US07991274B2
The present invention provides a waterproof camera cover that is comparatively easy to attach to and remove from a camera, and that enables comparatively simple operation of the camera. A holder 3 is housed inside a pouch 4. It is possible to place a camera 2 in a holder 3 or take it out of the holder 3 via a first opening section 35 and a second opening section 42. A through hole 311 of the holder 3 is formed at a position facing a lens 21 of the housed camera 2. The second opening section 42 can be opened and closed, and in a closed state the second opening section 42 is waterproof. The second through hole 43 of the pouch body 4 is arranged at a position facing the first through hole 311. A transparent body 5 is arranged at a position facing a lens 21 of the camera 2. The first and second through holes 311 and 43 are closed off by the transparent body 5 so as to be watertight.
US07991263B2
A left view graphics stream and a right view graphics stream recorded on a recording medium each include one or more display sets, and the display sets are data groups used for displaying one screen worth of one or more graphics objects. The one or more display sets included in the left view graphics stream are in one-to-one correspondence with the one or more display sets included in the right view graphics stream, and an identical playback time for the video stream on the playback time axis is set in each of the corresponding display sets. Each display set includes state information indicating whether the data is all data necessary for displaying one screen worth of one or more graphics objects, or is a difference from the immediately previous display set, and the state information included in corresponding display sets indicate identical content.
US07991260B2
A light-diffusing safety cap for use with a light cable that couples an endoscope to a high intensity light source. The light-diffusing safety cap can be detachably or releasably coupled, in lieu of the endoscope, to the light cable, such that when the high intensity light source emits a high intensity light and the endoscope is not connected to the light cable, the light-diffusing safety cap reduces the intensity of the high intensity light emitted to the environment and provides an indication that the high intensity light source is activated when the endoscope is not connected to the light cable.
US07991258B2
In general, in one aspect, the disclosure features a system that includes a flexible waveguide having a hollow core extending along a waveguide axis and a region surrounding the core, the region being configured to, guide radiation from the CO2 laser along the waveguide axis from an input end to an output end of the waveguide. The system also includes a handpiece attached to the waveguide, wherein the handpiece allows an operator to control the orientation of the output end to direct the radiation to a target location of a patient and the handpiece includes a tip extending past the output end that provides a minimum standoff distance between the output end and the target location.
US07991256B2
Disclosed is an optical fiber cable that includes a main tube. A guide tube, which includes at least one optical element, is positioned within the main tube's central space. A compressible element is also positioned within the main tube's central space. To reduce the adverse effects of ice formation within the optical fiber cable, the compressible element more readily deforms than do the guide tube and main tube. Also disclosed is a method for modifying a conventional optical fiber cable with a compressible element according to the present invention.
US07991247B2
A sensing device is disclosed. The sensing device interacts with a surface having coded data thereon. The coded data is made up from tags. Each tag encodes a unique identity of the surface, and the location of that tag on the surface. The sensing device has an optical sensor for capturing images of the coded data on the surface when the sensing device is placed in an operative position relative to the surface. The sensing device also has a processor for processing the captured images to determine the unique identity of the surface and the operative position of the sensing device on the surface. A movement sensor for generating movement data is also included in the sensing device. A transmitter of the sensing device transmits indicating data to a computer system. The indicating data includes data regarding the identity of the surface, data regarding the operative position of the sensing device and said movement data.
US07991245B2
A method for using an image sensor includes steps that permit the calculation of a resolution of the image that is greater than the designed resolution of the image sensor. A specimen is placed onto a known background within the field of view of an image sensor having multiple pixels. The specimen is focused onto the image sensor in a first position relative thereto such that the known background is also focused on the image sensor. An image is recorded for the specimen and the known background focused on the image sensor in the first position, and a specimen region and background pixels are established from the image recorded. The specimen is moved to a second position relative to the image sensor so as to place a portion of the specimen region within a target background pixel. An image is recorded for the specimen and the known background focused on the image sensor in the second position, and the bit depth is calculated for the portion of the specimen region moved into the background pixel.
US07991243B2
A diagnostic imaging system (10) corrects metal artifact streaks (38) emanating from a metal object (36) in a tomographic image (T). A first processor (40) reduces streaks (38) caused by mild artifacts by applying an adaptive filter (82). The filter (82) is perpendicularly oriented toward the center of the metal object (36). The weight of the filter (82) is a function of the local structure tensor and the vector pointing to the metal object (36). If it is determined that the strong artifacts are present in the image, a second processor (48) applies a sinogram completed image algorithm to correct for severe artifacts in the image. The sinogram completed image and adaptively filtered image are fused to a final corrected image. In the fusion process, highly corrupted tomographic regions are replaced by the result of the sinogram completed image and the remainder is replaced by the adaptively filtered image.
US07991241B2
An image processing apparatus corrects a shot image which is captured by an image capturing apparatus including an image sensor having a plurality of pixels arrayed two-dimensionally and on which a shadow of a foreign substance adhering to an optical element placed in front of the image sensor is captured. This apparatus includes an interpolation unit which performs interpolation processing of interpolating a signal of a pixel corresponding to the shadow of the foreign substance with a signal of a neighboring pixel, a designation unit which inputs an instruction to cause the interpolation unit to perform the interpolation processing, and a control unit which causes the interpolation unit to perform the interpolation processing, and when the interpolation unit has not performed the interpolation processing, causes the interpolation unit to re-execute the interpolation processing upon changing a parameter for the interpolation processing or an algorithm for the interpolation processing.
US07991239B2
Methods, systems and apparatuses that provide improved row-wise digital correction in an imager. During image processing, row-wise noise is corrected by applying a fractional portion of a maximum digital correction to the pixels. The maximum digital correction is determined from light shielded reference pixels in each row. During imager calibration, a preferred digital correction fraction is determined and used for correction.
US07991230B2
Exemplary systems and methods use micro-structure modeling of an image for extracting image features. The micro-structure in an image is modeled as a Markov Random Field, and the model parameters are learned from training images. Micro-patterns adaptively designed from the modeled micro-structure capture spatial contexts of the image. In one implementation, a series of micro-patterns based on the modeled micro-structure can be automatically designed for each block of the image, providing improved feature extraction and recognition because of adaptability to various images, various pixel attributes, and various sites within an image.
US07991226B2
An automated process for color-balancing a series of oblique images captured from one or more positions and from one or more orientations. The automated process includes the step of selecting a series of color-balanced images to use as reference images. Then, on an oblique image by image basis (1) a portion(s) of a reference image(s) that overlaps the oblique image is located, (2) multiple color-balancing transformations are created that approximately matches the color distribution of the oblique image to the color distribution of the overlapping portion(s) of the reference image(s), (3) pixels in the oblique image are transformed according to the multiple color-balancing transformations created for that oblique image; and (4) the transformed pixel value is transformed in the oblique image or a copy of the oblique image.
US07991225B2
Disclosed herein are methods and systems for dynamic color equalization that can be used for image viewer applications. The methods and systems described involve linking enhancement parameters to a changing viewport. When a large image is being viewed, only a portion of the image can fit in a viewer window at a time. A viewport can be defined as the portion of image data that is displayed on a screen. Scrolling or zooming the image can be described as moving the viewport.
US07991224B2
A method (100), an apparatus, and a computer program product for automatically producing a compact representation of a colour document are disclosed. In the method, a digital image of a colour-document page is segmented (110) into connected components in one-pass, block raster order. The digital image of the page is partitioned into foreground and background images using layout analysis (120) based on compact, connected-component statistics of the whole page. At least one portion of the background image where at least one portion of the foreground image obscures the background image is inpainting (520) in one-pass block raster order. The foreground and background images are combined (130) to form a compact document. A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for segmenting a digital image comprising a plurality of pixels are also disclosed.
US07991223B2
A Neural Gas network used for pattern recognition, sequence and image processing is extended to a supervised classifier with labeled prototypes by extending a cost function of the Neural Gas network with additive terms, each of which increases with a difference between elements of the class labels of a prototype and a training data point and decreases with their distance. The extended cost function is then iteratively minimized by adapting weight vectors of the prototypes. The trained network can then be used to classify mass spectrometric data, especially mass spectrometric data derived from biological samples.
US07991219B2
A method for detecting positions of a plurality of electrode pads of semiconductor chips formed on a semiconductor wafer includes: setting an imaging target region greater than a semiconductor chip on the semiconductor wafer; performing split imaging so as to entirely cover the imaging target region; and detecting positions of electrode pads of the semiconductor chip by processing images obtained by the split imaging. The split imaging is performed by using an imaging device which enlarges and images a region smaller than the imaging target region by one imaging.
US07991213B2
A method for recognizing an object in an image is disclosed wherein a fractal map of the image is generated by estimating the fractal dimension of each pixel in the image. The fractal map may be segmented by thresholding and locations of candidate objects are determined. The pixel value of the image pixel corresponding to the same location where the candidate object is found in the fractal map may be compared to a threshold value. If the pixel value is greater than the threshold value, the candidate object is recognized as a valid object.
US07991211B2
A method and apparatus for guiding image reading for colon screening, includes calculating a centerline for a colon; scrolling through a succession of two dimensional (2D) cross-sectional images of a colon in respective image planes, such that a current image plane includes a respective current focus point formed by an intersection of the centerline with the current image plane. The method further includes performing a three-dimensional (3D) region growing process for growing a region of a suitable given thickness around a current seed point in a current image plane, the current seed point being at the respective current focus point in the current image plane, such that the region growing “floods” folds within a prescribed distance from the current seed point such that part of the region intersects the current image plane. Portions of the region intersecting the current image plane that meets at least one of conditions (A) and (B) are removed from consideration where: condition (A) includes the region intersecting the given current image plane containing a further connected component not containing the current seed point, and containing a further intersection of the image plane with the centerline other than the current seed point, and condition (B) includes the further connected component exhibiting a larger area than that exhibited by a connected component containing the current seed point; and marking remaining portions of the region intersecting the current image plane, not removed from consideration, as seen areas.
US07991210B2
A method including searching image data corresponding to a series of axial image slices with a processor, searching axial image slices from a starting image slice and calculating a confidence score that an image slice includes a cross-section image of an aorta, identifying an image slice containing at least one seed disk, including an ascending aorta seed disk, from candidate image slices identified according to the confidence score, and growing a 3D segmentation of the ascending aorta by stacking ascending aorta image disks included in consecutive image slices beginning from the ascending aorta seed disk.
US07991209B2
The invention relates to a method and to a device for optically scanning a sample (1). The device comprises an adjusting unit (2, 3) and a scanning device (4, 5) which comprises an optical unit (4) and a scanning unit (5). The inventive device also comprises a control arrangement (6) which controls the optical unit (4), the scanning unit (5) and the adjusting unit (2, 3). The sample (1) is displaced in relation to the scanning device (4, 5), or vice-versa, by means of the adjusting unit (2, 3) which is impinged upon by the control arrangement (6). As a result, individual images (7), which are obtained by means of the scanning device (4, 5) are assembled to make at least one global image in the control arrangement (6). According to the invention, the respectively detected individual image (7) is evaluated either partially or totally in relation to the contrast thereof, and the obtained contrast values (K) influence the functionality of the entire arrangement.
US07991204B2
Provided is a threshold determining device for determining a threshold, at which the false matching rate of each data to become less than a required value becomes a required assurance value or more. The threshold determining device comprises an individual threshold evaluation unit, an individual threshold distribution evaluation unit, and an overall threshold determination unit. The threshold determining device determines a similarity of each data to others for each data, determines the threshold of the similarity satisfying a predetermined false matching rate, for each data, determines an individual threshold distribution of the data for each threshold on each of the data, and determines the threshold common to the entire data, as overall data on the basis of the individual threshold distribution.
US07991189B2
A storage process section stores, into an exceptional reference image list, discrimination information for discriminating a reference image which permits image processing and a reference image which forbids or restricts image processing. In case where a maximum value of a similarity calculated by a voting process section is not less than a threshold value, a control section determines whether a reference image having a maximum similarity is the reference image which permits image processing or a reference image which forbids or restricts image processing and determines whether or not it is necessary to forbid or restrict image processing with respect to input image data in accordance with a result of the determination. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous determination from forbidding execution of image processing based on input image data or to prevent erroneous determination from allowing execution of image processing based on input image data.
US07991188B2
Disclosed herein are methods and systems for encoding digital watermarks into content signals. Also disclosed are systems and methods for detecting and/or verifying digital watermarks in content signals. According to one embodiment, a system for encoding of digital watermark information includes: a window identifier for identifying a sample window in the signal; an interval calculator for determining a quantization interval of the sample window; and a sampler for normalizing the sample window to provide normalized samples. According to another embodiment, a system for pre-analyzing a digital signal for encoding at least one digital watermark using a digital filter is disclosed. According to another embodiment, a method for pre-analyzing a digital signal for encoding digital watermarks comprises: (1) providing a digital signal; (2) providing a digital filter to be applied to the digital signal; and (3) identifying an area of the digital signal that will be affected by the digital filter based on at least one measurable difference between the digital signal and a counterpart of the digital signal selected from the group consisting of the digital signal as transmitted, the digital signal as stored in a medium, and the digital signal as played backed. According to another embodiment, a method for encoding a watermark in a content signal includes the steps of (1) splitting a watermark bit stream; and (2) encoding at least half of the watermark bit stream in the content signal using inverted instances of the watermark bit stream. Other methods and systems for encoding/decoding digital watermarks are also disclosed.
US07991183B2
The present invention provides an electronic watermark editor for a compressed video that can efficiently carry out editing such as deletion or rewriting of electronic watermark data.DCT coefficient values are extracted while applying all templates to video contents, and a template where a total sum of relative absolute value differences between pairs of the DCT coefficient values is maximized is judged to be an applied template. The pairs of DCT coefficient values extracted by the applied template are processed by a smoothing process section so that the relative differences are reduced and so as to reduce individual relative differences recursively until significant differences between the coefficient value pairs are statistically eliminated. In addition, the pairs of DCT coefficient values extracted by the applied template are replaced with new editing bits.
US07991182B2
The present disclosure is generally related to steganographic encoding and decoding (e.g., data hiding). One claim recites a method including: obtaining media comprising a plurality of line graphics, each of the line graphics comprising one or more contours; obtaining a plural-bit message; obtaining an intermediate signal based at least in part on the plural-bit message; and using a programmed electronic processor, modulating contours of at least some of the plurality of line graphics to steganographically represent the plural-bit message in the media, in which said act of modulating utilizing the intermediate signal to modulate the contours. Of course, other claims and combinations are provided too.
US07991179B2
An insert high fidelity earphone is provided in which a hollow housing is connected to two tubes. A first tube is connected to the hollow housing on one side, and on the other side is inserted into an ear tip that ensures substantial sealing of the ear canal. A second tube is connected to hollow housing on one side and houses a cable that connects circuitry in the hollow housing to an audio source. The first tube comprises a damping assembly. The first tube comprises grooves on the inside wall that ensure that the damping assembly only fits in one orientation, which is the correct orientation. The damping assembly may be easily replaceable, without having to replace the entire earphone. The earphone may have a curved shape providing a comfortable and nearly invisible fit into the ear canal.
US07991174B2
Embodiments of the invention provide a barrier for protecting hearing aid metal-air battery assemblies from exposure to liquids causing obstruction of a battery air vent. One embodiment provides a barrier configured to be attached to a CIC hearing aid battery having a vent. The barrier has an oxygen permeability configured to allow the diffusion of sufficient oxygen for a battery to meet the power demands of a hearing aid operating in the bony portion of the ear canal over an extended time period. The barrier has a physical property configured to substantially prevent liquid obstruction of at least a portion of the vent on a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery. The physical property can be at least one of a hydrophobicity, oleophobocity or surface energy. The barrier can be directly attached to the battery or indirectly via a holder and can encase substantially the entire battery.
US07991172B2
The present invention discloses a half-voltage headphone driver circuit, comprising: at least one operational amplifier providing an output to a headphone speaker, and a charge pump receiving a supply voltage (VDD), generating a positive half-voltage and a negative half-voltage (VDD/2 and −VDD/2) based on the supply voltage, and supplying the positive half-voltage and negative half-voltage as high and low operation levels to the at least one operational amplifier.
US07991171B1
A method and apparatus for processing an audio signal in multiple audio frequency bands while minimizing undesirable changes in tonal qualities of the audio signal by determining an initial gain adjustment factor for each audio frequency band resulting from the application of an audio processing technique. A final gain adjustment factor for each band is selected from a corresponding set of weighted or unweighted initial gain adjustment factors. The set of initial gain adjustment factors from which the final gain adjustment factor for a specified audio frequency band is obtained is derived from other audio frequency bands that have the frequency of the specified band as a harmonic frequency. Changes in audio signal level within one audio frequency band thereby affect the signal level of harmonic frequencies to decrease relative changes in volume between a fundamental frequency and its harmonics.
US07991164B2
The present invention provides a method for checking and modifying the compatibility of an audio analyzing apparatus with an application program. The method includes the steps of: providing a server installed with the program, and a test computer; generating audio signals, and sending the audio signals to the test computer; storing the signals as an audio file; transforming the audio file into a particular format identifiable by the audio analyzing apparatus; invoking the program and analyzing the audio file by the audio analyzing apparatus; determining whether any abnormity is caused by the incompatibility of the audio analyzing apparatus with the program if an abnormity arises during the analyzing process; and modifying the program to be compatible with the audio analyzing apparatus if the abnormity is caused by the incompatibility of the audio analyzing apparatus with the program.
US07991161B2
A system for automatic security authentication in a wireless network includes a server and a terminal. The terminal includes a processor, a first communications unit, and a second communications unit. The server includes a database, a control unit, and a third communications unit. The processor receives an identification code of an access point through the first communications unit, and sends a message to the control unit through the second communications unit. The message includes the identification code of the access point, a user account and a user password. The control unit sends an authentication code corresponding to the identification code according to data stored in the database to the processor through the third communications unit. After receipt of the authentication code, the processor automatically logs in to the access point through the first communications unit to activate a wireless network access function.
US07991159B2
A wireless communication network (20) including mobile applications (56-62) includes a security approach that uses a combination of at least two techniques (42, 50, 54, 72). One disclosed example includes a combination of all four techniques. The combined, layered approach greatly reduces the probability that an unauthorized individual will be able to masquerade as a valid application within the network so that network security is improved. Disclosed techniques include obfuscating software code of a mobile application, providing a mobile application with a plurality of code signatures for generating a corresponding plurality of unique control values, limiting the useful lifetime of a mobile application and determining that a control value of a mobile application corresponds to the control value of another application before the two applications are allowed to interact in a manner that could compromise either application or the network.
US07991141B2
A system includes a server including one or more databases for storing one or more handling rules specifying handling of incoming telephone calls; an intermediary routing control unit configured to access the one or more databases responsive to an incoming telephone call and provide the one or more handling rules to a switch control unit for handling routing of the incoming telephone call, said switch control unit being on a signaling path of the incoming telephone call; wherein the server and intermediary routing control unit are external said signaling path.
US07991138B2
Inappropriate messages can be eliminated by an automatic etiquette agent which, based on prescribed etiquette rules, initially prevents a communication from being established unless it receives a further authorization from the user. The etiquette rules represent prescribed social characteristics and situations and they may be set by, or customized by the user, an organization to which the user belongs, or a communication service provider. The automatic etiquette agent may question the user on the advisability of establishing a communication, e.g., by presenting a dialog box or voice prompt to the user and receiving a simple affirmation if communication is to be established. Alternatively, the user may be prompted by the automatic etiquette agent to enter a password that clearly indicates the user's assent. In the event that the automatic etiquette agent does not receive the appropriate affirmation of the user's intent, the communication is not established.
US07991131B2
This invention relates to an enhanced method and apparatus for providing notification to a telecommunications customer using prepaid service that his/her prepaid balance is below a pre-specified threshold. The number of notifications is limited to a specified number within a specified interval. Advantageously, the customer is spared the nuisance o receiving multiple notifications when he/she is already aware of the problem.
US07991121B2
In one example embodiment, an x-ray tube comprises an anode configured to rotate at an operating frequency, and a bearing assembly configured to rotatably support the anode and tuned to a resonant frequency that is different than the operating frequency.
US07991118B2
The present invention provides an imaging system (10) having a pedal-switching mechanism (14) for lateral and frontal imaging. The imaging system (10) is particularly useful for positioning an image-capturing device (18) with respect to a patient disposed on an imaging system (10) and may include a support member (20) configured to support a patient or object of interest, and a c-arm imaging equipment (12) configured to be removable to capture images in various directions.
US07991117B2
An x-ray-based radiation imaging apparatus (200) for use in imaging an object (201) can comprise a source of x-rays (202) having an output radiation intensity control input and a radiation intensity controller (207) operably coupled thereto. This radiation intensity controller can have a control output (209, 210) that is operably coupled to the output radiation intensity control input and an object information input (209). So configured, the radiation intensity controller can dynamically adjust radiation intensity as output by the source of x-rays as a function of information regarding the object itself.
US07991115B2
In a medical image diagnostic device, wherein X-Ray CT devices and PET devices are longitudinally disposed, and which has a tubular imaging part for positioning a subject who is placed on the top surface of a bed and collecting image data, an illumination part is provided for producing a suitable level of brightness to the display part, which is for providing information to the subject without having to adopt every imaging position within the tubular imaging part, and to the imaging part.
US07991111B2
An apparatus and method for determining the density and other properties of a formation surrounding a borehole using a high voltage x-ray generator. One embodiment comprises a stable compact x-ray generator capable of providing radiation with energy of 250 keV and higher while operating at temperatures equal to or greater than 125° C. In another embodiment, radiation is passed from an x-ray generator into the formation; reflected radiation is detected by a short spaced radiation detector and a long spaced radiation detector. The output of these detectors is then used to determine the density of the formation. In one embodiment, a reference radiation detector monitors a filtered radiation signal. The output of this detector is used to control at least one of the acceleration voltage and beam current of the x-ray generator.
US07991110B2
A weight inspection apparatus includes a weight obtaining unit, an irradiation unit, a detection unit and an estimated weight calculation unit. The weight obtaining unit is configured to obtain an actual weight of an inspection target object. The irradiation unit is configured to irradiate the inspection target object with energy waves. The detection unit is configured to detect the energy waves irradiated at the inspection target object. The estimated weight calculation unit is configured to calculate an estimated weight of the inspection target object based on a result of detection by the detection unit. The deviation amount calculation unit is configured to calculate a difference between the actual weight obtained by the weight obtaining unit and the estimated weight obtained by the estimated weight calculation unit.
US07991107B2
An X-ray CT apparatus with a function of taking in an X-ray image data obtained by another X-ray apparatus, for use of scout view for a CT for local region of an object to be examined. The apparatus comprises an image data input means for taking in an X-ray image data as obtained by an X-ray detector of another X-ray apparatus by way of such as data importing, together with the attribute information thereon, a display operation means for displaying the X-ray image data as a scout view and receiving the operation of designating an interested area on the X-ray image; and a position control means for relatively moving the object to be examined, relative to the X-ray generator and the X-ray detector, in order to execute a CT for local region of the interested area of the object, based on the operation for the X-ray image displayed as the scout view with the display operation means or the attribute information.
US07991097B2
A method for adjusting a serial data signal having multiple sets of bits includes the following steps. First, one set of bits in the serial data signal is over-sampled to generate a first set of over-sampled bits. Next, every adjacent two bits of the first set of over-sampled bits are compared to generate one set of edge bits. Then, a delay operation is determined according to the set of edge bits. Afterwards, a displacement operation is executed on next sets of bits in the serial data signal according to the delay operation.
US07991095B2
A reconstruction method for reconstructing a first signal from a set of sampled values generated by sampling a second signal at a sub-Nyquist rate and at uniform intervals, the method includes retrieving from the set of sampled values a set of shifts and weights with which the first signal can be reconstructed.
US07991094B2
A method for transmitting a timing correction message in a wireless communication system, the method comprising, Generating the timing correction message comprising a 8-bit MessageID field and a 2-bit NumSectors field wherein, the NumSectors field indicates the number of sector records in the message and a 16 bit TimingCorrection field wherein, the TimingCorrection indicates the timing correction on the sector and last 15 bits indicate the magnitude of timing correction in units of ⅛ chips and transmitting the timing correction message over a communication link.
US07991089B2
An inter-carrier interface removal device can improve estimation accuracy of inter-carrier interference caused by Doppler shift in a received multi-carrier signal moving at a high speed, and a reception characteristic of the multi-carrier signal after removing the inter-carrier interference. The inter-carrier interference removal device includes a channel estimation unit estimating a channel frequency characteristic according to a carrier signal, an equalization unit equalizing the carrier signal with the channel frequency characteristic and outputs tentative carrier data, a reliability value calculation unit calculating a reliability value according to the channel frequency characteristic, a weighting unit weighting the tentative carrier data with the reliability value, an ICI component estimation unit estimating an ICI component according to the weighted tentative carrier data and the estimated channel frequency characteristic, and an ICI removal calculation unit removing the ICI component from the carrier signal.
US07991087B2
One embodiment of the present subject matter includes a method of receiving an input signal. The method, in various embodiments, includes detecting a peak of the input signal and detecting an envelope of the input signal. In various embodiments, the peak and envelope are used to identify out-of-band blocking signals and to adjust gain control. The method also includes comparing the peak to a first threshold Tp and comparing the envelope to a second threshold Te. In the method, if the peak is above the first threshold and the envelope is below the second threshold, then ignoring the input signal. If the envelope is above the second threshold, the method includes applying automatic gain control to decode information encoded in the input signal.
US07991077B1
A system including a differential demodulation module that receives modulated signals from R antennas and that differentially demodulates the modulated signals to generate differentially demodulated signals, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1. A summing module sums the differentially demodulated signals to generate a combined signal. A correlation module correlates the combined signal with derived preamble sequences and generates correlation values based on the correlation. The derived preamble sequences are derived from preamble sequences. Each bit of one of the derived preamble sequences has a first state when a corresponding bit and a bit adjacent to the corresponding bit in a corresponding one of the preamble sequences have opposite states. Each bit has a second state when the corresponding bit and the bit adjacent to the corresponding bit have the same state.
US07991074B2
A method, apparatus, and computer program is presented for use in a radio transmitter using a polar transmitter structure in which a transmission signal is separated into an amplitude component and a phase component. The transmission signal includes transmission symbols distributed to a number of transmission resource blocks allocated to the radio transmitter for transmission. The amplitude component of the transmission signal is low-pass filtered in a low-pass filter configured by filtering parameters selected according to the number of transmission resource blocks allocated to the radio transmitter. Then, the low-pass filtered amplitude component is used in power supply of a power amplifier configured to power-amplify a phase component of the transmission signal.
US07991066B2
Provided is a method of controlling a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system. One embodiment of the method includes the steps of: estimating, at a receiver, a MIMO channel and detecting data streams using a successive interference cancellation scheme; calculating, at the receiver, S and P using the estimated channel and then feeding back information corresponding to (P1, P2, . . . , PM-1, SINR5M) to a transmitter, and determining, at the transmitter, a transfer rate and transmission power perstream using the fed-back information. Another embodiment of the method includes the steps of: estimating, at a receiver, a MIMO channel and detecting data streams using a signal received from an antenna; extracting, at the receiver, a feedback parameter to be fed back to the transmitter using the estimated channel, and feeding back the feedback parameter to the transmitter, and determining, at the transmitter, a stream to be allocated to the receiver from among the streams of the transmitter using the fed-back parameter and a data transfer rate per stream, wherein the feedback parameter is information corresponding to a successive interference cancellation order and a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) per stream reflecting successive interference cancellation.
US07991057B2
Disclosed is an apparatus for generating a ranging pseudo noise code used for a terminal of a portable internet system of an OFDM access scheme. The apparatus for generating ranging pseudo noise code detects a cell ID number using a preamble signal transmitted from a base station covering the terminal, detects a ranging pseudo noise code mask value using the detected cell ID number and system parameters input from the base station, and generates a ranging pseudo noise code using the detected cell ID number and the ranging pseudo noise code mask value. With the above structure, a constant initial value can be used irregardless of the cell ID number of the base station, and a desired ranging pseudo noise code can be generated as fast as possible so as to have a desired offset.
US07991049B2
A video and graphics system has a reduced memory mode in which video images are reduced in half in horizontal direction during decoding. The video and graphics system includes a video decoder for decoding MPEG-2 video data. The video images may not be downscaled in the horizontal direction when no bi-directionally predicted pictures are used. The video and graphics system may output an HDTV video while converting the HDTV video and providing as another output having an SDTV format or another HDTV format. The output having an SDTV format may be recorded using a video cassette recorder (VCR) while the HDTV video is being displayed.
US07991046B2
Calibrating jitter in a communication channel between test equipment and a connection for a device under test (DUT) includes sampling test data in the communication channel at about a point of the connection to produce sampled data, where the test data travels through the communication channel at a first rate, and where the test data is sampled at a second rate that is less than the first rate, determining a first amount of jitter in the sampled data relative to the test data, and determining a second amount of jitter at about the point of connection based on the first amount of jitter.
US07991042B2
The invention provides a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. In one embodiment, the GNSS receiver comprises a memory, a buffer, a correlator, and a selector. The memory stores a memory code and outputs a portion of the memory code as a first code segment. The buffer comprises a plurality of component buffers and stores the first code segment into one of the component buffers in order. The selector selects a portion of the first code segments stored in the buffer as a second code segment output to the correlator according to the code phase selection signal, wherein the data length of the second code segment is equal to a correlation data length of the correlator. The correlator calculates a correlation between a received GNSS signal with the correlation data length and the second code segment.
US07991041B2
Techniques for recovering a desired transmission in the presence of interfering transmissions are described. For iterative detection and cancellation, multiple groups of code channels are formed for a plurality of code channels for at least one sector. Processing is performed for the multiple groups of code channels in multiple iterations. For each iteration, data detection and signal cancellation are performed for the multiple groups of code channels in multiple stages, e.g., in a sequential order starting with the strongest group to the weakest group. Each stage of each iteration may perform data detection, signal reconstruction, and signal cancellation. Each stage of each iteration may also perform equalization, data detection, signal reconstruction, and signal cancellation.
US07991038B2
In a laser arrangement comprising at least one laser medium for producing a laser emission, a laser resonator having a beam path with a length of at least 20 cm and with at least one end mirror, the beam path within the laser resonator is formed at least partly by free-beam optics. A resonator element arranged in the beam path has at least two optical surfaces as surfaces interacting with the radiation led via the beam path, these optical surfaces being rigidly connected to one another and being adjustable together in the beam path in such a way that, on tilting by an angle error, they achieve substantially the same effect on the guidance of the beam path but with opposite sign, so that mutual compensation of tilt errors takes place.
US07991035B2
Provided is a surface emitting laser array using a photonic crystal, which allows an active layer to be shared without disconnecting the active layer between the individual surface emitting lasers adjacent to each other, and enables high-density arraying easily. The surface emitting laser array includes: at least two surface emitting lasers formed on a substrate, each having a laminated structure of multiple semiconductor layers including a semiconductor multilayer mirror, an active layer, and a photonic crystal having a refractive index profile in an in-plane direction, the photonic crystal and the semiconductor multilayer mirror in the laminated structure forming a waveguide for guiding light in a resonance mode; and a region without the photonic crystal provided between adjacent surface emitting lasers in the surface emitting laser array, in which the surface emitting lasers have the same semiconductor multilayer mirror and the same active layer.
US07991034B2
A semiconductor surface emitting optical amplifier chip utilizes a zigzag optical path within an optical amplifier chip. The zigzag optical path couples two or more gain elements. Each individual gain element has a circular aperture and includes a gain region and at least one distributed Bragg reflector. In one implementation the optical amplifier chip includes at least two gain elements that are spaced apart and have a fill factor no greater than 0.5. As a result the total optical gain may be increased. The optical amplifier chip may be operated as a superluminescent LED. Alternately, the optical amplifier chip may be used with external optical elements to form an extended cavity laser. Individual gain elements may be operated in a reverse biased mode to support gain-switching or mode-locking.
US07991023B2
A multi-band (multi-color) multiwavelength mode locked laser diode is provided by dynamic phase compensation of a quantum dot active medium. The laser diode is provided with a PIN diode structure where the active medium consists of a plurality of layers of quantum dots such as those produced by self-assembly from known chemical beam epitaxy methods. The multiplicity of bands may be produced by AC Stark splitting, frequency selective attenuation, or by the inclusion of multiple different layers having different, respective, peak ASE emissions. Dispersion compensation within laser facets, waveguides, and the optically active media permit the selection of a fixed dispersion within the cavity. A dynamic group phase change induced by the AC Stark effect permits compensation of the fixed dispersion sufficiently to produce an intraband mode-locked laser. Even interband mode locking was observed.
