggers a prompt for expedited image rendering in accordance with preset default settings. Input responsive to the prompt selects for immediate commencement of a print operation for a captured image in accordance with default settings. Image capture and communication can be accomplished with wearable digital eyewear working in concert with an associated, portable data device such as a smartphone. Captured images may be queued in a user device when a data path to the printer is unavailable.
US09781294B1

A system and method renders a micro gloss effect image on a recording medium using a color printer having multiple color marking materials by electronically creating an electronic image region having a first image region and a second image region; electronically painting the first image region of the electronic image region with single component black; electronically painting the second image region of the electronic image region with multiple component black, the multiple component black being a combination of all single color marking materials in the color printer; and rendering, using the color marking materials of the color printer, the electronic image region on the recording medium such that the second image region of the electronic image region is rendered with all single color marking materials in the color printer and the first image region of the electronic image region is rendered with only single component black marking material.
US09781290B2

A scanner is disclosed. The scanner has a platen with at least one edge of the platen uncovered.
US09781287B2

An information processing apparatus capable of adding a function by an extension program includes a registration unit, a setting unit, an execution unit, and a determination unit. The registration unit registers information on the extension program having an interface defined for each type of function. The setting unit sets a use condition of the extension program. The execution unit executes a process sequence by combining a plurality of extension programs according to a definition file defining the process sequence including a plurality of steps. The determination unit dynamically determines, when the process sequence is executed by the execution unit, extension programs that execute the respective steps of the process sequence according to information on the extension programs registered in the registration unit and the use conditions of the extension program set in the setting unit.
US09781286B2

An information processing apparatus capable of preventing load on synchronization processing from increasing more than necessary. The information processing apparatus updates existing setting values based on a synchronization setting value group received from a server, including setting values to be synchronized. Whether or not all the existing setting values are setting values to be synchronized is determined, and if all of the existing setting values are setting values to be synchronized, setting values corresponding to the synchronization setting value group are collectively deleted from the existing setting values, and those included in the synchronization setting value group are set in place, whereas if any of the existing setting values is a setting value not required to be replaced, the existing setting values are updated, individually for each setting value included in the group without collectively deleting the setting values corresponding to the group from the existing setting values.
US09781285B2

On a touch-panel display of an image forming apparatus, which is divided to five areas, that is, a system area, a function selection area, a preview area, an action panel area and a task trigger area, pieces of information are displayed. Even if an operational mode is switched, the same or similar information is always displayed in the area arranged at the same position. In the task trigger area, software buttons operated by the user for actually operating the image forming apparatus are displayed.
US09781270B2

A system and method for case-based routing as opposed to atomic interaction routing. A processor opens a case in a customer database. The case is associated with a workflow that has steps anticipated to be executed for the case. The processor identifies first and second steps of the workflow, and further identifies an agent with skills for handling the first and second steps. The processor generates a task for handling at least the first step of the workflow, and transmits instructions to route the task to the identified agent.
US09781269B2

Techniques for hybrid behavioral pairing in a contact center system are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for hybrid behavioral pairing in a contact center system comprising: ordering a contact; ordering a plurality of agents; applying, by at least one processor, a hybridization function to the ordering of the plurality of agents to bias a first strategy for pairing toward a second strategy for pairing; comparing, by the at least one processor and based on the hybridization function, a first difference in ordering between the contact and a first agent in a first pair with a second difference in ordering between the contact and a second agent different from the first agent in a second pair; and selecting, by the at least one processor, the first pair or the second pair for connection based on the comparing.
US09781268B2

A system for selecting an agent during initial routing based on all the media capabilities associated with a customer and their current device. The system includes a data mining module to mine one or more media capabilities on a device of a customer. The system further includes a customer profile module to build a customer profile based on the one or more mined media capabilities on the device. The system further includes a mapping module to map the customer profile with an agent profile. The system further includes a selection module to select an agent for the customer based on the mapping.
US09781258B2

An improved system and method are disclosed for peer-to-peer communications. In one example, the method enables an endpoint to engage in a call with another endpoint using a third party instant message system to carry instant messages containing signaling information and a route that is external to the third party instant message system for both signaling and media information.
US09781241B2

Embodiments of the invention relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for providing cease and desist call flagging. The system, method, and computer program product are configured to provide a user interface for reporting cease and desist requests associated with a plurality of customers; receive, via user input into the user interface, a cease and desist request associated with a customer having at least one account maintained by an entity, wherein the cease and desist request specifies at least one rule to be implemented when contacting the customer; and automatically terminate contact to the customer on behalf of the entity based at least partially on the at least one rule specified in the cease and desist request.
US09781236B2

An electronic apparatus uses a smaller, thinner antenna module that does not have impairing communication characteristics and can also be mounted in a more narrow space. The electronic apparatus is provided with an antenna module including an antenna coil wound in a planar shape and a magnetic sheet overlapping at least a portion of the antenna coil. The antenna coil is bent, and from the bent portion, a plane that includes one side of the antenna coil on which current flows in one direction is disposed alongside a lateral face of an internal structure of a casing, and a plane that includes another side of the antenna coil on which current flows in the opposite direction than on the one side is disposed to overlap the magnetic sheet. The magnetic sheet is disposed at a position farther from a reader/writer than the other side of the antenna coil is.
US09781231B2

A formula-driven programming-environment is described, which may be used to provide an environment for applications to operate within a network node or other computing device. In one example, statements of a program may be interpreted to thereby execute formula-style commands within an address space defined and constrained in a memory device by the integrated development environment. The commands may obtain data, assign values to variables and access data from other node(s) by the interpretation of statements in the program and communicating over a network. The communicating may include queuing a message for transmission by the formula-driven programming-environment. The commands may provide named access or relative access to data in response to the interpretation of statements in the program. The commands may communicate with at least one application located on a remote computing device in response to the interpretation of statements in the program.
US09781228B2

A computer-implemented system and method for providing contextual media tagging for selective media exposure is provided. A media file is maintained in a database. Contextual information is generated for a user. The media file is associated with the user contextual information, and the media file is shared to individuals in a social network of the user based on the user contextual information.
US09781226B2

A method, computer program product, and computing system for processing one or more data chunks on a host server. The one or more data chunks are destined for storage within a portion of a data array coupled to the host server. The one or more data chunks are stored within a host cache system included within the host server. Storage criteria concerning the portion of a data array is reviewed. The storage criteria includes an array bandwidth allotment that defines a maximum bandwidth between the host server and the portion of the data array. The one or more data chunks are written to the portion of the data array based, at least in part, upon the storage criteria.
US09781224B2

A content transmission system includes: a central control device to receive a content packet to be provided to a client device from a content server, store chunks divided from the received content packet together with corresponding chunk identifiers, check duplication of the divided chunks, and transmit the chunk identifier and flow information of a duplicate chunk to a local caching device instead of transmitting the content packet corresponding to the duplicate chunk; and the local caching device to: receive the chunk identifier and the flow information of the duplicate chunk from the central control device, and transmit the content packet corresponding to the received chunk identifier and previously stored to the client device.
US09781221B2

Various user behaviors are passively monitored and recorded when a user/viewer interacts with a network video player, e.g. a web video player, while watching an online video clip. For one embodiment, a data collection agent (DCA) is loaded to the player and/or to a web page that displays the video clip. The DCA passively collects detailed viewing and behavior information without requiring any specific input or actions on the part of the user. Indications of user preferences are inferred by user actions leading up to viewing the video, while viewing the video, and just after and still related to viewing the video. The DCA periodically sends this information to a central server where it is stored in a central database and where it is used to determine preference similarities among different users. Recorded user preference information may also be used to rate a video itself.
US09781209B2

Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for improving the efficiency of exchanging packets between pairs of VMs within a communications server. An apparatus may include a processor component; a network interface to couple the processor component to a network; a virtual switch to analyze contents of at least one packet of a set of packets to be exchanged between endpoint devices through the network and the communications server, and to route the set of packets through one or more virtual servers of multiple virtual servers based on the contents; and a transfer component of a first virtual server of the multiple virtual servers to determine whether to route the set of packets to the virtual switch or to transfer the set of packets to a second virtual server of the multiple virtual servers in a manner that bypasses the virtual switch based on a routing rule.
US09781207B2

A dispersed storage and task (DST) processing unit receives a data access request. An estimated end of life is determined for a plurality of DST execution units. A subset of the plurality of DST execution units is selected, based on a threshold number associated with the data access request and further based on the estimated end of life for the subset of the plurality of DST execution units. The data access request is executed via the subset of the plurality of DST execution units.
US09781201B2

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for multicast transport configuration, for multicast transport, and/or for fault policy implementation. In an example, a multicast component may receive a data copy request from an application to copy data to multiple destinations. A scheduler component may create a transport schedule specifying an order with which to facilitate data copy operations across transports, such as heterogeneous transports, to the destinations. A dispatcher component may apply application specified transport modifiers to the data copy operations (e.g., a modification to a quality of service for a transport). The dispatcher component may facilitate the data copy operations and provide operation result information to a policy agent. The policy agent may provide notifications of data copy operation statuses from the operation result information and/or may implement a fault policy (e.g., a retry on a different transport) for a data copy operation that experienced a fault.
US09781199B2

A method, system and apparatus are provided for performing peer-to-peer (P2P) data sharing operations between user equipment (UE) devices in a wireless-enabled communications environment. A first client node comprises content data and operates in a server peer mode to provide content data. A second client node submits a request to a P2P application server (P2P AS) for the content data. In response, the P2P AS provides the address of the first client node to the second client node. The second client node then uses the provided address to submit a request to the first client node to provide the content data. The first client node accepts the request and then provides the content data to the second client node.
US09781195B2

A method whereby a host device accesses a remote server and performs a task is disclosed, the method including receiving a task command regarding the remote server; searching for a guest device capable of communicating with the host device and the remote server; determining a task performing pattern based on a found guest device and details of the task; and, according to the determined task performing pattern, performing the task via the host device and one or more devices selected from among found guest devices.
US09781193B2

A distribution control system includes a managing unit configured to manage sites where communication terminals are positioned; a generating unit configured to generate distribution data; a converting unit configured to convert the distribution data into transmission data; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the distribution data to one or more communication terminals that are managed to be positioned at a same site by the managing unit.
US09781191B2

Methods may provide peak load processing on a computer system. A method may include receiving at a remote computer system a request from a local computer system, coupled to the remote computer system by a network, to replicate at the remote computer system a local instance of an application executing on the local computer system that is subject to user requests received at the local computer system. The method may further include replicating on the remote computer system a remote instance of the application and redirecting user requests from the local computer system to the remote computer system. The method may further include executing on the remote computer system the remote instance of the application, including processing with the remote instance of the application user requests redirected from the local computer system to the remote instance of the application.
US09781188B2

Provided are a method and device for transmitting/receiving media content via internet. The method includes: configuring the media content with a plurality of representations; dividing the configured representation into a plurality segments; aligning subsegments in the segment; and transmitting one of the representations, wherein the subsegments are aligned to allow the earliest presentation time of the kth subsegment in the first representation to be greater than the latest presentation time of the k−1th subsegment in the second representation among the representations.
US09781180B2

A server device may receive content that was transmitted using a broadcast technique; track a quantity of user devices that have entered a particular area after the content has been received by the server device; determine, based on the tracking, that the quantity of user devices meets or exceeds a threshold quantity; and redistributing, by the server device and based on the determining, the content to one or more of the user devices that have entered the particular area after the content has been received by the server device.
US09781179B2

A method and apparatus for sharing presentation data, interactions, and annotation information between devices. The method includes: converting the presentation data into at least one image; transmitting the at least one image to the second device; displaying an image from among the at least one image on a screen of the first device, and transmitting image identification information about the displayed image to the second device; adding annotation data to the displayed image, based on a user input; and transmitting annotation information about the annotation data to the second device. The second device displays an image corresponding to the image identification information on a screen of the second device based on the image identification information, and the second device displays the annotation information on the image displayed on the screen of the second device the annotation information.
US09781165B1

An agile governance system provides recommendations for infrastructure change requests concerning a cloud-based computer environment in accordance with security policies regarding data to be used in connection with applications impacted by the requests. The nature and character of the data is determined using an interactive dialog with a requesting entity. Possible responses provided by the requesting entity are mapped to security policy requirements, which, in turn, are used to determine infrastructure stack requirements. Where pre-approved solutions that satisfy the security needs for the requested infrastructure change exist, they are recommended; otherwise, the requesting entity is presented with the recommendation for the requested infrastructure change along with a list of required approvals and approvers.
US09781164B2

A small piece of hardware connects to a mobile device and filters out attacks and malicious code. Using the piece of hardware, a mobile device can be protected by greater security and possibly by the same level of security offered by its associated corporation/enterprise. In one embodiment, a mobile security system includes a connection mechanism for connecting to a data port of a mobile device and for communicating with the mobile device; a network connection module for acting as a gateway to a network; a security policy for determining whether to forward content intended for the mobile device to the mobile device; and a security engine for executing the security policy.
US09781160B1

Methods, systems and apparatus are provided which allow a server of a security awareness system to associate IP addresses with events representing user interactions with simulated phishing campaigns. The server receives a plurality of events related to one or more simulated phishing campaigns for a plurality of accounts. The server determines if an IP address of the plurality of IP addresses is associated with one or more events for multiple accounts of the plurality of accounts. Based upon this determination, the server provides identification of the IP address as suspected as having the one or more events associated with it not originating from any user of the multiple accounts. The server receives an indication of whether the IP address is validated as having the one or more events originating from a bot instead of a user of one of the multiple accounts.
US09781157B1

Several methods are disclosed for detecting and mitigating Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks that are intended to exhaust network resources. The methods use DDoS mitigation devices to detect DDoS attacks using operationally based thresholds. The methods also keep track of ongoing attacks, have an understanding of “protected IP space,” and activate appropriate mitigation tactics based on the severity of the attack and the capabilities of the DDoS mitigation devices.
US09781149B1

An electronic message analysis system of a cybersecurity network assesses whether a received message is a mock malicious message in response to, receiving a user activation action that indicates that the user has reported the received message as a potentially malicious message. The system does this by determining whether any header field of a header section of the message starts with a predetermined key. For any header field that starts with the predetermined key, the system determines whether a value that follows the predetermined key satisfies a trusted sender rule. If the value that follows the predetermined key satisfies the trusted sender rule, the system determines that the received message originated from a trusted sender. If the value that immediately follows the predetermined key does not satisfy the trusted sender rule, the system determines that the received message did not originate from a trusted sender.
US09781147B2

Systems and methods for managing a data incident are provided herein. Exemplary methods may include providing an external entity interface that receives external entity information including a contract between a first party and at least one additional party, notification obligations that specify when the first party or the at least one additional party notifies entities that a data incident has occurred, and properties that trigger an assessment of the notification obligations. When an incident occurs, an assessment is completed and the results thereof are displayed on a risk assessment guidance interface.
US09781143B1

A computer-implemented method for detecting near field communication risks may include (1) identifying a mobile device capable of near field communication, (2) identifying an attempted near field communication involving the mobile device, (3) tracking at least one contextual behavior relating to the attempted near field communication; and (4) determining, based at least in part on the contextual behavior, that the attempted near field communication poses a risk to the mobile device. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09781142B2

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for scanning files for inappropriate content during file synchronization. Embodiments of the invention are mindful of the order of operations when scanning files for inappropriate content and in subsequent file processing. In some embodiments, during synchronization, an intermediary server scans a file for inappropriate content. The file is not permitted to be fully downloaded to a client device until the scan determines that the file does not contain inappropriate content. In other embodiments, during synchronization, a client device scans a newer version of a file for inappropriate content. An older version of the file is not deleted until the scan determines that the newer version of the file does not contain inappropriate content. In further embodiments, server side scanning and client side scanning are both used to enhance capabilities for detecting inappropriate content.
US09781141B2

Secured automated or semi-automated systems are provided herein. In one embodiment, a sensor system includes a sensor, a legacy computing environment that is configured to communicate with the sensor and process sensor raw data output, and transmit the processed sensor output to a first network node over the network, and a trusted computing environment configured to receive raw sensor output directly from the sensor and transmit the raw sensor output to an additional network node or the first network node over the network.
US09781139B2

