| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08249217B2 |
Inverter device and X-ray high-voltage device using the inverter device
There is provided an inverter device that can detect short-circuit of a switching element of an inverter circuit even under a load condition that a PWM driving signal is very small. The inverter device is provided with means for independently supplying a short-circuit detecting PWM driving signal to respective switching elements S1 to S4 at different timings before the inverter circuit 21 supplies a PWM driving signal for supplying power to a high voltage generating device 31, successively turning on the respective switching elements S1 to S4 with the short-circuit detecting PWM driving signal, detecting on-voltages of the switching elements S1 to S4 which are connected to the turned-on switching elements S1 to S4 in series, and detecting overcurrent or short-circuit states of the switching elements S1 to S4. |
| US08249216B2 |
X-ray moving image radiographing apparatus
An X-ray moving image radiographing apparatus includes an X-ray detector configured to detect an X-ray transmitting through a subject to acquire a subject image, an image processing unit configured to process an X-ray radiographic image output from the X-ray detector, and a control unit configured to capture a mask image by selectively scanning X-ray focal positions of an X-ray source which has a plurality of X-ray focal points so that an X-ray incident angle varies with respect to a target point of the subject, and to capture a moving image after a predetermined work is performed on the subject by selectively scanning X-ray focal positions of the X-ray source similar to the scanning operation used to capture the mask image. |
| US08249204B2 |
Apparatus and method for channel state information feedback
A method for a mobile station to provide to a base station feedback of channel state information (CSI) regarding a plurality of communication channels between the mobile station and the base station. The method includes: estimating the CSI by calculating a plurality of channel responses each for one of the communication channels; compressing the estimated CSI; and sending the compressed CSI as the feedback to the base station. |
| US08249202B2 |
Communication system, signal processing method, signal processing device, and movable body
A communication system includes: a sampling section that samples a reception signal; a preprocessing execution section that acquires a sampling value, which is obtained by the sampling section, while executing preprocessing for performing a Fast Fourier Transform in a divided manner; and a Fast Fourier Transform section that performs the Fast Fourier Transform in the divided manner on the basis of an output acquired from the processing execution section. |
| US08249198B2 |
Demodulation circuit of differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulated signals
A demodulation circuit demodulates a differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulated received signal. A phase difference data generator compares phase data representing a phase of the received signal input at every predetermined sampling time with previous phase data preceding by one symbol time to generate phase difference data representing a phase shift amount of the phase data. A symbol selection unit evaluates the phase difference data generated at every sampling time to select as a symbol. |
| US08249196B2 |
Equalizing structure and equalizing method
An equalizing structure and method for a wireless communication system receiving device, in which two or more transmit signals transmitted in parallel from one or more transmitters are received in received signal vectors representing two or more received data streams, the signals including information modulated onto carrier signals according to a modulation scheme, all possible transmit signals being represented by candidate constellation values in the signal constellation of the modulation scheme. A metric value calculator calculates metric values based on the received signal vectors and the product of channel estimation values with candidate signal vectors, each candidate signal vector including a candidate constellation value for each of the two or more transmit signals. A maximum likelihood detector detects one of the candidate signal vectors having a minimum Euclidean distance to a respective receive signal vector as a most likely transmit signal vector based on the metric values. A soft decision value calculator calculates a soft decision value for the most likely candidate signal vectors based on the candidate signal vectors of at least some of the metric values. |
| US08249189B2 |
Wireless transmission method and apparatus
According to one embodiment, a wireless transmission method is disclosed. The method can perform feedback loop processing including subtracting a feedback data signal obtained by multiplying a feedback processing data signal by a gain from an input data signal to generate the feedback processing data signal. The method can perform beam forming processing with respect to the feedback processing data signal and at least one pilot signal for channel estimation to generate a beam-formed signal. In addition, the method can transmit the beam-formed signal by a plurality of antennas. Precoding processing performed on the pilot signal is only beam forming processing. |
| US08249181B2 |
Multi-carrier transmission device and multi-carrier transmission method
There is provided a multi-carrier transmission device capable of improving a packet error ratio in a system where transmission data is repeatedly multi-carrier-transmitted. In this device, the transmission data is subjected to error correction encoding in an error correction encoding unit (102), modulation in a modulation unit (104), and repetition in a repetition unit (106). A signal after the repetition (repetition bit) is two-dimensionally mapped in the frequency domain and the time domain according to a predetermined pattern in a mapping unit (108). The repetition bit transmission power is controlled so that the total value of the transmission power of repetition bit constituting one bit is identical to all the bits and the repetition bit of preferable reception quality has a large transmission power while the repetition bit of bad reception quality has a small transmission power. |
| US08249179B2 |
Communication apparatus, multicarrier communication system and communication method
To efficiently perform adaptive modulation and adaptive scheduling in a communication control apparatus, while suppressing the total notified amount of reception quality information, provided is a communication terminal apparatus 300 which is applied to a multicarrier communication scheme in which the apparatus receives a signal on a channel allocated by a communicating party among a plurality of channels each comprised of at least one subcarrier, measures reception quality of the received signal, and notifies the communicating party of reception quality information, and has a reception quality measuring section 308 that measures reception quality of each subcarrier, and a reception quality information generating section 309 which determines an allocation request degree of each channel with respect to the communicating party, selects an information amount to represent reception quality information for each channel based on the allocation request degree, and based on the measured reception quality, generates the reception quality information represented by the selected information amount. |
| US08249169B2 |
Apparatus for encoding and decoding header data in picture signal transmission
A picture decoding method and apparatus for decoding a bit stream, the bit stream being compatible with MPEG 1 moving picture video standard. The method includes receiving, via an input terminal, from the bit stream that includes extension data added in a header of a picture layer of the bit stream when the header includes control data newly added in MPEG 2 standard format, picture start code indicating a start point of the picture layer and the extension data of an anterior header of the picture layer. The bit stream in the picture layer is decoded using the picture start code and the extension data of an anterior header of the picture layer when an extension start code indicating the beginning of the extension data of the current header is not received from the bit stream. |
| US08249166B2 |
PVR-support video decoding system
An MPEG video decoding system with a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) function is disclosed. By applying the PVR function to an MPEG-2 decoder chip, which is the standard recommendation of the digital video transmission field, diverse high-performance PVR services such as video storage and search using an HDD application in the video decoder chip can be used, and two HD-class displays can simultaneously be supported. Also, the features of the video TS bitstream stored through the video decoding chip having a proposed PVR engine can be extracted in real time, and the playback or trick play of the stored video contents can be diversely and easily performed. According to the PVR-support video decoding system, an improved storage and search function of a video bitstream, and diverse video services can be provided, and the added value of the digital video recorder can be heightened. |
| US08249165B2 |
Method of removing a blocking phenomenon in a block based on prioritized factors
In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining a coded block pattern of first and second blocks. The coded block pattern is one of a plurality of coded block patterns, the plurality of coded block patterns include an intra-coded block, and the second block is adjacent to the first block. The method further includes obtaining a motion vector difference between a motion vector for the first block and a motion vector for the second block, and determining a non-zero filter strength value based on the obtained coded block pattern of the first and second block as first priority and the obtained motion vector difference as second priority. The blocking phenomenon is removed according to the filter strength value. |
| US08249163B2 |
Method of processing a current field macroblock
In one embodiment, the method includes determining reference picture index numbers in a reference picture list. The reference picture index numbers increase for reference pictures having a decreasing display order with respect to a picture including the macroblock. The reference picture index numbers increase for reference pictures having an increasing display order with respect to the picture including the macroblock. The reference picture index numbers of the reference pictures having a decreasing display order are less than the reference picture index numbers of the reference pictures having an increasing display order. The embodiment further includes obtaining motion vector information for the current macroblock, obtaining a field reference picture index associated with the current field macroblock, selecting a frame reference picture based on the frame reference picture index and the reference picture index number, and selecting a field reference picture having a parity equal to a parity of the field macroblock if the field reference picture index is an even value. The he current macroblock is decoded based on the motion vector information and the selected field reference picture. |
| US08249151B2 |
SIMD-processor-friendly MPEG-2 intra-quantizer
A method and apparatus for performing quantization during video compression, such as within an MPEG-2 encoder. Intra-quantization is particularly described, although the teachings may be applied to inter-quantization as well. Computationally intensive portions of the quantization process are split into multiple components in response to differing execution probability. A first component is executed within each quantization iteration, and preferably is performed in parallel, such as using SIMD processing. At least one additional component, such as a second component, is serially processed in response to detecting a condition that does not arise with each loop iteration. One configuration replaces division operations with a combination of multiply and shift operations, while making extended use of table lookup procedures to reduce processing overhead. |
| US08249150B2 |
SIMD-processor-friendly MPEG-2 inter-quantizer
A method and apparatus for performing quantization during video compression, such as within an MPEG-2 encoder. Inter-quantization is particularly described, although the teachings may be applied to intra-quantization as well. Computationally intensive portions of the quantization process are split into multiple components in response to differing execution probability. A first component is executed within each quantization iteration, and preferably is performed in parallel, such as using SIMD processing. At least one additional component, such as a second component, is serially processed in response to detecting a condition that does not arise with each loop iteration. One configuration replaces division operations with a combination of multiply and shift operations, while making extended use of table lookup procedures to reduce processing overhead. |
| US08249148B2 |
Method of removing a blocking phenomenon in a first block using properties of second and third blocks adjacent the first block
In one embodiment, the method includes obtaining a block type of the second block and the third block. The second block is adjacent to the first block horizontally, and the third block is adjacent to the first block vertically. The method further includes determining whether the second and third blocks have non-zero transform coefficient information if the block type of the second and third block, respectively, are not an intra-coded blocks. First and second motion vector differences between a motion vector for the first block and motion vectors for the second and third blocks, respectively, are obtained. A horizontal filter strength value and a vertical filter strength value are determined based on the above steps, and the blocking phenomenon in the first block is removed according to the horizontal filter strength value and the vertical filter strength value. |
| US08249142B2 |
Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding video using redundant encoding and decoding techniques
A method and apparatus for encoding and decoding video performs transformation of at least a portion of a high-resolution video frame into a low resolution image and a plurality of enhancement data sets, encodes the low resolution image as a primary coded picture in a bitstream format and encodes each of the plurality of enhancement data sets as a different redundant coded picture in the bitstream format. For decoding, a decoded low resolution image and a plurality of decoded enhancement data sets are generated and an inverse transform is performed to construct a decoded high-resolution image. The primary coded picture and a redundant coded picture may be formatted according to the ITU-T H.264 Advanced Coding specification. The transform may be a polyphase or a sub-band transform. |
| US08249140B2 |
Direct macroblock mode techniques for high performance hardware motion compensation
Direct macroblock mode techniques for high performance hardware motion compensation are described. An embodiment includes a hardware motion compensation graphics display device driver. More specifically, an embodiment mitigates a macroblock data parsing bottleneck in the display device driver by directly generating macroblock instructions and storing them in a dedicated buffer. For example, an embodiment includes an independent direct memory access instruction execution buffer for macroblock instructions separate from the direct memory access instruction execution buffer for all other hardware motion compensation instructions. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08249135B2 |
Method and system for reconfigurable channel coding
Aspects of a reconfigurable system for providing channel coding in a wireless communication device are described. The aspects include a plurality of computation elements for performing channel coding operations and memory for storing programs to direct each of the plurality of computation elements. A controller controls the plurality of computation elements and stored programs to achieve channel coding operations in accordance with a plurality of wireless communication standards. The plurality of computation elements include a data reordering element, a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) element, a convolutional encoder element, and a Viterbi decoder clement. |
| US08249134B2 |
High impedance state for digital subscriber line transceivers on copper pairs
The invention relates to methods and a high speed communication device that allow one of a plurality of high speed communication devices connected to a transmission line having a normal impedance to effectively receive data.The high speed communication device can include a transmission line interface connected to the transmission line, a receiver connected to the transmission line interface, and a transmitter selectively coupled to the transmission line interface. The transmitter can have an impedance substantially equal to the normal line impedance.The high speed communication device can present a high impedance to the transmission line with respect to the normal line impedance when the transmitter is not coupled to the transmission line interface, and the high speed communication device can present an impedance to the transmission line that is substantially equal to the normal line impedance when the transmitter is coupled to the transmission line interface. |
| US08249133B2 |
Mitigation of interference in cell search by wireless transmit and receive units
A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) provides facilitation of cell search. In one embodiment, received samples are split into a plurality of sample sets for processing. Each of the sets is processed and an accumulated result is divided by an estimated noise value. In another embodiment, a code correlator correlates the received signal with a primary synchronization code and an auxiliary code correlator having a same length as the code correlator correlates the received signal with a code having a low cross correlation with the primary synchronization code. In another embodiment, a division of an accumulated result with a noise estimate is performed using indexes of the most significant bits. |
| US08249132B2 |
Communication terminal and receiving method
A communication terminal in which a circuit component can measure active sets thereby to reduce the circuit scale. In the terminal, a synchronization base station switch (105) outputs a switching timing signal so that frequency shift information, reception timing information, and scramble code information on a base station where the received signals of the base stations are despread are outputted at the despreading timing. A scramble code reception timing detecting circuit (106) detects the reception timing of a pilot signal. A scramble code identifying circuit (107) detects a scramble code. A scramble code reception timing memory (110) stores the reception timing information for each base station. A scramble code memory (111) stores the scramble code information for each base station. A demodulating circuit (112) demodulates the received signal according to the reception timing information and the scramble code information. |
| US08249131B2 |
Method for transmitting signals for interference randomization
A method for transmitting signals for interference randomization is disclosed. The method for transmitting signals includes spreading the transmission signals using a plurality of orthogonal codes and transmitting the transmission signals spread by the plurality of orthogonal codes by a spatial frequency block coding (SFBC) or spatial time block coding (STBC) scheme. Among the plurality of orthogonal codes, codes of which mutual interferences are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold are grouped to the same group, and orthogonal codes belonging to different groups are used for the spreading of the signals which are transmitted at the same timing. Accordingly, it is possible to realize interference randomization. |
| US08249130B2 |
Method and system for fast synchronization and data reception for frequency hopping wireless communication systems
Methods and systems for fast synchronization and data reception for frequency hopping wireless communication systems are disclosed. Aspects of one method may include receiving a plurality of RF signals corresponding to a plurality of hopping frequencies. The RF signals may be processed in parallel to determine a hopping sequence. For example, the plurality of RF signals may be down-converted to a corresponding plurality of IF or baseband signals. The down-converted signals may be combined together to a single combined signal, and the single combined signal may then be processed to determine the frequency hopping sequence. |
| US08249127B2 |
Optical systems for laser arrays
Surface emitting laser arrays with intra-cavity harmonic generation are coupled to an optical system that extracts harmonic light in both directions from an intra-cavity nonlinear optical material in such a way that the focusing properties of the light beams are matched. |
| US08249126B2 |
Photonic crystal and surface emitting laser using such photonic crystal
A photonic crystal that can spatially control the resonance efficiency and reduce the leakage of light in transversal directions and a surface emitting laser that can be formed by using such a photonic crystal are provided. The photonic crystal has a first region and a second region having a same periodic structure as fundamental structures thereof and defects are introduced into the periodic structure of the first region, which is arranged around the second region. |
| US08249125B2 |
Optical device including multilayer reflector and vertical cavity surface emitting laser
Provided are an optical device including a multilayer reflector having a layer whose optical thickness is not λ/4, and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser using the optical device. A resonance frequency shift or a reduction in reflectivity which is caused by a deviation from an optical thickness of λ/4 can be suppressed to improve characteristics and yield. The optical device for generating light of a wavelength λ includes a reflector and an active layer. The reflector is a semiconductor multilayer reflector including a first layer and a second layer which are alternatively laminated and have different refractive indices. The first layer has an optical thickness smaller than λ/4. The second layer has an optical thickness larger than λ/4. The interface between the first layer and the second layer is located at neither a node nor an antinode of an optical intensity distribution within the reflector. |
| US08249124B2 |
Optical wavelength switch
Various embodiments of an optical switch device are provided. In one embodiment, the optical switch device includes a substrate. A photonic crystal, having a dielectric material, is applied on the substrate. An optical gain layer, having an optical gain material, is disposed above the photonic crystal. The photonic crystal is formed with a second-order distributed feedback structure to emit laser light perpendicular to a plane of the photonic crystal and a first-order distributed feedback structure adapted for reflecting light in the plane of the photonic crystal back into the second-order distributed feedback structure. The first-order distributed feedback structure at least one of fully surrounds the second-order distributed feedback structure and is arranged on two opposing edges of the second-order distributed feedback structure. |
| US08249121B2 |
Push-pull modulated coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and method
A laser system having separately electrically operable cavities for emitting modulated narrow linewidth light with first, second and third mirror structures separated by a first active region between the first and the second and by a second active region between the second and the third. The second mirror structure has twenty of more periods of mirror pairs. |
| US08249118B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating information signal to be recorded
A compressively-encoding-resultant video signal resulting from compressively encoding a video signal, a first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal resulting from compressively encoding a first audio signal having a synchronized relation with the video signal, a reference clock information signal relating to synchronization between the compressively-encoding-resultant video signal and the first compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal, and an indication timing information signal designating an indication timing of the video signal are multiplexed to get an AV multiplexing-resultant signal. A second audio signal is compressively encoded to get a second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal. A sound-production-timing information signal is added to the second compressively-encoding-resultant audio signal to get a substitution playback audio signal. During playback, the substitution playback audio signal can be reproduced instead of the first audio signal while being synchronous with the video signal. The sound-production-timing information signal responds to the reference clock information signal, and relates to synchronization with the video signal. |
| US08249112B2 |
Apparatus and method for coding an information signal into a data stream, converting the data stream and decoding the data stream
More customization and adaptation of coded data streams may be achieved by processing the information signal such that the various syntax structures obtained by pre-coding the information signal are placed into logical data packets, each of which being associated with a specific data packet type of a predetermined set of data packet types, and by defining a predetermined order of data packet types within one access unit of data packets. The consecutive access units in the data stream may, for example, correspond to different time portions of the information signal. By defining the predetermined order among the data packet types it is possible, at decoder's side, to detect the borders between successive access units even when removable data packets are removed from the data stream on the way from the data stream source to the decoder without incorporation of any hints into the reminder of the data stream. Due to this, decoders surely detect the beginnings and endings of access units and therefore are not liable to a buffer overflow despite a removal of data packets from the data stream before arrival at the decoder. |
| US08249109B1 |
Search tree algorithms for packet preclassification
An information packet preclassification system and method are provided. The method receives a packet of information and differentiates the packet into segments. Using a decision tree with multiple levels, segments in the packet are compared to a node at a tree level, where each node includes a plurality of node reference segments and corresponding node comparison operators. The reference segment may be a different segment from the packet, or a predetermined segment value stored in memory. One, or more classification attributes are accessed in response to comparing segments, and the classification attributes are assigned to the packet. Then, the packet is processed in response to the classification attributes. |
| US08249107B2 |
Method and apparatus for frame relay
In a frame relay apparatus or a frame relay method, in order to be able to transfer data between channels having different maximum transfer units, payloads are fragmentized or combined and assembled into a frame, in response to the maximum transfer units of the channels. Fragmentized payloads are associated with the original data. By doing so, especially the number of frames in a channel with a large maximum transfer unit is controlled, and the transfer efficiency of frames of the entire network may be improved. |
| US08249106B2 |
Extended cellular telephony protocol
The present invention provides a method for transmitting voice packet data over a selected one of a first network in which multiple devices belonging to a defined set communicate with each other according to a first protocol and a second network in which multiple devices communicate with each other according to a second protocol, different from the first protocol. The method includes establishing at least one radio bearer between at least two devices in the first network according to the first protocol, receiving at least one voice packet that conforms to the second protocol, modifying the at least one voice packet to conform to the first and the second protocols, and transmitting the at least one modified voice packet using the at least one radio bearer. |
| US08249104B2 |
Optical network terminal management and control interface over Ethernet
An apparatus comprising a data framer configured to frame an external protocol extension message for transmission, the external protocol extension message comprising a header that indicates an external protocol extension and at least one type-length-value (TLV) comprising a type field, a length field, and a value field, wherein a format of the TLV is specified by a specific organization, and wherein the value field comprises information related to protocol functions external to the network. Also included is an apparatus comprising at least one component configured to implement a method comprising compiling an external protocol extension message comprising a plurality of TLVs and a header that indicates an external protocol extension, and transmitting the external protocol message. |
| US08249102B2 |
Method and apparatus for session layer framing to enable interoperability between packet-switched systems
A method and apparatus for session layer framing for interoperability between packet-switched systems is described. The method includes the steps of: generating (1210) a communication frame at the session layer including a plurality of fields; providing (1220) for a payload field in the plurality of fields for carrying a payload; and providing (1230) for a signal field in the plurality of fields for carrying a control signal. |
| US08249099B2 |
External memory data management with data regrouping and channel look ahead
A device manages data for a digital signal processor. The device includes an external random access memory (RAM), configured to store channel specific data for plural different channels; and a microprocessor, in communication with the external RAM. When receiving the packet, in a transport layer processing the packet, the microprocessor determines a channel of the plural different channels corresponding to an indication in a transport layer header of the received packet. The microprocessor fetches channel specific data specific to the channel into an internal memory internal to the microprocessor from the external RAM, by the transport layer, before the packet is passed to an application layer, thereby avoiding a wait for reading the packet at the application layer. |
| US08249093B2 |
Communication method and communication device as well as computer program
Communication performed within a network including a plurality of communication stations is provided, in which when an access control is performed so that communication timing of a packet can not collide with that of another station by detecting a signal which is transmitted from another station, “a header area processed not to become easily an error such as a physical layer header portion of a packet” which is transmitted from a communication station is made to have at least information which is required for extracting information in a payload of the packet and a field for controlling an access reservation of transmission of a packet which is generated as a result of transmission of another packet so that processing using the field can be performed. |
| US08249089B2 |
Methods for pushing address translations mappings to PCI express endpoints
A method and system for improving throughput and speed of an interconnect system such as peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe). The method and system automatically forward changes in virtual address translation data to each device that supports the system and method on the interconnect system. This improves performance by obviating the need for the devices to request address translation services each time a direct memory access is made, thereby diminishing the amount of overhead traffic on the interconnect system. |
| US08249087B2 |
Communication system and communication method
GW apparatuses send messages including data being sent from ECUs to a distribution apparatus without sending to an ECU. The distribution apparatus stores the messages on a database, and sends the messages to an ECU, and an ECU. In a case, the distribution apparatus sends the messages in a message sending order and the GW apparatuses relays the messages being sent from the distribution apparatus to the ECUs. The message sending order may be an order in which the distribution apparatus receives the messages an ascending (descending) order of values corresponding to message IDs applied to the messages or an ascending order of message received time of the messages. |
| US08249086B2 |
Apparatus for flow control
Disclosed is a technique which enables a mobile node (MN) connected to a mobile router (MR) to carry out flow filtering in a mobile network. This technique allows an MN 25 in a mobile network 24 to set a policy needed for the flow filtering in an MR 10 and, in the present invention, an MR inserts an egress characteristic thereof into, for example, a router advertisement message so that the egress characteristic, a node in a mobile network cannot grasp originally, can be advertised to the interior of the mobile network. Thus, the MN can grasp a characteristic of an access network (characteristic of access system 20) even in a case in which it is connected to the MR, which achieves intelligent flow filtering. |
| US08249080B1 |
Ethernet to multilane optical transport network traffic interface
A system and method are provided for transporting a serial stream via a lower speed network using multiple parallel paths. At a transmitter, an optical or electromagnetic waveform is accepted representing a serial stream of digital information, and unbundled into n virtual information streams. Each virtual information stream is divided into a sequence of segments. Each segment is encapsulated, creating a sequence of packets by adding a start indicator to the beginning of each segment, and a terminate indicator to the end of each segment. Each packet is disinterleaved across m lanes and reinterleaved into n branches of framed data. Optical or electromagnetic waveforms representing the framed data are transmitted via n network branches. A receiver is also provided, which essentially reverses the above-described transmission method. |
| US08249078B1 |
Prediction and use of call setup signaling latency for advanced wakeup and notification
A method and system to help reduce the impact of inter-node latency in session setup. In accordance with the method, a computer will predict a measure of call setup signaling latency for each of a number of wireless communication devices based on actual latency data for the coverage areas in which the devices are positioned, and the computer will then use the predicted latency measures as a basis to select one or more of the devices to wake up in advance of session initiation. The computer will then send at least one message that triggers wakeup of the selected device(s), so as to help reduce latency in subsequent initiation of a session with the selected device(s). Further, the computer may provide notification to a given device of the predicted latencies determined for other devices, to facilitate presentation of the latency information to a user. |
| US08249077B2 |
Methods and apparatus for enhancing the scalability of IMS in VoIP service deployment
Methods for Enhancing the Scalability of IMS in VoIP Service Deployment lower the number of messages transmitted between functions of an IMS network. The number of messages transmitted between functions of an IMS network are lowered by storing and utilizing predetermined configuration information pertaining to the calling and called parties including the media and codecs the parties support. The predetermined configuration information, which may be based on a prior peering business agreement, supports the implementation of a one round procedure for establishing an IMS communication session. |
| US08249076B1 |
Method, system and architecture for validating media sessions in networks that use communication protocols with distinct signaling and media channels
Methods for use in operation with a signaling path between given entities are disclosed. One such method includes: deriving, from signaling messages between the given entities, a negotiated set of attributes of an expected media session between the given entities; inferring, from the signaling messages and from semantics of another protocol underlying a session initial protocol, an inferred set of one or more non-negotiated attributes of the expected media session; during an actual media session negotiated by the given entities, determining whether the negotiated set and the inferred set of one or more non-negotiated attributes correspond to given attributes of the actual media session; and taking an administratively-defined action if the negotiated set and the inferred set of one or more non-negotiated attributes do not correspond to given attributes of the actual media session. |
| US08249074B2 |
Automatic repeat request with adaptive latency
In a transmission environment, such as a wireless environment, the communication channel 23 may be subject to noise bursts 27, 28. When the transmitter 2 sends a frame 24(8) to the receiver, it may collide with a noise burst 28. The receiver 4 is adapted to send a retransmission request, 25(8) Original, when it receives corrupted data from transmitter 2. The duration of the noise may be sufficient to also interfere with the request, 25(8) Original. The receiver includes channel monitoring means to detect noise and to delay the sending of the retransmission request, 25(8) Delayed, based on the level of the noise. |
| US08249066B2 |
Apparatus and method for allocating media resources
A Media Resource Routing module for a VoIP network having a Host Media Processing and a Media Resource Board. The Media Resource Routing module includes a status list module indicating available resources of the Host Media Processing and available channels on the Media Resource Board and switches for routing communications based on data in the status list so that resources are used efficiently. |
| US08249065B2 |
Destination MAC aging of entries in a Layer 2 (L2) forwarding table
In one embodiment, entries in an address table of the forwarding engine in a linecard or supervisor are updated to a current time value when the MAC address in the entry matches the destination MAC address of a received packet to prevent flooding if the linecard or supervisor is a non-ingress linecard or supervisor of an asymmetrically routed flow. |
| US08249064B1 |
Remote switching
An apparatus having corresponding methods and computer programs comprises first ports to receive first frames, and to transmit second frames, wherein each first port comprises a port ingress circuit to insert into each first frame, source information identifying the first port; a second port to transmit the first frames, and to receive the second frames, wherein each second frame, when received by the second port, comprises destination information identifying one or more of the first ports; and a controller to transfer the first frames from the first ports to the second port, and to transfer the second frames from the second port to one or more of the first ports according to the destination information in the second frame; wherein each first port further comprises a port egress circuit to remove the destination information from each of the second frames before the first port transmits the second frame. |
| US08249063B2 |
Method and apparatus for signal formation with guaranteed consistent overhead insertion
A communication device comprises a signal combiner, first storage elements, second storage elements and a controller. The signal combiner is configured to combine overhead information with additional information in forming a frame of a signal. The first storage elements are adapted to receive respective portions of a given block of the overhead information to be applied to the signal combiner, and the second storage elements are coupled between respective ones of the first storage elements and respective inputs of the signal combiner. The controller is operative to monitor a count of portions of the frame as the frame is formed by the signal combiner and to control loading of the portions of the given block of the overhead information into the second storage elements from the first storage elements responsive to the monitored count. The disclosed techniques for guaranteed consistent overhead insertion can be implemented in any type of communication system which utilizes overhead insertion in its framing operations. |
| US08249061B2 |
Network switching system with asynchronous and isochronous interface
To provide a switching system with telephone switching function mainly on the basis of hardware processing by using isochronous channel which is a real time communication channel. The switching system comprises a gateway node connected with ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), and one or more extension nodes, and a serial bus such as IEEE 1394 bus. The gateway node transforms data rate of outside line into data rate of extension node, and the other way around, and secure a seamless communication channel. Concretely, the gateway node secures an isochronous channel, according to a request from the extension nodes or the outside line, and executes switching such as transfer or reservation. A resource manager holds a table for managing the gateway node and extension node. |
| US08249058B2 |
RAB triggering for multimedia calls
A system and method for establishing a multimedia session between a wireless user terminal and a network device. Embodiments include systems and methods for receiving a request from a wireless terminal initiating a call event to the network device; generating and sending a multimedia session invitation to a multimedia call control entity requesting a multimedia session with the network device; receiving a multimedia status message from the multimedia call control entity indicating the progress of initiating the multimedia session; and triggering setup of a radio access bearer to handle the multimedia session in response to the multimedia status message. |
| US08249055B2 |
Method for localization and location-related connection of a mobile Voice-over-IP subscriber to an emergency call station
The invention relates to a method for localization and location-related connection of a mobile voice-over-IP subscriber to an emergency call station even when the subscriber is temporarily registered in the voice-over-IP network with an address of a location other than his home address (2). For this purpose, the voice-over-IP network comprises an address database which is either configured as a central or decentralized database and in which addresses are indexed with a location-related number. An address of the location of the subscriber is updated (3) by using the address range predefined in the address database and an emergency call is routed (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) to an associated emergency call station using the location-related number. The location-related number and data of the subscriber are then transmitted to the associated emergency call station (8, 9). The actual location of the subscriber emitting the emergency call is then determined in the emergency call station using the location-related number and querying the address database (11). The concept underlying the invention is to provide, in a simple manner and without major modifications to the voice-over-IP network, location-related information for voice-over-IP subscribers for the routing of emergency calls or for determining the actual location of a voice-over-IP subscriber. |
| US08249053B2 |
Voice communication system
A voice communication system for achieving a public switch telephone network (PSTN) communication and an internet communication is provided. The system comprises a host, a control device and a telephone. The invention features advantages of both the PSTN and the internet, and further covers the natural shortcomings of each other. |
| US08249052B2 |
Automated access of an enhanced command set
A method for accessing an enhanced command set includes utilizing a generic command set to obtain identifying data from a data exchanger in communication with a router device. The generic command set is utilized to cause the data exchanger to establish a remote link between with a data service provider. A remote enhanced command set associated with the identifying data is obtained via the established remote link. The obtained enhanced command set is utilized to access a feature of the data exchanger not available utilizing the generic command set. |
| US08249051B2 |
Method and system for adaptively obtaining bandwidth allocation requests
A method and apparatus for adaptively obtaining bandwidth requests in a broadband wireless communication system. The method and apparatus includes dynamically varying technique combinations enabling a plurality of users to efficiently request bandwidth from a shared base station. A user may “piggyback” a new bandwidth request upon, or set a “poll-me bit” within, presently allocated bandwidth. A base station may poll users, individually or in groups, by allocating unrequested bandwidth for new requests. Polling may respond to a “poll-me bit,” and/or it may be adaptively periodic at a rate based on communication status parameters, such as recent communication activity and connection QoS levels Group polling permits a possibility of collisions. Polling policies may be established for dynamically varying user groups, or may be determined for each user. Dynamic selection of appropriate polling techniques makes use of efficiency benefits associated with each technique. |
| US08249050B2 |
Method for transmission of information between nodes of a network and network using said method
The invention describes a method for communication between nodes (UR1, UR2; UC1-UC16) of a network, interconnected by a transmission channel and each identified by a node identification number in which at least one transmitter node emits at least one message to at least one message recipient node. The message comprises a description of a path (PH) between the transmitter node which emits the message and the message recipient node. The path is defined by the node that emits the message via a sequence of node identification numbers along the path itself. |
| US08249049B2 |
Clock synchronization
In an example embodiment, a method for synchronizing clocks between a plurality of clocked devices where one of the plurality of clocked devices is not directly synchronized with another of the plurality of clocked devices. Clock offset and a clock drift between a first clock associated with a first device and a second clock associated with a second is directly determined based on signals exchanged between the first and second devices. Clock offset and clock drift between the second clock and a third clock associated with a third device is directly determined based on signals exchanged between the second and third devices. A clock offset and clock drift between the first clock and third clock is determined based on a difference between the clock offset and drift between the first and second clocks and the clock offset and drift between the second and third clocks. |
| US08249048B2 |
Distinguishing between data packets sent over the same set of channels
Embodiments of the present invention distinguish a first type of data packet transmitted over a random access communication channel of a wireless cellular communications system from a second type of data packet transmitted over the same random access communication channel, allowing the first and second data packet data packet types to share a common set of random access channels through the use of different types of channel coding. This reduces data packet collision probability by eliminating the need to segregate the set of random access channels according to data packet type. Backward compatibility with legacy base stations that handle only the first data packet type is maintained in that no changes to the first data packet type are needed. |
| US08249046B2 |
Interference management with MIMO in a peer-to-peer network
Aspects relate to interference management in a multiple-input-multiple-output peer-to-peer network utilizing connection scheduling. When channel side information is available at both transmitter and receiver, both devices determine transmit/receiver beamforming vectors. Transmitter sends a first transmission request signal with first transmit beamforming vector and a second transmission request signal with second transmit beamforming vector in a transmission request block. Receiver estimates SINRs of the MIMO channels associated with the receive beamforming vectors and determines whether to return request response signals. Based on received request response signals, transmitter decides to transmit streams of data using the corresponding transmit beamforming vectors in the data burst. When channel side information is available only at receiver, transmitter sends one transmission request signal. Receiver estimates the SINRs of the MIMO channels associated with receive beamforming vectors using MMSE and/or successive interference cancellation (SIC), and returns request response signals in the request response block. |