US07991022B1
Techniques and apparatus for using stimulated Raman scattering in an optical gain medium to produce amplified laser pulses.
US07991018B2
The invention relates to a system and method for transmitting audio data in a combined cabin management system in an aircraft with the steps: playing back entertainment programs and providing communications possibilities with an entertainment system (1), which is connected to several first audio data sources (3) and to several first audio playback devices (4), setting and displaying cabin parameters with a control system (2), which is connected to several second audio data sources (8) and to several second audio playback devices (9), transmitting audio data between the control system (2) and the entertainment system (1) with several audio channels (6) each with a coding device (5) and a decoding device (7) respectively. In order to be able to carry out the transmission of audio data and associated information by using commercially available coding chips with the lowest possible expense, the steps are provided: interlinking the audio signals from the several audio data sources (3; 8) into one data stream through a multiplexer (12), via which the coding device (5) is connected to several audio data sources (3; 8), and depacketing the data stream into audio signals for the several audio playback devices (4; 9) through a demultiplexer (15) via which the decoding device (7) is connected to several audio playback devices (4; 9), wherein the audio data are transmitted between the coding device (5) and the decoding device (7) with a predetermined resolution.
US07991016B2
Fully redundant clock systems are provided on network nodes coupled by redundant multisegment psuedowires (MSPWs) within an internet-protocol (IP)-based mobile backhaul network. The primary clock system includes a primary master clock on a first node and a primary slave clock on a second node coupled via a primary MSPW, while the secondary clock system includes a secondary master clock on the first node and a secondary slave clock on the second node coupled via a secondary MSPW. The primary and secondary slave clocks synchronize with their respective primary and secondary master clocks via their respective MSPWs. A clock controller maintains the secondary clock system in a hot-stand-by mode, and upon determining that a switch-over is needed, automatically switches from the primary clock system to the secondary clock system.
US07991014B2
The disclosed embodiments relate to a system for providing remote tuning and clock synchronization in a network. The system includes a device that receives a signal that includes a plurality of channels, a device that receives a user request indicative of a desire to view at least one of the plurality of channels, and a filter that filters the received signal and transmits a user signal corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of channels to the user. An alternative embodiment of the system includes a device that receives a signal that includes a plurality of packets, at least a portion of the plurality of packets comprising an embedded time stamp, a device that detects the at least a portion of the plurality of packets containing the embedded time stamp, and a device that computes an adjusted time stamp based on the embedded timestamp and a precision local clock and incorporates the adjusted timestamp into the at least a portion of the plurality of packets containing the embedded timestamp prior to transmitting the at least a portion of the plurality of packets to the network.
US07991010B2
A supervisory communications device, such as a headend device within a communications network, monitors and controls communications with a plurality of remote communications devices throughout a widely distributed network. The supervisory device allocates bandwidth on the upstream channels by sending MAP messages over its downstream channel. A highly integrated media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC) operates within the headend to provide lower level processing on signals exchanged with the remote devices. The enhanced functionality of the MAC IC relieves the processing burden on the headend CPU and increases packet throughput. The enhanced functionality includes header suppression and expansion, DES encryption and decryption, fragment reassembly, concatenation, and DMA operations
US07990996B2
A data transmission network having at least two devices to transmit and receive data with the devices connected via a passive transmission device so that the data is transmitted between the devices using the passive transmission device. Each of the devices includes a converter to control data transmission using the passive transmission device.
US07990987B2
A network processor having bypass capability in which some data units are diverted from being processed by the processor core of the network processor. In one embodiment, a network processor may include a receiver to receive data units, configuration information used to evaluate whether the data units require processing, a processor core to process data units that require processing, a bypass store to hold those data units which do not require processing by the processor core, and a transmitter to transmit the data units. In one embodiment, a method may include receiving a plurality of data units, receiving configuration information, evaluating whether each of the data units requires processing based on the configuration information, bypassing processing those of the data units that do not require processing based on the evaluating, processing those of the data units that require processing based on the evaluating, and transmitting the data units.
US07990985B2
A broadband communications access device with security features. The broadband communications access devices includes a wireless access point with a wireless interface, wired interface and security interface for providing secure wired and wireless broadband communications access for home entertainment, home security and home energy management devices.
US07990984B2
A system for communicating telecommunication information includes a memory, packetization modules, and a telecommunication interface module. The memory stores subscriber profiles associating each of several subscribers with a telecommunication interface. The packetization modules receive data packets from a broadband network and extract telecommunication information associated with a subscriber from the data packets. The telecommunication interface module communicates the telecommunication information to a telecommunication network using a telecommunication interface associated with the subscriber.
US07990977B2
A method of sending data from a transmit site to a receive device includes dividing a first transmit data stream having a first bit rate into multiple data streams with each of the multiple data streams having a bit rate that is lower than the first bit rate. Each of the multiple data streams is transmitted over a cable network having multiple radio frequency channels. The multiple data streams are recombined at the receive device to provide a receive data stream having a bit rate equal to the first bit rate. A second transmit data stream is transmitted over one of the radio frequency channels to a legacy user connected to the one radio frequency channel between the transmit site and the receive device.
US07990976B2
During connection establishments for a protocol with bidirectional identifiers, connection data is allocated, the locally selected identifier is a pointer to the allocated connection data, and a mathematical transformation is applied to the pointer. The pointer and a result of the mathematical transformation are included in a first and second portion of the connection establishment packets respectively. Upon receipt of a data packet for that protocol, a first and second portion of the data packet (which correspond to the first and second portion of the connection establishment packets) are extracted. The same mathematical transformation used during connection establishment is applied to the data extracted from the first portion of the data packet. The result of that mathematical transformation is compared with the data extracted from the second portion of the data packet. If the values match, then the data extracted from the first portion is trusted and dereferenced to access the allocated connection data associated with that data packet.
US07990971B2
A packet processing apparatus and method are provided. The packet processing apparatus changes a size of an input packet, analyzes the input packet to perform a second layer associated process, generates basic delivery headers of the input packet, processes the input packet to which the basic delivery headers are inserted according to a type of the input packet, transforms the header of the input packet to which the basic delivery headers are inserted, and transitions the header-transformed input packet to delivers the packet. Accordingly, it is possible to process various packets without addition of separate process to the packet processing apparatus. In addition, a use efficiency of a network processing unit can be optimized, so that it is possible to increase a packet processing rate and performance.
US07990962B2
A systems management computer is provided, and comprises a processor configured to execute a set of stored instructions that implements a method for receiving data from a server over a first network and for distributing the data to a plurality of computers over a different second network. One instruction is for electing a computer from said plurality of computers of the second network to act as an active download master. Another instruction operates if the computer is elected as the active download master computer and initiates downloading of data over the first network to local data storage. A further instruction operates if the computer is elected as the active download master computer and multicasts, by a multicast distribution engine, the downloaded data over the second network to other computers of the second network.
US07990955B2
A method and system for rerouting IP telephony call information. The system includes an existing IP telephony call, the telephony call originating at a first IP telephony phone. A second IP telephony phone receiving the IP telephony call from the first IP phone and a network routing condition, the routing condition causing the IP telephony call to be rerouted. A switchover instruction, the switchover instruction initiating a switchover of the existing IP telephony call to a PSTN.
US07990953B2
A distributed VoIP system includes a network and a first switch at a first site coupled to the network. The first switch is configured to provide telephony services to a first communication device. The system also includes a second switch at a second site coupled to the network. The second switch is configured to provide telephony services to a second communication device. The system also includes a spare switch coupled to the network. The spare switch is configured to provide telephony services to the first communication device if the first communication device is unable to register with the first switch, and the spare switch is configured to provide telephony services to the second communication device if the second communication device is unable to register with the second switch.
US07990948B2
A serverless telephony system (STS) establishes and maintains a voice, data and video exchange between telephony devices using Internet Protocol (IP). The STS in a preferred embodiment comprises software running on a telephony device with a standard packet network connection over a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or a combination, which may include the Internet network. The new system enables one telephony device to establish a connection with another telephony device without intervention by any third device such as a switch or a server. In one embodiment an IP-PBX (Internet Protocol-Private Branch Exchange) application is provided having no server presented in the network for establishing a call between any two IP phones on a Local Area Network (LAN), providing substantially all services typically expected from a standard PBX, and yet functions in compliance with one or more of a H.323, a MGCP, a SIP protocol or any one of other standard protocols.
US07990945B1
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for provisioning a label switched path (LSP) between two endpoints executing a first set of MPLS functions. The method and apparatus associates a first node with the first endpoint and a second node with the second endpoint. The first node is designated as the source. Both the first and second nodes execute a second set of MPLS functions, wherein the second set of MPLS functions include the first set of MPLS functions and additional MPLS functions. As the source, the first node provisions a first MPLS path (i.e., LSP) between itself and the first endpoint. The first node then provisions a second MPLS path (i.e., LSP) between the first node and the second node. The first node then transmits a message to the second node instructing the second node to provision a third MPLS path between the second node and the second endpoint. The three MPLS paths are bridged at the first and second nodes to complete the LSP between the two endpoints.
US07990942B2
Data transmission is performed using the most suitable data rate for the radiation pattern of an antenna. Using an individual pilot channel of a first slot, a base station transmits a pilot signal in a specified direction with a beam pattern having narrow directivity. A wireless terminal located in that direction receives the pilot signal and determines a data rate according to the reception quality of the pilot signal. The wireless terminal transmits to the base station a signal requesting the determined data rate. The base station receives that signal and, based on the requested data rate, transmits data to the wireless terminal with a beam pattern in the same direction as the direction in which the pilot signal was transmitted, using a data channel of a second slot, which occurs a predetermined number of slots after the first slot.
US07990938B1
Systems and methods are provided for automatically setting up an initial configuration of a wireless client (i.e., for a first wireless client and subsequent wireless clients added to a network), including keyboard-less and (graphical user interface) GUI-less clients, and an access point without using confusing manual configuration utilities.
US07990936B2
An apparatus for and method of acquiring an address in a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) environment in a wireless LAN. The method includes: sensing that a mobile node has moved from a first network to a second network; transmitting a frame requesting association with the second network to an access point managing the second network after sensing that the mobile node has moved from the first network to the second network; and receiving a message containing an address assigned to the mobile node from the access point having received the transmitted frame. Accordingly, the mobile node can promptly acquire an IP address without an additional request.
US07990935B2
The invention relates to access control for a movable network (15) managed by a mobile router (10), wherein said mobile route is interconnected through a bi-directional link (40) with a mobility anchoring agent (20) that anchors the network mobility for the mobile router. According to the invention, access control enforcement points (11, 21) are located at both the mobile router (10) and the mobility anchoring agent (20). Access control is exercised at the mobility agent (20) to filter downlink packets to the mobile router (10) and access control is exercised at the mobile router (10) to filter uplink packets to the mobility anchoring agent (20). In this way, unauthorized packets, both uplink and downlink, do not have to cross the air interface before being filtered away, thereby preventing waste of valuable radio resources. The access control modules are typically provisioned with access control filter information, preferably by means of a hierarchical provisioning structure.
US07990933B2
A technique for time domain avoidance of communications link interference sources characterized by intermittent, periodic short bursts of energy. A transmitting source can be assigned two time slots within a time domain multiple access data frame over which each data packet can be transmitted. The time slots are separated by a duration greater than that of an interference burst, such that an interference burst does not affect both time slots in any given frame. Therefore, the data packet can be received on at least one of the two assigned time slots. Transmitter power consumption can be reduced by calculating the timing of the periodic interference bursts, and only transmitting a data packet on one of the two assigned time slots that will not coincide with an interference burst in each frame. Communications link capacity can be improved during the presence of interference by synchronizing the data frame to the timing of the interference bursts. The bursts then occupy fixed time slots in each data frame, enabling standard single time slot transmissions for the remaining communications channels in the data frame.
US07990926B2
A gateway serving as an interface between a mobile network and a wireless network can be configured to send a signal strength indicator to the mobile network thereby causing the mobile network to recognize the gateway as a valid path for handing off a call. The wireless network can be configured according to one of the 802.11 wireless communications protocols. The gateway can route the call from the mobile network to a wireless access point of the wireless network via a packet-switched network, such that the call is conducted via a wireless communications link with the wireless access point.
US07990925B2
Seamless communication handoff is achieved by establishing a protocol tunnel to route leftover packets between network access nodes during the handoff. For example, in a mobile IP-based system, a mobile node may perform a handoff from a first access node that is associated with a first routing node to a second access node that is associated with a second routing node. To prevent the loss of any packets that may be in route for delivery to or from the first routing node during the handoff, the mobile node establishes a protocol tunnel with the first access node via the second access node. On the forward-link, packets being delivered from the first routing node are routed over the protocol tunnel to the second access node and then to the mobile node. On the reverse-link, packets being sent to the first routing node are routed over the protocol tunnel from the mobile node to the second access node and then to the first routing node. In conjunction with these operations, the mobile node concurrently maintains separate IP interfaces for the routing nodes. In addition, steps are taken to ensure that packets are routed to the appropriate IP interface during the handoff.
US07990924B2
Mobile node registration with the home network of the mobile node is delayed when the mobile node moves to a foreign network. The mobile node has a home network in which the mobile node has a home address. In response to the mobile node moving to a foreign network (such as by being turned on in the foreign network), the mobile node receives a care-of address. Where the mobile node has no ongoing communication sessions, the mobile node waits to register its care-of address with its home agent in the home network until the mobile node initiates a communication session within the foreign network, which may not ever occur. The mobile node by registering the care-of address with the home agent informs the home agent where to forward data sent to the mobile node's home address.
US07990920B2
A method of transmitting acknowledgement/nonacknowledgement (ACK/NACK) signals including multiplexing ACK/NACK signals; and repeatedly transmitting for predetermined times the multiplexed signal with each of repetitions of transmitting the multiplexed signal being spread in a frequency domain and being mapped to a plurality of discrete resource units each having a pair of neighboring subcarriers and a predetermined number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) control symbols.A method for transmitting Category 0 bits, including modulating the Category 0 bits; repeatedly transmitting the modulated Category 0 bits with each of repetitions of transmitting the modulated Category 0 bits being spread in a frequency domain and being mapped to a plurality of discrete resource units each having a pair of subcarriers and a predetermined number of OFDM control symbols; and mapping the modulated Category 0 bits by a frequency selective transmit diversity (FSTD).
US07990918B2
A system and method providing a frame structure to received channel data sent over an air interface of a wireless communication system. The system and method may allow compensation for transmitting and receiving frequency variations, synchronization at the receiver, and provides a virtual signaling channel which may be used for system alarms and status. In one embodiment, the system uses bit stuffing, a frame preamble and a signaling preamble to transmit data at a high data rate in the ISM band.
US07990914B2
Provided is a method for evaluating spectrum utilization efficiency in a radio system sharing frequency. The method for evaluating spectrum utilization efficiency of a frequency sharing radio system in a radio environment having a first radio system using at least one specific frequency in an allocated frequency band and a second radio system sharing the frequency band allocated by the first radio system, includes calculating net coverage per unit area based on a design parameter on the first radio system and a design parameter on the second radio system; and evaluating spectrum utilization efficiency based on the calculated net coverage per unit area.
US07990898B2
In one embodiment, a system comprises a plurality of nodes and an IEEE 1394 bus. Each of the plurality of nodes comprises at least one IEEE 1394 interface for communicating over the IEEE 1394 bus. The plurality of nodes communicates over the IEEE 1394 bus in accordance with a rooted, half-binary tree topology. In another embodiment, a node comprises an IEEE 1394 interface to communicate over an IEEE 1394 bus. The node encapsulates logical data packets into IEEE 1394 data packets and maps a traffic class associated with each logical data packet to an IEEE 1394 class of service for the IEEE 1394 data packet into which that logical data packet is encapsulated.
US07990896B1
A method and system for configuring one or more prospective-participant nodes as participant nodes so as to enable the prospective-participant nodes to engage in a peer-to-peer communication is provided. In one exemplary embodiment, the method and system may be embodied as a common application that includes logic, in hardware or software form, for carrying out one or more of the functions for configuring one or more prospective-participant nodes as a participant node in a peer-to-peer network.In carrying out these functions, one of the participant nodes discovers its network-connection settings, and based on these settings, generates participant-node-configuration data that includes one or more network connection settings that define how to address the prospective-participant node as a participant node.When desiring to join the peer-to-peer network, the prospective-participant node and the participant node may establish a point-to-point communication link by engaging in a discovery process using so as to establish a data-link layer connection. After completing negotiation of the data-link-layer connection, the prospective-participant node and the participant node may communicate over the data-link-layer connection.The prospective-participant node may send to the participant node a request for network access. Responsively, the participant node sends to the prospective-participant node the participant-node-configuration data over the point-to-point connection. And the prospective-participant node configures itself using the participant-node-configuration data so as to become a participant node.
US07990895B2
A system for establishing a direct network connection between a first and a second node over a data-packet-network includes a third network node having connection to the data-packet-network for providing an electronic interface accessible to the first node; a navigation agent directed by the third network node for navigating over the network to the second node to gather information; and at least one machine-readable instruction containing the instruction for directing and implementing the direct network connection. The electronic interface may be a Web page providing bill consolidation and payment services to a client operating the first node and wherein the connection established via the instruction enables transparent login payment of a bill at the second node, which may be a direct billing party interface of the client registered and listed on the Web page.
US07990889B2
Systems and methods for managing virtual collaboration systems are disclosed herein. A virtual collaboration system includes a distributor communicatively coupled to a first network and a second network having different network characteristics from the first network, the distributor configured to receive first media streams from at least one first network node, and to transmit the first media streams to at least one second network node; and a management subsystem adapted to dynamically configure a topology of a virtual collaborative event, wherein configuration of the topology includes a determination of media stream connections among the distributor and the at least one first network node based, at least in part, on at least one policy, and wherein the media stream connections establish and maintain virtual relationships among the at least one first network node and the at least one second network node.
US07990887B2
A method for testing a communication network includes transmitting a flow of test packets over a path through the network. The flow includes a series of bursts of the test packets separated by intervals having an interval duration, each burst comprising a sequence of the test packets and having a burst duration less than the interval duration. Arrival characteristics of the test packets in the flow are measured at a receiving end of the path. The arrival characteristics include at least one of a packet loss characteristic, a packet delay characteristic, and a packet jitter characteristic. A quality defect in the network is detected based on the measured arrival characteristics.
US07990886B2
A network device records a number of data packets transmitted between a partner network device and the network device in a detection cycle. According to the number of detection packets without corresponding response packets number at the end the detection cycle, and the number of unchanged of data packets when the number of the detection packets without corresponding response packets is not less than the preset value, the network device determines a connection status of the partner network device.
US07990878B2
A computer system (2) is provided which is arranged to receive network data (1) identifying nodes and links between nodes. The computer system (2) processes the input network data (1) to utilise the network topology to identify nodes and links having high importance for network integrity. A report (4) identify the critical components can then be output.
US07990877B2
A method and apparatus for performing a dynamically runtime adjustable constrained shortest path first (CSPF) computation of a label switched path (LSP) is described. In one embodiment of the invention, a network element acting as a source of the LSP receives a request to compute the LSP which includes one or more traffic engineering constraints. If the request includes at least one additive constraint, the network element performs a CSPF calculation. If the request does not include an additive constraint, the network element prunes each link that does not satisfy each of the constraints, and prunes those links whose paths converge at an intermediary network element according to cost, calculates a path to the destination according to cost. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.
US07990876B2
A method is described for identification in a communication network of a sequence of circuit movement steps therein to change with the movement of a single circuit at a time from an initial routing in which are satisfied a certain number of service demands to a feasible target routing that satisfies the same service demands with better utilization of the network resources and that is identified as the one which best approximates or identifies a new predetermined desired target routing. In accordance with the method the steps are made of calculating for each demand still to be processed a replacement circuit reducing the cost difference with the circuit that satisfies the same demand in the desired target routing, choosing from among all the calculated replacement circuits the one having less cost and replacing it, marking the corresponding demand as processed, and repeating the steps from the beginning until all the demands have been processed. Then the sequence with which the circuits were replaced is used as a sequence of steps in moving of circuits for re-routing the network.
US07990875B2
A telecommunications system provides mobile internet protocol related communications services to mobile nodes via a plurality of access networks that each include an access gateway, a mobility manager operable to receive link quality messages from the mobile nodes providing an indication of a currently available link quality from an access network with which the mobile node is currently affiliated. The mobility manager is also operable to receive application server messages from the application server for managing the communications service with respect to the communications session level. The mobility manager directs a change of affiliation of a first mobile node between one of a first of the access networks and a second of the access networks to the other of the first and second access networks, or a change of communications session level of the first mobile node.
US07990874B2
A method of receiving data packets asynchronously transmitted by a plurality of user terminals using a spread-spectrum medium access protocol, comprises a step of cancelling interferences between colliding packets according to an innovative “sliding window” processing algorithm. A gateway receiver is adapted for carrying out interference cancellation using this algorithm. Asynchronous packet transmission from a user terminal is controlled by estimating a parameter indicative of the quality of information transmission through a communication channel; and inhibiting or allowing data transmission depending on a comparison between said estimated parameter and an adaptively varying threshold. A user terminal comprises transmission control means adapted for carrying out such a method. A communication system comprises a plurality of mobile user terminal communicating with a gateway through a satellite channel using an asynchronous spread-spectrum medium access protocol without closed-loop power control, wherein the user terminals and said gateway are of the kind described above.
US07990873B2
A method for traffic shaping includes receiving traffic from one or more clients at one or more ingress ports of forwarding engine of a network node. The method also includes transmitting at least a portion of the traffic through the forwarding engine to one or more first egress ports of the forwarding engine and shaping the traffic transmitted to the egress ports. Furthermore, the method includes looping the shaped traffic internally within the network node back to one or more ingress ports of the forwarding engine. The method further includes transmitting the looped traffic through the forwarding engine to one or more second egress ports (the second egress ports different than the first egress ports) and outputting the shaped traffic from the network node.
US07990872B2
The present invention relates to a frame transmission scheduling method of a wireless communication considering frame transmission delay time information. The present invention provides a wireless communication system, which comprises a transmitting station for storing a transmission time in a transmission frame, calculating a delay time using the transmission time when retransmission of the transmission frame is requested, and scheduling the transmission of the transmission frame using the delay time; and a receiving station for transmitting a response frame (ACK frame) to the transmitting station when receiving the transmission frame. According to the present invention so configured, since transmission delay time information of a frame is considered when scheduling a sequence of frame transmission, there is an advantage in that waste of wireless resources due to retransmission delay of frames can be prevented.
US07990870B2
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network element including: receiving a first plurality of packets transmitted between a peer-to-peer (P2P) client and a P2P central entity; performing deep packet inspection (DPI) to extract a key from one or more of the first plurality of packets, the key identifying a P2P content item; receiving a second plurality of packets; performing DPI to extract location information of at least one P2P peer from one or more of the second plurality of packets; detecting at least one subsequent IP flow between the P2P client and the at least one P2P peer using the extracted location information, the at least one subsequent IP flow relating to a transfer of the P2P content item; and performing a traffic management action on the at least one subsequent IP flow.
US07990859B2
The present invention relates to a packet transmission control device which controls transmission of packets to a plurality of mobile stations. A scheduling unit of the packet transmission control device according to the present invention is configured to schedule the packets to each of the plurality of mobile stations, based on an average transmission rate, a minimum guaranteed transmission rate, a scheduling frequency and capability information.
US07990855B2
Method and system for joint reverse link access and traffic channel radio frequency overload control
A system for joint reverse link access and traffic channel overload control in a cellular network includes relieving the reverse link total loading to optimize resource utilization and distribution among different types of mobile device users. The cellular network includes a plurality of mobile stations that wirelessly communicate with a base station over a reverse link, using a CDMA or similar communications protocol. A joint access and traffic overload control module creates an access channel load relief plan, a traffic channel load relief plan and then relieves the total loading of the reverse link based upon both the access channel load relief plan and the traffic channel load relief plan.
US07990853B2
A system and method provides Link Aggregation that internalizes the link aggregation to improve internal traffic capacity, in addition to sharing traffic across external links to connecting packet systems. A system for handling data traffic comprises a plurality of network switches, each network switch having an interface to a packet network, the interface arranged so as to provide at least one link aggregation group, an interface to at least one other network switch, and an interface to each of a plurality of optical network service units, a plurality of optical network service units, each optical network service units having an interface to each of the plurality of network switches and an interface to at least one optical network, wherein each network switch is operable to receive data over a link aggregation group from the packet network and transmit the data to at least one optical network service unit either directly or via another network switch based on an optical network to which the data is destined (or other criteria) Also, each optical network service unit can send upstream data to any port of either network switch- via selected internal paths.
US07990851B2
Sets of communication modules each have a pair of ring-channel ports for a ring-configured channel in a network, a peripheral device port for peripheral device data, and dual-ring ports for an inter-ring channel for the pair of modules. First and second ones of a set of communication modules send duplicate data packets on their respective first and second rings. Responsive to duplicate data packets arriving via the rings at first and second modules in a next set within a predetermined time interval of one another, each of the next modules transmits its ring-channel received data packet out a downstream ring-channel port. Responsive to one of the duplicate packets arriving at the DRP of a module a predetermined time interval before arriving at a ring-channel port of the module, the module sends the corresponding packet received at the DRP out its other ring-channel port and its peripheral device port.
US07990845B2
A system and method for determining an FFT window location for reception of an OFDM signal received over a transmission channel. The OFDM signal includes a plurality of symbols each having a guard interval. The system includes a correlation module that determines a location of maximum correlation in a first symbol, an FFT module to perform an FFT on the OFDM signal based upon an initial FFT window location, and an adjustment module. The adjustment module determines a plurality of permissible echo location options based upon the initial FFT window location, selects a permissible echo location option that corresponds most closely to the location of maximum correlation, and adjusts the initial FFT window location based upon the selected permissible echo location option so that the adjusted FFT window location includes substantially all of a useful symbol length of the first symbol while a maximum number of echoes are included within the guard interval of the first symbol.
US07990844B2
A method for reducing the peak-to-average ratio in an OFDM communication signal is provided. The method includes defining a constellation having a plurality of symbols, defining a symbol duration for the OFDM communication signal, and defining a plurality of time instants in the symbol duration. A plurality of tones are allocated to a particular communication device, and a discrete signal is constructed in the time domain by mapping symbols from the constellation to the time instants. A continuous signal is generated by applying an interpolation function to the discrete signal such that the continuous signal only includes sinusoids having frequencies which are equal to the allocated tones.
US07990834B2
An optical pickup device has a semiconductor laser emitting light which is in turn branched via a diffraction grating into at least three beams of light including a main beam and two sub beams which are in turn condensed via an objective lens on an optical disk at a guide groove and reflected by the optical disk to provide three reflections of light which are in turn received by detectors, each divided into two regions, respectively, to generate a tracking error signal. The diffraction grating is divided into three regions including a first region, a second region and a third region located intermediate therebetween, each having a periodical structure out of phase, the periodical structure having grating grooves in a direction determined depending on the phase of the second region to incline relative to a direction perpendicular to the guide groove of the optical disk.
US07990826B2
According to the present invention, light is emitted by a light source at different emission intensities, and sensor output values are compared with threshold values at the individual emission intensities, so that the types of recording media having various reflection characteristics can be correctly determined.
US07990825B2
A drive apparatus of the present invention includes a recording/reproduction section and a drive control section. The drive control section at least performs a process including: receiving a reproduction instruction; determining whether or not the reproduction of a latest replacement management information list has failed in response to the reproduction instruction; controlling the recording/reproduction section to reproduce location information before replacement recorded in the spare area and the user data area when the reproduction of the latest replacement management information list is determined to have failed; generating the latest replacement management information list based on the reproduced location information before replacement; and controlling the recording/reproduction section to record the latest replacement management information list at a predetermined location.
US07990816B2
A conventional optical disk apparatus detects the amount of shift of an objective lens with a tracking error signal and an RF signal, and controls, when an optical pickup is moved, the shift amount for performing high-speed seek and high-speed access. The problem here is that this apparatus cannot be applied to an optical disk having an area where no RF signal is recorded, and requires higher costs. In view of this, an optical disk apparatus of the present invention has a shift signal detecting portion that detects a shift signal based on a push-pull signal generated during generation of a tracking error signal based on the reflected light resulting from a beam reflected from an optical disk, and a shift amount control portion that drives, when an optical pickup is moved, an objective lens actuator based on the shift signal detected by the shift signal detecting portion.
US07990811B2
A tray control method for a disk drive including a tray for carrying a disk, a detect switch movable to different inclined positions for detecting different positions of the tray during tray ejection operation, a firmware for receiving signals transmitted by the detect switch upon reaching the different inclined positions. The voltage applied to the DC motor for moving the tray is lowered after receiving the first signal for a specific time.
US07990796B2
A method for conserving power in a device. The method generally includes the steps of (A) generating a polarity signal by analyzing a current one of a plurality of data items having a plurality of data bits, the polarity signal having an inversion bit indicating that the current data item is to be stored in one of (i) an inverted condition and (ii) a non-inverted condition relative to a normal condition such that a majority of the data bits have a first logic state, wherein reading one of the data bits having the first logic state consumes less power than reading one of the data bits having a second logic state, (B) selectively either (i) inverting the current data item or (ii) not inverting current the data item based on the inversion bit and (C) storing the current data item in a plurality of single-ended bit cells in the device.
US07990789B2
A semiconductor memory device, in which a plurality of data output lines are commonly used by a plurality of banks, includes a plurality of gate circuits each of which are provided at each intermediate position of the plurality of the data output lines, and is controlled to be turned on during a normal operation mode and to be turned off at least when reading data during a parallel test mode, and a comparator circuit that inputs in parallel and compares a signal of each separated part of the each data output line separated by the plurality of the gate circuit being turned off.
US07990785B2
A semiconductor memory device includes a delay locked loop circuit that can control input/output timing of data according to a system clock of a high frequency. The semiconductor memory device includes a phase comparator configured to detect a phase difference between an internal clock and a reference clock to output a state signal having a pulse width corresponding to the detected phase difference, a phase adjuster configured to generate a digital code for determining a delay time corresponding to the state signal for locking a phase of the internal clock, a digital-to-analog converter configured to convert the digital code to an analog voltage, and a multiphase delay signal generator configured to delay the internal clock according to a bias voltage corresponding to the analog voltage to feed back the delayed internal clock as the internal clock and generate multiphase delay signals.
US07990779B2
A method of operating a semiconductor device including a memory cell of a 1-T DRAM is provided in which a gate voltage level in a hold mode is adjusted to adjust a data sensing margin of the semiconductor device.
US07990778B2
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a nonvolatile memory array, a voltage generator circuit that generates a drive voltage which changes depending on a supply voltage and a trimming code, a control circuit that applies the generated drive voltage to the nonvolatile memory array, and a trimming code output circuit that outputs any one of plural trimming codes to the voltage generator circuit. The plural trimming codes include a test trimming code in addition to an appropriate trimming code for generating a desired drive voltage. The test trimming code is different from the appropriate trimming code, and used only in the test state. In the test state, the trimming code output circuit outputs the test trimming code to the voltage generator circuit, and the voltage generator circuit generates the drive voltage according to the test trimming code. In states other than the test state, the trimming code output circuit outputs the appropriate trimming code to the voltage generator circuit, and the voltage generator circuit generates the drive voltage according to the appropriate trimming code.
US07990775B2
Methods of operating memory devices include storing data of a first type in a first set of logical erase blocks and storing data of a second type in a second set of logical erase blocks. The logical erase blocks of the first set of logical erase blocks each have a first size the logical erase blocks of the second set of logical erase blocks each have a second size different than the first size.
US07990774B2
A communication device and method for erasing data include setting erasing parameters and initializing the erasing parameters, erasing data in a target data block of the flash memory once, and calculate a current erasing count of the erased block, setting a first bit of the erased block as “0”. The communication device and method further determines whether other bits except the first bit of the erased block are all “1”, determines whether the current erasing count is less than the max erasing time if any bit except the first bit of the erased block is not “1”, and prompts an output if the current erasing count equals to the max erasing time.
US07990772B2
Some embodiments include methods and devices having a module and memory cells. The module is configured to reduce the amount of electrons in the sources and drains of the memory cells during a programming operation.
US07990766B2
To store a plurality of input bits, the bits are mapped to a corresponding programmed state of one or more memory cells and the cell(s) is/are programmed to that corresponding programmed state. The mapping may be many-to-one or may be an “into” generalized Gray mapping. The cell(s) is/are read to provide a read state value that is transformed into a plurality of output bits, for example by maximum likelihood decoding or by mapping the read state value into a plurality of soft bits and then decoding the soft bits.