Techniques are presented to identify malware communication with domain generation algorithm (DGA) generated domains. Sample domain names are obtained and labeled as DGA domains, non-DGA domains or suspicious domains. A classifier is trained in a first stage based on the sample domain names. Sample proxy logs including proxy logs of DGA domains and proxy logs of non-DGA domains are obtained to train the classifier in a second stage based on the plurality of sample domain names and the plurality of sample proxy logs. Live traffic proxy logs are obtained and the classifier is tested by classifying the live traffic proxy logs as DGA proxy logs, and the classifier is forwarded to a second computing device to identify network communication of a third computing device as malware network communication with DGA domains via a network interface unit of the third computing device based on the trained and tested classifier.
US09781132B2

As provided herein, a user of a client device may navigate to a webpage using a browser. A browser window, populated with a verification image and/or details about the webpage, is generated and presented to the user. The verification image and/or details about the webpage differentiate a browser window generated by the browser, from the webpage, from a browser window generated by a malicious user. The browser window comprises a login box into which credentials for logging into the user account may be entered. Responsive to the user entering correct credentials into the login box and selecting a submit option based upon recognition of the verification image, the browser window may be submitted to a server and the user may be presented with a window comprising access to the user account.
US09781129B1

There is disclosed a method and system for use in authenticating an entity. An authentication request is received from the entity. An input signal is received from a communications device associated with the entity. The input signal comprises the current location of the communications device. The current location of the communications device is derived from the input signal. Based on the current location of the communications device, an event is detected at substantially the same location as the current location of the communications device. An analysis is performed between the current location of the communications device and the event. An authentication result is generated based on the analysis between the current location of the communications device and the event. The authentication result can be used for authenticating the entity.
US09781125B2

An electronic device in a device-to-device network of a user of the electronic device communicates with a group of one or more other instances of the electronic via dynamic connections that are based on pre-established and maintained (i.e., long-lived) associations in the device-to-device network. Moreover, a given dynamic connection between the electronic device and a given instance of the electronic device in the group is setup by the electronic device without assistance of a computer in another network, which conveys the communication within the group. During operation, after receiving a response accepting an invitation to a second user of a second instance of the electronic device in the group to join the device-to-device network, the electronic device verifies the second user based on an encryption key associated with the second user; and establishes a new maintained association with the second instance of the electronic device in the device-to-device network.
US09781122B1

A system provides cloud-based identity and access management. The system receives a request from a client for an identity management service, authenticates the request, and accesses a microservice based on the request. The system determines, based on the request, a tenancy of the client, a tenancy of a user, and a tenancy of a resource. The system retrieves data from the determined tenancies as required to process the request, where the data is retrieved by the microservice using a connection pool that provides connections to the database. The system then performs the identity management service by the appropriate microservice responsible for processing the received request.
US09781121B2

Approaches described herein manage security restrictions on a resource in a defined environment to provide authorization and access. Specifically, a security system maintains a security restriction on the resource (e.g., an information technology (IT) account of a user, or an apparatus) in a defined environment. The presence of a plurality of users is continuously monitored throughout the defined environment and, based on a detection of a pre-specified set of users from the plurality of users in the defined environment, the security restriction is managed (e.g., removed or maintained). In one embodiment, the system removes the security restriction from the resource to allow at least one of: access to the IT account of the user, and operation of the apparatus. The security restriction on the resource may be reinstated in the case that the pre-specified set of users from the plurality of users is no longer present in the defined environment.
US09781117B2

Embodiments of multinode hubs for trust operations are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a multinode hub may include a plurality of memory regions, a trapping module, and a trusted platform module (TPM) component. Each memory region may be associated with and receive trust operation data from a coherent computing node. The trapping module may generate trap notifications in response to accesses to the plurality of memory regions by the associated coherent computing nodes. The trap notifications may indicate which of the plurality of memory locations has been accessed, and the TPM component may process the trust operation data in a memory region indicated by a trap notification. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.
US09781116B2

An authority transfer system enables omitting authorization of a user belonging to a tenant based on an authorization operation being performed at least once on a terminal associated with the tenant.
US09781109B2

A method, a terminal device, and a network device are provided. The method of the present invention includes acquiring, by a terminal device, a key, an identity of the terminal device, and identification information of one or more applications on the terminal device, where identification information of different applications on the terminal device is different from each other, and the identity of the terminal device includes International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and/or International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI); generating, for identification information of one application by using a preset encryption algorithm according to the identity of the terminal device and the key, an encryption result corresponding to the application; and when the application runs on the terminal device, accessing a network by using the encryption result corresponding to the application. The present invention is applicable to protecting information security of a terminal device accessing a network.
US09781108B2

A system for secure transfer of encrypted data involves a sender client, a recipient client, a main server, and a key server. The sender client receives instructions from a first user identifying transfer data and a recipient identifier, creates a key, encodes the transfer data using the key, and communicates the key and the recipient identifier to a server. The server creates a secure package identifier and communicates such to the sender client. The recipient client receives and identifies the secure package identifier and the encoded transfer data, receives from a second user a user identifier, and communicates the user identifier and the secure package identifier to the server. The server communicates the key to the recipient client only if the secure package identifier received from the recipient client matches the secure package identifier created by the server and if the user identifier matches the recipient identifier.
US09781106B1

Method and systems for modeling user possession of a mobile device for a user authentication framework are provided. The method includes analyzing sensor data representing information captured from sensor(s) associated with at least one of a plurality of devices, the plurality including the user's mobile device. The method allows for determining, based on the analyzed sensor data, a probability that the user maintains possession of the user's mobile device; and configuring the probability for use in determining whether to require authentication. The determination may include configuring a probabilistic model that includes a first state indicating that the user possesses the mobile device and a second state indicating that the user does not; classifying motions of the mobile device by types, the motions being determined based on the sensor data; and updating probabilities of the two states in response to determining that at least one of the motions has occurred.
US09781104B2

Disclosed is a working method of a dynamic token. The present invention relates to the field of communications. The method comprises: when a token is awakened, the awakening identification type at a flag bit is determined; if the type is a key awakening identification, the key value is detected, and a corresponding operation is performed according to the key pressed; if the type is a Bluetooth data awakening identification, Bluetooth data is received, and when the Bluetooth data has been received, the Bluetooth data is stored in a received data temporary storage region, and the Bluetooth data awakening identification is reset; if the type is Bluetooth connection awakening identification, that Bluetooth has been connected is displayed, and after fourth preset period has passed, the screen is cleared, and the Bluetooth connection awakening identification is reset; if the type is Bluetooth disconnection awakening identification, that Bluetooth has been disconnected is displayed, the received data temporary storage region is cleared, and the Bluetooth disconnection awakening identification is reset; and if the type is an awakening identification of other types, a corresponding operation according to the awakening identification is performed.
US09781095B2

Dynamic risk communication associated with a computer device may include automatically detecting one or more security risk factors for the computer device based on current context information associated with the computer device. Whether an attempt is being made via the computer device to manipulate the one or more risk factors in an attempt to reduce a security level of a computer-implemented authentication procedure may be determined. Responsive to determining that the attempt is being made to manipulate the one or more risk factors, a new challenge for additional identification may be communicated for presentation on a user interface device of the computer device while suppressing one or more security risk factors from being presented on the user interface device. Responsive to determining that an attempt is not being made to manipulate the one or more risk factors, the new challenge and one or more security risk factors may be communicated.
US09781087B2

A method for use with a public cloud network is disclosed. The method includes setting up a private cloud routing server and a smart device client in a client server relationship. The private cloud routing server includes a first message box. The smart client includes a second message box. The first and second message boxes are located on the public cloud network. The method also includes passing an authenticated session based message between the first and the second message boxes in a secure manner. The smart device client and the private cloud routing server can communicate with each other after authentication to provide security. The method also includes setting up another smart device client in a client server relationship with the private cloud routing server. The two smart device clients can privately and securely communicate with each other through the public cloud network.
US09781083B2

The present specification discloses an improved method of encrypting a file and distributing the encrypted file over a network from a user computer to a remote computer, which includes providing an interface to a file encryption application to a user; receiving an input designating an encryption option from among a plurality of encryption options; based upon said input designating an encryption option, and based upon a format of said file, causing a separate application specific to said format to encrypt said at least one file, wherein said encrypted file is adapted to be decrypted using a passcode and wherein said passcode is transmitted to the user via at least one message type.
US09781082B2

An agent on a device within a network receives a request to access a resource outside the network. A first encrypted connection is established between the device and the agent, and a second encrypted connection is established between the agent and the resource, to facilitate encrypted communication traffic between the device and the resource. The agent sends a policy request to a network appliance within the network, the request specifying the resource. The agent receives a policy response indicating that the resource is associated with one or more security policies of the network. Traffic passing between the device and the resource is selectively decrypted and inspected depending on the security policies.
US09781076B2

A communications system (40) comprises a first entity (42), a first encryption device (48) and a network (46). The first encryption device (48) is adapted to decrypt, using a first decryption algorithm, data sent from a first destination to said first entity via said network (46). The first encryption device (48) is adapted to pass network metric data concerning at least one route between said first entity and said first destination to said first entity without subjecting said network metric data to said first decryption algorithm.
US09781075B1

Managing network ports is disclosed. Network session identification information is received. The network session identification information is associated with a destination IP address and a destination network port. An available source network port is determined using a data structure that is based on the destination IP address and the destination network port.
US09781072B2

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a computer-implemented method that includes obtaining, at a computer system, a plurality of contact identifiers for a computer account holder, wherein the identifiers represent a plurality of different communication modes; identifying a handle for the account holder, wherein the handle is associated with a uniform resource locator; and correlating the handle with the plurality of contact identifiers, and storing the handle and plurality of contact identifiers together so as to permit retrieval of the contact identifiers in response to identification of the handle.
US09781067B2

A method for managing conversations in social media and networks may include selecting, by a processor, a message posted to a social medium for management and associating a goal with the selected message for management. The method may also include monitoring, by the processor, other messages posted to the social medium for messages that are related to the selected message for management. The method may additionally include determining, by the processor, whether the goal has been met based on monitoring the other messages posted to the social network. A first predetermined function is performed in response to the goal being met or a second predetermined function is performed in response to the goal not being met.
US09781060B2

A crossbar switch has N input ports, M output ports, and a switching matrix with N×M crosspoints. In an embodiment, each crosspoint contains an internal queue (XQ), which can store one or more packets to be routed. Traffic rates to be realized between all Input/Output (IO) pairs of the switch are specified in an N×M traffic rate matrix, where each element equals a number of requested cell transmission opportunities between each IO pair within a scheduling frame of F time-slots. An efficient algorithm for scheduling N traffic flows with traffic rates based upon a recursive and fair decomposition of a traffic rate vector with N elements, is proposed. To reduce memory requirements a shared row queue (SRQ) may be embedded in each row of the switching matrix, allowing the size of all the XQs to be reduced. To further reduce memory requirements, a shared column queue may be used in place of the XQs. The proposed buffered crossbar switches with shared row and column queues, in conjunction with the row scheduling algorithm and the DCS column scheduling algorithm, can achieve high throughput with reduced buffer and VLSI area requirements, while providing probabilistic guarantees on rate, delay and jitter for scheduled traffic flows.
US09781059B2

An optoelectronic switch comprising: a first plurality of detector remodulators (DRMs) (C3, D1), each DRM having an integer number M of optical inputs and an integer number N of optical outputs; a second plurality of DRMs (C7, D5), each DRM having N optical inputs and M optical outputs; a passive optical switch fabric (C4+C5+C6, D2+D3+D4) connecting the N optical outputs of each of the first plurality of DRMs with the N optical inputs of each of the second plurality of DRMs, the path of an optical signal through the optical switch fabric depending upon its wavelength; wherein each DRM (C3, D1) of the first plurality of DRMs is configured to act as a tunable wavelength converter to select the desired path of an optical signal through the optical switch fabric (C4+C5+C6, D2+D3+D4); and wherein each of the first plurality of DRMs (C3, D1) includes a concentrator, the concentrator configured to aggregate optical signals received from any of the M inputs of that DRM and to buffer them according to the one of the plurality of second DRMs (C7, D5) that includes their destination port.
US09781054B1

The present disclosure relates to dynamically scheduling resource requests in a distributed system based on usage quotas. One example method includes identifying usage information for a distributed system including atoms, each atom representing a distinct item used by users of the distributed system; determining that a usage quota associated with the distributed system has been exceeded based on the usage information, the usage quota representing an upper limit for a particular type of usage of the distributed system; receiving a first request for a particular atom requiring invocation of the particular type of usage represented by the usage quota; determining that a second request for a different type of usage of the particular atom is waiting to be processed; and processing the second request for the particular atom before processing the first request.
US09781037B2

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media provide for collection of statistics relating to network traffic between virtual machines (VMs) in a network. In an example embodiment, a virtual switch hosted on a physical server provides network address information of VMs deployed on the physical server to a virtual switch controller. The controller collects this network address information from each virtual switch under its control, and distributes the aggregate address information to each switch. In this manner, the controller and each switch within the controller's domain can learn the network address information of each VM deployed on physical servers hosting switches under the controller's control. Each virtual switch can determine a classification of a frame passing through the switch (e.g., intra-server, inter-server and intra-domain, or inter-domain traffic), and statistics relating to the traffic. In an example embodiment, the virtual switch controller can collect the statistics from each switch within its domain.
US09781022B2

Presented is a system for monitoring the integrity of a communication bus.
US09781020B2

An approach for deploying and managing applications in a networked computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment). A user uploads an application for deployment in the networked computing environment. Metadata of the application is analyzed and compared to metadata of previously deployed applications. Using the comparison, a set of architectures used in conjunction with previously deployed application(s) with similar platform and middleware requirements are presented to a user. The user can select an architecture for deploying the application. The application is continuously monitored after deployment, and alternative architectures to improve the application can be presented to the user, if desired.
US09781015B2

Examples disclosed herein relate to making memory of compute and expansion blade devices available for use by an operating system (OS). Examples include making available, for use by an OS, a compute logical processor of the compute blade device, identified memory of the compute blade device, and identified memory of an expansion blade device. Examples further include making the expansion logical processor unavailable to the OS.
US09781014B2

Techniques to configure quality of service (QoS) and utilize radio resources for a call in a WLAN are described. In an aspect, a station ensures that an access point in the WLAN is suitable for receiving service prior to performing registration to receive services via the WLAN. In another aspect, the station first requests for radio resources for traffic flows, then requests for radio resources for signaling flows, and sends signaling as best effort traffic if radio resources are not granted for the signaling flows. In yet another aspect, the station aggregates QoS for multiple applications and requests for radio resources based on the aggregated QoS. In yet another aspect, the station releases extra radio resources corresponding to the difference between the QoS granted by the WLAN and the QoS proposed by a remote terminal for the call. In yet another aspect, the station requests for the same QoS or lower from a new access point during handoff.
US09781013B2

A method, system and computer-usable medium are disclosed for controlling access to a node deployed in a cloud environment. A new node, based upon a common image, is created in a cloud computing environment. A unique set of randomized system parameters are then generated for the new node, which is then mapped to a set of generic system parameters. A request to access the new node is intercepted, which contains the generic system parameters. The intercepted access request is then parsed to extract the set of generic system parameters, which are then replaced with the unique set of randomized system parameters associated with the target node to generate a modified access request. The modified access request is then forwarded to the target node.
US09781011B2

Methods and systems are provided for controlling network service quality. According to an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method is provided for controlling levels of quality of service (QoS) for transmitting data between a terminal and a destination. The method comprises enforcing a first level of a QoS to a connection between the terminal and the network, receiving a user-requested, second level of the QoS from the terminal, identifying a currently-available level of the QoS on the network, determining a third level of the QoS based at least in part on the currently-available level of the QoS on the network and the second level of the QoS, and enforcing the third level of the QoS. Methods and system are provided for enabling users at the terminals to specify online a level of network QoS, and the system dynamically changes the quality level and the plan to satisfy the request.
US09781009B2