| US08249044B2 |
Notification information generating apparatus, communication apparatus, notification information generating method and program
To generate notification information for improving accuracy of channel quality information reconstructed based on a difference in notifying using the difference in channel quality information between channels. A notification information generating apparatus 400 has a notification information table 401 that stores a plurality of difference-value candidate values each indicating a difference between two pieces of channel quality information as candidate values for the notification information, a reconstructing section 403 that generates a reconstruction value using the notification information generated based on the channel quality information of a first channel, and a selecting section 402 which receives the channel quality information of a second channel differing from the first channel, selects a single candidate value from the candidate values for the notification information based on the channel quality information of the second channel and the reconstruction value, and generates the notification information based on the selected candidate value. |
| US08249041B2 |
Method for determining a paging slot by a base station for CDMA trunking service
The present invention discloses a method for determining a paging slot by a base station for CDMA trunking service, wherein the method includes: the base station determine a slot cycle index according to PTT version number of a mobile station, and determine a slot cycle used for the mobile station according to the slot cycle index. The present invention can solve the problem of slow access when the mobile station is called after power-on, which exists in the related art, thus can improve the speed of power-on access, and can determine the paging slot for a base station and a terminal which can not support a minus slot paging. |
| US08249035B2 |
Method and system for enhanced parameter negotiation in EVDO communication systems
Disclosed herein is a technique for enhanced parameter negotiation in Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) communication systems that use Generic Configuration Protocol to negotiate session parameters or session attributes. The technique reduces the number of parameter negotiation cycles involved during the session configuration process. A new AlternateValueAllowed field is added in the attribute record. The Configuration Request message sent by the initiator allows the Configuration Response message responder to send the responder's preferred attribute value to the initiator, when the Configuration Request message does not contain the preferred attribute value of the responder. Such a modified attribute record structure obviates the need for multiple attribute negotiation cycles, and therefore saves session negotiation time. |
| US08249033B2 |
Communication between overlapping WRAN cells working in different channels
A common control channel for base station (“BS”)/consumer premise equipment (“CPE”) communication in areas of overlapping coverage by wireless regional area network (“WRAN”) cells operating on different working channels is disclosed. A common control channel is selected from among the various working channels sensed in each of a plurality of overlapping WRAN cells so as to enable BS/CPE and BS/BS communication. Once chosen, each CPE within the overlapping area communicates with the controlling BS via an enhanced coexistence beacon protocol messages. These messages include timing and other synchronization information. |
| US08249032B2 |
System and method for managing communication in a wireless communication network
A system and method for allocating a single timeslot to multiple communication devices in a wireless communication network are disclosed. The method includes establishing a first communication channel between a base transceiver station and first communication devices through a first timeslots of a frame. The method further includes establishing a second communication channel between the base transceiver station and second communication devices through second timeslots. The method also includes determining whether a third communication channel can be established between the base transceiver station and at least one of the second communication devices using at least one of the first timeslots based on a set of predefined parameters evaluated for each of the first timeslots. Moreover, the method includes establishing the third communication channel between the base transceiver station and the at least one of the second communication devices using at least one of the first timeslots. |
| US08249031B1 |
Aggregation coexistence mechanism for wireless devices
Wireless radio devices that communicate in close proximity to each other typically suffer from interference. Such interference between the wireless radio devices can result in performance degradation in either/both the wireless radio devices. Functionality can be implemented to schedule communications of one wireless radio device around communications of the other wireless radio device based on a coexistence table comprising scheduling information of the other wireless radio device. Communications of the wireless radio devices can also be controlled based on communication priorities. Functionality can also be implemented to dynamically control a number of packets transmitted in an aggregate based on the scheduling information. |
| US08249029B2 |
Low reuse preamble for a wireless communication network
Techniques for sending low reuse preambles in a wireless network are described. In an aspect, a base station may send a low reuse preamble on reserved frequency resources to allow terminals to detect the base station even in the presence of strong interfering base stations. The base station may generate the low reuse preamble to include a pilot portion and a data portion. The base station may determine frequency resources reserved for sending low reuse preambles by base stations. The base station may then send the low reuse preamble on the reserved frequency resources, e.g., at a pseudo-randomly selected time. A terminal may detect for low reuse preambles sent by the base stations on the reserved frequency resources. The terminal may recover information for a base station from a detected low reuse preamble. |
| US08249027B2 |
Multicarrier communication system, and method and device for configuring carrier channel
The present disclosure relates to mobile communication technologies and provides a multicarrier communication system, and a method and device for configuring a carrier channel, by which the reverse carrier and the corresponding forward carrier may be allocated flexibly, various multicarriers may be configured, the service requirements may be met better, and the terminal transmit power and the communication resources may be saved. In the present disclosure, the MAC channels corresponding to zero or a plurality of reverse carriers may be flexibly configured to the forward carrier, and the MAC channel may or may not include a DRC_Lock subchannel; additionally, in various embodiments, the MAC channels corresponding to a plurality of reverse carriers may be configured to the same forward carrier, so that the channel resources may be fully utilized. |
| US08249020B2 |
Synchronization method, communication handover method, radio network and node
A synchronization method, a communication handover method, a radio network, and a RAN node are disclosed. The interface information synchronization method includes: determining whether a condition for initiating interface information update is fulfilled; and sending information about the S1 interface between the RAN node and the core network node, and/or information about the X2 interface between the RAN node and the neighboring RAN node to the neighboring RAN node if the condition for initiating interface information update fulfilled. |
| US08249018B2 |
UPE relocation for route optimization during handover between neighbouring network areas
The invention relates to a method for managing the mobility of a mobile terminal, while receiving a service via an access node of a mobile communication network. The mobile communication network has overlapping pool areas, while the access node is assigned to at least two pool areas simultaneously. After the UE changes to the access node of the overlapping area, it is proposed that the mobility management entity serving the UE arbitrarily selects a prospect user plane entity for transporting service data into the next pool areas, and requests from the service provider information about UPEs handling this service. After the actual attachment to an access node within the new pool area, the handover is finalized by changing the UPE from the old one to the selected UPE in the new pool area. Thereby, the data path from the service provider to the UE is constantly being optimized. |
| US08249016B1 |
Method and device for providing inter-domain handoff configuration information to a dual mode access terminal
Handoff configuration information is provided to a dual mode Access Terminal (AT) operable to communicate both in a Circuit Switched network domain and a IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network domain. Up-to-date handoff configuration information is transmitted during a registration of the dual mode AT with an IMS network or, alternatively during establishment of a call session of the dual mode AT. An IMS server assigns and sends the handoff configuration information to the dual mode in a response message to a registration request or, alternatively in a request for a call session establishment and in a response message to the request for the call session establishment. The handoff configuration information is used in a call handoff of an ongoing call of the dual mode AT between the CS network and the IMS network. In the examples, the handoff configuration information includes a handoff number for use in a handoff to the Circuit Switched (CS) network and a handoff Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for use in a handoff to the IMS network. |
| US08249015B2 |
Method and system for media independent handover using operation, administration and maintenance protocol
A method and system for media independent handover (MIH) using an Ethernet operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) protocol are disclosed. Link connectivity between a user equipment (UE) and an MIH point of service (PoS) is monitored by using an OAM protocol. An OAM trigger indicating a link status is mapped to an MIH event and the MIH event is reported for potential handover. The OAM protocol may be IEEE 802.3ah or 802.1ag. |
| US08249011B2 |
Signal reception in wireless communication systems using automatic repeat request transmissions
A wireless communication transceiver compensates a given received signal for retransmission interference, if (uncompensated) decoding of the given received signals fails. The transceiver estimates the retransmission interference bearing on the given received signal based on hypothesizing that another user (or users) mistakenly transmitted in the same time interval, using some or all of the same channel resources as were allocated to the given received signal. The transceiver may retain information in any given interval, indicating the channel allocations used for those user signals successfully received in that interval. The retained information allows the transceiver to determine, with respect to a given signal received in a current time interval, which other users would be interfering users if they mistakenly retransmitted in the current time interval. The transceiver may target its compensated decoding, which may be iterative, to the most likely and/or most significant ones of the potentially of interfering user(s). |
| US08249009B2 |
User equipment terminal, base station apparatus, and communication control method in mobile communication system
A user equipment terminal capable of communicating with a base station apparatus in a mobile communication system includes a transmitting unit configured to transmit to the base station apparatus a first signal concerning a capability of the user equipment terminal; a receiving unit configured to receive from the base station apparatus a second signal concerning the capability of the user equipment terminal; and a communication processing unit configured to perform communication processing based on the capability of the user equipment terminal specified in the second signal. A base station apparatus capable of communicating with a user equipment terminal in a mobile communication system includes a receiving unit configured to receive from the user equipment terminal the first signal concerning the capability of the user equipment terminal; a transmitting unit configured to transmit to the user equipment terminal the second signal concerning the capability of the user equipment terminal; and a communication processing unit configured to perform communication processing based on the capability of the user equipment terminal specified in the second signal. |
| US08249008B2 |
Method and apparatus for handling abnormal situation in EGPRS system
A method and apparatus for an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) system is provided. A plurality of temporary block flows (TBFs) are established or reconfigured. If fast ACK/NACK reporting (FANR) activation for one TBF is inconsistent with FANR activation for another TBF, the allocated TBFs are aborted. |
| US08249005B2 |
Systems and methods for reducing power consumption using a variable constraint length convolutional encoder
Systems and methods are provided for selecting transmission parameters used in the transmission of a communication signal in a wireless communications device. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for determining a convolutional code constraint length and/or a modulation type is provided. The method includes obtaining a channel condition for a channel associated with transmission of the communication signal. Based at least in part on the channel condition, the method includes selecting a convolutional code constraint length and/or a modulation type for transmitting the communications signal. In some embodiments, the method also includes selecting a data rate for transmitting the communications signal. |
| US08248999B2 |
Method and apparatus for resource reservation in a multihop wireless network
A message format for use in one or more multihop flow reservation messages in a multihop wireless network includes a reservation originator identification; a reservation terminator identification; a sequence control; and optionally a flow originator identification. A multihop flow reservation comprises forwarding a traffic stream request including the message format and forwarding a traffic stream reply including the message format along a multihop route. After the traffic stream reservation is completed, a data is forwarded along the multihop route. |
| US08248997B2 |
Apparatus and method for positioning a wireless user equipment
In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a method is disclosed that comprises receiving a reference signal from each of at least two target neighbor cells via at least one receiving branch at a user equipment; estimating a timing range based at least on one of a timing advance for a serving cell and an inter-cell distance between the target neighbor cell and the serving cell; computing a reference signal time difference for the received reference signal from the target neighbor cell; and screening the computed reference signal time difference using the estimated timing range. |
| US08248995B2 |
Wireless communications using frequency agile radio
A frequency agile radio configured to determine an estimated coverage area of a primary transmitter is disclosed. The radio includes at least one position device configured to determine a position coordinate of the radio and generate a corresponding position signal. The radio also includes at least one frequency agile receiver configured to measure a power of a transmission at least one frequency and generate a corresponding signal. Additionally, the radio includes at least one controller in communication with the at least one position device and the at least one frequency agile receiver. The controller is configured to determine a plurality of position coordinates of the radio and a plurality of signal power datums. The controller is also configured to estimate the coverage area of the at least one primary transmitter, based on the determined plurality of position coordinates and the determined plurality of signal power datums. |
| US08248991B2 |
Method for receiving broadcast service using broadcast zone identifier in a mobile communication system
Disclosed is a method for providing a broadcast service in a mobile communication system including a plurality of cells. The method includes transmitting broadcast program information related to available broadcast programs, broadcast-related information needed for receiving the available broadcast programs, and broadcast zone identification information, to an access terminal; and transmitting the broadcast service to the access terminal. |
| US08248981B2 |
Method and apparatus for low cost, long range, power efficient, wireless system with enhanced functionality
The present invention provides a method and system for establishing a highly mobile, long range secure wireless network with dynamic topologies and near full connectivity with acceptable latency using low cost, low power, compact and lightweight devices. One aspect of the system deals with a highly mobile network with dynamic network topologies and a time varying wireless medium that has neither absolute nor readily observable boundaries outside of which radio nodes are known to be unable to receive network frames, although the desirable open field boundary is 1 mile in radius from a base station node. A synchronous frequency hopping technique is used with mobile nodes that can become slave base station nodes to a master base station node to increase the effective range of the master base station without increasing the transmit power. Furthermore, the use of adjustable sleep times for the mobile nodes, as well as a novel clock calibration method, provides a substantial range increase with acceptable battery size and system latency. |
| US08248980B2 |
Wireless communication method, telecommunication processing device and telecommunication system
The invention provides a wireless communication method. The method comprises launching an application which requires a network service for a data transmission and generating a connection request. Then, a wireless communication function is turned on to implement a channel scan according to the connection request. When at least an access point of at least a wireless network is available, a network connection with the wireless network is established for the data transmission through the access point. When there is no available access point, the wireless communication function is terminated and a connection control mechanism is initiated. The connection control mechanism comprises forbidding re-turning on the wireless communication function within a connection suspension time and re-turning on the wireless communication function when the connection request is received after the connection suspension time. |
| US08248976B2 |
Power control and scheduling method in consideration of interference levels between neighbor sectors in communication system
In order to perform uplink scheduling for a terminal, a base station receives information on uplink interference due to the terminal from neighbor base stations, transmits the information on the uplink interference to the terminal, receives information on transmission power of a feedback channel from the terminal through the feedback channel, compares the transmission power of the feedback channel and reception power of the feedback channel so as to estimate transmission loss, and performs uplink scheduling for the terminal by reflecting the transmission loss. |
| US08248971B2 |
Vehicle network system
A vehicle network system is provided with a plurality of star networks, a plurality of devices mounted on a vehicle are connected in a star shape through respective branch lines in each of the star networks, and a trunk line for connecting the plurality of star networks, the branch lines are communication lines for optical communications, and the trunk line is a communication line for electric communication. |
| US08248969B2 |
Stacking system and a method for switching traffic in the stacking system
The invention provides a stacking system and a method for traffic switching in the stacking system, comprising: when newly joined devices in the stacking system make the daisy chain topology change to ring topology, block a stack port of one of the newly joined devices; after the devices in the stacking system perform another topology convergence process, the master restores the configuration of the newly joined devices; after the configuration of the newly joined device one of whose stack ports is blocked is restored, it sets its blocked stack port to the forwarding state, calculates the shortest path based on the ring topology, and sends first notification packets for topology change from daisy chain type to ring type through its two stack ports; each device that receives the first notification packets re-calculates its shortest forwarding path respectively and switches the traffic, and then forwards the first notification packets. This invention can prevent traffic interruption that occurs when the topology of a stacking system changes from daisy chain to ring. |
| US08248967B2 |
Methods and apparatus for use in establishing communications for virtual private networking
Techniques for registering for communications for a communications application stored in a mobile device are described. The mobile device communicates, via a communication network, a request for a connection with a private network. If the connection is established within a predetermined period of time, then the mobile device receives from the private network a first IP address for assignment to the mobile device, and communicates to a server a request for registering for the communications using the first IP address assigned to the mobile device. If the connection is not established within the predetermined period of time, then the mobile device communicates to a server a request for registering for the communications using a second IP address assigned to the mobile device. |
| US08248966B2 |
Address assignment method and transmission method of mobile nodes for hierarchical routing in LoWPANs
An address assignment method of a mobile node, for hierarchical routing in a low-power wireless personal area network (LoWPAN), includes (a) classifying a plurality of fixed nodes in a hierarchical way, (b) designating a management node and a head node of a lower level than the level of the management node in the fixed nodes, (c) determining if the mobile node can communicate with the head node, and (d) assigning an address to the mobile node through a neighboring head node, which can communicate with the mobile node when the mobile node cannot communicate with the head node. Therefore, addresses may be assigned without limitation until the addresses for the mobile nodes are exhausted. Furthermore, even when the mobile node having an assigned address from a first region moves from the first region to a second region, the packet may be sent or received through the hierarchical routing. |
| US08248961B2 |
Communication apparatus and communication layer role deciding method
When setting a communication parameter, apparatuses decide on each other's roles for setting the communication parameter. When constructing a new network after the communication parameter is set, the roles of individual communication layers (e.g., a physical layer, IP layer, transport layer, and application layer) are decided on to correspond to the roles when the communication parameter is set. |
| US08248959B2 |
Methods, apparatus and computer program products for beacon generation and processing in an OFDM communications system
An enhanced-range beacon signal transmitted from a wireless terminal in a frequency band used by the wireless OFDM communications system for OFDM communications. The beacon may be received at each of a plurality of base stations of the wireless OFDM communications system. A location of the wireless terminal may be determined responsive to reception of the beacon signal at the plurality of base stations. In some embodiments, the beacon signal includes a narrowband beacon signal, which may be centered at a frequency offset with respect to a set of subcarriers used in the wireless OFDM communications system, for example, between adjacent subcarriers of the wireless OFDM system and/or in a guard band of the OFDM frequency band. |
| US08248958B1 |
Remote validation of network device configuration using a device management protocol for remote packet injection
In general, this disclosure describes techniques for testing and verifying the functionality of networks and network devices without requiring the deployment of specialized testing components. For example, as described herein, a device management protocol (e.g., SNMP or NETCONF) typically used for remote configuration of devices has been extended to allow traffic patterns to be seamlessly injected into the existing network devices that form the enterprise network. For instance, a network management device sends configuration data to a managed network device in accordance with a device management protocol and calls, using a test packet parameter, a device configuration function exposed by a managed device. When the device configuration function is called, the managed device processes the test packet to produce a result in accordance with the configuration data as if the test packet had been received from the network, and the managed device returns a test packet processing result. |
| US08248952B2 |
Optimization of network adapter utilization in EtherChannel environment
Transferring data in a data processing system network is provided. Transferring data in a data processing system network according to the invention includes determining an adapter among a plurality of adapters that has the lowest transmit latency, and assigning data to be transferred to the adapter determined to have the lowest transmit latency. The data to be transferred is then transferred by the assigned adapter. |
| US08248941B2 |
Method, apparatus and computer program for uplink scheduling in a network that employs relay nodes
User equipments UEs send their buffer status reports and data to a relay node RN. The RN stores the data in actual buffers per radio bearer group RBG, and stores the UEs buffer occupancies in virtual buffers per RBG. The RN then sends its own status report to the controlling eNBr with the actual buffer occupancy and information about the virtual buffer occupancy. This enables the eNBr to know in advance the volume of data incoming to the RN's actual buffers, as well as the current occupancy of those buffers, so as to better allocate radio resources. Further, the RN can take soundings of the uplink channels between UEs and the RN, which are then aggregated across the RBRs and sent to the eNBr as a special UL CQI report. The eNBr is thereby enabled to anticipate how soon the data in the UE buffers will appear in the RN's actual buffers (from the additional information of average UL CQI info and virtual buffer status), and thus better allocate the RBRs to be used for the different RBGs in the RN-eNB link as well as the optimal set of RBRs to the UE-RN link, which the RN can redistribute among the UEs that it is serving. |
| US08248936B2 |
Tuning congestion control in IP multicast to mitigate the impact of blockage
An IP multicast broadcast device, an IP multicast receiver device, and a method of congestion control in reliable IP multicast are described that mitigate the impact of signal blockage in radio-based IP multicast networks. In one example multicast network, the IP multicast broadcast device, and the IP multicast receiver devices may be configured to support an IGMP-based multicast protocol in which a NORM protocol, a congested packet marking protocol, e.g., such as the ECN protocol described above, and a router congestion prediction protocol, e.g., such as the RED protocol, have been implemented. In addition, the implemented NORM protocol may implement a TCP congestion control algorithm that generates adjusted transmission rates based, at least in part, on a count of ECN congestion marked packets and a count of dropped packets at a selected receiver. As a result, the generated transmission rates are not unduly affected blockage of the radio-based transmission signal. |
| US08248934B2 |
Methods and apparatus for determining and displaying a transaction reset metric
An apparatus for determining and displaying a transaction reset metric of individual transactions between host devices operating over a network includes a network management device, a processor, and a display device. The network management device monitors flows between the hosts, where the individual flows include individual transactions involving exchanges of packets. The network management device identifies flow resets that terminate flows between hosts. The processor evaluates the flow resets by identifying each flow reset that occurred during an incomplete transaction as a transaction reset and computes a transaction reset count metric as the sum of transaction resets that occur. The processor also identifies individual transactions terminated by a transaction reset. The display device displays on an individual transaction basis whether or not individual transactions were terminated by a transaction reset and displays the transaction reset count metric for selected portions of the network under test. |
| US08248932B2 |
Method and apparatus for fairly sharing excess bandwidth and packet dropping amongst subscribers of a data network
In the routing of data traffic to a common destination egress queue from a plurality of customer subscribers each contracting for respective allocations of bandwidth of data flow, a technique and system for fairly sharing any underutilized excess bandwidth and for data dropping amongst over-subscribers, while guaranteeing each subscriber its contracted-for bandwidth, and further enabling billing over-subscribers for their share of received excess bandwidth—all while maintaining the granularity of the contracted traffic flow. |
| US08248929B2 |
Master unit device and band management method used by the same master unit device
In a network including at least two transmission paths whose bands are respectively managed, an RTT test of DTCP-IP may fail due to a relay wait time generated by the band management regardless of retrials. An objective of the present invention is to assure success of the RTT test. A master unit device manages bands of the transmission paths and includes an RTT test detection section detecting a failure of the RTT test, and a band management section modifying a band management (TXOP allocation) schedule based on an RTT test failure detection. With this configuration, a time band during which no TXOP is allocated is provided between the transmission paths whose bands are respectively managed, thereby assuring success of the RTT test. |
| US08248928B1 |
Monitoring server load balancing
Embodiments described herein discuss an approach to implementing load-balancing across multiple monitoring servers. One such embodiment describes a network monitoring device. The network monitoring device includes an ingress port, for receiving mirrored network packets, and a number of egress ports. The egress ports are associated with a number of monitoring servers, and used to forward the mirrored network packets to the monitoring servers. A packet classifier, coupled to the ingress port, examines the mirrored network packets, and determines which of the monitoring servers should receive the packets. |
| US08248925B2 |
Method and apparatus for selecting between multiple equal cost paths
Each equal cost path is assigned a path ID created by concatenating an ordered set of link IDs which form the path through the network. The link IDs are created from the node IDs on either set of the link. The link IDs are sorted from lowest to highest when creating the path ID to facilitate ranking of the paths. The low and high ranked paths are selected from this ranked list as the first set of diverse paths through the network. Each of the link IDs on each of the paths is then renamed, for example by inverting either all of the high node IDs or low node IDs. After re-naming the links, new path IDs are created by concatenating an ordered set of renamed link IDs. The paths are then re-ranked and the low and high re-ranked paths are selected from this re-ranked list as the second set of diverse paths through the network. Selective naming of node IDs and use of different inversion functions can be exploited to further optimize distribution of traffic on the network. |
| US08248917B2 |
Method and system for implementing protection switching in multi-protocol label switching network
The embodiments of the present invention provide a method and a system for implementing protection switching in Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, the method includes: transmitting by a first Egress Label Switched Router (LSR) first probe packets to an Ingress LSR via a first Label Switching Path (LSP); switching by the Ingress LSR working traffic to a third LSP terminated at a second Egress LSR when the Ingress LSR does not receive the first probe packets. According to the embodiments of the present invention, the Ingress LSR may learn the failure of the Egress LSR according to the result of receiving the probe packets when a failure of the Egress LSR occurs, and switches the working traffic correspondingly. Moreover, the working LSP and protection LSP are not terminated at a same Egress LSR, but correspond to different Egress LSRs which greatly improves the security of the MPLS network. |
| US08248913B1 |
System and method to support full-time protection services in a network
Systems and methods are provided to implement a full-time protection mechanism and a new class of service offerings based on mechanisms to achieve an ‘always protected’ type of transport service for a networking environment where there may be multiple failures or synchronized attacks. This suite of services may utilize intelligent control plane technology in the optical transport network to support an ‘always on’ protection capability. |
| US08248912B2 |
Shared channel structure, ARQ systems and methods
A forward link design is provided employing CDMA (code division multiple access) technologies in which time division multiplexing is employed between data and control information on the forward link to service multiple users per slot. Another forward link design employing CDMA (code division multiple access) technologies is provided in which code division multiplexing between data and control information is employed on the forward link to service multiple users per slot, which is preferably backwards compatible with legacy standards such as IS2000A. A reverse link design is also provided. |
| US08248911B2 |
Cell search method, forward link frame transmission method, apparatus using the same and forward link frame structure
Provided are a cell search method, a forward link frame transmission method, an apparatus using the methods, and a forward link frame structure in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing cellular system, wherein the time it takes to perform a cell search and the complexity of the cell search can be reduced. The cell search apparatus includes a sync acquirer which receives a signal according to a forward link frame comprising a plurality of sync channel symbols each having different intervals between the adjacent sync channel symbols and achieves synchronization of the sync channel symbols using a sync channel of the received signal, and a boundary detector which detects a frame boundary using an interval pattern between the sync channel symbols, based on the achieved synchronization. |
| US08248910B2 |
Physical layer and data link layer signalling in digital video broadcast preamble symbols
Aspects of the invention are directed to physical layer and data link layer signaling in digital video broadcast preamble symbols. Embodiments are directed to distributing physical layer pre-signalling data among preamble symbols. If physical layer data is larger than a predetermined number of preamble symbols, then excess physical layer data is written to data symbols immediately following the preamble symbols in top-down order symbol by symbol or the predetermined number of preamble symbols is increased. If physical layer data is not larger than the predetermined number of preamble symbols such that there is excess preamble symbol space, physical layer pipe 0 data comprising link layer signaling and notification data is carried in the excess preamble symbols or the excess preamble symbols are left empty. Different permutation rules may be used to frequency interleave odd-numbered versus even-numbered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols. |
| US08248906B2 |
Ferroelectric hard disk system
A ferroelectric hard disk device is provided and includes: a ferroelectric media having a bottom electrode and a ferroelectric layer disposed on the bottom electrode; and a head formed above the ferroelectric media, the head being operative to write and reproduce information on the ferroelectric layer. |
| US08248905B2 |
Method of parallel bit-wise holographic data storage source using a parallel light source
The present techniques provide techniques for outputting counter-propagating parallel light waves to pre-record a holographic data disk. The parallel light waves are transmitted through a holographic system via a fiber optic bundle including a plurality of polarization-maintaining (PM) optical fibers. Each of the PM optical fibers in the fiber optic bundle may have one or more of a different wavelength, a different coherence length, and a different polarization orientation to reduce crosstalk in the disk. Furthermore, the fiber optic bundle array is rotated to produce interference spots indicative of micro-holograms according to the data track pitch of the holographic disk over which the fiber optic bundle is outputting the light waves. |
| US08248904B2 |
Recording and reproducing unit and recording and reproducing method
A recording and reproducing unit includes: a first optical head having at least one route of laser beam irradiation system that irradiates an optical disc recording medium with a laser beam; a second optical head having plural routes of laser beam irradiation systems that irradiate the optical disc recording medium with laser beams; and a control part that performs control of, while allowing the laser beam irradiation system that the first optical head has to execute recording of information in the optical disc recording medium, allowing the plural laser beam irradiation systems that the second optical head has to execute simultaneous reproducing of the information recorded in the optical disc recording medium. |
| US08248900B2 |
Optical disc apparatus, focus position control method and recording medium
An optical disc apparatus can highly accurately record a hologram representing information on or reproduce such a hologram from an optical disc. When recording information on an optical disc 100, the optical disc apparatus controls the position of an objective lens OL1 according to the outcome of detection of a red reflected light beam Lr2 so as to make the focus Fr thereof follow a target track and it also makes the focus Fb1 of a blue light beam Lb1 agree with a target mark position by the objective lens OL1 and also the focus Fb2 agree with the target mark position by controlling the position of another objective lens OL2 according to the outcome of detection of the blue light beam Lb1 by way of the objective lenses OL1 and OL2 so as to make the focus Fb1 of the blue light beam Lb1 and the focus Fb2 of the blue light beam Lb2 agree with the target mark position and the blue light beam Lb1 and the blue light beam Lb2 interfere with each other. Thus, as a result, the optical disc apparatus can record a recording mark RM at the target mark position. |
| US08248897B2 |
Method for manufacturing thermally-assisted magnetic recording head comprising light source unit and slider
A method for manufacturing a thermally-assisted magnetic recording head is provided, in which a light source unit including a light source and a slider including an optical system are bonded. A unit substrate is made of a material transmitting light having a predetermined wavelength, and a unit adhesion material layer that contains Sn, Sn alloy, Pb alloy or Bi alloy is formed on the light source unit and/or the slider. The manufacturing method includes: aligning the light source unit and the slider in such a way that a light from the light source can enter the optical system and the unit adhesion material layer is sandwiched therebetween; and causing a light including the predetermined wavelength to enter the unit substrate to melt the unit adhesion material layer. The unit adhesion material layer melted by the light including the predetermined wavelength can ensure high alignment accuracy as well as higher bonding strength and less change with time. |
| US08248889B2 |
Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus
An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is connectable with an ultrasound probe having a c-MUT element or a piezoelectric ultrasound transducer, and includes a DC bias output portion, a transmission signal output portion, an operation portion, a control portion, and a display portion. The control portion controls the DC bias output portion and the transmission signal output portion so as to output an ultrasound transmission signal after applying the bias voltage when an instruction signal instructing the start of transmission is inputted from the operation portion, and so as to stop application of the bias voltage after stopping output of the ultrasound transmission signal when an instruction signal that instructs stopping of transmission is inputted from the operation portion. The control portion causes a connection state showing which one of the c-MUT element and the capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer is connected to be displayed on the display portion. |
| US08248888B1 |
Bottom up contact type ultrasonic continuous level sensor
An ultrasonic sensor for measuring the level of liquid in a vessel has an elongated tubular probe, a tube within the probe, and a transducer that converts electrical energy to ultrasonic energy mounted at or near one end of the tube to transmit ultrasonic energy along the probe longitudinal axis. A conical reflector that reflects ultrasonic energy is opposite the transducer ultrasonic energy emitting part to reflect ultrasonic energy received from the transducer upwardly in the probe to an air-liquid interface from which it is downwardly reflected to the conical reflector element that directs the energy reflected from the interface back to the transducer for conversion to an electrical signal that is used by an electronic module to measure the liquid level in the probe, which is the liquid level in the vessel, by measuring the round trip travel time of the ultrasonic signal energy. |
| US08248887B2 |
Physical object detection system
In an obstacle detection system, a wave transmitted by a transmitting element and received by receiving elements as a receiving wave includes extraneous waves, which are reflection waves from other than an obstacle, and obstacle reflection waves from an obstacle. It is determined that, an obstacle is present, if the reflection waves are detected as having an amplitude (voltage) greater than a threshold level and a reception time difference between time points at which the amplitude exceeds threshold level at the receiving elements is less than a predetermined time. |
| US08248883B1 |
Non-volatile I/O device based memory
A system for implementing a non-volatile input/output (I/O) device based memory can include an interface configured to receive a processor request specifying a data unit. The data unit can be specified by a processor address. The system can include an address-data converter coupled to the interface. The address-data converter can be configured to correlate the processor address of the data unit to a data block within the non-volatile I/O device. The system further can include an I/O controller coupled to the address-data converter. The I/O controller can be configured to issue a non-volatile I/O device command specifying the data block to the non-volatile I/O device. |
| US08248879B2 |
Semiconductor device with refresh control circuit
In a semiconductor device including a row-based control circuit applied with a current reduction circuit having a standby state and an active state, a refresh control circuit generates a refresh request signal every predetermined time interval on a self-refresh mode and time-sequentially generates an internal active signal at N times in connection with the refresh request signal once. The row-based control circuit time-sequentially refreshes information of memory cells on the based of the internal active signal at the N times. The refresh control circuit inactivates the row-based control circuit by making the current reduction circuit the standby state. |
| US08248871B2 |
Redundancy circuits and semiconductor memory devices
A redundancy circuit includes at least one fuse set circuit and a fuse control circuit. The at least one fuse set circuit includes a plurality of fuse cells, each of the plurality of fuse cells having a first transistor and a second transistor having same sizes. The first transistor has a first contact resistance and the second transistor has a second contact resistance different from the first contact resistance. Each of the plurality of fuse cells stores a fuse address indicating a defective cell in a repair operation and outputs a repair address corresponding to the stored fuse address. The fuse control circuit, connected to the plurality of fuse cells, controls the plurality of fuse cells in response to a program signal and a precharge signal such that the corresponding fuse address is stored in each of the fuse cells. |
| US08248870B2 |
Method and apparatus for synchronizing data from memory arrays
According to one embodiment, a combination is comprised of a plurality of sense amps, each having an input for receiving a clock signal. A data bus is for receiving data from the plurality of sense amps in response to a clock signal being input to the plurality of sense amps. A tracking circuit is responsive to the clock signal for producing a control signal. A plurality of latches is responsive to the control signal for latching data from the bus. The control signal has a delay that is equal to the time needed for a last data bit to arrive at the plurality of latches. That delay may be equal to a delay associated with inputting the clock signal to a last one of the plurality of sense amps, plus a delay of the last sense amp, plus a delay of the data bus. That amount of delay may be achieved in a number of ways which combines electrical delay with delay inherently associated with the tracking circuit's location. For example, the delay of the control signal may be achieved by locating the tracking circuit proximate to the last one of the plurality of sense amps and providing the tracking circuit with an electrical delay equal to the delay of the last one of the plurality of sense amps. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims. |
| US08248867B2 |
Memory cell employing reduced voltage
A memory array is provided having a memory cell coupled to a read word line and a write word line of the memory array and peripheral circuits for reading and writing to the memory cell. The memory cell comprises a storage element for storing a logical state of the memory cell powered at a reduced voltage during at least one functional operation and a write access circuit configured to connect the storage element to at least a first write bit line in the memory array in response to a write signal on the write word line for writing the logical state to the memory cell. The memory cell further comprises a read access circuit including an input node connected to the storage element and an output node connected to a read bit line of the memory array. The read access circuit is enabled and configured to read the logic state of the storage element in response to a read signal on the read word line. The reduced voltage is a voltage that is reduced relative to a peripheral operating voltage of at least one peripheral circuit associated with reading and/or writing of the memory cell. |
| US08248863B2 |
Data buffer control circuit and semiconductor memory apparatus including the same
