| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08708064B2 |
System and method to control steering and additional functionality in a rotary steerable system
A system and methodology provide control over the directional drilling of a wellbore while enabling additional functionality. A rotational valve is mounted within a drill collar of a rotary steerable system to control flow of actuating fluid to one or more steering pads which are selectively moved in a lateral direction with respect to the rotary steerable system. The rotational valve also is controlled to carry out at least one additional function while controlling the direction of drilling. |
| US08708063B2 |
Rechargeable electric tool
The present invention provides a rechargeable electric tool in which a battery pack detachably mounted to a mounting part, which is formed lower than an opening provided at a housing, wherein a seal member is held in the housing to seal between the opening and the battery pack mounted to the mounting part. A projection projecting toward the opening side is provided at the seal member, and a passing hole that penetrates the projection and the seal member and allows a lead line connecting an electric component accommodated on the opening side in the housing to the battery pack to pass therethrough is formed. |
| US08708061B2 |
Lower damper for demolition hammer
A demolition hammer is provided that may include a housing having a distal end, a power cell disposed in the housing, an end plate attached to the distal end of the housing, and a damper disposed in the housing between the power cell and the end plate, wherein the damper is spaced apart from the power cell by a gap. The damper may also support and align a plurality of wear plates interposed between the housing and power cell. The damper may have generally rectangular first portion having a planar upper surface and a planar lower surface generally parallel to the upper surface and a generally circular second portion extending from the lower surface, wherein the first portion and the section portion define a central through bore. |
| US08708058B2 |
Method and an arrangement for controlling a rock drill
An arrangement and a method for controlling at least one drill parameter when drilling in rock with a rock drill, comprising an impulse-generating device arranged to induce shock waves in a tool acting against the rock with a percussive force generated via a shock wave-generating pressure. The arrangement and method comprises a control system for determining a first parameter value representing the damping pressure, determining a second parameter value representing the rotation pressure of a drill bit, determining a deviation between the second parameter value and a rotation pressure reference value, determining a parameter reference value depending on the deviation, and regulating the percussion pressure based on a function of the deviation and the parameter reference value. |
| US08708057B2 |
Scuffle hoe and multipurpose garden tool
The tool is an optimized scuffle hoe that maximizes the efforts of the user in forward and backward motion, and that provides the functions of multiple garden tools, all-in-one. The tool includes a V-shaped head portion having an open interior with blades that are sharpened on both inside and outside. The V-shaped head is connected to a handle portion by curved arms that are free of 90 degree bends. |
| US08708056B2 |
External casing packer and method of performing cementing job
A packer that includes a mandrel, primary and secondary opening seats attached to an interior of the mandrel, a landing seat attached to the interior of the mandrel, a packer element attached to an exterior of the mandrel, and a closing seat attached to the interior of the mandrel. The secondary opening seat may be between the primary opening seat and the landing seat, and the primary opening seat may be between the closing seat and the secondary opening seat. The primary opening seat engages an opening plug and moves from a first position covering an opening to a second position not covering the opening, and the secondary opening seat engages the primary opening seat and moves from a first position covering a port to a second position not covering the port. |
| US08708052B2 |
Riser lifecycle management system, computer readable medium and program code
Systems, computer readable medium, program code, and methods for monitoring and managing a plurality of marine riser assets are provided. An example of a system includes a computer and a computer readable medium containing a program code of instructions that when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform operations for tracking the subsea deployment and retrieval of each of a plurality of riser joints. The operations can include receiving riser joint identification data from a riser joint identification indicator connected to the respective riser joint during the operational deployment thereof, and identifying the respective riser joint being operationally deployed to thereby track the deployment thereof. The operations can also include receiving riser joint identification data from the riser identification indicator of the respective riser joint during retrieval thereof, and identifying the respective one or more riser joints being retrieved to thereby track the retrieval thereof. |