An apparatus includes a destination edge device configured to receive a first validation packet according to a switch fabric validation protocol. The destination edge device is configured to validate multiple data paths through a distributed switch fabric from a source edge device to the destination edge device based on the first validation packet. The destination edge device is configured to send, in response to receiving the first validation packet, a second validation packet to a peripheral processing device. The destination edge device is also configured to send the second validation packet according to a validation protocol different from the first validation protocol.
US09781006B2

Methods and systems here may be used for managing a wireless network including associating a first and second wireless access device to an access point (AP), assigning the first and second wireless access device to respective first and second isolation groups, providing local communication via the AP within the isolation group, and prohibiting local communication via the AP between the first and second isolation groups.
US09780997B2

An application type of a bearer is classified by computing statistics vectors of bearer metrics and locating points on a label map corresponding to the statistics vectors to obtain application type information. The application type information is exported to a network node to control an operation of application. The bearer metrics include bearer identifier information and bearer condition information, where the bearer condition information includes channel condition information and cell congestion level information. The bearers are paired, such that uplink and downlink bearers for a same application are identified, so that paired bearers are classified together. The label map is produced using previously classified bearer information to calculate cluster centroids and cluster regions that define portions of the map for particular application types. The bearer is classified by determining which cluster region is closest to points on the label map that are associated with the statistics vectors for a particular bearer.
US09780985B1

Various examples are provided for OOB interference and/or PAPR reduction in OFDM systems. In one example, a method includes generating a suppressing signal using channel state information (CSI) of a communication channel, where the length of the suppressing signal equals that of the OFDM symbol including a cyclic prefix (CP) and data portion; combining the OFDM symbol and the suppressing signal to generate a transmission signal, where the length of the suppressing signal is aligned with the length of the OFDM symbol; and communicating the transmission signal via the communication channel, which reduces and substantially aligns the length of the suppressing signal with a length of the CP at a receiving device. The CP and suppressing signal can be removed from the transmitted signal at the receiver using a CP removal matrix. In another example, a transmitting device includes OFDM encoding, signal suppression, combining circuitry to generate the transmission signal.
US09780975B1

A Faster-Than-Nyquist (FTN) signal transmission apparatus and method thereof. The signal transmission apparatus includes a pilot interference estimator and compensator configured to estimate interference on pilot symbols by a Faster-Than-Nyquist (FTN) signal generated by FTN modulating a sequence of data symbols, and generate a compensated pilot symbol sequence to cancel the estimated interference; a pilot FTN modulator configured to generate an FTN pilot signal in which inter-pilot symbol interference does not occur, by performing FTN pulse-shaping on the compensated pilot symbol sequence; and a transmitter configured to transmit an FTN data signal and the FTN pilot signal.
US09780972B2

Some embodiments provide a method for channel estimation in a wireless device. According to the method, the wireless device obtains (1010) an indication that a set of antenna ports, or antenna port types, share at least one channel property. The wireless device then estimates (1020) one or more of the shared channel properties based at least on a first reference signal received from a first antenna port included in the set, or having a type corresponding to one of the types in the set. Furthermore, the wireless device performs (1030) channel estimation based on a second reference signal received from a second antenna port included in the set, or having a type corresponding to one of the types in the set, wherein the channel estimation is performed using at least the estimated channel properties.
US09780970B2

Methods and systems are described for adaptive channel estimation and equalization in a multicarrier communication system. In one aspect, a channel estimation in a multicarrier communication system is determined. A prediction error is determined based on a difference between the channel estimation and a reference signal. An equalization matrix is formed based on the prediction error.
US09780965B2

Systems and methods for communication. A network abstraction layer (NAL) is built on a public Internet; and a network virtualization layer (NVL) is built on the NAL.
US09780963B2

A system and method of provides services including a federated service bus between distributed and evolved packet core (EPC) and a radio access network (RAN), wherein the federated service bus provides information based on a parent-child relationship between the EPC and RAN on a per-federated service basis. The information can include loading and location information.
US09780960B2

A shared infrastructure environment system is provided that includes a capability to notify individual nodes of notifications, events, and alerts. The system receives, via a management fabric, a subscription from an event client module for information associated with a component. The system also receives a component update associated with the component. The system identifies if any event client module operating on any node has subscribed to receive component updates associated with the component, and sends the component update, via the management fabric, to the identified event client modules.
US09780942B2

A cellular radio architecture for a vehicle that includes a receiver module having a receiver delta-sigma modulator that converts analog receive signals to a representative digital signal. The architecture further includes a transmitter module having a transmitter delta-sigma modulator for converting digital data bits to analog transmit signals. Portions of the receiver and transmitter modules are fabricated with indium phosphide (InP) technologies and portions of the receiver and transmitter modules are fabricated with CMOS technologies.
US09780938B2

Generally, this disclosure provides systems, devices, methods and computer readable media for patch downloading, from a host to a target, with improved acknowledge (ACK) mechanisms including combinations of out-of-sequence, single and aggregate acknowledge mechanisms. The method may include determining a packet size based on buffer capacity of the host; calculating the total number of packets (P) for transmission based on a size of the patch divided by the packet size; and calculating a packet storage capacity (N) of the target, based on buffer capacity of the target divided by the packet size. The method may also include transmitting the P packets to the target, including a sequence number and a portion of the patch, the transmission segmented into one or more cycles of up to N packets. The method may further include receiving ACKs from the target (asynchronously relative to the packet transmissions), the ACKS associated with the sequence numbers.
US09780937B2

A method, performed by a transceiver, is provided for channel sounding in a wireless local area network. A null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame is received from a transmitter to initiate the channel sounding. A null data packet (NDP) is received from the transmitter, the NDP following the NDPA frame. First feedback data split into a plurality of segments in a single aggregated medium access control protocol data unit (A-MPDU) is transmitted. A retransmission request is received from the transmitter, the retransmission request including a segment retransmission bitmap field indicating at least one segment of the plurality of segments for retransmission. In response to the retransmission request, second feedback data including the at least one segment indicated in the segment retransmission bitmap field is transmitted.
US09780933B2

In a communication system in which a base station apparatus notifies a mobile station apparatus of a measurement configuration indicating a configuration of measurement using a reference signal, in the measurement configuration, there are at least a first measurement configuration to carry out measurement using a cell-specific reference signal and a second measurement configuration to carry out measurement using a channel state information reference symbol, and the mobile station apparatus determines whether the measurement configuration is the first measurement configuration or the second measurement configuration based on the measurement configuration notified from the base station apparatus.
US09780931B2

Devices and methods for transmitting information in resource blocks between a base station and one or more communication devices are disclosed. In each resource block (RB) used for a data or control channel transmission, a plurality of non-overlapping regions of resource elements (REs) are defined. Each region is associated with one or multiple unique reference symbols (RSs). When user equipment (UE) demodulates the information it receives in a particular region of a resource block (RB), it uses the reference symbol (RS) associated with that region. The reference symbol (RS) information may be used, for example, to estimate a channel of the communication network or to demodulate and decode the data contained within the associated regions.
US09780930B2

A mobile device may generate reference bits. The mobile device may also produce a frame to send in an uplink transmission having two portions selectively with the reference bits or data bits.
US09780926B2

Methods and apparatus are provided for burst OFDMA support MU-MIMO in the WLAN network. In one novel aspect, pluralities of user channels are configured for a downlink wideband channel, wherein each user channel is associated with a user group selecting from a SU-SISO, or a SU-MIMO or a MU-MIMO. In one embodiment, the SIG1 and SIG2 signaling fields are independent for each user channel. In another embodiment, the SIG1 fields are duplicates for all user channels carrying common information. The SIG2 fields for each user group are different from each other carrying user group specific information. In another novel aspect, an uplink OFDMA frames contains ACK packets from multiple STAs concurrently using an uplink wideband channel. In one embodiment, one ACK packet is sent for a MU-MIMO user group. In another embodiment, the uplink ACK packet assignment is based on indications in the downlink PHY SIG field.
US09780923B2

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for acknowledgement (ACK) transmission in a WLAN. A station receives a plurality of data frames from a plurality of other stations and then transmits an ACK for the plurality of data frames to the plurality of stations. The ACK is a multi-user (MU) block ACK frame which includes a plurality of block ACKs for the plurality of stations. One block ACK includes at least one ACK for at least one data frame that is received from one station.
US09780913B2

The present disclosure relates to methods and devices for determining transmission properties for communication between a wireless device and a radio network node. The disclosure also relates to computer programs performing the methods. The disclosure proposes a method, performed in the wireless device, comprising receiving a transport block from a radio network node, creating one or more punctured versions of the transport block, wherein an encoding redundancy of the punctured versions of the transport block is reduced compared to that of the original transport block, decoding at least one of the one or more punctured versions of the transport block and determining a decoding margin associated with the original transport block, based on the decoding of the one or more punctured versions of the transport block. The disclosure also proposes a method in the radio network node.
US09780911B2

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to using fields of a frame to indicate different modulation and coding scheme (MCS) sets for communications on a first bandwidth and on a second bandwidth.
US09780909B2

In general, techniques are described for dynamically determining a logical network topology for more efficiently transporting network traffic over a physical topology based on end-to-end network traffic demands and optical transport network (OTN) characteristics of the network. The techniques may be applicable to meeting network traffic demands placed upon a multi-layer network having a base transport layer and a logical or overlay Internet Protocol (IP) layer routed on the transport layer.
US09780904B2

A method in an optical Wavelength Selective Switch, WSS, for multidirectional switching of optical signals. The optical WSS comprises a reflective element, a first tributary port and a second tributary port. The optical WSS switches (304) an optical signal between the first tributary port and the second tributary port with the reflective element.
US09780903B2

An optical wavelength demultiplexer includes a wavelength demultiplexing device, a first wavelength filter and a first- and second-stage wavelength sub-filters. The wavelength demultiplexing device demultiplexes an input light into a first wavelength band including wavelengths λ1 and λ2 in the vicinity of 1310 nm and a second wavelength band including a wavelength λ3 of 1490 nm and a wavelength λ4 of 1550 nm to output. The first-stage wavelength sub-filter removes the wavelength λ2 longer than 1310 nm from the second wavelength band and transmits the wavelength λ3 of 1490 nm. The second-stage wavelength sub-filter removes the wavelength λ4 of 1550 nm and outputs the wavelength λ3 of 1490 nm, which is the remainder of the selected lights, with a sufficient wavelength spectral purity.
US09780902B2

Example communication systems and methods are described. In one implementation, a method receives a first chaotic sequence of a first temporal length, and a second chaotic sequence of a second temporal length. The method also receives a data symbol for communication to a destination. Based on the data symbol, the second chaotic sequence is temporally shifted and combined with the first chaotic sequence to generate a composite chaotic sequence. The first chaotic sequence functions as a reference chaotic sequence while the second chaotic sequence functions as a data-carrying auxiliary chaotic sequence.
US09780899B2

A radio communication apparatus that performs radio communication according to a multicarrier scheme includes: a transmitting unit including a null inserting unit that dispersedly arranges null symbols in a two-dimensional space of time and frequency in radio data, and a differential modulating unit that performs differential modulation on a data symbol part other than the null symbols; and a receiving unit including an interference measuring unit that measures interference power for a data symbol that is a measurement target by using a null symbol adjacent to the data symbol in the two-dimensional space of time and frequency, and a delay detecting unit that performs weighting on each data symbol according to the interference power measured for each data symbol and that performs delay detection between data symbols.
US09780896B2

Systems and methods are disclosed for direct passive monitoring of packet delay variation and time error in network packet communications. Packets traversing between slave and master clocks are monitored to provide direct results of the actual conditions without the need to rely upon inference determinations. Certain embodiments provide tap configurations to monitor packet flows, while certain other embodiments provide in-line configurations to monitor packet flows. Certain further embodiments provide multiple monitoring devices that can be used for passive monitoring purposes, such as passive monitoring to test boundary clock. These multiple monitoring devices can be configured to be within a single or different test instruments. Other variations are also described.
US09780894B2

A system and method for synchronous playback of media using a hybrid BLUETOOTH™ and Wi-Fi network, comprising a plurality of wireless media receivers configured to receive media content at a first media receiver via BLUETOOTH™, the first media receiver configured to transmit at least a portion of the received media content to a plurality of second media receivers via a Wi-Fi network, render at least some of the media content, and manage synchronization using a media synchronization component; with each second media receiver configured to render media content it receives synchronously with the first media receiver using respective media synchronization components.
US09780889B1

Various aspects described herein relate to calibrating transceiver impairment in wireless communications. Direct current (DC) components of one or more signals can be modified, using one or more configured DC components, for transmitting to a user equipment (UE) via a transmitter. A receiver can receive the one or more signals as transmitted via the transmitter. An impairment of at least one of the transmitter, the receiver, or a combination thereof, can be determined based at least in part on comparing the DC components of the one or more signals as received via the receiver to the one or more configured DC components. One or more components of at least one of the transmitter, the receiver, or a combination thereof can be adjusted to compensate for the impairment.
US09780876B2

A relay supported method, system, and a RN for transmitting visible light information are provided. The method includes that UE sends information to a detected RN, and the RN processes and forwards the information from the UE to a VS. The RN is configured to process and forward the information from the UE to the VS in an uplink direction. According to the present disclosure, with adoption of visible light communication relay, visible light communication coverage may be broadened, and a visible light communication rate may be increased.
US09780869B2

A Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) optical device utilizing multiple wavelengths, features a communications interface having enhanced diagnostics capability. New registers are created to house additional diagnostic information, such as error rates. The diagnostic information may be stored in raw form, or as processed on-chip utilizing local resources.
US09780866B2

A configurable RF transmit/receive (TX/RX) multiplexer, which includes a group of RF TX bandpass filters, a group of RF TX switching elements, and a group of RF RX bandpass filters; is disclosed. Each of the group of RF RX bandpass filters is coupled to a first common connection node. Each of the group of RF TX switching elements is coupled between a corresponding one of the group of RF TX bandpass filters and the first common connection node, which is coupled to a first RF antenna.
US09780865B2

Defined herein is a system for communicating data includes a first data source that transmits data through the air, and a second data source that is remote from the first data source. The second data source at least one of receives and transmits data through the air. The system further includes at least one aircraft that receives data through the air from the first and second data sources, and transmits data through the air to at least one of the first and second data sources.
US09780849B2

Disclosed is a method and system for performance test. The method includes: configuring a static channel between a transmitting end and a receiving end in a system configured with M transmitting antenna ports and N receiving antennas, wherein singular values of a N*M channel matrix of the static channel are equal, wherein, M=4 and N=4; or M=8 and N=4; or M=8 and N=8. The transmitting end transmits data to the receiving end by the static channel. The abovementioned technical solution can implement the performance test in 4 or 8 receiving antennas, and it can implement CQI reporting precision performance test of static channel in 4 or 8 receiving antennas.
US09780842B2

Idle mobile devices are used as cooperating devices to support coordinated multipoint transmission and reception for uplink and downlink communications between a primary mobile device and its serving base station. For uplink communications, the cooperating mobile devices receive the uplink transmission from the primary mobile device and retransmit the received data signal to the serving base station for the primary mobile device. For downlink communications, the cooperating mobile devices receive the downlink transmission from the serving base station and retransmit the received data signal to the primary mobile device.
US09780834B2

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, an apparatus including a waveguide, an antenna, and a transmitter. The transmitter can facilitate transmission of first electromagnetic waves via the antenna, the first electromagnetic waves having a fundamental mode. The waveguide can facilitate propagation of the first electromagnetic waves at least in part on a surface of the waveguide. The waveguide can be positioned at a location that enables the first electromagnetic waves to induce second electromagnetic waves having fundamental and non-fundamental modes that propagate on a surface of a transmission medium. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09780833B2

A method for determining a waveform expected to be received by a device under test, the method including outputting a waveform generated by a waveform generation section of an arbitrary waveform and function generator at an output of the arbitrary waveform and function generator; sending the waveform generated by the waveform generation section to the device under test through a cable; monitoring a waveform at the output by a waveform monitoring section of the arbitrary waveform and function generator; and determining by the waveform monitoring section a transformed waveform expected to be received at the device under test based on the generated waveform being modified by the cable.
US09780828B2