A data buffer control circuit and a semiconductor memory apparatus including the same are presented. The data buffer control circuit may include an internal command signal generator and a buffer enable signal generator. The internal command signal generator is configured to generate an internal command signal that is activated if delayed command signals are conditioned in a predetermined state of level combination. The buffer enable signal generator is configured to generate a buffer enable signal, which enables a data buffer receiving data in a writing mode, from the internal command signal in sync with a falling edge of an internal clock signal. |
| US08248862B2 |
Source bias shift for multilevel memories
The threshold voltage range of a multilevel memory cell may be increased without using a negative voltage pump. In one embodiment, an added positive voltage may be applied to the source of the selected cell. A boost voltage may be applied to the output of a sense amplifier. Non-ideal characteristics of a buffer that supplies the voltage to the selected cell may be compensated for in some embodiments. |
| US08248859B2 |
Methods of forming and operating NAND memory with side-tunneling
A string of nonvolatile memory cells are formed with control gates extending between floating gates, control gates and floating gates separated by tunnel dielectric layers. Electron tunneling between control gates and floating gates is used for programming. A process for forming a memory array forms odd numbered floating gates from a first layer and even numbered floating gates from a second layer. |
| US08248857B2 |
Memory system with potential rank correction capability
A memory system includes a cell array including a plurality of nonvolatile memory cells electrically connected to a common word line, each memory cell storing a plurality of bits including a plurality of potential ranks, and a controller measuring a potential of the memory cell for each potential rank and changing a lower limit and upper limit of the potential rank based on the measurement result. |
| US08248855B2 |
Method of handling reference cells in NVM arrays
A memory chip includes memory cells storing data to be read, at least one reference cell having a reference cell current level, at least one reference gate voltage memory cell storing a reference gate voltage value and a read circuit to read the memory cells with a fixed gate voltage with respect to at least one reference cell activated at a voltage having its associated stored reference gate voltage value. |
| US08248853B2 |
Methods of programming non-volatile flash memory devices by applying a higher voltage level to a selected word line than to a word line neighboring the selected word line
In a method of programming a non-volatile memory device, a first voltage is applied to a selected word line corresponding to a selected memory cell transistor of a selected transistor string to be programmed; a second voltage is applied to a neighboring word line neighboring the selected word line and corresponding to a neighboring transistor of the selected transistor string, wherein the first voltage is greater than the second voltage, the application of the first and second voltages to the selected and neighboring word lines respectively causing electrons to be generated by an electric field formed between the neighboring transistor and the selected memory cell transistor, the electrons accelerating toward the selected memory cell transistor and injecting into a charge storage layer of the selected memory cell transistor; wherein the neighboring transistor is positioned between the selected memory cell transistor and one of a ground select transistor and a string select transistor, and the first voltage is applied to unselected word lines corresponding to unselected memory cell transistors of the selected transistor string positioned between the selected memory cell transistor and the other of the ground select transistor and the string select transistor. |
| US08248847B2 |
Information storage element and method for driving the same
Disclosed herein is an information storage element including: a word electrode includes a first magnetic material that is continuously formed and is electrically conductive; a non-magnetic film formed in contact with the first magnetic material of the word electrode; a second magnetic material connected to the first magnetic material via the non-magnetic film; a magnetization setting mechanism disposed near at least one end part of both end parts of the word electrode and sets direction of magnetization of the end part of the word electrode; a coercivity decreasing mechanism decreases coercivity of the second magnetic material; and an electrically-conductive bit electrode so formed as to serve also as the second magnetic material or be formed in parallel to the second magnetic material, the bit electrode being so continuously formed as to intersect with the word electrode. |
| US08248844B2 |
Phase-change memory device
A phase-change memory device and its firing method are provided. The firing method of the phase-change memory device includes applying a writing current to phase-change memory cells, identifying a state of the phase-change memory cells after applying the writing current, and applying a firing current, in which an additional current is added to the writing current, to the phase-change memory cells in accordance with the state. |
| US08248842B2 |
Memory cell array biasing method and a semiconductor memory device
A method of biasing a memory cell array during a data writing operation and a semiconductor memory device, in which the semiconductor memory device includes: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells in which a first terminal of a memory cell is connected to a corresponding first line of a plurality of first lines and a second terminal of the memory cell is connected to a corresponding second line of a plurality of second lines; a bias circuit for biasing a selected second line of the second lines to a reference voltage and a non-selected second line to a first voltage; and a local word line address decoder applying the reference voltage or a pumping voltage corresponding to the first voltage to the bias circuit. |
| US08248837B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and reading method of nonvolatile semiconductor memory device
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell including a resistance memory element which memorizes a high resistance state or a low resistance state, switches the high resistance state and the low resistance state by voltage application, one end of the resistance memory element being coupled to a bit line, the other end of the resistance memory element being coupled to a source line via the first transistor; and a resistor whose resistance value is higher than a resistance value of the resistance memory element in the low resistance state and lower than a resistance value of the resistance memory element in the high resistance state, one end of the resistor being coupled to said one end of the resistance memory element and the bit line, the other end of the resistor being coupled to the source line via the second transistor. |
| US08248835B2 |
Semiconductor memory and test method for the semiconductor memory
Semiconductor memory contains memory cells having ferroelectric capacitors and cell transistors, bit lines connected to memory cells, word lines connected to gate electrodes of cell transistors, plate lines connected to one of two electrodes of ferroelectric capacitors, sense amplifiers connected between each pair of bit lines. Further, a test pad is provided in order to apply an external voltage to each of bit lines, test transistors are provided corresponding to bit lines respectively, each of test transistors is connected between the test pad and each of bit lines, a fatigue test bias circuit is connected to a first node located between the test pad and test transistors. Test transistors are shared in a first test to apply a first voltage to ferroelectric capacitors from an outside via the test pad and a second test to apply a second voltage to ferroelectric capacitors from the fatigue test bias circuit. |
| US08248834B2 |
Semiconductor device having hierarchically structured bit lines and system including the same
To include memory mats each including a sense amplifier that amplifies a potential difference between global bit lines, a plurality of hierarchy switches connected to the global bit lines, and a plurality of local bit lines connected to the global bit lines via the hierarchy switches, and a control circuit that activates the hierarchy switches. The control circuit activates hierarchy switches that are located in the same distance from the sense amplifier along the global bit lines. According to the present invention, because there is no difference in the parasitic CR distributed constant regardless of a local bit line to be selected, it is possible to prevent the sensing sensitivity from being degraded. |
| US08248831B2 |
Rejuvenation of analog memory cells
A method for data storage in a memory that includes multiple analog memory cells fabricated using respective physical media, includes identifying a group of the memory cells whose physical media have deteriorated over time below a given storage quality level. A rejuvenation process, which causes the physical media of the memory cells in the group to meet the given storage quality level, is applied to the identified group. Data is stored in the rejuvenated group of the memory cells. |
| US08248830B2 |
Power source apparatus
A power source apparatus has a power source unit (AC, DB, Ci), a pair of reactors L1a and L1b each having a winding, and a controller 10 to accumulate energy of the power source unit in the pair of reactors and control the accumulated energy by turning on/off a switching element Q1. The windings of the pair of reactors are arranged so that the windings face each other and the polarities of magnetic flux from the windings are opposite to each other. |
| US08248829B2 |
Methods and systems for phase current reconstruction of AC drive systems
Methods and systems for phase current reconstruction are disclosed. An example method comprises: sampling a current from a power stage comprising: three phase legs, a current sensor to measure a dc-link current, and three more current sensors configured to measure three summations of currents for the power stage, storing the sampled current into a current stack if the sampled current comes from a survived sensor and is one of the phase currents from the switching state in the state stack, and reconstructing an unknown phase current by using the previously stored currents along with the sampled current to calculate the unknown phase current. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08248827B2 |
Circuit for output current detect, circuit for output current feedback, and SMPS which limits output current by primary side feedback
A discontinuous mode flyback converter for limiting output current using primary feedback is disclosed. A transformer stores magnetic energy using field current and transfers the magnetic energy using a primary winding and a secondary winding closely coupled to the primary winding. A switching element is coupled to one end of the primary winding of the transformer and controls the current of the primary winding of the transformer. A control unit controls the switching element. A voltage error feedback unit feeds back the error of the output voltage of the transformer to the control unit, thereby regulating the output voltage. An output current feedback circuit detects the flyback period of the transformer, detects the output current information of the transformer from the rate of a flyback period in a cycle, and feeds it back to the control unit, thereby limiting the output current of the transformer. |
| US08248824B2 |
DC power source apparatus
A DC power source apparatus converts a DC input voltage into high-frequency power by turning on/off a switching element connected to a primary winding of a transformer and converts the high-frequency power transmitted to a secondary winding of the transformer into a DC output voltage. The primary and secondary windings of the transformer include a core winding set having a primary winding P1 wound around a leg of a core defining a closed magnetic path and a secondary winding externally wound around the primary winding and another core winding set having a primary winding P2 wound around a leg of the core and a secondary winding externally wound around the primary winding. The primary winding of each of the two core winding sets has a plurality of winding layers among which a lowermost one that is closest to the core is connected to the switching element. |
| US08248819B2 |
Chip card holder for portable electronic device
A chip card holder includes a main housing and a retaining cover. The main housing includes a chip card receiving portion for receiving a chip card. The main housing defines a slot adjacent to the chip card receiving portion. A locking portion is formed adjacent to the slot. The retaining cover is rotatably attached the main housing. The retaining cover includes a latching portion. The latching portion includes an angled bottom. The retaining cover is locked to the main housing by engagement of the locking portion and the latching portion, and the angled bottom of the latching portion is received in the slot. |
| US08248817B2 |
Computer chassis for mounting motherboard therein
An apparatus includes a computer chassis and a motherboard. The computer chassis includes a bottom plate. A fastener is pivotally mounted on the bottom plate. The fastener defines a receiving slot. A plurality of convex projections is formed on the bottom plate. The motherboard is located on the plurality of convex projections with an edge of the motherboard clamped in the receiving slot. |
| US08248816B2 |
Methods of designing multilayer circuitry, multilayer circuit design apparatuses, and computer-usable media
A method of creating a layout geometry for a multilayer printed circuit board is described. The method involves identifying a signal trace connected to a connector pin via. A antipad is selected for use in conjunction with the connector pin via, where the antipad is of a size selected to prevent interference with said signal trace. |
| US08248811B2 |
Server enclosure and server enclosure assembly
A server enclosure includes a top plate and a bottom plate. The top plate defines a guiding channel extending along a first direction. The bottom plate parallels to the top plate. The bottom plate protrudes a guiding member. The guiding channel and the guiding member are aligned long a direction perpendicular to the top plate, and the guiding channel is boarder than the guiding member. |
| US08248807B2 |
Locking mechanism and electronic device having the same
An electronic device includes a main body, a cover rotatably connected to the main body, at least one locking mechanism for fastening the cover to the main body, and a switch. The locking mechanism defines a locking hole in the main body and includes a locking member fixed to the cover. The locking member includes a magnetic member, an electromagnet, a compressed spring, and a locking pin. The electromagnet is electrically connected to the switch, and is operable to be powered off via switching the switch. The spring is disposed between the magnetic member and the electromagnet, and moves one of the magnetic member and the electromagnet when the electromagnet is powered off. The locking pin is inserted into the locking hole when the cover covers the main body and the electromagnet is powered off. |
| US08248802B2 |
Backboard assembly and electronic device having the same
A backboard assembly includes a back plate, an electrically insulative sheet and a connection element. The connection element comprises a plurality of first engaging structures on a first side thereof to engage with the back plate and a plurality of second engaging structures on a second side opposing to the first side to engage with the electrically insulative sheet. |
| US08248801B2 |
Thermoelectric-enhanced, liquid-cooling apparatus and method for facilitating dissipation of heat
Thermoelectric-enhanced, liquid-cooling apparatus and method are provided for facilitating cooling of one or more components of an electronics rack. The apparatus includes a liquid-cooled structure in thermal communication with the component(s) to be cooled, and a liquid-to-air heat exchanger coupled in fluid communication with the liquid-cooled structure via a coolant loop for receiving coolant from and supply coolant to the liquid-cooled structure. A thermoelectric array is disposed with first and second coolant loop portions in thermal contact with first and second sides of the array. The thermoelectric array operates to transfer heat from coolant passing through the first loop portion to coolant passing through the second loop portion, and cools coolant passing through the first loop portion before the coolant passes through the liquid-cooled structure. Coolant passing through the first and second loop portions passes through the liquid-to-air heat exchanger for cooling thereof. |
| US08248800B2 |
Automatic transmission control unit cooling apparatus
An automatic transmission control unit cooling apparatus includes a control unit having an electronic component, installed on a substrate, for controlling the automatic transmission; a holder accommodating the substrate and within a case of the automatic transmission disposed at a position that is higher than the oil surface in the automatic transmission when the transmission is installed in a vehicle and on a side face of a valve body in the transmission case. The apparatus further includes a radiator that contacts the electronic component or the substrate in order to conduct heat generated by the electronic component. At least a part of the radiator is immersed in the oil when the transmission is installed in the vehicle. |
| US08248798B2 |
Thermal control system for rack mounting
A thermal control system of a 3 U height includes various modules for providing temperature control in a rack environment. The modules may be, for example, a power module, user interface module, various different pump assemblies, various different models of fan assemblies, HTAs, and/or a serial communication interfaces. |
| US08248797B2 |
Electrical control cabinet
An electrical control cabinet includes a casing, a plurality of heat elements, a heat exchanger, and two fans. The casing includes a first receiving portion and a second receiving portion. The first receiving portion communicates outside of the casing through the heat exchanger. The fans are received in the second receiving portion. The heat elements include a plurality of first heat members received in first receiving portion and a plurality of second heat members received in the second receiving portion. The first heat members is isolated from airborne contaminants and moisture. The first heat members in the first receiving portion disperse heat by the heat exchanger, and the second heat members in the second receiving portion disperse heat by the fans. |
| US08248796B2 |
Server heat dissipation system
A server heat dissipating system includes two server assemblies, an airflow producing device configured to produce airflow, and a main airflow guiding pipe. Each server assembly includes a server cabinet configured to receive a first server and an airflow guiding device. The airflow guiding device is configured to guide airflow to the first server to dissipate heat generated by the first server. The main airflow guiding pipe is connected to the two airflow guiding devices to guide airflow from the airflow producing device to the airflow guiding devices. |
| US08248793B2 |
Electronic component having a movable louver
An electronic component includes a housing having an inlet section, a mid-section, and an outlet section, mounting components for mounting the housing within an electronics cabinet, at least one movable louver positioned in at least one of the inlet section, the mid-section, and the outlet section, an actuator configured to manipulate the at least one movable louver to vary a volume flowrate of airflow through the housing, and a controller configured to operate the actuator to one of substantially maintain an environmental condition change from the inlet to the outlet within a predetermined range and substantially restrict airflow through the housing when the electronic component is in a relatively low operational state. |
| US08248788B2 |
Tilt mechanism for electronic device
An electronic device includes a first section, a second section attached to the first section, and a tilt mechanism. The tilt mechanism connects the first section to the second section. The tilt mechanism includes a plate and two hinge assemblies. The plate connects the first section. Each of the hinge assemblies includes a sleeve and a main shaft assembled together with the sleeve. The sleeve is secured on the second section; the main shaft attached to the plate. The second section slides relative to the first section, the plate and the main shaft rotate relative to the second section, the plate further supports the second section to a tilted orientation. |
| US08248787B2 |
Portable electronic device with slidable cover
A portable electronic device includes a base, a cover, and a connecting module. The connecting module includes two connecting plates and at least one hinge. At least one of the connecting plates is rotatably connected to the base or cover by the at least one hinge, and the cover rides the base when rotated and slid thereon. |
| US08248777B2 |
Viscoelastic material for shock protection in an electronic device
This invention is directed to reducing the effect of shocks on electronic device components. The electronic device component may be surrounded by a boundary element operative to deform in response to impacts. By deforming, the boundary element may be operative to absorb energy received by the shock or impact without passing the energy on to the electronic device component. To maximize the effectiveness of the boundary element over a range of different impacts (e.g., strong, instantaneous impacts and weak impacts over time), a viscoelastic material may be used. The characteristic properties of the viscoelastic material may be selected based on expected impacts to the electronic device component. |
| US08248771B2 |
Power supply of personal computers equipped with a modular conversion circuit
A power supply of personal computers equipped with a modular conversion circuit comprises a main circuit board, a conversion module board, a first conversion circuit and a first module slot located on the main circuit board, and a second conversion circuit and a second module slot located on the conversion module board. The first conversion circuit converts an input power to generate at least one output power. The first module slot outputs the output power. The second conversion circuit converts the output power and generates at least one conversion power. The second module slot outputs the conversion power to allow at least one external element to respectively electrically connect to the first module slot and the second module slot according to power requirement. |
| US08248765B2 |
Portable electronic device
A portable electronic device comprises a cover section, a body section, a tilting adjuster and a rotating adjuster. The body section is adjustably coupled with the cover section. One end of the tilting adjuster is hinged to the body section. One end of the rotating adjuster is hinged to the cover section, the other end of the rotating adjuster is hinged to the other end of the tilting adjuster. |
| US08248759B2 |
Capacitor
A capacitor has a capacitor element, an open-topped case on which terminals joined to a pair of electrode lead sections of the capacitor element are disposed facing each other, and a cover combined with the open surface of the case. Each terminal has a pair of intermediate conductive sections and a pair of terminal sections. The joint has a joint surface to which one of the electrode lead sections of the capacitor element is joined. The intermediate conductive sections are L-shaped, and are extendedly disposed in directions opposite to each other from both ends of the joint. The terminal sections are disposed further extendedly from the intermediate conductive sections and placed symmetrically about the joint. |
| US08248757B2 |
Nonaqueous lithium-type storage element
This invention provides a nonaqueous lithium-type storage element using an activated carbon having a specific porous structure in a positive electrode. A storage element using a conventional carbonaceous material in a positive electrode has a problem that, although the capacitance is large, the output characteristics are disadvantageously unsatisfactory. The nonaqueous lithium-type storage element using a material, which can occlude and release lithium ions in a negative electrode, can improve output characteristics while maintaining the energy density of the storage element at a substantially equal value by using, in a positive electrode, an activated carbon, satisfying 0.3 |
| US08248756B2 |
Electrochemical device and method of manufacturing the same
An electrochemical device includes four or more electrodes which are laminated with separators provided between the respective electrodes, an electrolyte filled between the respective electrodes, and a sealing member which covers the periphery. The electrodes are arranged so that the polarities alternately change in the lamination direction, and each of the electrodes has projections projecting from diagonally opposite positions on the peripheral edge so that the positions of the projections of the electrodes of different polarities are opposite to each other in the lateral direction and the projections of the electrodes of the same polarity are aligned and connected with each other. |
| US08248755B2 |
Polyimides and thin films, electronic articles and capacitors comprising these, and methods of making them
A polyimide resin is provided. The polyimide resin comprises the reaction product of a polyimide resin and an amine comprising a C1-10 hydrocarbon substituted with CN, F, SO2, SO, S, SO3, SO3−, PO, PO2H, PO3H, PO2−, PO3−2, CO, CO2−, CO2H, CONH, CONH2, NHCOHN, OCONH, OCO2, N, NH, NH2, NO2, CSNH, CSNH2, NHCSNH, OTi(OR4)3, or OSi(OR4)3 or combinations of these, wherein R4 is a C1-10 aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon. The resin may be used to provide a thin film that in turn, may advantageously be used to form, wholly or in part, articles such as capacitors, sensors, batteries, flexible printed circuit boards, keyboard membranes, motor/transformer insulations, cable wrappings, industrial tapes, interior coverage materials, and the like. In particular, a capacitor comprising the thin film and methods of making the same are also provided. |
| US08248754B2 |
Dielectric ceramic, method for producing dielectric ceramic, and monolithic ceramic capacitor
A dielectric ceramic contains a barium titanate and Li. In the dielectric ceramic, the following inequalities are satisfied: 0.5≦e≦6.0, 0.06 |
| US08248751B2 |
Drive system for variable vacuum capacitor
A mechanical drive system for a vacuum capacitor is provided and includes a drive screw and a nut, wherein the nut is arranged in a housing of the vacuum capacitor, wherein the drive screw is screwed through the nut, wherein a first electrode is arranged on one side of the drive screw, wherein, by a rotation of the drive screw, the first electrode is movable relative to a second electrode, and wherein the nut is at least partially manufactured out of a plastic material. |
| US08248749B2 |
Ionic thermal dissipation device
An ionic thermal dissipation device includes an ionic wind generation system and a power system. The power system first converts external direct current (DC) power signals into first alternating current (AC) power signals, and boosts, increases voltage, and rectifies the first AC power signals to generate high voltage DC power signals to drive the ionic wind generation system. The power system also detects current signals generated by ion excitation of the ionic wind generation system and voltage signals of the high voltage DC power signals, and regulates the high voltage DC power signals and time of driving the ionic wind generation system according to a first PWM signal and a first analog signal from an electronic device and the detected current signals and voltage signals. |
| US08248743B2 |
Device having failure recovery capabilities and a method for failure recovery
A device that has failure recovery capabilities and a method for power recovery. The method includes: detecting a potential power failure in response to a decrement rate of a supply voltage, and applying at least one failure recovery measure in response to a detected potential power failure. The device includes: a power source, an energy reservoir, at least one component, and a power failure circuit, adapted to detect a potential power failure in response to a decrement rate of a supply voltage. |
| US08248742B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device has: a power supply line; a ground line; a signal line for transmitting a signal; a signal pad connected to the signal line; a protection element connected between the signal line and the ground line; and a trigger circuit configured to supply a trigger current to the protection element. The trigger circuit has: a PMOS transistor whose gate and backgate are connected to the power supply line and whose source is connected to the protection element; and an amplifier circuit part configured to amplify a first current flowing through the PMOS transistor to generate a second current. The trigger current includes the second current. |
| US08248741B2 |
Apparatuses and methods for a SCR-based clamped electrostatic discharge protection device
A SCR-based based electrostatic discharge protection device with a shunt path is provided. The shunt path operates at a low resistance when an enabling signal of the shunt path is asserted and a high resistance when the enabling signal is negated. The shunt path connects the cathode and the gate of the silicon-controlled rectifier, and provides a conductive path for displacement current from a parasitic capacitance when the shunt path is enabled, such as when power is provided to the device, and further allows the SCR to enter a low-resistance state when the shunt path is not enabled, such as when power is not provided to the device. A threshold trigger circuit is operably coupled between the anode and the cathode of the silicon-controlled rectifier and is configured to provide a current path when the anode voltage reaches a predetermined value lower than a breakdown voltage of the silicon-controlled rectifier. |
| US08248740B2 |
High speed current shunt
One form of the invention provides a method and apparatus for preventing an extraordinary electromagnetic pulse from reaching and rendering inoperative an electrical component of an electrical power system, wherein the component is located in a conductive path of the system that receives the pulse. The method and apparatus comprises the steps or means for detecting the presence of the pulse in the conductive path prior to the pulse reaching and rendering inoperative the electrical component. The pulse is diverted around the electrical component with a low inductance, high current capacity circuit relative to the electrical component before the pulse can reach and render the electrical component inoperative. The foregoing invention may beneficially utilize a high-speed current shunt comprising a flat conductive metal strap having a defined current-measuring region, a tapered parallel-plate transmission-line matching transformer attached to the current-measuring region and an output via a coaxial cable. |
| US08248739B2 |
Electrical switching apparatus and protection apparatus determining thermal age of another apparatus or a number of insulators
An electrical switching apparatus is for another apparatus including a number of insulators, a number of temperature sensors operatively associated with the number of insulators, and a number of conductors operatively associated with the number of insulators. The electrical switching apparatus includes a number of separable contacts, an operating mechanism structured to open and close the separable contacts, a number of sensors structured to sense a number of currents flowing through the separable contacts and through the conductors, a processor structured to input the sensed currents from the sensors, and an output. The processor calculates at least one of: (a) a thermal age of the other apparatus from a number of sensed temperatures from the temperature sensors, and (b) the thermal age of the other apparatus from the sensed currents. The output includes the thermal age of the other apparatus. |
| US08248738B2 |
Switching device, high power supply system and methods for switching high power
Embodiments of the invention relate to a switching device, a high power supply system and methods for switching high power including a relay and a power semiconductor switch arranged in parallel to the relay. |
| US08248736B2 |
Disk drive suspension having a microactuator mounting section
A microactuator mounting section is disposed between a base section and a load beam. A microactuator element formed of a piezoelectric element is contained in an element accommodation portion in a plate portion. The plate portion has a stationary part secured to the base section and a movable part secured to the load beam. The stationary part and the movable part are connected to each other by a pair of arm portions. Each arm portion comprises a first extending portion and a second extending portion. The first extending portion extends longitudinally relative to the load beam from a front end of the stationary part toward the movable part. The second extending portion extends transversely inward relative to the plate portion from the first extending portion so as to be continuous with the movable part. |
| US08248733B1 |
Shipping comb and ramp for disk drive assembly
A disk drive under assembly is disclosed that comprises a suspension assembly that includes a head gimbal assembly (HGA) that has a lift tab and a shipping comb that includes a protruding member that extends from the shipping comb and a bearing member that supports the suspension assembly, in which the lift tab extends beyond the bearing member. The disk drive under assembly further comprises a ramp that includes a receiving portion to receive the protruding member as the shipping comb couples with the ramp to transfer the lift tab to the ramp. |
| US08248730B2 |
Magnetic head slider locking apparatus
The magnetic head slider locking apparatus according to the present invention includes a fixed portion, a movable portion and paired right and left spring portions. Upon transition from an initial posture to an elastically deformed posture, the movable portion is wholly moved toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction and, at the same time, the inner end of each of paired proximal-side engagement regions in the suspension width direction is moved toward the inner side in the suspension width direction, so that the distal end and the proximal end of each of the proximal-side extending regions are moved toward the inner side and the outer side in the suspension width direction, respectively, while the proximal-side extending regions are wholly moved toward the proximal side in the suspension longitudinal direction. |
| US08248723B1 |
System and method for managing errors on a magnetic tape
Systems and methods for managing errors on a magnetic tape having a plurality of partitions accessed by a tape drive having an associated tape drive processor in communication with a host computer having an associated host processor include receiving mapping information from the host computer that designates at least first and second logically adjacent partitions for reading/writing consecutive data, receiving a read/write request to transfer the consecutive data for the first and second partitions, detecting a data error when attempting to read/write the data for the second partition and communicating a corresponding data error message to the host computer, and receiving modified mapping information from the host computer that designates a third partition as logically adjacent to the first partition for reading/writing the consecutive data. |
| US08248718B2 |
Lens module and method for assembling same
A lens module includes a lens and a lens barrel receiving the lens therein with a gap maintained between a peripheral surface of the lens and an inner surface of the lens barrel. The lens barrel includes a plurality of hole portions with through holes defined therein and facing the peripheral surface of the lens, and a glue applied in the gap to adhere the lens to the hole portions. |
| US08248714B2 |
Projection lens system with high resolution and compact size
The present disclosure relates to a projection lens system for a projector having a spatial light modulator (SLM). The projection lens system includes, in order from the magnified end to the minified end thereof, a first lens group with negative refraction power, a second lens group with positive refraction power, and a third lens group with positive refraction power. The projection lens system satisfies the following formulas: 3 |
| US08248712B2 |
Light ray concentration device
A light ray concentration device includes a concentrating lens and a base for holding the concentrating lens. The concentrating lens includes a planar surface defining a number of first Fresnel zones and a convex surface facing away from the planar surface and defining a number of second Fresnel zones. The first and second Fresnel zones are coaxial with each other. |
| US08248702B2 |
Thin film high definition dimensional image display device and methods of making same
A high definition thin lens dimensional image display device and methods of manufacturing the same. The thin lens dimensional image display device generally includes a lens array on a first surface of a film, such as a lenticular lens array or a fly's eye lens array, with a printed imaged either printed directly on a second planar surface of the film, or on a separate substrate that is laminated thereto. The resulting display device offers a lower cost display device having greater flexibility for a wider variety of applications than traditional image display devices, without compromising image quality. Processes for manufacturing the display device include printing on a pre-fabricated thin lens web, inline printing of an image and patterning of the lens array, and inline printing of a substrate and application of a coating to the substrate which is subsequently patterned or embossed. |
| US08248701B1 |
Optical lens assembly having fluorescent layer
An optical lens assembly having a fluorescent layer is disclosed, which includes a partition frame with a partition ring protruding inwardly from an inner wall surface of the partition frame, two optical lenses, and a fluorescent layer, wherein a slot space is defined by the two optical lenses and the partition ring of the partition frame, and the fluorescent layer is accommodated within the slot space. The top optical lens can be a flat slab lens, or a convex lens. When the optical lens assembly having a fluorescent layer is used in the optical device, the moisture can be prevented from entering the fluorescent layer, and thus the optical performance of the fluorescent layer can be maintained over a long period. |
| US08248700B1 |
Systems and methods for coherent beam combining of laser arrays
Systems and methods for coherent beam combining are provided. In some aspects, a system may comprise a first array of laser emitters configured to emit a first array of output beams along a first optical path. The system may also comprise a first array of collimating lenses configured to collimate the first array of output beams. The system may also comprise a first lens configured to focus the first array of output beams at a first focal plane. The system may also comprise a first phase screen configured to combine the first array of output beams at the first focal plane to generate one or more first coherently combined beams. Each of the one or more first coherently combined beams corresponds to a phase combination of the first array of output beams. |
| US08248694B2 |
Electro-optical apparatus and electronic equipment
An electro-optical apparatus includes a display panel that displays an image, an illuminating device that allows light rays to pass through the display panel, a polarization axis controlling unit arranged between the illuminating device and the display panel for allowing light rays having first polarization axis out of light rays outputted from the illuminating device to pass and changing the polarization axes of part of the light rays emitted from the illuminating device to convert the light rays to light rays having second polarization axis different from the first polarization axis, and a lens having a plurality of linear lens patterns for causing the light rays having the first polarization axis and the light rays having the second polarization axis separated by the polarization axis controlling unit respectively to proceed in predetermined directions. The polarization axis controlling unit includes a liquid crystal layer and a plurality of electrodes arranged in a stripe pattern so as to oppose the liquid crystal layer. The width of the electrodes to which a voltage is applied when changing the polarization axes of the part of the light rays emitted from the illuminating device is larger than the width of the electrode to which no voltage is applied. |
| US08248693B2 |
Reflective triplet optical form with external rear aperture stop for cold shielding
An all-reflecting, non-relayed optical system having an aperture stop and an optical axis and configured to provide images of objects. The system includes a positive power primary mirror configured to receive radiation from the objects, a negative power secondary mirror configured to receive the radiation reflected from the primary mirror and a positive power tertiary mirror configured to receive the radiation reflected from the secondary mirror. The system further includes a focal plane configured to receive the radiation reflected from the tertiary mirror and to form an image of the objects. The aperture stop of the optical system is located between the tertiary mirror and the image plane. Accordingly, the image plane may be cold shielded to prevent or reduce radiation reflected from the optical elements that interferes with the desired image. |
| US08248687B2 |
Wide-band optical amplifier, optical pulse generator, and optical instrument
There is provided a wide-band optical amplifier (10) that is capable of amplifying a wide-band signal. The wide-band optical amplifier (10) includes a first amplifier (NOPA1) that emits, based on a to-be-amplified light beam having a predetermined range of wavelengths and a first pump beam (L2) having a first wavelength, the to-be-amplified light beam having a first range of amplified wavelengths, where the first range is a part of the predetermined range, and a second amplifier (NOPA2) that emits, based on the to-be-amplified light beam having the first range of amplified wavelengths and a second pump beam (L3) having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, the to-be-amplified light beam having a second range of amplified wavelengths, where the second range is different from the first range. |
| US08248686B2 |
Color electrophoretic display device and method for manufacturing the same
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a color electrophoretic display device includes forming a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate including a display region, wherein a plurality of pixel regions is defined in a matrix, and alignment keys are provided at the outside of the display region, forming an electrophoretic layer including a micro capsule layer formed so as to correspond to the display region of the TFT array substrate, and forming a color filter layer on an outer surface of the electrophoretic layer using the alignment keys so as to correspond to the respective pixel regions of the display region. |
| US08248679B2 |
Multibeam scanning device
A multibeam scanning device, comprising: a plurality of first optical systems, each of the plurality of optical systems including a light source unit configured to emit a non-collimated light beam, and an optical element having a predetermined power and having an optical effect on the laser beam; a second optical system arranged on a downstream side of the plurality of first optical systems, including a first deflector on which light beams emitted by the plurality of first optical systems are incident, the first deflector being to deflect the laser beams, and a common optical system configured to change degree of divergence of each of the plurality of light beams; and an optical path shifting system configured to translate an incident optical path of the light beam which is emitted by the light source and incident on the optical element, wherein all the light beams incident on the first deflector are incident on the first deflector at substantially the same position, and wherein the optical elements are arranged such that optical axes of the optical elements intersect at a position spaced from the optical element by a distance equal to a focal length of the optical element. |
| US08248674B2 |
Pixel interpolation apparatus, pixel interpolation method and image reading apparatus
A pixel interpolation apparatus including an interpolation section for calculating an estimation density value of a missing pixel from densities of peripheral pixels of the missing pixel; and a correction section for calculating a first average value which being an average density value of pixels in a first two-dimensional area containing the missing pixel whose density value is assumed to be the estimation density value calculated by the interpolation section and a second average value which being an average density value of a second two-dimensional area, located in a peripheral of the missing pixel, not containing the missing pixel, and for correcting the estimation density value of the missing pixel in the first two-dimensional area so that a difference between the first average value and the second average value becomes zero or small. |
| US08248671B2 |
Image processing apparatus and method and computer program product
Service information provided by a user is notified to a central processing unit (CPU), and the CPU executes a computer program for an operation process of the service, to determine a path (channel) through which image data should pass and a process content of image processes according to the service. Depending on the service information, image process is performed only by a first image data processor, image processes are performed by a combination of both the first image data processor and a second image data processor, or image process is performed only by the second image data processor. |
| US08248668B2 |
Image processing device, image processing method, and image forming apparatus
An image processing device including a first image reading unit to read image data on a front side of a document page, a second image reading unit to read image data on a back side of the document page, a first image processing unit to process the image data read by the first image reading unit, a second image processing unit to process the image data read by the second image reading unit, a memory to store image data, a memory control unit to control access to the memory, and a bus switch that connects the first image processing unit and the second image processing unit to the memory control unit. The bus switch includes a first compression unit to compress the image data processed by the first image processing unit, and a second compression unit to compress the image data processed by the second image processing unit. |
| US08248667B2 |
Document management device, document management method, and computer program product
An operating unit selects a piece of document data from among a plurality of pieces of document data from a document database. A relationship-information searching unit searches a relationship information database that stores relationship information in the form of parent-child relationship between the pieces of document data, for the relationship information pertaining to the selected piece of document data. A related-document-list creating unit creates from the retrieved relationship information, a list that indicates a hierarchical relationship between the selected piece of document data and other pieces of document data. A display unit displays the pieces of document data related to the selected piece of document data on a single screen based on the list. |
| US08248666B2 |
Information input/output device including a stage surface on which a reflecting medium including a printed dot pattern is disposed
To achieve an information output device in which information of a medium disposed on a stage surface can be surely and efficiently read out, and a stage effect and a security are high. In the information output device, media are disposed on a stage surface in a state where the media are opposite to the stage surface, the media where dot patterns are printed on medium surfaces on the basis of a predetermined rule, the dot patterns are read by imaging units disposed in a space below the stage and converted into code values or coordinate values indicating the dot patterns from photographed images obtained by the imaging units, and information corresponding to the code values or the coordinate values is outputted. Further, light transmitting reading holes are respectively provided at a plurality of medium disposing locations on the stage surface, and the imaging units are disposed in the space below the stage corresponding the respective reading holes such that the imaging units photograph the medium surfaces of the media disposed on the reading holes. |