US07990763B2
A memory device provides increased output data to help evaluate data errors arising from bit line coupling and floating gate coupling during a read operation. Multiple rows, or pages, of data are read to allow an internal or external decoder to evaluate memory cell data.
US07990762B2
Circuits to control access to memory; for example, third dimension memory are provided. An integrated circuit (IC) may be configured to control access to memory cells. For example, the IC may include a memory having memory cells that are vertically disposed in multiple layers of memory. The IC may include a memory access circuit configured to control access to a first subset of the memory cells in response to access control data in a second subset of the memory cells. Each memory cell may include a non-volatile two-terminal memory element that stores data as a plurality of conductivity profiles that can be non-destructively sensed by applying a read voltage across the two terminals of the memory element. New data can be written by applying a write voltage across the two terminals of the memory element. The two-terminal memory elements can be arranged in a two-terminal cross-point array configuration.
US07990760B2
A semiconductor memory device comprises a cell array having a plurality of SRAM cells arranged in a bit line direction and a word line direction orthogonal to said bit line direction in a matrix; and a peripheral circuit arranged adjacent to the cell array in the bit line direction. The cell array includes first P-well regions and first N-well regions shaped in stripes extending in the bit line direction and arranged alternately in the word line direction. The SRAM cell is formed point-symmetrically in the first P-well region and the first N-well regions located on both sides thereof. The peripheral circuit includes second P-well regions and second N-well regions extending in the bit line direction and arranged alternately in the word line direction.
US07990757B2
A memory cell includes double-gate first and second access devices configured to selectively interconnect cross-coupled inverters with true and complementary bit lines. Each access device has a first gate connected to a READ word line and a second gate connected to a WRITE word line. During a READ operation, the first and second access devices are configured to operate in a single-gate mode with the READ word line “ON” and the WRITE word line “OFF” while the double-gate pull-down devices are configured to operate in a double gate mode. During a WRITE operation, the first and second access devices are configured to operate in a double-gate mode with the READ word line “ON” and the WRITE word line also “ON.”
US07990756B2
Disclosed herein is a semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory cells including first and second inverters each having first and second driver transistors and first and second load transistors and including first and second memory node, and first and second transfer transistors. The of the first and second transfer transistors is connected to each of the first and memory nodes respectively. The memory cell is connected to a bit line and complementary bit line via the first and second transfer transistors respectively wherein a supply voltage applied to the bit line and the complementary bit line is lower than a supply voltage applied to the load transistors, and at least a memory-node-side end of a gate insulating film of the first driver transistor, second driver transistor, first load transistor, and the second load transistor have a thickness larger than a thickness of a gate insulating film of the other part.
US07990750B2
A ferroelectric memory of an embodiment of the present invention includes m platelines arranged in a first interconnect layer (m is a positive integer), n bitlines arranged in a second interconnect layer (n is a positive integer), and m×n memory cells arranged at m×n intersection points of the m platelines and the n bitlines, each of the m×n memory cells including a ferroelectric capacitor and a zener diode connected in series between any one of the m platelines and any one of the n bitlines.
US07990749B2
A memory cell comprising a ferroelectric capacitor, a variable impedance element and a conductive load is disclosed. The ferroelectric capacitor, characterized by first and second polarization states, is connected between a control terminal and a first switch terminal. The variable impedance element has an impedance between the first and second switch terminals that is determined by a signal on a control terminal. The conductive load is connected between a first power terminal and the first switch terminal. The second switch terminal is connected to a second power terminal. When a potential difference is applied between the first and second power terminals, a potential on the first switch terminal varies in a manner determined by the state of polarization of the ferroelectric capacitor.
US07990746B2
A memory device comprises a first and second integrated circuit dies. The first integrated circuit die comprises a memory core as well as a first interface circuit. The first interface circuit permits full access to the memory cells (e.g., reading, writing, activating, pre-charging and refreshing operations to the memory cells). The second integrated circuit die comprises a second interface that interfaces the memory core, via the first interface circuit, an external bus, such as a synchronous interface to an external bus. A technique combines memory core integrated circuit dies with interface integrated circuit dies to configure a memory device. A speed test on the memory core integrated circuit dies is conducted, and the interface integrated circuit die is electrically coupled to the memory core integrated circuit die based on the speed of the memory core integrated circuit die.
US07990737B2
In some embodiments, a system includes a memory controller chip, memory chips on a first substrate, and a module connector. A first group of conductors is included to provide read data signals from at least some of the memory chips to the memory controller chip, and a second group of conductors to provide read data signals from the connector to the memory controller chip. The module connector may receive a continuity card or memory module. Other embodiments are described.
US07990734B2
A semiconductor memory module having a reverse mounted chip resistor, and a method of fabricating the same are provided. By reverse mounting the chip resistor on the semiconductor memory module, the resistive material is protected, thereby preventing open circuits caused by damage to the resistive material. Also, a chip-resistor connection pad of a module substrate is formed to extend higher from the module substrate than other connection pads connected to other elements. Thus, the resistive material of the chip resistor does not contact the module substrate, thereby preventing poor alignment and defective connections.
US07990731B2
An electronic device includes a housing defining a through hole, a circuit board fixed in the housing, including a switch and a grounding portion connecting with the ground, a fastening member received in the through hole fixed on the housing and contacting the grounding portion, passing static electricity therethrough and defining a mounting hole, and an actuating member received in the mounting hole and contacting the fastening member, and pressing the switch when actuated; wherein the fastening member and the actuating member are conductive.
US07990729B2
A battery holder in an electronic device includes a battery receptacle, a locking member, and at least one resilient member. The battery is received in the battery receptacle. The locking member partially protrudes into the battery receptacle and locks the battery. The at least one resilient member and the electronic device are integrally formed. The battery includes a base wall, beyond which the at least one resilient member elastically extends into the battery receptacle.
US07990727B1
The invention discloses a device comprising a stack of at least two layers, which may comprise active or passive discrete components, TSOP and/or ball grid array packages, flip chip or wire bonded bare die or the like, which layers are stacked and interconnected to define an integral module. A first and second layer comprise an electrically conductive trace with one or more electronic components in electrical connection therewith. The electrically conductive traces terminate at a lateral surface of each of the layers to define an access lead. An interposer structure is disposed between the layers and provides an interposer lateral surface upon which a conductive layer interconnect trace is defined to create an electrical connection between predetermined access leads on each of the layers.
US07990722B2
A fastener comprises a fastener post, a clasping element and an elastic element. The fastener post comprises a head, a post body and a threaded portion. The post body has a first extension section connecting with the head, a second extension section connecting with the threaded portion and a recess section connected between the first and second extension sections. The clasping element comprises an annular clasping body, a first clasping portion axially extending from the clasping body and a second clasping portion extending outwardly and then downwardly from the clasping body. The clasping body encloses the post body, the first clasping portion engages with the recess section of the post body, and the second clasping portion engages with the heat sink. The elastic element is set around the post body and located between the head and the clasping body.
US07990717B2
An electronic device includes a shell, an electronic component received in the shell, and a heat sink arranged between the electronic component and the shell. The heat sink includes a first heat spreader attaching to the electronic component, a second heat spreader spaced from the first heat spreader, and a plurality of fins between the first and second heat spreaders. Each fin includes a pair of contacting portions, a pair of bending portions and a connecting portion each of which being flat. The contacting portions are respectively connected to the two heat spreaders. The bending portions respectively extend from the contacting portions towards each other. Each bending portion forms a rear end adjacent to the other bending portion. The connecting portion interconnects the rear ends of the bending portions at opposite ends thereof.
US07990714B2
A heat dissipation device includes a heat sink, a heat absorbing plate, a heat pipe thermally connecting the heat sink and the absorbing plate, a pressing plate secured to the heat absorbing plate and pressing an end of the heat pipe to the heat absorbing plate, and a plurality of fasteners extending through the pressing plate to secure the end of the heat pipe, the heat absorbing plate and the pressing plate to a printed circuit board. Each of the fasteners includes a connecting portion extending through the pressing plate, a first operating portion extending from the connecting portion, and a second operating portion formed at an end face of the first operating portion. The first and second operating portions are configured to be operated by different tools.
US07990712B2
A heat sink used in an interface card includes a supporting base, a first heat-dissipating body and a second heat-dissipating body. The supporting base has a side. The first heat-dissipating body is mounted on the supporting base. The first heat-dissipating body is constituted of a plurality of overlapping heat-dissipating pieces. The heat-dissipating pieces are arranged obliquely with respect to the side. The second heat-dissipating body overlaps on the first heat-dissipating body. The second heat-dissipating body comprises a plurality of heat-dissipating pieces. Via the above arrangement, the heat-dissipating efficiency of the interface card can be increased and the lifetime thereof can be extended.
US07990711B1
A plurality of heat-dissipating electronic chips are arranged in a vertical chip stack. The electronic chips have electronic components thereon. A cold plate is secured to a back side of the chip stack. A silicon carrier sandwich, defining a fluid cavity, is secured to a front side of the chip stack. An inlet manifold is configured to supply cooling fluid to the cold plate and the fluid cavity of the silicon carrier sandwich. An outlet manifold is configured to receive the cooling fluid from the cold plate and the fluid cavity of the silicon carrier sandwich. The cold plate, the silicon carrier sandwich, the inlet manifold, and the outlet manifold are configured and dimensioned to electrically isolate the cooling fluid from the electronic components. A method of operating an electronic apparatus and a method of manufacturing an electronic apparatus are also disclosed. Single-sided heat removal with double-sided electrical input-output and double-sided heat removal with double-sided electrical input-output are also disclosed.
US07990708B2
A blower for an electronic device includes a fan frame having an opening through which air passes for cooling the electronic device; a blade arranged in the opening of the fan frame; a motor configured to rotationally drive the blade; an attachment portion provided outside the opening of the fan frame, the attachment portion causing the fan frame to be attached to the electronic device; and a holder fixed to the electronic device and holding the attachment portion in a direction perpendicular to a rotational axis of the blade.
US07990707B2
An electronic device includes a fan including a frame, and an enclosure. The frame includes a plurality of mounting holes respectively positioned in a plurality of diagonal corners of the frame. The enclosure includes a plurality of sidewalls and a plurality of fixing members to fix the fan in the enclosure. Each of the plurality of fixing members projects from an inner surface of one of the plurality of sidewalls and is integrally formed with the sidewall. Each of the plurality of fixing members includes a clasping portion, and a cushioning portion between the clasping portion and the sidewall and having an angled shape. The plurality of cushioning portions are corresponding to the plurality of mounting holes and positioned between the fan and the sidewall.
US07990700B2
An apparatus includes a side plate and a rear plate perpendicular to the side plate. A motherboard is mounted on the side plate. The motherboard has a heat source attached thereon. The rear plate defines a ventilation area. The ventilation and the heat source are located at different heights. A fan is mounted on the ventilation area. The fan inclines towards the plurality of expansion cards.
US07990695B2
A key assembly for an electronic device includes a key and a housing, the key being elastic and including a contact body and an assembly wall integrally formed with the contact body, the contact body has a protrusion formed thereon; and the housing has a shortened wall defining an aperture therein and a bottom wall protruding a column adjacent to the shortened wall. The key is mounted into the housing, the assembly wall is clipped to the column and the shortened wall, and the contact body abuts the shortened wall and the protrusion protrudes out of the aperture.
US07990693B2
According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus is provided with a housing including a top wall and a side portion extending from an edge of the top wall, a keyboard, and a keyboard placing portion on which the keyboard is placed, the keyboard placing portion including a bottom surface provided in the top wall. At least part of the bottom surface extends to the side portion of the housing.
US07990689B2
Described herein are various embodiments of a power distribution unit having modular components. For example, according to one embodiment, a power distribution unit can include a component portion that comprises at least two modules including outlet modules, circuit protection modules, power input modules, communications I/O modules, and display modules. Each of the at least two modules of the component portion can comprise at least one connection element and can be removably secured to one or more other of the at least two modules via the connection elements. The power distribution unit can also include a housing that defines an interior cavity. The component portion can be removably secured to the housing at least partially within the interior cavity.
US07990681B2
An aluminum electrolytic capacitor having an excellent short-circuit resistance, high capacitance, long life, and low equivalent series resistance (ESR) is provided. For this purpose, the aluminum electrolytic capacitor includes a capacitor element having a positive electrode foil, a first separator, a negative electrode foil, and a second separator, which are sequentially laminated one on another and wound together. After the capacitor element is impregnated with a driving electrolyte solution and housed in a metallic case, an open end of the metallic case is sealed with a sealing material. A ratio of B/A, i.e. a ratio of total thickness B of the first and second separators after winding with respect to total thickness A of the first and second separators before winding, is set in the range from 0.5 to 0.8.
US07990675B2
Methods and apparatus for utilizing a solid state relay arrangement as a part of a protection scheme for a telecom wireline card suitable are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a line card that is suitable for use in an optical network device includes an electrical port, a plurality of input lines, an output line, and protection circuitry. The protection circuitry switches or multiplexes the plurality of input lines into the output line, and includes a solid state relay arrangement and power isolation circuitry. The power isolation circuitry provides a high impedance to power rails associated with the solid state relay arrangement, and the solid state relay arrangement includes at least one N-channel field effect transistor (FET), at least one protection diode, and at least one charge pump.
US07990666B2
An electrostatic discharge protection circuit comprises a comparator coupled between a power supply terminal and ground. The comparator responds to an electrostatic discharge event producing a trigger signal at a comparator output. The comparator comprises a first and second current mirror. The first and second current mirrors each comprise a sense device and a mirror device. The mirror devices are coupled in series between the power supply terminal and ground. The first mirror device produces an incident current and the second mirror device receives an absorption current. With a supply voltage on the power supply terminal equal to or greater than a trigger supply voltage, the absorption current exceeds the incident current and produces a trigger signal at the comparator output. The trigger signal activates a shunt device that shunts current from the power supply terminal to ground.
US07990656B2
A magnetic head device includes a slider with a facing side and a magnetic function part. The facing side of the slider includes a front positive pressure surface located close to a leading end of the slider, a rear positive pressure surface located close to a trailing end of the slider, and a pair of side positive pressure surfaces located closer to the trailing end than the front positive pressure surface and disposed at both sides of a longitudinally extending centerline. Air inlet grooves for introducing air into the side positive pressure surfaces are each disposed in front of each side positive pressure surface. Each air inlet groove extends between the front positive pressure surface and a corresponding side face of the slider and opens toward a leading end face of the slider.
US07990645B2
Provided is a magnetic recording apparatus including a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic recording position patterned of a magnetic substance and a read head reading information from the magnetic recording medium, wherein the magnetic recording medium includes: a data area having the magnetic recording position patterned including a plurality of data tracks; and a servo area including a servo burst for tracking the data tracks, wherein the servo burst includes a plurality of bursts deviating from one another in a downtrack direction, and a width of each of the bursts is equal to or greater than a width of the read head and narrower than twice the width of the read head. According to this structure, although data is reproduced using a read head having a greater width than a width of each of data tracks, a linear section in which an output voltage is reduced depending on a size of an off-track is formed. As a result, a dead zone can be removed.
US07990644B2
A method to decode linear position (“LPOS”) information encoded in a sequential information storage medium, by detecting each of one or a plurality of sequential first LPOS servo patterns encoded in a first servo band using a first servo sensor in communication with a first servo channel. While detecting that one or a plurality of first LPOS servo patterns, the method fails to detect (n) second LPOS servo patterns encoded in a second servo band. The method determines a value for (n), and then syncs the first servo channel with the second servo channel using that value of (n).
US07990643B1
Systems and techniques to configure a read channel include, in at least one implementation, an apparatus including: detection circuitry configured to process an input signal from a machine-readable medium to calculate metrics; monitoring circuitry configured to determine a polarity of the input signal based on the metrics and at least one of multiple framings of signal samples of the input signal; and selection circuitry to configure a read channel for the machine-readable medium based on the determined polarity.
US07990633B2
In the lens driving apparatus having a sleeve, a support body (such as a yoke) that supports the sleeve via a spring member), coils attached to the sleeve, and magnets attached to the support body, the support body is provided with a yoke and a cover portion, the yoke being formed with a light-entrance window for collecting light reflected from a subject and the cover portion being attached to the inside of the light-entrance window; the cover portion, the spring member, and the magnets are arranged so that they are layered in this order from the light-entrance window, and the cover portion is formed of a non-magnetic material.
US07990624B2
A zoom lens includes a first, third and fourth lens group of positive refracting power, a second lens group of negative refracting power, wherein, during zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end, at least the first lens group moves, wherein the third lens group includes, a first lens sub-group of positive refracting power and a second lens sub-group of negative refracting power, wherein the second lens sub-group includes a single negative lens, wherein the first lens sub-group of the third lens group is moved to keep a perpendicular component relative to an optical axis to correct image blur to be produced when the zoom lens vibrates, and wherein, when a focal length of the first lens group is denoted by f1 and the focal length of the whole system at the wide-angle end is denoted by fw, a conditional expression 10.0
US07990619B2
The present disclosure relates to a method for making a lens. In step 1, a first light pervious substrate and a second light pervious substrate are provided. The first light pervious substrate includes a first surface and an opposite second surface, and the second light pervious substrate includes a third surface and a fourth surface. In step 2, a first optically active part is formed on the first surface of the first light pervious substrate. In step 3, a second optically active part is formed on the third surface of the second light pervious substrate. In step 4, the fourth surface of the second light pervious substrate is attached to the second surface of the first light pervious substrate in such a manner that the first and the second optically active parts have a common optical axis.
US07990617B2
The present invention discloses an optical laminate comprising a light-transparent base material and a low-refractive index layer provided on the light-transparent base material, the low-refractive index layer simultaneously having both contamination preventive properties and slipperiness. The optical laminate comprises a light-transparent base material, and a hard coat layer and a low-refractive index layer provided in that order on the light-transparent base material, wherein the low-refractive index layer contains a contamination preventive agent and/or a slipperiness imparting agent, and contamination preventive agent and/or slipperiness imparting agent are added so that the concentrations of the contamination preventive agent and/or slipperiness imparting agent have a concentration gradient from the surface of the hard coat layer toward the surface of the low-refractive index layer.
US07990611B2
A microscope includes a source of electromagnetic radiation, having a wavelength, λ1 and dividing optical elements configured for dividing the radiation from the source into multiple excitation beams. The microscope also includes a detector and directing optical elements, which are configured for directing each excitation beam in unique directions, such that the beams intersect in an excitation region within a sample to create a two-dimensional or three-dimensional interference pattern of multiple excitation maxima within the sample. The detector has individual detector elements, where the detector elements are configured for detecting light resulting from an interaction of an individual excitation maximum and the sample.
US07990610B2
An illumination optical system projects an illumination light onto an observation object via an objective lens. A first observation optical system guides the illumination light reflected by the observation object to a first ocular lens. A second observation optical system includes a second ocular lens for observing the reflected light of the illumination light. An optical system drive mechanism rotates the second observation optical system and arranges the second observation optical system between a first position and second position facing each other. A reflecting member is disposed at a position retracted from the illumination light path and the reflected light path and reflects the reflected light in a direction different from the optical axis. A drive mechanism rotates the reflecting member around a rotation axis orthogonal to the optical axis and guides the reflected light to the second observation optical system arranged at the first or second position.
US07990604B2
Methods and devices for calibrating and controlling the actuation of an analog interferometric modulator configured to have a plurality of actuation states. Devices and methods for calibrating an analog interferometric modulator to respond in linear relation to an applied voltage.
US07990603B2
An electrical control system is disclosed for controlling a plurality of variable transmittance windows. The electrical control system comprises a master control circuit and user input circuits for supplying control signals representing transmittance levels for the variable transmission windows, and a plurality of slave window control circuits coupled to the master control circuit, user input circuits and the variable transmittance windows. Each slave window control circuit controls the transmittance of at least one of the variable transmission windows in response to control signals received from the master control circuit and/or user input circuits. Also disclosed are novel methods for the manufacture of an electrochromic device used in variable transmittance windows. Novel structural features for improving heat transfer away from the windows, shielding the window from external loads, and improving the electrical performance of the windows are also disclosed.
US07990600B2
An optically addressed, photoconductive spatial light modulator (SLM) operates in a transmissive mode and is capable of modulating a wide spectrum of visible light. There is no pixel structure or native pixel resolution in the SLM. The SLM has no photodiodes and does not rectify. A light projection system (100) in which one or more SLMs (128, 130, 132) are placed includes a write (image definition) UV light path (102) and a read (illumination) visible light path (104) to form a color image projection display. The write UV light propagates from an image display pattern source (120) and either sequentially or continuously writes image patterns on the photoconductive SLMs. The read visible light propagates through the SLM and is modulated by an electro-optical material, the optical properties of which change in response to the image structure carried by the write light. The result is a high efficiency display system that delivers high resolution color images through a projection lens (190) onto a display screen.
US07990590B2
A technique that can perform appropriate image quality control processing corresponding to fluctuation in a printing environment is provided. An image forming apparatus that forms, on a sheet, a test pattern formed by a color obtained by mixing toners of plural colors, scans a test pattern image formed on the sheet with a color sensor, and performs predetermined image quality control processing on the basis of information scanned, the image forming apparatus including a media sensor that acquires information for discriminating a type of a sheet to be an object of image formation processing, a control-information acquiring unit that acquires, on the basis of the information acquired by the media sensor, information for control used in the image quality control processing, and a color sensor that is arranged further on a downstream side than a fixing device in a sheet conveying direction and scans the test pattern formed on the sheet.
US07990589B2
When color materials of more than four colors are used, a signal for the amount of toner used within a range appropriate for the apparatus and toner characteristic is generated using a color separation table. However, a printer receives print data of various formats, such as image data separated into signal values of more than four colors, or image data of a special format to which a six-color separation table cannot be applied. Hence, an image signal representing a combination of colors is input. The sum of the signal values of colors in each pixel of the image signal is calculated and compared with a limit value. When the sum exceeds the limit value, the signal values of base colors are replaced with that of a spot color based on a replacement table for replacing the signal values of the base colors with that of the spot color.
US07990587B2
An electronic endoscope has a video-scope with an image sensor, a light source, a signal reading processor, a shading member, a driver, and a driving controller. The signal reading processor alternately reads odd-line image-pixel signals and even-line image-pixel signals over one-frame reading interval, when forming a still image on the basis of one frame worth of image-pixel signals generated by a one-time exposure. The shading member blocks the illuminating light. The driver selectively arranges the shading member at a non-shading position that enable the illuminating light to pass and at a shading position that blocks the light. The driving controller controls the driver by a sequence of pulse signals so as to position the shading member at the shading position for a shading-interval in the one-frame reading interval, and so as to position the shading member at the non-shading position for a remaining reading-interval.
US07990583B2
An image reading apparatus that detects failure in the white LEDs constituting a white LED array. Failure in the white LEDs is detected by comparison between a prescribed current threshold and the current running in the LED array detected by an image reading apparatus controller when the white LED array composed of plural LED blocks connected in parallel, each LED block being composed of plural LEDs connected in series, is powered for failure detection. This failure check is conducted by checking LEDs for failure in each of the LED blocks constituting the LED array. Image reading is not permitted when faulty LEDs are detected in two neighboring LED blocks.
US07990573B2
The present invention is a method for taking a named, two-color definition and converting that two-color definition from the form used in highlight-color page composition and print systems into a full-color representation in order to enable the use of the two-color definitions on full-color printers. The method further contemplates the use of an extensible markup language schema to represent and store the equivalent, converted color definitions.
US07990571B2
An apparatus for reading data encoded as an array of dots printed on a substrate together with an image. The dots of the array are substantially invisible to an average unaided human eye. The apparatus includes a light source for illuminating the substrate; a detector for receiving the illumination from the light source reflected off the substrate, the detector outputting a first signal representative of the array of dots, the detector extending a distance that is less than a width of the substrate; a decoder interconnected to said detector for receiving and decoding said first signal to obtain the data encoded by the array of dots; and a top substrate covering the detector and the light source. The top substrate has an emission portion and a reception portion. The emission portion is shaped with a semicircular cross section adapted to focus illumination from the light source onto the substrate. The reception portion is shaped to define a series of microlenses adapted to focus illumination reflected off the substrate into the detector.
US07990559B2
A method of analyzing the quality of a communication network for facsimile devices, wherein the communication network comprises at least a first facsimile device communicating through a digital network and a second facsimile device communicating through an analog network. The method comprises establishing a connection between the facsimile devices using the communication network, assessing a configuration of the connection between the facsimile devices, identifying at least one problem in the connection between the facsimile devices, and generating a network diagnostic report of the at least one identified problem. A network diagnostic report may be delivered to a user interface. Bits of the facsimile information fields (FIF) of the digital identification signal (DIS) and non-standard facilities (NSF) signal of the second facsimile device are compared to analyze problems with the communication network.
US07990556B2
A device identifier is scanned with a portable scanner and communicated to a service provider. The service provider associates the device with the portable scanner. Information is scanned from a printed source and communicated to the service provider and subsequent information is received in response at a device identified by the device identifier. In some embodiments, a communication session identifier is scanned with a portable scanner and communicated to the service provider rather than (or in cooperation with) the device identifier.
US07990554B2
In an image reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, image printing apparatuses capable of performing radio communication are sought, and service information relating to contents of image printing services provided by image printing apparatuses so detected is received from the plurality of image printing apparatuses. Information relating to the contents of the image printing services of the detected plurality of image printing apparatuses is displayed based on the received service information. An arbitrary one of the displayed plurality of image printing apparatuses is selected by the user, and the image data reproduced from a recording medium is transmitted to the selected image printing apparatus.
US07990553B2
The present invention realizes a network printing system capable of accumulating and chasing printed data. Further, by providing a job chasing function on the printer driver side, detailed setting can be done to extract history information of the job chasing function. The detailed setting to extract history information to chase a job can be done only by a specific administrator or user so that the job can be reliably chased, whereas the administrator or user can obtain desired history information. Accordingly, a precise jog chasing system can be established.
US07990548B2
An apparatus for determining surface topology of a portion of a three-dimensional structure is provided, that includes a probing member, an illumination unit, a light focusing optics, a translation mechanism, a detector and a processor.
US07990547B2
An apparatus for measuring erosion of an edge of an aerofoil portion of a fan blade includes a laser source to direct light at a position on the edge of the fan blade. A detector detects light reflected from the position on the edge of the fan blade. A computer measures the distance from the laser source to points on the edge of the fan blade to produce a profile of the edge in terms of x and z coordinates. The computer calculates the distances of points on the edge of the fan blade from a centroid of the profile. The computer detects peaks in the distance of points from the centroid of the profile. The computer selects two peaks with the greatest distance therebetween. The computer determines the distance between the two peaks and compares the determined distance and a predetermined distance to determine if there is unacceptable erosion.
US07990544B2
Described herein is a an optical sensing unit, the optical sensing unit including a one-dimensional array of sensor locations, each sensor location being responsive to an incident optical signal to generate a local analog intensity value representative of the intensity of the optical signal at the sensor location, the sensing unit including a digital interface to deliver a local digital intensity value corresponding to the local analog intensity value, a first microcontroller function in communication with the digital interface for sequentially collecting local digital intensity values to form a group of digital intensity values corresponding to an intensity variation across the array over a predetermined sensing period, a second microcontroller function cooperating with the first microcontroller function to receive the group of digital intensity values for transfer to an output device.
US07990540B2
According to the invention, a highly optically dispersive medium is one in which the absolute value of the group index of refraction of the medium is equal to or greater than four. An optical spectroscopic parameter detection and/or measurement apparatus may be in the form of an interferometer, a spectral interferometer, a spectrometer, a wavemeter, a tunable narrowband filter The embodied devices include a highly dispersive medium that appropriately can facilitate either a slow-light effect or a fast-light effect, which is disposed in a propagation path of an electro-magnetic (EM) input field and, a detector disposed in a manner to detect an output field resulting from the input filed interaction with the highly dispersive medium. Methods involve measuring a spectroscopic parameter using an optical spectroscopic parameter detection and/or measurement apparatus that incorporates a highly dispersive medium.
US07990539B2
Disclosed is a low-cost high-resolution compact accelerometer which utilizes multiple self-mixing optical interferometers. The device is also a micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) sensor. The interferometers are used to detect acceleration as well as monitor the wavelength, temperature, and refractive index and perform differential measurements. In addition, photodetectors are employed to monitor the input optical power.
US07990538B2
The present subject matter relates to methods of high-speed analysis of product samples during production of the product. Light is directed to a portion of a product under analysis and reflected from or transmitted through the product toward optical detectors. Signals from the optical detectors are compared to determine characteristics of the product under analysis. Temperature within the monitoring system may be monitored in order to provide compensation for the signals produced by the optical detectors. The products under analysis may be stationary, moved by an inspection point by conveyor or other means, or may be contained within a container, the container including a window portion through which the product illuminating light may pass.
US07990532B2
System and method for assessing the occurrence of an unknown substance in a sample that comprises multiple entities. A reference library is provided comprising a plurality of reference data sets representative of at least one known substance. A first feature of the entities is assessed wherein the first feature is characteristic of the unknown substance. A region of interest is selected wherein the region of interest comprises at least one entity exhibiting the first feature. A spatially accurate wavelength resolved Raman image is obtained wherein each pixel in the image is the Raman spectrum of the sample at the corresponding location. The spatially accurate wavelength resolved image is assessed to thereby identify the unknown substance.
US07990531B2
A method for inspecting lenses, especially wet contact lenses provided in a volume of liquid inside a container is described. A first image of the lens at a first position in the container is obtained, the lens then being moved to a second position within the container where a second image is obtained. A computer algorithm processes the first and second images to compare features that have moved with the lens to those features that have not moved with the lens whereby lenses are rejected if a feature has moved with the lens but is not a normal feature of the lens.
US07990526B2
A method of producing an image of an object residing inside a transparent container of a first color includes: illuminating the container and the object with light of a second color, the second color being substantially the inverse of the first color; and producing an image of the object through the container. An image produced by this method can exhibit substantially the same color as the object itself, even when the image is taken through a colored transparent wall.
US07990524B2
A rapid-sampling stochastic scanning multiphoton multifocal microscopy (SS-MMM) fluorescence imaging technique enables multiparticle tracking at rates upwards of 1,000 times greater than conventional single point raster scanning. Stochastic scanning of a diffractive optical element may generate a 10×10 hexagonal array of foci with a white noise driven galvanometer to yield a scan pattern that is random yet space-filling. SS-MMM may create a more uniformly sampled image with fewer spatio-temporal artifacts than obtained by conventional or multibeam raster scanning.
US07990514B2
A laminated spacer portion formed by laminating various thin films that constitute thin-film transistors is disposed in peripheral driver circuits. As a result, even in a structure in which part of a sealing member is disposed above the peripheral driver circuits, pressure exerted from spacers in the sealing member is concentrated on the laminated spacer portion, whereby destruction of a thin-film transistor of the peripheral driver circuits can be prevented caused by the pressure from the sealing portion.
US07990513B2
A flexible display including a first flexible substrate and a second flexible substrate, a plurality of electrodes and control microcircuits disposed on inner surfaces of both substrates, first channels disposed on the inner surface of the first flexible substrate and extending in a first direction, second channels disposed on the inner surface of the second flexible substrate and extending in a second direction, and a plurality of spacers disposed between the substrates. The inner surfaces of the substrates are substantially parallel and facing each other. The first direction and the second direction of the channels are inclined relative to each other. The spacers are disposed between the substrates in cross-points of the first channels and the second channels.
US07990510B2
A liquid crystal display device having a simplified manufacturing process is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device includes a gate line and a common line having a first conductive layer group having at least double conductive layers. A common electrode is formed by an extension of at least one transparent conductive layer of a common line. A portion of the common electrode is formed of one conductive layer of the first conductive layer group, while a remaining portion of the common electrode is formed of the first conductive layer group. The gate line, a source electrode and a drain electrode have a second conductive layer group having at least double conductive layers, and the pixel electrode is formed by an extension of at least one transparent conductive layer of the drain electrode.
US07990502B2
A liquid-crystal display device comprising a liquid-crystal cell, a first polarizing element and a second polarizing element disposed on either side of the liquid-crystal cell respectively, a first retardation layer between the first polarizing element and the liquid-crystal cell, and a second retardation layer between the second polarizing element and the liquid-crystal cell, wherein a transmission axis of the first polarizing element is perpendicular to the slow axis of the first retardation layer; and a transmission axis of the second polarizing element is parallel to the slow axis of the second retardation layer; and the first retardation layer and the second retardation layer satisfy the formula (1) 0 nm<ΔRe1(548)−ΔRe2(548)≦50 nm.
