US11686737B2

Methods and kits for diagnosing arthritis are provided. The methods may involve detection of 14-3-3 eta or gamma proteins in a sera or synovial fluid sample.
US11686735B2

Provided are systems and methods for assessing the presence or risk of obstetrical complications, particularly those related to an angiogenic and anti-angiogenic imbalance. Also provided are methods of treating an angiogenic and anti-angiogenic imbalance with water-soluble statins, such as pravastatin.
US11686734B2

The invention relates to methods and products for the identification of a clinically significant immune response in subjects treated with a therapeutic protein. Aspects of the invention relate to methods and compositions for identifying a clinically significant immune response in patients treated with therapeutic amounts of a VLA4 binding antibody (e.g., natalizumab).
US11686729B2

The present disclosure includes methods and systems of detecting bacteria in a sample using phage-functionalized sensors, methods of enriching a sample with phage-functionalized magnetic particles, phage-functionalized magnetic particles and methods of making phage-functionalized magnetic particles.
US11686728B2

The invention relates to the use of an immunologically reactive microbial transglutaminase or its immunologically reactive parts or analogues, which are present in a complex with gliadin or its immunologically reactive parts or analogues, for the diagnosis and/or therapy control of coeliac disease or sprue as well as gluten sensitivity, and a kit for determining the diagnosis and/or therapy control of coeliac disease or sprue as well as of gluten sensitivity, by means of the previously mentioned complex.
US11686720B2

The invention relates to a method for classifying a tissue sample obtained from mammary carcinoma. The method comprises determining a stiffness value for each of a plurality of points on said tissue sample, resulting in a stiffness distribution, and assigning said sample to a breast cancer subtype and nodal status based on said stiffness distribution.
US11686705B2

Systems and methods for identifying DNA strand size and purifying the DNA based on strand size using electrophoresis. The methods include moving, via voltage, a plurality of DNA strands through a separation gel from an inlet of a capillary or passage to either a first outlet or a second outlet dependent on the DNA strand length. In some implementations, the system is a capillary electrophoresis system. In other implementations, the system is a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip.
US11686699B2

The battery monitoring techniques described herein may be used for detection of battery anomalies or faults. Also, the battery monitoring techniques described herein may be used to generate estimates of total battery capacity. The battery monitoring techniques may employ an alternating current frequency response (ACFR) of the battery. The ACFR response of the battery may be used to detect anomalies and/or estimate a total capacity of the battery.
US11686698B2

Provided is a reducing gas detection sensor which has sensitivity improved as compared to that of the related art, and in which power consumption is decreased. The reducing gas detection sensor includes: a reducing gas detection material including a palladium compound and a carbon compound, and having reactivity with a reducing gas; and a unit configured to measure a conductivity of the reducing gas detection material.
US11686692B2

A three-dimensional x-ray imaging system includes at least one detector and an x-ray source including an x-ray transmissive vacuum window. The x-ray source is configured to produce diverging x-rays emerging from the vacuum window and propagating along an x-ray propagation axis extending through a region of interest of an object to the at least one detector. The diverging x-rays have propagation paths within an angular divergence angle greater than 1 degree centered on the x-ray propagation axis. The system further includes at least one sample motion stage configured to rotate the object about a rotation axis. The system further includes a sample mount configured to hold the object and comprises a first portion in the propagation paths of at least some of the diverging x-rays and having an x-ray transmission greater than 30% for x-rays having energies greater than 50% of a maximum x-ray energy of an x-ray spectrum of the diverging x-rays.
US11686690B2

A method of inspection or metrology of four sides of a sample is disclosed. The method includes providing samples in a carrier at a first side of an imaging tool and moving the samples from the carrier to the imaging tool via a pick-and-place stage assembly. The method includes imaging first and second sides of the samples via first and second channels of the imaging tool and returning the samples to the carrier. The method includes rotating the carrier by 90 degrees and translating the carrier to an opposite side of the imaging tool and moving the samples individually from the carrier to the imaging tool. The method includes imaging a third and fourth side of the sample via the first and second channel of the imaging tool and returning the one or more samples from the imaging tool to the carrier.
US11686688B2

An inspection apparatus inspecting a wafer on which a plurality of patterns are formed by a plurality of exposure shots, the inspection apparatus comprising: acquisition unit configured to acquire first information representing a positional relation between an inspection mark included in a pattern formed by a first exposure shot and an inspection mark included in a pattern formed by a second exposure shot, and second information representing a positional relation between the inspection mark included in the pattern formed by the second exposure shot and an inspection mark included in a pattern formed by a third exposure shot; and derivation unit configured to derive a linear component of an error caused by a reticle, and a linear component of an error caused by a position of a wafer, on the basis of the first information and the second information.
US11686685B2

Inspection system for visually inspecting objects, such as the surface of objects, during their transport along a transport path, the system including a free space allowing the objects to pass through the system and including an inspection area in which the objects are inspected visually, an illumination device for illuminating at least the peripheral surface of an object in the inspection area, and a plurality of camera/sensor devices, each being configured to take an image of a surface section of said peripheral surface in its respective field of view by receiving light running along a respective light path from the illuminated object to the camera/sensor device, the fields of view of the camera/sensor devices in combination providing for full peripheral coverage of azimuth angle 360° of the inspection area wherein the length of at least one of the light paths is longer than the spatial distance between its ends.
US11686684B2

A system and method for assaying high and low abundant biomolecules within a biological fluid sample is provided. The method includes: a) placing a biological fluid sample in contact with a first nanostructure surface; b) interrogating the sample with a light source, the sample in contact with the first nanostructure surface, the interrogation using a SERS technique; c) detecting an enhanced Raman scattering from at least one high abundant biomolecule type and producing first signals representative thereof; d) placing the sample in contact with a second nanostructure surface having a targeting agent that targets a low abundant biomolecule; e) interrogating the sample with the light source using the SERS technique; f) detecting the enhanced Raman scattering from the low abundant biomolecules and producing second signals representative thereof; and g) assaying the biological fluid sample using the first signals and the second signals.
US11686680B2

The invention relates to an apparatus for probing a sample comprising a light source for emitting an illuminating light beam, a birefringent element for splitting the illuminating light beam into two sheared beams, a reflective element for reflecting the two sheared beams, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the reflected beams propagate through the birefringent element for recombining the reflected beams, and a detector for detecting the recombined beam, wherein the sample is arrangeable in the optical path of the sheared beams or at the backside of a reflective surface in the optical path of the sheared beams, the reflective surface exhibiting a surface plasmon resonance or a localized surface plasmon resonance.
US11686676B2

An in situ near infrared sensing unit includes a housing allowing the sensing unit to be inserted in a variety of media. A transparent window is formed in the sidewall of the housing. A sensing element is mounted inside the housing. The sensing element is configured to emit near infrared light provided from a light source external to the housing, and the sensing element is configured to collect near infrared light transmitted through the transparent window. A mirror is mounted in the housing at an angle with respect to the transparent window and opposite the sensing element. The angle allows the mirror to reflect the near infrared light, emitted by the sensing element, through the transparent window.
US11686674B2

The present invention is directed to a gas detector configured to improve response speed of a gas sensor. A gas detector includes a housing, a gas sensor main body installed in the housing, and a partition wall provided in the housing and limiting the surrounding of the gas sensor main body to separate from the other area. The housing or the partition wall includes an opening portion directly connected from the outside to an area inside the partition wall.
US11686673B2

The device is formed in a casing including a support, a spacer body, and a mirror element fixed together. A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are arranged on a bearing surface of the support and face a reflecting surface of the mirror element. The light-emitting element is configured to generate infrared radiation, and the light-receiving element is configured to receive light radiation reflected by the reflecting surface. The spacer body has an emission opening housing the light-emitting element and a reception opening housing the light-receiving element; the reception opening comprises a radiation-limitation portion configured to enable entry of reflected light radiation having an angle, with respect to a normal to the bearing surface, of less than a preset value.
US11686669B2

The invention provides an optical measurement device for measuring light to be inspected. The optical measurement device comprises a light receiving module, a light splitting module, and a plurality of color filters. The light receiving module is used for converting the light to be inspected into a first parallel light. The light splitting module is used for splitting the first parallel light into a plurality of parallel lights to be inspected. Each color filter receives at least one of the plurality of parallel lights to be inspected. The plurality of parallel lights to be inspected filtered by the plurality of color filters are used to calculate tristimulus values in the CIE color space.
US11686649B2

An early sign detection device includes a plurality of sensors, a data acquisition unit configured to acquire time series variation data of a physical amount from each of the plurality of sensors, a computation unit configured to compute an occurrence probability of a vibration mode involved in a sudden variant vibration of a detection subject from an amplitude or a phase of the time series variation data of the physical amount at each of the plurality of positions, and a detection unit configured to detect an early sign of the sudden variant vibration on the basis of the occurrence probability of the vibration mode. The plurality of sensors are respectively disposed at a plurality of positions of the detection subject and are each configured to measure the physical amount at a corresponding position of the plurality of positions.
US11686647B2

A leak check method includes: performing a first inspection of measuring a pressure in an internal space formed by a seal of the substrate holder, while evacuating the internal space, and detecting that the pressure reaches a first pressure threshold value within a predetermined first inspection time; performing a second inspection of closing the internal space that has been evacuated, measuring the pressure in the closed internal space, and detecting that the pressure in the closed internal space does not exceed a second pressure threshold value within a predetermined second inspection time; and performing a third inspection of measuring a pressure difference between the pressure in the closed internal space and a vacuum pressure in a master container, and detecting that an amount of increase in the pressure difference within a predetermined third inspection time is kept equal to or below a pressure difference threshold value.
US11686644B2

A leak in the membrane of a generally horizontal roof support deck includes dividing the membrane into separate zones and locating a sensor to detect moisture underneath the membrane. A unique digital code address is assigned to sensor where inputs of the sensors are connected to a single power and signaling cable system using a daisy chain. The serial bus controller is to interrogate each of the sensor devices using the address to identify zones where moisture is detected. A transmitting antenna is provided at each sensor which is switched on when moisture is detected for detecting of the sensor from above the membrane by a utility locate device to confirm the location of the sensor.
US11686640B2

A mask fitting level determination device includes a mask inner pressure detection unit inserted between a mask covering a mouth, nose and a face surface of a person to measure a pressure inside the mask. A circuit control unit derives information of a pressure value measured by the mask inner pressure detection unit and generates display information for the person wearing the mask. A determination display unit shows the person the display information generated by the circuit control unit. A battery unit supplies electricity to the circuit control unit and the determination display unit. A power supply switch starts and stops the supply of the electricity to the circuit control unit and the determination display unit. A start switch starts the mask inner pressure detection operation.
US11686638B2

A piezoelectric sensor includes a substrate, a meta-membrane adhered to the substrate, and a piezoelectric element adhered to the meta-membrane. The substrate includes a support frame which laterally surrounds and partly defines a recess and a cover film which overlies and partly defines the recess. The support frame supports the cover film along an entire periphery of the cover film. The meta-membrane is adhered to the cover film of the substrate. In accordance with one embodiment, the meta-membrane has an auxetic bi-axial kirigami honeycomb structure. In accordance with another embodiment, the meta-membrane has an auxetic hexagonal honeycomb structure. The meta-membrane is adhered to the substrate and to the piezoelectric element using elastic glue. In one proposed implementation, the substrate and meta-membrane are made of polycarbonate and the piezoelectric element comprises a piezoelectric substrate made of polyvinylidene fluoride.
US11686634B2

A system comprises an engine mounted to an aircraft wing by a plurality of clevis pins, a respective strain sensor mounted in at least one of the clevis pins, and a monitoring system operatively connected to each respective strain sensor to monitor stress in each of the clevis pins having a respective strain sensor.
US11686630B2

To obtain an imaging device that can improve temperature detection accuracy. An imaging device of the present disclosure includes a processing unit formed on a first semiconductor substrate and capable of performing predetermined image processing on the basis of image data obtained by an imaging unit, a temperature sensor formed on the first semiconductor substrate and capable of generating a detection signal according to a temperature, and a first pad electrode formed on the first semiconductor substrate and electrically insulated from a circuit formed on the first semiconductor substrate.
US11686609B2

A system for detecting distribution of a weight of a payload in a dump body of a vehicle includes first sensors, second sensors, and a controller. The dump body is pivotable about pins to be selectively seated and titled to a frame of the vehicle. The first sensors are arranged between the dump body and the frame, and detect components of the weight of the payload exerted through the dump body when the dump body is seated relative to the frame. The second sensors are arranged correspondingly within the pins, and detect components of the weight of the payload exerted through the dump body. The controller determines a status of payload distribution in the dump body based on the component of the weight of the payload detected by the first sensors and second sensors, and generate a notification to indicate the status of payload distribution.
US11686608B2

A weight measuring device includes a top layer including a plurality of first flats and at least one bi-stable spring band. The plurality of first flats are connected to each other via the at least one bi-stable spring band. The weight measuring device further includes a bottom layer including a plurality second flats connected the plurality of first flats. The weight measuring device further includes at least one force sensor interposed between the top layer and the bottom layer. The weight measuring device further includes a processor configured to determine a weight of an object placed on the top layer or the bottom layer based on signals generated from the at least one force sensor.
US11686601B2

A sensor system and method of operating the sensor system can include an indicator that is operable in resonance, the indicator being connected to a movable element of an actuator, and a sensor including sensor windings arranged in direct proximity to the indicator and external to a closed housing. The sensor can receive a position or an angle of the indicator, and can measure the position or the angle of the movable element inside the actuator through the closed housing based on inductive resonance facilitated by the indicator.
US11686593B2

A method for operating a more highly automated vehicle (HAF), in particular a highly automated vehicle, including: S1—providing a digital map or a highly accurate digital map, in a driver-assistance-system of the HAF; S2—determining a current vehicle position and locating the vehicle position in the digital map; S3—providing at least one expected feature property of at least one feature in a surroundings of the HAF; S4—detecting at least one actual feature property of a feature in the surroundings of the HAF at least partially on the basis of the expected feature property; S5—comparing the actual feature property with the expected feature property and ascertaining at least one differential value; S6—checking the plausibility of the actual feature property at least partially on the basis of the differential value. Also described is a corresponding system and a computer program.
US11686589B2

A charging amount calculation apparatus calculates an amount of power consumption by a battery for running along a running route and a during-running charging amount received by a power reception apparatus from at least one second power feeding facility. The charging amount calculation apparatus calculates a pre-running charging amount based on the amount of power consumption and the during-running charging amount.
US11686584B2

Methods and systems for indoor position sensing are disclosed. The described methods and systems are based on magnetoquasistatic field coupling theory and can be implemented in two- and three-dimensional, long-range, through-the-wall applications, where the transmitting devices are implemented outdoor, the receiving device is implemented indoor, or vice versa. Measurement systems implemented to characterize the disclosed methods are also presented for both two- and three-dimensional applications involving indoor position sensing. Orientation sensing methods and systems are also disclosed.
US11686582B2

An apparatus including an interface and a processor. The interface may be configured to receive area data and sensor data from a plurality of vehicle sensors. The processor may be configured to extract road characteristics for a location from the area data, predict expected sensor readings at the location for the plurality of sensors based on the road characteristics, calculate dynamic limits for the sensor data in response to the expected sensor readings and determine a plausibility of the sensor data received from the interface when the vehicle reaches the location. The sensor data may be plausible if the sensor data is within the dynamic limits. A confidence level of the sensor data may be adjusted in response to the plausibility of the sensor data.
US11686580B2

A level including a rotating level vial is provided. The level includes a locking mechanism that utilizes an actuator that engages a brake to lock the rotating vial into the desired position. The locking mechanism may include a spring element that is compressed by the actuator during locking, and the spring element in turn pushes against the brake facilitating control of the normal force that the brake applies to the vial surround of the rotating vial. The rotating level vial may engage the level body such that the rotating level vial is permitted to rotate 360 degrees in both the clockwise and counter clockwise directions.
US11686576B2

A metrology target includes a first target structure set having one or more first target structures formed within at least one of a first working zone or a second working zone of a sample. The metrology target includes a second target structure set having one or more second target structures formed within at least one of the first working zone or the second working zone. The first working zone may include a center of symmetry that overlaps with a center of symmetry of the second working zone when an overlay error of one or more layers of the sample is not present. The metrology target may additionally include a third target structure set, a fourth target structure set, or a fifth target structure set.
US11686575B2

Methods and systems for determining the integrity of a manufactured board are disclosed. An example system includes a testing platform configured to secure the manufactured board, a sensor configured to measure a parameter corresponding to a flatness of a surface of the board, and a controller. The controller is configured to identify regions on the surface corresponding to one of a peak or a valley based on the parameter, and calculate a score representing the integrity of the manufactured board based on the identified peaks and valleys. The controller adjusts a flow rate, a pressure, a temperature, and position of a deposited substance in a manufacturing process based on a comparison with a height of the peak and/or a depth of the valley to stored peak heights and/or valley depths. In some examples, a mechanical tester determines a compressive strength and a density of the board at the identified regions.
US11686572B2

The present disclosure provides an OCT imaging system to reduce or eliminate frequency-domain aliasing artifacts. The frequency is shifted using a carrier frequency to define a sampling range substantially centered on the carrier frequency. An image of the sample is generated from a displayed imaging range that consists of a subset of the frequencies within the sampling range. Furthermore, the system may be configured to determine the carrier frequency such that a Nyquist frequency corresponding to the shifted frequency is extended beyond either an upper or a lower bound of an OCT quality envelope corresponding to the first portion of light. Additionally, the carrier frequency may be determined such that a lower bound of the OCT quality envelope is greater or less than a zero-frequency DC limit.
US11686567B2

A handrail installation device, including a first arm removably connected to at least a portion of a stair tread, a second arm pivotally disposed at a first end on at least a portion of the first arm to rotate from retracted in parallel with the first arm in a first position to at least partially extended away from the first arm in a second position, and rotate from extended away from the first arm in the second position to retracted in parallel with the first arm in the first position, and a bubble level disposed on at least a portion of the second arm to identify a level surface based on a position of at least one of the first arm and the second arm.
US11686566B2

An electronic ignition circuit for use with a fuse head may include a microcontroller, a firing capacitor operably coupled to the fuse head, a voltage measuring circuit operably coupled to the microcontroller and configured to measure a voltage across the firing capacitor, and a switch operably coupled to the microcontroller, the switch being provided in series with the fuse head and a ground. The microcontroller may be configured control the voltage measuring circuit to measure a first voltage across the firing capacitor, actuate the switch to discharge the firing capacitor across the fuse head in response to a firing signal, control the voltage measuring circuit to measure a second voltage across the firing capacitor, and output a shot detection signal based on the first voltage and the second voltage.
US11686565B2

A control circuit for a detonator which includes a charger pump with an inductor which is connected to earth via a fusible link and wherein the charge pump is placed in an operative mode to produce a charging voltage for a firing capacitor if the link is fused in response to a shock tube event.
US11686564B2

A fully automated, integrated, end-to-end synchronized and compact manufacturing system produces polymer or metal case ammunition. Manufacturing stations support case assembly, sealing (gluing/welding), final product inspection, cartridge packaging or binning, and loading. Station modularity facilitates rapid changeover to accommodate ammunition of differing calibers. Sensors and apparatus may be provided to place a manufacturing cell in a wait state until all components or materials are received in a preferred orientation for proper assembly. The system may join and use multipart cases, each including a lower portion with a head end attached thereto and at least one upper portion having a necked-down transition to the open top end. Elevator feeders, vibratory bowl feeders, and robotic pick-and-place feeders may be used to deliver components for assembly.
US11686560B2

A visual impairment device includes a power supply, an intense light source having two or more beams of intense light with different peak wavelengths and a wavelength bandwidth less than 50 nm, a modulator and a control circuit. The modulator operates to modulates the two or more beams of intense light to produce a spatial array such that at least one of the beams used to produce the spatial array has the requisite irradiance to cause visual impairment. In some examples, the beams of intense light are laser beams. Also included are methods of using the device to cause visual impairment of an intruder who enters a visual impairment zone created by said device.
US11686559B2

A laser weapon system is described. Particularly, embodiments describe subsystems of a laser weapon system including those necessary for laser generation, operational control, optical emission, and heat dissipation configured to provide a lightweight unit of reduced dimensions.
US11686558B2

A conducted electrical weapon (“CEW”) launches wire-tethered electrodes from one or more cartridges to provide a current through a human or animal target to impede locomotion of the target. The CEW may detect when the electrodes launched from the cartridges may provide the current through more than one target. The CEW may detect when electrodes launched from the cartridges may provide the current through the same target. The CEW may set the pulse rate of the current based on detecting the launch of electrodes from one or more cartridges, detecting that electrodes may provide the current through two or more targets, and/or detecting that two or more pairs of electrodes may deliver the current through the same target.
US11686552B2

A chest pack holster can include a pocket designed to receive at least part of a handgun body of a handgun. The chest pack holster can include strap fasteners that are designed to fasten the chest pack holster to securing straps of a chest pack (such as side straps and/or shoulder straps). At least part of the chest pack holster can be positioned between a pack body of the chest pack and a wearer of the chest pack. The securing straps of the chest pack can be designed to extend around a torso of the wearer of the chest pack to assist in securing the chest pack to the wearer of the chest pack.
US11686549B1

A cable slide structure of a crossbow, wherein the crossbow contains a crossbow body, a bow limb assembly, two pulley assemblies, a bowstring, two auxiliary strings, and a cable slide. The crossbow body includes a holder and a slot, and the bow limb assembly is fixed on the crossbow body. The two pulley assemblies are connected to two edges of the bow limb assembly, and two ends of the bowstring are connected with the two pulley assemblies. Each of the two auxiliary strings includes a first connection segment formed on a first end thereof, and each of the two auxiliary strings includes a second connection segment formed on a second end thereof. Two first connection segments of the two auxiliary strings are connected with the two pulley assemblies. The cable slide is slidably received in the slot and includes two opposite first fixing portions and two opposite second fixing portions.
US11686542B2

A pistol slide, including an upper part configured to guide a barrel of the pistol, a lower part configured to guide a recoil spring guide rod and a recoil spring, wherein the upper part and lower part are manufactured independently and coupled together to serve as the pistol slide.
US11686538B2

A fill pack includes a first sheet and a second sheet. The first sheet has a first end, a second end and a first plurality of flutes. A first microstructure includes first top flat strips, first bottom flat strips and first conduit sides connecting the first top flat strips to the first bottom flat strips. A plurality of first radii connect the first top flat strips to the first conduit sides and the first bottom flat strips to the first conduit sides. The second sheet has a second plurality of flutes. A second microstructure includes second top flat strips, second bottom flat strips and second conduit sides connecting the second top flat strips to the second bottom flat strips. A plurality of second radii connect the second top flat strips to the second conduit sides and second bottom flat strips to the second conduit sides.
US11686537B2

A method of manufacturing a heat exchanger is provided. The method includes forming a first substrate by additively manufacturing a body defining a first outer surface and a second outer surface opposite the first outer surface, a first partial fluid flow channel formed within the first outer surface, a second partial fluid flow channel formed within the second outer surface, and at least one internal fluid flow channel completely formed within the body, and coupling the first substrate to a second substrate including a partial fluid flow channel formed within a surface of the second substrate such that the first partial fluid flow channel of the first substrate and the partial fluid flow channel of the second substrate combine to form a combined fluid flow channel.
US11686535B2

A heat exchanger includes a shell housing a plurality of tubes and defining an exhaust fluid flow path within a first volume enclosed by the shell. The outer surfaces of the plurality of tubes are in fluid communication with the exhaust fluid flow path. The heat exchanger includes a cap attached to a first end of the shell and defining a second volume. A header is configured to separate the first volume from the second volume, flex with thermal expansion, and define tube inlet and outlet positions. The tube inlets and outlets are in fluid communication with a source fluid flow path, and each tube is substantially U-shaped and defines a flow path of the source fluid within the exhaust fluid flow path. The heat exchanger includes at least one longitudinal flow baffle within the shell configured to reduce an amount of exhaust fluid that may bypass the tubes.
US11686531B2

The device comprises: a shell defining an interior volume to receive the first fluid extending along a longitudinal axis; a tube bundle arranged inside the shell, the tube bundle extending longitudinally in the interior volume to receive the second fluid; a disengagement member, able to perform liquid vapor separation in the fluid carried from the interior volume, the disengagement member being arranged above the tube bundle. In at least one plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the disengagement member includes at least two separate fluid passage regions and at least one intermediate region preventing fluid from passing.
US11686523B2

A refrigeration unit having an evaporator tube, a heater tube in a spaced relationship with the evaporator tube, a wire that couples the evaporator tube to the heater tube, and a bracket having a first panel configured to contact the heater tube and a second panel that defines a recess configured to receive the heater tube therein.
US11686519B2

A batch ice maker can execute a pulsed fill routine in which a control system pulses water from a water supply into the sump until the sump reaches a predefined freeze routine starting level. Pulsing may begin after continuously filling the sump to a fill-approach level. A batch ice maker can execute a differential freeze routine in which the control system circulates water from a sump to an ice formation device until water level decreases by a predefined differential amount from a high control water level based on the water level in the sump at a point in time after the sump was filled to a freeze routine starting level. The high control water level can be set based on water level in the sump when sump water temperature reaches a predefined pre-chill temperature. The predefined pre-chill temperature can be associated with a switchover from sensible cooling to latent cooling.
US11686517B2

A method of controlling operation of an air conditioning system (10) includes measuring a compressor speed of one or more chillers (12) of an air conditioning system and measuring a refrigerant pressure of the one or more chillers of the air conditioning system. A chiller load is calculated using the compressor speed and the refrigerant pressure. An air conditioning system includes one or more chillers. Each chiller includes a compressor (22), a condenser (30) operably connected to the compressor, and an evaporator (28) operably connected to the compressor and the condenser. A controller (34) is operably connected to the one or more chillers and is configured to calculate a chiller load utilizing a measurement of compressor speed and a measurement of refrigerant pressure of the chiller.
US11686516B2

A refrigerant-amount determination kit includes a sensor and a processor. The sensor is mounted at least temporarily on at least one of a portion of a refrigeration cycle apparatus and the periphery of the refrigeration cycle apparatus. The refrigeration cycle apparatus is an apparatus having a refrigerant circuit that includes a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator. The processor determines the amount of a refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit based on a detection result detected by the sensor during operation of the refrigeration cycle apparatus.
US11686509B2

The present disclosure relates to a magnetic cooling system and provides a magnetic cooling system including: a magnetocaloric material for generating and emitting heat when a magnetic field is applied thereto, and absorbing heat when the magnetic field is removed therefrom; a magnetic heat exchanger containing the magnetocaloric material therein; a heat transfer fluid for heat-exchanging with the magnetocaloric material while flowing inside the magnetic heat exchanger, a magnetic field applying part including a first magnetic field applying part and a second magnetic field applying part, which are installed to have the magnetic heat exchanger disposed therebetween; and a driving part for moving one of the first magnetic field applying part and the second magnetic field applying part, where, as the driving part moves one of the first magnetic field applying part and the second magnetic field applying part, the attraction force between the first magnetic field applying part and the second magnetic field applying part causes synchronous movement of the other thereof.
US11686503B2

A smart electric heating device comprises a storage unit, a first heating unit, a second heating unit, a control unit and a first temperature sensing unit. With the first temperature sensing unit to obtain an ambient temperature, the control unit compares the ambient temperature with a maximum increased temperature and a set temperature for controlling the first heating unit and the second heating unit to actuate. In this way, each user can use hot water of sufficient temperature better.
US11686502B2

A heat-generating element for an electric heating device includes a heating element casing which comprises a casing element formed from a ceramic material and a casing mating element formed from a ceramic material. The two casing elements bear against each other in a sealing manner and enclose, in a sealing manner between each other, a PTC element and conductor tracks. The conductor tracks bear, in an electrically conductive manner, against the PTC element and are assigned different polarities for energizing the PTC element. The heating element casing carries contact strips connected in an electrically conductive manner to the associated conductor tracks. At least one of the conductor tracks is formed by an electrically conductive element which is provided with through holes and which, in a height direction of the conductor track, comprises discrete points of support that bear against the PTC element and one of casing element and casing mating element. The present invention further relates to an electric heating device with at least one heater casing with a heat-generating element of the type described here that is arranged in a circulation chamber with a heating element casing joining at least one PTC element and contact strips energizing the PTC element as a structural unit. The heat generating element has the contact strips electrically connected to the PTC element projecting over itself. A partition wall separates the circulation chamber from a connection chamber of the heater casing. The contact strips of the PTC heating element protrude through the partition wall and are exposed and electrically connected.
US11686501B2

A wall panel assembly for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit includes a panel having a main body, where the panel is configured to be fastened to a frame of the HVAC unit, and a plurality of stiffeners attached to the panel along a perimeter of the main body. A stiffener of the plurality of stiffeners includes a flat portion and a raised portion offset from the flat portion, where the raised portion is configured to sealingly engage with a component disposed within the HVAC unit.
US11686487B2

An indoor unit for heating, cooling, and dehumidifying air is disclosed. In an embodiment, the indoor unit includes a first coil assembly and a second coil assembly. When operating in a cooling mode or a heating mode, the first coil and second coil are in parallel fluid communication. When in a dehumidifying mode, the first coil and second coil are in serial fluid communication, which enables the first coil to function as a condenser and the second coil to function as an evaporator. The disclosed indoor unit provides negligible or no change in sensible heat while providing dehumidification.
US11686485B2

Systems and methods for distributing treatment compound to an enclosed environment comprise a storage and distribution assembly for storing a treatment compound, a pipe system for delivering the treatment compound from the storage tank to an environment and an exhaust system configured to exhaust the treatment compound out of the environment.
US11686481B2

The invention provides a humidifier apparatus (100) comprising (i) a first chamber (110) for containing water (101), (ii) a humidifying element (120) configured to facilitate evaporation and/or nebulization of water (101) contained in the first chamber (110), wherein the humidifying element (120) comprises a wick element (130), (iii) a replaceable or refillable unit (230) for containing an immobilized phosphate removing material (150), wherein the phosphate removing material (150) is configured to reduce a concentration of phosphate in water (101) before evaporation and/or nebulization of the water (101), and wherein the wick element (130) comprises the phosphate removing material (150), wherein the phosphate removing material (150) is comprised by the wick element (130) as one or more of impregnated phosphate removing material (150) and coated phosphate removing material (150), and wherein the wick element (130) is configured as the replaceable unit (230). Further, a wick element (130) comprising a phosphate removing material (150) is presented.
US11686472B2

A powered secondary air supply ranger burner and method thereof provide an efficient burner with improved heat transfer. An atmospheric range burner controls a burner flame by insulating the burner and supplying a secondary air to the burner. The secondary air concentrates a heating zone to a center of a cooking vessel to be heated by the burner flame. The secondary air also controls a size and a shape of the burner flame.
US11686469B2

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a system, method, and apparatus comprising a direct steam generator configured to generate saturated steam and combustion exhaust constituents.
US11686462B2

A lamp assembly, a lamp system, a method for assembling lamp system, and a method for disassembling lamp system are provided. The lamp assembly includes a lamp and a connector assembly. The lamp includes a frame body, a light source assembly, and an electrical connector assembly. The frame body has an accommodating space. The light source assembly is fixed on the frame body. The electrical connector assembly is disposed in the accommodating space and is connected to the light source assembly. The electrical connector assembly includes a first connector and a second connector, and the first connector and the second connector are connected to each other by a power wire and a signal wire. The connector assembly includes an electrical connecting member. The connector assembly is configured to be connected to the aforementioned lamp and another lamp through the electrical connecting member.
US11686459B2