| US08248662B2 |
Image forming apparatus and method thereof
An image forming apparatus and a method of using the same, the image forming apparatus including: a detection unit to detect an edge of an input image; a categorization unit to categorize the detected edge, according to a gray value and line width; and a compensation unit to compensate the gray value according to the categorized edge type. |
| US08248661B2 |
Color-consistent three level differential gloss images
A method for creating a differential gloss image includes providing first and second anisotropic halftone structures. The first and second anisotropic structures have different orientations. One of the first and second anisotropic structures is applied to image data in a first region of an image to be halftoned. The other of the first and second anisotropic structures may be applied to image data in a second region of an image to be halftoned. A mixture of the first and second anisotropic structures is applied to image data in a third region of the image to be halftoned, whereby when printed, the three regions each have a gloss characteristic which differs from that of the other two regions. |
| US08248660B2 |
Efficient diffusion dithering using dyadic rationals
Diffusion dithering can be performed efficiently by applying a set of diffusion filter weights with one or more shift, add, and/or subtract operations. An existing diffusion filter can be approximated with dyadic rationals, thereby allowing division operations in applying the filter weights to be performed with bit-shifting operations. An algorithm is identified to calculate the product of a set of filter weights and a pixel error, where the algorithm performs the calculations using one or more shift, add, or subtract operations. An exhaustive search of the combinations of operations can be made to find an efficient algorithm to calculate the products. |
| US08248658B2 |
Imaging apparatus with sheet size measuring device
An imaging apparatus for forming the image on a sheet, wherein the imaging apparatus includes a sheet-feeding path for conveying the sheet, a detecting section positioned along the sheet-feeding path, which detects a leading edge, a trailing edge and a side edge of the sheet while the sheet is being conveyed along the sheet-feeding path, a controller for registering dimensions, a memory for storing data of dimensions wherein when a auto-measurement mode is set in the controller, the controller controls the detecting section so as to detect the leading edge, the trailing edge and the side edge of the sheet while the sheet is being conveyed along the sheet-feeding path and obtains a length and a width of the sheet, and then the controller registers the length and the width of the sheet to be stored in the memory. |
| US08248654B2 |
Information processing apparatus and method, and print control program
The claimed invention is directed to an information processing apparatus for adding additional information to each page of a document. The apparatus includes a print setup unit for setting a binding position for a document, an additional information setup unit for setting a position of additional information to be added to each page of the document, and a rendering unit for rendering the additional information at an appropriate position on the basis of the position set by the additional information setup unit. When the additional information setup unit sets a relative position to a binding position, a rendering position of the additional information is determined for each page in accordance with the set relative position and the binding position set by the print setup unit. |
| US08248653B2 |
Information processing apparatus, print control method, and computer program
From contents of each record of variable data, a post-printing process to the record is predetermined. A time to start the post-printing process is read out of a distribution route running information table. Based on the time, a post-printing process start time (departure time of a truck) is decided every record. A print start time is decided every record in consideration of the decided post-printing process start time (departure time of the truck) and the printing of the record is started at this time. |
| US08248652B2 |
N-up sheetlet based imaging with flexible formatting of logical pages
Methods and systems herein provide for flexible formatting of print jobs and their associated logical pages. One N-up printing system is adapted to receive a print job from a host system for printing to a tangible medium. The print job includes at least a first logical page. The printing system includes an N-up formatter interface adapted to receive formatting parameters. The printing system also includes an N-up formatter that is communicatively coupled to the N-up formatter interface. The N-up formatter is adapted to generate a first page inclusion object based on the formatting parameters. The N-up formatter is further adapted to input the first logical page to the first page inclusion object and position the first logical page within the first page inclusion object. |
| US08248648B2 |
Logging history of image data dependent on image processing function and priority
There is provided an image log management apparatus. The apparatus includes a rule storage unit that stores a rule for determining whether or not a log image is recorded at a time when each processing operation is performed by one or more image-processing units according to a program in which a procedure for using the one or more image-processing units is described; an acceptance unit that accepts the program in which the procedure for using the one or more image-processing units is described; a program execution unit that executes the program accepted in the acceptance unit; and a log controller that, by reference to a rule applicable to each of the image-processing units used in the program, performs control as to whether or not a log image relating to execution of the program in the program execution unit is recorded. |
| US08248646B2 |
Data transmission device including image acquiring unit, and method and computer readable medium therefor
A data transmission device, configured to be connected with terminal devices via a network, includes an image acquiring unit configured to acquire image data, an identifying data acquiring unit configured to acquire user identifying data to identify a user of the data transmission device, a first file creating unit configured to create a first file that includes the image data acquired by the image acquiring unit, a second file creating unit configured to create a second file that includes the user identifying data acquired by the identifying data acquiring unit and data to specify the first file created by the first file creating unit, and a transmission unit configured to transmit the first file and the second file to a destination one of the terminal devices. |
| US08248645B2 |
Printing system, printing device, host apparatus, and computer program product
A printing system includes a host apparatus and two or more printer devices connected to each other via a network. The host device sends print data to the printer devices. If a network disconnection occurs while the host device is sending the print data to the printer devices, the printing devices maintain a session with the host device and keep the print data that has been received at a time point before the network disconnection occurred. When a network reconnection takes place, the printer devices receive only un-received print data from the host device. |
| US08248643B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus for receiving data from a host device to print on a print medium includes a termination code string comparison table for storing a detection termination code string to detect a termination code string from the data; and a reception control unit for detecting a candidate of the termination code string from the data. The reception control unit compares the candidate with the termination code string to determine whether the termination code string matched to the candidate is stored in the termination code string comparison table. The reception control unit determines the candidate to be the termination code string when the reception control unit determines that the termination code string matched to the candidate is registered in the termination code string comparison table. |
| US08248642B2 |
Image processing apparatus, method, and computer-readable recording medium for recording a log of a job
A log recording module records a log of a job executed in an image processing apparatus in a hard disk drive (HDD). A facsimile control module receives a request to execute facsimile transmission, records the log that identifies the job in a nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM), and executes the facsimile transmission. The facsimile control module distinguishes the log of a continuing job from the log of the job that was terminated by the power-off using the logs in the HDD and the NVRAM, and performs a process to transfer the log of a terminated job to a log server and a process to control recording the log of the continuing job. |
| US08248640B2 |
Image forming apparatus, controlling unit, image forming method and computer readable medium
The image forming apparatus is provided with: an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium; a speed changing unit that changes an image forming speed of the image forming unit; a detecting unit that detects a state quantity indicating a state of the image on the medium formed by the image forming unit; and an adjusting unit that adjusts an image forming condition set by the image forming unit according to a detection result of the state quantity detected by the detecting unit and a target value for the state quantity. The adjusting unit changes the target value for the state quantity according to the state quantity detected by the detecting unit after the speed changing unit changes the image forming speed. |
| US08248639B2 |
Printing supply information of an image forming apparatus
An apparatus, method, system, computer program and product each capable of storing supply information of a printer supply of an image forming device, and generating a supply information list including the supply information to be printed on a recording sheet according to print settings information. |
| US08248638B2 |
Image forming devices configured to form index images and computer readable media therefor
An image forming device capable of forming index images that correspond to a plurality of files, respectively, onto a recording medium includes an image data generating unit configured to generate one of first image data and second image data as data for forming the index image corresponding to each of the plurality of files, a file selecting unit configured to select, from the plurality of files, files for which at least one parameter related to file processing is to be detected, a parameter detecting unit configured to detect the at least one parameter for each of the selected files, a parameter judging unit configured to judge whether the at least one parameter as detected satisfies a predetermined condition, and a control unit configured to control the image data generating unit to generate one of the first image data and the second image data based on the judgment. |
| US08248637B2 |
Method and apparatus for printing from a mobile device
A system and method by which to implement revenue sharing between printer vendors and network service providers or operators. In one example, a method for providing printing access to a mobile device may include acts of requesting information from a printer, receiving the information at a mobile device, providing the information to a communications subsystem of a mobile network operator, based on the information, acquiring a printing capability of the printer, sending the printing capability from the communications subsystem to the mobile device, and upon receipt of the printing capability, if the printing capability is enabled, sending a print request from the mobile device to the printer. A corresponding apparatus may be used to implement the method, which may be provided as instructions encoded on a computer readable medium. |
| US08248636B1 |
WYSIWYG printing for web based applications
A container application is a native application that allows a web based application to access a computer's system resources and windowing system. Web based applications are downloaded from application servers and run inside container applications. A web based application can alter or control many, or all, aspects of the container application's content area and meta user interfaces (UIs). Access to printer settings, display settings, and printer meta UIs provides a web based application with the capability to lay out or format printed documents. The newly provided capabilities include WYSIWYG capabilities. |
| US08248628B2 |
Image processor, image processing method, and computer readable media storing programs therefor
An image processor includes an image reading unit that reads source documents and converts read data into image data, an extracting unit that extracts password information and attribute information from the image data of each of the source documents read by the image reading unit, a password inputting unit that inputs the password information, a password determining unit that determines whether or not the password information inputted by the password inputting unit matches the password information extracted by the extracting unit, and a permitting unit that permits a source document to be subjected to image processing, if the attribute information of the source document is identical to the attribute information included in the source document of which the password determining unit has determined that there is a match between the inputted password information and the extracted password information. |
| US08248620B2 |
Object detection device
An object detecting device for detecting the existence and general placement of an object residing upon a surface. A preferred embodiment of the invention uses at least one laser measuring scanner operated positioned by a servo motor to allow the laser measuring scanner to generate signals related to the placement of an object on a surface. Those placement signals are then processed by a computer to make a two or three dimensional determination of the object in coordinates that show the object's location in relation to another device such as a robotic depalletizer that can then be moved into position near the object to allow removal of the object by the robotic depalletizer. |
| US08248616B2 |
Reflector, optical element, interferometer system, stage device, exposure apparatus, and device fabricating method
A reflecting member has: a first reflecting surface, which extends in a second direction that includes a first direction component; a second reflecting surface, which extends in a third direction that includes the first direction component, that is substantially symmetric to the first reflecting surface; and a third reflecting surface, which extends in a fourth direction, that is substantially orthogonal to the first direction. |
| US08248615B2 |
Reflective photoelectric sensor and object detecting method
To reduce the probability of incorrect determination to detect an object reliably. A reflective photoelectric sensor is provided with: a light projecting device for emitting light; a light receiving device for receiving the optical feedback of the light that is emitted from the light projecting device; a determining portion for determining whether or not an object exists in the direction in which the light is emitted from the light projecting device, based on the optical feedback; and a reflection preventing plate of a moth-eye structure, disposed at a position that is on the optical path of the light that is emitted from the light projecting device at a position that is more distant than the location wherein the object is anticipated to appear. |
| US08248612B2 |
Oxygen concentration sensors and methods of rapidly measuring the concentration of oxygen in fluids
Provided are sensors and methods of measuring the oxygen concentration of a fluid. An excitation light source is in optical communication with a transducer for transmitting an excitation light that is at least partially absorbed by the transducer. The transducer has a property of photoluminescence, and enters a higher energy state by at least partially absorbing the excitation light and enters a lower energy state through radiation of emitted light, thus producing spectral indicia. A light detection system, which is also in optical communication with the transducer, processes the spectral indicia to determine the concentration of oxygen in the fluid. |
| US08248610B2 |
Web measurement
One measuring part of a traversing measuring unit measures at least one characteristic of a web with a first radiation type from a plurality of measuring locations during a traversing movement at successive moments in time. At least two measuring parts of an array measuring unit measure at least one characteristic of the web with another radiation type during each traversing movement at a plurality of different moments in time by directing the measurement to a plurality of measuring locations in the web at each moment in time. A signal processing unit is arranged to estimate at least one characteristic measured by the traversing measuring unit with at least one measurement of the array measuring unit. |
| US08248605B2 |
Detection system for birefringence measurement
A method of controlling a light beam in an optical system includes a light source that directs a collimated light beam along a path, through a sample, and toward the active area of a stationary detector. The method includes the step selectively moving a lens into the path of the light beam for spreading the beam in instances where the path of the beam is altered by the sample between the source and the stationary detector The detector, therefore, is held stationary. Adjustment means are provided for increasing the intensity characteristic of the light that reaches the detector to account for a decrease in intensity that occurs when the lens is in the path of the light beam to spread the beam. |
| US08248602B2 |
Laser assisted microwave plasma spectroscopy
The present invention has a laser and a second energy source act in combination to produce a plasma that emits characteristic radiation for a prolonged period of time. The laser energy is directed to a sample for a period of time to ignite a plasma containing the sample material and to either ablate or vaporize the sample. Energy from a second energy source is supplied to the plasma for a second period of time so that the characteristic radiation emitted by the plasma is maintained. The emitted radiation is used to identify chemical elements contained in the sample. The second period of time is typically larger than the first period of time and may be as long as many milliseconds. Supplying energy for this longer period of time allows the plasma to grow in size and contributes to the large enhancement in the detection sensitivity of the present invention. |
| US08248601B2 |
Optical mask for detector optimization
An optical mask positioned on a scintillator array. The optical mask includes a reflective layer. One or more windows can be positioned on the surface of optical mask. |
| US08248598B2 |
Method for compensating for temperature related measurement errors in a confocal chromatic measuring distance sensor
According to the invention, a method for compensating for temperature related measurement errors in an optical arrangement, comprising at least one lens is designed with a view to an economical and reliable as possible compensation for temperature related measurement errors without significant increased production expense, wherein a multicolored beam is passed through the optical arrangement, which is focused at points at varying distances from the lens as a result of the chromatic aberration of the lens, at least a part of the spectrum of the light beam being at least partly reflected within the optical arrangement and directed to a detector device by means of which a determination of a spectrum is carried out, the temperature of the arrangement is determined from the spectrum recorded by the detection device and a compensation for temperature related measurement errors is carried out based on the temperature determined thus. A corresponding optical arrangement in disclosed. |
| US08248594B2 |
Surface inspection method and surface inspection apparatus
A surface inspection method and a surface inspection apparatus in which a plurality of photodetectors are arranged in a plurality of directions so that light scattered, diffracted or reflected on a surface of an object to be inspected or in the vicinity of the surface is detected and a plurality of signals obtained by this are subjected to weighted addition processing or weighted averaging processing by linear combination. |
| US08248591B2 |
Through-the-lens illuminator for optical comparator
An illumination system shares portions of an objective of an optical inspection system. A plurality of beam-shaping optics collects light from a plurality of effective light sources and directs the light through a portion of the objective for illuminating an object under inspection. The objective includes a front relay lens, a rear relay lens, and an objective stop disposed between the front and rear relay lenses for collecting light scattered from the object and forming an image of the object with the collected light. The beam-shaping optics, which surround the objective stop, are arranged together with the associated effective light sources for non-uniformly distributing light within a range of angles required for illuminating the object. |
| US08248586B2 |
Blood analysis apparatus and setting method of measurement position in blood analysis apparatus
A blood analysis apparatus is provided. The blood analysis apparatus includes: a chip holding portion having an aperture which allows light to pass therethrough and holding a μ-TAS chip for holding a measurement liquid; a rotary body on which the chip holding portion is mounted; a light source; and a light-receiving unit. A measurement position of the rotary body at which the measurement liquid is to be measured with the light from the light source is set by: rotating the rotary body to obtain a light value of light which is emitted from the light source and received by the light-receiving unit through the aperture; and setting a rotational position of the rotary body where the light value is a threshold value or more, as the measurement position. |
| US08248583B2 |
Lithographic apparatus and calibration method
In an embodiment, a stage system calibration method includes moving the stage relative to an encoder grid in response to a setpoint signal and measuring a position of the stage by a sensor head cooperating with the encoder grid. The position of the stage is controlled by a stage controller. A signal representative of a difference between the setpoint signal and the position of the stage as measured by the sensor head is registered. The stage system is calibrated from the registered signal representative of the difference. |
| US08248582B2 |
Stage apparatus, exposure apparatus, and method of manufacturing device
A stage apparatus includes plural stages movable across plural areas, movable bodies which are provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plural stages and are movable across the plural areas, plural lines which connect each of the plural stages to a corresponding one of the plural movable bodies, a driving unit which drives the plural movable bodies, and a controller which controls the driving by the driving unit. The controller controls the driving unit with the movable body moving in synch with movement of the stage during inter-area movement in which the stage moves across two of the plural areas, and stops the driving of the movable body by the driving unit or controls the driving unit with the movable body remaining at a specific target position during intra-area movement in which a process is performed on the stage while the stage moves within one of the plural areas. |
| US08248577B2 |
Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method
An immersion lithographic apparatus is provided with a liquid confinement structure which defines at least in part a space configured to contain liquid between the projection system and the substrate. In order to reduce the crossing of the edge of the substrate which is being imaged (which can lead to inclusion of bubbles in the immersion liquid), the cross-sectional area of the space in a plane parallel to the substrate is made as small as possible. The smallest theoretical size is the size of the target portion which is imaged by the projection system. In an embodiment, the shape of a final element of the projection system is also changed to have a similar size and/or shape in a cross-section parallel to the substrate to that of the target portion. |
| US08248575B2 |
Process for producing liquid-crystal display and liquid-crystal panel base material
A method includes for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device includes: a sealant supplying step of supplying an uncured sealant to a first substrate or a second substrate; a dropping step of dropping a liquid mixture of a liquid crystal material and an additive to a region inside the sealant; a bonding step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate with the sealant and the liquid mixture interposed therebetween to form a bonded substrate; and a curing step of applying the predetermined curing conditions with a voltage being applied to a terminal portion, and thereby curing the sealant and altering the additive to give a pretilt angle to liquid crystal molecules. |
| US08248573B2 |
Liquid crystal display element and multi-layer liquid crystal display element including the element
The invention relates to a liquid crystal display element having a liquid crystal enclosed between a pair of substrates and a multi-layer liquid crystal display element utilizing such elements. A liquid crystal display element having improved strength at enclosing portions thereof is provided without any reduction in the throughput of manufacturing steps along with a multi-layer liquid crystal display element utilizing such elements. A liquid crystal display element for blue includes a first substrate having a first through hole formed to extend from one surface to another, a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate and having a second through hole formed opposite to the first through hole to extend from one surface to another, the second through hole having an area greater than that of the first through hole, a liquid crystal layer for blue sandwiched between the first and second substrates, and an enclosing material sealing the first and second through holes such that the liquid crystal for blue forming the liquid crystal layer for blue does not leak through the first and second through holes. |
| US08248572B2 |
Apparatus for transferring a liquid crystal display panel
A method for cutting a liquid crystal display panel includes transferring a pair of mother substrates on which a plurality of panel regions have been disposed to a scribing unit; forming first and second prearranged cut lines on front and rear surfaces of the mother substrates using a scribing unit; transferring the mother substrates with the first and second prearranged cut lines formed thereon to a breaking component; and moving a transfer unit which includes a body having a plurality of suction members and a steam generator installed at an edge of the body to an upper side of the mother substrates, and separating liquid crystal display panels formed at the panel regions from a dummy glass therearound while spraying steam onto the surface of the mother substrates through the steam generator of the transfer unit. |
| US08248566B2 |
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display includes a first insulating substrate, and a second insulating substrate facing the first insulating substrate. Gate lines are formed on the first insulating substrate while extending in a horizontal direction. A gate insulating layer is formed on the gate lines. A semiconductor layer and data lines are formed on the gate insulating layer. The data lines extend in a vertical direction. Source electrodes are formed on the semiconductor layer while being connected to the data lines. Drain electrodes face the source electrodes. A protective layer is formed on the data lines, and pixel electrodes are formed on the protective layer such that the pixel electrodes are connected to the drain electrodes while having a plurality of slits and horizontal opening portions. A common electrode is formed on the second insulating substrate with a plurality of opening portions. The horizontal opening portions of the pixel electrode and the opening portions of the common electrode partition the pixel region into left and right domains as well as upper and lower domains. The slits are positioned at the left and right domains. |
| US08248564B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same
A liquid crystal display device includes a gate line placed above a substrate, a gate insulating layer to cover the gate line, a source line placed above the gate insulating layer, an interlayer insulating layer to cover the source line, a comb-shaped or slit-shaped pixel electrode electrically connected a drain electrode of a TFT through a contact hole penetrating the interlayer insulating layer, a first counter electrode placed below and opposite to the pixel electrode with an insulating layer interposed therebetween to generate an oblique electric field with the pixel electrode, and a second counter electrode formed in the same layer as the pixel electrode and placed overlapping the source line in a given area to generate an in-plane electric field with the pixel electrode. |
| US08248562B2 |
Display panel having an antireflection layer
Provided is a display panel having a high-performance antireflection layer at a low cost.In a liquid crystal display panel or an organic light-emitting diode display panel constituted by a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate and a liquid crystal layer between these two transparent substrates further includes an antireflection layer on a portion which is at least one display area and a visible side (outer surface) by a viewer, and layers made of the same material as the antireflection layer formed on at least the opposite side (inside surface) of the surface of the portion corresponding to the display area and on three edge faces. |
| US08248561B2 |
Liquid crystal display having particular viewing angle compensators
A liquid crystal display includes: a liquid crystal layer squeezed between first and second substrates and vertically aligned at a retardation of 300-1000 nm; first and second compensators disposed on the first substrate and having negative biaxial optical anisotropy; a first polarizer disposed on the first and second compensators; and a second polarizer on the second substrate disposed crossed-Nichol with said first polarizer, wherein: the second compensator is disposed between the first substrate and first compensator; an in-plane slow axis of the first compensator is disposed perpendicular to an absorption axis of the first polarizer; the in-plane slow axis of the first compensator is disposed perpendicular to an in-plane slow axis of the second compensator; and a retardation in an in-plane direction of the first compensator is larger than that of the second compensator. |
| US08248560B2 |
Light guides and backlight systems incorporating prismatic structures and light redirectors
Improved apparatus and method for collecting and directing light from a source via a light guide and modulated display assembly in an efficient manner through the design and use of prismatic optical structures, diffusers and/or light redirectors. |
| US08248559B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
A liquid crystal display device having a non-rectangular display panel includes an active area which is defined by a peripheral shield layer. A plurality of pixels are formed in the active area in a matrix, and each pixel includes a plurality of sub-pixels to display colors different from each other. A part of the sub-pixels of peripheral pixels located in a peripheral region of the active area is covered with a peripheral shield layer. Shield elements are arranged in the sub-pixels which are not covered with the peripheral shield layer so that an effective display area of each of the sub-pixels of the peripheral pixel is substantially equal. |
| US08248554B2 |
Edge-lit backlight unit with thin profile
An edge-lit backlight unit for a display is provided. In one embodiment, the backlight unit may include a light guide configured to receive light from a source and emit such light in a broad distribution to a turning film disposed over the light guide. The turning film may be configured to redirect light received from the light guide toward a normal of the turning film. In one embodiment, the light guide may be configured such that peak light distribution therefrom occurs at an incident angle of approximately sixty degrees, with broad light distribution substantially occurring over an angular range between incident angles of thirty-five and eighty-five degrees. Additionally, in one embodiment, the turning film may include multiple prisms that receive and redirect the light emitted from the light guide, and that include apex angles of less than or about sixty degrees. Additional edge-lit backlight units and methods are also disclosed. |
| US08248553B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel of line on glass type and method of fabricating the same
A LOG-type liquid crystal display panel and a fabricating method thereof that reduces a line resistance of a LOG-type signal line group within the confined area. In the panel, a picture display part has a plurality of liquid crystal cells, each of which is arranged at each crossing area between gate lines and data lines. Line on glass type signal lines are provided at an outer area of the picture display part by a line on glass system to apply driving signals required for driver integrated circuits for driving the gate lines and the data lines and to connect the driver integrated circuits to each other. The line on glass type signal lines are separately provided at different metal layers having an insulating film therebetween. |
| US08248548B2 |
Liquid crystal display device, display device and manufacturing method thereof
Image display device having an electrode forming layer which includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of drain lines, a plurality of switching elements and the a plurality of pixel electrodes, and having reference electrode layer between the electrode forming layer and a substrate where the electrode forming layer formed thereon, and the reference electrode layer and the electrode forming layer are insulated by insulating layer. |
| US08248536B2 |
Video luminance chrominance separation
The invention provides techniques for separating luma and chroma signal components in a composite SECAM video signal. During reception, the SECAM video signal is split into luma and chroma output. The amplitude of the chroma carrier is monitored during reception. If the chroma carrier amplitude is greater than a threshold, the value of the chroma output can be reduced. Also, if the chroma carrier amplitude is greater than another threshold, a portion of the chroma carrier can be added to the luma; or the trap band of the band-trap filter for extracting luma from the composite video can be reduced. The respective amount of the reduction in the chroma output and the increase in the luma output are independently determined but both may proportional to the magnitude of the deviation in the chroma carrier amplitude from the different thresholds. |
| US08248535B2 |
System and method for a versatile display pipeline architecture for an LCD display panel
A video processing system comprising a video frame buffer memory, a first video pipeline, a second video pipeline, a blender, and an overdrive processing unit. The video frame buffer memory has a first memory region and a second memory region, the first memory region being configured to store a first video data frame and the second memory region being configured to store a second video data frame. The first video pipeline is coupled to the video frame buffer memory and configured to receive and process the first video data frame. The second video pipeline is coupled to the video frame buffer memory and configured to receive and process the second video data frame. The blender is coupled to the first and second video pipelines and is configured to receive and blend the processed first video data frame and the processed second video data frame in a first mode of operation and to provide the blended processed first and second video data frame to a display. The overdrive processing unit is coupled to the first and second video pipelines, and is configured to receive the processed first video data frame and the processed second video data frame in a second mode of operation, to modify the processed first video data frame based upon pixel values of the processed second video data frame, and to provide the modified processed first current video data frame to the display. |
| US08248534B2 |
Image processing apparatus and control method therefor
An image processing apparatus having multi-window display mode for displaying a plurality of images and single-window display mode for displaying one image on the display screen, including receiving units which receive broadcast signal and acquiring image signals relating to programs, and acquisition unit which acquires program information of the programs, and memory unit which stores program information of a selected program, and control unit which selects display mode for an image, and the control unit exerts control such that if the multi-window display mode is selected, a comparison is made at predetermined timing between the program information about the selected program and program information about newly selected program, and the display mode is switched from multi-window mode to single-window mode according to the comparison result. |
| US08248533B2 |
Coordinated video for television display
Apparatus and methods for generating coordinated video content for display. The apparatus takes video signals from independent sources and allows a user to select portions of the video signals, corresponding to desired portions of video content to be displayed, and combines those video signal portions into a single composite video signal. The composite video signal may be displayed, for example, on a television screen showing the desired portions of video content. |
| US08248531B2 |
Digital photo frame with television tuning function and method thereof
A method with television (TV) tuning function applied on a digital photo frame (DPF) is provided. The method includes: fetching a prompt time of at least one particular TV program; determining whether a prompt time of a particular TV program is about to arrive or has already arrived at the current time; fetching a prompt signal of the particular TV program whose prompt time is about to arrive or has already arrived, and outputting the prompt signal to prompt a particular TV program is being aired or about to air; switching the DPF from the DPF mode to a TV mode and providing the channel parameter of the particular TV program upon receiving a mode switching signal during the outputting of the prompt signal; and; and receiving and playing the particular TV program according to the channel parameter. A related DPF is also provided. |
| US08248525B2 |
Camera module and electronic device using same
A camera module includes a printed circuit board and a camera mounted to the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board further defines a at least one cut-out located near the camera. |
| US08248524B2 |
Image capturing device
An image capturing device a circuit base, an image sensor, a cooling member, and an elastic member. The image sensor is disposed on the circuit base. The circuit board defines a first opening covered by the image sensor. The elastic member is interposed between the circuit board and the cooling member. The elastic member comprises a bulged elastic flange running through the first opening and compressively abutting against the image sensor and the circuit board and an elastic arm bent towards the cooling member and elastically abutting against the cooling member. |
| US08248523B2 |
Camera module with fold over flexible circuit and cavity substrate
A disclosed method of manufacturing a camera module includes providing an image capture device, providing an electronic component, providing a flexible circuit substrate, mounting the image capture device on a first portion of the flexible circuit substrate, mounting the electronic component on the second portion of the flexible circuit substrate, and positioning the second portion above the first portion. The method further includes providing a chip carrier including a bottom surface defining a cavity and a top surface adapted to receive the image capture device and positioning the chip carrier between the image capture device and the flexible circuit substrate. The method further includes mounting a second electronic component within the cavity. |
| US08248520B2 |
Imaging apparatus and imaging method
An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging device; an imaging device control portion supplying the imaging device with a read command signal; an operation input portion accepting an input of a flash light emission command; a control portion setting a predetermined interval as an output interval of the read command signal and setting output timing of a flash control signal to make the flash to emit light so that a period since a start till an end of light emission is included within a period since completion of reading of the signal charges till an input of a following second read command signal; and a timing control portion supplying the flash control signal to the flash and supplies a read control signal to make the read command signal be outputted at the predetermined interval according to an input of the flash light emission command and the output timing. |
| US08248515B2 |
Variable imaging arrangements and methods therefor
Various approaches to imaging involve selecting directional and spatial resolution. According to an example embodiment, images are computed using an imaging arrangement to facilitate selective directional and spatial aspects of the detection and processing of light data. Light passed through a main lens is directed to photosensors via a plurality of microlenses. The separation between the microlenses and photosensors is set to facilitate directional and/or spatial resolution in recorded light data, and facilitating refocusing power and/or image resolution in images computed from the recorded light data. In one implementation, the separation is varied between zero and one focal length of the microlenses to respectively facilitate spatial and directional resolution (with increasing directional resolution, hence refocusing power, as the separation approaches one focal length). |
| US08248512B2 |
Image-capturing apparatus, image-capturing method, display apparatus, and display method
The present invention provides full-parallax images having high spatial resolution in real time. An image-capturing optical unit (21) includes a plurality of prismatic mirrors (41) which rotate at a predetermined period. The side surface of each of the prismatic mirrors (41) reflects a light beam from an object. A camera receives the light beam from the object reflected by the prismatic mirrors (41) in order to capture an image of the object. On the other hand, a display optical unit (32) includes a plurality of prismatic mirrors (51) which rotate in phase with the prismatic mirrors (41) at the same period. A projector emits a light beam corresponding to the image of the object captured by the camera, and such a light beam is reflected by the prismatic mirrors (51). A user may view an image corresponding to the light beam reflected by the prismatic mirrors (51). The present invention, for example, can be applied to an image-capturing apparatus for capturing an image, and a display apparatus for displaying the image captured by the image-capturing apparatus. |
| US08248510B2 |
Lens and camera module using the same
A lens is used in a camera module. The lens is made of piezoelectric material to miniaturize the size of the camera module. |
| US08248506B2 |
Imaging apparatus
An imaging apparatus for performing efficient signal processing depending on the operational mode. In the finder mode, a CCD interface 21a decimates horizontal components of image data supplied from an image generating unit 10 to one-third and moreover processes the decimated image data with data conversion and resolution conversion to produce Y, Cb and Cr image data which are routed to and written in an image memory 32 over a memory controller 22. In the recording mode, the CCD interface 21a causes the image data from the image generating unit 10 to be written in the image memory 32 via memory controller 22 after decimation and gamma correction etc. The camera DSP 21c reads out the image data via memory controller 22 from the image memory 32 to effect data conversion for writing the resulting data via memory controller 22 in the image memory 32. |
| US08248503B2 |
Electronic apparatus and electronic camera that enables display of a photographing location on a map image
An electronic apparatus includes: a display at which a photographic image and a map image are displayed; and a display control unit that controls the display so as to display identifiers respectively indicating photographing locations at which a plurality of photographic images were captured over the map image displayed at the display. |
| US08248500B2 |
Solid state imaging device
A solid-state image pickup device 1 includes an imaging photodetecting section 10, a triggering photodetecting section 20, a row selecting section 30, a column selecting section 40, a voltage holding section 50, an output section 60, and a controlling section 70. The imaging photodetecting section 10 is for taking an image of incident light, and includes pixel sections P1,1 to PM,N arrayed two dimensionally in M rows and N columns. The triggering photodetecting section 20 is for detecting an incidence of light, and includes a triggering photodiode that generates electric charge of an amount according to an incident light intensity. The output section 60 outputs pixel data of a value according to the amount of electric charge generated by a photodiode of any pixel section Pm,n of the pixel sections P1,1 to PM,N included in the imaging photodetecting section 10 and triggering data of a value according to the amount of electric charge generated by the triggering photodiode included in the triggering photodetecting section 20 to a common output signal line Lout. |
| US08248499B2 |
Curvilinear sensor system
Methods and apparatus for a Curvilinear Sensor System are disclosed. The present invention includes a wide variety of generally curved, aspheric or non-planar arrangement of sensors and their equivalents. The curvilinear surfaces, edges or boundaries that define the geometry of the present invention may be continuous, or may be collections or aggregations of many small linear, planar or other segments which are able to approximate a curved line or surface. |
| US08248498B2 |
Photosensitive microelectronic device with avalanche multipliers
Microelectronic image sensor array device comprising a plurality of elementary cells laid out according to an array and each provided with at least one photosensitive zone for capturing photon(s) and converting photon(s) into electron(s), at least one or several of said cells comprising electronic avalanche multiplier means, provided to produce, during cycles known as electron amplification cycles, a greater number of electrons than the number of electrons converted by the photosensitive zone, the device further comprising a control circuit adapted to modulate the amplification gain of each cell individually. |
| US08248497B2 |
Image sensor device with movable sensor
An object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized image sensor device having high precision of moving an object to be moved. The image sensor device includes: a fixed unit; a movable unit including an image sensor; a beam unit fixed to the fixed unit and movably supporting the movable unit; a driving unit for applying a driving force for moving the movable unit; and a wire unit provided for the beam unit and electrically connecting the image sensor and an external circuit. |
| US08248488B2 |
Display device and imaging apparatus using the same
