US08447719B2
A method of compiling causal rules into continuations for use in root cause analysis of a system comprising a plurality of inter-related elements, comprising defining observable events occurring on system elements; defining at least one of a cause and a result of each of the events; defining causal rules, each rule describing a causal relationship between an event and one of its cause and its result; and compiling the causal relationships as continuations in a continuation passing style (CPS) for use in analyzing the root cause of subsequent observed events symptomatic of at least one problem on the system.
US08447716B2
A constraint solver for solving a constraint satisfaction problem network that comprises a plurality of nodes and a plurality of constraints. The solver receives a request to remove an inferred problem association and determines one or more user decisions that triggered the inferred problem association.
US08447712B1
A system and method of identifying the computing architecture used by the mammalian visual system and to implement it in simulations and software algorithms, and in hardware components, is described.
US08447692B2
Apparatus and methods for providing a personal financial network service are provided. The method may use an electronic information processing platform. The method may include storing information relating to a first participant account. The method may also include storing information relating to a second participant account. The systems and methods of the invention may further include storing information relating to a group of accounts containing the first participant and the second participant account, wherein first said account and second said account are stored independently of one another.
US08447688B1
Embodiments consistent with the present invention provide a credit enhancement structure for risk allocation between parties that minimizes the regulatory capital reserve requirement impact to an institution subject to capital reserve requirement. A subject pool of assets held by the institution, such as a pool of loans, is rated to determine its risk levels. Based on the rated risk levels, a guarantor party agrees to be responsible for a portion of the risk associated with the pool of assets, which may define the maximum risk exposure of the institution holding the asset pool. The risk-rated capital reserve requirements are applied to the asset pool based on the risk level rating and the guarantor's agreed upon risk responsibility such that the institution holds a reduced amount of reserve capital compared to what it would otherwise be required to hold.
US08447669B2
A system and method to provide food stamp benefits to recipients. The state agency responsible for distributing food stamp benefits to eligible recipients employs an issuer to produce consumer access devices for distribution to the recipients. The consumer access device is encoded with information enabling the food stamp recipients to purchase specified items from merchants. By imprinting the consumer access device with indicia identifying a commercial payment processing network and employing the commercial payment processing network to process the transactions, transaction funded by the food stamp program will appear to be credit or debit transactions personally funded by the food stamp recipient.
US08447666B1
This invention relates to a system for viewing and manipulating a user's financial transaction data and a method for associating financial transaction data with a user's project data using a portable electronic device.
US08447663B2
A method and a system to automatically coordinate remote inspectors are provided. Initially, a listing is identified for remote inspection in an online publication system. The listing may describe an item for sale that is, in turn, associated with a geographical location and a category. One or more remote inspectors are identified based on the geographical location and the category associated with the item for sale. The listing and respective profiles of each of the one or more remote inspectors is published to a buyer. A selection of a selected remote inspector is received from the buyer. A template inspection report is provided to the selected remote inspector. Once the remote inspector has inspected the item for sale, the buyer is provided a completed inspection report received from the selected remote inspector.
US08447662B2
The present invention implements an auction in which multiple types of goods may be auctioned in a dynamic process. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a system and method for computer implemented dynamic multi-unit auction in which the price paid or received by bidders tends to be independent of their own bids, in which participants may be provided with information concerning their competitors' bids as the auction progresses, and in which the confidentiality of high values may be maintained. Participants' quantities bid at a given time may be restricted to be less than or equal to the quantities bid at an earlier time. These features provide the advantage of improving economic efficiency of the auction design over the prior art.
US08447658B2
An electronic transaction system, comprising bearer bond means for providing an online electronic bearer bond having a monetary value, transaction means for performing monetary transactions with said bearer bond means, and network means for providing user access to said bearer bond means and said transaction means.
US08447649B1
In one aspect, the invention comprises a system for enabling a crossing system operator to calculate a rebate payment to a second participant for executing the block order of a first participant based on at least one of: (a) a difference between a benchmark price and an execution price of the block order; (b) total volume of block execution; and (c) an amount that decays exponentially with the time between the first participant's order and the order's execution by a liquidity provider.
US08447640B2
Devices, systems and methods of handling user requests. For example, a method includes: receiving an electronic representation of a submitted request; calculating request-related information, submitter-related information, and/or recipient-related information; based on the request-related information and the submitter-related information, determining one or more recipients for the request; distributing the request to said one or more recipients; and storing the request and one or more responses received from said one or more recipients.
US08447633B2
According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a method is provided to determine (at a server) an initial first insurance rate for Provider A and a first insurance rate for Provider B. Both the initial first insurance rate for Provider A and the first insurance rate for Provider B correspond to a first insurance type. The initial first insurance rate for Provider A is adjusted A according to a first adjustment rule to form an adjusted first insurance rate for Provider A. A lower of the adjusted first insurance rate for Provider A or the first insurance rate for Provider B is selected. The adjusted first insurance rate for Provider A may be greater than the initial first insurance rate for Provider A and less than the first insurance rate for Provider B. An application fee for the adjusted first insurance rate for Provider A may be greater than an application fee for the initial first insurance rate for Provider A.
US08447631B2
A computer-based insurance claim processing system (500) provides for the formation and segregated storage of associations (510) that link various active insurance claims (506) to one another. In addition, if desired, the associations can comprise additional information regarding, for example, the nature or type of association and/or other information as a user may wish to include to inform, control, or otherwise characterize the association and/or the associated claims.
US08447615B2
A system and method for at least one of identifying and authenticating a source of received electronic data, the system comprising: an electronic device configured for receiving a first signal from a source and configured for transmitting a second signal, wherein the source is configured to transmit at least one audio and ultrasonic signals; and a remote server configured for receiving the second signal from said electronic device and configured for transmitting a third signal to said electronic device; the remote server configured for generating an indication of at least one of the identification of the source of the received first signal and the authenticity of the source of the received first signal; wherein the generating an indication includes analyzing at the remote server the second signal received from the electronic device, the analyzing including at least one of digital signal processing, voice recognition, and voice verification.
US08447611B2
A pen-type voice computer generating a voice index table and the method thereof. The method comprises recording voice data by a microphone, generating a handwriting index of the voice data by inputting drawing data using a handwriting input device, and associating the handwriting index with the corresponding voice data to generate the voice index table.
US08447608B1
This specification describes technologies relating to generating custom language models for audio content. In some implementations, a computer-implemented method is provided that includes the actions of receiving a collection of source texts; identifying a type from a collection of types for each source text, each source text being associated with a particular type; generating, for each identified type, a type-specific language model using the source texts associated with the respective type; and storing the language models.
US08447605B2
A game apparatus includes a CPU core for creating an input envelope and a registered envelope. The input envelope has a plurality of envelope values detected from a voice waveform input in real time through a microphone. The registered envelope has a plurality of envelope values detected from a voice waveform previously input. Both of the input envelope and the registered envelope are stored in a RAM. The CPU core evaluates difference of the envelope values between the input envelope and the registered envelope. When an evaluated value satisfies a condition, the CPU core executes a process according to a command assigned to the registered envelope.
US08447602B2
In a speech recognition and correction system which comprises at least one speech recognition device (1) to which a spoken text (GT) can be fed, it being possible for said spoken text to be transcribe into a recognized text (ET), and a correction device (3) for correcting the text (ET) recognized by the at least one speech recognition device (1), said correction device being connected to the at least one speech recognition device (1) via a data network (2) for the transmission of the recognized text (ET) and where appropriate of the spoken text (GT), the correction device (3) has a lexicon of alternatives (23) which contains word parts, words and word sequences that can be displayed (22) by the correction device (3) as alternatives to individual word parts, words and word sequences of the recognized text.
US08447600B2
A method for generating a speech recognition model includes accessing a baseline speech recognition model, obtaining information related to recent language usage from search queries, and modifying the speech recognition model to revise probabilities of a portion of a sound occurrence based on the information. The portion of a sound may include a word. Also, a method for generating a speech recognition model, includes receiving at a search engine from a remote device an audio recording and a transcript that substantially represents at least a portion of the audio recording, synchronizing the transcript with the audio recording, extracting one or more letters from the transcript and extracting the associated pronunciation of the one or more letters from the audio recording, and generating a dictionary entry in a pronunciation dictionary.
US08447592B2
In one aspect, a method of processing a voice signal to extract information to facilitate training a speech synthesis model is provided. The method comprises acts of detecting a plurality of candidate features in the voice signal, performing at least one comparison between one or more combinations of the plurality of candidate features and the voice signal, and selecting a set of features from the plurality of candidate features based, at least in part, on the at least one comparison. In another aspect, the method is performed by executing a program encoded on a computer readable medium. In another aspect, a speech synthesis model is provided by, at least in part, performing the method.
US08447589B2
A paraphrase model of a question text inputted by a user is learned, and a paraphrase expression is generated in real time. When information in text set storage unit is updated, text pair extracting unit extracts a paraphrase text pair from the text set storage unit and stores it in text pair storage unit. Model learning unit learns a question text paraphrase model from the paraphrase text pair in text pair storage unit, and stores it in model storage unit. Text pair extracting unit extracts a paraphrase text pair again from the text set storage unit by using the question text paraphrase model which the model storage unit possesses, and stores it in the text pair storage unit. In case where the stored paraphrase text pair is the same as the paraphrase text pair stored in the text pair storage unit, learning of the question text paraphrase model is ended. Candidate creating unit reads the question text paraphrase model from the model storage unit and generates a paraphrase candidate of the inputted question text.
US08447581B1
During the elaboration and synthesis of a circuit design, a parse tree generally must be fully expanded to access memory resources and data of individual module instances in order to perform optimizations that will result in better runtime performance of generated simulation code. The present invention reduces memory requirements in generating simulation or emulation executable code by implementing a collapsed parse tree, where multiple instances of a module in a HDL design are represented by a single representative node in the parse tree.
US08447572B2
An analysis model control unit disposes at least two component models, which are to be used in assembly of a product to be evaluated, in virtual space displayed on a screen. A virtual glove controller moves and operates component models, which are disposed in virtual space, in accordance with an input operation signal of a user by a virtual glove. When the two component models are brought into contact with each other, a model conversion unit converts them into component analysis models. A deformed structure analysis unit executes structure analysis calculations with respect to the relative movement caused along with assembly of the two component analysis models after contact so as to calculate deformation and deformation stresses. An evaluation processing unit compares the deformation stress with a threshold stress of the material so as to evaluate whether assembly can be performed without breaking the components.
US08447565B2
In one embodiment, a method includes selecting a subset of rays from a set of all rays to use in an error calculation for a constrained conjugate gradient minimization problem, calculating an approximate error using the subset of rays, and calculating a minimum in a conjugate gradient direction based on the approximate error. In another embodiment, a system includes a processor for executing logic, logic for selecting a subset of rays from a set of all rays to use in an error calculation for a constrained conjugate gradient minimization problem, logic for calculating an approximate error using the subset of rays, and logic for calculating a minimum in a conjugate gradient direction based on the approximate error. In other embodiments, computer program products, methods, and systems are described capable of using approximate error in constrained conjugate gradient minimization problems.
US08447560B2
A rotating imaging system has a rotating portion, an idler, at least one sensor, a tilt sensor and a processor. The rotating portion has a diameter and rotates about a central axis. The idler rotates about an axis parallel to the central axis, and has a second diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the rotating portion. The rotating portion and the idler engage with each other such that both rotate simultaneously. The at least one sensor detects flags on the idler as the idler rotates. The tilt sensor is mounted to the rotating portion and determines a rotation angle of the rotating portion within a range of one revolution, and the processor determines an absolute rotation of the rotating portion based on at least a signal from the at least one sensor and the rotation angle determined by the tilt sensor.
US08447559B2
An impact location and amplitude sensory system is provided. Such an impact sensory system may be useful in conjunction with gaming, education, as a control and feedback mechanism for virtually any surface. One embodiment of the impact sensory system may include at least one sensor and a signal processor. The sensor(s) may couple to the object. Sensors may include any of microphones and accelerometers. The sensor(s) receive an impact wave from an impact to the object, either as a propagating acoustic wave or as a traverse phase shift in natural oscillation. The sensor(s) may generate an impact signal in response to the sensed impact wave. The signal processor may couple to the sensor(s). The signal processor may include a preamplifier, an impact triangulator, and an outputter. The impact triangulater may identify a location of the impact from the impact signals. The outputter may then output data regarding the location of the impact.
US08447554B2
The invention is a turn-key, modular platform, including software and hardware, for testing physical system components such as motors remotely over the Internet. The system allows remote customers to test multiple physical system components under the specific loading conditions of the real-world application. This will provide more detailed and accurate information than what is usually given in the data sheets for system component performance, enabling the user to make a more-reliable decision. With respect to motors, the hardware consists of a torque motor that moves autonomously in xy plane to couple to the individual test motors, through a unique coupling mechanism, and emulate various load profiles on them. Test motors are mounted onto modular fixtures that allow for one-time manual positioning in xyz space. The software, consisting of server and target applications, creates user accounts and profiles, controls user access by means of a scheduler, and enables each user to connect to the hardware via Internet and run a customized experiment.
US08447541B2
Devices and methods for identifying an electrical device, and its state, in a network of electrical devices are disclosed. An energy monitoring device is programmed to identify an electrical device coupled to a power supply, and a state of the electrical device, from a change in successive measurements of the power supply. Algorithms for determining a load signature for an electrical device and its state are disclosed. A stored table of load signatures for states is used to identify devices, and states. Energy monitoring information is collected and presented to the user on a display, a remote display, or is transmitted over a network to a remote device such as a personal computer, personal digital assistant, an iPhone, a cell phone, voice mail, email, or text message.
US08447540B2
A method for detecting, identifying and locating partial discharges occurring in a discharge site along an electric apparatus comprises the following steps: detecting (1) electrical signals in a detection station; attributing (2) to each detected signal a value of a phase parameter; deriving (3) for each signal at least one shape parameter and one amplitude parameter; separating (4) the set of signals detected into sub sets that are homogeneous relative to the shape parameter; identifying (5) sub-sets related to partial discharges and cataloguing them; repeating the above steps in a plurality of detection stations positioned along the apparatus; correlating (7) the sub-sets of signals detected in different detection stations and catalogued similarly; selecting (8) as a function of the amplitude and shape parameters of a sub-set among the correlated ones and locating (9) the partial discharges related to said sub-sets at the detection station of the selected sub-set. Known methods have poor effectiveness and/or reliability, especially for cables whose length exceeds 1-2 km or, alternatively, they require an excessively complex and costly field implementation.
US08447531B2
A Centrifugal Adhesion Balance apparatus for measuring retention forces between a body and a surface. This CAB apparatus decouples the normal and lateral retention forces by allowing any combination of the gravity force and a centrifugal force. This CAB apparatus includes a rotatable arm and an independently rotatable flat surface wherein the angle between the arm and the flat surface is precisely controlled.
US08447529B2
A computer system and method for predicting the aqueous phase CO2 corrosion rate of a pipe useful in the production and transportation of oil and gas. Input parameter values corresponding to water chemistry and physical fluid and pipe properties are received. Based on these input parameter values, the system and method derive current-voltage relationships for multiple cathodic reduction reactions according to an electrochemical model of the corrosion reaction, and a current-voltage relationship for the anodic oxidation reaction of iron dissolution. A current density is obtained, at the intersection of an extrapolation of the anodic current-voltage relationship and an extrapolation of the summed cathodic current-voltage relationships. The predicted corrosion rate is then calculated from the obtained current density. The effects of secondary parameters such as scale and flow regime, and the efficacy of a corrosion inhibitor, can also be evaluated.
US08447526B2
The present invention provides methods and computer programs for detecting variations in measurements of a biological variable, e.g., variations in cell viability, under different conditions, e.g., with or without treatment of a drug, under the treatments of different drugs, or under different environmental conditions. The methods and programs of the invention determine a metric of difference between measurements under different condition, and make use of predetermined errors of the measurements, e.g., errors determined from an error model, to estimate the errors in the metric of difference. Such an approach provides a more accurate estimate of the errors of measurements, which, in turn, provides a more accurate estimate of the error of the difference metric.
US08447517B2
Embodiments of the invention provide a tightly-coupled integration filter for inertial sensor-assisted GNSS (global navigation satellite system) receiver. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) contains inertial sensors such as accelerometer, magnetometer, and/or gyroscopes. Embodiments include blending filter based on extended Kalman filter (EKF), which optimally integrates the IMU navigation data with all other satellite measurements (tightly-coupled integration filter). The proposed blending filter includes two states for estimating/compensating the speed scale-factor and the heading bias in the INS measurement.
US08447516B1
A server device may receive from a first computing device current location information associated with the first computing device. The server device may estimate a travel radius of a second computing device based at least in part on location information previously received from the second computing device, and may determine that the travel radius of the second computing device overlaps a proximity radius of the first computing device. The server device may query the second computing device for updated location information. The server device may receive the updated location information for the second computing device, and may determine that the second computing device is physically located substantially within the proximity radius of the first computing device based at least in part on the updated location information. In response, the server device may send to the first computing device an identification of the second computing device.
US08447506B2
A traveling device 10 includes ground touching detection means to detect a ground touching state in which a ground touching member touches a road surface, and control means to perform inversion control by controlling the driving of a wheel. When a ground touching state of the ground touching member is detected by the ground touching detection means, the control means suspends the inversion control. Further, when the start of braking is detected by the braking detection means and a ground touching state of the ground touching member is detected by the ground touching means, the control means may suspend the inversion control.
US08447504B2
Vehicle operation diagnostic devices, methods, and programs detect an idling stop of a vehicle. The devices, methods, and programs acquire a fuel consumption required for an engine of the vehicle to start, and acquire, if the idling stop is detected, an amount of fuel consumed if idling were to be continued during a period in which the idling stop is performed. The devices, methods, and programs determine whether a fuel consumption reduction effect is obtained based on the engine-start fuel consumption and the fuel consumption if idling were to be continued, and provide guidance based on the determination of whether the fuel consumption reduction effect is obtained.
US08447501B2
A method including: a) determining a value representative of temperature of exhaust gases flowing in an exhaust duct of an engine upstream from a turbine; b) comparing the representative value with a predetermined threshold value; c) if the representative value is higher than the threshold value, initiating timing-out of a first time delay during which a) and b) are repeated; d) if the representative value is lower than the threshold value, initiating the timing-out of a second time delay during which a) and b) are repeated; e) if the first time delay has elapsed and the representative value is higher than the threshold value, preventing the automatic stoppage of the engine; f) if the second time delay has elapsed and the representative value is lower than the threshold value, authorizing the automatic stoppage of the engine and resetting the measure of the timing-out of the first time delay.
US08447496B2
Systems and methods of operating an engine with a varying fuel composition. In one example, a split injection is performed during engine cranking with at least some fuel injected in the intake stroke and some fuel injected in the compression stroke. Further, a split ratio of the injection is adjusted based on the alcohol content of the injected fuel.
US08447494B2
A control module for an engine of a vehicle includes a mode determination module that determines whether the vehicle is in a fuel-saving mode based on an acceleration of the vehicle. A diurnal control valve (DCV) control module selectively closes a DCV a predetermined time after at least one of determining that the vehicle is in the fuel-saving mode and determining that the engine is stopped.
US08447491B2
Method for controlling output torque (Teng) of a propulsion unit in a vehicle powertrain including driven wheels drivingly connected to the propulsion unit via a mechanical transmission with a drive shaft, wherein the method including the steps of registering driver torque demand (Td) for vehicle propulsion, registering propulsion unit rotational speed (ωe), and controlling the output torque (Teng) of the propulsion unit to asymptotically follow the driver torque demand (Td) using a closed-loop linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) based controller (9) having the driver torque demand (Td) and the propulsion unit rotational speed (ωe) as input data, in order to minimize driveline oscillations.
US08447483B2
A working machine and a method for operating the same are provided. The working machine is provided with: a power source and a plurality of driving wheels; a working hydraulic system including at least one hydraulic pump powered by the power source for moving an implement on the working machine and/or for steering the working machine; a transmission line arranged between the power source and the driving wheels for transmitting torque from the power source to the driving wheels; and a transmission unit arranged in the transmission line for reducing the mechanical interaction between the power source and the driving wheels. The method includes: detecting at least one operational parameter indicative of a working condition of the working machine; determining if the characteristic of the transmission unit should be altered on the basis of a magnitude of the detected operational parameter; altering the characteristic of the transmission unit if it is determined to be required.
US08447480B2
A transmission control method for a continuously variable transmission for enhancing the response of a change in engine speed to a driver's accelerating/decelerating operation. In a hydraulic type continuously variable transmission, when a sport operating mode is being selected (step S1: SPORT OPERATING MODE), a target engine speed T_NE (rpm) is calculated from the vehicle velocity V (km/hr) and the position θ (degrees) of a throttle valve 60 (step S4). Further, a target angle T_A (degrees) for a motor swash plate is calculated from the vehicle velocity and the target engine speed T_NE (step S5). The motor swash plate is moved according to the difference between the actual angle A of the motor swash plate 46 and the target angle T_A.
US08447474B2
Externally deployed airbag system for a vehicle including one or more inflatable airbags deployable outside of the vehicle, an anticipatory sensor system for assessing the probable severity of an impact involving the vehicle based on data obtained prior to the impact and initiating inflation of the airbag(s) in the event an impact above a threshold severity is assessed, and an inflator coupled to the anticipatory sensor system and the airbag for inflating the airbag when initiated by the anticipatory sensor system. The airbag may be housed in a module mounted along a side of the vehicle, in a side door of the vehicle (both for side impact protection), at a front of the vehicle (for frontal impact protection) or at a rear of the vehicle (for rear impact protection). Also, the externally deployed airbag can be deployed to cushion a pedestrian's impact against the vehicle.
US08447471B2
In a vehicle driveability control system for determining a control variable that is applied to a vehicle for a given control input including a front wheel steering angle according to a response of a vehicle model (10) to the given input, a parameter of the vehicle model is changed according to an output of a vehicle operator skill determining unit (14). Thereby, the vehicle driveability control system can provide a driving property that suits the driving skill of the particular vehicle operator, and can satisfy vehicle operators of all skill levels. In particular, if the vehicle operator is skilled enough to cope with emergency situations, the vehicle is enabled to respond to a quick input with a high responsiveness. Also, the control system is able to adapt itself to an improvement in the skill of a vehicle operator over time.
US08447468B2
It is a task of the invention to obtain a favorable thrust force characteristic with respect to a stroke of an actuator even if the actuator is used in a thrust force control. To solve the task, in the present invention, a linear motor type electrically-powered actuator AC with a linear motor 3 as a drive section is drivingly controlled. With a basic thrust force variation with respect to the stroke in a non-excitation state as a basis, a thrust force command Fc is used to correct a phase of the basic thrust force variation and a magnitude thereof to determine a compensation quantity which corresponds to the thrust force variation with respect to the stroke.
US08447466B2
A method for controlling the pressure in a compressed-air accumulator of a level-control system of a motor vehicle utilizing a pressure-control apparatus constructed and arranged to adjust the accumulator pressure according to a predetermined index pressure value. The index pressure value is automatically determined by a computing device based on the relative level and/or the load of the vehicle.
US08447463B1
A computer implemented method for displaying on a map a definitive image of precise locations of multiple mobile objects such as vehicles in a lot. The lot is mapped digitally to display precise locations of sub-areas of different types, such as parking and movement slots and their raw, approximate distances from vehicles are determined from approximate coordinates of vehicles obtained remotely. A data base of vehicle and sub-area types is established and a vehicle placement matrix is determined providing probabilities of respective sub-areas being occupiable by respective vehicles derived from business environment rules based on compatibilities of respective vehicle types with respect sub-area types. Raw, approximate distances of vehicles from sub-areas are divided by the probabilities to provided adjusted distances, sub-areas ranked by least adjusted distances and the respective vehicles placed in their top ranked sub-areas for more accurate display of location on a GUI.
US08447458B2
A method to evaluate a secondary steering system including the steps of lowering the first hydraulic fluid pressure, determining the first hydraulic fluid pressure, sensing a second hydraulic fluid pressure, and comparing the first hydraulic fluid pressure to the second hydraulic fluid pressure. The lowering step includes lowering the first hydraulic fluid pressure provided by the primary steering system power source while the vehicle is traveling at a substantially predetermined speed. The sensing step includes sensing the second hydraulic fluid pressure provided by the secondary steering system power source while an operator of the vehicle is steering the vehicle as the vehicle travels at the predetermined speed. The comparing step includes comparing the first hydraulic fluid pressure to the second hydraulic fluid pressure to determine if the second steering system power source provided fluid to steer the ground-engaging device.
US08447457B2
A method for controlling the air pressure in tires able to be mounted on two powered axles of a motor vehicle, as a function of a driving situation, an engine torque being distributable to the two axles by a distributor clutch, and a plurality of input values being converted in a processing unit into an air pressure value describing the air pressure in each tire, a clutch friction value, which represents the clutch status, being processed into a control value in the processing unit as well. Also, a device which includes means for implementing such a method.
US08447456B2
A method of determining an engine intake air leak may include measuring an air flow rate into an internal combustion engine, comparing the measured air flow rate to a first predetermined air flow limit, calculating an estimated air flow rate into the engine when the measured air flow rate is less than the first predetermined air flow limit, comparing the estimated air flow rate to second and third predetermined air flow limits, and indicating an air leak when the estimated air flow rate is greater than the second predetermined air flow limit and less than the third predetermined air flow limit.
US08447453B2
A navigation device for setting an appropriate navigation route based on a support route while reducing an amount of communicating information, is provided. The navigation server recognizes a departure position and a destination position of a user, and sets a support route connecting the departure position and the destination position, based on communication with the navigation device. The navigation device recognizes multiple links constituting a part of the support route, based on communication with the navigation server. The navigation device sets a navigation route including the links connecting the departure position and the destination position. The navigation device determines whether a deviation between a distance of an adjacent link pairs among the links along the support route and a distance thereof along the navigation route is equal to or less than a threshold value. The navigation route is output via an output device if the determination result is positive.
US08447450B2
A method and a device are provided for specifying a boost control strategy of a hybrid vehicle drive. The method includes predefining a driving track (R) with a multiplicity of track sections (G1-G4; K1-K4); determining a dependency of a lap time gain (Δt) on a boost energy quantity (Eboost) used, proceeding from a vehicle-specific lap time without boost assistance from the electric motor (G1, G2) for a plurality of predetermined track sections (G1-G4); and defining a respective partial boost energy quantity (EBoost1, EBoost2, EBoost3, EBoost4) for each track section (G1-G4) based on the determined dependencies, with a sum of the partial boost energy quantities (EBoost1, EBoost2, EBoost3, EBoost4) corresponding to a predefined available total boost energy quantity (EBoostm).
US08447449B2
A vehicle includes an engine, a motor, a belt, and a controller. The engine is configured to output torque via a crankshaft. The motor is configured to apply torque to and/or receive torque from the engine via an output shaft. The belt is operably disposed on the crankshaft of the engine and the output shaft of the motor. Rotation of the output shaft is transferred to the crankshaft via the belt. The controller is configured to identify a slip event by comparing a speed of the motor to a speed of the engine. The controller is further configured to count the number of slip events and diagnose a belt failure if the number of slip events exceeds a predetermined number of slip events over a predetermined number of drive cycles.
US08447447B2
The invention relates to an actuation system for a drive unit of a motor vehicle, having has a drive control unit which is assigned to the drive unit and which has a function level and a function monitoring level. A (4), a first data transmission device (5) which is arranged in the function level (3), of the drive control unit and is connected to a separate external control unit via a first communication path via which a predefined setpoint torque (Msoll) can be forwarded from the external control unit to the first data transmission device. In addition, the drive control unit also has a second data transmission device which is likewise additionally connected to the external control unit via a second communication path. The same predefined setpoint torque can also be forwarded from the external control unit to the second data transmission device via the second communication path.
US08447444B2
The device (1) includes means (2, 3, 4) for observing the overall conditions of the aircraft and for determining whether the lateral behavior thereof is normal.
US08447439B2
The utility model provides an airplane model control system capable of conducting omnidirectional and long-distance transmission of signals without being interfered by the sunlight and other visible lights. The airplane model control system can transverse obstacles for data communication, and comprises a remote control transmitting control device and an airplane receiving control device which all work in the frequency band of 2.4 GHz and 83 communication channels are included; and each remote control transmitting control device has unique ID number, which will not be controlled and interfered due to the reason of same frequency, realizes a share port of multiple functions simultaneously on one main controller and can realize reduction of cost.
US08447436B2
A handlebar control system for a motorcycle. The system includes a controller, a network interface, a plurality of user actuated devices coupled to the controller, an electronic switch coupled to the controller, a first connector having terminals linking to motorcycle power and a network bus, and a second connector coupled to a device external to the control system.
US08447429B2
Apparatus and a method for balancing and damping control in whole body coordination framework for a biped humanoid robot. The method comprises the steps of: (a) damping the structural vibration of the main body of the robot caused when the robot walks; (b) compensating for the trajectories of the zero moment position (ZMP) and the center of mass (COM) of the robot which changes in accordance with the damping of the structural vibration; and (c) compensating for the body orientation of the robot which changes in accordance with the damping of the structural vibration and the trajectory of the COM.
US08447425B2
An adaptive assembly line for assembly of a continuous first web to a continuous or discontinuous second web. The assembly line includes a control device. The control devices includes a first camera arranged to take a first picture of the first web before assembly of the first web to the second web. The control device is arranged to use the first picture for determining the position of a first center line in the first web. The control device is arranged to use the first picture for controlling the position of the first web and/or the second web so that the first center line becomes aligned with a second center line comprised in the second web during assembly of the first web to the second web.
US08447409B2
Embodiments are generally directed to improving the interface between one or more electrode contacts of a medical implant and the neurons of a recipient of the medical implant. In an embodiment, a growth factor is applied to stimulate the growth of peripheral processes (also referred to as dendrites). Then an electric field is applied to direct the growth of the peripheral processes towards the electrode contact. Growing peripheral processes towards the electrode contacts may reduce the charge required to stimulate the peripheral processes and improve operation of the medical implant.
US08447402B1
The invention is a component assembly and method of hermetically bonding a ceramic part to a metal part by welding and brazing a component assembly comprised of metal parts, a ceramic part, and an intermediate metal ferrule. The ceramic part is preferably a hollow tube of partially-stabilized zirconia that is brazed to an alignment ferrule that is preferably titanium or a titanium alloy, such as Ti-6Al-4V. On one end the component assembly is brazed to an end cap for closure. On the other end the alignment ferrule is preferably brazed to a ring that is preferably comprised of a noble metal, such as platinum, iridium, or alloys of platinum and iridium. The ring is then laser welded to an eyelet that is preferably comprised of a noble metal.
US08447383B2
Embodiments for providing a 2-dimensional (D) computerized-tomography (CT) image corresponding to a 2-D ultrasound image through image registration between 3-D ultrasound and CT images are disclosed. An imaging system comprises a CT imaging unit, an ultrasound image forming unit, a storing unit, a processor and a display unit. The processor extracts the 2-D CT image from the 3-D ultrasound-CT registered image by performing a rigid-body transform upon the 3-D ultrasound image and calculating similarities between reference images and the 2-D ultrasound images, wherein the reference images are obtained through the rigid-body transform.