Apparatus and methods for lighting. The apparatus may include an LED light source. The light source may be disposed in housing. The apparatus may include a circuit. The circuit may be configured to cause the LED light source to emit light at: a first intensity; and a second intensity that is different from the first intensity. The apparatus may include a mechanical power state selector. A user may use the power state selector to select between LED light sources that are arranged to illuminate in different directions. The apparatus may include a CCT state selector. A user may use the CCT state selector to select a CCT for one or more LED light sources. The CCT may be produced by combining light from one or more LEDs of different CCTs.
US11686454B2

An area light is provided including a housing defining a central axis having a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a side portion; a cover mounted on the first end of the housing; a light module disposed on the first end of the housing, the light module comprising a heat sink and at least one light-emitting diode (LED) to emit light through the cover and in a direction that extends 360 degrees around the center axis; and a battery receptacle disposed on the side portion of the housing to receive a removable battery pack and supply electric power form the removable battery pack to the at least one LED. At least one hook is provided on or adjacent the first end of the housing.
US11686451B2

A light for the exterior of a vehicle includes at least one illuminant and a lens. The illuminant emits light in an activated state that hits the lens directly or indirectly via a reflector. The lens is transparent to light in a first predetermined wavelength range and reflects light in a second different wavelength range when the illuminant is deactivated. The illuminant is at least one light-emitting diode (LED). The diode emits light in a third wavelength range, which is predetermined such that the emitted light, after transmission through the lens, is present in a predetermined fourth wavelength range that is at least different from the second wavelength region. The light can be used as part of a rear light in a vehicle.
US11686450B2

A vehicle lamp includes a plurality of light source modules that includes light sources including a plurality of light emitting elements that emit different colors of light and lens bodies disposed in front of the light sources, and the plurality of light source modules are disposed in a matrix manner in a plane to constitute at least one light emitting area.
US11686449B2

A vehicle headlamp device to be applied to a vehicle includes a light source and a lens. The light source configured to emit illumination light. The illumination light is to pass through the lens. The lens includes an illumination light converging portion configured to, when a part of the illumination light passes through the illumination light converging portion, converge the part of the illumination light. The illumination light converging portion is provided in a region through which high-beam illumination light emitted from the light source passes. The illumination light converged by the illumination light converging portion is used as marking light at an optical axis adjustment that is performed during manufacturing of the vehicle.
US11686448B1

This invention is a projector headlight that, while offering dual beam patterns, boasts a 100% utilization of the light emitted from a light source by one of the following methods: (1) employing a reflective cutoff shield means to reflect the incoming light from said light source back to the reflector to enhance the illumination in low-beam pattern, (2) using reversible cutoff shield means to reflect the incoming light from said light source back to the reflector to enhance the illumination in low-beam pattern with no moving part involved, (3) utilizing a selective light-filter cutoff means to selectively reflect the incoming light from said light source back to the reflector to enhance the illumination in low-beam pattern without making use of any moving part, (4) using a low-beam light-emitting subassembly and a high-beam light-emitting subassembly that are separated by partition means to achieve dual beam patterns with no moving part, or (5) adopting a low-beam light-emitting subassembly in low-beam pattern and a high-beam light-emitting subassembly in high-beam pattern without any moving part.
US11686443B1

An electrical connector strip is adapted for structural applications in theater, television and entertainment industries. The connector strip includes an elongated rigid enclosure defining a hollow continuous internal wireway receiving electrical wiring within an interior of the enclosure. At least one outlet pocket is formed in a side wall of the enclosure. A connector adapter plate is located in the outlet pocket and extends within the interior of the enclosure. At least one output connector is carried by the connector adapter plate, and resides within the interior of the enclosure with external access provided through the outlet pocket.
US11686442B2

A downlight apparatus includes a driver, a light source, a light holder, a first switch and a second switch. The driver has a power converter and a controller. The light holder is used for fixing the light source. The holder bottom of the light holder defines a light opening. The light source emits a light from the light opening. The light holder is placed in an installation cavity. The rim structure is connected to the holder bottom. The rim structure has a rim edge concealing the installation cavity. The first switch is provided for users to operate to adjust a setting. The second switch is provided for users to operate to adjust the setting. The first switch is concealed in the installation cavity. The second switch is placed on the rim edge exposed outside the installation cavity. The first switch and the second switch are coupled to the controller.
US11686441B2

The present invention provides a lighting system that can produce a gradation of brightness and gives an unprecedented characteristic impression. The lighting system is provided on a mounting surface and includes a plurality of strip-shaped plates each extending in a strip shape and one or a plurality of planar light sources, in which the plurality of strip-shaped plates are each arranged side by side at an interval such that a main surface of the strip-shaped plate intersects the mounting surface, wherein arrangement space is provided in an area outwardly extending from the strip-shaped plates, the planar light source is disposed in the arrangement space and constitutes an lengthy emission surface, and a part of light emitted from the emission surface enters between the strip-shaped plates during lighting.
US11686440B2

A modular lighting fixture includes a modular housing portion and one or more separate modular lighting components arranged adjacent to the modular housing portion. The separate modular lighting component(s) can include a lighting assembly having a plurality of LED devices and a plurality of optics. Each optic is secured relative to one of the plurality of LED devices. The lighting fixture also includes at least one securement assembly that secures the modular housing portion and the modular lighting component(s) together. More specifically, the securement assembly may include at least one end plate that secures the modular housing portion and the separate modular lighting component(s) together.
US11686429B2

A frame includes first and second mounting assemblies pivotally connected with each other. The frame also includes first, second and third leg assemblies. The first leg assembly is pivotally connected the first mounting assembly. The second leg assembly is pivotally connected with the second mounting assembly. The third leg assembly is pivotally connected with both of the first and second mounting assemblies. The frame further includes one or more supporting assemblies to enhance stability of the frame. A supporting assembly includes first, second and third members and a controller. The first member is connected with the third leg assembly. The controller is connected with the first member and selectively movable along the first member. The second member is pivotally connected with the controller and the first mounting assembly, and the third member is pivotally connected with the controller and the second mounting assembly.
US11686428B2

Provided is a telescopic pole assembly, and a locking and damping assembly therefore.
US11686426B2

Particular embodiments disclosed herein provide a joint of a tray arm assembly, comprising a joint body, a shaft configured to rotate relative to the joint body about a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and a slip clutch assembly, comprising a clutch stack, including a plurality of first clutch plates keyed to the shaft and a plurality of second clutch plates keyed to the joint body. The clutch stack further comprises a spring configured to selectively exert a force on the clutch stack, wherein the force compresses the clutch stack causing a friction between the plurality of first clutch plates and the plurality of second clutch plates with respect to a rotation of the shaft relative to the joint body.
US11686424B2

One embodiment of an apparatus having plurality of stands includes a central stand member 3600H at middle; a plurality of peripheral stand members including a plurality of peripheral stand members wherein each peripheral stand member 3700A further including a horizontally elongated stand 3701A fastened to the central stand member 3600H, and a plurality of peripheral stand members wherein each peripheral stand member 3716 further including the horizontally curved stand 3717 mounted between and fastened to one peripheral stand member 3700A at left and other peripheral stand member 3700A at right; and an electrical system 3800D being installed in the central stand member 3600H and in each peripheral stand member 3700A of the plurality of peripheral stand members for lighting plurality of light bulbs being mounted on plurality of peripheral stand members and for operating water fountain on top of the central stand member 3600H. Other embodiments are described and shown.
US11686421B2

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a vacuum thermal insulation panel capable of reducing the occurrence probability of poor welding of a metal outer wrapping material. The method of producing the vacuum thermal insulation panels 100, 100A to 100 D, 101, 101A according to the present invention includes a “covering step of covering a core material 110 or 110B with a metal foil 130 or 131” and a “welding step of welding a metal foil portion on an outer side of the core material”, and the core material is at least partially covered with a cover 120, 120A, or 120D at a timing when the covering step is to be started. Note that when the entire surface of the core material is covered with the cover, it is preferable to reduce the inside of the cover to seal the cover before the covering step, and when a part of the core material is covered with the cover, it is preferable to simultaneously reduce a pressure inside the metal foil and a pressure inside the cover to seal the metal foil.
US11686417B2

A method is provided for the autonomous assessment of pipelines. The apparatus combines commercially available mechanisms for pipeline assessment in a unique untethered pipeline assessment device that is propelled through the pipeline by the flow of liquid in the pipeline, thus allowing for the assessment of pipelines much cheaper, faster, safer and less disruptive to the community than the current assessment methods.
US11686412B2

A connector having a male component and a female component. The male component has a first tubular section, a second tubular section, and a midsection between the first tubular section and the second tubular section. The female component is connected to the second tubular section of the male component upon relative rotational movement between the male component and the female component and disconnected from the second tubular section of the male component upon relative rotational movement between the male component and the female component in a direction opposite to the direction when the male component and the female component are being connected. The female component has a bearing surface bearing against the midsection of the male component in a first position of the bearing surface and is spaced from the midsection of the male component in other positions of the female component.
US11686411B2

An extensible-retractable helically reinforced hose is formed by helically wrapping a freshly extruded bead of thermoplastic material about a rotating mandrel to form a helical array of spaced reinforcing coils, and by helically wrapping a freshly extruded thin yet wide web of thermoplastic material so edge regions of the wide web are placed onto and bond continuously with the peripheries of each adjacent pair of the reinforcing coils, with a leading edge region of each new wrap of the web overlying and bonding to a trailing edge region of a prior web wrap. Central portions of each web wrap extend radially inwardly and are sandwiched between adjacent reinforcing coils when the hose is retracted to a minimal axial length.
US11686409B2

A cable hanger includes: a generally flat base; and first and second opposed arms extending in a first direction from the base; wherein hooks are positioned on free ends of the arms; wherein each of the free ends of the arms has an arcuate cross-section; wherein the arms form a gap configured to receive and grasp a cable; and wherein the cable hanger is a unitary member formed of a polymeric material.
US11686403B2

A valve having a valve body to which an actuator can be fastened is specified, the valve body including at least a first and a second housing part made of plastic, a first fluid duct being formed in the first housing part and a second fluid duct being formed in the second housing part, and at least one of the two fluid ducts opening out at a valve seat, and at least one elongated, rectilinear stiffening element being inserted in sections both into the first housing part and into the second housing part, and the at least one stiffening element being at least approximately perpendicular to a plane in which the at least one valve seat extends.
US11686397B1

A pool cycling valve with a valve body, a ratchet assembly, and a bottom plate. The valve body has an inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports. The ratchet assembly is rotatably coupled to the valve body and has a ratchet arm extending away from the ratchet assembly. When in a closed position, the ratchet assembly is configured to interfere with a stream of water. When in a open position, the ratchet assembly is rotated from the closed position by a predetermined angle. The bottom plate has an outlet port aperture aligned with one of the outlet ports and a ratchet tooth operably aligned with the ratchet arm. When the ratchet assembly rotates from the open position to the closed position, the ratchet assembly aligns the outlet port aperture with a different outlet port.
US11686396B2

A valve includes: a first plate having a first vent hole; a second plate having a second vent hole; a valve chamber positioned between the first plate and the second plate; a valve body including a third vent hole; an exhaust path-forming plate forming a first flow path between the exhaust path-forming plate and the valve body, forming a second flow path between the exhaust path-forming plate and the second plate, and having a fourth vent hole through which the first flow path is in communication with the second flow path; and a fifth vent hole. The first flow path establishes communication between the second vent hole and the fourth vent hole, and the second flow path establishes communication between the fourth vent hole and the fifth vent hole.
US11686394B2

A valve seat includes a first end; a second end positioned opposite from the first end; and a body extending from the first end to the second end, the body defining an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a main bore extending through the body from the first end to the second end, the main bore defining a main bore axis, the body defining a shaft bore extending from the inner surface to the outer surface, the shaft bore defining a shaft bore axis positioned perpendicular to the main bore axis, the shaft bore defining an inner shaft opening and an outer shaft opening, the body defining a concave seat bearing surface extending around the inner shaft opening.
US11686391B1

The end seal with self-sealing insert includes a flexible, or compressible body, and a stiffer insert to reduce wear caused by the rotating anilox roller. The end seal with self-sealing insert places the recesses within the body beneath an expanded insert. The insert, when under pressure, seals the holes of the body, preventing introduction and accumulation of solvents. The result is a degradation-resistant end seal. By having extensions, also referred to as posts or legs, protruding from the insert that pass into the body, the reliance on adhesives is avoided. The reduction of the use of adhesives is helpful because adhesives are sensitive to solvents used in ink and to cleaning solutions. In the preferred embodiment, circular posts extend downward from the insert, passing into circular holes in the body.
US11686388B2

A nonlinear closed-loop control combined with an integral time-delay feedback control is disclosed to adjust a speed ratio of an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) system. A speed ratio control for an IVT system involves a forward speed controller and a crank length controller for different speed ranges. The time-delay control is designed to reduce speed fluctuations of the output speed of an IVT with an accurate speed ratio. The speed ratio of an IVT with the disclosed control strategy can achieve an excellent tracking response for the desired constant output speed and reduce speed fluctuations of the output speed of an IVT by the time-delay feedback control.
US11686381B1

A composite hybrid gear assembly includes a gear hub formed from a composite material and a gear head assembly. The gear hub includes a shaft region having an axially symmetrical external profile and a hub web region having a flared profile extending from the shaft region. The gear head assembly includes a head web region and a teeth region where the gear head assembly is fixed to the gear hub. Additionally, the composite hybrid gear assembly includes a first sleeve fixed to an external surface of the shaft region. An associated method of making a composite hybrid gear assembly is also provided.
US11686376B2

Connecting section for a two-part hub that support a driven shaft of a hybrid drive module having a first hub section and a second hub section. The connecting section can be arranged coaxially with the first hub section and the second hub section and can be arranged between the first hub section and the second hub section. The connecting section is designed as a sliding bearing.
US11686375B2

A gear unit for a powertrain of a motor vehicle includes a drive shaft, a driven shaft, first and second planetary gearsets and first and second shifting elements. The first shifting element drivingly connects the drive shaft to an input of the first planetary gearset, and the second shifting element drivingly connects the drive shaft to an input of the second planetary gearset. An output element of the second planetary gearset is connected to the input of the first planetary gearset to be fixed with respect to rotation relative to it, and an output of the first planetary gearset is at least indirectly drivingly connected to the driven shaft. A shared element is fixed with respect to relative rotation and, with an inner toothing, forms a ring gear of the first planetary gearset and, with an outer toothing, forms a sun gear of the second planetary gearset.
US11686372B2

A mechanism includes a housing, a transmission axle arranged at a center of the housing, an internally toothed ring track fixed to an inner circumference of the housing, and a coaxial gear set arranged between the transmission axle and the internally toothed ring track. The coaxial gear set includes a sun gear, a planetary gear set, and an output member. The planetary gear set includes a first carrier frame and a second carrier frame rotatably arranged at two ends of the sun gear. Multiple planetary gears are rotatably arranged between the first and second carrier frames and around the sun gear. Each of the planetary gears is in meshing engagement with the output member. The coaxial gear set is made in a modularized form for subsequent assembly in an optional manner, so as to provide an efficacy of easing assembling and servicing operations.
US11686363B1

An energy absorber includes a flexible tensile member having lengthwise sections arranged serially along a length of the flexible tensile member. Lengthwise sections define convolutions. Features are provided for both restricting straightening of the convolutions and automatically reconfiguring, in response predetermined tension in the flexible tensile member, to allow straightening of the convolutions.
US11686362B2

A shock stand absorber includes a resilient layer disposed on a planar frame structure and a plurality of vertical supports positioned to support the planar frame structure from below. Each of the vertical supports includes a resilient member between a first vertical support member and a second vertical support member in a telescoping arrangement. The resilient member is deformable in response to a telescoping movement between the first vertical support member and the second vertical support member. A plurality of connecting webs are formed between the vertical supports. The plurality of vertical supports are longitudinally aligned with a plurality of points on one or more paths defined on the bottom side of the planar frame structure.
US11686351B2

A clutch assembly for a roller door operator, the clutch assembly providing selective engagement with a drive wheel, the clutch assembly comprising: a rotatable shaft rotatable relative to the drive wheel; a clutch disc supported in a clutch lever and arranged to rotate with the rotatable shaft, the clutch disc and clutch lever configured to rotate relative to one another around the axis of rotation of the shaft; and a clutch cam supported in a clutch base, the clutch base configured to permit operative rotation of the clutch cam around the axis of rotation of the shaft in a first direction; wherein the clutch lever is operatively associated with the clutch cam so that rotational movement of the clutch lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction actuates movement of the clutch disc and the clutch lever axially along the rotatable shaft to engage or disengage the clutch disc with the drive wheel, and subsequent rotational movement of the clutch lever in the first direction actuates rotational movement of the clutch cam relative to the clutch base in the first direction.
US11686337B2

A faceted lobular threaded component and methods for making and/or installing the same. A faceted lobular threaded component may include a head, and a shank extending along a longitudinal axis away from the head. The component may also include an external faceted lobular thread in the shank extending around the longitudinal axis. The external faceted lobular thread may include at least four facets per thread revolution, and at least four lobes per thread revolution circumferentially interspersed between the at least four facets and established by the at least four facets.
US11686331B2

The invention relates to a load carrier coupling (10) for the releasable securing of a rear load carrier (9), which has a supporting base (80) for placing a load thereon, on a coupling body (93), configured in particular as a coupling ball, of a motor vehicle trailer coupling (90), wherein the load carrier coupling (10) has a base (11) which forms the supporting base (80) or is provided for holding the supporting base (80), wherein a clamping device (30) comprising two clamping parts (31, 32) is arranged on the base (11) and is adjustable by an actuating device (40) between an open position (O) provided for inserting the coupling body (93) into an intermediate space between the clamping parts (31, 32) and for removing the coupling body (93) from the intermediate space and a clamping position (K) provided for clamping the coupling body (93), wherein the clamping parts (31, 32) are at a greater distance from each other in the open position (O) for the insertion and removal of the coupling body (93) than in the clamping position (K). At least one of the clamping parts (32) is mounted movably with respect to a stop surface (65) using a bearing arrangement (70) having at least two degrees of freedom of movement (S2, S3, S4) which differ from one another, and therefore said clamping part is adjustable by the coupling body (93), which is supported on the other clamping part (31), for alignment with the coupling body (93) during a final portion of movement of the clamping device (30) in order to take up the clamping position (K) with respect to the stop surface (65).
US11686329B2

Disclosed is a turbine fracturing apparatus. The turbine fracturing apparatus includes: a main power assembly and an auxiliary power assembly. The main power assembly includes a first power source and a piston pump connected to the first power source; the first power source outputs power to the piston pump, and the piston pump outputs a first liquid. The auxiliary power assembly includes a second power source, a load sensitive system connected to the second power source, and an auxiliary power device; the second power source outputs power to the load sensitive system, the load sensitive system is connected to the auxiliary power device and outputs a second liquid for the auxiliary power device. The first liquid is different from the second liquid, and the first liquid and the second liquid have certain pressure. The load sensitive system is configured to regulate a pressure of the second liquid in real time according to pressure of the second liquid required by the auxiliary power device.
US11686326B2

A mounting base of a ceiling fan has a mounting disc, a fitting sleeve, and a positioning unit. The mounting disc has a through hole. The fitting sleeve is mounted in the through hole and has a hanging block located on an end of the fitting sleeve. The fitting sleeve is hung on the mounting disc via the hanging block. An accommodating space is formed through the fitting sleeve and is adapted to accommodate a hanging rod. The positioning unit is mounted in the accommodating space and is capable of engaging with the hanging rod. The positioning unit has a bending edge. The positioning unit is hung on the fitting sleeve via the bending edge. The mounting base has a simplified assembling process and a great stability in mounting structure.
US11686322B1

A quick buckle structure of a fan blade of a ceiling fan comprises a base fixed on a rotor of a ceiling fan motor, wherein the base is provided with a bottom wall and a front wall, the front wall is provided with an insertion opening, the bottom wall is provided with a guide rail part adjacent to the insertion opening, and the bottom wall is provided with a fixing frame located above the guide rail part. The fan blade is inserted into the insertion opening with a tongue part, wherein the tongue part extends along the guide rail part. The tongue part is provided with a base area located behind the fixing frame, a stop block is integrally erected on the base area, and the stop block abuts against the fixing frame so that the fan blade cannot exit from the insertion port.
US11686315B2

A ceiling mounted fan or ceiling fan includes a body defining an interior passage having an inlet and an outlet provided on the body. The inlet, outlet, and interior passage can be annular. An impeller mounted is mounted within the interior passage and driven by a motor mounted within the body to draw a volume of air through the interior passage from the inlet to the outlet. The impeller blades include a set of extensions extending from the tip.
US11686308B2

An oil-free water-injected screw air compressor comprises a housing that encloses two rotors for generating compressed air, and an air water separator for separating the water from the compressed air. Water injection can effectively cool a compressor, and some embodiments provide a sealing system for isolation of compressor bearing lubricant from water used for cooling.
US11686296B2

A fluid routing plug for use with a fluid end section. The fluid end section being one of a plurality of fluid end sections making up a fluid end side of a high pressure pump. The fluid routing plug is installed within a horizontal bore formed in a fluid end section and is configured to route fluid throughout the fluid end section.
US11686291B2

A method (100) of mounting blades (22) to a rotor hub (20) of a wind turbine (10), the wind turbine (10) comprising a tower (12), a nacelle (16) mounted on the tower (12), the rotor hub (20) being coupled to the nacelle (16), and blades (22), each blade (22) comprising a blade root segment (56) and a blade extension segment (66), the method (100) comprising mounting a first blade root segment (50) to the rotor hub (20), mounting a second blade (72) to the rotor hub (20) after mounting the first blade root segment (50), the second blade (72) comprising a second blade root segment (52) and a second blade extension segment (62), and connecting a first blade extension segment (60) to the first blade root segment (50) after mounting the second blade (72).
US11686284B2

An underwater energy storage system comprising a container where energy is stored by transporting water between the container and a body of water, is disclosed. 5 The container comprises a water- and gas-tight membrane surrounding a container volume, where the container is rendered mainly incompressible by a fill material comprising densely packed, incompressible objects arranged in the container volume, the fill material forming a mainly incompressible aggregate.
US11686281B2

An override module allowing a vehicle operator to default the status of an automated start-stop system to “off.” A first embodiment uses a module that is installed in-line with a manual override button. A second embodiment uses a module that is installed on the vehicle's CAN bus.
US11686280B2

Present embodiments relate to an air filter adapter for use with open style engine air filters. More particularly, but without limitation, present embodiments relate to a filter adapter having a hydrocarbon trap positioned within the adapter.
US11686276B2

Methods and systems for diagnosing operation of an evaporative emissions system are described. The methods and systems may include increasing an amount of vacuum stored in an evaporative emissions system during discontinuously operating an engine in a boosted operating mode. Storing vacuum allows the evaporative emissions system to reach a desired vacuum level to verify absence of an evaporative emissions system breech.
US11686270B2

A cast piston for an internal combustion engine is made of an iron-based material and has windows in at least one side wall carrying a piston pin boss. The windows are asymmetric relative to one another on the side of the skirt walls.
US11686268B2

A control method of an internal combustion engine including an in-cylinder injection fuel injection valve arranged to inject a fuel to a combustion chamber, and a port injection fuel injection valve arranged to inject the fuel to an intake port, the control method includes: sensing or estimating a fuel temperature at a tip end portion of the in-cylinder injection fuel injection valve; sensing an intake pressure; judging whether or not a flash boiling condition based on the fuel temperature and the intake pressure; setting the in-cylinder fuel injection valve to a default fuel injection valve; and injecting an entire or a part of the fuel from the port injection fuel injection valve by decreasing an injection amount ratio of the in-cylinder injection fuel injection valve when the flash boiling condition is satisfied.
US11686266B2

To provide a controller for internal combustion engine which can improve the estimation accuracy of the period in the chipped tooth section, even if the period is suddenly varied in the chipped tooth section. A controller for internal combustion engine detects a period when the tooth passes, based on an output signal of the crank angle sensor; determines a period corresponding to the chipped tooth section; determines a crank angle corresponding to the passed tooth; and estimates a period of a virtual unit angle interval when assuming that the tooth is provided at the unit angle interval in the chipped tooth section, based on the period of the chipped tooth section, the period before the chipped tooth section, and the period after the chipped tooth section.
US11686262B1

Various methods are provided for managing a fuel system of a vehicle. In one example, the method may include enclosing, at least partially, a gaseous fuel delivery, storage, and/or consumption element of the vehicle. The method may include sensing an indication of gaseous fuel in an unintended region and generating an alert and/or adjusting an actuator in response to the sensed gaseous fuel above a threshold.
US11686248B2

A core duct assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a core duct including an outer and an inner wall, the outer wall having an interior surface; a gas flow path member extending across the gas flow path at least partly between the inner and outer walls, the rotor blade having a radial span extending from a blade platform to a blade tip, wherein an upstream wall axis is defined as an axis tangential to a point on a first portion of the interior surface of the outer wall of the core duct extending downstream from the gas flow path member, the upstream wall axis lying in a longitudinal plane of the gas turbine engine containing the rotational axis of the engine, and wherein the upstream wall axis intersects the rotor blade at a point spaced radially inward from the blade tip of the rotor blade.
US11686230B2

A cooling structure for an outboard motor comprises an oil case which has an oil chamber for storing lubricant oil for an engine. Said cooling structure further comprises: a main exhaust gas passage which guides exhaust gas to a lower side; a cooling water outbound path which guides cooling supply water taken from outside the outboard motor to an upper side, and cools the periphery of the main exhaust gas passage in the oil case by means of the cooling supply water; a cooling water inbound path which guides cooling discharge water that has cooled the engine to the lower side and cools the oil chamber by means of said cooling discharge water; and a mixed fluid passage which, on a side below the oil case, cools the exhaust gas by mixing the exhaust gas and the cooling discharge water.
US11686226B2

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a sintered alloy valve guide capable of inhibiting valve adhesion even in a high-temperature environment. The problem can be solved by a sintered alloy valve guide impregnated with a lubricating oil including pores that are sealed on the valve guide outer circumferential surface. More particularly, the problem is solved by the sealing step of performing a sealing treatment of pores on the outer circumferential surface of a sintered body impregnated with a lubricating oil.
US11686223B1

A system includes an electric generator, a power electronics system, a first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger. The electric generator includes a turbine wheel, a rotor, and a stator. The turbine wheel is configured to receive process gas and rotate in response to expansion of the process gas flowing through the electric generator. The rotor is configured to rotate with the turbine wheel. The electric generator is configured to generate electrical power upon rotation of the rotor within the stator. The power electronics system is configured to receive the electrical power from the electric generator and convert the electrical power to specified power characteristics. A heat transfer fluid receives waste heat from the power electronics system through the first heat exchanger. The heat transfer fluid transfers the received waste heat to the process gas through the second heat exchanger.
US11686222B2

An aircraft engine has a combustor supplied by a hydrogen fuel system and is configured to combust hydrogen and generate water vapor. A water vapor collector receives at least part of the water vapor. A condenser is in fluid communication with the water vapor collector to receive and cool in the condenser the at least part of the water vapor and thereby condense at least part of the at least part of the flow of water vapor. A spray nozzle is in fluid communication with the condenser and operable to spray the condensed part of the at least part of the flow of water vapor onto a component of the aircraft engine.
US11686217B2

An oil collector for a torque transmission device of an aircraft turbine engine, this oil collector being configured to collect sprayed oil, wherein it includes at least one wall formed at least in part by a mesh structure, and at least one recovery device located at one end of the wall and configured to recover the oil captured by the wall and intended to flow from this wall to the recovery device.
US11686215B2

An assembly for a turbine of a turbine engine, including a casing and an annular duct surrounding the casing, which can be connected to a device for supplying cooling air, and having a radially inner annular wall provided with openings arranged opposite the casing in order to cool same by the impact of cooling-air jets. The casing has a plurality of axial grooves including first grooves and second grooves arranged in alternation, and the openings are distributed in a plurality of annular rows in which any pair of consecutive annular rows is such that the openings of one of the annular rows of the pair are centered relative to the first grooves while the openings of the other annular row of the pair are centered relative to the second grooves.
US11686206B2

A circumferential seal assembly for use between a higher pressure side and a lower pressure side is presented. The seal assembly includes a primary sealing ring, a second sealing ring, a third sealing ring, and an insert. The segmented primary sealing ring sealingly engages both a face sealing surface along a housing and a radial sealing surface along a rotatable element. The insert is disposed within and directly contacts the housing. The second sealing ring is adjacent to the primary sealing ring and sealingly engages both the primary sealing ring and the insert. The segmented third sealing ring contacts and sealingly engages the primary sealing ring opposite the housing. The insert, the second sealing ring, and the third sealing ring cooperate to form a first cavity adjacent to the second sealing ring and the third sealing ring. The primary sealing ring, the second sealing ring, the insert, and the housing cooperate to form a second cavity adjacent to the primary sealing ring. The insert and the second sealing ring separate the first cavity from the second cavity.
US11686200B2

A fluid pump includes a rotor which is centered about an axis, the rotor having a rotor central chamber and a plurality of vane slots. A stator has a recess therein within which the rotor is located, the recess having a recess peripheral surface which is eccentric to the axis. Each vane slot includes a vane therein such that the vanes define a plurality of pumping chambers which expand and contract based on rotational position the rotor relative to the stator. A positioning ring is located within the rotor central chamber such that the positioning ring engages each vane and such that the positioning ring urges each vane into contact with the recess peripheral surface. The positioning ring is radially aligned with a midpoint of each vane.
US11686195B2

A system includes a surface device, preferably positioned on a surface, a downhole device, and a wireline communications system. A downlink communication between the surface device and the downhole device occurs via Hopped Frequency Shift Keying (HFSK) voltage-modulated signals. An optional uplink communication between the downhole device and the surface device may occur via Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) current-modulated signals. The downhole device may comprise an addressable switch.
US11686190B2

A 4D quantitative and intelligent diagnosis method for spatio-temporal evolution of oil-gas reservoir damage types and extent includes: determining a characteristic parameter characterizing reservoir damage by each of a plurality of factors based on a spatio-temporal evolution simulation equation of reservoir damage by each of the plurality of factors; and determining an effective characteristic parameter characterizing the damage extent of the reservoir based on the characteristic parameter characterizing reservoir damage by each of the plurality of factors. The method quantitatively simulate the characteristic parameters of reservoir damage caused by the various factors and a total characteristic parameter of the reservoir damage.
US11686172B2

Systems and methods for landing a tubing hanger in a wellhead and then orienting a tree (or spool, or flowline connection body) relative to the tubing hanger while landing the tree on the wellhead are provided. This alignment is accomplished without the use of either a tubing spool or a BOP stack with an orientation pin. The tubing hanger alignment devices may be used to orientate the tree as the tree is landed so that the couplings and stabs between the tree and the tubing hanger line up with each other just at the moment of landing.
US11686170B2

A downhole tool includes a top sub-assembly that couples to a downhole conveyance and a housing. The housing includes a bore that extends through the housing from the top sub-assembly to a downhole end of the housing opposite the uphole end, and a plurality of compartments fluidly coupled to the bore. The downhole end of the housing including a tapered portion. At least one of the plurality of compartments includes at least one piston configured to extend away from the housing to forcibly expand at least a portion of a wellbore tubular based at least in part on a fluid pressure in the at least one compartment. The tool includes at least one hydraulic swage coupled to the housing and configured to expand to forcibly expand at least the portion of the wellbore tubular based at least in part on a fluid pressure in the bore.
US11686168B2