A brightness adjustment section 23 adjusts brightness of the liquid crystal monitor 182 based on a set value determined by an automatic determination section 21a or a set value accepted by an operation section 184. A prohibition section 24 prohibits the brightness adjustment section 23 from adjusting the brightness of the liquid crystal monitor 182 based on the set value determined by the automatic determination section 21a. During a period from a point when the prohibition section 24 prohibits the brightness adjustment that is based on the set value determined by the automatic determination section 21a until the operation section 184 accepts a new operation on the set value, the brightness adjustment section 23 adjusts the brightness of the liquid crystal monitor 182 based on a first set value that is the set value determined by the automatic determination section 21a last before the point of prohibition, or a second set value obtained by correcting the first set value. |
| US08248487B2 |
Method of creating an image file with combined image data and raw GPS data and a digital camera for the same
A method of creating an image file and a digital camera for the same. The method comprised the steps of: (i) generating and storing image data corresponding to a photo or video clip; (ii) sampling received GPS signals and storing the resultant GPS signal samples (hereafter “raw GPS data”); and (iii) creating a single file containing both the image data and the raw GPS data. |
| US08248486B1 |
Encoding, decoding, and representing high dynamic range images
Techniques are provided to encode and decode image data comprising a tone mapped (TM) image with HDR reconstruction data in the form of luminance ratios and color residual values. In an example embodiment, luminance ratio values and residual values in color channels of a color space are generated on an individual pixel basis based on a high dynamic range (HDR) image and a derivative tone-mapped (TM) image that comprises one or more color alterations that would not be recoverable from the TM image with a luminance ratio image. The TM image with HDR reconstruction data derived from the luminance ratio values and the color-channel residual values may be outputted in an image file to a downstream device, for example, for decoding, rendering, and/or storing. The image file may be decoded to generate a restored HDR image free of the color alterations. |
| US08248485B2 |
Imaging apparatus and imaging method
Acquiring enough brightness with flash and obtaining an image having a color close to a color which a human senses.An imaging apparatus (10) which emits a flash and photographs an object (20) includes: a lighting unit (11) which emits the flash to the object; an image obtaining unit (12) which obtains continuously-captured images including a first image and a second image by photographing the object (20) while the lighting unit (11) is emitting the flash, the second image having luminance greater than luminance of the first image; a color information obtaining unit (14) which obtains, from the first image, color information of a first color vector; a luminance information obtaining unit (15) which obtains, from the second image, luminance information of a second color vector; and an image generating unit (17) which generates a corrected image by generating a third color vector corresponding to the color information of the first color vector and the luminance information of the second color vector, the corrected image having luminance greater than the luminance of the first image. |
| US08248483B2 |
Signal processing apparatus, signal processing method, control program, readable recording medium, solid-state image capturing apparatus, and electronic information device
A signal processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a common pre-processing section for performing signal processing common to a photographed image process and a flicker detection process on an input image signal; a photographed image processing section for performing image signal processing for a displayed image on an image signal from the common pre-processing section; a flicker detection pre-processing section for performing image signal processing for flicker detection on the image signal from the common pre-processing section; and a flicker detecting section for performing flicker detection based on the image signal from the flicker detection pre-processing section. |
| US08248481B2 |
Method and apparatus for motion artifact removal in multiple-exposure high-dynamic range imaging
Methods and apparatuses for correcting image artifacts in a high dynamic range image formed by combining a plurality of exposures taken at different integration periods. A determination is made as to whether there is motion between the exposures. If motion is detected, pixel signal values chosen are replaced with pixel signal values from another exposure. |
| US08248480B2 |
Imaging apparatus provided with panning mode for taking panned image
An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging section configured to acquire a plurality of images that are consecutively taken in time series by an imaging device; a reference region setting section configured to employ one of the images acquired by the imaging section as a reference image and to set a region of the reference image as reference region, the region having high-frequency components; and an image processing section configured to combine the images including the reference image by positioning the images so as to overlap subject portions in each images, the subject portions being defined in the reference region set by the reference region setting section. |
| US08248479B2 |
Apparatus for the evaluation of polynomials
Evaluation of multi-dimensional high order polynomials at high speed requires complex computing resources. This invention comprises a computing apparatus which allows the efficient and high speed calculation of such polynomials with a relatively simple computing resource. The computing resource consists entirely of adders and latches. There are no multipliers. The invention has particular application for the removal of low frequency image distortion due to kinetic heating in IR imaging missiles. |
| US08248478B2 |
Receiver, situation-of-installation notification method, and transmitting and receiving system
A receiver includes: a band detection unit that detects a frequency band within which the receiver can be connected to a transmitter by radio; a quality detection unit that detects the transmission quality level of video data, which is transmitted from the transmitter, using the frequency band detected by the band detection unit; and a notification unit that notifies an area in which the frequency band within which the receiver can be connected to the transmitter by radio is detected and the transmission quality level is detected to be higher than a predetermined threshold. |
| US08248477B2 |
Image recording system and method of calibrating, compressing and decompressing image signal values
A method of calibrating, compressing and decompressing image signal values of an image sensor which has a plurality of light sensitive pixels arranged in rows and columns comprises the steps of: reading out the image signal values; compressing the image signal values; and decompressing the compressed image signal values, wherein the image signal values are calibrated while using calibration data sets which include a number of calibration values for each pixel. The method is characterized in that each calibration data set includes at least one first calibration value and at least one second calibration value, wherein the calibration of the image signal values includes a first calculation step which is carried out by the compression of the image signal values in order to calculate partly corrected image signal values while using the at least one first calibration value, and wherein the calibration of the image signal values includes a second calculation step which is carried out after decompressing the image signal values in order to calculate fully corrected image signal values while using the at least one second calibration value. An image recording system uses a corresponding method. |
| US08248472B2 |
Greeting card incorporating an imaging device
The invention provides a greeting card having provided therein an imaging device, the imaging device being configured to capture an image, the capture of an image being controlled by operation of an activation means and a detection means. The activation means being operable on the detection means and is switchable by a user between a non-activated mode, and an activated mode. On adoption of the activated mode, a subsequent detection of the occurrence of a preset event by the detection means effects a corresponding issuance of a trigger signal, the trigger signal causing the capture of the image by the imaging device. |
| US08248471B2 |
Calibrating apparatus for on-board camera of vehicle
Provided is a calibrating apparatus for an on-board camera of a vehicle, which apparatus allows completion of calibration process with a simple additional calibration, even when rejection has issued on the result of automatic calibration. Based upon a camera parameter obtained at the time of completion of adjustment by an automatic adjusting section, a confirmation marker indicating the position of coordinate of a calibration point is displayed in superposition with a camera-captured image. A manual adjusting section adjusts the camera parameter, based on an amount of displacement of the coordinate of the calibration point corresponding to an amount of movement of the confirmation marker moved in response to input of adjustment instruction. In response to input of a determination instruction, a camera parameter setting section sets an undetermined camera parameter at the time of completion of the most recent adjustment by the automatic adjusting section and the manual adjusting section, as the camera parameter. |
| US08248463B2 |
Patterns encoding communication parameters
A document processing system comprises a pattern generating system 212 arranged to generate a data encoding pattern 6, a printer 202 arranged to print a document 2 having the pattern thereon, and a receiver 220 arranged to receive data over a communication link. The pattern generating system 212 is arranged to generate the pattern 6 so as to encode data defining a communication parameter suitable for the transmission of data to the receiver 220 over the link. |
| US08248459B2 |
Stereoscopic display device with liquid crystal shutter light filter for naked eye viewing and a display method thereof
A stereoscopic display device with liquid crystal shutter light filter for naked eye viewing which comprises a personal computer and an image screen, wherein a dual display card is disposed inside the personal computer, and a light filtering screen is disposed in front of the image screen, and both the image screen and the light filtering screen connect with the dual display card respectively. Input the three-dimensional model data of a stereo image to the dual display card of the personal computer; and set the light filtering data and control the light filtering screen to open light filtering apertures correspondingly to obtain a light filtering image, and then use region projection method to record the stereo image as divided into partitions and obtain a continuous parallax image data, and then perform image processing on the continuous parallax image data to obtain a continuous parallax image, and the light filtering image and the continuous parallax image form a recording unit of the stereo image. Display the continuous parallax image on the image screen and the light filtering image on the light filtering screen simultaneously by the dual display card to see stereo image. The present invention has extensive applications. It is not required to wear any special glasses or helmets to view stereo images. It is also possible to move freely and view the stereo images from different perspective without causing any visual strain. |
| US08248457B2 |
Optical device
A stereoscopic device including a sensor assembly for detecting a sequence of stereoscopic images of an object, a movement detector for detecting the movements of the sensor assembly relative to the object, and a processing unit connected to the sensor assembly and to the movement detector, wherein the processing unit selects portions of the stereoscopic images, according to a signal received from the movement detector, thereby producing a visually stable sequence of display images. |
| US08248456B2 |
Endpoints associated with a session
A machine and method to connect endpoints associated with a session. |
| US08248452B2 |
Communication method and network display apparatus using the same
A network display apparatus, which is connected to a network and has a thin client function, is used as a monitor of a host device. If audio and video data is received through the network while the network display apparatus is used as a monitor of the host device, the network display apparatus may transmit the audio and video data to the host device. The host device performs signal processing for the audio and video data received through the network from the network display apparatus, and outputs the processed data. Accordingly, the audio and video data received from an external apparatus through the network by the network display apparatus is output by the host device, and thus it is possible to perform operations using the host device and simultaneously to provide a user of the audio and video data received from the external apparatus without source change. |
| US08248449B2 |
Transmitting data file during call
A method and device for wirelessly communicating data files using a mobile terminal having video communication capability is provided. The method reserves one or more data files to be transmitted during a video call. The communication device associates identifies data files for transmission to a video call recipient, and displays associated information of the data files during the video call. |
| US08248448B2 |
Automatic camera framing for videoconferencing
A videoconferencing apparatus automatically tracks speakers in a room and dynamically switches between a controlled, people-view camera and a fixed, room-view camera. When no one is speaking, the apparatus shows the room view to the far-end. When there is a dominant speaker in the room, the apparatus directs the people-view camera at the dominant speaker and switches from the room-view camera to the people-view camera. When there is a new speaker in the room, the apparatus switches to the room-view camera first, directs the people-view camera at the new speaker, and then switches to the people-view camera directed at the new speaker. When there are two near-end speakers engaged in a conversation, the apparatus tracks and zooms-in the people-view camera so that both speakers are in view. |
| US08248445B2 |
Optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same
Provided is an optical scanning apparatus has a plurality of light emitting portions and an incident optical system including optical element, wherein each shape of optical surfaces in a main scanning section of optical elements is formed into a noncircular shape. When defining that W is a space between specific light emitting portions farthest from an optical axis in the main scanning direction, La is an optical path length between an aperture stop and a specific optical surface closest to the light source unit among the noncircular optical surfaces of the incident optical system, f1 is a focal length of the incident optical system in the main scanning direction, and D is a light flux width in the main scanning direction of a light flux emitted from the specific light emitting portion in the main scanning direction on specific the optical surface, the equation 2D≧|W·La/2f1|≧D/8 is satisfied. |
| US08248439B2 |
Backlight controller for driving light sources
A backlight controller for driving multiple light emitting diode (LED) strings includes feedback circuitry, phase array circuitry, and encoder circuitry. The feedback circuitry generates multiple feedback signals indicative of currents flowing through the LED strings respectively. The encoder circuitry generates a code signal indicative of a total number of operative LED strings among the multiple LED strings based on the feedback signals. The phase array circuitry generates multiple saw tooth signals according to the code signal. A phase shift amount between two adjacent signals of the saw tooth signals is determined by the total number of the operative LED strings. The phase array circuitry compares each of the saw tooth signals with a dimming control signal to generate multiple phase shift signals so as to respectively control the operative LED strings. |
| US08248438B2 |
EL display device for reducing pseudo contour
An organic EL display device capable of preventing generation of pseudo contours is provided. Digital data of pixels in one frame is stored in a frame memory, and display is performed according to the stored digital data. One frame is divided into a plurality of unit frames, each of which is divided into a plurality of sub-frames. In each of the sub-frames, display is performed for a bit corresponding to the digital data. |
| US08248437B2 |
Image display apparatus and method for controlling the same
There is provided an image display apparatus which divides an image into plural partial images, each having a region overlapping an adjacent partial image, and displays each of the plurality of partial images on an associated one of a plurality of displays to allow a viewer to view the partial images as a single image. The image display apparatus receives an image signal corresponding to an image to be displayed, stores the received image signal in a buffer on a partial-image-by-partial-image basis, and corrects the image signal so that correction appropriate to an optical system of a display associated with each of the plurality of partial images is applied to the partial image. The speed of the correction processing is changed for each partial image represented by an image signal stored in the buffer to complete the correction of the whole image in a predetermined amount of time. |
| US08248435B2 |
Edit tool for line vector data
The invention is devised to facilitate the editing of a graphic displayed on a screen. An editing device includes: an edit object display unit for displaying on a screen a graphic to be edited which includes at least one line graphic defined as a line segment extending from a first end point to a second end point an edit graphic display unit for displaying on the screen an edit graphic for editing the line graphic an edit graphic moving unit for moving the edit graphic on the screen in accordance with a user operation; an edit graphic moving unit for moving the edit graphic on the screen in accordance with a user operation; an edit object dividing unit for dividing, in response that the edit graphic contacts a line graphic, the line graphic by generating an end point at a contact point; and an edit object moving unit for moving, in response that the edit graphic is further moved in a direction of a line graphic which contacts the edit graphic, an end point of the line graphic, which contacts the edit graphic in accordance with the movement of the edit graphic. |
| US08248429B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method
An image processing apparatus and method converts a moving image signal into an image data format consisting of a luminance signal and a color-difference signal like that of the YUV format at a signal processing circuit 4, compression-encodes the image data at a compression circuit 10 and records it on a recording medium 11, in addition to reducing the same-format image data color-difference signal to generate image data for display, enabling the image processing apparatus for recording a moving image to achieve moving image recording of a quality that is good enough to be used as still images. |
| US08248425B2 |
Optimization of memory bandwidth in a multi-display system
Graphics display adapters for driving multiple display monitors have become very popular. Graphics display adapters that drive multiple monitors can be used to provide terminal services to multiple independent terminals or be used to provide multiple displays to a single user. Generating video signals for multiple display systems puts a heavy burden on the video memory system since multiple different video signal generators may read from associated frame buffers in a shared video memory system. In one disclosed embodiment, a plurality of video memory read triggers are provided wherein at least two of which are staggered to reduce the load on the video memory system. In response to each read trigger, display data is read from a frame buffer to an associated video signal generation circuit. Each video signal generation circuit then provides a display signal to an associated display screen in a multi-screen environment. |
| US08248422B2 |
Efficient texture processing of pixel groups with SIMD execution unit
A circuit arrangement and method perform concurrent texture processing of groups of pixels with a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) execution unit to improve the utilization of the SIMD execution unit when performing scalar operations associated with a texture processing algorithm. In addition, when utilized in connection with a multi-threaded SIMD execution unit, groups of pixels may be concurrently processed in different threads executed by the SIMD execution unit to further maximize the utilization of the SIMD execution unit by reducing the adverse effects of dependencies in scalar and/or vector operations incorporated into a texture processing algorithm. |
| US08248419B2 |
Generation of cubic Bezier control points in computer graphics systems
A system for interactive computer graphics enables generation of Bezier curves from a series of points based on the relative position of successive points in the series. For example, for successive points in a series, point A, point B, and point C are successive points in the series of points, and wherein a control point corresponding to point B and associated with the segment AB is determined by the equation B+RA*(RA*(B−C)+RC*(A−B)), and a control point corresponding to point B and associated with the segment BC is determined by the equation PBBC=B+RC*(RA*(C−B)+RC*(B−A)), where RA=|AB|/(|AB|+|BC|), and RC=|BC|/(|AB|+|BC|). |
| US08248417B1 |
Flattening 3D images
Method, system, and computer-readable storage medium for flattening 3D patches of a 3D graphics model. For each vertex in each polygon of a plurality of polygons of a 3D patch from a 3D graphics model, a vector is determined from a seed point of the 3D patch to the vertex. An axis in a plane of the polygon that includes the seed point and is perpendicular to the vector is determined, and the vector rotated around the axis until the vector is in the plane of the polygon to generate a corresponding 2D vertex at the endpoint of the rotated vector in the plane. The determining a vector, determining an axis, and rotating the vector for each vertex in each polygon of the 3D patch generates a 2D patch of co-planar polygons corresponding to the polygons of the 3D patch, which is stored for use in a computer graphics application. |
| US08248415B2 |
User-defined non-visible geometry featuring ray filtering
A method, system and computer program product for managing secondary rays during ray-tracing are presented. A non-visible unidirectional ray tracing object logically surrounds a user-selected virtual object in a computer generated illustration. This unidirectional ray tracing object prevents secondary tracing rays from emanating from the user-selected virtual object during ray tracing. |
| US08248414B2 |
Multi-dimensional navigation of endoscopic video
An endoscopic surgical navigation system comprises a multi-dimensional video generation module that enables a user to visually navigate captured endoscopic video with six degrees of freedom. This capability provides the user with control of a virtual camera (point of view) that can be translated in three orthogonal axes in 3-D space as well as allowing control of vertical panning (pitch), horizontal panning (yaw) and tilt (roll) of the virtual camera, as well as zoom. |
| US08248412B2 |
Physical rendering with textured bounding volume primitive mapping
A circuit arrangement, program product and circuit arrangement utilize a textured bounding volume to reduce the overhead associated with generating and using an Accelerated Data Structure (ADS) in connection with physical rendering. In particular, a subset of the primitives in a scene may be mapped to surfaces of a bounding volume to generate textures on such surfaces that can be used during physical rendering. By doing so, the primitives that are mapped to the bounding volume surfaces may be omitted from the ADS to reduce the processing overhead associated with both generating the ADS and using the ADS during physical rendering, and furthermore, in many instances the size of the ADS may be reduced, thus reducing the memory footprint of the ADS, and often improving cache hit rates and reducing memory bandwidth. |
| US08248407B2 |
System and method of computer-aided design of a 3D object modeled by geometries
A computer program, system and method of computer-aided design of a 3D object. The 3D object is modeled by: (i) cells, the cells being restrictions of geometries of the model; and (ii) a cell graph comprising relations between the cells, which relations capture a topology of the model. The invention system edits an initial model by interacting with a user to identify intended displacements of initial geometries of the model. The system then selects the cells which are restrictions of the geometries to be displaced. Cells adjacent to the selected cells are collected according to the cell graph. Some of the adjacent cells are excluded by means of predefined rules. A solver computes transformations to be applied to initial geometries, from the intended displacements and geometries whose collected cells are restrictions thereof. Lastly the system builds new geometries according to the transformations and initial geometries. |
| US08248405B1 |
Image compositing with ray tracing
A computer-implemented method includes identifying a intersection point on a first graphical object from an incident ray. The incident ray originates from an image viewpoint. The method also includes directing a compositing ray from the image viewpoint to the intersection point. Further, the method includes determining color information associated with the intersection point from color information provided by the compositing ray. |
| US08248404B2 |
Event determination in a virtual universe
An approach that determines events in a virtual universe is described. In one embodiment, there is a method for automatically determining an occurrence of an event in a virtual universe. The method includes monitoring a plurality of regions within the virtual universe and determining an occurrence of an event within at least one of the plurality of regions according to locations of avatars that are on-line in the virtual universe and fields of view that the avatars have from each of the locations. |
| US08248401B2 |
Accelerated data structure optimization based upon view orientation
A circuit arrangement, program product and method utilize the known view orientation for an image frame to be rendered to optimize the generation and/or use of an Accelerated Data Structure (ADS) used in physical rendering-based image processing. In particular, it has been found that while geometry primitives that are not within a view orientation generally cannot be culled from a scene when a physical rendering technique such as ray tracing is performed, those primitives nonetheless have a smaller impact on the resulting image frame, and as a result, less processing resources can be applied to such primitives, leaving greater processing resources available for processing those primitives that are located within the view orientation, and thereby improving overall rendering performance. |
| US08248390B2 |
Electronic device
An electronic device (200) comprises a touch screen (210), a pen-form stylus (170) for activating the touch screen (210), and a receptacle (220) located within or coupled to the electronic device (200) for storage of the pen-form stylus (170). The electronic device (200) comprises a flexible attachment mechanism (130) that is fixed to both the pen-form stylus (120) and the electronic device (230). The stylus (170) comprises a slot (150) such that the flexible attachment mechanism (130) is located within the slot (150). In this manner, an efficient geometry of the electronic device prevents the stylus being misplaced and enables the flexible attachment mechanism (130) to be located within the slot by the action of inserting the stylus (170) into the receptacle (220). |
| US08248385B1 |
User inputs of a touch sensitive device
Various aspects of this disclosure are directed to displaying, by a touch-sensitive display of a computing device, at least one selectable object, and receiving, by the computing device, a user input comprising a gesture at a location of the touch-sensitive display that displays the at least one selectable object. The computing device may determine a time duration of the gesture. When the time duration of the gesture is greater than or equal to a minimum timeout value and less than or equal to a maximum timeout value, the computing device may select as user input the at least one selectable object. |
| US08248382B2 |
Input device
An input device includes a plurality of X scanning electrodes and a common detection electrode that forms capacitances together with the X scanning electrodes. A first driving signal is sequentially supplied to the X scanning electrodes, and a second driving signal is supplied to the X scanning electrodes other than the X scanning electrodes adjacent to the X scanning electrode supplied with the first driving signal. It is possible to detect two X scanning electrodes simultaneously approached by the fingers by detecting a current generated in the detection electrode when the first driving signal P and the second driving signal N are supplied. |
| US08248380B2 |
Touch panel and display device using the same
A touch panel includes a first electrode plate and a second electrode plate. The first electrode plate includes a first substrate, and a first conductive layer disposed on a lower surface of the first substrate. The second electrode plate includes a second substrate, a second conductive layer disposed on an upper surface of the second substrate, two first-electrodes, and two second-electrodes. The two first-electrodes and the two second-electrodes are electrically connected to the second conductive layer. At least one of the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer includes a carbon nanotube layer. Each carbon nanotube layer includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes. Further, the present invention also relates to a display device. The display device includes a displaying unit and a touch panel. |
| US08248376B2 |
User interfaces and associated apparatus and methods
Apparatus comprising one or more inputs configured to receive a configurable control signal from a configurable signal generator; and a non-calibrated touch input signal from a touch sensor. Said non-calibrated touch input signal generated by detecting both internal and external forces applied to the touch sensor. The apparatus also comprises a calibrator configured to process the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of an external force applied to the touch sensor. |
| US08248372B2 |
Method and apparatus for activating one or more remote features
In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus comprises a pointing module configured to determine a location. Further, the apparatus comprise a camera module configured to track movement of the pointing module. The apparatus also comprises a communicator module configured to activate a feature based at least in part on the tracked movement. |
| US08248369B2 |
Wheel mouse
A wheel mouse includes a mouse case, a base, a circuit board, an encoder, a fixing element, a wheel, a switch element and a spring. The circuit board is disposed on the base. The fixing element includes a ring-shaped part and a hollow post. The encoder is accommodated within the ring-shaped part. The wheel includes a rotating shaft and a receptacle. The ring-shaped part of the fixing element is accommodated in the receptacle. A first end of the rotating shaft is inserted into the encoder perforation. The switch element is mounted on the circuit board and under a second end of the rotating shaft. The spring is inserted into the hollow post for offering an elastic force on the fixing element. Since the encoder is accommodated within the wheel, the overall volume of the wheel mouse is reduced and the loading on the wheel is reduced. |
| US08248367B1 |
Wireless gaming system combining both physical and virtual play elements
A wireless input device for playing an interactive motion-sensitive game using a wireless-compatible game console in which a virtual play environment is represented through one or more computer-animated visual, aural or tactile effects is provided wherein game play is conducted by moving, shaking, twisting, waving or pointing the input device in a particular manner. The input device can include motion-sensitive circuitry and/or command circuitry for generating control signals and/or an effects generator and associated control circuitry to enable the input device to selectively generate at least one visual, aural or tactile effect comprising sound, lighting or vibration. The input device can include a wireless transceiver for providing two-way wireless communication with the wireless-compatible game console. An optional display screen displays short text messages received through wireless communications with the wireless-compatible game console. |
| US08248353B2 |
Method and device for reducing voltage stress at bootstrap point in electronic circuits
A discharging device is used to reduce the voltage level at a bootstrap point in an electronic circuit such as a shift register circuit. In such a circuit, a first transistor in a conducting state receives an input pulse and conveys it to the gate terminal of a second transistor, causing the second transistor to be in a conducting state. This gate terminal is known as a bootstrap point. After receiving the input pulse, an output pulse is produced at one drain/source terminal of the second transistor. During the time period of the output pulse, the first transistor is in a non-conducting state and the voltage level at the bootstrap point is high, imposing a stress upon the first transistor. A discharging circuit consisting of at least one transistor is coupled to the bootstrap point in order to reduce the voltage level at the output pulse period. |
| US08248349B2 |
Liquid crystal display having endurance against electrostatic discharge
In a liquid crystal display equipped with a timing controller, the timing controller generates a restoration signal having a predetermined pulse width in response to a data enable signal and operates in a fail mode when a difference between the data enable signal and the restoration signal is larger than a threshold value. Even if the data enable signal is distorted by electrostatic discharge, the liquid crystal display uses the restoration signal as a data enable signal without entering the fail mode when the distortion degree is smaller than the threshold value. Thus, a user may not recognize the electrostatic discharge when the electrostatic discharge is applied to the liquid crystal display for a short period of time. |
| US08248343B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel and method for driving pixels thereof
A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a method for driving pixels thereof are provided. The present invention uses a fixed voltage generated by a charge-sharing unit to perform charge-sharing with a second sub-pixel in a pixel, so as to make that the brightness of a second bright region corresponding to the second sub-pixel is darker than the brightness of a first bright region corresponding to a first sub-pixel in the pixel. Accordingly, the present invention can achieve the purpose of gray-levels space stacking without adding additional data lines and thus improving the color washout phenomenon of the LCD. |
| US08248341B2 |
Low power active matrix display
Described herein are systems and methods for the reduction of power consumption and mitigation of device stress accumulation in low frequency refreshed Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs). In an exemplary embodiment, two or more transistors in series are used to hold charge on an LCD pixel. To prevent negative stress on the transistors, the transistors are alternately driven to an “on” state so that no one transistor sees a long “off” time. In another embodiment, circuits and signaling waveforms for performing frame writing and stress mitigation are provided that minimize dynamic power consumption and static power consumption in peripheral ESD circuits. |
| US08248339B2 |
Display controller and display
A display controller is provided for controlling a display device, such as a liquid crystal device, to provide pixel overdrive for improving pixel response time. The controller comprises a threshold detector (2) which sets a flag having fewer bits than each pixel value indicating whether a pixel is in a predetermined range for which overdrive is required. The flags are delayed by a frame period in a suitable storage device (6) which does not store the display pixel data. The flags from the display device (6) are supplied to an overdrive selector (3) together with the current pixel data. When the flag is set, the overdrive selector (3) provides overdrive for the current pixel whereas, when the flag is unset, the current pixel value is used without overdrive. |
| US08248336B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and operating method thereof
A liquid crystal display device includes one or more data line on a substrate; first and second gate lines crossing the one or more data line to form first and second pixels, the one or more data line providing an image signal to a first electrode of each of the first and second pixels, and the first and second gate lines providing first and second scan signals to the first and second pixels, respectively; a first common voltage unit corresponding to the first gate line, the first common voltage unit for selectively applying a first common voltage to a second electrode of the first pixel via a first common voltage line in accordance with one of the first and second scan signals; and a second common voltage unit corresponding to the second gate line, the second common voltage unit for selectively applying a second common voltage to a second electrode of the second pixel via a second common voltage line in accordance with another one of the first and second scan signals. |
| US08248326B2 |
Image display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof
An image display apparatus includes a face plate with a plurality of light-emitting regions, a rear plate with electron-emitting devices corresponding to the plurality of light-emitting regions, respectively, and a drive circuit that drives the electron-emitting devices. The drive circuit has a correction circuit that calculates a correction value evaluated by influence of emitted electrons from electron-emitting devices which correspond to light-emitting regions around the light-emitting region to be corrected, and corrects a signal input to the electron-emitting device corresponding to the light-emitting region to be corrected based on the correction value. The correction circuit has an adjustment circuit that adjusts the correction value based on variation of characteristics of the plurality of light-emitting regions. Therefore, an image display having improved correction performance and lesser display unevenness can be performed. |
| US08248320B2 |
Lens array module
A millimeter wave power source module may include N submodules, each of which includes M circuit devices, where M and N are greater than one. Each circuit device may have an output connected to a corresponding radiating element. Each submodule may include a power divider having K input ports and M output ports, where K is a factor of M. Each input port may be coupled to a corresponding receiving element, and each output port may be coupled to an input of a corresponding circuit device. Each submodule may include a heat spreader for removing heat from the circuit devices. The power source module may include a combination RF feed network and heat sink. The combination RF feed network and heat sink may include a wavefront expander to expand the RF input wavefront along at least one axis, and to direct the expanded wavefront to the receiving elements of the N submodules. The combination RF feed network and heat sink may also include a heat exchanger thermally coupled to the heat spreaders of the N submodules. |
| US08248317B1 |
System for physical simulation of long-distance and directional wireless channels
A system includes a first radio frequency (RF) lens having array ports and beam ports, and a second RF lens having array ports and beam ports. At least two of the second RF lens array ports are connected to at least two of the first RF lens array ports by phase-matched connectors. The RF lenses may be continuously steerable RF lenses, Rotman lenses, or discretely steerable RF lenses. The system may include first, second, third, and fourth RF switches, at least one transmitter with an associated controller, at least one receiver with associated controller, and an environment controller. The system may also include long-distance simulators connected between the RF switches of the directional simulator and the receiver or the transmitter and controlled by an environment controller. Other system embodiments include multi-pair RF lenses, as well as an RF lens connected to an antenna array system. |
| US08248316B2 |
Body radiation and conductivity in RF communication
Method and System for wireless communications is provided. The system includes an RF module, and a coupler. The coupler is coupled with the RF module. The coupler includes a member for conductive coupling with the user's body such that RF energy is coupled into and/or out of the user's body. |
| US08248311B2 |
Planar array antenna and communication terminal and wireless module using the same
There is a need for preventing a feed line from generating undesirable radiation that may degrade array antenna characteristics. An array antenna is configured as a set of small planar conductor elements. Density distribution of the small planar conductor elements occurs at a cycle corresponding to a wavelength of a wireless system using the array antenna. The density distribution is formed along a specified length direction corresponding to a given azimuth angle. |
| US08248310B2 |
Outer cover for communication device and method for fabricating the same
The invention provides an outer cover adapted to a communication device, a communication device including the same and a method for manufacturing the same. The outer cover according to the invention includes a cover body and an antenna. The cover body has a bottom surface. Particularly, the antenna is fixed at a predetermined position on the bottom surface by an insert molding process. |
| US08248309B2 |
Antenna arrangement for high speed data transfer and wireless energy transfer
The present invention relates to an antenna arrangement, an electronic communication device and an electronic communication set. By using a parallel plate type antenna for coupling between two electronic communication devices, high speed data transfer between the electronic communication devices as well as wireless energy charging of at least one of the two electronic communication devices, can be provided. |
| US08248306B2 |
Dual polarization planar radiating element and array antenna comprising such a radiating element
A dual-polarization planar radiating element having an external metal grid, at least one metal patch concentric with the external metal grid and a cavity separating the metal grid and the metal patch, the grid and the patch having a polygonal shape delimited by at least four pairwise opposite sides, and two orthogonal directions of polarization associated with two orthogonal electric fields Ev and Eh, at least one of the directions of polarization being parallel to two sides of the polygon. Each side of the metal patch parallel to a direction of polarization is linked electrically to a zone of the external grid where one of the electric fields Ev or Eh is a minimum. The invention exhibits the advantage of reducing the phenomenon of electrostatic discharges in the planar radiating elements without significantly modifying the response of the radiating element subjected to an orthogonally polarized wave. |
| US08248305B2 |
Antennas based on a conductive polymer composite and methods for production thereof
The present disclosure describes antennas based on a conductive polymer composite as replacements for metallic antennas. The antennas include a non-conductive support structure and a conductive composite layer deposited on the non-conductive support structure. The conductive composite includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes and a polymer. Each of the plurality of carbon nanotubes is in contact with at least one other of the plurality of carbon nanotubes. The conductive composite layer is operable to receive at least one electromagnetic signal. Other various embodiments of the antennas include a hybrid antenna structure wherein a metallic antenna underbody replaces the non-conductive support structure. In the hybrid antennas, the conductive composite layer acts as an amplifier for the metallic antenna underbody. Methods for producing the antennas and hybrid antennas are also disclosed. Radios, cellular telephones and wireless network cards including the antennas and hybrid antennas are also described. |
| US08248301B2 |
Method and apparatus for using GPS satellite state computations in GLONASS measurement processing
The present invention is related to location positioning systems, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for using satellite state information from two or more different satellite systems in navigation processing. According to one aspect, it makes use of GPS extended ephemeris functionality to produce satellite state vector estimates for GLONASS satellites. These satellite state vector estimates can be used alone or in combination with GPS satellite vectors to provide updates to the receiver's navigation processing. According to further aspects, the GLONASS satellite position and trajectory information is extrapolated with a GPS gravity model rather than the GLONASS model, thereby allowing it to be extrapolated more accurately and for longer periods of time than the GLONASS model allows. |
| US08248299B2 |
Method and apparatus for combining measurements and determining clock offsets between different satellite positioning systems
Method and apparatus for processing satellite signals from a first satellite navigation system and a second satellite navigation system is described. In one example, at least one first pseudorange between a satellite signal receiver and at least one satellite of the first satellite navigation system is measured. At least one second pseudorange between the satellite signal receiver and at least one satellite of the second satellite navigation system is measured. A difference between a first time reference frame of the first satellite navigation system and a second time reference frame of the second satellite navigation system is obtained. The at least one first pseudorange and the at least one second pseudorange are combined using the difference in time references. |
| US08248291B2 |
Electronic apparatus with remote control functions
An electronic apparatus with remote control functions including an operating module, a control module and a transmitting module is disclosed. The operating module generates at least one operating signal. The control module is coupled to the operating module and generates at least one first control signal and at least one second control signal according to the operating signal. The transmitting module is coupled to the control module and transmits the first control signal and the second control signal. The first control signal is within a first frequency range, and the second control signal is within a second frequency range. |
| US08248282B2 |
Track and hold architecture with tunable bandwidth
To date, bandwidth mismatch within time-interleaved (TI) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) has been largely ignored because compensation for bandwidth mismatch is performed by digital post-processing, namely finite impulse response filters. However, the lag from digital post-processing is prohibitive in high speed systems, indicating a need for blind mismatch compensation. Even with blind bandwidth mismatch estimation, though, adjustment of the filter characteristics of track-and-hold (T/H) circuits within the TI ADCs can be difficult. Here, a T/H circuit architecture is provided that uses variations of the gate voltage of a sampling switch (which varies the “on” resistance of the sampling switch) to change the bandwidth of the T/H circuits so as to precisely match the bandwidths. |
| US08248280B2 |
Successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having optimized filter
A system such as a mechanically tuned radio can have a signal path to receive and process an incoming radio frequency (RF) signal and to provide the processed signal to a first analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to convert the processed signal to a digital signal and to digitally demodulate the digital signal to obtain an audio signal, where this first ADC is separate from an auxiliary ADC not part of the signal path. |
