US08463561B2

A stand-alone renewable-energy generating device which generates electric energy from renewable energy sources, such as the sun or wind, in a stand-alone context. To allow users to asses their contribution to carbon dioxide emission savings, a sensor element that is configured to generate emission savings data representative of electric energy units generated by using a renewable energy device. Further, a clock device is configured to generate a time data representative of at least one of a time and a date specification and unique sensor-ID data are stored in a memory. A processor unit is configured to time-stamp the emission savings data by combining it with the time data. The processor unit retrieves the sensor-ID data to combine them with the emission savings data to form savings profile data. A communication interface is configured to communicate the savings profile data directly or indirectly via a network system.
US08463560B2

An apparatus and method device for measuring at least one property of a board product, such as a paperboard product which includes a transmitter for applying a vibrational excitation to at least one region of the board product. The excitation includes a plurality of frequencies lying within a predetermined frequency range. The apparatus further includes a receiver for measuring a vibrational response of the board product to the vibrational excitation. A processor processes the measured vibrational response to obtain a frequency response of the region of the board product to the excitation, and analyzes the frequency response to determine a measure of at least one property of the board product.
US08463553B2

The present invention provides methods, systems, and code for accurately classifying whether a sample from an individual is associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In particular, the present invention is useful for classifying a sample from an individual as an IBS sample using a statistical algorithm and/or empirical data. The present invention is also useful for ruling out one or more diseases or disorders that present with IBS-like symptoms and ruling in IBS using a combination of statistical algorithms and/or empirical data. Thus, the present invention provides an accurate diagnostic prediction of IBS and prognostic information useful for guiding treatment decisions.
US08463547B2

A method for imaging a subsurface formation using at least two seismic sources and receivers includes: a) creating a wave field in the formation, b) obtaining a set of responses for each receiver and performing wave field separation on them, c) obtaining a virtual source signal for at least a first receiver k by cross-correlating at least part of the response of a second receiver m with at least part of the response of the first receiver k and summing the cross-correlated responses from the sources, making receiver k a virtual source, d) for each virtual source, estimating an amplitude radiation pattern by performing a transform of the response data, e) deconvolving at least one virtual source signal with at least part of the estimated radiation pattern for that receiver to produce an amplitude-corrected virtual source signal, and f) using that signal to create an image of the subsurface formation.
US08463546B2

Techniques for providing navigation support for private premises are described. In an aspect, a composite map may be generated by combining a geo-coded map for public areas with another geo-coded map for a private premise. The composite map may be generated in real time and may be provided as an aid for navigation in both the public areas and the private premise. In another aspect, a geo-coded map may be dynamically determined based on the current configuration of a private premise, which may be reconfigurable over time. The geo-coded map may include improvised roadways and/or other improvised features and may be provided as an aid for navigation within the private premise. In one design, a navigation path for a destination of a vehicle may be dynamically determined based on the current configuration of the private premise and may be provided to aid navigation.
US08463545B2

A navigation system, device and method for assisting a mobile user in navigation. In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a processing unit configured to execute a navigation program, output peripherals, to provide navigation instructions to the mobile user, the device having access to a satellite radiolocalization module, arranged to acquire the current location, to a map database, containing cartographic information, and to a sensor peripheral; the navigation program being further arranged to generate navigation instructions according to a computed route based on the acquired current location, the cartographic information and a desired destination; the device having a normal operation mode and at least one low-power mode, wherein the navigation device is configured to change mode according to the one or more of the following data: the current location; the computed route; data provided from the sensor peripheral; and by the corresponding method.
US08463540B2

A vehicle tracking system includes a wheel containing sensor circuitry capable of sensing various types of conditions, such as wheel rotation, wheel vibration caused by skidding, and specific electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals indicative of particular wheel locations. The sensor circuitry is coupled to an RF transceiver, which may but need not be included within the wheel. The wheel may also include a brake mechanism. In one embodiment, the wheels are placed on shopping carts and are used to collect and monitor shopping cart status and location data via a wireless network. The collected data may be used for various purposes, such as locking the wheel of an exiting cart if the customer has not paid, estimating numbers of queued carts, stopping wheel skid events that occur during mechanized cart retrieval, store planning, and providing location-based messaging to customers.
US08463537B2

A method of navigating to a destination is provided. The method includes but is not limited to determining a target course for a moving target device using target positioning data and generating an intercept course using the target course and intercept positioning data received from an intercept device. The intercept course intersects the target course at a destination.
US08463533B2

Methods and systems are provided for mitigating engine pre-ignition based on a feed-forward likelihood of pre-ignition and feedback from a pre-ignition event. In response to an indication of pre-ignition, a cylinder may be enriched while an engine load is limited. The enrichment may be followed by an enleanment to restore exhaust catalyst feed-gas oxygen levels. The mitigating steps may be adjusted based on engine operating conditions, a pre-ignition count, as well as the nature of the pre-ignition.
US08463514B2

A method and control system for an actuator of a clutch of a motor vehicle includes a main control unit determining a desired value for a torque to be transmitted in dependence on predetermined first parameters. A setting signal for the actuator corresponding to the desired value is generated by an additional control unit on the basis of the determined desired value. A desired value tolerance range for the determined desired value of the torque is determined by the main control unit in dependence on predetermined second parameters. The additional control unit determines an actual value of the torque transmissible by the clutch unit and generates a new setting signal for the actuator when the actual value is outside the desired value tolerance range.
US08463513B2

A transmission control apparatus for an automatic transmission to change a shift position automatically includes a cornering-state judging device, a modified shift-up table generator, and a gear-shift controller. The cornering-state judging device is configured to judge whether a vehicle has transitioned to a cornering state from a normal running state. The modified shift-up table generator is configured to generate a modified shift-up table when the vehicle is judged to have transitioned to the cornering state. The modified shift-up table makes a shift-up more difficult to occur than a reference shift-up table does. The gear-shift controller is configured to perform gear-shift control by using the reference shift-up table during the normal running state. The gear-shift controller is configured to suppress a gear shift by using the modified shift-up table instead of the reference shift-up table when the vehicle is judged to have transitioned to the cornering state.
US08463512B2

A bulldozer of the present invention includes a GPS receiver which is fixed to a vehicle body of the bulldozer, and angle obtaining part which stores a conversion table in which a combination of an angling cylinder length and a tilt cylinder length are matched with a combination of a blade angling angle and a blade tilting angle.
US08463510B2

A positioning sensor (e.g., GPS) allows a controller to determine the present location and orientation of the harvester on a map and to record the presently and previously harvested portions of a field. The controller uses the map and positional information to determine if the crop residue spray pattern from an adjustable spreader is returns substantially all the crop residue to the currently harvest portion and automatically adjusts the adjustable spreader to achieve an ideal residue spray pattern.
US08463509B2

A working vehicle in which an output from an engine is distributed to a traveling system and a hydraulic device system includes a loading operation detection unit that detects whether a loading operation using a work equipment is being performed, a clutch contained in the traveling system and connected to a distributor, a maximum output characteristic control unit that selects a second engine maximum output characteristic from among first and second maximum output characteristics when it is detected that the loading operation is being performed, and a hydraulic oil amount control unit that decreases a clutch pressure of the clutch when it is detected that the loading operation is being performed. In the first engine maximum output characteristic, a maximum output torque in a predetermined engine revolution speed range is lower than that in the second engine maximum output characteristic.
US08463508B2

A system for correcting an angle of an implement coupled to a loader is disclosed. The system includes a controller configured to receive a signal indicative of the speed of an engine on a loader and to receive a signal indicative of an actuation of an operator interface on the loader. The operator interface actuation signal commands movement of a lift arm on the loader. The controller is further configured to calculate an angle correction signal based at least upon the engine speed signal and the operator interface actuation signal and to transmit the angle correction signal to change an angle of a coupler configured to couple an implement to the lift arm.
US08463497B2

A method for determining a characteristic quantity representative of grip conditions of a vehicle wheel running on a ground surface involves imposing a given simultaneous steering angle variation on two wheels mounted on the same axle of the vehicle, the steering angle variation being of the same amplitude for the two wheels but in opposite directions, and measuring the characteristic quantity for at least one of the two wheels.
US08463464B2

A method for generating a voted trajectory of a vehicle in a first vehicle. First trajectory data is received from at least one second vehicle in a receiver in the first vehicle. Trajectory data is calculated in a trajectory calculator in the first vehicle. The calculated trajectory data and the received first trajectory data concern a determined vehicle. The determined vehicle is determined from a group including the first and the second vehicles. The voted trajectory of the determined vehicle by a voting process based on the calculated trajectory data and the received first trajectory data.
US08463463B1

Methods for flying multiple aircraft in a predetermined formation in which a relative navigation grid is emitted from at least one of the aircraft, a spatial relationship is calculated based on the emitted relative navigation grid, and a relative position of at least one aircraft is altered to position the aircraft in the predetermined formation when the spatial relationship does not conform with the predetermined formation.
US08463458B2

A digital mapping display and related system for fishing, and other applications.
US08463451B2

Systems and methods for monitoring power generation are provided. For example, such a system may include a gas turbine, an electrical generator coupled to the drive, a controller coupled to the gas turbine, and a compliance monitor. The gas turbine may generate a torque, and the electrical generator may provide power to a power grid based on the torque. The controller may cause the gas turbine to vary the torque in response to a frequency disturbance occurring on the power grid. The compliance monitor may determine whether the response to the frequency disturbance complies with a specification for the response.
US08463448B2

An energy consuming device comprises a power consuming feature/function and a controller operatively connected to the power consuming feature/function. The controller is configured to operate the device including the power consuming feature/function in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode during an associated off-peak demand period of an associated energy supplying utility and an energy savings mode during an associated peak demand period of the associated energy supplying utility. The controller is configured to provide a user a grace period during the associated peak demand period to allow the user to change the operating mode of the power consuming feature/function from the energy savings mode to another operating mode including the normal operating mode thereby allowing additional use of the power consuming feature/function during the associated peak demand period.
US08463447B2

Systems and methods for dispensing a product are provided. A plurality of product ingredients are associated with a product dispenser that is operable to form a plurality of selectable products from the plurality of products ingredients. Input for a selected product is received and a recipe that defines the ratio of product ingredients for forming the selected product is identified. The dispense of each of the respective product ingredients is commenced based at least in part on the identified recipe, and the dispense of each of the respective product ingredients is independently monitored during the dispense of the selected product.
US08463444B2

A control system for governing temperature and humidity levels within a confined space including a controller communicatively coupled to a cooling system, a heating system, a duct system, a plurality of environmental sensors for detecting temperature and humidity levels within the confined space and external to the confined space, and an external air intake for introducing air external to the confined space to within the confined space. The control system may further include predictive heating and predictive cooling configurations having a computing device communicatively connected to the controller and to an environmental forecast source.
US08463443B2

The disclosure provides systems and methods for conveying information between a communicating first device and a second coupled device of a HVAC network. In various embodiments, the method comprises checking a subnet of the HVAC network for both communicating device and a non-communicating device by the communicating first device. The method also comprises determining whether the second coupled device in a non-communicating device. The method further comprises allowing an installer to set parameters of the non-communicating device through employment of a manifest list of features used by the non-communicating device that is accessible by the communicating device.
US08463430B2

Vending machines, automated retail stores, and retail displays with a computer controlled, activation system that senses either the gesture of a customer proximate product display tubes or a touch-screen selection on a computer screen. Item-based lighting produces variable visual effects in conjunction with actual or potential vends to provide an enhanced vending experience. Offered products are stored within display tubes that are arranged in orderly geometric arrays. RGB lighting through a plurality of LED banks associated with each display tube are controlled by the activation system Combinations of differently colored LED's are computer controlled on a per product basis to artistically illuminate available products and assist customers. Pre-programmed lighting sequences can switch LEDs off and on, vary their intensity, and alter resultant colors.
US08463420B2

A sewing machine includes a creating portion that creates a projection image being an image that includes a characteristic point and that is to be projected onto a sewing object, a projecting portion that projects onto the sewing object the projection image created by the creating portion, an image capture portion that is mounted in a position being different from a position of the projecting portion and that creates a captured image by image capture of the characteristic point projected by the projecting portion, and a computing portion that computes a thickness of the sewing object based on the projection image created by the creating portion and the captured image created by the image capture portion.
US08463409B2

An online sales/automatic rebate and coupon redemption system provides online customers automatic retrieval and redemption of all applicable rebates and coupons during purchase. Purchase orders from customers are selectively fulfilled and products are shipped to the customers either by the system for online sales with automatic rebate and coupon redemption or by other merchant or manufacturer environments. The system purchases from merchants using applicable coupons and rebates and then sells the products to the customers, passing the savings to them. The system makes it possible to automatically retrieve coupons and rebates for items in a shopping cart during the activity of an online purchase at an electronic mall or an online merchant site. The system provides coupons to potential customers via email, based on customer profile, geographical information, etc. Manufacturers and merchants can update coupon value and content based on ongoing sales and volume of customer activity.
US08463406B2

The present invention is directed to a unique, user-friendly, disposable electrode to be used on metallic probes which are used in electromedical devices, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS) and microcurrent electrical therapy (MET) devices and other electrical simulators for applying electricity through the skin to the human or animal body. Additionally, the present invention describes a box for the storage and retrieval of the probe.
US08463402B2

A method and neurostimulation control system for operating two leads disposed adjacent tissue of a patient are provided. A plurality of cross-lead electrical parameters are measured to generate a measured electrical profile of the electrode leads. A plurality of cross-lead electrical parameters are estimated to generate a first reference electrical profile for the electrode leads in a first known staggered configuration. The first reference electrical profile is spatially shifted to generate a second reference electrical profile for the electrode leads in a second known staggered configuration. The measured electrical profile is compared to the first and second reference electrical profiles, and a longitudinal stagger between the electrode leads is quantified based on the comparison.
US08463400B2

In one embodiment, a method for facilitating programming of an implantable pulse generator (IPG) by an external programming device, the method comprises: receiving input from a user by the external programming device to calibrate electrode combinations at a plurality of locations along one or more stimulation leads implanted within the epidural space of a patient; controlling the IPG by the external programmer to apply stimulation to the patient via the electrode combinations; receiving input from a user by the external programming device that indicates values of a respective perception stimulation threshold at each location of the plurality of locations; receiving input from a user by the external programming device that indicates values of a respective bilateral stimulation threshold at each location of the plurality of locations; calculating positions by the external programming device of each of the plurality of locations using the perception stimulation thresholds and the bilateral stimulation thresholds; and displaying calculated positions of the plurality of locations relative to a physiological midline of the patient by the external programming device.
US08463398B2

An implantable medical lead having a modified electrode surface for imparting current density directionality within an electrode is disclosed. An implantable medical lead includes a lead body having a proximal section and a distal section having a pre-biased shape configured to secure the lead to an inner wall of a blood vessel. An electrode coupled to the distal section of the lead body includes a number of surface features on an inactive portion of the electrode that impart a current density directionality towards an active portion of the electrode that contacts the inner wall of the vessel. Methods for imparting current density directionality within an implantable lead electrode are also disclosed.
US08463392B2

An external controller/charger system for an implantable medical device is disclosed, in which the external controller/charger system provides automatic switching between telemetry and charging without any manual intervention by the patient. The external controller/charger system includes an external controller which houses a telemetry coil and an external charging coil coupled to the external controller. Normally, a charging session is carried out using the external charging coil, and a telemetry session is carried out using the telemetry coil. However, when a patient requests to carry out telemetry during a charging session, the external charging coil is used instead of the internal telemetry coil.
US08463384B2

This disclosure relates to a medical electrical lead having fault detection and fault isolation. The lead may include a first conductor coupled to a first electrode and a second conductor coupled to a second electrode. A capacitor is disposed within the lead and selectively coupled to the first and second conductors of the lead. The capacitor is charged in a test mode of operation after the first and second electrodes have been isolated from the conductors via an isolation mechanism and the capacitor will discharge through the first and second conductors. The capacitor discharge morphology is processed to detect lead-related conditions.
US08463370B2

The invention relates to a method for monitoring a condition of a patient under anesthesia or sedation, whereupon one, two, three or more signals are acquired, and the signal(s) represent(s) cardiovascular and/or combined electrical biopotential on skull activity of the patient. From said signal or signals are derived or calculated at least two parameter values related to a quantity like waveform amplitude, waveform periodicity, waveform morphology, waveform variability, energy, power, signal complexity and frequency content. A predetermined mathematical index for probability of patient comfort is used, in which function said parameters are variables, and successively changing probability index values of said mathematical index is calculated.
US08463355B2

In a system or method to enable display of real-time graphical or numeric information within an MR image, at least one display segment having an MR visible substance therein is placed at least partially inside an imaging volume of the MR image.
US08463351B2

An electrochemical analyte sensor formed using conductive traces on a substrate can be used for determining and/or monitoring a level of analyte in in vitro or in vivo analyte-containing fluids. For example, an implantable sensor may be used for the continuous or automatic monitoring of a level of an analyte, such as glucose, lactate, or oxygen, in a patient. The electrochemical analyte sensor includes a substrate and conductive material disposed on the substrate, the conductive material forming a working electrode. In some sensors, the conductive material is disposed in recessed channels formed in a surface of the sensor. An electron transfer agent and/or catalyst may be provided to facilitate the electrolysis of the analyte or of a second compound whose level depends on the level of the analyte. A potential is formed between the working electrode and a reference electrode or counter/reference electrode and the resulting current is a function of the concentration of the analyte in the body fluid.
US08463349B2

The present invention involves a method and an apparatus for analyzing measured signals, including the determination of a measurement of oxygen saturation and respiration rate in the measured signals during a calculation of a physiological parameter of a monitored patient. Use of this invention is described in particular detail with respect to oximetry-based measurements but extends to other types of measurements.
US08463348B2

A method and system are provided which are useful for the non-invasive determination and monitoring of cerebral tissue oxygenation. The method comprises the steps of generating at least first and second jugular venous output signals against time based on the reflection of at least first and second wavelengths of light, respectively, from an external tissue site on the patient in the proximity of the internal jugular vein; obtaining corresponding first and second cardiac arterial output signals for the first and second wavelengths of light, respectively, from the patient, and separating the first and second cardiac arterial output signals from the first and second jugular venous output signals, respectively, to generate first and second cerebral venous output signals; and determining cerebral tissue oxygenation based on the first and second cerebral venous output signals. A system useful to monitor cerebral tissue oxygenation may comprise a first module for optically generating at least first and second jugular venous output signals against time at at least first and second wavelengths of light, respectively, from the patient; a second module for generating first and second cardiac arterial output signals at the first and second wavelengths of light, respectively, from the patient; and a signal processing means adapted to separate the first and second cardiac arterial output signals from the first and second jugular venous output signals, respectively, to yield first and second cerebral venous output signals, for the determination of cerebral tissue oxygenation.
US08463346B2

A medical device for monitoring a patient condition includes a sensor capable of being advanced transvascularly to be positioned along a volume of tissue, the sensor including a first combination of a light source and a light detector to emit light into a volume of tissue and to detect light scattered by the volume of tissue and to generate a first output signal corresponding to an intensity of the detected light. A control module is coupled to the light source to control the light source to emit light at least four spaced-apart light wavelengths, and a monitoring module is coupled to the light detector to receive the output signal and compute a measure of tissue oxygenation using the light detector output signal.
US08463343B2

An optical sensor for a medical device includes a fixed lens spacing between emit and receive modules to achieve target sensor sensitivity, while varying other sensor parameters in order to increase signal amplitude without increasing power demand. An optical sensor connected to a housing of a medical device includes a circuit board, an opto-electronic component, a wall, a lens, and a ferrule. The circuit board is arranged within the housing. The opto-electronic component is mounted on a surface of the circuit board. The wall protrudes from the surface of the circuit board and surrounds the opto-electronic component. The lens is offset from the surface of the circuit board. The ferrule is connected to the housing, the lens and the wall. An inner surface of the wall mates with an outer surface of the ferrule.
US08463336B1

A mobile communication terminal is provided including an audio processing unit, a speaker, a connecting unit that connects to an external audio output device and indicates whether the external audio output device is connected, and a control unit configured to, while in a silent mode, control the audio processing unit to reproduce a music file and to output audio signals, corresponding to the reproduced music file, through the speaker, the silent mode being a mode wherein a vibration signal is generated upon receiving an incoming call, if the external audio output device is connected to the connecting unit, output the audio signals to the external audio output device, and if the external audio output device is disconnected from the connecting unit while the audio signals are being output to the external audio output device, control the display unit to display a user interface for continuing reproduction of the music file.
US08463315B2

A handheld wireless communication device cradleable in one hand by an operator during text entry. A display, key field and trackball are all located on a front face of the device. Alphanumeric input keys include several alphabetic keys with letters arranged in a traditional (QWERTY), but non-ITU Standard E.161 telephone letter layout. A microprocessor is provided that receives operator commands from the keys and the trackball navigation tool and which affects corresponding changes to the display based on user input. The keys of the key field are arranged in rows and columns and at least one of the rows and columns is arranged with a long axis thereof radially oriented relative to the trackball navigation tool.
US08463314B2

A wireless communication entity schedulable in a wireless communication network includes a radio receiver that receives radio resource assignment information including a bandwidth allocation, and a controller communicably coupled to the power amplifier, wherein the controller varies an operational maximum power level of the schedulable wireless communication entity in accordance with a protocol state governing the schedulable wireless communication entity, wherein the operational maximum power level limits an instantaneous power at which the schedulable wireless communication entity may transmit on the radio resource assigned.
US08463313B2

A communication system supports H-ARQ, AMC, active set handoff, and scheduling functions in a distributed fashion by allowing a mobile station (MS) to signal control information corresponding to an enhanced reverse link transmission to Active Set base transceiver stations (BTSs) and by allowing the BTSs to perform control functions that were supported by an RNC in the prior art. The communication system allows time and SIR-based H-ARQ flush functions at the BTSs during soft handoff (SHO), provides an efficient control channel structure to support scheduling, H-ARQ, AMC functions for an enhanced reverse link, or uplink, channel in order to maximize throughput, and enables an MS in a SHO region to choose a scheduling assignment corresponding to a best TFRI out of multiple assignments it receives from multiple active set BTS. As a result, the enhanced uplink channel can be scheduled during SHO without any explicit communication between the BTSs.
US08463311B2

A mobile terminal includes a receiving part configured to receive from a base station a reception signal including a control signal used for controlling transmission power; a comparing part configured to compare a correlation value, which is obtained from the control signal included in the reception signal and a first unique signal, with a threshold; a control part configured to control the transmission power based on a comparison result of the comparing part; and a threshold generating part configured to change the threshold according to a reception environment.
US08463306B1

A method and system for testing a SMS text messaging network is disclosed herein. The method and system allows for real-time testing of the mobile terminated (“MT”) and mobile originated (“MO”) delivery delays across the major American mobile phone carriers, and accurately measures the progress on SMS broadcasts and records when a broadcast has been completed.
US08463304B2

A computer readable storage medium includes executable instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to designate a selected thread identification value from a collection of thread identification values based upon recognition criteria. The selected thread identification value is utilized during bidirectional text messaging between a first user and a second user.
US08463301B2

Paging congestion control in a wireless communications system is described. Various described methods and apparatus are well suited for use in a peer to peer wireless communications system, e.g., an ad hoc peer to peer wireless network in which decisions are made in a decentralized manner. Wireless terminals, e.g., mobile nodes, monitor other paging activities going on and make back-off, e.g., yielding, decisions with regard to paging based on the results of the monitoring. During a first time interval paging indicator signals are transmitted on paging indicator resources by devices intending to transmit paging signals. During a second time interval paging signals are transmitted on paging signaling resources. Monitored and processed detected paging indicator signals are used by a wireless terminal in deciding whether or not to transmit a paging indicator signal and/or a paging signal.
US08463286B2

This is directed to systems and methods for integrating travel services in a single application available to a portable electronic device. Using the single application, a user can access and control travel services before arriving at the initial location of travel, on arriving at the initial location of travel, during travel, and after travel. Such services can include, for example, reserving a travel itinerary, checking-in remotely for a reservation, providing airport information, providing for social networking, obtaining dining or entertainment during travel, controlling and requesting cabin services, providing arrival notifications to third parties, providing destination location information, and the like.
US08463275B2

In a mobile communication system, definite resources in radio sectors are allocated to more users in an aspect that the users hardly feel stress during communication. When a call corresponds to an active call based on an active connection request that has been generated by a user's operation (that is, transmitting and obtaining delivery information of pull-type by means of arrows AC, DL or the like), as a trigger, more resources (communication rate is higher) are allocated to the call. When the call corresponds to a non-active call (that is, receiving and obtaining delivery information of push-type by means of an arrow SU or the like), fewer resources (communication rate is lower) are allocated to the call.
US08463267B2

A mobile terminal includes a wireless communication unit configured to search for at least one broadcast service provider based upon frequencies assigned to the at least one broadcast service provider and a controller configured to automatically select a first broadcast service provider from the at least one broadcast service provider and to output broadcast content provided by the selected first broadcast service provider.
US08463264B2

A method for providing Early IMS Security in a network. In registering a terminal on a telecommunications network, a plurality of private user identities (IMPIs) are derived from the IMSI of the terminal. Some or all of these IMPIs are registered with the network. Each IMPI has its own IRS containing its own IMPUs, enabling different identities of the user to be registered with the network.
US08463262B2

A method of receiving a control signal by a user equipment in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The present invention includes receiving control regions including the control channel relevant to each of a plurality of component carriers via a plurality of component carriers and detecting the control channel for the user equipment by performing blind decoding by a unit of CCE (control channel element) aggregated at a preset level in a search space included in the control regions. And, start positions of the search spaces in the plurality of component carriers is in a certain relationship. Moreover, the preset level is identically set for each of the plurality of component carriers.
US08463261B2

Systems and methods provide a method for accessing a radiocommunication system. The method includes: selecting one of a plurality of access configurations, wherein each access configuration includes a plurality of software modules; executing the selected one of the plurality of access configurations on a processor of a user equipment (UE); determining a result of the execution of the selected one of the plurality of access configurations; and associating the result of the execution of the selected one of the plurality of access configurations with the selected one of the plurality of access configurations.
US08463255B2

A system for wireless data transmission that uses a channel bandwidth, channel separation, and radio frequency power spectrum which is compatible with existing deployments of wireless voice services. The transmitted waveforms are thus compatible with existing cellular networks. However, the time domain digital coding, modulation, and power control schemes are optimized for data transmission. Existing cellular network sites can thus be used to provide a high speed service optimized for wireless data traffic without the need for new radio frequency planning, and without interfering with existing voice service deployments.
US08463253B2

A method may include receiving a call at a portable communication device, entering a first mode when the call is directed to a first device identifier associated with the portable communication device; and entering a second mode when the call is directed to a second device identifier associated with the portable communication device, wherein the first mode provides access to a first set of applications and a first set of user data and the second mode provides a second set of applications and a second set of user data.
US08463250B2

Systems and methods for systems and methods for reliably broadcasting content to a plurality of users and facilitating distribution of portions of the broadcast content that either were not received by particular users, or were received with errors. In one embodiment, a wireless communication system is configured to broadcast content from a content source to a plurality of user devices. The content source is configured to provide the content to a base station. The base station parses the content into a plurality of segments and associates sequential identifiers with each of the segments. The content is then broadcast to each of the user devices. An identifier of an alternative data source is also provided to the user devices. When a mobile station receives the segments, it examines the segment identifiers to identify missing segments. The segments are then retrieved from the alternative data source identified by the base station.
US08463246B2

A contact management system including: a computer in communication with a central database and a mobile device configured to communicate with the central database, wherein the mobile device includes a contact management module that interfaces with a wireless network to allow a user of the mobile device to access contact information in the central database, the contact management module configured to provide synching of contact information within the mobile device with the contact information in the central database.
US08463241B2

A system for reporting a reception ratio of a broadcast service in a broadcasting system. A network entity sends a reception ratio report indication message indicating at least one measurement type of a reception ratio for a broadcast streaming service. A terminal receives the reception ratio report indication message, and sends a reception ratio report message including the reception ratio indicative of a ratio of an expectedTotalPackets indicating a total number of packets that the terminal expects to receive for a reception ratio measurement interval according to a measurement type indicated by the reception ratio report indication message, to a receivedTotalPackets indicating a total number of packets that the terminal has received for the reception ratio measurement interval.
US08463239B1

What is disclosed is a method of operating a communication system to reconfigure a wireless communication device. The method includes, in the wireless communication device, optically receiving image data. The method also includes processing the image data to display a configuration interface, and receiving an instruction into the configuration interface to reconfigure the wireless communication device.
US08463237B1

Subject matter described herein is directed to detecting fraud in a telecommunications environment. Communication records of a mobile device include attributes that describe communication instances of the device. For example, communication records might include a start time or end time of voice calls initiated by a mobile device. The attributes are analyzed, such as by calculating call-gap durations, to determine if any thresholds are violated. Threshold violations suggest fraudulent use and prompt an unauthorized-use response.
US08463236B2

A paging signal transmitting method includes a step of allowing each of mobile stations (UE) to receive security data from a network node (1) via a channel specified by a paging signal, a step of allowing each mobile station (UE) to calculate a third set of security information by using an open first set of security information and a second set of security information managed by each mobile station, a step of allowing each mobile station (UE) to compare the third set of security information with a fourth set of security information included in the received security data to verify the validity of the paging signal, and a step of allowing each mobile station (UE) to output a signal corresponding to the paging signal when the validity of the paging signal is verified.
US08463232B2

A method, wireless service node, and wireless communication system, are provided to manage wireless service usage and service node migration in the wireless communication system. A registration request from a wireless device (108) is received. A charging session associated with the wireless device (108) is established with a billing server (124). Wireless service usage is associated with the wireless device (108). The wireless device (108) is determined to be migrating to a new wireless service node (114). Information associated with the current charging session is transferred to the new wireless service node (114). Following the transfer, the service usage information pertaining to the same session is maintained and transferred by the new wireless service node to the billing server at appropriate time intervals and as per dynamic rules set in the billing server.
US08463224B2

An apparatus and method for splitting a wide band input signal and overlaying multiple frequency bands on each path associated with one or more digitizers. All frequencies from the split signal on each path can be fed to a mixer. The local oscillator of each mixer receives a sum of signals, which can each be set to any arbitrary frequency, as long as an associated matrix determinant of coefficients is non-zero. Each oscillator signal is multiplied by a coefficient, which can represent phase and magnitude, prior to summing the oscillator signals together. Each mixer mixes a combined signal with the input, thereby generating a set of multiple overlaid frequency bands. The digitized signals are processed to substantially reconstruct the original input signal. Thus, the wide band input signal is digitized using multiple individual digitizers. In particular, a system can support two wide band signals using four digitizers of narrower bandwidth.
US08463198B2