A system and method for determining an efficiency of gas extraction. A chamber allows inflow and outflow of the drilling fluid. An amount of gas extracted from a drilling fluid flowing through the chamber at a constant rate during a dynamic process is measured. A dissolution curve is obtained indicative of a gas remaining in the chamber after the dynamic process. An amount drawn from the chamber during a static process subsequent to the dynamic process is measured. An amount of gas from the drilling fluid during the static process is determined from a difference between the amount of gas drawn from the chamber during the static process and an amount of gas indicated by the dissolution curve. The gas extraction efficiency is determined from a ratio of the amount of gas extracted during the static process and the amount of gas extracted during the dynamic process.
US11686167B2

A process and device to create access to low gravity solids (LGS) of about 2 to 20 microns for removal from a fluid material/LGS emulsion having the steps of: flowing the emulsion into high pressure tubing; separating the emulsion into at least two high pressure streams; forcing the emulsion through high pressure nozzles at a terminus of each of the at least two high pressure tubing streams at a speed in the range of about 10 ft/sec to 200 ft/sec or at a force in a range of about 10 to 100 PSI; and colliding the streams of emulsion exiting the high pressure nozzle within a pressure drop chamber, wherein the pressure drop is in a range of about 5% to 50% of the back pressure of the nozzles; wherein a cavitation effect is realized from a collision force of the high pressure streams within the pressure drop chamber.
US11686163B2

A connection assembly and a method comprises first and second connector portions having a preload mechanism comprising a plurality of bores and threaded fixings circumferentially spaced around the axis, wherein the preload mechanism is arranged to apply an axial load between shoulders on the first and second connector portions when torque is applied to the threaded fixings. An annular sealing member is compressed between the first and second portions, and the axial load applied between the first and second shoulders by the preload mechanism exceeds a peak hydrodynamic load urging the first and second connector portions in a direction along the axis. The axial force applied by the preload mechanism advantageously reduces the fatigue damage experienced by the connection, for example, by cyclic pressure changes within the connector portions typically caused by pumps operating at high pressures.
US11686154B2

A racked fence gate assembly comprises an upright having a longitudinal opening and a lateral opening. The assembly also includes an insert received within the longitudinal opening and coupled to the upright. The insert also includes a support portion extending from a rear wall. The assembly further includes a rail having trimmable areas at proximal and distal ends that is at least partially received within a cavity of the insert at a racking angle, the rail including a channel configured to at least partly receive the support portion therein.
US11686152B2

A manual drive assembly for a manually-operated window treatment based on a drive chain formed as a loop, may incorporate one or more intermediate tensioners disposed between two ends of the loop. The loop may be formed between a manual clutch mechanism coupled to the window treatment and an end tensioner. The one or more intermediate tensioners may serve to limit slack in the loop such that sides of the loop cannot be pulled to create a large loop, for example, having a gap of four inches or greater, between the hanging sides of the cord.
US11686147B2

A door operator assembly is configured to raise and lower a cargo door of a cargo enclosure. The assembly includes a power and control unit mounted on an exterior of the cargo enclosure. The power and control unit includes a motor, a coupler operatively connecting the motor to a torsion assembly of the cargo door, a manual release mechanism for actuating the coupler to connect and disconnect the motor and the torsion assembly of the cargo door, and a control circuit for the motor. The assembly may also include an operating switch disposed on the exterior of the cargo enclosure.
US11686133B2

The opening control includes a handle pivotally mounted on a support prone to adopt a pushed position, an intermediate rest position and an ejected position as well as electrical and mechanical means for driving in movement the handle and coupled with the handle of the vehicle such that the application of a predefined force on the handle causes the mechanical or electrical activation. It includes a hard point crossing means configured to define a pattern of evolution of a value of a force applied on the handle as a function of a push-in stroke of the handle between its rest position and the pushed position, including a crossing of a hard point separating first and second portions of the stroke.
US11686122B2

A transmission mechanism applied to a lock and for controlling the lock to switch between an unlocked state and a locked state. The lock includes a first handle set including a first cover plate which includes a first fitting portion. The transmission mechanism includes a transmission element and a moving component. The transmission element is connected to the first handle set in a manner that the transmission element is incapable of moving along a rotating axis and has an abutting portion. The moving component is disposed on the transmission element in a manner that the moving component is capable of moving along the rotating axis and includes a first engaging groove, a second engaging groove and a second fitting portion. When the transmission element is operated to rotate, the abutting portion is capable of switching between the first engaging groove and the second engaging groove.
US11686117B2

A method for treating water in a spa or a hot tub includes, for example, suspending a water treatment dispenser from an upper end of a filter cartridge disposed in a skimmer of the spa or the hot tub. The dispenser includes a water treatment material. A supply of water is passed from the spa or the hot tub into the skimmer and through the filter cartridge so that the dispenser suspended in the filtered water in the filter cartridge is operable to dispense the water treatment material from the dispenser, and a supply of treated filtered water from the filter cartridge is returned to the spa or the hot tub. A cover, for example, may be employed when the dispenser is not used.
US11686113B2

A concrete finishing assembly includes a plurality of rails that each has a guide surface. A plurality of couplers each releasably engages a respective pair of the rails for attaching the respective pair of rails together. In this way the plurality of rails defines a border to surround a shower floor. A cylinder is provided and the cylinder can be inserted into a drain in the shower floor. A trowel unit is provided that has an adjustable length and the trowel unit is attachable to the cylinder. The trowel unit is slidable along the guide surface of the plurality of rails that defines the border. In this way the trowel unit can smooth concrete on the shower floor at a predetermined slope for draining water into the drain.
US11686103B2

A coupling system for mounting a tile to a framework of a building is disclosed. In one example of an embodiment, the coupling system includes a support bar arranged and configured for coupling to the tile and one or more clips coupled to the support bar. In one example of an embodiment, the clips include a tile-mounting opening for coupling the clips to the support bar and a frame-mounting opening for coupling the clips to the framework of the building to thereby couple the tile to the framework of the building. In one example of an embodiment, the support bar is arranged and configured for receipt within a longitudinal channel formed in the tile.
US11686102B2

A system and method for waterproofing the interface between a base shoe and a panel is provided. The system includes a weather seal adapted to extend between an inner side wall of the base shoe and an adjacent surface of the panel to seal the gap therebetween. The system includes an elongate groove formed in the inner side wall at a downward offset angle and including a groove entrance that is accessible from directly above. The weather seal includes a foot adapted to be received into the elongate groove when the seal is configured to seal the gap. In this way, the seal may be installed from above and the seal's foot may be pressed into the groove via the groove entrance to secure the seal in place.
US11686099B2

A pivotable downspout extension system includes an adapter coupleable to a fixed-position downspout, an extension arm pivotally coupled to the adapter, the extension arm having a housing having counterweight apertures, counterweights configured to be received within the counterweight apertures, and a water channel extending from the housing, the water channel forming a pocket where the water channel joins the housing. The water channel remains substantially vertical until water weight exceeds the weight of the counterweights and causes the water channel to pivot and release water.
US11686091B2

A wall assembly (10) comprising top and bottom caps (11) and (12) which are generally U shaped channels and these are secured to a floor (13) and a concrete slab ceiling (14) which comprises in this case the underside of a concrete floor of the next level in a multi-storey building. In these arrangements the ceiling (14) has to be arranged in relation to the wall (15) for deflection of the ceiling (14), consequentially, the track (11) is spaced from the underside surface (16) by a distance of typically 20 mm and a suitable compressible spacer arrangement (17) is located between the upper surface (18) of the track (11) and the underside surface (16). The spacer arrangement (17) may be any suitable infill and one example may be a fire rated double sided adhesive layered expandable/compressible tape or foam. This tape may be applied to the upper outer surface of the channel and its other side adhesively applied to the underside of the concrete.
US11686077B2

A pipe unclogging device and system are disclosed. The device allows a user to clear a blockage in a pipe downstream from the start of the pipe system quickly and easily. To do so, the device provides a pipe with a branch portion, with a plunger device operably coupled to the branch portion. In use, the plunger device is actuatable to plunge fluid in the pipe, or it can be removed to provide a user direct access to the pipe system for other unclogging tools, such as a plumbing snake.
US11686075B2

The present disclosure provides a luminous water outlet device, which includes a hydroelectric power generation module, a waterway separation body, a waterway switching module, a water outlet panel, and a light board. The hydroelectric power generation module is arranged at a water inlet, the waterway separation body has two waterways, the waterway switching module is used to switch a flow of water in the two waterways, and the water outlet panel is correspondingly arranged below the two waterways, the light board is electrically connected with the hydroelectric power generation module. Compared with the prior art, the hydroelectric power generation module is arranged in the water inlet to ensure that the light board works no matter which waterway is opened and allows water to flow through. Further, the present disclosure has simpler installation, smaller volume, and simpler waterway structure.
US11686072B2

An adapter includes a first leg, a second leg, and a throat portion at least partially define a slot that defines a projection at the closed end of the slot that includes a flat middle portion straddled laterally by a first arcuate portion and a second arcuate portion, defining a lateral middle portion width. A projection protruding distance is measured along the direction of assembly from the closed end of the slot to the flat middle portion. The projection protruding distance ranges from 0.8 to 1.2 multiplied by the lateral middle portion width.
US11686060B2

A surface containment system to contain liquid contaminates escaping from a vessel, the containment system having in one example: a water and oil impermeable barrier liner positioned below the vessel; a perimeter wall surrounding the vessel, the perimeter wall extending vertically from the ground surface and supporting a portion of the barrier liner so as to form a containment reservoir; at least one fluid conduit through the barrier liner, the fluid conduit having a filter configured to retain contaminates and configured to allow water to pass by way of gravity from the reservoir through the impermeable barrier; the perimeter wall formed of a plurality of wall panels connected by way of struts each having a vertical component, a base component anchored to ground.
US11686055B2

The proposed sheath is for a structural cable (10) having a path between an upper anchorage (16) and a lower anchorage (17). It comprises sheath segments (21) assembled along the path of the structural cable, at least one supporting rope (30) extending along the sheath segments and having an upper end connected to the construction work adjacent to the upper anchorage, and connectors (32) for connecting the sheath segments to the at least one supporting rope. The connectors (32) are configured to block relative upward movement of the supporting rope (30) with respect to the sheath segments (21) and to allow relative downward movement of the supporting rope with respect to the sheath segments.
US11686053B2

A bridge paving machine and method for paving a 3D design without vertical profile rails includes converting a desired design into a 3D surface model to account for certain factors known to cause deviations in the paving processes and paving the 3D surface model in the expectation that factors will cause the 3D surface model to deflect into the desired design. An on-board computer system adjusts the 3D surface model in real-time to correct for on-site variables. The on-board computer system receives data from various external sensors, including deflection sensors fixed to girders in the bride structure, and paving machine-based sensors, and uses various predictive models to predict surface deflection based on the sensor data. The 3D surface model is continuously updated based on the predictive models and actual measured deflections.
US11686037B2

A method and apparatus for drying a wet textile article with a radio frequency (RF) applicator and a controller, the method includes supplying a power level to the RF applicator to energize the RF applicator to generate a field of electromagnetic radiation (e-field), determining a dynamic drying cycle of operation in the controller, and controlling the power level of the RF applicator according to the determination of the dynamic drying cycle of operation, wherein the wet article is dried.
US11686034B2

Disclosed is a laundry treating apparatus including a detergent storage unit retractable into a cabinet through an opening, wherein detergent is stored in the detergent storage unit; a supply case disposed in the cabinet and receiving the detergent storage unit retracted through the opening; and a dispenser disposed inside the cabinet, and located above the detergent storage unit, wherein the dispenser includes a water supply portion from which water is discharged and drops downwards, wherein the water supply portion includes shower portion for supplying water to a bottom of the supply case.
US11686030B2

A method of operating a washing appliance includes obtaining images of a wash chamber using a camera assembly operating at a frame rate equivalent to the basket speed. The one or more images are analyzed, e.g., using a machine learning image recognition process, to determine a cloth coverage ratio of the load of clothes in the wash basket. The cloth coverage ratio is compared to a predetermined coverage threshold for reducing out of balance conditions. Specifically, if the cloth coverage area is greater than the threshold, the wash basket may be ramped up to a hold or plaster speed. By contrast, if the cloth coverage area is less than the threshold, the basket speed may be maintained or lowered to permit the clothes to redistribute before ramping to the hold or plaster speed.
US11686029B2

A washing machine appliance or agitator may include an impeller base and an extended post. The impeller base may define a rotation axis and include one or more impeller fins and a mating collar. The mating collar may be disposed radially inward from the impeller fins and extend along the rotation axis. The extended post may be removably attached to the impeller base to rotate therewith. The extended post may include a base body, an auger fin, an overmolded bottom bracket, and a connector bolt. The base body may extend between a bottom end proximal to the impeller base and a top end distal to the impeller base. The auger fin may extend radially from the base body. The overmolded bottom bracket may be disposed on the base body. The connector bolt may attach the extended post to the impeller base.
US11686027B2

A shiftable backing feed is utilized with a tufting machine having reciprocating needles and gauge parts for seizing yarns at a plurality of fixed heights, wherein fabric support apparatus reciprocates in synchronization with the cycles of the needle bar to support the backing during penetration of the backing fabric yet allow backing shifts between stitches.
US11686012B2

An apparatus and method for a mandrel used during an electroforming process. The mandrel is formed of a structural wax and includes a metallic layer utilized to formulate a metal component. During the electroforming process, the mandrel is actively cooled utilizing a closed loop. The closed loop includes the mandrel and a heat exchanger through which a coolant flows.
US11686010B2

The present disclosure provides a carrier liquid leakage preventing device and an electrochemical deposition apparatus. The carrier liquid leakage preventing device is used for containing liquid medicine dripping from a carrier; the carrier liquid leakage preventing device comprises: a guide rail disposed along a first direction, the first direction is a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane or a direction at an angle to the horizontal plane; a leakage preventing groove provided on the guide rail and capable of performing a lifting movement along the guide rail so as to move above or below the carrier; and a driver for driving the lifting movement of the leakage preventing groove.
US11686009B2

To partially or locally control a plating film thickness on a polygonal substrate. There is provided a regulation plate for adjusting a current between an anode and the polygonal substrate. This regulation plate includes a main body that has an edge forming a polygonal opening through which the current passes and an attachable/detachable shielding member to shield at least a part of the polygonal opening.
US11686002B2

A method for manufacturing a ruthenium wiring including (i) treating a metal surface including ruthenium using a first chemical solution including a compound having a functional group capable of coordinating to a ruthenium atom, and (ii) carrying out an etching treatment on the metal surface including ruthenium treated with the first chemical solution, using a second chemical solution.
US11685999B2

An electroless nickel plating solution and a method of using the same to produce a nickel deposit having a phosphorus content that remains at about 12% throughout the lifetime of the electroless nickel plating solution is disclosed. The electroless nickel plating solution comprises (a) a source of nickel ions; (b) a reducing agent comprising a hypophosphite; and (c) a chelation system comprising: (i) one or more dicarboxylic acids; and (ii) one or more alpha hydroxy carboxylic acids. The electroless nickel plating solution may also comprise stabilizers and brighteners.
US11685998B2

Examples of a substrate processing apparatus includes a device for subjecting a substrate to processing, and a controller for modifying a control parameter predetermined to control the device with a first modification value and a second modification value that vary over time, thereby calculating a modified parameter, and controlling the device based on the modified parameter, wherein the first modification value has a shorter term for modifying the control parameter than the second modification value.
US11685996B2

An atomic layer deposition device is disclosed. The atomic layer deposition device includes a chamber, a precursor inlet, a heater, a support unit, a hollow component, and a baffle. When the heater and the support unit are driven by a lifting device to approach the hollow component, the support unit and the baffle surround and set bounds to a reaction space, so that the flow field of the process fluid, such as precursor or purge gas, can be adjusted stably to make a uniform deposition on the substrate.
US11685989B2

A method for surface treatment of a metal material in a powder state is provided, the method including obtaining a powder formed from a plurality of particles of the metal material to be treated; and subjecting the powder to an ion implantation process by directing a beam of singly-charged or multi-charged ions towards an outer surface of the particles, the beam being produced by a source of singly-charged or multi-charged ions, whereby the particles have an overall spherical shape with a radius (R). There is also provided a material in a powder state formed from a plurality of particles having a ceramic outer layer and a metal core, the particles having an overall spherical shape.
US11685988B2

The invention relates to an evaporation cell (1) for vacuum evaporation chamber, the evaporation cell (1) comprising a crucible (5), the crucible (5) being adapted to receive a solid or liquid material to be sublimated or evaporated, heating means (3) to heat the material in the crucible, a nozzle (6) placed at an open end of the crucible (5), the nozzle (6) comprising a frustoconical portion (61) having an opening (60) adapted for the passage of a flow of evaporated or sublimated material towards the vacuum evaporation chamber, and a cover (7) placed on the nozzle (6), the cover (7) having an opening (70) arranged about the frustoconical portion (61) of the nozzle (6). According to the invention, the cover (7) has at least one frustoconical portion (71, 72, 73) arranged about the frustoconical portion (61) of the nozzle (6), the cover (7) forming a thermal barrier between the crucible (5) and the vacuum evaporation chamber.
US11685977B2

Undercooled liquid metallic core-shell particles, whose core is stable against solidification at ambient conditions, i.e. under near ambient temperature and pressure conditions, are used to join or repair metallic non-particulate components. The undercooled-shell particles in the form of nano-size or micro-size particles comprise an undercooled stable liquid metallic core encapsulated inside an outer shell, which can comprise an oxide or other stabilizer shell typically formed in-situ on the undercooled liquid metallic core. The shell is ruptured to release the liquid phase core material to join or repair a component(s).
US11685974B2

An aluminum alloys, essentially includes silicon (Si), iron (Fe), and magnesium (Mg), and is characterized as being an aluminum alloys including at least one or two or more of copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), titanium (Ti), calcium (Ca), tin (Sn), phosphorus (P), chromium (Cr), zirconium (Zr), nickel (Ni), strontium (Sr), and vanadium (V).
US11685973B2

An apparatus, material and method for forming a brazing sheet has a high strength core bonded with corrosion protection layer on the coolant side and/or layers on both airside and coolant side. The material enables heat exchanger components, such as tube, header, plate, etc., for applications, such as automotive heat exchangers, that require high fatigue life as well as high service life in a corrosive environment.
US11685970B2

An iridium alloy includes iridium, platinum, and tantalum. A content of the platinum in the iridium alloy falls within a range from 5 wt % to 30 wt %, and a content of the tantalum in the iridium alloy falls within a range from 0.3 wt % to 5 wt %.
US11685954B2

The present invention is based on the identification of novel biomarkers predictive of endocrine resistance in breast cancer.
US11685953B2

Biomarkers for the treatment of pathological conditions associated with the PI3K pathway, such as cancer, and methods of using inhibitors of upstream components of the PI3K pathway, such as PI3K-α inhibitors or AKT inhibitors, are described. In particular, there are described biomarkers for patient selection in the treatment of cancer, as well as methods of therapeutic treatment, diagnostic kits and methods of detection, wherein cancers that possess a mutation in an upstream component of the PI3K pathway (such as the PIK3CA gene and/or the AKT gene), and a wild-type MAP3K1 gene and MAP2K4 gene, are more likely to respond favourably to treatment with inhibitors of upstream components of the PI3K pathway.
US11685952B2

A method of providing information for predicting a risk of a recurrence after treatment of a patient with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is provided. The method includes measuring a concentration of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 from a sample isolated from a patient, and detecting a presence of a genetic variant at rs10033464 GG on chromosome 4q25 from nucleic acid separated from the sample.
US11685950B2

Provided are a method of diagnosing the onset of acute rejection, the method including the step of correlating expression levels of one or more miRNAs selected from the group consisting of 8 kinds of miRNAs including miR-4488, miR-4532, miR-146a-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-373-3p, miR-31-5p, miR-223-3p, and miR-210-3p, and a combination thereof with the onset of acute rejection in kidney transplant patients, a composition for diagnosing acute rejection, the composition including an agent capable of measuring the expression level of each of the miRNAs, a kit for diagnosing acute rejection, the kit including the composition, and a method of treating acute rejection, the method including the step of treating acute rejection, when the onset of acute rejection is identified by the above diagnostic method. Since miR-4488, miR-4532, miR-146a-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-373-3p, miR-31-5p, miR-223-3p, and miR-210-3p according to the present invention exist in high levels in the urine of a patient with acute kidney transplant rejection, they may be used to easily diagnose the onset of acute kidney transplant rejection, thereby being used in the effective treatment of acute rejection after kidney transplantation.
US11685943B2

Provided herein are methods for selecting a population of cells expressing a target polypeptide. In some aspects, the disclosure provides methods for sorting and selecting populations of transfected host cells based on their early expression of a selectable polypeptide. In certain embodiments, the sorting is performed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting or magnetic-activated cell sorting based on the selectable polypeptide. Such selection methods can be further utilized to generate clonal populations of producer cells, e.g. for large-scale manufacturing of a target polypeptide of interest.
US11685921B2

This invention encompasses compounds and compositions useful in methods for medical therapy, in general, for inhibiting Hepatitis B virus in a subject. The compounds have a first strand and a second strand, each of the strands being 19-29 monomers in length, the monomers comprising UNA monomers and nucleic acid monomers, and the compounds are targeted to a sequence of an HBV genome.
US11685920B2

Disclosed herein are antisense oligonucleotides that are capable of inducing expression of ubiquitin-protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) from the paternal allele in animal or human neurons. The oligonucleotides target the suppressor of the UBE3A paternal allele by hybridization to SNHG14 long non-coding RNA at the 5′-end of UBE3A-AS, which is downstream of SNORD115-45 snoRNA. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treatment of Angelman syndrome.
US11685917B2

The application relates to a deep scanning mutagenesis library to interrogate phenotypic changes in a population of cells comprising a plurality of CRISPR-Cas system guide RNAs targeting genomic sequences within at least one continuous genomic region, wherein the guide RNAs target at least 100 genomic sequences upstream of a PAM sequence for every 1000 base pairs within the continuous genomic region and methods for their use.
US11685916B2

The disclosure provides for systems, methods, and compositions for targeting and editing nucleic acids. In particular, the invention provides non-naturally occurring or engineered RNA-targeting systems comprising a RNA-targeting Cas13 protein, at least one guide molecule, and at least one adenosine deaminase protein or catalytic domain thereof.
US11685912B2

The invention relates to an affinity resin functionalized with small molecule inhibitors of glycoside-cleaving enzymes, e.g., α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A), glucocerebrosidase (GCB), β-galactosidase, and acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA), and a method for purifying glycoside-cleaving enzymes produced in a cell line using the small molecule inhibitor-functionalized affinity resin.
US11685908B2

Described herein are prenyltransferases including non-natural variants thereof having at least one amino acid substitution as compared to its corresponding natural or unmodified prenyltransferases and that are capable of at least two-fold greater rate of formation of cannabinoids such as cannabigerolic acid, cannabigerovarinic acid, cannabigerorcinic acid, and cannabigerol, as compared to a wild type control. Prenyltransferase variants also demonstrated regioselectivity to desired cannabinoid isomers such as CDBA (3-GOLA), 3-GDVA, 3-GOSA, and CBG (2-GOL). The prenyltransferase variants can be used to form prenylated aromatic compounds, and can be expressed in an engineered microbe having a pathway to such compounds, which include 3-GOLA, 3-GDVA, 3-GOSA, and CBG. 3-GOLA can be used for the preparation of cannabigerol (CBG), which can be used in therapeutic compositions.
US11685905B2

The invention relates to cells which make rhamnolipids and are genetically modified such that they have a decreased activity, compared to the wild type thereof, of a glucose dehydrogenase and to a method for producing rhamnolipids using the cells according to the invention.
US11685902B2

A novel tissue usable for a kidney tissue model is provided. A method for producing a kidney-like tissue includes co-culturing a cell group containing mesenchymal stem cells, vascular endothelial cells, and clonal embryonic kidney cells.
US11685899B2

The present disclosure relates to methods, cell culture medium and compositions that promote cell proliferation during fetal bovine serum free cell culture.
US11685897B2

In accordance with the purpose(s) of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure, in one aspect, relate to methods of making a structure including nanotubes, a structure including nanotubes, methods of delivering a fluid to a cell, methods of removing a fluid to a cell, methods of accessing intracellular space, and the like.
US11685894B2

System, including methods and apparatus, for identifying and picking spectrally distinct colonies. In an exemplary method, a filter may be received in an optical path extending from a light source to a grayscale image detector. The filter may be configured to increase an intensity difference between a first type of colony and a spectrally distinct second type of colony. Colonies including both types may be received in the optical path. An image of the colonies may be obtained with the grayscale image detector. At least one of the types of colony may be identified in the image. One or more colonies of the at least one type may be picked robotically.
US11685884B2

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique whereby multiple projection targets are efficiently identified from multiple neurons in multiple brain areas with the use of multis-point light stimulation. An acquisition unit 52 acquires spike signals generated from multiple neurons existing in the vicinity of two or more recording sites. A stimulation control unit 51 selects one projection target candidate from two or more candidates in accordance with a definite system on the basis of the spike signals and then determines irradiation timing of light stimulation. Upon the light stimulation, a management unit 53 acquires the spike signals in all of the recording sites within a definite period of time before or after the light stimulation, while dividing the spike signals into anti responses and collision responses. An anti response management unit 81 acquires and manages information relating to the anti responses. A collision response management unit 82 acquires and manages information relating to the collision responses. A priority control section 54 corrects and determines priority depending on the anti response information and the collision response information.
US11685872B2

A method of reducing the incidence of deposits on the pistons of a 4-stroke marine diesel engine during operation of the engine when it is fuelled with a marine residual fuel meeting the ISO 8217 2017 fuel standard for marine residual fuels and having a sulphur content of more than 0.1% and less than 0.5% by mass. The method includes the step of lubricating the engine using a lubricating oil composition comprising: a) at least 50% by mass, based on the mass of the composition, of an oil of lubricating viscosity; (b) 5 to 25% by mass, based on the mass of the composition, of an oil-soluble or oil-dispersible alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salicylate detergent, or a mixture of two or more oil-soluble or oil-dispersible alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salicylate detergents; (c) 0.1 to 10% by mass, based on the mass of the composition of one or more oil-soluble or oil-dispersible ashless dispersants; and optionally, (d) 0.1 to 10% by mass, based on the mass of the composition of a polyalkylene-substituted succinic anhydride.
US11685860B2

A rare earth halide scintillation material the chemical formula of the material being CeBr3+x, wherein 0.0001x0.1. The rare earth halide scintillation material has excellent scintillation properties including high light output, high energy resolution, and fast decay.
US11685855B2

A method, wellbore, and pill for treating a region of a subterranean formation adjacent a wellbore zone of the wellbore, including injecting a gellable treatment composition (e.g., as the pill) through the wellbore zone into the region of the subterranean formation adjacent the wellbore zone, allowing the gellable treatment composition to form nanoparticles in-situ in the region and gel in the region via heat provided by the region to prevent or reduce flow of an unwanted fluid from the region into the wellbore zone. The gellable treatment composition may include a zwitterionic gemini surfactant (ZGS).
US11685851B2

The present application provides a composite material and a method for preparing the same. The present application can provide a composite material which comprises a metal foam, a polymer component and a thermally conductive filler, and has other excellent physical properties such as impact resistance, processability and insulation properties while having excellent thermal conductivity.
US11685848B2

The invention relates to a new binder composition which is particularly suitable for the manufacture of composite materials utilizing such new binder composition in the required nonwoven materials. Composite materials using such new binder composition in their nonwoven part are suitable, in particular, for composites materials for interior construction, for linings, floor coverings, and for the manufacture of furniture and similar products.
US11685847B2

Adhesives for use on user-to-mask interfaces of a respiratory mask and methods of preparing the same are provided. The adhesive includes greater than or equal to about 1 wt. % to less than or equal to about 15 wt. % of one or more glycerides; greater than or equal to about 0.50 wt. % to less than or equal to about 5 wt. % of one or more polyacrylates; greater than or equal to about 1 wt. % to less than or equal to about 10 wt. % of one or more polyethers; greater than or equal to about 25 wt. % to less than or equal to about 45 wt. % of one or more N-vinylpyrrolidone polymers; and a balance of water. The method includes forming a first aqueous mixture, forming a second aqueous mixture, and admixing the first aqueous mixture and the second aqueous mixture to form a substantially homogeneous mixture that defines the adhesive.
US11685839B2

A near-infrared curable ink composition on a predetermined substrate that has excellent adhesion to the substrate when irradiated with near-infrared rays and cured, a near-infrared curable film obtained from the near-infrared curable ink composition, and stereolithography using the near-infrared curable ink composition, and contains composite tungsten oxide fine particles as near-infrared absorbing fine particles and uncured thermosetting resin, wherein the composite tungsten oxide fine particles have a XRD peak top intensity ratio value of 0.13 or more based on a XRD peak intensity ratio value of 1 on plane (220) of a silicon powder standard sample (640c produced by NIST).
US11685838B2

The present invention provides cleaning solutions for removing ink, coating, varnish, adhesive, etc. residue from printing equipment. The cleaning solutions of the present invention comprise one or more solvents, preferably selected from acetoacetates, alcohols, glycol ethers, glycol esters, terpenes, and water, and are preferably free of surfactants. The cleaning solutions of the invention have a relative evaporation time (RET) of less than 60 seconds, and a ratio of the RET to the radius of the sphere of solubility of the resin in the ink to be removed of less than 6.
US11685833B2

Disclosed herein are a polyamide composition and a molded article made of the same with improved mechanical strength and reduced weight. The molded article may include the polyamide composition that includes high flowable polyamide and polyphthalamide and a small-diameter fiber, thereby resulting in an improvement in mechanical strength while achieving excellent surface properties and high weight reduction.
US11685824B2

The present invention relates to an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) resin composition, an EVOH film formed therefrom, and a multilayer structure containing the same. The surface roughness of the EVOH resin composition is a kurtosis (Sku) ranging from 0.05 to 100. The EVOH of the invention can reduce the torque output during processing, and can obtain the EVOH film with excellent appearance.
US11685819B2

Oxygen scavenging polymeric compositions that possess an improved oxygen scavenging capability and can be formed into transparent/translucent thin films are disclosed. A composition can include iron powder, ferrous sulfate heptahydrate (FeSO4.7H2O) and glycerol dispersed in polyethylene. Such compositions are useful for creating packaging films with improved oxygen scavenging capability.
US11685808B2

A resin has a structure defined by Formula (I) wherein: (a) each R5 is independently a methylene group (CH2), or a methylene group substituted with one or more —H, —CH3, or halogen functionalities; (b) each R6 is independently a bond or a straight-chain or branched, linear or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, aliphatic or aromatic group having between 1 and 2 carbon atoms; (c) each X is independently a functionality possessing at least one non-aromatic alkene or alkyne moiety; (d) each Z is independently either H or X; (e) each Z is independently either H or X, and each p is independently an integer from 1-4; (f) each w is independently 0, or an integer greater than or equal to 1, and (i) when w is 0, the bracket region represents a bond and n is 0, or an integer greater than or equal to 1; and (ii) when n is 0, the bracket region represents a bond. The resin is especially well suited for use in a base station, circuit board, server, router, radome or satellite structure, as well as such processes as digital light printing (DLP), continuous liquid interface printing (CLIP), and Stereolithography (SL).
US11685799B2

Composite particles comprising at least one type of polymer particles having surfaces that have thereon coatings formed of finely-disintegrated cellulose, with the polymer particles and the finely-disintegrated cellulose being inseparably bonded together.
US11685797B2