| US08708047B2 |
Method of cooling downhole element using nanoenhanced downhole fluid
A method of transferring heat to or from a downhole element comprising contacting a downhole fluid comprising a fluid medium, and a nanoparticle, the nanoparticle being uniformly dispersed in the downhole fluid, to a downhole element inserted in a downhole environment. A method of cooling a downhole element, and a method of drilling a borehole are also disclosed. |
| US08708045B2 |
Multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agents and associated methods
Treatment of a subterranean formation can be conducted with viscosified treatment fluids that comprise a multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agent. Methods for treating a subterranean formation can comprise providing a treatment fluid that comprises an aqueous base fluid, a gelling agent, and a multifunctional boronic acid crosslinking agent that comprises a copolymer comprising at least one boronic acid monomer unit and at least one water-soluble monomer unit; and introducing the treatment fluid into a subterranean formation. |
| US08708043B2 |
Methods and multi-purpose apparatus for dispensing and circulating fluid in wellbore casing
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to an apparatus to fluidly couple to a casing string. The apparatus may include a fill-up and circulating tool having a flow path extending therethrough, in which the fill-up and circulating tool may be configured to fluidly seal internally within an upper end of the casing string. The apparatus may further include a cementing head assembly having a flow path extending therethrough, in which the flow path of the cementing head assembly is fluidly coupled to the flow path of the fill-up and circulating tool, and a releasing mechanism coupled to the cementing head assembly, in which the releasing mechanism is configured to release a fluid-conveyed sealing device through the cementing head assembly and into the fill-up and circulating tool. |
| US08708040B2 |
Double string pump for hydrocarbon wells
A double string pump transports liquids to the surface of a hydrocarbon well including a hydrocarbon well that is producing both natural gas and liquid fluids. The double string pump includes a hollow tube that raises and lowers the plunger and carries the liquids to the surface and an outer tube receives liquids down into the well to lubricate the moving parts and flush particles from areas prone to wear and back toward the production tube. The natural gas is produced through the annulus between wellbore casing and the outer production tubing string. |
| US08708037B2 |
Condenser
A condenser has, at one end, a first header tank to which first heat exchange tubes of third and fourth heat exchange paths are connected and a second header tank to which second heat exchange tubes of first and second heat exchange paths are connected. The upper end of the first header tank is located above the lower end of the second header tank. The first header tank has a branching control section promoting a flow of liquid-phase refrigerant from the first header tank into the first heat exchange tubes of the fourth heat exchange path. The branching control section includes a space forming member which forms a closed refrigerant inflow space communicating with the first heat exchange tubes, and a liquid accumulation space. The space forming member has a communication portion for communication between a lower portion of the refrigerant inflow space and the liquid accumulation space. |
| US08708035B2 |
Heat exchanger in a modular construction
The invention relates to a heat exchanger in modular construction, in particular for facilities operated using large load and/or temperature changes, having an external shell and a number of heat exchanger modules, wherein each heat exchanger module, which is either a preheater, evaporator, or superheater module, has an entry manifold, and exit manifold, and meandering pipes, through which the heat-absorbing medium, in particular water, flows from the entry manifold to the exit manifold, and the heat exchanger modules are also situated in a shared external shell, so that they have the same heat-dissipating medium flowing around them, the evaporator modules being connected in parallel via a steam-collecting drum situated outside the external shell. |
| US08708028B2 |
Window blind assembly for vehicle
There is a need for a window blind assembly for a vehicle, in which vibration and noise are reduced when a shade curtain moves and which is convenient to be transported. The window blind assembly for a vehicle includes: a main frame; a pair of connection units arranged in the main frame; a rotary shaft rotationally arranged in the connection units; a pair of guide rails rotationally arranged in the connection units and formed with guide grooves; a shade curtain supporter movably coupled to the guide grooves of the pair of guide rails; a shade curtain including one side end portion connected to the rotary shaft and rolled into the rotary shaft, and the other side end portion connected to the shade curtain supporter and unrolled as the shade curtain supporter becomes apart from the rotary shaft; and a driving unit providing driving force to move the shade curtain supporter along the guide rail. |