US07990500B2
A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal display panel that has a first substrate (SUB1), a second substrate (SUB2) disposed so as to oppose the first substrate (SUB1), and a liquid crystal layer (LC) sandwiched between the first substrate (SUB1) and the second substrate (SUB2); wherein the first substrate (SUB1) has a reflective electrode (RAL) having a surface formed in an irregular shape; an organic insulation film (18) formed in a layer above the reflective electrode (RAL); a transparent electrode (19) formed in a layer above the organic insulation film (18); an inorganic insulation film (20) formed in a layer above the transparent electrode (19); and a pixel electrode (PIX) formed in a layer above the inorganic insulation film (20).
US07990493B2
A laminated optical film including a first optical anisotropic layer, and a second optical anisotropic layer, wherein Relationship (1) is satisfied when a slow phase axis of the first optical anisotropic layer is substantially perpendicular to a slow phase axis of the second optical anisotropic layer, −10 nm≦ΔRe1−ΔRe2≦10 nm Relationship (1) wherein Relationship (2) is satisfied when the slow phase axis of the first optical anisotropic layer is substantially parallel to the slow phase axis of the second optical anisotropic layer, and −10 nm≦ΔRe1+ΔRe2≦10 nm Relationship (2) wherein an in-plane retardation value Re of the film as a whole satisfies 30 nm≦Re≦500 nm, where ΔRe1 denotes a value calculated from “Re1 (at an RH of 80%)—Re1 (at an RH of 50%)” concerning the first optical anisotropic layer, and ΔRe2 denotes a value calculated from “Re2 (at an RH of 80%)—Re2 (at an RH of 50%)” concerning the second optical anisotropic layer.
US07990485B2
A pixel structure electrically connected to a scan line and a data line is provided. The pixel structure includes an active device, a first pixel electrode, a mean potential equilibrium circuit, and a second pixel electrode. The active device is electrically connected to the scan line and the data line. The first pixel electrode is electrically connected to the active device. The mean potential equilibrium circuit is electrically connected to the scan line and the data line. The second pixel electrode is electrically connected to the mean potential equilibrium circuit.
US07990484B2
In a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display, an insulating layer for storage capacitors is reduced in thickness to increase the storage capacity while maintaining the aperture ratio in a stable manner. A thin film transistor array panel for the liquid crystal display includes an insulating substrate, and a gate line assembly and a storage capacitor line assembly formed on the insulating substrate. The gate line assembly has gate lines and gate electrodes. A gate insulating layer covers the gate line assembly and the storage capacitor line assembly. A semiconductor pattern is formed on the gate insulating layer. A data line assembly and storage capacitor conductive patterns are formed on the gate insulating layer overlaid with the semiconductor pattern. The data line assembly has data lines, source electrodes and drain electrodes. The storage capacitor conductive patterns are partially overlapped with the storage capacitor line assembly to thereby form first storage capacitors. A passivation layer covers the data line assembly, the storage capacitor conductive patterns and the semiconductor pattern. First and second contact holes are formed at the passivation layer while exposing the drain electrodes and the storage capacitor conductive patterns. Pixel electrodes are formed on the passivation layer while being connected to the drain electrodes and the storage capacitor conductive patterns through the first and the second contact holes. The pixel electrodes form second storage capacitors in association with parts of the storage capacitor line assembly.
US07990483B2
A stereoscopic image display apparatus employing a front type parallax barrier is provided which can reduce a visible distance. The stereoscopic image display apparatus includes: a 2D image LCD panel having a first substrate in which a rear polarizing film is stacked on the rear surface thereof and a first switching element layer is stacked on the front surface thereof, a second substrate on which a color filter layer is stacked, and a first liquid crystal layer interposed between the first switching element layer and the color filter layer; a parallax barrier having a third substrate in which a front polarizing film is stacked on the front surface thereof and a transparent electrode layer is stacked on the rear surface thereof, a protective film, and a second liquid crystal layer interposed between the transparent electrode layer and the protective film; and an intermediate polarizing film interposed between the protective film of the parallax barrier and the second substrate of the 2D image LCD panel.
US07990482B2
An electro-optical device that displays a multiple viewing point image includes an electro-optical panel that has a plurality of pixels and includes at least a first substrate having transparency, a touch panel that detects contact in accordance with a change in electrostatic capacitance and includes a second substrate having transparency, a barrier layer that is formed on a face of the second substrate which is located on the first substrate side, has an opening part disposed in correspondence with an area between the adjacent pixels, and has a light shielding property, and a detection electrode that is formed on a face of the second substrate which is located on a side apart from the first substrate, has transparency, is used for detecting contact depending on a change in electrostatic capacitance. The second substrate and the first substrate are fixed with the barrier layer interposed therebetween.
US07990481B2
The present invention relates to a display device. A display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a sensing electrode disposed on the first substrate or the second substrate, and at least one touch sensor protrusion facing the sensing electrode. The touch sensor protrusion includes an organic material and carbon nanotubes.
US07990469B2
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, an appliance having a camera and camera window may include a shutter puck slidably disposed in a slot in which the camera window may be disposed. The puck may have a wiper pad that is capable of cleaning the camera window as the puck is slid within the slot from a camera on to a camera off or privacy position. The puck may comprise an at least partially deformable material so that the puck may be inserted into and/or removed from the slot by at least partially deforming the puck to allow the puck to be installed in or extracted from the slot. The puck may further include a grip rib structure or the like to allow a user to grasp the puck and slide the puck within the slot.
US07990468B2
The monitor camera (9) comprises a pedestal (1) to be attached to a mounting surface, an imaging device (7) rotatably attached so as to be rotatable around the central axis L of the pedestal (1), and a dome-type cover (3) having a window (30) and being rotatably attached to the pedestal (1) so as to cover the imaging device (7). The dome-type cover (3) includes an inner cover (5) having an open window (50) in the position corresponding to the window (30) and an outer cover (4) placed over the inner cover (5). The outer cover (4) and the inner cover (5) have an engagement part (6) at which both the covers (4) and (5) are engaged by a specific manual operation of the outer cover (4).
US07990463B2
A multi-stage lens driving device for driving an optical lens so as to perform the functions of zooming and/or focusing comprises: a front cover, a rear cover, a plurality of yokes, a plurality of driving coils, a lens seat, and a plurality of permanent magnets. The front cover is a hollow annular cover having a plurality of recesses formed on an inner periphery thereof and a plurality of holders on an outer periphery thereof. The rear cover can be combined with the front cover, thereby forming a receiving space therebetween. The lens seat is a hollow housing disposed in the receiving space. The yokes are provided in the recesses formed on the inner periphery of the front cover. The permanent magnets are surrounding and embedded in an outer periphery of the lens seat, disposed in correspondence to the yokes and spaced therefrom by a predetermined distance. The driving coils are provided respectively on the holders of the front cover, and correspond respectively to the yokes received in the recesses. When predetermined impulse currents of different directions are applied to the driving coils respectively, polarities of corresponding yokes are reversed, respectively. By virtue of magnetic attraction between the permanent magnets and the yokes, rotation of the lens seat in the receiving space is converted to linear axial translation.
US07990458B2
A digital camera has an image-capturing device, an image processor, and a display. The image-capturing device creates a cleaning image which is used for pinpointing dust particles attached to an image sensor. The image processor creates an inverted cleaning image so that the top and bottom of a subject image provided on the image sensor match the top and bottom of a subject image included in the cleaning image. The display displays the inverted cleaning image.
US07990456B2
Selection candidates for number of imaging pixels and for an image compression rate are displayed in a two-dimensional arrangement on a setting screen for setting an image quality, and combinations of selectable number of image pixels and a compression rate can be presented to a user. An instruction for moving a cursor which displays a selected position on the screen is received, and a setting can be changed to a number of pixels and a compression rate which are pointed by the cursor after a position of the cursor is designated. More specifically, numbers of pixels to be selected are 2400×1800, 1280×960, and 640×480, and compression rates to be selected are Fine, Normal, and Basic. When the user selects the number of pixels, candidates of the selectable compression rate for the number of pixels are displayed. A number of photographable images and remaining time for recording a moving image which are calculated from a capacity of a storage medium are preferably displayed in combination in accordance with combinations of the number of pixels and the compression rate.
US07990438B2
The invention relates to an imaging apparatus that makes effective use of an image restoration processing method, thereby working favorably for size reductions while making sure zoom ratios and brightness, and ensuring good images. The imaging apparatus includes a zoom lens 1 comprising a plurality of lens groups G1 to G4 and adapted to implement zooming from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end with a change in a space between the plurality of lens groups, an imaging device 2 adapted to take an image formed through the zoom lens 1, and an image restoration processor 11 adapted to implement signal processing by which image restoration is implemented on the basis of a signal for the image taken by the imaging device 2 to generate an image signal for a restored image. The signal processing for implementing image restoration at the image restoration processor 15 involves processing for electrically implementing image restoration using a restoration filter on the basis of a point spread function regarding the imaging capability of the zoom lens 1. The zoom lens and the imaging device have a relation that satisfies condition (1) for balancing the power of restoration at the image restoration processor 11 against the total length of the zoom lens 1.
US07990435B2
A digital imaging device such as a digital camera or a video camera may include the capability to store audio files. These audio files may be generated under user control when the user wishes to take a picture or capture video. The audio files may be played back as attention grabbers to attract the attention of the imaging subjects. After attracting the attention of the subjects by playing back a recorded audio sound, an image may be automatically captured.
US07990433B2
An apparatus and method that determines an appropriate light exposure condition to generate an appropriate synthesized image signal for an imaging scene for which an appropriate light exposure condition cannot be obtained by conventional techniques. The apparatus includes a determining unit for determining a plurality of light exposure conditions based on a histogram of the luminance distribution of an imaging scene, an imaging unit for imaging, plural times, the scene under the plurality of determined light exposure conditions, and generating first and second raw image signals, and an image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the first and second raw image signals using, as a boundary, a reference value in the first raw image signal to generate a synthesized image signal. The determining unit determines at least one light exposure condition of the light exposure conditions so that the reference value in the first raw image signal corresponds to the luminance value at the bottom of a ravine of the histogram of the luminance distribution of the scene.
US07990432B2
A photographing apparatus comprises an imaging sensor, a controller, and an exposure-mode-selecting device. The controller performs a photometric operation on a photographing subject and obtains a luminance value of the photographing subject based on the photometric operation. The exposure-mode-selecting device is used for selecting an exposure mode of the photographing apparatus that has a shutter speed and aperture priority AE mode. The photographing operation is performed with a shutter speed and an aperture value that are set by a user and a sensitivity of the imaging sensor that is calculated based on the luminance value and the shutter speed and the aperture value, while the photographing apparatus is in the shutter speed and aperture priority AE mode.
US07990431B2
A calculation method for calculating a white balance correction value is disclosed. When an image capture device utilizes an auxiliary light to capture an image, the weightings of the image color impacted by the color temperature of each light source are obtained by the brightness-rate which is provided by the environment light and the flash, and then the weightings of the color temperatures of the two light sources are balanced to obtain a white balance correction value. At last, the white balance correction value is applied to correct the white balance of the image.
US07990420B2
A method of auto-photographing for an image capturing device is disclosed. A predetermined time for auto-photographing is counted down. Consecutive preview images of a scene to be photographed are acquired after the predetermined time begins to be counted. Whether a moving object bursts into the scene to be photographed is detected by comparing the consecutive preview images. If the moving object bursts into the scene to be photographed, the predetermined time for auto-photographing is recounted down again.
US07990408B2
An exposing device includes a light-emitting element array including plural light-emitting elements disposed in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to or substantially orthogonal to the first direction, a lens array including plural lenses that focus lights from the light-emitting elements, a supporting member that supports the light-emitting element array and the lens array, and an exposure-position adjusting mechanism including a rotation adjusting unit that rotates the supporting member around or substantially around an axis in the first direction.
US07990407B2
A drive circuit is provided for supplying a drive current to drive a plurality of driven elements each having two main electrodes. The drive circuit includes a switch circuit for receiving a drive signal; and a constant voltage circuit connected to the switch circuit for adjusting the drive current at a constant level.
US07990403B2
A color Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) device for displaying a color image using at least four different primary colors, the device including an array of Liquid Crystal (LC) elements, driving circuitry adapted to receive an input corresponding to the color image and to selectively activate the LC elements of the LC array to produce an attenuation pattern corresponding to a gray-level representation of the color image, and an array of color sub-pixel filter elements juxtaposed and in registry with the array of LC elements such that each color sub-pixel filter element is in registry with one of the LC elements, wherein the array of color sub-pixel filter elements comprises at least four types of color sub-pixel filter elements, which transmit light of the at least four primary colors, respectively.
US07990402B2
An image display control device calculates a lighting luminance after reduction in luminance and an image correction coefficient by real-time calculations of a common calculator. The common calculator is controlled by microcodes stored in a code table. When correcting an image, chroma correction is enhanced to suppress a decrease in chroma due reduction in luminance, and a flicker is prevented by series infinite impulse response (IIR) filtering processes. When the image has a low average luminance but has a high chroma, a decrease in chroma is suppressed by limiting a reduction in lighting luminance.
US07990393B2
Techniques for low cost gamma mapping convert three-primary input image data, such as RGB data, into a four primary color display color space, such as an RGBW color space, for rendering on the display by calculating a value for W image data based upon the RGB image input data; deriving an allowable value for W based upon a chromaticity specification of the display, and calculating output values for R, G and B image data based upon the allowable W value. A display system receiving input image data specified in three input primary colors includes modules for converting the input image data into image data specifying color values in four display primary colors. A first module determines a value of a first display primary color, and a second module determines the value of second, third and fourth display primary colors by computing a solution set to simultaneous equations based upon the value of the first display primary color.
US07990382B2
Display objects are defined that are capable of visually indicating physiological measurements and physiological monitor status. A virtual display utilizing these display objects is characterized by selecting those display objects corresponding to one or more particular physiological parameters, organizing the selected display objects within a virtual display area corresponding to at least a portion of a physical display, and associating data objects corresponding to the one or more physiological parameters with the selected display objects.
US07990380B2
A given computer graphics scene may be rendered as a set of triangles. A set of photons may be distributed over the scene, and a number of steps may be performed for each triangle. For each triangle, a list of photons may be constructed. For that triangle, a set of control points may be identified for purposes of determining global illumination. For each control point, a specific illumination estimate may be computed. A kd-tree of the control points of the triangle may be built. An illumination estimate may then be drive for the triangle.
US07990376B2
An editing process including generation, modification, and deletion of pass points through which a linear structure such as a wire harness or the like should pass in a virtual space is performed in accordance with an operation of an input device by a user, a position of a pass point generated in the editing process is managed by using a plurality of position references to identify the position, and priority of the plurality of position references for each pass point are managed and a position of a pass point whose position has to be changed by an editing process is managed in accordance with the priority when the editing process is performed in accordance with an operation of the input device by a user.
US07990369B2
An image display apparatus configured by a display panel having an image memory element in a pixel, which achieves low power consumption. A nonvolatile image memory element 1, which can change the resistance value by phase change, is connected to a pixel electrode 25 of a liquid crystal element 5. The output of a thin-film transistor 17 driven by scanning and signal electrode lines 7, 9 is connected to the pixel electrode 25. When the scanning electrode line 7 is selected to have a high level voltage, the thin-film transistor 17 is turned on and a current signal flowing through the signal electrode 9 is sent through the image memory element 1 to a reference electrode line 15. Depending on the current value or pulse width passing through the image memory element 1, the resistance of the image memory element 1 is changed and is stored as a resistance value. A liquid crystal drive voltage to be applied to the liquid crystal element 5 is varied depending on the resistance of the image memory element 1 and an image is displayed on the liquid crystal element 5.
US07990367B2
An on-vehicle manipulating system includes a manipulating device having a housing, a first side pushbutton switch disposed at one side of the housing, a second side pushbutton switch disposed at the other side of the housing and an additional switch disposed at a prescribed portion of the housing and a control unit for setting a first function to one of the first and second pushbutton switches and a second function to the other pushbutton switch. In this manipulating system, the control unit changes the function of the first or second side pushbutton switch from the first function such as an ENTER key to the second function, such as a RETURN key, and the function of the other pushbutton switch, such as a MENU key, from the second function to the first function when one of the pushbutton switches being set to change the function is operated subsequent to the other pushbutton switch that has been set the second function is operated in a prescribed period after the additional switch is operated.
US07990360B2
A backlight assembly a plurality of first light-emitting chips for emitting light and a thermistor for indicating the temperature of the first light-emitting chips. The first light-emitting chips emit first color light and are connected in series to each other. The thermistor may be connected in series to the first light-emitting chips and has an electrical resistance that decreases with an increase of its temperature. The light amount emitted by the first light-emitting chips is controlled by pulse width modulating the current driving the first light-emitting chips based on the temperature (resistance) of the thermistor and based on received image data. Thus, a decrease in brightness due to temperature variation may be compensated for while performing color dimming.
US07990353B2
A method is provided for compensating for output nonuniformity on a display. The method comprises characterizing the display. The method further includes creating a set of data tables wherein one table provides data for compensation along vertical axes of the display and a second table provided data for compensation along horizontal axes of the display, and wherein components of the tables include a linear offset factor to correct data for nonuniformity and a slope factor which permits gray scale information to be recovered at points near the limits of the gray scale range. The characterizing step may include using a optical detector to obtain optical output information from the display. The slope factor may be calculated to preserve top end gray scale range of the display by adjusting luminous output so that input data level maps to separate output grey levels between a truncated and an untruncated level.
US07990349B2
Various embodiments of methods and systems for constructing and utilizing displays constructed from superimposed display subunits are disclosed.
US07990347B2
In one embodiment, a display device of the present invention includes capacitors provided between a gate and a source of a driver TFT. During a select period, a voltage is fed to the gate terminal of the driver TFT, and a voltage is fed to the source terminal of the driver TFT. Thereafter, during a threshold correction period, the gate voltage of the driver TFT is retained to make the source voltage of the driver TFT equal to Vda−Vth (
US07990344B2
A plasma display panel driving method and a plasma display device estimate the highest temperature and the lowest temperature the panel can have, according to the temperature detected by the thermal sensor, and appropriately drives the panel, to improve the image display quality. Provided are at least three driving modes having different sub-field structures: a low-temperature driving mode, an ordinary-temperature driving mode, and a high-temperature driving mode. To drive the panel, estimates of the highest temperature and the lowest temperature the panel can have are made from the temperature detected by the thermal sensor, the temperature condition of the panel is determined from the estimated highest temperature or lowest temperature, and the driving mode is switched appropriately for the panel temperature condition.
US07990343B2
A false contour reduction device reduces the occurrence of false contours on a display screen. The false contour reduction device includes a false contour occurrence pixel detection circuit, a specific color pixel detection circuit, and a false contour reduction processing circuit. The false contour occurrence pixel detection circuit detect at which pixels false contours will occur among the pixels in an image based on the input image signal. The detected pixels are false-contour-occurring pixels. The specific color pixel detection circuit detects pixels which have a specific color within a specific color range, among the false-contour-occurring pixels. The detected pixels are specific color false-contour-occurring pixels. The false contour reduction processing circuit performs a false contour reducing process on the specific color false-contour-occurring pixels.
US07990341B2
A technique which enables improvement of luminance and reduction of consumption power in a sustain discharge driving of a four-electrode structure PDP, particularly, by devising driving method to Z electrodes. In this plasma display device, a sustain discharge by a method to apply a narrow pulse to the Z electrode and a method to apply a fixed potential to the Z electrode are switched according to a judgment of range of display load ratio in driving sustain discharge from a controller and driver to the PDP and used.
US07990337B2
A radio frequency IC device includes a radio frequency IC chip, a feeder circuit substrate, and a radiating plate. The feeder circuit substrate includes a feeder circuit that electrically connects to the radio IC chip and that includes a resonance circuit and/or a matching circuit including inductance elements. The feeder circuit substrate is bonded to the radiating plate, which radiates a transmission signal supplied from the feeder circuit and supplies a received signal to the feeder circuit. The inductance elements are arranged in spiral patterns wound in opposite directions and couple to each other in opposite phases. The radio frequency IC device is able to obtain a radio frequency IC device that is not susceptible to being affected by a usage environment, minimizes variations in radiation characteristics, and can be used in a wide frequency band.
US07990327B2
A method of manufacturing a cellular reflectarray antenna arranged in an m by n matrix of radiating elements for communication with a satellite includes steps of determining a delay φm,n for each of said m by n matrix of elements of said cellular reflectarray antenna using sub-steps of: determining the longitude and latitude of operation, determining elevation and azimuth angles of the reflectarray with respect to the satellite and converting theta0 (θ0) and phi0 (φ0), determining Δβm,n, the pointing vector correction, for a given inter-element spacing and wavelength, determining Δφm,n, the spherical wave front correction factor, for a given radius from the central element and/or from measured data from the feed horn; and, determining a delay φm,n for each of said m by n matrix of elements as a function of Δβm,n and Δφm,n.
US07990326B2
An antenna apparatus includes a base member that has an antenna unit and a loop pattern. The loop pattern is wound in such a manner that a magnetic field of the loop pattern is generated along the same direction as that of the antenna unit. Additionally, the loop pattern is formed by a plurality of loops connected parallel to each other.
US07990312B2
The present invention relates to antenna calibration for active phased array antennas. Specifically, the present invention relates to a built in apparatus for autonomous antenna calibrationAccordingly, the present invention provides a method of self-calibration of a plurality of calibration antennas comprising the steps of: (i) selecting two calibration antennas to be calibrated that have a common area in range of both calibration antennas; (ii) selecting at least one radiating element within range of the two calibration antennas; (iii) transmitted a known test signal from the one or more selected radiating elements; (iv) measuring a received signal at each of the two calibration antennas; (v) comparing the received signals at each of the two calibration antennas; and (vi) determining a correction coefficient for each calibration antenna based on the received signals at the said calibration antennas.
US07990306B2
A radio control transmitter for a model is disclosed wherein a control range is limited to not to exceed a maximum control range without using a mechanical means. In accordance with the transmitter, an added control range being a sum of two or more of the control ranges is calculated, whether the added control range exceeds a maximum control range set to correspond to the operating section of the object to be controlled is determined, and the control range is corrected when the added control range exceeds the maximum control range.
US07990304B2
In a double data rate (DDR) counter and counting method used in, for example, an analog-to-digital conversion in, for example, a CMOS image sensor and method, a first stage of the counter generates a least significant bit (LSB) of the value in the counter. The first stage includes a first clock input and is edge-triggered on one of the rising and falling edges of a signal applied at the first clock input. The counter includes at least one second stage for generating another bit of the value in the counter. The second stage includes a second clock input and is edge-triggered on the other of the rising and falling edges of a signal applied at the second clock input.
US07990303B2
An analog-to-digital conversion unit (ADC unit) and an analog-to-digital converting method (ADC method) are provided. The ADC unit has a plurality of sub analog-to-digital converters and an encoding unit. Each of the employed sub analog-to-digital converters is coupled to two threshold voltages non-successive in terms of levels arrangement, compares the input voltage with the two threshold voltages and outputs two bits according to the comparison results. In this way, the difference between the two threshold voltages coupled by each of the sub analog-to-digital converters can be larger, which is advantageous in advancing the analog-to-digital converting accuracy.
US07990302B2
An amplifier for amplifying a pulse-like signal output from a secondary side of an isolating transformer, a capacitor connected to a negative feedback loop across the input and output of the amplifier, and a timing control circuit for controlling an FET into a closed state, then controlling a switch into a closed state, and after that controlling the switch into an open state at timing simultaneously with the FET or earlier than the FET are provided, and when the switch is controlled into the open state, an AD converter converts the output signal of the amplifier to a digital signal.
US07990297B1
A method for encoding an input sequence of symbols to produce a bitstream and a method of decoding the bitstream to generate a reconstructed binary sequence. Encoding employs an encoding tree having primary codewords associated with leaf nodes and secondary codewords associated with internal nodes. A flush event may cause output of secondary codewords. A context model is used to select an encoding tree corresponding to an estimated probability at the encoder. The same context model is used by the decoder to select a decoding tree. The decoder interleaves bits from decoded bit sequences associated with different estimated probabilities based on the context model.
US07990296B1
Techniques are provided to serialize and delay parallel input data signals and are particularly useful for low power applications. In one example, a device includes a plurality of data input ports adapted to receive N parallel single-ended input data signals, and a clock input port adapted to receive a clock signal substantially synchronized with the parallel single-ended input data signals. The device also includes a cell adapted to serialize the parallel single-ended input data signals to provide N/2 first serial differential output data signals in response to the clock signal, delay the parallel single-ended input data signals, and serialize the delayed parallel single-ended input data signals to provide N/2 delayed second serial differential output data signals in response to the clock signal. The delayed second serial differential output data signals are delayed relative to the first serial differential output data signals. The device also includes a plurality of output ports.
US07990287B2
Drag experienced by a vehicle travelling through an environmental media, such as air, is actively modulated by an energy beam which may either increase or decrease the drag. The energy beam may provide either a chemical, acoustic, or electromagnetic energy at a transition region between turbulent and laminar flow or at the leading edge of a laminar flow, or in the direction of a crosswind, in order to facilitate the respective increase or decrease in drag. An energy beam may be directed in a rearwards direction, relative to a direction of travel.
US07990279B2
A system to monitor the entry and exit of individuals from a facility and to identify individuals who safely evacuated the facility and those who have entered, but apparently have not safely evacuated it and indicated safe evacuation by use of a card reader or similar device at an emergency reporting area. The system also indicates the most likely area of a facility in which an individual may be found. Such census information is made available to emergency workers and is of significant value in rescue efforts following facility evacuations. A modification of the systems allows an attendant to monitor the entry, exit, and re-entry of individuals traveling in two or more vehicles following stops. Finally, the system includes a head count census of individuals entering large facilities in which individual identity is effectively impossible to follow and a head count census of individuals evacuating the facility identified by specific parts of the facility.
US07990278B2
An electronic device powered by a primary power source includes a switch, a first detection unit, a second detection unit, a warning unit and a secondary power source. The switch is configured for connecting and disconnecting the primary power source and the electronic device. The first detection unit is configured for detecting whether the switch is activated. The second detection unit is configured for detecting whether the primary power source is available if the switch is activated. The warning unit is configured for activating an alarm if the primary power source is unavailable. The secondary power source is configured for supplying electrical power to the first detection unit, the second detection unit and the warning unit.
US07990263B2
A method of optimizing the scheduling of ships entering and leaving a harbor, the method comprising the steps of: a. Combining information from an automated identification system about each ship with scheduling information about each ship from a dispatching system to produce a combined ship ID/schedule for each ship; b. Tracking the latitude and longitude of each ship using GPS to produce tracked latitude and longitude of each ship; c. Comparing the tracked latitude and longitude of each ship to existing maps of the harbor; and d. Continually comparing the ID/schedule for each ship with the tracked latitude and longitude of each ship. The alerts are sent whenever the tracked latitude and longitude of each ship does not match the expected latitude and longitude of each ship at a given time. The method tracks and records whenever a pilot embarks or disembarks from a ship.
US07990256B2
An automatic warning and breaking system for a vehicle, includes a plurality of cameras, a motion sensor, a data process unit, an alarm unit, a control unit and an adjustor unit. The cameras are for capturing images of objects inside and outside of the vehicle. The motion sensor unit includes at least an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, configured for sensing motion of the vehicle. The data process unit is electrically connected to the cameras and the motion sensor unit, configured for processing data from the respective cameras and the motion sensor unit. The alarm unit is connected to the data process unit, configured for giving a warning signal if a data processing result is unsafe. The control unit is configured for generating a control signal based on the warning signal. The adjustor unit is configured for adjusting a break unit of the vehicle based on the control signal.
US07990254B2
Methods and systems for controlling an operational state of a vehicle having a keyless rotary ignition switch and a locking mechanism coupled to the keyless rotary ignition switch are provided. The locking mechanism is disengaged to allow the keyless rotary ignition switch to be rotated from a first position to a second position by a user when an electronic authorization is detected. The locking mechanism is engaged to prevent the keyless rotary ignition switch from being rotated from the first position to the second position by the user when no electronic authorization is detected.
US07990253B2
Vehicular theft preventing device includes: an operation switch for switching between different displays on a display section, the operation switch being constructed to function also as a setting switch operable to set the preventing device in an alert mode; a main switch for turning on/off a power supply; and a control section for controlling the display section and an alarm unit, the controlling section setting the preventing device in the alert mode upon fulfillment of a condition that the operation switch has been operated while the main switch is in an OFF state.
US07990251B1
A system to electronically assist health care professionals quickly and efficiently calculate dosages and infusion rates for emergency drugs. The system comprises a portable hand-held calculator incorporating user input keys dedicated to commonly prescribed drugs, quick entry of default drug values, and toggles between at least two operational modes, specifically between adult and pediatric modes. In addition, the system alarms on the entry of “out-of-range” drug values, titrates, immediately ascertains compatibilities between drugs, and allows the updating of stored drug parameters by means of physical or wireless data ports.
US07990244B2
An electrically insulating bobbin surrounds the magnetic core of an inductor. The bobbin includes a number of channels to receive wire for making an inductor. When wire is positioned in the channels, the wire is wound around the inductor core, but insulated from the inductor core and the other turns of wire. Because the bobbin insulates the turns of wire from each other and from the inductor core, bare rope wire can be used to wrap the inductor, resulting in reduced size and weight and improved ease of manufacture.
US07990233B2
A MEMS resonator includes a main movable beam, at least one sub movable beam, and at least one exciting electrode. The main movable beam is electrically insulated from a substrate and fixed to at least one fixed end, the sub movable beam is formed to extend from the main movable beam, and the exciting electrode is provided to be close to the sub movable beam. The sub movable beam is excited by an electrostatic force to oscillate by exciting the exciting electrode using an alternating-current signal, such that the MEMS resonator resonates with at least one of a fundamental resonant frequency and harmonic frequencies thereof. The resonant frequency is changed by changing at least one of number of the at least one exciting electrode and a position of the exciting electrode relative to the sub movable beam.
US07990231B2
In a band-pass filter of a delay line, an input terminal and a first resonator adjacent to the input terminal are coupled through a capacitor. The first resonator and a second resonator adjacent to the first resonator are coupled through a capacitor. The second resonator and a third resonator adjacent to the second resonator are coupled through an inductance. The third resonator and a fourth resonator adjacent to the third resonator are coupled through a capacitor. The fourth resonator and an output terminal adjacent to the fourth resonator are coupled through a capacitor.
US07990227B2
An apparatus for providing Phased-Locked Loop (PLL) synthesis comprises a phase detector, at least one switchable filter, an oscillator controlled by a control voltage (uPLL) and a divider. The controlled oscillator has two inputs, wherein the control voltage (uPLL) is coupled to a first input, and a selection voltage (uSET) for rough frequency adjustment is coupled to a second input. Both voltages establish the frequency of the oscillator.
US07990226B1
A load circuit for a crystal oscillator includes a plurality of capacitors and a load control circuit configured to selectively add the capacitors to a load at a terminal of the crystal oscillator responsive to a command signal to provide a non-linear capacitive load at the terminal of the crystal oscillator that compensates for a non-linearity of a frequency versus load capacitance characteristic of the crystal oscillator. The load circuit may include a plurality of switches, respective ones of which are configured to load a terminal of the crystal oscillator with respective ones of the capacitors, and control circuit configured to control the plurality of switches to load the terminal of the crystal oscillator responsive to a binary command signal such that respective single ones of the switches operates in response to respective quantum changes a binary command signal over an operating range of the binary command signal.
US07990217B2
A variable gain amplifier includes an attenuator having a plurality of pairs of tap points, and a plurality of pairs of gm cells, wherein each pair of gm cells is coupled to a corresponding pair of the tap points, and each pair of gm cells is constructed and arranged to operate as a multi-tanh cell.
US07990199B1
A clock gater includes a first circuit configured to receive a clock signal. The first circuit includes a first subcircuit and a second subcircuit. A latch is configured to receive the clock signal. The latch is connected to the first circuit at each of a first node and a second node. The latch includes a third subcircuit and a fourth subcircuit. The first subcircuit and the third subcircuit are configured to pull the first node and the second node, respectively, to a common precharge voltage in response to a first state of the clock signal in order to pass the clock signal. The second subcircuit and the fourth subcircuit are configured to pull the first node and the second node, respectively, to complementary voltages in response to a second state of the clock signal in order to pass the clock signal, the second state of the clock signal being different from the first state of the clock signal.