The present invention provides certain polymeric materials, precursors thereof as well as the preparation and uses thereof.
US11685786B2

The invention provides means and methods of stimulating activity of a member of the TNF receptor superfamily on a cell. The invention also provides binding molecules such as antibodies that comprises at least two antigen binding sites, wherein a first antigen binding site can bind an extracellular part of CD137 and a second antigen binding site can bind an extracellular part of PD-L1.
US11685753B2

The present invention provides a novel metal alkoxide having excellent hydrolysis resistance, and a crosslinking agent composition for aqueous resin and an aqueous resin composition each using the same. A metal alkoxide represented by the following formula (1-1), (1-2), or (1-3) and having a mass average molecular weight of 800 to 8,500 is used: Ti(OA)4  (1-1) Zr(OA)4  (1-2) Al(OA)3  (1-3) wherein A's are each independently a residue resulting from removal of a hydroxy group from a polyalkylene glycol monohydrocarbyl ether represented by the following general formula (1a): R11(OCHR12CH2)nOH  (1a) wherein R11 is an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a phenyl group; R12 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and n is an integer of 4 to 45.
US11685746B2

The present description relates to compounds, forms, and pharmaceutical compositions thereof and methods of using such compounds, forms, or compositions thereof for treating or ameliorating Huntington's disease. In particular, the present description relates to substituted bicyclic heteroaryl compounds of Formula (I), Formula (II), Formula (III), or Formula (IV), forms and pharmaceutical compositions thereof and methods of using such compounds, forms, or compositions thereof for treating or ameliorating Huntington's disease.
US11685745B2

Substituted benzoxazole and benzofuran chemical entities of Formula (I): wherein, V, W, X, Y, Z, and m have any of the values described herein and compositions comprising such chemical entities; processes for making them; and their use in a wide range of methods, including metabolic and reaction kinetic studies; detection and imaging techniques; radioactive treatments; and the treatment of one or more disorders, including neurological, cognitive, immunological, and inflammatory disorders, as well as other conditions and diseases involving PDE7 or cyclic nucleotide signaling.
US11685742B2

The present application relates to an anti-tumor compound and a preparation method and use thereof, and in particular to a compound or a tautomer, a mesomer, a racemate, an enantiomer or a diastereoisomer thereof, or a mixture thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a preparation method and use thereof.
US11685738B2

The present invention relates to fluorinated compounds of formula I and methods of synthesizing these compounds. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing the fluorinated compounds of the invention, and methods of treating fibrosis, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy (DR), macular edema, diabetic macular edema (DME), and macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO), by administering these compounds and pharmaceutical compositions to subjects in need thereof.
US11685730B2

A cyclic compound formed by a Friedel-Crafts reaction at positions 1 and 3 of carbazole and a preparation method thereof are disclosed. The compound is formed by connecting an achiral type I di-(tertiary alcohol) synthon constructed from fluorenyl and benzene or a derivative thereof, at position 9 of fluorenyl with positions 1 and 3 of carbazole, forming a closed ring structure with a clear and durable shape, having clear side lengths and vertices on the nanometer scale. The cyclic compound has a general structural formula of
US11685728B2

The present disclosure provides methods of preventing HIV in a subject, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a compounds of Formula (Ia) or (Ib): or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, optionally in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents. Methods of reducing the risk of acquiring HIV (e.g., HIV-1 and/or HIV-2) are also provided.
US11685725B2

Binding of the transcriptional co-activator, YAP1, to the transcription factor Oct4, induces Sox2, which is a transcription actor necessary for the self-renewal of stem-like cells from non-small cell lung cancer. The WW domain of YAP1 binds to the PPxY motif of Oct4 to induce Sox2. Delivering a peptide corresponding to the WW domain could prevent the induction of Sox2 and sternness. Similarly, peptides and mimetics of the PPxY motif would be able to inhibit sternness. Disclosed are compounds that affect the Yap1:Oct4 interaction.
US11685708B2

Acrylamide photoinitiators are provided, in which a photoinitiator moiety and an acrylamide are incorporated into the photoinitiator structure.
US11685705B2

Provided is a method with which an α-allylated cycloalkanone is obtained from a macroyclic compound used as a starting material. The method is a method for producing an α-allylated cycloalkanone represented by General Formula (IV), and the method includes a step of reacting a compound represented by General Formula (I) and/or a compound represented by General Formula (II) with a compound represented by General Formula (III) in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce an α-allylated cycloalkanone represented by General Formula (IV), the acid catalyst including an acid catalyst that includes an ammonium cation and an anion. where R1, R2, and R3 are the same or different and each of them is an alky group having 1 or mom and 4 or less of carbon atoms, the group -A1- (it should be noted that the front bond refers to a bond that binds to the carbon atom C1 and the back bond refers to a bond that binds to the carbon atom C2) is an alkylene group having 4 or more and 20 or les of carbon atoms that optionally contains a hetero atom and optionally has a substituent, and R4 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 or more and 4 or less of carbon atoms.
US11685695B2

An aluminum nitride-based sintered compact includes: aluminum nitride crystal particles containing Mg; composite oxide containing a rare earth element and Al, the composite oxide having a garnet crystal structure; and composite oxynitride containing Mg and Al. Particles of the composite oxide and particles of the composite oxynitride are interspersed between the aluminum nitride crystal particles. The composite oxide may include Y. A content of Mg in the aluminum nitride crystal particles may fall in a range of 0.1 mol % or more and 1.0 mol % or less, based on a total of all metal elements contained in the aluminum nitride crystal particles taken as 100 mol %. A semiconductor holding device includes the aluminum nitride-based sintered compact; and an electrostatic adsorptive electrode.
US11685683B2

A high-strength geopolymer hollow microsphere, a preparation method thereof and a phase change energy storage microsphere are provided, including: dissolving sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate and spheroidizing aid in water to form a solution A, and adding active powder to the solution A, stirring and uniformly mixing to form a slurry B, adding the slurry B to an oil phase, stirring and dispersing into balls, filtering to obtain geopolymer microspheres I, washing the geopolymer microspheres I, and then carrying out a high-temperature calcination to obtain the high-strength geopolymer hollow microspheres II; using the high-strength geopolymer hollow microsphere as a carrier, absorbing a phase change material into the carrier, and mixing a microsphere carrying the phase change material with an epoxy resin, adding a powder dispersant and stirring to disperse the microsphere, after the epoxy resin is solidified, screening the superfluous powder dispersant to obtain the phase energy storage microsphere.
US11685681B2

A method for treatment of mixed electroplating wastewater without a cyanide and a phosphorus-containing reductant without a cyanide and a phosphorus-containing reductant. A ferrous chloride solution is added into electroplating wastewater without a cyanide and a phosphorus-containing reductant. The pH of wastewater is adjusted to 10.5-12. Pollutants such as sodium cyanide and hydroxyl-containing organic amine complexants are oxidized with sodium hypochlorite. Carboxyl-containing organic acid complexants are precipitated. Hexavalent chromium is reduced to trivalent chromium to form chromium hydroxide precipitate. Precipitate is removed by filtering and wastewater is adjusted to pH 4.5-5.5. Heavy metal ions are precipitated with sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate or sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. Precipitate and heavy metal capturing agents are adsorbed with activated carbon followed by removal of precipitate. Wastewater is adjusted to pH 6-8. Aliphatic polyamine complexants are destroyed using an available biological degradation technique to reduce chemical oxygen demand.
US11685678B2

The present invention provides a system for high throughput purification of liquid.
US11685674B2

A water treatment apparatus (1), the apparatus (1) comprises a fluid inlet (2), a first MBBR (4) and a second MBBR (5) and a fluid outlet (3), and a controller (C1), wherein the first MBBR (4) and second MBBR (5) are connected in series such that water to be treated flows from the inlet (2) through the first MBBR (4) to the second MBBR (5) and thence to the outlet (3) and wherein the controller or control means (C1) is operable to change the flow direction such that water to be treated flows from the inlet (2) to the second MBBR (5) then to the first MBBR (4) and thence to the outlet (3).
US11685659B2

Processes for reducing carbon monoxide levels in a carbon dioxide rich gaseous stream. The carbon dioxide rich stream is passed to a preferential oxidation zone to selectively convert carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. Excess oxygen is consumed by reacting with hydrogen, which may be added or controlled based on PSA operating conditions upstream of the preferential oxidation zone. The preferential oxidation zone may be contained within a bed of a dryer.
US11685657B2

A method of forming a pattern in a substrate material includes positioning a layer of a covalent organic framework polymer including nanoscale holes or pores therein over the substrate material as a template having nanoscale holes or pores therein to form a templated assembly and applying an etching process to the templated assembly.
US11685653B2

The present disclosure generally relates to compositions comprising substrate-free 2D crystalline nanomaterials of binary compounds of formula (M)x(Te)y, and the method of making and using the substrate-free crystalline 2D crystalline nanomaterial.
US11685652B2

Provided is a chlorine dioxide generation device, suitable for long-term storage, discharging a chlorine dioxide-generating mixture that remains at an object of interest when used to thereby stably exhibit the effect of chlorine dioxide. A chlorine dioxide generation device, comprising: a first container containing a first composition comprising a chlorite and fumed silica; a second container containing a second composition comprising an acidic substance and fumed silica; an outer container housing the first container and the second container; a mixing section that mixes the first composition released from the first container and the second composition released from the second container to produce a mixed composition; and a discharging section that discharges the mixed composition produced by mixing in the mixing section.
US11685647B2

A nanosheet MEMS sensor device and method are described for integrating the fabrication of nanosheet transistors (61) and MEMS sensors (62) in a single nanosheet process flow by forming separate nanosheet transistor and MEMS sensor stacks (12A-16A, 12B-16B) of alternating Si and SiGe layers which are selectively processed to form gate electrodes (49A-C) which replace the silicon germanium layers in the nanosheet transistor stack, to form silicon fixed electrodes using silicon layers (13B-2, 15B-2) on a first side of the MEMS sensor stack, and to form silicon cantilever electrodes using silicon layers (13B-1, 15B-1) on a second side of the MEMS sensor stack by forming a narrow trench opening (54) in the MEMS sensor stack to expose and remove remnant silicon germanium layers on the second side in the MEMS sensor stack.
US11685645B2

A method of manufacturing a microelectromechanical system includes forming of an electromechanical element on a substrate. The method further includes preparation of an encapsulation package to form a sealed cavity integrating the electromechanical element, with the sealed cavity having a volume smaller than 10 mm3. The method includes physical vapor deposition of a getter film on the substrate or on a wall of the encapsulation package so that the getter film has a specific absorption surface area smaller than 8 m2/g, and sealing of the encapsulation package on the substrate by means of a thermal sealing cycle having a temperature enabling to activate said getter film.
US11685643B2

The present application provides a method, device and system for automatically fueling a vehicle. The method includes: judging, by a fueling control device of the vehicle, whether the vehicle needs to be filled with fuel; obtaining driving route information and vehicle status information of the vehicle in the case of determining that the vehicle needs to be filled with fuel; determining fuel amount to be filled according to the driving route information and the vehicle status information of the vehicle; sending a fueling request to a fueling management system; receiving a feedback message from the fueling management system, wherein the feedback message includes position information of a fueling device; and prompting the vehicle to obtain fuel offered by the fueling device indicated by the position information of the fueling device according to the fuel amount to be filled.
US11685636B2

A moving system and method of moving an item, for example a construction component. The moving system includes a first guide cable mounted between first and second mounting points, a first member arranged for movement along the first guide cable between a first position and a second position, the first member arranged for connection to an item to be craned into position, a second guide cable mounted between first and second mounting points, a second member arranged for movement along the second guide cable between a first position and a second position, the second member arranged for connection to the item to be craned into position, and a lifting support arranged for connection to a moving device and to provide support for the item during moving of the item.
US11685630B2

An outdoor hose storage enclosure is an apparatus that securely retains a hose and facilitates the deployment and storage of said hose. The apparatus may include a storage housing and a storage lid. The storage housing serves to retain the hose readily accessible for easy retrieval of the hose. The storage lid serves to seal the storage housing to protect the hose from the environment and theft. The storage housing may include a first lateral panel, a second lateral panel, a front panel, a first attachment mechanism, a second attachment mechanism, a bottom panel, and a hose opening. The first lateral panel, the second lateral panel, the front panel, and the bottom panel form the structure of the storage housing. The first attachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism enable the mounting of the apparatus to the desired surface. The hose opening facilitates the deployment and storage of the hose.
US11685625B2

A consumer width sized roll comprising wound web material comprising a tail. The tail may comprise a bonding material. The bonding material may be arranged in a non-uniform pattern.
US11685620B2

According to examples, an apparatus may include a guide frame, a standard position pawl movably attached to the guide frame, the standard position pawl to engage a standard pawl detent. The apparatus may also include a custom position pawl movably engaged with the guide frame, the custom position pawl to engage custom pawl teeth of a rack. The apparatus may further include a switch in movable engagement with the guide frame, the switch being movable between a first position at which the custom position pawl is maintained at a disengaged position with respect to the custom pawl teeth of the rack and a second position at which the custom position pawl is free to move between the disengaged position and an engaged position with respect to the custom pawl teeth of the rack.
US11685618B2

A gangway comprises a fixed platform and a support structure connected to the fixed platform in a manner that allows the support structure to rotate with respect to the fixed platform between a raised stowed position and a lowered deployed position. A self-raising assembly is operative to rotate the support structure from the deployed position to the stowed position. The self-raising assembly includes at least one fluid actuated cylinder connected between the fixed platform and a distal end of the support structure. A raising actuator is usable by an operator to cause operation of the cylinder in a manner that rotates the support structure toward the stowed position.
US11685613B2

Diverting equipment that diverts and transports an article on a transporting route to a branching route. The diverting equipment includes: multiple transport rollers that are arranged in a branching section which is on the transporting route and which branches toward the branching route, and that are rotatable about vertical shafts; multiple diverting transport rollers that are arranged at an upstream side end of the branching route and that can rotate about vertical shafts; and a general controller that controls rotation of the transport rollers and of the diverting transport rollers. The transport rollers and the diverting transport rollers divert and transport the article from the transporting route to the branching route by rotating based on a rotational timing that the general controller controls according to a transport speed and an acceleration/deceleration state of the article that is transported toward the branching section.
US11685596B2

A container for producing a beverage capsule containing a beverage ingredient has a formed laminated structure including a cup portion with a depth-to-width ratio of at least 0.3 and a peripheral flange. The laminated structure contains an aluminium foil as a middle layer and also contains a sealing layer on the inner side of the aluminium foil. The laminated structure also includes at least one outer polymer film laminated on the outer side of the aluminium foil using a laminating adhesive layer, and the outer polymer film is printed at its inner surface and is made of semi-crystalline polymer.
US11685595B2

A unit for transporting eggs includes a platform carrying superimposed horizontal layers of egg-holder trays and intermediate partitions interposed between the plurality of superimposed horizontal layers. Parallel to two opposite sides of the partition are stop elements projecting upwards suitable to cooperate with corresponding lower abutments of the egg-holder trays of the lowest layer of the corresponding plurality of superimposed horizontal layers. The stop elements are spaced by the two opposite sides of the partition, towards the inside thereof.
US11685594B2

A spray canister device is provided including a canister containing a liquid product, a canister housing having an opening, a chassis element, and a tray slidably coupled to the chassis element. The canister includes an actuator cap and is positioned in the canister housing such that a nozzle of the actuator cap is positioned proximate the opening. The canister housing, and the canister positioned therein, may be engaged with the tray via at least one protruding member. Once engaged, the tray may be slidably moved along the chassis element between a retracted position and an extended position to facilitate relative movement between the canister and the canister housing to compress the actuator cap of the canister and spray the liquid product.
US11685583B2

A tier sheet includes a deck having a support surface. A plurality of walls extend downward to define lower recesses for receiving the upper ends of containers therebelow. In one embodiment, the tier sheet is a single thermoformed sheet and includes a plurality of upper recesses formed in the deck, each upper recess defined between an outer wall and a column. In another embodiment, the tier sheet is injection molded.
US11685580B2

A device for detecting a tampering of a product in a product packaging material. The device comprises a network of sensors integrated into the product packaging material; a microcontroller, the microcontroller configured to detect, by accessing the sensors of the sensor network, the tampering of the product packaging material; and a communication device for relaying information regarding a status of the product packaging material.
US11685574B2

An envelope has front panel and a back panel, the front panel and the back panel joined along three edges and open along a fourth edge to provide an opening to an interior of the envelope. A foldable flap extends from the front panel to close the opening. The front panel, back panel and flap are formed of a compostable plastic film, and the envelope is configured to be entirely compostable as-is by a recipient.
US11685573B2

A container having a base and a lid is provided. The lid may be rotatable about a hinge from a closed configuration to an open configuration and may be secured, via one or more latching assemblies. The latching assembly may comprise a latch body, a locking member, a biasing member, and an activating member. Additional features of the container may include handles and strength increasing features. The base and lid may also feature attachment points for various accessories. A carry strap may attach to the base of the container to allow a user to lift and carry the container.
US11685566B2

An apparatus for the vacuum packaging of food, which includes a base structure which defines a vacuum chamber which can be connected to a vacuum pump. Between the vacuum chamber and the vacuum pump, at least one air filtration device is provided which has elements for varying at least one thermo-fluid dynamics parameter of the flow of air extracted from the vacuum chamber by the vacuum pump, in order to enable the elimination, from the air extracted from the vacuum chamber, of water, biochemical liquids and biological materials.
US11685552B2

Systems and methods are provided for advancing a fuselage section of an aircraft. One embodiment is a system that includes a series of plates configured to be sequentially affixed along a length of the fuselage section, and a track configured to form a frictional fit with the plates. The track includes drive units configured to form nips retaining the series of plates, and that are configured to advance the fuselage section along the track in a process direction, and indexing elements that are configured to engage with indexing elements at the plates during pauses between operation of the drive units. The system also includes tools configured to perform work on the fuselage section while the indexing elements of the track are engaged.
US11685550B1

An apparatus and method for a recharging station including a landing pad, a rechargeable component coupled to the landing pad, and a power delivery unit configured to deliver power from a power supply unit or power storage unit to the recharging component. Rechargeable component includes a plurality of charging units placed at predetermined spacings from one another. The plurality of charging units allows for the electric aircraft to land in any orientation.
US11685541B2

An air-breathing turbojet engine for a hypersonic vehicle is shown. The engine comprises a pump for pumping a cryogenic fuel, an inlet configured to compress inlet air by one or more shocks, a cooler to cool the compressed inlet air using the cryogenic fuel, and a turbo-compressor to compress the air further. A precooler cools the compressed inlet air using compressed cooled air from the turbo-compressor. A combustor receives compressed cooled air from the turbo-compressor and a first portion of the cryogenic fuel for combustion. A first turbine expands and is driven by combustion products, and a second turbine expands and is driven by a second portion of the cryogenic fuel. The first turbine and the second turbine drive the turbo-compressor via a shaft. An afterburner receives combustion products from the first turbine and the second portion of the cryogenic fuel from the second turbine for combustion therein.
US11685538B2

An aircraft propulsion unit includes a turbojet engine, a lateral pylon connected to the fuselage of the aircraft, and a nacelle on the lateral pylon. The nacelle includes an upstream section having an air intake, a downstream section housing a reverse thrust device, and a middle section having two fan half-cowls surrounding a fan housing of the turbojet engine, and when said half-cowls are in a closed position defining an aerodynamic continuity between the upstream and downstream sections. The fan half-cowls include a maintenance half-cowl positioned under the horizontal median plane of the nacelle, able to move between the closed position and an open position allowing access to the turbojet engine for maintenance operations on the turbojet engine. The nacelle further includes at least one standby lock, designed to hold the maintenance half-cowl in a position intermediate to the closed and open positions.
US11685537B1

Systems and methods for controlling flight via a parallel hybrid aircraft having an electric propulsion system and a combustion propulsion system are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may include: a combustion propulsion system including a combustion engine; an electric propulsion system including a motor and an electric power source, wherein the motor comprises a stator, a rotor coupled to the engine shaft, and support bearings between the rotor and the stator; a mechanical link coupled to the stator and the combustion engine, wherein the mechanical link substantially prevents movement of the stator in a rotational degree of freedom; and a propeller coupled to the engine shaft, wherein the rotor is coupled to the engine shaft between the propeller and the combustion engine.
US11685535B2

A multi-staged suspension line length parachute may include a suspension line having a primary length and a secondary length. The primary length may be deployable upon a first deployment of the multi-staged suspension line length parachute. The secondary length may be prevented from deployment until the primary length has fully deployed. An attenuator may attach a first portion of the secondary length to a second portion of the secondary length.
US11685527B2

A projectile delivery module to be mounted on an aerial vehicle includes a projectile delivery system including a kinetic projectile and a base system. The kinetic projectile includes a projectile body, an RF receiver, and an onboard steering system including: a steering mechanism operable to change an attitude, orientation, and/or direction of flight of the kinetic projectile; and a steering actuator. The base system includes: an RF transmitter to communicate with the RF receiver; a projectile holder; a target tracking system; and a projectile guidance system including a projectile tracking system and a projectile control system. The base system is configured to: release the kinetic projectile from the projectile holder such that the kinetic projectile is driven toward a target by gravity; track the target using the target tracking system; track the released kinetic projectile using the projectile tracking system; and automatically control the onboard steering system using the projectile control system to adjust a trajectory of the falling kinetic projectile to steer the kinetic projectile to the target.
US11685524B2

A yaw control system for a helicopter having a tailboom includes one or more tail rotors rotatably coupled to the tailboom and a quiet mode controller. The quiet mode controller includes a noise monitoring module configured to monitor one or more flight parameters of the helicopter and a quiet mode command module configured to selectively switch the one or more tail rotors to a quiet mode based on the one or more flight parameters. The quiet mode command module is also configured to modify one or more operating parameters of the one or more tail rotors in the quiet mode to reduce noise emitted by the helicopter.
US11685517B2

Installation of powered actuators in the leading edge of a control surface in order to have a better weight distribution. The systems described herein propose an actuation system with a static ground structure used to move a control surface of an aircraft. The actuation system, and the ground structure are aligned with the center of rotation of the control surface, providing the aircraft with flutter suppression. This proposal is an approach to use the actuator in a place favorable to the mass balancing and reducing or even dismissing the usage of mass balancing, saving weight and cost.
US11685515B2

A rotorcraft has a horizontal stabilizer movable about an axis of rotation and a horizontal stabilizer control system configured to control the horizontal stabilizer to at least one of move the rotorcraft into a minimum drag position, maintain the aircraft in a minimum drag position, efficiently achieve a maneuver, enter efficient autorotation, and maintain efficient autorotation.
US11685514B2

There is provided a pitch control assembly for a rotor of an aircraft, the rotor rotatable about a longitudinal axis and having blades each rotatable about a span-wise axis to adjust a blade pitch angle thereof, the assembly comprising a plurality of position markers spaced circumferentially around the longitudinal axis and having lengths along the longitudinal axis which vary monotonically and incrementally, at least one sensor configured for producing at least one sensor signal in response to detecting a relative movement between the plurality of position markers and the at least one sensor, and a control unit communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and configured to generate a feedback signal indicative of the blade pitch angle in response to the at least one sensor signal received from the at least one sensor.
US11685512B2

A lift-changing mechanism is configured to change generated by a wing of an aircraft and includes a slit and an opening and closing member. The slit extends in a wingspan direction inside the wing and forms openings on the lower surface of the wing and on the upper surface of the wing respectively. A part of airflow below the lower surface is allowed to flow toward the upper surface through the slit. The opening and closing member is configured to open and close the slit. When the opening and closing member opens the slit, lift generated on the wing is decreased compared with when the slit is closed.
US11685507B2

A sound-absorbing panel includes: an inner skin traversed by holes and intended to be oriented towards a channel in which a fluid flows, a heating mat formed by strips fixed to the inner skin on the side opposite to the channel and oriented in a first direction, wherein two adjacent strips are distant from each other in order to define a slot between them, a base fixed to the strips on the side opposite to the inner skin, wherein the base includes, on the strips side, grooves extending in a second direction different from the first direction and wherein the base has, between two successive grooves, a rib, a cellular core fixed to the base on the side opposite to the strips, and an outer panel fixed to the cellular core on the side opposite to the base.
US11685505B2

A sidewall assembly for an aircraft and an aircraft are provided. In one example, the sidewall assembly includes a window. A sidewall portion has an inner-facing side and at least partially surrounds the window. The sidewall portion and the window have a curved contour. A transparent display panel is coupled to the sidewall portion and covers the inner-facing side of the sidewall portion including the window. The transparent display panel includes a display screen configured to display information to a passenger. The transparent display panel including the display screen have a curved contour that substantially matches the curved contour of the sidewall portion and the window. A display controller is in communication with the transparent display panel to communicate a video/audio signal providing the information to the display screen.
US11685503B2

Described herein are stringer assemblies, such as blade stringers, and methods of forming thereof. A stringer assembly comprises a first fabric composite stiffener, a second fabric composite stiffener, and an intermediate tape composite stiffener, disposed between and connected to each of the first and second stiffeners. Using three separate components allows forming sharp bends, eliminating voids and gap fillers, and adding new features, such as edge reinforcements. Each of the first and second fabric composite stiffeners comprises a web portion, a flange portion, and a curved portion, positioned between the web and flange portions. The web portions surround and are attached to the intermediate tape composite stiffener and, in some examples, include tapered-out edges for additional rigidity. The flange portions are attached to the composite base. The curved portions conform to the flared-out edges of the intermediate tape composite stiffener, which extends and connects to the composite base.
US11685495B1

A system for suspending a lubricant in a marine propulsion device having a gearcase, the gearcase defining a gearset cavity for containing a propeller shaft gearset rotated by a driveshaft. The system includes a pump device configured to pump the lubricant away from the gearset cavity, and a reservoir located away from the gearset cavity and configured to receive the lubricant from the pump device. An input passage conveys the lubricant from the pump device to the reservoir, and an output passage conveys the lubricant from the reservoir to the gearset cavity. The reservoir is configured to retain a portion of the lubricant circulating between the gearset cavity and the reservoir.
US11685493B1

A fluid propulsion system configured to propel an ambient fluid through a propulsion channel. To do so, the present invention includes a hollow main body having a propulsion channel extending therethrough. The main body includes a base structure, a flexible bladder attached thereto, and a fluid (e.g., liquid, gas, or plasma) enclosed within the bladder. The present invention further includes a field source that produces an electromagnetic or magnetic field. The bladder and/or the enclosed fluid is configured to respond to the electromagnetic or magnetic field. Movement of the bladder in response to energization of the field sources alters a degree of occlusion of the propulsion channel. Energizing sequential field sources causes the occluded section of the bladder to propel the ambient fluid through the propulsion channel creating a reactionary force to propel the fluid propulsion system in the opposite direction.
US11685486B2

The present disclosure describes a resilient bumper that comprises an arc-shaped spring member that extends from a first end to a second end along a spring axis and includes an impact surface arranged between the first and second ends; and a support member that includes an attachment interface that extends in parallel to the spring axis of the spring member and is configured to releasably engage the first and second ends of the spring member. A bumper system and a marine structure are also described.
US11685480B2

A seat made of drop stitch material has a back panel, a bottom panel, and a support panel, where the back and bottom panels are adjustably and detachably connected to each other at a substantially orthogonal orientation, and the support portion tilts or reclines the seat into a recumbent position which is advantageous for paddling while sitting on the upper surface of a watercraft.
US11685476B2

A ship security device is disclosed including a barrier and a panel. The security device may transition between a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration the security device is unassembled and at least the barrier may be arranged in a storage configuration in which the barrier curves or bends through a first angle, and in the second configuration the security device is assembled in an arrangement for use, in which the security device may be assembled around a rail. In the second configuration at least a part of the panel is orientated to be substantially vertical, and the barrier is curved, bent or folded through a second angle, which is greater than the first angle, to protrude away from the panel in a horizontal direction, perpendicular from a plane extending vertically through the rail, to provide an overhang on an exterior side of the rail.
US11685471B2

A shifting system for a human-powered vehicle comprises a controller. The controller is configured to receive a driving torque and a cadence of the human-powered vehicle from at least one sensor. The controller is configured to determine a permitted shift timing based on the driving torque and the cadence. The controller is further configured to control a shift mechanism to perform a gear shift during the permitted shift timing in accordance with a permitted cadence range and a first threshold of the driving torque.
US11685469B2

A bicycle derailleur comprises a circuit board, an electrical user interface, a motor housing, and a motor unit. The electrical user interface includes a user accessing portion configured to receive a user input. The motor housing includes a motor accommodating space. The motor unit is provided in the motor accommodating space and configured to generate rotational force and configured to be electrically connected to the circuit board. A first direction is defined from the circuit board toward the electrical user interface or from the electrical user interface toward the circuit board. The plurality of second directions is defined to be perpendicular to the first direction. The motor unit is at least partly provided between the user accessing portion of the electrical user interface and the circuit board when viewed in at least one of the plurality of second directions.
US11685466B2

A human-powered vehicle control device includes a controller configured to control a motor that assists propulsion of a human-powered vehicle including a movable member that is extensible and retractable. The controller controls the motor in accordance with actuation of the movable member during an extending or retracting action of the movable member.
US11685459B2

A foldable human-powered vehicle upon which users can ride is described. The vehicle includes a wheel assembly, a deck assembly, a seating assembly, a handle assembly, a deck support frame, and a brake assembly. The vehicle also includes a first and a second bicycle having a first handle disposed opposite a second handle. A first handle of the second bicycle is affixed to a second handle of a portion of the handle assembly to affix the second bicycle to the vehicle. A second handle of the first bicycle is affixed to a first handle of a portion of the handle assembly to affix the first bicycle to the vehicle. The vehicle also includes a rear component affixed to a portion of the deck assembly, where a head tube of a third bicycle is affixed to the rear component to affix the third bicycle to the vehicle.
US11685447B2

A guard assembly is provided for use with a track assembly for a vehicle. The guard assembly includes a guard body having a rigid portion made of a first polymeric material and a flexible portion made of a second polymeric material different from the first polymeric material. The first polymeric material has a greater modulus of elasticity than the second polymeric material. A vehicle including a guard assembly, namely including a guard body is also contemplated.
US11685439B2

A driving assistance apparatus includes: an assist device configured to perform a steering assist in which a steering torque for steering a vehicle in a direction away from a pedestrian is applied to the vehicle; and a canceller configured to cancel the steering assist if a cancellation condition is satisfied. The cancellation condition includes: a first condition caused by that at least a part of a traffic lane is not recognized; and a second condition caused by that a vehicle operation by a driver is performed. The canceller applies a steering torque in an opposite direction, which is opposite to a direction of the steering torque applied by the steering assist, to the vehicle if the first condition is satisfied, and is configured to increase a torque change amount per unit time of the steering torque in the opposite direction in comparison with when the second condition is satisfied.
US11685437B2

The steering control device includes an automatic steering controller that generates an automatic steering control amount and a manual steering controller that generates a manual steering control amount, and selects either one of an automatic steering mode and a manual steering mode to control an electric motor. When steering torque exceeds a predetermined value during the control in the automatic steering mode, the manual steering controller generates a manual steering control amount change based on the change in the manual operation amount with reference to the time of exceeding, generates the manual steering control amount based on the steering torque, controls the electric motor based on a control amount obtained by adding the manual steering control amount change to the automatic steering control amount at the time of exceeding, and then controls the electric motor in the manual steering mode.
US11685436B2