| US08248275B2 |
Key coding circuit
A key coding circuit includes N keys, a signal processing unit, a bus, and a ground wire, and each key includes an input end and a ground end electrically connected to the ground wire. The signal processing unit includes M signal lines, where M is the smallest positive whole number not less than Log(N+1, 2), and at least one signal line is electrically connected to the corresponding input end. Each key is coded for M-bit binary, the floating signal lines correspond to the binary code 1, and the signal lines corresponding to binary code 0 are electrically connected to the input end of the corresponding keys. |
| US08248269B1 |
Advanced metering infrastructure installation auditing
A method, system, and computer readable storage medium for auditing the installation of smart meters via a computer system. The method includes receiving a plurality of installation data for each smart meter installed; loading the plurality of installation data into an auditing utility operating on the computer system based on auditing criteria; performing an audit for each smart meter installed via the auditing utility; submitting the audit for each smart meter installed for recording in an audits database; verifying the audit for each smart meter installed; and generating and analyzing audit reports stored in the audits database. |
| US08248266B2 |
Bidirectional telemetry apparatus and methods for wellbore operations
A system and method for communicating data between a downhole tool and a surface controller is provided that comprises a rotating drill string extending in a borehole and having a downhole telemetry module disposed proximate a bottom end thereof and transmitting a first signal across a telemetry channel. A surface telemetry module is disposed proximate a top end of the rotating drill string and is adapted to receive the first signal transmitted by the downhole telemetry module across the transmission channel. The surface telemetry module has a radio frequency transmitter disposed therein for transmitting a second signal related to the first signal. A stationary communication module has a radio frequency receiver adapted to receive the second signal. |
| US08248263B2 |
Personnel safety utilizing time variable frequencies
A system to improve safety of workers who are in proximity to mobile machines includes a machine mountable radio-frequency identification reader that wirelessly monitors radio-frequency identification tags worn by workers moving relative to and in proximity to a mobile machine when the reader is mounted on the machine. The reader includes a processor and an antenna front-end which is switchable between an omni-directional antenna or at least one directional antenna. The omni-directional antenna is mountable so as to monitor a machine circumference completely around the mobile machine. Each directional antenna is mountable so as to monitor only either a front or a back of the mobile machine relative to the machine's direction of motion. |
| US08248261B1 |
Method and system for a digital voltage detector with digital voltage display
A digital voltage detector system that is compatible with existing Armament Circuits Preload Test Sets is described. Adjustment of under and over voltage trip points is accommodated in accordance with conventional means. The digital voltage detector is compatible with all conventional Voltage Detector interface cables and adapters. Unlike the conventional voltage detector of existing Armament Circuits Preload Test Sets, over-voltage trips do not blow a fuse, eliminating the need to have replacement fuses or redundant conventional voltage detectors in an Armament Circuits Preload Test Set. Additionally, the digital voltage detector provides a digital voltage readout allowing the user to view the input voltage during a Presence of Voltage test. The digital voltage detector system facilitates timely and efficient execution of the Armament Circuits Preload Test series. |
| US08248260B1 |
Electrical safety device for temperature control and mechanical damage
An electrical tripping mechanism for protecting an electrical device from mechanical and over temperature problems. The tripping mechanism includes a copper conductor encased within an insulative layer, where the insulative layer is provided with a helically wound metallic strip amenable to easy tearing when subjected to mechanical damage. When the continuity of the strip is broken, a sensor detects the damage and shuts-down the electrical device. |
| US08248258B2 |
Wakeup device detecting voltage variation in standby mode
A resume device is provided. The device detects voltage variation in standby mode. When a big voltage variation is detected, a resume process is run and a sound is played. Volume of the sound is adjustable and power is maintained within a proper range. Thus, power consumption is saved, efficiency is improved and resume process is enhanced. |
| US08248256B1 |
Non-contact flood and moisture detector
A non-contact flood and moisture detector for detecting water on remote surface includes a source of IR radiation directed towards the remote surface and projecting a field of illumination on the remote surface, and a receiver of IR radiation directed towards the remote surface, and collecting the IR radiation from a field of view on the remote surface, with the field of illumination and the field of view at least partially overlapping. A portion of the IR radiation is backscattered and received by the receiver and a portion of the IR radiation is specularly reflected and not received by the receiver. An electronic circuit synchronized with the source and the receiver compares the IR radiation measured by the receiver to a dry baseline condition level where a decrease in the backscattered IR radiation measured by the receiver indicates the presence of water. |
| US08248251B2 |
Personal water safety device
A personal water safety device includes a barrel portion, and a base part. The base part connects two portions of a swimming goggle frame. The barrel portion includes a button, and a cylinder connected to the button via a spring. The base part includes a timer connected to the cylinder, and an alarm electrically connected to the timer. Water enters the cylinder when the button is pressed, and the timer measures an elapsed time when electrical conductivity of interior of the cylinder is in a predetermined range. The alarm generates an alarm when the measured time exceeds a predetermined time limit. |
| US08248249B2 |
Self-powered RFID tag activated by a fluid
RFID tag and a system and method involving a plurality of RFID tags. Each RFID tag is attached to an object on which the presence of a predefined fluid is monitored. In a first state, (absence of the monitored fluid), the tag acts as a passive RFID tag, and the information it holds can be read with a proximity reader. This operation is performed when the RFID tag is attached to the object to be monitored. In a second state, whenever the monitored fluid appears on the tagged object, a fluid activated battery generates the electrical power which is used to power the RFID tag. The RFID tag then acts as an active RFID tag and starts to emit messages which can be received by a RFID reader. |
| US08248248B1 |
Electronic transmitter and receiver system for training of cats and other domestic animals and method of training domestic animals
An electronic device and transmitter allowing animal owners to locate their animals by a non-verbal audible output signal and a visual output signal. A method for training animals to elicit a desired behavior based upon stimuli emitted from an electronic device. The electronic device and method enable animal owners to quickly find their animals that might not otherwise respond to verbal commands. |
| US08248243B2 |
Insertable form factor for an instrument tray
An apparatus including a device having a slot formed on an exterior wall and a slot wall within the slot. A form factor may be insertable into the slot. The form factor also may include a transmitter embedded in the form factor, wherein the transmitter is adapted to wirelessly communicate identification data. |
| US08248235B2 |
Area monitoring sensor
This invention provides an area monitoring sensor capable of setting a monitor area without connecting a terminal device for area setting. The area monitoring sensor that emits detection light in different emitting directions and senses an intruder within a monitor area based on reflection of the detection light, the monitor area being previously set as a polygonal shaped area defined by three or more sides, the sensor being provided on a first side out of the sides of the monitor area, and includes a side selecting unit that selects a second side other than the first side out of the three or more sides that define the monitor area based on an operation input; a distance specifying unit that specifies a distance between the area monitoring sensor and the second side that is being selected by the side selecting unit based on an operation input. |
| US08248229B2 |
Powerline network system having data relay function
A powerline network system having data relay function includes a plurality of power monitoring zones mutually connected with a powerline network and at least one repeater. Each of the power monitoring zones has at least one power monitoring device. The repeater is connected with each power monitoring device in two adjacent power monitoring zones through powerlines and has a first and a second relay units. The first and second relay units employ two different sets of transmitting and receiving bands to fetch data contained in powerline signals transmitted by each power monitor in adjacent power monitoring zones. The data are received by a relay unit are modulated with different transmitting band and then transmitted to powerlines of another power monitoring zone. The repeaters are not required to be serially connected to the powerlines, and incorrect data read can be also eliminated. |
| US08248227B2 |
Method and apparatus for suppressing duplicate alarms
A method and apparatus for suppressing a duplicated alarm in a communications network are described. In one embodiment, at least one alarm message associated with at least one event is received. A determination of whether the at least one event exists in a database is subsequently made. The at least one event is recorded in the database if the at least one event does not exist in the database. Conversely, the at least one alarm message is suppressed if the at least one event exists in the database. |
| US08248226B2 |
System and method for monitoring security at a premises
Digital audio sensors receive and digitize audio signals and transmit the digitized signals to a central monitoring station for monitoring by an operator. The system can allow load balancing and other improvements. |
| US08248224B2 |
Apparatus, method, and program for detecting decrease in tire air pressure by calculating the sum of wheel speeds
An apparatus for detecting a decrease in a tire air pressure includes: a rotation information detection means for periodically detecting tire rotation information regarding the respective wheels of a four-wheel vehicle; a wheel speed calculation means for calculating tire wheel speeds based on the rotation information; a comparison value calculation means for calculating a difference between a sum of wheel speeds of two wheels at one diagonal positions and a sum of wheel speeds of two wheels at the other diagonal positions as a first comparison value and for calculating a difference between a sum of wheel speeds of two wheels at one same side positions and a sum of wheel speeds of two wheels at the other same side positions as a second comparison value; a determination means for determining a tire having a decreased pressure; and an alarming means. The apparatus further includes a conversion means for converting the first comparison value and the second comparison value to a plane for which change amounts of the first comparison value and the second comparison value due to a decreased pressure from the normal value learnt during a time of a normal pressure are unified between front wheels and rear wheels, and the determination means is so configured as to perform a decreased pressure determination by a single determination threshold value. |
| US08248219B2 |
Interior information display apparatus and light irradiation apparatus used for the same
Information is displayed by irradiating a visible light on a specific position based on at least one of vehicle state information, vehicle surrounding information, and vehicle interior information. For example, the visible light is irradiated on a target switch based on signals indicating an on/off state of a headlamp operation switch and an on/off state of a key switch. A user 5 can easily confirm the target switch and unerringly operate the target switch. A visible light irradiator 6 is arranged in a vehicle compartment and irradiates the visible light to display information in the vehicle compartment. The information can be provided for the user 5 in a novel manner. |
| US08248218B2 |
Handwriting electronic input system
An handwriting electronic input system in which a feeling representing that of handwriting performed actually using a writing instrument can be attained when handwriting input is performed electrically. The electric handwriting input system to perform handwriting electrically is provided with a handwriting input section used in handwriting input of operator's handwriting information, a handwriting input detection section to detect handwriting input through the handwriting input section, wherein the handwriting input section is provided with a handwriting feeling producing section to generate a vibration represents a handwriting feeling in accordance with operation of the handwriting input section at handwriting input of information. |
| US08248215B2 |
Dynamic condition monitoring system with integrated web server
A dynamic condition monitoring system is disclosed, such as for monitoring vibrations in complex machine systems. The system includes monitors on which server software is provided. The server software may access pre-defined graphical user interface pages that can be populated and served directly from the monitors. The data may be accessed via conventional networks for viewing and analyzing monitored data, as well as for configuration of the individual dynamic condition monitors. |
| US08248210B2 |
Method and system to determine the position, orientation, size, and movement of RFID tagged objects
A method and system of determining spatial identification of an object, such as orientation, size, location, range, and/or movement, using an RFID system is disclosed. An RFID system can comprise one or more RFID reader receiving antennas that query one or more RFID tags coupled to the object. The measurement of the phase of the tag responses at the reader antennas and phase differentials as a function of distance, frequency, and time are the basis of spatial identification. The system can work with conventional Gen 2 tags and readers without modification of the tags or protocol. |
| US08248204B2 |
Tag detecting system, moving object detecting method, and entrance/exit management system
A tag detecting system for detecting a movement of a person or an object that mounts an RFID tag, a moving object detecting method, and an entrance/exit management system using the moving object detecting system are provided. The tag detecting system detects a specific person or object by restricting a detection area of the RFID tag to a narrow area. Since the moving object detecting method detects a piggyback, the entrance/exit system prevents the piggyback even if there are a number of persons passing through an entrance/exit gate almost at the same time. |
| US08248203B2 |
Remote monitor/control for billboard lighting or standby power system
A lighting monitor/control system for remote billboards uses a cellular network to provide utility power and light status information to a central controller, which in response provides control signals to individual remote billboard lighting controllers for setting operating parameters such as multiple on/off times, lighting power adjustments for individual billboards, and custom lighting schedules based upon geographic and environmental considerations. Battery back-up is provided in the event of utility power outage with automatic reversion to utility power when restored. Immediate notification of failure of utility power or of individual lamp or ballast failure is provided by SMS messaging formatted so as to minimize the number of messages and reduce communications costs. The monitor/control system is also adapted for use in remote power monitoring applications to automatically switch to standby power (generator) in the absence of primary power and to return to primary power when restored. |
| US08248199B2 |
Terminal member and coil assembly using the same
An electric terminal member includes a connector portion (4), a wire connecting portion (6) spaced apart from the connector portion and lying parallel to the connector portion, and a bridge portion (8) extending between one end of the connector portion and one end of the wire connecting portion in a direction transverse to any one of the connector and wire connecting portions and for connecting the connector portion with the wire connecting portion. The wire connecting portion has a retaining hole (12). The wire connecting portion also has a flux applying surface (18) and a wire holding surface (16) opposite to each other, the flux applying surface facing towards the connector portion whereas the wire holding surface faces in a direction away from the connector portion. |
| US08248197B2 |
Sheath for use with permanent magnet material handling device
A sheath including a hollow main body having a first end with an opening formed therein. The hollow main body is formed from a substantially nonmagnetic material and adapted to receive the permanent magnet material handling device. The sheath militates against an attraction of foreign material to the permanent magnet material handling device when not in use. Additionally, an assembly and method for storing the permanent magnet material handling device. The assembly includes a pedestal having a stationary base coupled to a plate selectively engaging the sheath. A movement sensor may be coupled to the plate to detect movement of the plate relative to the base. |
| US08248191B2 |
Microstrip filter
A filter includes a circuit board, a low-pass filter circuit, and a high-pass filter circuit. The circuit board includes at least one metal layer, and a dielectric layer attached on the at least one metal layer. The low-pass filter circuit is defined in the metal layer, and includes a main line that has two parallel portions, and a modulating circuit serving as a capacitor connected to the main line of the low-pass filter circuit. The high-pass filter circuit defined in the metal layer includes a main line that has two parallel portions and is connected to the low-pass filter circuit, and a modulating circuit serving as a conductor connected to the main line of the high-pass filter circuit. |
| US08248190B2 |
Resonator and filter using the same
The resonator includes first high-impedance wiring plate-like, arranged parallel to top-surface ground electrode; second high-impedance wiring plate-like, arranged so as to face first high-impedance wiring; first columnar conductor electrically connecting first high-impedance wiring to second high-impedance wiring; first low-impedance wiring arranged between first high-impedance wiring and second high-impedance wiring; second columnar conductor electrically connecting first high-impedance wiring to first low-impedance wiring; second low-impedance wiring arranged between first low-impedance wiring and second high-impedance wiring; and third columnar conductor electrically connecting second high-impedance wiring to second low-impedance wiring, to reduce the area size the resonator. |
| US08248181B2 |
Transmission-line transformer
An example of a transmission-line transformer may include a transmission-line assembly and a balun assembly. The transmission-line assembly may include first and second conductors forming at least first and second transmission-line sections. The transmission-line assembly may provide a signal path through the first conductor and second conductor in series to a circuit ground. Balanced lines of the balun assembly may be connected to respective intermediate points on the first and second conductors between the first and second transmission-line sections. The transmission-line transformer may provide a signal path between a first end of the first conductor of the transmission-line assembly and the unbalanced line of the balun assembly. |
| US08248180B2 |
Balun with intermediate conductor
A balun comprising first and second transmission lines having a shared intermediate conductor. The first transmission line may include first and second conductors. The first conductor may have a first end for conducting an unbalanced signal relative to a circuit ground and a second end for conducting a balanced signal. The second conductor may have first and second ends proximate the respective first and second ends of the first conductor. The first end of the second conductor is open circuited. The second transmission line may include the second conductor and a third conductor having a first end connected to circuit ground and a second end for conducting the balanced signal. A resistor may connect the second end of the second conductor to circuit ground. |
| US08248175B2 |
Oscillator with external voltage control and interpolative divider in the output path
An oscillator output is controlled from an external voltage control terminal using an interpolative divider as a frequency modulator. The oscillator includes a reference clock generator, analog to digital converter, and an interpolative divider. Nominal output frequency is determined by the frequency of the reference clock and the nominal divide value of the interpolative divider. The divide value is changed according to the voltage control input value which is converted to a digital value via an analog to digital converter. Multiple interpolative dividers may be coupled to the single reference clock generator and each have a voltage control input and analog to digital converter. |
| US08248174B2 |
Surface mounted oven controlled type crystal oscillator
The invention relates to an oven controlled crystal oscillator for surface mounting with reduced height (low profile). The oven controlled crystal oscillator for surface mounting comprises: a flat first substrate made of ceramic and on which are installed a crystal device and a heat resistor; and a second substrate made of a glass epoxy resin which is quadrangular in plan view and which faces the first substrate and has a larger external shape in plan view than the first substrate. The second substrate has an opening into whose center the crystal device is inserted, and has terminal sections on four locations corresponding to the surface outer periphery of the first substrate and the peripheral surfaces of the opening in the second substrate, and the terminal sections of the first substrate and second substrate are connected by solder. A front end side head section of the crystal device inserted into the opening section of the second substrate is positioned inside the open surface of the opening section, and from terminal sections provided at four locations on the second substrate, conductive paths extend via the outside surface of the second substrate to external terminals formed on the outside bottom surface of the second substrate. |
| US08248173B2 |
Devices, systems, and methods for controlling the temperature of resonant elements
A thermoelectric device transfers heat away from or toward an object using the Peltier effect. In some embodiments, the length of at least one thermoelectric element is at least ten times greater than a combined average cross-sectional dimension, orthogonal to the length, of two thermoelectric elements. |
| US08248172B2 |
Wideband oscillation circuit
A wideband oscillation circuit outputting oscillation signals (divided signals) of continuous frequencies is disclosed and the wideband oscillation circuit includes an oscillator that outputs an oscillation signal, a filter that filters the oscillation signal output from the oscillator and outputs an injection locked signal, and an injection locked frequency divider that performs a free-run operation and outputs a divided signal of the oscillation signal while its oscillating operation is regulated by the injection locked signal, the division ratio of which varies in accordance with a control signal, wherein the filter generates the injection locked signal by controlling the passing characteristic that caused the oscillation signal to pass with respect to time in accordance with a filter control signal locked with the divided signal. |
| US08248171B1 |
Temperature correcting current-controlled ring oscillators
A thermally-compensated oscillator has a current reference with an output current which relates to an ambient temperature with a first relationship, a ring oscillator having an operating frequency which relates to the ambient temperature with a second relationship, and which receives the output current of the current reference and outputs an oscillator signal, and a level shifter which receives the oscillator signal from the ring oscillator and outputs a corresponding voltage-regulated clock signal. |
| US08248167B2 |
VCO frequency temperature compensation system for PLLs
The present invention discloses a continuous voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) frequency temperature compensation apparatus for a phase locked loop (PLL) and a continuous VCO frequency temperature compensation method for a PLL. The system utilizes a VCO with one digital coarse tuning input, a first analog fine tuning input, and a second analog fine tuning input. The system uses the second analog fine tuning inputs to compensate the VCO for frequency shifts due to temperature fluctuation. When the PLL transitions to the fine lock (FL) mode, the system starts driving the second fine tuning input with a differential amplifier. The differential amplifier compares the first fine tuning input with a reference voltage, and drives the second fine tuning input to compensate the first fine tuning input. |
| US08248165B2 |
Amplifier and optical module performing gain control
An amplifier includes a first transistor having a first conducting electrode receiving a current, a control electrode coupled to the first conducting electrode, and a second conducting electrode coupled to a fixed voltage source; a second transistor having a first conducting electrode, a second conducting electrode and a control electrode coupled to the control electrode of the first transistor; a feedback resistance coupled to the control electrode of the second transistor for feeding back an output of the second transistor to the control electrode of the second transistor; and a variable resistance element for controlling a ratio between a current flowing from the first conducting electrode of the first transistor into the control electrode of the second transistor and the feedback resistance and a current flowing from the first conducting electrode into the second conducting electrode in the first transistor. |
| US08248161B2 |
Wide-band low-noise CMOS amplifier
A CMOS low-noise wide-band amplifier (LNA) 211 is provided. The LNA can include a Gm doubler 410, a source follower 420, and a coupling circuit (430/440) that couples a differential input to the Gm doubler with the source follower for achieving high linearity over a wide frequency range at a low supply voltage. The coupling circuit can capacitively couple (434/444) a differential input to a gate of the source follower. The gate can be biased to a supply voltage through variable resistors (436/446). A cross coupler (480) can be included in a push-pull buffer (450) for additional gain and for allowing the source follower to drive a low impedance load at low power. |
| US08248159B2 |
Model based distortion reduction for power amplifiers
A method of processing a signal is disclosed. The method comprises generating a digital signal, converting the digital signal to an analog signal, and generating an amplified analog signal having distortions. The method further comprises converting the amplified analog signal to a feedback digital signal at a sample rate and updating a model of the distortions based on the feedback digital signal. |
| US08248157B2 |
Variable capacitance unit
Implementations of differential variable capacitance systems are disclosed. |
| US08248155B2 |
Voltage adjusting circuit and motherboard including the same
A voltage adjusting circuit includes a voltage regulator module (VRM), a control chip, a connection device, and a number of first resistors. The VRM includes an input receiving a first voltage from a motherboard, and an output connected to a liquid crystal display (LCD). A number of sense terminals of the control chip are connected to the LCD to sense current of the LCD. A driven terminal of the control chip is connected to a control terminal of the VRM to output corresponding driven signals to control the VRM to output corresponding voltage to the LCD. A first terminal of each first resistor is connected to a corresponding sense terminal of the control chip. A second terminal of each first resistor is grounded. The connection device is configured to cut off or connect the first resistor from or to the corresponding sense terminal of the control chip. |
| US08248154B2 |
Charge pump circuit
There is provided a charge pump circuit which can prevent EMI noise of a frequency component independent of an operation clock frequency from occurring at the time of a change from a disable state to an enable state. The charge pump circuit includes a detection signal synchronization circuit which outputs a synchronization detection signal generated by synchronizing a detection signal outputted from a level detection circuit to a clock signal outputted from an oscillator circuit. The synchronization detection signal is used as a pump enable signal, and a first pump capacitance and a second pump capacitance in a pump circuit body are charged and discharged in response to the synchronization detection signal and the clock signal outputted from the oscillator circuit. |
| US08248153B2 |
Method and apparatus for full clock cycle charge pump operation
A charge pump comprises at least one charge pump cell and control logic. The at least one charge pump cell is configured to receive a power supply voltage and provide a pump output voltage higher than the power supply voltage. The control logic is configured to receive an oscillator signal and a level detector enable signal, provide at least one cell clock signal, based on the oscillator signal, to the at least one charge pump cell, control the at least one pump cell to charge while the level detector enable signal is asserted, and control the at least one pump cell to continue to charge after the level detector enable signal is deasserted and until a full pulse cycle of the oscillator signal is completed. |
| US08248150B2 |
Passive bootstrapped charge pump for NMOS power device based regulators
A charge pump in a low dropout (LDO) regulator includes a first capacitor coupled to an output of an amplifier and to a gate of a pass transistor. A first plurality of switches is operable to couple a second capacitor between an output of the LDO regulator and to a ground in a first clock phase, such that the second capacitor charges to an output voltage. A second plurality of switches is operable to couple the second capacitor in parallel to the first capacitor in a second clock phase such that the second capacitor charges the first capacitor. |
| US08248149B2 |
Apparatus and methods for registering inputs from a user
Embodiments of an electronic apparatus and method for are registering inputs from a user a generating corresponding output provided. The electronic apparatus may comprise a switching system and a monitoring system. The switching system may comprise a base surface, insulating blocks disposed on the base surface, an array of conductive pads, and conductive wires. The array of conductive pads comprises one or more rows and one or more columns of conductive pads that are provided with a first electric potential. The switching system may further comprise conductive wires suspended from the insulating blocks and may be suspended at a physical distance over the rows of conductive pads. The conductive wires are provided with a second electric potential. The inputs are registered when the user contacts the conductive wires with the conductive pads. Thereafter, the monitoring system analyzes the inputs to generate a corresponding output to the user. |
| US08248148B2 |
Power supply switch apparatus
A power supply switch apparatus includes a main outlet, first and second load outlets, a manual switch, and first and second electronic switches. The positive terminal of the main outlet is connected to the positive terminal of the first load outlet and connected to the second terminal of the first electronic switch. The third terminal of the first electronic switch is connected to the positive terminal of the second load outlet. The first terminal of the first electronic switch is connected to the second terminal of the second electronic switch and connected to a voltage terminal through a first resistor. The third terminal of the second electronic switch is grounded. The first terminal of the second electronic switch is connected to the voltage terminal through the manual switch and a second resistor in that order, and grounded through a third resistor. |
| US08248146B2 |
Semiconductor circuit that varies a drain current value by utilizing a degree of freedom of an electron spin and semiconductor device using same
The semiconductor circuit has a power supply voltage generation circuit; a first circuit having a transistor that is connected to the power supply voltage generation circuit, and that varies a drain current value by utilizing the degree of freedom of an electron spin to vary the spin states of the source and the drain; and a main function circuit that is connected to the first circuit, and has a main function. Operation/non-operation of the main function circuit is selected by the drain current value. The operating speed of the circuit can thereby be adjusted through a simple circuit structure. |
| US08248145B2 |
Cascode configured switching using at least one low breakdown voltage internal, integrated circuit switch to control at least one high breakdown voltage external switch
An electronic system includes a low breakdown voltage (LBV) switch internal to an integrated circuit controller to control conductivity of an external, high breakdown voltage (HBV) switch. In at least one embodiment, the internal LBV switch and a cascode configuration of the LBV and HBV switches allow the controller to control the LBV switch and the HBV switch using an internal (“on-chip”) control signal. In at least one embodiment, the LBV switch and the cascode configuration of the HBV switch also allows the controller to control the LBV and HBV switches with more accuracy and less parasitic losses relative to directly controlling the HBV switch. Thus, in at least one embodiment, the low breakdown voltage switch is fabricated as part of an integrated circuit controller, and the high breakdown voltage switch is fabricated separately and located external to the integrated circuit controller. |
| US08248126B2 |
Clock control circuit and data alignment circuit including the same
A clock control circuit can prevent a malfunction that occurs when a rising strobe signal and a falling strobe signal change in pulse width and thus overlap each other. The clock control circuit which includes a first clock control unit configured to receive a rising strobe signal and a falling strobe signal and output an adjusted rising strobe signal, an enable pulse width of which does not overlap an enable pulse width of the falling strobe signal. |
| US08248124B2 |
Methods and apparatuses for delay-locked loops and phase-locked loops
A low power delay-locked loop (DLL) is presented. In one embodiment, the DLL includes a phase detector which includes a reference input and a feedback input to determine a phase difference. The DLL also includes a controller to determine whether to provide a signal to both the reference input and the feedback input such that the reference input and the feedback input receive an identical input, for example, during low power operation. |
| US08248122B2 |
Digital PLL circuit and method of controlling the same
According to one embodiment, a PLL circuit generates a first signal of 1/m times from a reference clock and a second signal of 1/n times from an output of an oscillator, obtains a quantized phase difference corresponding to a shift amount between the both signals, integrates the phase difference, predicts a control value for the oscillator based on the integrated value, converts the predicted control value into an analog value. Sequential integration is performed for the phase difference until the polarity of the phase difference is reversed from negative to positive and then from positive to negative again, or until the polarity is reversed from positive to negative and then from negative to positive again, a predictive weight value is generated by multiplying the integrated value by a predictive coefficient value of optional ratio, and the control value is obtained by adding the predictive weight value to the integrated value. |
| US08248121B2 |
Phase lock loop and control method thereof
A phase lock loop (PLL) featuring automatic stabilization is provided, in which a first charge pump is coupled to a driving control signal to generate a first current, a filter with a zero-point path and the first charge pump are coupled at a first node, and a current adjustment circuit adjusts a current on the first node according to a voltage difference in the zero-point path. |
| US08248120B1 |
Systems, methods and circuitry relating to frequency dividers
A frequency divider can include at least one input device receiving an input signal, the at least one input device converting the input signal to a current signal; a driver stage with at least two drivers, the at least two drivers receiving the current signal from the at least one input device; a latch stage with at least two latches receiving output signals from the driver stage, the latch stage amplifying the output signals from the driver stage in proportion to an imbalance on the driver stage; and a feedback loop feeding back latch stage output signals to the driver stage. The driver stage and the latch stage can divide the input signal such that the current signal has a frequency of a multiple of the divided signal, and the frequency divider can also include at least one output device to convert the divided signal to a divided voltage signal. |
| US08248115B2 |
Voltage controlled current driver powered by negative voltage rail
A method and current drive circuit is provided that accepts a positive voltage input signal and supplies power to a load from a negative voltage rail. |
| US08248113B2 |
Method and apparatus for accurate clock synthesis
Methods and apparatus are provided in the present invention to adjust the frequency of an output clock close to within a required accuracy of an oscillation frequency. In another embodiment, a method comprises: entering a calibration mode; generating a first control word to control a timing of a clock synthesizer; adjusting the first control word until the timing of the clock synthesizer is sufficiently accurate with respect to a timing of a reference clock; sensing a temperature using a temperature sensor; storing a present value of an output of the temperature sensor and the first control word into a non-volatile memory; exiting the calibration mode; entering a normal operation mode; sensing the temperature using the temperature sensor; generating a second control word to control the timing of the clock synthesizer in accordance with an output of the non-volatile memory and the output of the temperature sensor. |
| US08248111B2 |
Voltage current converter, differentiation circuit, integration circuit, and filter circuit using the converter, and voltage current conversion method
It is possible to provide a voltage-current converter which can realize a variable filter having a steep cut-off characteristic with a small area. The voltage-current converter includes: one or more sampling/holding units for sampling an inputted voltage and holding the sampled voltage; one or more separate voltage-current conversion units for outputting a current corresponding to the voltage held by the sampling/holding units; and a control unit for controlling the timing of the sampling and holding of the inputted voltage by the sampling/holding units. |
| US08248110B1 |
Clock switch-over circuits and methods
Clock switch-over circuits and methods provide clock signals to clock routing networks. According to one embodiment, a multiplexer selects between a first clock signal and a second clock signal in response to a switch select signal received from a control circuit. A storage circuit stores an enable signal in response to an output clock signal of the multiplexer. A logic circuit transmits the output clock signal of the multiplexer to a clock routing network in response to the enable signal from the storage circuit. At least one signal is transmitted from the clock switch-over circuit to the control circuit. |
| US08248109B2 |
Methods and systems for detection of zero crossings in a signal
Methods and systems for detection of zero crossings in a signal are described. For example, true zero crossings in an alternating voltage power source signal can be detected in the presence of noise pulses. The zero crossing detections are performed by establishing a value of a signal status counter, and at a repeating interval if the signal is a logic low value, the value of the signal status counter is decremented if the signal status counter is greater than a first value otherwise a flag is set to enable detection of a zero crossing in the signal. In addition, at the repeating interval, if the signal is a logic high value, the value of the signal status counter is incremented, and if after incrementing the signal status counter is equal to a second value and the flag is set, a zero crossing of the signal is declared. |
| US08248108B2 |
Comparator with offset compensation, in particular for analog digital converters
A comparator formed by first and second stages. The second stage is formed by a pair of output transistors connected between a power-supply line and respective output nodes; a pair of bias transistors, connected between a respective output node and a current source; a pair of memory elements, connected between the control terminals of the output transistors and opposite output nodes; and switches coupled between the control terminals of the respective output transistors and the respective output nodes. In an initial autozeroing step, the first stage stores its offset so as to generate an offset-free current signal. In a subsequent tracking step, the second stage receives the current signal and the memory elements store control voltages of the respective output transistors. In a subsequent evaluating step, the first stage is disconnected from the second stage and the memory elements receive the current signal and switch the first and the second output node depending on the current signal. In subsequent comparisons, the tracking and evaluating steps follow one another without performing the autozeroing step. |
| US08248107B2 |
High-speed differential comparator circuitry with accurately adjustable threshold
A high-speed differential comparator circuit is provided with an accurately adjustable threshold voltage. Differential reference voltage signals are provided to control the threshold voltage of the comparator. The common mode voltage of the reference signals preferably tracks the common mode voltage of the differential high-speed serial data signal being processed by the comparator circuit. |
| US08248105B2 |
Smart edge detector
In some embodiments related to a smart edge detector, the smart edge detector uses a second clock in a receiver domain (e.g., clock CLK_D2) to trigger a first flip-flop having a first clock in a transmitter domain (e.g., clock CLK_D1) as input data for the first flip-flop. The clock CLK_D2 through a delay cell also triggers a second flip-flop having the same clock CLK_D1 as input data for the second flip-flop. Based on the output of the first flip-flop (e.g., output S1) and of the second flip-flop (e.g., output S2), the embodiments determine whether the rising and or falling edge of clock CLK_D2 should be used for triggering in a transmitting and receiving application. The embodiments are applicable in both situations where the rising edge or falling edge of clock CLK_D1 is used as a triggering edge. Other embodiments are also disclosed. |
| US08248101B2 |
Reading configuration data from internal storage node of configuration storage circuit
Some embodiments provide an IC with configuration context switchers. The IC includes several configurable circuits, each of which configurably performs one of several operations at any given time, based on the configuration data set that it receives at that time. The IC includes several storage circuits for storing several configuration data sets for each of the configurable circuits. The IC also includes a context switching interconnect circuit for switchably connecting the configurable circuit to different sets of storage circuits to receive different sets of configuration data sets. The context switcher includes one or more stages for re-timing the data coming from the configuration storage elements. The stages can include interconnect circuitry or storage circuitry. Some embodiments build one of the stages in the configuration data storage elements. Some embodiments encode the configuration data bits and hence utilize a decoder in the context switcher to decode the encoded configuration data. |
| US08248100B2 |
Method and system for providing spin transfer based logic devices
A method and system for providing a logic device are described. The logic device includes a plurality of magnetic input/channel regions, at least one magnetic sensor region, and at least one sensor coupled with the at least one magnetic sensor region. Each of the magnetic input/channel regions is magnetically biased in a first direction. The magnetic sensor region(s) are magnetically biased in a second direction different from the first direction such that at least one domain wall resides in the magnetic input/channel regions if the logic device is in a quiescent state. The sensor(s) output a signal based on a magnetic state of the magnetic sensor region(s). The input/channel regions and the magnetic sensor region(s) are configured such that the domain wall(s) may move into the magnetic sensor region(s) in response to a logic signal being provided to at least a portion of the magnetic input regions. |
| US08248099B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit and circuit operation method
In a semiconductor integrated circuit wherein low-threshold-voltage and high-threshold-voltage transistors are disposed mixedly, the operating speed of each transistor can be properly controlled in speed control execution through regulation of a power supply voltage VDD. The semiconductor integrated circuit comprises an internal circuit and measuring circuits. The internal circuit comprises a low-threshold-voltage MOS transistor and a high-threshold-voltage MOS transistor, and the degree of threshold voltage variation of the low-threshold-voltage MOS transistor is larger than the degree of threshold voltage variation of the high-threshold-voltage MOS transistor. The measuring circuit detects which one of fast, typical, and slow states is taken by both the low-threshold-voltage MOS transistor and the high-threshold-voltage MOS transistor. When the result data detected indicates the fast state, the power supply voltage VDD is set to a lower power supply voltage level “VDD−ΔVDD” corresponding to a small variation gradient “β[V/σ]”. When the result data detected indicates the typical state, the power supply voltage VDD is set to an intermediate power supply voltage level “VDD±0”. When the result data detected indicates the slow state, the power supply voltage VDD is set to a higher power supply voltage level “VDD+ΔVDD” corresponding to a large variation gradient “α[V/σ]”. |
| US08248095B2 |
Compensating for aging in integrated circuits
An age compensation method and apparatus for an integrated circuit (IC). An IC may be configured to operate at an initial operating voltage at the beginning of its operational life. Various circuits may be used to detect aging of the IC, and indications of aging may be stored to determine the aging of the IC. The information indicative of the determined aging of the IC may be compared to an aging threshold. If the information indicates that the aging is greater than or equal to the determined aging threshold, the operating voltage of the IC may be increased. This process may be repeated over the life of the IC, increasing the operating voltage as the IC ages. Raising the operating voltage in response to aging may compensate for various age related degradation mechanisms that can occur over the operational life of the IC. |
| US08248085B2 |
Motion sensor