US07990192B2
A phase locked loop (PLL) and a method for charging the PLL are disclosed. The charge circuit includes: a threshold judging module, adapted to output a signal to a receiving module, and when the voltage of a filter reaches a preset threshold, output a valid signal to the receiving module; the receiving module, adapted to receive a trigger signal and output a first control signal to a charging module, and when the signal from the threshold judging module is a valid signal, adapted to output a second control signal to the charging module; the charging module, adapted to charge the filter when receiving the first control signal and stop charging the filter when receiving the second control signal. So that a better voltage may be provided to the PLL to shorten the locking time of the PLL.
US07990186B2
A circuit for signal conditioning including a first stage with a digital/analog converter, a second stage with an I/Q-modulator, and at least one third stage with a mixer. Instead of a multiplicity of independent oscillators, a shared oscillator is provided for the first, second, and third stages, from an output signal of which a respective oscillator signal and clock-pulse signal for each stage of the first, second, and third stages is derived. The oscillator signal and respective clock-pulse signal of the oscillator are supplied via a frequency divider to at least one stage of the first, second, and third stages, or the oscillator signal of the oscillator is supplied via a frequency multiplier to at least one stage. Also, the oscillator signal of the oscillator is supplied as a reference signal to a frequency synthesizer of at least one stage of the first, second, and third stages.
US07990185B2
According to one embodiment of the invention, a programmable finite impulse response (FIR) filter is implemented with differential isolation circuits to isolate parasitic capacitance from attenuating an output signal at both first and second differential output terminals of the FIR filter. The FIR includes a track and hold circuit and a summing circuit that provides operational advantages to the FIR filter.
US07990184B2
Embodiments include a comparing device having hysteresis characteristics and a voltage regulator using the same. The voltage regulator includes a comparator which compares a comparison voltage with a reference voltage and outputs a result of the comparison, a switching controller which generates a plurality of switching signals in response to the comparison result, resistors connected in the form of a string to divide the comparison voltage into a plurality of voltages, and a switching box which selects one of the plural voltages as the comparison voltage in response to the switching signals.
US07990180B2
A fast dynamic register circuit including first and second precharge circuits, a keeper circuit and an output circuit. The first and second precharge circuits each precharge a corresponding one of a pair of precharge nodes and cooperate to minimize setup and hold times. If an input data node is low when the clock goes high, the first precharge node remains high causing the second precharge node to be discharged. Otherwise if the input node is high, the first precharge node is discharged and the second remains charged. Once either precharge node is discharged, the output state of the register remains fixed until the next rising clock edge independent of changes of the input data node. The fast dynamic register may be implemented with multiple inputs to perform common logic operations, such as OR, NOR, AND and NAND logic operations.
US07990170B2
In one embodiment of the present invention, an electrostatic discharge withstand voltage evaluating device includes: an application device, including a first connecting section and a second connecting section, for supplying pulse electric charge, the first connecting section being connectable to one or whole terminal (s) of one of input terminals and output terminals of a source driver, and supplying electric charge to the source driver, the second connecting section being connectable to one or whole terminal(s) of the other one of the input terminals and the output terminals, and enabling said one or whole terminal(s) of the other one of the input terminals and the output terminals to be grounded; and a common connecting section being connectable to the plurality of output terminals of the source driver, and causing the plurality of output terminals to be electrically connected to each other, wherein the output terminals of the source driver are connected, via the common connecting section, to one of the first connecting section and the second connecting section. Therefore, the electrostatic discharge withstand voltage evaluating device can more successfully recreate how a failure occurs in a semiconductor device and can evaluate an electrostatic discharge breakdown withstand of the semiconductor device.
US07990163B2
Apparatus and methods provide built-in testing enhancements in integrated circuits. These testing enhancements permit, for example, continuity testing to pads and/or leakage current testing for more than one pad. The disclosed techniques may permit more thorough testing of integrated circuits at the die level, thereby reducing the number of defective devices that are further processed, saving both time and money. In one embodiment, a test signal is routed in real time through a built-in path that includes an input buffer for a pad under test. This permits testing of continuity between the pad and the input buffer. An output buffer can also be tested as applicable. In another embodiment, two or more pads of a die are electronically coupled together such that leakage current testing applied by a probe connected to one pad can be used to test another pad.
US07990159B2
A potential measurement apparatus for measuring a surface potential of an object of measurement detects a change in electric charge induced at a detection electrode due to electrostatic induction by changing a distance between the detection electrode and the object of measurement in accordance with a predetermined period, using a neutral distance as reference, as a signal representing a change in electric current. The potential measurement apparatus includes a first detection unit for detecting a signal representing a fundamental period of the change in electric current and a signal representing a second harmonic period, a second detection unit for detecting information representing a capacitance between the detection electrode at the neutral distance and the object of measurement and an arithmetic unit for computationally obtaining information on the surface potential of the object of measurement, with eliminating an influence of the neutral distance and the capacitance, according to an outcome of detection of the first detection unit and an outcome of detection of the second detection unit.
US07990156B1
A method for measuring degradation of electrical power system device insulation utilizes a conductive composite sensor. A selected polymeric matrix of the conductive composite provides a sensor resistance response that correlates to degradation of the insulation. The sensor may be embedded in the windings, core or stator of the electrical power system device and wired to a connector on the electrical power system device for interrogation by an ohmmeter.
US07990155B2
A systematic method and system for testing the charging and starting systems of a vehicle, which requires each individual test to pass before proceeding is provided. In addition, the invention incorporates an improved alternator test that determines whether the alternator belt is slipping using data read using a vehicle data port. Further, the invention provides a battery bank test that correlates the voltage before and after a load is applied to the battery bank to the batteries' conditions. When testing the starter, the oil temperature is read via the vehicle data port, allowing for a determination of whether the current draw is abnormally high.
US07990150B2
In a system in which a transmitter is moved through the ground in a region, the system including a locating arrangement for tracking the position of and/or guiding the transmitter as the transmitter moves through the ground, a locating arrangement includes a configuration, forming part of the transmitter, for transmitting a locating signal at a current one of at least two locating frequencies and for transmitting a frequency designation identifying one of the frequencies of the locating signal. A locator receives the frequency designation and the locating signal for use in tracking the transmitter and a frequency tracking arrangement switches the locator between different ones of the locating frequencies, as the current locating frequency, based on said frequency designation. In one feature, the locating arrangement is configured for automatically switching between the frequencies based on the frequency designation.
US07990145B2
A digital receiver circuit includes an encoder (104) for encoding a digitized magnetic resonance signal is disclosed herein. The digitized magnetic resonance signal includes one or more data packets. Each data packet is representative of a portion of a magnetic resonance signal. The encoder (104) is configured to dynamically allocate a number of bits for each data packet based on a characteristic of at least the portion of the magnetic resonance signal represented by the particular data packet.
US07990144B2
A birdcage multi-channel body coil has a number of coil units that form a cylindrical shape, and they are connected in succession in the circumferential direction along the side face of the cylinder. The coil units are provided with capacitors with selected capacitance values that eliminate coupling between the coil units. This multi-channel body coil simply and conveniently eliminates the coupling between the coil units.
US07990136B2
A variable reluctance analog position device designed to determine the position variation of a target made from a ferromagnetic material. The device includes at least one magnet, the target and the magnet defining a gap therebetween. A magnetosensitive element detects induction variation produced in the gap by relative movement of the target relative to the magnet. The magnet is magnetized in a direction essentially perpendicular to the front surface of the magnet, which defines one edge of the gap. The magnet includes a cavity open at the front surface thereof and the magnetosensitive element is housed in the cavity. Moreover, the target is provided with a specific geometric configuration determined such that the induction variation according to the position of the target corresponds to a pre-defined function.
US07990134B2
A correcting circuit includes a correction current synthesizer synthesizing a correction current based on an output signal of a sensor, a current adjuster adjusting a determining current which corresponds to a correction amount based on the correction current, and a correction voltage generator generating a correction voltage for correcting a voltage signal based on the determining current, so as to correct an output characteristic of a voltage signal output in correspondence to the output signal of the sensor.
US07990132B2
A current sensor includes a coils located within the integrated circuit die and inductively coupled to a conductor located in the integrated circuit package holding the die. The inductors sense the current in the conductor and supply the sensed signal to an integrator that supplies a voltage indicative of the current in the conductor.
US07990131B2
The invention relates to a method and a device for measuring a first voltage and a second voltage by means of a differential voltmeter. The differential voltmeter comprises a first inlet and a second inlet and a known voltage potential is applied to the second inlet. The voltage measurement comprises the following; a first voltage is applied to a first inlet of the differential voltmeter, a first differential voltage is measured, the first voltage from the measured first differential voltmeter and the known voltage potential is determined, the second voltage is applied to the second inlet of the differential voltmeter, a second differential voltage is measured, and the second voltage from the measured second differential voltage and the previously determined first voltage is determined.
US07990128B2
Embodiments of the invention concern a circuit for pulling a potential at a node towards a feed potential which is present at a potential feed. The circuit has a first transistor with a controllable conductive path and in addition a resistive element. The controllable conductive path of the first transistor and the resistive element are coupled in series between the potential feed and the node. Furthermore, the circuit has a control element configured to control the first transistor so that a resistance of the controllable conductive path of the first transistor can be changed depending on a voltage drop at the resistive element. Furthermore, a method for pulling a potential at a node towards a feed potential and an integrated circuit with a pad which is pulled to the feed potential in the absence of an information carrying signal which is received or send by a functional circuitry of the integrated circuit.
US07990127B2
A method and apparatus are disclosed for controlling a buck converter. In one aspect, an integrator is coupled to receive a current sense signal representative of a current in a switch of the buck converter and to integrate the current sense signal to produce a first input signal. A ramp generator is coupled to receive an oscillating signal having a same switching period as the switch, and to generate a piecewise linear ramp signal in response to the oscillating signal. The piecewise linear ramp signal has a delay segment of substantially zero slope followed by a plurality of segments having finite linear slopes within the switching period of the switch. A multiplier multiplies the piecewise linear ramp signal to produce a second input signal and a drive signal generator is coupled to receive a third input signal generated in response to the first and the second input signals to produce a drive signal to be coupled to control the switch to substantially regulate an output voltage of the buck converter.
US07990118B2
An exemplary switching regulator, is provided. The switching regulator includes an oscillator, a PWM logic controller, an inductor, a capacitor, a switch, a driver, a current sense amplifier, and a minimum power pulse width generator. The current sense amplifier and the minimum power pulse width generator compose a first feedback loop for generating a first feedback signal to the PWM logic controller.
US07990111B2
In a proposed apparatus and method, constant-voltage charge is performed with an in-vehicle secondary battery immediately after start of a vehicle or during running of the vehicle. A quantity relevant to polarization caused in the battery immediately after start of the constant-voltage charge is calculated using data of the charge current. It is determined whether or not a change rate of the calculated polarization-relevant quantity is less than a given threshold. When the change rate is less than the given threshold, a plurality of data of the charge current sampled and held during a predetermined period of time are acquired. A value of the charge current to be accumulated until the charge current reaches a given final value is calculated using the plurality of data of the charge current. The internal electric state of the battery is estimated based on the accumulated value of the charge current.
US07990105B2
A high voltage power supply device has a plurality of battery modules connected to each other in series by coupling a safety plug unit to a safety plug unit connecting base to output a series voltage from a power supply output coupler. The safety plug unit connects/disconnects electrode terminals of all the battery modules to each other. Female electrode bodies electrically connected to power supply terminals of the respective battery modules are collectively positioned in a limited area and are arranged at equal intervals on the safety plug unit connecting base. An output voltage of each battery module is set to be lower than 50V to reduce the risk of injury during use, inspection or maintenance of the high voltage power supply device and to downsize the device.
US07990104B2
The present invention is a mobile charger receptacle configured with universal serial bus (USB), cigarette lighter adapter (CLA) plug, and control firmware, comprising a housing, a cigarette lighter adapter plug disposed on the one side of the housing, and a USB plug allocated on the other side of the housing. The USB plug and the CLA plug are electrically connected with a control firmware disposed inside the housing. The control firmware enables the present invention to charge any type of mobile phone.
US07990103B2
A charging system for a portable electronic device is disclosed. The system comprises a charging station providing a magnetic field for power distribution by an alternating current source connected to a power transmission coil for providing the magnetic field, and the portable electronic device. The portable electronic device comprises a radio receiver; a charging mechanism for charging a battery of the portable electronic device; and an antenna arrangement for the radio receiver, wherein the charging mechanism comprises a first coil arranged to interact with the power transmission coil of the charging station upon charging; a rectifier connected to the first coil to receive an alternating current therefrom and to a power supply output to provide a direct current, and the antenna arrangement comprises an antenna element comprising the first coil; a resonator tuned for a frequency band in which the radio receiver is intended to receive radio transmissions; a series resonance circuit comprising a capacitor and a second coil connected in series between one terminal of the first coil and a reference voltage of the portable apparatus.
US07990097B2
Power conversion systems and methods are presented for damping common mode resonance, in which inverter or rectifier switching control signals are selectively modified according to a damping resistance current value computed using a predetermined virtual damping resistance value in parallel with an output or input capacitor and a measured output or input voltage value to mitigate or reduce common mode resonance in the converter.
US07990087B2
A device comprising a fan controller, an encoder, a driver, a resistor/capacitor filter, and a baseboard management controller. The fan controller is configured to output a cooling fan status signal, and to output a cooling fan information data signal. The encoder is configured to encode the cooling fan status signal and the cooling fan information data signal together into a combined signal. The driver is configured to invert the combined signal and to output an inverted signal. The resistor/capacitor filter is configured to filter out the cooling fan information data signal from the inverted signal, and to output a filtered signal. The baseboard management controller is configured to determine a status of a cooling fan in response to the filtered signal, and to output a control signal to the fan controller module for the cooling fan based on the cooling fan information data signal within the inverted signal.
US07990080B2
A system for controlling multiple light sources is provided. The system includes a controller, a digital to analog converter (DAC), and at least one power amplifier. The controller is configured for receiving light control data for at least one light circuit, and for determining a digital luminance signal and an encoded address for each light circuit according to the light control data. The DAC is connected to the controller and configured for receiving the digital luminance signal and the encoded address for each light circuit, converting the digital luminance signal into an analog luminance signal, and for outputting the analog luminance signal according to the encoded address. Each power amplifier is connected to the DAC, and is configured for amplifying the analog luminance signal for the light circuit so as to drive the light circuit to control a corresponding light source.
US07990079B2
An apparatus for providing selectively-colored light is disclosed. The apparatus includes a circuit having a plurality of diodes each including an anode and a cathode, wherein the plurality of diodes include a first diode that emits a first light defined by a first wavelength, a second diode that emits a second light defined by a second wavelength, and a third diode that emits a third light defined by a third wavelength, wherein a summation of one or more of the first, second and third light defines a selectively-colored light; and a controller including a first output connected to the anode of the first diode, and the cathode of the second diode, a second output connected to the cathode of the first diode, the anode of the second diode, and the anode of the third diode, and a third output connected to the cathode of the third diode. A method is also disclosed.
US07990077B2
A LED control circuit includes an LED array circuit and a control circuit. The LED array circuit has a plurality of parallel branches, each of which has a constant-current regulator, an LED and an FET connected together in series, wherein the constant-current regulator supplies a steady current to the corresponding LED and the FET can control the respective LED to be put out or lighted up. The control circuit includes a microprocessor and a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is connected with the microprocessor and located near the LEDs of the LED array circuit for detecting the temperature of the LEDs and transmitting the temperature signals to the microprocessor. The microprocessor is connected with the FETs of the LED array circuit for controlling the corresponding FETs to be repeatedly on or off according to the temperature signals in order to regulate the temperature of the corresponding LEDs respectively.
US07990067B2
Row electrode pairs and column electrodes are provided between the front glass substrate and the back glass substrate. Magnesium oxide single-crystal particles, which are doped with aluminum and have characteristics of causing cathode luminescence having a peak within a wavelength range of 200 nm to 300 nm upon excitation by application of electron beams, are disposed in a position facing the discharge cells, and form part of a protective layer for a dielectric layer overlying the row electrodes and/or phosphor layers.
US07990063B2
An LED illuminating device includes a first LED illuminating module, a second LED illuminating module, and a connecting module. The first LED illuminating module includes a first substrate and a first group of LEDs mounted on the first substrate. The second LED illuminating module includes a second substrate carrying a second group of LEDs, a wedge shaped light guide, and a reflector. The second substrate and the reflector defines a fan shaped space therebetween to receive the wedge shaped light guide, and the projections of the first substrate and the second substrate are spaced to each other. The LED illuminating device has a large light divergence angle and good heat dissipation ability.
US07990061B2
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a first sealing member, a pad, and a bank. The first substrate includes a light emitting area and a pad area, the second substrate is disposed to opposite to and face to the first substrate, and the first sealing member is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to combine the first substrate and the second substrate. The pad is disposed on the pad area, and the bank is formed on the pad area and is spaced apart from the first sealing member.
US07990056B2
A display device includes color filters and electronically aligned photo-emissive elements. The display device is achieved with a matrix of pixels. Each pixel includes a plurality of sub-pixels that are organized within the pixel in one or two directions. Each sub-pixel includes a color filter arranged facing a plurality of photo-emissive elements, an opaque area separating the color filters. In each of the organization directions of the pixel, the photo-emissive elements have a repetition pitch that is two times smaller than the pitch of the color filters. The size of each color filter is smaller than or equal to the size of the photo-emissive element in the organization direction. The display device includes a supply control circuit of the photo-emissive elements that selects the photo-emissive elements situated facing the color filter of each pixel.
US07990055B2
An electroluminescent arrangement comprising a substrate (1), at least one layered structure applied to the substrate that comprises at least one organic electroluminescent layer (2) for emitting light (10) that is arranged between a first electrode (3) arranged on the side on which the substrate is situated and a second electrode (4) arranged on the side of the electroluminescent layer (2) remote from the substrate, and an electrically insulating layer (5) of a material that is chemically reactive with the organic electroluminescent layer (2), suitable for detaching the second electrode (4) from the organic electroluminescent layer (2) in a confined region around a hole defect.
US07990052B2
An organic electroluminescent device that includes an effectively optical area including display pixels for display and a dummy area surrounding the effectively optical area, the dummy area including dummy pixels not for display. The device includes a first composite material on the first portion in the effectively optical area, the first portion corresponding to one of the display pixels, and a second composite material separate from the first composite material, the second composite material being coated on a second portion of the dummy area, the second portion corresponding to one of the dummy pixels, the first composite material including a first organic electroluminescent material that is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent and the second composite material including a second organic electroluminescent material that is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent.
US07990038B2
The subject of the present invention is a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD-) lamp (1) for generating and emitting ultraviolet radiation comprising: —a housed discharge gap (3), whereby the housing has at least two walls, whereby at least one of the walls is a dielectric wall and at least one of the walls has an at least partly transparent part, a filling located inside the discharge gap (3), at least two electrical contacting means for electrical contacting associated with at least the two walls, respectively, whereby the discharge gap (3) is formed by at least two discharge sub-volumes (7) and/or discharge sub-areas (8) differing in at least one of their discharge parameters for realizing at least two dominant emission regimes and/or one emission regime with different radiant intensities and a method for producing said DBD-lamp (1).
US07990032B2
An electron multiplier can be fabricated by depositing an electron emissive material on a reticulated substrate, and forming the reticulated substrate into the electron multiplier.
US07990029B2
A ceramic material includes lead zirconate titanate, which additionally contains Nd and Ni. For example, the ceramic material may have a composition according to the following formulae: for y≦x/2: a PbO+(Pb1−3x/2+y□x/2−yNdx)((Zr1−zTiz)1−yNiy)O3 for y>x/2: a PbO+(Pb1−xNdx)((Zr1−zTiz)1−yNiy)O3−y+x/2⋄y−x/2, where 0≦a<1, 0
US07990027B2
A piezoelectric device includes: a container; a piezoelectric resonator element accommodated in the container; a circuit element accommodated in the container so as not to overlap with the piezoelectric resonator element in a plan view; and a mounting stage to which the piezoelectric resonator element is fixed. The mounting stage is fixed inside the container.
US07990025B1
A hermetic package for electronic components which is made of metallic silicon is disclosed. The package includes a plurality of silicon elements which are bonded together. In the first embodiment, a cavity is hollowed out in the cover to house the Application Specific Integrated Circuit oscillator and the resonator. In a second embodiment, the cavity is formed in the base member with a plurality of pedestal shelves to hold the resonator above and out of contact with the electrical circuitry for the oscillator and thermal controls.
US07990011B2
A rotor for an electric motor (10) includes a magnetic assembly (12) formed into a ring-shaped plate form, a rotor disc (11) for holding an inner periphery of the magnet assembly, and an outer peripheral ring (13) for holding an outer periphery of the magnet assembly. The magnet assembly is composed of first and second main magnets (12A-1, 12A-2) having magnetizations directions that are oriented perpendicularly and having orientations that are opposite one another, and first and second submagnets (12B-1, 12B-2) having magnetization directions that are oriented perpendicularly in a circumferential direction and having orientations that are opposite one another. At least one group of magnets selected from the main magnets and the submagnets has a wedge-shaped planar part. The planar parts of the first and second main magnets and first and second submagnets form the same plane of rotation. The magnets are arranged so that the magnetization directions of adjacent magnets are perpendicular to one another.
US07990009B2
An electrical machine which has a moving part and a stationary part. The moving part is in the form of an inner rotor without windings, and the rotor which has at least two magnetic conductors, which are separated from one another axially such that impeller wheels are formed. The stationary part has a number of magnetically acting webs in the circumferential direction of the machine. The webs are operatively connected to the magnetic conductors of the rotor. The stationary part has at least one first winding structure which is likewise operatively connected to the axially separated magnetic conductors of the rotor. In addition, a second winding structure is included on the webs wherein either the first winding structure acts as an armature winding and the second winding structure acts as a field winding, or vice versa. The impeller wheels are radially innerly magnetically effectively connected by means of a further magnetic conductor.
US07989999B2
In a starter includes a motor provided with a motor contact for controlling electric power supply to an armature arranged inside a motor housing; a gear cover section, which is mounted on the motor, having a flange section formed on the outer circumference thereof; a switch terminal located on the outside of the gear cover section; and a magnet switch connected to the switch terminal. The switch terminal is installed in the vicinity of the flange section and in a region within the range of projection of the flange section . In the flange section, there are provided a rib and a motor terminal mounting section, and the switch terminal is arranged in a switch terminal containing section formed between the rib, the sidewall of the motor terminal mounting section and the flange section.
US07989998B2
With a motor with an encoder of the invention, a stopper gap formed between a stopper formed on an outer circumferential surface of a hub of the encoder and a bearing cover of an anti-load side bracket is set smaller than an encoder gap to prevent that a rotating disk is made contact with a fixed slit even when an excessive force is applied to an output shaft of the motor with the encoder.
US07989997B2
A control device for an electrically operated power steering system includes: a power substrate comprising a plurality of switching elements, that converts DC electrical current to AC electrical current by switching operation of the plurality of switching elements; an output terminal for transmitting the AC electrical current to an electric motor that generates steering torque; a conductor for electrically connecting the power substrate to the output terminal; a metallic chassis that holds the power substrate and the conductor, and supports the output terminal; and a metallic cover that faces the output terminal, and that is connected to the metallic chassis.
US07989986B2
An inductive power supply system to identify remote devices using unique identification frequencies. The system includes an AIPS and a tank circuit capable of inductively providing power to a remote device at different frequencies, and a sensor for sensing the reflected impedance of the remote device at tank circuit. The system further includes a plurality of different remote devices, each having a unique resonance frequency. In operation, the AIPS is capable of identifying the type of remote device present in the inductive field by applying power to a remote device at a plurality of unique identification frequencies until the remote device establishes resonance in response to one of the identification frequencies. The AIPS includes a controller that recognizes when resonance has been established by evaluating sensor data, which is representative of the reflected impedance of the remote device. Once the identity of a remote device is determined, the AIPS may pull operating parameters for the remove device from memory to ensure efficient operation and to assist in recognizing fault conditions.
US07989980B2
An energy storage system, more particularly to a power distribution system for providing power for an indeterminate period of time. The power distribution system comprises means for converting the energy from an alternator to AC/DC circuits. The alternator transmits electric current to a battery, where an inverter is electrically connected to the battery and transmits AC power to low-load circuits. A DC control panel is connected to the battery and transmits electric current from the battery to low-load DC circuits. The power system is part of a portable toolbox. The system is connected to a vehicle's charging system or any mechanism having a alternator a first battery an engine and a starting system an would continually recharge it self. The battery for the system is connected to the alternator of a vehicle and or mechanism through an isolator, or connected directly to the alternator or battery of the vehicle and or mechanism and would transmit a direct electric current to the battery for the system which stores the charge. The inverter is electrically connected to the battery for the system and transmits an electric current from the battery to one or more low-load circuits.
US07989978B2
A temperature increase power command producing unit produces a temperature increase power command value for transferring a power between power storage devices when heating control for raising temperature of the power storage device is performed. The temperature increase power command producing unit provides the temperature increase power command value to a current control unit, and provides a command value prepared by inverting a sign of the temperature increase power command value to a current control unit. The current control unit performs current control based on a first current command value and the temperature increase power command value, and the current control unit performs current control based on the second current command value and the command value prepared by inverting the sign of the temperature increase power command value.
US07989970B2
A bicycle-seat power generation device includes a seat, a frame, an electrical generator, an electrical generation module, a mount, and a cushioning unit. The electrical generator includes a spindle gear. The electrical generation module includes a toothed rack and a transmission gear train. The toothed rack has an upper end abutting against an underside of the seat. The transmission gear train has an end engaging the toothed rack and another end engaging the spindle gear of the electrical generator. The mount accommodates the electrical generation module and the electrical generator therein in order to have the electrical generation module and the electrical generator coupled between the seat and the frame. The cushioning unit is also coupled between the seat and the frame and is fixed together with the mount in order to drive the toothed rack of the electrical generation module for effecting power generation. As such, a bicycle-seat power generation device that features simultaneous shock absorption and power generation is provided.
US07989963B2
A specially designed mask controls the arrangement of conductive materials that form a source and drain of a transistor. Designing the mask can be costly and time-consuming, which means that the testing of a circuit involving a transistor can also be costly, time consuming and a barrier towards efficient circuit development and testing. Accordingly, the present invention provides a pre-fabricated, general-purpose pattern comprising an array of conductive islands. The pattern is used as a source and a drain terminal for the formation of a thin-film transistor and as a conductive source for the formation of other electrical components upon the array.
US07989962B2
A bonding pad includes multiple metal layers, insulation layers disposed between the multiple metal layers, and a fixing pin coupled between the uppermost metal layer and an underlying metal layer of the multiple metal layers, where a bonding is performed on the uppermost metal layers.
US07989961B2
An enhanced redistribution layer is provided that geometrically expands redistribution layer (RDL) pads associated with a ball grid array of a wafer level package (WLP) to provide tensile stress relief during temperature cycle and/or drop testing of the WLP.
US07989954B2
An integrated circuit chip includes a silicon substrate, a first circuit in or over said silicon substrate, a second circuit device in or over said silicon substrate, a dielectric structure over said silicon substrate, a first interconnecting structure in said dielectric structure, a first pad connected to said first node of said voltage regulator through said first interconnecting structure, a second interconnecting structure in said dielectric structure, a second pad connected to said first node of said internal circuit through said second interconnecting structure, a passivation layer over said dielectric structure, wherein multiple opening in said passivation layer exposes said first and second pads, and a third interconnecting structure over said passivation layer and over said first and second pads.
US07989943B2
A staircase shaped stacked semiconductor package is presented which includes a substrate, a multiplicity of semiconductor chip modules, a connection member, and conductive members. The substrate has connection pads along an upper surface edge. Each semiconductor chip module includes a first and a second semiconductor chip that oppose each other. The first and second semiconductor chips have respective first and second bonding pads along exposed surfaces. The connection member is placed on an uppermost semiconductor chip module and has first and second terminals electrically connected to the first and second bonding pads via conductive members. The conductive members are also coupled to the connection pads of the substrate.
US07989934B2
A carrier (100) for bonding a semiconductor chip (114) onto is provided, wherein the carrier (100) comprises a die pad (101) and a plurality of contact pads (102), wherein each of the plurality of contact pads (102) comprises an electrically conductive multilayer stack, wherein the electrically conductive multilayer stack comprises a surface layer (109), a first buffer layer, and a first conductive layer (108). Furthermore, the first buffer layer comprises a material adapted to prevent diffusion of material of the surface layer (109) into the first conductive layer (108), and at least two of the contact pads (102) has an ultrafine pitch relative to each other.
US07989933B1
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor package (e.g., a QFP package) including a uniquely configured leadframe sized and configured to maximize the available number of exposed leads in the semiconductor package. More particularly, the semiconductor package of the present invention includes a generally planar die pad or die paddle defining multiple peripheral edge segments. In addition, the semiconductor package includes a plurality of leads. Some of these leads include exposed bottom surface portions which are provided in at least two concentric rows or rings which at least partially circumvent the die pad, with other leads including portions which protrude from respective side surfaces of a package body of the semiconductor package. Connected to the top surface of the die pad is at least one semiconductor die which is electrically connected to at least some of the leads. At least portions of the die pad, the leads, and the semiconductor die are encapsulated by the package body, with at least portions of the bottom surfaces of the die paddle and some of the leads being exposed in a common exterior surface of the package body.
US07989931B2
An integrated circuit package system is provided including: forming a die paddle; forming an under paddle leadframe including lower leadfingers thereon; attaching the under paddle leadframe to the die paddle with the lower leadfingers extending under the die paddle; attaching a die to the die paddle; and planarizing the bottom surface of the under paddle leadframe to separate the lower leadfingers under the die paddle.
US07989929B2
A direct-connect signaling system including a printed circuit board and first and second integrated circuit packages disposed on the printed circuit board. A plurality of electric signal conductors extend between the first and second integrated circuit packages suspended above the printed circuit board.
US07989928B2
Described herein are semiconductor device packages with EMI shielding and related methods. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device package includes: (1) a substrate unit including a grounding element; (2) a semiconductor device disposed adjacent to an upper surface of the substrate unit; (3) a package body disposed adjacent to the upper surface of the substrate unit and covering the semiconductor device; and (4) an EMI shield disposed adjacent to exterior surfaces of the package body and electrically connected to a connection surface of the grounding element. A lateral surface of the package body is substantially aligned with a lateral surface of the substrate unit, and the connection surface of the grounding element is electrically exposed adjacent to the lateral surface of the substrate unit. The grounding element corresponds to a remnant of an internal grounding via, and provides an electrical pathway to ground electromagnetic emissions incident upon the EMI shield.
US07989927B2
In a silicon substrate for a package, a through electrode is provided with which a through hole passing through from a bottom surface of a cavity for accommodating a chip of an electronic device to a back surface of the substrate is filled. An end part of the through electrode in the bottom surface side of the cavity has a connection part to a wiring that forms an electric circuit including the chip of the electronic device. The silicon substrate for a package is characterized in that (1) a thin film wiring is included as the wiring and the connection part is reinforced by a conductor connected to the thin film wiring and/or (2) a wire bonding part is included as the wiring and the connection part is formed by wire bonding the end part of the through electrode in the bottom surface side of the cavity.
US07989926B2
A semiconductor device includes a substrate formed of a single crystal. a silicon carbide layer disposed on a surface of the single crystal substrate and an intermediate layer disposed on a surface of the silicon carbide layer and formed of a Group III nitride semiconductor, wherein the silicon carbide layer is formed of a cubic crystal stoichiometrically containing silicon copiously and the surface thereof has a (3×3) reconstruction structure. The semiconductor device is fabricated by a method including a first step of blowing a hydrocarbon gas on the surface of the substrate, thereby inducing adsorption of hydrocarbon thereon, a second step of heating the substrate having adsorbed the hydrocarbon to a temperature exceeding a temperature used for the adsorption of the hydrocarbon while irradiating the surface of the substrate with electrons and consequently giving rise to a silicon carbide layer formed of a cubic crystal stoichiometrically containing silicon copiously and provided with a surface having a (3×3) reconstruction structure and a third step of supplying a gaseous raw material containing nitrogen and a gaseous raw material containing a Group III element to the surface of the silicon carbide layer and consequently giving rise to the intermediate layer formed of the Group III nitride semiconductor.
US07989925B2
Semiconductor process technology and devices are provided, including a method for forming a high quality group III nitride layer on a silicon substrate and to a device obtainable therefrom. According to the method, a pre-dosing step is applied to a silicon substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed to at least 0.01 μmol/cm2 of one or more organometallic compounds containing Al, in a flow of less than 5 μmol/min. The preferred embodiments are equally related to the semiconductor structure obtained by the method, and to a device comprising said structure.