A transmission for a vehicle, particularly a skid-steered vehicle, that employs motive power from a prime mover delivered through an input shaft to drive left and right drive shafts at a nominal speed and input power from an electric motor to vary the speed of the left and right drive shafts according to steering commands from a steering control structure. The speed of the left and right drive shafts is directly related to a speed of the input shaft and the nominal speed of the left or right drive shaft is varied upwardly or downwardly by a ratio of the speed of the steering shaft via a speed varying structure. The speed of the left and right drive shafts is simultaneously varied in opposite directions (i.e. upwardly and downwardly) relative to the nominal speed by an equal number of rotations.
US11685434B2

A method of controlling rear wheel steering in a vehicle including determining a stability state of the vehicle from a plurality of vehicle sensor inputs, determining a target vehicle performance based on the stability state of the vehicle, and determining a target rear angle of rear vehicle wheels based on a difference between a target vehicle characteristic and a model vehicle characteristic, wherein the target vehicle performance promotes agility and stability to a target model at different times based on the stability state of the vehicle.
US11685431B2

Among other things, techniques are described for steering angle calibration. An autonomous vehicle receives a steering angle measurement and a yaw rate measurement, and estimates a steering angle offset using the steering angle measurement, the yaw rate measurement, and a wheel base of the autonomous vehicle. An estimated yaw rate is determined based on a yaw rate model, the steering angle measurement and the estimated steering angle offset. The yaw rate measurement and the estimated yaw rate are compared and an action is initiated on the autonomous vehicle in response to the comparing.
US11685425B2

An electric power steering device includes: an electric motor; a rack shaft configured to move axially; a conversion unit configured to convert rotational driving force of the moto into movement of the rack shaft; a first housing configured to cover a part of an outer surface of the rack shaft and including a first leg portion fixed to a vehicle; a second housing configured to cover a part of the outer surface of the rack shaft and including a fourth connecting portion covering the conversion unit and a second leg portion fixed to the vehicle; and an intermediate housing disposed between the first and second housings and configured to cover a part of the outer surface of the rack shaft 3 and including a motor support portion supporting the motor.
US11685422B1

An axially adjustable steering column including a first jacket and a second jacket that is axially movable with respect to the first jacket. The second jacket includes a window and the first jacket includes a connector opening. An energy absorbing assembly includes a lock cam that is located in the window and connected to the second jacket and a strap body that is connected to the first jacket with a fastener extending through the strap body and the connector opening. The connector opening includes a ramp for ejecting the fastener from engagement with the first jacket.
US11685420B2

The present teachings relate to a spacer having a body portion and two or more opposing contact surfaces extending from the body portion, forming an angle with the body portion. The spacer may be adapted to engage with a portion of a steering column assembly to reduce or prevent rotation of a column tube during a telescoping adjustment. The teachings also include an adjustable steering column assembly having a column tube with a portion extending therefrom; a steering shaft supported for rotation at least in part by the column tube; a column housing for at least partially supporting the column tube; and the spacer. The spacer may be secured to the column tube to reduce or prevent rotation of the column tube. The teachings further contemplate a method of limiting rotational travel of a column tube during telescoping adjustment using the spacer.
US11685405B2

A vehicle controller includes a processor configured to detect an object region including another vehicle near a vehicle from each of time series images obtained by a camera mounted on the vehicle; detect a predetermined action taken by the other vehicle, based on a trajectory of the other vehicle estimated from the object region of each image; identify the state of a signal light of the other vehicle, based on characteristics obtained from pixel values of the object region of each image; extract information indicating characteristics of an action of the other vehicle or the state of a signal light at the predetermined action taken by the other vehicle, based on the predetermined action detected in a tracking period and the state of the signal light related to the predetermined action; and predict behavior of the other vehicle, using the extracted information.
US11685402B2

Disclosed are an autonomous driving apparatus and method for an ego vehicle that autonomously travels. The autonomous driving apparatus includes a first sensor to detect a nearby vehicle nearby an ego vehicle, a memory to store map information, and a processor including a driving trajectory generator to generate a first driving trajectory of the ego vehicle and a second driving trajectory of the nearby vehicle based on the map information stored in the memory and a control processor configured to control autonomous driving of the ego vehicle based on the first and second driving trajectories generated by the driving trajectory generator.
US11685400B2

A method for estimating a future fall of a cargo, the method may include receiving by a computerized system, sensed information related to driving sessions of multiple vehicles; applying a machine learning process on the sensed information to detect actual or estimated cargo falling events and generate one or more future falling cargo predictors for multiple types of cargo; estimating, from the sensed information, an impact of cargo falling events related to at least some of the types of cargo; and responding to the estimating, wherein the responding comprises at least one out of (a) storing the one or more future falling cargo predictors for the multiple types of cargo, (b) transmitting the one or more future falling cargo predictors for the multiple types of cargo; (c) storing the estimated impact of cargo falling events related to the at least some of the types of cargo, and (d) transmitting the impact of cargo falling events related to the at least some of the types of cargo.
US11685389B2

The invention is a modular vehicle that is intended for a variety of operations including both military and civilian operations. The vehicle addresses the issue of performing special purpose tasks that the vehicle is asked to do. Such tasks can be accomplished by configuring the vehicle as an ambulance, as a fire-fighting vehicle, as a communications van, as a command and control vehicle, etc. Thus, the vehicle is readily adapted using standardized and customized modules that are readily attached to a standardized platform that includes an appropriate interconnection means.
US11685384B2

The invention is related to a method for driver alertness detection, The method comprises the steps of determining a vanishing point of a vehicle in motion; determining over time, by an eye tracking device, a set of gaze points of the driver of the vehicle; determining a gaze movement from the set of gaze points; and identifying an alertness of the driver, based on a direction of the gaze movement relative to the vanishing point being outward. Further, the invention is related to an eye tracking device for driver alertness detection, an alertness detection system, a computer program, and a computer-readable medium.
US11685381B2

A method and system for estimating surface roughness of a ground for an off-road vehicle to control steering of a vehicle, an implement, or both, comprises detecting motion data of an off-road vehicle traversing a field or work site during a sampling interval. A first sensor is adapted to detect pitch data of the off-road vehicle for the sampling interval to obtain a pitch acceleration. A second sensor is adapted to detect roll data of the off-road vehicle for the sampling interval to obtain a roll acceleration. An electronic data processor or surface roughness index module determines or estimates a surface roughness index based on the detected motion data, pitch data and roll data for the sampling interval. The surface roughness index can be displayed on the graphical display to a user or operator of the vehicle.
US11685380B1

Methods and controllers for controlling engine speed to reduce NVH that occurs in conjunction with transmission shifts are described. In some embodiments, when a transmission shift to a target gear is expected, a target engine speed appropriate for the target gear is first determined. A target rate of change of the engine speed is calculated from the initial engine speed and target engine speed in conjunction with a target transition time. A target torque is then calculated from the target rate of change of engine speed. A target firing fraction or induction ratio are determined that are desired for use with the target engine speed based on the target torque. The transition to the target engine speed and target firing fraction or induction ratio are completed before the gear shift is completed. The described approaches are well suited for use during skip fire or other cylinder output level modulation operation of the engine.
US11685377B2

An apparatus for controlling autonomous driving of a vehicle includes a processor to control autonomous driving, and a storage to store data and an algorithm to control the autonomous driving. The processor determines whether a target vehicle in front of a host vehicle in a travelling lane of the host vehicle is stopped, and performs a passing control when the target vehicle is stopped.
US11685375B2

A braking and driving force control device includes a target braking and driving force calculation unit, and a braking and driving force distribution unit. The braking and driving force distribution unit causes a driving device to generate a target braking and driving force in a case where the target braking and driving force is within the availability, and in a case where the target braking and driving force is less than a lower limit value of the availability, causes the driving device to generate a braking and driving force corresponding to the lower limit value of the availability, performs arithmetic processing of suppressing time variation on the lower limit value of the availability, and causes a braking device to generate a braking force corresponding to a difference between the lower limit value of the availability after the arithmetic processing and the target braking and driving force.
US11685374B2

An inching system for a vehicle having a hydrostatic transmission and an engine that drives the transmission. The transmission has a pilot pressure port with a pressure of hydraulic fluid at the pilot pressure port controlling a level of power from the transmission, a beginning of draining of the hydraulic fluid from the pilot pressure port defining an inching starting point. The system includes a brake pedal and an electrohydraulic valve coupled to the pilot pressure port of the transmission, the valve being configured to drain the hydraulic fluid at the pilot pressure port. A sensor is coupled to the pedal to detect an input from the operator, the sensor producing a signal indicative of the input from the operator. A controller receives the signal and a speed of the engine. The controller controls the electrohydraulic valve dependent upon the signal and the engine speed so that the inching starting point is unchanged regardless of the speed of the engine.
US11685373B2

A method for detecting and processing the carriageway condition of a carriageway on which a vehicle is driven, by means of at least one noise sensor provided on the vehicle, in particular by means of at least one mechanical vibration sensor, wherein noise signals travelling through the vehicle are sensed by a noise sensor and conclusions as to the carriageway condition are drawn from the sensed noise signals. According to said method, the section of route on which the vehicle is currently being driven is determined, the determined carriageway condition is assigned to the section of route, said section of route and the carriageway condition that has been determined and assigned to the section of route are transmitted to a computer network, in particular to a cloud-based computing service, and the information relating to the carriageway condition assigned to a section of route is made available via the computer network.
US11685370B2

An automatic driving vehicle is running in an automatic driving mode effected by a driving control device. An operator is able to instruct via a SLOW DOWN button on a touch panel that the automatic driving vehicle is to be decelerated or stopped. Should any anomaly occur to the SLOW DOWN button, a message or the like is displayed on a touch panel to encourage operation of an emergency stop switch. When the operator operates the emergency stop switch, emergency stop control is executed.
US11685367B2

A method of providing automated application of turn radius reduction in a driver assist mode may include receiving steering wheel angle and wheel speed information to determine a target wheel slip during a turn. The method may further include comparing the target wheel slip to a current wheel slip to determine a slip error, and applying braking torque to an inside wheel based on the slip error to reduce the turn radius.
US11685364B2

A vehicle controller for a vehicle including a drive source including an electric motor includes: a sense-of-beating producer configured to acquire a total required torque which is a required torque of the entire vehicle and configured to derive a total target torque corresponding to the total required torque as applied to a predetermined engine combustion cycle; and a target motor torque deriver configured to, based on the total target torque, derive a target motor torque for torque control of the electric motor. The vehicle controller controls the electric motor based on the target motor torque.
US11685363B2

An apparatus for controlling engine idling of a hybrid electric vehicle having an engine, an electric motor and a driving motor includes: an engine target speed determination part to determine an engine target speed when an engine idle speed control is requested; an engine target torque determination part to determine an engine target torque when the engine idle speed control is requested; a speed control part to determine a control torque for maintaining an engine speed at a predetermined speed based on a difference value between the engine target speed and an engine actual speed; a power split part to determine an output torque of the electric motor and an engine compensation torque of the engine based the control torque; and a final engine torque determination part to sum the engine compensation torque and the engine target torque to determine a final engine torque.
US11685359B2

A vehicle system includes: a reprogramming slave device that is an electronic control unit (hereinafter, referred to as ECU) to be a target of updating an update file of a program stored among a plurality of the ECUs; a reprogramming master device that transmits the update file to the reprogramming slave device in response to a request from a terminal operable by a vehicle user to control updating of the program stored in the reprogramming slave device; and a determination unit that determines traveling propriety of a vehicle when the update file is rewritten in the reprogramming slave device. The vehicle device functions as the reprogramming master device, and includes: an obtaining unit that obtains the traveling propriety determined by the determination unit; and a notification command unit that commands a notification medium to notify information of the traveling propriety obtained by the obtaining unit.
US11685355B2

A device for a hydraulic actuating system, e.g., a motor vehicle brake, a clutch or a gear selector, may include the following components arranged in one housing, forming a main module: at least one pressure supply device driven by an electric motor drive, and a valve arrangement comprising at least one solenoid valve. The device may further include an electrical control unit (ECU) and valve output stages and sensors. The main module may be electrically and/or hydraulically connected to at least one further system component, which system component may include and actuating device and a travel simulator.
US11685342B2

The invention relates to a device (120) for cleaning a large-optical-surface detection module (110) of a driving assistance system (100) of a motor vehicle (300), comprising at least two rails (121a, 121b, 121c) for spraying a cleaning fluid that are arranged around the large-optical-surface detection module (110), each spray rail (121a, 121b, 121c) being configured to clean a part of the optical surface of the detection module, each spray rail being able to be activated independently of the other spray rails (121a, 121b, 121c).
US11685338B1

A seatbelt pretensioner system for use in a seatbelt retractor assembly having a spindle and a frame includes a housing adapted for being mounted to the frame and having an interior cavity, a pretensioner tube having a first tube end in fluid communication with a gas generator and a second tube end in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the housing, a pinion being rotatably mounted in the housing and fixedly coupled to the spindle adapted for taking up seatbelt webbing during pretensioning, and a pretensioner rod disposed inside the pretensioner tube. Further, the pretensioner rod has a proximal end disposed towards the gas generator and a distal end disposed away from the gas generator. In addition, the housing is formed with at least two levels including an inboard portion and an outboard portion to store the pretensioner rod after pretensioning.
US11685335B2

An igniter assembly includes an igniter, a collar, and a holding part, a cup body having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a lid wall and a closing part defining an accommodating space with the cup body, the peripheral wall is sectioned, in an axial direction, into a contact region in contact with the closing part and a noncontact region not in contact with the closing part, the holding part includes a base part covering the contact region and a surrounding wall formed continuously to the base part and surrounding the noncontact region, and a fragile part is formed in the holding part between a first area including at least a part of the base part and a second area including a tip end of the surrounding wall, and thus the second area deforms radially outward preferentially when a load is applied to the surrounding wall by the igniter activated.
US11685334B2

An airbag module according to various implementations includes an inflatable cushion, a folding tab, and an inflator. The inflatable cushion includes a first panel and a second panel, each of the first and second panels including an inner surface and an outer surface. When the outer surfaces of the first and second panels are coupled together to form an inverted seam, the folding tab is coupled between the respective outer surfaces of the first and second panels. As a result, the inflatable cushion includes an increased strength while maintaining an ease of assembly using current inflatable cushion folding machines.
US11685332B2

An airbag system for a vehicle body includes an inflator and an airbag wherein the inflator is mounted on the vehicle body. The airbag includes a plurality of mounting portions, an inflatable main portion and a supplemental portion integral to the inflatable main portion at an upper edge of the inflatable main portion. The inflatable main portion includes an outboard interface side and an inboard engagement side while the supplemental portion includes an outboard vehicle side and an inboard interface side which is disposed adjacent to a portion of the outboard interface side of the inflatable main portion. The inflatable main portion is configured to deploy inboard of a vehicle window while the supplemental portion is configured to deploy between an upper region of the inflatable main portion and an upper vehicle rail thereby urging an upper region of the inflatable main portion toward an inboard direction.
US11685331B2

The present invention relates to a seat airbag for a vehicle in which a side cushion 100 is deployed to protrude forward from a seatback 10 and protects the side of a passenger 20, a front cushion 200 is deployed to protrude from the side cushion 100 to the front of the passenger 20 and protects the front of the passenger 20, an upper tether 300 and a lower tether 400 exhibiting strong restraint force are connected to the side cushion 100 and the front cushion 200. Thus, it is possible to effectively restrain the passenger's lateral behavior, forward behavior, and diagonal behavior, thereby further enhancing the passenger's protective effect.
US11685330B2

A roof airbag module includes an airbag configured to inflate and deploy away from a vehicle roof toward a vehicle seat. The airbag module also includes an airbag housing configured to support the airbag in a stored condition in which the airbag is deflated and at least one of rolled and folded. The airbag module also includes an inflator that is actuatable to direct inflation fluid into the airbag to inflate the airbag. The airbag module further includes a module cover connected to the airbag housing and configured to conceal the airbag in the stored condition. The module cover includes a deployment door having an interior surface facing an interior of the housing and engaging the airbag in the stored condition, and an opposite exterior surface comprising a class A surface configured to be in direct view from the passenger compartment. The interior surface of the deployment door comprises one or more tear seams configured to rupture in response to airbag inflation, which opens the deployment door and releases the airbag to inflate and deploy.
US11685322B2

An electrical wiring harness assembly includes a wiring harness formed by bundled electrical lines, and including breakouts diverging from a main trunk. A sleeve guide encloses a compound junction formed by the main trunk and the breakouts and includes a plurality of breakout guide tubes receiving the plurality of breakouts and fixing outgoing trajectories of the plurality of breakouts from the main trunk in a 3-dimensional pattern where the outgoing trajectories all differ, relative to the center axis of the sleeve guide, in at least one of a longitudinal, a circumferential, or an angular aspect.
US11685312B2

A display control device mounted on a vehicle having a parking support function controls a display to display a rear image captured by a rear camera. The display control device acquires the rear image captured by the rear camera; and superimposes, in response to the parking support function being activated, a target image item indicating a target parking position at a predetermined position of the rear image which corresponds to the target parking position. The display control device superimposes at least a part of the target image item in translucent manner on the rear image, and superimpose, on the rear image, an emphasized image item that emphasizes at least four corners of the target image item.
US11685311B2

A warning system and a method for warning a driver of a vehicle of an object in a proximity of the vehicle. The system includes a device for detecting the object, a device for processing an image of the object based on the detection so that a representation indicative of the object is achieved, and a display for displaying the representation indicative of the object in the vehicle.
US11685307B2

An aspect of the disclosure sets forth a turn signal system for a steering wheel that is easier to use and improves turn signal usage compliance and, accordingly, safety. The turn signal system includes at least one hand location detection sensor; at least one pressure actuated switch mechanism which is actuatable by the operator; a turn signal control, the turn signal control operatively connected to the at least one hand location detection sensor and the at least one pressure actuated switch mechanism, the turn signal control also operatively connected to left and right turn signals of the vehicle to indicate a turn to the left or right. Wherein actuation of the at least one pressure actuated switch mechanism by a hand of the operator of the vehicle provides a signal to the turn signal control to indicate a turn to the left or right.
US11685306B2

A light emitting device including a lighting unit and a conversion material is disclosed. The conversion material is configured to convert a part of the invisible light emitted from the lighting unit into a visible light, which indicates that the lighting unit is in operation. The spectral energy of visible light is less than 20% of the spectral energy measured within a wavelength range of 200 nm to 380 nm.
US11685295B2

A seat adjustment first lever is adapted to be mounted to a first lateral end of a recline mechanism of a seatback. Rotation of the first lever about a pivot axis disengages the recline mechanism. The first lever includes a first lever input portion extending from the pivot axis for manual rotation of the first lever. A second lever input portion extends from the pivot axis and is sized to receive an input cable for actuation of the first lever from a remote location. A lever output portion extends from the pivot axis and is sized to receive an output cable to connect the first lever to a second lever on a second lateral end of the recline mechanism.
US11685293B2

A seat system includes: a base; a seatback; at least one recliner connecting the base and the seatback to each other for pivoting of the seatback relative to the base; a slider coupled to the base and configured for sliding engagement with a track having a detent region and a tilt-and slide region; and an electronic controller, wherein without mechanical interlock between the recliner and the slider, the electronic controller causes the recliner to place the seatback in a non-passenger position when the slider is within the tilt-and-slide region, and causes the recliner to place the seatback in a passenger position when the slider is within the detent region.
US11685292B2

A vehicle temperature management apparatus includes: a channel selection section that selects at least one of a chiller heat exchange channel, a radiator heat exchange channel, and a heater heat exchange channel as a channel of a refrigerant in a refrigerant circulation circuit; a switching control section that controls the channel switching section such that the channel switching section selects at least one of the chiller heat exchange channel, the radiator heat exchange channel, and the heater heat exchange channel; and an operation control section that controls an operation of a chiller. When the radiator heat exchange channel or the heater heat exchange channel is selected as the channel of the refrigerant, the switching control section controls the channel selection section such that the channel selection section further selects the chiller heat exchange channel, and the operation control section does not operate the chiller.
US11685290B2

This disclosure describes at least embodiments of an aircraft monitoring system for an electric or hybrid airplane. The aircraft monitoring system can be constructed to enable the electric or hybrid aircraft to pass certification requirements relating to a safety risk analysis. The aircraft monitoring system can have different subsystems for monitoring and alerting of failures of components, such as a power source for powering an electric motor, of the electric or hybrid aircraft. The failures that pose a greater safety risk may be monitored and indicated by one or more subsystems without use of programmable components.
US11685282B2

A controller may, after receiving indication that an electric utility provider will reduce power supplied during an upcoming period of time, increase a cost of charge energy for vehicles that charge at a rate at least equal to a threshold rate during the upcoming period of time. The controller may also decrease the cost of charge energy for vehicles that avoid charging or charge at a rate less than the threshold rate during the upcoming period of time.
US11685276B2

This application is directed to an apparatus for providing electrical charge to a vehicle. The apparatus comprises a driven mass, a generator, a charger, a hardware controller, and a communication circuit. The driven mass rotates in response to a kinetic energy of the vehicle and is coupled to a shaft such that rotation of the driven mass causes the shaft to rotate. The driven mass exists in one of (1) an extended position and (2) a retracted position. The generator generates an electrical output based on a mechanical input coupled to the shaft such that rotation of the shaft causes the mechanical input to rotate. The charger is electrically coupled to the generator and: receives the electrical output, generates a charge output based on the electrical output, and conveys the charge output to the vehicle. The controller controls whether the driven mass is in the extended position or the retracted position in response to a signal received from the communication circuit.
US11685261B2

Presented are high-voltage electrical systems, control logic, and electric-drive vehicles with optimized motor torque output. A method of operating an electric-drive vehicle includes a controller identifying the vehicle's operating mode and determining calibration settings corresponding to this operating mode. These calibration settings include low and high coolant temperature (CoolTemp) thresholds, and motor-calibrated torque limits as a function of CoolTemp. The controller determines if the present CoolTemp of the power inverter's coolant is greater than the low CoolTemp threshold and less than the high CoolTemp threshold. If so, the controller sets a motor torque limit of the vehicle's electric motor to a torque limit value selected from a fixed torque limit region within the torque limits data between the low and high CoolTemp thresholds. The controller operates the power inverter to regulate the transfer of electrical power between a rechargeable battery and the electric motor based on the motor torque limit.
US11685252B2

A suspension and traction system (MC) is described for vehicles equipped with a frame and a propulsive element (R), which by rolling on the ground (T) is adapted to move the vehicle relative to the ground (T). A rotary electric motor (12) operates two rotors (14, 16) independently controllable from one another to supply two epicycloidal mechanisms (20, 30) whose outer ring gears (28, 38) are independently movable to rotate about the respective solar gear (24, 34) and rigidly connected substantially to a same point (P) of the frame.
US11685242B2

A folding tonneau cover apparatus including a cover assembly and a support frame assembly. The cover assembly having a plurality of rigid panels interconnected in series by a series of flexible hinges preferably made from a laminated woven fabric material. The rigid panels are preferably stiffened by elongated support members secured to the undersides of the respective panels and the top surfaces of portions of the rigid panels are preferably downwardly concave. The cover assembly is secured to the support frame assembly to cover a cargo box of a pickup truck by a plurality of locking members when the support frame assembly is secured to sidewalls of the cargo box. Methods of making a tonneau cover apparatus and methods of folding and unfolding the cover assembly are also disclosed.
US11685225B2

A system for PTO-driven refrigeration includes a generator that is configured to be mechanically connected to a power takeoff (PTO) and a converter that is configured to receive AC power from the generator and is operable to convert the AC power to DC power. The generator is connected to a charge controller that is connected to an energy storage element. The energy storage element is connected to a controller configured to receive DC power and provide AC power to a motor. The motor may be mechanically connectable to a refrigeration system. The energy storage element is further configured to receive power from a second charge controller that receives power via an AC power input or solar system.
US11685221B2

A valve assembly includes a valve body defining an inner volume, a flow controller positioned within the inner volume, a plug positioned within the inner volume, and a biasing element. The plug is spaced from the flow controller such that an intermediate chamber is defined between the plug and the flow controller. The biasing element is positioned in the intermediate chamber between the plug and the flow controller. The plug is repositionable within the inner volume. As the plug moves within the inner volume, the plug interacts with the biasing element such that the biasing element provides a biasing force to the flow controller.
US11685220B2

A control system includes: a target volume module configured to determine a target volume of hydraulic fluid within a suspension system of a vehicle based on a target pressure of the hydraulic fluid within the suspension system; a volume command module configured to generate a volume command based on the target volume and a present volume of the hydraulic fluid within first and second circuits; a command module configured to, based on the volume command, generate: a pump command for an electric hydraulic fluid pump; and first and second valve commands for first and second seat valves that regulate hydraulic fluid flow to and from the first and second circuits, respectively; a valve control module that actuates the first and second seat valves based on the first and second valve commands, respectively; and a pump control module that controls operation of the pump based on the pump command.
US11685212B2

A damping assembly for a vehicle suspension system may include a spring including a first end operably coupled to a body of a vehicle and a second end operably coupled to a wheel assembly of the vehicle, a spring isolator operably coupling the body of the vehicle to the first end of the spring, a hydraulic jounce bumper to dampen jounce forces on the vehicle, and a reinforcement member operably coupled to the hydraulic jounce bumper at a proximal end of the reinforcement member and to the spring isolator at a distal end of the reinforcement member. The reinforcement member may be integrated with the spring isolator at the distal end of the reinforcement member.
US11685210B2

A jounce bumper assembly can be used in a suspension system for an automotive vehicle. The assembly can contain a jounce bumper having a longitudinal axis, a bottom portion, and a tip portion spaced apart from the bottom portion in the axial direction, where the jounce bumper is resiliently deformable between an uncompressed basic state and an axially compressed state. The assembly can also contain a support member for supporting the jounce bumper, the support member having a wall section which can be arranged around the bottom portion and resiliently deformable with the jounce bumper in the axial and radial direction. The assembly can further contain at least one stiffening element associated to the wall section and configured to locally limit the radial deformation of the support member.
US11685208B2

A dual-axle vehicle corner assembly which may include a sub-frame, a first arm connected to the sub-frame and rotatable with respect to the sub-frame about a first arm axis, the first arm having a first axle axis about which a first wheel rotates when connected to the first arm, a second arm connected to the sub-frame and rotatable with respect to the sub-frame about a second arm axis, the second arm having a second axle axis about which a second wheel rotates when connected to the second arm, and a suspension system comprising a piston assembly interconnecting the first arm and the second arm, the piston assembly is to controllably increase and decrease a length of the piston assembly to control a distance between the first axle axis and the second axle axis.
US11685195B2

A tread pattern of a pneumatic tire includes continuous lands provided in half treads on first and second sides, circumferential main grooves, and sipes having a chamfered configuration. The sipes extend inward in a lateral direction from the circumferential main grooves and are closed in the middle of regions of the continuous lands. An edge shape of each of sipes on the first side includes an extending portion extending inward in the lateral direction constantly in an extension direction and a bent portion that is provided to be joined to an end of the first extending portion and that has the edge shape bent from the extension direction of the first extending portion to a direction close to the circumferential direction. Every portion of the first extending portion and the bent portion of the sipes are provided with a main body portion and a sipe chamfered portion.
US11685190B2

A rubber composition for a tire according to an embodiment of the present technology includes: 100 parts by mass of a diene rubber and from 1 to 30 parts by mass of a thermally expandable microcapsule composite body, and the thermally expandable microcapsule composite body contains one or more thermally expandable microcapsules and an acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer and/or a crosslinked body thereof covering the one or more thermally expandable microcapsules.
US11685184B2

A set of sheet dividers comprises a first plurality of sheet dividers, each divider comprising a sheet with a tab extending therefrom at a different location along the same side as all other dividers in the first plurality and to a first extent from the opposite side of the sheet, and a second plurality of sheet dividers, each divider comprising a sheet with a tab extending therefrom at a different location along the same side as all other dividers in the second plurality and to a second extent from the opposite side of the sheet that is greater than the first extent.
US11685176B2

A recording apparatus includes a housing that houses a recording unit that performs recording on the medium transported by a transport unit, a cutting unit that is disposed downstream of the recording unit and that cuts the medium, a discharge unit that is disposed downstream of the cutting unit and that discharges the medium, a storage unit that is disposed below the cutting unit and that is configured to store cutting waste of the medium, and a receiving unit that is disposed downstream of the discharge unit and that has a receiving surface configured to receive the medium discharged from the discharge unit, wherein the storage unit and the receiving unit are integrated, and the integrated storage unit and receiving unit are configured to be detachable from the housing.
US11685170B2

The present disclosure relates to a device for simultaneously performing printing of tablets and inspection on exteriors of the tablets, and provides a device for printing a tablet and inspecting an exterior of the tablet, comprising a transfer unit arranging and transferring tablets supplied from a tablet supplier in a line; a pre-printing image-capturing unit located on a transfer path on which the tablets are transferred to discriminate positions and orientations of the tablets, and disposed to capture images of exteriors of the tablets being transferred; a tablet printing unit located next to the pre-printing image-capturing unit on the transfer path on which the tablets are transferred, and printing the tablets being transferred, in consideration of discriminated results acquired from the images captured by the pre-printing image-capturing unit; and a post-printing image-capturing unit located next to the tablet printing unit on the transfer path on which the tablets are transferred, and capturing images of exteriors of the printed tablets being transferred, to inspect the images or printed results of the printed tablets. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of functions may be performed with a single device, to maximize work efficiency in time and space, and reduce costs.
US11685167B2

An information processing apparatus includes: a state detection unit configured to detect states of the liquids contained in the plurality of liquid tanks; a light emission unit attached to an external surface of the information processing apparatus with a cover closed, the cover being opened when the plurality of tanks are operated; and a control unit configured to control the light emission unit, based on a fact that the state of the liquid detected by the state detection unit is a predetermined state in one of the plurality of liquid tanks, so that the light emission unit emits light in a light emission pattern corresponding to the liquid tank that contains the liquid in the predetermined state, out of a plurality of light emission patterns corresponding to the plurality of liquid tanks.
US11685160B2

According to examples, systems and methods for transferring and mixing ink utilizing a tank with a mixing area formed by a funnel portion are described. The mixing area is for mixing new ink and resident ink. In some examples, a new ink supply inlet tube deposits the new ink into the tank from a connected ink supply container. In some examples, a resident ink supply inlet tube deposits the resident ink into the tank from a connected printing device. In some examples, an outlet port situated at tank bottom sends the mixed ink to the printing device.
US11685156B2

A liquid discharge head includes: a channel substrate having a nozzle and a channel communicating with the nozzle; a driving element arranged on the channel substrate; and a driving signal generating circuit which generates a driving signal to drive the driving element. The driving signal includes a non-discharge driving signal by which the driving element is driven so that liquid in the channel is not discharged from the nozzle. The non-discharge driving signal includes at least one first slight-vibration waveform and at least one second slight-vibration waveform. The first slight-vibration waveform is a waveform by which the driving element is displaced by a first displacement amount. The second slight-vibration waveform is a waveform by which the driving element is displaced by a second displacement amount that is larger than the first displacement amount. The at least one second slight-vibration waveform follows after the at least one first slight-vibration waveform.
US11685146B1

The present disclosure provides a film sticking device, stand and membrane module. When apply the mobile phone film, the outer protective film of the mobile phone film is pulled out from the film pulling port, and the static electricity generated by the friction after the protective film is separated from the main film and will absorb the dust, so that the final cleaning of the dust can be achieved; Then, directly touch the mobile phone film toward the mobile phone screen through the pressing port of the main cover body to make it stick to the mobile phone screen, which saves time and energy, greatly meets the needs of users, and can be used repeatedly.
US11685144B2