US08447365B1
A vehicle has a dashboard, a windshield, a driver area with a steering wheel. A transceiver transmits and receives digital data for both text messages and voice messages. A voice activated wireless electronic device with a keyboard and a screen is built into the dashboard. A voice assembly includes a speaker and a microphone. A text assembly includes a display mounted in the dashboard. A joystick is adapted to allow a driver to manipulate data on both the screen of the electronic device and the display. A central processing unit operatively couples the transceiver, electronic device, speaker, microphone, and joystick.
US08447362B2
A function updating system and function updating method enabling a user to recognize what functions are installed in a mobile terminal of a communicating party, by automatically notifying the functions in the mobile terminal and updating the address book with the functions. When a mobile terminal (1A) makes a call to another mobile terminal (1B), the mobile terminal (1A) transmits information of functions available in the mobile terminal (1A) to a function notifying server (31), the function notifying server (31) generates icon information based on the function information, and transmits the icon information to the mobile terminal (1B), and the mobile terminal (1B) updates the address book with the icon information. When the mobile terminal (1B) does not have an icon corresponding to the updated function, the mobile terminal (1B) downloads the icon from an icon server (32).
US08447357B2
A communications terminal is provided. The terminal has a SIM card reader that allows a user to easily identify the owner of a SIM card. Owner identification data may be stored on the SIM card, and when power is first applied to the communications terminal, the owner identification data may be read from the SIM card and played by the communications terminal, including reading an image from the SIM card and displaying the image on a display screen of the communications terminal, and/or reading audio data from the SIM card and playing the audio data over a speaker of the communications terminal. Owner identifying data may be attached to a SIM card. When inserted into a receiving slot of a communications terminal, the identifying data may be viewed through a transparent window adjacent the SIM card receiving slot, either in the terminal itself, or in a SIM card holder attached to the SIM card and inserted into a slot.
US08447354B1
The communication device comprising a voice communication implementer, a stereo audio data output implementer, a photo quality setting implementer, a multiple language implementer, and a remote control implementer.
US08447349B2
A communication system reduces set up time for an inter-technology handoff of a multi-mode mobile station (MS) from a source network associated with a first radio frequency (RF) technology to a target network associated with a second RF technology by pre-establishing, prior to a determination to handoff the MS, a registration state of the MS and an authentication of the MS in association with the target network and second RF technology. In order to pre-establish the registration state and authentication, the MS exchanges messaging of the second RF technology with the second network via the first network and first RF technology. To facilitate the exchange, the MS includes shims in a second protocol stack associated with the second technology, which shims intercept second protocol stack signaling and redirect the intercepted signaling to a first protocol stack of the MS, associated with the first technology, for tunneling to the source network.
US08447337B2
A mobile wireless communications device may include an antenna, a transceiver coupled to the antenna, and a controller coupled to the transceiver. The controller may be configured to determine a received signal characteristic, and to configure parameters of a waveform for adjacent forward transmission blocks to be transmitted as sequential forward transmission blocks and based upon the received signal characteristic. Each forward transmission block may have a preamble portion and an associated body portion. The controller may be further configured to set the preamble portion of each forward transmission block to communicate the parameters of the configured waveform.
US08447336B2
A method and apparatus are described for reducing link interference by a link between a user equipment component and an access network component. The user equipment component and access network component are connected by links over dedicated channels in respective directions, the link channel power in the first direction being controlled by the link channel in the second direction. A component sends in a second direction a link connection release message for a link connection in the first direction, identifies when the link connection in the first direction is released and, when the release is identified, releases the link connection in the second direction.
US08447318B1
Multiple traffic channels may be assigned to a wireless communication device (WCD) at the beginning of the call in order to improve initial call quality. However, doing so when traffic channels are scarce can lead to traffic channel overuse. Therefore, methods, devices, and systems for assigning multiple traffic channels to a WCD based on traffic channel utilization are presented. During call establishment, a radio access network (RAN) may assign fewer traffic channels to a WCD when traffic channel utilization is high. On the other hand, the RAN may assign more traffic channels to the WCD when traffic channel utilization is low.
US08447317B2
Method and arrangement in a user equipment (120) for selecting a radio channel out of a plurality of candidate radio channels. The selected radio channel is to be utilized for receiving control information from a base station (110). The user equipment (120) and the base station (110) are comprised in a wireless communication system (100). The method comprises determining (302) a physical entity of a signal received from the base station (110) over a candidate radio channel, out of the plurality of candidate radio channels. If the determined physical entity fulfills a criterion, the associated candidate radio channel is prioritized (303) for a check sum check. The check sum check is performed (304) on data received over the prioritized candidate radio channel. If the check sum check is successful, the prioritized candidate radio channel is selected (305).
US08447311B2
A radio communications system includes at least one terminal communication unit having one antenna that conducts a radio communication with a plurality of terminals; and at least one baseband modem that generates and decrypts a data signal, a cell being configured by at least one of the antenna, wherein the baseband modem divides a radio frequency band used for the radio communication into two or more subbands, generates and decrypts the data signal specific to each of the divided subbands, and allocates the data signal specific to the subband to the terminal communication unit, and wherein the terminal communication unit receives the data signal specific to the subband generated by the baseband modem, and forms the cell of each the subband by the data signal specific to the received subband.
US08447303B2
A telecommunication system and method for automatically and seamlessly switching voice calls on a wireless mobile device between different wireless network services during the same conversation without user interaction and without being noticeable to the parties on the call. For example, a voice call at a mobile device using the services of a wireless wide area network (e.g., GSM/GPRS cellular network) may be switched over to a wireless local area network (e.g., 802.11 wireless network), and vice versa, while the call is in progress and without any input from the parties on the call. The system and method also provide a mechanism for maintaining a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call while the mobile device moves between wireless access points (AP) and has automatic reconnection in case there is a dropped call.
US08447299B1
A multi-mode wireless device is provided to communicate with a plurality of networks, at least some of the networks having different modes of communication. The multi-mode wireless device has a network selection component to monitor at least some of networks and switch the multi-mode wireless device to communicate with different networks based on a network selection criterion. The user interface allows a user of the multi-mode wireless device to edit the network selection criterion based on a user preference related to the network used by the multi-mode wireless device. A method for communicating on one or more networks using a multi-mode wireless device is also provided.
US08447292B2
The Multi-Link Aircraft Cellular System makes use of multiple physically separated antennas mounted on the aircraft, as well as the use of additional optional signal isolation and optimization techniques to improve the call handling capacity of the Air-To-Ground cellular communications network. These additional techniques can include polarization domain and ground antenna pattern shaping (in azimuth, in elevation, or in both planes). Further, if code domain separation is added, dramatic increases in capacity are realized. Thus, the Air-To-Ground cellular communications network can increase its capacity on a per aircraft basis by sharing its traffic load among more than one cell or sector and by making use of multiple physically separated antennas mounted on the aircraft, as well as the use of additional optional signal isolation and optimization techniques.
US08447291B2
In an embodiment, a user equipment (UE) determines that a client application has entered a period of transmission inactivity whereby the UE will not be required to transmit data on behalf of the client application. The UE selectively transmits a transmission inactivity notification to an access network (AN) to notify the AN of the transmission inactivity period. The AN receives the transmission inactivity notification and determines to transition the UE from a first state to a second state based at least in part on the received transmission inactivity notification, the second state associated with lower-power consumption of the UE than the first state. The AN sends instructions to the UE to facilitate the transition of the UE from the first state to the second state. In another embodiment, the AN can send instructions to the UE to prohibit the UE from sending transmission inactivity notifications.
US08447282B2
A communications system for providing a service includes an interface configured to receive a directory assistance communication from a requester seeking a desired listing from among a plurality of available desired listings. A processor is configured to obtain a stored profile associated with the requester, the profile including at least one delivery preference set by the requester relating to the format in which said requester desires to have the desired listing delivered to them. A device configured to provide a communication listing associated with the desired listing to the requester, in response to the directory assistance request, in accordance with the preference proscribed by the requester in the profile and then connecting the requester to a second communication listing associated with the desired listing.
US08447280B2
Systems and methods are disclosed for interworking WAP text messages between 3GPP and 3GPP2 networks. One embodiment comprises a system that receives a WAP text message from a sending entity that supports 3GPP standards, where the WAP text message is in a 3GPP format. The system determines that a receiving entity for the WAP text message supports 3GPP2 standards, and converts the WAP text message from the 3GPP format to a 3GPP2 format. The system then transmits the WAP text message in the 3GPP2 format to the receiving entity.
US08447279B1
Disclosed are various embodiments for selection of wireless devices and service plans. A geographic location and a plurality of wireless preferences are obtained from a user at a client. A plurality of wireless service plans that meet the wireless preferences and are offered by a plurality of wireless carriers that provide service to the geographic location are determined. A network page is generated that presents the wireless service plans in a ranked order that is based at least in part on the wireless preferences.
US08447274B2
Disclosed are a method, system and computer program product for managing voicemail greetings on a wireless communication device based on the device's location. A user records location-specific voicemail greetings on the user's wireless communication device, and associates the greetings with specific locations. When an authorized caller calls the user's wireless communication device, the location of the user's wireless communication device is detected, and location information of the user's device is sent to a call switching component. The call switching component presents the caller with the voicemail greeting associated with the location of the user's wireless communication device. The date and time the user's wireless communication device entered the location can be provided via a timestamp and presented to the caller along with the location-specific voicemail greeting, to enable the caller to determine when the user may be available to communicate, based on the combination of the information in the greeting and the timestamp information.
US08447263B2
A method for communicating information associated with emergency calls communicated to emergency response centers includes receiving, by an emergency call analysis system, emergency call information that defines an emergency call communicated to an emergency response center within a geographic region. The emergency call information includes location information of the emergency call. The emergency call analysis system may then determine statistical information associated with emergency calls made within a geographic region. A computer server may then generate browser code executable by a browser to cause the browser to display the statistical information.
US08447260B2
Aspects of a method and system for on-demand receiver supply voltage and current are provided. In this regard, strength of a signal received by one or more antennas may be measured and a voltage and/or current supplied to one or more of a LNA, a filter, a mixer and/or a data converter within said receiver may be varied based on the measured signal strength. The voltage and/or current may be varied based on signal strength of in-band and/or out-of-band signals. In this regard, the voltage and/or current may be increased when measured signal strength is above a threshold and decreased when the signal strength is below a threshold. The voltage and/or current may be controlled via a bias voltage determined based on the measurement. Similarly, the voltage and/or current may be controlled via a periodic signal with frequency and/or duty cycle determined based on the measurement.
US08447259B2
A mode-switching LNA generally includes an input unit, an output unit and a bias voltage generator. The input unit amplifies an input signal to generate an amplified signal. The output unit receives the amplified signal from the input unit and operates either in an oscillation mode or in an amplification mode in response to a control signal to generate an output signal having a center frequency equal to a target frequency. The control signal indicates whether the center frequency of the output signal is the same as the target frequency. The bias voltage generator provides an input bias voltage to the input unit in response to the control signal, where the input bias voltage includes a first bias voltage in the amplification mode and a second bias voltage in the oscillation mode.
US08447257B2
A stage is provided for a receiver of a wireless device. The stage comprises a matching network that separates amplified signals of interest received from an amplifier from amplified unwanted signals received from the amplifier in conjunction with additional downstream filters. The stage also comprises a signal path that comprises components for receiving and processing the amplified signals of interest, and a shunt path that comprises components for adjusting reflected energy sent back to the amplifier for limiting the output swing of the amplifier in a frequency band corresponding to the amplified unwanted signals.
US08447255B2
An improved variable matching network for use in a multi-band, multi-mode communications device provides dynamic, fine-tune impedance matching based on current operational conditions associated with a given signal. In one embodiment, gross parameters are selected based on one or more of the operational conditions. Delta parameters are provided using an optimization algorithm based on one or more of the operational conditions. And the gross and delta parameters are combined to obtain overall matching parameters that dynamically fine-tune discrete matching circuitry.
US08447250B2
Methods and systems for an integrated voltage controlled oscillator (VCO)-based transmitter and on-chip power distribution network are disclosed and may include supplying bias voltages and/or ground to a chip utilizing conductive lines. One or more VCOs and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) may each be coupled to a leaky wave antenna (LWA) integrated in the bias voltage and/or ground lines. One or more clock signals may be generated utilizing the VCOs, which may be transmitted from the LWAs coupled to the VCOs, to the LWAs coupled to the LNAs. RF signals may be transmitted via the LWAs, and may include 60 GHz signals. The LWAs may include microstrip and/or coplanar waveguides, where a cavity length of the LWAs may be dependent on a spacing between conductive lines in the waveguides. The LWAs may be dynamically configured to transmit the clock signals at a desired angle from a surface of the chip.
US08447249B1
This disclosure is directed to systems and methods that provide control of transmitted signal power that do not require the use of an external power detector. By determining the expected transmit power based upon conditions such as temperature or voltage, the settings of the transmitters amplifier can be adjusted to more closely match the desired transmit power.
US08447248B2
Methods and systems for vector combining power amplification are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a plurality of signals are individually amplified, then summed to form a desired time-varying complex envelope signal. Phase and/or frequency characteristics of one or more of the signals are controlled to provide the desired phase, frequency, and/or amplitude characteristics of the desired time-varying complex envelope signal. In another embodiment, a time-varying complex envelope signal is decomposed into a plurality of constant envelope constituent signals. The constituent signals are amplified equally or substantially equally, and then summed to construct an amplified version of the original time-varying envelope signal. Embodiments also perform frequency up-conversion.
US08447245B2
A circuit including a carrier amplifier having an input, an output, a first transistor coupled to a first power supply voltage terminal for receiving a modulated power supply voltage, and a second transistor coupled to a second power supply voltage terminal for receiving a fixed power supply voltage is provided. The circuit further includes a peaking amplifier having an input coupled to the input of the carrier amplifier and an output coupled to the output of the carrier amplifier.
US08447240B2
A system and method for providing a tunable antenna system within a mobile device that enables the mobile device to receive broadcast communication signals. The antenna system includes a tunable antenna and a tuning module that is operable to selectively adjust the resonant frequency of the tunable antenna, such that the antenna may efficiently receive a plurality of discrete narrow band signals across a broad frequency spectrum. The tuning module may also include a lookup table for use by the tuning module to selectively adjust the resonant frequency of the antenna. Further, the antenna system may include a temperature compensation module that is operable to compensate for any temperature sensitive components in the tunable antenna system.
US08447237B2
Mobile communication system equipment avoids interfering with another transmitter's operation. Sensing information indicating whether the other transmitter's signal has been detected is received from remote sensors, wherein each of the remote sensors is situated at a respective one of two or more sensor locations. The sensing information and information about the sensor locations is used to ascertain one or more exclusion boundaries needed to avoid interfering with the other transmitter's use of the spectral resource. Beamforming parameters are ascertained that will enable the main node to transmit within one or more predefined geographical areas except for any portion of a predefined area located on a far side of the one or more exclusion boundaries. Two or more adjusted signals are produced as a function of the beamforming parameters and one or more signals to be transmitted. The adjusted signals are transmitted from respective ones of two or more antennas.
US08447234B2
A method and system for providing power to a chargeable device via radio frequency link are provided. In one aspect, a method of providing power to a chargeable device via radio frequency link comprises generating a substantially unmodulated signal. The method further comprises radiating a substantially unmodulated radio frequency (RF) signal to the chargeable device via a transmit antenna based on the substantially unmodulated signal. The method further comprises powering or charging the chargeable device with power delivered by the substantially unmodulated RF signal.
US08447231B2
A system for intelligent dissemination of messages via long-range communications to select delegate vehicles, and short-range communications from the delegate vehicles. The system includes a processor and a memory storing a delegation and dissemination algorithm that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to define a dissemination area and define multiple delegation zones within the dissemination area. The algorithm also causes the processor to identify at least one delegate vehicle, of a network of vehicles, for each delegation zone and seed a message into the network of vehicles by transmitting the message to each delegate vehicle via long-range communications so that the delegate vehicles can transmit the message throughout the network of vehicles via short-range communications.
US08447228B2
A power distribution apparatus (PDA), a power distribution method, and a non-instant computer readable medium thereof are provided. The PDA is used in a relay transmission system (RTS) comprising a mobile station (MS), a relay station (RS) and a base station (BS). The MS communicates with the BS through the RS. The PDA may communicate with the MS, BS and RS. The PDA computes optimum transmission parameters of the MS and BS and an optimum relay forward parameter of the RS according to a power threshold, transmission information of the RTS, an optimum condition and an algorithm. Accordingly, the MS, RS and BS may determine the optimum transmission power of the MS, RS and BS according to the optimum transmission parameters and the optimum relay forward parameter respectively.
US08447227B2
A jukebox is described where users having mobile telephones can access a server (2) located remote from the jukebox location and select tracks for playing on the jukebox at the user's location. The user's mobile telephone communicates on WAP or WEB on a mobile with the server (2) thereby allowing the user to view any information relating to the tracks selectable on the jukebox at the user's location. The user's selection is transmitted to the jukebox via a wireless communications network and the track played at the user's location. The communication between the remote server (2) and the jukebox allows information such as track lists selectable and information relating to the tracks to be remotely accessed by owners to allow suitable track lists to be provided for selection for different venues or different times of the day or of the year. For example, all rock songs could be removed from the selection list after 11 pm at night.
US08447211B2
An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming section which transfers a toner image in accordance with image data onto a recording sheet; a first fixing device having a first fixing roller, which fixes the toner image onto the recording sheet with heat; a second fixing device having a second fixing roller, which further applies heat to the recording sheet that has been fixed by the first fixing device; a second fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism which prevents a roughness on a surface of the second fixing roller that has been generated due to side ends of the recording sheet being brought into contact with the surface of the second fixing roller; and a controller which controls the image forming section, the first and second fixing devices and the second fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism.
US08447203B2
Toner is applied to a receiver having an area to be folded and a separate area not to be folded. Non-fold and fold-area screening patterns are selected. The non-fold screening pattern has a toner coverage greater than 50% and the fold-area screening pattern has a toner coverage less than 50%. Image data to be applied to the receiver in the area to be folded and the area not to be folded are received. The image data in the area not to be folded are processed using the non-fold screening pattern and the image data in the area to be folded are processed using the fold-area screening pattern to provide screened data. Toner corresponding to the screened data is applied to the receiver. The applied toner is fused to the receiver, so that the area to be folded includes fused toner.
US08447202B2
The present invention provides a printing without margins-enabled image forming apparatus that forms toner image matched to the size and position of the conveyed printing material and suppresses waste toner generation. To accomplish this, the present image forming apparatus includes a printing material detection unit that detects orthogonal direction length, conveying direction length, orthogonal direction position, and conveying direction position associated with the conveyed printing material when a printing without margins is selected by the selection unit. In addition, the present image forming apparatus includes a matching unit which, based on the detected length and conveying position, matches the size of the toner image formed on the printing material to the size of the printing material and matches the formation position of the toner image to the position of the printing material conveyed along the conveying path.
US08447197B2
An image forming apparatus, which appropriately performs a banding correction even if similar banding does not always occur at a same position of a recording medium, detects reflected light from a test patch image and obtains information on a density change caused by a periodically-uneven rotation of a rotation member, and performs a density correction at an arbitrary position of a print image based on the acquired information on the density change.
US08447193B2
A printing apparatus connected to another printing apparatus to feed sheets to the another printing apparatus includes a reception unit configured to receive, from another printing apparatus, stop detection information regarding timing of a printing stop in another printing apparatus, and a control unit configured to feed sheets for performing printing up to a page indicated by the stop detection information received by the reception unit, perform printing on the sheets to prevent retention of the fed sheets, and cancel feeding preparation of the sheets for printing the page indicated by the stop information and succeeding pages.
US08447178B2
The image pickup apparatus includes an image production unit producing an image by using an output signal from an image pickup unit, a size detection unit detecting a size of a specific object in the image, a zoom control unit performing auto zoom control that automatically provides a specific zoom operation to make the size of the specific object equal or closer to a target value, and a focus control unit performing focus control of an image taking optical system based on a contrast evaluation value obtained from the image. The zoom control unit is configured to restrict the specific zoom operation in the auto zoom control until a determination is made that an in-focus state of the image taking optical system has been obtained by the focus control.
US08447177B2
A capacitor, a coil, a flash lamp, and a switching element such as an IGBT are connected in series. A controller outputs a pulse signal to the gate of the switching element. A waveform setter sets the waveform of the pulse signal, based on the contents of input from an input unit. With electrical charge accumulated in the capacitor, a pulse signal is output to the gate of the switching element so that the flash lamp emits light intermittently. A change in the waveform of the pulse signal applied to the switching element will change the waveform of current flowing through the flash lamp and, accordingly, the form of light emission, thereby resulting in a change in the temperature profile for a semiconductor wafer.
US08447152B2
The present invention relates to a waveguide coupling device with properties of forward coupling and backward coupling as well as a manufacturing method thereof, the waveguide coupling device comprises: a substrate, at least one inverted taper coupling structure, an intermediate layer, and at least one three-dimensional taper coupling structure. Wherein one end of the three-dimensional taper coupling structure is adopted for connecting to an external optical fiber, so as to couple the optical wave propagating in the optical fiber; Moreover, by way of the specific coupling sequence of (three-dimensional taper coupling structure)-(intermediate layer)-(inverted taper coupling structure), the optical wave may be efficiently coupled into, be confined in, and ultimately propagates in the inverted taper coupling structure connecting to waveguide devices. In addition, through the manufacturing method, the waveguide coupling device with properties of forward coupling and backward coupling can be massively fabricated by the present semiconductor process with low cost.
US08447147B2
Some embodiments include communication methods, methods of forming an interconnect, signal interconnects, integrated circuit structures, circuits, and data apparatuses. In one embodiment, a communication method includes accessing an optical signal comprising photons to communicate information, accessing an electrical signal comprising electrical data carriers to communicate information, and using a single interconnect, communicating the optical and electrical signals between a first spatial location and a second spatial location spaced from the first spatial location.
US08447145B2
The present invention discloses an ultra-compact optical modulator comprising at least one resonator on a semiconductor chip. The EO modulator modulates incoming light having a certain wavelength range and comprises a waveguide layer accommodating at least one resonator having a periodic complex refraction index distribution structure defining a periodic defect band-edge and a cladding layer; and at least one electrode; the waveguide layer, the cladding layer and the electrode forming a capacitor structure; such that when an external voltage is applied to the capacitor structure the free carrier concentration in the waveguide layer is controlled, enabling a modulation of the resonator's refractive index; wherein the periodic defect band-edge is selected to be within the wavelength range, enabling a slow-light propagation of the incoming light within the waveguide layer.
US08447134B1
An apparatus including a local shared memory and a processor. The local shared memory and the processor may be connected as a circuit. The circuit may be configured to communicate with an external memory device. The local shared memory may comprise a plurality of cache blocks. Each of the cache blocks generally corresponds to one pane of a current horizontal strip of a warped image region to be generated from unwarped image data stored in the external memory. A size of the cache blocks may be set to provide a sufficient amount of data to correct distortion for a corresponding section of the current horizontal strip. The circuit may be further configured such that each pixel of the unwarped image data stored in the external memory is fetched only once.
US08447126B2
An image processing method is used for determining a motion vector of a covered/uncovered area within an interpolated picture when picture interpolation is performed. The interpolated picture includes a plurality of blocks, and the image processing method includes: generating a first motion vector and a second motion vector of a block within the interpolated picture; determining which one of the covered and uncovered areas the block is located in, and calculating a reference vector according to the first and second motion vectors; and determining a motion vector of the block according to the reference vector, wherein the reference vector is obtained from vector calculation of the first and second motion vectors using the principle of similar triangles.
US08447124B2
There is provided method and apparatus for film grain simulation for normal play and trick mode play for video playback systems. A method for simulating film grain in video includes the step of performing (214) film grain simulation on a sequence of decoded video pictures in decode order.
US08447117B2
A block-edge detecting method, for processing an image including a plurality of pixels, includes performing a difference calculation on the plurality of pixels of the image; generating statistic data according to a difference calculation result with an accumulation approach; determining a block width according to the statistic data; and obtaining a plurality of block-edge positions corresponding to the image according to the block width.
US08447116B2
An example embodiment includes a method for identifying true feature matches from a plurality of candidate feature matches for vision based navigation. A weight for each of the plurality of candidate feature matches can be set. The method also includes iteratively performing for N iterations: calculating a fundamental matrix for the plurality of candidate feature matches using a weighted estimation that accounts for the weight of each of the plurality of candidate feature matches; calculating a distance from the fundamental matrix for each of the plurality of candidate feature matches; and updating the weight for each of the plurality of candidate feature matches as a function of the distance for the respective candidate feature match. After N iterations candidate feature matches having a distance less than a distance threshold can be selected as true feature matches.
US08447106B2
System and method for dynamically and adaptively enhancing user chosen colors on a frame-by-frame basis of an incoming digital video signal using a saturation dependent value bright-gain is disclosed. In one embodiment, a value-saturation 2D-histogram for each of the user chosen colors is formed using a substantially current video frame. Further, a saturation dependent value bright-gain is dynamically computed for each of the user chosen colors using the corresponding value-saturation 2D-histogram of the substantially current video frame and corresponding value-saturation 2D-histogram information and a saturation dependent value bright-gain of a substantially previous video frame. Furthermore, which one of the dynamically computed saturation dependent value bright-gains associated with the user chosen colors to be applied on a per-pixel basis is determined. The determined saturation dependent value bright-gain is applied to value component on the per-pixel basis in the substantially current or next video frame.
US08447097B2
When computation of a three-dimensional measurement processing parameter is completed, accuracy of a computed parameter can easily be confirmed. After a parameter for three-dimensional measurement is computed through calibration processing using a calibration workpiece in which plural feature points whose positional relationship is well known can be extracted from an image produced by imaging, three-dimensional coordinate computing processing is performed using the computed parameter for the plural feature points included in the stereo image used to compute the parameter. Perspective transformation of each computed three-dimensional coordinate is performed to produce a projection image in which each post-perspective-transformation three-dimensional coordinate is expressed by a predetermined pattern, and the projection image is displayed on a monitor device.
US08447092B2
An observation device that observes a test specimen such as cultured cells or the like includes: an illumination device that illuminates the test specimen; an image-capturing device that acquires an image of the test specimen illuminated by the illumination device; a storage unit that stores correlation data manifesting a correlation relationship between an occupation ratio of the test specimen within a culture vessel, and statistically processed data regarding to luminance information of the test specimen; and a calculation unit that obtains the statistically processed data based upon luminance information in a specified color of the test specimen captured by the image-capturing device, and calculates the occupation ratio of the test specimen within the culture vessel using the correlation data in the storage unit.
US08447091B2
A data space in which a coordinate system is set having, as components, feature data extracted by approximation with respect to frequency spectrums of received ultrasonic waves, when a feature point of a frequency spectrum at a data position is present within a first area in an i-th frame (i is a positive integer) in a display and moves closer to a second area, having a lower priority than the first area, in subsequent (i+1)-th frame; an ultrasonic observation apparatus generates image data by setting a virtual feature point that is far off from the second area as compared to the latest feature point and that is within or around the first area, and by replacing visual information corresponding to the latest feature point in the (i+1)-th frame of the predetermined data position with visual information corresponding to the virtual feature point, and then displays the image data.
US08447090B2
A medical image processing apparatus comprises: an acquiring part configured to acquire a morphological image that is formed by a first apparatus and shows the morphology of an organ of an object, and a functional image that is formed by a second apparatus different from the first apparatus and shows the state of the organ; a display; and a processor configured to cause the display to display a synthetic image based on the morphological image and the functional image.
US08447082B2
A medical image display apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a means (13) for selectively inputting a desired medical image from among medical images taken by a medial-image radiography system, a deployed image creating means (11a) for reading the selectively inputted medical image from the medical-image radiography system or an external storage device, and producing a deployed image of a region of a luminal organ contained in the read medical image, and a control means (11) for controlling display of the created deployed image on a display means (18). The control means (11) includes a correcting means (11b) for calculating a magnitude of a variance between radial information, which contracts or expands to a predetermined value in the region of the luminal organ, and radial information on a nearby position, and correcting a distortion of the deployed image, which is created by the deployed image creating means (11a), on the basis of the calculated magnitude of the variance between the pieces of radial information.
US08447073B2
For the automatic longitudinal guidance of a motor vehicle having a longitudinally guiding driver assistance system with a stop-and-go function, at least starting from a point-in-time wherein the motor vehicle is stopped, the vehicle apron is continuously monitored for possible obstacles by a monitoring device having a camera which supplies a sequence of individual images of the vehicle apron. For the detection of obstacles in the vehicle apron, characteristic image features are extracted from the individual images and are tracked with respect to time within the sequence of individual images, and an appearance and/or disappearance of one or more characteristic image features taking place in the course of the sequence is determined and evaluated. Additionally or alternatively, a change of a spatial distribution of one or more characteristic image features taking place in the course of the sequence in the respective individual image or in a cutout of the latter is determined and evaluated.
US08447072B2
An inattention determining device includes range changing unit and inattention determining unit. When a curve detection result is output from curve detector, the range changing unit changes a first predetermined range to a second predetermined range by the predetermined amount in the curve direction before a turning direction of an acquisition result is changed in the curve direction of the curve detection result. The inattention determining unit determines whether or not a driver is in an inattention state on the basis of the second predetermined range.
US08447071B2
A method of automatically tracking and photographing a celestial object, includes inputting latitude information, photographing azimuth angle information and photographing elevation angle information of a photographic apparatus; inputting star map data of a certain range including data on a location of a celestial object from the latitude information, the photographing azimuth angle information and the photographing elevation angle information; calculating a deviation amount between a location of the celestial object that is imaged in a preliminary image obtained by the photographic apparatus and the location of the celestial object which is defined in the input star map data; correcting at least one of the photographing azimuth angle information and the photographing elevation angle information using the deviation amount; and performing a celestial-object auto-tracking photographing operation based on the corrected at least one of the photographing azimuth angle information and the photographing elevation angle information.
US08447058B1
A headphone having a headband and two acoustic transducers disposed at two ends of the headband is disclosed. Each acoustic transducer includes a baffle plate installed with a speaker, a spacer, a vent and an acoustic modulator. The baffle plate and speaker divide the acoustic transducer into a front and a back chamber. The front chamber is configured for communicating with a user's ear. The spacer is disposed behind the speaker to divide the back chamber into a first back chamber and a second back communicated with each other. The vent is disposed in a back wall of the acoustic transducer to communicate the first back chamber with outside. The first acoustic modulator is disposed between the front and second back chambers. The headphone modulates resonance frequency at low frequency bands through the acoustic modulator.
US08447055B2
An audio system for a television using a pipe type passive directional acoustic device mounted in a television cabinet. The slotted pipe type passive directional acoustic device includes a first acoustic driver, acoustically coupled to a pipe to radiate acoustic energy into the pipe. The first pipe includes an elongated opening along at least a portion of the length of the pipe. Acoustically resistive material is in the opening. Pressure waves are radiated to the environment through the opening. The pressure waves are characterized by a volume velocity. The pipe, the opening, and the acoustically resistive material are configured so that the volume velocity is substantially constant along the length of the pipe. The passive directional acoustic devices directionally radiate sound waves laterally from the television cabinet.