| US08708024B2 |
Methods for operating window covers
A method for operating a window cover utilizes an extendible window cover having a first rail, a second rail and a pair of lift cords. The first and second rails of the window cover are movable relative to each other. According to the method, at least one of the first rail and the second rail is moved in a first direction to cause the lift cords to unwind from the lift cord pulleys, thereby rotating a lift cord pulley shaft and a set of gears. Further, at least one of the first rail and the second rail is moved in a second direction to cause the lift cords to wind on the lift cord pulleys, with the lift cord pulley shaft rotating in an opposite direction. |
| US08708019B2 |
Device for welding plastic tubes
A device for welding plastic tubes includes a pair of tube holders each of which has a tube clamp which includes an upper jaw and a lower jaw. The jaws in both of the tube clamps of both tube holders have smooth tube contacting walls to permit the tubing to slip through either side when the tube holders and tubes are being moved from a loading station to a stripping station to increase the length of fluid free area in the clamped tubes. |
| US08708017B2 |
Assembly for altering the diameter of transfer ring or drum apparatus through a broad range
Elongate tire-building equipment having circumference-defining apparatus wherein the circumference serves as a forming surface or as a circumference-engaging surface utilizes ramp members which are regularly disposed about the equipment centerline and upon which the circumference-defining apparatus is mounted for movement radially toward and away from the equipment centerline. A thrust plate and an actuator are mounted at the ends of the equipment for movement toward or away from one another along the equipment centerline, and an assembly of guide tracks and guide blocks are interposed between the ramp members and the thrust plate and between the ramp members and the actuator so that the movement of the thrust plate and the actuator toward and away from one another effects the movement of the ramp members radially toward and away from the equipment centerline by a relatively large amount. |
| US08708014B2 |
Method and apparatus for detecting leak in a VARTM process
A method for producing a composite structure comprising fiber reinforced material by means of vacuum assisted resin transfer molding is described. The fiber material is impregnated with liquid resin, and the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a forming structure comprising a rigid mold part and a second mold part, b) placing the fiber material in the rigid mold part, c) sealing the second mold part against the rigid mold part to form a mold cavity, d) connecting a source of uncured fluid resin to at least one resin inlet communicating with the mold cavity, e) connecting at least one vacuum outlet communicating with the mold cavity, f) evacuating the interior of the forming structure through the at least one vacuum outlet, g) supplying uncured resin from the source of uncured resin to the mold cavity through the at least one resin inlet so as to fill the mold cavity with resin, and h) curing the resin in order to form the composite structure. During the evacuation process of step f), an airflow level through the at least one vacuum outlet is measured. |
| US08708004B2 |
System and method for delivering fuel to an aircraft from a vehicle
A fueling control system for providing fuel from a vehicle to an aircraft, and a method of providing fuel from a fuel vehicle to an aircraft are disclosed herein. The fueling control system includes a pressure transducer for sensing back pressure in a fluid path to a fuel tank of an aircraft, and a digital controller coupled to the pressure transducer for receiving the back pressure in the fluid path and controlling fuel flow in the fluid path to the aircraft. The method includes the steps of sensing back pressure in a fluid path from the aircraft; receiving the sensed back pressure by a digital controller; and controlling fuel flow to the aircraft in the fluid path based on the sensed back pressure. |
| US08708002B2 |
Method and apparatus for volumetric metering and depositing
A method and apparatus are provided for the volumetric metering and depositing of a food product comprising a plurality of particles or flowable particles. The plurality of food particles are transported upon a discharge conveyor having a first rate of speed, the plurality of particles arranged uniformly from passing beneath a product leveling device. When the plurality of particles reach the end of the discharge conveyor, the particles fall from the end of the conveyor under the operation of gravity and are deposited in a shuttle while the shuttle travels at a second rate of speed from a position at least partially below the conveyor to collect the falling particles in cells or receiving receptacles. The relationship between the first rate of speed of the conveyor and the second rate of speed of the shuttle define a metered amount of particles collected in each of the receiving receptacles. |