A transmit/receive switch architecture is provided which reuses a power amplifier's transformer as part of the low noise amplifier (LNA) input matching network. A front-end circuit includes a transmit/receive switch. The transmit/receive switch includes a transformer that includes primary winding and secondary winding. The transmit/receive also includes a transistor, where a drain of the transistor is connected to the secondary winding and a gate of the transistor is configured to receive a control signal. The transmit/receive switch operates as a receive switch when the control signal is low and inputs of the primary winding are either shorted or at open circuit. The transmit/receive switch operates as a transmit switch when the control signal is high.
US09780822B2

Various embodiments implemented on a mobile communication device (e.g., a multi-SIM-multi-active communication device) mitigate degraded transmit performance typically experienced by a lower-priority subscription during a Tx collision event in which a higher-priority subscription receives a shared Tx resource of the mobile communication device to the exclusion of the lower-priority subscription. Specifically, in various embodiments, a processor of the mobile communication device may determine when an upcoming transmission of the lower-priority subscription will collide with a scheduled transmission of the higher-priority subscription (i.e., may determine when a Tx collision event will occur between the subscriptions) and may implement one or more Tx collision management strategies in response to determining that the lower-priority subscription's upcoming transmission will collide with a transmission of the higher-priority subscription, thus improving the lower-priority subscription's overall performance.
US09780820B2

Provided is a digital filter implementing a function by using circular convolution of a digital input signal and a unit pulse response of the digital filter in applying a filter to the digital signal.In addition, a configuration sequence change of an output signal, which occurs as a result of digital filtering according to the present invention, in comparison to an input signal, is corrected by inversely performing circular shifting in a transmitter by amount of the configuration sequence change, or by reconstructing a signal after making synchronization and acquiring the signal previous to a time point of the synchronization by amount of the configuration sequence change, in a receiver.
US09780816B1

In one example, an apparatus includes: a delay unit to delay a demodulated signal obtained from an input radio frequency (RF) frequency modulation (FM) signal; a filter to filter the demodulated signal and output a filtered demodulated signal; an impulse detection circuit to receive the filtered demodulated signal and detect presence of an impulse in the demodulated signal; and an impulse removal circuit to remove the detected impulse from the demodulated signal.
US09780813B2

A system and method for improving radio performance through automatic channel selection utilizing a closed-channel model is disclosed. A measurement engine records maximum user throughput on a per station basis during normal traffic operation. The measurement engine further records throughput metrics based on test traffic sent to all associated stations during idle operation. A policy logic engine utilizes the measurements to determine an optimal transmission channel for transmission and receipt of data.
US09780809B2

A non-volatile memory system may include a tracking module that tracks logic values of bits to be stored in memory elements identified as unreliable. A record of the logic values may be generated. During decoding of the data, a log likelihood ratio module may use the record to assign log likelihood ratio values for the decoding.
US09780803B1

A built-in self-test (BIST) circuit is provided for testing an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). A multi-order sigma-delta (ΣΔ) modulator has an input that receives an input signal, a first output generating analog test signal derived from the input signal and applied to an input of the ADC and a second output generating a binary data stream. A digital recombination and filtering circuit has a first input that receives the binary data stream and a second input that receives a digital test signal output from the ADC in response to the analog test signal. The digital recombination and filtering circuit combines and filters the binary data stream and digital test signal to generate a digital result signal including a signal component derived from an error introduced by operation of the ADC. A correlation circuit is used to isolate that error signal component.
US09780798B1

An electronic circuit system with an input for receiving an analog signal having a frequency and comprising noise, that noise including input referred noise, and the noise fluctuates in a range. The system also comprises a signal path with: (i) an analog to digital converter for providing a digital output value in response to a clock period; (ii) a feedback node; and (iii) circuitry for limiting a signal swing at the feedback node, during a period of the clock period, to be no greater than an RMS value of the noise. The analog to digital converter is further for providing the digital output value in response to the analog signal and the signal swing at the feedback node.
US09780796B2

A receiver having analog to digital converters with phase adjustable sampling clocks. A first analog to digital converter converts an analog signal into first digital samples under control of a first sampling clock. A first clock generator adjusts a phase of the first sampling clock based on at least one first phase control signal. A second analog to digital converter converts the analog signal into second digital samples under control of a second sampling clock. A second clock generator adjusts the phase of the second sampling clock based on at least one second phase control signal. A data decision circuit recovers data based on the first and second samples. Feedback circuitry receives the recovered data and generates at least one first phase control signal for the first clock generator and generates at least one second phase control signal for the second clock generator based on the first phase control signal.
US09780779B2

To provide a small driver IC, a driver IC with a narrow width, a driver IC capable of high-speed operation, a small semiconductor device, a semiconductor device with a narrow width, or a semiconductor device capable of high-speed operation. The semiconductor device includes first to third circuits. The first and second circuits each include transistors with a first channel width. The third circuit includes transistors with a second channel width. The second channel width is larger than the first channel width. The first circuit is configured to select one of first to 2N-th potentials (N is an integer of 1 or more). The second circuit is configured to select one of (2N+1)-th to 4N-th potentials. The third circuit is configured to select the potential selected by the first circuit or the potential selected by the second circuit. The first to third circuits are arranged in line.
US09780776B1

An electronic circuit includes a native N-channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (NMOS) transistor and a P-channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (PMOS) transistor. The gates of the native NMOS transistor and the PMOS transistor and the source of the native NMOS transistor are grounded. The drains of the native NMOS transistor and the PMOS transistors are connected to one another and to an output port, and the source of the PMOS transistor is connected to an input voltage.
US09780770B2

A control unit is for a bridge circuit. The control unit may include a signal generator configured to generate first and second periodic drive signals for the bridge circuit, and determine a switch-on duration of the first and second periodic drive signals based upon a first digital data value having a first resolution. The control unit may include a controller configured to receive a second digital data value having a second resolution. The second resolution may be greater than the first resolution. The controller may be configured to generate the first digital data value so that, over periods of the first and second periodic drive signals, the first digital data value corresponds to an average of the second digital data value.
US09780764B2

A phase quantum bit is disclosed. In one embodiment, the phase quantum bit may comprise a Josephson junction and a distributed element coupled to the Josephson junction. The distributed element provides a capacitive component and an inductive component of the phase quantum bit.
US09780757B1

A hybrid matching network is suitable for use with a radio frequency transmission system having a fundamental frequency and a terminating impedance. The hybrid matching network includes a first port, a first capacitor coupled between the first port and ground and having a self resonance frequency that provides attenuation of at least a first amount of a second harmonic of the fundamental frequency, an inductor coupled between the first port and ground and having an inductance such that a parallel combination of the first capacitor and the inductor has a resonant frequency at the fundamental frequency, a transmission line segment having a first end coupled to the first port, a second end, having a desired physical length and a desired physical width, and a second port coupled to the second end of the transmission line segment and adapted to be coupled to the terminating impedance.
US09780756B2

Embodiments of radio frequency (RF) front-end circuitry are disclosed where the RF front-end circuitry includes a tunable RF filter structure and a calibration circuit. The tunable RF filter structure includes (at least) a pair of weakly coupled resonators and defines a transfer function with a passband. The calibration circuit is configured to shape the passband so that the passband defines a center frequency. Additionally, the calibration circuit is configured to detect a phase difference at the target center frequency between the pair of weakly coupled resonators and adjust the phase difference of the pair of weakly coupled resonators at the target center frequency so as to reduce a frequency displacement between the center frequency of the passband and the target center frequency. In this manner, the calibration circuit calibrates the tunable RF filter structure to correct for errors in the center frequency of the passband due to component manufacturing variations.
US09780754B2

The branch portion includes: a first circuit portion electrically connected to the main wire while extending to a leading end from a base end of the branch portion; a second circuit portion electrically connected to the main wire while extending to the leading end from the base end of the branch portion and electrically connected to the first circuit portion at the leading end of the branch portion; and a ground conductor that is disposed between the first circuit portion and the second circuit portion while extending to the leading end from the base end of the branch portion and has one end to be grounded and the other end to be opened.
US09780747B2

A computer-implemented method comprising: determining one or more features of a subject signal; revising one or more control signals on the basis of the one or more features; modifying a level of the subject signals based on the control signals. At least one of the features is determined by: comparing a given one of the subject signals against a boundary signal to produce a corresponding given boundary comparison signal; and summarizing the behavior of the given boundary comparison signal over a time interval.
US09780742B2

A super-efficient single-stage switching power amplifier is realized by not incorporating a rectification process in its power conversion loop while incorporating a bidirectional active clamping circuit to not only remove or maximally reduce otherwise occurring disruptive ringing and spikes but also convert the energy otherwise associated with the ringing and spikes to return energy that goes back to the DC power supply.
US09780741B2

Compression control of cascode power amplifiers. A power amplifier module can include a power amplifier including a cascode transistor pair. The cascode transistor pair can include a first transistor and a second transistor. The power amplifier module can include a current comparator configured to compare a first base current of the first transistor and a second base current of the second transistor to generate a comparison signal. The power amplifier module can include a saturation controller configured to maintain the power amplifier out of saturation based on the comparison signal.
US09780728B1

A FET based double balanced mixer (DBM) that exhibits good conversion gain and IIP3 values and provides improved linearity and wide bandwidth. In one embodiment, a first balun is configured to receive a local oscillator (LO) signal and generate two balanced LO signals that are coupled to two corresponding opposing nodes of a four-node FET ring. A second balun is configured to pass an RF signal on the unbalanced side. The FET ring includes at least four FETs connected as branches of a ring, with the source of each FET connected to the drain of a next FET in the ring. Each FET is preferably fabricated as, or configured as, a low threshold voltage device having its gate connected to its drain, which causes the FET to operate as a diode, but with the unique characteristic of having close to a zero turn-on voltage.
US09780727B2

A frequency modulator includes a first pair of diodes with two capacity diodes, and a second pair of diodes with two additional capacity diodes. The second pair of diodes is employed in parallel. The frequency modulator also includes a first modulator input for reception of a first modulation signal and a second modulator input for reception of a symmetrical second modulation signal. Both pairs of diodes are coupled to an oscillator unit.
US09780726B2

A quadrature voltage controlled oscillator (QVCO). The QVCO includes a first node for providing a first quadrature signal, a second node for providing a second quadrature signal, a third node for providing a third quadrature signal, and a fourth node for providing a fourth quadrature signal. The QVCO further includes a first coil connected between the first node and the second node and a second coil connected between the third node and the fourth node. The first coil and second coil are positively magnetically coupled.
US09780725B2

An integrated electronic circuit is provided. The integrated electronic circuit includes a transconductance cell formed from transconductance cell devices. The integrated electronic circuit further includes active and passive decoupling circuits. The integrated electronic circuit also includes an oscillator having a tank that is direct current decoupled from the transconductance cell devices using the active and passive decoupling circuits to increase voltage swing and decrease phase noise of the oscillator.
US09780723B2

A solar junction box for a solar panel having at least one photovoltaic cell and a foil electrically connected to the at least one cell includes a housing having a base and walls defining a cavity. The housing is configured to be mounted to the solar panel. The base has at least one foil opening. A protection device is received in the cavity. A terminal is received in the cavity. The terminal has a protection device contact terminated to the protection device and a foil contact being crimped to the foil to electrically connect the terminal to the foil.
US09780717B2

A power conversion device includes an inverter configured by arms including phase upper-arm switching elements and phase lower-arm switching elements, a power-supply shunt resistor, lower-arm shunt resistors, and a control unit that generates drive signals corresponding to the phase upper-arm switching elements and the phase lower-arm switching elements from detection values of the voltage detectors. The power conversion device changes a ratio of time in which all of the upper-arm switching elements are in an ON state and time in which all of the lower-arm switching elements are in the ON state in one cycle of switching of the inverter according to a modulation ratio.
US09780714B2

A motor control device of the present invention supplies a detection current to a motor at predetermined time intervals, detects a voltage between the both ends of a smoothing capacitor when the detection current is supplied, and determines whether a connector is inserted or unplugged based on a change in the voltage between the both ends of the smoothing capacitor. Furthermore, if determining that the connector is unplugged, the motor control device decreases the voltage between the both ends of the smoothing capacitor to or below a defined value by discharging the smoothing capacitor.
US09780711B2

A system and method controls a rotor angular speed of an induction motor by first sensing an operation condition of the induction motor to produce measured signals, which are transformed by applying a state transformation to an induction motor model to produce a transformed induction motor model. Transformed state estimates of the transformed induction motor model are produced based on the measured signals. An inverse of the state transformation is applied to the transformed state estimates to produce state estimates of the induction motor model, which are then used to determine control input voltages for the induction motor, based on the state estimates, to control the rotor angular speed of the induction motor.
US09780708B2

A control device for a stepper motor drives in a 1-2-phase excitation method in response to an input of a drive signal. The control device includes a control signal generating unit and a drive signal generating unit. The control signal generating unit generates a pulsed control signal. The drive signal generating unit generates the drive signal for rotating by a predetermined step angle every time the control signal is input. The predetermined step angle is a half of a step angle of a 2-phase excitation method. The control signal generating unit configures a higher pulse rate of a first to an n-th (n is an integer equal to or more than 2 and equal to or less than 3) control signals in an activation period of the stepper motor than a pulse rate of the control signals following the n-th control signal.
US09780705B2

A single phase brushless DC motor comprises a Hall effect sensor, a coil assembly and a motor control circuit which generating a driving signal to guide a coil current flowing through the coil assembly. The Hall effect sensor senses the magnetic pole of the rotor to accordingly generate a Hall effect signal. The motor control circuit outputs a current polarity reverse signal according to the voltage at one end of the coil assembly. The time when the current polarity reverse signal is generated corresponds to the polarity reverse time of the coil current. The motor control circuit adjusts the phase of the driving signal according to the polarity reverse time of the Hall effect signal and the time when the current polarity reverse signal is generated to synchronize the phase of the back emf of the single phase brushless DC motor with the phase of the coil current.
US09780703B2

A power supply may include power generation circuits, each configured to drive a respective winding of a multiphase motor; converter circuits, each configured to generate a digital driving signal for a respective power generation circuit, and a memory configured to store a plurality of fast recirculation compensation values corresponding to combinations of the digital driving signals that would otherwise result in a fast recirculation condition. The power supply may also include a controller coupled to the memory and configured to determine when a given combination of the digital driving signals would otherwise result in a fast recirculation condition, and based upon the determination, substitute at least one corresponding fast recirculation compensation value for the given combination of the digital driving signals.
US09780699B2

The present disclosure relates to a motor protection relay and a method for starting a motor of the motor protection relay, and particularly, to a motor protection relay capable of softly starting a motor, without a separate starting device, and performing soft starting of the motor more stably, effectively, and simply, by variably controlling start power for starting the motor to the motor through controlling of the relay itself and supplying the variably controlled start power to the motor, and a method for starting a motor thereof.
US09780695B2

A control method of an inverter circuit includes the following steps. Firstly, a half cycle of the AC output voltage is divided into a first stage and a second stage. Then, the upper switch element and the lower switch element are controlled to be operated at a first switching frequency lower than a preset threshold frequency in the first stage, so that the inverter circuit is operated in a continuous current mode. Then, the upper switch element or the lower switch element of the bridge arm is controlled to be operated at a second switching frequency in the second stage, so that the upper switch element and the lower switch element are turned on at a preset voltage level and the inverter circuit is operated at a discontinuous current mode boundary mode.
US09780687B2

The present invention provides a synchronous rectification converter circuit, including three transformer secondary-windings, three current transformer, a synchronous rectification switching unit, a diode rectification unit, and a control unit. Each of three current transformers includes a primary-winding and secondary-winding. The three transformer secondary-windings and the three current transformer primary-windings are alternately connected in series to form a first triangular structure. Three vertices of the first triangular structure are connected to the synchronous rectification switching unit. The three current transformer secondary-windings are connected in series to form a second triangular structure. Three vertices of the second triangular structure are connected to the diode rectification unit. The diode rectification unit is connected to the control unit and the synchronous rectification switching unit is connected to the control unit. The present invention achieves a purpose of precisely controlling the on-off state of the synchronous rectification circuit.
US09780686B1