Multilayer Films have a first skin layer that is prepared from a high density polyethylene and a second skin layer (also referred to as the sealant layer) that is prepared from a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) having a density of from 0.90 to 0.92 g/cc and a Dilution Index, Yd, of greater than 0°. Seals can be prepared by placing two pieces of this film against each other such that the sealant layers are in contact with each other, then applying heat to at least one high density skin layer such that heat is transmitted/conducted through the multilayer film in a sufficient amount to melt the sealant layer and form a seal. The use of LLDPE having a Dilution Index of greater than 0° has been found to improve the sealing performance of multilayer films in comparison to multilayer films where the sealant layer is a conventional LLDPE having a Dilution Index of less than 0°.
US11685134B2

Disclosed is a method of cutting off self-adhesive linerless endless tape labels, using a cutter of a label printer, wherein the cutter comprises a transport roller, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation, and a blade unit that is linearly travelable in parallel with the axis of rotation of the transport roller and that has a cutting blade directed in the direction toward the transport roller, where tape labels pass between the transport roller and the blade unit, and are transported further step-wise in a motorized manner, by one label, and, between two consecutive further transport steps, the blade unit is linearly traveled in a motorized manner between a start position and a target position in order to cut off a label, such that the label is completely cut off and is held at the transport roller by the blade unit in the target position of the blade unit.
US11685132B2

A method for manufacturing a tread (5) based on uncured rubber material comprises the steps of forming a green form (9) of tread based on uncured rubber material having at least one tread pattern (2) block (3), each tread pattern (2) block (3) having a central portion (11) and at least one lateral portion (12) extending along the central portion (11), of mounting at least one reinforcing ply (7) on at least a part of the central portion (11), and of covering the central part (11) with the aid of the lateral portion (12) in order that the tread pattern (2) block (3) envelops the reinforcing ply (7).
US11685131B2

Methods and apparatus for making lens assemblies that can be placed on an eye of a person and that include at least one component are described. Generally, a first lens member (100) and a second lens member (200) are formed. The second lens member (200) is transferred to a compliant stage (210). At least one component is placed in contact with one of the lens members (100, 200). The second lens member (200) is placed in contact with the first lens member (100) such that the compliant stage (210) can provide compression to the first and second lens members (100, 200). The second lens member (200) and the first lens member (100) are coupled together to form a lens assembly (10) with the at least one component located between the two lens members (100, 200).
US11685126B2

A method for molding a composite pressure vessel liner to secure a boss to the liner is described. The method comprises providing a moldable liner having an end section with a neck and a port. A boss is positioned around the neck of the liner and the liner is heated and pressure is applied to mold the liner to form to the shape of the boss. The angle of the molded liner secures the boss in place around the liner and it is able to withstand high pressures. A tool for molding the liner and a method for using the tool is also described. The tool comprises a tool body and a pipe having external threads. The tool body abuts the liner and the boss. Winding the pipe exerts pressure on the liner, which when heated, forces the liner to mold to the shape of the boss.
US11685123B2

A method of constructing an additive manufactured article with erodible support. The method includes computing a length of an overhanging geometry that extends from an inner surface of an additively manufactured article; determining points along the overhanging geometry determining an outside point and an inside point from the multiple of overhanging geometry points; determining an anchor point by moving from the inside point I antiparallel to the build direction by a distance sufficient to form an angle greater than a critical angle of the additive process; connecting the anchor point to the overhanging geometry points to form ligament segments; thickening the ligament segments to form a solid ligament to form the erodible support; and additively manufacturing the overhanging geometry from the inner surface of the additively manufactured article via the erodible support, the erodible support erodible during operation of the additively manufactured article.
US11685107B2

An additive manufactured multi-portion article includes a first portion of an article manufactured by a first additive manufacturing process; and a second portion of the article manufactured by a second additive manufacturing process different than the first additive manufacturing process, the second portion attached to the first portion.
US11685104B2

A dynamic correction system of a manufacturing process using wire is provided. The dynamic correction system includes a driving device, a path sensor, and a controller. The driving device is configured to: drive a carrier with a motion parameter and encapsulate the carrier with a wire. The path sensor is configured to obtain an actual path information of the wire encapsulating the carrier. The controller is configured to: obtain an actual path of the wire encapsulating the carrier according to the actual path information; obtain an actual path difference between a target path and the actual path; determine whether the actual path difference is greater than a predetermined error; and, when the actual path difference is greater than the predetermined error, control the driving device to change the motion parameter to cause the actual path of the wire encapsulating the carrier to approach the target path.
US11685102B2

A system and method for forming plastic sheet into a three-dimensional shape. The plastic sheet may include one or more sheet-mounted components, such as electronics, that must be shielded from excessive heat, pressure, and/or crushing when the formation of the sheet occurs. A recess will be formed to protect against directly contacting sheet-mounted component. The recess may be aligned along the heating plate and/or the form core and/or along a protective blanket which may be set over (and under) sheet prior to heating/forming. The sheet is registered (with or without a blanket) onto a base plate, and preferably over a form core. The sheet is then raised to contact with a heating plate, and then placed downward over the (optionally heated) form core. Recess(es) align in locations corresponding to mounted component to protect same.
US11685100B2

A method for carrying out a changeover process in a system for producing beverage containers is provided. This system in operation produces plastic containers from plastic parisons by a transforming device and these produced containers are transported to a filling device and the containers are filled with a liquid and in particular a beverage, wherein the liquid is introduced into the container at a temperature of over 50° C., wherein at least the transforming device and the filling device are at least intermittently in data communication with one another and for carrying out the changeover process of at least the transforming device or the filling device a value is output and/or used which is characteristic for a changeover status of this transforming device or this filling device.
US11685093B2

A mold for injection molding includes: three or more cavity rows, each cavity row having a plurality of cavities; and a cooling flow path configured to allow a cooling medium to flow through the cooling flow path, the cooling medium cooling the cavities, the cooling flow path including: at least one supply port; a distribution conduit communicated with the supply port; a supply conduit communicated with the distribution conduit; a cavity cooling portion communicated with the supply conduit and provided to an outer periphery of the cavities; a discharge conduit communicated with the cavity cooling portion; a collecting conduit communicated with the discharge conduit; and at least one discharge port communicated with the collecting conduit, and the supply conduit and the discharge conduit are parallel to the cavity rows, and at least one supply conduit and at least one discharge conduit are provided for each cavity row.
US11685090B2

A method of coating a field joint, pipe sections for forming a coated field joint, and a coated field joint formed thereby. First and second angular cut backs are provided in the parent coating of each pipe section. The first angular cut back is at an angle of about 30°+−0.5° relative to the longitudinal axis of the field joint, and the second angular cut back is positioned further from the field joint than the first angular cut back. The first and second angular cut backs result in the parent coating having a stepped profile, a step in the stepped profile between the first and second angular cut backs, the step is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the field joint and is often substantially free of indentations. The field joint coating may be injection moulded to have an upstand that is less than or equal to about 5 mm.
US11685078B2

Methods of wellbore cementing are provided. A method of analyzing a solid particulate including: measuring a water requirement of the solid particulate; and determining an approximation of specific surface area of the solid particulate from the water requirement.
US11685076B2

The present disclosure provides an apparatus, method and kit to flatten wide boards with an apparatus. The apparatus comprises two sets of rails, one set spanning laterally and the second set spanning longitudinally. The second set of rails is operative to move along the first set of rails by use of short members attached to the second set that interface with the first set of rails. Then, a carriage is operative to sit on top of the second set of rails and move along them. This is done by the carriage arms engaged on the second set of rails.
US11685068B2

A smart shaving system with a three-dimension (3D) camera assists the user of a shaving razor. The 3D camera is communicatively connected to the shaving razor and to a razor cartridge vendor platform via an Internet-of-Things (IoT) gateway. The 3D camera can be incorporated into the shaving razor. The razor has hardware/software capabilities to function as a stand-alone Internet-of-Things (IoT) device. The 3D camera can assist the user to determine whether a particular skin surface area has been adequately shaved, and/or (ii) assist the user regarding the type of shaving cartridge and/or razor suited for the particular user's physical characteristics (e.g., skin and/or hair).
US11685067B2

The present disclosure provides an electric razor that can further suppress irritation to a skin. An electric razor of the present disclosure includes a body configured to be gripped by a user, a head having three or more blade blocks, and a head support connecting the head and the body to each other. The head support supports the head in a floatable-and-sinkable way with respect to the body. The head includes a case that supports the three or more blade blocks, and a blade float that allows each of the three or more blade blocks to float and sink with respect to the case. A first urging force with which the head support urges the head in a floating direction is larger than a second urging force with which the blade float urges the plurality of blade blocks which are one or more less than three or more blade blocks in a floating direction. The first urging force is smaller than a third urging force with which the blade float urges all of the three or more blade blocks in the floating direction.
US11685064B2

A tactile and/or optical distance sensor includes a housing, which has at least one elongate portion, a measurement arm, which is arranged in the housing, at least partially extends through the elongate portion and has a tactile and/or an optical probe element at one end, a transducer, which is configured to capture a position of the tactile probe element or a signal of the optical probe element and to generate associated probe element measurement signals, and an advance unit, with which the housing is linearly dis-placeable along an advance direction. A strain sensor is located in the region of the measurement arm extending through the elongate portion or at an adjacent region directly adjoining said region. In addition, a system for measuring the roughness of a surface of a workpiece and a method for calibrating a distance sensor or a system are provided.
US11685049B2

A method of localizing a robot includes receiving odometry information plotting locations of the robot and sensor data of the environment about the robot. The method also includes obtaining a series of odometry information members, each including a respective odometry measurement at a respective time. The method also includes obtaining a series of sensor data members, each including a respective sensor measurement at the respective time. The method also includes, for each sensor data member of the series of sensor data members, (i) determining a localization of the robot at the respective time based on the respective sensor data, and (ii) determining an offset of the localization relative to the odometry measurement at the respective time. The method also includes determining whether a variance of the offsets determined for the localizations exceeds a threshold variance. When the variance among the offsets exceeds the threshold variance, a signal is generated.
US11685029B2

The present disclosure relates to an insert and system of installing the same. The insert includes a tapered core and a cylinder. The core releasably secures to an installation device which includes a depth stop or a depth control to control the installation depth of the insert. The insert may be provided in a tray that allows for easier handling of the inserts and installation thereof in installation holes, for example in a hydraulic manifold. In some cases, the core includes a threaded hole to releasably secure the insert to the installation device, thus allowing the installation device to pull the core into the cylinder. The core and cylinder may be made of metallic materials such as steels, steel alloys and others. In some cases the insert can withstand blow out pressures of 40,000 psi or higher.
US11685022B2

The present invention relates to an ergonomic plier tool. More specifically, the invention relates to a piston actuated ergonomic plier tool having a 360-degree rotative and exchangeable head. The tool includes a body, lever, head cylinder, piston and jaw assembly. The disclosed tool allows an operator to work in tight spaces with her hand in one plane, while cutting/manipulating an object in an infinite number of planes different from that of her hand.
US11685017B2

A storage shield for a disc of an angle grinder is provided according to the present invention. The storage shield includes a first shield member and a second shield member. Each of the first and second shield members includes a front face, an opposing rear face positioned parallel to and a distance apart from the front face, an end wall that joins an upper edge of the front face to an upper edge of the rear face, and a front face opening between a lower edge of the front face and a lower edge of the rear face, and an opening in a center area of the front face at the lower edge thereof. A pivot hinge assembly pivotally connects a first end of the first shield member to a first end of the second shield member. Fastening means for affixing the storage shield and stored angle grinder to a worksite surface are affixed to the rear face of one of the first shield member or second shield member. A method of protecting a disc of an angle grinder when not in use is also provided. First, the storage shield is opened. Second, the disk of the angle grinder is inserted into the open storage shield such that a spindle of the angle grinder is aligned with the openings in the front faces of the first and second shield members. Next the storage shield is closed. Finally, the storage shield and the angle grinder are affixed to a worksite surface.
US11685016B2

A cooling device for a rotating machine has a fan assembly coupled with a backing plate. A hub, on the backing plate, secures the cooling device with a shaft. The backing plate includes one or more vents to enable air to exit the cooling device. The fan includes an opening to enable air to enter the cooling device. A chamber is formed between the fan assembly and the backing plate. During rotation, air is drawn into the opening. The air is passed into the chamber and exits through the vents to cool a work surface or working pad attached to the backing plate.
US11685015B2

A method of using a polishing system includes securing a wafer in a carrier head, the carrier head including a housing enclosing the wafer, in which the housing includes a retainer ring recess and a retainer ring positioned in the retainer ring recess, the retainer ring surrounding the wafer, in which the retainer ring includes a main body portion and a bottom portion connected to the main body portion, and a bottom surface of the bottom portion includes at least one first engraved region and a first non-engraved region adjacent to the first engraved region; pressing the wafer against a polishing pad; and moving the carrier head or the polishing pad relative to the other.
US11684998B2

An exothermic reaction mold includes a reaction chamber, a weld chamber communicating with the reaction chamber and at least one user configurable port communicating with the weld chamber for receiving cables to be welded.
US11684984B2

A tool configured to cut a workpiece includes a tool head which has a receiving contour in which the workpiece is received, and a movable cutting edge with a cutting contour. In the course of a cutting process, the cutting edge passes through the receiving contour. The cutting edge is subjected to the effect of an advancement part and can be moved to such an extent in the cutting direction(s) that it can pass all the way through the workpiece. In an embodiment, a position of the cutting edge reached after the cutting edge has passed all the way through the workpiece, the cutting edge, with removal from the advancement part, can be moved out from the cutting direction(s).
US11684981B2

An ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond precision cutting tool and a manufacturing method therefor. A diamond cutter is made of a thick self-supporting film of ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond, the thick film having a thickness of 100-3000 microns, where 1 nanometer≤diamond grain size≤20 nanometers. In the manufacturing method, the growth of ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond on a silicon substrate is accomplished by means of two steps of direct current hot cathode glow discharge chemical vapor deposition and hot filament chemical vapor deposition, then the silicon substrate is separated from the diamond to obtain a thick self-supporting film of ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond, the thick self-supporting film of ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond is laser cut and then welded to a cutter body, and then by means of edging, rough grinding and fine grinding, an ultra-fine nanocrystalline diamond precision cutting tool is obtained.
US11684979B2

An additive manufacturing device is an additive manufacturing device manufacturing an additively manufactured article by melting or sintering layered powder by partially applying energy to the powder. The additive manufacturing device includes a powder holding unit holding the layered powder, a heating unit preheating the powder held by the powder holding unit, a reflection unit where a reflective film including a reflective surface is disposed, the reflective surface reflecting radiant heat radiated from an object including at least one of the powder and the additively manufactured article to the powder holding unit side, and a reflective surface update unit disposing a new reflective surface in the reflection unit by moving the reflective film.
US11684973B2

The present invention relates to a method for producing an abrasion-resistant coating on surface of a 3D printed titanium alloy component, which belongs to the field of surface modification. The method comprises using spherical TC4 titanium alloy powder as a base material and adopting selective laser melting (SLM) technology to manufacture a 3D printed titanium alloy component in a layer-by-layer stacking manner, using graphene oxide to perform friction-induction treatment, and making the graphene oxide infiltrate into the surface of the TC4 titanium alloy component to obtain a graphene oxide surface coating. The goal of improving the friction and wear performance of the TC4 titanium alloy printed components is achieved. The preparation method is simple, and the steps are easy to operate. Introducing the graphene oxide is beneficial to reduce the generation of wear debris during the friction and wear processes and improve tribological characteristics of the base material.
US11684972B2

A three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing apparatus has a thermally insulative layer between a platform on which an ejection head ejects drops of melted metal and a X-Y translation mechanism on which the platform is moved within an X-Y plane opposite the ejection head. The apparatus also includes a housing having an internal volume in which the platform and X-Y translation mechanism are located. In one embodiment, the thermally insulative layer is a plurality of spheres made of a thermally insulative material such as a ceramic made of zirconium dioxide or zirconium oxide. The thermally insulative layer protects the X-Y mechanism while the housing helps keep the surface temperature of the object being formed on the platform in an optimal range for bonding of the ejected melted metal drops to the object's surface.
US11684970B2

An immersion sensor is configured to determine the content of a chemical element in molten metal. The immersion sensor has an auxiliary electrochemical cell extending from an interior surface into the internal volume of a sampling chamber. The sampling chamber can be integrally-formed in a sensor head or in a separate refractory structure. The immersion sensor may be configured for the flow of molten metal into the internal volume of the sampling chamber and into contact with the auxiliary electrochemical cell.
US11684961B2

A roller hemming device includes a backing metal, a guide roller, a bending roller, a pressing unit, and a swinging unit. The backing metal includes an abutment surface and a guide surface. The abutment surface is brought into abutment against a first panel member. The guide roller is moved in an extending direction of the guide surface with abutting against the guide surface. With being moved synchronously with the guide roller, the bending roller presses a bent peripheral edge portion of the first panel member via the backing metal such that the bent peripheral edge portion of the first panel member is pinched between the bending roller and the guide roller, and folds the bent peripheral edge portion of the first panel member back to a periphery edge portion of a second panel member. The pressing unit presses the bending roller toward the backing metal.
US11684959B2

Devices and methods for performing shear-assisted extrusion processes for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock material are provided. The processes can use a device having a scroll face having an inner diameter portion bounded by an outer diameter portion, and a member extending from the inner diameter portion beyond a surface of the outer diameter portion. Extrusion feedstocks and extrusion processes are provided for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock. The processes can include providing a feedstock having at least two different materials and engaging the materials with one another within a feedstock container. Methods for preparing metal sheets are provided that can include preparing a metal tube via shear assisted processing and extrusion; opening the metal tube to form a sheet having a first thickness; and rolling the sheet to a second thickness that is less than the first thickness.
US11684957B2

A drain cleaner includes a shroud with a closed end and an open end opposite the closed end and a drum assembly positioned within the shroud. The drum assembly is rotatable relative to the shroud. The drum assembly includes an inner drum and a drum cover extending entirely over an open forward end of the inner drum. The drain cleaner also includes a flexible cable stored within a cavity defined by the inner drum and the drum cover of the drum assembly. The flexible cable is supported by the inner drum. The drain cleaner further includes a handle assembly coupled to and extending rearwardly from the shroud. The handle assembly includes a motor, a grip, and an actuator to selectively energize the motor. The actuator is positioned in an area defined between the grip and the shroud.
US11684953B2

A device for off-line detection of circumferential appearance quality of cigarettes includes a mechanical system, a vision system and a control system, where the mechanical system includes a hopper, a feed roller, an auto-rotating roller, an upper chute and a lower chute. A method for off-line detection of circumferential appearance quality of cigarettes by using the above device is further provided. The present disclosure can achieve detection without omission to obtain accurate and quantifiable detection results, and has high processing efficiency.
US11684948B2

A spray coating machine and process accommodates coating pans of various sizes and simplifies cleaning after particulate material in the pan is coated. A selected pan is supported on a trolley carried by a wheeled cart. After the cart is positioned adjacent the coating machine, the trolley and pan are extended into the machine, and then the pan lifted for support by a rotatable drive shaft and castors. The trolley is then removed from the machine, and the door is closed so that the coating process can commence. When coating is complete, the door is opened, and the trolley extended into the machine under the pan and raised for removal of the castors. Then, the trolley and pan are withdrawn from the machine. The trolley does not need cleaning after spraying, since the trolley is outside the machine during spraying of the coating solution.
US11684942B2

A thermal spray cabin comprising a table to hold a part to be coated and a robot with a robot body and an arm, a spray gun mounted on the arm of the robot, a ventilation system comprising an air inlet and a suction hood designed to create a gas flow with a main stream from the air inlet to the suction hood thereby passing the table in an operating state of the thermal spray cabin. The air inlet, the table, the robot and the suction hood are arranged in such a way, that the robot body is positioned outside the main stream of the gas flow in the operating state.
US11684937B2

A spray gun includes a valve cartridge configured to be axially installed and removed as a single piece. The valve cartridge includes the wear components of the spray gun. A trigger of the spray gun is configured to actuate a slider of the valve cartridge to control spraying by the spray gun. The trigger includes arms that are mounted to the spray gun by a pivot mechanism. The pivot mechanism can be disengaged from the arms to allow the trigger to slide between a spray position, where the trigger prevents forward axial movement of the valve cartridge, and a repair position, where the valve cartridge can move axially forward. The trigger also includes upper and lower portions that are movable relative to each other, such that the length of the trigger can be adjusted.
US11684931B2

Separate cleaning assembly for magnet assemblies formed by at least one magnet rod, wiper assembly and magnet handle device, the cleaning assembly including a base and vertically extending main body, wherein the cleaning assembly includes retaining means for retaining the magnet assembly to the main body and receiving means for receiving and accommodating the wiper assembly, wherein the receiving means for the wiper assembly is arranged to moving means arranged for moving the wiper assembly in longitudinal direction of the magnet rods.
US11684925B2

An apparatus for heating test water includes a test container for receiving the test water, and a heating container for installation of the test container. The heating container contains burnt lime that heats the test water when being mixed with water to be tested arranged in the heating container.
US11684923B2

The present invention provides a modular reagent plate, comprising: a support rack comprising a frame and one or more separators, wherein two ends of each separator are respectively connected to the frame; and a base comprising a frame body, wherein the support rack is disposed on the frame body of the base and can be detachably combined with the base. A reagent vessel kit is also provided by assembling a reagent vessel to the above-described modular reagent plate. Unnecessary waste of reagent vessels can be avoided according to the present invention.
US11684922B2

A microfluidic-based device and system is disclosed for the high-throughput intracellular delivery of biomolecular cargo to cells (eukaryotic or prokaryotic) or enveloped viruses. Cargo integration occurs due to transient membrane permeabilization by exposure to bulk acoustic waves (BAWs) transduced from surface acoustic waves (SAWs) generated by a rapidly oscillating piezoelectric substrate. In this approach, temporary pores are established across the cellular membrane as cells are partially deformed and squeezed or subject to shearing forces as they travel through the vibrational modes created within the microfludic channel(s) of the device.
US11684911B2

A method for manufacturing a catalyst includes depositing a catalyst slurry containing at least a catalyst metal and water on a support, depositing particles of a water-absorbing polymer on a surface of the catalyst slurry, expanding the particles to a predetermined size with the water present in the catalyst slurry, and firing the support having the catalyst slurry and the particles deposited on the catalyst slurry.
US11684910B2

A composite media for non-oxidative C2H6 dehydrogenation comprises an aluminosilicate zeolite matrix, and an EDH catalyst on one or more of an external surface of the aluminosilicate zeolite matrix and internal surfaces within pores of the aluminosilicate zeolite matrix. The EDH catalyst comprises one or more of Fe, Zn, Pt, Ga, alloys thereof, and oxides thereof. A C2H6 activation system, and a method of processing a C2H6-containing stream are also described.
US11684908B2

A cerium manganese catalyst for ozone decomposition, which is mainly a composite oxide of Mn2O3 and CeO2 with the chemical constitution of CeMnaOx, a being a natural number selected from 6 to 15. A method for preparing a catalyst comprises: mixing a solution containing a cerium source and a manganese source with excessive urea, reacting to obtain a precipitate, washing the precipitate to neutral, drying, and roasting to obtain the cerium manganese catalyst.
US11684907B2

Disclosed is a catalyst for producing an olefin, the catalyst having an excellent conversion and excellent selectivity, and a method for preparing the catalyst. The catalyst for producing an olefin, according to the present invention, includes: a support including alumina and an auxiliary support component; a main catalyst including an active metal oxide supported on the support; and a co-catalyst including an oxide of an alkali metal and a Group 6B transition metal.
US11684902B2

A catalytic bed for a chemical reactor, said catalytic bed having an annular-cylindrical geometry and comprising at least one collector made with a gas-permeable cylindrical wall, containing at least a first catalyst and a second catalyst, wherein the second catalyst has a finer particle size than the first catalyst, and wherein the first catalyst forms a layer of catalyst adjacent to and in contact with said collector.
US11684898B2

Embodiments provide a filter with a generally rectangular, non-cylindrical profile. The filter may have multiple pleat packs positioned between pleat covers that define regions and flow channels in a cavity of the filter body. The pleat covers have openings that allow a fluid to flow through the multiple pleat packs via parallel flows or series flows. End caps bonded to the body define flow passages for directing the fluid from an inlet to an outlet via the pleat packs for series or parallel filtration. The pleat packs may be made of the same or different materials and may be configured with the same or different heights based on flow requirements. A cage or a separator may be positioned between the pleat packs. The pleat packs may be made of a continuous pleated membrane with bridges defining a space between the pleat packs to accommodate the cage or separator.
US11684886B1

Provided is a vibrating filter mechanism, including: a power source; a metal wire attached on both ends to the power source; a filter; a connector coupled with the filter and interfacing with the metal wire; and a first permanent magnet; wherein: the power source delivers electric current pulses in alternating directions through the metal wire; and the first permanent magnet is positioned in a location where a magnetic field of the first permanent magnet and a magnetic field of the metal wire interact and cause vibration of the metal wire and the coupled filter.
US11684884B2

A filter element for filtration of an air stream includes: a folded filter medium forming a bellows, the filter medium being constructed at least in two layers and having a particle filter layer, an electrically conductive filter layer, and at least one edge band, the at least one edge band being connected to at least one outer side of the bellows. At least one further edge band is connected to an outer side of the bellows. The at least one further edge band is electrically conductive. The at least one further edge band forms a pocket open towards one side.
US11684882B2

An air cleaner assembly is disclosed. In one aspect, the air cleaner assembly includes a housing defining an inlet and an outlet, and including an access opening between the inlet and outlet. The air cleaner also includes a filter cartridge received within the housing and covering the access opening. The air cleaner also includes a lock mechanism. The lock mechanism is movable between an unlocked position in which the filter cartridge can be installed and removed from the housing and a locked position in which the filter cartridge is secured within the housing. The filter cartridge and lock mechanism include interacting features allowing the lock mechanism to be moved from the unlocked position to the locked position only when the filter cartridge is installed within the housing.
US11684880B2

A fibrous media suitable for an oil filter comprising a fibrous web formed from synthetic fibers; optionally at least one additive, and a thermoset binder present at a concentration of at least 15 wt.-% by weight of the fibrous web and/or at least one binder fiber, wherein the synthetic fibers comprise up to 30 wt.-%, preferably up to 20 wt.-%, glass fibers, based on the total weight of the fibers. The fibers are bonded with the thermoset binder and/or the at least one binder fiber to form a web; and the fibrous media is capable of forming a self-supporting, pleated oil filter media which is capable of retaining pleats upon contact with oil having a temperature in the range encountered in a combustion engine.
US11684860B2

This invention allows the players of multiplayer games like poker, chess, backgammon, go, board games, and video games to play the game online while commenting on the game and explaining their strategies to an online audience without sharing that information with their opponents.
US11684857B2

The technology described implements attestation programs that employ “code reuse” techniques. In particular, the technology relates to auto-generating attestation programs for, among other aspects, detecting whether a program has been modified. In one non-limiting example, the technology uses a tool that scans a software program (e.g., a video game) code for usable code sequences. The tool can automatically combine code sequences to generate a large number of attestation programs of different variety (e.g., memory checks, hashing).
US11684849B2

This application is directed to real-time game profiling and analysis. While a game server executes multiple game instances for a gaming title in parallel, a profiling server generates a game profiling instruction to collect data samples associated with a subset of the game instances and sends the game profiling instruction to the game server. In response to the game profiling instruction, the game server identifies the subset of the plurality of game instances, and collects data samples associated with each game instance in the identified subset. Each collected data sample includes at least game state data and system performance data associated with synchronous gaming sessions corresponding to the respective game instance. The game server sends the collected data samples associated with each game instance in the identified subset to the profiling server, which provides the plurality of data samples to an analytics server for further analysis.
US11684847B2

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, receiving at a computer device a plurality of stimulus signals generated by one or more gaming accessory devices of a gamer controlling a gaming application, generating a plurality of gaming stimulations based on the plurality of stimulus signals, generating a plurality of gaming action results from the gaming application responsive to the plurality of gaming stimulations, combining the plurality of gaming action results and the plurality of gaming stimulations to generate a plurality of hardware statistics associated with the gamer, and transmitting to a social network the plurality of hardware statistics associated with the gamer.
US11684840B2

A weight stack isolator comprises an impact damper having a rail void therein configured to receive a guide rail of a selectorized machine. The impact damper is shaped to at least partially surround a section of the guide rail when received in the rail void, to secure the weight stack isolator to the selectorized machine. The weight stack isolator may include a slit extending from its outer perimeter to the rail void or the rail void may extend to the outer perimeter, to removably receive the guide rail in the rail void. The weight stack isolator can be positioned under a weight stack of the selectorized machine to absorb or dampen noise and vibration.
US11684838B2

A training dummy having a waist portion, a first leg coupled to the waist portion, a second leg coupled to the waist portion, a first foot coupled to the first leg, and a second foot coupled to the second leg. At least one of the first foot or the second foot includes a front foot portion, a back foot portion, and a rod assembly coupling the front foot portion to the back foot portion. The front foot portion is configured to move with respect to the back foot portion.
US11684832B2

Embodiments of golf club heads with apertures and methods to manufacture golf club heads are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a golf club head comprises a face portion, a back portion generally opposite the face portion, a heel portion extending between the face portion and the back portion, a toe portion opposite the heel portion and extending between the face portion and the back portion, and a crown portion extending between the face portion, the back portion, the heel portion, and the toe portion, the crown portion comprising a plurality of crown aperture. The crown portion comprises a first region and a second region, wherein the first region is nearer to the face portion than the second region, the first region and the second region are separated by a bell-shaped curve. The bell-shaped curve is located a distance D1 from the face portion and the second region comprises a recess portion. The plurality of crown apertures is defined within the recessed portion. In some embodiments, the golf club head comprises both metal and fiber-based composite portions. In other embodiments, the golf club head comprises a plurality of sole apertures. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US11684830B2

A golf club head includes: a head body that includes a cavity; a weight that is detachably attached to the cavity; and a cover that is openably and closably attached to the head body and that covers at least a part of the cavity when the cover is in a closed state. The weight is attached to the cavity in a state where the weight is slidingly movable in the cavity. In the closed state, the cover applies a pressing force to the weight. The weight may be fixed to the cavity by a static frictional force increased by the pressing force. The cavity may form a slide groove.
US11684811B2

Systems and methods for monitoring elevations of a set of workers at a job site include reference devices for capturing barometric pressures at different installation elevations on a structure and portable barometric pressure sensors carried by the workers. An atmospheric pressure offset may be calculated using the reference barometric pressures and installation elevations. The atmospheric pressure offset may be applied to atmospheric pressure measurements captured by the barometric pressure sensors carried by the workers to determine worker elevations. The worker elevations may be converted to corresponding floors of the structure.
US11684805B2

An ultrasound-assisted wound cleanser in the form of a handheld device includes an integrated vibration motor, an integrated ultrasound generator, an integrated energy source for the vibration motor and the ultrasound generator, and a replaceable cleansing attachment which can be driven by the vibration motor for abrasively removing wound coatings. The cleansing attachment has an acoustic transducer which is designed to convert the electric oscillations generated by the ultrasound generator into sound waves, a device for reinforcing and/or distributing and/or transferring the ultrasound waves, and bristles and/or lamellas for the abrasive removal. Further, a method for cleansing wounds includes moving a cleansing attachment with bristles for abrasively removing wound coatings by a vibration motor. The cleansing attachment is oscillated by an ultrasound generator, and the oscillations for supporting the removal of wound coatings are transmitted into the wound via a transmission medium.
US11684787B2