US08447051B2
A communication headset is disclosed. The headset comprises two earpieces: a first earpiece, having a first arm, positionable in front of a wearer's ear and a second arm, positionable behind a wearer's ear, with a first bone conduction speaker carried on the second arm; and a second earpiece, having a first arm, positionable in front of a wearer's ear and a second arm, positionable behind a wearer's other ear, with a second bone conduction speaker carried on the second arm. A first microphone is carried on the first earpiece, and is adapted to detect ambient sound from at least a first direction. A second microphone is carried on the second earpiece, and is adapted to detect ambient sound from at least a second direction.
US08447050B2
A thermal sensor at the output of a switching amplifier senses heat dissipation at the output switch. If an overheating condition is sensed, gain of the digital input signal is lowered to reduce output power of the audio output signal.
US08447045B1
The present technology provides systems and methods for robust feedforward active noise cancellation which can overcome or substantially alleviate problems associated with the diverse and dynamic nature of the surrounding acoustic environment. A multi-faceted analysis decouples the background noise within the earpiece from the acoustic wave (e.g. the anti-noise and desired audio) generated by an audio transducer within the earpiece. A difference signal is formed utilizing monitoring signals captured by array of monitoring microphones within the earpiece. The difference signal is formed such that contributions due to the acoustic wave generated by the audio transducer are selectively attenuated. As a result, the difference signal indicates an acoustic energy level of the background noise within the earpiece.
US08447042B2
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for audiometric assessment and user-specific acoustic enhancement, comprising an audiometry management module, a tone generator coupled to the audiometry management module and adapted to generate streams of acoustical output, and a hearing profile data file, is disclosed. According to the embodiment, the audiometry management module, in a plurality of sessions, instructs the tone generator to send a series of streams of acoustical output of varying acoustical intensity, and, on receiving a series of user responses responsive to audible perception of sounds generated from the streams of acoustical data, the audiometric management module determines, for each of a plurality of frequencies, a hearing threshold, and stores at least that threshold in the hearing profile data file.
US08447030B2
A dual mode communication device comprises a first mode chip, a second mode chip, a switch, a first headphone jack, and a second headphone jack. The first headphone jack is electronically and selectively connected to the first mode chip or to the second mode chip through the switch. The second headphone jack is electronically connected to the second mode chip. The dual mode phone can simultaneously establish two voice communications with two other communication devices using the first mode chip and the second mode chip by respectively transmitting voice signals of the two voice communications through the first headphone jack and the second headphone jack.
US08447029B2
This invention provides a communication apparatus, which suppresses abrupt changes of a current and voltage generated in a communication line upon connecting an external telephone to the communication line, and a control method thereof. To accomplish this, in a communication apparatus of this invention, when an off-hook state of an external telephone is detected upon connecting the external telephone to a communication line, an SOC captures a line using a first line capture means having an impedance lower than the external telephone side, and then switches an H-relay to connect the external telephone to the communication line. Furthermore, the SOC temporarily switches a line capture state to a second line capture means having an impedance higher than the first line capture means after the H-relay is switched and before the line is released.
US08447028B2
Systems and methods provide for providing a plurality of information to a caller associated with a call to a service provider. The method includes: receiving, from the caller, the voice call to the service provider; determining that the voice call cannot be answered; responsive to the determination that the voice call cannot be answered, retrieving a first information from a web service associated with the service provider; and transmitting the first information to the caller.
US08447023B2
During a conference, a multipoint control unit (MCU) designates priority and non-priority endpoints. The MCU forms priority audio from the priority endpoint and sends that audio to the other endpoints at a normal level. However, the MCU forms non-priority audio from the non-priority endpoint and handles that audio based on whether the input audio from the priority endpoint is from speaking or not. If the priority endpoint's audio indicates a participant at that endpoint is speaking, then the MCU sends the non-priority audio to the other endpoints at a reduced level. Designation of which endpoint has priority can be based on which endpoint has a current duration of audio indicative of speech that is longer than other endpoints. Alternatively, the designation can be based on which endpoint is currently presenting content during the conference or based on a mix of speech audio and content presentation.
US08447020B2
A method for predicting to whom a phone call is being made, including identifying at least one state parameter for a mobile phone, and at least one weighting factor corresponding to the at least one state parameter for each identified state parameter, predicting one or more likely contacts that a user of the mobile phone is calling, given that the user is making a phone call, based on the identified state parameter, for each likely contact, assigning a combined weight to the likely contact based on the at least one weighting factor, ranking the likely contacts according to the combined weights, and facilitating making a phone call to one or more of the likely contacts with the highest rankings. A mobile phone is also described and claimed.
US08447017B2
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for enabling communication between a first party and a second party. The method and apparatus determine that the second party is calling the first party while the first party is leaving a message on the voicemail of the second party. The message is then aborted and the first party is connected to the second party.
US08447011B2
In a radiographic image capturing system and radiographic image capturing method, in a case that at least two radiation sources are housed in a radiation output device, weighting of doses of respective radiation emitted from the at least two radiation sources is carried out. Thereafter, respective radiation is applied to a subject from the at least two radiation sources in accordance with the weighting. Then, the radiation detecting device detects the respective radiation that has passed through the subject and converts the detected radiation into a radiographic image.
US08446985B2
A method and apparatus for reducing the amplification of the duty cycle distortion of high frequency clock signals when is provided. A data signal is sent to a receiver via a first channel. A clock signal is sent to the receiver via a second channel. The clock signal is filtered to substantially remove therefrom low frequency components before the clock signal is used by the receiver to recover data from the data signal.
US08446981B2
In SU-MIMO, even when the channel state of one antenna is poor, an error ratio is improved by obtaining a transmission antenna diversity effect. A transmission apparatus 100 that has a plurality of antennas 108-1 to 108-Ntx and transmits a signal according to a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) system includes a DFT part 111 for precoding transmission data and a spectrum division part 112 for dividing a spectrum output from the DFT part 111. The divided spectrums are transmitted from the different antennas 108-1 to 108-Ntx, respectively.
US08446978B2
According to an aspect of an embodiment, a communication system includes a transmission apparatus with a coding section that generates multi-level-coded signals and transmits the multi-level-coded signals; and a deskew signal generation section that generates and transmits a deskew signal related to the multi-level-coded signals. The communication system also includes a receiving apparatus with a decoding section that decodes the multi-level-coded signals to generate decoded signals, and a deskew processing section that performs deskew processing for compensating skew among the decoded signals of the multiple channels. The deskew signal generation section generates the deskew signal that has been framed by extracting a part of the data from each of the channels of the input signals, adding framing data for enabling a receiving apparatus to recognize which channel the extracted data has been extracted from, and performing rate conversion.
US08446973B2
A transmission apparatus includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation signal generators, which generate a first OFDM modulation signal and a second OFDM modulation signal. The transmission apparatus also includes a transmitter that transmits the first OFDM modulation signal from a first antenna and the second OFDM modulation signal from a second antenna, in an identical frequency band. A reception apparatus is provided, which includes a plurality of antennas that receive a plurality of OFDM modulation signals; a plurality of OFDM demodulators that transform the plurality of OFDM modulation signals to a plurality of reception signals using Fourier transform; an estimator that outputs a distortion estimation signal using one or more symbols for demodulation included in the plurality of reception signals; and a demodulator that compensates for distortion of the reception signals using the distortion estimation signal and demodulates a data symbol included in the reception signals.
US08446966B2
A calculation is made as to first and second differences in level represented by an input video signal at first and second inter-block boundaries adjoining opposite edges of every rectangular block respectively. A corrective value at every pixel in the rectangular block is calculated from a position of the pixel and the first and second differences according to a predetermined equation. The corrective value is added to a level represented by the input video signal to get an output video signal. The predetermined equation is designed so that levels represented by the output video signal at respective pixels in the rectangular block will be on a line given by a predetermined function of pixel position and connecting a first point in a range corresponding to the first difference and a second point in a range corresponding to the second difference.
US08446963B2
A system for synchronizing video data and audio data for an optical disc is disclosed. The system includes a demultiplexer, for splitting a data stream into audio data and video data, the audio data having an embedded/associated audio playback time information and the video data having an embedded/associated video playback time information; an audio decoding block, having at least fast forward or slow forward functionality, for decoding the audio data to output decoded audio data; a video decoding block, having at least fast forward or slow forward functionality, for decoding the video data to output decoded video data; and a decision block, for sending at least an adjustment signal, wherein the adjustment signal is for instructing either the video decoding block or the audio decoding block to perform fast forward or slow forward operations.
US08446961B2
Techniques are described that can be used to either compress or expand video. Color compression techniques are described that can be used to compress the wide color gamut content into lower color gamut for inclusion in a baseline layer. Color expansion techniques are described that convert lower color gamut data into wider color gamut format for inclusion in an enhancement layer. Both of the baseline video stream and enhancement layer video streams may be transmitted through a channel or stored in a memory device to be viewed later. Accordingly, both baseline and enhancement video layers are available so that either lower or higher quality displays can be used to display video.
US08446957B2
An image processing apparatus includes: motion vector detection section configured to detect a motion vector of each of a plurality of blocks of a predetermined size set in an image and formed from a plurality of pixels; and global motion calculation section configured to carry out convergence mathematical operation, from the motion vectors of the blocks detected by the motion vector detection section, using extended affine transformation in which at least one of affine parameters is represented by a function of a variable regarding a displacement axis of the image to calculate a global motion representative of deformation applied to the entire image.
US08446956B2
The invention relates to a method for generating for at least one macroblock of a high resolution image at least one motion predictor from motion data associated to macroblock(s) of a low resolution image. The method comprises the following steps: —defining a virtual structure made up of non overlapping macroblocks, called virtual base layer macroblocks; —identifying for the high resolution macroblock corresponding virtual base layer macroblocks in the virtual image on the basis of the location of the high resolution macroblock within the high resolution image and on the basis of the ratios of low resolution and high resolution images dimensions; —deriving, for each identified virtual base layer macroblocks, motion data from motion data associated to at least one macroblock of a corresponding low resolution macroblocks pair on the basis of the field/frame mode of the corresponding low resolution macroblocks pair and on the basis of the field/frame mode of the high resolution macroblock; —resampling motion data associated to the corresponding virtual base layer macroblocks so as to generate the at least one motion predictor.
US08446951B2
To provide a dynamic image receiving apparatus which receives dynamic image streams coded with inter-frame prediction such as MPEG from a plurality of channels, and collects the dynamic image streams containing intra-frame coded pictures from each channel in a short time. The dynamic image receiving apparatus includes: a time information accumulative processing device which accumulates code receiving time of the intra-frame coded picture of the dynamic image stream, and periodicity time information containing one of or both of presentation time information and decoding time information contained in the dynamic image stream for each dynamic image stream of the plurality of channels; code receiving time predicting devices which predict the code receiving time of the intra-frame coded pictures based on the periodicity time information; and a channel selection control device which controls channel selection of the dynamic image stream to be received based on the predicted code receiving time information.
US08446947B2
A method for encoding a digital signal into a scalable bitstream comprising quantizing the digital signal, and encoding the quantized signal to form a core-layer bitstream, performing an error mapping based on the digital signal and the core-layer bitstream to remove information that has been encoded into the core-layer bitstream, resulting in an error signal, bit-plane coding the error signal based on perceptual information of the digital signal, resulting in an enhancement-layer bitstream, wherein the perceptual information of the digital signal is determined using a perceptual model, and multiplexing the core-layer bitstream and the enhancement-layer bitstream, thereby generating the scalable bitstream. A method for decoding a scalable bitstream into a digital signal comprising de-multiplexing the scalable bitstream into a core-layer bitstream and an enhancement-layer bitstream, decoding and de-quantizing the core-layer bitstream to generate a core-layer signal, bit-plane decoding the enhancement-layer bitstream based on perceptual information of the digital signal, and performing an error mapping based on the bit-plane decoded enhancement-layer bitstream and the de-quantized core-layer signal, resulting in an reconstructed transformed signal, wherein the reconstructed transformed signal is the digital signal.
US08446945B2
A decoding apparatus for decoding two encoded field data obtained by hierarchically encoding two field data associated with each of a plurality of picture data composing a moving picture image. The decoding apparatus comprising: a first decoding unit configured to decode one of the two encoded field data and obtain information associated with the two encoded field data; a conversion unit configured to interpolate first predicted image data generated by decoding by the first decoding unit according to the information and generate second predicted image data of a scanning position of the other encoded field data of the two encoded field data; and a second decoding unit configured to decode the other encoded field data of the two encoded field data based on the second predicted image data generated by the conversion unit.
US08446942B2
A waveform equalization circuit includes: a decision feedback equalization unit that feeds back and equalizes an input signal; a clock phase adjustment unit that adjusts a clock phase of a signal equalized by the decision feedback equalization unit based on a signal determined with a prescribed potential as a threshold; and a duo-binary decoder that encodes, into a duo-binary signal, the signal determined with the prescribed potential as a threshold based on a clock adjusted by the clock phase adjustment unit from the signal equalized by the decision feedback equalization unit; wherein the equalized signal is generated by adding the duo-binary signal encoded by the duo-binary decoder to the input signal. A first post-tap of the input signal is equalized by the clock phase adjustment unit without feedback equalization by the decision feedback equalization unit. Second and subsequent post-taps of the input signal are fed back and equalized by the decision feedback equalization unit.
US08446928B2
A movable electrode assembly for use in laser system includes a first electrode, a second electrode arranged opposite from the first electrode, the second electrode being spaced apart from the first electrode by a discharge gap and a discharge gap adjuster interfaced with at least one of the second electrode or the first electrode, the discharge gap adjuster configured to adjust the discharge gap. A movable electrode assembly for integration into a housing of a laser system includes a first electrode having a discharge surface, a second electrode having a discharge surface, such that the discharge surface of the first electrode and the discharge surface of the second electrode face each other in a spaced apart setting that defines a desired discharge gap, and a mechanism for moveably adjusting the spaced apart setting toward the desired discharge gap. A method of adjusting a discharge gap is also disclosed.
US08446926B2
A diode-laser having an elongated diode-laser emitter is mounted on a relatively massive heat-sink. Two parallel grooves are machined into the heat-sink to leave a relatively narrow elongated ridge of the heat-sink between the grooves. The ridge has a width about equal to or narrower that the width of the emitter. The diode-laser is mounted on the heat-sink such that thermal communication between the emitter and heat-sink is essentially limited to thermal communication with the ridge.
US08446917B2
Methods for communicating discovery information are described. A module intercepts messages within a device which include a first identifier, e.g., a service, application, device or other identifier which is to be communicated or which is to be monitored for in the case of a device seeking something. A second identifier corresponding to the information to be communicated or item or service being sought is generated. The second identifier is transmitted in the case of an advertisement or monitored for in the case of the device seeking something. Following a second device establishing a communications connection in response to an advertisement, stored information such as all or a portion of the first identifier is transmitted over the established connection. A device seeking an item or service, in response to detecting the second identifier, establishes a connection with the second device. The second identifier maybe shorter than the first identifier.
US08446916B2
A device provides a flow table. The device receives a data unit, determines a data flow associated with the data unit, determines whether the flow table includes an entry corresponding to the data flow, determines a current utilization of a group of output ports of the device, selects an output port, of the group of output ports, for the data flow based on the current utilization of the group of output ports when the flow table does not store an entry corresponding to the data flow, and stores the data unit in a queue associated with the selected output port.
US08446908B2
An apparatus and method for reordering data packets in a communication system are provided. The method includes detecting that a first time value of a timer used for reordering data packets needs to be set when a missing data packet occurs in receiving data packets, and, when the timer restarts, setting the first time value to a time value determined by compensating for a second time value which is used when the timer starts. The timer starts when a first Transmission Sequence Number (TSN) of a received data packet is greater than a TSN of a data packet which is expected to be received immediately after data packets received already and when the timer is not in an active state. The timer expires at a point of time when the second time value lapses. The timer stops when a data packet with the same TSN as the first TSN is sent as a reassembly entity before the expiring of the timer. The timer restarts when a received data packet which cannot be sent as the reassembly entity is buffered in a buffer after the stopping or the expiring of the timer.
US08446902B2
The invention relates to method of executing a service in a Media Gateway Control Function for establishing a call between a calling party's terminal served by a Mobile Switching Centre, and an IP Multimedia Subsystem Service. The Media Gateway Control Function is arranged to query a Service Control Point on which an overlay process is loaded. The correct SCP is identified by the MGCF using a correlation identifier originally published by the SCP itself after having received an IN service trigger from an MSC or GMSC. The MGCF will receive call related data from the SCP, such as the original dialled number. This data is used by the MGCF to populate information elements in a SIP Invite message. The invention gives a solution for providing GSM specific information, e.g. dialled number, location information, to an IMS service. This information may not be available to the IMS service through present methods.
US08446897B2
A system and method for providing a multimedia tone/announcement over circuit switched wireless networks are provided. The system and method enable processing of a multiple call leg function based on H.324M over a circuit switched wireless network by relaying an end-to-end H.324M initialization over the circuit switched wireless network. Therefore, a variety of multimedia services (for example, multimedia RBT/announcement service, video conferencing, etc.) together with video phone service based on H.324M in the circuit switched wireless network can be provided, which may be conducive to popularization of video phone service and realization of profits based on the provision of a variety of additional multimedia services.
US08446893B2
A method for synchronizing overlapping cells covered by different base stations include obtaining a propagation delay between a first base station and a second base station, scheduling by the first base station a selected one of first users located in a first cell covered by the first base station to transmit a first data packet which is a part of a transmission data frame, transmitting at the selected one the first users a transmission offset indicating the difference in a time domain between the beginning of the transmission data frame and the first data packet, in response to the reception of the first data packet, recording a reception offset at a selected one of second users located in a second cell covered by the second base station, the reception offset indicating the difference in time domain between the beginning of a reception data frame and the first data packet, transmitting at the selected one of the second users the reception offset to the second base station, calculating at the second base station a frame slide by adding the transmission offset and the propagation delay, and subtracting the reception offset, and synchronizing the first cell and the second cell based upon the calculated frame slide.
US08446890B2
A technique for associating clients with APs in an advantageous manner may involve local balancing of clients across APs. This may involve providing instructions to APs to disable client association. Alternatively, this technique may involve load balancing across controllers.
US08446875B2
This document describes a proactive mechanism to provide fast-handover involving PMIPv6. In particular, it describes how one can achieve fast handoff for PMIPv6 using Media-independent Pre-Authentication (MPA) technique. It discusses the need for a fast-handoff for PMIPv6 environment. It then describes how MPA techniques could be used during different steps involving both intra-domain and inter-domain handoff for PMIPv6. MPA-based fast-handover takes advantage of the pre-authentication mechanism so that the mobile can perform the access authentication while in the previous local mobility (PMA) domain and thus would be able to complete many of the handoff related operations while still in the previous network.
US08446860B2
According to an example embodiment, a method for wireless communication includes establishing a communication session between a base station associated with a wireless network and a network access device associated with a separate communications network. The network access device provides the base station access to the communications network. The method further includes receiving location information from the network access device. The location information describes the location of the network access device. The network device receives the location information from a server on the communications network. In addition, the method includes providing a service to at least one wireless device utilizing the location information.
US08446820B2
According to one aspect, a method that includes some of the teachings of the present subject technology reduces congestion in a communications network. The method includes, inter alia, letting a persistence value be a function of N, even when ASC=0, and also a function of a constant the emergency services access parameter W, such that the persistence value P0(N) ranges between P1(N) and 1 when the emergency services access parameter W ranges from a first value (e.g. 0) to a second value (e.g. 1), where P(N)=2−(N−1) and where N is transmitted in a system information message. A comparator allows a user to access the communications network only if a random/pseudorandom number is less than the persistence value. Other aspects, such as a computer program product, also reduce congestion in a communications network.
US08446819B2
A system and method are provided for enabling a first network to detect a loop in a second network connected thereto. The first network runs a first instance of a Spanning Tree Protocol and the second network runs either a different instance or no instance. The method includes sending a Remote Loop Detection Packet (“RLDP”) from the ports in bridges of the first network which are connected to the second network. The RLDP includes identifiers such as the source bridge, port and VLAN. The system and method further includes checking for receipt of the RLDP on the same bridge which sent the RLDP. If such a receipt occurs, a loop is detected and one of the ports of the receiving/sending bridge is blocked.
US08446817B2
A virtual Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) forwarder (vFCF) distributed in the core layer of an FCoE environment between two or more FCoE-enabled core switches by using a single virtual domain ID for the FCoE forwarders (FCFs) in a fabric is provided. In this manner, the network problem of having a single point of failure in a fabric is eliminated without needing to double the number of core switches in the FCoE environment for redundancy. Because the login and state information is distributed between the FCoE-enabled core switches of a fabric, the loss or failure of a core switch no longer means that the fabric goes down. Instead, when a core switch fails, the hosts and initiators may stay logged in through the other core switches.
US08446815B2
A telecommunications network, comprising plural nodes connected by plural spans and arranged to form a mesh network. There is at least one pre-configured cycle of spare capacity established in the mesh network, the pre-configured cycle including plural nodes of the mesh network. The plural nodes of the pre-configured cycle are configured to protect a set of plural mutually disjoint working paths end to end.
US08446809B2
An optical pickup device imparts different astigmatisms from each other to light fluxes in four light flux areas A through D formed around an optical axis of laser light, out of the laser light reflected on a disc. The optical pickup device also changes the propagating directions of the light fluxes in the light flux areas A through D to separate the light fluxes in the light flux areas A through D from each other. A signal light area where only signal light exists is defined on a detection surface of a photodetector. Sensing portions are arranged at a position corresponding to the signal light area. Accordingly, only the signal light is received by the sensing portions, thereby suppressing deterioration of a detection signal resulting from stray light.
US08446808B2
A method for adjusting at least one alignment control axis of a holographic data storage system or device to or towards a sufficiently optimal recovery position for recovery of a hologram based on a derived feedback error signal and/or a derived feed-forward signal. For the next hologram in the sequence, the derived feedback error signal estimates the direction and magnitude of misalignment of the at least one alignment control axis for one or more previously recovered holograms based on alignment-indicating data. The derived feed-forward signal estimates an optimal alignment value for the at least one alignment control axis for one or more holograms based on recording and recovery operating condition data for the holograms. An iterative alignment procedure may also be used to derive a feedback error signal for one hologram.
US08446806B2
In the case where a spare area management method using an NAP of a spare area on a recordable medium is applied to a spare area management method of a spare area on a rewritable medium, in order to alleviate a recording stop caused by retry over in a replacement process or unnecessary conversion processes in a record/reproduce device, the NAP is updated in a format process or in the replacement process in such a way as to avoid defective blocks within the spare area which is registered as Unusable Cluster or Usable Cluster Type 2 entries on the DFL.
US08446802B2
An optical drive device includes first and second light sources, an objective lens configured to receive a first light emitted from the first light source and a second light emitted from the second light source and to irradiate both the first light and the second light to an optical disc recording medium, a first focus mechanism configured to drive the objective lens in a focus direction, a second focus mechanism configured to change collimation of the second light incident to the objective lens and changing the focusing position of the second light independently of the first light, a first focus servo control unit configured to drive the first focus mechanism, an error signal subtraction unit configured to subtract the first focus error signal from a second focus error signal, and a second focus servo control unit configured to drive the second focus mechanism.
US08446796B2
In a pulse-echo measuring system, echo signals are compared by a difference calculator with the output of a model simulating the system. The detected differences are used to re-calculate parameters in the model. Other parameters are directly measured and applied to the model. A primary measurement, such as level, is detected more accurately and other parameters such as froth height and turbulence are estimated accurately.
US08446789B2
A global line sharing circuit of a semiconductor memory device includes: a ZQ calibration unit configured to adjust an impedance of a DQ output driver; a test unit configured to control a test operation; and a shared global line coupled to and used in common by the ZQ calibration unit and the test unit.
US08446776B2
A method of programming memory cells for a non-volatile memory device is provided. The method includes performing an incremental step pulse program (ISPP) operation based on a program voltage, a first verification voltage, and a second verification voltage, and changing an increment value of the program voltage based on a first pass-fail result of the memory cells, the first pass-fail result being generated based on the first verification voltage. The ISPP operation is finished based on a second pass-fail result of the memory cells, the second pass-fail result being generated based on the second verification voltage.
US08446762B2
One-transistor (1T) capacitor-less DRAM cells each include a MOS transistor having a bias gate layer that separates a floating body region from a base substrate. The MOS transistor functions as a storage device, eliminating the need of the storage capacitor. Logic “1” is written to and stored in the storage device by causing majority carriers (holes in an NMOS transistor) to accumulate and be held in the floating body region next to the bias gate layer, and is erased by removing the majority carriers from where they are held.
US08446760B2
A method and device for performing a program operation of a phase change memory (PCM) cell. The method includes the steps of applying one or more programming pulses according to a predefined programming scheme to achieve a target resistance level of the PCM cell, wherein the programming scheme is operable to perform in a first programming mode one or more annealing steps to approach the target resistance, wherein the programming scheme is operable to perform in a second programming mode one or more melting steps, wherein the programming scheme is operable to start in the first programming mode and to switch to the second programming mode if the target resistance level of the PCM cell has been undershot in the first programming mode.
US08446756B2
Provided is a method of driving a storage device capable of improving reliability of data write in the storage device including a variable resistance element. At the time of data write operation, a plurality of write pulses having shapes different from each other are applied between electrodes 21 and 24 in a variable resistance element 2. Diffusion loss of a conductive path caused by self-heat generation (generation of Joule heat) of the variable resistance element 2 may be prevented, and thus data hold operation after write is stabilized. Also, the variable resistance element 2 may be prevented from being destructed when the write operation is sufficiently performed, and thus the data write operation is stabilized.
US08446751B2
The demand for reducing the size and increasing the degree of integration of semiconductor memory devices has increased. In a semiconductor memory device, a smoothing capacitor which has to be provided therein for stabilizing a power supply voltage etc. is formed in an underlying layer of memory cells A and B to overlap the two memory cells A and B which are adjacent each other. Thus, an area occupied by the smoothing capacitor having a large capacity can be reduced to increase the degree of integration, and the smoothing capacitor having a large capacity can be provided in the semiconductor memory device.
US08446749B2
A resistance change memory device including: a cell array having a resistance change type of memory cells disposed at the cross-points of word lines and bit lines, the resistance value of the memory cell being reversibly settable; a word line driver circuit configured to apply a selecting drive voltage to one selected in the word lines; and a bit line driver circuit configured to drive multiple bit lines in such a manner that a set mode and a reset mode are set simultaneously for multiple memory cells selected by the selected word line, the set mode being for changing a selected memory cell from a first resistance state into a second resistance state while the reset mode is for changing a selected memory cell from the second resistance state into the first resistance state.
US08446745B1
The present application discloses methods, circuits and systems for power conversion, using a universal multiport architecture. When a transient appears on the power input (which can be, for example, polyphase AC), the input and output switches are opened, and a crowbar switch shunts the inductance which is used for energy transfer. This prevents this inductance from creating an overvoltage when it is disconnected from outside lines.
US08446744B2
A method and a control device control a switching device for providing a resonant circuit with a switching voltage for generating a resonant current in order to provide a required output power at an output of a resonant power converter.
US08446737B1
An in-wall mounted housing or enclosure for an electronic apparatus, such as used as part of a wireless sound system, is configured with a relatively large volume chamber which requires a limited size cut-out for installation. With such a configuration, the enclosure can be mounted within a wall, ceiling, or floor structure while having a sufficient volume to contain all of the required electrical components for a particular application, such as in a wireless sound system. In one arrangement, the housing is configured with two or more chambers where each chamber contains a distinct electrical component. Separation of certain electrical components into distinct chambers can minimize electrical interference between the components during operation. In one arrangement, the housing is further configured to carry both low voltage and high voltage components within the separate chambers while minimizing electrical interference among the components.
US08446736B2
An upper board having an opening and forming a circuit on a surface layer, a connection sheet between boards having an opening and forming conductive holes filled with conductive paste in through-holes, and a lower board forming a circuit on a surface layer are stacked up, heated and pressed. In particular, the connection sheet between boards is made of a material different from the upper board and the lower board. A multi-layer circuit board having a cavity structure, and a full-layer IVH structure with high interlayer connection reliability can be manufactured.
US08446731B2
For a removable device such as a USB pen drive, two components are relatively moveable with each other by sliding, rotating, or rolling over. When a second component moves with respect to a first component, the clearance between the two components ensures durability of the removable device. As the second component moves to and is configured at an extended position, a first biasing element on the first component abuts and pushed a second biasing element on the second component so that ground nodes of the second component contact with a conductive section of the first component. The ground path way is then established for ESD protection. As the second component moves out of the extend position, the connection between the ground nodes and the conductive section no longer exists and the clearance between the two components exists again.
US08446730B2
A package of an environmental sensitive element including a flexible substrate, an environmental sensitive element, a flexible sacrificial layer and a packaging structure is provided. The environmental sensitive element is disposed on the flexible substrate. The flexible sacrificial layer is disposed on the environmental sensitive element, wherein the environmental sensitive element includes a plurality of first thin films and the flexible sacrificial layer includes a plurality of second thin films. The bonding strength between two adjacent second thin films is substantially equal to or lower than the bonding strength between two adjacent first thin films. Further, the packaging structure covers the environmental sensitive element and the flexible sacrificial layer.
US08446728B1
A multi-standard flash-memory-card carrier includes a carrier chassis and bay to accept flash-memory cards. Embodiments provide flexible hinges or covers allowing use of the card within the chassis or release there from, and adaptable chassis to include additional flash-memory storage within the chassis and data transfer through connected wires within the flexible hinge. All micro and standard flash-memory cards can be carried in the disclosed flash-memory-card carrier, and all embodiments of the carrier can be sized for easy placement in plastic sleeves for credit cards in a person's wallet.
US08446725B2
An electronic equipment cabinet includes a chassis and a fan coupled thereto. The fan is configured to move an airstream through the chassis. A plenum is coupled to the chassis and has a first opening in a first side located to receive the airstream, and a second opening in an adjacent second side. An airflow diverter is located within the plenum. The airflow diverter has a surface oriented to redirect the airstream between the first opening and the second opening.
US08446721B2
A latch mechanism includes a housing pivoted to a screen. A transparent portion is formed on the housing. The latch mechanism further includes a light source installed inside the housing for emitting light into the transparent portion of the housing, a waterproof unit installed inside the housing for covering the light source so as to provide waterproof function for the light source, a conductive wire connected to the light source for providing electricity to the light source, and a frame installed inside the housing and connected to the waterproof unit for supporting the conductive wire.
US08446703B2
The invention relates to a surge arrester having at least one varistor block 1, one end fitting 3, one reinforcing element 9 which holds the varistor block 1 firmly on the end fitting 3 with a tensile load, and at least one anchoring element 27 which holds the reinforcing element 9 firmly on the end fitting 3 with a tensile load wherein the anchoring element 27 has at least one edge 29 which cuts into the reinforcing element 9. The anchoring element 27 is preferably a cutting-ring screw union.