A power supplying apparatus includes a voltage outputting module and a voltage selecting module. The voltage selecting module is electrically connected to the voltage outputting module. The voltage selecting module includes a returning unit. The voltage selecting module receives a voltage identification signal when the voltage outputting module is electrically connected to an electronic device. When the voltage identification signal is larger than a voltage level, the returning unit notifies the electronic device, such that the electronic device returns a voltage request signal. The power supplying apparatus selectively sends out one of a plurality of DC voltage signals to the electronic device according to the voltage request signal.
US09780673B2

A control device for controlling a switching power supply adapted to convert an input voltage into an output voltage according to a switching rate of a switching element. The control device includes first control means for switching the switching element in a first working mode at a constant frequency and second control means for switching the switching element in a second working mode at a variable frequency, under a maximum frequency, in response to the detection of a predefined operative condition of the switching power supply. The control device further includes means for selecting the first working mode or the second working mode.
US09780672B1

System controller and method for a power converter. For example, a system controller for a power converter includes a logic controller configured to generate a modulation signal, and a driver configured to receive the modulation signal, generate a drive signal based at least in part on the modulation signal, and output the drive signal to a switch to affect a current flowing through an inductive winding for a power converter. Additionally, the system controller includes a voltage-to-voltage converter configured to receive a first voltage signal, the modulation signal, and a demagnetization signal, and to generate a second voltage signal based at least in part on the first voltage signal, the modulation signal, and the demagnetization signal.
US09780669B2

In one embodiment, a power apparatus includes a buck converter including a first capacitor, a first inductor and a first switch for connection with a direct current power supply, wherein when the first switch is closed and the buck converter is connected to the direct current power supply, the first capacitor and the first inductor are connected in series to the direct current power supply, a full-bridge inverter including at least four switches including the first switch, a second, third and fourth switch so that the first switch is shared by the inventor and buck converter, the inverter being operative to convert direct current to alternating current by alternating (a) closing the first and fourth switch with the second and third switch open, and (b) closing the second and third switch with the first and fourth switch open, and a transformer to step down an output of the inverter.
US09780662B1

A portable control loop is provided for current sensing DC-DC converter. The DC-DC converter includes a power circuit, an external circuit, a control circuit and a duty cycle integration circuit. The power circuit comprises at least one controllable switch to regulate current from an input voltage. The external circuit comprises at least one output inductor and a capacitor. The duty cycle integration circuit receives a voltage differential signal across the output inductor and generates a compensation signal based at least on the voltage differential signal. The control circuit receives the compensation signal and feedback from load voltage and generates a control signal to control the controllable switch within the power circuit.
US09780656B2

A switched-mode power regulator circuit has four solid-state switches connected in series and a capacitor and an inductor that regulate power delivered to a load. The solid-state switches are operated such that a voltage at the load is regulated by repetitively (1) charging the capacitor causing a current to flow in the inductor and (2) discharging the capacitor causing current to flow in the inductor. The power regulator circuit may be configured to operate with zero current switching at frequencies in the range of 100 MHz, enabling it to be fabricated on a unitary silicon die along with the load that it powers.
US09780651B2

A control circuit for switching converter has an ON signal generating circuit, an OFF signal generating circuit, a first comparator, a second comparator and a logic circuit. The switching converter has a high switch and a low side switch connected in series. The ON signal generating circuit provides an ON signal based on a reference signal and a feedback signal. The OFF signal generating circuit provides an OFF signal. The first comparator provides a first comparing signal based on a comparing result between a first threshold and a current through the high side switch. The second comparator provides a second comparing signal based on a comparing result between a second threshold and a current through the low side switch. The logic circuit provides a first switching signal to control the high side switch ON and OFF and a second switching signal to control the low side switch ON and OFF.
US09780644B1

An apparatus includes: a voltage regulator that outputs a voltage responsive to an enable signal; a power managed domain coupled to the voltage regulator and including a clock generator configured to output a clock signal from the clock generator; and an always on domain. The always on domain receives the clock signal. The always on domain includes a finite state machine coupled to receive the clock signal and receiving a shutdown request signal. The finite state machine is configured to output a signal to control power to the power managed domain and to disable the clock generator, responsive to the shutdown request signal. The finite state machine receives an asynchronous wake signal, and circuitry in the always on domain is coupled to enable power to the power managed domain and to the clock generator, responsive to the asynchronous wake input signal.
US09780640B2

A switching circuit with a fault instruction circuit used in a voltage converter or a multi-phase voltage converter. The switching circuit has a pin, the pin is configured to receive a control signal during a normal operation, and the pin is also configured to output a fault instruction signal when one or more faults occur in the switching circuit. The instruction signal represents each of the one or more faults with a particular value.
US09780636B2

A system is described that includes a half-bridge, a first driver, a second driver, and a controller unit. The half-bridge includes a first switch coupled to a second switch at a switching node. The first driver is configured to drive the first switch and the second driver is configured to drive the second switch. The controller unit is configured to determine whether a hard commutation event is likely to occur at the half-bridge during a future switching cycle, and responsive to determining that the hard commutation event is likely to occur during the future switching cycle, control the first driver and the second driver to activate at least one hard commutation countermeasure.
US09780634B2

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for low cost linear actuators that can deliver strokes and forces at different values. The embodiments presented herein have parts and components that may be usable for both multi-coil and single-coil actuator designs. According to one embodiment, a magnet housing may removably or permanently coupled to a coil assembly having any number of coils. According to a further embodiment, an actuator housing may be coupled to a magnet housing having any number of magnets or coils.
US09780631B2

Method for stamping multiple coil sides (96) for a stator winding (18), characterized in that the multiple coil sides (96) are arranged in a grooved row (90), the shaping process taking place at a force (F), the direction of which runs at an angle (α) greater than zero relative to the grooved row (90).
US09780622B2

A low frequency micro oscillator-driven oscillating system including at least one electric oscillation generator operative to produce oscillations at a first frequency, at least one oscillated article, at least one intermediate element, having at least one resonant frequency lower than the first frequency, the at least one intermediate element being oscillated by the at least one electric oscillation generator and being operative to cause the at least one oscillated article to oscillate and a power supply circuit, supplying electrical power intermittently in a periodic manner to the at least one electric oscillation generator, thereby causing the at least one oscillated article to oscillate at at least one second frequency, lower than the first frequency.
US09780617B2

At least one bus bar, out of a plurality of bus bars of a bus bar unit, includes: a bent main body part that bends and extends across a first stacked position and a second stacked position, the positions being separated in the axial direction of the stator; a first arc-shaped main body part that extends from one end of the bent main body part to be arranged next to another bus bar at the first stacked position along a circumferential direction of the stator; and a second arc-shaped main body part that extends from other end of the bent main body part to be arranged next to another bus bar at the second stacked position along the circumferential direction of the stator.
US09780607B2

A stator core for an electronically commutated DC motor with an internal rotor having a plurality of radially inwardly directed pole cores which at their periphery are integral with back iron segments and the back iron segments are integral with adjacent back iron segments via webs, wherein the back iron segments alternate with the webs and jointly form a seamless closed one-piece ring. A method of ensuring that in the case of a stator core of this class, upon a reduction of the stator diameter and reduction of the pole distances after winding, a clearly defined end position of the adjoining regions can be assumed, and that for this process, only minimal forces are necessary, in which damage to the stator core is not to be expected, and that at the end of the process only a very small and uniform air gap remains at a lowest possible spring-back.
US09780603B2

A remote server is connected to at least one energy box, each energy box being connected to at least one energy consuming device, and each energy box being connected to a metering device. The remote server sends to the energy box a transaction demand. The energy box sends to at least one energy consuming device an energy consumption reduction request. The metering device measures energy consumption of the energy consuming device. The metering device sends to the energy box the measured energy consumption. The energy box verifies whether the demanded transaction has been carried out based upon at least one test, the test depending on at least one measured energy consumption. If the demanded transaction has been carried out, the energy box sends to a remote server a transaction response.
US09780599B2

An electronic device includes an energy collection circuit, a rectifier circuit, and a control unit. The energy collection circuit receives an energy signal transmitted via transmission frequency from a wireless charger base. The rectifier circuit generates a drive voltage according to the energy signal. The control unit compares the drive voltage with a reference voltage, and compares the transmission frequency with a reference frequency. When the drive voltage is less than or equals to the reference voltage, or when the transmission frequency is lower than or equals to the reference frequency, the control unit outputs position deviation information. The electronic device detects the efficiency of the wireless charging, and reminds the user whether the position of the electronic device needs to be adjusted, which ensures an efficient charging.
US09780596B2

A charger including a class E power driver, a frequency-shift keying (“FSK”) module, and a processor. The processor can receive data relating to the operation of the class E power driver and can control the class E power driver based on the received data relating to the operation of the class E power driver. The processor can additionally control the FSK module to modulate the natural frequency of the class E power transformer to thereby allow the simultaneous recharging of an implantable device and the transmission of data to the implantable device. The processor can additionally compensate for propagation delays by adjusting switching times.
US09780594B2

A discharge circuit has a voltage divider arranged to divide an alternating-current input voltage to produce a divided voltage, a high-pass filter arranged to pass a high-frequency component of the divided voltage to produce a monitoring voltage, a comparator arranged to compare the monitoring voltage with a threshold voltage to produce a comparison signal, a timer arranged to generate a timer signal indicating whether or not the comparison signal has been kept at the same logic level for a mask period, a controller arranged to generate a discharge control signal according to the timer signal, and a discharger arranged to discharge, according to the discharge control signal, an X capacitor connected to a node to which the alternating-current input voltage is applied.
US09780593B2

There are provided electric cells, a battery pack containing three or more electric cells, a battery control system and a battery control method. An electric cell for a battery pack will be interconnected with another cell to be used as a battery pack. For example, an electric cell comprises an electrochemical cell, a communication unit communicating with other electric cells, a measurement unit acquiring cell-state of the electrochemical cell, and a discharge unit discharging the electrochemical cell. The communication unit transmits a cell-state of the electrochemical cell and receives external information. The discharging unit discharges the electrochemical cell based upon both the cell-state of the electrochemical cell and the received external information.
US09780585B2

An apparatus and method for charging movable devices like carts or trolleys. Each movable device includes a charging unit and a charging connector coupled to the charging unit, including a male plug at one end, a female socket at the other end, and two electrodes interconnected. When the devices are in a queue, the male plug of the connector of a device in the rear is connected to the female socket of the same in the front so that a plurality of movable devices are connected to each other in tandem and charged simultaneously. The method includes connecting the plurality of devices in tandem with the respective connectors so that the devices can be charged simultaneously. A plurality of movable devices can be charged simultaneously and the charging process can be simplified, thereby improving the utilization and safety of the movable devices and reducing the cost of maintenance.
US09780572B2

This invention describes a method and apparatus to cancel the mutual inductance between mutually coupled transmit coils, each of the transmit coils fed by individual power amplifiers, and the transmit coils all sharing a common ground with the power amplifiers. The methods and systems disclosed consist of coupling the return legs of each transmit coil to a mutual inductance cancellation circuit near a common ground return connection. The cancellation circuit uses a combination of inductors and capacitors to bridge various combinations of the transmit coils without physically connecting the “bridged” transmit coils. Transmit coils “bridged” using inductors have positive mutual inductance added to them, while transmit coils “bridged” using capacitors have negative mutual inductance added to them. Additionally, manipulation of the transmit coil overlap of overlapping transmit coils and/or manipulation of the location of the cancellation circuit can be used finely tune the mutual inductance between the transmit coils.
US09780564B2

A system and method for controlling a voltage from both a PV array and a battery source received by a common PV inverter includes a PV module configured to generate a DC output from received solar irradiation and a DC storage device configured to supply a DC output. The system further includes a power inverter configured to invert the DC output from the PV module and the DC output from the DC storage device to an AC output. The power inverter includes a first input electrically coupled to the PV module to receive the DC output therefrom; and a second input electrically coupled to the DC storage device to receive the DC output therefrom. The system further includes a controller configured to selectively control the inversion of the DC output from the PV module and selectively control the inversion of the DC output from the DC storage device.
US09780563B2

A distributed controller collects measurement value data of a voltage and a current in an own node and in another node; using the measurement voltage and the current of the own node and the measurement voltage and current of another node as input data, estimates a voltage or a current as a state quantity of the electric power system regarding another node from which the measurement value data cannot be collected, and outputs the estimate values; using the measurement data, the estimate value outputted from the state estimation functional unit and a voltage target value that has been set for each node, outputs the control commands for voltage controllers based on voltage change amounts to be distributed to the voltage control devices of the nodes including the own node. The voltages in the electric power system are controlled by superposition of voltage change amounts by the voltage control devices.
US09780562B2

A power system stabilization method includes: receiving a power command value from a power control center that monitors a power system; transmitting the power command value to a power supply device; causing the power supply device to supply power to the power system according to the power command value; generating a prediction command value according to past power command values received from the power control center, the prediction command value being a prediction value of a power command value to be transmitted from the power control center next after the power command value; transmitting the prediction command value to a power supply device; causing the power supply device to supply power to the power system according to the power prediction command value; receiving the next power command value from the power control center; transmitting the next power command value to the power supply device.
US09780561B2

A solar energy generation system a measurement module and a positioning method are disclosed herein. The positioning method is adaptable to a power generation system having AC generation modules. Each of the AC generation modules generates an output current and is electrically connected to each other in a power-supply network. The positioning method includes the following operations: (a) measuring AC currents or node voltages generated by the AC generation modules at different positions in the power-supply network to obtain current parameters or voltage parameters; and (b) determining a sequence of relative positions of the AC generation modules by calculating the current parameters or the voltage parameters.
US09780560B2

A DC power supply system and a control method, which can continue charging of a storage battery with a constant current even if an assist current is needed due to, for example, overload during charging of the storage battery and can suppress a current output from the storage battery as much as possible. In a power supply system, when a charger operates at a potential of an output voltage smaller than the potential of the output voltage of a rectifier during charging of the storage battery, the output current of the charger is controlled so that a charging current Ie supplied from the charger to the storage battery is kept at a predetermined value, and when a load requires a current larger than the current supplied by the rectifier during charging of the storage battery, the potential of the output voltage of the rectifier is reduced smaller than the potential of the output voltage of the charger by a current drooping operation, and the diode is electrically connected, the output current of the charger is controlled so that the charger outputs the assistant current Ic supplied toward the load while the charging current Ie is kept at a predetermined value.
US09780556B2

A Voltage Sourced Converter, VSC, for a High Voltage Direct Current, HVDC, power converter, the VSC comprises a bridge circuit for each of one or more phases of an AG network. The bridge circuit has two arms, each arm connecting the supply to a pole of a DC terminal, wherein each arm of the bridge circuit has one or more semiconductor modules capable of being switched between an on-condition, in which a capacitor of the module is in-line in the arm of the bridge circuit, and an off-condition, in which the capacitor is out of line. A DC current fault detection arrangement detects a fault arising at one or the other of the poles of the DC terminal within the DC converter or the DC grid. A controller responsive to the detection of the DC current fault switches one or more of the semiconductor modules in one of the arms of the bridge to the on and one or more of the semiconductor modules of the other arm of the bridge circuit to the off-condition.
US09780551B2

A differential protection device is designed for an electric disconnecting apparatus, the disconnecting apparatus comprising at least one fixed contact suitable for being connected to a corresponding electrical conductor, at least one movable contact, between a closed position, the movable contact being electrically connected to the corresponding fixed contact in the closed position and electrically isolated from the corresponding fixed contact in an open position, and an actuator for activating opening of the movable contacts when a differential fault is detected. The differential protection device comprises a controller for controlling the actuator. The differential protection device further comprises measuring circuitry for measuring an electrical variable associated with the controller and inhibiting circuitry for inhibiting the controller when the measured electrical variable satisfies a predetermined criterion.
US09780550B2

A protective device for a photovoltaic system includes at least one input for connection to a photovoltaic generator and at least one output for delivery of an electric power supplied from the photovoltaic generator. The protective device includes a detection device for a signal applied via the at least one output, and is configured to provide a low level-limited voltage at the at least one output if an applied signal does not meet a predetermined criteria, and is further configured to connect the at least one output with low resistance to the at least one input via a switching device if the applied signal meets the predetermined criteria.
US09780546B2