An implantable system for the diagnostic and/or therapeutic treatment of a human or animal patient contains a processor, a memory, a treatment unit and a remote data transmission unit. The system is characterized in that the memory includes a computer-readable program which prompts the processor to carry out the following steps when the program is being executed on the processor: a) ascertaining whether a treatment functionality of the treatment unit could jeopardize a patient in whom the system was implanted if a diagnostic and/or therapeutic treatment of the patient corresponding to the treatment functionality were to be carried out; b) deactivating the treatment functionality when a potential risk for the patient was ascertained; c) receiving reactivation data by way of the remote data transmission unit; and d) reactivating the deactivated treatment functionality based on the received reactivation data.
US11684786B2

The disclosed technology provides systems and methods of communication between implanted medical devices, e.g., implanted pulse generators, and handheld consumer devices, e.g., smartphones, via standard wireless communication protocols, e.g., Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) operating in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequency band.
US11684782B2

A system for electro-therapeutically treating a patient includes a stimulatory device electromagnetically coupled with the nervous system of a patient, an electrical power supply, and a control mechanism structured to energize the stimulatory device by way of the electrical power supply at a stimulation frequency. The control mechanism is further structured to control the energizing so as to produce a treatment signal encoded in the energizing and having a treatment signal frequency equal to or less than the stimulation frequency.
US11684779B2

An example of a system may include an electrode arrangement and a neuromodulation device configured to use electrodes in the electrode arrangement to generate a neuromodulation field. The neuromodulation device may include a neuromodulation generator, a neuromodulation control circuit and a storage. The storage may include a stochastically-modulated neuromodulation parameter set and the stochastically-modulated neuromodulation parameter set may include at least one stochastically-modulated parameter. The controller may be configured to control the neuromodulation generator using the stochastically-modulation parameter set to generate the neuromodulation field.
US11684769B2

Disclosed herein is an implantable blood pump assembly that includes a housing defining an inlet, an outlet, a flow path extending from the inlet to the outlet, and an internal compartment separated from the flow path. The blood pump assembly further includes a rotor positioned within the flow path and operable to pump blood from the inlet to the outlet, a stator positioned within the internal compartment and operable to drive the rotor, and an inlet conduit connected to the housing inlet and having a downstream end that has a reduced cross-sectional area that produces a localized region of high velocity blood flow. The blood pump assembly further includes at least one pressure sensor positioned between the inlet and the outlet and configured to detect a pressure of blood flowing through the flow path. The pressure sensor is located adjacent the downstream end of the inlet conduit.
US11684759B2

A method of making a medical guidewire including providing a wire having a length that includes a proximal length and a distal length. The method further includes applying cold work to the distal length and not applying cold work to the proximal length, thereby imparting to the distal length a diameter that is smaller than the proximal length diameter; and applying a reducing process to the wire whereby the proximal length is reduced to have an outer diameter that is the same as the outer diameter of the distal length. The proximal length has an inner diameter and the distal length has an inner diameter that is less than the inner diameter of the proximal length.
US11684753B2

An invasive medical device (10) is disclosed comprising a flexible sheath (11) enveloping at least one lumen (17, 17′) comprising an electrically conductive wire (20) including a deformable actuator (21) for deforming a section of the invasive medical device in response to an electric current provided through the electrically conductive wire, wherein the flexible sheath comprises a set of apertures (31) extending through the flexible sheath to the at least one lumen, said apertures being filled with an adhesive (33) anchoring the deformable actuator to the flexible sheath. A manufacturing method for such an invasive medical device (10) is also disclosed.
US11684749B2

Disclosed is a multi-lumen catheter having a distal end catheter tip configured to improve fluid flow into and out from the catheter tip while reducing undesired recirculation during hemodialysis treatment of a patient. A first lumen and a second lumen each extends from the catheter proximal end to the catheter distal end, the first lumen and the second lumen being parallel to each other. A septum having a first side and a second side separates the first lumen from the second lumen. Some embodiments of the catheter tip include a beveled shape region, having a first lumen orifice, a second lumen orifice, and a septum top surface. Within the beveled shape region, at least a portion of the septum first side and at least a portion of the septum top surface form a first eave over the first lumen and at least a portion of the septum second side and at least a portion of the septum top surface form a second eave over the second lumen.
US11684745B2

The present disclosure provides a ventilator that includes a first gas path, comprising a first pressurized gas source adaptor and a first flow adjustment device connected in sequence; a second gas path, comprising a second pressurized gas source adaptor and a second flow adjustment device connected in sequence; a third gas path, comprising a third pressurized gas source adaptor; a first inhalation branch for delivering inhalation gas to a patient; a second inhalation branch for delivering inhalation gas to the patient, including a gas compression device; a switching device, including a first mixing mode connecting the first gas path and the second gas path to the first inhalation branch, and a second mixing mode connecting the first gas path and the third gas path to the second inhalation branch; and an exhalation branch for managing exhaled air of the patient.
US11684740B2

A manually articulated stylet assembly for placing an endotracheal tube. The stylet assembly has a steering shaft that carries a flexible distal tip at one end and is attached to a handle at the other end. The distal tip is manipulated via sheathed cables controlled by a remote actuator in the handle. A biasing member inside the remote actuator maintains continuous tension on the cables to improve control. A video camera is carried in a recessed lens pocket in the steering shaft but spaced from the distal tip. The camera FOV captures movement of the distal tip with foreshortened perspective. A collar seat in the handle receives the collar connector of a standard endotracheal tube, providing quick disconnect when removing the stylet assembly upon placement.
US11684739B2

A device and method that reduces impingement upon fragile airway structures and improves the performance and safety associated with endotracheal devices and related intubation procedures. The endotracheal device includes a lumen such that one end of the lumen includes an anterior beak that includes a distal tip of the anterior beak and a posterior beak having a distal tip of the posterior beak.
US11684736B2

Various control methods can indirectly determine incorrect connections between components in a respiratory therapy system. For example, errors in the connections can occur between a patient interface, a humidifier and/or a gases source. The methods can indirectly detect if a reverse flow condition exists or other error conditions. A reverse flow condition can occur when gases flows in a direction different from an intended direction of flow. The detection of the reverse flow condition can be indicative of likely errors in connections between the humidifier, patient interface and/or gases source.
US11684729B2

This invention relates to a compliance monitor for monitoring patient usage of a medicament delivery device, where the medicament delivery device includes a store of medicament and a medicament dispensing means. The compliance monitor includes a housing adapted to enclose the medicament delivery device, and a dose counter, associated with the housing, for recording the delivery of a dose of medicament to the patient from the medicament delivery device. The arrangement and construction is such that the housing is loosely coupled to the medicament delivery device, whereby the housing is able to move relative to the medicament delivery device during the delivery of the dose of medicament, and it is this movement which actuates the dose counter, either directly or indirectly, in order to record the delivery of the dose of medicament.
US11684723B2

A safety member for use with an injection device is disclosed. The safety member includes a blocking ring extending into a housing of the injection device in blocking association with a latch member associated with a trigger mechanism of the injector, in which the blocking ring blocks movement of a portion of the trigger mechanism into a firing position. The safety member further includes a manipulable portion disposed outside the housing and configured for hand-manipulation by a user to remove the safety member from the housing to unblock the firing mechanism to enable firing of the injector.
US11684712B2

Ambulatory infusion pumps, medicament reservoirs, and plungers, including both dynamic and static seals, plus related components, as well as component combinations and related methods.
US11684710B2

Various forms of anti-clog suction tips apparatus are disclosed. An exemplary anti-clog suction tip apparatus includes a suction tip assembly having a suction tip with a suction opening at a first end thereof for removing debris through suction, a hose attachment portion for attaching the suction tip assembly to a suction source, and an ejection wire channel. The apparatus further includes an ejection wire assembly having an ejection wire extending within the channel and an ejection button integral with or connected to the ejection wire. Applying a force to the ejection button advances the ejection wire through the channel such that an end portion of the ejection wire enters the suction tip and dislodges debris clogging the suction tip. The ejection wire may include an enlarged end portion such as, for example a ball tip. One or more of the components of the apparatus may be single-use and disposable.
US11684708B2

A patient's body temperature measurement may be made by varying the heat transfer dynamics of a fluid exiting the patient's body and fitting parameters of heat transfer configuration to measurements under the varied conditions. Then the input temperature of the patient core can be extracted from the model and a current temperature measurement remote from the patient core and optionally other measurements such as fluid flow rate.
US11684707B2

Apparatus and method for photo-chemical oxidation are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a system for treating a dialysis fluid includes: a nanostructured photo-electrochemical anode; a source of light configured to illuminate the photo-electrochemical anode; and a cathode that is permeable to oxygen provided to the dialysis fluid and non-permeable to a liquid of the dialysis fluid. The photo-electrochemical anode is configured to remove urea from the dialysis fluid by converting the urea in the dialysis fluid into oxidation products through a photo electrochemical reaction.
US11684703B2

Intraocular pressure sensors, systems, and methods of use. Implantable intraocular pressure sensing devices that are hermetically sealed and adapted to wirelessly communicate with an external device. The implantable devices can include a hermetically sealed housing, the hermetically sealed housing including therein: an antenna in electrical communication with a rechargeable power source, the rechargeable power source in electrical communication with an ASIC, and the ASIC in electrical communication with a pressure sensor.
US11684699B2

A three-dimensional, biocompatible scaffold precursor composition for room-temperature printing a bio-compatible polymer/hydroxyapatite composite scaffold includes a room-temperature slurry, comprising a mixture of a sold phase that includes a mixture of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP; Ca4(PO4)2O) and dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA; CaHPO4), and a liquid phase that includes a polymer in a solvent. The solvent may be Ethanol (EtOH) or Tetrahydrofuran (THF), and the polymer may be polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polycaprolactone (PCL), or poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA). The slurry is printed at room temperature in aqueous phosphate (NaH2PO4) bath, which works as hardening accelerator, forming the polymer/hydroxyapatite composite scaffold.
US11684697B2

The present invention concerns a tissue-engineered medical device, as well as a method for the production said medical device, comprising the following steps: providing a polymer scaffold comprising a mesh comprising polyglycolic acid, and a coating comprising poly-4-hydroxybutyrate; application of a cell suspension containing preferably human cells to the polymer scaffold; placement of the seeded polymer scaffold in a bioreactor and mechanical stimulation by exposure to a pulsatile flux of incremental intensity, thereby forming an extracellular matrix; mounting of the graft on a conduit stabilizer and incubation in cell culture medium; decellularisation of the graft in a washing solution; nuclease treatment of the graft; and rinsing of graft. The invention further comprises and various steps of quality control of the tissue-engineered medical device.
US11684694B2

Provided is a chitosan hydrogel composition including chitosan, glycerol, and a phosphate group, wherein the chitosan is crosslinked via the glycerol, the phosphate group, or a combination thereof. The temperature at which the chitosan hydrogel composition may be induced from a liquid state into a gel state may be controlled according to the content ratio of the phosphate group and the glycerol, and since printing properties and strength are affected by the gelatin concentration, the composition may be used as an ink for 3D printing.
US11684691B2

A personal sanitizing device includes an eyewear frame and one or more UV-C sources attached to a lower edge of the eyewear frame for directing UV-C energy in a downward direction from the eyewear frame. The one or more UV-C sources are configured for sanitizing air in proximity of a mouth and/or a nose of a wearer of the personal sanitizing device. The personal sanitizing device also includes a battery configured for powering the one or more UV-C sources.
US11684689B2

The present invention concerns a solid polymeric material impregnated with a volatile organic substance (such as a perfume, an odour-masking agent or an insecticide) and a solvent comprising a C10-C18 monoester of C1-C8 alkyl that helps improve the rate of infusion of the volatile organic substance in the material and the diffusion profile of same. It also concerns a method for producing this material, and the uses of same for perfuming or deodorising the atmosphere, the body or laundry or as an insect repellent or insecticide. The invention also concerns a perfuming or deodorising product, an insect repellent or an insecticide comprising the above-mentioned material.
US11684683B2

The invention provides a method for producing a solution containing 211At− (astatide ion) at a high radiochemical purity by using 211At obtained by a nuclear reaction as a starting material, including a step of adding a reducing agent to a solution containing an impurity derived from 211At. The invention also provides a solution containing 211At− (astatide ion) at a radiochemical purity of not less than 30%.
US11684678B2

This application relates to nanoparticles, including nanoparticles derived from a plasma, and their use in the formation of conjugates. The nanoparticles can be stably conjugated to a wide variety of second species, forming conjugates which can be used, for example, in therapeutic, diagnostic and experimental methods.
US11684672B2

The present invention relates to: * combinations of: component A: one or more 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline compounds of general formula (A1) or (A2) as defined herein, or a physiologically acceptable salt, solvate, hydrate or stereoisomer thereof; component B: anti-Programmed Cell Death Protein 1 (also referred to as “PD-1” or “CD279” (cluster of differentiation 279)) antibody (anti-PD-1 mAb) as defined herein; in which optionally some or all of the components are in the form of a pharmaceutical formulation which is ready for use to be administered simultaneously, concurrently, separately or sequentially; independently of one another by the oral, intravenous, topical, local installations, intraperitoneal or nasal route; * use of such combinations for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment or prophylaxis of a cancer; and * a kit comprising such a combination.
US11684665B2

The invention relates to a method for producing a ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule composition comprising n different RNA molecule species, the method comprising a step of RNA in vitro transcription of a mixture of m different deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule species in a single reaction vessel in parallel, i.e. simultaneously, and a step of obtaining the RNA molecule composition. Also provided is the RNA composition provided by the inventive method and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the same as well as a pharmaceutical container. Moreover, the invention provides the RNA composition and the pharmaceutical composition for use as medicament.
US11684656B2

A new approach for the treatment of a malignant disease is provided. The new method comprises administering a traditional anti-cancer therapy in combination with a DNA or protein vaccine comprising CTLA-4 and PD-1, or a DNA or protein vaccine comprising CTLA-4 and PD-L1.
US11684648B2

Synergistic herbal compositions for Testosterone boosting comprising at least two ingredients selected from the extracts, fractions or pure phytochemicals derived from Punica granatum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Nigella sativa, Brassica nigra and Mangifera indica for improving testosterone levels and alleviating symptoms associated with low levels of testosterone hormone in humans. The present invention also describes a synergistic composition comprising at least one testosterone booster ingredient selected from the extracts, fractions or pure phytochemical derived from Punica granatum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Nigella sativa, Brassica nigra and Mangifera indica and at least one aromatase inhibitor ingredient selected from the extracts, fractions or pure phytochemicals derived from Allium cepa, Tamarindus indica and Cinnamomum tamala for improving testosterone levels and alleviating symptoms associated with low levels of testosterone hormone in humans. The invention further provides methods of improving testosterone levels and alleviating symptoms associated with low levels of testosterone hormone in humans.
US11684646B2

Oxidative stress is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and has been extensively studied as a potential target for therapeutic intervention. The present disclosure discloses a method for reducing free radicals in a mammal, the method comprises administering a composition containing an effective amount of Baillonella toxisperma extract to a mammal to reduce free radicals in the mammal. Specifically, the present disclosure demonstrates how extracts and flavonoids fractions of Baillonella toxisperma provide antioxidant and neuroprotective benefits and prevent oxidative stress in mammals.
US11684644B2

Disclosed is a composition for promoting absorption of a poorly water-soluble phytochemical which can significantly improve the intake of a phytochemical into a body, especially a migration speed and/or a migration amount of the phytochemical into a blood. A polysaccharide-containing lactic acid bacterial product, which is produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus OLL1251, can significantly enhance the intake of a phytochemical into a body, especially a migration speed and/or a migration amount of the phytochemical into a blood. Thus, the composition for promoting absorption of a phytochemical according to the present invention includes, as an active ingredient, the polysaccharide-containing lactic acid bacterial product. Furthermore, the composition for promoting absorption of a phytochemical is useful as a food additive composition. In addition, a food, or a beverage, or a food or beverage composition to which the composition for promoting absorption of a phytochemical is added can obtain an effect of promoting absorption of phytochemical.
US11684636B1

The subject matter described herein is directed to stable L-cysteine compositions for injection, comprising: L-cysteine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and/or hydrate thereof in an amount from about 10 mg/mL to about 100 mg/mL; Aluminum in an amount from about 1.0 parts per billion (ppb) to about 250 ppb; cystine in an amount from about 0.01 wt % to about 2 wt % relative to L-cysteine; pyruvic acid in an amount from about 0.01 wt % to about 2 wt % relative to L-cysteine; a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, comprising water; headspace O2 that is less than 1.0%; dissolved oxygen present in the carrier in an amount from about 0.01 parts per million (ppm) to about 1 ppm, wherein the composition is enclosed in a single-use container having a volume of from 10 mL to 100 mL. Also described are compositions for a total parenteral nutrition regimen and methods for their use.
US11684633B2

A method is provided for preventing and/or treating heart failure in a subject in need thereof by administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of polydextrose. The method may also include the use of polydextrose for preventing cardiac remodeling and/or ventricle dilatation and/or for preventing systolic dysfunction, as well as preventing an increase in bacterial translocation to heart tissue in a subject who suffered from a myocardial infarction.
US11684627B2

The disclosed wound-healing formulation adds ingredients from the group consisting of camphor, menthol and eucalyptus to known silver sulfadiazine-based formulations, or to known silver sulfadiazine-and-urogastrone-based formulations, preferably for the topical treatment of skin wounds such as cuts, burns, surgical wounds, etc. Preferred embodiments are in cream form. The disclosed formulation shows unexpected and startling improvement in wound healing rates over expected healing rates using the known silver sulfadiazine-based or silver sulfadiazine-and-urogastrone-based formulations alone.
US11684606B2

The present disclosure provides, inter alia, methods of treating generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) by administering an effective amount of a Chemokine Receptor 6 (CCR6) antagonist and/or a C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) antagonist. Also provided herein are methods of modulating dysregulated IL-36 signaling in a subject in need thereof and methods of reducing neutrophil, inflammatory dendritic cell (iDC), and/or CD4 T cell accumulation in a subject in need thereof, said methods, include dministering an effective amount of a Chemokine Receptor 6 (CCR6) antagonist and/or a C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) antagonist. In some embodiments, the CCR6 and/or CXCR2 antagonist has the formula:
US11684598B2

The present invention relates to the use of a therapeutically effective amount of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) in the treatment of epilepsy. In one embodiment the CBDA is used in the treatment of generalised seizures, preferably tonic-clonic seizures. Preferably the CBDA used is in the form of a botanical drug substance in which the CBDA content is greater than 60%, and most preferably, it is a highly purified extract of cannabis such that the CBDA is present at greater than 95%, through 96% and 97% to most preferably, greater than 98% of the total extract (w/w) and the other components of the extract are characterised. In particular the cannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THCA) have been substantially removed. Alternatively, the CBDA may be synthetically produced.
US11684597B2

A method for increasing susceptibility of microorganisms to antibiotics includes providing a microorganism; administering an antibiotic including a nitro-containing amphenicol compound to the microorganism; and administering any of an uronic, aldonic, ulosonic, and aldaric feedstock to the microorganism. The feedstock is adapted to promote cell metabolism, and inhibit antibiotic inactivation pathways in the microorganism causing increased sensitivity of the microorganism to the nitro-containing amphenicol.
US11684586B1

Anhydrous hydrocolloid matrices contain one or more encapsulated therapeutic agents, including an acne agent and/or skin conditioning agent. The anhydrous hydrocolloid matrices are used as acne treatment dressings alone or in a laminate with a water-impermeable or semi-water impermeable backing and a release liner. The anhydrous hydrocolloid matrices are made using a premix of viscosity modifiers and hydrocarbon emollients and the one or more therapeutic agents, which are mixed via high shear mixing to form the premix. The resulting anhydrous hydrocolloid matrices include the one or more therapeutic agents which are encapsulated and homogeneously distributed therein.
US11684581B2

A drug and layered silicate composite is provided. The drug and layered silicate contains layered silicate powders and a drug compound bound to between layers of the silicate powders, wherein the drug compound is present in an amorphous state in the composite. Using such a composite may significantly improve absorption and bioavailability of a sorafenib compound.
US11684579B2

A multivesicular liposome composition includes a plurality of multivesicular liposomes. Each multivesicular liposome includes a carrier liposome particle including carrier phospholipid bilayer and having an average diameter less than 1 micron; and at least one sub-chamber liposome nanoparticle including a sub-chamber liposome nanoparticle bilayer and having an average diameter less than about 50 nm. The carrier liposome particle encapsulates the at least one sub-chamber liposome nanoparticle. Characteristically, tail groups of the carrier liposome phospholipids are larger than tail groups phospholipids of the at least one sub-chamber liposome nanoparticle.
US11684575B2

Provided are a liposome composition which has a practically required long-term preservation stability, and which has a release rate of a drug on the order of several tens of hours due to releasability of a drug being able to be suitably controlled by rendering an inner water phase hyper-osmotic; and a method for producing the same. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liposome composition, including liposomes each of which has an inner water phase and an aqueous solution which constitutes an outer water phase and in which the liposomes are dispersed, in which the content of cholesterols is 10 mol % to 35 mol % with respect to the total amount of lipid components in the liposome composition, and each of the liposomes encapsulates a drug in a dissolved state, and an osmotic pressure of the inner water phase is 2-fold to 8-fold relative to the osmotic pressure of the outer water phase.
US11684561B2

The disclosure relates to a dye composition comprising a combination of natural dyeing agents including an extract of Lawsonia inermis. The disclosure also relates to the cosmetic use of said composition for dyeing keratin fibers. The disclosure also relates to a cosmetic method for dyeing keratin fibers comprising the application of such a composition.
US11684558B2

The present invention is directed to hair care composition comprising from about 8 to about 17% of one or more surfactants; from about 0.01% to about 10% of one or more surfactant soluble antidandruff agents; from about 0.01% to about 5% of one or more polyacrylate or polyacrylamide based thickening polymer; from about 0.02-0.25% salicylate salts or acids; from about 0.02-0.25% benzoate salts or acids wherein there is a weight ratio of about 1:1 to 12.5:1 for the salicylate salts or acids to benzoate salts or acids.
US11684557B2

An antimicrobial preservation system comprising: i. itaconic acid or salt thereof and ii. benzoic acid or salt thereof.
US11684531B1

A system deployable in post-mortem rooms and other facilities for facilitating medical examinations, including autopsies. A system as described includes a corpse-receiving station and an organ dissecting station, each being in some embodiments substantially rectangularly shaped and having a longest length dimension. The corpse-receiving station and organ dissecting station are in some embodiments arranged so their longest length dimensions are oriented substantially perpendicularly, having a formation resembling an L-shape when viewed from an overhead perspective. A system of the instant technology eliminates the necessity for pathologists and technicians of having to lift a subject or corpse, by virtue of the corpse-receiving station being configured and equipped to be selectively height-adjustable, which also eliminates the need for step-stools and the like. Moreover, the organ dissecting station is configured and equipped to be selectively height-adjustable and selectively adjustable laterally with respect to its base. The combination of the features and elements provided enables 360 degree access to a corpse residing on the corpse-receiving station, while greatly lessening un-necessary walking and essentially eliminating hazards associated with biological fluids falling onto the floor surface of the work area. Hygiene is increased by provision of a ventilation system integrated into the components of systems provided herein.
US11684518B2

An adhesive article that remains securely bonded to a substrate until a stimuli is applied. The article may be embodied as an adhesive tape, a bandage, or as other articles. The stimuli may be a change in temperature or application of a reduction that causes a structure within the article to break, creak, or otherwise disrupt to expose the adhesive to a solvent, such as via a difference in Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) or by exposing the article to a glass transition temperature.
US11684513B2

An ophthalmic laser apparatus comprises a laser light source; a light guide device, configured to guide a laser beam generated from the laser light source; a support bracket, configured to support a patient's head for the patient's eye to be perpendicular to a horizontal plane; a positioning device to acquire data related to a position of the patient's eye; a laser beam projector, the laser beam projector being movable to be aligned with the patient's eye and projecting the laser beam from the light guide device; a moving stand, configured to move the positioning device and the laser beam projector along an X direction, a Y direction, and/or a Z direction; and a controller, configured to control the laser light source to irradiate the laser beam and to control the laser beam projector to project the laser beam toward the patient's eye.
US11684512B2

A vitrector for performing a vitrectomy comprises a tubular shaft portion which is attached to a distal end of a vitrector hand piece. The shaft portion is provided with a sharply pointed needle tip portion for piercing the pars plana and sclera of the eye, and a pneumatically driven guillotine cutter is incorporated within the shaft portion of the vitrector at a location immediately adjacent to the sharply pointed needle tip portion. A source of pneumatic air is operatively connected to the proximal end of the vitrector hand piece and is pneumatically connected to the guillotine cutter so as to drive the same. In addition, an aspiration line is also operatively connected to the proximal end of the vitrector hand piece and is also fluidically connected to the region immediately adjacent to the pneumatically driven guillotine cutter so as to remove the floater particles, severed from the vitreous cavity by means of the pneumatically driven guillotine cutter, by means of aspiration.
US11684511B2

An apparatus and method for a sleeve for use with a phacoemulsification handpiece, the sleeve having a body portion suitable for engaging a handpiece is disclosed. The tip portion of the sleeve may comprise at least one aspiration port and at least one rounded portion which may be suitable for use for surgery of the eye, and, more particularly, for use around the edge of a capsular bag.
US11684506B2

A thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis attachment for configuring an orthopedic device as a thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis by connecting the attachment to the orthopedic device. The attachment has an anterior aspect including an anterior panel arranged to connect to an orthopedic device. An anterior thoracic extension (ATE) is securable to the anterior panel, and a support bar extends from the ATE. A strap system includes an axillary strap system and/or a shoulder strap system removably securing onto a surface of the orthopedic device, and/or the ATE.
US11684504B2

A hip joint orthotic that can be used in stages. In the first stage the orthotic includes a stiff relatively brace assembly that can limit the amount of allowed flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction. In the second stage the relatively stiff brace can be removed and the orthotic can be used as a soft wrap. In both stages the orthotic is configured to easily mount and retain a thermal pack in a desired position or positions. In many instances the thermal pack will be a cold pack, but in some cases a hot pack may be used as well.
US11684500B2

Intravascular delivery system for deployment of a therapeutic device, such as a stent, in a controlled and robust manner is supported by a lockable balloon catheter equipped with a locking mechanism configured to lock in vivo to a delivery component, such as a guidewire. The lockable balloon catheter can be controllably transitioned between a locked and an unlocked modes of operation by inflation/deflation of the balloon of the lockable balloon catheter. Being in the locked mode of operation, the lockable balloon catheter facilitates delivery of the therapeutic element along the delivery component to a target site while enhancing the stability of the delivery component, especially near the target site.
US11684499B2

A stent delivery system is described. The system includes an outer sleeve assembly with an outer sleeve body, an outer sleeve handle fixed to one end of the outer sleeve body, and an outer sleeve tip connected to an opposing end of the outer sleeve body. The system also includes an inner sleeve assembly, which has a push tube sleeved in the outer sleeve body, an inner sleeve handle fixed to the rear end of the push tube, a stent placing tube connected to the front end of the push tube, and an inner sleeve tip set at the front end of the stent placing tube. The system also includes a snap ring fixed on an outer wall of the push tube and provided between the outer sleeve handle and the inner sleeve handle. The outer sleeve tip includes a stepped surface.
US11684497B2

The present invention relates to an intraluminal vessel prosthesis system for implantation in the region of the aortic arch of a patient, comprising a hollow cylindrical main vessel prosthesis, wherein the hollow cylindrical main vessel prosthesis is configured and dimensioned for implantation in the region of the artic arch and the descending aorta (Aorta descendens) of the patient and wherein the main vessel prosthesis, at least over part of the length L2 of the anchoring vessel prosthesis, and wherein the diameter D2 of the anchoring vessel prosthesis is at least 45% smaller than the diameter D1 of the main vessel prosthesis and wherein the length L2 of the anchoring vessel prosthesis is shorter than the length L2 of the main vessel prosthesis.
US11684495B2

A valve with an inlet, an outlet that is connected to the inlet via a fluid connection, and a valve body which can be brought by displacing it along a displacement direction into a first position, in which the fluid connection is blocked, and a second position, in which the fluid connection is open, wherein the inlet is designed and arranged in such a way that a fluid entering through the inlet exerts a total force on the valve body that at least also acts in a force direction which is perpendicular to the displacement direction when the valve body is in the first position.
US11684494B2

An orthopedic knee joint having an upper part with upper connecting features, a lower part which is mounted pivotably on the upper part and has connecting features for prosthetic components, and a stop for limiting an extension movement. The stop is coupled to an adjusting device, which is coupled to a control device that actuates the adjusting device as a function of sensor data and changes the position of the stop. If the knee joint is provided with an adjustable extension stop position, the extension stop can be shifted forward for walking which results in a greater inclination at heel strike in order to flex the knee joint and, therefore, increased damping upon initiation of the stance phase. For standing, the adjusting device can be activated so that the extension stop is reversed, such that a statically more secure orthosis or prosthesis set-up can be obtained.
US11684493B2

An exemplary trial component is configured to be attached to a resected bone having a resection surface, and includes a body portion and a sliding fastening mechanism movably coupled to the body portion. The body portion has an articular surface, a bone-facing surface, and at least one drill guide extending through the articular surface and the bone-facing surface. The sliding fastening mechanism includes at least one post extending beyond the bone-facing surface, and the post is operable to engage the resection surface to retain the position of the sliding fastening mechanism relative to the bone. When attached to the bone, the trial component is structured to selectively retain the position of the body portion relative to the bone, and to selectively permit adjustment of the position of the body portion relative to the bone.
US11684490B2

An implant includes a body and a bone fixation system. The body includes an interior area disposed between a superior surface and an opposite inferior surface spaced from the superior surface in a vertical direction. In addition, the bone fixation system includes at least one blade disposed within the interior area of the body in an insertion position. Also, the bone fixation system further includes at least one strike plate engaging the at least one blade in the interior area of the body, the at least one strike plate being configured to move the at least one blade from the insertion position to an impaction position in which at least a portion of the blade protrudes past one of the superior surface and inferior surface of the body.
US11684478B2

A porous apparatus includes a first layer and a second layer. The second layer has a plurality of struts. At least some of the struts define a porous geometry defining a plurality of faces, at least one of the plurality of the faces at least partially confronting the first layer. Each face is bounded by intersecting struts at vertices. Less than all of the vertices of each face of the porous geometry at least partially confronting the first layer are connected by a strut to the first layer. A process of producing the at least partially porous structure includes depositing and scanning metal powder layers. At least some of the scanned metal powder layers form either one or both of a portion of a first section of the structure and a portion of a second section of the structure formed by at least the struts defining the porous geometry.
US11684476B2

A venous valve prosthesis includes a frame and a prosthetic valve coupled to the frame. With the venous valve prosthesis implanted in a vein, the prosthetic valve includes a closed configuration wherein an outer surface of the prosthetic valve is in contact with a wall of the vein around a circumference of the prosthetic valve to prevent blood from flowing past the prosthetic valve between the wall of the vein and the outer surface of the prosthetic valve. The prosthetic valve is configured to move to an open configuration such that at least a portion of an outer wall of the prosthetic valve partially collapses away from the wall of the vein in response to antegrade blood flow through the vein to enable blood flow between the outer surface of the prosthetic valve and the wall of the vein.
US11684469B2