A communication apparatus is provided. A processor receives a measurement control message carrying information about a filtering coefficient via a radio transceiver module, periodically measures signal quality of at least one cell to obtain a plurality of measurement results, periodically filters the measurement results according to a first measurement period to obtain a plurality of filtered results, and determines whether to transmit a measurement report to a system controller in the wireless communication network according to the filtered results. The filtering coefficient is assigned by the system controller to filter the measurement results according to a second measurement period. The second measurement period is longer than the first measurement period
US08463190B2

A method for interference management in a self optimizing network includes determining quality of service constraints for a call; mapping the quality of service constraints for the call to a target signal-to-interference noise ratio; and transmitting power control signals for the call based on the target signal-to-interference noise ratio. The utility function can be optimized for each class of calls over the network so as to maximize the total number of calls that can be handled.
US08463189B2

A novel and useful apparatus for and method of predistortion calibration and built-in self testing (BIST) of a nonlinear digitally-controlled radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (DPA) using subharmonic mixing. The RF power amplifier output is temporarily coupled into the frequency reference (FREF) input and the phase error samples generated in the phase locked loop (PLL) are then observed and analyzed. The digital predistortion and BIST mechanisms process the phase error samples to calibrate and test the DPA in the transmitter of the Digital RF Processor (DRP). The invention enables the characterization of nonlinearities, the configuration of internal predistortion, as well as the testing of the transmitter's analogRF circuitry, thereby eliminating commonly employed RF performance testing using high-cost test equipment and associated extended test times.
US08463188B2

A method and apparatus for spectrum access of secondary users in a cognitive radio system are provided. The method includes: estimating parameters of a primary channel according to the Markov model used by the primary channel; selecting a primary channel that has the largest available bandwidth according to the estimated channel parameters when multiple primary channels exist; detecting the selected primary channel; and accessing the primary channel to transmit data when the channel is idle. Therefore, an optimum primary channel can be selected from multiple primary channels by estimating channel parameters to satisfy high data transmission requirements and improve system performance.
US08463183B2

Embodiments of the present invention enable energy transfer via short-range RF communication between a main device and an associated device, thereby allowing the main device to energy charge the associated device. Accordingly, the need for a separate charger for the associated device can be eliminated. Embodiments of the present invention are suitable for applications in which the main device and the associated device operate in close proximity to each other. Further, embodiments of the present invention are suitable for applications in which the associated device is more energy-constrained than the main device. According to embodiments, energy transfer applications can be supported using near field communication (NFC). In an embodiment, energy transfer via NFC is enabled between a Bluetooth enabled cellular phone and a Bluetooth headset. In another embodiment, energy transfer via NFC is enabled between a Bluetooth enabled digital camera and a Bluetooth enabled digital frame.
US08463176B2

A method for monitoring feedback loop stability in a wireless repeater includes measuring a gain control metric in the feedback loop of the repeater periodically for a given time period where the gain control metric is indicative of a loop gain of the feedback loop of the repeater; and monitoring the magnitude of the gain control metric to determine the stability of the feedback loop of the repeater. In operation, a large magnitude of the gain control metric indicates instability in the feedback loop of the repeater.
US08463170B2

A fixing device of an image forming apparatus includes a magnetic core forming a magnetic path composed of a first path for induction-heating a specified area of a heating member and a second path for induction-heating only a smaller area as a reduction of the specified area and the magnetic field being composed of a common magnetic field region where both the first and the second paths pass and an uncommon magnetic field region where only the first path passes; and a magnetism adjusting member arranged at least over the uncommon magnetic field region and permitting the passage of magnetic fluxes propagating toward the heating member from the magnetic core in the uncommon magnetic field region when the magnetic path is switched to the first path while suppressing the passage of the magnetic fluxes in the uncommon magnetic field region when the magnetic path is switched to the second path.
US08463166B2

A fixing device includes an image surface side separating member that separates a recording medium from a fixing member; an image surface side conveyance guiding member arranged downstream of the image surface side separating member; a non-image surface side separating member that separates the recording medium from a pressing member; and a non-image surface side conveyance guiding member arranged downstream of the non-image surface side separating member. When the image surface side conveyance guiding member is rotated about its rotation axis so as to be opened or closed, the image surface side separating member is also rotated or slid so as to be opened or closed simultaneously. When the non-image surface side conveyance guiding member is rotated about its rotation axis so as to be opened or closed, the non-image surface side separating member is also rotated or slid so as to be opened or closed simultaneously.
US08463163B2

A developing device includes: a developer carrier configured to form a developer image on an image carrier by developing an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier; a developer supplier being in contact with the developer carrier and configured to supply a developer to an outer circumferential surface of the developer carrier; and an agitating member configured to agitate the developer around the developer carrier or the developer supplier, wherein a tip of the agitating member, upon a rotation of the agitating member, moves in a noncircular path.
US08463162B2

The present invention is capable of changing the system speed quickly and highly accurately while using a CVT device with an advantage in its quietness to transmit a driving force to rotative parts.Specifically, in the case of using a sheet of thick paper as a recording sheet, the controller changes, for each of the pulleys, the distance between the pulley segments (S204) while starting up the DC motor as the driving source (S202). After that, the controller performs the feedback control on the rotation of the DC motor, based on a detection signal received from the encoder of the load shaft of the driven pulley, to achieve the target rotation speed of the load shaft (S206: NO, S207).
US08463155B2

Methods and devices for remanufacturing printer cartridges are provided where the printer cartridges comprise a photoconductive drum, the photoconductive drum comprises a drum gear end, and the drum gear end of the photoconductive drum is configured to be attached to a laser printer via a rotational force transmitting assembly. In an embodiment, the method comprises removing the rotational force transmitting assembly from the photoconductive drum, providing a replacement photoconductive drum, and attaching the rotational force transmitting assembly to the replacement photoconductive drum.
US08463148B2

A developing apparatus including a developing container for containing developer, the developing container having an opening portion, a developer carrying member for carrying the developer at the opening portion, a detecting member for detecting a developer amount, the detecting member detecting a capacitance between the developer carrying member and the detecting member, and a force receiving portion for receiving a force and moving the developing container between a first position in which a developing operation is performed by the developer carrying member and a second position in which the developing operation is not performed, wherein the capacitance can be detected in the second position, and the detecting member is a rotatable developer supplying member for supplying the developer to the developer carrying member, the developer supplying member including a foam layer in which the developer can enter.
US08463146B2

Developer density in an electrophotographic system is measured. The developer includes toner particles and magnetic carrier particles. First and second mutually-insulated electrodes define a working volume between them through which developer passes without contacting the first electrode. An AC voltage or current source is connected to the electrodes. An inductor is connected in series with a voltage source, or an inductor is provided in parallel with a current source. The voltage or current is applied and corresponding current or voltage across the electrodes is measured. The density of the developer in the working volume is automatically determined using a processor responsive to the measured current or voltage and the applied bias.
US08463145B2

A cartridge detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus which includes a main body, a driving unit and a detecting unit, includes: a housing that is configured to accommodate a developer therein, and includes a first side wall and a second side wall opposed to the first side wall in a longitudinal direction; a passive unit that is configured to receive a driving force from the driving unit, is mounted on the first side wall, and is rotatable around a first axis line parallel to the longitudinal direction; and a detected body mounted on the first side wall and including a detected part which is detected by the detecting unit. The detected body advances outwards in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first side wall and retracts inwards in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first side wall by the driving force received by the passive unit.
US08463144B2

In an image forming device, a plurality of objects are detachably disposed, each of the objects having a storage area to store object-related information of the object, and configured to return, in response to an acquisition request, a signal with a voltage in a predetermined range which is distinctly different among the objects, the signal carrying the object-related information of the object. The image forming device includes a transmitting unit that transmits acquisition requests of object-related information to the objects respectively, a receiving unit that receives signals from the objects respectively, a voltage detection unit that detects a range of voltage of each of the signals received, and an identifying unit that identifies each of the objects respectively based on the ranges of voltage detected.
US08463140B2

A reception device includes at least a light receiving unit, a phase calculation unit, and a demodulation unit. The light receiving unit receives intensity-modulated light from a transmission device. The transmission device executes phase modulation to a bit stream as an object to be transmitted and emits the intensity-modulated light which has an intensity changing at a preset time cycle and a phase changing in response to the phase modulation, and the phase is maintained during M cycles. The phase calculation unit detects the intensity of the intensity-modulated light p times per cycle of the intensity-modulated light and repeatedly calculates the phase of the intensity-modulated light on the basis of a result of the detection. The demodulation unit executes demodulation, which corresponds to the phase modulation, to the phase calculated by the phase calculation unit, and generates transmitted bit stream.
US08463136B2

A burst mode optical repeater is provided. The burst mode optical repeater receives optical signals, which are transmitted from a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) in a passive optical network (PON) to a central office using a time division multiplexing access (TDMA) method, and relays the received optical signals using an optical-electrical-optical (OEO) method. Since the burst mode optical repeater can be installed anywhere between an optical line terminal (OLT) and the ONUs, the number of subscribers and transmission range that can be supported by a corresponding network can be increased.
US08463135B2

A relay apparatus including: a first interface 11 that branches an optical signal that is input in a first direction from one side of the optical transmission line, and directs the optical signal to a first path and a second path, the first path being a processing path of an optical signal having a first transmission speed, the second path being a processing path of an optical signal having a second transmission speed that is different from the first transmission speed; a processing section 12 that executes processing on an optical signal propagating through each of the paths in accordance with a corresponding transmission speed; and a second interface 13 that binds the first path and the second path of the optical signal on which the processing is executed by the processing section, by means of wavelength multiplexing and directs to the other end of the optical transmission line.
US08463118B2

An imaging system includes an interchangeable lens and a camera body. The camera body includes a main body controller operable to transmit a reference signal for providing a reference of a driving start timing of the focus lens and delay time information indicating delay time with respect to the reference signal, to the interchangeable lens. The interchangeable lens includes a lens controller operable to control the focus lens to be driven at a timing obtained by delaying the timing provided by the reference signal by the delay time based on the reference signal and the delay time information received from the main body controller. The delay time is set so that, for example, an exposure timing of a predetermined area in the imaging element is substantially coincident with a stop period of the wobbling operation of the focus lens.
US08463112B2

When a skip operation is carried out and then another skip operation is carried out next, it is determined whether or not a direction of a first skip operation and a direction of a skip operation carried out next are opposite directions. If the direction of the skip operation carried out next is the opposite to the direction up to that point in time and there is a change point between scenes in a skip segment of the skip operation carried out next, skip processing is carried out such that the playback position is placed to the change point of this scene. Thereby, for example, when the content is played back after jumping past a CM, the boundary between the CM and program can be easily found, and the replay can be started.
US08463108B2

A device plays back programming content in a trick mode while an advertising segment record is monitored. When an advertising segment beginning identified by the advertising segment record is encountered, playback of the programming content temporarily ceases. One or more advertisements are played back during the advertising segment, and then playback of the programming content in the trick mode resumes after an ending of the advertising segment is encountered.
US08463096B2

Described are track-resistant all dielectric self-supporting (TR-ADSS) cables with improved cable jackets. A typical TR-ADSS optical fiber cable comprises an optical fiber sub-assembly, and a cable jacket system. The cable jacket system comprises an inner jacket, an aramid strength layer and an outer jacket. The improvement in the cable jacket system results from the addition of a friction layer between the aramid strength layer and the outer jacket. The friction layer prevents unwanted slippage of the outer jacket with respect to the inner portions of the cable.
US08463087B2

A beat signal generating device including first and second monomode lasers for generating radiation of a first and second wavelengths respectively; a first and a second output port; a phase modulating unit for modifying both the phase of radiation generated by both the first laser and second laser, wherein radiation generated by the first laser is transmitted through the second laser and superposed with the radiation generated by the second laser at the second output port, and the radiation generated by the second laser is transmitted through the first laser and superposed with the radiation generated by the first laser at the first output port, such that a first beat signal will be emitted at the first output port and a second beat signal will be emitted at the second output port, wherein the phase between the beat signals can be adjusted by means of the phase modulating unit.
US08463081B1

An optical phase modulator having a reduced time drift of an electro-optical response is disclosed. An optical waveguide exhibiting the electro-optic effect includes two serially coupled portions having opposite time drifts of magnitudes of their respective electro-optical responses. As a result, a time drift of an overall electro-optical response of the optical phase modulator is lessened.
US08463079B2

A system and method are described for determining the dimensions of items using an optical device, such as a barcode and/or RFID tag reader, for example. The dimensions of the field of view of the optical device are established, indexed by distance, and the dimensions of items in the field of view of the optical device are determined as a percentage of the full field of view of the optical device at the appropriate distance.
US08463077B1

A method to generate an unwrapped phase map free from noise error, shifting error and hole error in image reconstruction. The method includes application of an unwrapping rotation phase unwrapping algorithm for obtaining image reconstruction.
US08463076B2

An image processing apparatus for processing and outputting image data includes a image processing content storage unit for storing contents of an image processing; a thumbnail magnification ratio determining unit for determining a magnification ratio of a thumbnail image according to the contents of the image processing thus stored; a thumbnail image creation unit for creating the thumbnail image from the image data according to the magnification ratio; and an image processing unit for applying the image processing to the thumbnail image thus created according to the contents of the image processing.
US08463072B2

A method, system, and computer-readable storage medium are disclosed for determining characteristics of light sources. In one embodiment, an image comprising pixels may be received. The image may be affected by a plurality of light sources including a first light source and a second light source. The first light source and the second light source may overlap. The intensity and direction of each of the plurality of light sources in the image may be determined. In one embodiment, the color of each light source may also be determined.
US08463070B2

Provided are a rasterizer configured to convert a triangle TA formed with vertices VT to a group of pixels PX and then to divide the group of pixels PX into tiles TL; and a sorting buffer configured to store the group of pixels PX for each of the tiles TL.
US08463067B2

An apparatus and method for improving visibility of an image. The apparatus includes: an image input module receiving an image; an illuminance sensing module sensing external illuminance; a visibility compensating module compensating the input image by mapping the input image from a first color gamut to a second color gamut on the basis of the sensed external illuminance; and an image output module outputting the compensated image.
US08463066B2

A display device and a method for driving the display device are provided. A pre-gain correction value that can emphasize a contour portion of an image is set by using luminance data detected from an input video signal. The pre-grain correction value is differently amplified in accordance with different light emitting materials that emit light of different colors red, green and blue. The contour portion is thus emphasized, and the contour can be stably emphasized regardless of different life-spans of different light emitting materials emitting lights of colors red, green and blue.
US08463057B2

An encoding unit separates converted coefficients obtained by frequency conversion into the upper-bit portion that is higher than a bit position specified by a boundary bit position determined when the previous macro block is encoded and the lower-bit portion, performs encoding on the upper-bit portion and outputs the encoded data and the lower-bit portion. When a maximum difference in the number of valid bits of the converted coefficients represented by the lower-bit portion remaining after deletion and the upper-bit portion of each pixel block when it is assumed that the number of bits i to be deleted is changed to 1, 2, . . . and so on in the range of the finite number of bits representing converted coefficients is represented as max_diff(i), a stream generating unit creates a histogram constituted by the bit number i and the frequency for max_diff(i) to determine the number of bits N to be deleted.
US08463053B1

Multimodal data mining in a multimedia database is addressed as a structured prediction problem, wherein mapping from input to the structured and interdependent output variables is learned. A system and method for multimodal data mining is provided, comprising defining a multimodal data set comprising image information; representing image information of a data object as a set of feature vectors in a feature space; clustering in the feature space to group similar features; associating a non-image representation with a respective image data object based on the clustering; determining a joint feature representation of a respective data object as a mathematical weighted combination of a set of components of the joint feature representation; optimizing a weighting for a plurality of components of the mathematical weighted combination with respect to a prediction error between a predicted classification and a training classification; and employing the mathematical weighted combination for automatically classifying a new data object.
US08463049B2

An image processing apparatus for processing an image including an image of a face includes: a normalization unit configured to normalize the image including the image of a face so that the size of the face becomes a predetermined face size; a detection area setting unit configured to set an area smaller than the image normalized by the normalization unit as a detection area in which a position of a face part of the face is detected; and a detection unit configured to detect the position of the face part in the detection area set by the detection area setting unit.
US08463031B2

A digital image of the object is captured and the object is recognized from plurality of objects in a database. An information address corresponding to the object is then used to access information and initiate communication pertinent to the object.
US08463019B2

A pseudo 3D image generation device includes frame memories that store a plurality of basic depth models used for estimating depth data based on a non-3D image signal and generating a pseudo 3D image signal; a depth model combination unit that combines the plurality of basic depth models for generating a composite depth model based on a control signal indicating composite percentages for combining the plurality of basic depth models; an addition unit that generates depth estimation data from the non-3D image signal and the composite depth models; and a texture shift unit that shifts the texture of the non-3D image for generating the pseudo 3D image signal.
US08463018B2

A method of classifying and collecting feature information of an area according to a robot's moving path, a robot controlled by area features, and a method and apparatus for composing a user interface using the area features are disclosed. The robot includes a plurality of sensor modules to collect feature information of a predetermined area along a moving path of the robot, and an analyzer to analyze the collected feature information of the predetermined area according to a predetermined reference range and to classify the collected feature information into a plurality of groups.
US08463017B2

The present invention discloses a method for mapping and controlling the three-dimensional shrinkage and warpage occurring in rotomoulding applications.
US08463011B2

A method for extracting a colonic centerline includes segmenting a colon from a digital image of a patient's abdomen, selecting one extreme point of the colon as a source point, calculating a first distance transform of every point in the colon that is a distance of a point to the source point, and calculating a second distance transform of every point in the colon, that is a shortest distance of a point to a wall point of the colon. A centerline path is generated through the colon using the first and second distance transforms, starting from a point with a greatest distance to the source point as determined by the first distance transform, and adding points to the centerline path by selecting points with a greatest distance to the source point that are farthest from the wall of the colon using the second distance transform.
US08463010B2

A system and method of labeling orthogonal or otherwise spatially related image views and related images is provided. The present invention provides automated progression for the labeling of vertebral and inter-vertebral regions, propagation of labels between views and images within a series, centering of label regions relative to the spine, circular lists of predefined labels, and label displays for individual slices of an orthogonal or axial view as a user scrolls through the plurality of image slices of the given view. In a further aspect, the present invention provides automated labeling of vertebral and inter-vertebral regions when a user provides labels for the adjacent two inter-vertebral or vertebral regions.
US08463003B2

A biometric information acquisition apparatus includes: a light guide that guides a light beam through a plurality of light reflective surfaces; and an image pickup unit that receives the light beam output from the light guide and captures a subject image. The light guide includes an input surface that receives the subject image and is provided at a front surface side; a first light reflective surface that is opposed to the input surface and is provided at a back surface side; and a second light reflective surface that extends in a thickness direction of the light guide. A subject image can be acquired within a desired range by employing the light guide, while suppressing an increase in size of the biometric information acquisition apparatus.
US08462996B2

The present invention is a method and system for measuring human emotional response to visual stimulus, based on the person's facial expressions. Given a detected and tracked human face, it is accurately localized so that the facial features are correctly identified and localized. Face and facial features are localized using the geometrically specialized learning machines. Then the emotion-sensitive features, such as the shapes of the facial features or facial wrinkles, are extracted. The facial muscle actions are estimated using a learning machine trained on the emotion-sensitive features. The instantaneous facial muscle actions are projected to a point in affect space, using the relation between the facial muscle actions and the affective state (arousal, valence, and stance). The series of estimated emotional changes renders a trajectory in affect space, which is further analyzed in relation to the temporal changes in visual stimulus, to determine the response.
US08462993B2

A map information display apparatus for displaying map information on the basis of information on image-capturing times and image-capturing positions that are respectively associated with a plurality of captured images includes a captured image extraction unit configured to extract images captured within a predetermined time period that includes the image-capturing time of a predetermined captured image from among the plurality of captured images; a map area selection unit configured to select an area of a map so as to include the image-capturing positions of the captured images extracted by the captured image extraction unit by using as a reference the image-capturing position of the predetermined captured image; and a map information display unit configured to display map information in such a manner that the area of the map, which is selected by the map area selection unit, is displayed.
US08462991B1

The present invention relates generally to identifying incorrect or fraudulent business listings. More specifically, business listings may be validated by comparing the listing information to information identified from images at or near the location of the business. For example, a plurality of geolocated street level images of various locations may be categorized using computer vision techniques. A particular business listing may include, among other information, a location (address, etc.) as well as a business category. The pre-categorized images are then selected based on the location of the particular business listing. The categories of the selected images are then compared to the category of the particular business listing to validate the business listing.
US08462986B2

A printed medium comprises an encoded image, the encoded image including a value encoded therein, wherein the value is referenced to at least a marketing database and an associated social networking environment and wherein the value further enables communication through the social networking environment.
US08462978B2

A loudspeaker diaphragm made by preparing a fabric from a hybrid yarn, wherein the hybrid yarn includes a matrix component and a reinforcement component. The matrix component may include a first material selected from a group consisting of a polyamide, a polyphenylene sulfide, and a polyetheretherketone, and the reinforcement component may include a second material selected from a group consisting of carbon and a para-aramid. The fabric may be introduced into a mold and molded to form a loudspeaker diaphragm. The fabric may then be heated to a temperature higher than the melting temperature of the polyamide or polyphenylene sulfide or polyetheretherketone, so that the polyamide or polyphenylene sulfide or polyetheretherketone melts.
US08462974B2

The apparatus for transmitting and receiving sound is disclosed, wherein a directional microphone for detecting sound for transmission is applied and a sound output unit for outputting the received sound is arranged at a side of the directional microphone where sensitivity is low, thereby preventing sound coupling for received sound and sound for transmission without recourse to complicated signal processing to attenuate the echo and howling.
US08462970B2

The invention relates to a method for ordering spectral parameters of ambisonic components to be encoded (A1, . . . , AQ) originating from an audio scene comprising N signals (Sii=1 to N), in which N>1, comprising the following steps: calculation of the respective influence of at least some spectral parameters, taken from a set of spectral parameters to be ordered, on an angle vector defined as a function of energy and velocity vectors associated with Gerzon's criteria and calculated as a function of a reverse ambisonic transformation in relation to said quantified ambisonic components; and allocation of a precedence order to at least one spectral parameter as a function of the influence calculated for said spectral parameter compared to the other calculated influences.
US08462966B2

An apparatus for calculating filter coefficients for a predefined loudspeaker arrangement has a multi-channel renderer. The multi-channel renderer calculates a filter coefficient for each loudspeaker of a virtual loudspeaker arrangement, being different from the predefined loudspeaker arrangement, based on a property (e.g. position or type) of a virtual source of an audio object to be reproduced by the predefined loudspeaker arrangement. Further, the multi-channel renderer determines an adapted filter coefficient for a loudspeaker of the predefined loudspeaker arrangement based on one or more calculated filter coefficients of one or more loudspeakers of the different virtual loudspeaker arrangement.
US08462959B2

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that manages the acoustic noise produced by a device. During operation, the system receives a set of acoustic characteristics for the device. The system then uses these acoustic characteristics to estimate the acoustic noise being generated by the device. Next, the system uses the estimated acoustic noise to adjust a setting in the device to manage the acoustic noise produced by the device.
US08462957B2

A hearing aid (101) comprises a microphone (121) converting sound into an electrical signal, a processor (105) disposed inside a main body case (102), a first volume adjuster (104) having a variable resistor, and a receiver (123) converting an electrical signal into sound. The processor (105) has an amplifier (135) amplifying an electrical signal from the microphone (121), a second volume adjuster (105b) setting a degree of amplification by the amplifier (135), and a controller (130) controlling the second volume adjuster (105b) and the amplifier (135). The controller (130) detects the resistance value of the variable resistor, determines whether or not the resistance value has exceeded a specific threshold, acquires a specific value for the degree of amplification by the amplifier (135), and sets the degree of amplification by the amplifier (135) to this specific value when the controller determines that the resistance value has exceeded the specific threshold.
US08462954B2

In a method for encrypting content, the content is received in a device and at least a portion of the content is stored to thereby associate the content with one of a first copy control state and a second copy control state. The method includes creating at least one of a first content pre-key using a local storage key unique to the device as a key to encrypt the content ID of the content and a second content pre-key using the first content pre-key as a key to encrypt the first copy control state, creating a content encryption key using one of the first content pre-key as a key to encrypt the first copy control state and the second content pre-key as a key to encrypt the second copy control state, and encrypting the content using the content encryption key.
US08462950B2

A system and method for enabling a user to retrieve, decode, and utilize hidden data embedded in audio signals. An exemplary implementation includes a microphone structured to receive sound waves representative of an audio signal and hidden data embedded in the audio signal. The then microphone converts the received sound waves into an electrical output signal. The system also includes a processor electrically coupled to the microphone and configured to receive the electrical output signal in order to extract the hidden data and provide information represented by the hidden data as an output thereof. A user interface is also provided and is electrically coupled to the processor and configured to receive a first input from the user and activate the processor to selectively initiate extraction of the hidden data. The processor produces as an output the information represented by the hidden data. Finally, the system includes a user presentation mechanism configured to present the information to the user.
US08462942B2

An approach is provided for providing secure packetized voice transmissions. A public/private key pair is generated at a call device (or endpoint). An encrypted voice stream is received from another call device, where the encrypted voice stream was encrypted using a public key of the public/private key pair. This encrypted voice stream when received at the call device is decrypted using a private key of the public/private key pair.
US08462940B2

A public key cryptosystem utilizes a hard lattice with O(n log n) random bits for security. The system comprises a public-key cryptosystem whose hardness assumption is a clearly stated mathematical problem with a long history and comprises a short key, reaching a balance between the favorable properties of the hardness assumption and the key size. This balance has not been achieved by previously known public-key cryptosystems. The improved efficiency of the present system is achieved by reducing the size of the public key from O(n2 log n) to O(n log n). The improved security of the system is achieved by reducing the security to the hardness of a clearly stated computational problem, the dipohantine approximation problem of Dirichlet.
US08462939B2

The RNS-based cryptographic system and method uses a symmetric residue number system (RNS) for encryption and decryption of messages, i.e., the sender and receiver agree upon a set of relatively prime numbers, referred to as the basis, whose product is an integer, and both the RNS and the integer are kept secret. To break the cipher, an attacker must factor the secret integer, which is unknown to the attacker, given only the upper bound of the unknown integer, a problem referred to as blind factorization of the unknown integer, which is a computationally hard problem. The method may be combined with a discrete logarithm problem, and the ciphertext may be padded with random values to hide the upper bound of the unknown integer. When the ciphertext requires multiple blocks, subsets of the basis and/or the random number padding may be used to prevent collision attacks.
US08462933B2

A workforce requirement calculation device 10 accepts at least call volume in a particular period of time, an average handle time for a call by the operator, and a maximum queuing time before abandoning queuing of a call, as input parameters, initializes a number of the operators, calculates a probability of queuing of the call using the Erlang C formula based upon at least the call volume and the number of the operators, calculates a call abandonment rate as a service objective based upon at least the probability of queuing of the call and the input parameters, and calculates the workforce requirement for operators in order to meet a predetermined service objective by recurrently repeating the calculation of the probability of queuing of the call and the calculation of the call abandonment rate, with respect to an increase and a decrease in the number of the operators.
US08462925B2

Methods and systems for mapping user-defined identities in data communication networks. By mapping and translating identities based on a calling party identifier, a called party identifier, and the carrier instance, enhanced communication services are enabled. Enhanced communication services offer virtual private phone numbers, shared group numbers, and interconnection between different voice and messaging services and applications.
US08462924B2

The present invention discloses a method and a device for generating a phone bill, which is applied to a charging system in the communication field, wherein the method comprises a preprocessing process and a process of combining phone bills, wherein in the preprocessing process, the charging system uses multiple threads for preprocessing a plurality of service logs simultaneously, and each service log is preprocessed to generate one or more intermediate phone bills, wherein information in the service log is converted into information required for the intermediate phone bills when performing preprocessing, and a single thread is used for processing in the process of combining phone bills to generate required phone bills one by one, and during each process of generating a phone bill, the charging system collects and combines the intermediate phone bills required for generating present phone bill, accomplishes encoding record serial numbers and file serial numbers, and generates one phone bill. The present invention reduces the processing complexity while guaranteeing the processing capacity of the system.
US08462923B2

A revenue management system for telecommunication systems is disclosed. The revenue management system can have multiple integrated modules. The modules can include a revenue generation module, a revenue capture module, a revenue collection module, a revenue intelligence module, and others. The revenue management system can also be configured to simultaneously manage revenue for prepaid, postpaid, now-paid payment models.
US08462922B2

An architecture for the storage, processing, and display of service desk performance metrics data for a service desk department may include a call management system (CMS), an issue tracking system, a performance metrics (PM) database, a PM database module, a PM display data module, and a PM client module. The PM database module may retrieve call statistics data from the call management system database and issue tracking data from the issue tracking system database, and store the data in the PM database. The PM client module may obtain call statistics data and issue tracking data from the PM database via the PM display data module. The PM client module may display the obtained call statistics data and issue tracking data in one or more user interface elements.
US08462921B2

Systems and methods for generating an efficiency report, which in one embodiment among many, can be broadly summarized by a representative method of obtaining a set of switching statistics from a database of a communication switch and integrating this set of switching statistics with a set of work statistics of an operator to generate an efficiency report. Another embodiment can be described as an efficiency report generator that has logic configured to receive an operator work statistic that has been generated in a first computing element using a first entry code, to translate the first entry code into a second entry code, to use this second entry code to store the operator work statistic together with a call statistic received from a communication switch, in a database of the efficiency report generator, and to process these statistics to generate an efficiency report.
US08462919B2

A system and method for call logging and retrieval includes receiving a call log of a first call made by a user. The call log of the first call may include, for example, the start and end time of the call, and/or the like. The context for the call is provided by the user. A call record is stored for each call of a number of calls made to and from the user. The record for the first call includes the call log of the first call and the context for the first call.
US08462914B2

A method and system for automated incident response that includes receiving a call from a caller about an incident, such as an emergency, obtaining information from the caller about the incident, selecting one or more appropriate screens in sequence via a presentation device based on the information provided from the caller, wherein the sequence of appropriate presentations corresponds to an appropriate response to the emergency, and providing response instructions to the caller or other parties based on information presented, wherein the one or more presentations are stored in an accessible data repository.
US08462909B2