US07989911B1
In one embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a substrate having high voltage transistor regions and low voltage transistor regions. The substrate includes a first trench between and adjacent to the high voltage transistor regions, a second trench between and adjacent to the low voltage transistor regions, and a third trench between the first and second trenches and between and adjacent to a high voltage transistor region and a low voltage transistor region. A thicker silicon dioxide layer lines the first trench and a first portion of the third trench adjacent to a high voltage transistor region. A thinner silicon dioxide layer lines the second trench and a second portion of the third trench adjacent to a low voltage transistor region. A silicon nitride layer is present on the thinner silicon dioxide layer and lines the second trench and the second portion of the third trench but is not present on the thicker silicon dioxide layer and does not line the first trench and the first portion of the third trench.
US07989888B2
Embodiments discussed herein relate to processes of producing a field stop zone within a semiconductor substrate by implanting dopant atoms into the substrate to form a field stop zone between a channel region and a surface of the substrate, at least some of the dopant atoms having energy levels of at least 0.15 eV below the energy level of the conduction band edge of semiconductor substrate; and laser annealing the field stop zone.
US07989885B2
A semiconductor device has a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type and a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type complementary to the first conductivity type arranged in or on the first semiconductor layer. The semiconductor device has a region of the first conductivity type arranged in the second semiconductor layer. A first electrode contacts the region of the first conductivity type and the second semiconductor layer. A trench extends into the first semiconductor layer, and a voltage dependent short circuit diverter structure has a highly-doped diverter region of the second conductivity type. This diverter region is arranged via an end of a channel region and coupled to a diode arranged in the trench.
US07989880B2
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprises a memory string, and a wiring. The memory string comprises a semiconductor layer, a charge storage layer, and a plurality of first conductive layers. The plurality of first conductive layers comprises a stepped portion formed in a stepped shape such that positions of ends of the plurality of first conductive layers differ from one another. The wiring comprises a plurality of second conductive layers extending upwardly from an upper surface of the first conductive layers comprising the stepped portion. The plurality of second conductive layers are formed such that upper ends thereof are aligned with a surface parallel to the substrate, and such that a diameter thereof decreases from the upper end thereof to a lower end thereof. The plurality of second conductive layers are formed such that the greater a length thereof in the perpendicular direction, the larger a diameter of the upper end thereof.
US07989873B2
Memory elements, switching elements, and peripheral circuits to constitute a nonvolatile memory are integrally formed on a substrate by using TFTs. Since semiconductor active layers of memory element TFTs are thinner than those of other TFTs, impact ionization easily occurs in channel regions of the memory element TFTs. This enables low-voltage write/erase operations to be performed on the memory elements, and hence the memory elements are less prone to deteriorate. Therefore, a nonvolatile memory capable of miniaturization can be provided.
US07989871B2
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a first insulating film on a channel, a floating gate electrode on the first insulating film, a second insulating film on the floating gate electrode, and a control gate electrode on the second insulating film. Each of the first and second insulating films comprises at least two layers, one layer directly in contact with the floating gate electrode is formed by an insulating material (A) including a metal element having a d orbital, and the other at least one layer is formed by an insulating material (B) chiefly including one of a metal element without the d orbital, and a semiconductor element.
US07989870B2
A flash memory integrated circuit and a method for fabricating the same. A gate stack includes an initial oxide layer directly in contact with a silicon layer, defining an oxide-silicon interface therebetween. Additional oxide material is formed substantially uniformly along the oxide-silicon interface. Polysilicon grain boundaries at the interface are thereby passivated after etching. The interface can be formed between a tunnel oxide and a floating gate, and passivating the grain boundaries reduces erase variability. Oxide in an upper storage dielectric layer is enhanced in the dilute steam oxidation. The thin oxide layers serve as diffusion paths to enhance uniform distribution of OH species across the buried interfaces being oxidized.
US07989865B2
A semiconductor structure is disclosed. The semiconductor structure includes an active semiconductor layer, a semiconductor device having a gate disposed on top of the active semiconductor layer, and source and drain regions and a body/channel region disposed within the active semiconductor layer, an insulator layer having a first and second side, the first side being adjacent to the active semiconductor layer, a substrate disposed adjacent to the second side of the insulator layer, a deep trench capacitor disposed under the body/channel region of the semiconductor device. The deep trench capacitor electrically connects with and contacts the body/channel region of the semiconductor device, and is located adjacent to the gate of the semiconductor device. The semiconductor structure increases a critical charge Qcrit, thereby reducing a soft error rate (SER) of the semiconductor device.
US07989864B2
Structures and methods for making a semiconductor structure are discussed. The semiconductor structure includes a rough surface having protrusions formed from an undoped silicon film. If the semiconductor structure is a capacitor, the protrusions help to increase the capacitance of the capacitor. The semiconductor structure also includes a relatively smooth surface abutting the rough surface, wherein the relatively smooth surface is formed from a polycrystalline material.
US07989863B2
In one embodiment, a lower interlayer dielectric layer, and first and second landing pads penetrating the lower interlayer dielectric layer are formed on a substrate. Interconnection patterns covering the second landing pads are formed on the lower interlayer dielectric layer. An etch stop layer is formed over the interconnection patterns. An upper interlayer dielectric layer filling a gap region between the interconnection patterns is formed on the etch stop layer. The upper interlayer dielectric layer is patterned to form a preliminary contact hole between the interconnection patterns, where the etch stop layer is exposed at the bottom of the preliminary contact hole. The preliminary contact hole is extended and the etch stop layer exposed by the extended preliminary contact hole is removed to form a first contact hole exposing the first landing pad. A buried contact plug is then formed within the first contact hole.
US07989861B2
An image sensor includes a substrate, an anti-reflection board and a light shielding film. The substrate includes first pixels to receive a light, and second pixels to provide a black level compensation. The first pixels are formed in an active region and the second pixels are formed in a first region spaced apart from the active region in a row direction. The anti-reflection board is formed in a second region above the substrate, and the second region is between the active region and the first region. The light shielding film is formed above the anti-reflection board, and the light shielding film covers an optical black region including the first and second regions. Therefore, the image sensor may be used in a CCD type image sensor and a CMOS type image sensor to provide a stabilized black level, thereby improving a quality of a displayed image.
US07989855B2
This invention relates to a semiconductor device having a beam made of a semiconductor to which strain is introduced by deflection, and a current is permitted to flow in the beam.
US07989853B2
A dual channel JFET which can be integrated in an IC without adding process steps is disclosed. Pinch-off voltage is determined by lateral width of a first, vertical, channel near the source contact. Maximum drain voltage is determined by drain to gate separation and length of a second, horizontal, channel under the gate. Pinch-off voltage and maximum drain potential are dependent on lateral dimensions of the drain and gate wells and may be independently optimized. A method of fabricating the dual channel JFET is also disclosed.
US07989840B2
An illumination apparatus includes a plurality of semiconductor light-emitting devices, a reflective layer, a plurality of conductor parts and a translucent adhesive layer. Each of the semiconductor light-emitting devices has a translucent substrate, and a semiconductor light-emitting layer formed on the substrate. The reflective layer has a size on which semiconductor light-emitting devices are arranged at intervals. The conductor parts are provided on the reflective layer, and electrically connected to the semiconductor light-emitting devices. The adhesive layer bonds the substrates of the semiconductor light-emitting devices onto the reflective layer, and thereby holds the semiconductor light-emitting devices on the reflective layer.
US07989834B2
A light emitting device comprises a second electrode layer; a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer on the second electrode layer; a current blocking layer comprising an oxide of the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer; an active layer on the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer; a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer on the active layer; and a first electrode layer on the first conductivity-type semiconductor layer.
US07989825B2
A lens-attached light-emitting element having an improved optical availability efficiency includes a composite lens provided on an approximately U-shaped light-emitting area of the light emitting element array. Four spherical lenses are arranged in such a manner that each is centered in the neighborhood the an end of a respective one of three segments of a U-shaped polygonal line corresponding to positions where light emitted by the U-shaped light-emitting area is a maximum Three cylindrical lens are arranged between two of the spherical lens, respectively, each cylindrical lens having an axis parallel with each segment. These four spherical lenses and three cylindrical lenses together constitute the composite lens. The light-emitting element further comprises an antireflection film covering the light-emitting area, and the composite lens is formed on the surface of the antireflection film.
US07989824B2
A semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting layer disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region is formed. A first metal contact is formed on a portion of the n-type region and a second metal contact is formed on a portion of the p-type region. The first and second metal contacts are formed on a same side of the semiconductor structure. A dielectric material is disposed between the first and second metal contacts. The dielectric material is in direct contact with a portion of the semiconductor structure, a portion of the first metal contact, and a portion of the second metal contact. A planar surface is formed including a surface of the first metal contact, a surface of the second metal contact, and a surface of the dielectric material
US07989805B2
An electronic device of the present invention includes a first substrate provided with a thin film active element, having a thickness of 200 μm or lower, and a second substrate formed with a high thermal conductivity portion. The second substrate is applied to one surface of the two surfaces of the first substrate, i.e., the surface being the side other than the side that formed with the thin film active element. The thin film active element has a maximum power consumption of 0.01 to 1 mW. The high thermal conductivity portion is a region that corresponds to the position of the thin film active element and whose thermal conductivity falls within the range from 0.1 to 4 W/cm·deg.
US07989801B2
Provided are an organic light emitting display device coupled to a photoelectric transistor. The organic light emitting display device includes an anode and a cathode separated from each other, a plurality of organic material layers formed between the anode and the cathode and including an organic light emitting layer, a light source applying an excitation pulse to the organic material layers, and a light receiving unit measuring changes in photoluminescence (PL) signals that are emitted from the organic material layers.
US07989791B2
Provided are a diode structure and a memory device including the same. The diode structure includes: a first electrode; a p-type Cu oxide layer formed on the first electrode; an n-type InZn oxide layer formed on the p-type Cu oxide layer; and a second electrode formed on the n-type InZn oxide.
US07989789B2
A phase-change memory device has a plurality of first wiring lines WL extending in parallel to each other, a plurality of second wiring lines BL which are disposed to cross the first wiring lines WL while being separated or isolated therefrom, and memory cells MC which are disposed at respective cross points of the first wiring lines WL and the second wiring lines BL and each of which has one end connected to a first wiring line WL and the other end connected to a second wiring line BL. The memory cell MC has a variable resistive element VR which stores as information a resistance value determined due to phase change between crystalline and amorphous states thereof, and a Schottky diode SD which is connected in series to the variable resistive element VR.
US07989788B2
A method for determining a position of a mechanical edge of a reference edge of a sheet of recording media relative to a first edge of a drum slot in a cylindrical surface of an imaging drum, the method includes mounting the sheet of recording media on the imaging drum in an orientation wherein the reference edge extends along the cylindrical surface of the imaging drum in a substantially axial direction and wherein the reference edge extends over the first edge of the drum slot; establishing at least one acute apex diffuse light source in the slot; capturing at least one digital camera image of the reference edge and the at least one acute apex diffuse light source; and determining from the at least one digital camera image a location of at least one point on the mechanical edge.
US07989787B2
There is a structure element, in particular for radiation shielding constructions, having at least one floor plate and at least one wall section and/or at least one ceiling section. The structure element is characterized in that the at least one wall section and/or the at least one ceiling section comprise/comprises at least two shell elements made from metal, plastic and/or wood and a layer which lies in between and is made from radiation shielding materials. In addition, a construction, in particular a radiation shielding construction, is proposed having at least one floor plate and/or ceiling plate which delimits a storey and a structure element described above.
US07989783B2
A nanolithography system comprising a novel optical printing head suitable for high throughput nanolithography. This optical head enables a super-resolution lithographic exposure tool that is otherwise compatible with the optical lithographic process infrastructure. The exposing light is transmitted through specially designed super-resolution apertures, of which the “C-aperture” is one example, that create small but bright images in the near-field transmission pattern. A printing head comprising an array of these apertures is held in close proximity to the wafer to be exposed. In one embodiment, an illumination source is divided into parallel channels that illuminate each of the apertures. Each of these channels can be individually modulated to provide the appropriate exposure for the particular location on the wafer corresponding to the current position of the aperture. A data processing system is provided to re-interpret the layout data into a modulation pattern used to drive the individual channels. In one embodiment of the invention, the exposure head remains stationary while the material to be exposed rotates beneath the head. Such an embodiment comprises a circular data fracturing system to process the layout data to determine the correct modulation pattern.
US07989779B1
A universal ultraviolet light sanitation device that can be mounted to existing doors and the like wherein the UV light sources are positioned for treatment of a door knob or handle. The device provides for opposing UV lights in a light emitting housing around the doorknob. Sensor means within the assembly determines the non-presence of the user's hand and activates the UV lights before and after handle contact assuring sanitation of the light exposed non-porous surfaces.
US07989774B2
A radiation detector includes a semiconductor element capable of detecting a radiation, a substrate on which the semiconductor element is mounted, and a flexible substrate including a connection pattern connected to an element electrode on an opposite side to the substrate of the semiconductor element. The semiconductor element is disposed on one surface of the substrate, and the flexible substrate is disposed on the opposite side to the substrate of the semiconductor element.
US07989773B2
A digital radiography detector includes a housing and a radiographic image detector assembly. The housing has a first and second spaced planar members and four side walls defining a cavity. The radiographic image detector assembly is mounted within the cavity for converting a radiographic image to an electronic radiographic image. The detector assembly includes a scintillator screen and a detector array, and the detector assembly is bonded to the first planar member of the housing.
US07989757B2
A configurable scanner (1), for contactless measurement of the depth and perimeter of a wound on a target body part (9), has a scan head (4), and is configured to be controlled by a processor (3) for controlling a scanning procedure and analyzing the results. The scan head (4) projects a contour line onto a surface the target body part, and captures an image of the projected contour line. A series of captured images are analyzed to create a three dimensional model of the wound, and determine at least one of depth, perimeter and volume of the wound from the three dimensional model.
US07989746B2
The invention relates to a rail-type solar tracking system with a focusing function. The invention includes a plurality of support elements, a Fresnel lens, a rail platform, a load bearing platform and a pushing device. The system moves a solar cell on the load bearing platform to a focus position where sunlight is focused by the Fresnel lens to collect solar energy. Hence, the invention collects solar energy without moving heavy lens so as to reduce power consumption and improve the electric power generating efficiency of the solar cell.
US07989745B2
A solid-state imaging device comprises a plurality of pixels disposed in a two-dimensional pattern and each equipped with a photoelectric conversion unit that generates and accumulates a signal charge corresponding to a subject image formed with light entering from an optical system and a readout control unit that executes control under which signals are read out from the plurality of pixels. The plurality of pixels include a plurality of imaging pixels that output imaging signals for forming image signals that represents the subject image and a plurality of focus detection pixels that output focus detection signals for detecting a focusing condition of the optical system through a split-pupil phase difference method.
US07989739B2
An electric heater assembly suitable for use with molten metals, the heater employing improved heat transfer media.
US07989735B1
Apparatus for heating hair clips having a heatable member comprises a base, a heating structure, and means for providing electricity to the heating structure. The heating structure can comprise an elongated electrical heater having opposed sides, a plurality of thermally conductive heating elements in pairs on each side of the electrical heater, and a thermal insulator between the heating elements separating the heating elements from each other.
US07989727B2
An improved torch providing high visibility of the work zone to the operator, an increased viewing angle, and a reduced obstruction angle. The high visibility torch includes consumables adapted to maintain torch and consumables performance while reducing visual obstruction to the user, by coordinating, balancing, and optimizing design requirements and stack up tolerances. The invention also includes a related low-profile safety switch that promotes workpiece visibility and minimizes view obstruction.
US07989721B2
A single-pole or multi-pole device for low-voltage systems, in particular a circuit breaker or a disconnector, which comprises: an outer casing containing for each pole at least one fixed contact and at least one mobile contact that can be coupled to/uncoupled from one another; a rotating element that comprises a shaped body made of insulating material comprising at least one seat for each pole of said switch, said seat being designed to house at least one mobile contact of a corresponding pole; a control mechanism operatively connected to the rotating element for enabling movement thereof; and one or more elements made of ferromagnetic material set in a position corresponding to at least one portion of the inner surface of said at least one seat of the mobile contact.
US07989712B2
The protective electronic prototyping enclosure is conveniently formed to accommodate various prototype electronic projects. Openings in the enclosure may be accurately formed and markings can be neatly and precisely formed by on a paper label printed by using the computer. Variable panels are provided for covering spaces between electrical components located adjacent to the side panels of the enclosure.
US07989708B2
In a multi-layer wiring board in which board wirings are arranged in a plurality of wiring layers so as to be connected via a through hole, two through holes are provided in parallel, and two through holes are connected therebetween in both end portions of the respective through holes or one end portion thereof by the wiring board.
US07989706B2
A circuit board has an embedded electronic component such as an integrated circuit chip with a wafer level chip size package. A via hole extends through the electronic component. Another via hole extends through the substrate or prepreg on which the electronic component is mounted inside the circuit board. Conductors in the via holes enable a terminal on the surface of the electronic component to be electrically connected to a wiring pattern or another electronic component on the opposite side of the substrate or prepreg. Routing the connection through the electronic component itself saves space and reduces the length of the connection.
US07989705B2
The present invention relates to a circuit card (4.3; 4.4) which includes conductive patterns (1, 2, 5, 6) and a web (3) made of glass fibers, at least one non-conductive blocking element (11.1; 11.2) for blocking the growth of a conductive filament (12.1; 12.2) along a glass fiber is provided which connects a conductive pattern (1, 2) with a further conductive pattern (5, 6). The present invention also relates to a method for increasing the resistivity of a circuit card (4.3; 4.4) to the formation of conductive filaments (12.1; 12.2), the circuit card (4.3; 4.4) including conductive patterns (1, 2, 5, 6) and a web (3) made of glass fibers; the circuit card (4.3; 4.4) being provided with at least one non-conductive blocking element (11.1; 11.2) for blocking the growth of a conductive filament (12.1; 12.2) along a glass fiber, which connects a conductive pattern (1, 2) to a further conductive pattern (5, 6).
US07989697B2
A network communication device includes a top component and a bottom cover forming a receiving space there between when assembled. The top component further includes a top cover and a body. The body is configured attaches the top cover and the bottom cover. The assembly of the top cover and the bottom cover utilizes at least one locking tab assembly. Each locking tab assembly includes a locking tab and a reciprocal locking structure engaged with the locking tab. One of the locking tabs and the reciprocal locking structure of the one locking tab assembly are utilized to assemble the top cover and the body is disposed on a first planar surface of the top cover, and another one of the locking tab and the reciprocal locking structure of the locking tab assembly is disposed on the body.
US07989690B1
Musical instrument pickups comprising a plurality of coil-wire wrappings, each coil-wire wrapping having a particular geometric cross-section. Related embodiments exhibiting noise cancellation features are also disclosed.
US07989677B2
Disclosed herein are nucleic acid molecules isolated from coffee (Coffea spp.) comprising sequences that encodes various sucrose metabolizing enzymes, along with their encoded proteins. Specifically, sucrose synthase, sucrose phosphate synthase and sucrose phosphatase enzymes and their encoding polynucleotides from coffee are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for using these polynucleotides for gene regulation and manipulation of the sugar profile of coffee plants, to influence flavor, aroma, and other features of coffee beans.
US07989673B2
An apparatus subjects fluid waste to waves from an RF plasma. This allows continuous production of “activated water” characterized by cluster sizes below about 4 molecules per cluster, water having pH below 4 or above 10, or water having ORP of less than −350 mV or more than +800 mV. The basic frequency of the plasma is preferably between 0.44 MHz and 40.68 MHz, and the plasma is preferably modulated at a frequency between 10 kHz and 34 kHz. Flow rates typically range from 20 1/hr to about 2000 1 hr.
US07989668B2
Nitrogen-containing Lewis bases act as poisons for molecular sieve catalysts used in oligomerisation reactions. A lowering of their presence in the feed prior to the contacting thereof with the molecular sieve brings a significant extension of catalyst life. Excessive elimination of these poisons may be disadvantageous. Lowering the levels of these catalyst poisons to more manageable concentrations is therefore preferred.
US07989667B2
Disclosed is a novel process for the continuous crystallization of a mixture of cis-2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutanediol and trans-2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutanediol dissolved in a solvent.
US07989666B2
The present invention discloses a method for preparing bisphenol A, comprising the following steps: transferring phenol and acetone into a reaction zone charged with condensation catalyst, obtaining a stream containing bisphenol A after reaction; transferring the obtained stream containing bisphenol A into a rectification zone, obtaining a product fraction primarily containing bisphenol A and phenol; and transferring the product fraction primarily containing bisphenol A and phenol into a crystallization zone to obtain a bisphenol A product; wherein a water-depleted fraction primarily containing phenol, bisphenol A and acetone is obtained from the rectification zone, and said water-depleted fraction is cooled and returned as a cycled stream to the reaction zone. Through cycling the water-depleted fraction to the reaction zone, the water content within the reaction zone can be reduced, the catalytic activity can be maintained and the reaction temperature rise can be controlled, thus the conversion of acetone and the selectivity of reaction can be improved accordingly.
US07989663B2
Fluorogenic lysophosphatidic acid derivatives which can be used as substrates in a continuous, fluorogenic assay that can be performed in microtiter plates. The assays permit measuring LysoPLD activity levels in normal events such as pregnancy or disease states such as cancer. In addition, the present invention can be adopted to high throughout screening (HTS) for identification of potential inhibitors of lysoPLD activity.
US07989657B2
The invention is concerned with novel anthranilic acid derivatives of formula (I) wherein R1 to R14, m and n are as defined in the description and in the claims, as well as physiologically acceptable salts and esters thereof. These compounds are HM74A agonists and can be used as medicaments.
US07989653B2
This application discloses a novel process for the preparation of himbacine analogs useful as thrombin receptor antagonists. The process is based in part on the use of a base-promoted dynamic epimerization of a chiral nitro center. The chemistry taught herein can be exemplified by the following:
US07989651B2
Epoxysilanes are provided which contain at least one epoxy group, at least one hydrolyzable silyl group and one or more linkages containing a carbonyl group bonded to heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen with at least one such heteroatom being nitrogen, there being no such linkage in which both an epoxy group and hydrolyzable silyl group are directly or indirectly bonded to the same nitrogen heteroatom in the linkage.
US07989643B2
The invention relates to the preparation of 2-(6-substituted-1,3-dioxane-4-yl)acetic acid derivatives of formula 1, where X stands for a leaving group, and R1, R2, and R3 each independently stand for an alkyl group with 1-3 carbon atoms from 4-hydroxy-6-X-substituted-methyl-tetrahydropyran-2-one compounds, where X is as defined above, with the aid of an acetalization agent, in the presence of an acid catalyst.The invention also relates to the novel compounds of formula 1 as well as salts and acids to be prepared from these, with the OR3 group in formula 1 being replaced by an OY group, where X, R1 and R2 have the meanings defined above and where Y stands for an alkaline (earth) metal or a substituted or unsubstituted ammonium group or stands for hydrogen, and to the novel compounds of formula 2.The products concerned are, after conversion into the t-butyl ester of 2-(6-hydroxymethyl-1,3-dioxane-4-yl)acetic acid, important as intermediary products in the preparation of statins.
US07989636B2
A process for the preparation of anastrozole which comprises: a) brominating 3,5-bis(2-cyanoprop-2-yl)toluene (II) in an organic solvent using a brominating agent to obtain 3,5-bis(2-cyanoprop-2-yl)benzylbromide (III); b) heating the reaction mass of step a) to the reflux temperature of the organic solvent for a period of time no longer than 3 hours; c) isolating and purifying the bromo intermediate (III) using an organic solvent; d) alkylating the bromo intermediate in the presence of a base, optionally a phase transfer catalyst, a 1,2,4-triazole and an organic solvent to obtain anastrozole; and e) isolating and purifying the anastrozole from an organic solvent.
US07989629B2
The present invention relates to a compound of formula (I), or a salt thereof wherein the naphthalene ring is substituted in the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 position by R1, and R1 represents —CH2CH2COOH or —CH═C(CH3)COOH, and to processes for their preparation, to compositions containing them and to their use in the treatment of various inflammatory and/or allergic diseases, such as diseases such as allergic rhinitis.
US07989628B2
The present invention is concerned with 2-aminoquinoline derivatives of formula I wherein Z, R1, and Ar1 are as defined herein, pharmaceutical compositions containing them, methods for their manufacture. The compounds are 5-HT5A receptor antagonists and are useful in the prevention and/or treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, panic disorders, agoraphobia, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, pain, memory disorders, dementia, disorders of eating behaviors, sexual dysfunction, sleep disorders, abuse of drugs, motor disorders such as Parkinson's disease, psychiatric disorders or gastrointestinal disorders.
US07989627B2
The present invention relates to a method for preparing an optically active cyclic alcohol compound represented by general formula [I]: [wherein R represents a hydrogen atom or a protecting group for amino group, and * represents an astymmetric carbon atom.] which comprises a step of subjecting a cyclic ketone compound represented by general formula [II]: [wherein R has the same meaning as defined above.]to asymmetric reduction (A) in the presence of an optically active oxazaborolidine compound and a boron hydride compound, or (B) in the presence of an asymmetric transition metal complex obtained from a transition metal compound and an asymmetric ligand and a hydrogen donor, and relates to said compound.
US07989622B2
The present invention comprises small molecule inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), which is associated with a number of malignancies such as ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and glioblastomas, among others. Accordingly, the compounds of the present invention are useful for treating, preventing, and/or inhibiting these diseases.
US07989615B2
The invention is a method for isolating a desired plasmid DNA isoform, typically a supercoiled isoform, which includes the steps of obtaining a quantity of bioreactor produced plasmid DNA in liquid form for purification, and passing the plasmid DNA through an ultrafiltration membrane at a selected filtrate flux.
US07989611B2
An expression control sequence which controls expression of a target gene linked downstream of the expression control sequence depending on an intracellular concentration of an amino acid, wherein in a bacterial cell which harbors a DNA construct comprising the expression control sequence, a promoter linked upstream of the expression control sequence and the target gene linked downstream of the expression control sequence, frequency of termination in the expression control sequence, of transcription starting from the promoter is lowered by increase of an intracellular concentration of an amino acid, whereby expression of the target gene increases.
US07989605B2
Compounds and methods for inducing protective immunity against tuberculosis are disclosed. The compounds provided include polypeptides that contain at least one immunogenic portion of one or more M. tuberculosis proteins and DNA molecules encoding such polypeptides. Such compounds may be formulated into vaccines and/or pharmaceutical compositions for immunization against M. tuberculosis infection, or may be used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
US07989604B2
Isolated nucleic acid sequences and amino acid sequences for soluble, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase or active fragments or variants thereof which promote detachment of bacterial cells from a biofilm are provided. An isolated mutant bacteria which forms biofilm colonies which tightly adhere to surface but which are unable to release cells into the medium or spread over the surface is also provided. In additions, methods are described for modulating detachment of bacterial cells from biofilm by mutating soluble, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase or altering its expression or activity are also provided. Also provided are compositions, methods and devices for preventing, inhibiting and treating bacterial infections.
US07989596B2
Method of altering the binding specificity of monoclonal antibodies by oxidation-reduction reactions
The binding specificity of a monoclonal antibody is altered by exposing the monoclonal antibody to an oxidizing agent or an electric potential.
US07989590B2
The present invention relates to a novel peptide having a specified amino acid sequence or its derivative, or a salt thereof. Further, the present invention relates to a composition containing the novel peptide or the like, a method of utilizing the novel peptide or the like, use of the novel peptide or the like, a polynucleotide encoding the novel peptide, or the like. The novel peptide of the present invention or its derivative, or a salt thereof can be utilized for enhancing production of at least one member selected from the group consisting of collagen and hyaluronic acid in a cell.
US07989584B2
The present invention relates to human Akt3 proteins and polypeptides. The invention also relates to isolated nucleic acids encoding human Akt3, to vectors containing them and to their therapeutic uses, in particular for gene therapy. Expression of Akt3 inhibits cell death associated with hypoxia, apoptosis or necrosis.
US07989579B2
A method for the production of a functionalized polytriazole polymer, particularly a poly(1,2,4-triazole)-polymer, includes the steps of (a) mixing a hydrazine salt, particularly hydrazine sulfate, with at least an aromatic and/or heteroaromatic dicarboxylic acid and/or at least a dicarboxylic acid derivate in polyphosphoric acid and if necessary further components for obtaining a solution; (b) heating the solution in a protective gas atmosphere for obtaining polyhydrazides and adding aromatic and/or heteroaromatic primary amines to the solution; and (c) precipitating a polymer. If necessary, neutralization in a basic solution may be carried out.
US07989569B2
Provided are a polyvinyl pyrrole host material emitting highly efficient phosphorescence, a luminescent layer using the material, and an organic electroluminescent display device. The polyvinyl pyrrole host material shows highly efficient luminescence having improved energy transfer, and thus is useful for an organic electroluminescent display device and other various light emitting devices.
US07989562B2
A system and method for olefin polymerization is provided. The method includes polymerizing one or more olefins within a reactor having one or more injection tubes in fluid communication therewith, at least one of the one or more injection tubes having two or more concentric flow paths; flowing a catalyst through a first flow concentric path of the injection tube into the reactor; flowing one or more monomers through a second concentric flow path of the injection tube into the reactor; measuring rate of heat removal within the reactor; and adjusting the one or more monomers flow through the injection tube in response to the rate of heat removal in the reactor.
US07989560B2
A polymer containing: a constitutional unit A that is derived from fluorosilsesquioxane having one addition polymerizable functional group in a molecule; a constitutional unit B that is derived from organopolysiloxane having an addition polymerizable functional group; and a constitutional unit C that is derived from an addition polymerizable functional monomer containing a group having active hydrogen, and optionally containing a constitutional unit D that is derived from an addition polymerizable monomer other than the fluorosilsesquioxane having one addition polymerizable functional group in a molecule, the organopolysiloxane having an addition polymerizable functional group and the addition polymerizable monomer containing a group having active hydrogen.
US07989557B2
The invention is a composition comprising a blend of two or more epoxide containing compositions selected from epoxidized vegetable oils, epoxidized alkyl esters or cycloaliphatic epoxides. In another embodiment, the invention is a blend of one or more epoxidized vegetable oils, epoxidized alkyl esters, or cycloaliphatic epoxides with one or more aromatic epoxides or epoxy functionalized polyoxyalkylene polyols.
US07989549B2
A polymer composition comprises a low-molecular-weight (LMW) ethylene polymer component and a high-molecular-weight (HMW) ethylene polymer component. Preferably, the LMW polyethylene component and the HMW polyethylene component co-crystallize in the composition such that it exhibits a single or substantially single peak in a lamella thickness distribution (“LTD”) curve. The ethylene polymer for the LMW and the HMW polyethylene components can be either homopolyethylene or ethylene copolymer. Preferably, both components are an ethylene copolymer of the same or different composition (i.e., with the same or different comonomers). A method of making a pipe that includes selecting a polymer composition having a substantially single peak in the LTD curve is described.
US07989544B2
Polymer capsules from amphiphilic graft copolymers comprising reactive, hydrophobic polyolefin backbones, and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafts are produced by self-assembly of the polymers at the oil-water interface, and crosslinking the assembly with bis-cyclooctene PEG derivatives in conjunction with ring-open metathesis polymerization catalysts. The use of the graft copolymer architecture in capsule synthesis provides significant opportunities to tune both the surface properties, in terms of recognition, and the membrane properties, in terms of mechanical strength, encapsulation, and release.
US07989542B2
A process for producing a thermoplastic elastomer composition comprising the steps of (1) heating dynamically (A) a defined ethylene-α-olefin random copolymer rubber, (B) a propylene homopolymer, or a defined copolymer of propylene with ethylene and/or an α-olefin, (C) a mineral oil softener, and (D) a crosslinking agent, and (2) melt-kneading the resultant product with a defined polypropylene resin (E); and a process for producing a foamed thermoplastic elastomer composition comprising the further step of melt-kneading said thermoplastic elastomer composition with (F) a foaming agent.
US07989540B2
A resin composition comprises a resin, a vulcanization-activating agent, and a stabilizer. The vulcanization-activating agent may be a compound having a plurality of polymerizable unsaturated bonds (e.g., a compound having a plurality of (meth)acryloyl groups). The stabilizer may be an antioxidant, or a light stabilizer (particularly, a stabilizer is capable of capturing a radical). Use of the resin composition as a resin material ensures to directly join between a resin and a rubber certainly and firmly. The proportion of the vulcanization-activating agent may be about 0.1 to 10 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the resin. The proportion of the stabilizer may be about 0.01 to 5 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the resin.The present invention provides a resin composition excellent in adhesiveness to a rubber.