US08446701B2
In accordance with the disclosed subject matter herein, an apparatus for suppressing in a split-phase power system, effects of line-to-ground transient voltage spikes, balancing phase voltage with respect to ground, filtering phase voltage harmonics, cleaning up electrical noise in a split-phase power system, redirecting energy and absorbing electrical noise, protecting or replacing typical TVSS (transient voltage surge suppressor) units. The apparatus of the present invention can not be damaged by electrical noise. It uses virtually no energy in monitor mode and cannot draw over 3 amps. The apparatus of the present invention can be applied to single-phase lines from center tapped delta power transformers.In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, an apparatus for use with a power supply bus having at least a first power line and a second power line. An exemplary apparatus includes an interface having an input side and an output side, the input side capable of being coupled to at least the first power line, the second power line and ground node, and the output side of the interface having at least first and second output nodes.
US08446699B2
This invention relates to a residual current device which is able to safely and reliably operate when a line voltage is present (voltage dependent mode) and when the line voltage is not present or falls below a predetermined threshold level (voltage independent mode). The present invention is implemented as a residual current device having a trip mechanism for isolating an electric supply to an electrical installation upon detection of a predetermined current imbalance between the line and neutral conductors of said electric supply. The present invention comprises a current transformer having a secondary winding responsive to any current imbalance on said electrical installation, and a circuit protection winding being connectable to a processing means. The impedance of said processing means varies according to the level of the line voltage such that the device, under normal operation, behaves as a voltage dependent residual current device, but in the rare occasion where operation may be required when no line voltage is present, offers voltage independent protection.
US08446692B2
A PMR writer is disclosed that minimizes pole erasure during non-writing and maximize write field during writing through an AFM-FM phase change material that is in an anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) state during non-writing and switches to a ferromagnetic (FM) state by heating during writing. The main pole layer including the write pole may be comprised of a laminated structure having a plurality of “n” ferromagnetic layers and “n−1” AFM-FM phase change material layers arranged in an alternating manner. The AFM-FM phase change material is preferably a FeRh, FeRhPt, FeRhPd, or FeRhIr and may also be used as a flux gate to prevent yoke flux from leaking into the write pole tip. Heating for the AFM to FM transition is provided by write coils and/or a coil located near the AFM-FM phase change material to enable faster transition times.
US08446678B2
To provide an image forming optical system that can achieve good correction of chromatic aberration, which is seriously needed particularly when the zoom ratio is high, while achieving slimness and a high zoom ratio and to provide an electronic image pickup apparatus equipped with such an image forming optical system, an image forming optical system has a lens group A including a lens component made up of a positive lens LA and a negative lens LB cemented together and having a negative refracting power as a whole. The lens group A is arranged between a lens group I closest to the object side and an aperture stop. The distance between the lens group I and the lens group A changes for zooming. The lens component has an aspheric cemented surface, and a certain condition concerning the shape of the aspheric surface is satisfied.
US08446677B2
A valve device for a variable lens comprises: an inlet for receiving fluid from a reservoir; an outlet for passing fluid to a lens cavity; and a valve member, the valve member comprising a passageway for fluid communication between the inlet and outlet and a valve for closing the passageway; wherein the valve is actuated by turning the valve member about an axis of rotation and the passageway extends along the valve member in the axial direction.
US08446674B2
Various embodiments include an interferometric modulator device configured to provide improved saturation. In some embodiments, saturation is improved by optically matching the impedance of two materials with different refractive indices using a multilayer having a refractive index gradient. In various embodiments, the thickness one or more of the layers in the multilayer are selected to provide increased saturation. Accordingly, in various embodiments the multilayer having a refractive index gradient helps to narrow the resonance of a pixel such that the band of wavelengths that are reflected from the pixel is smaller. In turn, a device including a combination of red, green and blue pixels may expand the spectrum of colors that are reflected by the device in operation. Additionally, there may be better contrast between whites and blacks, as darker blacks with less hue are produced.
US08446662B2
A method of manufacturing is disclosed for an electrophoretic display apparatus that includes an array substrate and an electrophoretic film laminated to the array substrate. A thermally activated adhesive is used to adhesively attach the electrophoretic film to the array substrate. The electrophoretic film is first aligned to and flattened against the array substrate and then a substantially stronger than original adhesion property of the adhesive is activated by annealing at a high temperature that is substantially greater than room temperature. Rework prior to annealing is therefore possible when alignment errors occur between the electrophoretic film and the array substrate.
US08446653B2
An image forming apparatus comprising an exposure device for exposing an image bearing member to light in accordance with monochromatic image data provided by color separation of inputted multi-color image data to form an electrostatic latent image; a control device for calculating an exposure amount of each pixel of the monochromatic image data to expose the image bearing member with the calculated exposure amount; wherein the control device includes a monochromatic correcting device for calculating a correction amount in accordance with a pixel value of a pixel around a target pixel of the monochromatic image data to correct an exposure amount of the target pixel on the basis of the calculated amount; wherein the control device includes a multi-color correcting device for providing a coefficient for correction of the exposure amount on the basis of the multi-color image data; wherein the monochromatic correcting device controls the exposure amount using the coefficient and the correction amount provided by the multi-color correcting device.
US08446650B2
A document conveying device, include a conveyance roller which conveys a document that is attached to a conveyance roller shaft; and a flywheel connected to the conveyance roller shaft.
US08446649B2
An optical scanning apparatus includes a light source, a rotating polygonal mirror, a scanning optical system, a detector, and a light emission controller. The light source includes plural light emitting elements. The rotating polygonal mirror is irradiated with light beams. While rotating, the rotating polygonal mirror reflects and deflects, in a deflecting direction, light beams emitted from light emitting elements in a first direction to propagate through one point in the deflecting direction substantially at the same time. The scanning optical system causes the reflected and deflected light beams to scan over an object. The detector detects the timing at which a light beam propagates through a detection point. When the light beams propagate through the detection point, the light emission controller causes light emitting elements in a row in the first direction other than light emitting elements at both ends of a projection plane to emit light.
US08446648B2
In one embodiment, an image reading apparatus has a light source configured with a plurality of light-emitting elements disposed in a row in a main scanning direction that irradiate light toward an original, and a photoelectric conversion element that receives light reflected from the original, an output light amount from the light-emitting elements can be adjusted, and a state of bright spots due to repetition of light-dark in the main scanning direction on a light irradiation face of the original due to the plurality of light-emitting elements is determined, and the output light amount from the light-emitting elements is adjusted based on the determination result of the state of the bright spots.
US08446640B2
A recording head (16) is operated to form a regular pattern of image swaths on a recording media (17). The regular pattern of image features comprises a first set of image features (60A) that is formed with an imaging parameter set to a first predetermined value and a second set of image features (60B) is formed with an imaging parameter set to a second predetermined value, different from the first predetermined value. Image features in the first set and the second set are arranged on the recording media with a sub-scan spatial frequency equal to a non-integer multiple of a sub-scan spatial frequency of the image swaths. A scanner (40) generates data (47) of the scanned pattern, wherein a first integer multiple of a sampling spatial frequency employed by the scanner is equal to a second integer multiple of the sub-scan spatial frequency of the first set and the second set of image features. The data is analyzed to determine a quantified value representative of banding between the first set of and the second set of image features are adjusted.
US08446636B2
Disclosed is a variable printing system, which makes it possible to efficiently implement a variable printing, based on streamed variable print data. The variable printing system includes: the variable print data generating apparatus that creates variable print data in which an identifier, indicating an instruction for deleting a specific reusable object that will not be used in following pages, is embedded into a potion for describing page information including information in regard to the specific reusable object, and streams the above-created variable print data; and the variable printing control apparatus that receives the streamed variable print data to rasterized the concerned object, and synthesizes the rasterized data with each other so as to create image data for every page, and at the same time, conducts such the controlling operation to delete specific rasterized data of the specific reusable object, designated by the identifier, from the cache memory.
US08446634B2
A first color conversion unit converts RGB signals from a line input unit to L*a*b* signals. A lightness range compression unit matches the lightness range of the input color signals with that of an output gamut. If the maximum saturation point on an input line is outside the output gamut, an input line correction unit corrects the point in such a manner that it is mapped onto the surface of the output gamut. If a near-surface determination unit determines that the corrected line is not located on the surface of the output gamut, an out-of-gamut mapping unit maps it onto the surface of the output gamut, whereas if it determines that the corrected line is located near the surface of the output gamut, the surface mapping unit maps all points on the surface of the output gamut. A second color conversion unit converts the mapped L*a*b* signals to CMYK signals.
US08446633B2
A print data generating apparatus to generate print data is provided. The print data generating apparatus includes a maximum density setting unit, through which a maximum allowable density of a white colorant is designated, an image storing unit to store originally inputted image data, a data convertor unit to convert the inputted image data into a colorant-enabled data, which is information concerning pixels composing the image in scale values of the plurality of colors, and a density-adjusted data generating unit to generate white density-adjusted data, in which the scale values of the pixels in the colorant-enabled data are adjusted according to the maximum allowable density of the white colorant. The density-adjusted data generating unit adjusts the scale values of white in the pixels in the colorant-enabled data to be lower than or equal to scale values corresponding to the maximum allowable density.
US08446630B2
An output control apparatus which performs output control of data displayed on a display unit includes a detection unit configured to detect an output apparatus located near the display unit, an acquisition unit configured to acquire arrangement position information indicating an arrangement position of the output apparatus, a determination unit configured to determine an output layout of the data according to a relationship between the arrangement position of the output apparatus indicated by the arrangement position information and a display position of the data displayed on the display unit, and a control unit configured to perform control to output the data from the output apparatus with the output layout determined by the determination unit.
US08446624B2
A method of setting a user interface of a driver program of an image processing device includes applying a transparent setting to display the driver program in a transparent state on a display device to the driver program, and displaying the driver program with the applied transparent function on the display device when an application program operates the driver program. The driver program does not block an acquired result of the application program, and a user is able to perform a scanning operation at an optimum environment by adjusting a transparency level of the driver program displayed over the application program.
US08446623B2
Finishing settings to be applied to a new subset are selected from finishing settings applied to existing subsets in a file, and when the new subset is set to be inserted into the file, the selected finishing settings are applied to the new subset and the new subset is inserted. When an existing subset in the file is to be replaced with the new subset, the selected finishing settings are applied to the new subset, and the existing subset in the file is replaced with the new subset.
US08446619B2
A print control apparatus in which a plurality of print apparatuses having a hold print function are caused to hold print data, and the print data of other print apparatuses other than a print apparatus print-instructed by a user is deleted, is provided. A print server is connected to the plurality of printers having a hold print function through a network. The print server includes a print data transmission portion that transmits print data received from a PC to printers to cause the printers to hold the print data, and a print data deletion instruction portion that, when a print notification of the print data is received from any one of the plurality of the printers, instructs other printers other than the printer to delete the print data.
US08446614B2
In a system where a transmitting apparatus is connected via a network to a receiving apparatus, the receiving apparatus has a storage device for storing destination information which can be registered to a key in an operating device to be operated for transmission in a transmitting apparatus. When data is received from the transmitting apparatus, the destination information including an icon or information on a site wherein the destination information is stored is returned to the transmitting apparatus. Thus, registration of destination information to the key becomes easy at the transmitting apparatus.
US08446612B2
An image forming apparatus includes: a storage unit including unique information identify to an apparatus main unit; a setting unit including setting information of the apparatus main unit instead of the unique information; a pattern addition unit that adds an addition pattern based on a unique pattern generated from the unique information or a setting pattern generated from the setting information to image data that is input to the apparatus main unit; an image formation unit that forms a visual image of the image data and an addition image of the addition pattern which is hardly recognized by eyes on a recording medium; and a control unit that changes the addition pattern formed by the image formation unit from the unique pattern to the setting pattern when an error depending on the unique information occurs.
US08446610B2
The image forming apparatus includes: a sleep control unit which, in a normal operation mode in which power is supplied to a fixing device, if predetermined processing is not executed for a preset time or if an instruction to execute shifting to a power-saving mode with lower power consumption than in the normal operation mode is received, makes a shift to a sleep mode with a lower power consumption than in the normal operation mode, in which at least power supply to the fixing device is stopped; and a super-sleep control unit which makes a shift to a super-sleep mode in which a power source of a processor is turned off if predetermined processing is not executed for a shorter time than the preset time after the shift to the sleep mode is made.
US08446601B2
A disclosed control device includes a first unit configured to generate image data of multiple images to be superposed one on the other to form a single image and transmit the image data. The second control unit transmits to the first control unit a horizontal sync reference signal for achieving synchronization of the images in a horizontal direction. Based on the horizontal sync reference signal, the first control unit transmits to the second control unit a transfer clock signal that indicates transmission timing of the image data and an effective area signal that indicates an effective area of the image data. The first control unit asserts the effective area signal for an effective-area-signal assertion period that occurs between two consecutive reference-signal assertion periods during which the horizontal sync reference signal is asserted.
US08446597B2
An image forming apparatus includes a direct-transfer control unit that causes a direct-transfer medium and a first image forming unit that forms a single-color image to transfer the single-color image onto either the direct-transfer medium or a transfer sheet; an indirect-transfer control unit that causes an intermediate transfer medium and a second image forming unit that forms a multi-color image to transfer the multi-color image onto the intermediate transfer medium; a secondary-transfer control unit that transfers the single-color image onto the intermediate transfer medium; a sensor that detects an image on the intermediate transfer medium; and a positional-alignment control unit that calculates, using the sensor, an amount of misalignment of the image and corrects, using a position of an image formed by the first image forming unit as a reference position, positions of images to be formed by the second image forming unit based on the calculated amount of misalignment.
US08446595B2
A method for detecting contour data of a three-dimensional object, where a grid of illumination points of a multi-point illumination is projected onto the object using an optical device and the illumination points are then projected back onto a sensor containing pixels. In order to improve signal-noise ratio and reduce background signal, it is proposed that a grid of illumination points of at least two multi-point illuminations are projected onto the object, that the beams of the illuminating points of are modulated in intensity and that a frequency-selective and/or phase-selective detection is performed of mutually associated first and second illumination points back-projected onto the sensor. The first illumination points derive from a first of the multipoint illuminations and the second illumination points derive from a second of the multipoint illuminations. Differences in intensity and/or frequency of the measurement signals of adjacent pixels of the sensor on which the mutually associated first and second image points are depicted are evaluated for the purposes of determining the contour data.
US08446590B2
An optical-fiber filter is provided. The optical-fiber filter includes an optical fiber having a first end-face and an opposing second end-face. The first end-face and the second end-face set a fiber length. The first end-face and the second end-face are coated with reflective coatings. When an optical beam emitted from a laser is coupled into one of the first end-face or the second end-face, an optical beam output from the opposing end-face has a narrow linewidth and low frequency noise fluctuations.
US08446576B2
A nondestructive carrier concentration measuring device (100) includes: a storage unit (101) that stores a correlation between the reflectance of an inorganic compound semiconductor against terahertz light and a carrier concentration; a light radiation unit (103) that irradiates the terahertz light (105) to the inorganic compound semiconductor as a sample; a detection unit (109) that detects reflected light (108) of the inorganic compound semiconductor against the irradiated terahertz light (105); a reflectance calculation unit (111) that compares the irradiated terahertz light (105) with the reflected light (108) and calculates an actual measurement value of the reflectance of the inorganic compound semiconductor; and a read unit (113) that refers to the stored correlation and reads the carrier concentration of the sample corresponding to the actual measurement value of the reflectance.
US08446572B2
Described herein is an improved sensing system (30) and its method of operation. The system (30) includes a camera (16) for viewing an external scene, the camera comprising one or more detector(s) and has a field of view (40) which overlaps with the path (32) of a pulsed laser (12). The laser path (32) and radiation from the scene viewed (40) share a beamsplitter (36) and a window (38). In order to substantially reduce back-scattered radiation from the laser path (32) affecting operation of the detector(s) of the camera (16), the detector(s) is (are) switched in accordance with the operation of the laser (12) to be “off” or non-receiving when the laser (12) is “on” or firing.
US08446569B2
Positional information of wafer stages is measured by a plurality of encoder heads, Z heads and the like that a measurement bar placed below surface has, using gratings placed on the lower surface of fine movement stages. Consequently, high-precision measurement of the positional information of the wafer stages can be performed. Further, since a guide surface of the wafer stages is formed by the two guide surface forming members placed side by side via a predetermined clearance, each guide surface forming member is easier to handle and also maintenance of the vicinity of the guide surface forming member is easier to perform, compared with the case where the guide surface forming members are integrated.
US08446556B2
Provided are a flexible printed circuit that reduces the chance of the occurrence of short-circuit failures caused by swarf generated from punching out flexible printed circuit, and an electric circuit structure having this flexible printed circuit and an electric circuit substrate to which the flexible printed circuit is connected. A flexible printed circuit (100) has a wiring pattern (2) formed on the flexible base film (1). The flexible printed circuit (100) is individually punched out to be separated in a condition where the wiring pattern (2) is disposed on the base film (1), and the wiring pattern (2) has a narrowed portion (2c) near the edge of the base film (1).
US08446554B2
To provide a plural-viewpoint display device having an image separating optical element such as a lenticular lens or a parallax barrier, which is capable of arranging thin film transistors and wirings while achieving substantially trapezoid apertures and high numerical aperture, and to provide a driving method thereof, a terminal device, and a display panel. A neighboring pixel pair arranged with a gate line interposed therebetween is connected to the gate line placed between the pixels, each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair is connected to the data line different from each other, and each of the neighboring pixel pairs neighboring to each other in an extending direction of the gate lines is connected to the gate line different from each other.
US08446551B2
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus to reduce dielectric discharge in liquid crystal cells driven with high voltage. In one embodiment, the present invention is a liquid crystal cell including a substrate with a surface and a tapered conductive film on top of the surface of the substrate including a first end and a second end. In another embodiment, the present invention is a method for forming a liquid crystal cell including covering a portion of a surface of a substrate with a shadow mask and then depositing conductive film onto the surface of the substrate such that the conductive film is tapered.
US08446549B2
A conformable, flexible or roll up display (100) includes a matrix display layer (115) including lines of sub-pixels (116). Each line has an associated color assigned to the line (132, 134, 136), and each line extends along a roll up or bend direction (140). A display effect layer (128) is formed on the matrix layer. A color filter layer (152) includes striped color filters (154) which extend in the roll up or bend direction. The striped color filters each include a filter color corresponding with the lines of sub-pixels in the matrix layer to address misalignment and color errors due to bending or rolling up the display. Methods for fabricating flexible displays are also disclosed.
US08446548B2
A light source device has a transparent/scattering state switching element for switching the range of irradiation angles, and liquid crystal molecules and dichroic dye molecules are dispersed in a polymer matrix in the PDLC layer of the transparent/scattering state switching element. The range of irradiation angles can thereby be switched, and the color can be prevented from changing when the radiation angle is switched.
US08446547B2
The present disclosure relates to a back light unit having an LED array structure for reducing light leakage problem at edge portion. A liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal display panel; an optical sheet disposed under the liquid crystal display panel; and an LED array having red LED, green LED and blue LED are sequentially arrayed under the optical sheet, wherein one portion of an outermost LED of the LED array is included within an area covered by the liquid crystal display panel, and other portion of the outermost LED of the LED array is excluded from the area covered by the liquid crystal display panel.
US08446534B2
A multidimensional display apparatus includes a main display screen divided into at least three display areas including a first centre display area and at least two surrounded display areas, at least two reflective elements, and at least three display surfaces. The reflective elements are arranged above and inclined with respect to the second display areas, and a reflection surface of each of the reflective elements faces the corresponding second display area. One of the display surfaces is above the first display area, and the other two are corresponding to the second display areas, facing the reflection surfaces of the reflective elements. The contents displayed on the first display area is viewable on the display surface above, and the contents displayed on the second display areas are reflected by the corresponding reflection surfaces of the reflective elements and viewable on the other two display surfaces.
US08446529B2
The image display apparatus is capable of receiving a first video signal and image data. The apparatus includes a first electronic zoom processing part performing first electronic zoom processing on the first video signal to output a first electronic zoom processed video signal of a predetermined resolution, a video converting part converting the image data into a second video signal, a second electronic zoom processing part performing second electronic zoom processing on the second video signal to output a second electronic zoom processed video signal of the predetermined resolution, and a displaying part displaying an image corresponding to each of the first and second electronic zoom processed video signals. The second electronic zoom processed video signal output from the second electronic zoom processing part is input to the displaying part through the first electronic zoom processing part without being subjected to the first electronic zoom processing.
US08446520B2
A zoom lens system, in order from an object side to an image side, comprising a first lens unit having negative optical power, a second lens unit having positive optical power, a third lens unit having positive optical power, and a fourth lens unit having positive optical power, wherein in zooming, the intervals between the respective lens units vary, and the condition (I-1): 2ωW/FW≧34 (fT/fW>2.0, ωW: a half view angle (°) at a wide-angle limit, FW: an F-number at a wide-angle limit, fT: a focal length of the entire system at a telephoto limit, fW: a focal length of the entire system at a wide-angle limit) is satisfied, having a high resolution and a short overall optical length (overall length of lens system), and still having a view angle of 70° or greater at a wide-angle limit, which is satisfactorily adaptable for wide-angle image taking, and yet having a large aperture with an F-number of about 2.0 at a wide-angle limit; an imaging device; and a camera.
US08446515B2
It is determined whether or not there is inconsistency between image sensing mode data, which is set by an operator with respect to a scene including an object of shooting, and attribute data, e.g., focal length data or the like, that accompanies an obtained image. When it is determined that there is inconsistency between the image sensing mode data and attribute data, a caution is given to the operator that it is necessary to maintain consistency.
US08446511B2
In an image forming optical system which includes in order from an object side, a first lens group G1 having a positive refractive power, a second lens group G2 having a negative refractive power, an aperture stop, a third lens group G3 having a positive refractive power, and a fourth lens group G4 having a negative refractive power, and in which, at the time of zooming, air distances between lens groups are variable, and an air lens nearest to an image side in the third lens group G3 has a shape of a convex lens, the fourth lens group G4 includes one lens component, and is movable even at the time of focusing, and satisfies the following conditional expressions 0.5<(R4F+R4R)/(R4F−R4R)<8.0 (1) −12.0<(R4LAF+R4LAR)/(R4LAF−R4LAR)<−2.0 (2).
US08446507B2
A column circuitry architecture for an imager includes redundant column or row circuits. The column or row circuitry includes a number of redundant column or row circuits. Each column or row circuit include circuitry for controllably coupling the column or row circuit to one of plural signal lines from an array of pixels. A control mechanism is used to select a configuration of plural column or row circuits in the column or row circuitry. In this manner, some column or row circuits are decoupled from the pixel in favor of other column or row circuits. The decoupled column or row circuits may include defective or noisy circuits.
US08446506B2
According to one embodiment, the data transfer circuit outputs n bits for each N columns (n≧2) in the pixel array among digital data of a predetermined number of bits digitally converted in accordance with the column selection signal which collectively and sequentially selects N columns (N≧2) in the pixel array by using one data line. One data line is commonly and correspondingly connected to one differential input terminals of 2n−1 differential amplifier circuits arranged in the column direction in an input stage of the signal processing circuit, and corresponding one of 2n−1 reference voltage lines is connected to the other differential input terminals.
US08446505B2
An imaging apparatus is described for obtaining images. The imaging apparatus includes a pixel array, a row decoder, a column decoder, and a trigger circuit. The pixel array integrates electrical signals corresponding to incident light from a scene. The row decoder enables a selected row of pixels within the pixel array. The column decoder enables readout of a pixel in a selected column of the selected row within the pixel array. The trigger circuit generates one or more burst pulses to traverse through a corresponding number of decoder stages that correspond to pixels which are identified for discarding. Each burst pulse has a duration that is less than a stipulated minimum pulse duration of a typical decoder pulse of the decoders. By using shorter burst pulses, the trigger circuit can quickly jump to a desired row and/or column of pixels for readout, while conserving power.
US08446503B1
An imaging system may include: at least one photon sensing pixel; at least one digital counting circuit; and at least one processing core programmed to apply at least one image processing algorithm to at least one pixel sample of the at least one digital counting circuit.
US08446502B2
A time delay integration (TDI) sensor (22) comprises a sequence of cells (42, 44, 42, 44) numbered 1 to N. The TDI sensor is configured for transferring a charge from the cell numbered 1 via the cells numbered 2 to N−1 to the cell numbered N. Each cell (42; 44) in the sequence of cells is either sensitive or insensitive in the sense that when the TDI sensor (22) is evenly illuminated by light (46) having a first spectrum, the intensity of the light (46) incident on any of the insensitive cells (44) is at most 90% of the intensity of the light (46) incident on any of the sensitive cells (42). The sequence of cells (42, 44, 42, 44) comprises, in this order: a first sensitive cell (42), at least one insensitive cell (44), and a second sensitive cell (42). An imaging system comprising a TDI sensor and a method of imaging an object are also disclosed.
US08446489B2
The present invention relates to an imaging device, a drive control method, and a program configured to be capable of making sensitivity ratios constant and improving a S/N ratio. When a storage period of pixels (G pixels) with a green filter as a reference does not exceed a predetermined threshold value, an adjustment of the sensitivity ratio by gains by color is performed. When the storage period of the pixels with a green filter is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the storage periods of the pixels with a red filter (R pixels) and the pixels with a blue filter (B pixels) are calculated from the set sensitivity ratios, and if the calculated values do not exceed a maximum setting value, the adjustment of the sensitivity ratios by the storage periods by color is performed. In contrast, if the calculated storage period is larger than the maximum setting value, the adjustment of the sensitivity ratio is performed by combining the storage period by color and the gains by color. The present invention can be applied to cameras having a solid imaging device.
US08446487B2
A white balance adjustment apparatus comprises an area estimation unit that estimates at least one light, source color estimation area for estimating a light source color in a photographed image, a distance calculation unit that calculates a distance of the light source color estimation area in a depth direction of the photographed image as the distance of the light source color estimation area, a chromaticity calculation unit that calculates a chromaticity of the light source color estimation area, and a white balance adjustment value calculation unit that calculates a white balance adjustment value on the basis of the distance of the light source color estimation area and the chromaticity of the light source color estimation area.
US08446473B2
An image generating device for an optical, in particular medical tracking system, for determining the position of a recorded image point, includes a light scattering effect generating device, in particular a star and/or cross effect generating device. The invention further provides a tracking system including such an image generating device and to a method for determining the position of a recorded image point using an optical, in particular medical tracking system, in which: an image is generated using an image generating device; a light scattering effect, in particular a star and/or cross effect, is generated on the image for predetermined image points; and in which the position of an image point is ascertained on the basis of the light scattering pattern projected on the image, in particular on the basis of the star and/or cross effect lines and/or their intersection points.
US08446471B2
The present invention provides a method and system for generating a surrounding seamless bird-view image with distance assistance interface, which process a plurality of surrounding images associated with a carrier captured by different image sensing devices. After that, an assistant marking is determined according to the relationship between acquired image space and the real space and thereby is formed on the surrounding seamless bird-view image so as to assist the driver in the carrier for avoiding collision or events affecting the safety being occurred.
US08446463B2
An assay system includes an optical imager to acquire high resolution images of assay strips (e.g., lateral flow immunochromatographic test strips) and performs image processing to identify individual assay strips and determine results for each assay strip, by quantifies the presence or absence of test signal line(s) and control signal line(s). Assay strips may be in a holder or carrier contained in a specimen container also holding a specimen. The assay system automatically logs all results and data to a database that stores a high resolution image of the original immunochromatographic assay, the values of test line(s) and control line(s), and the test result. A user interface directs an end user through operation.
US08446453B2
In one embodiment, source data for a communication session may be split into an audio portion for transmission on a phone channel and a non-audio portion for transmission on a data channel. A server and a phone may accordingly establish an audio portion of a communication session on the phone channel. In response to a trigger, the server may provide a push notification on the data channel to the phone, where the push notification is associated with an application executing on the phone that is configured to participate in the non-audio portion of the communication session on the data channel with the server. Upon obtaining the push notification on the data channel during the audio portion on the phone channel, the application may correspondingly activate on the phone to participate in the non-audio portion of the communication session during the phone's participation in the audio portion (e.g., merging the portions).
US08446449B1
The invention is a system and a method which combines restaurant services with video-conferencing and multi-media access for diverse customer appeal. The system and method employ a number of booths in a number of restaurants whereby each booth can video-conference with each other booth, particularly in different time zones, while also providing multi-media access such as satellite TV, cable, broadcast TV, computer programs and gaming, interne access. Each booth is linked to a local area network and is equipped with a display screen and video and audio controls. The local area network of each restaurant is linked to the local area network of each other restaurant forming a network that allows media uses and various management capabilities such s scheduling, accounting, security, training and the like.
US08446448B2
With a configuration for adhering and fixing a laser diode holder to a holding portion, sufficient supporting strength of the laser diode holder is given without unnecessarily increasing an amount of an adhesive agent and a solidification time of the adhesive agent. The adhesive agent is applied so as to couple an outer circumferential surface of the laser diode holder and a wall surface of an opening provided in a housing. Here, one or both of the outer circumferential surface of the laser diode holder and the wall surface of the opening of the housing has a recess at a portion to which the adhesive agent is applied. The recess has such a shape that an inner side of an outer edge is concaved, and the outer edge at least partially has a shape extending toward a coupling portion between the laser diode holder and the housing.
US08446439B1
An apparatus and method for performing BLOB analysis. BLOB analysis generally encompasses image processing techniques designed to classify data into BLOBs and calculate statistics for each BLOB.
US08446436B2
An overdrive topology structure for transmission of a RGB signal includes a signal sending terminal, a signal receiving terminal, and a transmission line to transmit the RGB signal from the signal sending terminal to the signal receiving terminal. The transmission line is divided into a number of section transmission lines. A node is formed between every two section transmission lines. An impedance of a first section transmission line approaching to the signal sending terminal is less than an impedance of a second section transmission line approaching to the first section transmission line to overdrive the RGB signal at a first node between the first and second section transmission lines. At least one node except the first node is grounded via a resistor. An equivalent resistance of the resistor is equal to a resistance of the first resistor.
US08446434B2
An image processor enabling a user to quickly select desired images from a large number of images without scrolling repeatedly through the images. The image processor assigns image numbers to segments of a scroll bar and displays image data corresponding to an image number assigned at the position on the scroll bar pressed by the user. The image processor also reduces the number of image numbers assigned per segment of the scroll bar near the image number at the pressed position on the scroll bar to facilitate the user in specifying a desired image through a subsequent input operation.
US08446433B1
A system includes a computing device that includes a memory for storing one or more computer graphics, and a graphics distorter. The graphics distorter applies a distortion model to the computer graphic to produce a distorted version of the computer graphic, while substantially simultaneously allowing user interactions with the computer graphic. The applied distortion model represents lens distortion.
US08446431B2
A method of reducing visual artifacts in a blend zone of at least two projector images is provided. The method comprises determining a maximum intensity variance for each pixel group within a blend curve of the blend zone, the maximum intensity variance being based on a blend multiplier selected to achieve a net light intensity specific to the location of the pixel group within the blend curve. For each pixel group, a first adjusted blend multiplier is determined, wherein the blend multiplier is increased by at least a portion of the maximum intensity variance. For each pixel group, a second adjusted blend multiplier is also determined, wherein the blend multiplier is decreased by at least a portion of the maximum intensity variance. The light intensity of each pixel in each pixel group is adjusted using the first and second adjusted blend multipliers specific to each pixel group. The average pixel intensity of each pixel group after application of the first and second adjusted blend multipliers remains equal to the net light intensity of the pixel group within the blend curve.