The output of a nuclear reactor is increased by a predetermined magnitude, and the neutron beam is measured as time-series data. The temperature of the moderator in the reactor is acquired as time-series data. Time-series data on the reactivity is acquired from the time-series data on the neutron beam by the reverse dynamic characteristic method with respect to a one-point reactor kinetics equation. Time-series data on the fuel temperature of a predetermined average acquired by using the time-series data on the reactor output and a predetermined dynamic characteristic model is acquired. The reactivity feedback contribution component is determined by using the time-series data on the reactivity and the applied reactivity. The Doppler reactivity coefficient is determined by using the time-series data on the average temperature of the moderator in the reactor, the time-series data on the fuel temperature of the predetermined average, the isothermal temperature reactivity coefficient, and the reactivity feedback contribution component.
US08462907B2

A network component comprising a first adaptation component, a second adaptation component, a system Phase-Locked-Loop (PLL) coupled to the first adaptation component, a comparison and voting logic component coupled to the first adaptation component and the system PLL component, a compensation logic component coupled to the comparison and voting logic component, and a positive/negative delay component coupled to the second adaptation component and the compensation logic component. Also disclosed is a network component comprising a comparison and voting logic function block configured to compare a plurality of internal timing references in a system PLL synchronization area, a compensation logic function block configured to calculate an offset value if any of the internal references substantially deviates from an expected value in a deterministic outcome, and a delay function block configured to add the calculated offset value to a timing reference that is forwarded to a subsequent node.
US08462906B1

One embodiment relates to an integrated circuit which includes a transmitter buffer circuit, a duty cycle distortion (DCD) detector, correction logic, and a duty cycle adjuster. The DCD detector is configured to selectively couple to the serial output of the transmitter buffer circuit. The correction logic is configured to generate control signals based on the output of the DCD detector. The duty cycle adjuster is configured to adjust a duty cycle of the serial input signal based on the control signals. Another embodiment relates to a method of correcting duty cycle distortion in a transmitter. Other embodiments and features are also disclosed.
US08462904B2

A noisy frequency-domain channel estimate enhancer includes an over-sampler configured to transform the noisy frequency-domain channel estimate into a time-domain channel estimate that is virtually over-sampled by an integer factor m. The over-sampler is connected to a de-interleaver configured to divide the time-domain channel estimate into m de-interleaved sub-vectors. The de-interleaver is connected to a suppressor configured to suppress noisy taps from each de-interleaved sub-vectors to form m noise suppressed sub-vectors. The suppressor is connected to a selector configured to select a noise suppressed sub-vector associated with a highest signal-to-noise ratio. The selector is connected to a discrete Fourier transformer configured to transform the selected noise suppressed sub-vector into a noise suppressed preliminary frequency-domain channel estimate. The discrete Fourier transformer is connected to a phase-shifter configured to phase-adjust the taps of the noise suppressed preliminary frequency-domain channel estimate to form an enhanced frequency-domain channel estimate.
US08462898B2

Systems and methods of correcting for a transmitter IQ imbalance are disclosed. Various embodiments collect statistics related to a received packet on a transceiver. These statistics include one or more transmitter imbalance parameters. In some embodiments, an estimated inversion matrix is calculated based on the imbalance parameter and a correction for the IQ imbalance is made by applying the inversion matrix to a sub-carrier and the sub carrier's image.
US08462896B2

A reception unit receives data from communication apparatuses. A transmission unit transmits data to the communication apparatuses. A control unit determines, in an adaptive way, which modulation and coding schemes to use to transmit and receive data. At a first stage, a modulation and coding scheme with a low transmission rate or a modulation and coding scheme that minimizes power requirements is selected from among a plurality of candidates therefor. At a second stage, the modulation and coding scheme of at least one of the communication apparatuses is changed to another scheme having a higher transmission rate, when it is impossible to allocate sufficient resources for the modulation and coding schemes selected at the first stage.
US08462895B2

A receiver receives data from a sequence of OFDM symbols transmitted via a channel, each OFDM symbol comprising a plurality of data bearing sub-carriers and a plurality of pilot bearing sub-carriers. The receiver includes a channel estimator for estimating the channel and an equalizer for reducing the effects of the channel so that the data can be recovered from the received OFDM symbols. The channel estimator includes a notch processor which is arranged in operation to detect a notch in a received OFDM symbol, the notch providing a plurality of the sub-carriers of the received OFDM symbol within a frequency range which were not transmitted by the transmitter, to determine one or more missing pilot sub-carriers which would have been transmitted within the notch sub-carriers of OFDM symbols according to a pilot sub-carrier pattern, and to generate one or more replacement pilot data symbol for a missing pilot data sub-carrier.
US08462889B2

A system and method for receiving a RF signal, comprising a device for digitizing, without prior alteration of frequency, an analog RF representation of each of a plurality of RF signals to produce a respective plurality of digital RF signals having a respective associated RF digital clock, the plurality of digital RF signals having a sufficiently high respective associated clock rate to preserve an information content of an information communication present in the analog RF representation; a switch matrix adapted to concurrently switch the plurality of digital RF signals and associated digital RF clock to ones of a plurality of digital signal processors; and a control adapted to selectively automatically control the concurrent switching of a plurality of digital signals and associated digital clock to the respective plurality of digital signal processors; wherein the digital signal processors produce processed representations of information contained in respective analog RF representations.
US08462871B2

A method and system are provided for minimizing errors by retransmitting packets in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) space-time coded packet radio. A packet is transmitted using a first STC code mapping, the mapping including well-known symbol operations, and optional signal weighting. When transmission errors are detected the packet is re-transmitted using STC code mappings selected in turn from a deterministic sequence of STC code mappings. The STC code mappings are chosen in accordance with one or more principles.
US08462868B2

Sub-carrier selection methods and receiver architectures for receiving an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing band sensed by a plurality of antennas (101-10N). Filtering is applied to separately pass portions of the predetermined Orthogonal Division Multiplexing frequency band. Each separate portion encompasses one or more sub-bands of the predetermined Orthogonal Division Multiplexing frequency band. For each of the separate portions of the predetermined Orthogonal Division Multiplexing frequency band, the signal received from one of the plurality of antennas is selected. The selected signals for each separate portion are then combined in the time (analog) domain.
US08462865B2

Methods of transmitting an receiving symbols by a Mobile Subscriber Station (MSS) and a Base Station (BS) are provided. The method for receiving symbols by the MSS includes receiving symbols from the BS, wherein the symbols are mapped onto data sub-carriers using a sequence, wherein the sequence includes result values, the result values being generated by applying, to a basic sequence, an offset and a number of cyclic shifting, the basic sequence having a length identical to the number of data sub-carriers. The method for transmitting symbols by the MSS includes transmitting symbols to the BS, wherein the symbols are mapped onto data sub-carriers using a sequence, wherein the sequence includes result values, the result values being generated by applying, to a basic sequence, an offset and a number of cyclic shifting, the basic sequence having a length identical to the number of data sub-carriers.
US08462861B2

Methods and apparatus for mitigating multipath signal interference comprising transmitting a first signal and second signal that is a copy of the first signal, transmitting the first signal centered at a first frequency, transmitting the second signal centered at a second frequency separated from the first frequency by a selected distance, receiving at a receiving node the first and second signals, estimating a signal quality of the received first and second signals, and decoding a first one of the received first and second signals based upon the estimated signal qualities of the received first and second signals.
US08462855B2

In one embodiment of the invention, video data is received in a buffer and parsed for a first and second start code to determine whether a complete video picture is present. After failing to identify the second start code, additional video data is added to the buffer and parsed beginning from a subsequent starting point, which is based on the first ending point.
US08462847B2

In a packet based multicast video streaming network, a method for minimizing delay in displaying video on a TV set in response to a viewer changing the channel is disclosed. For each live multicast video stream, one or more reference frames and corresponding compressed frames are temporarily stored in a memory in anticipation of the viewer switching to that particular program. When the viewer changes channels, the previously stored reference and compressed frames are immediately read from the memory and rendered for display on the TV. This eliminates the need to wait for the next available reference frame. In other words, this eliminates a temporary blank TV screen each time the channel is changed. Certain compressed frames are dropped and blank frames can be inserted in order to catch up to and synchronize with the live video broadcast. The particular frames to be dropped and the number of blank frames to be inserted is a function of the bandwidth limitation imposed by the last mile of the network.
US08462845B2

A method for determining an order of values for an encoding parameter of a hybrid encoding scheme for each frame of a frame sequence for use for encoding the frame sequence by means of the hybrid encoding scheme is described. Using the hybrid encoding scheme, resulting distortions and compression rates for the frames of the frame sequence are established for the case of the complete encoding of the frame sequence, and for the case of the incomplete encoding of a real partial sequence of the frame sequence. Thereupon, establishing of estimated distortions and compression rates for frames of the frame sequence takes place, followed by determining the order of values for the encoding parameter of the hybrid encoding scheme based on the established resulting and estimated distortions and compression rates.
US08462832B1

Methods and apparatus for dynamically allocating processing resources between low rate, e.g., standard rate, and high rate data channel processing chains are described. This allows for different numbers of high data rate and standard data rate uplink users to be supported at different times using the same set of hardware.
US08462828B1

A system is provided to generate coherent single-frequency and single transverse mode light pulses. A laser produces a linearly-polarized continuous wave beam defined by a single longitudinal and transverse mode. A first rotator processes the beam such that optical polarization is rotated during a first time period and not rotated during a second and third time period. A second rotator is operated during the first period to rotate optical polarization of the beam, during the second period to not rotate the beam, and during the third period to rotate the beam. An optical loop amplifies the beam during the first and second periods. An amplifier device can be added to the loop for amplification. A first beam splitter allows the beam to enter the loop and a second splitter directs the beam along the loop during the first and second periods and out of the loop during the third period.
US08462822B2

An photonic device, comprising one section of a material which is different from the material of another section such that the two sections present different optical birefringent index values. This causes a first set of polarization modes to move in a spectral space with a different velocity than a second set of polarization modes. A bias current, or voltage, is used for controlling the overall birefringence effect in the device. The biasing for controlling the birefringence effect is performed such the TE modes and the TM modes of the device are made to coincide in their respective spectral position. Thus the device is made insensitive, or presents substantially reduced sensitivity, to the polarization of any incoming optical signal.
US08462812B2

This invention related to a bandwidth estimation method which is easily implementable on network nodes and enables to be made better routing decisions (for example the link with higher residual bandwidth should be favored in routing decisions) and/or estimates the flow admission control (for example accept a new flow only if there is enough available path residual bandwidth) by enabling estimation of availability of the communication capacity estimates.
US08462807B2

A method of reducing the load on a first node in a cellular telecommunications network, which network includes a plurality of nodes, each of the nodes serving a plurality of telecommunications devices by providing communication resources thereto is disclosed. The method includes selecting a target telecommunications device for handover from the first node to a second of said nodes; handing over the target device to the second node; allocating communication resources to the target device to enable the second node to serve the target device; selecting a matched telecommunications device that is served by the first node; and adjusting the communication resources allocated to the matched device, which resources enable the first node to serve the matched device, so that they correspond to the resources allocated to the target device, which resources enable the second node to serve the target device.
US08462799B2

IP-based messages composed by distributed applications on-board an aircraft are routed to ground destinations through non-IP based communication interfaces that use packet data transmission. Addressable routing daemons resident in on-board computers are used to route messages from an on-board TCP/IP network to a selected communication interface. A communications management controller routes the messages to the communication interfaces by addressing the routing daemon associated with the communication interface selected to transmit the message.
US08462797B2

A method and apparatus are provided for transmitting, over a wireless link, video that is coded in multiple layers such that higher priority for the use of the transmission resources may be given to the lower layers of the layered video stream. The level of priority is signified by the session identification parameters, i.e., by the source and destination ip addresses and port numbers. These parameters are assigned to the base layer and to the one or more additional layers, respectively, such that at least two of said layers are assigned different parameter sets. At least the base layer is then transmitted on the wireless link.
US08462795B2

A method and device for transmitting a control message based on a multi-ring Ethernet are provided, wherein the method comprises the following steps: control virtual local area networks of a main ring and a sub-ring are configured (S1002); and a main ring node receives a sub-ring control message from the sub-ring, forwards the sub-ring control massage to the other main ring nodes on the main ring via a data plane, and synchronously realizes the blocking or opening of the sub-ring control message and a data message in the data plane (S1004). The present disclosure solves the problem that the time for the main ring node to process the sub-ring control message is too long during existing control message transmission process, avoids the control message loop situation caused by the transmission of the sub-ring control message over the main ring, and improves the network performance.
US08462789B2

A network processor of an embodiment includes a packet classification engine, a processing pipeline, and a controller. The packet classification engine allows for classifying each of a plurality of packets according to packet type. The processing pipeline has a plurality of stages for processing each of the plurality of packets in a pipelined manner, where each stage includes one or more processors. The controller allows for providing the plurality of packets to the processing pipeline in an order that is based at least partially on: (i) packet types of the plurality of packets as classified by the packet classification engine and (ii) estimates of processing times for processing packets of the packet types at each stage of the plurality of stages of the processing pipeline. A method in a network processor allows for prefetching instructions into a cache for processing a packet based on a packet type of the packet.
US08462788B2

The present invention relates to communications technologies and discloses a method, a system, and a label switching router for setting up a Label Switching Path (LSP). The method includes: an ingress edge node sends a label request packet to a downstream node, where the label request packet carries an Equal Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) property flag of a Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC); the downstream node that receives the label request packet sends the label request packet to a next-hop node according to the property flag; and the node that receives the label request packet performs label mapping according to a path of the label request packet, binds a label to the FEC, and sets up an LSP. An ECMP property flag indicating setting up an ECMP route is permitted is introduced in the process of setting up an LSP. Therefore, setup of an ECMP route is prevented for the FEC that imposes special requirements, and management and maintenance of the network are facilitated.
US08462780B2

High-speed processing of packets to, and from, a virtualization environment can be provided while utilizing hardware-based segmentation offload and other such functionality. A hardware vendor such as a network interface card (NIC) manufacturer can enable the hardware to support open and proprietary stateless tunneling in conjunction with a protocol such as single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) in order to implement a virtualized overlay network. The hardware can utilize various rules, for example, that can be used by the NIC to perform certain actions, such as to encapsulate egress packets and decapsulate packets.
US08462776B2

A communication interface element for a communication module is provided, which module contains a message memory and a first data path to and from the message memory via which data and/or messages are transmitted to and from the message memory. The communication interface element provides an additional, second data path in the communication module and includes switching arrangement configured in such a way that predefinable data and/or messages of the first data path are transmitted over the additional, second data path.
US08462771B2

To change between a packet-oriented PTT session and a circuit-oriented telephone connection as selectable communication connections between at least one first connected radio communication appliance and at least one second connected radio communication appliance in a radio communication system, a first of these two communication connections is selected and set up by at least one connected radio communication appliance and/or by at least one control unit in the radio network in the radio communication system. A change is made from this first communication connection, which has been set up, to the second communication connection under the control of a radio communication appliance which is connected to the first communication connection and/or under the control of that control unit in the radio network in the radio communication system which is connected to the first communication connection by activating the second communication connection while the first communication connection still exists.
US08462768B2

A device receives information associated with an outbound call from a calling party via a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and generates a request for the outbound call from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) using a remote procedure call (RPC) interface. The device also enables communication, via the remote procedure call (RPC) interface, of the outbound call with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based device associated with a called party.
US08462759B2

Systems and methods are provided herein for interfacing a first multi-media digital device with a second multi-media digital device. An exemplary method includes the steps of: (i) converting a plurality of differential digital content channels from the first multi-media digital device into a plurality of single-ended digital content channels; (ii) transmitting the plurality of single-ended digital content channels from the first multi-media digital device to the second multi-media digital device via one or more coaxial cables; and (iii) receiving the single-ended digital content channels from the one or more coaxial cables and converting the single-ended digital content channels back into a plurality of differential digital content channels that are supplied to the second multi-media digital device. Additional steps of the exemplary method may include: (i) transmitting one or more auxiliary channels between the first multi-media digital device and the second multi-media digital device; and (ii) combining the one or more auxiliary channels with at least one of the plurality of digital content channels to form a combined channel to be transmitted from the first multi-media digital device to the second multi-media digital device.
US08462757B2

A description is given for a method for operating a wireless multichannel CDMA transmitter, wherein a power metric based on a particular signal configuration is determined, the power metric being determined as a function of power weighting factors used in the channels of the particular signal configuration, and wherein the transmitter output power is adjusted based on the power metric.
US08462756B2

A symbol-level adaptation method to adapt at least one coefficient of an equalizer, the method comprising the steps of: a) executing an adaptive algorithm that calculates the value of the equalizer coefficient, the adaptive algorithm having a tunable parameter that determines how close the calculated coefficient value is to the optimal solution, b) modifying the value of the equalizer coefficient according to the calculated coefficient value at an intermediate instant tΔ strictly between two consecutive instants tA and tB, instants tA and tB corresponding to the beginning and the end of a pilot symbol period, respectively, and c) adjusting the value of the tunable parameter according to a number Δ representing the number of chips yet to be received before instant tB or already received since instant tA.
US08462753B2

Provided is a mobile tri-band antenna system having low profile. The antenna system includes a tri-band feeding unit for dividing a satellite broadcasting signal by a signal channel in an azimuth angle and an elevation angle, and transmitting/receiving the satellite communication signal through distinguishing the satellite communication signal; a beam shaping unit for dividing the satellite broadcasting signals into a first channel signal and a second channel signal, combined power thereof through channel switching; an antenna controlling unit for driving an antenna system in an azimuth and elevation angle to direct the satellite according to the power combined second channel signal from the beam shaping unit; a first triplexer unit for outputting the power combined first channel signal to a rotary joint unit; a second triplexer unit for converting the first channel signal inputted to a downlink frequency and providing the converted first channel signal to the indoor apparatus.
US08462750B2

The present invention allows originating endpoints to obtain reachability information from a directory service, which collects contact and related information from available users. When initiating a peer-to-peer communication session to an endpoint of a destination user, the originating endpoint will access the directory service to obtain reachability information for the destination user. The reachability information may contain one or more addresses, one of which will be a peer-to-peer communication session address. From the reachability information, the originating terminal will determine an appropriate address to initiate communications with the destination user. The reachability information may identify multiple addresses, where only certain of the addresses may be peer-to-peer communication addresses and other addresses may be used to establish other types of sessions through disparate types of networks.
US08462748B2

A method and apparatus to enable IP networking for mobile hosts without requiring changes to be made to the TCP/IP stack in the operating system installed on the mobile hosts. The apparatus is an “intelligent device” that can be installed on or connected to a mobile host, and may comprise a software-only logical module, physical hardware, or a combination of both. To a mobile host, the intelligent device emulates a network interface such as an Ethernet card or a telephone modem. The intelligent device appears to an access network just like any regular IP host connected to the access network through a physical network interface device. The intelligent device handles all mobile networking functions for the mobile host, and may control multiple different physical network interface devices to enable a connection to the “best” access network available to the mobile user at his location.
US08462746B2

A terminal (24) for use in a wireless network (20) includes a radio frequency (RF) receiver (30), which is configured to receive and downconvert a RF signal. The RF signal includes downlink frames, each downlink frame including at least an allocation zone followed by a data zone. The allocation zone contains an indication of a time allocation in the data zone during which downlink data will be transmitted to the terminal. An analog/digital (A/D) converter (36) converts the output signal from the RF receiver into a stream of digital samples. A digital processing circuit (40, 52, 54, 56) processes the digital samples so as to identify the time allocation and to recover the downlink data transmitted during the identified time allocation, while shutting down the RF receiver during at least one interval during the downlink frame that is outside the identified time allocation.
US08462745B2

The disclosed subject matter relates to a method and system for increasing the accuracy of a WLAN based position estimate using cellular positioning information. In some embodiments, the method can include determining a set of possible WLAN location solutions for a WLAN and cellular enabled device based on one or more WLAN access points, obtaining cellular measurements from at least one cell tower, and determining the best WLAN location solution from the set of possible WLAN location solutions using the cellular measurements. In one embodiment, the method can include using the cellular measurements from the at least one cell tower to provide a cellular based location estimate for the WLAN and cellular enabled device.
US08462742B2

Disclosed is a method and system of deriving new keys for accessing a new system. The method enables an optimized authentication procedure during handover form an existing system to a new system by using the existing system access keys. The user equipment that is accessing the new system receives a temporary ID during handover preparation which enables the user equipment to perform a fast re-authentication. The method uses existing system access keys to derive system access keys for the new network.
US08462740B2

A control channel generation method, a control channel decoding method, and a BS and an MS for implementing the methods are provided. The control channel generation method includes placing a frame control header (FCH) and a MAP within a TTI and generating a control channel for an enhanced communication system at a position after the MAP within the TTI. Another control channel generation method includes generating a control channel for the enhanced communication system and placing an FCH and a preamble at a position after the control channel. These methods enable implementation of an enhanced system that overcomes problems of the legacy system while minimizing influence exerted upon legacy MSs in the case where the base station generates a new control channel for a new MS or where an MS decodes a new control channel.
US08462734B2

Example method, apparatus, and computer program product embodiments are disclosed to enable out-of-band communications to be used in out-of-band initialization methods for simplified configuring of an in-band wireless docking environment for wireless devices. An example embodiment of the invention includes composing a wireless configuration for a plurality of devices in an in-band short-range wireless docking environment, by using out-of-band connections from a mobile device to the plurality of devices to send in-band short-range communication connection parameters including a timer value related to an expected completion time of a connection handover to in-band short-range communication.
US08462729B2

One determines (101, 102) that a given wireless mobile two-way communications platform is updating its network location (using, for example, an 802.16(e)-compatible protocol) at a time when there is no downlink traffic to provide to the platform and at a time when the platform should conduct at least one of an authenticator relocation process and an Internet Protocol address renewal process. In response to such determinations, one then automatically provides (103) to the platform, as part of updating the network location for the platform, an indication (such as, for example, a downlink traffic pending (DTP) flag) that the platform has pending downlink traffic notwithstanding that there is, in fact, no downlink traffic to provide to the wireless mobile two-way communications platform. Subsequent to this, one can then automatically cause (104) the platform to effect at least one of the authenticator relocation process and the Internet Protocol address renewal process.
US08462728B2

The invention involves a method for achieving local anchoring of a mobile node (MN) in a wireless system comprising a plurality of radio access networks (RANs), a plurality of gateways (GWs), each capable of acting as a serving gateway, and a home server, with each RAN being connected to a GW, and a user profile relating to the MN being stored in the home server. According to the method, when the mobile node has a radio link with a first RAN which is connected to a first GW, the first GW is assigned as a local anchor for the MN, and the user profile relating to the MN in the home server is updated with an indication of the first GW. And when the mobile node moves to a second RAN which is also connected to the first GW, the indication of the first GW is retrieved from the user profile relating to the MN in the home server, and the first GW assigned is kept as a local anchor for the MN, based on the retrieved indication of the first GW.
US08462716B1

Systems and/or methods are described for use of progressively higher-resolution codebooks for communication with one or more receivers within a cell of a base station.
US08462710B2

A traffic plane entity (e.g., user plane entity (UPE), serving gateway (S-GW)) and method are described herein for allocating a unique identifier (e.g., UPE/S-GW UE-Context-Id) which identifies and unifies a set of bearers within a UE context that is associated with a given UE. In operation, the traffic plane entity can then send the allocated unique identifier to another entity (e.g., mobility management entity (MME)) which at a subsequent time re-sends the unique identifier back to the traffic plane entity along with a request to have the traffic plane entity perform a specific operation or procedure on the bearers associated with the UE context of the given UE. Upon receiving the request, the traffic plane entity uses the unique identifier to perform the requested operation or procedure simultaneously on all of the bearers associated with the UE context of the given UE.
US08462706B2

The subscriber station of claim 15, wherein the uplink data includes data to be transmitted, and a header having information on the data and the subscriber, and the uplink data generator adds the subheader includDisclosed is a method and device for requesting and reporting channel quality information in a mobile communication system. An uplink radio resource for a subscriber station having data to transmit is allocated and a CQI indicator for requesting channel quality information is added to the allocation information to be transmitted to a subscriber station. The subscriber station having received the uplink radio resource allocation information generates channel quality information by measuring the radio channel quality for communication with the base station according to existence of the indicator and transmits desired uplink data having the generated channel quality information to the base station. As a result, the seamless and efficient channel quality report can be performed in the wireless communication system, and the optical modulation and the channel coding level can be adapted for the subscriber to transmit or receive the data corresponding to the channel quality. ing the channel quality information to the header of the uplink data.
US08462704B2

Methods and systems are disclosed for interoperations between single-radio (channel switching) devices, dual radio devices, and single-radio (always-on) devices in radio communication systems, both with and without a safety channel. The methods and systems may be applied in communication systems for wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE), such as those according to IEEE 802.11p. When there is a safety channel, some embodiments add a Safety Channel Interval within an operation period. Other embodiments disclose how various device types can operate to coordinate safety message transmissions, both with and without a safety channel.
US08462696B2

There is provided a radio system wherein a mobile terminal is configured to detect availability of a local breakout service to an Internet protocol gateway; to start a network entry to the local breakout service; and to configure an Internet protocol stack of the mobile terminal on the basis of received configuration data. A serving base station of the mobile terminal is configured to establish a radio bearer for the local breakout service; to provide a dynamic host control protocol relay function for mapping data of the mobile terminal using a local Internet protocol address to the established radio bearer; and to provide the local breakout service to the Internet protocol gateway while retaining user access control and a remote Internet protocol gateway of a packet core network of the public mobile network for the mobile terminal.
US08462692B2

A system and method for reassembling packets in a packet relay node are provided. A packet relay node located between a transmitting node (i.e., a source node) and a receiving node (i.e., a destination node) inspects received packets to see if they are fragmented packets and reassembles a series of packets decided to be fragmented packets into an original packet, thereby reducing overhead and radio resource waste caused by duplicate transmission of IP headers having the same fragmented-packet information.
US08462679B2

A mobile communication device is associated with a home wireless carrier that is identifiable by a home carrier identification stored in its memory. The mobile device also maintains a stored list of a plurality of carrier identifications, where each carrier identification is stored in association with one of a plurality of top-level domains. The mobile device reads the home carrier identification from the memory, and selects one of the plurality of top-level domains that is stored in association with the home carrier identification. During operation, the mobile device reads a specified domain name in response to a user-initiated request made via a Web browser or search application. Then, the mobile device produces a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having the selected top-level domain and a second-level domain corresponding to the specified domain name. The HTTP request with the URL is submitted via the wireless communication network. Advantageously, consistency in accessing web sites, information, and/or search results may be achieved regardless of location of the mobile station.
US08462667B2

A tunneled direct link set-up (TDLS) capable wireless network may comprise a router such as an access point (AP) and a plurality of stations (STA) including service consumer and service provider station. A service consumer station may generate and send a layer-2 query frame to the plurality of stations. A service provider station may generate a layer-2 service frame in response to receiving the layer-2 query frame. The service consumer station may discover the service provider station and the services offered by the service provider station based on the layer-2 service frame. Also, the service consumer may discover the service provider station using layer-2 query frame and may discover the services offered by the service provider station using higher layer service discovery procedure.
US08462650B2

The present invention discloses a wireless communication method of supporting rapid changes in network topology. The present method may include broadcasting the first protocol message using the first broadcast cycle, the first protocol message being used for establishing a routing information between a node and destination node; and broadcasting the second protocol message using the second broadcast cycle, the second protocol message being used for establishing a link information between the node and a neighbor node, wherein the first broadcast cycle is different from the second broadcast cycle, and the first broadcast cycle is dynamically adjusted depending on a corresponding a detailed message contained in a plurality of segments in the first protocol message so as to reduce a number of broadcast of the first protocol message.
US08462638B2

In an embodiment, a method is disclosed for minimizing soft preemptions of LSPs. Upon receiving a reservation message for an LSP whose requested bandwidth that exceeds the available bandwidth of downstream links, a network node may select a set of LSPs for soft preemption and share the selection with other nodes along their paths, both upstream and downstream. By coordinating the selection of LSPs to soft-preempt among nodes on the path, fewer LSPs may require soft preemption, which may result in minimizing excessive network disruptions, and thus, allowing the network to function more efficiently.
US08462636B2

According to one embodiment, a network element may include one or more network interfaces and a master control unit communicatively coupled to the one or more network interfaces. The one or more network interfaces may include in the aggregate, a plurality of physical ports configured as member ports of a link aggregation group. The master control unit may be configured to maintain a routing table, such routing table including information regarding which of the plurality of physical ports of the link aggregation group is designated as an active port for management traffic egressing via the link aggregation group, wherein the active port carries a communication channel for the management traffic segregated from carrier traffic, and communicate the routing table to each of the one or more network interfaces.
US08462632B1

Information about the transmission of packets or other information can be inferred based at least in part upon the state of one or more queues used to transmit that information. In a networking example, a hook can be added to a free buffer API call from a queue of a NIC driver. When a packet is transmitted and a buffer freed, the hook can cause information for that packet to be transmitted to an appropriate location, such as a network traffic control component or control plane component, whereby that information can be compared with packet, source, and other such information to infer which packets have been transmitted, which packets are pending, and other such information. This information can be used for various purposes, such as to dynamically adjust the allocation of a resource (e.g., a NIC) to various sources based at least in part upon the monitored behavior.
US08462630B2

One or more flow control modules, implemented on various types of network topologies, provide a number of functionalities for controlling the flow of IP packets (such as TCP/IP packets) over a network connection. The flow control modules may be implemented within a sender and/or receiver or may be deployed into a network as a separate device without requiring significant additional resources.
US08462628B2

Public scheduling tables of PCI-Express network devices are remapped into private scheduling tables having different data structures. The private scheduling tables enable the construction of parallel-processing selection engines (ones with look-ahead selection capabilities) that are more compact in size than would have been possible with use of the data structures of the public scheduling tables. In one embodiment, residual weight values are re-shuffled so as to move each winner of an arbitration round away from a winner's proximity bar by a distance corresponding to an initial weight assigned to the winner. The initial weight can be proportional to the reciprocal of a bandwidth allocation assigned to each data source.
US08462619B2

Methods and systems for providing fault detection and management are disclosed. A system includes a web-based interface that allows a user to access all elements of a customer service network, which spans multiple networks, departments, and external partners. The system, and thereby the user, is able to manage almost all aspects of the network, thereby giving the user end-to-end customer experience issue management. Real time and archived events are utilized, in some embodiments, for root cause analysis and/or process and/or performance improvement. Events from differing transport, platform, technology and OSI model levels are correlated for optimal customer experience monitoring alarming and analysis.
US08462615B2