A motion sensor includes a base, a first capacitance electrode, and a second capacitance electrode. The first capacitance electrode is received within the base and includes first capacitance electrode sheets. The second capacitance electrode is received within the base and aligned with the first capacitance electrode to form a capacitance, and includes second capacitance electrode sheets facing and being aligned with the middle group of the first capacitance electrode sheets. The capacitance is changed when the second capacitance electrode sheets stray from the corresponding first capacitance electrode sheets. |
| US08248083B2 |
Processing device for piezoelectric actuator and processing method for piezoelectric actuator
A processing device is provided with a circuit connected to a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion. An AC voltage source produces an AC waveform voltage obtained by adding a bias voltage to an AC voltage for capacitance measurement. The AC waveform voltage is applied between the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion through the measurement probes. The moment the AC waveform voltage is applied to the circuit with a switch closed, an inrush current flows through the circuit based on a potential difference of the bias voltage. This inrush current causes dielectric breakdown in the conductive resin, thereby securing the continuity of the conductive resin. With the continuity of the conductive resin secured, a capacitance of the piezoelectric body is measured by the AC waveform voltage, and it is determined whether or not the piezoelectric body is normal. |
| US08248082B2 |
Method for determining the current return path integrity in an electric device connected or connectable to a further device
A method for determining current return path integrity in an electric device with a plurality of signal lines and supply lines. A library with at least one reference signal pattern of a near end crosstalk signal on a defined signal line arising from an input signal on another defined signal line is provided, a predetermined signal to a selected signal line of the electric device is applied, the near end crosstalk signal on at least one further signal line of the electric device is detected, said near end crosstalk signal is compared with the corresponding reference signal pattern from the library, and if there is a deviation between the near end crosstalk signal and the corresponding reference signal pattern, an information that there is any defect in the electric device is displayed. |
| US08248079B2 |
Sensing circuit for sensing electric fuse and sensing method thereof
A sensing circuit for sensing an electric fuse and a sensing method thereof are provided. The sensing circuit includes a capacitor, a detection circuit, and an output circuit. The capacitor is coupled to the electric fuse. The detection circuit is coupled to the capacitor and the electric fuse. The detection circuit controls the capacitor to discharge according to a pulse width and a present resistance value of the electric fuse so as to generate a detection voltage. The output circuit is coupled to the detection circuit. The output circuit outputs a state of the electric fuse according to the detection voltage and a reference voltage. |
| US08248074B2 |
Detection of faults in an injector arrangement
A fault detection method is provided for detecting faults in an injector arrangement. The injector arrangement includes one or more piezoelectric fuel injectors connected in an injector drive circuit, and the injector drive circuit is arranged to control operation of the one or more piezoelectric fuel injectors. The fault detection method includes determining a sample voltage at a sample point in the injector drive circuit at a first sample time. The sample voltage is the voltage on an injector or is related to the voltage on an injector. The method further includes calculating a range of predicted voltages expected at the sample point at a second sample time following the first sample time, and determining the sample voltage at the sample point at the second sample time. The presence of a fault is detected if the sample voltage determined at the sample point at the second sample time is not within the range of predicted voltages. |
| US08248067B2 |
Apparatus and methods for estimating downhole fluid compositions
An apparatus and method for estimating a property of a species of the hydrocarbon in a downhole fluid are provided. In one aspect, the method may include: imparting a magnetic field on the fluid to align nuclei of the fluid with a direction of the primary magnetic field; imparting a perturbing radio frequency signal on the fluid to excite the nuclei of the fluid; detecting a radio frequency signal emitted by the excited nuclei of the fluid; estimating a frequency shift between the perturbing radio frequency and the detected radio frequency; and estimating using the frequency shift a property of one or more species of the hydrocarbons in the fluid. |
| US08248060B2 |
Power angle monitor
A system and method for monitoring the rotation of a generator rotor and calculating a power angle using an optical rotor displacement monitor. The monitor uses a light beam directed toward the rotor to detect a marking thereon, and generates an electrical pulse when the marking is detected. The time between the pulse and a reference point (such as a zero crossing) of the signal waveform from the terminals of the generator is used to calculate the power angle of the generator. The system is adaptive in that it can account for new markings on the rotor. The system may be connected to a network so that power angles from various generators on the electrical network may be compared. The system may further be connected to a common time source such that a time stamp may be applied to the power angles from various generators, allowing for more accurate comparison of the power angles. |
| US08248059B2 |
Electronic transformer measuring device having surface mounting assembly
A method and apparatus for mounting an electronic measuring device inside the housing a pad mount low voltage distribution power transformer are provided. The space inside a transformer enclosure cover contains the power input and output connections and cables. The electronic measuring device includes a surface mounting assembly that is configured to mount the measuring device at multiple locations of the housing. |
| US08248053B2 |
Off-line converter with digital control
A circuit for regulating the level at a power converter output is disclosed. An example circuit includes an input for receiving a feedback signal. The feedback signal has a first feedback state that represents a level that is above a threshold level and a second feedback state that represents a level that is below the threshold level. An oscillator is included that provides an oscillation signal that cycles between two states. A switch having a first terminal, a second terminal and a control terminal are also included. The switch is operable to couple or decouple the first terminal and the second terminal in response to a control signal received at the control terminal. The control signal is responsive to the oscillation signal and to the first and second feedback states. |
| US08248052B2 |
Current limit scheme for DC-DC converters
A current limit scheme for current-mode DC-DC converters. The current limit scheme is used to limit the current through the inductor during a current limit event. Current flows through the inductor alternately from first and second power devices, with one of said devices operating in the on-state while the other is in the off-state. The current through the second power device is sensed and tracked if the peak inductor current exceeds a particular value. The inductor current is regulated by modulating the on-time of the first power device that delivers current from the input voltage source to the output through the inductor. Thus, the modulator adjusts the on-time of the first power device using past and present information related to the current flowing through the second power device and the instantaneous output voltage of the converter to limit the peak inductor current from exceeding a maximum value. |
| US08248049B2 |
NMOSFET-base linear charger
In an NMOSFET-base linear charger, a pair of common gate charging NMOSFET and sensing NMOSFET have their sources coupled together or virtually shorted to each other, so that these two NMOSFETs have a same gate-source voltage and thereby the sensing NMOSFET reflects the drain-source current of the charging NMOSFET on its drain-source current. From the drain-source current of the sensing NMOSFET, a current sensing signal is generated to control the gate voltage of the charging NMOSFET. By implementing the current source with NMOSFETs, the linear charger has smaller die area and less power loss. |
| US08248048B2 |
Standby power supply circuit
A standby power supply circuit includes a pulse width modulation controller, first to fourth metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), and an inductor. A gate of the first MOSFET and a gate of the second MOSFET are connected to a first and a second general purpose terminals of a power management chip, respectively. A drain of the first MOSFET is connected to a source of the third MOSFET. A gate of the fourth MOSFET is connected to a lower gate terminal of the controller. A phase terminal of the controller is grounded via the inductor and a capacitor in series. The drain of the second MOSFET is connected to a node between the inductor and the capacitor via a resistor. |
| US08248046B2 |
DC-DC converter for pulse frequency modulation control and power supply system
A DC-DC converter prevents localization of switching operations at light loads and is able to improve power conversion efficiency. The DC-DC converter of some variations performs pulse frequency modulation control at light loads, and includes a reducing circuit configured to skip an oscillation frequency signal at light loads and to generate a skipped signal. |
| US08248045B2 |
Charge pump circuit with current detecting and method thereof
The present invention relates to a charge pump circuit with current detecting and a method thereof. The current detecting charge pump circuit includes a controlled current source, a load circuit which electrically connects to the charge pump circuit unit, and is driven by the charge pump circuit unit to generate a load current. A detecting circuit unit electrically connects to the load circuit, and produces a feedback signal according to the load circuit. A feedback circuit unit which electrically connects to the detecting circuit unit, receives the feedback signal, and adjusts a current of the controlled current source according to the feedback signal. The charge pump circuit also includes a protecting circuit unit which is able to detect feedback signal to protect the circuit according to the feedback signal. |
| US08248044B2 |
Voltage regulator bypass resistance control
Embodiments for at least one method and apparatus of controlling a bypass resistance of a voltage regulator are disclosed. One method includes generating a regulated output voltage based upon a switching voltage. The switching voltage is generated through controlled closing and opening of a series switch element and a shunt switch element, the series switch element and the shunt switch element being connected between voltages based on an input voltage. A control of a duty cycle of the switching voltage is provided by sensing and feeding back the regulated output voltage. The bypass resistance is controlled based on a parameter related to the duty cycle, wherein the control of the duty cycle is persistent during the control of the bypass resistance. |
| US08248042B2 |
Power converter
A power converter includes an input terminal configured to be connected to a power supply, an output terminal, and a first switching element coupled between the input terminal and the output terminal. The first switching element includes a semiconductor multilayer structure formed on a substrate and made of a nitride semiconductor, a gate electrode formed on the semiconductor multilayer structure, a first and a second ohmic electrode, and a back electrode formed on a back surface of the substrate. A potential is supplied from the power supply connected to the input terminal to the back electrode so that a potential difference between the back surface and the second ohmic electrode is reduced. When the first switching element is in the on-state, a positive voltage bias is applied to the back electrode. |
| US08248039B2 |
Control system for an electrical generator and method for controlling an electrical generator
A method for validating and initializing a control system for an electrical generator connected to a power converter in a wind turbine. The method may include generating a first parameter value representing control signal for controlling the stator flux of a stator of the electrical generator, measuring a second parameter value specifying an electrical operational characteristic of the electrical generator, and determining an accuracy level of the control signal based on the first parameter value and the second parameter value, wherein the accuracy level of the control signal has to fall within a predefined threshold for the control system to be validated. |
| US08248037B2 |
Mother board
A mother board including a controller, a rapid charging initiation unit, a connection port, and a switching unit is provided. The rapid charging initiation unit provides a first voltage ranging from 3.2 V to 11 V and a second voltage ranging from 2.7 V to 0.6 V. A voltage difference between the first voltage and the second voltage ranges from 0.5 V to 0.8 V. The connection port is coupled to a smartphone. The switching unit is coupled to the controller, the rapid charging initiation unit, and the connection port for determining whether the connection port is coupled to the controller or the rapid charging initiation unit according to a switching signal. When the connection port is coupled to the rapid charging initiation unit, the first voltage and the second voltage are sent to the smartphone through the connection port for activating the rapid charging function of the smartphone. |
| US08248035B2 |
Voltage converting apparatus
A voltage converting apparatus includes a sense resistor to sense a voltage from an adapter, some power switches to set power rating of the adapter, and a comparator to compare a received voltage from the adapter with a voltage corresponding to the power rating. The comparator controls a first control switch connected between the sense resistor and a charging circuit to close when the adapter is at a little traffic state, and controls the first control switch to open when the adapter is at a fully loaded state. A voltage converter converts the received voltage from the adapter when the first control switch is closed. An output interface provides a voltage of the adapter to an electronic device. Some output ports connected to the voltage converter to provide a converted voltage of the voltage converter to electronic devices connected to the output ports. |
| US08248025B2 |
Charging system capable of charging electronic device by electromagnetic induction
A charging system for charging a rechargeable battery in an electronic device includes a charging generator, a receiver and at least one magnetic core. The charging generator includes a first coil. The receiver includes a second coil magnetically coupled to the first coil, and a charging module electrically connecting the second coil to the rechargeable battery. The charging module is configured for charging the rechargeable battery using current induced in the second coil. The at least one magnetic core is sleeved by the first coil or by the second coil. |
| US08248022B2 |
Electronic device having energy recycling system
An electronic device includes a computer server and an energy recycling system. The computer server includes a frame, at least one fan, and a heat source both are received in the frame. The frame includes a first sidewall with a plurality of vents formed thereon. The fan defines an air inlet facing the heat source, and an air outlet facing the first sidewall and substantially aligned with the vents. The energy recycling system includes a rotation assembly and an electric generator. The rotation assembly includes a rotation shaft and a plurality of driven members formed on the rotation shaft. The rotation assembly is arranged in front of the first sidewall. The driven members are driven by the airflow to rotate the rotation shaft. The rotation shaft is connected to the electric generator configured for converting the rotation of the rotation shaft into electrical energy. |
| US08248019B2 |
Brushless motor
To further improve the stability of drive control for the start period of a motor without complicating a circuit configuration.During the period in which the rotational speed of a rotor does not reach the rotational speed capable of locking a PLL circuit, a drive control method of two-phase mode in which a start current is supplied by two energizing patterns is used. In energizing pattern A, a current is caused to flow in a motor winding in the direction from U to W and in the direction from V to W at the same time. In energizing pattern B, a current is caused to flow in the motor winding in the direction from W to U and in the direction from W to V at the same time. A potential difference Vu-v between a U phase and a V phase in which the phase and magnitude of voltage drop due to inductance are equal is detected. Based on the detected potential difference Vu-v, a magnetic flux estimation signal φu-v is calculated by an integrator. Then, based on the magnetic flux estimation signal φu-v, an ROT signal is sent from a comparator. The energizing pattern of the start current is switched over according to the ROT signal, and torque in the normal rotation direction is developed, by which the rotor is accelerated. |
| US08248017B2 |
Method for operating an electric motor and apparatus for performing the method
A method for operating an electric motor with at least two motor terminals that are driven by a control device contains the steps of short-circuiting of at least two of the motor terminals of the electric motor by the control device; measurement of the motor phase currents at the short-circuited motor terminals; and identification of a standstill of the electric motor if a magnitude and/or a frequency of the motor phase currents measured lies below a predefined limit value. In the case of such a reliable identification of the standstill of the electric motor, an enable signal can then advantageously be generated in order, by way of example, to enable access to an apparatus driven by the electric motor. |
| US08248016B2 |
Fan circuit
A fan circuit controls a speed of a fan. A control chip outputs a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal that changes with the temperature of an electronic device that the fan is mounted in. An input circuit converts the PWM signal into a continual voltage signal. An amplifier circuit amplifies the voltage signal and outputs a control signal. When the control signal is less than a threshold voltage, the control circuit is turned on and the fan receives current which is less than preset current. When the control signal is greater than the threshold voltage, the control circuit is turned off and the fan receives current which is greater than the preset current. |
| US08248015B2 |
Circuit for controlling rotation speed of fan of electronic device
A circuit for controlling a rotation speed of a fan of an electronic device according to a temperature of the electronic device. The circuit senses the temperature of the electronic device, and outputs a voltage changing with the sensed temperature. The rotation speed of the fan changes with the voltage. The circuit slows the rotation speed of the fan down when the sensed temperature of the electronic device is decreased. |
| US08248014B2 |
Automated shade control system
Automated shade systems comprise motorized window coverings, sensors, and controllers that use algorithms to control operation of the automated shade control system. These algorithms may include information such as: 3-D models of a building and surrounding structures, shadow information, reflectance information, lighting and radiation information, ASHRAE clear sky algorithms, log information related to manual overrides, occupant preference information, motion information, real-time sky conditions, solar radiation on a building, a total foot-candle load on a structure, brightness overrides, actual and/or calculated BTU load, time-of-year information, and microclimate analysis. |
| US08248012B2 |
Method of determining the gain of a BEMF amplifier and relative control circuit of an induction electric motor
A method for determining gain of a back-electromotive force amplifier may include setting an electric motor into a tri-state function mode and storing a first quasi steady-state value for back-electromotive force from the difference signal, and forcing a reference current through the electric motor and determining a first value of the gain of the amplifier for equaling a difference signal to the first quasi steady-state value. The method may further include setting the electric motor into a tri-state function mode a second time and storing a second quasi steady-state value for back-electromotive force from the difference signal, and increasing the first value of the gain by an amount proportional to a difference between the second quasi steady-state value and the first quasi steady-state value. |
| US08248010B2 |
Motor driving device, electric power steering device using the same and method for detecting failure in the same
A voltage application unit applies voltage to windings of a motor without passing though an inverter unit. A first detection unit detects a short circuit failure in switching elements of the inverter unit based on a terminal voltage between each of the switching elements and a corresponding winding and a power voltage of a power supply. Before rotation of the motor, when no short circuit failure is detected and when a switching unit switches at least one of the high and low potential-side switching elements of the inverter unit on and subsequently switches all the switching elements off, a second failure detection unit determines whether the switching unit is incapable of rendering the switching element non-conductive based on the terminal voltage and the power voltage. |
| US08248007B2 |
Control apparatus and control method for AC motor
A control apparatus for an AC motor controls an inverter in a pulse width modulation scheme to feed a coil current to a stator coil of a stator. A pattern switching mechanism switches a control pattern to a first pattern or to a second pattern; a first pattern calculating mechanism calculates a control signal using a first pattern parameter; a second pattern calculating mechanism calculates a control signal using a second pattern parameter; an offset calculating mechanism calculates a difference between a control signal of an old pattern and a control signal of a new pattern, and reflects the offset amount on the control signals; and a control output mechanism calculates a final control output signal on the basis of the control signals, and transmits the final control output signal to the inverter. |
| US08248005B2 |
Braking circuit for a door actuator with a generatively operable electrical motor
A braking circuit is adapted to supply generatively produced energy of the motor as load resistance to a bipolar transistor. The braking circuit has a voltage regulator, which controls a voltage, applied to the base terminal of the bipolar transistor to achieve an associated controlled voltage based on a reference voltage. A first power supply connector of the electrical motor, in the generator mode of operation of the electrical motor, is coupled to a collector terminal of the bipolar transistor and to the voltage input of a voltage regulator. A second power supply connector of the electrical motor is coupled to an emitter terminal of the bipolar transistor and is coupled to a reference input of the voltage regulator via a resistive branch including at least one electrical resistor. |
| US08247997B2 |
Ballast with lamp filament detection
A ballast (10) for powering one or two gas discharge lamps (30,40) includes an inverter (100), an output circuit (200), and a control circuit (500). During a period prior to startup of inverter (100), control circuit (500) monitors a signal within output circuit (200) in order to determine the presence of lamps with intact filaments that are present at the ballast output connections (202,204, . . . ,210,212). Preferably, control circuit (500) is realized by a programmable microcontroller which implements a dual timing scheme in order to accurately determine the number of lamps with both filaments intact. The resulting determination may be used for various purposes, such providing appropriate levels of filament heating and/or for setting thresholds for accurately detecting and protecting against various lamp fault conditions. |
| US08247994B2 |
LED illuminator and LED lamp
An LED illuminator includes a light emission circuit and a driver. The light emission circuit includes an LED group and a connection line connecting the LED group. The driver drives the LED group by using an AC voltage inputted from outside. The driver includes a constant-current control circuit. The constant-current control circuit keeps the current flowing to the light emission circuit at a predetermined value. |
| US08247989B2 |
Lamp detection driving system and related detection driving method
A lamp detection driving system is disclosed for performing adaptive lamp driving and related detection operations based on a recipe. The system includes a micro-controller, a driver, a defect detection module and a feedback circuit. The micro-controller provides a modulation signal and a plurality of reference signals based on the recipe. The driver generates at least one driving signal for driving at least one lamp based on the modulation signal. The feedback circuit generates a plurality of feedback signals based on lamp currents or lamp voltages. The defect detection module generates a plurality of detection signals based on the reference signals and the feedback signals. Furthermore, disclosed is a lamp detection driving method including downloading the recipe, generating at least one driving signal for driving at least one lamp based on the recipe, and providing at least one reference signal for performing defect detection processes based on the recipe. |
| US08247985B2 |
Light tube and power supply circuit
The present invention provides a light tube for illumination by a power supply circuit including a bulb portion and a pair of end caps disposed at opposite ends of the bulb portion. A plurality of light emitting diodes are disposed inside the bulb portion and in electrical communication with the pair of end caps for illuminating in response to electrical current to be received from the power supply circuit. |
| US08247982B2 |
Method of driving a light source, light source assembly for performing the method, and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same
A method of driving a light source includes; converting an externally supplied direct current voltage into a first alternating current voltage, boosting the first alternating current voltage to a second alternating current voltage having a higher voltage than the first alternating current voltage, turning on the light source using the second alternating current voltage, detecting an arc noise detection voltage by adding arc noise generated from a high voltage terminal of the light source and arc noise generated from a low voltage terminal of the light source, and blocking the high voltage from being provided to the light source based on the detected arc noise detection voltage. |
| US08247981B2 |
Integrated circuit and related method for determining operation modes
An integrated circuit and a related method for determining an operation mode are disclosed. The exemplified integrated circuit includes a controller, a multi-function pin, and a mode determination circuit. The controller controls a power switch and is being set to operate in one of the operation modes including a first operation mode and a second operation mode. The multi-function pin is connected to an external resistor. The mode determination circuit detects a signal from the multi-function pin. The signal represents the resistance of the external resistor. If the resistance is within a first range, the controller is operated in the first operation mode. If the resistance is within a second range, the controller is operated in the second operation mode. |
| US08247978B2 |
Illumination device with a safety feature
An illumination device includes a light source, an AC power source and a balance sensing switch. The AC power source is adapted for supplying an alternating current to the light source. The balance sensing switch is connected between the light source and the AC power source for automatically cutting off an electrical connection between the light source and the AC power source when the illumination device topples down. |
| US08247976B2 |
LED lamp set and lighting bulb of the same
An LED lamp set and a lighting bulb used thereon are provided. The LED lamp set comprises a plurality of circuit boards, a support post, an ignition circuit and two conducting wires. The circuit boards are spaced from each other in a parallel manner and mounted on the support post in series. Each of the circuit boards is connected to a plurality of LEDs surrounding the support post. The LEDs have a plurality of light emission surfaces tilted outwards. The ignition circuit receives an input power and transforms the input power to an ignition power. The two conducting wires have one end connected to the ignition circuit and linked to the circuit boards in series to ignite the LEDs. The LED lamp set further is coupled with a socket and a lamp shade to form a profile of a lighting bulb compatible to the socket of the ordinary lighting bulbs. |
| US08247974B2 |
High-pressure discharge lamp, lamp unit, and image display apparatus
The present invention aims to provide a small-sized high-efficiency high pressure discharge lamp that exhibits favorable light intensity distribution properties and is less likely to cause breakage of an arc tube. The present invention is a high pressure discharge lamp 101 comprising: an arc tube 110 that includes; a light-emitting part 111 having a substantially spherical shape and having mercury enclosed therein; and a pair of sealing parts 112 extending from opposite sides of the light-emitting part 111; and a pair of electrodes 130 that are arranged in the arc tube 110 such that an end of each electrode is sealed by a respective sealing part and the other ends of the electrodes oppose each other in the light-emitting part. The enclosed mercury has a density of 0.2 to 0.4 [mg/mm3] inclusive. A distance W from a contact point S to a center O is 3.0 to 5.0 [mm] inclusive. A distance CO from a contact point TO to the center O is 1.5 to 3.0 [mm] inclusive. The distance CO and a distance CM satisfy a relation CM/CO≧0.8, and a minimum thickness X [mm] and a maximum outer diameter D [mm] satisfy a relation X/D≧0.2. |
| US08247972B2 |
Ceramic discharge lamp with integral burner and reflector
A ceramic discharge lamp and a method of making the lamp includes a ceramic discharge chamber with two concave parts that are attached to each other at a seam, and a ceramic reflector directly attached to an exterior surface of the discharge chamber at the seam, or directly attached to a ceramic capillary that is attached to one of the two concave parts. The lamp finds particular application where focused light is required, such as injection of light into a fiber optic device. The lamp can be very small and has an advantage that the discharge chamber is isolated from the reflective surfaces so that the optically active parts of the reflector are not covered with salt from the preferred metal halide lamp fill. |
| US08247970B2 |
Plasma display panel and method of manufacturing the same
A PDP (Plasma Display Panel) comprising a front substrate structure (first substrate structure) in which two pairs of an X electrode and a Y electrode and a non-emission area therebetween are formed, and a plurality of light-shielding films formed with spacing from the X electrode and the Y electrode in the non-emission area. The light-shielding film contains a metal material common with a metal material forming the X electrode and the Y electrode. And, the light-shielding film is formed in an island-shape having spacing from a neighboring barrier rib formed to a rear substrate structure (second substrate structure). According to the above structure, the area of the light-shielding film which may cause a capacitance-coupled portion with the X electrode, the Y electrode, or an address electrode can be made small, thereby suppressing capacitance coupling even when a conductive material is used to the light-shielding film. |
| US08247969B2 |
Optical lens having fluorescent layer adapted for LED packaging structure
An optical lens having a fluorescent layer is provided. The optical lens is adapted for being employed in an LED packaging structure. The optical lens includes a substrate, at least one lens body, a lens shade, and a packaging member. The substrate is positioned at a bottommost side of the packaging structure, and the lens shade is positioned at a topmost side of the packaging structure. The lens body is positioned over the substrate and beneath the lens shade. A plurality of light emitting units are disposed on the substrate. The packaging member is adapted for packaging the substrate and the lens shade. The lens body is secured by the packing member so as to be positioned over the light emitting units. The lens body includes a fluorescent layer buried inside the lens body, and the lens body is positioned apart from the light emitting units for a certain distance. |
| US08247967B2 |
Display apparatus
A display device having a substrate, a power supply line, and a pixel electrode. The display device also having a transistor having a gate electrode and electrically coupled between the power supply line and the pixel electrode, a opposite electrode, and an organic semiconductor film disposed between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode. The display device further having a holding capacitor having a first electrode electrically coupled to the gate electrode of the transistor, a second electrode, and a first insulation film disposed between the first electrode and second electrode and a second insulation film. The holding capacitor of the display device being disposed between the substrate and the second insulation film and at a part of the second insulation film being disposed between the pixel electrode and the substrate. |
| US08247960B2 |
3-dimension facet light-emitting source device and stereoscopic light-emitting source device
A 3-dimension facet light-emitting source device including a transparent container, an anode plate, a cathode plate, a plurality of transparent plates and a low-pressure gas layer is provided. The transparent container has a sealed space. The transparent plates are disposed between the anode plate and the cathode plate, and have a fluorescent layer thereon respectively. The lower pressure gas layer is filled in the sealed space to induce electrons emitting from the cathode plate, and the electrons fly in a direction parallel to the transparent plates and hit each fluorescent layer to emit light, so as to form a set of 3-dimension facet patterns. |
| US08247956B2 |
LED illuminating device
An LED illuminating device includes a housing defining a sealed boiling room, an optical module and an adiabatic member. The boiling room has a lower room and annular room surrounding the lower room. A wick structure is received in and attached to an inner side of the housing. Working fluid is received in the boiling room and saturated in a bottom portion of the wick structure located at a bottom of the lower room. The optical module is provided with a plurality of LEDs attached to the housing at a position under the bottom portion of the wick structure. The adiabatic member is received in the boiling room and attached to a middle portion of the wick structure at a top of the lower room for avoiding thermal and flow interactions between liquid in the middle portion of the wick structure and vapor in the lower room. |
| US08247954B2 |
Electronic component device and method for manufacturing the same
A vibratory device includes an elastic plate and a piezoelectric diaphragm. The elastic plate includes a fixable portion, a vibratory portion, and a connection portion. The fixable portion is fixed to a fixation member. The vibratory portion is spaced away from a fixable surface of the fixable portion that faces the fixation member and arranged substantially in parallel with the fixable surface. The connection portion connects a first end of the fixable portion in its planar direction and a first end of the vibratory portion in its planar direction. The piezoelectric diaphragm is disposed on a surface of the vibratory portion that is adjacent to the fixable portion. In a direction N normal to the surface of the vibratory portion adjacent to the fixable portion, at least part of the second piezoelectric diaphragm does not overlap the fixable portion. |
| US08247944B2 |
Method for reducing current and torque ripple in a brushed electric motor and motor employing the same
A method for reducing current and torque ripple in a brushed electric motor is disclosed. The motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator includes a brush housing having a plurality of circumferentially spaced brushes disposed about a commutator, each brush having a contact face that is in electrical contact with the commutator, an opposed bias face and a peripheral wall, each brush disposed in a brush pocket having a pocket wall, a base and a bias spring that is configured to apply a contact force to the bias face, thereby urging the contact face into electrical contact with the commutator. The method includes inserting a damper between each pocket wall or respective base and the respective brush. |
| US08247941B2 |
Brushless motor with skew angle set for low torque ripple and high output
A brushless motor has a 2P3S×n structure, in which a ratio (W) of a circumferential width (Wm) of each of magnets to a length (Wp) of a chord formed between endpoints of an arc with a center angle θp=360°/pole-number 3n, the arc being included in an inner-diameter circle C2 of each of the magnets, is in a range of 0.76 |
| US08247940B2 |
Rotary electric machine with air gaps configured to cancel torque pulsations
A rotary electric machine includes a stator having stator windings; and a rotor rotatably disposed in the stator, said rotor having a rotor core provided with a plurality of magnets and a plurality of magnetic auxiliary salient poles formed between poles of the magnets. In this rotary electric machine: a magnetic air gap is provided in an axial direction of the rotor in a position shifted in a circumferential direction from a q axis passing through a center of the magnetic auxiliary salient pole within the magnetic auxiliary salient pole; and an amount of shifting the magnetic air gap from the q axis in the circumferential direction differs according to a position of the magnetic air gap in the axial direction so as to cancel torque pulsation in energization caused due to the magnetic air gap. |
| US08247939B2 |
Permanent magnet arrangement for an electrical machine
A permanent magnet arrangement for an electrical machine comprises a support structure for carrying magnetic flux and a pole assembly fixed to the support structure. The pole assembly comprises a magnet pole comprising at least one piece of permanent magnet material and a magnet carrier on which the magnet pole is mounted and which provides a magnetic flux path between the magnet pole and the support structure. The permanent magnet arrangement further comprises a sleeve containing the magnet pole and at least part of the magnet carrier. The magnet carrier is secured to the support structure to fix the pole assembly to the support structure and the sleeve is clamped to the support structure by the magnet carrier. A method for assembling the permanent magnet arrangement is also described. |
| US08247937B2 |
Semiconductor module and electronic circuit-integrated motor device using same
A V1 semiconductor module has a coil terminal, which is directly connectable to a lead wire of a coil. As a result, the number of parts required to connect electronic parts is reduced. Further, since no printed circuit board is required, the coil terminal can be shaped in any size without being limited in correspondence to the thickness of a copper film of the substrate. The coil terminal and control terminals, which are connected to the printed circuit board having a control circuit for controlling current supply to the coil, are provided on different wall surfaces of a resin part. Thus, the coil and the printed circuit board can be readily connected to the coil terminal and the control terminals, respectively, resulting in simplification of the device. |
| US08247935B2 |
Brushless motor stator with fitting position determining structure of circuit substrate
A brushless motor stator is provided that may be applied to a plurality of types of motors having different rotational speeds, merely by providing one type of a circuit substrate. A pair of fitting convex portions that project radially outside of a virtual circle centering on a center line C are formed on one insulator divided body of a slot insulator. Three pairs of diagonally located fitting concave portions are formed in an inner circumferential wall portion surrounding a through-hole of a circuit substrate. The pair of fitting convex portions of the one insulator divided body are fitted in one of the three pairs of fitting concave portions. With this, a positional relationship between three hall elements and stator magnetic poles is selected, corresponding to the speed range of a motor to be used. |
| US08247932B1 |
Method for mitigating bearing failue in an AC induction motor and apparatus therefor
A method and apparatus for mitigating bearing failure in an AC induction motor includes installing a high frequency mechanical vibration-absorbing material between various components of the motor. With the vibration-absorbing material in place, the number of premature bearing failures caused by the presence of bearing current is greatly reduced. |
| US08247923B2 |
Method for operating a photovoltaic system and photovoltaic system for carrying out the method
A photovoltaic system having a plurality of photovoltaic modules producing electric energy and method for operating such photovoltaic system are disclosed. With the method, the photovoltaic modules are connected to a first DC motor having a motor shaft, and a generator shaft of a three-phase generator is coupled to the motor shaft. The three-phase generator can be connected to a power grid. The motor shaft of a second DC motor can be connected to the generator shaft, with only one of the two DC motors being initially driven with the electric energy produced by the photovoltaic modules. The electric energy is subsequently divided among both the first and the second DC motor. This process significantly shortens the startup process of the photovoltaic system compared to conventional systems. |
| US08247922B2 |
Power supply device with low standby power consumption
A power device transforms input power into power for output, and includes an input unit, a power factor unit, an output unit, a power saving unit, and a control signal port. The power saving unit includes a first electronic switch, a first diode and a single-direction switch. The first electronic switch is connected between the input unit and the power factor unit. An anode of the first diode is connected to the input unit, and a cathode of the first diode is connected to the output unit. The single-direction switch is connected to the power factor unit and the output unit to block current from the output unit to the power factor unit. The control signal port controls an on/off state of the first electronic switch. |
| US08247921B2 |
Power supply apparatus for sliding door
A power supply apparatus for sliding door includes a flat cable for electrically connecting devices on a side of vehicle body to the devices on a side of a sliding door mounted on the vehicle body so as to be able to be slid, a vehicle body side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the vehicle body; and a door side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the sliding door, wherein the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion in the substantially same direction which is substantially parallel to the sliding directions of the sliding door, and the width direction of the flat cable is maintained to be substantially vertical. |
| US08247920B2 |
Power supply control device, method for controlling power supply device, and computer-readable storage medium storing program for causing computer to perform method for controlling power supply device
A motor drive device includes first to third system main relays, a limiting resistor, and a control device. Upon start of the motor drive device, the control device determines whether or not the first and third system main relays are welded, based on voltage VH. If the control device determines that the first and third system main relays are both welded, then it prohibits a discharging process, which is to discharge a capacitor using motor generators. |
| US08247917B2 |
Storage battery output power control method for wind turbine generator
A control method for a wind turbine generator and storage battery unit connected to a power grid in parallel, includes calculating total active power and total reactive power, and switching between: a first mode in which the generator outputs turbine required active power and reactive power that can be outputted by the generator and the battery unit outputs battery required active power and battery required reactive power which correspond to a difference between the total active power and the turbine required active power and a difference between the total reactive power and the turbine required reactive power respectively; and a second mode in which the battery required active power is maintained and the battery required reactive power is reduced while the turbine reactive power is increased by an amount of the reduction of the battery required reactive power wherein apparent power exceeds a set battery unit apparent power. |
| US08247915B2 |
Energy storage system utilizing compressed gas
An energy storage and recovery system employs air compressed utilizing power from an operating wind turbine. This compressed air is stored within one or more chambers of a structure supporting the wind turbine above the ground. By functioning as both a physical support and as a vessel for storing compressed air, the relative contribution of the support structure to the overall cost of the energy storage and recovery system may be reduced, thereby improving economic realization for the combined turbine/support apparatus. In certain embodiments, expansion forces of the compressed air stored within the chamber, may be relied upon to augment the physical stability of a support structure, further reducing material costs of the support structure. |
| US08247909B2 |
Semiconductor package device with cavity structure and the packaging method thereof
A semiconductor device with a cavity structure comprises: a carrier substrate; a first die having an active surface and the pads thereon; a back surface of the first die is disposed on the carrier substrate; a second die having a top surface and a back surface and a cavity structure therein; the top surface of a second die is flipped to dispose on the first die, and the cavity structure is an inverse U-type to dispose between the active surface of the first die and the top surface of the second die; the wires is electrically connected the pads with the first connecting points; a package body encapsulated the first die, the second die, the wires, and the portion of the top surface of the carrier substrate; and the connecting components is disposed on the back surface of the carrier substrate and is electrically connected the second connecting points. |
| US08247907B2 |
Methods for forming interconnects in microelectronic workpieces and microelectronic workpieces formed using such methods
Methods for forming interconnects in microelectronic workpieces and microelectronic workpieces formed using such methods are disclosed herein. One embodiment, for example, is directed to a method of processing a microelectronic workpiece including a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of microelectronic dies. The individual dies include integrated circuitry and a terminal electrically coupled to the integrated circuitry. The method can include forming a first opening in the substrate from a back side of the substrate toward a front side and in alignment with the terminal. The first opening has a generally annular cross-sectional profile and separates an island of substrate material from the substrate. The method can also include depositing an insulating material into at least a portion of the first opening, and then removing the island of substrate material to form a second opening aligned with at least a portion of the terminal. In several embodiments, the method may include constructing an electrically conductive interconnect in at least a portion of the second opening and in electrical contact with the terminal. |
| US08247906B2 |
Supplying power to integrated circuits using a grid matrix formed of through-silicon vias