US07989536B2
A polymeric nanocomposite comprises a non-polar hyperbranched polystyrene resin. An exfoliated or intercalated onium functionalized clay is dispersed within the resin. Such nanocomposites are more compatible with non-polar polymer matrices used in various articles of manufacture.
US07989527B2
The invention relates to polymer nanocomposites comprising synthesized lamellar nanoparticles dispersed in a polymer matrix. The lamellar nanoparticles are synthetically made in a one-step operation by supramolecular assembly of a surfactant and a inorganic precursor and are exfoliated inside the polymer matrix.
US07989525B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition which is excellent in antistatic property of a non-electrification-prevented adherend (subject to be protected) upon peeling, and has reduced stainability in an adherend and is excellent in adhesion reliance, and electrification preventing pressure-sensitive adhesive sheets using the same. There is provided a pressure-sensitive composition comprising an ionic liquid, and a (meth)acryl-based polymer containing, as a monomer component, 0.1 to 100% by weight of a (meth)acrylic acid alkylene oxide. There is provided a pressure-sensitive composition comprising an ionic liquid, and a polymer containing, as a monomer component, 0.5 to 30% by weight of a nitrogen-containing monomer and having a glass transition temperature Tg of no higher than 0° C. There is provided a pressure-sensitive composition comprising an ionic liquid, and a (meth)acryl-based polymer containing, as a monomer component, 0.01 to 20% by weight of a reactive surfactant.
US07989522B2
A biodegradable wax composition containing a wax as a main component and also containing a biodegradable polymer and a filler and having a moisture permeability of 3 g·mm/m2·24 hr or less at 40° C. and 90% RH. The wax is preferably present in an amount of 65 to 95% by weight. The biodegradable polymer preferably has a weight average molecular weight of 200,000 or higher. The polymer is preferably polyisoprene or natural rubber and is preferably present in an amount of 5 to 35% by weight.
US07989521B1
An object of the present invention is to provide a composition for forming an environment friendly antifouling coating film that is unlikely to cause a hairline crack and like coating film defects even when immersed in seawater for a long time, and that prevents or inhibits attachment of slime. An antifouling coating composition of the invention comprises: (A) a triorganosilyl ester-containing copolymer obtained by a mixture of (a) a triorganosilyl (meth)acrylate monomer represented by a general formula (1): R1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl, and R2, R3, and R4 are equal or different each other, and each represent an alkyl group having 3 to 6 carbons and branched on α-position or a phenyl group, and (b) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer copolymerizable with the triorganosilyl (meth)acrylate monomer, (B) a modified rosin salt which is a salt of a modified rosin and zinc and/or copper, the modified rosin containing, in an amount of 80 weight % or more, two or more members selected from the group consisting of dihydroabietic acid, tetrahydroabietic acid, dehydroabietic acid, pimaric acid, isopimaric acid, and dihydropimaric acid.
US07989492B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a lipase activity inhibitor that shows high inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase to suppress the absorption of meal-derived fat and/or which contributes to suppressing and preventing obesity, as well as a food or beverage that has such lipase activity inhibitor incorporated therein. Another object of the invention is to provide a lipase inhibitor of tea origin that suits most consumers' taste and which will not impair the flavor of the food or beverage when incorporated therein. Still another object of the invention is to provide a process for producing said lipase inhibitors. Further object of the invention is to provide antioxidants. To attain these objects, epigallocatechin dimers (oolong homobisflavans) or trimers are incorporated in foods or beverages. As a result, the absorption of meal-derived fat can be suppressed and, in addition, antioxidation effect is obtained. The compounds of the invention can be produced by reacting epigallocatechin gallate with formaldehyde in the presence of an acid.
US07989473B2
The invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of N-ethyl-N-phenyl-1,2,-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-chloro-1-methyl-2-oxoquinoline-3-carboxamide, N-methylglucamine, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
US07989466B2
Isolated and purified chemokine peptides, variants, and derivatives thereof, as well as chemokine peptide analogs, are provided.
US07989460B2
The present invention relates to compounds of the formula I: wherein: ring C is an 8, 9, 10, 12 or 13-membered bicyclic or tricyclic moiety which moiety may be saturated or unsaturated, which may be aromatic or non-aromatic, and which optionally may contain 1-3 heteroatoms selected independently from O, N and S; is —O— —NH— or —S—; is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5; is 0, 1, 2 or 3; and R2 and R1 are as defined herein; and salts thereof; their use in the manufacture of a medicament for use in the production of an antiangiogenic and/or vascular permeability reducing effect in warm-blooded animals; processes for the preparation of such compounds; pharmaceutical compositions containing a compound of formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and methods of treating disease states involving angiogenesis by administering a compound of formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The compounds of formula I inhibit the effects of VEGF, a property of value in the treatment of a number of disease states including cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
US07989456B2
The present invention relates to compounds useful as inhibitors of protein kinases. The invention also provides pharmaceutically acceptable compositions comprising those compounds and methods of using the compounds and compositions in the treatment of various disease, conditions, and disorders. The invention also provides processes for preparing compounds of the inventions.
US07989454B2
Provided herein are compounds of the formula (I): as well as pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein the substituents are as those disclosed in the specification. These compounds, and the pharmaceutical compositions containing them, are useful for the treatment of diseases such as, for example, COPD.
US07989451B2
The invention relates to novel tricyclic 1,2,4-triazine-1-oxides and novel tricyclic 1,2,4-triazine-1,4-dioxides of formula I and to related analogues, to their preparation, and to their use as hypoxia-selective drugs and radiosensitizers for cancer therapy, both alone or in combination with radiation and/or other anticancer drugs.
US07989442B2
The present invention provides new progesterone receptor modulators which are (cis)-8-fluorodibenzo[b,f]pyrido[1,2-d]oxazepine-1-amine compounds and uses thereof.
US07989440B2
A metal coordination complex of a biologically active moiety and a metal is disclosed. The complex confers to the biologically active moiety an improved performance which can include potency, stability, absorbability, targeted delivery, and combinations thereof.
US07989435B2
The present invention provides a chemical compound or a salt thereof having the chemical formula of: wherein said R is H or citrate and wherein at least one R is citrate. The salt of the chemical compound is the Na+, K+, Mg2+, or Ca2+ salt of said chemical compound. The chemical compound is a chelator which chelates sodium, potassium or lithium, magnesium, calcium, copper, iron, lead, zinc, aluminum, mercury, cadmium, or chromium. It is also be used as an artery plaque dissolver and/or to treat age-related degenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. The present invention also provides a method for producing the phytic citrate compound and/or its salt.
US07989428B2
A method and kit for inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells are disclosed, based on a combination of a gemcitabine and a telomerase inhibitor. When used in cancer therapy, the two compounds in combination enhance the anti-cancer treatment efficacy obtained with gemcitabine alone or the telomerase inhibitor alone. Preferably, efficacy is supraadditive or synergistic in nature relative to the combined effects of the individual agents, with minimal exacerbation of side effects.
US07989420B2
The invention relates to methods of inducing smooth muscle relaxation, for example, a method of inducing relaxation of a vascular or a non-vascular muscle or a method of inducing relaxation of the microvasculature, in a subject in need thereof by promoting the accumulation of protoporphyrin IX in the smooth muscle.
US07989402B2
An aqueous drilling fluid which contains a diquaternary ammonium cation functionalized clay which provides a substantially constant rheological profile, with respect to salinity, when incorporated into well drilling fluids. A clay/organic chemical composition includes: (a) montmorillonite clay and (b) one or more diquaternary ammonium compounds. A further aspect of the invention is a well drilling process which employs a drilling fluid containing the diquaternary ammonium cation functionalized clay described hereafter.
US07989400B2
The invention provides a method for treating a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore, the method comprising the steps of formulating a treatment fluid and introducing the treatment fluid through the wellbore. The treatment fluid comprises water; diutan; and a sufficient amount of salt to increase the density of the treatment fluid to at least 8.5 lb/gal, wherein at least 50% by weight of the salt is selected from the group consisting of: bromide salts, non-bromide salts having a higher salting-in effect than bromide according to the Hofmeister series as measured by the salt's effect on the cloud point of poly(ethylene oxide) that has a molecular weight of 4×106, and any combination in any proportion thereof. The invention also provides a treatment fluid for use in a subterranean formation penetrated by a wellbore, the treatment fluid comprising: water; diutan; and a sufficient amount of salt to increase the density of the treatment fluid to at least 8.5 lb/gal, wherein at least 50% by weight of the salt is selected from the group consisting of: bromide salts, non-bromide salts having a higher salting-in effect than bromide according to the Hofmeister series as measured by the salt's effect on the cloud point of poly(ethylene oxide) that has a molecular weight of 4.106, and any combination in any proportion thereof.
US07989398B2
Pumpable multiple phase vesicle compositions carry agents and components downhole or through a conduit, and controllably releasing them at a different place and time by breaking the compositions. In one non-limiting embodiment the pumpable multiple phase vesicles have a third phase containing a first phase which bears the agent to be controllably released. The first and third phases of the vesicles are separated by a surface active material bilayer that forms the second phase. The pumpable multiple phase vesicles may have internal and external phases that are both oil miscible, both aqueous miscible, or both alcohol miscible. The surface active material bilayer may be composed of compounds such as phospholipids, alkyl polyglycosides, gemini surfactants, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan trioleate, and many others. The agent may be released by one or more of a variety of mechanisms.
US07989384B2
Use of physical vapor deposition methodologies to deposit nanoscale gold on activating support media makes the use of catalytically active gold dramatically easier and opens the door to significant improvements associated with developing, making, and using gold-based, catalytic systems. The present invention, therefore, relates to novel features, ingredients, and formulations of gold-based, heterogeneous catalyst systems generally comprising nanoscale gold deposited onto a nanoporous support.
US07989383B2
A catalyst composition for the polymerization of propylene comprising one or more Ziegler-Natta procatalyst compositions comprising one or more transition metal compounds and one or more esters of aromatic dicarboxylic acid internal electron donors; one or more aluminum containing cocatalysts; a selectivity control agent (SCA) comprising at least one silicon containing compound containing at least one C1-10 alkoxy group bonded to a silicon atom, and one or more activity limiting agent (ALA) compounds comprising one or more aliphatic or cycloaliphatic carboxylic acids; alkyl-, cycloalkyl- or alkyl(poly)(oxyalkyl)-(poly)ester derivatives thereof; or inertly substituted derivatives of the foregoing.
US07989380B2
A dense silicon carbide (SiC) material with boron (B), nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) as the only additives and with excellent insulting performance (electrical volume resistivity greater than 1×108 Ω·cm). The SiC ceramic material, made from a powder mix of, by weight, from 0.1 to 7% boron carbide, from 0.1 to 7% silicon nitride, from 0.1 to 6% silicon dioxide, and a balance of α-SiC, consists essentially of (1) at least 90% by weight of α-SiC, (2) about 0.3 to 4.0% by weight of boron, (3) about 0.1 to 6.0% by weight of nitrogen, (4) about 0.06 to 0.5% by weight of oxygen, and (5) no more than 0.07% by weight of metallic impurities; wherein the boron and nitrogen are present according to an B/N atomic ratio of 0.9 to 1.5. In particular, this material is suitable for applications in plasma etching chambers for semiconductor and integrated circuit manufacturing.
US07989379B2
The present invention provides a glass having a refractive index and a coefficient of thermal expansion close to those of quartz glass, respectively, and also having anti-devitrification properties excellent enough to avoid the development of defects such as devitrification on the glass surface even when it is molded by drawing process or reheat forming, more specifically an optical glass for use in optical communication devices, particularly an optical glass for use in a stub.The optical glass of the invention is composed of a borosilicate glass having a refractive index of from 1.44 to 1.46, a coefficient of thermal expansion of from 10×10−7 to 50×10−7/° C., and a liquidus viscosity of 105.5 dPa·s or more.
US07989377B2
Provided is an optical glasses that has high refractivity and low dispersion and anomalous partial dispersion capability and that has excellent processability and devitrification resistance and ensures that the occurrence of striae can be inhibited, the optical glass including an optical glass having a refractive index (nd) of 1.54 to 1.60, an Abbe's number (vd) of 65 to 78, a partial dispersion ratio of 0.530 or more, a specific gravity of 4.0 or less and a viscosity, measured at its liquidus temperature, of 4 dPa·s or more and an optical glass comprising as cationic components, by cationic %, 20 to 50% of p5+, 0.1 to 20% of Al3+, 0.1 to 20% of Mg2+, 0 to 20% of Ca2+, 0 to 20% of Sr2+, 0.1 to 30% of Ba2+ and 0 to 10% of Y3+, and further comprising, as anionic components, F− and O2−, wherein the ratio of the content of Mg2+ to the content of Al3+, Mg2+/Al3+, based on cationic %, is 1.2 or less.
US07989375B2
An object is to provide a readily fusible glass fiber composition that can alleviate environmental problem and reduce raw material cost by decreasing boron content, and that can facilitate the manufacturing of fine-count glass filament. A glass fiber composition of the present invention is an oxide glass composition, and has compositions of 0.01 to 3% of P2O5, 52 to 62% of SiO2, 10 to 16% of Al2O3, 0 to 8% of B2O3, 0 to 5% of MgO, 16 to 30% of CaO, and 0 to 2% of R2O(R═Li+N+K), which are in terms of oxide represented in mass percentage.
US07989363B2
A method for fabricating semiconductor devices, e.g., SONOS cell. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon wafer, silicon on insulator) having a surface region, which has a native oxide layer. The method includes treating the surface region to a wet cleaning process to remove a native oxide layer from the surface region. In a specific embodiment, the method includes subjecting the surface region to an oxygen bearing environment and subjecting the surface region to a high energy electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths ranging from about 300 to about 800 nanometers for a time period of less than 10 milli-seconds to increase a temperature of the surface region to greater than 1000 Degrees Celsius. In a specific embodiment, the method causes formation of an oxide layer having a thickness of less than 10 Angstroms. In a preferred embodiment, the oxide layer is substantially free from pinholes and other imperfections. In a specific embodiment, the oxide layer is a gate oxide layer.
US07989361B2
This invention pertains to a composition for a dielectric thin film, which is capable of being subjected to a low-temperature process. Specifically, the invention is directed to a metal oxide dielectric thin film formed using the composition, a preparation method thereof, a transistor device comprising the dielectric thin film, and an electronic device comprising the transistor device. The electronic device to which the dielectric thin film has been applied exhibits excellent electrical properties, thereby satisfying both a low operating voltage and a high charge mobility.
US07989360B2
Some embodiments include methods for semiconductor processing. A semiconductor substrate may be placed within a reaction chamber. The semiconductor substrate may have an inner region and an outer region laterally outward of said inner region, and may have a deposition surface that extends across the inner and outer regions. The semiconductor substrate may be heated by radiating thermal energy from the outer region to the inner region. The heating may eventually achieve thermal equilibrium. However, before thermal equilibrium of the outer and inner regions is reached, and while the outer region is warmer than the inner region, at least two reactants are sequentially introduced into the reaction chamber. The reactants may together form a single composition on the deposition surface through a quasi-ALD process.
US07989356B2
A semiconductor device has a first conductive layer formed over a substrate. A first insulating layer is formed over the first conductive layer. A second conductive layer is formed over first insulating layer and first conductive layer. A third insulating layer is formed over the second insulating layer and second conductive layer. An under bump metallization layer (UBM) is formed over the third insulating layer and second conductive layer. A UBM build-up structure is formed over the UBM. The UBM build-up structure has a sloped sidewall and is confined within a footprint of the UBM. The UBM build-up structure extends above the UBM to a height of 2-20 micrometers. The UBM build-up structure is formed in sections occupying less than an area of the UBM. A solder bump is formed over the UBM and UBM build-up structure. The sections of the UBM build-up structure provide exits for flux vapor escape.
US07989355B2
The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device that includes forming a mask layer over a substrate, forming a dummy layer having a first dummy feature and a second dummy feature over the mask layer, forming first and second spacer roofs to cover a top portion of the first and second dummy features, respectively, and forming first and second spacer sleeves to encircle side portions of the first and second dummy features, respectively, removing the first spacer roof and the first dummy feature while protecting the second dummy feature, removing a first end portion and a second end portion of the first spacer sleeve to form spacer fins, and patterning the mask layer using the spacer fins as a first mask element and the second dummy feature as a second mask element.
US07989348B2
A polishing method that carries out a multi-step polishing process with improved polishing conditions (polishing recipe) while omitting measurement of the surface conditions of a substrate, as carried out between polishing steps thereby increasing the throughput. The polishing method for polishing workpieces by repeating the sequential operations of taking a workpiece out of a cassette in which a plurality of workpieces are stored, carrying out multi-step polishing of a surface of the workpiece and returning the workpiece to the cassette, includes carrying out one of the following two polishing processes for the workpiece taken out of the cassette: a first polishing process comprising carrying out the multi-step polishing under preset conditions and measurement of the surface of the workpiece before and after each polishing step; and a second polishing process comprising carrying out a predetermined step of the multi-step polishing under polishing conditions which have been modified based on the results of the measurement.
US07989341B2
A method for creating a dual damascene structure while using only one lithography and masking step. Conventional dual damascene structures utilize two lithography steps: one to mask and expose the via, and a second step to mask and expose the trench interconnection. The novel method for creating a dual damascene structure allows for a smaller number of processing steps, thus reducing the processing time needed to complete the dual damascene structure. In addition, a lower number of masks may be needed. The exemplary mask or reticle used within the process incorporates different regions possessing different transmission rates. During the exposing step, light from an exposing source passes through the mask to expose a portion of the photoresist layer on top of the wafer. Depending on the transmission rate of the different regions, different thickness of the photoresist layer are exposed and later removed by a developing solution, which allows a subsequent etch process to remove portions of both the dielectric layer and photoresist layer to create a dual damascene structure.
US07989333B2
Methods of forming integrated circuit devices include forming a gate electrode on a substrate and forming a nitride layer on a sidewall and upper surface of the gate electrode. The nitride layer is then anisotropically oxidized under conditions that cause a first portion of the nitride layer extending on the upper surface of the gate electrode to be more heavily oxidized relative to a second portion of the nitride layer extending on the sidewall of the gate electrode. A ratio of a thickness of an oxidized first portion of the nitride layer relative to a thickness of an oxidized second portion of the nitride layer may be in a range from about 3:1 to about 7:1.
US07989317B2
To provide a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device in which manufacturing cost can be reduced, and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device with reduced manufacturing time and improved yield. A manufacturing method of a semiconductor device is provided, which includes the steps of forming a first layer containing a metal over a substrate, forming a second layer containing an inorganic material on the first layer, forming a third layer including a thin film transistor on the second layer, irradiating the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer with laser light to form an opening portion through at least the second layer and the third layer.
US07989315B2
When printing is performed on a base substrate with a laser after a single crystal silicon layer is transferred to the base substrate, there are problems such as ablation of the single crystal silicon layer in the peripheral portion of a printed dot or attachment of glass chips or the like to the surface of the single crystal silicon layer. After printing is performed on the bonding surface of a silicon wafer with a laser, the surface of the silicon wafer is polished by CMP (chemical mechanical polishing), so that the projection in the peripheral portion of the printed dot is removed. After that, the silicon wafer is bonded to the base substrate. Since the depression of the printed dot remains to some extent by a chemical etching effect even after the polishing by CMP, the single crystal silicon layer is not transferred only at the depression portion at the time of the transfer; accordingly, the information is left on the base substrate.
US07989312B2
A semiconductor structure and method of fabricating the structure. The method includes removing the backside silicon from two silicon-on-insulator wafers having devices fabricated therein and bonding them back to back utilizing the buried oxide layers. Contacts are then formed in the upper wafer to devices in the lower wafer and wiring levels are formed on the upper wafer. The lower wafer may include wiring levels. The lower wafer may include landing pads for the contacts. Contacts to the silicon layer of the lower wafer may be silicided.
US07989307B2
Methods of pitch doubling of asymmetric features and semiconductor structures including the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, a single photolithography mask may be used to pitch double three features, for example, of a DRAM array. In one embodiment, two wordlines and a grounded gate over field may be pitch doubled. Semiconductor structures including such features are also disclosed.
US07989306B2
Method of forming alternating regions of Si and SiGe or SiGeC on a buried oxide layer on a substrate
Semiconductor structures and methods of forming semiconductor structures, and more particularly to structures and methods of forming SiGe and/or SiGeC buried layers for SOI/SiGe devices. An integrated structure includes discontinuous, buried layers having alternating Si and SiGe or SiGeC regions. The structure further includes isolation structures at an interface between the Si and SiGe or SiGeC regions to reduce defects between the alternating regions. Devices are associated with the Si and SiGe or SiGeC regions.
US07989303B2
In an embodiment, a method of creating an alignment mark on a substrate includes forming a plurality of lines segmented into electrically conducting line segments and space segments, thereby forming spaces between the lines to form a macroscopic structure in a first layer of the substrate, creating a plurality of electrically conducting trenches in a second layer of the substrate, and arranging the plurality of trenches to be in electrical contact with the line segments and overlapping the space segments at least partially.
US07989289B2
Floating gate structures are generally described. In one example, an electronic device includes a semiconductor substrate, a tunnel dielectric coupled with the semiconductor substrate, and a floating gate structure comprising at least a first region having a first electron energy level or electron workfunction or carrier capture efficiency coupled with the tunnel dielectric and a second region having a second electron energy level or electron workfunction or carrier capture efficiency coupled with the first region wherein the first electron energy level or electron workfunction or carrier capture efficiency is less than the second electron energy level or electron workfunction or carrier capture efficiency. Such electronic device may reduce the thickness of the floating gate structure or reduce leakage current through an inter-gate dielectric, or combinations thereof, compared with a floating gate structure that comprises only polysilicon.
US07989280B2
A Group III-V Semiconductor device and method of fabrication is described. A high-k dielectric is interfaced to a confinement region by a chalcogenide region.
US07989272B2
A conventional composition of carbon nitride has a deposition method and properties limited. In the case of using the composition of carbon nitride as a protective film, for example, a material of an object to be coated (goods) is required to satisfy with a condition in disagreement with a temperature during forming the composition of carbon nitride. Besides, in the case of using the composition of carbon nitride as an insulating film in a semiconductor device, low stress relaxation and low coverage for a step are produced since the insulating film has a low hydrogen concentration. Consequently, a composition including carbon nitride according to the present invention is formed at a deposition temperature that enables to include hydrogen in the composition at 30 to 45 atomic %, for example, at temperatures of 100° C. or less, preferably 50° C. or less, more preferably from 20° C. to 30° C., with stability and adhesiveness kept.
US07989270B2
A semiconductor device is made by forming a plurality of conductive pillars vertically over a temporary carrier. A conformal insulating layer is formed over the conductive pillars. A conformal conductive layer is formed over the conformal insulating layer. A first conductive pillar, conformal insulating layer, and conformal conductive layer constitute a vertically oriented integrated capacitor. A semiconductor die or component is mounted over the carrier. An encapsulant is deposited over the semiconductor die or component and around the conformal conductive layer. A first interconnect structure is formed over a first side of the encapsulant. The first interconnect structure includes an integrated passive device. The first interconnect structure is electrically connected to the semiconductor die or component and vertically oriented integrated capacitor. The carrier is removed. A second interconnect structure is formed over a second side of the encapsulant opposite the first side of the encapsulant.
US07989269B2
A semiconductor device is made by mounting a first semiconductor die to a first substrate, forming a first encapsulant over the first semiconductor die, and forming a second encapsulant over the first encapsulant. The second encapsulant is penetrable, thermally conductive material. A second semiconductor die is mounted to the second substrate. A bond wire electrically connects the second semiconductor die to the second substrate. A passive circuit element is mounted to the second substrate. Leading with the second encapsulant, the first substrate is pressed onto the second substrate so that the second encapsulant completely covers the second semiconductor die, bond wire, and passive circuit element. The second encapsulant is then cured. A third encapsulant is formed over the first and second substrates. A shield can be disposed over the second semiconductor die with openings for the second encapsulant to flow through when pressed onto the second substrate.
US07989262B2
Embodiments disclosed herein generally include methods of sealing a cavity in a device structure. The cavity may be opened by etching away sacrificial material that may define the cavity volume. Material from below the cavity may be sputter etched and redeposited over and in passageways leading to the cavity to thereby seal the cavity. Material may be sputter etched from above the cavity and redeposited in the passageways leading to the cavity as well. The sputter etching may occur in a substantially inert atmosphere. As the sputter etching is a physical process, little or no sputter etched material will redeposit within the cavity itself. The inert gases may sweep out any residual gases that may be present in the cavity after the cavity has been opened. Thus, after the sputter etching, the cavity may be substantially filled with inert gases that do not negatively impact the cavity.
US07989251B2
A variable resistance memory element and method of forming the same. The memory element includes a substrate supporting a bottom electrode having a small bottom contact area. A variable resistance material is formed over the bottom electrodes such that the variable resistance material has a surface that is in electrical communication with the bottom electrode and a top electrode is formed over the variable resistance material. The small bottom electrode contact area reduces the reset current requirement which in turn reduces the write transistor size for each bit.
US07989245B2
An image sensor includes a first conductivity type substrate with a trench formed in a predetermined portion thereof, a second conductivity type impurity region formed in the first conductivity type substrate below the trench and being a part of a photodiode, a second conductivity type first epitaxial layer filling the trench and being a part of the photodiode, and a first conductivity type second epitaxial layer formed over the second conductivity type first epitaxial layer.
US07989240B2
A method of manufacturing an active matrix substrate that enables increased productivity due to a reduction in the number of patterning processes and low generation of particles during the patterning processes. The method includes forming a patterned electrode on a substrate, and covering the first electrode with an insulating film. A mono-crystalline semiconductor layer is then formed on the insulating film by attaching a first layer formed on a surface of a semiconductor wafer to the first insulating film, and peeling off a portion of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor layer is then patterned and doped, in part, by utilizing the patterned electrode as a photo mask for light illuminated from a lower side of the substrate. This results in part in mono-crystalline active layers for thin film transistors, which are then configured to form a pixel for an active matrix substrate.
US07989233B2
A semiconductor nanowire having two semiconductor pads on both ends is suspended over a substrate. Stress-generating liner portions are formed over the two semiconductor pads, while a middle portion of the semiconductor nanowire is exposed. A gate dielectric and a gate electrode are formed over the middle portion of the semiconductor nanowire while the semiconductor nanowire is under longitudinal stress due to the stress-generating liner portions. The middle portion of the semiconductor nanowire is under a built-in inherent longitudinal stress after removal of the stress-generating liners because the formation of the gate dielectric and the gate electrode locks in the strained state of the semiconductor nanowire. Source and drain regions are formed in the semiconductor pads to provide a semiconductor nanowire transistor. A middle-of-line (MOL) dielectric layer may be formed directly on the source and drain pads.
US07989232B2
Embodiments provide a method and device for electrically monitoring trench depths in semiconductor devices. To electrically measure a trench depth, a pinch resistor can be formed in a deep well region on a semiconductor substrate. A trench can then be formed in the pinch resistor. The trench depth can be determined by an electrical test of the pinch resistor. The disclosed method and device can provide statistical data analysis across a wafer and can be implemented in production scribe lanes as a process monitor. The disclosed method can also be useful for determining device performance of LDMOS transistors. The on-state resistance (Rdson) of the LDMOS transistors can be correlated to the electrical measurement of the trench depth.
US07989227B2
An FOM (figure of merit) enabling evaluation from a cost aspect, as well as evaluation of electrical performance, is newly proposed to provide a method of manufacturing based on the FOM a semiconductor chip intended for a lower cost production in addition to satisfying electrical performance. An FOMC of a semiconductor chip is defined as the product of a term represented by electrical performance of a substrate S and a term represented by a semiconductor chip cost CC; the FOMC of each of the semiconductor chips on substrates SS, SC of different type is determined by calculation of the product thereof. Based on the magnitudes of the calculation results, a desired substrate is selected from the substrates SS, SC and then a semiconductor chip is fabricated by forming a semiconductor element on the desired substrate selected.
US07989226B2
A method and apparatus for distributing clock signals throughout an integrated circuit is provided. An embodiment comprises a distribution die which contains either the clock signal distribution network by itself, or the clock signal distribution network in tandem with a clock signal generator. The distribution die is electrically connected through an interface technology, such as microbumps, to route the clock signals to the functional circuits on a separate functional die. Alternatively, the distribution die could be electrically connected to more than one die at a time, using vias through the distribution die to route the clock signals to the different die. This separate distribution die reduces the coupling between lines and also helps to prevent signal skew as the signal moves through the distribution network.
US07989219B2
A capturing molecule having an association containing a plurality of polypeptide chains that specifically bind to different sites of a target substance, characterized in that each of the polypeptide chains has a domain having a hypervariable loop structure at a binding site binding to the target substance and an association portion for forming the association, and the polypeptide chains are associated via the association portions present in the polypeptide chains.
US07989213B2
Disclosed are Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy (SERRS) probes and their use in detection methods for bioassays. Further disclosed is signal optimization of surface enhanced resonance Raman probes achieved by chemical modification of the probes. Also disclosed are methods for increasing the Raman cross-section by varying the chemical composition of a linker group linking a signal molecule to a nanoparticle surface. The signal molecules, such as dyes, may be modified with a linker group designed to both enhance the SERRS signal and to couple the signal molecule to the nanoparticle surface.
US07989203B2
This invention relates to methods and compositions useful for delivering antigens to dendritic cells which are then useful for inducing antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and T helper cells. This invention also provides assays for evaluating the activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. According to the invention, antigens are targeted to dendritic cells by apoptotic cells which may also be modified to express non-native antigens for presentation to the dendritic cells. The dendritic cells which are primed by the apoptotic cells are capable of processing and presenting the processed antigen and inducing cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity or may also be used in vaccine therapies.
US07989199B2
Systems and methods for automatically controlling conditions of a process are disclosed. In one example, a controller is programmed with a sequence of steps and parameters required to carry out a bioreactor process. The controller receives information related to a condition of the process over a first communication network, determines a control signal based on the received information and the programmed process, and sends the control signal over a second communication network to a benchtop utility tower. In one example, the utility tower can include transmitters for temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen that send information related to a condition of the process to the controller over the first communication network, and an agitation system, a gas control system, a temperature control system and a pump control system that perform a control action based on the control signal affecting the process condition. The utility tower can include a computer with a human-machine interface that communicates with the controller over a third communication network.
US07989194B2
A recombinant bacterium capable to completely degrade or mineralize pollutants such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), which corresponds to Cupriavidus necator strain JMS34, deposited under the access number NRRL B-30817 a product for the bioremediation of environments contaminated with PCBs, where the product includes a bacterial inoculum of this recombinant strain and a method for the bioremediation of environments contaminated with PCBs, which uses this product for the bioremediation.
US07989181B2
The invention relates to host cells with improved protein expressed properties. The host cells comprise rare tRNA genes within the one or more rRNA operons.
US07989164B2
Method and apparatus which uses harmonic cantilevers, such as used in atomic force microscopy, to detect variations in the attractive and repulsive forces on a solid surface as a result of macromolecular binding, for example, hybridization of a single stranded DNA molecule attached to the surface with another DNA molecule. The complexed macromolecule is less flexible than an uncomplexed molecule. It will typically have more negative charge due to amino acids or DNA monomers. Both stiffness of the surface and the attractive capillary forces will change after binding and may be detected. By scanning the harmonic cantilever across a surface with macromolecules attached in tapping-mode and by recording the signals at the high frequency vibrations provided by harmonic cantilever, complexed molecules on a surface may be identified and quantified.
US07989161B2
A method for determining sensitivity or resistance of isolates of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) retroviruses to chemical molecules having an inhibiting activity on a viral protease or to therapeutic treatments based on inhibitors of the viral protease, including causing cell lysis of at least one yeast by expression of the retrovirus protease.
US07989154B2
A method of fabricating a polymer or resist pattern over a substrate includes coating a photosensitive polymer or resist over the substrate to form a polymer or resist layer, determining a portion of the polymer or resist layer to be exposed to light, placing a light adjusting layer in an optical path of light shone on the polymer or resist layer, and adjusting the light adjusting layer to adjust a direction or intensity of the light shone on the polymer or resist layer. Based on the method, it is easy to fabricate a polymer or resist pattern, a metal film pattern, metal pattern structure, and a polymer mold, each having three-dimensional structures with various slopes or shapes by adjusting a direction or intensity of incident light when performing a lithography process.