A transmitting apparatus includes an OFDM modulator that generates a first modulation symbol by modulating a first information signal using a first modulation scheme, a signal point of the first modulated information signal being at a first position in an in-phase quadrature-phase plane. A second modulation symbol by modulating a second information signal using the first modulation scheme, and by changing a second position at which a signal point of the modulated second information signal is arranged to a third position in the in-phase quadrature-phase plane, and an OFDM modulation signal including the first modulation symbol and the second modulation symbol, wherein the OFDM modulation signal comprises a plurality of subcarriers.
US08462613B2

The present invention relates to a method of channel estimation comprising two major steps. The first step is the least-squared and minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimations on the pilot resource elements to generate the channel response estimates at the predefined pilot locations. The second step of the channel estimation, which utilizes the results from the first step to compute the channel response estimates for the remaining resource elements, comprises the following three operations: (i) averaging of each pair of adjacent pilot resource elements in the frequency direction to obtain the channel response estimate of the resource element in the middle of those two pilot resource elements; (ii) MMSE interpolation in the time domain for all the sub-carriers containing pilot signals; and (iii) linear interpolation in the frequency direction for all the sub-carriers not containing any pilot signals.
US08462605B2

Embodiments of methods and systems for controlling access to information stored on memory or data storage devices are disclosed. In various embodiments, methods of retrieving information from a data storage device previously deactivated by modification or degradation of at least a portion of the data storage device are disclosed.
US08462580B2

A memory system includes a plurality of non-volatile storage elements that each comprise a diode (or other steering device) in series with reversible resistance-switching material. One or more circuits in the memory system program the non-volatile storage elements by changing the reversible resistance-switching material of one or more non-volatile storage elements to a first resistance state. The memory system can also change the reversible resistance-switching material of one or more of the non-volatile storage elements from the first resistance state to a second resistance state by applying one or more pairs of opposite polarity voltage conditions (e.g., pulses) to the respective diodes (or other steering devices) such that current flows in the diodes (or other steering devices) without operating the diodes (or other steering devices) in breakdown condition.
US08462572B2

An ultra low power sense amplifier circuit for amplifying a low swing input signal to a full swing output signal is disclosed. In one aspect, the amplifier circuit includes a first amplifier stage for pre-amplifying the input signal to an intermediate signal on its internal nodes, a second amplifier stage for amplifying the intermediate signal to the output signal, and a control circuit for sequentially activating the first and second amplifier. The first amplifier has a capacitor for limiting energy consumption and two upsized PMOS transistors without NMOS transistors.
US08462571B2

A dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and a method for testing the DRAM are provided. The DRAM includes a memory cell, a bit line associated with the memory cell, a local buffer, and a bit line sense amplifier (BLSA). The local buffer receives a first power voltage as power supply. The local buffer provides a ground voltage to the bit line when a data signal is de-asserted and provides the first power voltage to the bit line when the data signal is asserted. The BLSA receives a second power voltage as power supply. The BLSA provides the second power voltage to the bit line when the data signal and a wafer level burn-in test signal are both asserted. The second power voltage may be higher than the first power voltage. The wafer level burn-in test signal is asserted when the DRAM is in a wafer level burn-in test mode.
US08462567B2

A semiconductor memory which is capable of performing data reading without a faulty operation irrespective of the span of an address skew period. In detecting whether an address transition has been made and precharging a bit line formed in a memory cell array when a certain delay period has elapsed after the address transition is detected, the delay period is adjusted based on a delay period extension signal.
US08462566B2

A memory component having a first and second interface. The first interface is provided to sample address information in response to a first clock signal. The first interface includes inputs to sample at least two bits of the address information in succession during a clock cycle of the first clock signal. The second interface is provided to sample data in response to a second clock signal, having a frequency that is at least twice the frequency of the first clock signal. The second interface includes inputs to sample at least two bits of data in succession during a clock cycle of the second clock signal.
US08462560B2

The semiconductor device includes a temperature sensor controlled so that temperature measurement is made once at each of a plurality of different reference temperatures at an interval of a preset number of times of refresh operations and a plurality of latch circuits holding the results of temperature measurement. A refresh period is set from outputs of the latch circuits inclusive of the result of temperature measurement carried out last time for each of a plurality of different reference temperatures. After start of measurement, temperature measurements are repeated every wait time corresponding to circulation of the refresh operations. The refresh period is set such that the high-temperature side results of temperature measurement are prioritized (FIG. 2).
US08462554B2

Over-erase verification and repair methods for a flash memory. The flash memory is an NOR type stack flash. The disclosed method performs an over-erased column verification test on a sector of the NOR type stack flash column by column. An over-erased column repair process is individually performed on the columns which do not pass the over-erased column verification test. For the columns processed by the over-erased column repair process but still incapable of passing the over-erased column verification test, an over-erased bit verification test is performed on each bit thereof. The bits incapable of passing the over-erased bit verification test are further processed by an over-erased repair process individually.
US08462550B2

A system and method for storing data uses multiple flash memory dies. Each flash memory die includes multiple flash memory cells. A charge pump is adapted to supply charge at a predetermined voltage to each flash memory die of the flash memory dies, and an interface is adapted to receive instructions for controlling the charge pump.
US08462549B2

Methods and apparatus are provided for read-side intercell interference mitigation in flash memories. A flash memory device is read by obtaining a read value for at least one target cell; obtaining a value representing a voltage stored in at least one aggressor cell that was programmed after the target cell; determining intercell interference for the target cell from the at least one aggressor cell; and obtaining a new read value that compensates for the intercell interference by removing the determined intercell interference from the read value for the at least one target cell. The new read value can optionally be provided to a decoder. In an iterative implementation, one or more intercell interference mitigation parameters can be adjusted if a decoding error occurs.
US08462537B2

The present disclosure relates to the fabrication of non-volatile memory devices. In at least one embodiment, the non-volatile memory of the present disclosure may include a phase change memory and switch (hereinafter “PCMS”) memory cell and a process for resetting the PCMS memory utilizing a “look-up” table to calculate a current required to place a bit above a reference level to maximum threshold voltage.
US08462536B2

The present description relates to non-volatile memory arrays and the operation thereof In at least one embodiment, the non-volatile memory array may include a plurality of memory modules coupled in a daisy chain with enable in/out signals, and a single chip enable signal coupled in parallel to each memory module. With such a configuration, all memory units within each of the memory modules of each memory array may be addressed with the single chip enable signal.
US08462532B1

Quaternary CAM cells are provided that include one or more compare circuits that each has a minimal number of pull-down transistors coupled between the match line and ground potential. For some embodiments, the compare circuit includes two parallel paths between the match line and ground potential, with each parallel path consisting of a single pull-down transistor having a gate selectively coupled to the stored data value in response to a comparand value.
US08462529B2

A power converter assembly is provided. The power converter assembly includes first, second, and third power modules. The second power module is coupled to the first power module such that the second power module is separated from the first power module by a first distance. The third power module is coupled to the first and second power modules such that the third power module is separated from the second power module by a second distance and is separated from the first power module by a third distance. The first, second, and third distances are substantially the same.
US08462523B2

An example controller for a switched mode power supply includes a zero-crossing detector and a drive signal generator. The zero-crossing detector is coupled to generate a zero-crossing signal representative of a phase angle of a dimmer output voltage for a half line cycle of the power supply. The drive signal generator controls switching of a switch to regulate an output of the power supply in response to a feedback signal representative of the output. The drive signal generator further controls switching of the switch to adjust dimming of the output of the power supply in response to the phase angle indicated by the zero-crossing signal.
US08462519B2

There is disclosed a method of shielding a circuit board, a circuit board, an electromagnetic shield and a method of manufacturing an electromagnetic shield. In an aspect, the method comprises placing a first electromagnetic shield over a first area of the circuit board and placing a second electromagnetic shield over a second area of the circuit board. At least one of the electromagnetic shields has at least one projection therefrom that contacts and makes electrical connection with a surface of the other electromagnetic shield when the shields are placed on the circuit board.
US08462518B2

An electronics module docking system includes docking member removably coupled to a photovoltaic module. The docking system includes a first connector port electrically coupled to one or more photovoltaic cells of the photovoltaic module. The photovoltaic module is selectively coupleable to the docking member. The docking system includes a housing to enclose an electronics module. The housing may include second connector port that is selectively engageable to the power electronics module. The power electronics module and the photovoltaic cells are electrically coupled to one another upon selective engagement of the connector ports. The inverter housing is receivable by and removably coupleable to the docking member allowing the inverter housing to be removably coupleable to the photovoltaic module.
US08462515B2

An exemplary electronic includes a casing and a circuit board. The casing includes a bottom plate and two side plates extending upward from two opposite sides of the bottom plate, respectively. Hooks are formed on the bottom plate. Two guiding members are located at the side plates, respectively. The circuit board defines engaging slots corresponding to the hooks of the bottom plate, respectively. During assembly of the circuit board to the casing, the circuit board is inserted into the casing and slides between the side plates with two opposite lateral sides thereof sliding along the guiding members, until the hooks of the bottom plate are received in the engaging slots of the circuit board and the circuit board is thereby secured in the casing.
US08462512B2

A chip card holder is used for assembling a chip card. The chip card holder includes a housing and a latching cover. The housing includes a top wall and a sidewall connected to the top wall. The top wall defines a receiving slot, and the chip card is exposed from the receiving slot. The sidewall defines an opening communicating with the receiving slot. The latching cover is rotatably assembled to the housing to cover the opening.
US08462509B2

A heat-dissipating module for use in an electric device includes a circuit board, at least one heat-generating element, and at least one heat-conducting element. The circuit board has a first surface, a second surface and at least one perforation. The heat-conducting element is disposed in the perforation. The heat-conducting element includes a base and a sidewall. The heat-generating element is disposed on the base or the sidewall of the heat-conducting element so that the heat by the heat-generating element is conducted to the second surface of the circuit board through the heat-conducting element.
US08462507B2

A cooling element for an electronic apparatus can include an inlet for receiving fluid, an outlet for forwarding fluid from the cooling element, and multiple pipes providing parallel fluid paths for passing the fluid from the inlet to the outlet. To obtain a simple and efficient cooling element, multiple base plates for receiving electronic components can be attached to the pipes for conducting heat generated by the electronic components to the fluid in the pipes.
US08462504B2

An air-cooled heat exchanger includes a casing, a first heat-exchanging core, a second heat-exchanging core, a first internal driving device, a second internal driving device and an external driving device. The first internal driving device is used for driving a first internally-circulated airflow to flow along a first internal circulation path. The second internal driving device is used for driving a second internally-circulated airflow to flow along a second internal circulation path. The external driving device is used for driving a first externally-circulated airflow to flow along a first external circulation path and driving a second externally-circulated airflow to flow along a second external circulation path. The first heat-exchanging core is configured to perform heat exchange between the first internally-circulated airflow and the first externally-circulated airflow. The second heat-exchanging core is configured to perform heat exchange between the second internally-circulated airflow and the second externally-circulated airflow.
US08462503B2

An electronic device includes a bottom plate, a circuit board, a fan, and an airflow guide member. The circuit board is fixed to the bottom plate. The fan is arranged at the front of the circuit board. The airflow guide member is arranged between the fan and the circuit board. The airflow guide member includes an airflow guide wall for guiding most of airflow upwards to the top of the circuit board. A number of slots is defined in the airflow guide wall, for allowing only a minimum portion of the airflow to flow underneath the circuit board.
US08462502B2

A storage device mounting structure with excellent handleability for storage devices is provided.A storage device mounting structure according to this invention includes a unit for housing a plurality of storage devices, a chassis for housing the unit, and a guide mechanism for supporting the unit and guiding it into or out of the chassis, wherein the unit has an open area for inserting the plurality of storage devices from a front face of the unit into the unit and is supported by the guide mechanism so that the unit can freely move rotationally to make a surface of the unit, where the open area exists, positioned at the front of the chassis.
US08462497B2

A computer system includes a display, a computer case securing the display, a fan assembly and a cover. A motherboard is attached to the computer case. A chip, a heat dissipating device, and a system fan are located on the motherboard. The fan assembly includes a securing plate and a fan attached to the securing plate. The securing plate covers the plurality of the memory cards. The cover defines a plurality of air intakes and a plurality of air outlets. The plurality of air intakes, the fan, the heat dissipating device, the chip, the system fan and the plurality of air outlets together form an air path for moving air therethrough.
US08462493B2

A mounting mechanism for assembling a storage device includes a pair of parallel brackets and a latching member. Each of the brackets defines a sliding slot and a latching hole therein. A space is defined between the brackets for receiving the storage device. The latching member includes a resisting portion for abutting the storage device and a pair of latching portions formed at opposite ends of the resisting portion. Each of the latching portions includes a hook engaged in the latching hole of the bracket.
US08462491B2

A platform for a military radio with a vehicle adapter amplifier has been developed. The apparatus includes a base for supporting at least one SINCGARS RT-1523 radio. The platform has a first power supply that includes a DC power converter for converting 110/220 alternating current into +28 Volt direct current and a second power supply that converts +28 Volt direct current into +6.75 Volts direct current, +13 Volts direct current and +200 Volt direct current. The platform includes a vehicle adapter power amplifier that provides range extension to said SINCGARS RT-1523 radio.
US08462488B2

An electronic device capable of ejecting a peripheral element is disclosed, including a housing, a first wheel and a driving unit. The housing has a chamber, wherein the peripheral element is stored in the chamber. The first wheel is disposed in the housing, wherein the first wheel contacts the peripheral element. The driving unit is disposed in the housing, the driving unit rotates the first wheel, and the first wheel moves the peripheral element from a first position to a second position.
US08462487B2

A power system for connecting high voltage components includes an enclosure having an interior space. A plurality of high voltage (HV) components are removably coupled to the enclosure and positioned in the interior space of the enclosure. The plurality of HV components are electrically coupled to each other. A motor is positioned outside the enclosure, and the motor is electrically interconnected through the enclosure to one of the HV components. A heat sink is positioned within the interior space for providing thermal heat transfer away from the components.
US08462481B2

An anti-lightning system for a composite structure having an external surface configured to be subjected to an air flow, the aforementioned system including at least one electrically conducting strip and fasteners attaching this strip to the aforementioned structure. According to the disclosed embodiments, with this structure including holes configured to accept the fastenings for the strip, at least some these fastenings comprise an attachment element that attaches the lightning to this structure. This attachment element is configured to be inserted in the hole with its upper part substantially flush with the external surface of the structure, this attachment element being in electrical contact with the electrically conducting strip. The electrically conducting strip is configured to be positioned on the opposite side of the structure to the external surface and electrically earthed.
US08462478B2

A device may include a switch and a circuit coupled to the switch. The switch may include a structure with a top portion and a bottom portion and a material included within the structure. The material is configured to expand within the structure when voltage is applied to the material. The switch may also include a conductive element located in a bottom portion of the structure and connected to the material, wherein the conductive element operates to electrically close the switch when the applied voltage exceeds a threshold. The circuit includes a resistor. The circuit is configured to reduce the voltage supplied to components of the device when the switch is closed.
US08462474B2

There is provided a reclosing system for a power transmission line, which performs high-speed reclosing using protection relays. The protection relays are provided at different terminals of the power transmission line. Each of the protection relays is configured to send the reclosing command to the circuit breaker when a line voltage at the phase with the accident, detected by the metering voltage transformer after the phase with the accident is cut off, falls within an allowable range. The allowable range is determined based on a line voltage assumed at the phase when the phase is normal.
US08462471B2

The present invention provides a circuit interrupting device which comprises a leakage current detection and protection circuit containing a simulated leakage current generation circuit which is capable of automatically generating a simulated leakage current when the circuit interrupting device is properly wired and in a tripped state to automatically test the functions of the key components of the circuit interrupting device. The simulated leakage current generation circuit comprises a normally closed switch and a normally open switch. The leakage current detection and protection circuit further comprises a normal status indicator light and a power output indicator light to indicate whether the circuit interrupting device is working properly and/or reverse wired. The circuit interrupting device further comprises a reset switch, a pair of discharged metal pieces, and four pairs of circuit interrupting contacts.
US08462470B2

An automatic power-off and actuation circuit for a fan comprises a drive unit, a detection unit, a voltage-modulating unit, a comparison unit, an auto-restart unit, a regulation unit and a controlled IC, wherein the detection unit is electrically connected to the drive unit, the voltage-modulating unit is electrically connected to the detection unit, the comparison unit is electrically connected to the voltage-modulating unit, the auto-restart unit is electrically connected to the comparison unit, the regulation unit is electrically connected to the auto-restart unit and the drive unit, and the controlled IC is electrically connected to the regulation unit and the drive unit.
US08462463B2

A recording media design having discrete track recording structure where the trenches between tracks are filled with a soft magnetic material is provided. The soft magnetic material provides a low magnetic impedance path to the soft underlayer such that fringe fields from the write head are conducted to the soft underlayer without having a negative effect such as adjacent track erasure. A method of manufacturing the media includes a nano-imprint step and ion milling out the data layer to create the trenches. A B2O3 material allows the data layer to be ion milled out without redeposition bridging the B2O3 layer thus preventing lift off of the mask. The trenches are then filled by ion deposition with the layers of ferromagnetic material separated by an anti-ferromagnetic coupling that causes the flux to be conducted to the soft underlayer and remnant flux to rotate within the island and not into adjacent tracks.
US08462461B2

A spin-torque oscillator (STO) has increased magnetic damping of the oscillating free ferromagnetic layer. The Gilbert magnetic damping parameter (α) is at least 0.05, and preferably greater than 0.05. The free layer may be a any type of conventional ferromagnetic material, but contains one or more damping elements as a dopant. The damping element is selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd and the 15 lanthanide elements. The free layer damping may also be increased by a damping layer adjacent the free layer. One type of damping layer may be an antiferromagnetic material, like a Mn alloy. As a modification to the antiferromagnetic damping layer, a bilayer damping layer may be formed of the antiferromagnetic layer and a nonmagnetic metal electrically conductive separation layer between the free layer and the antiferromagnetic layer. Another type of damping layer may be one formed of one or more of the elements selected from Pt, Pd and the lanthanides.
US08462456B2

The present invention relates providing a magnetic data eraser that is capable of performing magnetizing process for magnetizing magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) is easily and with reduced electric power.The magnetic data eraser includes: holding drawer means for holding a magnetic recording medium which means has a mounting tray for mounting the magnetic recording medium, wherein the mounting tray is inclined a predetermined value of degrees of angle; and magnetizing means for magnetizing the magnetic recording medium, wherein the magnetizing means is covered by a magnetizing coil and has a hollow body portion, the holding drawer means being accommodated in the hollow body portion, and the magnetic recording medium being placed on the mounting tray of the holding drawer means.
US08462453B2

A system and method for magnetic transfer. A magnetic transfer device includes a plurality of pairs of magnetic field generating units that apply a magnetic field to a contact body which includes a master disk in close contact with a magnetic recording medium, wherein the master disk has a pattern of preformatted signals. The magnetic field generating units, falling within a specified length range, are moved in synchrony at a predetermined speed in the directions of the outer periphery while the contact body is caused to rotate by a rotation drive unit. The system and method provide a magnetic transfer method and a magnetic transfer device that, by reducing the area of magnetic field generating units that apply a transfer magnetic field, can reduce an attractive force (or repulsive force) between the magnets, and furthermore, shorten a processing time for the transfer.
US08462452B2

An electromagnetic driving device which is defined with an axis and comprises: a casing, a driven unit and an electromagnetic driving module. The casing has an inner compartment. The driven unit is received in the compartment and is guided by a guiding mechanism such that the driven unit is movable alone the axis inside the casing. The electromagnetic driving module comprises: a plurality of permanent magnets inside the casing, at least one magnetic member fixed to an outer surface of the driven unit, and a coil located between the magnetic member and permanent magnets. When no electric power is provided to the coil, the magnetic forcing between the permanent magnets and magnetic member will result in a friction force to the guiding mechanism, so as to keep the driven unit at its current position inside the compartment.
US08462450B2

The optical apparatus includes a first optical unit and a second optical unit that are movable in an optical axis direction, actuators that respectively move the first and second optical units in the optical axis direction, and a linking mechanism that is configured to link the first and second optical units with each other such that, in a state where the optical axis direction is tilted with respect to a horizontal direction and thereby an obliquely downward force caused by gravity acts on each of the first and second optical units in an obliquely downward direction, one of the first and second optical units works as a counterweight to provide an obliquely upward force acting on the other of the first and second optical units in an obliquely upward direction.
US08462445B2

A lens control apparatus having a zoom lens includes first and second operation members that give a zoom instruction for moving the zoom lens, and a controller that changes a zoom stop position to a first pattern according to the operation of the first operation member, and changes the zoom stop position to a second pattern, which has an interval wider than that in the first pattern, according to the operation of the second operation member.
US08462440B2

An optical system includes at least one lens unit having a negative refractive power disposed closer to an object side than an aperture portion. The lens unit having a negative refractive power includes at least one positive lens and one negative lens. The ratio between the numbers of positive lenses and negative lenses included in the lens unit having a negative refractive power is appropriately set. The lens unit having a negative refractive power includes a plurality of negative lenses each having an appropriate Abbe number and relative partial dispersion and a positive lens having an appropriate Abbe number. A negative lens having the highest dispersion among the negative lenses is located in an appropriate position.
US08462438B2

In constructing a lens for projection substantially consisting of seven lenses, and the reduction side of which is telecentric, a first-lens-group is composed of two lenses including at least one negative lens. A second-lens-group is composed of a positive second-group first-lens having a convex surface facing the magnification side, a negative second-group second-lens having a concave surface facing the magnification side, a positive second-group third-lens having a convex surface facing the reduction side, a positive second-group fourth-lens, and a positive second-group fifth-lens in this order from the magnification side. The formulas (A) and (B) are satisfied: 1.2≦Bf/f≦2.5  (A); and f23/f≦1.5  (B), where Bf is a back focus in air of an entire lens system, f is the focal length of the entire lens system, and f23 is the focal length of an air lens between a reduction-side surface of the second-group second-lens and a magnification-side surface of the second-group third-lens.
US08462435B2

An imaging apparatus includes a light receiving device array having light receiving devices two-dimensionally arranged in both a row direction and a column direction, and a light transmissive filter disposed in front of the light receiving device array, wherein the light transmissive filter includes plural types of band-shaped light transmissive sections having respective, different light transmissive characteristics, and the plural types of band-shaped light transmissive sections are arranged in sequence in a width direction thereof.
US08462426B1

A method to increase the output power of monolithic narrow-linewidth Yb-doped fiber amplifiers by suppressing simulated Brillouin scattering. The fiber amplifier employs a co-propagating geometry and is seeded with broad- (source 2) and narrow- (source 1) linewidth signals that are sufficiently different in wavelengths to allow for efficient gain competition and favorable temperature profile at the output end of fiber. The broadband seed signal possesses the higher emission and absorption cross sections. If source 2 is also given sufficiently greater input power than source 1, it will be amplified to its maximum value as the seed signals reach the middle portion of the gain fiber. Beyond that portion, the signal having the lower emission and absorption cross sections (signal 1) will continue to experience gain by power transfer from both signal 2 and the pump light, attaining a power output well beyond what the maximum output would have been had the amplifier been illuminated with a single frequency beam. Furthermore, if the two signals are carefully selected such that appreciable quantum defect heating occurs during the power transfer, a steep thermal gradient develops leading to even further increase in output power.
US08462415B2

A connecting structure for micromechanical oscillating devices, in particular micromechanical oscillating mirrors. The connecting structure is at least indirectly connectable to a micromechanical oscillating structure, on the one hand, and to an elastic element, on the other hand, for measuring torsions of the micromechanical oscillating structure, and includes at least one, in particular at least two, preferably three, legs which are situated parallel to a rotation axis of the micromechanical oscillating structure, and at least one further leg which is situated perpendicularly to the rotation axis. The extension of the connecting structure parallel to the rotation axis has at least two-and-a-half times, in particular three times, the extension of the connecting structure perpendicular to the rotation axis, and includes at least one resistance element for measuring torsions of the connecting structure, the resistance element being situated in the area of increased mechanical stress when the connecting structure undergoes torsion.
US08462407B2

Disclosed are methods (900) and apparatuses (600) for determining a location of a graphical object (2220) printed onto a print medium (230), said graphical object comprising a plurality of object marks, the method comprising the steps of superposing a two-dimensional reference pattern (710) having a pre-defined degree of accuracy over the printed graphical object, the two-dimensional reference pattern comprising a plurality of pattern marks (770); scanning the superposed printed graphical object and reference pattern to produce a scanned image (2400); determining a location coordinate (2923) of the graphical object in the scanned image (2400); and refining the location coordinate dependent upon the scanned reference pattern to determine a reference pattern coordinate (2904′) associated with the location coordinate (2923). Also disclosed are methods (1800), apparatuses, and computer program products for determining a head size (420) of a print head (3110) of a printer (3100) using the aforementioned method.
US08462400B2

An image-reading apparatus that optically reads an original, includes: an illuminating section that illuminates the original with light; an imaging unit that creates pixel data on the basis of reflected light reflected from the original; a moving unit that moves the illuminating section and the imaging unit relative to the original in steps of a fixed distance in a scanning direction that points from one end of the original toward another end of the original; an illumination mode controller that, for each unit step of movement out of one entire scanning movement in the scanning direction performed by the moving unit, controls the illuminating section so that the illuminating section is made to operate in each of a plurality of illumination modes.
US08462383B2

An image forming apparatus includes a color converting unit 330 for subjecting the input image data to a color conversion in accordance with ink color, and generating a print image 400; a print data generator 370-x for generating print data of each scan corresponding to multiple scans of the print image generated by the color converting unit 330; print controller 380-x for controlling at least one of the color converting unit 330 or print data generator 370-x based upon the input image data 320 or a position on a scanning line of each dot to be printed in the print image 400 generated by the color converting unit 330; and a printer engine 180 for printing on the print medium based upon the print data generated by the print data generator 370-x.
US08462376B2

Disclosed an image forming apparatus to form an image on a basis of an image data file stored in an external memory, including: an expansion memory to expand the image data file; a memory residual capacity calculating section to calculate a residual capacity of the expansion memory; a memory occupying amount predicting section to predict a memory occupying amount necessary to expand the image data file into the expansion memory; a specification section to specify an image formable image data file which is processable by the image forming apparatus among the image data files stored in the external memory on a basis of the residual capacity of the expansion memory and the memory occupying amount, and a display controlling section to display a file name of the specified image formable image data file in a display section.
US08462370B2

An image forming apparatus simplifies function customization or expansion, and enables accurate reproduction of conditions attached to a stored document without causing a strong dependency among individual components when the stored document is reutilized. The image processing apparatus includes a first filter that controls a data input process, and a second filter that controls a data output process, the first filter and the second filter constructing an application. A setting condition is set for each of the first filter and the second filter. In response to an instruction to register a stored document, a condition ID that is assigned to the setting condition is acquired. The condition ID and the image data are stored in a database in association with one another.
US08462369B2

The present invention provides a hybrid image processing system, which generally includes an image processing unit for receiving image data corresponding to a set of images, generating commands for processing the image data, and sending the images and the commands to an image processing unit of the hybrid image processing system. Upon receipt, the image processing unit will recognize and interpret the commands, assign and/or schedule tasks for processing the image data to a set of (e.g., special) processing engines based on the commands, and return results and/or processed image data to the image interface unit.
US08462366B2

Embodiments disclosed herein can facilitate delivery of a document from a source to a destination over a network where an initial delivery attempt has been unsuccessful. Actions to be taken are based upon input conditions which may include a time-variable set of input conditions such as identifying non-business days and/or hours at the destination. The document can be a fax, an email, or a voice mail. The actions may include resubmitting the document to the network for a next delivery attempt, cancelling the document, sending a request to the source or destination for additional delivery information, identifying the destination as a technical problem, or a combination thereof.
US08462363B1

A method and apparatus for faster monochrome printing in an in-line electrophotographic printer is described. The printer is configured such that it has more light emitting sources for use in an image transfer assembly for black than for image transfer assemblies for any other color in the printer. When printing a color print job, less than all of the light emitting sources in the black image transfer assembly are used. A print controller directs print data for a monochrome print job to all of the available light emitting sources in the black image transfer assembly and increases the print medium transport speed. The system and method may be configured to operate with dedicated data channels for each light emitting source or may share some data channels for monochrome and color print jobs.
US08462362B2

An image formation device capable of forming a plurality of reduced images on an output medium comprises an input data acquisition unit which acquires input data, a recognizability judgment unit which judges whether each reduced image to be formed corresponding to each piece of input data acquired by the input data acquisition unit is recognizable to a user or not based on the input data and size of the reduced image to be formed, and a reduced image formation unit which forms the reduced images that are judged to be recognizable by the recognizability judgment unit on the output medium while prohibiting the formation of the reduced images that are judged to be unrecognizable by the recognizability judgment unit.
US08462361B2

At the start of printing, it is determined whether binary rasterized data is available. If the binary rasterized data is available, execution of binary rasterization processing is designated. When generating print data based on binary data rasterized by binary rasterization processing, it is determined whether a printing apparatus can process binary rasterized data. If the printing apparatus cannot process binary rasterized data, binary rasterized data is processed to generate and output print data.
US08462360B2

A printing device, to be connected to a network system including network devices sharing image data in a particular format, comprises: a print instruction receiving unit which receives print data containing font information from a network device; a query transmitting unit which transmits a supply query, inquiring whether each network device is capable of supplying a printer font regarding the font information as image data in the particular format, to the network devices; a response receiving unit which receives affirmative responses, indicating that the supply of a printer font regarding the supply query as image data in the particular format is possible, from network devices in response to the supply query; and a printing unit which prints out the print data by use of a printer font held by a network device transmitting the affirmative response as image data in the particular format in response to reception of the affirmative response.
US08462358B2

The invention relates to an apparatus for input of movements and/or registration of forces, comprising at least one light source, at least one position sensitive device (PSD) and at least one diaphragm, wherein at least one of these three elements is moveable with respect to the two other elements. The light source is arranged at a mounting so that light from the light source is emitted through an opening in the mounting and through the at least one diaphragm onto the at least one PSD.
US08462355B2

A scanning microscope includes an acousto-optic scanner that produces a scanned beam. A beam separator based on total internal reflection or angle tuning of a dielectric filter separates an unscanned portion of an excitation light flux from a scanned portion. The scanned beam is directed to a specimen, and optical radiation generated in response to the scanned beam is directed to a detector that produces a detected signal that can be used to determine an image. The scanned beam can be directed to the specimen without formation of any intermediate focusing.
US08462351B2