An in-floor electrical floor-box assembly includes a rectangular metallic housing and a non-metallic riser with integral flange assembly having a rectangular flange that mates with the rectangular housing and an integral cylindrical riser for providing access to the electrical components through a round cover and finish flange. A low-voltage divider assembly separates cables carrying different voltages within the riser to reduce interference between the cables and any one of a variety of sub-plates having different configurations for accommodating a variety of multi-service or single service electrical functionality can be incorporated with the box.
US09780542B2

A workstation and method for the installation of a pulling head assembly onto one or more conductors of a cabling system are provided. The workstation incorporates one or more of: a conductor clamp that holds the conductors of the cabling system in place during the installation of the pulling head assembly; a cutting guide having indicia marks that indicate the lengths to which to cut the conductors in order to achieve a staggered pattern of pulling eyes attached to the conductors in the pulling head assembly; a stripping tool that is used to remove a portion of the insulation from the terminal end of each conductor so that the end of the conductor may be inserted into the pulling eye; and a crimping tool that is used to crimp the pulling eyes onto the terminal ends of each of the conductors.
US09780538B2

A switchgear/board cabinet is constructed using a dual compartment module (100) that includes an equipment compartment (200) and a bus compartment (300) arranged behind the equipment compartment. The bus compartment includes line connection buses (310) and load connection buses (320) for a plurality of phases, spaced-apart vertical interphase barriers (330), a horizontal support barrier (340) and a rear barrier (350) forming a back wall. Each of the vertical interphase barriers extends from a front to a back of the bus compartment, and isolates the load connection bus and line connection bus of each phase from the load connection bus and line connection bus of the other of the phases. The horizontal support barrier extends from the front to the back of the bus compartment, and supports the line connection buses. Any number of dual compartment modules may be constructed and stacked to provide a customized switchgear/board cabinet.
US09780530B2

Provided is a butt-jointed (BJ) semiconductor integrated optical device having a high manufacturing yield. A semiconductor integrated optical device, which is configured such that, on a semiconductor substrate, a first semiconductor optical element including an active layer and a second semiconductor optical element including a waveguide layer are butt-jointed to each other with their optical axes being aligned with each other, includes: a semiconductor regrowth layer including at least one of a diffraction grating layer or an etching stop layer, which is formed by one epitaxial growth across an entire surface above the active layer and the waveguide layer; and a cladding layer formed above the semiconductor regrowth layer.
US09780524B1

A tunable laser includes a reflective silicon optical amplifier (RSOA) with a reflective end and an interface end and an array of narrow-band reflectors, which each have a different center wavelength. It also includes a silicon-photonic optical switch, having an input port and N output ports that are coupled to a different narrow-band reflector in the array of narrow-band reflectors. The tunable laser also includes an optical waveguide coupled between the interface end of the RSOA and the input of the silicon-photonic optical switch. The frequency of this tunable laser can be tuned in discrete increments by selectively coupling the input port of the silicon-photonic optical switch to one of the N output ports, thereby causing the RSOA to form a lasing cavity with a selected narrow-band reflector coupled to the selected output port. The tunable laser also includes a laser output optically coupled to the lasing cavity.
US09780523B2

A semiconductor laser device comprises a base, a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, a third conductive layer, and a semiconductor laser chip in this order, each of which has a respective emitting-side end portion. The emitting-side end portion of the first conductive layer is in a common plane with the emitting-side end portion of the base. A thickness of the second conductive layer is greater than a thickness of the first conductive layer. The emitting-side end portion of the second conductive layer is disposed inward of the emitting-end portion of the first conductive layer. The emitting-side end portion of the third conductive layer is in a common plane with the emitting-side end portion of the second conductive layer. The emitting-side end portion of the semiconductor laser chip is disposed outward of the emitting-side end portion of the third conductive layer.
US09780520B2

Ultrashort pulse fiber amplifier having a pulse width from 200 ps to 200 fs comprising a rare earth oxide doped multicomponent glass fibers for laser amplification, including a core and a cladding, the core comprising at least 2 weight percent glass network modifier selected from BaO, CaO, MgO, ZnO, PbO, K2O, Na2O, Li2O, Y2O3, or combinations; wherein the mode of the core is guided with step index difference between the core and the cladding, a numerical aperture of the fiber is between 0.01 and 0.04; core diameter is from 25 to 120 micron, and a length of the gain fiber is shorter than 60 cm.
US09780519B2

A configuration is provided with a laser medium 1 of a refractive index nc that is an isotropic medium and includes an upper surface and a lower surface, where at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface is bonded with a cladding 2 having a refractive index satisfying a relationship of no
US09780503B2

A cable connector assembly (100) includes a cable (300) and a connector (200) connected with the cable. The connector includes an insulative housing (1) defining a receiving room (10), a printed circuit board (2) received in the insulative housing, a mating member (3) mounted on the insulative housing and electrically connected with the printed circuit board, a light member (4) mounted on the printed circuit board, a light guide member (5) for guiding the light emitting from the light member to an outer side of the insulative housing, and an outer cover (9) sealing an end of the insulative housing. The light guide member includes a light emitting portion (51) and a light transmission portion (54). The light emitting portion has a column shape having two opposite ends, the light emitted to an outer side of the insulative housing through the two ends of the light emitting portion.
US09780502B2

The present invention relates to an electrical plug connector for a safety restraint system, preferably for an airbag ignition system. The plug connector includes at least two contact terminals assigned to the plug connector and a shorting clip that is configured to short-circuit the at least two contact terminals in an uncoupled or incorrectly coupled condition of the plug connector. The shorting clip includes at least two contact blades. Each contact blade is electrically connected with one of the at least two contact terminals. Each of the contact blades includes at least one cutting edge. The cutting edges contact each other such that one edge cuts the other when the plug connector is in an uncoupled or incorrectly coupled condition.
US09780496B2

An electrical connector includes an insulative housing having a tongue portion, a shielding plate, a first contact assembly and a second contact assembly accommodated to the insulative housing. The first contact assembly and the second contact assembly include a number of first contacts and second contacts respectively. The first contacts include a number of outer contacts and a number of inner contacts. Each first contact includes a head portion. There are an outer secondary belting connecting the head portions of the outer contacts together and an inner secondary belting connecting the head portions of the inside contacts together. The outer secondary belting and the inner secondary belting are separated from each other.
US09780491B2

A cable connector includes a body member having a first opening to receive a cable and a second opening. An indicator is movable between first and second positions. A stop member substantially prevents unintended movement of the indicator from the first position to the second position. The indicator moves past the stop member and through the second opening in the body member when moving from the first position to the second position and is exposed externally of the body member to indicate full insertion of the cable.
US09780485B2

A bayonet type locking ring of a circular electrical connector. A first piece with the shape of a cylindrical ring extends from one end to the other. The first piece is made of thermoplastic material, and includes notches distributed over the internal face of the first piece adjacent to one end and a first ramp part on the internal face of the first piece. A second piece with the shape of a cylindrical ring, and includes notches distributed over its external face and a second ramp part on the internal cylindrical surface. The first piece and the second piece are assemblable such that the notches of the second piece fit in the notches of the first piece, and prevent the second piece from rotating in relation to the first piece. The second ramp part of the second piece complements the first ramp part of the first piece.
US09780483B1

The present disclosure discloses a modular strain relief assembly and a method for providing strain relief for the junction of an electrical cable and an electrical connector. The strain relief assembly comprises a connector adapter, a cable adapter and a ball-joint connector. Each of the connector adapter, the cable adapter and the ball-joint connector comprises a first section and a second section. The first section of each of the connector adapter, the cable adapter and the ball-joint connector comprises pins. The second section of each of the connector adapter, the cable adapter and the ball-joint connector comprises sockets. The pins are allowed to mate with the sockets to join the first section and second section of each of the connector adapter, the cable adapter and the ball-joint connector, respectively.
US09780481B2

A connector waterproofing structure watertightly seals a gap between openings of cavities of a pair of housings which accommodate terminals. In the structure, the pair of housings includes annular members formed at each of ends of the openings. The annular members are made of resin, protrude and surround the openings, either one of the annular members is formed into such a shape to be pressed to an inner peripheral surface or an outer peripheral surface of the opposite annular member, when the pair of housings are fitted together, and the inner peripheral surface or the outer peripheral surface are obliquely formed so that the wall thickness of the opposite annular member is gradually increased from the distal end toward the back.
US09780475B2

Spring-loaded contacts having an improved reliability. One example may provide spring-loaded contacts having a reduced likelihood of entanglement between a spring and a plunger. For example, a piston may be placed between a plunger and a spring. The piston may have a head portion that is wider than the diameter of the spring and located between the spring and the plunger to isolate the spring and the plunger. In these and other examples, an additional object, such as a sphere, may be placed between the plunger and spring. In another example, two additional objects, such as two spheres, may be placed between a plunger and piston.
US09780474B2

Electrical contacts are described. An electrical contact can be formed on an exterior surface of a housing of an electronic device and can be cosmetically similar to the exterior surface. For example, the electrical contact can include a conductive plug inserted through an opening in a wall of the housing. A metallic coating can be applied to an outward-facing end of the conductive plug and fill up an outer portion of the opening until the metallic coating is about flush with the exterior surface of the housing. Properties of the metallic coating can be selected to closely match a color and a texture of the housing.
US09780466B1

A RJ connector assembly having the characteristics of simple structural design, effective and rational use of space and compact structure is disclosed to include an input PCB module including an input PC board and two RJ modular terminal blocks bonded to two opposite sides of the input PC board, an output PCB module including an output PC board disposed in parallel to the input PC board and an output interface located on the output PC board, and a connecting PCB module including a connecting PC board with a top side thereof electrically bonded to the input PC board and an opposing bottom side thereof electrically bonded to the output PC board.
US09780461B2

A water stop member of a crimp terminal is affixed to an inner wall surface of an electric wire connecting portion of a terminal fitting before crimping and forms into a first water stop area, a second water stop area, and a third water stop area after the crimping. The first water stop area suppresses entering of water from a space between the outer wall surface of a first barrel piece and the inner wall surface of a second barrel piece in the electric wire connecting portion. The second water stop area suppresses entering of water from the side closer to a terminal connecting portion of the terminal fitting than the distal end position of a core wire. The third water stop area suppresses entering of water from a space between the inner wall surface of a cover crimping portion of the electric wire connecting portion and a cover.
US09780458B2

Methods and apparatus for a dual polarized thumbtack radiator having enhanced dissipation. In embodiments, a power divider resistor for a balun is coupled directly to ground plane blocks that provide a RF shield. An attachment mechanism, such as a screw secures the thumbtack assembly to an aperture plate and provides thermal and electrical connection.
US09780451B2

Techniques and mechanisms for providing a tunable RF resonator device. In an embodiment, a patterned layer of an adhesive material is disposed on a side of a panel comprising a substrate and a metal layer. A membrane is aligned between the panel and another panel. A laminate is formed with the first panel, the second panel and the membrane, where an intermediate layer of the laminate includes a first portion comprising a liquid crystal channel, and a second portion comprising adhesive material disposed in interstices of the membrane. In another embodiment, the second portion forms at least part of a boundary to the liquid crystal channel.
US09780446B1

A method and apparatus for managing an antenna. A current radiation pattern is identified for the antenna using initial coefficients for a modulation function for the antenna. A first constraint is applied to the current radiation pattern to form a modified radiation pattern. New coefficients for the modulation function are identified as coefficients for which a difference between a radiation pattern for the antenna generated using the coefficients and the modified radiation pattern is reduced. A second constraint is applied to a set of coefficients in the new coefficients to form modified coefficients for the modulation function. The steps of applying the first constraint, identifying the new coefficients for the modulation function, and applying the second constraint are iterated until a new radiation pattern based on the modified coefficients for the modulation function meets the first constraint.
US09780445B2

An antenna assembly includes a main body, a coaxial cable connecting the main body and an isolating member located beside the main body. The main body includes a grounding portion extending in a longitudinal direction, a radiating portion extending in the longitudinal direction and a connecting portion connecting the grounding portion and the radiating portion. The coaxial cable includes an inner conductor connecting the connecting portion and an outer conductor surrounding the inner conductor and connecting the grounding portion. The isolating member located beside the main body in a side by side manner and defined a gap therebetween.
US09780444B2

An antenna is provided. The antenna includes a feed-in terminal; a radiating portion extended from the feed-in terminal along a first direction to form a first hook portion; a connecting conductor extended from the feed-in terminal to a ground terminal along a second direction opposite to the first direction; and a ground portion extended from the ground terminal and having a cable grounding area, wherein the ground portion and the connecting conductor form a second hook portion opposite to the first hook portion; the cable grounding area has a longitudinal center line; and the first direction and the longitudinal center line form therebetween a specific angle ranging from 49-59 degrees.
US09780435B2

The present invention relates to radio frequency identification antennae for automatically reading and locating inventory when moved and rotated by an inventory-scanning robot having three dimensions of position mobility.
US09780431B2

A transmission line transition that couples RF energy between a coaxial cable and an air dielectric microstrip is provided. In some embodiments, the transition can combine a thin printed circuit board substrate and an insulating surface to form an effective capacitive coupling transition that can couple RF energy from the center conductor of a coaxial cable to an air microstrip. In some embodiments, the transition can include an insulating system affixed to a metallic surface, and the insulating system can secure an airstrip conductor in close proximity to an inner conductor of a coaxial cable to capacitively couple the airstrip conductor to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable. In some embodiments, the transition can employ a metallic body coated with an insulating surface to capacitively couple RF energy from the center conductor of the coaxial cable to the air microstrip.
US09780429B2

The disclosure is directed to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to a three dimensional microstrip branchline coupler and methods of manufacture. The structure includes a plurality of through silicon vias and conductive lines electrically connected to a first end and a second end of respective ones of the plurality of through silicon vias. A first through silicon via of the plurality of through silicon vias forms a first port of a three dimensional (3D) branchline coupler. A second through silicon via of the plurality of through silicon vias forms a second port of the 3D branchline coupler. A third through silicon via of the plurality of through silicon vias forms a third port of the 3D branchline coupler. A fourth through silicon via of the plurality of through silicon vias forms a fourth port of the 3D branchline coupler.
US09780428B2

The present application provides a dielectric resonator, a dielectric filter, a base station and a method for fabricating the dielectric resonator or the dielectric filter. The dielectric resonator includes: a solid dielectric resonator body, a blind hole located on one side of the solid dielectric resonator body, a metalized layer covering both a surface of the solid dielectric resonator body and a surface of the blind hole, and a demetallized notch located at the metalized layer on the surface of the blind hole. The dielectric resonator provided in the present application can implement tuning of the dielectric resonator, and reduce impact on the resonance frequency of the dielectric resonator after the dielectric resonator is tuned, where the impact caused by that the demetallized notch is covered by a metal material in an assembly process of the dielectric resonator, and signal energy that is leaked from the notch is reduced.
US09780423B2

An air battery has a cathode layer, an anode layer and an electrolyte layer interposed between the cathode and anode layers. At least one of the cathode and anode layers has a passage forming member such that, when the air battery is adjacently stacked to another air battery, the passage forming member is situated between the air battery and the adjacent air battery so as to form an air passage to cathode layer. The passage forming member has conductivity and the ability to be elastically deformed according to expansion of the electrolyte layer. It is possible by this structure to, when there occurs increase in internal resistance due to expansion of the electrolyte layer, compensate such increase in internal resistance by decrease in contact resistance, maintain the cross-sectional area of the air passage at a predetermined size and prevent decrease in the output of the air battery.
US09780422B2

A vehicle includes a battery arrangement, a chiller, a coolant circuit configured to direct coolant through the chiller and battery arrangement, a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, valve, and evaporator, and a controller. The controller is programmed to alter a speed of the compressor and a position of the valve based on a pressure and temperature of refrigerant output from the chiller to alter a temperature of the coolant.
US09780416B2

A battery cell assembly having a battery cell and a thin profile sensor is provided. The battery cell has a housing and first and second electrical terminals extending therefrom. The thin profile sensor has a flexible plastic sheet, a microprocessor, and a sensing circuit. The microprocessor and the sensing circuit are coupled to the flexible plastic sheet. The flexible plastic sheet is coupled to an exterior surface of the housing of the battery cell. The sensing circuit generates a signal that is indicative of an operational parameter value of the battery cell. The microprocessor determines the operational parameter value based on the signal from the sensing circuit.
US09780406B2