US08446422B2
An image display apparatus is disclosed. The image display apparatus includes a detection section, an image forming section, and a display process section. The detection section detects a user's watching state. The image forming section that forms a display image which is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changes the display image based on a detected result of the detection section. The display process section which performs a process of displaying the display image formed by the image forming section.
US08446415B2
A framework for performing graphics animation and compositing operations has a layer tree for interfacing with the application and a render tree for interfacing with a render engine. Layers in the layer tree can be content, windows, views, video, images, text, media, or any other type of object for a user interface of an application. The application commits change to the state of the layers of the layer tree. The application does not need to include explicit code for animating the changes to the layers. Instead, an animation is determined for animating the change in state. The determined animation is explicitly applied to the affected layers in the render tree. A render engine renders from the render tree into a frame buffer for display on the processing device. Those portions of the render tree that have changed relative to prior versions can be tracked to improve resource management.
US08446411B2
Images and/or collections of images may be rendered in a way that adapts to ambient circumstances, and that may enhance a user's perception of experience quality. When an image is requested for display, it is determined whether a rendered version of the image exists. If no rendered version of the image exists, then an imposter image is displayed. The imposter image may include arbitrary colors and/or patterns. If an appropriate rendered version of the image exists, then the rendered version may be displayed in place of the imposter version. While the imposter or rendered image is being displayed, the image may be retrieved, and may be rendered at other resolutions (e.g., successively higher resolutions). The choice of resolutions may be adapted to available transmission bandwidth, display speed, or other considerations.
US08446407B1
A system and method for the aesthetic design of a modular assemblage, comprising means for providing a client graphic user interface for receiving an input for defining parameters of the modular assemblage, and for presenting an image of the defined modular assemblage; communicating a code to a server representing the defined parameters; at the server, in dependence on the communicated code, defining a set of graphic elements corresponding to the defined modular assemblage; communicating the graphic elements from the server to the client; and displaying, at the client, the graphic elements received from the server to represent the defined modular assemblage.
US08446404B2
A display apparatus of the present invention includes display sections (100) and sensor circuit sections (200). A driver line RW for supplying power to a charge storage element (202) in the sensor circuit section (200) is provided so as to overlap, via an interlayer insulating film, a gate line G connected with a gate electrode (102) of a display-drive TFT element (101) in the display section (100). This makes it possible to realize a display apparatus having pixels in which optical sensors are provided which display apparatus makes it possible to suppress a decrease in aperture ratio which is caused by the provision of the sensor circuit sections, and reduce a parasitic capacitance between lines so as to increase a sensitivity of the optical sensors.
US08446402B2
A liquid crystal display is disclosed. The liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display panel on which a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines are positioned to cross one another and a plurality of liquid crystal cells driven according to a voltage difference between a data voltage and a common voltage are positioned in a matrix format, a side printed circuit board (PCB) connected to the side of the liquid crystal display panel, and a DC to DC converter that is mounted on the side PCB to produce a driving voltage of the liquid crystal display panel.
US08446394B2
A display driver according to one embodiment includes a digital to analog converter producing a current at a selected level an output of the digital to analog converter being coupleable to a data line of a display; and a voltage source being coupleable to the data line for precharging the data line. A method for precharging a data line of a display according to another embodiment includes determining a voltage level on a data line during a frame period; storing the voltage level; and prior to or during a subsequent frame period, precharging the data line voltage to a derivative of the stored voltage level. Additional systems and methods are claimed.
US08446392B2
An interactive input system comprises a touch surface, and imaging system associated with the touch surface and processing structure. The imaging system comprises an optical sensor array that spans at least a portion of the area of the touch surface, and the processing structure communicates with the imaging system and analyzes images received by the imaging system to determine whether at least one pointer is near to the touch surface and the location of the at least one pointer in respect of the touch surface based at least in part on the edge sharpness of the at least one pointer.
US08446390B2
An electro-optical device includes a plurality of pixel portions formed in a display region on a substrate, a first light-receiving element which is formed in the display region and shows light-receiving sensitivity with respect to an incident visible ray which enters a display surface, a second light-receiving element which is formed in the display region and shows light-receiving sensitivity with respect to an incident infrared ray which enters the display surface, and a detecting unit which detects a pointing unit which points the display surface on the basis of the light-receiving sensitivity with respect to the incident visible ray and the light-receiving sensitivity with respect to the incident infrared ray.
US08446387B2
The touch control system with multi-touch detection functions includes a touch panel, a first transceiver, a second transceiver, and a processor. The first transceiver scans N first sensing lines along a first axis of a touch panel, and detects at least one first sensing line touched by at least one object according to the scanning result. The first transceiver inputs at least one high frequency signal to the at least one first sensing line touched by the at least one object, and the second transceiver inputs M low frequency signals to M second sensing lines along a second axis of the touch panel. The processor receives and detects M feedback signals of the M second sensing lines along the second axis, and determines a position of at least one touch point according to the M feedback signals.
US08446386B2
A multi-touch sensor panel can be created using a substrate with column and row traces formed on either side. Metal traces running along the border of the substrate can be used to bring the row traces to the same edge as the column traces. A single flex circuit can be fabricated to connect to the rows and columns on directly opposing sides. Flex printed circuits can be bonded to directly opposing attachment areas of a substrate by cooling one side of the substrate while bonding the other. In addition, “coverlay” material extending over right-angled traces on the flex circuit ensure that those traces do not get shorted should conductive bonding material get squeezed out during bonding. Furthermore, a spacer is placed at the distal end of the flex circuit to apply even bonding pressure over the entire flex circuit attachment area during bonding.
US08446384B2
There is provided an information processing apparatus including a detecting unit detecting a pressing force applied by an operating body that presses a surface of a display unit displaying a plurality of input regions operated by the operating body, and a region control unit operable when it has been determined from a detection result of the detecting unit that the operating body has pressed one of the input regions with a pressing force that is equal to or above a predetermined value, to enlarge the input region being pressed by the operating body and to move at least one of the input regions so that adjacent input regions do not overlap one another.
US08446383B2
An information processing apparatus includes: a touch detection unit detecting touch of an instruction object on an operation surface; a proximity detection unit detecting proximity of the instruction object to the operation surface; and a control unit detecting movement of the instruction object on or to the operation surface based on the detection result of the touch detection unit and the detection result of the proximity detection unit and starting a process corresponding to an input operation predicted from the detected movement of the instruction object.
US08446376B2
The provision of visual responses to touch inputs is disclosed. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a computing device comprising a touch-sensitive display, a processor in operative communication with the touch-sensitive display, and memory comprising instructions stored thereon that are executable by the processor to detect a touch input made via the touch-sensitive display, display on the touch-sensitive display a first visual response to the touch input indicating that the touch input was detected by the computing device, and if the touch input is made in a touch-interactive area on the touch-sensitive display, then to display a second visual response to the touch input indicating that the touch was made in the touch-interactive area of the display.
US08446365B2
A joystick (1) comprising a substantially stationary part (4) and a movable part (3) adapted to be manipulated by an operator. The joystick further comprises a sensor device adapted to detect a position of the movable part (3) relatively to the substantially stationary part (4), the sensor device comprising a magnet arrangement comprising one or more magnets (9) and defining a predetermined magnetic field, and a magnetic detector being adapted to detect a magnetic flux and to generate a corresponding output. The magnet arrangement or the magnetic detector is arranged on the substantially stationary part (4), while the magnetic detector or the magnet arrangement is arranged on the movable part (3). Thereby relative movements between the parts (3, 4) result in relative movements between the magnet arrangement and the magnetic detector. The magnet(s) (9) of the magnet arrangement is/are shaped in such a manner that an outer contour of the magnet(s) (9) substantially follows a relative angular movement between the magnet(s) (9) and the magnetic detector during manipulation of the movable part (3). Thereby a substantially linear change in output from the magnetic detector is obtained in response to a linear change in the relative position between the parts (3, 4). The magnetic detector preferably is or comprises a Hall effect sensor (10). The magnet(s) (9) may have a curved shape, e.g. a ‘banana like’ shape.
US08446359B2
The present technique provides a system and method for providing instrument-activated buttons having a sub-surface mechanism for triggering a desired function upon interaction with an above-surface electronic/digital user device, such as a digitizing pointing device. The instrument-activated buttons may be disposed in a display device, a tablet computing device, or any other suitable electronic device. A user navigates a housing surface of the electronic device until a signal identifies the sub-surface button, which may then be activated by performing an instrument-based activation event. The activation event may be a button click, a tip movement, or any other suitable trigger on the electronic/digital user device. A wireless communication is then transmitted between the sub-surface mechanism and the electronic/digital user device to initiate the function associated with the instrument-activated button.
US08446358B2
There is provided an image display device capable of obtaining a renewed screen giving normal feelings by simple LUT (Look Up Table) adjustment even at a time of displaying with multiple gray levels. A screen of the electronic paper section making up the display device is renewed by driving for a period of time corresponding to a plurality of frames according to input gray level data of a renewed screen. The renewed screen is displayed with a coarse gray level during a first displaying period in a renewing period corresponding to a plurality of frames at an output voltage specified by a high-order bit of its gray level data and, thereafter, is displayed with a fine gray level during a second displaying period in the renewing period at an output voltage specified by a low-order bit of its gray level data.
US08446350B2
A liquid crystal panel includes: a liquid crystal containing liquid crystal molecules; a plurality of pixel electrodes that is capable of applying electric fields to the liquid crystal; a common electrode opposite to the plurality of the pixel electrodes through the liquid crystal; a first rubbing member that aligns the liquid crystal molecules in a first direction at an interface of the liquid crystal on a side of the pixel electrode; and a second rubbing member that aligns the liquid crystal molecules in a second direction at an interface of the liquid crystal on a side of the common electrode, wherein a transparent insulator layer is formed on an area on a side in a direction orthogonal to the first direction in the pixel electrode.
US08446344B2
A pixel of an organic light emitting display device and an organic light emitting display device using the same. The pixel is configured to compensate for the deterioration of organic light emitting diodes. The pixel includes an organic light emitting diode; a pixel circuit including a drive transistor for controlling an amount of electric current that flows from a first power source to a second power source via an organic light emitting diode; and a compensation unit between a gate electrode and a first electrode of the drive transistor for controlling a voltage of the gate electrode of the drive transistor to correspond to the deterioration of the organic light emitting diode. The compensation unit includes a transistor and a capacitor coupled in series between the gate electrode and the first electrode of the drive transistor.
US08446342B2
A scanned beam display device scans a beam to paint an image. The beam is scanned in two dimensions and includes at least one sinusoidal component. Phase offsets are introduced to provide different scan trajectories for successive traversals of the image field of view.
US08446325B1
A hybrid cable antenna includes a first cable antenna that is buoyant and unloaded for operation in a lower portion of the high frequency band. At least one second cable antenna is serially and electrically coupled to the first cable antenna. Each second cable antenna is buoyant and loaded for operation in a portion of the high frequency band that is above the lower portion of the high frequency band.
US08446321B2
This invention builds on previous industry techniques to correlate data from a variety of sources for the purposes of tracking and identifying aircraft, vehicles, and marine vessels in real time over a variety of different areas including oceans and mountainous terrain. Passive broadband tracking of aircraft emitters, and electronic fingerprinting of emitters, correlated with audio, video, infrared, primary radar and other information is employed to provide a comprehensive assessment of an aircraft's position, track and identification for a variety of applications including homeland security and search and rescue.
US08446316B2
In a phase discriminator device for receiving, as input, a complex signal whose argument represents a phase error, and for producing, as output, an estimate of the phase error for each signal sample Zn+1 received, the device includes a frequency discriminator and a computation part for determining the phase estimate obtained at an instant (N+1)T1. The computation part determines the phase estimate according to predetermined relations, and T1 is the time interval between two samples Zn and Zn+1, received consecutively.
US08446314B2
A mobile computing device comprising processing components, memory components, and at least one wireless transmitter/receiver. The at least one wireless transmitter/receiver comprises a gps communication device and a network communication device. When at least a portion of gps location information is unable to be received by the gps communication device, the network communication device is configured to receive the gps location information from an additional mobile computing device across an ad-hoc network created between the two mobile computing devices.
US08446306B2
Method and mixer using the method for mixing a complex digital input vector with an oscillator reference signal based on a separation of the mixing process in mainly two processing steps, to with a first step in which a set of n real part values Vi, is derived from said complex digital input vector in which n is an integer larger than 1 and in which each real part value Vi is proportional to the real part of the digital input vector when being rotated over predetermined phase angles φi=φ0+i*Δφ, respectively, for a constant φ0, Δφ corresponding to either 2π/n or −2π/n, with integer i varying between 0 and n−1 and a second step, in which said n real part values and Vi are each consecutively selected to be coupled to a load.
US08446303B2
An analog-to-digital converter system that includes a pipeline including N successively-cascaded signal converters, each converting, according to a first clock signal, a respective portion of an input signal of the pipeline into digital codes, a code aligner for receiving and aligning the digital codes from the signal converters in the pipeline into a digital output of the system, an error extractor coupled to an amplifier input node of a selected one signal converter via a first switch for extracting an error signal, and a load system coupled to the amplifier input node of the selected one signal converter via a second switch.
US08446300B2
A technique for rate matching a bit stream (c(0-2)(k)) output from a channel encoder (102) to a data transmission rate on a physical transmission channel is described. A method embodiment of the technique comprises the steps of determining, at a beginning of a transmission time interval for a transmission of one or more code blocks on the transmission channel, bit positions of interleaver padding bits (dummy and/or filler bits) in an output buffer for buffering the output bits before transmission on the physical transmission channel; storing the determined padding bit positions (114); and determining, based on the stored padding bit positions, positions (d(0-2)(k)) of the output bits from the channel encoding stage (102) in the output buffer, wherein the stored padding bit positions are re-used for each of the one or more code blocks.
US08446295B2
According to the invention, the device (1) comprises means (4) for adapting the altitude capture maneuver, means (5) for first detecting the emission of a first type alarm, means (6) for determining a first alarm threshold and means (7) for establishing an activation height threshold from said first alarm threshold and airplane vertical speed at the time of the alarm emission, so that, when the height separating said aircraft (AC) from the altitude set level is strictly higher than said height threshold at the time of the alarm emission, said adaptation means (4) are disabled.
US08446289B2
An in-vehicle image display apparatus for use in a vehicle is provided which includes a state detecting device that detects a state of surroundings of the vehicle; a display device that is provided at least in an entire front window section of the vehicle and capable of displaying information over the entire window section; an image generating device that generates image data for displaying a image of surroundings of the vehicle on the display device based on detection results from the state detecting device; and a display control device that makes the display device display an image represented by the image data generated by the image generating device.
US08446279B2
An apparatus is provided for holding articles, such as keys, which is attachable to a person's clothing, handbag or a purse, and wherein a physical or electronic tether is used to allow the user to use the articles stored thereupon without removing them from the holder or from their clothing, handbag, purse, briefcase or other hand carried item. The tension on the tether is manageable by the use of a tension management system, so that the tension of the tether will not damage the article or the mechanism that the article is used with and the article is tracked by use of the tether so that the user does not lose the article. Infrared, radio frequency, and transponder and polling versions of the invention are also disclosed.
US08446271B2
A vehicle entry/tire pressure management system includes an ECU, tire sensors mounted in, on or adjacent respective tires of the vehicle, a portable transmission/reception unit configured to be carried by an operator of the vehicle, and an antenna mounted on the vehicle and in communication with the ECU. Each tire sensor is configured to transmit an RF signal. The portable transmission/reception unit can transmit RF signals for controlling operations of the vehicle including unlocking doors of the vehicle. The antenna is configured to transmit an LF tire sensor wake up field to wake up the tire sensors. The tire sensor wake up field includes a unique header format. The tire sensors only fully wake up upon receiving the unique header format.
US08446260B2
A group proving method includes the following steps. First, a query command is broadcasted to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, each of which responds the query command with tag identification data. Next, a first round parameter is generated and broadcasted according to the tag identification data, and each RFID tag responds the first round parameter with a first response parameter. Then, a second round parameter is generated and broadcasted according to the first response parameter, and each RFID tag determines whether the second round parameter is received in a predetermined period after the first round parameter was received and whether the first and second round parameters correspond to each other. If so, each RFID tag updates its tag key according to a random number parameter and outputs a second response parameter. Thereafter, group proving data are generated according to the above-mentioned data.
US08446258B2
RFID reader systems, readers, components, software and methods for causing a custom RFID tag to change how many remaining commands they will comply with. In a number of embodiments, this is achieved by causing a custom limiting command to be transmitted to the tag.
US08446255B2
A circuit for transmitting a RFID signal while conserving the battery power for a circuit in continuous operation is disclosed herein. The circuit includes a RFID component, a microprocessor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a battery. The battery preferably has no more than 225 milliamp hours of power. The accelerometer is preferably a multiple axis accelerometer. The circuit is preferably utilized with a device for shot tracking.
US08446247B2
A safety system for detecting the presence of an undesired object in a safety area may include a first pair of distance measuring sensors disposed on opposed sides of the conveying path, the pair of distance measuring sensors defining a sensor field between said pair of distance measuring sensors, and an electronic control device operatively coupled to the sensors. The electronic control device may be configured to initiate a machine-stopping sequence based at least in part on signals received from the distance measuring sensors.
US08446245B2
An over-current protection device includes two metal foils and a PTC material layer laminated therebetween. The PTC material layer has a volume resistivity between 0.07 Ω-cm and 0.32 Ω-cm. The PTC material layer includes a crystalline polymer, a conductive ceramic carbide filler of a particle size between 0.1 μm and 50 μm and a volume resistivity less than 0.1 Ω-cm, and a carbon black filler. The weight ratio of the carbon black filler to the conductive ceramic carbide filler is between 1:90 and 1:4. The conductive ceramic carbide filler and the carbon black filler are dispersed in the crystalline polymer. The resistance ratio R100/Ri is between 3 and 20.
US08446240B2
A low cost, sealed contactor comprises a hermetically sealed housing with a flat header having internal components for changing the state of said contactor. Terminals are electrically connected to the internal components for connection to internal circuitry and applying an electrical signal to control the state of the contactor. A solenoid-driven plunger with a hollow shaft is included. Power-reducing electronics located within the hermetically sealed housing are also included. Two contact springs are also included to improve electrical performance. O-rings are added to help seal the contactor and keep it hermetically sealed.
US08446235B2
A disclosed electromagnetic relay includes a fixed contact, a movable contact provided in a movable contact spring, an electric magnet causing the movable contact to contact the fixed contact by applying force via an arming unit, a magnet generating a magnetic field between the fixed contact and the movable contact, and yokes made of a magnetic material, wherein the yokes are arranged in parallel to interpose the fixed contact and the movable contact between the yokes and to apply the magnetic field generated by the magnet to an area where the fixed contact and the movable contact exist, and insulating portions are provided on inner surfaces of the yokes facing the fixed contact and the movable contact, respectively.
US08446234B2
The present invention is directed to a protective electrical wiring device that includes a circuit assembly that has a fault detection circuit coupled to the plurality of line terminals, the fault detection circuit being configured to detect perturbations corresponding to a fault condition or a simulated fault condition, the fault detection circuit being configured to provide a fault detection signal in response to detecting the perturbations corresponding to the fault condition or the simulated fault condition. An interrupting contact assembly is coupled to the fault detection circuit, the interrupting contact assembly including a contact assembly configured to provide electrical continuity between the plurality of line terminals, the plurality of feed-through load terminals, and the plurality of receptacle load terminals in a reset state, and interrupt the electrical continuity in a tripped state in response to the fault detection signal.
US08446228B2
An oscillator circuit comprises a push-push oscillator and a differential output, comprising a first and a second output circuit. The push-push oscillator has a first and a second branch. Each of the first and second branch comprises an own voltage divider branch of a common bridge circuit. Each of the first and second voltage divider branches comprises an own pair of micro-strip lines connected in series. Each of the first and second voltage divider branches has an own tap. Both taps are connected to each other by at least one of a first capacity and a micro-strip line. The differential output comprises a first and a second output terminal. The first output terminal is connected via the first output circuit to a first node. The second output terminal is connected via the second output circuit to a second node. Each of the first and second nodes of the push-push oscillator is a common node of both of the first and the second branches.
US08446227B2
Methods and apparatus for tuning devices having mechanical resonators are described. In one implementation, a mechanical resonator and a phase shifter are configured in a feedback loop, so that the phase shifter shifts the phase of the resonator output signal. The amount of phase shift induced by the phase shifter may be variable. In another implementation, an LC tuning subcircuit is coupled to a mechanical resonator. In some implementations, the LC tuning subcircuit has a variable capacitance. One or more of the apparatus described herein may be implemented as part, or all, of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS).
US08446225B2
A surface mounted oven controlled crystal oscillator includes a crystal oscillator shell, a crystal oscillation circuit, several functional pins and a base plate. The crystal oscillation circuit is accommodated in a cavity that is formed by the crystal oscillator shell and the base plated and electrically connects with the functional pins. The functional pins drill through the base plate from the cavity. An insulating layer is formed between each functional pin and the base plate. The surface mounted oven controlled crystal oscillator further includes several pads formed at an outer surface of the base plate. The insulating layer is also formed between each pad and the base plate, and the functional pins are electrically connected with the corresponding pads respectively. Added pads, the oven controlled crystal oscillator has high stability, simple manufacturing process, and low manufacturing cost. Moreover, the oven controlled crystal oscillator is mounted on the product by using surface mounted technology, thereby achieving mechanized batch production with high efficiency.
US08446215B2
A constant voltage circuit is disclosed that includes an output control transistor and an overcurrent protection circuit. The overcurrent protection circuit includes a proportional current generation circuit part, a current division circuit part, a division ratio control circuit part, a current-voltage conversion circuit part, and an output current control circuit part. When the output voltage of the current-voltage conversion circuit part reaches a predetermined voltage, the output current control circuit part prevents an increase in the output current of the output control transistor so as to reduce a voltage output from an output terminal. When the voltage output from the output terminal is reduced to a predetermined limit voltage, the division ratio control circuit part changes the division ratio of the current division circuit part so that a current supplied to the current-voltage conversion circuit part increases so as to reduce the output current of the output control transistor.
US08446212B2
Disclosed are systems and methods which provide voltage conversion in increments less than integer multiples of a power supply (e.g., battery) voltage. A representative embodiment provides power supply voltage multipliers in a binary ladder distribution to provide a desired number of output voltage steps using a relatively uncomplicated circuit design. By using different sources in various combinations and/or by “stacking” different sources in various ways, the voltage multiplier circuit may be used to provide desired voltages. In order to minimize the number of components used in a voltage converter of an embodiment, a capacitive voltage converter circuit uses one or more storage capacitors in place of pump capacitors in a voltage generation cycle. Also, certain embodiments do not operate to generate an output voltage until the time that voltage is needed.
US08446211B2
An internal voltage generation circuit includes a first detection unit, a second detection unit, a control unit, and a voltage pumping unit. The first detection unit compares an internal voltage with a first reference voltage to generate a first detection signal when the first detection unit is activated in response to a first enable signal. The second detection unit compares the internal voltage with a second reference voltage to generate a second detection signal. The control unit generates the first enable signal and a second enable signal in response to the first detection signal and the second detection signal. The voltage pumping unit generates the internal voltage in response to the second enable signal.
US08446200B2
Embodiments of the invention may be directed to a continuous analog phase shifter for radio frequency (RF) signals, which can be integrated on a CMOS process or another compatible process where inherent process-dependent passive components such as inductors and capacitors may have low quality factors. Insertion loss degradation for a given amount of phase shift may be compensated by using an active compensation circuit/device that smartly controls negative resistance generated from the compensation circuit/device to cancel out finite resistance of a network, leading to very small insertion loss variation. According to an example aspect of the invention, improved phase linearity and increased phase shift for a given size may be obtained by incorporating the compensation circuit/device. Thus, example analog phase shifters in accordance with example embodiments of the invention may have one or more of low insertion loss variation, small size, and good phase linearity over more than a 360 degree phase shift.
US08446199B2
A duty cycle correction (DCC) circuit includes a duty signal generating unit configured to compare a high duration of an output clock with a low duration of the output clock in a clock cycle to generate a duty signal, a counting unit configured to count and output a preliminary code after a duty cycle correction (DCC) operation starts, a duty code generating unit configured to generate a duty code by selectively inverting or transferring without inversion the preliminary code in response to an initial value of the duty signal, and a duty cycle correcting unit configured to output the output clock by driving an input clock to a pull-up driving capacity and a pull-down driving capacity which are determined in response to the initial value of the duty signal and the duty code.
US08446198B2
Phase interpolator and a delay circuit for the phase interpolator. The phase interpolator includes a variable delay circuit to rotate phase of an input clock to generate a phase rotated signal. The phase interpolator also includes a delay locked loop coupled to the variable delay circuit to generate a plurality of phase shifted outputs. The delay locked loop includes a plurality of delay elements. Each delay element includes a multiplexer and a delay cell coupled to the multiplexer. The multiplexer is configurable using a first control signal to output one of the phase rotated signal and a phase shifted output of the plurality of phase shifted outputs. The delay cell delays one of the phase rotated signal and the phase shifted output to generate another phase shifted output of the plurality of phase shifted outputs.
US08446197B2
A delay locked loop includes a delay pulse generation unit, a coding unit, and a delay line. The delay pulse generation unit is configured to generate a delay pulse having a certain width. The coding unit is configured to code the delay pulse and output a code value. The delay line is configured to delay an input clock by the code value, and generate a delayed locked clock. The delay pulse has a logic high level state during a third period equivalent to a difference between a first period, which corresponds to an integer multiple of the input clock, and a second period, which is a certain replica delay period.
US08446193B2
A clock conditioning circuit including a phase detector circuit configured to provide an analog tuning signal indicative of a phase relationship between a reference clock to be conditioned and a generated clock. The controlled oscillator is configured to produce the generated clock, with the generated clock having an output frequency adjustable in response to an analog tuning signal applied to a control signal input of the controlled oscillator. Converter circuitry is provided to produce a digital representation of the analog tuning signal when the mode control circuitry is in a tracking mode. In the event the reference clock is lost, the mode control circuitry switches to a holdover mode so as to provide an analog holdover signal to the control signal input based upon the digital representations produced just prior to the loss of the reference clock.
US08446190B2
A frequency divider includes a prescaler and multiple modulus dividers commonly coupled to the prescaler. The prescaler generates intermediate frequency signals having a same phase difference with respect to one another in response to an oscillation frequency signal. The prescaler operates at a first frequency. The modulus dividers respectively divide the intermediate frequency signals with respective ratio to provide a plurality of division frequency signals in response to a control signal. The modulus dividers operate at a second frequency less than the first frequency.
US08446186B2
In an embodiment, a device includes a buffer circuit with first and second buffer outputs and a latency locked loop (LLL) circuit. The LLL circuit includes first and second LLL inputs for receiving first and second input signals and includes at least one shared component that is time shared. The at least one shared component is configured to measure edge timing errors in output signals on the first and second buffer outputs relative to the first and second inputs signals and to generate delay adjustment signals to adjust timing of edge transitions within the first and second input signals provided to the buffer circuit to control a total propagation delay from the first and second LLL inputs to the first and second buffer outputs.
US08446173B1
Disclosed is a high-swing voltage-mode transmitter or line driver. The transmitter can operate over a wide range of supply voltages. Increasing the available output swing merely involves increasing the supply voltage; the circuit adapts to maintain the desired output impedance. This allows for a tradeoff between output amplitude and power consumption. Another advantage of the proposed architecture is that it compensates for process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) and mismatch variations so as to keep rise and fall times matched. This feature reduces common-mode noise and hence EMI in systems in which the transmitter is used.
US08446170B2
A random access memory circuit adapted for use in a field programmable gate array integrated circuit device is disclosed. The FPGA has a programmable array with logic modules and routing interconnects programmably coupleable to the logic modules and the RAM circuit. The RAM circuit has three ports: a first readable port, a second readable port, and a writeable port. The read ports may be programmably synchronous or asynchronous and have a programmably bypassable output pipeline register. The RAM circuit is especially well adapted for implementing register files. A novel interconnect method is also described.
US08446169B1
An embodiment of an impedance adjustment apparatus is disclosed. For this embodiment of an impedance adjustment apparatus, a differential driver circuit has an input port, a first output port, a second output port, a first bias node, and a second bias node. A first impedance-voltage device is coupled to provide a first bias voltage to the first bias node. A second impedance-voltage device is coupled to provide a second bias voltage to the second bias node. A first analog voltage source is coupled to provide a first analog voltage to the first impedance-voltage device, and a second analog voltage source is coupled to provide a second analog voltage to the second impedance-voltage device.
US08446167B2
A system for controlling the termination impedance of memory device data bus terminals is fabricated on the same die as the memory device. The system includes a termination resistor connected to each data bus terminal, which is connected in parallel with several transistors that are selectively turned on to adjust the termination impedance. The transistors are controlled by a circuit that determines the resistance of the termination resistor and turns on the correct number of transistor to properly set the termination impedance. In one example, the resistance of the termination resistor is determined by directly measuring a resistor of the same type as the termination resistor. In another example, the resistance of the termination resistor is determined indirectly by measuring parameters that affect the resistance of the termination resistor. In either case, the system can maintain the termination impedance of the data bus terminals constant despite changes in the termination resistor.
US08446157B2
A capacitance meter including an AC source providing a measurement voltage with a measurement frequency to a capacitor. A current sensor is arranged to measure a current going to or from the capacitance meter. A voltage sensor is arranged to measure a voltage over the capacitor. A capacitance calculation unit is arranged to calculate, using a controller, a capacitance of the capacitor using a measured current from the current sensor, a measured voltage from the voltage sensor and the measurement frequency. The capacitance meter is arranged to obtain measurements using the current sensor and the voltage sensor during a measurement duration. The measurement frequency and the measurement duration are selected such that the measurement duration equals a multiple of the period of the measurement frequency, and the measurement duration equals a multiple of the period of a mains electricity.
US08446155B2
The invention relates to a test device for an analog circuit to be mounted on a mixed circuit including said analog circuit and a synchronous digital circuit. The test device includes a disturbance emulator connected to a first supply source (UrefD) capable of disturbing a second supply source (UrefA) of the analog circuit, the first and second supply sources being optionally merged, the emulator being adapted for receiving data representative of the evolution, during a given duration, of the average (μI) and the typical deviation (σI) of a first inrush current (I) that would be applied to the first supply source by the digital circuit, and being adapted for applying to the first supply source during successive intervals, each successive interval having said duration, a second inrush current (Irep) equal to the sum of the average and of the product of the typical deviation and of a pseudo-random signal varying according to a Gaussian law.