The present invention provides a measurement apparatus including a reflector configured to reflect a light traveling from an optical system, a detector configured to detect a light incident thereon via the reflector and a measurement optical system including one of a reference surface and a wavefront conversion element, and a load application device configured to apply a load to the reflector in an application direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the load application device applying a compression load to a first portion of the reflector below the optical axis, at a magnitude corresponding to an angle and a position of the first portion, in the application direction thereat, and applying a tension load to a second portion of the reflector above the optical axis, at a magnitude corresponding to an angle and a position of the second portion, in the application direction thereat.
US08462349B1

Systems and methods are described herein for a self-referencing interferometer. The interferometer can comprise an improved spatial phase shifter that reduces the number of components, size and complexity of the spatial phase shifter and maintains a common path for a combined reference beam and signal beam. The self-referencing interferometer further comprises a single mode fiber shunt for filtering the reference beam and further reducing the size of the interferometer. The angle of the reference beam can be tilted before being recombined with the single beam which further simplifies the spatial phase shifting component of the interferometer.
US08462341B2

A system, method of configuring, and application a system for introducing a relative phase retardation into orthogonally polarized components of an electromagnetic beam entered thereinto, wherein the system involves a substantially achromatic multiple element retarder system for use in wide spectral range (for example, 190-1700 nm) rotating compensator spectroscopic ellipsometer and/or polarimeter systems.
US08462340B2

A gel particle measuring apparatus detects a gel particle production starting point with high sensitivity, for measurement of a target substance in a sample by a gelation reaction. The gel particle measuring apparatus includes a sample cell accommodating a sample and a solution containing a reagent, a stirring device for stirring a mixed solution including the sample and the solution containing the reagent, a coherent light source that irradiates the mixed solution with coherent light, a transmitted light detecting device outside the sample cell, on the opposite side of the coherent light source, a transmitted light fluctuation detecting device for detecting a fluctuation component of the transmitted light, and a gel particle production determining device for determining at least the production state of gel particles, which leads to timing of phase transition of the mixed solution from a sol phase to a gel phase.
US08462336B2

An apparatus includes a position-sensitive detector to detect intensities of radiation as a function of position on the detector, and an optical system, characterized by a diffraction-limited resolution volume, adapted for imaging light emitted from activated and excited phototransformable optical labels (“PTOLs”) in a sample onto the position sensitive-detector. A first light source provides activation radiation to the sample to activate a subset of the PTOLs that are distributed in the sample with a density greater than an inverse of the diffraction-limited resolution volume of the optical system. A second light source provides excitation radiation to the sample to excite a portion of the PTOLs in the subset of the PTOLs. A controller controls one both of the activation radiation and the excitation radiation provided to the sample such that a density of PTOLs in the portion of the PTOLs is less than the inverse of the diffraction-limited resolution volume.
US08462332B2

Visual analysis of urine samples is carried out with the use of a slide consisting of three layers containing an enclosed viewing chamber which receives a urine sample deposited by pipette into an opening on the outer layer of the slide. From the inlet opening the sample enters an inlet chamber in the middle layer and passes through a capillary passageway into the viewing chamber where it is inspected for particles and sediments.
US08462319B2

An apparatus and a method for detecting deformations of a vehicle component on a motor vehicle are disclosed, which are capable of unambiguously determining the location and temporal progression of the deformation, as well as the severity of the deformation, within a very short time after the deformation of the vehicle component begins. An emitter unit together with a detector unit is displaced relative to an aperture component disposed on the vehicle component upon deformation of the vehicle component. A beam path of a light beam between the emitter unit and the detector unit is interrupted or opened when the aperture component is displaced relative to the emitter unit, thereby changing an illumination intensity detected by the detector unit. A signal representative of the illumination intensity is transmitted from the detector unit to an evaluation unit.
US08462315B2

A method for improving imaging properties of an optical system and an optical system of this type having improved imaging properties are described. The optical system can have a plurality of optical elements. In some embodiments, an optical element is positioned and/or deformed by mechanical force action and by thermal action. In certain embodiments, one optical element is positioned and/or deformed by mechanical force action and another optical element is deformed by thermal action.
US08462313B2

An immersion lithographic apparatus comprising a surface which is curved such that a surface-tension drainage force acts in a direction on a film of immersion liquid on the surface.
US08462307B2

A LCD device and its fabrication method as discussed. According to an embodiment, the LCD device includes a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged on a substrate to define a plurality of unit pixels; thin film transistors (TFTs) each formed at an intersecting region of the gate lines and the data lines; a plurality of gate pad portions and data pad portions formed at end portions of the gate lines and the data lines, respectively, at least one of the gate and data pad portions being made up of at least two pad unit portions, each pad unit portion having at least one contact hole such that the contact holes of one of the plurality of gate or data pad portions are arranged in a zigzag or an oblique line format; and pixel electrodes formed at the unit pixels.
US08462297B2

Disclosed is a film having polarization selectivity and diffusibility, and a means for easily producing the film. The polarizing diffuser film is composed of substantially one kind of crystalline resin having an intrinsic birefringence of not less than 0.1, has a total light transmittance to visible light of 50-90%, a transmission haze to visible light of 15-90% and a transition polarization degree to visible light of 20-90%.
US08462293B2

A tandem type backlight comprises plural light-emitting units (11) including at least one point light source (5) and a light guide plate (7) for causing light from the at least one point light source to be diffused and surface-emitted. In each of the light-emitting units (11), a length X of a light guide area (9) is set so that an area, on a boundary surface between a light-emitting area (10) and the light guide area (9), of a cross-section of a light beam that is emitted from the at least one point light source (5) and is diffused in the light guide plate (7) is equal to or larger than an area of the boundary surface (interface). Moreover, a length X, in a length direction D1, of the light guide area is smaller than a length Y, in the length direction D1, of the light-emitting area.
US08462292B2

Images are displayed in response to a video signal using a light emitting assembly having one or more optically transmissive substrates, films or sheets, each having at least one pattern of optical elements on or in the substrates, films or sheets. A plurality of light sources are configured to illuminate one or more output areas of one or more of the substrates, films or sheets. The light emitting assembly is configured to emit light through the pattern of optical elements and produce a predetermined luminance profile of the light emitting assembly. At least one of the light sources is dimmed or boosted in response to an input video signal while operating a liquid crystal display as a light valve to illuminate the liquid crystal display by the light emitting assembly. At least some adjacent substrates, films or sheets may have portions that overlap, and at least one pattern of optical elements on or in at least one side of the substrates, films or sheets may be configured so that discontinuities between the adjacent substrates, films or sheets are minimized. A predetermined light output from the light emitting assembly may be produced by varying the electrical input to at least some of the light sources.
US08462286B2

A method of manufacturing, with high mass productivity, liquid crystal display devices having highly reliable thin film transistors with excellent electric characteristics is provided. In a liquid crystal display device having an inverted staggered thin film transistor, the inverted staggered thin film transistor is formed as follows: a gate insulating film is formed over a gate electrode; a microcrystalline semiconductor film which functions as a channel formation region is formed over the gate insulating film; a buffer layer is formed over the microcrystalline semiconductor film; a pair of source and drain regions are formed over the buffer layer; and a pair of source and drain electrodes are formed in contact with the source and drain regions so as to expose a part of the source and drain regions.
US08462285B2

A first contact hole formed in a gate driving circuit is covered with an electrically conductive oxide film formed to be connected to the first contact hole and having a first pattern. The periphery of the electrically conductive oxide film is surrounded by an electrically conductive oxide film (a sacrifice electrode) formed simultaneously with the electrically conductive oxide film and having a second pattern form.
US08462279B2

A pair of stereoscopic glasses includes a pair of left and right stereoscopic rims connected to each other and respectively holding stereoscopic optical components used when observing a stereoscopic image, and a stereoscopic frame that includes stereoscopic temples extending rearward from the stereoscopic rims. The stereoscopic frame is provided with an engagement section that is brought into engagement with a rim or a bridge of a frame of glasses already worn by a user in a state where the stereoscopic optical components are positioned in front of lenses of the glasses so that the stereoscopic optical components are positionally maintained in front of the lenses of the glasses.
US08462278B2

A transparent conductive film includes: a transparent film substrate; a transparent conductor layer provided on one or both sides of the transparent film substrate; and at least one undercoat layer interposed between the transparent film substrate and the transparent conductor layer; wherein: the transparent conductor layer is patterned; and a non-patterned portion not having the transparent conductor layer has the at least one undercoat layer.
US08462276B2

An application for a bezel with internal lighting includes at least one illuminated element situated behind a monitor/television bezel. The brightness and color of the illuminating elements and hence the bezel appearance are modified based upon either user preference or an internal or external parameters such as time, content being viewed, recording status, etc.
US08462271B2

A communication system 100 includes a content repository storing a plurality of content files, a content delivery network 280 communicating with a content repository 274, a content management system 221 determining a plurality of publication times respectively corresponding to each of the plurality of content files and a content distribution system 260 communicating with the content management system and content delivery network. The content distribution system determines an earliest publication time and transfers the plurality of content files to the content delivery network in order of publication in response to determining the earliest publication time.
US08462264B2

A video scan converter processes a video stream including a first coding unit, which has been obtained by encoding a pair of fields N1 and N2 that has come from a first frame of film video, and a second coding unit, which has been obtained by encoding a pair of a field N3 that has also come from the first frame and a field M1 that has come from a second frame, not the first frame. The video scan converter includes: a decoder, which receives the video stream, decodes the first and second coding units, and sequentially outputs the data of the respective fields N1, N2, N3 and M1; and a scan converter, which generates a frame based on associated two of those fields that have been supplied from the decoder. In outputting a frame associated with the field N3, the scan converter generates the frame based on the fields N1 and N2 without using the data of the field N3.
US08462261B2

An image pickup apparatus for wireless-communicating with a camera accessory which periodically transits to a sleep state, transmits a change signal for changing the setting of a power saving state in an accessory apparatus, to the accessory apparatus in accordance with a first operation for instructing an image pickup preparation to decide an setting for image pickup or a second operation for instructing the image pickup based on the image pickup preparation operation being accepted by an operation unit of the image pickup apparatus, thereby efficiently suppressing stand-by electricity consumption and preventing a delay from occurring in timing when a predetermined process is executed between apparatuses.
US08462260B2

An image pickup apparatus includes a pixel unit divided into at least two regions which generates pixel signals, driving controllers which controls reading of the pixel signals from the regions, a storage unit storing pixel signals for one screen, a timing controller controlling a timing when the pixel signals are read from the storage unit based on a setting value of an input frame rate, and a timing generator which generates a driving signal for performing the reading processes of the pixel signals the regions in parallel in terms of time when the frame rate is larger than a predetermined threshold value and generates a driving signal for performing the reading processes of the pixel signals from the regions in series in terms of time when the frame rate is not larger than the predetermined threshold value, and which supplies the generated driving signal to the driving controllers.
US08462240B2

An imaging system may include an image sensor array and column randomizing multiplexers. The imaging system may include a data output circuit and image readout circuitry such as analog amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, and memory circuits. The column randomizing multiplexers may include a first column randomizing multiplexer between the image sensor array and at least some of the image readout circuitry. The first column randomizing multiplexer may randomly connect columns of the image sensor array to the image readout circuitry. The connections made by the first column randomizing multiplexer may be randomized as each row of the image sensor array is read out. The column randomizing multiplexers may include a second column randomizing multiplexer between at least some of the image readout circuitry and the data output circuit. The second column randomizing multiplexer may reorder image data for the image readout circuitry.
US08462234B2

Disclosed are an image pickup apparatus and a dark current correction method that make it possible to correct the dark current at high precision without using a driving pattern of a peripheral circuit or a layout on an image pickup device chip. The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup device provided with an effective pixel area, an OB part and a drive circuit of the image pickup device. In the dark current correction method, a black level (hereinafter, referred to as “second black level”) included in the detected signal of the effective pixels of the effective pixel area is obtained (steps S3, S6, S7) based on a black level detected from the pixel of the OB pixels by performing a correction computation in accordance with an operation pattern (steps S1, S2, S5) of the drive circuit in which the temperature difference between the light receiving pixel part and the optical black part is occurred, and the second black level as a clamp level is subtracted from the level of the output signal of the effective pixels in accordance with the operation pattern of the drive circuit.
US08462212B1

According to one configuration, a computer environment includes a first monitoring system, a second monitoring system, and an analyzer. The first monitoring system produces video of an item being entered into a point of sale system. The second monitoring system monitors events associated with entering of the item into the point of sale system. The analyzer detects, via a communication from the second monitoring system, an occurrence of at least one event associated with entering of the item. Based on communication, the analyzer correlates the at least one event to a particular time in the video when the at least one event occurred.
US08462207B2

A method for three-dimensional mapping of an object, including projecting with a projector a set of fringes on the object and capturing an image of the object in a camera. The method further includes processing the captured image so as to detect a Moiré pattern associated with the object and so as to extract depth information from the Moiré pattern, and configuring the projector and the camera so that a locally unambiguous characteristic of the Moiré pattern is related to a depth of the object.
US08462193B1

A multimedia conferencing system includes a loud speaker system, one or more microphones for receiving a local audio signal and a remote audio signal, a state machine and an echo canceller that operates in conjunction with two reference signals to remove substantially all of a feedback signal component in the local audio signal that results from reinforcing and playing the local audio signal over the loud speaker system. The state machine operates to detect that only the local audio is active, and if so controls the operation of the echo canceller such that only the feedback component of the local audio signal is removed and the local audio signal is not suppressed.
US08462187B2

A thermal print head includes a substrate, a resistor layer supported on the substrate and provided with a plurality of heating portions arranged along a primary scanning direction, an electrode layer provided with a plurality of individual electrodes arranged along the primary scanning direction, a drive IC configured to selectively apply an electric current to the plurality of heating portions, and a plurality of wires connected to the plurality of individual electrodes and the drive IC, the plurality of individual electrodes including strip-shaped portions electrically connected to the heating portions and arranged along the primary scanning direction and pad portions greater in width in the primary scanning direction than the strip-shaped portions, the pad portions including bonding pads connected to each of the plurality of wires and probe contact pads, the probe contact pads being narrower in width in the primary scanning direction than bonding pads.
US08462179B2

A method and system is provided for performing high-resolution image assembly regardless of observed scene content. An imaging system, including a focal plane array and lenslet array can be calibrated to account for subimage shifts. A calibration module can determine the subimage shifts by calculating an average point source position reference point coordinates for each of the subimages, and then determining the difference between the average point source position and the reference point coordinates for each subimage. The imaging system can then be calibrated utilizing the subimage shifts for each of the plurality of subimages. Finally, an assembly module can perform a high-resolution image assembly with the calibrated imaging system.
US08462172B2

A video display apparatus includes: an area-specific lighting value calculator configured to calculate a lighting value of each of divided light source regions of a backlight and output the lighting value as numerical data; a signal output module configured to output a video signal correlated with the lighting value to a display module; a backlight controller configured to control the backlight based on the lighting value; a correction gain setting module configured to obtain a signal correction coefficient; a frequency separator configured to separate the input video signal; a signal corrector configured to correct the lighting value with respect to a low frequency component or DC component separated from the input video signal to suppress amplification of noise contained in a dark portion and generate an output video signal; and a display controller configured to control the display module to display the output video signal.
US08462160B2

Users in public forums often mention certain topics in the course of their discussions. Member's comments in messages to other members are analyzed to obtain terms that co-occur with topics. Frequencies of co-occurrence of a term with topics are normalized based on frequency of the term in a random sample of message. The terms are ranked by their normalized frequency of co-occurrence with a topic in messages. The top terms are selected based on their rank. Analysis of demographic information associated with members that mentioned top terms associated with a topic is displayed in graphical format that highlights the relationship between the age, gender, and usage of the top terms over time. The demographic information presented includes average age of members that mentioned a top term or their gender information within a selected time interval.
US08462156B1

A method and system for generating shadows for a graphics processing unit. Specifically, the method determines whether a potential blocker occludes light from reaching a point of a scene in an image space. The light is generated from a light source. A width of a corresponding penumbra is determined for the point. The width is based on a width of the light source, a depth of the potential blocker from the light source, and a depth of a receiver from the light source. The receiver includes the point. A percentage closer filtering kernel size is scaled in proportion to the width of the corresponding penumbra. Thereafter, percentage closer filtering is performed for the point using the kernel size that is scaled in order to shade a pixel corresponding to the point.
US08462153B2

The present invention relates to a method of displaying a dynamic 2D annotation associated with an object displayed in a 3D scene. The method includes providing a computer system that includes a display device; establishing a view location and direction; orienting the dynamic 2D annotation substantially perpendicular to the view direction; orienting the dynamic 2D annotation substantially horizontal relative to the 3D scene; positioning the dynamic 2D annotation relative to an attachment point on or near the object; extending an attachment handle between the dynamic 2D annotation and the attachment point; and displaying the dynamic 2D annotation and the attachment handle in the 3D scene on the display device.
US08462145B2

A digital-to-analog converter includes a voltage-to-current converter, a current-mode digital-to-analog converter and an operational amplifier. The voltage-to-current converter generates a first current signal, and the current-mode digital-to-analog converter generates a second current signal. The operational amplifier modulates a drain current in response to the second current signal and generates an output signal having an offset.
US08462144B2

A pixel in a plurality of pixels in an LCD of a system comprises a transmissive part, a reflective part and a latched driving circuit. The driving circuit comprises a transmissive section comprising a transmissive data input coupled to the transmissive part of the pixel, and is configured to drive a transmissive data value from the transmissive data input and to set the transmissive part to a transmissive display state based on the transmissive data value; a reflective section comprising a reflective data input (independent of the transmissive data input) coupled to the reflective part of the pixel, and is configured to drive a reflective data value from the reflective data input and to set the reflective part to a reflective display state based on the reflective data value.
US08462143B2

An integrated circuit device includes: a data driver that drives a plurality of data lines of an electro optical device; and a data distribution circuit that supplies data to the data driver, wherein the data driver includes an odd numbered data line driver circuit for driving odd numbered data lines among the plurality of data lines, an even numbered data line driver circuit for driving even numbered data lines among the plurality of data lines, an odd numbered data line latch circuit provided for the odd numbered data line driver circuit, and an even numbered data line latch circuit provided for the even numbered data line driver circuit; and the data line distribution circuit, upon receiving time serially inputted image data, supplies odd numbered data line image data for the number of multiplexes to the odd numbered data line latch circuit, and supplies even numbered data line image data for the number of multiplexes to the even numbered data line latch circuit.
US08462118B2

A method and apparatus for entering words into a computer system. Letters contained in a desired word are entered by giving approximate location and directional information relative to any specified keyboard layout. The inputs need not correspond to specific keys on the keyboard, a sequence of ambiguous key-entries corresponding to individual words can be used to retrieve a word from the dictionary. The system tracks directional information of movement relative to a/the specific keyboard layout, reducing it to predetermined primary directions and translates this seemingly ambiguous information into accurate words from the dictionary. The system may also capture the user's intention (with regard to text entry) by observing the movements on the keyboard.
US08462116B2

In an aspect, an electronic device includes a housing; a manipulandum positioned in the housing, wherein the manipulandum is moveable in at least one rotary degree of freedom in response to a user moving the manipulandum; a sensor coupled to the manipulandum, the sensor outputs sensor signals associated with the movement of the manipulandum in the at least one rotary degree of freedom by the user's direct contact; a processor coupled to the sensor and configured to output one or more activating signals based on the sensor signals; a first actuator coupled to the manipulandum, wherein the first actuator outputs a contact force to the manipulandum upon receiving a first activating signal; and a second actuator positioned within the housing and separate from the first actuator, wherein the second actuator outputs an inertial force to the housing upon receiving a second activating signal.
US08462109B2

Various embodiments provide systems and methods capable of facilitating interaction with handheld electronics devices based on sensing rotational rate around at least three axes and linear acceleration along at least three axes. In one aspect, a handheld electronic device includes a subsystem providing display capability, a set of motion sensors sensing rotational rate around at least three axes and linear acceleration along at least three axes, and a subsystem which, based on motion data derived from at least one of the motion sensors, is capable of facilitating interaction with the device.
US08462107B2

A pointing device and method include a pad occupying a region, a raised border at a perimeter of the region and an object slidably movable on the pad for contacting the border. A detecting device is configured to detect a physical contact by the object at any position on the border wherein contact with the border generates a signal indicating a contact position on the border.
US08462104B2

A system for one or more portions of one or more regions of an electronic paper assembly having one or more display layers includes, but is not limited to: obtaining information associated with one or more changes in one or more sequences of two or more conformations of one or more portions of one or more regions of the electronic paper assembly and controlling display of one or more portions of one or more display layers of the electronic paper assembly regarding display of second information in response to the information associated with the one or more changes in the one or more conformations of the one or more portions of the one or more regions of the electronic paper assembly. In addition to the foregoing, other related method/system aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08462101B2

An apparatus controls a backlight of a display panel of a camera system. The apparatus includes a sub-pixel extracting unit, an ambient light luminance calculating unit, and a backlight controller. The sub-pixel extracting unit extracts sub-pixel luminance values from image data, where the image data is indicative of a current image frame defined by a plurality of pixels, and where each of the pixels includes a plurality of sub-pixels. The ambient light luminance calculating unit calculates an ambient light luminance value of the current image frame from the sub-pixel luminance values extracted by the sub-pixel extracting unit. The backlight controller which generates a backlight control signal based on a comparison between the calculated ambient light luminance value of the current image frame and an ambient light luminance value of a previous image frame.
US08462100B2

A first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, a fourth transistor are provided. In the first transistor, a first terminal is electrically connected to a first wiring; a second terminal is electrically connected to a gate terminal of the second transistor; a gate terminal is electrically connected to a fifth wiring. In the second transistor, a first terminal is electrically connected to a third wiring; a second terminal is electrically connected to a sixth wiring. In the third transistor, a first terminal is electrically connected to a second wiring; a second terminal is electrically connected to the gate terminal of the second transistor; a gate terminal is electrically connected to a fourth wiring. In the fourth transistor, a first terminal is electrically connected to the second wiring; a second terminal is electrically connected to the sixth wiring; a gate terminal is connected to the fourth wiring.
US08462097B2

A gate drive circuit includes a shift register having stages connected to each other in series. An (m)-th stage (‘m’ is a natural number) includes an output part, a discharging part, a first holding part and a second holding part. The output part outputs the first clock signal as a gate signal in response to a first clock signal provided from an external device and discharges the gate signal in response to a second input signal. The output part includes a first transistor having a first channel length. The discharging part discharges a signal of the first node to the second voltage level. The first holding part maintains a signal of the first node at a level of the gate signal, and is discharged to the second voltage level. The first holding part includes a second transistor having a second channel length that is longer than the first channel length. The second holding part maintains a signal of the first node at a level of the second voltage level.
US08462090B2

A display device including a pixel unit, a selection unit, and a control unit is disclosed. The pixel unit includes a driving transistor and a capacitor. The driving transistor includes a gate and a source. The capacitor is coupled between the gate and the source. The selection unit selectively transmits a first voltage or a second voltage to the driving transistor. The control unit controls the selection unit and receives the voltage of the source.
US08462082B2

Disclosed are a new Mercury-free flat light source structure capable of enhancing and adjusting brightness, maintaining stable and uniform discharge, and improving luminous efficiency, and a large flat light source apparatus using the same Mercury-free flat light source structure as a unit cell capable of adjusting the brightness and causing local discharges in selected areas, and a driving method thereof.The flat light source structure according to the present invention includes an upper substrate made of a light transmitting material; a lower substrate separated from the upper substrate by a distance; a barrier rib for maintaining the distance, thereby defining a discharge space filled with a discharge gas with a predetermined pressure; a phosphor coated on at least one of the inner surfaces of the upper substrate and the lower substrate, respectively; a pair of main electrodes disposed at predetermined positions on the surface of the upper or lower substrate and applied with a predetermined driving voltage, frequency and duty ratio to excite the phosphor by plasma generated due to electric field induced in the discharge space; an auxiliary electrode formed at a predetermined position on the lower and/or upper substrate(s) to have a parallel component which is parallel with any one of the main electrodes when viewing the discharge space from the upper substrate and a perpendicular component which traverses the electrodes across the pair of main electrodes.
US08462079B2

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an ornamental system, apparatus and method that is dynamically modifiable. Embodiments of the ornament system comprise a processor, at least one ornamental member and a data controller. The processor is a computer or similar device that stores data for transmission. The ornamental member is configured to receive and display data stored in a database. Embodiments of the present invention can be coupled to other ornamental systems across a wide area network, wherein users can share data files for display.
US08462076B2

A mounting assembly for an antenna includes a mounting foot, an antenna mast, and two mast positioning components. The foot includes a base that can be attached to a mounting structure, and two opposing sidewall flanges extending from the base. Each sidewall flange has a respective slot formed therein. The antenna mast has a proximal end pivotally coupled to the foot between the sidewall flanges. The first mast positioning component is coupled between the sidewall flanges, it is movable within the slots, and it provides a first adjustable support structure for the antenna mast. The second mast positioning component is coupled between the sidewall flanges, it is movable within the slots, and it provides a second adjustable support structure for the antenna mast.
US08462054B2

A housing includes a first main body and a second main body. The first main body includes laser activator. An antenna radiator is formed on the first main body by laser, and an electro-plating or a chemical plating method. The second main body is formed on the first main body and partially coats the antenna radiator. The antenna radiator is partially exposed from the first main body and the second main body to form a terminal.
US08462052B2

An RFID tag having a tag antenna and an LSI chip, comprising: a power-supply pattern on which the LSI chip is mounted; a patch antenna that functions as the tag antenna; and a high-frequency connection section that makes a high-frequency connection between the power-supply pattern and the patch antenna. The high-frequency connection section is formed, for example, by forming a slot in the patch antenna, layering one end of a small dipole antenna that functions as the power-supply pattern over the slot so that it crosses over the slot, and supplying power from the small dipole antenna to the patch antenna.
US08462044B1

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the transmit location of an emitter using a single geostationary satellite. In an embodiment, a signal is received at a ground station from the emitter and relayed by the geostationary satellite. The signal is received at the ground station at a plurality of time instances and has a plurality of observed frequencies, one for each time instance. A plurality of lines of position are determining based on the plurality of observed frequencies. The transmit location of the emitter is determined based on at least one intersection among the plurality of lines of position.
US08462038B2

There is provided a successive-approximation A/D converter in which the binary weighted capacitive D/A converter generates a residual signal for each of cycles assigned to each bit of N bits on the basis of an analog input signal and a reference voltage, the first comparator compares a residual signal at a first time point within a cycle with a predetermined voltage to acquire a first comparison result, the register stores the first comparison result therein, the second comparator compares a residual signal at a second time point later than the first time point within the cycle with the predetermined voltage to acquire a second comparison result, the error determining circuit generates an error detection signal when they differ from each other, and the error-correcting circuit inverts and outputs the first comparison result from the register in a case that the error detection signal has been generated.
US08462032B2

A method for driving a sigma delta modulator, a sigma delta modulator comprising at least one integrator device and one quantizer device, and a readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for performing the method are described. The method comprises setting a sigma delta modulator to an irrational operation mode. The method comprises monitoring at least one output signal of the sigma delta modulator. The method comprises resetting the sigma delta modulator to the irrational operation mode depending on the monitored output signal.
US08462031B2

Continuous time analogue/digital converter, comprising a sigma delta modulator (MSD1) configured to receive an analogue input signal (x(t)) and comprising high-pass filtering means (MF) the chopping frequency of which is equal to half of the sampling frequency (Fs) of the quantization means (QTZ) of the modulator (MSD1).
US08462025B2

An improved transmission protocol is used to transmit a signal between two components of an electronic device. The improved transmission protocol is configured to reduce the number of simultaneous channel transitions that occur when multiple signal channels are transmitted in parallel. Reducing the number of simultaneous channel transitions is beneficial because a signal that is subject to skew, distortion, or electromagnetic interference during transmission may have a shorter settling time when fewer channels undergo a transition simultaneously. When the protocol is used to transmit a signal from a controller to an optical pickup unit in an optical data storage system, the reduced settling times allow for a higher data transmission rate.
US08462013B2

Aspects of the inventions generally provide a method and apparatus for coupling a communication sub to a wired drill pipe. In one aspect, a surface of a coupler head is non threaded and configured to provide a retaining force. In another aspect, a coupler head is coupled to a body, and a support mechanism is coupled to the body and configured to secure the coupler head within a receiving end of the wired drill pipe. In another aspect, a method of placing a communication sub involves inserting the communication sub into the receiving end of the wired drill pipe, adjusting the position of the communication sub until an indication of signal communication between the communication sub and the wired drill pipe is observed, and after the indication of signal communication is observed, retaining the communication sub within the receiving end until removal of the communication sub is desired.
US08462006B2

The invention relates to a GFCI that trips and provides indication at the end of its life. It comprises a leakage signal detection circuit (LSDC) and a failure alarm for providing indication in case of failure. The LSDC includes a leakage signal amplification circuit (LSAC) which amplifies the signal from test and neutral toroidal coils and controls a mechanical tripping mechanism through a silicon control unit and an igniter. The mechanical tripping mechanism is controlled by the LSDC through the silicon control unit by a forcible tripping coil connected thereto. This LSDC is powered by a power unit. Additionally, a failure alarm circuit which triggers and supplies visual indication through an optical display element in the event of failure is connected to the power unit of the LSDC. This alarm circuit also includes a forcible tripping coil to control the mechanical tripping mechanism at the end of the device life.
US08462004B2

A method generates an error signal indicating the location of a ground fault in a line between two line ends. A voltage and a current are measured at both ends of the line, establishing measured values, and the location of the ground fault is determined when or after a ground fault is detected. Accordingly, harmonic indicator variables are established and used for determining the location of the ground fault.
US08462002B2

Exemplary methods, systems and components enable detection and/or monitoring and/or control of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure of target body-related portions of a user operating a telecommunication device. In some embodiments a risk-assessment output is provided based on a safety threshold or predetermined intrusion level of EMR exposure.
US08461998B2

A device to be worn on the human or animal body for detecting body-related data using a detection element for detecting a temperature in or on the device and an element for activating and deactivating the device by taking the detected temperature into account.
US08461987B2

A fingerprint recognition system is presented including a fingerprint collecting module positioned about an electronic device for collecting fingerprint information related to one or more fingerprints; a chemical analysis module for performing a chemical analysis of the fingerprint information collected; and an evaluating module for evaluating the chemical analysis of the fingerprint information collected to provide at least one response. Additionally, a chemical analysis system for performing substantially instantaneous chemical analysis of received fingerprints and providing substantially instantaneous recommendations or feedback or responses based on the chemical analysis of the fingerprints received is presented. The chemical analysis indicates at least one or more of the following: age, gender, race, dietary information, and lifestyle information or a combination thereof.
US08461980B2