| US08707992B2 |
Fluid apparatus unit structure
A fluid apparatus unit structure is provided that can be applied to a use in which a chemical fluid is removed as necessary while chemical fluid circulation and water circulation are being carried out, a fluid such as a chemical fluid does not readily solidify therein, and the fluid apparatus unit structure is compact. In the fluid apparatus unit structure (FU) that groups together and integrates plural fluid apparatus components that are connected via a flow path into a base member (10), a linked flow path (15), which links an adjacent air pressure control valve (20A) and a manual control valve (30A) that form a first chemical fluid discharge path that carries out chemical fluid circulation, is offset from the axial center of the fluid apparatus components. |
| US08707991B2 |
Float device
A float device for use in drawing liquids such as fuel from a tank or other reservoir is disclosed. The device comprises a float arranged for rising and falling with the level of liquid in the tank and a liquid pick-up duct, which comprises a flexible tube having its free end coupled to the float. The float is arranged for vertical movement within a filter or other member, which encloses the float and the flexible tube. The filter or other member is elongate and tubular in construction and comprises an open lower end. |
| US08707986B2 |
Pressure reducing valve
A flow control device is disclosed. The flow control device comprises a pressure reducing valve. The pressure reducing valve comprises a valve body having at least an inlet port on a high side and an outlet port on a low side and having walls defining a regulating chamber, the outlet port in fluid communication with the regulating chamber. A diaphragm assembly is provided having a diaphragm and a stem for engaging the diaphragm. The stem has a base and a connecting arm. The diaphragm engages the main valve at a perimeter thereof so as to partially enclose the regulating chamber. A valve controlled opening cooperating with the connecting arm of the stem is located between the inlet port and the regulating chamber. The valve controlled opening is adapted to adjustably restrict flow of gas between the inlet port and the regulating chamber responsive to movement of the connecting arm. |
| US08707972B2 |
Endoscope processing apparatus and endoscope processing method
An endoscope processing apparatus of the invention includes: a cleaning tank which can house an endoscope; a liquid drainage port, a liquid inlet port and a discharge port which are opening portions provided to the cleaning tank; a first-liquid introducing section which introduces a first liquid into a multipurpose conduit; a second-liquid introducing section which introduces a second liquid into the multipurpose conduit; a gas-liquid mixing section which mixes a liquid in the multipurpose conduit with gas, to deliver the mixed fluid to the discharge port; a liquid-feeding section which delivers a liquid in the multipurpose conduit to the gas-liquid mixing section; and an opening/closing section which opens and closes a connection between the multipurpose conduit and the gas-liquid mixing section; and a compressor which delivers the gas to the gas-liquid mixing section. |
| US08707971B2 |
Laminated walls for uniform fluid flow
A chamber with a fluid distribution network for uniform fluid flow within the chamber is provided. The chamber includes a first chamber wall that has a first surface and an opposing interior surface. The first surface is formed with a first set of channels, and the interior surface is exposed to the interior of the chamber and includes a plurality of interior ports that are connected to a plurality of the first set of channels. The chamber also includes a second chamber wall that has a second surface and an opposing exterior surface. The second surface has a second set of channels that partially intersect the first set of channels when the first surface is mated with the second surface. The exterior surface also includes at least one exterior port that provides access to the second set of channels. |
| US08707969B2 |
Automated hair care process
A hair treatment device and a corresponding method for treating hair are disclosed. The hair treatment device is suitable for heating hair and has a heating element that is heated to a starting temperature and whose temperature is regulated by a temperature control. The hair treatment device has a sensor that measures data from which a parameter based on the condition of the hair can be generated, wherein the parameter influences the temperature control. |
| US08707966B2 |
Disintegratable plug wraps and their applications