US08446128B2
A vehicle battery management system and method includes a battery, a battery sensor for measuring a condition of the battery and an electronic control unit that receives a signal from the battery sensor corresponding to the condition of the battery. The electronic control unit selectively connects and disconnects that the battery from each of: at least one accessory load and at least one other load. The at least one other load is disconnected from the battery when the vehicle is in a shipping mode and the at least one accessory load is connected to the battery when the vehicle is in an accessory ON mode. The electronic control unit disconnects the at least one accessory load from the battery when the vehicle is in the accessory ON mode and in the shipping mode when the signal indicates that the condition of the battery is below a predetermined threshold.
US08446125B2
A vehicle power charger includes a generally cylindrically-shaped body portion suitable for plugging into a vehicle cigarette lighter receptacle, a spring-loaded metal contact pin for engagement with electrical contacts inside the receptacle, and an oblong end portion formed at an angle to the cylindrically-shaped body portion including a cavity that holds and protects one or more USB ports, and a cavity cover that slides, rotates or flips between open and closed positions.
US08446124B2
A method for recharging an electric vehicle in a recharging station of a network of geographically distributed recharging stations. The method includes: communicating availability of a recharging station to a control center of the network; transmitting a recharge request from an onboard unit of the electric vehicle via communication devices of a road toll system to the control center; assigning the onboard unit to an available recharging station in the control center; notifying the onboard unit of the assigned recharging station via the communication devices of the road toll system and notifying the recharging station of the onboard unit; and activating the recharging station to recharge the electric vehicle, when the assigned onboard unit is detected therein. The recharging in the recharging station is monitored and an image of the vehicle is recorded in the recharging station in an event of an interruption, interference or deviation in the recharging process from a given course.
US08446123B2
A state monitoring unit monitors a state of an assembled battery in which a plurality of unit cells are connected in series. The state monitoring unit includes: a plurality of voltage monitoring devices provided in a high voltage side and a controller provided in a low voltage side electrically isolated with the high voltage side. The controller transmits a common voltage measurement command to the respective voltage monitoring devices connected via a communication channel in a daisy-chain scheme. The controller includes a storage for storing latency time determined based on a required time for each of the voltage monitoring devices elapsing from transmission of the common voltage measurement command with respect to the communication channel to voltage measurement of the unit cells, and measures charging/discharging current of the assembled battery when the latency time has elapsed from the transmission of the common voltage measurement command with respect to the communication channel.
US08446111B2
A motor for an electric power steering device with an integrated controller (1) includes a motor (2) and a controller (15) which controls driving of the motor (2) and has a metal case, the motor and the controller being formed integrally with each other. The motor (1) is attached to a speed reduction mechanism (23). The motor (2), the controller (15), and the speed reduction mechanism (23) are arranged in this order, in an axial direction, and in substantially coaxial relation with each other. The heat emitted from a driving substrate and the motor can be efficiently transmitted to the speed reduction mechanism.
US08446110B2
An illumination system includes illumination devices, an imaging device and a control device. Each of the illumination devices includes a light source, a lighting circuit unit and a transmission control unit. The control device includes a storage unit, a transmission processing unit and a main control unit for selecting a control-target illumination area, reading out the identification code corresponding to the selected illumination area from the storage unit and causing the transmission processing unit to transmit a signal containing a control command on the illumination device. The main control unit is operable in an initial setting mode in which the correlations between the identification codes of the illumination devices and the illumination areas are set by causing the imaging device to take an image of the illumination space while turning on the illumination devices and detecting the illumination area of each of the illumination devices from the image thus taken.
US08446107B2
In a circuit that turns off a fluorescent lamp, clamping circuitry is provided to dissipate energy stored in a ballast when the lamp is being turned off. In a normal state in which the lamp is on, or in a normal state in which the lamp is off, clamping is not performed as long the VDS of a power switch is below a voltage A. In a lamp turn off operation, the switch is turned on for a time period to extinguish the lamp, and is then made to operate as a clamp (operate in its linear region) for a second period of time to dissipate energy that was stored in the ballast. Clamping in the linear region continues for VDS voltages down to B as ballast energy is dissipated, where B is smaller than A. By clamping down to the lower voltage B, re-ignition of the lamp is prevented.
US08446104B2
Disclosed herein is a power supply device capable of correcting power factor. The power supply device includes a rectification circuit, a first constant current circuit, a capacitor, and a second constant current circuit. The rectification circuit rectifies input Alternating Current (AC) voltage. The first constant current circuit is connected in series to a load. The capacitor is connected in parallel to the first constant current circuit and the load that are connected in series to each other. The second constant current circuit is disposed between the output of the rectification circuit and the capacitor.
US08446098B2
An LED driving circuit includes a first and a second LED modules, a first and a second switching converters, an extreme voltage detecting and selecting circuit, a current balance circuit and a controller. The first switching converter transforms electric power of an input power supply into a first output voltage for lighting the first LED module. The second switching converter transforms electric power of the input power supply into a second output voltage for lighting the second LED module. The current balance circuit balances the currents flowing through the first and the second LED modules. The extreme voltage detecting and selecting circuit detects the first and the second LED modules and selects to output one of detecting results. The controller controls the transforming of the first switching converter and the second switching converter to light the first and the second LED modules in response to the outputted detecting result.
US08446091B2
A process for producing a color conversion filter uses an ink jet recording method, which can form a color conversion layer at a desired position without the need to separately form partition walls, and a process for producing an organic EL display. The process for producing a color conversion filter includes forming a black matrix having a plurality of opening parts on a transparent substrate, forming at least two types of color filter layers independently of each other on a black matrix to which dissimilar color filter layers are adjacent, to form a partition wall, at least two of the color filter layers being superimposed on top of each other, and forming a color conversion layer by ink jet recording onto at least one of the color filter layers.
US08446086B2
Provided is a fluorescent lamp electrode, having excellent sputtering resistance and able to retain excellent dark-start characteristics over a long period of time when used as an electrode in a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, and which can be produced inexpensively. A fluorescent lamp of this invention has a prolonged life resulting from the use of said electrode. Said electrode is made by dispersing in a nickel or nickel alloy base one or more rare earth metals selected from among lanthanum, cerium, yttrium, samarium, praseodymium, niobium, europium and gadolinium in the form of a precipitated boride phase.
US08446080B2
The present invention relates to a ferroelectret multi-layer composite (1) comprising at least two polymer films arranged one on top of the other and bonded together, wherein voids are formed between the polymer films, said voids being tubular channels, particularly running parallel to one another. The invention further provides a process for the production of a ferroelectret multi-layer composite with parallel tubular channels, and a device for carrying out the process for the production of the ferroelectret multi-layer composite according to the invention. In addition, the invention relates to a piezoelectric element containing a ferroelectret multi-layer composite according to the invention.
US08446066B2
An ultrasonic motor is configured as follows. Namely, the ultrasonic motor includes an oscillator whose cross section vertical to a central axis has a rectangular shape which has a predetermined length ratio of a narrow side and a wide side, wherein the oscillator comprises driving electrodes and oscillation detecting electrodes near a node portion of the longitudinal oscillation and near ventral portions of the torsional oscillation, an external electrode achieving electrical conduction with the driving electrodes and an external electrode associated with one polarity of an external electrode achieving the electrical conduction with the oscillation detecting electrodes are formed on a first surface of outer surfaces of the oscillator, and an external electrode associated with the other polarity of the external electrode achieving the electrical conduction with the oscillation detection electrodes is formed on a second surface different from the first surface of the outer surfaces of the oscillator.
US08446059B2
A spindle motor includes a stator unit and a rotor unit supported to be rotatable with respect to the stator unit. The stator unit includes a stator, a base portion including a through hole, and a circuit board. The circuit board includes a connection portion to which a conductive wire from the stator is connected after passing through the through hole. A lower surface of the base portion includes a central region, a peripheral region, a recess portion, and a protrusion. A position of a distal portion of the protrusion is provided at a level higher than a level of a lowermost surface region of the central region and lower than a level of a bottom surface of the recess portion in a direction parallel or substantially parallel to a central axis.
US08446058B2
An electric motor includes a housing, and a stator arranged within the housing. The stator includes a plurality of terminal leads. A terminal box is mounted to the housing, and a terminal block assembly arranged within the terminal box. The terminal block assembly includes a terminal block portion having a first plurality of terminals and a terminal block section that is distinct from the terminal block portion. The terminal block section including a second plurality of terminals. The terminal block portion is configured and disposed to be spaced from the terminal block section in the terminal box. The plurality of terminal leads is electrically connected to corresponding ones of the first and second pluralities of terminals.
US08446055B2
A linear type vibration motor having a magnet casing is disclosed. The linear type vibration motor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes a magnet assembly having a pair of magnets, in which same magnetic poles thereof face each other, a magnet casing, which has a hollow part formed therein and houses the magnet assembly in the hollow part, a base, which has a bobbin formed thereon and in which the magnet casing is inserted into the bobbin, a coil, which is coupled to the bobbin, a weight, which is coupled to both ends of the magnet casing, and a pair of elastic bodies, which are interposed between either end of the base and either end of the weight, respectively. Thus, the operating lifetime of the linear type vibration motor can be extended, and this arrangement can prevent the linear type vibration motor from being damaged by an external shock.
US08446053B2
A computer system includes a power supply, a number of first power interfaces, a second power interface, and a voltage regulating module. The power supply includes a number of direct current (DC) voltage output terminals, to output a number of DC voltages to a motherboard of the computer system. The first power interfaces are connected to the DC voltage output terminals of the power supply, to output the DC voltages to first peripheral devices. The voltage regulating module includes an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal is connected to one of the DC voltage output terminals of the power supply, to receive the DC voltage from the connected DC voltage output terminal. The output terminal is connected to the second power interface, to output a regulated second voltage to a second peripheral device through the second power interface.
US08446041B2
A method of controlling a power system provides at least two alternative sources of power delivering power to a power bus. Switches are provided between each of the at least two sources of power and the power bus. The bus is powered by a first of the at least two sources of power. A characteristic of the power supplied by the sources of power is monitored. Switching from the first source of power to a second source of power occurs by opening a switch associated with the first source of power, and closing the switch associated with the second source of power. The timing for performing the switching is selected such that one or more characteristics of the power supplied by the first and second sources of power are close to each other to minimize the apparent break in the power. A power system incorporate controls for effecting the method.
US08446038B2
The harvesting Resistor consists of single or dual supply DC to DC converter, which has a current sense resistor in series with its output port. The sensed current magnitude is coupled back to modulate the duty cycle in a way such that a voltage to current together with the power absorbing relationship of a resistor is appearing at the DC to DC converter's output port. Such an emulated resistor, when connected to an external power source, can efficiently transfer the absorbed energy from an external power source to the single or dual supplies of the DC to DC converter.
US08446036B2
A method of controlling a plurality of output voltages in a multi-output power supply device for generating a plurality of output powers by using a transformer. The method includes, if a system to which power is supplied from the multi-output power supply device is in a standby mode, blocking any one of at least two output powers of a secondary side of the transformer, wherein the blocked power is supplied to the system; and compensating for a resistance of a feedback circuit connected to a switching controller of a power switch of a primary side of the transformer in relation to one or more unblocked output powers of the transformer and maintaining the output of the unblocked output power to be constant.
US08446030B2
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the general art of energy storage and power generation, and in particular to systems for capturing and storing energy, for instance, offshore floating ocean energy systems. In various embodiments, such systems may include a pneumatically stabilized platform base coupled to a power generator and a potential energy storage device.
US08446026B2
A system for mooring a floating plant for the production of energy from currents in a body of water, comprising a plant (10) floating in the body of water and having at least one generator (7) for energy production, and at least one elongate first mooring element (24) which at a first end is connected to one end of the plant (10). The first mooring element (24) at its second end is attached to one buoyant element (50) floating in the body of water and anchored to a bottom (B) below the body of water, and the second end of the first mooring element (24) is connected to the buoyant element (50) at a level (d) in the body of water that corresponds to the level in the body of water at which the first end of the first mooring element (24) is connected to the floating plant (10), whereby the first mooring element (24) runs horizontally or almost horizontally in the body of water.
US08446023B2
A cogeneration apparatus having a ventilation-introducing channel communicating an electrical-equipment compartment with a ventilation fan is disclosed. Driving the ventilation fan causes air to be led from an exterior of a cogeneration case through the electrical-equipment compartment to the interior of the ventilation-introducing channel. The air led to the interior of the ventilation-introducing channel is led to an electrical generator. The air led to the electrical generator is exhausted through a power-generation compartment to the exterior of the cogeneration case.
US08446005B2
A semiconductor device includes: a first transistor; a second transistor; an interlayer insulating film covering the transistors; a rectangular-shaped first bus formed on the interlayer insulating film and connected to first source/drain regions; a rectangular-shaped second bus formed on the interlayer insulating film with spacing from the first bus and connected to third source/drain regions; an inter-bus interconnect formed between the first and second buses for connecting these buses; a first contact pad provided on the first bus, to which a wire is connected; and a second contact pad provided on the second bus, to which a wire is connected. The inter-bus interconnect is in contact with part of the side of the first bus facing the second bus and part of the side of the second bus facing the first bus. The first and second contact pads are respectively in contact with part of the first and second buses.
US08445998B1
A semiconductor package includes a lead structure upon which a semiconductor die is mounted with at least some portion of at least some of the leads extending to, at, or across an axis or axis of the package to militate against thermally induced growth of the package and the reduce or minimize strain within the package and reliability issue associated therewith.
US08445982B2
A polysilicon structure and method of forming the polysilicon structure are disclosed, where the method includes a two-step deposition and planarization process. The disclosed process reduces the likelihood of defects such as voids, particularly where polysilicon is deposited in a trench having a high aspect ratio. A first polysilicon structure is deposited that includes a trench liner portion and a first upper portion. The trench liner portion only partially fills the trench, while the first upper portion extends over the adjacent field isolation structures. Next, at least a portion of the first upper portion of the first polysilicon structure is removed. A second polysilicon structure is then deposited that includes a trench plug portion and a second upper portion. The trench is filled by the plug portion, while the second upper portion extends over the adjacent field isolation structures. The second upper portion is then removed.
US08445979B2
A magnetic memory device may include a first vertical magnetic layer, a non-magnetic layer on the first vertical magnetic layer, and a first junction magnetic layer on the non-magnetic layer, with the non-magnetic layer being between the first vertical magnetic layer and the first junction magnetic layer. A tunnel barrier may be on the first junction magnetic layer, with the first junction magnetic layer being between the non-magnetic layer and the tunnel barrier. A second junction magnetic layer may be on the tunnel barrier with the tunnel barrier being between the first and second junction magnetic layers, and a second vertical magnetic layer may be on the second junction magnetic layer with the second junction magnetic layer being between the tunnel barrier and the second vertical magnetic layer.
US08445978B2
A micro or nano electromechanical transducer device formed on a semiconductor substrate comprises a movable structure which is arranged to be movable in response to actuation of an actuating structure. The movable structure comprises a mechanical structure comprising at least one mechanical layer having a first thermal response characteristic and a first mechanical stress response characteristic, at least one layer of the actuating structure, the at least one layer having a second thermal response characteristic different to the first thermal response characteristic and a second mechanical stress response characteristic different to the first mechanical stress response characteristic, a first compensation layer having a third thermal response characteristic and a third mechanical stress characteristic, and a second compensation layer having a fourth thermal response characteristic and a fourth mechanical stress response characteristic. The first and second compensation layers are arranged to compensate a thermal effect produced by the different first and second thermal response characteristics of the mechanical structure and the at least one layer of the actuating structure such that movement of the movable structure is substantially independent of variations in temperature and to adjust a stress effect produced by the different first and second stress response characteristics of the mechanical structure and the at least one layer of the actuating structure such that the movable structure is deflected a predetermined amount relative to the substrate when the electromechanical transducer device is in an inactive state.
US08445976B2
A micro movable device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a signal line formed on a support substrate, a ground line formed on the support substrate and arranged side by side with the signal line, a first driving electrode formed above the signal line, a second driving electrode formed above the ground line, a first auxiliary driving electrode arranged side by side with the first driving electrode, a second auxiliary driving electrode arranged side by side with the second driving electrode, and a movable electrode which is formed above the first driving electrode, the second driving electrode, the first auxiliary driving electrode and the second auxiliary driving electrode with a space therebetween, and which is supported on the support substrate.
US08445975B2
A semiconductor device has a substrate, a gate dielectric layer, and a metal gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer. The gate dielectric layer includes an oxide layer having a dielectric constant (k) greater than 4, and silicon concentrated at interfaces of the oxide layer with the substrate and with the metal gate electrode. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a removable gate over a substrate with a gate dielectric layer between the removable gate and the substrate, forming a dielectric layer over the substrate and exposing an upper surface of the removable gate, removing the removable gate leaving an opening in the dielectric layer, forming a protective layer on the gate dielectric layer and lining the opening, and forming a metal gate electrode in the opening. The protective layer has a graded composition between the gate dielectric layer and the metal gate electrode.
US08445958B2
A power semiconductor device comprising a base, a trench, a heavily doped polysilicon structure, a polysilicon gate, a gate dielectric layer, and a heavily doped region is provided. The trench is formed in the base. The heavily doped polysilicon structure is formed in the lower portion of the trench. At least a side surface of the heavily doped polysilicon structure touches the naked base. The polysilicon gate is located in the upper portion of the trench. The gate dielectric layer is interposed between the polysilicon gate and the heavily doped polysilicon structure. The dopants in the heavily doped polysilicon structure are diffused outward to form a heavily doped region.
US08445955B2
A semiconductor device provides a high breakdown voltage and a low turn-on resistance. The device includes: a substrate; a buried n+ layer disposed in the substrate; an n-epi layer disposed over the buried n+ layer; a p-well disposed in the n-epi layer; a source n+ region disposed in the p-well and connected to a source contact on one side; a first insulation layer disposed on top of the p-well and the n-epi layer; a gate disposed on top of the first insulation layer; and a metal electrode extending from the buried n+ layer to a drain contact, wherein the metal electrode is insulated from the n-epi layer and the p-well using by a second insulation layer.
US08445954B2
A three-dimensional semiconductor memory device includes word lines and gate interlayer insulation layers that are alternatively stacked on a semiconductor substrate while extending in a horizontal direction, a vertical channel layer that faces the word lines and extends upwardly from the semiconductor substrate, and a channel pad that extends from the vertical channel layer and is disposed on an uppermost gate interlayer insulation layer of the gate interlayer insulation layers.
US08445953B2
A flash memory cell structure is provided. A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a floating gate overlying the semiconductor substrate, a word-line adjacent to the floating gate, an erase gate adjacent to a side of the floating gate opposite the word-line, a first sidewall disposed between the floating gate and the word-line, and a second sidewall disposed between the floating gate and the erase gate. The first sidewall has a first characteristic and the second sidewall has a second characteristic. The first characteristic is different from the second characteristic.
US08445952B2
A dielectric layer containing a Zr—Sn—Ti—O film and a method of fabricating such a dielectric layer produce a reliable dielectric layer having an equivalent oxide thickness thinner than attainable using SiO2. In an embodiment, forming the Zr—Sn—Ti—O film on a substrate includes depositing materials of the Zr—Sn—Ti—O film substantially as atomic monolayers. In an embodiment, electronic devices include a dielectric layer having a Zr—Sn—Ti—O film such that Zr—Sn—Ti—O material is configured as substantially atomic monolayers. Dielectric layers containing such Zr—Sn—Ti—O films may have minimal reactions with a silicon substrate or other structures during processing.
US08445949B2
An improved field effect transistors (FETs) and methods of manufacturing the field effect transistors (FETs) are provided. The method of manufacturing a zero capacitance random access memory cell (ZRAM) includes comprises forming a finFET on a substrate and enhancing a storage capacitance of the finFET. The enhancement can be by either adding a storage capacity to the finFET or altering a portion of the finFET after formation of a fin body of the finFET.
US08445937B2
Gas permeation barriers can be deposited on plastic or glass substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The use of the ALD coatings can reduce permeation by many orders of magnitude at thicknesses of tens of nanometers with low concentrations of coating defects. These thin coatings preserve the flexibility and transparency of the plastic substrate. Such articles are useful in container, electrical and electronic applications.
US08445935B2
A semiconductor apparatus includes a substrate having at least one terminal, a thin semiconductor film including at least one semiconductor device, the thin semiconductor film being disposed and bonded on the substrate; and an individual interconnecting line formed as a thin conductive film extending from the semiconductor device in the thin semiconductor film to the terminal in the substrate, electrically connecting the semiconductor device to the terminal. Compared with conventional semiconductor apparatus, the invented apparatus is smaller and has a reduced material cost.
US08445930B2
Described herein is a method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor layer by stacking, on a silicon nitride layer, the first nitride semiconductor layer having a surface inclined with respect to the surface of the silicon nitride layer and then stacking the second nitride semiconductor layer on the first nitride semiconductor layer, a nitride semiconductor element and a nitride semiconductor light-emitting element each including the nitride semiconductor layer; and a method for manufacturing the nitride semiconductor element.
US08445921B2
Light emitting LEDs devices comprised of LED chips that emit light at a first wavelength, and a thin film layer over the LED chip that changes the color of the emitted light. For example, a blue LED chip can be used to produce white light. The thin film layer beneficially consists of a florescent material, such as a phosphor, and/or includes tin. The thin film layer is beneficially deposited using chemical vapor deposition.
US08445917B2
An electronic device includes a silicon carbide layer having a first conductivity type and having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, and first and second silicon carbide Zener diodes on the silicon carbide layer. Each of the first and second silicon carbide Zener diodes may include a first heavily doped silicon carbide region having a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type on the silicon carbide layer, and an ohmic contact on the first heavily doped silicon carbide region.
US08445913B2
In a method of fabricating a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) device, initially, a first electrode is provided. An oxide layer is provided on the first electrode, and a protective layer is provided on the oxide layer. An opening through the protective layer is provided to expose a portion of the oxide layer, and a portion of the first electrode underlying the exposed portion of the oxide layer is oxidized. A second electrode is provided in contact with the exposed portion of the oxide layer. In alternative embodiments, the initially provided oxide layer may be eliminated, and spacers of insulating material may be provided in the opening.
US08445912B2
A high-performance thin film transistor structure which is easily manufactured is provided. The thin film transistor structure includes: a first electrode; second and third electrodes apart from each other in a hierarchical level different from that of the first electrode; first, second, and third wirings connected to the first, second, and third electrodes, respectively; a main stack body disposed so as to be opposed to the first electrode with an interlayer insulating layer in between, between the first electrode, and the second and third electrodes; and a sub stack body including an insulating layer and a semiconductor layer, disposed so as to be opposed to the first wiring with the interlayer insulating layer in between, between the first and second wirings in a position where the first and second wirings overlap and/or between the first and third wirings in a position where the first and third wirings overlap.
US08445909B2
Provided are a sensor array substrate and a method of fabricating the same. The sensor array substrate includes: a substrate in which a switching element region and a sensor region that senses light are defined; a first semiconductor layer which is formed in the sensor region; a first gate electrode which is formed on the first semiconductor layer and overlaps the first semiconductor layer; a second gate electrode which is formed in the switching element region; a second semiconductor layer which is formed on the second gate electrode and overlaps the second gate electrode; and a light-blocking pattern which is formed on the second semiconductor layer and overlaps the second semiconductor layer, wherein the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are disposed on different layers, and the second gate electrode and the light-blocking pattern are electrically connected to each other.
US08445908B2
Testing of integrated circuits is achieved by a test architecture utilizing a scan frame input shift register, a scan frame output shift register, a test controller, and a test interface comprising a scan input, a scan clock, a test enable, and a scan output. Scan frames input to the scan frame input shift register contain a test stimulus data section and a test command section. Scan frames output from the scan frame output shift register contain a test response data section and, optionally, a section for outputting other data. The command section of the input scan frame controls the test architecture to execute a desired test operation.
US08445907B2
The semiconductor device includes a process monitoring pattern and an input/output (I/O) pad array area, the process monitoring pattern including a lower layer having a peripheral area surrounding a first internal area, the first internal area exposed by an internal open area, an external structure on the peripheral area of the lower layer, and a first dam disposed in the peripheral area spaced apart from the external structure by an external open area, the first dam defining the first internal area. The peripheral area overlaps the input/output (I/O) pad array area of the semiconductor device.
US08445904B2
The invention relates to transparent rectifying contact structures for application in electronic devices, in particular appertaining to optoelectronics, solar technology and sensor technology, and also a method for the production thereof. The transparent rectifying contact structure according to the invention has the following constituents: a) a transparent semiconductor, b) a transparent, non-insulating and non-conducting layer composed of metal oxide, metal sulphide and/or metal nitride, the resistivity of which is preferably in the range of 102 Ωcm to 107 Ωcm and c) a layer composed of a transparent electrical conductor wherein the layer b) is formed between the semiconductor a) and the layer c) and the composition of the layer b) is defined in greater detail in the description of the patent.
US08445891B2
Disclosed herein is a nitride based semiconductor device. There is provided a nitride based semiconductor device including: a base substrate; an epitaxial growth layer disposed on the base substrate and generating 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) therein; and an electrode structure disposed on the epitaxial growth layer and having an extension extending into the epitaxial growth layer, wherein the epitaxial growth layer includes a depressing part depressed thereinto from the surface of the epitaxial growth layer, and the depressing part includes: a first area in which the extension is disposed; and a second area that is an area other than the first area.
US08445888B1
The present invention relates to a resistive random access memory using the rare earth scandate thin film as the storage medium, comprising a substrate, an insulation layer, a first electrode layer, a resistive memory layer, and a second electrode layer. In the present invention, it uses an amorphous rare earth scandate layer as the resistive memory layer of the resistive random access memory. Therefore, the resistive random access memory using the rare earth scandate thin film as the storage medium having advantages of low operation voltage and low power consumption can easily be manufactured without using any forming process or thermal annealing process. Moreover, through the characteristics of unipolar resistance switching behavior revealed by the amorphous rare earth scandate layer, the resistive random access memory using rare earth scandate thin film as the storage medium is able to perform a high resistance state and a low resistance state.
US08445886B2
A nonvolatile memory element comprises a first electrode (103); a second electrode (105); and a resistance variable layer (104) disposed between the first electrode (103) and the second electrode (105), resistance values of the resistance variable layer reversibly changing in response to electric signals applied between the electrodes (103, 105); the resistance variable layer (104) including a first tantalum oxide layer (107) comprising a first tantalum oxide and a second tantalum oxide layer (108) comprising a second tantalum oxide which is different in oxygen content from the first tantalum oxide, the first tantalum oxide layer and the second tantalum oxide layer being stacked together, and being configured such that 0
US08445872B2
Systems and methods are provided to perform efficient, automatic adjustment of cyclotron beam currents within a wide range for multiple treatment layers within the same patient and treatment session. In one embodiment, efficient adjustment is achieved by using beam current attenuation by an electrostatic vertical deflector installed in the inner center of the cyclotron. The beam current may, for example, be adjusted by the high voltage applied to the electrostatic vertical deflector. In front of each treatment the attenuation curve of the vertical deflector is recorded. Based on this attenuation curve, the vertical deflector voltage for the needed beam current of each irradiation layer is interpolated. With this procedure the beam current could be automatically adjusted in minimal time over a wide range while maintaining a high level of precision.
US08445867B2
A method of image analysis creates super-resolution images from images with high densities of fluorophores by processing a movie in which the fluorescent molecules or particles are photobleaching or blinking. The method looks for the individual photobleaching events that can be located with high resolution (nm to tens of nanometers scale). The positions of the photobleaching or blinking events are then drawn in a composite image that is at a much higher resolution than the original fluorescence movie.
US08445860B2
A neutron detector includes a shell bounding an interior volume. A portion of the neutron detector serves as a cathode. The detector includes a central structure located within the interior volume and serving as an anode. The detector includes a boron coating on the interior of the wall wherein at least some of the boron coating is heat diffused into the wall from a boron-containing powder to form the boron coating which is sensitive to neutrons. The detector includes an electrical connector operatively connected to the central structure for transmission of a signal collected by the central structure. An associated method of heat diffusing the boron includes subjecting boron-containing powder to an elevated temperature so that a quantity of the boron-containing powder heat diffuses.
US08445853B2
A method of making a radiation-sensitive apparatus includes providing a first substrate, forming a radiation-sensitive layer over the first substrate, providing a plurality of spatially separated integrated circuits, each integrated circuit having: a second substrate, one or more electronic circuit(s) formed in or on the second substrate, and one or more electrode connection pads formed in or on the second substrate, each electrode connection pad electrically connected to at least one of the electronic circuit(s). A plurality of pixel electrodes is formed over the first substrate separate from the integrated circuit, each pixel electrode electrically connected to an electrode connection pad. An electronic control circuit is electrically connected to each electronic circuit in each integrated circuit. The electronic circuits are responsive to electrical signals formed by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and the radiation-sensitive layer, the electrical signals conducted by the pixel electrodes and electrode connection pads.
US08445848B2
An infrared array sensor includes: a base substrate; cavities which have array structure and are formed on a surface side of the base substrate; and pixel parts supported by the base substrate to cover the cavities, respectively. Each of the pixel parts includes a membrane structure that includes segmented membrane structures divided by slits. Each of the segmented membrane structures includes a thermosensor. Each membrane structure of the pixel parts includes a coupling piece for connecting its own segmented membrane structures to each other.
US08445845B2
A mass spectrometer is disclosed wherein an ion beam attenuator is arranged upstream of an ion trap mass analyser. An ion tunnel ion trap comprising an upstream ion accumulation section and a downstream ion accumulation section is arranged upstream of the ion beam attenuator. Ions are released from the ion tunnel ion trap and the intensity of the ion beam which is transmitted to the ion trap analyser is controlled by the ion beam attenuator. The fill time during which ions are admitted into the ion trap mass analyser remains substantially constant and is substantially independent of the intensity of the ion beam.
US08445840B2
An imaging target, suited for use in multi-modal imaging systems, includes test patterns for testing quality of focus and co-registration for multiple magnifications and multiple modalities of operation of a multimodal imaging system.
US08445831B2
Various embodiments include interconnects for semiconductor structures that can include a first conductive structure, a second conductive structure and a non-hardening liquid conductive material in contact with the first and second structure. Other embodiments include semiconductor components and imager devices using the interconnects. Further embodiments include methods of forming a semiconductor structure and focusing methods for an imager device.
US08445826B2
An outdoor lighting fixture includes at least a first ballast for controllably providing power to at least one lamp for illuminating an outdoor area. The outdoor lighting fixture further includes a housing and a radio frequency transceiver. The outdoor lighting fixture yet further includes an antenna coupled to the radio frequency transceiver and extending away from the housing. The outdoor lighting fixture also includes a control circuit that operates the radio frequency transceiver as a wireless router for wireless network communications.
US08445812B2
A device for cutting, using laser beams (B1, B2), a material (A) such as a material for manufacturing sanitary products comprises a supporting formation for the material (A), such as a motor-driven belt, including a net (72) for supporting said material (A) in a position corresponding to the area of cutting where the laser beam (B1, B2) acts. Typically said net is a wire net, e.g., made of steel, bronze or a combination of the two, to which there is preferentially associated a rotary cleaning brushes (9) and suction and/or air jets systems.