The described system and method enable user health monitoring and alerting by providing an arm-mounted sensor wirelessly linked to a wrist-mounted transponder, although the wrist-mounted transponder may be omitted in favor of a user-carried cellular device. In either embodiment of the invention, a remote server is included to receive user health data and alerts, and to log received data and, when necessary, to alert health service providers. Health service providers may include physicians and emergency services providers.
US08461977B2

An electronic circuit includes a node coupled to a load to be driven, and a power device, which can be switched between activation and deactivation and coupled to the node. The circuit further includes a current generator having an output connected to the node and that can be enabled to generate current at least when the power device is deactivated. The circuit also includes a comparator for comparing an electric voltage of the node with a reference voltage and is configured to generate a comparison signal based thereon.
US08461971B2

Provided is an information presentation system installed on a vehicle, and including a robot (100) having a driver unit (120) to drive the robot (100) and an output unit (130) to output information generated according to vehicle conditions, and a robot control device (200) having an information acquirer unit (210) to acquire the information generated according to the vehicle conditions, an action controller unit (220) to cause the driver unit (120) to drive the robot (100) in response to the acquired information, thereby causing the robot (100) to take an action of informing a passenger that information will be presented, and an information presenter unit (230) to cause the robot (100) to take an action of presenting the information after taking the action of informing the passenger that the information will be presented.
US08461968B2

A mattress or support surface including an identifier to enable the mattress or support surface to be associated with a location in the healthcare facility and more particularly a room within the healthcare facility.
US08461963B2

An access authorization method and apparatus for a wireless sensor network comprises at least a base station and a wireless sensor network formed by a plurality of sensor nodes. After having obtained an access authorization of a user, the at least a base station issues a request message to a target sensor node in the wireless sensor network. The target sensor node requests at least a controlling node in the wireless sensor network for sensing data sensed by the at least a controlling node, and checks if the sensing data meets the requirements of the access authorization of the user. Whether the target sensor node responds with the required multimedia or not is based on the checking result.
US08461961B2

A tamper-proof secure card comprising biometric data of an individual for identifying or confirming authority of the individual. Prior to issuing the secure card a cardholder's biometric data is stored in a transparent biometric data section of the secure card. Also, a unique card number is created using a cardholder's biometric data and stored in the card. When the secure card is used the cardholder inputs biometric data. This input biometric data is then compared to the biometric data stored in the card. If the input biometric data matches the stored biometric data the identity of the cardholder is confirmed. If the cardholder's identity has been confirmed the unique card number can be accessed. Without confirmation the unique card number cannot be access. The secure card also comprises a transparent input area to separate the cardholder from an identity verification machine.
US08461953B1

An air cooling system, method, apparatus and kit applied to lower transformer operating temperatures, such as governed by a tank or container of oil, allowing transformer components to run more efficiently at a lower temperature level, e.g., down from the hot level operating temperatures typical in stressed conventional devices. By lowering the operational levels to within or below the nominal operational temperature ranges for the equipment, and recovering heat generated during operation, several advantages are obtained.
US08461951B2

In a bistable magnetic actuator with a polarized magnetic circuit with parallel operating air gaps, wherein between the outer legs of a U-shaped soft-iron yoke a flat permanent magnet is integrated that carries a soft-iron center leg and applies a permanent-magnetically created magnetic flux to a rocking armature supported on the center leg, wherein at each outer leg a separately controllable excitation winding provides swiveling pulses for the rocking armature to swivel from one permanent-magnetically self-holding swivel position into the other, the permanent-magnetically created magnetic flux through the magnetic circuit closed over the rocking armature in each case for an electromagnetic magnetic flux created by the excitation winding of said magnetic circuit in a direction opposed to the permanent-magnetically created magnetic flux commutates into the other parallel magnetic circuit with the electromagnetically not excited excitation winding, swiveling over the rocking armature.
US08461944B2

The present invention relates to a transition arrangement comprising a first surface-mountable waveguide part and a second surface-mountable waveguide part, each of the first and second surface-mountable waveguide parts comprising a first wall, a second wall and a third wall, which second and third walls are arranged to contact a dielectric carrier material, all the walls together essentially forming a U-shape, where the first and second surface-mountable waveguide parts are arranged to be mounted on the dielectric carrier material in such a way that the first and second surface-mountable waveguide parts comprise ends which are positioned to face each other. The transition arrangement further comprises an electrically conducting sealing frame that is arranged to be mounted over and covering the ends, where the electrically conducting frame has a first wall, a second wall and a third wall, where the second and third walls are arranged to contact the dielectric carrier material, all the walls together essentially forming a U-shape.
US08461941B2

A bulk acoustic wave resonator has an adjustable resonance frequency. A piezoelectric element is provided having first and second electrodes. A switching element is provided in the form of a MEMS structure which is deformable between a first and second position. The switching element forms an additional electrode that is selectively disposed on top of, and in contact with, one of the first and second electrodes. This causes a total thickness of the electrode of the resonator to be changed resulting in a modification of the resonance frequency of the resonator.
US08461937B2

The invention relates to a method and a device for pseudo-differential transmission in interconnections used for sending a plurality of electrical signals.The ends of an interconnection having 4 transmission conductors and a return conductor distinct from the reference conductor are each connected to a termination circuit. Three damping circuits are connected between the return conductor and the reference conductor. The transmitting circuits receive at their inputs the signals from the 4 channels of the two sources, and are connected to the conductors of the interconnection. A transmitting circuit in the activated state produces natural electrical variables, each natural electrical variable being allocated to one and only one channel. The receiving circuits are connected to the conductors of the interconnection, each receiving circuit being such that the 4 channels of a source connected to a transmitting circuit in the activated state are sent to the four channels of the destinations without noticeable echo, internal crosstalk and external crosstalk.
US08461929B2

A power amplifier includes a first amplifier unit, a second amplifier unit, and an attenuator. The second amplifier receives a signal from the first amplifier unit and amplifies the signal. The attenuator is provided between the first and second amplifier units. The attenuator has arms, including at least one parallel arm and at least one series arm, and has switches connected to the arms to switch the electrical connection states of the arms with respect to the first and second amplifier units. The at least one parallel arm and the at least one series arm are alternately arranged, in the order named, as viewed in the direction from the first amplifier unit to the second amplifier unit.
US08461926B2

A differential amplifier circuit includes a first/second field effect transistor including a gate coupled to a first/second differential input signal terminal, a source coupled to a reference potential node, and a drain coupled to a first/second differential output signal terminal, a first variable capacitor coupled between the gate of the first field effect transistor and the drain of the second field effect transistor, a second variable capacitor coupled between the gate of the second field effect transistor and the drain of the first field effect transistor, and a first envelope detector configured to detect an envelope of a signal at the first differential output signal terminal or the second differential output signal terminal, the first variable capacitor and/or the second variable capacitor has a capacitance that varies in accordance with an envelope detected by the first envelope detector.
US08461921B2

An amplifier module with multiple operating modes is described. In an exemplary design, an apparatus includes a plurality of amplifiers. The apparatus may also include a plurality of switches, each switch coupled to an output of an associated amplifier in the plurality of amplifiers and configured to provide an amplified signal in a first mode and bypass the associated amplifier and provide an associated bypass signal in a second mode. Further, the apparatus may include an output circuit including a plurality of matching circuits, each matching circuit coupled to an associated amplifier in the plurality of amplifiers and an associated switch in the plurality of switches.
US08461909B2

A voltage booster device may include a plurality of multiplication stages arranged in a sequence so that an input terminal of each multiplication stage, with the exception of a first multiplication stage, is connected to an output terminal of a previous multiplication stage. Each multiplication stage may include pumping circuitry for accumulating an electric charge proportional to a pump voltage value of the multiplication stage. Each multiplication stage may also include a phase signal generating circuit for switching the multiplication stages between a transfer phase and a maintaining phase. In at least one of the stages, the pumping circuitry may include at least two series connected charge accumulators. A terminal may be shared between the charge accumulators and may be connected through biasing circuitry to an output terminal of a previous multiplication stage for forcing the charge accumulators within a threshold potential drop value.
US08461907B2

A semiconductor device includes a signal output unit, and a decision unit. The signal output unit includes m (≧2) pieces of fuses, a NAND gate, resistance elements, and an output terminal. The decision unit decides whether n or more pieces (m≧n≧2) of fuses are disconnected out of the m pieces of fuses included in the signal output unit, and outputs the result of a decision. When m=n=2, the decision unit is constituted of a NOR gate having two input terminals connected to a respective end of the fuses. Thus, a H-level potential signal is output at an output terminal of the NOR gate when the decision result is affirmative. On the other hand, when the decision result is negative, a L-level potential signal is output at the output terminal.
US08461900B2

An example frequency converting circuit generates a multiplied signal obtained by multiplying a local signal by an amplified signal generated by an amplifying portion. The frequency converting circuit includes a converter which converts the amplified signal into a current signal and a switching circuit which multiplies the current signal by the local signal and generates the multiplied signal. An impedance element supplies a first direct current from the amplifier and a second direct current from the switching circuit to the converter.
US08461894B1

In one embodiment, a configurable delay element has three stages. The first stage has an 8-buffer first delay chain and an (8×1) first mux that selects one of the eight first-delay-chain outputs. The second stage has a 24-buffer second delay chain connected to receive the first-mux output and organized into three 8-buffer sub-chains and a (4×1) second mux that selects one of the four second-delay-chain outputs. The third stage has a 96-buffer third delay chain connected to receive the second-mux output and organized into three 32-buffer sub-chains and a (4×1) third mux that selects one of the four third-delay-chain outputs as the delay-element output signal. A delay-element controller provides glitch-less updates to the signal used to control the delay-element muxes by timing those updates to occur when all delay-element buffers have the same state. The controller bases the update timing on the delay-element output signal.
US08461885B2

A digital PLL may be combined with an analog PLL so that the output of the digital PLL is at a frequency high enough to maintain stability in the analog PLL when an initial reference clock signal is too low to maintain stability in the analog PLL. The digital PLL may include a scaling circuit, such as a frequency divider in the feedback path of the PLL, to generate the higher frequency output signal from the lower frequency reference input signal. The digital PLL may also use an on-chip free run ring oscillator as the clock for the digital PLL engine.
US08461880B2

A pre-drive circuit with an output buffer that may contain a bootstrap circuit is described. The bootstrap circuit may be configured to output a voltage level greater in magnitude than the supply voltage that the bootstrap circuit is coupled with. The pre-drive circuit may contain a timing circuit. The timing circuit may be configured to at least partially determine when the bootstrap circuit outputs a voltage greater in magnitude than the supply voltage. The pre-drive circuit may also contain a pre-drive buffer circuit. This pre-drive buffer circuit may be capable of three outputs: (1) logical zero, or roughly electrical ground; (2) logical one, or roughly the level of the voltage supply, and (3) an outputted voltage greater than the voltage supply.
US08461876B2

A semiconductor device includes two unit circuits and a control unit. A middle point between the unit circuits is coupled with an inductive load. Each unit circuit includes a first switching element and a free wheel diode coupled in inverse-parallel with the first switching element. At least one of the unit circuits further includes a bypass section coupled in parallel with the first switching element and the free wheel diode. The bypass section includes a second switching element and a resistor coupled in series. The controller alternately turns on the first switching elements with a dead time during which both the first switching elements are turned off. The controller controls the second switching element coupled in parallel with one of the first switching elements to be an on-state when the one of the first switching elements transitions from an off-state to an on-state in the dead time.
US08461872B2

First and second devices may simultaneously communicate bidirectionally with each other using only a single pair of LVDS signal paths. Each device includes an input circuit and a differential output driver connected to the single pair of LVDS signal paths. An input to the input circuit is also connected to the input of the driver. The input circuit may also receive an offset voltage. In response to its inputs, the input circuit in each device can use comparators, gates and a multiplexer to determine the logic state being transmitted over the pair of LVDS signal paths from the other device. This advantageously reduces the number of required interconnects between the first and second devices by one half.
US08461857B2

The present invention relates to a distance adjustment system and a solar wafer inspection machine provided with the system. The inspection machine has a conveyer for carrying a solar wafer, an optical inspection system for inspecting the surface and color appearance of the wafer and an illumination inspection system. A holder is provided in the inspection position where the wafer is clamped along its width direction to prevent the wafer from offset. During the opto-electrical inspection, probes are brought into contact with conductive buses of the wafer and light is applied to the wafer to allow the probing of electric energy thus generated. An adjusting device is employed to adjust the clamping gap of the holder and the distance of the probes in accordance with the size of the solar wafer. The data are collected and transmitted to a sorting system for sorting the wafer.
US08461854B2

Techniques for characterizing a molecule are described herein. In one example, a portion of the molecule is trapped in a nanopore, a variable voltage is applied across the nanopore until the trapped portion of molecule is moved within the nanopore, and the molecule is characterized based on the electrical stimulus required to affect movement of at least a portion of the trapped portion of the molecule within the nanopore.
US08461852B2

A method and apparatus for producing particle density map images of fluidised particles by electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) in a fluidized bed apparatus allows for measuring online the liquid content of fluidized particles during the fluidization process and for recalibration of the fluidized particle permittivity during fluidization, allowing for online recalibration of an ECT system when the liquid content of particles changes, such as for fluidized bed drying or granulation processes. Recalibration measurements are made using reference electrodes positioned to measure the capacitance of the densely fluidized particles near the side walls of the fluidized bed. The electrodes of an ECT sensor array may be used to make the recalibration measurements which can be used to provide online liquid content measurement, such as moisture content, for the fluidized particles without stopping out stopping fluidization. The liquid content information may be used for process control. The method may also be used to provide separate images for solids distribution and for total liquid distribution across a plane being imaged.
US08461851B2

A slotted TEM transmission line and an in-situ TEM transmission line are utilized to determine both complex permittivity and permeability of soil. The permittivity and permeability information may be used by underground sensing techniques such as GPR and EMI to enhance information from these techniques. The in-situ probe provides that both complex permittivity and permeability can be measured simultaneously over a broad frequency range without disturbing the soil conditions.
US08461850B2

A test and measurement instrument and method for receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal, digitizing the RF signal using an analog-to-digital converter, downconverting the digitized signal to produce I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature) baseband component information, generating one or more IQ-based time-domain traces using the I and Q baseband component information, and measuring and displaying a variety of measurement values of the IQ-based time-domain traces. The IQ-based time-domain measurement values can be automatically generated and displayed, and/or transmitted to an external device.
US08461842B2

The invention generally relates to stabilizing an MRI power delivery system. In one aspect, a stabilization module that is in electrical communication with the MRI power delivery system is provided. The stabilization module includes a closed loop control system. The closed loop control system is used to modify the at least one characteristic of the input signal. The modified input signal is provided to the MRI power delivery system.
US08461833B2

A method for determining the sensitivity of a sensor provides the following steps: a) first and second deflection voltages are applied to first and second electrode systems of the sensor, respectively, and first and second electrostatic forces are exerted on an elastically suspended seismic mass of the sensor by the first and second electrode systems, respectively, and a restoring force is exerted on the mass as a result of the elasticity of the mass, and a force equilibrium is established among the first and second electrostatic forces and the restoring force, and the mass assumes a deflection position characteristic of the force equilibrium, and an output signal characteristic of the force equilibrium and of the deflection position is measured; and b) the sensitivity of the sensor is computed on the basis of the first and second deflection voltages.
US08461827B2

The invention relates to a roller bearing (01), with a revolving bearing component (05) and a stationary bearing component (04), and with a capacitive sensor unit (02). The capacitive sensor unit (04) comprises a pivoted sensor element (08), which is connected to the revolving bearing component (05), and a stationary sensor element (09). The sensor units (08, 09) form a capacitor. At least one of the sensor elements (08, 09) bears a first material measure (14, 16), so that a change arises in the capacitance of the capacitor when there is a relative motion in the sensor areas (08, 09). The sensor unit also includes a means for generating a periodic electrostatic field between the sensor plates, and a processing and amplifying electronics unit for evaluating the change in capacitance.
US08461823B2

There is disclosed a method of metering electricity that includes calculating a first accumulated in-phase current indicative of a non-voltage component of energy flow to one or more customer premises during a period of time by a distribution transformer meter (DTM) coupled to a distribution transformer (DT) and calculating second accumulated in-phase current (AIPC) indicative of a non-voltage component of energy flow during a period of time by a feeder current meter coupled to a feeder line. The method further includes transmitting the first AIPC and the second AIPC to a data collecting computing device and comparing the first AIPC with the second AIPC to determine if electricity theft has occurred.
US08461819B2

A current detector is comprised of a switch portion having an input node, an output node and a detection node, the switch portion being configured to selectively shift a power current between the input node and the output node and a detection current between the input node and the detection node; a current controller configured to control the detection current so as to equalize voltages at the detection node and the output node, the current controller being coupled with the detection node and the output node and including a transistor and a diode coupled to the transistor in series so as to prevent impression of negative voltage on the transistor, the transistor and the diode being formed within a single monolithic substrate; and a monitor current output portion having a monitor node and being coupled with the current controller, the monitor current output portion being configured to mirror the detection current in the current controller to the monitor node.
US08461808B2

A DC-DC converter includes: a transformer including primary and secondary windings; a switching element that drives the primary winding; a comparator that compares a voltage induced in the secondary winding with a predetermined voltage to detect that the voltage is outside a predetermined voltage range; and a controller. The controller stops switching operation of the switching element when the voltage is outside the predetermined voltage range. Preferably, the DC-DC converter is of a flyback system.
US08461806B2

A cell balancing circuit comprises a first cell having a first voltage, a second cell in series with the first cell and having a second voltage that is greater than the first voltage, and a bypass path in parallel with the second cell for enabling a bypass current for the second cell if a difference between the first voltage and the second voltage is greater than a predetermined threshold. The bypass current is enabled for a balancing time period that is proportional to the difference between the first voltage and the second voltage.
US08461799B2

A battery charger includes a battery attachment section configured to have a rechargeable battery releasably attached thereto. The battery attachment section includes a flat attachment surface having a width corresponding to a width of a bottom surface of a case of the battery to be charged and a length greater than a length of the bottom surface of the case of the battery to be charged; a plurality of locking hooks provided on the attachment surface; a charger terminal configured to contact a terminal of the battery to be charged, the charger terminal including a plurality of plate-shaped contact pieces configured to be inserted into engaging grooves of the battery to be charged; and an attachment projection adjacent to the attachment surface and configured to secure the battery to the charger.
US08461794B2

In a method and apparatus for controlling of a servo-drive, in particular of a solid state actuator in which the servo-drive is controlled during each control process by means of a two-point regulator (R2P), the two-point regulator (R2P) has a power signal (I) as control signal for actuation of the servo-drive. An upper switch point (PO) of the two-point controller (R2P) is allocated to one maximum power value (ÎOn) and a lower switch point (PU) of the two-point controller (R2P) is allocated to one minimum power value (ÎUm). The upper switch point (PO) and the lower switch point (PU) are established during the controlling process so that they are separated in pairs by at least a minimum default spacing (Dmin).
US08461789B2

In response to the determination or estimation of a back EMF zero crossing event for the phase, a time T1 is calculated, T1 being representative of the desired absolute maximum value of the phase current. Current samples are taken by the current sampling unit symmetrically centered around T1. The values of the samples CS[1] to CS[10] are then input into the error function to calculate an error function value. The calculated error function value is input to the lead angle control unit which calculates a value for lead_angle. The value of lead_angle is calculated to be the adjustment in phase angle of the driving voltage profile that will minimize the absolute value of the error function. In generating and adjusting the driving voltage profile the driving voltage generation unit takes into account both lead_angle and the output of the position and speed estimation unit. The estimated motor speed may be used additionally in an outer speed control loop involving speed controller to adjust the amplitude (AMP) of the effective driving voltage.
US08461785B2

A speed controller for a small electric motor is described. The controller is used to control small electric motors such as those used in small power tools such as electric screwdrivers. A series of electrical components are used to allow the motor to remain idle until a load is applied to the motor. When a load is applied to the motor, it increases in speed quickly to its maximum speed and remains there until the load is removed from the motor.
US08461782B2

A mechanism for assigning unique addresses to identical devices attached to a serial bus is presented. Each device has at least one output and is provided with a storage device to provide a configurable portion of a bus address having a fixed portion and a configurable portion. The device is further provided with circuitry, coupled to the storage device and the output, to determine a state of the output and use the state to configure the configurable portion. Once the configurable portion is configured, the bus address uniquely identifies the device. Such configuration allows more than one such device to be coupled to the same serial bus, e.g., an I2C bus.
US08461780B2

A method is intended to make it possible to drive a PTC electrical load element with a switching unit with the highest possible operational reliability. For this purpose, the electric current is switched off if a predetermined current threshold value is exceeded, the magnitude of the current threshold value being determined from the operating parameters of the load element.
US08461777B1

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) driver for preventing shorting has an LED driver circuit. A protection circuit is coupled to the LED driver to detect a fault condition by monitoring a cathode of an LED string of the LED driver, an LED current sense voltage of the LED driver, an LED current feedback error voltage of the LED driver circuit, and a state of a dimming switch of the LED driver.
US08461771B2

An electronic ballast arrangement for a discharge lamp is provided. The electronic ballast arrangement includes an electronic ballast for a discharge lamp with a control application specific integrated circuit, the control application specific integrated circuit having a control input, which is characterized by the fact that the potential present across it sets the operating frequency of the control ASIC when driving the discharge lamp; and a switch; wherein the electronic ballast is connected to the switch, with different switching positions of the switch determining different potentials which are present at the control input, in order to thus set the operating frequency of the control application specific integrated circuit via the switch.
US08461763B2

An apparatus of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source may include: a magnet unit containing a magnet for generating magnetic fields; an ionizing chamber housing unit for generating ions through electron cyclotron resonance from a plasma; a microwave generating unit for injecting microwaves to the ionizing chamber housing unit to generate ions; and a beam integrating and guiding unit for treating the generated ions. The magnet unit may include: a bobbin for winding the magnet; a variable spacer for dividing the bobbin into a plurality of sections; and the magnet which is wound into the form of a wire or a tape in the plurality of sections formed by the variable spacer.
US08461761B2

A lucent plasma crucible having a closed body for enclosing a fill material filled in a void formed within the closed body and enclosed by the closed body, the fill material being excitable by microwave energy to generate a light-emitting plasma. The crucible is dimensioned to have low order TE or TM microwave mode properties. The orders of the modes are 0, 1 or 2. Crucibles may be regular or irregular in shape. For circular cylindrical crucibles having diameter (d) in cm, length (l) in cm, and operating frequency (f) in MHZ, (d/l)2 is between 0 and 100, and (d×f)2 is between 0 and 2×109. Also 0<(d/l)2<20 and 0<(d×f)2<1.5×109 may be used.
US08461750B2

An electrode for a spark plug includes a contact portion. In a particular embodiment, the electrode further includes an annular base and a support portion formed from a different material than the contact portion. The contact portion may be aligned axially with a central axis of the annular base. Further, the contact portion is configured to shield the annular base and the support portion from a second electrode inserted into the annular base.
US08461741B2

A support system is provided for a dynamoelectric machine having a stator and stator bars connected to a connection ring assembly. The support system includes at least one stator bar support bracket and one or more support rings connected to the stator bars. A connection ring support bracket supports the connection ring assembly. A mount is connected to the connection ring support bracket. The mount permits axial movement of the stator bars, the stator bar support bracket, the support rings, and the connection ring assembly due to thermal expansion experienced during operation of the dynamoelectric machine.
US08461722B2

In embodiments of the present invention improved capabilities are described for a method and system comprising a source resonator optionally coupled to an energy source and a second resonator located a distance from the source resonator, where the source resonator and the second resonator are coupled to provide near-field wireless energy transfer among the source resonator and the second resonator, and where the field of at least one of the source resonator and the second resonator is shaped using conducting surfaces to increase the coupling factor among the resonators.
US08461719B2

Described herein are improved capabilities for a source resonator having a Q-factor Q1>100 and a characteristic size x1 coupled to an energy source, and a second resonator having a Q-factor Q2>100 and a characteristic size x2 coupled to an energy drain located a distance D from the source resonator, where the source resonator and the second resonator are coupled to exchange energy wirelessly among the source resonator and the second resonator.
US08461715B2

The present invention provides an omnidirectional wind collection apparatus. The wind collector includes an outer housing with a peripheral wind inlet circumferentially formed therein. An inner housing disposed within the outer housing has an inner surface with a first opening at a lower end thereof to guide the collected wind to a smaller second opening at the top end. The inner surface is curved between the bottom and top openings to form a progressively narrower passage. The configuration of the inner surface creates a Venturi effect such that the wind is accelerated toward the second opening. A wind pass-through portion is formed above the second opening in the inner housing. Based on the Bernoulli effect, the passage of uncollected wind through this portion creates a low pressure region that expedites flow of collected wind through the first and second openings of the inner housing.
US08461710B1

An electric power plant with a gas turbine engine that drives an electric generator, where the generator is a co-rotating electric generator positioned between the turbine and the compressor such that the turbine drives the compressor through the electric generator, and where the co-rotating generator includes a rotor and a stator that both rotate in the same direction but with a differential rotational speed of around 3000 or 3,600 rpm in order to produce 50 or 60 hertz electrical power. A wire brush makes contact with a rotating surface of the generator to carry away electricity, and the wire brush is continuously fed to make up for wear.
US08461709B2

An asynchronous power generator for a wind turbine is provided. The asynchronous power generator includes a voltage supply and a stator with stator coils supplied with an alternating voltage by the voltage supply. The voltage supply is configured to adjust the voltage supplied to the stator coils based upon an output power generated by the wind turbine. Further, a method of voltage control is provided.
US08461704B2

A gas turbine engine arrangement comprises a core engine, a power turbine and a propulsor. The core engine comprises at least one compressor and at least one turbine arranged to drive the at least one compressor and the core engine is arranged in a casing. The power turbine is positioned downstream of the at least one turbine and the power turbine is arranged to drive the propulsor. An electrical machine is arranged upstream of the at least one compressor. The electrical machine comprises a stator and a rotor and the electrical machine comprises a motor/generator. A first clutch selectively connects the rotor of the electrical machine to the power turbine and a second clutch selectively connects the rotor of the electrical machine to the at least one compressor of the core engine.
US08461703B1

A engine-generator is provided which has a rotary engine formed with an engine housing having an output surface portion and an output shaft on a central axis extending externally of the engine housing. A generator has a stator secured to the output end of the shaft and has a surface in a confronting relation with the engine housing. Permanent magnets and windings are secured to the respective surface portion of the engine housing and stator at a radial distance from the axis. Each magnet and winding has a corresponding pole face lying in a corresponding one of a pair of first planes orthogonal to the central axis. The magnets and windings are rotatable with respect to each other and periodically align in a confronting relationship to define an air-gap between the parallel planes. The windings produce electrical output in response to rotation of the magnets relative to each other.
US08461695B2

Micro-addition of a metal to a Sn-based lead-free C4 ball is employed to enhance reliability. Specifically, a metal having a low solubility in Sn is added in a small quantity corresponding to less than 1% in atomic concentration. Due to the low solubility of the added metal, fine precipitates are formed during solidification of the C4 ball, which act as nucleation sites for formation multiple grains in the solidified C4 ball. The fine precipitates also inhibit rapid grain growth by plugging grain boundaries and act as agents for pinning dislocations in the C4 ball. The grain boundaries enable grain boundary sliding for mitigation of stress during thermal cycling of the semiconductor chip and the package on the C4 ball. Further, the fine precipitates prevent electromigration along the grain boundaries due to their pinned nature.
US08461689B2

A packaging structure having an embedded semiconductor element includes: a substrate having opposite first and second surfaces and at least an opening penetrating the first and second surfaces; a first metallic frame disposed around the periphery of the opening on the first surface; a semiconductor chip received in the opening and having an active surface formed with a plurality of electrode pads and an opposite inactive surface; two first dielectric layers formed on the active surface and the inactive surface of the chip, respectively; a first wiring layer formed on the first dielectric layer of the first surface; and a first built-up structure disposed on the first dielectric layer and the first wiring layer. A shape of the opening is precisely controlled through the first metallic frame around the periphery of the predefined opening region, thereby allowing the chip to be precisely embedded in the substrate.
US08461688B2

Even when a stiffener is omitted, the semiconductor device which can prevent the generation of twist and distortion of a wiring substrate is obtained. As for a semiconductor device which has a wiring substrate, a semiconductor chip by which the flip chip bond was made to the wiring substrate, and a heat spreader adhered to the back surface of the semiconductor chip, and which omitted the stiffener for reinforcing a wiring substrate and maintaining the surface smoothness of a heat spreader, a wiring substrate has a plurality of insulating substrates in which a through hole whose diameter differs, respectively was formed, and each insulating substrate contains a glass cloth.
US08461687B2

A semiconductor device having a cell area and a peripheral area includes a semiconductor substrate, a cell insulating isolation region delimiting a cell active region of the semiconductor substrate in the cell area, a word line disposed within the semiconductor substrate in the cell area, a bit line contact plug disposed on the cell active region, a bit line disposed on the bit line contact plug, a peripheral insulating isolation region delimiting a peripheral active region of the semiconductor substrate in the peripheral area, and a peripheral transistor including a peripheral transistor lower electrode and a peripheral transistor upper electrode. The bit line contact plug is formed at the same level in the semiconductor device as the peripheral transistor lower electrode, and the bit line electrode is formed at the same level in the semiconductor device as the peripheral transistor upper electrode.
US08461684B2

An interconnect structure for integrated circuits incorporates a layer of cobalt nitride that facilitates the nucleation, growth and adhesion of copper wires. The cobalt nitride may deposited on a refractory metal nitride or carbide layer, such as tungsten nitride or tantalum nitride, that serves as a diffusion barrier for copper and also increases the adhesion between the cobalt nitride and the underlying insulator. The cobalt nitride may be formed by chemical vapor deposition from a novel cobalt amidinate precursor. Copper layers deposited on the cobalt nitride show high electrical conductivity and can serve as seed layers for electrochemical deposition of copper conductors for microelectronics.
US08461683B2

Processes of forming an insulated wire into an interlayer dielectric layer (ILD) of a back-end metallization includes thermally treating a metallic barrier precursor under conditions to cause at least one alloying element in the barrier precursor to form a dielectric barrier between the wire and the ILD. The dielectric barrier is therefore a self-forming, self-aligned barrier. Thermal processing is done under conditions to cause the at least one alloying element to migrate from a zone of higher concentration thereof to a zone of lower concentration thereof to further form the dielectric barrier. Various apparatus are made by the process.
US08461674B2