A filter rod used in manufacture of a smoking article contains: (a) a rod of filter material, and (b) a plug wrap surrounding the rod of filter material. The overlapping side edges of the plug wrap are secured together with a plug wrap adhesive and the plug wrap adhesive comprises a disintegration accelerating agent. Alternatively or in addition, the plug wrap may contain perforations. |
| US08707963B2 |
Method for performing implant surgery
The joint implant manufacturer obtains and compiles surgeon-specific surgical and supply preference information in relation to a supplied joint implant prior to surgery. The manufacturer designates and trains at least one surgical team member using the surgeon-specific preference information and then supplies the service of the surgical team member(s) together with the supplied joint implant and supplies. The surgical team member(s) perform surgical procedures on the patient to assist the surgeon in removing a defective joint and replacing it with the supplied implant in accordance with the surgeon's surgical preferences. |
| US08707962B2 |
Device for protecting an area of the human body
A device for protecting an area of skin of a human body includes a plate. The plate includes a first face covered by an external layer and a second face opposite the external layer. The second face is configured to be applied onto an area of skin to be protected. The plate also includes a protective part made of a polymer gel and at least one adhesive part made of a polymer gel. The protective part is configured to ensure mechanical protection of the area to be protected and the adhesive part is configured to come into contact with the skin. The adhesive part has an adhesive power greater than an adhesive power of the protective layer to hold the plate on the area to be protected. |
| US08707961B1 |
Integrated surgical refuse container and mayo stand cover
A Mayo stand cover and integrated medical waste refuse container that includes a pair of thin plastic sheets sealed together to cover the top and bottom of a Mayo stand with a liquid barrier and a strategically positioned, substantially rectangular visually clear sealable plastic refuse container sheet attached in a specific area of the Mayo stand cover to be positioned vertically perpendicular to the Mayo stand. The refuse container allows surgical personnel direct access for disposing of surgical waste and a visual opportunity to determine what has been placed in the refuse bag for counting purposes, and prevents waste material from falling out during removal of the Mayo stand cover after surgery. |
| US08707960B2 |
Partially erodable systems for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea
A method of maintaining airway patency in an airway of a patient. The method includes the steps of implanting a device into airway-forming tissue without affixing the device to the tissue and permitting a bioerodable portion of the device to bioerode to apply a force to the airway-forming tissue to maintain airway patency. The invention also provides devices for practicing the method. |
| US08707956B2 |
Endotracheal tube having outer and inner cannulae
A tracheal tube apparatus includes a cannula having first and second ends. An inflatable cuff is formed on the cannula between the first and second ends. A conduit extends from the cuff for introducing an inflating fluid into the cuff when it is desired to inflate the cuff and removing inflating fluid from the cuff when it is desired to deflate the cuff. A gauge for indicating the inflation pressure of the cuff is coupled in the conduit. |
| US08707953B2 |
Respiratory apparatus with improved flow-flattening detection
In a respiratory apparatus for treatment of sleep apnea and other disorders associated with an obstruction of a patient's airway and which uses an airflow signal, an obstruction index is generated which detects the flattening of the inspiratory portion of the airflow. The obstruction index is used to differentiate normal and obstructed breathing. The obstruction index is based upon different weighting factors applied to sections of the airflow signal thereby improving sensitivity to various types of respiration obstructions. |
| US08707949B2 |
Tracking solar panel mount
A solar panel mount that tilts the panel about one or more axes toward the direction facing the sun when it is shining, through the action of one or more mechanical means, each effecting tilt about at least one of the axes, and each responding to a particular direction of sunlight with respect to the base or panel, through directionally-sensitive solar radiation absorbing means. In one set of preferred embodiments the mechanical means are length-changing actuators in which a temperature-responsive working fluid drives levers to lift a side of the panel. In a second set of embodiments, the mechanical means are tension-changing actuators in which temperature-responsive folded springs retract to pull the panel to a side. |
| US08707944B2 |
Saw wire