US08445809B2
A welding method and apparatus are disclosed wherein a plurality of stacks of metal sheets are clamped together in sequence at a welding site between a pair of electrode caps across which welding current is supplied to spot weld together the sheets in each of the stacks in a series of welding operations in a production run. The electrode caps are pressed against the sheets in each of the stacks when each of the stacks is at the welding site with an applied force that includes a closing force to clamp the sheets together in a surface-to-surface interface fit plus a predetermined interjoint force that is increased progressively throughout the production run.
US08445803B1
An electrical switching device and method are disclosed. The electrical switching device can include two movable contacts. During opening of the switching device, the two movable contacts move in a first direction until one of the movable contacts engages a blocking member. The other movable contact continues in the first direction, effecting opening of the switching device. In a particular implementation, the movable contact that engages the blocking member “bounces” in a second direction after contacting the blocking member. This causes the contacts of the switching device to be separated very quickly, reducing electrical arcing during opening of the switching device.
US08445801B2
A switch comprises a room light case, a switch knob arranged inside an aperture portion of the room light case, guide grooves provided on an inner circumferential face of the aperture portion of the room light case, and guide ribs provided on an outer circumferential face of the switch knob. The switch knob moves for a switch stroke part in a depth direction of the aperture portion, from a waiting position to a pressed-down position by a pressing down operation. The guide grooves are provided in a range deeper than a depth size of the switch stroke from an opening edge located on the switch case surface side of the aperture portion.
US08445796B2
An electronic device proofed against unintended consequences when a button is depressed is provided. The electronic device includes a case, a movable pad rotatably received in the case, and a button body movably attached to the case and above the movable pad. The movable pad includes at least one switch arranged thereon. The button body includes at least one protruding post corresponding to the at least one switch and facing to the movable pad. The electronic device further includes a driving member slidably connected to the case and connected to the movable pad, sliding the driving member in one direction effectively isolates the movable pad from the button body, and sliding it in the reverse direction restores the connection.
US08445795B2
An assembly includes an electronic device having depressible controls and a navigation button which is positioned over the electronic device. The navigation button has a central portion, and directional lobes extending from the central portion. The navigation button initially resides in a non-pivoting orientation in which none of the depressible controls are actuated. The navigation button (i) pivots about a first axis in response to depression of a first directional lobe to actuate a first depressible control of the electronic device without actuating a second depressible control of the electronic device, and (ii) pivots about a second axis in response to depression of a second directional lobe to actuate the second depressible control of the electronic device without actuating the first depressible control of the electronic device. Each of the first axis and the second axis is offset from a midpoint of the navigation button.
US08445794B2
A stylus comprises a housing, a tip body, a slide enabling member and a cap assembly. The housing has a receptacle defined therethrough. The tip body is slidably accommodated in the receptacle of the housing. The slide enabling member slidably couples the tip body to the housing so the tip body can slide relative to the housing from a retracted position to an extended position. The cap assembly is releasably latched to the tip body. The tip body includes a tapered surface formed thereon; the cap assembly includes a resisting portion which is complemented in shape and size to resist the tapered surface of the tip body; when an external force is exerted on the cap assembly toward the housing, the resisting portion push the tapered surface so the tip body slides relative to the housing from the extended position to the retracted position.
US08445792B2
A load detection device includes a load sensor provided at a support portion that is positioned at a rear portion of a seat for a vehicle, the seat including a seatback at the rear portion of the seat, the load sensor detecting a load applied to the support portion that is a part of a plurality of support portions, a load detecting portion detecting a portion of a load of a seat occupancy of the seat based on an output from the load sensor and outputting a detected load value, a longitudinal inclination angle detecting portion detecting a longitudinal inclination angle of the vehicle, and a load correcting portion correcting, depending on the longitudinal inclination angle, the detected load value of the portion of the load of the seat occupancy based on a relationship between the detected load value of the seat occupancy and the longitudinal inclination angle.
US08445791B2
A method and structures are provided for implementing a latching gasket including an electrically conductive fabric, and a latching clip. The latching clip includes a support member carrying the electrically conductive fabric for radio frequency (RF) connection engagement with a first wall surface. The latching clip includes a first channel-defining member and a second channel-defining member extending downwardly from the support member. The first channel-defining member carries the electrically conductive fabric for radio frequency (RF) connection engagement with a second wall surface received in a channel defined by the first and second channel-defining members. The latching clip includes a latch arm extending outwardly and downwardly from an end of the support member near the second channel-defining member. The second channel-defining member includes an outwardly and upwardly extending plate with at least one latching tab for latching engagement and spring biasing with the latch arm in a closed position of the latching gasket.
US08445786B2
Compositions having at least 60 weight percent, based on the total weight of polymers, have at least one silane crosslinkable polyolefin resin and up to about 40 weight percent, based on the total weight of polymers, of at least one polyolefin elastomer resin, wherein the polyolefin polymer elastomer resin has density of less than or equal to about 0.89 g/cm3 and a melt index, I2, of less than about 50 g/10 mm. and which has been prepared using at least one metallocene catalyst provide improved flexibility, especially low temperature flexibility, while maintaining suitable cure performance and strength compared to the silane crosslinkable polymer resin alone. This composition may be used in cables for low temperature service applications.
US08445784B2
A protective device includes a mechanical protective sheath (20) and a thermal protective nozzle (30) mounted at one end (21) of the mechanical protective sheath (20), the mechanical protective sheath (20) including a tubular textile structure that is deformable by compression in the longitudinal direction of the mechanical protective sheath (20), the textile structure having, in a longitudinal compression area, an expanded sheath portion (25) adapted to interact by the reversion of one end (32) of the thermal protective nozzle (30). The device can be used in particular for protecting an element (11) connecting to a sensor (12) of an engine (13).
US08445774B2
A low-index silica coating may be made by forming a silica precursor having a radiation curable composition including a radiation curable monomer and/or a photoinitiator, and also including a silica sol comprising a silane and/or a colloidal silica. The silica precursor may be deposited on a substrate (e.g., glass substrate) to form a coating layer. The coating layer may then be cured via exposure to electromagnetic radiation, such as UV radiation. Then, the cured coating layer may be fired using temperature(s) of from about 550 to 700° C., in forming the low-index silica based coating. The low-index silica based coating may be used as an antireflective (AR) film on a front glass substrate of a photovoltaic device (e.g., solar cell) in certain example instances.
US08445768B1
A method, apparatus and computer program product for mixing audio is presented. A plurality of tracks is displayed in a user interface, each track of the plurality of tracks including at least one audio clip. Each audio clip is designated as either a foreground clip or a background clip. The foreground clips are analyzed and loudness corrected. The background clips are analyzed and a distance value between the loudness corrected foreground clips and the background clips is defined. Keyframes are added to some of the audio clips, the keyframes providing a fade between levels of the background clips to take into account the loudness corrected foreground clips and a sequenced audio file is produced from the corrected foreground clips, the background clips and the keyframes.
US08445764B1
A novel maize variety designated 10872490 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing maize variety 10872490 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into 10872490 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety 10872490, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety 10872490. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety 10872490.
US08445762B1
A novel maize variety designated PH18DR and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH18DR with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH18DR through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH18DR or a locus conversion of PH18DR with another maize variety.
US08445755B1
A novel soybean variety, designated XBP50001 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XBP50001, cells from soybean variety XBP50001, plants of soybean XBP50001, and plant parts of soybean variety XBP50001. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XBP50001 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XBP50001, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XBP50001, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XBP50001. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XBP50001 are further provided.
US08445753B2
A hybrid cucumber designated Menfis is disclosed having resistance to powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea), cucumber mosaic virus, and cucumber vein yellowing virus. The invention relates to the seeds of hybrid cucumber Menfis, to the plants of hybrid cucumber Menfis, and to methods for producing a cucumber plant, either inbred or hybrid, by crossing the hybrid Menfis with itself or another cucumber plant. The invention further relates to methods for producing a cucumber plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic plants produced by that method and to methods for producing other cucumber lines, cultivars, or hybrids derived from the hybrid cucumber Menfis.
US08445752B2
At least one embodiment of the present invention relates to Brassica oleracea plants with a resistance gene to Albugo candida, the cause of white blister. At least one embodiment of the invention also relates to a method for providing a Brassica oleracea plant with a resistance to Albugo candida, the at least one embodiment including a) providing a first B. oleracea plant which comprises a resistance gene to A. candida; (b) crossing the resistant plant with a susceptible second B. oleracea plant; (c) isolating genomic DNA from the progeny for detecting the presence of an introgression with the resistance gene using one or more specific DNA markers linked to the resistance gene; and (d) selecting from the progeny a B. oleracea plant in which the presence of the introgression with the resistance gene has been demonstrated in step (c).
US08445751B2
A chives hybrid designated Jeilo is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of chives hybrid Jeilo, to the plants of chives hybrid Jeilo, and to methods for producing a hybrid plant, either inbred or hybrid, by crossing the chives hybrid Jeilo with itself or another chives plant. The invention further relates to methods for producing a chives plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic plants produced by that method and to methods for producing other chives lines, cultivars or hybrids derived from the chives hybrid Jeilo.
US08445750B2
A chives cultivar, designated Biggy, is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of chives cultivar Biggy, to the plants of chives cultivar Biggy and to methods for producing a chives plant by crossing the cultivar Biggy with itself or another chives cultivar. The invention further relates to methods for producing a chives plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic chives plants and plant parts produced by those methods. This invention also relates to chives cultivars or breeding cultivars and plant parts derived from chives cultivar Biggy, to methods for producing other chives cultivars, lines or plant parts derived from chives cultivar Biggy and to the chives plants, varieties, and their parts derived from the use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid chives seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar Biggy with another chives cultivar.
US08445749B2
The invention provides nucleic acids, and variants and fragments thereof, obtained from strains of Bacillus thuringiensis encoding polypeptides having pesticidal activity against insect pests, including Lepidoptera. Particular embodiments of the invention provide isolated nucleic acids encoding pesticidal proteins, pesticidal compositions, DNA constructs, and transformed microorganisms and plants comprising a nucleic acid of the embodiments. These compositions find use in methods for controlling pests, especially plant pests.
US08445747B2
The present invention relates to methods and uses for improving traits in plants which are important in the field of agriculture. In particular, the methods and uses of the invention use a plant Hsf to increase plant productivity, water use efficiency, drought or pathogen resistance.
US08445745B2
The present invention features a non-human animal model that is susceptible to infection by human hepatotrophic pathogens, particularly human hepatitis C virus (HCV). The model is based on a non-human, immunocompromised transgenic animal having a human-mouse chimeric liver, where the transgene provides for expression of a urokinase-type plasminogen activator in the liver. The invention also features methods for identifying candidate therapeutic agents, e.g., agents having antiviral activity against HCV infection. The animals of the invention are also useful in assessing toxicity of various agents, as well as the activity of agents in decreasing blood lipids.
US08445730B2
In a process for producing phenol or a substituted phenol, an alkylaromatic hydroperoxide having a general formula (I): in which R1 and R2 each independently represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, provided that R1 and R2 may be joined to form a cyclic group having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms, said cyclic group being optionally substituted, and R3 represents hydrogen, one or more alkyl groups having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a cyclohexyl group, is contacted with a catalyst comprising an oxide of at least one metal from Groups 3 to 5 and Groups 7 to 14 of the Periodic Table of the Elements and an oxide of at least one metal from Group 6 of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
US08445694B2
Pharmaceutical compositions and compounds are provided. The compounds of the invention demonstrate anti-proliferative activity, and may promote apoptosis in cells lacking normal regulation of cell cycle and death. In one embodiment of the invention, pharmaceutical compositions of the compounds in combination with a physiologically acceptable carrier are provided. The pharmaceutical compositions are useful in the treatment of hyperproliferative disorders, which disorders include tumor growth, lymphoproliferative diseases, angiogenesis. The compounds of the invention are substituted pyrazoles and pyrazolines.
US08445688B2
The present invention relates to a process for preparation of optically pure (S)-amlodipine-L-hemitartrate DMF solvate comprising the steps of treating (R,S) amlodipine base with L-tartaric acid in the presence of dimethyl formamide and a co-solvent. The invention also relates to a process for converting (R) or (S)-amlopidine-L-hemitartrate DMF solvate into their besylates without isolating free chiral amlopidine base after solution.
US08445680B2
The present invention relates to tetrahydrothienopyridine compounds useful as HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors to treat anemia and like conditions.
US08445678B2
Disclosed are 2-quinoxalinol salen compounds and in particular 2-quinoxalinol salen Schiff-base ligands. The disclosed 2-quinoxalinol salen compounds may be utilized as ligands for forming complexes with cations, and further, the formed complexes may be utilized as catalysts for oxidation reactions. The disclosed 2-quinoxalinol salen compounds also may be conjugated to solid supports and utilized in methods for selective solid-phase extraction or detection of cations.
US08445677B2
Disclosed are pyrimidyl guanidine derivatives having anticancer activity. The pyimidyl guanidine derivatives have the structure: R1 is a cyclic (1-7 member) or acyclic (1-7 member) aliphatic, aromatic, heterocyclic groups optionally substituted, R2 is a cyclic (3-7 member) aliphatic, aromatic, heterocyclic groups optionally substituted by functional groups and R3 is a cyclic (3-7 member) aliphatic, aromatic, heterocyclic groups.
US08445661B2
Disclosed is an isolated strain of a previously unknown Staphylococcus, Staphylococcus pseudolugdunensis. Also disclosed are the sequences of the S. pseudolugdunensis tuf gene and 16s rRNA and methods for distinguishing S. pseudolugdunensis from other staphylococcal species.
US08445660B2
The invention provides chimeric proteins and nucleic acids encoding these which can be used to generate vaccines against selected antigens. In one aspect, a chimeric protein comprises an antigen sequence and a domain for trafficking the protein to an endosomal compartment, irrespective of whether the antigen is derived from a membrane or non-membrane protein. In one preferred aspect, the trafficking domain comprises a lumenal domain of a LAMP polypeptide. Alternatively, or additionally, the chimeric protein comprises a trafficking domain of an endocytic receptor (e.g., such as DEC-205 or gp200-MR6). The vaccines (DNA, RNA or protein) can be used to modulate or enhance an immune response against any kind of antigen. In one preferred aspect, the invention provides a method for treating a patient with cancer by providing a chimeric protein comprising a cancer-specific antigen or a nucleic acid encoding the protein to the patient.
US08445657B2
The invention relates to a method for simultaneous quantification of human nuclear DNA and human male DNA in a biological sample while also detecting the presence of PCR inhibitors in a single reaction. The multiplex quantification method also provides a ratio of human nuclear and male DNA present in a biological sample. Such sample characterization is useful for achieving efficient and accurate results in downstream molecular techniques such as genotyping.
US08445656B2
The present disclosure describes the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in inflammatory diseases and uses thereof, and methods of screening for, diagnosing, identifying susceptibility to or detecting a risk of developing an inflammatory disease comprising detecting the presence or absence of at least one SNP identified in a gene associated with inflammatory disease.
US08445654B2
The invention encompasses an active metabolite of the 18-membered macrocyclic antimicrobial agents, specifically, a metabolite of tiacumicin B and in certain embodiments, R-Tiacumicin B or and its related compounds. In particular, the invention encompasses a compound that acts as a potent antibiotic agent for the treatment of bacterial infections, specifically GI infections caused by toxin producing strains of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens).
US08445650B2
Modified polypeptides based on the botulinum neurotoxin A heavy chain containing the double mutation Trp-Tyr->Leu-Ser in the ganglioside binding motif Ser-X-Trp-Tyr do not bind polysialogangliosides and nerve endings. The polypeptides are useful in the preparation of nontoxic vaccines against the effects of C. botulinum infection. The modified polypeptides are also useful as vehicles for the transepithelial delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic entities, through formation of conjugates between the polypeptides and the diagnostic or therapeutic entities.
US08445643B2
The present invention provides the novel anti-IRC85 monoclonal antibody specifically binding with IRC85 and it showed potent effect in removing the infected/phagocytosed bacteria from THP-I, a monocytic cell that expresses human IRC85 and is infected with Listeria monocytogenes or WR-tubercle bacillus. Accordingly, it can be useful as a medicament and health care food in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis disease and enteritis disease.
US08445642B1
The invention is directed to methods to distinguish among different protein conformers of the same protein such as proteins which form amyloid deposits. Using the methods of the invention, one or more protein conformers in a sample can be detected, differentiated, and quantitated. An example of a protein which is known to exist in at least two conformations is the normal prion protein (PrPC) and its infectious isoform (PrPSc). The invention provides means to distinguish PrPC from PrPSc and allows quantitation of each individually, even when the conformers are present together in a mixture. Thus, the methods of the invention can provide important tools for human and animal health.
US08445636B2
The invention provides lipophilic conjugates comprising a peptide coupled to a fatty acid, the peptide comprising at least two positively charged amino acid residues, said peptide after conjugation to the fatty acid possessing antibacterial, antifungal, and/or anticancer activity higher than prior to conjugation. The lipophilic conjugates are suitable for treatment of infections caused by pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and fungi. The lipophilic conjugates are also suitable for sanitation, as disinfectants, or for food preservation.
US08445623B2
The present invention relates to an improved process for the preparation of polyisocyanates with a biuret structure by continuous reaction of excess amounts of organic diisocyanates having exclusively aliphatically and/or cycloaliphatically bonded isocyanate groups with organic diamines having exclusively aliphatically and/or cycloaliphatically bonded primary amino groups at elevated temperatures by 2-stage addition of the isocyanate component.
US08445615B2
A two-component adhesive composition suitable for structural bonding of concrete/concrete, steel/concrete, or steel/steel, as well as for structural strengthening and reinforcing applications with fiber reinforced polymers, is disclosed. The composition includes a resin component A with a peroxide containing at least one norbornene group and at least one methacrylate containing compound and a hardener component B comprising a peroxide and at least one thiol. The resin component A and the hardener component B are spatially separated from one another to inhibit any reaction before mixing of the components.
US08445613B2
A polymer and a treating agent (such as a surface-treating agent) are provided that have excellent characteristics in such properties as water repellency, oil repellency, antifouling property and charge controlling property. The polymer contains a structural unit derived from fluorosilsesquioxane having an addition polymerizable group, or contains a structural unit derived from fluorosilsesquioxane having an addition polymerizable group and a structural unit derived from organopolysiloxane having an addition polymerizable group. The treating agent contains the polymer. An article treated with the treating agent is also provided.
US08445611B2
The invention generally relates to novel polymers (SMAMPs) and their syntheses and use. The polymers exhibit promising properties of AMPs. In particularly, for example, a ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) platform was developed that allows syntheses of SMAMPs that employ a minimum number of norbornene-based building blocks and/or enable easy and independent variation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups in the monomer units and/or along the polymeric backbone to finetune and select desirable properties of the polymers.
US08445605B2
The present invention provides a halogen-free flame retardant resin composition, and, a prepreg, a laminate, and a laminate for printed circuit that are made from the halogen-free flame retardant resin composition. The halogen-free flame retardant resin composition comprises: (A) 40-80 parts by weight of the mixture of a phenoxyphosphazene compound (A1) and a dihydrobenzoxazine ring-containing compound (A2), and, the weight ratio between the phenoxyphosphazene compound (A1) and the dihydrobenzoxazine ring-containing compound (A2) being between 1:10 and 1:2; (B) 15-45 parts by weight of a polyepoxy compound; (C) 5-25 parts by weight of a phenolic resin type hardener; and (D) 0.1-1 parts by weight of an imidazole type compound as the curing accelerator. The prepreg, the laminate, and the laminate for printed circuit that are made from the halogen-free flame retardant resin composition provided by the present invention, have excellent flame retardancy, as well as has high glass transition temperature (Tg), high thermal resistance, high flexural strength, high reliability, low dielectric dissipation factor, low moisture, low C.T.E, good chemical resistance, and good processability.
US08445602B2
The present invention provides a poly lactic acid resin including an L-lactic acid block and a D-lactic acid block, which blocks are bonded by a carbonate bonding.
US08445600B2
The present invention provides a crosslinking agent which is excellent in processing characteristics and crosslinking performance, and is capable of preventing staining of a molded product upon molding in a metal mold which tends to be induced when using the crosslinking agent together with a triallyl isocyanurate. The crosslinking agent of the present invention comprises an isocyanurate derivative represented by the following general formula (I): wherein R1 and R2 are each independently a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or an ethyl group; R4 to R13 are each independently a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; R3 is a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms which may have a substituent group; and n is an integer of 1 or 2.
US08445596B2
The invention relates to crosslinked polymerizates which are capable of absorbing, which are based on partially neutralized, monoethylenically unsaturated monomers that carry acidic groups, which exhibit improved properties, in particular, with regard to their ability to transport liquids when in a swollen state, and which have been subsequently crosslinked on the surface thereof with a combination consisting of an organic crosslinker compound, with the exception of polyols, and of a cation provided in the form of a salt in an aqueous solution.
US08445590B2
A composite prepared using a thermosettable epoxy resin composition having, as components: (1) an epoxy resin; (2) an epoxidized cycloaliphatic dicyclopentadiene phenolic resin; (3) an optional epoxidized bisphenol-A novolac resin; (4) an optional oligomeric butadiene; (5) an optional organic solvent; and (6) an alkylphenol novolac resin, the alkylphenol novolac resin serving as a curing agent. The composite so prepared may have good physical properties and superior a electrical properties as compared to conventional composites, such as laminates. The prepregs used to make the laminates may have a better surface appearance as well.
US08445586B2
The present invention provides a process for producing an N-vinylamide polymer in an efficient manner by an aqueous solution polymerization method in which a gel-like polymer having an excellent handling property can be produced, and a polymerization time can be shortened. The process for producing an N-vinylamide polymer by subjecting a monomer component comprising N-vinylamide to aqueous solution polymerization according to the present invention comprises the step of polymerizing the monomer component comprising N-vinylamide in the presence of an inorganic salt, which inorganic salt is present in an amount of not less than 7% by mass based on water in a uniform aqueous solution comprising the monomer component at a concentration not more than a saturated solution concentration thereof as measured at a polymerization initiation temperature.
US08445578B2
The present invention relates to compositions for forming reflecting layer having organic silver complexes, and method for preparing reflecting layer using the same. More specifically, it relates to compositions for forming reflecting layer including silver complexes that have distinct structures and the method for preparing reflecting layer, where primary coating is applied to promote the adhesive force to materials such as plastic, ceramic, metal, etc. and then a high-reflecting layer is formed by using the silver coating fluid, followed by transparent coating for protection.
US08445569B2
Disclosed is a thermoplastic composition including: a) 20 to 35 weight percent poly(decamethylene decanediamide), b) 50 to 65 weight percent poly(hexamethylene decanediamide), and c) 8 to 15 weight percent of sulfonamide plasticizer. wherein the sulfonamide plasticizer is one or more sulfonamides selected from the group consisting of N-butylbenzenesulfonamide, N-(2-hydroxypropyl)benzenesulfonamide, N-ethyl-o-toluenesulfonamide, N-ethyl-p-toluenesulfonamide, o-toluenesulfonamide, and p-toluenesulfonamideone.
US08445567B2
A process is described which reduces the amount of bloom and/or plate-out of phosphite antioxidants during polymer processing by the addition of at least one polyethylene glycol (or blends thereof) or polycaprolactones (or blends thereof) having an average molecular weight of approximately 1,000 to 20,000, most preferably between 4,000 to 10,000.
US08445563B2
A resin for OSB comprising an aqueous resole reaction product of phenol, formaldehyde, alkaline metal hydroxide or carbonate, urea and a degraded lignin polymer having 35-65% solids, a pH of 8-13 and a viscosity 50-1000 centipoises. The phenol and formaldehyde are present in a molar ratio of 1.5 to 3.4 moles formaldehyde to 1 mole phenol and are 40 to 85% of the total solids added to the mixture. In one embodiment they are 50 to 75% of the total solids added to the mixture. The alkaline metal hydroxide or carbonate are 5 to 20% of the total solids added to the mixture. Urea is 5 to 35% of the total solids added to the mixture. The degraded lignin is 5 to 20% of the total solids added to the mixture.A method for making the resin and a product using the resin.
US08445560B2
The present invention relates to cementitious materials, which exhibit a hydrophobic character, and to a process for making cementitious materials hydrophobic, and to a granulated additive for rendering cementitious material hydrophobic. An emulsifier for the organosilicon component is deposited on the particulate carrier together with the organosilicon component and the binder. The hydrophobing agent permits to impart instantaneous hydrophobicity to cementitious materials.
US08445551B2
Disclosed are a solid electrolyte membrane for fuel cells, which is characterized by that there has been used a silicone resin obtained by subjecting a methide series siloxane compound having a specific, strong acid bis(perfluoroalkanesulfonyl)methide moiety, a specific polysiloxane compound, and a specific silane compound to a cross-linking reaction, and its production process. This membrane has heat resistance, is superior in chemical stability, has a good proton conductivity even under a low water content condition, and has a low methanol permeability.
US08445549B2
In various implementations, various feed gas streams which include hydrogen and carbon monoxide may be processed for conversion to product streams. For example, the feed gas stream may be processed using the Fischer-Tropsch process. Unconverted hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be recycled using an off-gas catalytic reformer and a gas turbine exhaust gas heat exchanger that will perform preheating duties.
US08445543B2
Adapalene or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof formulated into a pharmaceutical composition is useful for reducing the number of acne lesions, via daily topical application, in combination or in association with benzoyl peroxide (BPO); such treatment may be via administration of a pharmaceutical composition combining adapalene and BPO or by a concomitant application of two pharmaceutical compositions, one containing adapalene and the other containing BPO.
US08445542B2
A method of promoting or improving the feed efficiency and the muscle to fat ratio in animals by administering to the animals a therapeutically effective amount of a pure or substantially pure RR-isomer of ractopamine is disclosed. Also disclosed are animal feed preparations and compositions and pharmaceutical preparations capable of increasing lean meat deposition in an animal or decreasing body fat, or promoting or improving the growth of an animal or improving the feed efficiency of an animal. Feed preparation, compositions and pharmaceutical preparations including therapeutically effective amounts of a pure or substantially pure RR-isomer of ractopamine are disclosed.
US08445541B2
Methods for concomitant administration of colchicine together with one or more second active agents, e.g., verapamil, are disclosed. Such methods reduce the dangers commonly associated with such concomitant administration and provide additional benefits. Methods of notifying health care practitioners and patients regarding appropriate dosing for concomitant administration of colchicine together with second active agents are also provided.
US08445535B1
Methods and compositions for treating or preventing, the occurrence of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, or other conditions arising from reduced neuronal metabolism and leading to lessened cognitive function are described. In a preferred embodiment the administration of triglycerides or fatty acids with chain lengths between 5 and 12, to said patient at a level to produce an improvement in cognitive ability.
US08445532B2
Phthalide derivatives and the use of which to manufacture the sensitizer or reverser of the antineoplastic agent are described. The phthalide derivatives can enhance the sensitivity of drug-resistance tumor cells against chemotherapy and decrease the drug-resistance of tumor cells 5-30 folder and enhance notably several chemotherapy agents-induced apoptosis of tumor cells.
US08445528B2
The present invention relates to novel therapeutic and diagnostic dendrimers. In particular, the present invention is directed to dendrimer-linker conjugates, methods of synthesizing the same, compositions comprising the conjugates, as well as systems and methods utilizing the conjugates (e.g., in diagnostic and/or therapeutic settings (e.g., for the delivery of therapeutics, imaging, and/or targeting agents (e.g., in disease (e.g., cancer) diagnosis and/or therapy, pain therapy, etc.)). Accordingly, dendrimer-linker conjugates of the present invention may further comprise one or more components for targeting, imaging, sensing, and/or providing a therapeutic or diagnostic material and/or monitoring response to therapy.
US08445526B2
The invention provides α-2 adrenergic receptor agonist compositions and methods for treating glaucoma and other intraocular conditions. The preferred α-2 agonist used in the inventive compositions and methods is dexmedetomidine.
US08445525B2
The present invention relates to new substituted carboxylic acid amides of general formula wherein A, B and R1 to R5 are defined as in claim 1, the tautomers, the enantiomers, the diastereomers, the mixtures thereof and the salts thereof, particularly the physiologically acceptable salts thereof with inorganic or organic acids or bases, which have valuable properties.
US08445508B2
The present invention relates to methods of treating metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherogenic dyslipidemia and/or obesity. The present invention also relates to methods of restoring the incretin effect, to restoring physiologic control of glucagon levels, to restoring first-phase insulin secretion, and to restoring the physiologic glucose-dependent insulin secretion. The methods of the present invention comprise administration of a selective κ-receptor antagonist, such as guanidinylated naltrindole (GNTI), or pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof to a subject in need thereof.
US08445502B2
Pharmaceutical formulations comprising salts of a protein kinase inhibitor and methods of using same
The present invention relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising the protein kinase inhibitor, MP470, and methods of using same in treating conditions involving undesirable cell proliferation, such as cancer.
US08445500B2
The invention disclosed in this document is related to field of pesticides and their use in controlling pests.
US08445495B2
Certain substituted urea derivatives selectively modulate the cardiac sarcomere, for example by potentiating cardiac myosin, and are useful in the treatment of systolic heart failure including congestive heart failure.
US08445489B2
Compounds of the formula I, in which R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and X have the meanings indicated in Claim 1, are inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, in particular Met kinase, and can be employed, inter alia, for the treatment of tumors.
US08445488B2
Pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-4-yl-amines and pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrimidin-5-yl-amines as Janus kinase inhibitors
The present invention provides pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine-4-yl amines pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrimidin-4-yl amines that modulate the activity of Janus kinases and are useful in the treatment of diseases related to activity of Janus kinases including, for example, immune-related diseases and cancer.
US08445485B2
The present disclosure provides prodrugs of biologically active 2,4-pyrimidinediamine compounds, salts and hydrates of the prodrugs, compositions comprising the prodrugs, intermediates and methods for synthesizing the prodrugs and methods of using the prodrugs in a variety of applications.
US08445476B2
Carbacephem β-lactam antibiotics having the following chemical structures (I) and (II) are disclosed: including stereoisomers, pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters and prodrugs thereof, wherein Ar2, R1, R2 and R3 are as defined herein. The compounds are useful for the treatment of bacterial infections, in particular those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp.
US08445475B2
The invention provides supramolecular metal complexes as DNA cleaving agents. In the complexes, charge is transferred from one light absorbing metal (e.g. Ru or Os) to an electron accepting metal (e.g. Rh) via a bridging π-acceptor ligand. A bioactive metal-to-metal charge transfer state capable of cleaving DNA is thus generated. The complexes function when irradiated with low energy visible light with or without molecular oxygen.
US08445474B2
Compositions of predetermined amounts of R(+) pramipexole and S(−) pramipexole and methods of using the same, including for the treatment and prevention of Parkinson's disease, are provided.
US08445468B2
This invention discloses (20S,22E)-2-methylene-19-nor-22-ene-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 analogs, and specifically(20S,22E)-2-methylene-19-nor-22-ene-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and pharmaceutical uses therefor. This compound exhibits significant vitamin D receptor binding activity and transcription activity as well as pronounced activity in arresting the proliferation of undifferentiated cells and inducing their differentiation to the monocyte thus evidencing use as an anti-cancer agent, especially for the treatment or prevention of leukemia, colon cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer or prostate cancer.