An integrated circuit structure includes a chip including a substrate and a power distribution network. The power distribution network includes a plurality of power through-silicon vias (TSVs) penetrating the substrate, wherein the plurality of power TSVs forms a grid; and a plurality of metal lines in a bottom metallization layer (M1), wherein the plurality of metal lines couples the plurality of power TSVs to integrated circuit devices on the substrate. |
| US08247905B2 |
Formation of vertical devices by electroplating
The present invention is related to a method for forming vertical conductive structures by electroplating. Specifically, a template structure is first formed, which includes a substrate, a discrete metal contact pad located on the substrate surface, an inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer over both the discrete metal contact pad and the substrate, and a metal via structure extending through the ILD layer onto the discrete metal contact pad. Next, a vertical via is formed in the template structure, which extends through the ILD layer onto the discrete metal contact pad. A vertical conductive structure is then formed in the vertical via by electroplating, which is conducted by applying an electroplating current to the discrete metal contact pad through the metal via structure. Preferably, the template structure comprises multiple discrete metal contact pads, multiple metal via structures, and multiple vertical vias for formation of multiple vertical conductive structures. |
| US08247902B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of the same
In a semiconductor device, capacitance between copper interconnections is decreased and the insulation breakdown is improved simultaneously, and a countermeasure is taken for misalignment via by a manufacturing method including the steps of forming an interconnection containing copper as a main ingredient in an insulative film above a substrate, forming insulative films and a barrier insulative film for a reservoir pattern, forming an insulative film capable of suppressing or preventing copper from diffusing on the upper surface and on the lateral surface of the interconnection and above the insulative film and the insulative film, forming insulative films of low dielectric constant, in which the insulative film is formed such that the deposition rate above the opposing lateral surfaces of the interconnections is larger than the deposition rate therebelow to form an air gap between the adjacent interconnections and, finally, planarizing the insulative film by interlayer CMP. |
| US08247899B2 |
Power semiconductor module comprising a connection device with internal contact spring connection elements
A power semiconductor module comprises at least one power semiconductor component and a connection device which makes contact with the power semiconductor component. The connection device is composed of a layer assembly having at least one first electrically conductive layer facing the power semiconductor component and forming at least one first conductor track, and an insulating layer following in the layer assembly, and a second layer following further in the layer assembly and forming at least one second conductor track, the second layer being remote from the power semiconductor component. The power semiconductor module has at least one internal connection element, wherein the internal connection element is embodied as a contact spring having a first and a second contact section and a resilient section. The first contact section has a common contact area with a first or a second conductor track of the connection device. |
| US08247898B2 |
Semiconductor device and semiconductor device mounted structure
A module substrate has an interconnection electrode that is exposed at a side end face thereof. A semiconductor component including an IC chip is mounted on the module substrate. A molded part comprising a resin is formed so as to cover at least a part of the semiconductor component. A coating with higher heat conductivity than the molded part is formed on the surface of the molded part by applying a paste made of material with higher heat conductivity than the molded part. This improves heat dissipation. The coating can be formed such that it extends to the surface of the main substrate on which the module substrate with the semiconductor component is mounted and comes into contact with the interconnection electrode on the surface of the main substrate. This further improves heat dissipation. |
| US08247897B2 |
Blank including a composite panel with semiconductor chips and plastic package molding compound and method and mold for producing the same
A blank and a semiconductor device are include a composite panel with semiconductor chips embedded in a plastic package molding compound. The blank includes a composite panel with semiconductor chips arranged in rows and columns in a plastic package molding compound with active upper sides of the semiconductor chips forming a coplanar surface area with the upper side of the composite panel. The blank further includes an orientation indicator impressed into the plastic package molding compound when the semiconductor chips are embedded within the molding compound. |
| US08247888B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing metallic shielding plate
Provided is a semiconductor device capable of preventing a semiconductor chip from being damaged by any sharp burrs of a metallic shielding plate. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip and a metallic shielding plate provided on a circuit surface of the semiconductor chip. The metallic shielding plate is disposed in such a manner that a second surface of a shielding plate body is directed towards the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip, and burrs are positioned contiguous to the second surface of the shielding plate body. At distal ends of the burrs, cutting burrs are formed in a direction orthogonal to the second surface. The sharp burrs extend in a direction opposite to the semiconductor chip, so that the sharp burrs are prevented from damaging the circuit surface of the semiconductor chip. |
| US08247886B1 |
Polarization direction of optical devices using selected spatial configurations
A GaN based light emitting diode device which emits polarized light or light of various degrees of polarization for use in the creation of optical devices. The die are cut to different shapes, or contain some indicia that are used to represent the configuration of the weak dipole plane and the strong dipole plane. This allows for the more efficient manufacturing of such light emitting diode based optical devices. |
| US08247885B2 |
Semiconductor device having capacitors fixed to support patterns and method for manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device containing a cylindrical shaped capacitor and a method for manufacturing the same is presented. The semiconductor device includes a plurality of storage nodes and a support pattern. The plurality of storage nodes is formed over a semiconductor substrate. The support pattern is fixed to adjacent storage nodes in which the support pattern has a flowable insulation layer buried within the support pattern. The buried flowable insulation layer direct contacts adjacent storage nodes. |
| US08247883B2 |
Printing shielded connections and circuits
An embodiment is a method and apparatus to construct a shielded cable, wire, or circuit. A first insulator layer is deposited on a first conductor or semiconductor layer. A second conductor or semiconductor layer is deposited on the first insulator layer. A second insulator layer is deposited on the first insulator layer. The second insulator layer covers the second conductor or semiconductor layer and defines a shielded region. A third conductor or semiconductor layer is deposited on the first conductor or semiconductor layer. The third conductor or semiconductor layer covers the first and second insulator layers. At least one of the first, second, and third conductor or semiconductor layers, and the first and second insulator layers is deposited by printing. |
| US08247879B2 |
Micromechanical device with microfluidic lubricant channel
A micromechanical device assembly includes a micromechanical device enclosed within a processing region and a lubricant channel formed through an interior wall of the processing region and in fluid communication with the processing region. Lubricant is injected into the lubricant channel via capillary forces and held therein via surface tension of the lubricant against the internal surfaces of the lubrication channel. The lubricant channel containing the lubricant provides a ready supply of fresh lubricant to prevent stiction from occurring between interacting components of the micromechanical device disposed within the processing region. |
| US08247875B2 |
Fabrication method of semiconductor device
A fabrication method of a semiconductor device includes: forming a gate insulating film and a gate electrode on an N type well; forming first source/drain regions by implanting a first element in regions of the N type well on both sides of the gate electrode, the first element being larger than silicon and exhibiting P type conductivity; forming second source/drain regions by implanting a second element in the regions of the N type well on the both sides of the gate electrode, the second element being smaller than silicon and exhibiting P type conductivity; and forming a metal silicide layer on the source/drain regions. |
| US08247871B2 |
1T/0C RAM cell with a wrapped-around gate device structure
A memory device and a method of forming the memory device. The memory device comprises a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate comprising a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, wherein the source/drain regions are regions of a first conductivity type. The storage transistor also comprises a gate structure that wraps at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes. A bit line is connected to the first source/drain region and a word line connected to the gate structure. The memory device does not require an additional capacitive storage element. |
| US08247869B2 |
LDMOS transistors with a split gate
A transistor including a source region, drain region, channel region, drift region, isolation region, a first gate structure over the channel region, and a second gate structure over the isolation region is provided. The drift region includes a first portion located under the isolation region and a second portion located laterally adjacent to the isolation region. The first gate structure is separated by a first separation space from the second gate structure. The first separation space is located over a portion of the second portion of the drift region and a portion of the isolation region. |
| US08247856B2 |
Semiconductor device including a capacitor electrically connected to a vertical pillar transistor
A semiconductor device includes a first transistor, a second transistor, an insulation interlayer pattern and a capacitor. The first transistor is formed in a first region of a substrate. The first transistor has a pillar protruding upwardly from the substrate and an impurity region provided in an upper portion of the pillar. The second transistor is formed in a second region of the substrate. The insulation interlayer pattern is formed on the first region and the second region to cover the second transistor and expose an upper surface of the pillar. The insulation interlayer pattern has an upper surface substantially higher than the upper surface of the pillar in the first region. The capacitor is formed on the impurity region in the upper portion of the pillar and is electrically connected to the impurity region. |
| US08247850B2 |
Dual interlayer dielectric stressor integration with a sacrificial underlayer film stack
A method for making a semiconductor device is provided by (a) providing a substrate (203) having first (205) and second (207) gate structures thereon; (b) forming an underlayer (231) over the first and second gate structures; (c) removing the underlayer from the first gate structure; (d) forming a first stressor layer (216) over the first and second gate structures; and (e) selectively removing the first stressor layer from the second gate structure through the use of a first etch which is selective to the underlayer. |
| US08247845B2 |
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit placement in semiconductor devices
Semiconductor devices, methods of manufacturing thereof, and methods of arranging circuit components of an integrated circuit are disclosed. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes an array of a plurality of devices arranged in a plurality of rows. At least one electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit or a portion thereof is disposed in at least one of the plurality of rows of the array of the plurality of devices. |
| US08247843B2 |
GaN-based permeable base transistor and method of fabrication
An etched grooved GaN-based permeable-base transistor structure is disclosed, along with a method for fabrication of same. |
| US08247842B2 |
Nitride semiconductor device having graded aluminum content
A device includes a substrate; a buffer layer; and a device formation layer, wherein the buffer layer is formed by sequentially stacking, a plurality of times, a first nitride-based semiconductor layer made of a material having a lattice constant lower than a lattice constant of a material of the substrate; a first composition graded layer made of a material having a lattice constant gradually higher than the lattice constant of the first nitride-based semiconductor layer in a thickness direction; a second nitride-based semiconductor layer made of a material having a lattice constant higher than the lattice constant of the first nitride-based semiconductor layer; and a second composition graded layer made of a material having a lattice constant gradually lower than the lattice constant of the second nitride-based semiconductor layer in the thickness direction, and the second composition graded layer is thicker than the first composition graded layer. |
| US08247841B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes: a plurality of semiconductor substrates that are layered; a through electrode penetrating through a predetermined semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor substrates and electrically connected with an external terminal of the semiconductor device; a circuit element provided on the predetermined semiconductor substrate; and an electrostatic discharge protection circuit also provided on the predetermined semiconductor substrate. In the device, wiring resistance between the electrostatic discharge protection circuit and the through electrode is smaller than wiring resistance between the circuit element and the through electrode. |
| US08247840B2 |
Apparatus and method for improved leakage current of silicon on insulator transistors using a forward biased diode
Use of a forward biased diode to reduce leakage current of transistors implemented on silicon on insulator (SOI) is a particular challenge due to the difficulty of achieving effective contact with the region beneath the gate of the transistor. An improved implementation in SOI gate fingers that reach under the source through tunnels that are contacted with a region outside the transistor. A further embodiment uses drain extension implants to provide good channel connection. |
| US08247839B2 |
ESD protection device with increased holding voltage during normal operation
An ESD protection circuit including an SCR having at least one PNP transistor and at least one NPN transistor such that at least one of the PNP transistor and the NPN transistor having an additional second collector. The circuit further including at least one control circuit coupled to the at least one second collector to control holding voltage of the SCR. |
| US08247838B2 |
Light emitting diode with semiconductor layer having different resistance at different regions
A light emitting diode and a fabricating method thereof are provided. The method including the steps of sequentially forming a first-type semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer and a second-type semiconductor layer with a first region and a second region on a substrate. Next, an ion implantation process is performed to make the resistance of the first region be larger than of the second region. Afterward, a first electrode is formed above the first region of the second-type semiconductor layer. Since the method uses the ion implantation process to make the inner resistance of the second-type semiconductor layer various, the light emitting intensity and efficiency may both be increased. |
| US08247829B2 |
Light emitting device
Provided is a light emitting device. The light emitting device comprises a body, a light emitting diode on the body, a resistor integrated on the body and configured to sense a temperature of the light emitting diode, and a plurality of metal layers on the body. |
| US08247826B2 |
Light emitting display device
Provided is an organic light emitting display device sealed maintaining durability by preventing permeation of oxygen and moisture and improving impact resistance. The light emitting display device includes a first substrate; a second substrate disposed facing toward the first substrate; an emission unit disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and comprising a plurality of light emitting devices; a first sealant disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and surrounding the emission unit and combining the first substrate and the second substrate; a first region formed between around a flat portion of the first sealant and a margin of the second substrate; a second region formed between around a corner of the first sealant and a margin of the second substrate; a second sealant disposed in the first region; and a third sealant disposed in the second region. |
| US08247825B2 |
Light emitting diode
An LED includes a substrate, two LED dies mounted on the substrate, an encapsulant molded on the substrate and sealing the two LED dies, and two phosphors contained within the encapsulant and surrounding the two LED dies, respectively. The two phosphors are distributed on the two LED dies in same density and different thicknesses, whereby the mixed light from one LED die and one phosphor has a color temperature different from that mixed from another LED die and another phosphor. |
| US08247823B2 |
Light-emitting element
A light-emitting element includes a semiconductor laminated structure including a first semiconductor layer, a light-emitting layer and a second semiconductor layer, an insulation layer provided on the semiconductor laminated structure, a first wiring including a first vertical conducting portion and a first planar conducting portion and being electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer, the first vertical conducting portion extending inside the insulation layer, the light-emitting layer and the second semiconductor layer in a vertical direction and the first planar conducting portion extending inside the insulation layer in a planar direction, and a second wiring including a second vertical conducting portion and a second planar conducting portion and being electrically connected to the second semiconductor layer, the second vertical conducting portion extending inside the insulation layer in a vertical direction and the second planar conducting portion extending inside the insulation layer in a planar direction. |
| US08247822B2 |
Semiconductor light-emitting device
A semiconductor light-emitting device comprises a substrate, a first conductive type semiconductor layer positioned on the substrate, a light-emitting structure positioned on the first conductive type semiconductor layer, and a second conductive type semiconductor layer positioned on the light-emitting structure. The substrate includes an upper surface and a plurality of protrusions positioned on the upper surface. Each of the protrusions includes a top surface, a plurality of wall surfaces, and a plurality of inclined surfaces sandwiched between the top surface and the wall surfaces. |
| US08247821B2 |
Pre-molded support mount of lead frame-type for LED light module
A pre-molded support mount of lead frame-type for an LED light module includes an insulative substrate and a lead frame embodied inside the insulative substrate and provided with a positive electrical contact and a negative electrical contact, which are exposed out of the insulative substrate. A plurality of LED chips can be mounted on the pre-molded support mount and electrically connected in series or in parallel through the lead frame. The pre-molded support mount has the advantage of being capable of simplifying manufacturing process and saving manufacturing costs in production of the LED light module. |
| US08247813B2 |
Display device and electronic device including the same
One embodiment of the present invention provides a highly reliably display device in which a high mobility is achieved in an oxide semiconductor. A first oxide component is formed over a base component. Crystal growth proceeds from a surface toward an inside of the first oxide component by a first heat treatment, so that a first oxide crystal component is formed in contact with at least part of the base component. A second oxide component is formed over the first oxide crystal component. Crystal growth is performed by a second heat treatment using the first oxide crystal component as a seed, so that a second oxide crystal component is formed. Thus, a stacked oxide material is formed. A transistor with a high mobility is formed using the stacked oxide material and a driver circuit is formed using the transistor. |
| US08247810B2 |
Electroactive materials
There is provided an electroactive material having Formula I wherein: Q is the same or different at each occurrence and can be O, S, Se, Te, NR, SO, SO2, or SiR3; R is the same or different at each occurrence and can be hydrogen, alkyl, aryl, alkenyl, or alkynyl; R1 through R8 are the same or different and can be hydrogen, alkyl, aryl, halogen, hydroxyl, aryloxy, alkoxy, alkenyl, alkynyl, amino, alkylthio, phosphino, silyl, —COR, —COOR, —PO3R2, —OPO3R2, or CN. |
| US08247806B2 |
Field effect transistor having graphene channel layer
Provided is a field effect transistor including a graphene channel layer, and capable of increasing an on/off ratio of an operating current by using the graphene of the graphene channel layer. The field effect transistor includes: a substrate; the graphene channel layer which is disposed on a portion of the substrate and includes graphene; a first electrode disposed on a first region of the graphene channel layer and a portion of the substrate; an interlayer disposed on a second region of the graphene channel layer, which is apart from the first region, and a portion of the substrate; a second electrode disposed on the interlayer; a gate insulation layer disposed on a portion of the graphene channel layer, the first electrode, and the second electrode; and a gate electrode disposed on a portion of the gate insulation layer. |
| US08247801B2 |
Organic semi-conductor photo-detecting device
An organic photo-detecting field-effect device is presented, the device comprising a first layer comprising an organic semi-conducting material, the first layer acting as an accumulation layer and as a charge transport layer for a first type of charge carriers, and a second layer comprising a second material, the second layer acting as a an accumulation layer for a second type of charge carriers. Charges collected in the second layer influence the charge transport in the first layer. The second material may be an organic semi-conducting material or a metal. At the interface between the first layer and the second layer a heterojunction is formed in the case of an organic semi-conducting second material, and a Schottky barrier is formed in the case of a metal second material, giving rise to an efficient exciton splitting. Different geometries and operation modes facilitating the removal of the collected photo-generated charge carriers during the reset period of the device are presented. Furthermore, a method for operating an organic photo-detecting field-effect device is provided. |
| US08247799B2 |
Superconducting shielding for use with an integrated circuit for quantum computing
An integrated circuit for quantum computing may include a superconducting shield to limit magnetic field interactions. |
| US08247798B2 |
RF circuits including transistors having strained material layers
Circuits for processing radio frequency (“RF”) and microwave signals are fabricated using field effect transistors (“FETs”) that have one or more strained channel layers disposed on one or more planarized substrate layers. FETs having such a configuration exhibit improved values for, for example, transconductance and noise figure. RF circuits such as, for example, voltage controlled oscillators (“VCOs”), low noise amplifiers (“LNAs”), and phase locked loops (“PLLs”) built using these FETs also exhibit enhanced performance. |
| US08247797B2 |
Field-effect transistor and sensor based on the same
A field-effect transistor has at least one electrode disposed independently of source and drain electrodes and in direct contact with the surface of a semiconductor channel to form a schottky barrier, so that it is possible to easily control the schottky barrier. |
| US08247794B2 |
Nitride semiconductor device
According to one embodiment, a nitride semiconductor device includes a substrate, an Alx1Ga1-x1N first buried layer, an InyAlzGa1-y-zN buried layer and an Alx2Ga1-x2N second buried layer. The substrate has protrusions formed in an in-plane direction on a first major surface, and a depression between adjacent ones of the protrusions. The first buried layer is formed on the depression and one of the protrusions. The InyAlzGa1-y-zN buried layer is formed on the first buried layer. The second buried layer is formed on the InyAlzGa1-y-zN buried layer. A portion of the first buried layer formed on the depression and a portion of the first buried layer formed on the one of the protrusions are not connected to each other. A portion of the InyAlzGa1-y-zN buried layer formed above the depression and a portion of the InyAlzGa1-y-zN buried layer formed above the one of the protrusions are connected to each other. |
| US08247792B2 |
Light emitting diode having modulation doped layer
A light emitting diode (LED) having a modulation doped layer. The LED comprises an n-type contact layer, a p-type contact layer and an active region of a multiple quantum well structure having an InGaN well layer. The n-type contact layer comprises a first modulation doped layer and a second modulation doped layer, each having InGaN layers doped with a high concentration of n-type impurity and low concentration of n-type impurity InGaN layers alternately laminated. The InGaN layers of the first modulation doped layer have the same composition, and the InGaN layers of the second modulation doped layer have the same composition. The second modulation doped layer is interposed between the first modulation doped layer and the active region, and an n-electrode is in contact with the first modulation doped layer. Accordingly, an increase in process time is prevented and strains induced in a multiple quantum well structure are reduced. |
| US08247788B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device
The nonvolatile memory device includes at least one pair of first electrode lines, at least one device structure disposed between the at least one pair of first electrode lines and a dielectric layer disposed between the at least one device structure and the at least one pair of first electrode lines. The at least one device structure includes a second electrode line including a first conductive type semiconductor, a resistance changing material layer adjacent to the second electrode line, a channel adjacent to the resistance changing material layer and including a second conductive type semiconductor different from the first conductive type semiconductor and a third electrode line adjacent to the channel and including the first conductive type semiconductor. |
| US08247787B2 |
Radiographic image capturing system
When a first image capturing apparatus installed in an image capturing room is selected and a power supply switch of a radiation converter used in the first image capturing apparatus is turned on, a controller generates an image capturing apparatus identification signal for specifying the image capturing apparatus, and sends the identification signal together with ID information of the selected image capturing apparatus stored in an ID memory to a console in the image capturing room via a transceiver by wireless communications. The console reads image capturing conditions for the selected image capturing apparatus from an image capturing condition storage unit, and supplies the conditions to a radiation generator for recording a radiographic image in the radiation converter. The radiation generator controls a radiation source according to the supplied conditions to emit radiation for recording a desired radiographic image on a radiation conversion panel of the radiation converter. |
| US08247786B2 |
Non-contact displacement detecting device using optical astigmatism
A displacement detecting device includes a non-contact sensor having a light source, an objective lens focusing output light from the light source onto a measurement surface, and a light receiving element detecting displacement information based on a focal length of the objective lens by using reflected light from the measurement surface; a control unit adjusting the focal length based on the displacement information; a displacement-amount measuring unit having a linear scale attached to the objective lens with a link member therebetween and measuring an amount of displacement of the linear scale when the focal length is adjusted. A light adjustment member is disposed between the light source and the objective lens or between the objective lens and the light receiving element and has an aperture section transmitting the output and/or reflected light therethrough and a light blocking section that blocks a specific light component of the output and/or reflected light. |
| US08247784B2 |
Switched ferroelectric plasma ionizer
A novel ion source for ambient mass spectrometry (switched ferroelectric plasma ionizer or “SwiFerr”), which utilizes the ambient pressure plasma resulting from a sample of barium titanate [001] whose polarization is switched by an audio frequency electric field. High yields of both anions and cations are produced by the source and detected using an ion trap mass spectrometer. Protonated amines and deprotonated volatile acid species, respectively, are detected in the observed mass spectra. Aerodynamic sampling is employed to analyze powders of drug tablets of loperamide and ibuprofen. A peak corresponding to the active pharmaceutical ingredient for each drug is observed in the mass spectra. Pyridine is detected at concentrations in the low part-per-million range in air. The low power consumption of the source is consistent with incorporation into field portable instrumentation for detection of hazardous materials and trace substances in a variety of different applications. |
| US08247782B2 |
Apparatus and method for investigating and/or modifying a sample
An apparatus and a method for investigating and/or modifying a sample is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a charged particle source, at least one particle optical element forming a charged particle beam of charged particles emitted by said charged particle source. The apparatus further comprises an objective lens which generates a charged particle probe from said charged particle beam. The objective lens defines a particle optical axis. A first electrostatic deflection element is arranged—in a direction of propagation of charged particles emitted by said charged particle source—downstream of the objective lens. The electrostatic deflection element deflecting the charged particle beam in a direction perpendicular to said charged particle optical axis and has a deflection bandwidth of at least 10 MHz. |
| US08247779B2 |
Radiation imaging apparatus, its control method, and radiation imaging system
A radiation imaging apparatus having high frame rate and picture quality by offset correction has: a sensor array having matrix-shaped pixels each including a converting element and a TFT; a driver for supplying signals to control terminals of the TFTs row by row; a reader for holding a signal in a first or second sampling/holding (S/H) circuit and outputting an image signal; and a controller for controlling the driver and reader. Until the image signal is output after irradiation of the apparatus with pulsating radiation, the TFT of a pixel is driven so as to output a first signal, the TFT of the pixel to which the first signal has been output is driven so as to output a second electric signal, and the reader outputs the image signal of the signal showing a difference between the first and second signals held in the first and second S/H circuits. |
| US08247774B2 |
Output ratio adjusting method for optic sensor
A method for adjusting output ratio of an optic sensor includes the following steps: measuring and obtaining a response spectrum of the optic sensor; analyzing optic response ratios of the response spectrum at different wavelengths; designing a ratio of light reception areas of the optic sensor, the design being carried out in accordance with three aspects of “the response spectrum” “a fixed proportional relationship being present between multiplication of the optic response ratio and the light reception area and an output of light current” and “a proportional relationship being present between the light reception area and the output of the light current”; and obtaining light current outputs of identical proportions (such as 1:1:1) or in a desired ratio (meaning any arbitrary ratio other than 1:1:1, such as 1:2:1, 1:2:3, or 3:4:5) in accordance with the design of the previous step. |
| US08247765B2 |
Method for measuring gases and corresponding ion mobility spectrometer
The invention relates to a method and device for measuring gaseous substances, in which the method comprises the stages:ionization of the sample gas in a gas flow,leading of the ionized gas flow through an elongated ion-mobility measuring chamber in the cross-section defined by it,filtering out of ions from the ionized gas flow at a distance from the measuring electrodes, permitting the passage of only the ions travelling from the flow cross-section at the selected point,separation of ions with a different ion mobility, with the aid of a transverse static electric field and at least one measuring-electrode pair arranged along the wall of the measuring chamber. |
| US08247763B2 |
Ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometer
The main voltage generator (5) applies a rectangular-wave radio-frequency voltage to the ring electrode (21) in order to capture ions inside the ion trap (2). In the case where the TOFMS (3) is operated in the reflectron mode, the radio-frequency voltage is changed into a constant voltage value when the phase thereof is 1.5π, and a voltage for expelling ions is applied to the end cap electrodes (22, 23) to expel the ions from the exit aperture (25) and introduce them into the TOFMS (3). In this case, since the velocity spread of the ions inside the ion trap (2) is small and so is the spatial spread thereof, a high mass resolution and accuracy can be achieved while assuring a high detection sensitivity. In the case where the TOFMS (3) is operated in the linear mode, the radio-frequency voltage is changed into a constant voltage value when the phase thereof is 0.5π, and then the ions are expelled. In this case, a high mass resolution and mass accuracy can be achieved since the variation of the ions' acceleration, which cannot be converged in the linear mode, can be suppressed. |
| US08247760B2 |
Atom chip device
Ultra-cold (nano-Kelvin) neutral atoms can be trapped, manipulated, and measured, using integrated current carrying micro-structures on a nearby surface (Atom Chips). This can be utilized for the realization of ultra-sensitive sensors and quantum computation devices based on the quantum mechanical properties of the trapped atoms. However, harmful processes arise from the interactions between the atoms and the nearby surface. According to the present invention these harmful processes can be highly suppressed by using electrically anisotropic materials. It is shown that time-independent trapping potential corrugation leading to fragmentation of the trapped atom cloud can be suppressed, and that time dependent noise processes arising from the coupling of atoms to the nearby surface, and leading to loss of atoms from the trap, heating and loss of coherence can be significantly reduced. |
| US08247758B2 |
Optical jog wheel with spiral coding element
A user navigational apparatus. The user navigational apparatus includes a dial, a coding element, and an encoder. The coding element is coupled to a dial. The coding element includes a track of alternating reflective and non-reflective sections, each having a substantially oblique leading edge relative to a direction of movement of the coding element. The encoder includes an emitter and a detector. The emitter generates a light signal incident on the track of the coding element. The detector detects a reflected light signal which corresponds to a portion of the incident light signal that is reflected off of the reflective sections of the track. The detector also generates a channel signal corresponding to the reflected light signal. |
| US08247755B2 |
3D volumetric display
A light surface display for providing a three-dimensional image including a plurality of particles dispersed within a volumetric display. A first projection system projects sequential slices of electromagnetic energy of one or more infrared wavelengths along the length and width of the volumetric display energizing particles to form a two-dimensional image. A second projection system projects translational slices of electromagnetic energy of one or more infra-red wavelengths that intersect with the energized particles across the depth of the volumetric display. A control system synchronizes the projection of the image source and the activation source such that the two-dimensional image and the translational slices energize the particles for a pre-determined length of time so that the particles illuminate to form an illuminated three-dimensional image. |
| US08247752B2 |
Combination cooking appliance including multiple microwave heating units with rotatable antennae
A microwave cooking appliance includes first and second side mounted microwave systems, each including an associated antenna. Drive structure is provided to establish an oscillating operation for each of the antennae, wherein the angles through which the antennae rotate are configured to assure that the cooking appliance operates in favorable mode patterns. In accordance with the invention, the antenna preferably only oscillates through less than or equal to 180° and, most preferably, approximately 150°. |
| US08247742B2 |
Quartz tube infrared heater system
An electric space heating system Air at ambient temperature is drawn by a fan assembly into the system through an air inlet filter, then moves through a “Z”-shaped box within a heat exchanger assembly where it is heated by quartz heater tube assemblies The heated air is further heated as it passes by copper plates within the box and then exits the system Each tube assembly includes an electrically-resistive filament within the lumen of a quartz tube that is translucent to Infrared radiation emitted by the filament Oppositely—directed, ceramic insulators, attached to opposite ends of the tube, in combination with a ceramic, electrical connector block, support the tubes within the box and provide electrical contacts for an electric power source to energize the filament The block has a spring-loaded, sliding electrical contact that facilitates installation and removal of the tube assemblies through a utility access cutout. |
| US08247741B2 |
Dynamic system for variable heating or cooling of linearly conveyed substrates
A system is provided for heating or cooling discrete, linearly conveyed substrates having a gap between a trailing edge of a first substrate and a leading edge of a following substrate in a conveyance direction. The system includes a chamber, and a conveyor operably configured within the chamber to move the substrates through at a conveyance rate. A plurality of individually controlled temperature control units, for example heating or cooling units, are disposed linearly within the chamber along the conveyance direction. A controller is in communication with the temperature control units and is configured to cycle output of the temperature control units from a steady-state temperature output as a function of the spatial position of the conveyed substrates within the chamber relative to the temperature control units so as to decrease temperature variances in the substrates caused by movement of the substrates through the chamber. |
| US08247740B2 |
Spark plug, and its manufacturing method
A spark plug of the present invention includes a cylindrical metal shell, a cylindrical ceramic insulator retained in the metal shell, a center electrode retained in the ceramic insulator and extending in an axial direction, and a ground electrode formed into a bent shape and having a rear end portion fixed to the metal shell and a front end portion facing a front end portion of the center electrode with a gap left therebetween. The ground electrode contains a large thickness region formed on a rear end side thereof with a large thickness, a small thickness region formed on a front end side thereof with a smaller thickness than that of the large thickness region, a protruding region formed on the small thickness region and facing the center electrode and a thickness changing region formed between the large thickness region and the small thickness region and located at a different position from a position of a minimum curvature radius region of the bent shape of the ground electrode. |
| US08247738B2 |
Welding booth
The present invention relates to a welding booth that has a small foot print and can be joined to other booths for maximization of floor space use. |
| US08247737B2 |
Contact device for welding apparatus
A contact fitting for a welding apparatus includes a housing, and first contact device, a second contact device, and a third contact device arranged between the first and second contact devices. The third contact device is movable relative to the first and second contact devices. The first contact device has an elongated form, is fixedly arranged in the housing, and extends from a first end, which is arranged between first and second ends of the housing, to a second end. The second contact device has an elongated form, is suspended spring-loaded to the housing, and extends from a first end, which is arranged between the first and second ends of the housing, to a second end. |
| US08247735B2 |
Installation for performing operations of shaping glass or crystal pieces
The invention relates to an installation that is used to perform operations for forming glass or crystal pieces (21), comprising: at least one drive wheel and at least one idler wheel (3); a support element which is driven by the drive wheel; main mandrels (7) which are supported by the support element and which, in turn, each support a first end of a glass or crystal piece (21); and work stations. According to the invention, at least one wheel takes the form of a carousel (2) which comprises secondary mandrels (8), numbering fewer than the main mandrels (7), and which co-operates with the moving support element. Each secondary mandrel (8) opposes a main mandrel (7) along a common axis (23) and supports the second end of the glass or crystal piece. |
| US08247733B2 |
Arrangement for the repair of the blades of BLISK drums by means of laser deposition welding
An arrangement for the repair of BLISK blades damaged at their leading and trailing edges by use of laser deposition welding, includes a laser source and laser optics for generating a focused laser beam (26) and a powder line (35) connected to a powder reservoir for supplying metal powder to be melted by the laser beam to the weld area. A modular, tubularly elongated welding apparatus (7) with a connection module (13) which is connected to a laser source and in which the entering laser beam is deflected in longitudinal direction and parallelized, and to the one side of the connection module (13) is connected to a camera module for a CCD camera (12) enabling the precise positioning of the welding apparatus and the deposition of the molten metal powder on the respective blade to be monitored and controlled. |
| US08247729B2 |
Electrical discharge pocketing using loop type machining electrode
An electrode for EDM. |
| US08247725B2 |
Vacuum switchgear
A vacuum switchgear has a vacuum valve including a movable conductor connected to an insulating rod, and a fixed conductor connected to a bus bar or to a load cable, a vacuum chamber encasing the vacuum valve, an insulating envelope covering the vacuum chamber, the outer surface thereof being covered with an electro-conductive layer thereby to earth the envelope, and an insulating lid gas-tightly fitted to the insulating envelope. The lid has an insulating bushing through which an insulating rod penetrates, the insulating rod being connected to an operating mechanism, wherein the insulating rod except a portion exposed from the bushing is gas-tightly confined in insulating gas atmosphere formed between the insulating envelope and the insulating lid. |
| US08247722B2 |
Illuminated push button switch
A push button switch device includes a push button disposed on a cover constituting an outer surface of an equipment body and light-transmissible, a switching element behind the push button so that its operation axis substantially corresponds with a central axis of the push button, light sources around the switching element to illuminate the push button and operated by the push button, and an incidence surface on a rear surface of the push button so that light from the light sources is incident on it and including a concave curved surface located so as to face the light sources and a convex curved surface located outside and continuous to the concave curved surface. The push button has a recess in a central rear surface so as to be located inside the incidence surface and a light scattering surface on an inner surface of the recess so as to scatter light. |
| US08247717B2 |
Power button assembly and electronic device using the same
A power button assembly includes a printed circuit board having a switch, a support plate engaging with the printed circuit board, and a push button to activate the switch. The support plate includes abutting portions to elastically abut against the push button, and one of the support plate and the push button includes hook portions, and the other includes latching portions engaging with the hook portions. |
| US08247716B2 |
Electrical switching apparatus, and levering assembly and position indicator assembly therefor
A position indicator assembly is provided for a levering assembly of an electrical switching apparatus, such as a circuit breaker. The levering assembly includes a drive shaft and a racking member movably coupled to the circuit breaker housing. The drive shaft cooperates with the racking member to facilitate racking the circuit breaker into and out of a cassette. The position indicator assembly includes a number of indicator gears cooperating with the drive shaft, an indication rack cooperating with the indicator gears, and an indicator cooperating with the indication rack to provide a visual indication indicative of the position of the circuit breaker with respect to the cassette. When the circuit breaker is moved with respect to the cassette, the drive shaft pivots. In response, the indicator gears move, thereby moving the indication rack and the indicator in order to provide the visual indication. |
| US08247714B2 |
Back lighted membrane keyboard with components being secured together by subjecting to ultrasonic welding
A back lighted membrane keyboard includes a key housing, a membrane, a key support plate, a membrane circuit board, an insulative plate, a light guide membrane plate, and a base plate. The key housing, the membrane, the key support plate, the membrane circuit board, the insulative plate, and the light guide membrane plate are aligned by inserting stems thereinto. Eventually, these components are subjected to ultrasonic welding to be bound together. |
| US08247710B2 |
Combination weigher including a plurality of combination hopper groups
A combination weigher includes a plurality of upper collecting chutes disposed below weighing hoppers, a plurality of upper collecting hoppers provided at discharge outlets of the upper collecting chutes, a lower collecting chute provided below the upper collecting hoppers, a lower collecting hopper provided at a discharge outlet of the lower collecting chute, and a control unit which repeatedly performs a combination process to determine one discharge combination of the weighing hoppers, a discharge process for discharging the objects from the weighing hoppers onto the upper collecting chutes, and a discharge process for discharging the objects simultaneously from the upper collecting hoppers, and a discharge process for discharging the objects from the lower collecting hopper. |