A method and system provide a multifocal ophthalmic device. The ophthalmic lens has an anterior surface, a posterior surface and at least one diffractive structure including a plurality of echelettes. The echelettes have at least one step height of at least one wavelength and not more than two wavelengths in optical path length. The diffractive structure(s) reside on at least one of the anterior surface and the posterior surface. The diffractive structure(s) provide a plurality of focal lengths for the ophthalmic lens.
US11684467B2

The present invention provides an anchor system for musculoskeletal applications, e.g., for anchoring tendons or ligaments to bone or anchoring two or more bone sections. The anchor system comprises a substantially solid pre-manufactured distal portion (i.e., anchor component) and a settable, biodegradable composite. The biodegradable composite is flowable at the time of delivery and is introduced into the fixation site before or after the anchor component. Both the anchor component and the biodegradable composite may be manufactured from citrate-based polymers.
US11684463B2

A method of repairing an oral defect model includes performing a three-dimensional oral defect model obtaining step, a defect cutting line detecting step, a defect point selecting step and a smoothing step. The three-dimensional oral defect model obtaining step is performed to scan an oral cavity to obtain a three-dimensional oral defect model message. The defect cutting line detecting step is performed to detect a defect cutting line of the three-dimension oral defect model message, and drive a displayer to display the defect cutting line. The defect point selecting step is performed to select at least one defect feature point of the defect cutting line via the displayer. The smoothing step is performed to perform a smoothing process at the at least one defect feature point, and convert the three-dimensional oral defect model message into a three-dimensional oral repaired model message to smooth the defect cutting line.
US11684455B2

A method for performing enamel replacement on a tooth in the mouth of a person, the method including: beginning an arch reformulation therapy (ART) process, selecting a tooth for an enamel replacement process to be performed on, identifying a surface of the tooth to have a dental composite material adhered to as part of the enamel replacement process, discluding multiple teeth during the ART process including the selected tooth, preparing the identified surface of the selected tooth for adherence of a dental composite material, the preparation including application of a preparation material to the surface of the tooth, and applying the dental composite material to the prepared surface.
US11684451B2

Disclosed herein, a power supply may be recharged with a generally used system. In various embodiments, cleaning systems may be used to affect a generator to cause the generator to charge a power supply. Such charging systems may be used without the need for separate or specialized power charging systems. A charging source or system may, therefore, also charge a power supply without requiring additional steps.
US11684446B2

Removable marker implants having fiducial markers disposed on multiple elongate members extend and splay laterally outward when deployed thereby providing improved 3D localization and tracking of a portion of the patient's body for stereotactic radiosurgery. Such an approach is particularly useful for tracking of the uterus during radiosurgery treatment of uterine fibroids. Such implants can include an outer sheath that contains the multiple elongate members during delivery into the portion of the body. The elongate members can be slidably disposed within the shaft and advanced into an expanded deployed position by advancement of an applicator shaft or rod within the sheath. Marker implant can also be integrally formed implants with flexible arms having fiducial markers thereon that can be constrained in a sheath for delivery and resiliently splay laterally outward when released from the shaft. Methods of delivery and deployment are also provided.
US11684438B2

Methods and systems for detecting undesirable electrocautery arcing events during an electrocautery surgical procedure may include introducing an electrosurgical treatment instrument to a surgical site to perform an electrocautery surgical procedure. A healthcare provider may view the surgical site with a surgical camera assembly having a surgical field-of-view. The healthcare provider also may view a portion of the electrosurgical treatment instrument with an electrocautery arc detection system including an arc detection camera having an arc detection field-of-view different than the surgical field-of-view obtained by the surgical camera. The electrocautery arc detection system may identify thermal infrared emission or tissue color changes as indicators of undesirable electrocautery arcing. Some implementations alert a healthcare provider of undesirable electrocautery arcing.
US11684432B2

Disclosed is a sterilizable flexible surgical instrument system, comprising a flexible continuous body structure. The flexible continuous body structure comprises a distal structural body, a middle connecting body and a proximal structural body. The distal structural body comprises at least one distal structural segment, the distal structural segment comprising a distal spacing disk, a distal fixing disk and a structural backbone. The proximal structural body comprises the same number of proximal structural segments as distal structural segments, the proximal structural segments comprising a proximal spacing disk, a proximal fixing disk and a structural backbone. The proximal structural segment is linked to the distal structural segment via a middle connecting body. A transmission unit is further comprised. The transmission unit comprises a transmission mechanism fixing plate arranged in front of the middle connecting body. A gear transmission mechanism for converting a rotary motion input into a linear motion output is arranged on the transmission mechanism fixing plate. An output end of the gear transmission mechanism is securely connected to one end of a driving backbone via a adaptor, and the other end of the driving backbone passes through the proximal spacing disks, and is then securely connected to the proximal fixing disks.
US11684427B2

A vascular occlusion treatment system includes an ultrasound imaging system having an imaging control circuit communicatively coupled to an ultrasound imaging probe and to a display screen, and an ultrasonic vibration system having an ultrasonic generator operatively coupled to a medical ultrasonic object, such as an ultrasonic catheter. The ultrasonic catheter has a corewire with a distal tip. The ultrasonic generator has a generator control circuit that alternatingly switches between an ultrasonic work frequency and a tracking frequency. The generator control circuit sends a notification to the imaging control circuit when the generator control circuit has switched from the ultrasonic work frequency to the tracking frequency. The imaging control circuit responds by initiating a search in an ultrasound imaging space to locate the distal tip that is vibrating at the tracking frequency, and indicating a location of the distal tip in the ultrasound image displayed on the display screen.
US11684426B2

A system for determining a position and an orientation of a bone of an anatomical feature includes a trackable reference device having a surgical pin at a first position being attachable to the bone. A wearable attachment attached to the trackable reference device is configured to be mounted about the outer-skin surface of the anatomical feature. A distance sensor mounted to the trackable reference device at a second position is operable to determine a distance measurement of the second position of the trackable reference device from the bone. Reference markers are fixedly mounted to the trackable reference device. A position sensing device registers position and orientation readings of the reference markers in a reference coordinate system. A processing unit determines the position and the orientation of the bone in the reference coordinate system using the position and orientation readings and the distance measurement.
US11684425B2

An X-ray fluoroscopic imaging apparatus which can accurately perform enhancement processing of a device and can also reduce a burden on an operator is provided. An exclusion region E is set so as to surround an obstacle on an X-ray image generated by an image generation unit. A marker extraction unit extracts a marker from a region except for an exclusion region in the X-ray image. An integration unit superimposes a predetermined number of X-ray images on the basis of the position of the marker to generate an integrated image. In this case, detecting obstacle as a marker can be avoided, so the integrated image becomes an image with a stent suitably highlighted. Even in cases where it is difficult to set the region-of-interest so that an obstacle falls out of the range, such as a case in which an obstacle overlaps or is in proximity to a stent, it is easy to set the exclusion region so that the marker is out of range and the obstacle falls within the range. Therefore, the enhancement processing of the stent can be suitably executed according to more various situations.
US11684419B2

Systems and methods are provided for locating anatomical features in the skin based on analysis of reflected light, and treating the located anatomical features using high-energy light. A labeling agent can be administered to optically differentiate the anatomical feature.
US11684409B2

An electrosurgical instrument (10) with two branches (11, 12) that are pivotably supported at each other by means of a pivot joint (13) is disclosed. The pivot joint (13) has a support pin (34) and a support cavity (37). The support pin (34) is particularly torque-proof connected with one of the branches (11) or (12) and rotatably supported in the support cavity (37) of the respective other branch (12) or (11). Between the branches (11, 12) a seal (45) is provided that sealingly abuts at the two branches (11, 12) and that surrounds the support pin (34) completely in the circumferential direction. Preferably, the support pin (34) is sealingly connected with the respective branch (11, 12) at its axial ends. In doing so, entering of contaminants in the area between the support pin (34) and the support cavity (37) from all sides or access possibilities is inhibited.
US11684399B2

The invention is a half pin for use in conjunction with external fixators, in which the half pin has a thin hydroxyapatite coating over a substantial portion thereof, a not-sharp hole-finding tip, and a variable pitch pattern in the threaded portion of the half pin. The hydroxyapatite coating must be thin—40-70 microns, deposited by plasma spray—and with limited porosity and pore size, and must extend not only over all the threads of the half pin but also a substantial portion of the unthreaded shaft proximal to the threaded end. The invention also includes a pin cube for use in association with the coated half pins. Wires may also be coated with the hydroxyapatite coating.
US11684394B2

Provided are rod coupler devices, systems, kits and methods, which include at least one saddle having a concave configuration that either abuts a bone fastener and/or a locking cap and is shaped so as to contact the rod in two or more lines of contact, which reduces pressure on the rod, and therefore permits use of a rod having various materials, such as PEEK, without significant deformation of the rod. Also provided is the saddle itself and integrated locking caps that include a saddle, the locking cap and a set screw. Also provided are elongate rods having advantageous shapes, configurations, and/or compositions for rod coupler devices, systems and methods. Further provided are screw and cap devices and systems that themselves include a concave configuration so as to contact a rod in two or more lines of contact, which reduces pressure on the rod.
US11684384B2

Systems, devices and methods for managing surgical instruments throughout their lifecycle include disabling a usage based device lockout and providing notifications for devices nearing a usage based lockout. A device adaptor connected inline between a surgical instrument and a power source can be configured to alter a device EEPROM to allow for additional device usage despite a usage based lockout. Notifications and user prompts may be displayed requiring a user to acknowledge that a usage based device lockout has occurred in order to avoid an attempt to use an expired device in a future procedure.
US11684380B2

Medical devices including a housing, an actuator, a body having a passageway extending through the body, a drive shaft extending through the passageway, and a clip coupled to the body and the drive shaft to fix the body relative to the drive shaft. The medical device further including features to couple the clip to at least one of the body and/or the drive shaft such that back out of the clip is inhibited.
US11684365B2

A replaceable staple cartridge comprising a cartridge body, staples, and a staple cartridge tray secured to the staple cartridge body is disclosed. The cartridge body comprises a first longitudinal slot, a deck, and first sides extending downwardly from the deck, wherein an edge is defined between each first side and the deck. The cartridge body further comprises staple cavities defined in said deck and recesses defined in the deck proximal to the staple cavities. The staple cartridge tray comprises a bottom comprising a second longitudinal slot defined therein and second sides extending upwardly from the bottom, wherein each second side comprises a proximal end including a projection, wherein each second side is adjacent to a first side, and wherein each projection wraps around an edge and extends downwardly into a recess defined in the deck.
US11684357B2

A method of suturing an abdominal cavity includes inserting a spool of suture in the abdominal cavity. The method also includes capturing a first portion of the suture and removing the first portion from the abdominal cavity. The method also includes capturing a second portion of the suture and removing the second portion from the abdominal cavity. The method also includes tying the first portion to the second portion outside of the abdominal cavity.
US11684356B2

Surgical constructs and methods for soft tissue to bone repairs, without knot tying. The soft tissue repair constructs include a fixation device, a flexible strand, and a shuttle/pull device attached to the flexible strand and provided within the body of the fixation device. A splice is formed by pulling on the shuttle/pull device to allow desired tensioning of soft tissue to be fixated or repaired relative to the bone.
US11684347B2

A tray (100) for accommodating a coiled medical device, such as a catheter assembly (700), includes a first compartment (101), a second compartment (102), and a third compartment (103). The catheter assembly (700) and devices associated with a catheterization procedure, such as syringes (701,702) containing sterile water and lubricating jelly and a specimen container (703) can be disposed within the tray. Printed instructions (1001) can be included with the tray (100). One or more layers of wrap material (2200) can be folded about the tray (100) to enclose the tray (100) and other items, such as an additional layer of wrap material (2701), packaged liquid hand sanitizer (2401), and packaged gloves (2402). When a health care services provider (3101) unfolds the wrap material, the same can be used to create a sterile field beneath a patient (3201).
US11684337B2

A tracking, and point-of-view-based imaging, device is configured for deriving a position of, and a direction from, a location at a distal tip of an elongated instrument, for performing coordinate system transformation in accordance with the position and direction, and for forming, from the location and based on a result of the transformation, a local view that moves with the tip. The device can keep, with the movement, a field of view of the local view fixed but the local view otherwise in synchrony with the position and the direction. From real-time ultrasound imaging, the local view and a more overall view that includes the tip but which does not move with said tip can be displayed. The distal tip can be that of a catheter and can be outfitted with a micromanipulator for surgery aided interactively by the combination of dynamic local and overall imaging.
US11684330B2

Methods and systems for X-ray and fluoroscopic image capture and, in particular, to a versatile, multimode imaging system incorporating a handheld X-ray emitter operative to capture non-invasive images of a target; a stage operative to capture static X-ray and dynamic fluoroscopic images of the target; a system for the tracking and positioning of the X-ray emission to improve safety of obtaining X-ray images as well as improve the quality of X-ray images. Where the devices can automatically limit the field of the X-ray emission.
US11684314B2

The present disclosure generally provides oral inserts useful for determining forces experienced by a user, such as a human user, to the head, for example, by measuring one or more of acceleration, velocity, displacement, or rotation. In some aspects, the disclosure provides oral inserts that, when worn properly by a human user, calculate the forces experienced by the user's head with high accuracy. In some aspects, the disclosure provides systems for detecting and calculating forces experienced by the user's head and to determine whether such forces are above a certain threshold indicative of increased concussion risk. In some aspects, the disclosure provides methods for calculating forces experienced by the user's head and determining whether such forces are above a certain threshold indicative of concussion.
US11684306B2

This disclosure generally relates to stable water isotope labeling followed by detection via MRI (swiMRI), including deuterium MRI (dMRI) and 17O MRI, for visualizing rapidly dividing immune cells within target and/or lymphoid organ/s and/or tissues affected by chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Using deuterated water labeling, followed by dMRI, a distinction in deuterium signal was detected in a target organ (e.g. liver) of the cGVHD-affected mice compared to unaffected mice, i.e. syngeneic HSCT recipient mice, where the host and donor are matched, and normal (unmanipulated) mice.
US11684300B2

A method for determining the focus of the visual attention of an individual from electroencephalographic signals. At least one visual stimulus to be displayed is generated from at least one graphical object, a visual stimulus being an animated graphical object obtained by applying to a graphical object a temporal succession of elementary transformations that is temporally parameterized by a corresponding modulation signal. From a plurality of electroencephalographic signals produced by the individual focusing his visual attention to one of the visual stimuli, a modulation signal is reconstructed. A visual stimulus corresponding to the modulation signal for which the degree of statistical dependence with the reconstructed modulation signal is higher than a first threshold is identified.
US11684287B2

The present invention relates to the field of medical monitoring, and in particular non-contact, video-based monitoring of pulse rate, respiration rate, motion, and oxygen saturation. Systems and methods are described for capturing images of a patient, producing intensity signals from the images, filtering those signals to focus on a physiologic component, and measuring a vital sign from the filtered signals.
US11684280B2

A bow shaped pulse meter for new-born patients, comprising a control unit arranged in a central portion of the pulse meter, a first arm with an integrated first electrode and a second arm with an integrated second electrode extending respectively in a bow from opposite sides of the central portion, the integrated electrodes are configured to be in contact with a patient body (not shown) when in use, the electrodes being further electrically connected to the control unit. The pulse meter being distinctive in that the first and second arm and the control unit comprising an integral core element being made of a material having flexible properties to allow the respective arms to bend away from each other when the pulse meter is being arranged into an applying or removing position on the patient's body, the material having further spring back properties so that the arms naturally contract inwards such that the electrodes are maintained in contact with the patient's body when the pulse meter is in the applied position, the pulse meter further comprising a second layer overmolding at least a portion of each arm of the core element, the material of the second layer being electro conductive forming a connection between the electrodes and the control unit.
US11684272B2

Systems and methods for monitoring patient vasoactivity are discussed. An exemplary patient monitor system includes a sensor circuit configured to generate a heart sound (HS) metric using a HS signal sensed from a patient, and a vasoactivity monitor configured to monitor vasoactivity, such as degree of vasoconstriction or vasodilation, using the HS metric. The system can provide the monitored vasoactivity to a user to alert patient hemodynamic responses to vasoactive drugs, or initiate or adjust a vasoactive therapy according to the vasoactivity. The system may use the monitored vasoactivity to detect a medical condition such as worsening heart failure, pulmonary edema, or syncope.
US11684268B2

A detection device for active dental caries and/or tooth erosion, comprising a light detection means, fluid dispensing means, and an atomiser, wherein the fluid dispensing means and atomiser are in fluid communication such that a disclosing fluid contained within the fluid dispensing means is dispensed through the atomiser evenly onto a surface of interest.
US11684267B2

Provide is a lens which outputs light, emitted by a plurality of light sources, with uniform light distribution. The lens includes a lens body having a first surface which is flat and has an incident hole formed therein, and a second surface which is convex and opposite the first surface; and a plurality of incident surfaces which are recessed from the incident hole toward the second surface, each of the plurality of incident surfaces corresponding to a light source of the plurality of light.
US11684264B2

The disclosure herein provides methods, systems, and devices for virtually staining biological tissue for enhanced visualization without use of an actual dye or tag by detecting how each pixel of an unstained tissue image changes in waveform after staining with a certain dye(s) and/or tag(s) or other transformation under a certain electromagnetic radiation source, developing a virtual staining transform based on such detection, and applying such virtual staining transform to an unstained biological tissue to virtually stain the tissue.
US11684257B2

The multi-scale scanning imaging system (200) of the retina comprises according to an example a lighting and detection module (210) configured for emitting a lighting beam and for detecting a beam reemitted by the retina, a first scanning module (231) of the lighting beam and the reemitted beam, a first optical path, referred to as a “wide field” path, and a second optical path, referred to as a “small field” path, for focusing the lighting beam on the retina and for receiving the beam reemitted by the retina. The “wide field” path comprises a first optical system (205, 201) configured to conjugate a plane located near a plane of rotation of the scanning module and the plane (17) of the entrance pupil of the eye (10). The “small field” path comprises a wavefront correction device (250), a second optical system (257, 256, 253) configured to conjugate a plane located near a plane of rotation of the at least one first scanning module and the effective surface of the wavefront correction device, a third optical system, comprising at least part of the first optical system, configured to conjugate said effective surface (251) of the correction device and the plane of the entrance pupil of the eye. The multi-scale scanning imaging system further comprises a first optical deflection element (241) configured to send the beam reemitted by the retina on one and/or the other of the first and second imaging paths and intended to be positioned on the first imaging path, between the common part (201, 205) of the first and third optical systems and the scanning module (210), and on the second imaging path, between the common part of the first and third optical systems and the wavefront correction device.
US11684248B2

A medical endoscopy/stereo colposcopy instrument is configured to selectively take stereo colposcopy images of a patient's uterus and endoscopy images of the patient's bladder or uterus. Any of the images can be white light images or images for a selected narrow wavelength band or fluorescence images. The images can be displayed individually or as spatially registered composite images to highlight selected features of the imaged anatomy. A cup-shaped device can be positioned at the patient's cervix and provided with a light source and a fluorescence camera module to monitor changes in fluorescence in response to a photoactivated substance.
US11684239B2

A computer-implemented method for evaluating colonoscopy performance includes: (S1) splitting a video acquired during a colonoscopy examination into a plurality of colonoscopy images; (S2) assigning each of the colonoscopy images into a fold-inspection group or a non-fold-inspection group according to a first classification criterion and a second classification criterion, wherein the first classification criterion comprises at least one of clarity, exposure, level of tissue wrinkling, and level of occlusion in each of the colonoscopy images; and the second classification criterion comprises at least one of an amount of haustrum, an amount of colonic lumen, and a position of the colonic lumen in each of the colonoscopy images; and (S3) determining a performance rating of the colonoscopy examination according to an elapsed time of the fold-inspection group. The method classifies colonoscopy images more accurately and reliably, thereby providing an effective tool for quality assessment and guidance of colonoscopy examinations.
US11684237B2

Provided are endoscopic image acquisition system and method that make observation of images easier when images are collected. The endoscopic image acquisition system includes a wavelength pattern changing unit that changes a wavelength pattern of irradiation light with which a part to be observed in a body cavity of a patient is irradiated or returning light from the part to be observed. Images of an observation wavelength pattern are captured at a certain frame rate. In response to acceptance of an acquisition instruction, images of a plurality of wavelength patterns different from one another are sequentially captured. The images of the plurality of wavelength patterns different from one another are stored in a storage unit. An image of a wavelength pattern other than the observation wavelength pattern is set not to be displayed.
US11684229B2

A mobile robot. The mobile robot comprises a robot housing (10), two moving components (40), a container apparatus (20), and a cleaning component (50); the moving components are mounted on the robot housing for moving the mobile robot; the cleaning component comprises a main brush (520) provided laterally relative to a normal forward direction (f) of the mobile robot; the main brush is mounted on the robot housing and at or near a part of the robot housing, at which position a transverse width is largest; extension of the main brush in a direction perpendicular to the normal forward direction of the mobile robot is not interfered with by the moving components. The mobile robot has a larger main brush width, and thus the working width of the mobile robot is increased.
US11684225B2

Provided is a portable blower including a portable main body in which a pipe base portion of a blowout pipe is connected to an outlet port of a fan case, wherein, the fan case is formed of a fiber-reinforced resin of low specific gravity, the pipe base portion has a bent shape and is connected slidably to a pipe connecting portion of the outlet port, and a slide-contact-receiving member that is formed of a wear-resistant material is attached to the pipe connecting portion at a slide-contact point of the pipe base portion.
US11684217B2

An articulating food utensil includes a handle and an articulating blade secured to a distal portion of the handle, with the articulating blade configured to rotate or pivot about a pivot axle relative to the handle. The utensil includes a lock assembly configured to selectively retain a rotational position of the articulating blade relative to the handle. The lock assembly may include a lock protuberance configured to engage one of multiple lock receptacles in a proximal portion of the articulating blade. The lock protuberance is disposed on the distal portion of the handle. Each of the lock receptacles may include a hole through the articulating blade or a concavity in a lower surface of the articulating blade. The pivot axle may include a pivot pin disposed in a pivot receptacle in the proximal portion of the articulating blade. The pivot pin is secured to the distal end of the handle.
US11684212B2

Devices, systems, and methods are provided for baking a food product in a portable baking oven. The baking oven includes a main body, lower and upper stones, a heat shield suspending the upper stone above the lower stone, and a heat element emanating heat upward to a rotating flat panel having the lower stone thereon. Convection heat from the heat element moves upward from below the rotating flat panel and past a periphery of the flat panel, channeled by the heat shield to the upper stone, to move along the upper stone, and then down along the heat shield, on the opposite side. With this arrangement, the heat element heats the upper and lower stones with convection heat moving between the lower and upper stones in a side-to-side manner.
US11684207B2

An air fryer comprises a main body and a lid assembly. The lid assembly is operable to removably cover the main body. The air fryer comprises a support structure removably assembled to the lid assembly; wherein the support structure is operable to be seated on a working surface for supporting the lid assembly, thereby providing convenient placement of the lid assembly.
US11684200B2

A beverage preparation machine for dispensing beverages comprising: a housing; a first reservoir station; a first reservoir for containing an aqueous medium, the first reservoir being connectable to said first reservoir station; an auxiliary module station for receiving an auxiliary module.
US11684193B2

A track hanger (100) includes a hook (103) and an extension (104), a base member (102), and a key (403). The key is detachable from the hook, and the base member is detachable from the extension. The key can include a first major surface (401) and a second major surface (402). The first major surface can define one or more barbs (404) that facilitate one-way insertion of the key into a track (106).
US11684192B2

A presentation system for a celebration of an individual comprising: a frame; a lighting system disposed along an inner edge of a perimeter of the frame; a fabric removably attached to the frame disposed outwardly from the lighting system adapted to be illuminated by the lighting system; an image included on the fabric associated with aspects of a subject of the celebration of the individual; and, a memorial container disposed in front of the fabric wherein the image and the memorial container cooperate to form a composite image when viewed by an audience.
US11684189B2

An eating aid has a contact area for placing against a food item and a finger receiver facing away from the contact area for attachment to a finger. Herein, it is provided that at least one spike protrudes from the contact area serving to be inserted into the food item.
US11684179B2

The museum showcase includes a base, a horizontal guide system placed along a sliding direction, and a case mounted on the horizontal guide system; the case is divided into at least two modules and each module comprises two vertical side walls connected to an upper horizontal top panel and to a lower horizontal bottom; each module is mounted on the horizontal guide system to slide in direction (A); the modules each comprise two end modules and each end module includes a vertical end wall, the vertical end walls being connected to the vertical side walls, to the top panel and to the bottom in the respective module (21). An abutment profile is on each of the modules, that is directed towards another adjacent module and extends at a free edge of the bottom, the top panel and the vertical side walls; and a single exhibiting plane.
US11684170B2

An upholstered sofa sits in a protective tray with an integrated dust cover. The protective tray attached to a wood frame of the sofa around a frame opening at a dust cover portion of the protective tray. The tray having a separable juncture between an edge portion of the dust cover portion and the portions of the protective tray surrounding the dust cover portion, whereby portions of the tray surrounding the dust cover portion may be removed at a retail sales location or a user's home. The protective tray with the integrated dust cover is semi-rigid and may be attached robotically at the manufacturer's facility.
US11684166B2

A bed system includes microclimate control capabilities for providing quality sleep experience. The bed system can include a microclimate control subsystem configured to supply conditioned air (e.g., heated or cooled air) to a mattress, or draw ambient air from the mattress, to achieve a desired temperature at the top of the mattress. Utilizing supply of conditioned air to provide air at desired temperature to the mattress system, or utilizing air suction to drain heat away from the mattress system, can provide precise microclimate control at the mattress, thereby permitting conformable sleep.
US11684159B2

A composite structural board is disclosed, which comprises a face plate (2), the face plate (2) having a main body portion (2c) that is substantially in one plane and a peripheral portion (2a) surround the main body portion formed by bending the main body portion downwards, the face plate (2) having an upper surface and a lower surface; the board further comprising a base plate (3) provided with a plurality of substantially uniformly distributed and integrally formed protrusions, the lower surface of the face plate (2) being attached to and supported on top faces of the protrusions; and the board further comprising a stiffener (4) for fixedly connecting the peripheral portion (2a) of the face plate (2) and the base plate (3) together, wherein at least a part of the stiffener (4) is fixedly connected to the base plate (3), and at least another part of the stiffener (4) is fixedly connected to at least a part of a lower surface of the peripheral portion (2a) of the face plate. With the above-described structure, the strength of the composite structural board can be further increased while the number of components is reduced, and the production costs are greatly lowered.
US11684156B1

A drawer assembly for an appliance includes a front drawer guide fixed to a frame of the appliance including a front slide, the front slide defining a first sliding surface and a first receiving channel, a drawer body in slidable contact with the front drawer guide, and a rear drawer guide coupled to the drawer body, the rear drawer guide including a hook and a rear slide provided over the hook along the vertical direction, the rear slide defining a second sliding surface and a second receiving channel.
US11684146B2

Described herein are devices for cleansing the internal surface of various body cavities. The devices generally include a handle and one or more cleansing tips having different sets of cleansing surfaces. In addition to removing debris, and disrupting bacterial biofilms so as to make these bacteria more susceptible to various cleansing agents, the devices may be configured to deliver an antiseptic agent, an anti-inflammatory agent, or a fragrance to the body cavity surfaces, or deliver UV light to sanitize the surfaces. Methods for cleansing the surfaces of body cavities such as the nasal passages and vaginal cavity are also described herein. Systems including one or more cleansing devices and one or more cleansing formulations are further described.
US11684145B2

A built-in toothpaste type toothbrush structure includes toothbrush casing, toothpaste inner tube, knob switch, toothpaste storage handle and pushing structure. The toothbrush casing includes a toothbrush head, an accommodating space, and an outlet and a socketing portion. The toothbrush casing is sheathed on the toothpaste inner tube and has a toothpaste channel inside, and the toothpaste storage handle is connected integrally with the toothpaste inner tube for storing toothpaste, and the pushing structure is installed in the toothpaste storage handle to push the toothpaste to the toothbrush head. Therefore, the knob switch can control the communication between the toothpaste inner tube and the toothbrush casing to avoid contaminating the toothpaste stored in the toothpaste inner tube, so that home and office users or students can carry and use the toothbrush for dental cleaning and oral hygiene conveniently.
US11684144B2

Provided is disclosure for hybrid material post-CMP brushes and methods for forming the same. Embodiments of a hybrid material post-CMP brush may comprise at least two layers, where the hybrid brush is used to clean various surfaces, such as surfaces of semiconductor substrates. An example hybrid brush for cleaning a surface includes a mandrel, a molded first layer formed about the mandrel, where the molded first layer comprises a first material, and a molded second layer surrounding the molded first layer, where the molded second layer comprises a second material.
US11684123B2

The present disclosure is directed toward a device that can be worn over footwear to provide traction, such as on slick or slippery surfaces, in snow, or on ice.
US11684120B2

An insulating shoe insert including a core layer formed of a cellular material, and a top layer and a bottom layer bonded to opposing sides of the core layer, respectively, the top layer and the bottom layer being configured as thin sheets of aromatic polyamide material such that the top layer and bottom layer cooperate with the core layer to create a heat transfer resistance sufficient to resist transfer of heat through the core layer.
US11684119B2

An article of footwear includes a sole structure and a guide secured to the inner surface of the sole structure. An outer surface of the bottom of an upper is secured to the inner surface of the sole structure, the upper and the guide forming a passage. A tensioning component extends along the guide in the passage, and extends out of the passage at a medial side and/or a lateral side of the upper. An increase in tension in the tensioning component flexibly conforms the sole structure to a foot disposed in the upper. A method of manufacturing the article of footwear includes placing an upper on a last, applying adhesive on an inner surface of a sole structure, placing a guide on the adhesive, the tensioning component on the guide, and the inner surface of the sole structure against an outer surface of the upper.
US11684117B2

A sole structure includes a heel region, a forefoot region, and a midfoot region disposed between the heel and forefoot regions. The sole structure also includes a first fluid-filled segment disposed within the forefoot region and includes a first portion extending continuously from a medial side of the sole structure to a lateral side of the sole structure. The sole structure also includes a second fluid-filled segment disposed between the heel region and the first fluid-filled segment and includes a first portion extending continuously between the medial side and the lateral side. The sole structure also includes a third fluid-filled segment disposed between the first fluid-filled segment and the second fluid-filled segment and includes a first portion extending along one of the medial side and the lateral side and a second portion extending from the first portion toward the other one of the medial side and the lateral side.
US11684110B2

An article of footwear, lacing engine, and method includes a motor, a transmission operatively coupled to the motor, and a lace spool. The lace spool is operatively coupled to the transmission and includes a top lace groove in a top surface of the lace spool and a circumferential channel, wherein the lace is configured to be inserted in the top lace groove and be taken up around the circumferential channel based on a turning of the lace spool from action by the motor and transmission. A fastener is configured to couple the lace spool to the transmission and is inserted into the lace spool via the top surface, the fastener having a head having a head width sufficient to partially cover the top lace groove, leaving a top gap having a gap width less than a thickness of the lace.
US11684093B2

In order to provide an article of leg apparel, in particular a stocking, which is suitable for reducing the risk of injury to the wearer of the leg apparel, particularly during sports activities and to achieve compensation of possible functional imbalances in the musculoskeletal system of the wearer, it is proposed that the leg apparel includes at least one compression region in which, in the worn state, the leg apparel exerts a compression effect on the leg of the wearer of the leg apparel, and includes at least one stimulus-inducing structure which, in the worn state, is arranged on an inside of the leg apparel facing toward the leg of the wearer of the leg apparel.
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