US08445463B2
This invention relates to the use of a biomaterial for the treatment, repair and/or enhancement of bodily tissue insufficiencies of the vocal chords, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, post-operative regions, sexual organs and/or weight supporting areas of the feet as well as other conditions of the bones and joints. The biomaterial for use in the invention may comprise an injectable bioresorbable polysaccharide composition wherein the polysaccharide may be succinochitosan glutamate. This invention also relates to the use of a biomaterial comprising an injectable bioresorbable polysaccharide composition in which resorbable particles may be in suspension, the said particles comprising or consisting essentially of chitin and/or chitosan, which may be free of any additional formulation modifying agents, and a process for manufacturing the same. The invention also includes the use of various medicaments in the biomaterial formulations to enhance the treatment of the affected area of the body.
US08445461B2
The present invention provides pharmaceutical composition for treating Meniere's disease, comprising saccharides or sugar alcohols as an active ingredient and polysaccharides, wherein the ratio by weight of the saccharides or sugar alcohols to the polysaccharides is about 100:2 to 100:50. The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may eliminate the cathartic effect caused by saccharides or sugar alcohols to ensure the endolymphatic hydrops decompression effect. Therefore the effect of the therapeutic composition of the present invention is improved. The pharmaceutical composition may provide in gel, powder, granule form or the like.
US08445454B2
Compositions and methods are provided for the treatment of an ischemic cardiovascular condition by providing a patient with a novel non-viral minicircle DNA vector comprising polynucleotide sequences that potentiate HIF-1 activity, including RNAi or antisense agents selective for proteins involved in HIF1 inactivation.
US08445453B2
Chemokines ligands to at least one of CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, or CCR5 can be used to home stem cells for therapeutic applications.
US08445448B2
The present invention provides a peptide comprising a core residue sequence derivable from human FVIII which peptide is capable of binding to an MHC class II molecule without further antigen processing. The present invention also relates to the use of such peptides for the prevention or suppression of inhibitor antibody formation in haemophilia A and/or acquired haemophilia.
US08445445B2
The present invention relates to a method of promoting hair growth comprising administering a fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) extracellular domain (ECD), including native FGFR4 ECDs, variants, fragments, and fusion molecules, to a subject in an amount sufficient to promote hair growth.
US08445442B2
The invention relates to methods of treating cancer by administering one or more chemokines that are downregulated in cancerous cells. More specifically, the invention provides methods for treating or preventing cancers such as malignant melanoma by administering a chemokine such as CCL18 and/or CCL3. The invention further provides methods for diagnosing cancer such as melanoma.
US08445441B2
A purified polypeptide for inhibiting binding of BCL-2 to IP3 receptors includes an amino acid sequence consisting of about 10 to 80 amino acids. The amino acid sequence has a sequence identity at least 90% homologous to a portion of SEQ ID NO:1. The polypeptide inhibits binding of Bcl-2 to IP3 receptors of cells that express IP3R and Bcl-2 and induces apoptosis in a cell.
US08445440B2
The present invention provides compounds of formula M-L-M′ (where M and M′ are each independently a monomeric moiety of Formula (I) and L is a linker). The dimeric compounds have been found to be effective in promoting apoptosis in rapidly dividing cells.
US08445431B2
Ligands having a metal binding domain and a targeting domain are provided. The ligands can be used to target, inhibit, and catalytically degrade or inactivate a desired target. Methods of treating a disease or condition using the ligands are also provided.
US08445429B2
The present invention relates generally to the field of neuronal health, neuronal protection and neuronal development. One embodiment of the present invention relates to a composition that can be used for the treatment or prevention of a delayed development of the enteric nervous system. Neuronal cells in the gut can be protected. Disorders linked to a delayed development of the enteric nervous system and/or to an impaired enteric nervous system can be treated or prevented by the administration of lactoferhn containing compositions.
US08445427B2
The invention provides a method for selecting and eliminating endotoxin selectively from a solution where a highly acidic substance such as heparin co-exists, and an adsorbent used therefore. The invention also provides a method for providing the endotoxin adsorbent, which includes partially modifying amino groups contained within an amino group-containing molecule used as a ligand of the endotoxin adsorbent, with a molecule that is capable of reacting with an amino group.
US08445424B2
A method of providing to a fragrance application a musky odor, comprising the addition thereto of at least one compound according to the formula I in which R1 is selected from H and CH3; R2, R3 are selected from the possibilities that (a) both are CH3; and (b) R2 and R3 together form a single bond (as indicated by the broken line); and n is an integer selected from 1, 2, 3, and 4. The compounds are useful in the complete range of fine and functional fragrance applications.
US08445418B2
A lubricating oil composition for an internal combustion engine contains: a base oil having a viscosity index of 120 or more; and a polymer compound that includes a first constituent having a mass average molecular weight of less than 100,000 and a second constituent having a mass average molecular weight of 100,000 or more, the first constituent of 0.01 mass % to 10 mass % being contained relative to a total amount of the lubricating oil composition, preferably 0.1 mass % to 10 mass %, the second constituent of less than 0.5 mass % being contained relative to the total amount of the lubricating oil composition. A viscosity index of the lubricating oil composition is 130 or more.
US08445414B2
Alkaline earth metal compounds may be fluid loss control (FLC) agents for viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluids used for fluid loss control pills, lost circulation material pills and kill pills in hydrocarbon recovery operations. The FLC agents may include, but not be limited to oxides and hydroxides of alkaline earth metal, and in one case magnesium oxide where the particle size of the magnesium oxide is between 1 nanometer to 0.4 millimeter. The FLC agent may alternatively be transition metal oxides and/or transition metal hydroxides. The FLC agent appears to associate with the VES micelles and together form a novel pseudo-filter cake quasi-crosslinked viscous fluid layer that limits further VES fluid flow into the porous media. The FLC agent solid particles may be added along with VES fluids. The pills may also contain internal breakers to reduce the viscosity thereof so that the components of the pill may be recovered.
US08445413B2
The present invention provides a linker preferably used when constructing an mRNA/cDNA-puromycin-protein conjugate used in an in vitro virus method, and an mRNA/cDNA-puromycin-protein conjugate constructed using that linker. More specifically, the present invention provides a linker for ligating mRNA and puromycin or a puromycin-like compound to construct an mRNA/cDNA-puromycin-protein conjugate, the linker comprising a single-stranded RNA as a main backbone, and having, in this main backbone, a solid phase binding site for binding an mRNA-puromycin-protein conjugate to a solid phase site, and a pair of cleavage sites provided at locations surrounding the solid phase binding site; an mRNA-puromycin-protein conjugate constructed using this linker; an mRNA bead or an mRNA chip comprising this conjugate; a protein chip produced from this mRNA chip; and a diagnostic kit using the mRNA bead or the mRNA chip.
US08445411B2
An automated, highly sensitive, specific and potentially quantitative detection method using an automated microscope for identifying and enumerating rare cancer cells in blood and other fluids.
US08445402B2
An improved catalyst suitable as a preferential oxidation catalyst is obtained by adding platinum, copper, and iron to a support.
US08445399B2
Hydrocarbon-soluble molybdenum catalyst precursors include a plurality of molybdenum cations that are each bonded with a plurality of organic anions to form an oil soluble molybdenum salt. A portion of the molybdenum atoms are in the 3+ oxidation state such that the plurality of molybdenum atoms has an average oxidation state of less than 4+, e.g., less than about 3.8+, especially less than about 3.5+. The catalyst precursors can form a hydroprocessing molybdenum sulfide catalyst in heavy oil feedstocks. The oil soluble molybdenum salts are manufactured in the presence of a reducing agent, such as hydrogen gas, to obtain the molybdenum in the desired oxidation state. Preferably the reaction is performed with hydrogen or an organic reducing agent and at a temperature such that the molybdenum atoms are reduced to eliminate substantially all molybdenum oxide species.
US08445390B1
A laser absorption layer is first selectively formed in a seal pattern region surrounding an array of electromechanical systems elements, followed by depositing an antistiction layer as a blanket layer over the substrate and the laser absorption layer. The antistiction layer is then selectively removed from the seal pattern using a laser. An epoxy sealing material is provided in the seal pattern where the antistiction layer was removed and a backplate is sealed to the substrate using epoxy.
US08445386B2
A smoothing method for semiconductor material and semiconductor wafers produced by the method are disclosed. Semiconductor wafers with reduced atomic steps, as well with reduced scratches and subsurface defects can be produced. Such wafers feature an improved growth surface that can provide for the growth of an epilayer with reduced macroscopic defects and defect densities. A method of smoothing the surface of a wafer according to example embodiments of the invention includes planarizing the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and then oxidizing the wafer to achieve a specified thickness of oxide on the surface of the wafer. The oxide can then be stripped from the surface of the semiconductor wafer.
US08445372B2
Methods of selectively forming metal silicides on a memory device are provided. The methods can include forming a mask layer over the memory device; forming a patterned resist over the mask layer; removing upper portions of the patterned resist; forming a patterned mask layer by removing portions of the mask layer that are not covered by the patterned resist; and forming metal silicides on the memory device by a chemical reaction of a metal layer formed on the memory device with portions of the memory device that are not covered by the patterned mask layer. By preventing silicidation of underlying silicon containing layers/components of the memory device that are covered by the patterned mask layer, the methods can selectively form the metal silicides on the desired portions of the memory device.
US08445371B2
A method of forming a gate structure with a self-aligned contact is provided and includes sequentially depositing a sacrificial layer and a secondary layer onto poly-Si disposed at a location of the gate structure, encapsulating the sacrificial layer, the secondary layer and the poly-Si, removing the sacrificial layer through openings formed in the secondary layer and forming silicide within at least the space formally occupied by the sacrificial layer.
US08445370B2
A method for manufacturing a Schottky diode comprising steps of 1) providing a region with a dopant of a second conductivity type opposite to a first conductivity type to form a top doped region in a semiconductor substrate of said first conductivity type; 2) providing a trench through the top doped region to a predetermined depth and providing a dopant of the second conductivity type to form a bottom dopant region of the second conductivity type; and 3) lining a Schottky barrier metal layer on a sidewall of the trench at least extending from a bottom of the top doped region to a top of the bottom doped region.
US08445368B2
A semiconductor device includes a trench MOS barrier Schottky diode having an integrated PN diode and a method is for manufacturing same.
US08445362B2
An apparatus and method for programming an electronically programmable semiconductor fuse applies a programming current to a fuse link as a series of multiple pulses. Application of the programming current as a series of multiple short pulses provides a level of programming current sufficiently high to ensure reliable and effective electromigration while avoiding exceeding temperature limits of the fuse link.
US08445361B1
Method of dividing a semiconductor wafer having semiconductor and metal layers into separate devices
A method of dividing a semiconductor wafer having a metal layer includes removing all or substantially all of the semiconductor material in scribe streets while the wafer is supported by a support, turning over the wafer and while using a second support to support the wafer, introducing a heat energy flux into the metal layer to remove metal of the metal layer from the scribe streets.
US08445360B2
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device makes it possible to efficiently polish with a polishing tape a peripheral portion of a silicon substrate under polishing conditions particularly suited for a deposited film and for silicon underlying the deposited film. The method includes pressing a first polishing tape against a peripheral portion of a device substrate having a deposited film on a silicon surface while rotating the device substrate at a first rotational speed, thereby removing the deposited film lying in the peripheral portion of the device substrate and exposing the underlying silicon. A second polishing tape is pressed against the exposed silicon lying in the peripheral portion of the device substrate while rotating the device substrate at a second rotational speed, thereby polishing the silicon to a predetermined depth.
US08445348B1
The present invention discloses a manufacturing method of a semiconductor component with a nanowire channel. The method comprises the following steps. The step of forming a stack structure on a substrate is performed. A semiconductor layer is formed on the substrate and the stack structure and further filled into the fillister. The semiconductor layer is patterned to form a source area and a drain area, and the channel region is located between the source area and the drain area. The semiconductor layer located outside the source area, the drain area and the fillister will be removed. And then, the stack structure is then removed. Therefore, the semiconductor layer filled inside the fillister will be exposed to be as a channel. A gate oxide layer is formed to cover the channel, and a gate layer is then formed on the gate oxide layer.
US08445345B2
A method of forming a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) structure having multiple threshold voltage devices includes forming a first transistor device and a second transistor device on a semiconductor substrate. The first transistor device and second transistor device initially have sacrificial dummy gate structures. The sacrificial dummy gate structures are removed and a set of vertical oxide spacers are selectively formed for the first transistor device. The set of vertical oxide spacers are in direct contact with a gate dielectric layer of the first transistor device such that the first transistor device has a shifted threshold voltage with respect to the second transistor device.
US08445334B1
FinFETS and methods for making FinFETs with a recessed stress liner. A method includes providing an SOI substrate with fins, forming a gate over the fins, forming an off-set spacer on the gate, epitaxially growing a film to merge the fins, depositing a dummy spacer around the gate, and recessing the merged epi film. Silicide is then formed on the recessed merged epi film followed by deposition of a stress liner film over the FinFET. By using a recessed merged epi process, a MOSFET with a vertical silicide (i.e. perpendicular to the substrate) can be formed. The perpendicular silicide improves spreading resistance.
US08445333B2
A method of forming polysilicon, a thin film transistor (TFT) using the polysilicon, and a method of fabricating the TFT are disclosed. The method of forming the polysilicon comprises: forming an insulating layer on a substrate; forming a first electrode and a second electrode on the insulating layer; forming at least one heater layer on the insulating layer so as to connect the first electrode and the second electrode; forming an amorphous material layer containing silicon on the heater layer(s); forming a through-hole under the heater layer(s) by etching the insulating layer; and crystallizing the amorphous material layer into a polysilicon layer by applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode so as to heat the heater layer(s).
US08445319B2
A nonvolatile memory element comprises a first electrode layer (103), a second electrode (107), and a resistance variable layer (106) which is disposed between the first electrode layer (103) and the second electrode layer (107), a resistance value of the resistance variable layer varying reversibly according to electric signals having different polarities which are applied between the electrodes (103), (107), wherein the resistance variable layer (106) has a first region comprising a first oxygen-deficient tantalum oxide having a composition represented by TaOx (0
US08445314B2
A structure and method operable to create a reusable template for detachable thin semiconductor substrates is provided. The template has a shape such that the 3-D shape is substantially retained after each substrate release. Prior art reusable templates may have a tendency to change shape after each subsequent reuse; the present disclosure aims to address this and other deficiencies from the prior art, therefore increasing the reuse life of the template.
US08445303B2
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes steps of forming a semiconductor device layer on an upper surface of a substrate including the upper surface, a lower surface and a dislocation concentrated region arranged so as to part a first side closer to the upper surface and a second side closer to the lower surface, exposing a portion where the dislocation concentrated region does not exist above on the lower surface by removing the substrate on the second side along with at least a part of the dislocation concentrated region, and forming an electrode on the portion.
US08445288B2
The present invention relates to a novel method for analysing carbohydrates. The invention is in particular useful in detecting a terminal monosaccharide which may be released from a glycosylated substrate for example using an exoglucosidase. After relase from the glycosylated substrate the terminal monosaccharide may be captured on a solid support, incubated with a boronate detection agent and detected by aid of the boronate detection agent. The methods of the invention are useful for a variety of purposes including sequencing of carbohydrates, wherein exoglycosidases with predetermined specificity are employed for the release.
US08445287B2
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for determining new anticoagulant therapy factors for monitoring oral anticoagulant therapy to help prevent excessive bleeding or deleterious blood clots that might otherwise occur before, during or after surgery. The inventive methods and apparatus provide an International Normalization Ratio (INR) based on a coagulation reaction with a blood sample of a living being. Embodiments include methods and apparatus for determining an anticoagulant therapy factor without requiring use of a mean normal prothrombin time determination or an ISI, and may be carried out with the patient sample and a coagulation reagent, where the coagulation reagent may be selected from a number of coagulation reagents. One embodiment provides an INRs value which is determined from a prothrombin time (PT or T1) of a patient blood sample and a theoretical end of test time (TEOT), where a theoretical clotting area is used to determine the INRs value according to the expression, INRs=T1*TEOT*MUL, where MUL is a multiplier that takes into account pixel parity and sampling times. The INRs may be used to determine a course of treatment for a patient or other living being without regard to the specific coagulation regent used to generate the coagulation data (e.g., time and optical activity values).
US08445280B2
A method for creating networks of perfusable microvessels in vitro. Cells including cell types capable of sprouting are seeded 1300 into a channel in a matrix at to activate competency 1304 of the cells for sprouting as microvessels based on the seeding density. The matrix channel is perfused with medium to allow parent vessels to form and for viability 1324. The parent vessels and matrix are incubated and perfused to provide for sprouting of microvessels from parent vessels into the surrounding matrix 1328. The sprouting parent vessels are grown until network forms 1332.
US08445276B2
A device and method for analyzing cells includes a housing with a chamber, a barrier supported by a frame disposed within the chamber, and a plate arranged at a bottom surface of the housing interior of the chamber. The plate is adapted to receive and sustain cells and the barrier separates the plate into at least two contiguous separate areas. In some embodiments, a thin rubber strip is arranged at the bottom edge of the barrier, which facilitates control of the area in which each cell type is grown, the size of the gap between the cells, and helps prevents over growth of the two cell types on to each other.
US08445270B2
The present invention relates to specific immortalized avian cell lines expressing telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), and exhibiting distinct biologics production patterns. More particularly, the present invention relates to immortalized avian cell line capable of either amplifying Flaviviridae but not capable of amplifying Vaccinia virus strain Copenhagen (VV-COP) nor Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), or capable of amplifying both Flaviviridae and Poxviridae. The invention further relates to the use of said immortalized avian cell lines and related methods for producing biologics, including viruses and proteins.
US08445266B2
Apparatus for judging cell detachment, method of judging cell detachment, and cell culture apparatus
An apparatus for judging cell detachment that judges a state of detachment of cells that have been cultured within a cell culture container (cultured cells), includes: an image-capturing unit that captures an image of the cultured cells; and a detachment state judging unit that determines luminance information within the cell culture container based upon image capture data from the image-capturing unit, and judges that the culture cells are detached when the luminance information exceeds a predetermined luminance level.
US08445257B2
The present invention provides genes, polypeptides and expression constructs therefor, recombinant photosynthetic microorganisms, and method of use thereof, such as for the production of branched-chain alcohols (including 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and isobutanol) and derivatives thereof for a variety of uses.
US08445256B2
The present invention relates to liquid mycorrhiza compositions and to methods for colonizing a plant, grass, tree or shrub with one or more mycorrhizas.
US08445255B2
Disclosed are inoculants that include Bacillus bacteria and induce production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by a plant that has been treated with the inoculant.
US08445247B2
Disclosed herein are enzyme powders comprising a spray-dried formulation of at least one CE-7 esterase, at least one oligosaccharide excipient, and optionally at least one surfactant. Also disclosed herein is a process for producing peroxycarboxylic acids from carboxylic acid esters using the aforementioned enzyme powders. Further, disinfectant and laundry care formulations comprising the peracids produced by the processes described herein are provided.
US08445244B2
A non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes a microbial organism having a reductive TCA or Wood-Ljungdahl pathway in which at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding these pathway enzymes is expressed in a sufficient amount to enhance carbon flux through acetyl-CoA. A method for enhancing carbon flux through acetyl-CoA includes culturing theses non-naturally occurring microbial organisms under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce a product having acetyl-CoA as a building block. Another non-naturally occurring microbial organism includes at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding an enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to enhance the availability of reducing equivalents in the presence of carbon monoxide or hydrogen, thereby increasing the yield of redox-limited products via carbohydrate-based carbon feedstock. A method for enhancing the availability of reducing equivalents in the presence of carbon monoxide or hydrogen includes culturing this organism for a sufficient period of time to produce a product.
US08445239B2
This invention is in the field of bacterial cultures and specifically relates to the optimization of culture conditions to improve the production of bacterial capsular polysaccharides from Streptococcus strains in fed batch culture and to novel purification methods suitable for production scale purification of bacterial capsular polysaccharides from Streptococcus strains resulting in higher levels of purity than previously obtained for production scale.
US08445237B2
Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) induces sequence-specific post-transcriptional gene silencing in many organisms by a process known as RNA interference (RNAi). Using a Drosophila in vitro system, we demonstrate that 19-23 nt short RNA fragments are the sequence-specific mediators of RNAi. The short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are generated by an RNase III-like processing reaction from long dsRNA. Chemically synthesized siRNA duplexes with overhanging 3′ ends mediate efficient target RNA cleavage in the lysate, and the cleavage site is located near the center of the region spanned by the guiding siRNA. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the direction of dsRNA processing determines whether sense or antisense target RNA can be cleaved by the produced siRNP complex.
US08445235B2
The current invention pertains to a method to produce RTX-toxins ApxI or ApxIII by culturing Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae bacteria in a liquid culturing medium that supports growth of the bacteria, characterized in that air is passed through the medium, wherein the air has a carbon dioxide content above normal atmospheric level to increase RTX-toxin production during the production phase of the RTX-toxins.
US08445221B2
[Object] To provide an FAD-conjugated glucose dehydrogenase having a higher specificity for glucose.[Means for Resolution] A modified glucose dehydrogenase (GLD) which includes a substitution of at least one amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of amino acid residues at positions 37, 69, 72, 73, 76, 78, 102, 217, 228, 240, 356, 407, 424, 437, 527, and 530 in an amino acid sequence of a wild-type FAD-conjugated glucose dehydrogenase (GLD) represented by SEQ ID NO: 1, and has a decreased ratio of activity for xylose/activity for glucose as compared with the wild-type GLD; a polynucleotide encoding the modified GLD; a recombinant vector containing the polynucleotide; a transformed cell produced by using the recombinant vector; etc.
US08445217B2
Disclosed are methods, systems, and apparatuses for the free solution measurement of molecular interactions by backscattering interferometry (BSI). Molecular interaction can be detected between analytes in free-solution wherein at least one of the analytes is label-free and detection is performed by back-scattering interferometry. Further, molecular interaction can be detected between analytes in free-solution, wherein at least one of the analytes is label-free, wherein one of the analytes is present in a concentration of less than about 5.0×10−7M. Also disclosed are label-free, free-solution, and/or real-time measurements of characteristic properties and/or chemical events using the disclosed techniques. The disclosed methods can have very low detection limits and/or very low sample volume requirements. Also disclosed are various biosensor applications of the disclosed techniques. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.
US08445216B2
The invention provides high affinity antibodies suitable for forming Immunotoxins that inhibit the growth of cells expressing human glycoprotein NMB, including glioblastoma multiform cells, anaplastic astrocytoma cells, anaplastic oligodendroglioma cells, oligodendroglioma cells, and melanoma cells.
US08445214B2
A conjugate comprising a dye-labeled microporous crystal, a stop-cock moiety, and covalently bound thereto an affinity binding agent is disclosed. The dye-labeled microporous crystal is a zeolite crystal, such as a zeolite L crystal, having a large number of channels in its interior into which the dye is loaded. The stop-cock moiety can be functionalized with an amino group to which a carboxyester group can be attached. The affinity binding agent allows for the binding to a biological moiety. The conjugate of the moiety can be used in in-vivo and/or in-vitro imaging applications.
US08445210B2
A microfluidic device for analyzing and/or sorting biological materials (e.g., molecules such as polynucleotides and polypeptides, including proteins and enzymes; viruses and cells) and methods for its use are provided. The device and methods of the invention are useful for sorting particles, e.g. virions. The invention is also useful for high throughput screening, e.g. combinatorial screening. The microfluidic device comprises a main channel and an inlet region in communication with the main channel at a droplet extrusion region. Droplets of solution containing the biological material are deposited into the main channel through the droplet extrusion region. A fluid different from and incompatible with the solution containing the biological material flows through the main channel so that the droplets containing the biological material do not diffuse or mix. Biological material within the droplets can be analyzed and/or sorted by detecting a predetermined characteristic of the biological sample in each droplet and sorting the droplet accordingly.
US08445204B2
The present invention relates to the materials and methods for the identification of methylated nucleotides in samples of genomic DNA. The present invention also relates to methods of diagnosis of specific conditions by identification of specific methylated nucleotides.
US08445201B2
A method, device and system for hybridizing a target oligonucleotide to at least one array comprising a plurality of mixing beads are provided. A target solution is mixed by agitating the mixing beads while the target oligonucleotides are hybridizing to the complementary probes on the array. In another embodiment, a permeable barrier contains the mixing beads, thereby preventing them from contacting the array surface.
US08445198B2
The present invention features methods, kits, and devices for predicting the sensitivity of a patient to a compound or medical treatment. The invention also features methods for identifying gene biomarkers whose expression correlates to treatment sensitivity or resistance within a patient population or subpopulation.
US08445194B2
Random arrays of single molecules are provided for carrying out large scale analyses, particularly of biomolecules, such as genomic DNA, cDNAs, proteins, and the like. In one aspect, arrays of the invention comprise concatemers of DNA fragments that are randomly disposed on a regular array of discrete spaced apart regions, such that substantially all such regions contain no more than a single concatemer. Preferably, such regions have areas substantially less than 1 μm2 and have nearest neighbor distances that permit optical resolution of on the order of 109 single molecules per cm2. Many analytical chemistries can be applied to random arrays of the invention, including sequencing by hybridization chemistries, sequencing by synthesis chemistries, SNP detection chemistries, and the like, to greatly expand the scale and potential applications of such techniques.
US08445182B2
Ultrafine patterns with dimensions smaller than the chemical and optical limits of lithography are formed by superimposing two photoresist patterns using a double exposure technique. Embodiments include forming a first resist pattern over a target layer to be patterned, forming a protective cover layer over the first resist pattern, forming a second resist pattern on the cover layer superimposed over the first resist pattern while the cover layer protects the first resist pattern, selectively etching the cover layer with high selectivity with respect to the first and second resist patterns leaving an ultrafine target pattern defined by the first and second resist patterns, and etching the underlying target layer using the superimposed first and second resist patterns as a mask.
US08445179B2
A method for treating a lithographic printing plate including the step of applying a liquid containing a surfactant to the plate, characterized in that the surfactant includes at least one hydrophilic segment including polyglycerol, and at least one hydrophobic segment selected from an optionally substituted alkylene group, an alkyl or aryl substituted poly(meth)acrylate, an optionally substituted polyester, polyether, polyurethane, polycarbosilane, polysiloxane, polystyrene and/or a polymer including a perfluoroalkyl group with the proviso that the liquid is not applied as a fountain solution.
US08445171B2
A method of preparing a toner, including dripping a toner constituent liquid comprising an organic solvent; and toner constituents comprising a resin and a colorant, which are dissolved or dispersed in the organic solvent through a nozzle to form a droplet; and removing the organic solvent from the droplet, wherein the droplet is dried while contacted with a first de-solvent gas comprising steam in a pre-heated period and at least a part of a constant-rate drying period, or the droplet is dried at least in a pre-heated period and a constant-rate drying period, which include two stages including a first stage and a second stage, wherein the droplet is contacted with the first de-solvent gas including steam in the first stage and a second de-solvent gas having a dew point not greater than −10° C. under ordinary pressure in the second stage.
US08445168B2
The present invention provides an electrophotographic photosensitive member including a photoconductive layer, an intermediate layer made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide on the photoconductive layer, and a surface layer made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide on the intermediate layer, wherein a ratio (C/(Si+C); C2) in the surface layer is 0.61 to 0.75, and a sum of atom density of silicon and carbon is 6.60×1022 atoms/cm3 or more, a ratio (C/(Si+C); C1) and a sum (D1) of atom density of silicon and carbon in the intermediate layer increase continuously from the photoconductive layer toward the surface layer without exceeding C2 and D2, and the intermediate layer has a continuous region in which C1 is 0.25 to C2 while D1 is 5.50×1022 to 6.45×1022 atoms/cm3, the region being 150 nm or larger in a layer thickness direction, and an electrophotographic apparatus equipped therewith.
US08445160B2
An electrolyte membrane on the inside of annular frames with an anode-side electrode catalyst layer, a first gas diffusion layer and a first gas flow channel-forming body stacked on top of the membrane. An electrode catalyst layer, a second gas diffusion layer and a second gas flow channel-forming body are stacked on the underside. Frames have a supply channel supplying fuel gas to the gas flow channel in the first gas flow channel-forming body, a discharge channel discharges the fuel gas. An overhang part that extends outward is on the outer peripheral edge of the first channel-forming body to overlap a flange part of the frame beyond the outer peripheral edge of the anode-side electrode catalyst layer. Penetration of seeping water can be prevented by retaining the seeping water in the overhang part.
US08445152B2
Disclosed is an MEA in which a catalyst layer is coated on both sides of an ion exchange membrane. An ion exchange membrane support film is attached on both sides of an edge portion of the ion exchange membrane, and a PCB is mounted on one surface of the ion exchange membrane support film along an outer line of the catalyst layer of the MEA. Furthermore, a PCB terminal is formed on one end of the PCB, and a connector is connected to the PCB terminal to communicate with an external controller. The PCB includes a heating element, a first temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the heating element, a second temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the MEA, a first contact measuring the resistance of unit cells, and a second contact measuring the voltage of the unit cells, formed in a predetermined arrangement to communicate with the PCB terminal.
US08445147B2
A humidifier assembly for humidifying fuel for use in a fuel cell system, comprising a water heater adapted to receive recycled water and to generate heated water using cathode exhaust, and a fuel saturator adapted to receive deaerated cleansed water, at least a portion of the deaerated cleansed water comprising the heated water, and fuel and to humidify the fuel with a first portion of the deaerated cleansed water, the fuel saturator tower outputting humidified fuel for use in the fuel cell system and a second portion of the deaerated cleansed water for use as recycled water in the water heater.
US08445145B2
A method of purging residual hydrogen from a fuel cell stack is disclosed. The method includes providing an air stream, providing a temporary nitrogen stream by removing oxygen from the air stream with an adsorbent bed and passing the nitrogen stream through the fuel cell stack.
US08445143B2
Disclosed is an electrode comprising an aliphatic nitrile compound, wherein the aliphatic nitrile compound is coated on a surface of the electrode or is incorporated into the electrode active materials. A lithium secondary battery having the electrode is also disclosed. The lithium secondary battery has excellent safety so as to prevent ignition and explosion generated when the internal temperature of the battery is increased due to the heat emission caused by the reaction of an electrolyte with a cathode and the structural collapse of a cathode occurring upon overcharge. Additionally, it is also possible to prevent ignition and explosion when the battery is exposed to high temperature due to an increase in temperature resulting from heating or local short circuit caused by physical impacts. Further, it is possible to solve the problems of an increase in viscosity and degradation in battery performance at a low temperature occurring when an aliphatic nitrile compound is used as an additive for electrolyte.
US08445142B2
An organic electrolytic solution including a lithium salt, an organic solvent, and a compound represented by the formula and a lithium battery employing the organic electrolytic solution. Groups Z1 and Z2 are each, independently, a cyano group, an isocyano group, a substituted or unsubstituted dicyanoethylphosphino group, or a substituted or unsubstituted dialkoxyphosphoryloxy group. Groups R1 through R4 are described fully in the Description. The organic electrolyte solution inhibits decomposition of an electrolytic solution and elution or precipitation of metal ions, and thus the lithium battery including the organic electrolytic solution has excellent cycle characteristics and lifetime characteristics.