A thermal plate for a substrate support assembly in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, comprises multiple independently controllable planar thermal zones arranged in a scalable multiplexing layout, and electronics to independently control and power the planar heater zones. Each planar thermal zone uses at least one Peltier device as a thermoelectric element. A substrate support assembly in which the thermal plate is incorporated includes an electrostatic clamping electrode layer and a temperature controlled base plate. Methods for manufacturing the thermal plate include bonding together ceramic or polymer sheets having planar thermal zones, positive, negative and common lines and vias.
US08461656B2

A device structure is made using a first conductive layer over a first wafer. An isolated conductive region is formed in the first conductive layer surrounded by a first opening in the conductive layer. A second wafer has a first insulating layer and a conductive substrate, wherein the conductive substrate has a first major surface adjacent to the first insulating layer. The insulating layer is attached to the isolated conductive region. The conductive substrate is thinned to form a second conductive layer. A second opening is formed through the second conductive layer and the first insulating layer to the isolated conductive region. The second opening is filled with a conductive plug wherein the conductive plug contacts the isolated conductive region. The second conductive region is etched to form a movable finger over the isolated conductive region. A portion of the insulating layer under the movable finger is removed.
US08461647B2

A semiconductor device is provided that, in an embodiment, is in the form of a high voltage MOS (HVMOS) device. The device includes a semiconductor substrate and a gate structure formed on the semiconductor substrate. The gate structure includes a gate dielectric which has a first portion with a first thickness and a second portion with a second thickness. The second thickness is greater than the first thickness. A gate electrode is disposed on the first and second portion. In an embodiment, a drift region underlies the second portion of the gate dielectric. A method of fabricating the same is also provided.
US08461643B2

A flash memory cell stack includes a semiconductor substrate; a control electrode formed in a vertical pillar shape on a surface of the semiconductor substrate; an insulating film formed between the control electrode and the semiconductor substrate; a gate stack formed on a side surface of the control electrode; a plurality of first insulating films formed as layers on a side surface of the gate stack; a plurality of second doping semiconductor areas formed as layers on a side surface of the gate stack; and a first doping semiconductor area formed on a portion of side surfaces of the first insulating films and the second doping semiconductor areas and formed on side surfaces facing each other in a first direction. The first insulating films and the second doping semiconductor areas are alternately provided on the side surface of the gate stack.
US08461641B2

Monolithic three dimensional NAND string includes a semiconductor channel having a U-shaped pipe shape. A plurality of control gate electrodes having a strip shape extends substantially parallel to the major surface of the substrate. The plurality of control gate electrodes include at least a first control gate electrode located in a first device level and a second control gate electrode located in a second device level located over the major surface of the substrate and below the first device level. A cut area separates the plurality of control gate electrodes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the substrate. A blocking dielectric is located in contact with the plurality of control gate electrodes, a charge storage region located in contact with the blocking dielectric and a tunnel dielectric is located between the charge storage region and the semiconductor channel.
US08461632B2

A method of manufacturing an SiC semiconductor device according to the present invention includes the steps of (a) by using a single mask, etching regions of an SiC semiconductor layer which serve as an impurities implantation region and a mark region, to form recesses, (b) by using the same mask as in the step (a), performing ion-implantation in the recesses of the regions which serve as the impurities implantation region and the mark region, at least from an oblique direction relative to a surface of the SiC semiconductor layer and (c) positioning another mask based on the recess of the region which serves as the impurities implantation region or the mark region, and performing well implantation in a region containing the impurities implantation region.
US08461628B2

A MOS transistor with a laser-patterned metal gate, and methods for its manufacture. The method generally includes forming a layer of metal-containing material on a dielectric film, wherein the dielectric film is on an electrically functional substrate comprising an inorganic semiconductor; laser patterning a metal gate from the metal-containing material layer; and forming source and drain terminals in the inorganic semiconductor in locations adjacent to the metal gate. The transistor generally includes an electrically functional substrate; a dielectric film on at least portions of the electrically functional substrate; a laser patterned metal gate on the dielectric film; and source and drain terminals comprising a doped inorganic semiconductor layer adjacent to the metal gate. The present invention advantageously provides MOS thin film transistors having reliable electrical characteristics quickly, efficiently, and/or at a low cost by eliminating one or more conventional photolithographic steps.
US08461627B2

In a stack array structure for a semiconductor memory device, a first semiconductor layer includes a plurality of first cell strings, and a second semiconductor including a plurality of second cell strings. Bit-line contact plugs are configured to couple a bit-line to two adjacent first cell strings aligned in series in a bit-line direction, and to further couple the bit-line to two adjacent second cell strings respectively located over the two adjacent first cell strings. Common source line contact plugs are configured to couple a common source line to the two adjacent first cell strings and the two adjacent second cell strings. Pocket p-well contact plugs are located at positions corresponding to a layout of the bit-line plugs and/or common source line plugs, and are configured to couple a pocket p-well line to the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer.
US08461624B2

Photodetectors operable to achieve multiplication of photogenerated carriers at ultralow voltages. Embodiments include a first p-i-n semiconductor junction combined with a second p-i-n semiconductor junction to form a monolithic photodetector having at least three terminals. The two p-i-n structures may share either the p-type region or the n-type region as a first terminal. Regions of the two p-i-n structures doped complementary to that of the shared terminal form second and third terminals so that the first and second p-i-n structures are operable in parallel. A multiplication region of the first p-i-n structure is to multiply charge carriers photogenerated within an absorption region of the second p-i-n structure with voltage drops between the shared first terminal and each of the second and third terminals being noncumulative.
US08461623B2

A power semiconductor module (1) includes a first MOS transistor (16) connected to a positive side power supply terminal via a first conductor pattern (11), a first free wheeling diode (17) connected to the positive side power supply terminal via a second conductor pattern (12), a second MOS transistor (18) connected to a negative side power supply terminal via a third conductor pattern (13), and a second free wheeling diode (19) connected to the negative side power supply terminal via a fourth conductor pattern (14). These semiconductor elements (16-19) are connected to a load side output terminal via a common fifth conductor pattern (15). The semiconductor element (16, 17) connected to the positive side power supply terminal and the semiconductor element (18, 19) connected to the negative side power supply terminal are arranged alternately, substantially linearly.
US08461620B2

An optically triggered semiconductor switch includes an anode metallization layer; a cathode metallization layer; a semiconductor between the anode metallization layer and the cathode metallization layer and a photon source. The semiconductor includes at least four layers of alternating doping in the form P-N-P-N, in which an outer layer adjacent to the anode metallization layer forms an anode and an outer layer adjacent the cathode metallization layer forms a cathode and in which the anode metallization layer has a window pattern of optically transparent material exposing the anode layer to light. The photon source emits light having a wavelength, with the light from the photon source being configured to match the window pattern of the anode metallization layer.
US08461619B2

An LED chip includes a substrate, a first type semiconductor layer, a light-emitting layer, a second type semiconductor layer, a first electrode and a second electrode formed on the substrate in sequence. A surface of the first type semiconductor layer away from the substrate comprises an exposed first area and a second area covered by the light-emitting layer. The first electrode is formed on the exposed first area of the substrate. A number of recesses are defined in the second area of the surface of the first type semiconductor layer. The recesses are spaced apart from each other and arranged in sequence in a direction away from the first electrode; depths of the recesses gradually decrease following an increase of a distance between the recesses and the first electrode. The second electrode is formed on the second type semiconductor layer.
US08461614B2

A packaging substrate device includes: a first laminate including a first ceramic substrate and a first copper pattern disposed on an upper surface of the first ceramic substrate; and a second laminate disposed over the first copper pattern and including a second ceramic substrate, a second copper pattern that is disposed on an upper surface of the second ceramic substrate, and a through hole extending through the second ceramic substrate and the second copper pattern to expose a copper portion of the first copper pattern. A light emitting semiconductor die can be mounted on the copper portion within the through hole. Efficient heat dissipation can be achieved through the first laminate.
US08461601B2

A method for producing a plurality of optoelectronic devices is specified, comprising the following steps: providing a connection carrier assemblage having a plurality of device regions, wherein at least one electrical connection region is provided in each of the device regions, providing a semiconductor body carrier, on which a plurality of separate semiconductor bodies connected to the semiconductor body carrier are arranged, wherein the semiconductor bodies each have a semiconductor layer sequence having an active region, arranging the connection carrier assemblage and the semiconductor body carrier relative to one another in such a way that the semiconductor bodies face the device regions, mechanically connecting a plurality of semiconductor bodies to the connection carrier assemblage in a mounting region of a device region assigned to the respective semiconductor body, electrically conductively connecting the respective semiconductor body to the connection region of the device region assigned to the semiconductor body, and separating from the semiconductor body carrier the semiconductor bodies that are to be connected or are connected to the connection carrier assemblage, and dividing the connection carrier assemblage into a plurality of separate optoelectronic devices each having a connection carrier, which has the device region, and a semiconductor body arranged on the connection carrier and electrically conductively connected to the connection region.
US08461595B2

A semiconductor apparatus having a substrate and a laminate structure formed on the substrate, the laminate structure including an insulating film made of a metal oxide and a semiconductor thin film, both the insulating film and the semiconductor thin film being crystallized.
US08461594B2

Provided are a thin film transistor that is capable of suppressing desorption of oxygen and others from an oxide semiconductor layer, and reducing the time to be taken for film formation, and a display device provided therewith. A gate insulation film 22, a channel protection layer 24, and a passivation film 26 are each in the laminate configuration including a first layer 31 made of aluminum oxide, and a second layer 32 made of an insulation material including silicon (Si). The first and second layers 31 and 32 are disposed one on the other so that the first layer 31 comes on the side of an oxide semiconductor layer 23. The oxide semiconductor layer 23 is sandwiched on both sides by the first layers 31 made of aluminum oxide, thereby suppressing desorption of oxygen and others, and stabilizing the electrical characteristics of a TFT 20. Moreover, since the second layer 32 is made of an insulation material including silicon (Si), the time to be taken for film formation can be reduced compared with a single layer made of aluminum oxide.
US08461589B1

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a heated portion. The heated portion/IC includes a substrate having a topside semiconductor surface having circuitry configured to provide a circuit function. A pre-metal dielectric (PMD) layer is on the topside semiconductor surface. A metal interconnect stack is on the PMD. A trim portion includes one or more temperature sensitive circuit components which affect a temperature behavior of the IC. The heated portion extends over and beyond an area of the trim portion having an integrated heating structure including at least a first heater formed from a metal interconnect level that includes a first plurality of winding segments which have a varying pitch. A heat spreader formed from a second metal interconnect layer is between trim portion and the first heater. Thermal plugs are lateral to the temperature sensitive circuit components and thermally couple the heat spreader to the topside semiconductor surface.
US08461574B2

An organic electroluminescence device including opposite anode and cathode, and a hole-transporting region, an emitting layer and an electron-transporting region in sequential order from the anode between the anode and the cathode, wherein the emitting layer includes a red emitting portion, a green emitting portion, and a blue emitting portion; the blue emitting portion includes a host BH and a fluorescent dopant FBD; the triplet energy ETfbd of the fluorescent dopant FBD is larger than the triplet energy ETbh of the host BH; the green emitting portion includes a host GH and a phosphorescent dopant PGD; the electron-transporting region includes a common electron-transporting layer adjacent to the red emitting portion, the green emitting portion and the blue emitting portion; the common electron-transporting layer includes a material having a triplet energy ETel larger than ETbh; and the difference between the affinity of the host GH and the affinity of the material constituting the common electron-transporting layer is 0.4 eV or less.
US08461570B2

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, by which a multiple quantum well structure having a large number of pairs can be efficiently grown while maintaining good crystalline quality, and the semiconductor device, are provided. The semiconductor device manufacturing method of the present invention includes a step of forming a multiple quantum well structure 3 having 50 or more pairs of group III-V compound semiconductor quantum wells. In the step of forming the multiple quantum well structure 3, the multiple quantum well structure is formed by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy using only metal-organic sources (all metal-organic source MOVPE).
US08461568B2

A stack of semiconductor layers forms a re-emitting semiconductor construction (RSC). The stack includes an active region that converts light at a first wavelength to light at a second wavelength, the active region including at least one potential well. The stack also includes an inactive region extending from an outer surface of the stack to the active region. Depressions are formed in the stack that extend from the outer surface into the inactive region. An average depression depth is at least 50% of a thickness of the inactive region or at least 50% of a nearest potential well distance. The depressions may have at least a 40% packing density in plan view. The depressions may also have a substantial portion of their projected surface area associated with obliquely inclined surfaces.
US08461567B2

In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus is provided, including a plurality of photon sensing layers arranged on top of each other, and an intermediate layer between each two adjacent sensing layers, the sensing layers being of graphene, and each intermediate layer being configured to prevent a respective color component of light from proceeding into the photon sensing layer next to it.
US08461561B2

Methods and systems for selection radiation exposure in sterilization of medical devices are disclosed.
US08461560B2

An apparatus and method is disclosed which includes or employs an EUV light source comprising a laser device outputting a laser beam, a beam delivery system directing the laser beam to an irradiation site, and a material for interaction with the laser beam at the irradiation site to create an EUV light emitting plasma for use in processing substrates.
US08461556B2

Blockers in an ion beam blocker unit selectively block or trim an ion beam. In one instance, the ion beam has first current regions and second current regions. These current regions may be unequal. The ion beam is then implanted into a workpiece to form regions with different doses. The workpiece may be scanned so that the entirety of its surface is implanted.
US08461555B2

Based on the pattern writing data input to an input unit 20, a control computer 19 divides a predetermined region on which writing is effected by an electron beam 54 into smaller regions each consisting of one or the same number of frames and determines the areal density of a pattern to be written on each smaller region. A drift compensation time interval determining unit 32 then determines the amount of change in pattern areal density between each two adjacent smaller regions, and groups the smaller regions in the predetermined region into region groups depending on whether or not the amount of change is greater than a predetermined value. A time profile for compensating for the drift of the electron beam 54 is then determined for each region group.
US08461543B2

A radiographic image capturing system includes plural radiographic image capturing devices that carry out an image capturing preparation operation when capturing a radiographic image; and a synchronous control section that carries out control that synchronizes the image capturing preparation operations of the plurality of radiographic image capturing devices.
US08461533B2

A radiation sensor includes first and second pixels with a radiation absorption filter positioned over the first pixel and an interference filter positioned over both the first and second pixels. The combined spectral response of the absorption filter and the first pixel has a first pixel pass-band and a first pixel stop-band. The spectral response of the interference filter has an interference filter pass-band which is substantially within the first pixel pass-band for radiation incident on the interference filter at a first angle of incidence, and substantially within the first pixel stop-band for radiation incident on the interference filter at a second angle of incidence greater than the first angle of incidence.
US08461522B2

Radical anions for use in the fragmentation of positively charged biopolymer ions by means of electron transfer are produced from substances previously unknown for use as ETD production substances. The inventive substances produce radical anions that lead to electron transfer dissociations with a high yield of fragment ions. The substances have high volatility that allows them to be kept in unheated containers outside the vacuum system and transported into the vacuum system to an in vacuum electron attachment ion source via unheated lines and low molecular weights that allow the measurement of even very light fragment ions. In one embodiment, a suitable substance is 1-3-5-7-cyclooctatetraene.
US08461521B2

A time-of-flight mass spectrometer includes an ion source that generates ions. A two-field ion accelerator receives the ions generated by the ion source and generates an electric field that accelerates the ions through an ion flight path. A pulsed ion accelerator generates an accelerating electric field that focuses the ions to a focal plane where the ion flight time to the focal plane for an ion of predetermined mass-to-charge ratio is substantially independent to first order of an initial velocity of the ions prior to acceleration. An ion detector is positioned at the focal plane to detect ions. The two-field ion accelerator generates electric fields that cause the ion flight time to the ion detector for an ion of predetermined mass-to-charge ratio to be substantially independent to first order of both the initial position and the initial velocity of the ions prior to acceleration.
US08461520B2

An apparatus for performing an operation in a borehole penetrating the earth includes a carrier and a neutron source that emits neutrons and is disposed in the carrier. The apparatus also includes a target disposed in the carrier and that produces gamma rays as a result of interactions between neutrons produced by the neutron source and at least one material forming the target. The apparatus also includes a gamma ray detector that detects the gamma rays produced by the target and is disposed in the carrier.
US08461513B2

An improved method and apparatus for a device with minimized optical cross-talk are provided. In one example, the device includes a filtering material selected to maximize the attenuation of signals causing cross-talk while minimizing the attenuation of desired signals.
US08461508B2

A photovoltaic system has a power converter connected by power rails to a plurality of photovoltaic strings, each string has serially connected photovoltaic panels and switches. The switches divide each string into sections, and the strings are distributed in electrical parallel paths over a plurality of arrays with one section per string in each array. A first set of strings to be brought online with the power converter is initialized. A drive signal is sent to switches in the initial set of strings to couple the sections in each string of the initial set so that the set of strings come online with the power converter providing voltage and current to the power converter.
US08461505B2

An image generating illumination device is provided for interior surfaces of a means of transport. The illumination device includes, but is not limited to at least one or several projection units and a light-emitting diode arrangement. The projection units are designed to project a continuous image onto the surface of hat racks that are arranged one beside the other, and the light-emitting diode arrangement is designed to illuminate ceiling panels. The light that is projected by the light-emitting diode arrangement merges seamlessly into the continuous image.
US08461498B2

A self-supporting field director structure for use in heating an article in a microwave oven is characterized by a vane array comprising a plurality of V-shaped vane doublets, wherein each vane doublet itself comprises a first and a second vane. Each vane extends radially outwardly from the central axis. Each vane has a substrate formed from an electrically non-conductive material, with a portion of each vane being electrically conductive. A vane support structure is attached to the vane array.
US08461492B1

An emergency shutoff system for a cooking appliance deactivates a cooking appliance upon the detection of smoke or rapidly rising heat. Three (3) embodiments are provided, depending on the presence of a gas or an electric model, each further comprises a combination heat and smoke detector located on the ceiling immediately above the appliance. The detector is connected to a control panel at the rear of the stove by a section of low voltage wiring. The control panel activates a shunt trip mechanism in the case of an electrically-powered stove or closes a low voltage solenoid valve in the case of gas-powered stove. Such features greatly reduce the affects of a fire at the cooking appliance should one occur.
US08461476B2

In connection with plasma tap hole welding, in which a plasma jet (7) directed towards a workpiece (8) to be welded is generated by means of a welding current applied onto an electrode (2) and a plasma gas, the plasma jet at least partly penetrating through the workpiece (9), wherein at least one electrical conductor (10, 50, 60, 61) is arranged at the exit side (8″) of the plasma jet (7), a penetration current (I2′) being measured via the electrical conductor (10, 50, 60, 61), it is suggested that the penetration current (I2) is actively modified during the welding process.
US08461474B2

A method for layer-by-layer manufacturing of a three-dimensional work piece including, (a) delivering a metallic feed material into a feed region; (b) emitting an electron beam; (c) translating the electron beam through a first predetermined raster pattern frame that includes: (i) a plurality of points within the feed region; and (ii) a plurality of points in a substrate region that is outside of the feed region; (d) monitoring a condition of the feed region or the substrate region for the occurrence of any deviation from a predetermined condition; (e) upon detecting of any deviation, translating the electron beam through at least one second predetermined raster pattern frame that maintains the melting beam power density level substantially the same, but alters the substrate beam power density level; and (f) repeating steps (a) through (e) at one or more second locations for building up layer-by-layer.
US08461473B2

A method for establishing or restoring electrical continuity between metal pipe sections in pipeline rehabilitation according to embodiments of the present invention includes, from an inside of a pipe having first and second pipe sections, removing a layer of the first pipe section at a first location, removing a layer of the second pipe section at a second location, electrically connecting a spanner at the first location and the second location, deploying a tubular liner along the inside of the pipe, injecting grout between the tubular liner and the inside of the pipe, and distributing the grout between the tubular liner and the inside of the pipe, wherein a first radial distance from the inside of the pipe to the innermost extent of the spanner is less than or equal to a second radial distance from the inside of the pipe to the tubular liner.
US08461457B2

A grommet includes an outer body and an inner body. The outer body, is formed with a wire insertion hole through which a wire is inserted, and has a panel fitting portion at a circumferential portion thereof. The panel fitting portion fits in a first panel hole having a first diameter. The inner body, is attached to the outer body, and has a locking fitting portion at a circumferential portion thereof. The locking fitting portion fits in a second panel hole having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter and locks an inner edge portion of the second panel hole.
US08461444B2

An online real-time session is conducted between at least two electronic music devices each equipped with an interface connectible to a communication network and a display with a touch sensing ability. An electronic music device communicates with its counterpart device to count a time Ta1 of making an inquiry about a present time Tb of the counterpart device and a time Ta2 of receiving a response from the counterpart device while setting a time Ta3 which progresses from the time Ta2 and a time interval Td which is counted from the time Ta3. Thus, the electronic music device determines tone-generation timing at which the electronic music device is synchronized with its counterpart device in conducting an online real-time session by way of a calculation of Td+Tb+(Ta3−Ta1)−(Ta2−Ta1)/2, or Td+Tb+(Ta3−Ta2)+(Ta2−Ta1)/2.
US08461436B2

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the corn variety designated CV741729. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CV741729, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CV741729 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to corn seeds and plants produced by crossing plants of variety CV741729 with plants of another variety, such as another inbred line. The invention further relates to the inbred and hybrid genetic complements of plants of variety CV741729.
US08461431B1

A novel maize variety designated PH1D9D and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1D9D with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1D9D 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 PH1D9D or a locus conversion of PH1D9D with another maize variety.
US08461418B2

Anti-sense-oriented RNA gene suppression agents in the form of a loop of anti-sense-oriented RNA is produced in cells of transgenic organisms, e.g. plants, by transcription from a recombinant DNA construct that comprises in 5′ to 3′ order a promoter element operably linked to more than one anti-sense-oriented DNA element and one or more complementary DNA elements.
US08461412B2

The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, baby diapers, adult incontinence articles and sweat pads. According to the present invention the absorbent article in the region designated for liquid deposition on its wearer facing surface has a single layer topsheet onto which liquid to be absorbed is provided during use of the article. The absorbent article includes a backsheet forming the liquid barrier surface and a unitary absorbent core between the topsheet and the backsheet. Importantly the unitary core provides improved liquid handling to the absorbent article and increases the masking, i.e. ability to hide stains due to absorbed liquid, of the article. This is particularly beneficial in the context of articles for absorption of liquids with high color intensity, such as menstrual liquid or urine of older adults.
US08461408B2

A method for alkylating a hydrocarbon comprising at least one isoparaffin and at least one olefin that includes introducing a liquid catalyst and the hydrocarbon into a high shear device; processing the liquid catalyst and the hydrocarbon in the high shear device to form an emulsion comprising droplets of hydrocarbon dispersed in the liquid catalyst; introducing the emulsion into a vessel operating under suitable alkylation conditions whereby at least a portion of the isoparaffin is alkylated with the olefin to form alkylate, wherein suitable alkylation conditions comprise a bulk reaction temperature of from about 38° C. to about 90° C. and a bulk reaction pressure in the range of from about 1379 kPa to about 34 MPa; and removing a product stream comprising alkylate from the vessel.
US08461406B2

According to the present invention there is provided a process for producing an oligomeric product by the oligomerisation of at least one olefinic compound including: A) providing an activated oligomerisation catalyst comprising the combination of: i) a source of a transition metal; ii) a ligating compound of the formula (R1)mX1(Y)X2(R2)n iii) a metal containing activator; and (iv) at least one olefinic compound; B) diluting the activated oligomerisation catalyst of A with an introduced liquid medium; and C) contacting the at least one olefinic compound to be oligomerised with the diluted activated catalyst of B to produce an oligomeric product.
US08461399B2

Recovery of ethanol from a crude ethanol product obtained from the hydrogenation of acetic acid. The crude ethanol product is fed to a distillation column to yield an ethanol sidestream.
US08461395B2

A process for the selective production of acetaldehyde by vapor phase reaction of acetic acid over a hydrogenating catalyst composition to form acetaldehyde is disclosed and claimed. In an embodiment of this invention reaction of acetic acid and hydrogen over platinum and iron supported on silica selectively produces acetaldehyde in a vapor phase at a temperature of about 300° C.
US08461392B2

The present invention relates to a process for preparing at least one monocyclic ketone having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms by reacting a mixture G1 comprising at least one monocyclic olefin having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms with a mixture G2 comprising at least dinitrogen monoxide, wherein said reaction is performed adiabatically.
US08461391B2

The present invention relates to a process for preparing N,N-substituted 1,3-propanediamine by a) reacting secondary amine with acrolein at a temperature of from (−50) to 100° C. and a pressure of from 0.01 to 300 bar, and b) reacting the reaction mixture obtained in stage a) with hydrogen and ammonia in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst at a temperature of from 40 to 400° C. and a pressure of from 1 to 400 bar, wherein the molar ratio of secondary amine to acrolein in stage a) is 2:1 or more and the hydrogenation catalyst used in stage b) comprises cobalt. In a preferred embodiment, acrolein which has been obtained from glycerol based on renewable raw materials is used. The invention further relates to the use of N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine (DMAPA) based on renewable raw materials as a feedstock for lubricant soaps and other detergents, coagulants, polymers and comb polymers. In a further preferred embodiment, stage b) is performed in the presence of water.
US08461388B2

A process for preparing a compound of formula (V) or its enantiomer, which comprises: (a) reacting racemic aminoindan of formula (II) or its enantiomer with allylhalide in presence of a base and an organic solvent at a temperature ranging from 25 C to the reflux temperature of the solvent to give compound of formula (III); Where R is H or (b) reacting the compound (III) with halogenating agent in a suitable organic solvent to give a dihalo compound of formula (IV). (c) treating the dihalo compound (IV) with a suitable base to give compound (V).
US08461384B2

The present invention is directed to processes for the synthesis of morphinans. In particular, a process for coupling a carboxylic acid compound with an amine compound to form an amide product that can then be isolated or the crude amide product can be cyclized to form a 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline. In one embodiment, the carboxylic acid contains a phenol moiety protected with a labile protecting group. The protected phenol reduces reaction times, simplifies work-up of the product, and reduces the amount of cyclizing agent, POCl3 that is necessary to form the 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline.
US08461382B2

Novel ionic liquids comprising polyethercarboxylates as anions, a process for preparing them and their use.
US08461375B2

The invention relates to an improved method for the continuous production of alkyl(methyl)acrylates by transesterification of methyl(meth)acrylate with alcohols that are heavy in comparison with methanol. A special processing technique makes it possible to obtain new levels of product quality. Very high space-time-overall yields can also be obtained. The invention is characterized by the multiple use of a homogeneous catalyst which thereby reduces the costs of auxiliary agents significantly.
US08461368B2

The present invention relates to a process for preparing organic silane compounds having a β-cyano ester group. In particular, the present invention relates to a process for preparing organic silane compounds having a β-cyano ester group, in which β-cyano β-cyano containing compounds having an unsaturated group are hydrosilylated using a hydro alkoxy silane in the presence of a platinum-vinyl siloxane catalyst. The preparation process according to the present invention can stably initiate and progress the reaction, minimize the generation of by-products, and prepare organic silane compounds having a β-cyano ester structure with high yield.
US08461364B2

This invention provides, among other things, polymorphs of the hydrochloride salt of (S)-3-aminomethyl-7-(3-hydroxy-propoxy)-3H-benzo[c][1,2]oxaborol-1-ol.
US08461351B2

A sterically bulky stabilizer that includes an alkylated-benzimidazolone compound, where the sterically bulky stabilizer is associated non-covalently with a benzimidazolone pigment, and the presence of the sterically bulky stabilizer limits the extent of particle growth and aggregation, to afford nanoscale pigment particles.
US08461335B2

This invention provides novel compositions comprising substituted polyamines as acid gas scrubbing solutions and methods of using the compositions in an industrial system. The invention relates to the use of such polyamine compounds in industrial processes to remove acidic contaminants from natural and industrial fluid streams, such as natural gas, combustion gas, natural gas, synthesis gas, biogas, and other industrial fluid streams. The compositions and methods of the invention are useful for removal, absorption, or sequestration of acidic contaminants and sulfide contaminants including CO2, H2S, RSH, CS2, COS, and SO2.
US08461332B2

A method for producing a curing agent having an acidic substituent and an unsaturated maleimido group, including reacting, in an organic solvent, a maleimide compound (a) having at least two N-substituted maleimido groups in a molecule thereof with an amine compound (b) having an acidic substituent (represented by formula (I) below); a thermosetting resin composition containing the curing agent (A) produced through the method and a compound (B) which is cured with the curing agent, wherein a cured product of the composition has a glass transition temperature of 200° C. or higher; and a prepreg and a laminated sheet produced therefrom. The thermosetting resin composition can produce a prepreg or laminated sheet exhibiting excellent performance suitable for a printed wiring board for electronic devices and similar devices.
US08461328B2

The invention provides novel compounds of formula I having the general formula: wherein R1, R2, R3, X and Y are as described herein. Accordingly, the compounds may be provided in pharmaceutically acceptable compositions and used for the treatment of immunological or hyperproliferative disorders.
US08461327B2

The present invention relates to a salt of a carboxylic acid with a diamine such as 2,2′-(ethylenedioxy)diethyl amine, 3,3′-(ethylenedioxy)dipropyl amine and 2,2′-oxybis(ethylamine) and a method of preparing such salts. Preferably the carboxylic acid is a fermentation product such as clavulanic acid, mycophenolic acid or pravastatin.
US08461320B2

The subject invention lies in the field of microorganism mutation and selection of the mutants. In particular, the invention is directed at obtaining metabolic mutants in a simple, direct and specific manner. In a preferred embodiment it is also possible to obtain desired mutants not comprising recombinant DNA, thereby facilitating incorporation thereof in products for human consumption or application, due to shorter legislative procedures. The method according to the invention involves random mutation and specific selection of the desired metabolic mutant. Knockout, mutants wherein a gene associated with metabolism is absent or inactivated and mutants with increased or decreased DNA binding capacity are also claimed.
US08461318B2

The invention relates generally to the field of nucleic acids and more particularly to aptamers that bind to TFPI, which are useful as therapeutics in and diagnostics of bleeding disorders and/or other diseases or disorders in which TFPI has been implicated. In addition, the TFPI aptamers may be used before, during and/or after medical procedures to reduce complications or side effects thereof. The invention further relates to materials and methods for the administration of aptamers that bind to TFPI.
US08461316B1

The invention discloses the nanoparticles composed of chitosan, poly-glutamic acid, and at least one DNA, RNA or bioactive agent characterized with a positive surface charge and their enhanced efficiency for gene delivery and bioactive agent delivery.
US08461315B2