A method of manufacturing a lithium ion conductive glass ceramic, includes a step of forming granules using a material including an SiO2 source, a ZrO2 source, a P2O5 source and an Na2O source; a step of obtaining a powder including a glass ceramic by passing the granules under a heated gas phase atmosphere to melt the granules and solidifying the melted granules; a step of obtaining a target object including a glass ceramic by performing a heat treatment on the powder to precipitate crystals; and a step of obtaining a lithium ion conductive glass ceramic by performing an ion-exchange process on the target object in molten salt including lithium ions.
US09780387B2

A unit cell of a fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly and a cathode side separator and an anode side separator sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly. An oxygen-containing gas supply passage connected to an oxygen-containing gas flow field is formed in the cathode side separator. The oxygen-containing gas supply passage has a rectangular shape extending in a flow field width direction of the oxygen-containing gas flow field. The width of the opening of the oxygen-containing gas supply passage on the short side is increased from the end side to the central side in the flow field width direction.
US09780384B2

A double-layer anode structure on a pretreated porous metal substrate and a method for fabricating the same, for improving the redox stability and decreasing the anode polarization resistance of a SOFC. The anode structure includes: a porous metal substrate of high gas permeability; a first porous anode functional layer, formed on the porous metal substrate by a high-voltage high-enthalpy Ar—He—H2—N2 atmospheric-pressure plasma spraying process; and a second porous anode functional layer, formed on the first porous anode functional layer by a high-voltage high-enthalpy Ar—He—H2—N2 atmospheric-pressure plasma spraying and hydrogen reduction. The first porous anode functional layer is composed a redox stable perovskite, the second porous anode functional layer is composed of a nanostructured cermet. The first porous anode functional layer is also used to prevent the second porous anode functional layer from being diffused by the composition elements of the porous metal substrate.
US09780381B2

An electrochemical cell includes an electrode assembly disposed in a cell housing. A first U-shaped current collector is disposed between the cell housing and the electrode assembly, and is electrically connected to a positive electrode portion of the electrode assembly. A second U-shaped current collector is disposed between the cell housing and the electrode assembly, and is electrically connected to a negative electrode portion of the electrode assembly. The first and second current collectors cooperate to surround all sides of the electrode assembly and to retain the electrode assembly in the desired configuration without requiring a separate restraint.
US09780373B2

A storage medium and an inert material, either integrated into the storage medium or existing as a separate phase in the storage medium, form a storage structure. The inert material at least partially contains or is formed by a polymorphous inert material. The polymorphous inert material has at least one polymorphous phase transition in the range between ambient temperature and maximum operating temperature of the solid electrolyte battery. The polymorphous phase transition induces a distortion of the lattice structure of the inert material, thus causing a change in the specific volume and acting on the surrounding grains of the storage medium. A mechanical coupling of the stresses triggered by the phase transition of the inert material causes the neighboring grains of the storage medium to break apart, such that new reactive zones become available in the storage medium, thereby regenerating the solid electrolyte battery.
US09780372B2

[Problems]To provide an electrode material for a lithium-ion rechargeable battery having a high mass energy density at a low temperature or in a high-speed charge and discharge.[Means for Solving the Problems]An electrode material for a lithium-ion rechargeable battery includes particles which are made of LiFexMn1-w-x-y-zMgyCazAwPO4 (here, A represents at least one element selected from Co, Ni, Zn, Al, and Ga, 0≦w≦0.05, 0.05≦x≦0.35, 0.01≦y≦0.10, and 0.0001≦z≦0.002), have an orthorhombic crystal structure, and have a space group of Pmna, in which a change ratio (V1−V2)/V1 between a lattice volume V1 of LiFexMn1-w-x-y-zMgyCazAwPO4 and a lattice volume V2 of FexMn1-w-x-y-zMgyCazAwPO4 obtained by chemically deintercalating Li from LiFexMn1-w-x-y-zMgyCazAwPO4 is in a range of 0.06 to 0.09.
US09780370B2

Disclosed is a lithium manganese (Mn)-based oxide including Mn as an essential transition metal and having a layered crystal structure, in which the amount of Mn is greater than that of other transition metal(s), the lithium manganese-based oxide exhibits flat level section characteristics in which release of oxygen occurs together with lithium deintercalation during first charging in a high voltage range of 4.4 V or higher, and at least one of a transition metal layer including Mn and an oxygen layer is substituted or doped with a pillar element.
US09780369B2

The present invention is to provide a cathode active material configured to increase, when used in a lithium battery, the discharge capacity of the lithium battery higher than conventional lithium batteries, and a lithium battery including the cathode active material. Presented is a cathode active material for lithium batteries, wherein the cathode active material is represented by the following composition formula (1) and has a rock salt type crystal structure including formula (1): Li2Ni1-x-yCoxMnyTiO4 wherein x and y are real numbers that satisfy x>0, y>0 and x+y<1.
US09780354B2

The invention concerns a method for manufacturing of a battery electrode material comprising the steps of: a) applying an electric field to at least one polymer, conductive particles and at least one solvent whereby said conductive particles become arranged between the electrodes in at least two lines that are oriented in the same direction as the electric field line, and b) stabilizing the at least one polymer, conductive particles and at least one solvent by removing at least some of said at least one solvent while maintaining the electric field in step a) whereby the at least two lines of conductive particles will remain in their position when said electric field is removed. Further, the invention concerns a battery electrode material comprising at least one polymer and conductive particles, wherein said conductive particles form at least two lines that are oriented parallel and/or co-linear to each other.
US09780339B2

An organic electroluminescent (EL) panel unit includes: an organic EL panel that displays an image on a front surface thereof; and a plurality of sheet members attached to a panel back surface which is a back surface of the organic EL panel. The plurality of sheet members are each formed by rolling a metal sheet, and the plurality of sheet members include two sheet members that are attached to the panel back surface such that a portion of one of the two sheet members is disposed adjacent to a portion of the other sheet member and the two sheet members have mutually different rolling directions.
US09780336B2

An organic light-emitting display panel and a display device are provided; the display panel includes a first substrate (10) and a second substrate (50), and an electroluminescent layer (30) arranged between the first substrate (10) and the second substrate (50), a plurality of Elm layers (20) being each arranged between the electroluminescent layer (30) and the first substrate (10) as well as between the electroluminescent layer (30) and the second substrate (50), wherein at least one of the first substrate (10) and the second substrate (50) is a light exit surface, refractive indexes of the plurality of film layers between the light exit surface and the electroluminescent layer (30) are not greater than that of the light exit surface, and in any two adjacent film layers between the electroluminescent layer (30) and the light exit surface, a refractive index of a film layer which is far away from the light exit surface is not greater than that of a film layer which is close to the light exit surface.
US09780329B2

A novel display device with higher reliability having a structure of blocking moisture and oxygen, which deteriorate the characteristics of the display device, from penetrating through a sealing region and a method of manufacturing thereof is provided. According to the present invention, a display device and a method of manufacturing the same comprising: a display portion formed by aligning a light-emitting element using an organic light-emitting material between a pair of substrate, wherein the display portion is formed on an insulating layer formed on any one of the substrates, the pair of substrates is bonded to each other with a sealing material formed over the insulating layer while surrounding a periphery of the display portion, at least one layer of the insulating layer is made of an organic resin material, the periphery has a first region and a second region, the insulating layer in the first region has an opening covered with a protective film, the sealing material is formed in contact with the opening and the protective film, an outer edge portion of the insulating layer in the second region is covered with the protective film or the sealing material.
US09780325B2

Disclosed is an organic light emitting display device having excellent lifespan and current efficiency characteristics, as well as high luminance to provide increased resolution and improved reliability, and a method for manufacturing the same. The organic light emitting display device comprises a substrate having first, second, and third pixel regions; a first electrode arranged on the substrate; a second electrode arranged on the first electrode; and an organic layer arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode. The organic layer includes first, second and third organic layers on the first, second and third pixel regions, respectively. Each of the first, second and third organic layers includes a plurality unit organic layers and at least one charge generating layer arranged between the plurality of unit organic layers.
US09780320B2

A white light emitting diode device includes a substrate, an ultraviolet light source generating panel and a photoluminescent layer. The ultraviolet light source generating panel is disposed on a first surface of the substrate. The ultraviolet light source generating panel is used for generating ultraviolet light. The photoluminescent layer is disposed on a second surface of the substrate. The photoluminescent layer is used for generating white light when the photoluminescent layer is irradiated by the ultraviolet light.
US09780316B2

A compound having the structure of Formula I is disclosed, where Ga has the structure and Gb has the structure In the structure of Formula I, Z is selected from Si and Ge; Xa and Xb are independently selected from the group consisting of O, S, and Se; the Y and Z atoms forming the six-membered rings in Formula I, Ga, and Gb are each independently selected from C or N; each R1, R2, Ra1, Ra2, Rb1, and Rb2 is independently selected from a variety of substituents; at least one Ra1 is La-Aa; at least one Rb1 is Lb-Ab; Aa and Ab are each independently selected from carbazole, dibenzofuran, dibenzothiophene, dibenzoselenophene, triphenylene, and nitrogen-substituted variants thereof, which are optionally further substituted; and La and Lb are each independently an organic linker. Formulations and devices, such as an OLEDs, that include the compound of Formula I are also described.
US09780314B2

The present invention provides a novel compound capable of improving light emitting efficiency, stability, and lifespan of the element, an organic element using the same, and an electric device for the same.
US09780309B2

A triphenylamine derivative represented by formula (1) exhibits good solubility in an organic solvent and allows an organic EL element having excellent luminance characteristics to be achieved when formed into a thin film and applied to a positive hole injection layer. (In the formula, R1 to R17 mutually independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a nitro group, a cyano group, an amino group, an aldehyde group, a hydroxyl group, a thiol group, a carboxylic acid group, and the like; and l, m, and n mutually independently represent an integer 1 to 5.)
US09780308B2

A composition comprising (1) a first crosslinkable polymer compound having an aromatic conjugated repeating unit and a crosslinkable group and having at least one of a light emitting property and charge transportability, and (2) a second crosslinkable polymer compound having an aromatic conjugated repeating unit and a crosslinkable group at least one of which is different from the aromatic conjugated repeating unit in the first crosslinkable polymer compound and the crosslinkable group in the first crosslinkable polymer compound, and having at least one of a light emitting property and charge transportability, wherein at least one of the first crosslinkable polymer compound and the second crosslinkable polymer compound has a crosslinkable group represented by the following formula (Z-3) or (Z-4): in the formulae, Rc represents a hydrogen atom, or a substituent such as an unsubstituted or substituted alkyl group or the like, the plurality of Rc moieties may be the same or different.
US09780306B2

This invention relates to a supported polymer heterostructure and methods of manufacture. The heterostructure is suitable for use in a range of applications which require semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic devices and light-emitting diodes.
US09780299B2

A seed layer stack with a smooth top surface having a peak to peak roughness of 0.5 nm is formed by sputter depositing an amorphous layer on a seed layer such as Mg where the seed layer has a resputtering rate 2 to 30× that of the amorphous layer. The uppermost seed layer is a template layer that is NiCr or NiFeCr. As a result, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in an overlying magnetic layer that is a reference layer, free layer, or dipole layer is substantially maintained during high temperature processing up to 400° C. and is advantageous for magnetic tunnel junctions in embedded MRAMs, spintronic devices, or in read head sensors. The amorphous seed layer is SiN, TaN, or CoFeM where M is B or another element with a content that makes CoFeM amorphous as deposited. The seed layer stack may include a bottommost Ta or TaN buffer layer.
US09780296B2

The invention relates to a ceramic material, comprising lead zirconate titanate, which additionally contains K and optionally Cu. The ceramic material can be used in an electroceramic component, for example a piezoelectric actuator. The invention also relates to methods for producing the ceramic material and the electronic component.
US09780289B2

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer piezoelectric element which includes a plurality of piezoelectric layers with a thickness of 15 μm to 100 μm each; and internal electrodes interposed between the plurality of piezoelectric layers and laminated to alternately form an anode and a cathode.
US09780286B2

A nebulizing driving apparatus is used to drive a piezoelectric material of a nebulizing module. The nebulizing driving apparatus includes a driving circuit, a control circuit and a feedback circuit. The feedback circuit detects an electrical data fed back from the piezoelectric material and sends the electrical data to the control circuit when the control circuit is configured to control the driving circuit to drive the piezoelectric material with a driving frequency. According to the electrical data, the control circuit is configured to control the driving circuit to drive the piezoelectric material with a working frequency.
US09780284B2

A micromechanical sensor device and a corresponding production method include a substrate that has a front and a rear and a plurality of pillars that are formed on the front of the substrate. On each pillar, a respective sensor element is formed, which has a greater lateral extent than the associated pillar. A cavity is provided laterally to the pillars beneath the sensor elements. The sensor elements are laterally spaced apart from each other by respective separating troughs and make electrical contact with a respective associated rear contact via the respective associated pillar.
US09780283B2

A thermoelectric conversion element that can efficiently make a temperature difference across a thermoelectric conversion material is provided. In the thermoelectric conversion element, on a first surface of a thermoelectric conversion module comprising a P-type thermoelectric element, an N-type thermoelectric element, and an electrode, a thermally conductive resin layer A and a thermally conductive resin layer B having a lower thermal conductivity than the thermally conductive resin layer A are provided in an alternating manner so as to be in direct contact with the first surface, and on a second surface on the opposite side of the first surface of the thermoelectric conversion module, a thermally conductive resin layer a and a thermally conductive resin layer b having a lower thermal conductivity than the thermally conductive resin layer a are provided in an alternating manner so as to be in direct contact with the second surface.
US09780282B2

Provided is a thermoelectric module capable of preventing the leakage of a current generated from a connection portion upon connecting a thermoelectric semiconductor element to an electrode by forming an insulating layer having a low heat conductivity on an external surface of the thermoelectric semiconductor element and improving performance of the thermoelectric element by controlling a heat transfer phenomenon from a heating part to a cooling part.
US09780276B2

The present invention discloses a wafer-level semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. The wafer-level semiconductor device comprises a wafer-level substrate; a plurality of serial groups formed on a surface of the substrate and are disposed in parallel, each serial group comprising a plurality of parallel groups disposed in series, each parallel groups comprising a plurality of unit cells disposed in parallel, wherein each unit cell is an independent functional unit which is formed by processing a semiconductor layer directly grown on a surface of the substrate; and a lead, which is at least electrically connected between two selected parallel groups in each serial group to make ON-voltages of all the serial groups substantially consistent. The device of the present invention, with a simple structure, a simple and convenient manufacturing process, and a high efficiency to produce qualified products, can be put into large-scale production and application.
US09780269B2

An optoelectronic semiconductor component includes an optoelectronic semiconductor that is partly embedded into a shaped body, which is formed from a molding compound that at least partly covers at least two lateral faces and the rear surface of the optoelectronic semiconductor chip. A first contact layer and a second contact layer are arranged on the shaped body and are electrically connected to the optoelectronic semiconductor chip. A mounting face is arranged transversely in relation to the radiation passage face and is provided for mounting the optoelectronic semiconductor component.
US09780266B2

A stabilized quantum dot structure for use in a light emitting diode (LED) comprises, according to one embodiment, a luminescent particle comprising one or more semiconductors, a buffer layer overlying the luminescent particle, where the buffer layer comprises an amorphous material, and a barrier layer overlying the buffer layer, where the barrier layer comprises oxygen, nitrogen and/or carbon. According to another embodiment, the stabilized quantum dot structure includes a luminescent particle comprising one or more semiconductors, and a treated buffer layer comprising amorphous silica overlying the luminescent particle, where the stabilized quantum dot structure exhibits a quantum yield of at least about 0.7 when exposed to a blue light flux of about 30 W/cm2 at a temperature of 80-85° C. and relative humidity of 5% for 500 hours.
US09780259B2