US07989151B2
A method to enhance resolution in optical lithography via absorbance-modulation involves exposing an opaque absorbance modulation layer (AML) to a first waveform having wavelength, 81, with the first exposure forming a first set of transparent regions in the opaque AML and forming a first pattern made of a set of exposed regions in a photoresist layer. Next, the AML is restored to its original opaque state. Next, the restored AML is re-exposed to the first waveform having wavelength, 81, with the exposure forming a second set of transparent regions in the opaque AML and forming a second pattern having a set of exposed regions in a photoresist layer. The first and second patterns in the photoresist layer form a final pattern with enhanced resolution and decreased spatial period than the first pattern. In another scenario, instead of exposing the AML to a first waveform, two waveforms are used (the second being complimentary to the first) to ensure that the transmitted image has sharper edges compared to the original image.
US07989146B2
A method for producing a patterned material for electronic or photonic circuits, comprising the steps of: p) providing a substrate; q) coating the substrate with a polymer layer; r) coating a thermal resist solution over the polymer layer to form a thermal resist layer, wherein the polymer layer is substantially immiscible in the thermal resist solution; s) exposing predetermined areas of the thermal resist layer, corresponding to a desired image pattern, using infrared light; t) removing portions of the thermal resist layer corresponding to a desired image pattern, using a developer; u) removing the polymer layer where the thermal resist layer has been previously removed and undercutting a portion of the remaining thermal resist layer by an etching process; v) depositing a material using a substantially anisotropic process; and removing the remaining thermal resist layer and any overlying material with a solvent for the polymer or thermal resist layers leaving the material in a desired pattern.
US07989145B2
A method for forming a fine pattern of a semiconductor device comprises forming a spin-on-carbon layer over an underlying layer, forming an anti-reflection pattern including a silicon containing polymer with a first etching mask pattern, forming a photoresist pattern including a silicon containing polymer with a second etching mask pattern between elements of the first etching mask pattern, and etching the spin-on-carbon layer with the etching mask patterns to reduce the process steps and the manufacturing cost, thereby obtaining a uniform pattern profile.
US07989142B2
An exemplary method for fabricating a TFT array substrate includes providing an insulating substrate (201); coating a gate metal layer (202) on the substrate; forming a plurality of gate electrodes (212) using a first photo-mask process; forming a gate insulating layer (203), a semiconducting layer (205), and a source/drain metal layer (206) on the substrate having the gate electrodes; forming a plurality of source electrodes (217) and a plurality of drain electrodes (218) using a second photo-mask process; forming a passivation material layer (209) and a photo resist layer on the gate insulating layer, the source electrodes and the drain electrodes; forming a passivation layer (219) and the photo resist pattern (234) using a third photo-mask process; forming a transparent conductive metal layer (204) on the photo resist pattern, the drain electrode and the gate insulating layer; and forming a pixel electrode (214) through removing the photo resist pattern.
US07989139B2
The azo-metal chelate dye to which the present invention is applied is a compound formed as follows: for example, 1,3,4-thiadiazole ring is selected as the diazo component; the diazo component is combined with a coupler component having condensed rings including a fluorine-substituted alkylsulfonylamino group and an amino group, to form an azo dye compound; and the azo dye compound forms chelate bonds with at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, Cu and Pd. Here, two absorption bands (OD1 and OD2) are seen in the absorption spectrum, which is measured in a range of 400 to 800 nm wavelengths. The azo-metal chelate dye is characterized in that the optical density ratio (OD2/OD1) of the two absorption bands is greater than 1.25. By using this azo-metal chelate dye, an optical recording medium capable of high-speed recording is provided.
US07989132B2
An image sheet forming method includes supplying a first sheet including a non-transparent layer, and transferring a toner image onto a toner image carrying surface of the first sheet. The method further includes integrating a second sheet, which includes a base layer and a transparent layer, with the first sheet in a manner that the toner image is sandwiched between the toner image carrying surface of the first sheet and the transparent layer of the second sheet. The method further includes separating the base layer from the second sheet while fixing the toner image.
US07989129B2
A photoconductor that includes, for example, a supporting substrate, a photogenerating layer, and at least one charge transport layer that contains at least one charge transport component, and where the photogenerating layer contains a hydroxyquinoline.
US07989118B2
A method of manufacturing a fuel cell stack is provided. The method provides forming an inspectable preassembly of multiple fuel cell assemblies that may be termed a pseudostack. Each fuel cell in the pseudostack has permanent electrical interconnections and sealing connections on only one of the two electrodes, namely an anode layer or a cathode layer. For example, an anode interconnect may be firmly attached to the anode layer by means of a bonding agent and a sealing agent used to seal passages on the anode layer of the fuel cell. Alternatively, seals and permanent electrical connections may be made on the cathode layer of the fuel cell, and not on the anode layer.
US07989112B2
A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell having a membrane, which is adapted to perform power generation by a chemical reaction of two reaction gases each supplied to one side of the membrane, reaction gas paths through which the two reaction gases flow, a purge device for purging at least one of the two reaction gases from the reaction gas paths, a monitoring device for monitoring a state of the fuel cell after stopping of the power generation in the fuel cell, and a control unit for controlling the purge device so as to carry out a purge operation when it is determined by the monitoring device that the state of the fuel cell is a predetermined state.
US07989108B2
A non-aqueous electrolyte battery of the present invention includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The negative electrode includes a molded body made by compression molding a granulated material containing a negative electrode active material, a conductive agent, and a binder. The negative electrode active material includes a Si-containing material. Volume-based 90% particle size R (D90) of the negative electrode active material, volume-based 10% particle size Rz (D10) and 90% particle size Rz (D90) of the granulated material, and thickness T of the molded body satisfy the following relation formulae: (i) R (D90)
US07989103B2
A microporous separator film for electrochemical cells and a method of making such films is disclosed. The microporous separator film includes an intimate mixture of an electrically insulating matrix phase and a self-switching voltage activated conductive phase, wherein the voltage activated conductive phase provides a plurality of conductive paths from a first face of the microporous separator film to a second face of the microporous separator film. The method for making the composite microporous separator film includes the steps of forming an intimate mixture of at least an insulating matrix phase and a self-switching voltage activated phase, forming a film from the mixture, and generating pores within the film.
US07989094B2
A sheet-like pane bearing a low-maintenance coating on one surface and a low-emissivity coating on the opposite surface, wherein one of the low-maintenance coating and the low-emissivity coating has a single surface reflectivity of less than 3 times, and more than one-third, that of the other coating.
US07989091B2
Silanes comprising phenothiazine S-oxide or phenothiazine S,S-dioxide groups, organic light-emitting diodes comprising the inventive silanes, a light-emitting layer comprising at least one inventive silane and at least one triplet emitter, a process for preparing the inventive silanes and the use of the inventive silanes in organic light-emitting diodes, preferably as matrix materials and/or blocker materials for triplet emitters.
US07989086B2
A multi-layer seal arrangement includes a dissolution barrier between a braze alloy and a ceramic component. The inventive seal is useful for joining a ceramic component to another ceramic component or a metal component, for example. In one example, the braze comprises a gold alloy and the dissolution barrier comprises a layer of alumina on the order of 2-3 microns thick. A titanium wetting layer is provided between the alumina layer and the alloy. A metallization layer provided between the dissolution barrier and the ceramic component in one example comprises a layer of gold between two thin layers of titanium. In one particular example, a platinum mesh is included with the gold of the braze alloy to control braze flow during the brazing operation.
US07989080B2
A method and apparatus suitable for forming hermetic electrical feedthroughs in a ceramic sheet having a thickness of ≦40 mils. More particularly, the method yields an apparatus including a hermetic electrical feedthrough which is both biocompatible and electrochemically stable and suitable for implantation in a patient's body. The method involves: (a) providing an unfired, ceramic sheet having a thickness of ≦40 mils and preferably comprising ≧99% aluminum oxide; (b) forming multiple blind holes in said sheet; (c) inserting solid wires, preferably of platinum, in said holes; (d) firing the assembly of sheet and wires to a temperature sufficient to sinter the sheet material but insufficient to melt the wires; and (e) removing sufficient material from the sheet lower surface so that the lower ends of said wires are flush with the finished sheet lower surface.
US07989077B2
A coated steel product comprises a metallic strip material which has a coating comprising an electrically insulating layer doped with sodium. The thermal expansion coefficient of said metallic strip material is less than 12×10−6 K−1 in the temperature range 0-600° C. Said product may be coated with an electrically conducting layer of molybdenum. The coated steel product is useful as a substrate for flexible Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells.
US07989072B2
A transparent conductive oxide (TCO) based film is formed on a substrate. The film may be formed by sputter-depositing, so as to include both a primary dopant (e.g., Al) and a co-dopant (e.g., Ag). The benefit of using the co-dopant in depositing the TCO inclusive film may be two-fold: (a) it may prevent or reduce self-compensation of the primary dopant by a more proper positioning of the Fermi level, and/or (b) it may promote declustering of the primary dopant, thereby freeing up space in the metal sublattice and permitting more primary dopant to create electrically active centers so as to improve conductivity of the film. Accordingly, the use of the co-dopant permits the primary dopant to be more effective in enhancing conductivity of the TCO inclusive film, without significantly sacrificing visible transmission characteristics. An example TCO in certain embodiments is ZnAlOx:Ag.
US07989071B2
The invention relates to the improvement of organic electronic devices, especially organic electroluminescence devices, to which end inclusion compounds are used, especially as charge injection materials and/or charge transporting materials.
US07989061B2
A polylactic acid monofilament includes a linear polylactic acid with a relative viscosity ηrel of in the range of 2.7 to 4.5, prepared from lactic acid monomers wherein at least 95 mol % of the lactic acid is an L-isomer, and wherein the resin contains 0 to 30 ppm of Sn and 0 to 0.5% by weight of residual monomer.
US07989059B2
A cutting tool insert, particularly useful for machining of cast iron, comprising a body of a hard alloy of cemented carbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material or high speed steel a hard and wear resistant coating; and at least (Al,Cr)2O3 layer applied to said body is disclosed. Methods of making a cutting tool insert are also disclosed. In addition, methods for machining of cast iron using the cutting tool inserts are disclosed.
US07989054B2
The invention relates to a method for digitally printing a polymer-coated paper or board (1), to a paper or board suitable for the method and to the production of a product package equipped with digital prints. During digital printing, printing ink particles are applied in an electric field to the printing surface formed of a polymer coating at locations corresponding to the print, and the printing ink is adhered to the printing surface by fusion with the aid of infrared radiation. In accordance with the invention, the paper or board (2) to be printed is equipped with an inner coating layer (3) containing electrically chargeable ethene acrylate copolymer, such as ethene methyl acrylate copolymer (EMA), and with a polyolefin-based outer shield layer (4) on top of this, which contains e.g. low-density polyethene (LDPE) and provides mechanical strength, forming the printing surface receiving the printing ink.
US07989049B2
The present invention relates generally to a composite plate produced by an alternating stack of (n+1) flexible graphite foils and (n) perforated metal reinforcing foils with spurs (where n≧2). The thicknesses of the flexible graphite foils used are preferably such that any 2 mm slice of thickness of the composite plate comprises at least 3 layers of flexible graphite, and has a graphite density per unit area of at least 2.34 kg/m2. For each perforated metal reinforcing foil, the spurs present on the foil generally have a height in relation to the surface of that foil that does not exceed about 1.3 times the thickness of the thinnest of the flexible graphite layers to which it is attached. A composite plate of the present invention enables the manufacture of gaskets that resist temperatures up to 550° C. under continuous service.
US07989044B2
Means for installation of panels, the panels comprising a core, a decorative upper surface and edges provided with joining means for positioning the panels towards one another. Predetermined portions of the edges are provided with an encapsulated agent which is made present on the edges of the surface elements before assembly and which encapsulation is ruptured by means of assembly making the agent available to the core. The surface elements are hereby joined to one another by use of the joining means wherein a unit of a plurality of surface elements is formed.
US07989022B2
A method of processing a substrate includes physically contacting an exposed conductive electrode of an electrostatic carrier with a conductor to electrostatically bond a substrate to the electrostatic carrier. The conductor is removed from physically contacting the exposed conductive electrode. Dielectric material is applied over the conductive electrode. The substrate is treated while it is electrostatically bonded to the electrostatic carrier. In one embodiment, a conductor is forced through dielectric material that is received over a conductive electrode of an electrostatic carrier to physically contact the conductor with the conductive electrode to electrostatically bond a substrate to the electrostatic carrier. After removing the conductor from the dielectric material, the substrate is treated while it is electrostatically bonded to the electrostatic carrier. Electrostatic carriers for retaining substrates for processing, and such assemblies, are also disclosed.
US07989006B2
Annatto extract composition (AEC), including cis and trans geranyl geraniols (GG) and tocopherol-free C-5 unsubstituted tocotrienols (T3), increases the de novo synthesis of intermediate isoprenoid and distal protein products, including endogenous coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), dolichols (DL) and all subsequent GG-prenylated and DL-glycosylated proteins, including GG-porphyrinated hemes. This intermediate and distal product replenishment by AEC reverses maladies of myotoxicity (of both drug and non-drug origins), including maladies that affect the muscle, kidney, eye, GI tract and skin, nerve, blood, and CoQ10-related syndromes of energetics and LDL protection. AEC anabolically increases the endogenous de novo CoQ10 synthesis via GG elongation/prenylation of side-chain and conversely CoQ10 catabolically increases the endogenous de novo GG synthesis via beta-oxidation of CoQ10. Also, such AEC decreases de novo synthesis and increases disposal of triglycerides (TG) in humans via PPAR activation and SREBP deactivation. Such drop in TG by AEC reverses maladies of insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome (MS), prediabetes, diabetes and diabetes-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD). GG activates PPAR and down regulates SREBP transcription factors. This AEC, containing GG, inhibits cancer growth whether or not GG involvement in protein prenylation is required.
US07989002B2
Gel-based lipstick compositions are disclosed comprising an ester terminated poly(ester-amide) (ETPEA) polymeric gellant, a first wax component having a melting point above the sol-gel transition temperature of the ETPEA gellant, a second wax compositions having a melting point equal to of below the sol-gel transition temperature of the ETPEA gellant, optionally a silicone T-resin co-gellant, and one or more oils capable of forming a gel with the ETPEA gellant. The gel compositions are solid or semi-solid at room temperature and are capable of being molded into self-supporting sticks. The disclosed gels provide high gloss films when applied to the lips and/or provide a rheology characterized by a high viscosity over repeated shear cycles.
US07988997B2
A dosage form which is, in particular, sheet-like and rapidly disintegrating or soluble in an aqueous environment for rapid release of active ingredients in the oral cavity, in body orifices or in body cavities, where the dosage form comprises a matrix which comprises one or more water-soluble polymers as base substances, and comprises at least one active ingredient, is characterized in that the dosage form is provided with spaces or cavities which are present in the polymeric matrix and whose contents differ in terms of the state of aggregation from the matrix.
US07988989B2
A novel nutritional product and methods for the manufacture and administration of the same are disclosed for the feeding of equine foals and other animals. The nutritional product of the present invention is effective in supporting the growth and health of equine foals, and in supporting and stimulating its immune system as well. The nutritional product of the present invention consists of safe and natural ingredients rather than drugs, and is orally administrable. The ingredients of the nutritional product of the present invention when combined provide a synergistic efficacy which greatly exceeds the sum of the efficacies of the individual ingredients, making the nutritional product highly effective in promoting and enhancing the growth, nutritional uptake, and immune system of equine foals.
US07988982B2
A cosmetic composition has an association of at least three of the following substances with anti-free radical activity, selected from: 1) ebselen; or idebenone; or an association of the two; and 2) at least one substance with anti-free radical activity, or at least two substances with anti-free radical activity for obtaining said association of at least three substances with anti-free radical activity, said substance(s) being selected from: a) a substance of chemical formula (I) below: in which: R=a linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated C1-C16 hydrocarbon chain; and R1, R2 and R3 are identical or different and are a hydrogen atom or a methyl or methoxy radical, and its esters; b) an extract of Edelweiss; c) an extract of Emblica; and d) N-acetylcysteine. The anti-free radical activity is greatly improved.
US07988976B1
A method for enhancing antioxidant components of Gracilaria tenuistipitata extract is proposed. The method involves providing an extraction environment of 40° C., and performing cyclic grinding to a Gracilaria tenuistipitata solution with an ultrasonic disrupter outputting a vibrating frequency between 20 KHz and 45 KHz for 60 to 120 minutes, so as to stabilize chemical properties of the Gracilaria tenuistipitata solution and obtain a Gracilaria tenuistipitata extract having more activated protein and phycoerythrin as compared with an extract obtained through the prior art, thereby improving the Gracilaria tenuistipitata extract in antioxidative ability.
US07988975B2
The invention involves a synthetic peptide derived from HIV-1 virus gp41 having sequence where X615 is F or G, a method of preparing the synthetic peptide, a composition and a kit containing the synthetic peptide, and use of the synthetic peptide in immunoassays for the detection of infections caused by HIV-1 viruses.
US07988971B2
The present invention relates to monoclonal antibodies that bind or neutralize Hendra or Nipah virus. The invention provides such antibodies, fragments of such antibodies retaining Hendra or Nipah virus-binding ability, fully human antibodies retaining Hendra or Nipah virus-binding ability, and pharmaceutical compositions including such antibodies. The invention further provides for isolated nucleic acids encoding the antibodies of the invention and host cells transformed therewith. Additionally, the invention provides for prophylactic, therapeutic, and diagnostic methods employing the antibodies and nucleic acids of the invention.
US07988959B2
The present invention relates to in vitro cultured skin tissue, and in particular to cultured skin tissue comprising exogenous genes encoding angiogenic growth factors. In some embodiments, the keratinocytes express exogenous angiopoietin-1, HIF-1α, or a member of the VEGF family, preferably VEGF-A. In particularly preferred embodiments, the keratinocytes are incorporated into cultured skin tissue.
US07988956B2
Poly(ethylene glycol) carbamate derivatives useful as water-soluble pro-drugs are disclosed. These degradable poly(ethylene glycol) carbamate derivatives also have potential applications in controlled hydrolytic degradation of hydrogels. In such degradable hydrogels, drugs may be either trapped in the gel and released by diffusion as the gel degrades, or they may be covalently bound through hydrolyzable carbamate linkages. Hydrolysis of these carbamate linkages releases the amine drug at a controllable rate as the gel degrades.
US07988953B2
The invention provides a conjugate comprising a hyperbranched polymer covalently bonded to at least three UV absorbing chromophores having an UV absorption maximum λmax≧270 nm.The conjugate is an effective and safe sunscreen which can advantageously be used in cosmetic compositions.
US07988951B2
Transimmunization methods incorporating skin immunologic challenges are described for either selectively suppressing the immune response of recipients of transplanted tissue or cells or monitoring induced anti-cancer immunity. In one embodiment, skin from the transplant donor is allografted to the transplant recipient to induce an immunological response to the transplanted skin. A quantity of blood is taken from the recipient and treated to render the T cells in the blood apoptotic and to induce differentiation of blood monocytes into dendritic cells. The treated blood is incubated and administered to the recipient to induce formation of suppressor T cell clones which reduce the number of T cells attacking the transplanted tissue or organ. This tolerogenic approach can be complemented by also feeding the immature dendritic cells apoptotic or necrotic cells from the organ donor. In a second embodiment, dendritic cells loaded with tumor antigens are injected intradermally to monitor the anti-cancer immunity induced by Transimmunization.
US07988948B2
A method for generating hydrogen and/or syngas in a production facility where little or no export steam is produced. Most or all of the steam produced from the waste heat from the process is used in the steam-hydrocarbon reformer. Reformed gas is passed to a pressure swing adsorption system for H2 purification. In the method, CO2 is removed from the pressure swing adsorber residual gas prior to recycling the residual gas to the reformer for use as feed and as fuel. Plant efficiencies using the method and prior art-type methods are compared.
US07988943B2
For conversion of sulphur-containing compounds present in a gas comprising H2S and sulphur-containing compounds into additional H2S, a step A of contacting the gas with a reducing gas and a hydrogenation catalyst comprising cobalt, molybdenum and an alumina support, the sum of cobalt and molybdenum, in the oxide form, being 3% to 25% by weight, the surface area of alumina being more than 140 m2/g. In step B, effluent gas from step A is contacted with a catalyst comprising at least one alkaline-earth element, at least one dopant being iron, cobalt or molybdenum and at least one compound of titanium oxide and/or zirconium oxide, the catalyst for step B) being either in bulk or supported.
US07988938B2
A heap leach process for the recovery of nickel and cobalt from a lateritic ore, said process including the steps of leaching and/or agglomerating the ore with a lixiviant that includes ferrous ions, wherein the lixiviant is able to liberate cobalt from the cobalt containing minerals within the ore in preference to nickel, to produce a cobalt rich pregnant leach solution relatively free of nickel.
US07988920B2
A method and apparatus for aerating a region exposed to a gaseous/vaporous sterilant. A catalytic destroyer and a reactive chemical unit are used to reduce the concentration of the gaseous/vaporous sterilant within the region. The reactive chemical unit includes a chemistry that is chemically reactive with the gaseous/vaporous sterilant. In one embodiment, the gaseous/vaporous sterilant is vaporized hydrogen peroxide and the chemistry of the reactive chemical unit includes thiosulfate and iodide.
US07988915B2
Disclosed is a microfluidic device including a microfluidic structure formed in a platform in which various examinations, such as an immune serum examination, can be automatically performed using the biomolecule microarray chip. The biomolecule microarray chip-type microfluidic device using a biomolecule microarray chip comprises: a platform which is rotatable; a microfluidic structure disposed in the platform, comprising: a plurality of chambers; a plurality of channels connecting the chambers each other; and a plurality of valves controlling flow of fluids through the channels, wherein the microfluidic structure controls flow of a fluid sample using rotation of the platform and the valves; and a biomolecule microarray chip mounted in the platform such that biomolecule capture probes bound to the biomolecule microarray chip contact the fluid sample in the microfluidic structure.
US07988906B2
A process for the production of moldings via a layer-by-layer process by selectively melting regions of one or more powder layers that contain cyclic oligomers and have a median grain diameter determined by laser diffraction of between 25 and 150 μm via input of electromagnetic energy, and permitting the layers to solidify to provide a solid mass, where selectivity is achieved by applying one or more aids amongst the group of susceptors, inhibitors, absorbers, masks, and focusing of a laser beam.
US07988896B2
A method of preparing a carbon nanotube/polymer composite material is provided. The method includes (a) providing a carbon nanotube-based film and a pre-polymer solution; (b) placing the carbon nanotube-based film at a bottom of a container, and pouring the pre-polymer solution in the container; and (c) polymerizing the pre-polymer solution and simultaneously integrating the pre-polymer solution with the carbon nanotube-based film. As such, a carbon nanotube/polymer composite material, including the polymer-impregnated nanotube layer and an upper polymer layer, is obtained. A multi-layer composite can be produced by essentially repeating this process, using the upper polymer layer as the base layer for the formation of the next layer set thereon.
US07988895B2
A microporous polyethylene membrane having well-balanced permeability, mechanical properties, heat shrinkage resistance, compression resistance, electrolytic solution absorbability, shutdown properties and meltdown properties, with an average pore diameter changing in a thickness direction is produced by melt-blending a polyethylene resin and a membrane-forming solvent to prepare a solution A having a resin concentration of 25 to 50% by mass and a solution B having a resin concentration of 10 to 30% by mass, the resin concentration in the solution A being higher than that in the solution B, (a) simultaneously extruding the resin solutions A and B through a die, cooling the resultant extrudate to provide a gel-like sheet in which the resin solutions A and B are laminated, and removing the membrane-forming solvent from the gel-like sheet, or (b) extruding the resin solutions A and B through separate dies, removing the membrane-forming solvent from the resultant gel-like sheets A and B to form microporous polyethylene membranes A and B, and alternately laminating the microporous polyethylene membranes A and B, while easily controlling the average pore diameter distribution in the microporous polyethylene membrane in a thickness direction.
US07988891B2
A method of improving the water permeability and/or cleaning a porous polymeric microfiltration or ultrafiltration membrane, preferably a hydrophobic/hydrophilic blended membrane, eg P VdF/PVP comprising the step of contacting the porous polymeric membrane with a source of monopersulfate, preferably an aqueous solution of 2KHSO5.KHSO4.K2SO4.
US07988885B2
The present invention is directed to electrochromic electrolyte polymer blends. These blends comprise an amorphous polymer and an electrochromophore component. The electrochromophore component comprises a polyalkylene polymer copolymerized with an electrochromic moiety. The blends can be used to make elastomeric films and coatings that can be used in laminates, which can be used to form manufactured articles such as architectural and vehicular glazing, eyewear, displays and signage.
US07988884B2
A novel manufacturing process is described for producing hindered phenolic alkyl esters, which may be useful as antioxidants. This process simplifies catalyst neutralization and removal during the preparation of hindered phenolic esters. Compositions that comprise the hindered phenolic esters produced according to these methods are also described.
US07988875B2
A method and apparatus is provided for controlling the etch profile of a multilayer layer stack by depositing a first and second material layer with differential etch rates in the same or different processing chamber. In one embodiment of the invention, a process for etching substrate material is provided including depositing a first silicon-containing material layer having a first etch rate on the substrate surface from a nitrogen-containing precursor at a first flow rate and a silicon-containing precursor, depositing a second silicon-containing material layer having a second etch rate different than the first etch rate on the first silicon-containing material layer from the nitrogen-containing precursor at a second flow rate different than the first flow rate and the silicon-containing precursor, etching the first silicon-containing material layer and the second silicon-containing material layer, and forming a taper etch profile in the first silicon-containing material layer and the second silicon-containing material layer.
US07988869B2
A reactor for treating with pressurized water a material in a fluid reaction medium. It comprises a body (2) delimiting a reaction area (10), an inlet (48) for the material to be treated in the reaction area (10), a point (46) for introducing an oxidant into the reaction area (10), at least one outlet for the treated material outside the reaction area (10), the material to be treated follows a path defined in the reaction area between its inlet and its outlet. The point (46) for introducing the oxidant in the reaction area (10) is located downstream from the inlet (48) for the material and is spaced apart from the latter by a certain distance so as to define an anoxic area (20) comprised between the inlet for the material to be treated and the point for introducing the oxidant, an area in which the fluid medium is in anoxia.
US07988858B2
The present invention relates to a method for generating at least one polydentate metal chelating affinity ligand, which method comprises the steps of (a) providing at least one scaffold defined by the general formula (I): H2N—(X1)n—S—S—(X2)m—CH2—NH2 wherein X1 and X2 irrespective of each other are carbon atoms or heteroatoms, and n and m irrespective of each other are integers of 1 to 5; (b) providing at least one polydentate metal chelating affinity ligand arm, optionally in a form wherein the metal chelating functionalities of at least one arm are protected, on each scaffold by derivatisation of the nucleophilic NH2 groups of the scaffold; (c) reducing the disulfide bond of the derivatised scaffold; and, if required (d) deprotecting the functionalities of the ligand arm(s) provided in step (b). In the most preferred embodiment, the reduction of the disulfide bond and the deprotection step is performed essentially simultaneously.
US07988857B2
A method for treating mixed wastewater from pharmaceutical chemical industry parks including introducing mixed wastewater into a regulation tank for regulation of water flow and water quality, and then into a hydrolysis tank having a hanged filler and employing upflow water distribution, into an anaerobic tank employing upflow water distribution, into a moving bed biofilm reactor having a suspended filler and an aeration device at the bottom thereof, into a biological aerated filter including a ceramic filler, and finally treating using coagulating precipitation process. The final effluent has less than 100 mg/L COD.
US07988855B2
A cartridge apparatus for water treatment includes a header having a permeate cavity, a plurality of support elements spaced apart from the header, and a plurality of subgroups of hollow fiber membranes, the membranes in each subgroup having first ends potted in the header, and second ends potted in a respective one of the plurality of support elements.
US07988848B2
This invention relates to a process for activating a hydroprocessing catalyst and the use of activated catalyst for hydroprocessing. More particularly, hydroprocessing catalysts are activated in the presence of carbon monoxide. The catalysts that have been activated by CO treatment have improved activity.
US07988846B1
A method for modifying asphalt comprises blowing an oxygen-containing gas through a base asphalt at a high gas flow rate while simultaneously agitating the base asphalt at a high shear rate and at an elevated temperature for a period of time that is effective to substantially improve at least two paving properties of the base asphalt. In preferred embodiments, modified asphalts are produced having both substantially improved rutting resistance and substantially improved fatigue resistance as compared to the base asphalt.
US07988835B2
There are provided a method and an apparatus which form silicon dots having substantially uniform particle diameters and exhibiting a substantially uniform density distribution directly on a substrate at a low temperature. A hydrogen gas (or a hydrogen gas and a silane-containing gas) is supplied into a vacuum chamber (1) provided with a silicon sputter target (e.g., target 30), or the hydrogen gas and the silane-containing gas are supplied into the chamber (1) without arranging the silicon sputter target therein, a high-frequency power is applied to the gas(es) so that plasma is generated such that a ratio (Si(288 nm)/Hβ) between an emission intensity Si(288 nm) of silicon atoms at a wavelength of 288 nm and an emission intensity Hβ of hydrogen atoms at a wavelength of 484 nm in plasma emission is 10.0 or lower, and preferably 3.0 or lower, or 0.5 or lower, and silicon dots (SiD) having particle diameters of 20 nm or lower, or 10 nm or lower are formed directly on the substrate (S) at a low temperature of 500 deg. C. or lower in the plasma (and with chemical sputtering if a silicon sputter target is present).
US07988829B2
A papermaking machine for making paper includes a forming section, a press section, and a drying section. The paper web is pressed between two press members while enclosed between a press felt and a transfer belt having non-uniformly distributed microscopic depressions in its surface, the web following the transfer belt from the press to a transfer point at which the web is transferred via a suction transfer device onto a structuring fabric, the web then being dried on a drying cylinder. The transfer point is spaced a distance D from the press nip selected based on machine speed, a basis weight of the web, and the surface characteristics of the transfer belt, such that within the distance D a thin water film between the web and the transfer belt at least partially dissipates to allow the web to be separated from the transfer belt.
US07988827B2
An aqueous emulsion, including (a) a dialkylamide; and (b) a non-ionic surfactant, is provided. An emulsion, including (a) about 30% b.w. to about 70% b.w. of a dialkylamide; (b) about 5% b.w. to about 25% b.w. of a non-ionic surfactant; and (c) 0% b.w. to about 15% b.w. of an anionic surfactant, where the amounts, with water added and optional auxiliary agents, add to 100% b.w., is also provided. A method for reducing pitch in the production of paper includes adding the emulsion to pulp.
US07988803B2
A device for joining substrates (11) is provided inside a clean booth (12). a single axis robot (46) and a five axis robot (47) convey a wafer (25) and a glass substrate (33). A transcribing station (91) obtains a transcribing film (112) on which adhesive is applied from a film supplying section (113), and presses the transcribing film (112) to the glass substrate (33) so as to transcribe the adhesive to the glass substrate (33). A peeling station (92) peels the transcribing film (112) from the glass substrate (33). A joining station (57) positions the wafer (25) and the glass substrate (33), adjusts parallelism of joining surfaces of the wafer (25) and the glass substrate (33), and joins these substrates together. Since the handling and the joining of the wafer (25), the glass substrate (33) and the transcribing film (112) are performed in the clean booth, it is prevented that a yield ratio of the product decreases because of the adhesion of foreign matters.
US07988796B2
A method of manufacturing a sheave member for a belt-type continuously variable transmission includes a forming step wherein an intermediate product having a sheave surface is formed by forging a steel material; a carburization step wherein the intermediate product is heated in a carburization gas; a gradual cooling step wherein the cooling speed is equal to or less than 20° C./sec, at least until the temperature of the intermediate product has passed through the transformation point; a high-frequency electrical heating step wherein a selected portion(s) of the intermediate product is heated; a water quenching step wherein the selected portion is quenched by contact with water; and a finishing step wherein a grinding process is applied to the intermediate product to attain the final shape. In the cooling step, preferably, the intermediate product is contacted with a cooling gas at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.
US07988789B2
A system and method for low temperature hydration of food soils allows for hydration of food soils between washing cycles in a dishwasher. A user selects a hydration button to actuate a hydration cycle between dishwashing cycles. During the hydration cycle, a plurality of atomizers are periodically actuated in accordance with a desired amount of hydration selected by the user. Water is supplied from a dedicated water supply line to the atomizers, preferably without being heated, and is distributed throughout a dishwasher chamber utilizing spray nozzles or fans associated with the atomizers. The hydration cycle ends when deactivated, or when a dishwashing cycle is initiated.