Described herein are polynucleotides associated with prostate and lung cancer. The polynucleotides are miRNAs and miRNA precursors. Related methods and compositions that can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of those medical conditions are disclosed. Also described herein are methods that can be used to identify modulators of prostate and lung cancer.
US08461311B2

Disclosed are TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) trimers (TR3) and nucleic acids encoding covalently linked TRAIL trimers. A TRAIL trimer can have greater stability compared to native TRAIL, and can retain the native killing ability of TRAIL. Target specificity of a TR3 can be shown by blocking its activity with soluble death receptor 5 (DR5-Fc). Also disclosed are modified TRAIL trimers and nucleic. acids encoding them. These modifications include additional functional domains, such as antibody fragments (scFvs). A TR3 comprising an additional functional domain can allow for cell-specific delivery of the TR3. The inventors disclose TR3-decorated RBCs that target cell killing in a model of pancreatic cancer.
US08461304B2

The present invention provides antibodies which bind to an epitope in the extracellular domain of human CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) and which are capable of inhibiting the binding of macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) and/or thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC) to CCR4. Also provided are inter alia immunoconjugates and compositions comprising such antibodies and methods and uses involving such antibodies, particularly in the medical and diagnostic fields.
US08461303B2

The present application relates to anti-LOX and anti-LOXL2 antibodies and their use in purification, diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Antibodies include monoclonal antibodies, humanized antibodies and functional fragments thereof. Anti-LOX and anti-LOXL2 antibodies can be used to identify and treat conditions such as a fibrotic condition, angiogenesis, or to prevent a transition from an epithelial cell state to a mesenchymal cell state.
US08461301B2

The present application relates to isolated amino acid sequence comprising multiple repeats of a semi-synthetic spider silk protein domain, or any functional homolog, variant, derivative, fragment or mutant thereof. The amino acid sequence of the invention further comprises an N-terminal region and a C-terminal region. The invention further provides a nucleic acid encoding the amino acid sequence of the invention, an expression vector comprising said nucleic acid, a host cell transformed with said expression vector, a recombinant spider silk protein thus produced and a fiber composed of the recombinant spider silk protein. The invention further encompasses a composition comprising as an active ingredient said amino acid sequence or any said recombinant protein or fiber comprising the same. Lastly, the invention relates to an article comprising at least one fiber composed of said recombinant spider silk protein.
US08461298B2

The present invention provides modified cycloalkyne compounds; and method of use of such compounds in modifying biomolecules. The present invention features a cycloaddition reaction that can be carried out under physiological conditions. In general, the invention involves reacting a modified cycloalkyne with an azide moiety on a target biomolecule, generating a covalently modified biomolecule. The selectivity of the reaction and its compatibility with aqueous environments provide for its application in vivo (e.g., on the cell surface or intracellularly) and in vitro (e.g., synthesis of peptides and other polymers, production of modified (e.g., labeled) amino acids).
US08461295B2

Methods for preparing active carbonate esters of water-soluble polymers are provided. Also provided are other methods related to the active carbonate esters of water-soluble polymers, as well as corresponding compositions.
US08461288B2

The present invention relates to a polyester resin prepared by adding an anti-hydrolysis agent to a reactant comprising an acid selected from an alkylester of aromatic dibasic acid or a mixture of an alkylester of aromatic dibasic acid and an alkylester of aliphatic dibasic acid, an aromatic diol and an aliphatic diol; and a toner produced by using the same as a binder resin.
US08461286B2

A process for the production of liquid epoxy resins, including: contacting a polyhydric phenol and an epihalohydrin in the presence of an ionic catalyst to form a halohydrin intermediate reaction product; concurrently: reacting a portion of the halohydrin intermediate reaction product with an alkali hydroxide to form a solid salt suspended in a liquid mixture including a dehydrohalogenated product and unreacted halohydrin intermediate, wherein the alkali hydroxide is used at less than a stoichiometric amount; and removing water and epihalohydrin as a vapor from the reacting mixture; separating the solid salt from the liquid mixture; reacting at least a portion of the unreacted halohydrin intermediate with an alkali hydroxide in the presence of water to form an organic mixture including an epoxy resin and unreacted epihalohydrin and an aqueous solution including a salt; separating the aqueous mixture from the organic mixture; and separating the unreacted epihalohydrin from the liquid epoxy resin.
US08461284B2

Compositions and methods for controlled polymerization and/or oligomerization of hydrosilanes compounds including those of the general formulae SinH2n and SinH2n+2 as well as alkyl- and arylsilanes, to produce soluble silicon polymers as a precursor to silicon films having low carbon content.
US08461280B2

A multimodal linear low density polyethylene polymer having a final density of 900 to 940 kg/m3, and containing at least one α-olefin comonomer in addition to ethylene comprising: (A) 30 to 60 wt % of a lower molecular weight component being an ethylene homopolymer or a copolymer of ethylene and at least one α-olefin; and (B) 70 to 40 wt % of a higher molecular weight component being a copolymer of ethylene and at least one α-olefin, said α-olefin being the same or different from any α-olefin used in component (A) but with the proviso that both components (A) and (B) are not polymers of ethylene and butane alone; wherein the multimodal LLDPE has a dart drop of at least 700 g; and wherein components (A) and (B) are obtainable using a Ziegler-Natta catalyst.
US08461277B2

An additive composition for imparting caustic removability to a hot melt adhesive comprises a low molecular weight α,β ethylenically unsaturated anhydride-containing or acid-containing polymer. The polymer is selected from the group consisting of a low molecular weight carboxylic anhydride homo-polymer or the at least partial ester thereof, a low molecular weight carboxylic anhydride copolymer or the at least partial ester thereof, a low molecular weight carboxylic anhydride polyolefin, a low molecular weight carboxylic anhydride vinyl aromatic copolymer, and a low molecular weight carboxylic anhydride grafted copolymer, or the combination or mixtures thereof. A caustic removable hot melt adhesive composition comprises a hot melt adhesive additive and a conventional hot melt adhesive resin. A caustic removable adhesive label comprises a substrate and a caustic removable hot melt adhesive composition which includes an additive composition. The caustic removable hot melt adhesives can be used on labels for articles, such as glass bottles.
US08461274B2

The invention pertains to the redistribution of cyclic and linear polysiloxanes by a method comprising contacting and heating a surfactant, wherein the surfactant is the salt of a protonated amine or a quaternary amine compound, an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution and a silicone, wherein the silicone is a silicon hydrolysate, D5, or DO. When the method of the invention is conducted with silicone hydrolysate, it eliminates the need to separate the silicone hydrolysate into its linear and cyclic constituents prior to redistribution.
US08461273B2

Biodegradable aliphatic/aromatic copolyester comprising 49 to 66 mol % of an aromatic polyfunctional acid; 51 to 34 mol % of an aliphatic acid, at least 70% of which is sebacic acid; and butandiol; and blends containing such copolyester.
US08461272B2

The invention relates to a process and compositions suitable for reducing by heat the molecular weight of polypropylene, propylene copolymers or polypropylene blends. Azo compounds bearing different substituents are added to the polymers.
US08461264B2

Disclosed is a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a cross-copolymer which meets specific requirements; and a polyphenylene ether resin, wherein the cross-copolymer is contained in an amount of 5 to 95 mass % and the polyphenylene ether resin is contained in an amount of 95 to 5 mass %. The thermoplastic resin composition has excellent heat resistant, excellent softness, excellent flexibility, excellent stretching properties, and excellent scratch-abrasion resistance.
US08461257B2

A process of manufacturing a white polyimide film comprising performing condensation polymerization of monomers comprising diamine and dianhydride components to obtain a solution; adding a dehydrant, a catalyst and a coloration filler into the solution to obtain a precursor solution; coating a layer of the precursor solution on a support; and baking the coated layer of the precursor solution to form a white polyimide film. The diamine component can include 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine, and the dianhydride component can include 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 2,2-bis[4-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl]propane dianhydride. The coloration filler can include TiO2, Al2O3, CaCO3, CaSO4, SiO2, BN, AlN and clay.
US08461255B2

An aqueous polyurethane resin is prepared by reaction of an isocyanate group-terminated prepolymer with a chain extender containing polyamine. The isocyanate group-terminated prepolymer is obtained by reaction of at least a polyisocyanate containing 50 wt % or more of a non-multiple ring polyisocyanate that does not contain an aromatic ring and an aliphatic ring, or contains one aromatic ring or aliphatic ring; polyoxyethylene polyol; and a polyoxyethylene side chain-containing active compound having two or more hydroxyl groups or isocyanate groups at its molecular terminal and having a polyoxyethylene group in the side chain.
US08461252B2

The instant disclosure describes methods for preparing latex resins for coated carriers using surfactant partitioning, which resins exhibit both lower ζ potential and greater latex stability, while not adversely affecting particle size, toner charge or other metrics.
US08461249B2

A polycarbonate containing composition comprising a peak melt viscosity of at least 8,000 poise when measured using a parallel plate melt rheology test at a heating rate of 10° C./min at a temperature of between about 350° C. to about 450° C., and wherein a molded article of the composition has a UL 94 VO rating at a thickness of 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, or between 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm is disclosed.
US08461248B2

A resin composition includes: a polylactic acid resin; an impact-resistant resin which is superior in impact resistance to the polylactic acid resin and is incompatible with or hardly compatible with the polylactic acid resin; and a nucleating agent which promotes crystallization of the polylactic acid resin; the nucleating agent existing at least in the phase of the impact-resistant resin.
US08461244B2

A liquid intumescent resin coating composition including at least one polymeric component, at least one ethylenically unsaturated monomeric component, and at least one intumescent ingredient. The coating composition further includes at least one of Sodium Potassium Aluminum Silicate (Nepheline syenite) and Potassium Aluminum Silicate. The coating composition is curable to a solid state by free radical polymerization.
US08461239B2

A flame retardant agent for a thermoplastic resin, which enables the thermoplastic resin containing the flame retardant agent to keep its viscous property, to be made into a fiber readily, and to exhibit flame retardant effect even when ammonium dihydrogen phosphate is contained in the flame retardant agent as a non-halogen flame retardant component. Also disclosed is a flame retardant resin composition containing the flame retardant agent. Specifically, the flame retardant agent for a thermoplastic resin comprises ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, potassium hydroxide, glycerin and urea, wherein the potassium hydroxide is contained in an amount of 10 to 70 parts by weight, glycerin is contained in an amount of 0.1 to 4.0 parts by weight, and urea is contained in an amount of 1 to 9 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate.
US08461235B2

The present invention relates to the use, for stabilizing polymers, in particular polyolefins, with respect to exposure to UV radiation, of fine-particle polymer powders comprising at least one UV absorber. The present invention further relates to stabilizer mixtures for stabilizing polymers with respect to exposure to UV radiation, oxygen and heat, which, inter alia, comprise these polymer powders, and to a process for stabilizing polymers, in particular polyolefins, with respect to exposure to UV radiation, oxygen and heat, which comprises adding, to the polymers, in particular to the polyolefins, an effective amount of these stabilizers. The present invention further relates to polymers, in particular polyolefins, which have been stabilized with respect to exposure to UV radiation or with respect to exposure to UV radiation, oxygen and heat, which comprise an effective amount of these polymer powders or, respectively, stabilizer mixtures, and to articles produced from these stabilized polymers, in particular polyolefins.
US08461228B2

The invention provides an ink composition including a polymerizable compound represented by following Formula (1), a polymerization initiator and water: XA)n  Formula (1) wherein, in Formula (1), X represents a divalent or trivalent nitrogen-containing linking group represented by any one of following Formulae (X1) to (X3), A represents a polymerizable functional group having an amide group, and n represents 2 or 3: wherein, in Formulae (X1) to (X3), Z represents an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms, or a divalent linking group including an alkylene group having 2 or 3 carbon atoms and an oxygen atom; and R1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.
US08461227B2

A composition of macrocyclic oligomer with at least one polymerizable group, (meth)acrylate, for example.
US08461224B2

A method of synthesizing a random copolymer of polyethyleneimine and polyethylene glycol, comprising exposing ethanolamine in a solution to electromagnetic radiation for a sufficient time to polymerize the ethanolamine (OHCH2CH2NH2) and thereby resulting in formation of the randome copolymer comprising polyethyleneimine and poly(ethylene glycol), wherein the polyethyleneimine comprises ethyleneimine (—CH2CH2NH—) unit and the polyethylene glycol comprises ethylene glycol (—CH2CH2O—) unit, and the polyethylenimine of the random copolymer has a substantially linear backbone.
US08461219B2

Process for preparing olefins, which comprises the following steps: a) preparation of a synthesis gas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, b) introduction of carbon dioxide recirculated from step d) into the synthesis gas during or after the preparation of synthesis gas as per step a), c) conversion of the synthesis gas having a hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio of ≦1.2:1 which is obtained in step b) into olefins in the presence of a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, d) removal of the carbon dioxide comprised in the reaction product from step c), where the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in step c) is set via step b).
US08461215B2

The invention provides a method for rendering coal as an environmentally essentially carbon dioxide-neutral fuel. Carbon dioxide produced from coal combustion is captured, purified, combined with coalbed methane or any other natural methane or natural gas source, or with hydrogen, and reacted under reaction conditions sufficient to form methanol and/or dimethyl ether, which can be used as fuel or feedstock for derived synthetic hydrocarbons and products.
US08461214B2

A one-phase microemulsion composition, which can be easily prepared without the use of special equipment, has high safety, and stays stable for a long period in an ultrafine emulsion state when the composition is added to an aqueous formulation, is provided by appropriately adjusting the ratio of (A) a hydrophilic nonionic surfactant, (B) a lipophilic nonionic surfactant, (C) an oil component, (D) a water-miscible solvent that does not interdissolve with the oil component, and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the hydrophilic nonionic surfactant in the water-miscible solvent is higher than that of the hydrophilic nonionic surfactant in water, and (E) water.
US08461209B2

The invention provides a sulfonyl malonamide derivative, or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof or a solvate thereof, that has therapeutic and/or preventive effects(s) on various diseases due to its agonist action at AT2 receptor, and is useful as a pharmaceutical agent for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases involving the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS).
US08461208B2

Disclosed are bis(thio-hydrazide amide) disalts and pharmaceutical compositions thereof. Also disclosed are methods of using bis(thio-hydrazide amide) disalts to treat cancer.
US08461203B2

Disclosed are formulations of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in an aqueous medium that are resistant to microbial growth. Also disclosed are formulations of gamma-hydroxybutyrate that are also resistant to the conversion into GBL. Disclosed are methods to treat sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, with these stable formulations of GHB. The present invention also provides methods to treat alcohol and opiate withdrawal, reduced levels of growth hormone, increased intracranial pressure, and physical pain in a patient.
US08461196B2

The invention provides novel, multiply-substituted 1-aryl-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes, and related processes and intermediates for preparing these compounds, as well as compositions and methods employing these compounds for the treatment and/or prevention of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including depression and anxiety.
US08461183B2

The present invention relates to novel PPAR agonist compounds as well as pharmaceutical compositions containing them. The compounds according to the invention are of quite particular therapeutic interest, notably for treating diabetes and/or dyslipidemias, as well as for preventing cardiovascular pathologies.
US08461176B2

The present invention relates to novel aryloazol-2-yl-cyanoethylamino derivatives substantially enriched in an enantiomer of formula (I): and compounds of formula (IH) wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R13a, R13b, R14a, R14b, P, Q, V, W, X, Y, Z and a are as defined in the description, compositions thereof, processes for their preparation and their uses as pesticides.
US08461166B2

Novel epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) inhibitors, pharmaceutical compositions including same and their use in the treatment of EGFR-TK related diseases or disorders are disclosed. Novel radiolabeled EGFR-TK inhibitors as their use as biomarkers for medicinal radioimaging such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and as radiopharmaceuticals for radiotherapy are further disclosed. The disclosed EGFR-TK inhibitors comprise a polyalkylene glycol moiety and/or a hydroxy-containing moiety and are characterized by improved solubility, biostability and bioavailability. Processes of preparing the disclosed EGFR-TK inhibitors and of radiolabeling same, via, for example, one-step radiosyntheses, are also disclosed.
US08461161B2

Compunds of the general formula wherein each of Z1-Z4 is N or CR1 wherein only two of said Z1-Z4 may be N are useful as kinase inhibitors.
US08461157B2

The instant application relates to deazapurines, thienopyrimidines and furopyrimidines with zinc-binding moiety based derivatives and their use in the treatment of phosphoinositide 3-kinase related diseases and disorders such as cancer. The instant application further relates to the treatment of histone deacetylase related disorders and diseases related to both histone deacetylase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase.
US08461154B2

The present invention provides arylpiperazine derivatives having Formula I which can be advantageously used for treating schizophrenia and related psychoses such as acute manic, bipolar disorder, autistic disorder and depression.
US08461145B2

The present invention is related to novel tricyclic compounds of formula (I) having TRPA1 receptor agonistic properties, pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds, chemical processes for preparing these compounds and their use as pharmacological tools, or as irritant incapacitants, or in the treatment of diseases linked to the modulation of the TRPA1 receptors in animals, in particular humans.
US08461143B2

The present invention is directed to improved liquid antibiotic formulations. In some embodiments, the present invention is directed to a composition comprising an antibiotic in a liquid comprising triglycerides, wherein the composition has less than about 5% water (w/v).
US08461139B2

The present invention relates to novel oral suspension formulation comprising prednisolone acetate, a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle and a thickening agent. The present invention further provides a method of treating patients in need of prednisolone with the novel formulation.
US08461127B2

The expansion of a population of stem cells or progenitor cells, or precursors thereof, may be accomplished by disrupting or inhibiting p21cip1/waf1 and/or p27, cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors. In the absence of p27 activity, progenitor cells move into the cell cycle and proliferate; whereas in the absence of p21 activity, stem cells move into the cell cycle and proliferate without losing their pluripotentiality (i.e., their ability to differentiate into the various cell lines found in the blood stream). Any type of stem cell or progenitor cell, or precursor thereof, including, but not limited to, hematopoietic, gastrointestinal, lung, neural, skin, muscle, cardiac muscle, renal, mesenchymal, embryonic, fetal, or liver cell may be used in accordance with the invention. The present invention provides a method of expanding a cell population, cells with decreased p27 and/or p21 activity, transgenic animals with a disrupted p27 and/or p21 gene, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the cells of the invention, and methods of using these cells in gene therapy (e.g., stem cell gene therapy) and bone marrow transplantation.
US08461124B2

Conformationally locked 2′,4′-carbocylic nucleosides with improved thermal and nuclease stability are disclosed. Oligonucleotides incorporating the locked nucleosides, and methods of treating disease states, are also disclosed.
US08461119B2

Novel agents are described that bind to Eph receptors. Methods of using these agents to modulate the activity of Eph receptors, stimulate apoptosis, and deliver therapeutic agents are also described. Methods of screening for agents capable of selectively binding to Eph receptors are also described.
US08461114B2

Modulating the interaction between ErbB2 and Erbin is an effective method for treating one or more symptoms of ErbB2-mediated disorders. It has been discovered that Erbin stabilizes ErbB2 in vivo and inhibiting the formation of heterodimers between Erbin and ErbB2 reduces or inhibits the biological activity of ErbB2 relative to control levels. Reducing the biological activity of ErbB2 is useful in the treatment of conditions characterized by the overexpression or misregulation of ErbB2. These conditions include, but are not limited to breast cancer and prostate cancer. Alternatively, agonist of Erbin that promote or enhance the interaction of Erbin with ErbB2 can be useful in the treatment of certain neurological disorders. It has also been discovered that Erbin plays a role in the myelination of neurons of the peripheral nervous system.
US08461111B2

Mutant fibroblast growth factor (FGF) proteins having a polypeptide sequence with a high sequence identity to proteins encoded by members of the Fgf-1 subfamily of genes from a mammalian species, such as human, and with a specific amino acid substitution of an alanine at a position corresponding to amino acid position 66 of human FGF-1 with a cysteine and/or a specific amino acid substitution of a phenylalanine at a position corresponding to amino acid position 132 of human FGF-1 with a tryptophan (based on the 140 amino acid numbering scheme of human FGF-1) are provided. Other amino acid mutations or substitutions may be combined. Polynucleotide sequences encoding the mutant FGF proteins and host cells containing such polynucleotide sequences are provided. Methods of administering a mutant FGF protein to an individual to treat an ischemic condition or disease or a wound or tissue injury are also provided.
US08461109B2

The invention also relates to a method for of enhancing the acceptance and/or healing of a skin graft in a subject comprising stimulating angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis with an effective amount of an isolated VEGF-D polypeptide.
US08461106B2

This invention relates to methods and compositions capable of inhibiting biofilm formation. Specifically, provided herein are methods and compositions using Lactoferrin for the inhibition of biofilm formation.
US08461104B2

The invention relates to a biodegradable barrier network comprising at least two polypeptides, one being anionic and the other one cationic. The invention also relates to applicators and kits comprising components to be used to create said biodegradable barrier network. The invention also relates to the use of said applicator or kit in therapy, such as in medicine, veterinary medicine and horticulture.
US08461084B2

A herbicidal mixture, comprising a) a herbicidally effective amount of an imidazolinone herbicide selected from the group consisting of imazamox, imazapic, imazapyr; b) an adjuvant comprising at least one of the following components: a partial phosphoric ester or a partial sulfuric ester of a monohydroxy-functional polyalkyl ether and optionally c) a further additive.
US08461080B2

The invention relates to aqueous, aluminum silicate-free, highly concentrated suspension concentrates, containing the active substance metribuzin, one or more surfactants based on nonionic polymers from the ‘acrylic grafted polymers’ group, one or more thickeners based on anionic heteropolysaccharides from the xanthan gum group, one or more wetting agents and optionally other components such as antifoaming agents, antifreeze agents and preservatives and other surfactants differing from the aforesaid components.
US08461079B1

A composition which provides bactericidal, fungicidal and insecticidal activity when treating plants with effective amounts. The composition comprises the blending of: (1) an aqueous salicylate solution from salicylic acid reacted in an aqueous media with ammonium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide; (2) a reaction mixture that provides fungicidal activity and fertilizes plants when applied in an effective amount and which comprises potassium phosphates, potassium polyphosphate, potassium phosphites, and potassium polyphosphite and potassium phosphate phosphite copolymers; and, optionally, (3) aqueous potassium acetate.
US08461076B2

To provide a thermosensitive recording medium, containing: a support; a thermosensitive recording layer; and a surface layer, where the thermosensitive recording layer and the surface layer are provided over the support, wherein the thermosensitive recording layer contains a binding agent, a coloring agent, and a color developer, and wherein the surface layer contains polyester (meth)acrylate having at least three (meth)acryloyl groups, and an α-hydroxyketone-based polymerization initiator having a melting point of 80° C. or higher.
US08461061B2

A method of supporting a plurality of planar substrates in a tube shaped furnace for conducting a thermal treatment process is disclosed. The method uses a boat fixture having a base frame including two length portions and a first width portion, a second width portion, and one or more middle members connected between the two length portions. Additionally, the method includes mounting a removable first grooved rod respectively on the first width portion, the second width portion, and each of the one or more middle members, each first grooved rod having a first plurality of grooves characterized by a first spatial configuration. The method further includes inserting one or two substrates of a plurality of planar substrates into each groove in the boat fixture separated by a distance.
US08461054B2

A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device which includes pixel electrodes and common electrodes which are alternatively arranged in each pixel defined on a substrate, including the steps of: forming a conductive film on the substrate; forming a mask layer, of which etching selection ratio is different from the conductive layer, on the conductive layer; forming a photo-resist pattern of a fixed pattern on the mask layer; forming a mask pattern, which has an undercut shape to the photo-resist pattern, by etching the mask layer by use of the photo-resist pattern as an etching mask; removing the photo-resist pattern; and etching the conductive film by use of the mask pattern as an etching mask, to provide at least any one of the common electrode and the pixel electrode.
US08461051B2

A method for processing a sample using an electrically neutral reactive cluster is provided. The surface of a sample is processed by jetting out a mixed gas that is composed of a reactive gas and a gas with a boiling point lower than that of the reactive gas from a gas jetting part of a vacuum process room in which the sample is placed by a pressure in a range in which the mixed gas is not liquefied, in a predetermined direction, while adiabatically-expanding the mixed gas, thereby generating a reactive cluster and jetting the reactive cluster against the sample in the vacuum process room.
US08461047B2

A method for processing an amorphous carbon film which has been formed on a substrate and wet-cleaned after being dry-etched includes preparing the substrate having the wet-cleaned amorphous carbon film and modifying a surface of the amorphous carbon film, before forming an upper layer on the wet-cleaned amorphous carbon film.
US08461044B2

A masking layer is formed on a dielectric region of an electronic device so that, during subsequent formation of a capping layer on electrically conductive regions of the electronic device that are separated by the dielectric region, the masking layer inhibits formation of capping layer material on or in the dielectric region. The capping layer can be formed selectively on the electrically conductive regions or non-selectively; in either case, capping layer material formed over the dielectric region can subsequently be removed, thus ensuring that capping layer material is formed only on the electrically conductive regions. Silane-based materials, can be used to form the masking layer. The capping layer can be formed of an conductive material, a semiconductor material, or an insulative material, and can be formed using any appropriate process, including conventional deposition processes such as electroless deposition, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition.
US08461040B2

A method of forming a shielded gate field effect transistor includes: forming a plurality of active gate trenches in a silicon region; lining lower sidewalls and bottom of the active gate trenches with a shield dielectric; using a CMP process, filling a bottom portion of the active gate trenches with a shield electrode comprising polysilicon; forming an interpoly dielectric (IPD) over the shield electrode in the active gate trenches; lining upper sidewalls of the active gate trenches with a gate dielectric; and forming a gate electrode over the IPD in an upper portion of the active gate trenches.
US08461036B2

Multiple surface finishes are applied to a substrate for a microelectronics package by applying a first surface finish to connection pads of a first area of the substrate, masking the first area of the substrate without masking a second area of the substrate, applying a second different surface finish to connection pads of the second area of the substrate, and removing the mask.
US08461021B2

The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, the method including providing a substrate having a seal ring region and a circuit region, forming a first seal ring structure over the seal ring region, forming a second seal ring structure over the seal ring region and adjacent to the first seal ring structure, and forming a first passivation layer disposed over the first and second seal ring structures. A semiconductor device fabricated by such a method is also provided.
US08461019B2

A method of processing a device wafer includes the carrier wafer preparing step of preparing a carrier wafer including an excessive carrier region on a surface thereof which is disposed in a position corresponding to an excessive outer circumferential region on a surface of the device wafer, the recess forming step of forming a recess in the excessive carrier region the carrier wafer, after the recess forming step, the adhesive placing step of placing an adhesive in the recess so as to project from the surface of the carrier wafer, after the adhesive placing step, the wafer bonding step of bonding the surface of the carrier wafer and the surface of the device wafer to each other, thereby securing the device wafer to the carrier wafer with the adhesive, and after the wafer bonding step, the thinning step of thinning the device wafer to a predetermined thickness by grinding or polishing a reverse side of the device wafer.
US08461014B2

Methods of fabricating semiconductor structures and devices include bonding a seed structure to a substrate using a glass. The seed structure may comprise a crystal of semiconductor material. Thermal treatment of the seed structure bonded to the substrate using the glass may be utilized to control a strain state within the seed structure. The seed structure may be placed in a state of compressive strain at room temperature. The seed structure bonded to the substrate using the glass may be used for growth of semiconductor material, or, in additional methods, a seed structure may be bonded to a first substrate using a glass, thermally treated to control a strain state within the seed structure and a second substrate may be bonded to an opposite side of the seed structure using a non-glassy material.
US08461013B2

An IC card is more expensive than a magnetic card, and an electronic tag is also more expensive as a substitute for bar codes. Therefore, the present invention provides an extremely thin integrated circuit that can be mass-produced at low cost unlike a chip of a conventional silicon wafer, and a manufacturing method thereof. One feature of the present invention is that a thin integrated circuit is formed by a formation method that can form a pattern selectively, on a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a stainless substrate, a substrate made of synthetic resin having flexibility, such as acryl, or the like except for a bulk substrate. Further, another feature of the present invention is that an ID chip in which a thin film integrated circuit and an antenna according to the present invention are mounted is formed.
US08461007B2

One object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor, which has stable electrical characteristics. In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a first insulating film is formed; source and drain electrodes and an oxide semiconductor film electrically connected to the source and drain electrodes are formed over the first insulating film; heat treatment is performed on the oxide semiconductor film so that a hydrogen atom in the oxide semiconductor film is removed; oxygen doping treatment is performed on the oxide semiconductor film, so that an oxygen atom is supplied into the oxide semiconductor film; a second insulating film is formed over the oxide semiconductor film; and a gate electrode is formed over the second insulating film so as to overlap with the oxide semiconductor film.
US08461002B2

A memory device, system and fabrication method relating to a vertical memory cell including a semiconducting pillar extending outwardly from an integrally connected semiconductor substrate are disclosed. A first source/drain region is formed in the substrate and a body region and a second source/drain region are formed within the pillar. A first gate is coupled to a first side of the pillar for coupling the first and second source/drain regions together when activated. The vertical memory cell also includes a storage capacitor formed on an extended end of the semiconducting pillar and electrically coupled to the second source/drain region.
US08461001B2

A method to manufacture a trenched semiconductor power device including a plurality of trenched gates surrounded by source regions near a top surface of a semiconductor substrate encompassed in body regions. The method for manufacturing the trenched semiconductor power device includes a step of carrying out a tilt-angle implantation through sidewalls of trenches to form drift regions surrounding the trenches at a lower portion of the body regions with higher doping concentration than the epi layer for Rds reduction, and preventing a degraded breakdown voltage due to a thick oxide in lower portion of trench sidewall and bottom. In an exemplary embodiment, the step of carrying out the tilt-angle implantation through the sidewalls of the trenches further includes a step of carrying out a tilt angle implantation with a tilt-angle ranging between 4 to 30 degrees.
US08460999B2

A nonvolatile memory device may include: a tunnel insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate; a charge storage layer on the tunnel insulating layer; a blocking insulating layer on the charge storage layer; and a control gate electrode on the blocking insulating layer. The tunnel insulating layer may include a first tunnel insulating layer and a second tunnel insulating layer. The first tunnel insulating layer and the second tunnel insulating layer may be sequentially stacked on the semiconductor substrate. The second tunnel insulating layer may have a larger band gap than the first tunnel insulating layer. A method for fabricating a nonvolatile memory device may include: forming a tunnel insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming a charge storage layer on the tunnel insulating layer; forming a blocking insulating layer on the charge storage layer; and forming a control gate electrode on the blocking insulating layer.
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