A light-emitting device comprises a textured substrate comprising a plurality of textured structures, wherein the textured structures and the textured substrate are both composed of sapphire; and a light-emitting stack overlaying the textured substrate, comprising a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second conductivity type semiconductor layer, wherein each of the plurality of textured structures comprises a top portion having a first top-view shape, and a bottom portion parallel to the top portion and having a second top-view shape, wherein the first top-view shape comprises a circle or an ellipse, the first top-view shape comprises a first periphery and the second top-view shape comprises a second periphery, the first periphery is enclosed by the second periphery, and various distances are between each of the first periphery and the second periphery.
US09780253B2

A high efficiency configuration for a solar cell module comprises solar cells arranged in a shingled manner to form super cells, which may be arranged to efficiently use the area of the solar module, reduce series resistance, and increase module efficiency. The solar cell module may comprise for example a series connected string of N greater than or equal to 25 rectangular or substantially rectangular solar cells having on average a breakdown voltage greater than about 10 volts, with the solar cells grouped into one or more super cells each of which comprises two or more of the solar cells arranged in line with long sides of adjacent solar cells overlapping and conductively bonded to each other, and with no single solar cell or group of
US09780241B2

A solar cell includes a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type, including first and second principal surfaces; a region of the first conductivity type, including a semiconductor layer structure of the first conductivity type provided on the first principal surface; and a region of an second conductivity type, including a semiconductor layer structure of the second conductivity type provided on the first principal surface. The semiconductor layer structure of the first conductivity type is formed extending into the region of the second conductivity type. Thereby the solar cell is provided with a stack region where the semiconductor layer structure of the second conductivity type is formed on the semiconductor layer structure of the first conductivity type.
US09780239B2

An ultraviolet light sensor and method of manufacturing thereof are disclosed. The ultraviolet light sensor includes Group-III Nitride layers adjacent to a silicon wafer with one of the layers at least partially exposed such that a surface thereof can receive UV light to be detected. The Group-III Nitride layers include a p-type layer and an n-type layer, with p/n junctions therebetween forming at least one diode. Conductive contacts are arranged to conduct electrical current through the sensor as a function of ultraviolet light received at the outer Group-III Nitride layer. The Group-III Nitride layers may be formed from, e.g., GaN, InGaN, AlGaN, or InAlN. The sensor may include a buffer layer between one of the Group-III Nitride layers and the silicon wafer. By utilizing silicon as the substrate on which the UV sensor diode is formed, a UV sensor can be produced that is small, efficient, cost-effective, and compatible with other semiconductor circuits and processes. The sensor may be configured to be sensitive to a specific subtype or subband of ultraviolet radiation to be detected by selecting a specific composition of said Group-III Nitride layers.
US09780236B2

Disclosed is a conductive paste composition, including 100 parts by weight of copper powder, 40 to 150 parts by weight of silver powder, 0.1 to 3 parts by weight of carbon powder, 1 to 5 parts by weight of glass powder, and 5 to 15 parts by weight of binder. The conductive paste composition can be applied on a substrate, and then sintered under atmosphere at a high temperature to form an electrode on the substrate.
US09780235B2

A solar cell of the present invention includes a collecting electrode extending in one direction on a first principal surface of a photoelectric conversion section. The collecting electrode includes first and second electroconductive layers in this order from the photoelectric conversion section side, and further includes an insulating layer provided with openings between the electroconductive layers. The first electroconductive layer is covered with the insulating layer, and the second electroconductive layer is partially in conduction with the first electroconductive layer through the openings of the insulating layer. The first electroconductive layer has non-central portions within a range from both ends of the first electroconductive layer, and a central portion between the two non-central portions, in a direction orthogonal to an extending direction of the first electroconductive layer. A density of openings at the central portion is higher than a density of openings at the non-central portion.
US09780234B2

A PhotoVoltaic (PV) panel switching arrangement includes a first switch and a second switch, which in some embodiments are in a DC converter. The first switch is to be coupled between a power system and a first end of a circuit path of the PV panel, and the second switch is to be coupled between (i) a point between the first switch and the power system and (ii) a point between a second end of the circuit path and the power system. The switches are controlled for DC conversion of PV panel output where the circuit path of the PV panel is not to be bypassed, and to disconnect the first end of the circuit path from the power system and to close a bypass circuit path that bypasses the circuit path on a determination that the circuit path of the PV panel is to be bypassed.
US09780233B2

A solar cell module, a solar cell module assembly, and a solar photovoltaic power generation system capable of reducing power loss are provided. A light-concentrating panel configured to collect light which is incident from the outside and a plurality of solar cell elements installed on the light-concentrating panel and configured to receive light which is collected by the light-concentrating panel are provided. Each of the plurality of solar cell elements is provided with a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The plurality of solar cell elements include a first solar cell element and a second solar cell element which are connected to each other in series via connection wiring and a third solar cell element which is not connected to the first solar cell element and the second solar cell element in series. The first solar cell element and the second solar cell element configure a first current path, and the third solar cell element configures a second current path.
US09780231B1

Integrated circuits and methods of producing such integrated circuits are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a substrate with an active layer overlying a handle layer. A partial buried insulator overlies the handle layer and underlies the active layer, terminates at a buried insulator termination point, and includes an electrically insulating material. A substrate extension is adjacent to the partial buried insulator, where the substrate extension overlies the handle layer and underlies the active layer, and where the substrate extension directly contacts the partial buried insulator at the buried insulator termination point. The substrate extension includes a semiconductive material. A memory gate overlies the active layer.
US09780230B2

The present invention provides a semiconductor structure, including a base, a patterned oxide semiconductor (OS) layer, two source/drain regions, a protective layer, a gate layer and a gate dielectric layer. The patterned OS layer is disposed on the base. Two source/drain regions are disposed on the patterned OS layer and are separated by a recess. Each source/drain region includes an inner sidewall facing the recess and an outer sidewall opposite to the inner sidewall. The protective layer is disposed on a sidewall of the patterned OS layer but is not on the inner sidewall of the source/drain region. The gate layer is disposed on the patterned OS layer, and the gate dielectric layer is disposed between the gate layer and the patterned OS layer.
US09780222B2

It is an object to provide a transistor having a new multigate structure in which operating characteristics and reliability are improved. In a transistor having a multigate structure, which includes two gate electrodes electrically connected to each other and a semiconductor layer including two channel regions connected in series formed between a source region and a drain region, and a high concentration impurity region is formed between the two channel regions; the channel length of the channel region adjacent to the source region is longer than the channel length of the channel region adjacent to the drain region.
US09780210B1

An integrated circuit structure may include a transistor on a front-side semiconductor layer supported by an isolation layer. The transistor is a first source/drain/body region. The integrated circuit structure may also include a raised source/drain/body region coupled to a backside of the first source/drain/body region of the transistor. The transistor is a raised source/drain/body region extending from the backside of the first source/drain/body region toward a backside dielectric layer supporting the isolation layer. The integrated circuit structure may further include a backside metallization coupled to the raised source/drain/body region.
US09780204B2

A DMOS transistor integrates a trench Schottky diode into the body contact of the transistor where the body region surrounding the Schottky metal layer forms a guard ring for the Schottky diode.
US09780202B2

A trench IGBT includes a floating P well and a floating N+ well that extends down into the floating P well. A bottom surface of the floating P well has a novel waved contour so that it has thinner portions and thicker portions. When the IGBT is on, electrons flow from an N+ emitter, vertically through a channel along a trench sidewall, and to an N− type drift layer. Additional electrons flow through the channel but then pass under the trench, through the floating P well to the floating N+ well, and laterally through the floating N+ well. NPN transistors are located at thinner portions of the floating P type well. The NPN transistors inject electrons from the floating N+ type well down into the N− drift layer. The extra electron injection reduces VCE(SAT). The waved contour can be made without adding any masking step to an IGBT manufacturing process.
US09780201B2

To improve the electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor, and to provide a highly reliable semiconductor device with a small variation in electrical characteristics. The semiconductor device includes a first insulating film, a first barrier film over the first insulating film, a second insulating film over the first barrier film, and a first transistor including a first oxide semiconductor film over the second insulating film. The amount of hydrogen molecules released from the first insulating film at a given temperature higher than or equal to 400° C., which is measured by thermal desorption spectroscopy, is less than or equal to 130% of the amount of released hydrogen molecules at 300° C. The second insulating film includes a region containing oxygen at a higher proportion than oxygen in the stoichiometric composition.
US09780199B2

A method of forming a semiconductor device includes following steps. Firstly, a gate structure is formed on a substrate, and two source/drain regions are formed. Then, a contact etching stop layer (CESL) is formed to cover the source/drain regions, and a first interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer is formed on the CESL. Next, a replace metal gate process is performed to form a metal gate and a capping layer on the metal gate, and a second ILD layer is formed on the first ILD layer. Following these, a first opening is formed in the second and first ILD layers to partially expose the CESL, and a second opening is formed in the second ILD to expose the capping layer. Finally, the CESL and the capping layer are simultaneously removed.
US09780188B2

A vertical power component includes a silicon substrate of a first conductivity type with a well of the second conductivity type on a lower surface of the substrate. The first well is bordered at a component periphery with an insulating porous silicon ring. An upper surface of the porous silicon ring is only in contact with the substrate of the first conductivity type. The insulating porous silicon ring penetrates into the substrate down to a depth greater than a thickness of the well. The porous silicon ring is produced by forming a doped well in a first surface of a doped substrate, placing that first surface of the substrate into an electrolytic bath, and circulating a current between an opposite second surface of the substrate and the electrolytic bath.
US09780187B2

An improvement is achieved in the performance of a semiconductor device. Over the main surface of a semiconductor substrate for the n-type base of an IGBT, an insulating layer is formed. In a trench of the insulating layer, an n-type semiconductor layer is formed over the semiconductor substrate and, on both sides of the semiconductor layer, gate electrodes are formed via gate insulating films. In an upper portion of the semiconductor layer, a p-type semiconductor region for a p-type base and an n+-type semiconductor region for an n-type emitter are formed. Under the gate electrodes, parts of the insulating layer are present. The side surfaces of the gate electrodes opposite to the side surfaces thereof facing the semiconductor layer via the gate insulating films are adjacent to the insulating layer.
US09780181B1

A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a back-barrier layer arranged on the substrate, the back-barrier layer including first p-type dopant atoms, an intermediate or nucleation layer having a lattice constant different from a lattice constant of the back-barrier layer, a semiconductor heterostructure having a channel layer, a spacer layer on the channel layer and a barrier layer on the spacer layer, wherein a combination of materials of the barrier layer, the spacer layer and the channel layer is selected such that a carrier charge is provided to the channel layer, a gate layer arranged to partially cover a top of the barrier layer, wherein the gate layer includes second p-type dopant atoms, and a set of electrodes for providing and controlling the carrier charge in the carrier channel.
US09780174B2

A structure includes a semiconductor substrate including a first semiconductor material. A portion of the semiconductor substrate extends between insulation regions in the semiconductor substrate. The portion of the semiconductor substrate has a (111) surface and a bottom surface. The (111) surface is slanted and has a top edge and a bottom edge. The bottom surface is parallel to a top surface of the insulation regions, and is connected to the bottom edge. A semiconductor region overlaps the portion of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor region includes a second semiconductor material different from the first semiconductor material. The top edge and the bottom edge of the (111) surface are at a first depth and a second depth, respectively, relative to a top surface of the semiconductor region. A ratio of the first depth to the second depth is smaller than about 0.6.
US09780172B2

Provided is a method of removing native oxide from a substrate, the method including exposing the substrate to trimethyl aluminum (TMA) or dicyclopentadienyl magnesium (MgCp2) for a predetermined time.
US09780171B2

A lateral-diffused metal oxide semiconductor device including a substrate, a second deep well, a gate, a source, a drain and a first dopant region is provided. The substrate includes a first deep well having a first conductive type. The second deep well having a second conductive type is disposed in the first deep well. The gate is disposed on the substrate and the boundary of the first and the second deep well. The source and the drain having a second conductive type are disposed beside the gate and in the first deep well and the second deep well respectively. The first dopant region having a first conductive type is disposed in the second deep well, wherein the first dopant region is separated from the drain. Moreover, a method for fabricating said lateral-diffused metal oxide semiconductor device is also provided.
US09780169B2

The present invention provides a semiconductor structure, including a substrate having a first conductivity region and a second conductivity region defined thereon, a plurality of first fin structures and at least one first gate structure disposed on the substrate and within the first conductivity region, a plurality of second fin structures and at least one second gate structure disposed on the substrate and within the second conductivity region, at least two first crown epitaxial layers disposed within the first conductivity region, a plurality of second epitaxial layers disposed within the second conductivity region, where the shape of the first crown epitaxial layer is different from that of the second epitaxial layer.
US09780158B2

An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes: an auxiliary electrode including: a first conductive layer; and a second conductive layer disposed on the first conductive layer, the second conductive layer having a resistance higher than a resistance of the first conductive layer, wherein the second conductive layer includes an opening portion exposing the first conductive layer; a pixel electrode; a pixel definition layer disposed on the pixel electrode and the auxiliary electrode, the pixel definition layer exposing the pixel electrode and the auxiliary electrode; a first intermediate layer disposed on the pixel electrode and the auxiliary electrode, the first intermediate layer including a first opening corresponding to the opening portion; an emission layer disposed on the first intermediate layer overlapping the exposed pixel electrode.
US09780155B2

An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes a substrate, an active layer of a thin film transistor formed over the substrate, a gate insulating layer formed over the active layer, a gate electrode of the thin film transistor formed over the gate insulating layer, an interlayer insulating layer formed over the gate electrode and the first electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode formed over the interlayer insulating layer, a pixel electrode including a first region in direct contact with an upper surface of the interlayer insulating layer and a second region in direct contact with an upper surface of one of the source electrode and the drain electrode, a pixel defining layer covering the source and drain electrodes and including an opening which exposes the first region of the pixel electrode in an area that does not overlap the thin film transistor.
US09780145B2

A resistive random access memory (RRAM) cell comprises a transistor having a gate and a source/drain region, a bottom electrode coplanar with the gate, a resistive material layer over the bottom electrode, a top electrode over the resistive material layer, and a conductive material electrically connecting the bottom electrode to the source/drain region.
US09780141B2

An optical receiver module includes a substrate, photodetectors mounted on a first surface of the substrate, amplifiers mounted on the first surface of the substrate, anode wiring patterns formed on the first surface of the substrate and configured to connect between anode terminals of the photodetectors and respective ones of the amplifiers, cathode wiring patterns formed on the first surface of the substrate and configured to connect between cathode terminals of the photodetectors and the respective ones of the amplifiers, a second electrode formed on a second surface of the substrate to cover areas directly opposite, across the substrate, the cathode wiring patterns formed on the first surface, and first vias formed through the substrate in a vicinity of connection points between the cathode wiring patterns and the amplifiers and configured to connect between the cathode wiring patterns and the second electrode.
US09780140B2

A thin film transistor substrate (2) includes: an auxiliary capacitor electrode (7); a gate insulating film (8) formed on an insulating substrate (4) to cover the auxiliary capacitor electrode (7); a drain electrode (11) formed on the gate insulating film (8) and an oxide semiconductor layer (9); a planarization film (13) formed on a passivation film (12); a capacitor electrode (14) formed on the planarization film (13); an interlayer insulating film (16) formed on the planarization film (13); and a pixel electrode (17) formed on the interlayer insulating film (16) and electrically connected to the drain electrode (11) via a contact hole (18).
US09780139B2

A solid state imaging device that includes a phase difference detection pixel which is a pixel for phase difference detection; a first imaging pixel which is a pixel for imaging and is adjacent to the phase difference detection pixel; and a second imaging pixel which is a pixel for imaging other than the first imaging pixel. An area of a color filter of the first imaging pixel is smaller than an area of a color filter of the second imaging pixel.
US09780134B2

In some embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure, an image sensor is provided. The image sensor includes a substrate having a body. The body includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. A through via is configured to extend from the first surface to the second surface. An intermediate layer is disposed over the body and configured to cover the through via. An image sensing device is disposed over the intermediate layer. In addition, a lens structure is disposed over the substrate, the intermediate layer and the image sensing device. In certain embodiments, the image sensing device is curved. In some embodiments, the image sensing device includes a semiconductor chip having a CMOS image sensing array.
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