A saw wire includes a steel wire (11) having a steel strand (11a) with predetermined composition, an abrasive (13) fixed to the steel wire (11) by a fixing part (12), and an intermetallic compound (15) on an interface between the abrasive (13) and the fixing part (12). Tensile strength of the steel strand (11) is 3500 MPa or more, and the fixing part (12) includes a Sn-based solder containing Zn or Ag. |
| US08707937B2 |
Fuel systems and methods for controlling fuel systems in a vehicle with multiple fuel tanks
Fuel systems and methods for controlling fuel systems in a vehicle with multiple fuel tanks are provided. An exemplary vehicle fuel system includes a first fuel tank including a first pressure sensor, and a second fuel tank. The system may further include a fuel tank isolation valve positioned to selectively decouple the first fuel tank and the second fuel tank. The system may further include an electronic controller configured to identify which of the first fuel tank and second fuel tank includes a fuel system leak by selectively decoupling the first fuel tank and the second fuel tank via the fuel tank isolation valve, responsive to an identification of the fuel system leak. |
| US08707935B2 |
Exhaust gas recirculation system with a NOx sensor
Various systems and methods are described for operating an engine system having a sensor coupled to an exhaust gas recirculation system in a motor vehicle. One example method comprises during a first operating condition, directing at least some exhaust gas from an exhaust of the engine through the exhaust gas recirculation system and past the sensor to an intake of the engine and, during a second operating condition, directing at least some fresh air through the exhaust gas recirculation system and past the sensor. |
| US08707934B2 |
Fuel preheater and emission reducing device for diesel and other fuel injected engines
Free heat or scavenged heat from the coolant system or circulating oil from the crankcase of an internal combustion engine supplies heat to a fuel pre-heater causing the liquid fuel to become superheated and partially vaporized. Liquid fuel preferably diesel is converted from a fluid at ambient temperature to a superheated fuel breaking down the hydrocarbons bonds of the fuel (cracking) before being sent directly to the fuel injectors. Water fog may be added to the air intake manifold. Catalysts inside the fuel preheater also aid in breaking down the fuel (cracking). The fuel pre-heater also operates as a coolant/oil filter to remove debris and sludge from the circulating coolant water or circulating crankcase oil of an internal combustion engine. Fuel efficiency has repeatedly been tested to increase 20% or better with highway driving. Exhaust emissions have been tested to show 20% or more reductions in greenhouse gases. |
| US08707932B1 |
Fuel transfer pump system
A Fuel transfer pump system comprising a multi-mode control process for transferring fuel. The multi-mode control process comprising a closed loop pressure control mode for maintaining fuel pressure at an outlet of a fuel transfer pump at a substantially constant target pressure and having a soft start mode for bidirectionally ramping up to the target pressure by utilizing an open loop control in combination with the closed loop pressure control mode; a current control mode dynamically switchable from the closed loop pressure control mode for controlling a motor driving the fuel transfer pump as a function of a predetermined current threshold; a DC-bus voltage compensation mode operable with either the closed loop pressure control mode or the current control mode for compensating DC bus voltage sag; and an open loop ramp down mode for ramping open loop motor RPMs to zero from any other mode for shutting down system operation. |
| US08707931B2 |
Engine supercharging device
An engine supercharging device includes are a supercharger (38) for pressurizing air introduced in an engine (E), an air cleaner (36) for purifying an ambient air, a purified air supply passage (56) for supplying a purified air (CA) from the air cleaner (36) towards the supercharger (38), a supercharged air passage (62) for supplying the supercharged air (SA) from the supercharger (38) towards an air intake passage (60) of the engine (E), and a relief valve (68) for adjusting an air pressure within the supercharged air passage (62). The relief valve (68) has a discharge port portion (68b) which is accommodated within the air cleaner (36). The engine (E) has a plurality of engine cylinders, and a downstream portion of the supercharged air passage (62) is defined by an intake air chamber (54) for supplying the sucked air to respective air intake passages (60) of the plural engine cylinders. |
| US08707930B2 |
Hold-down device for a fuel injection device
The hold-down device for a fuel injection device has a design which is simple in particular, which nonetheless enables a fuel injector (1) to be held down very effectively. The fuel injection device includes at least one fuel injector (1), a receptacle bore for the fuel injector (1) and a connecting fitting (6) of a fuel distributor line (4), the hold-down device (10) being clamped between a shoulder (12) of the fuel injector (1) and an end surface (14) of the connecting fitting (6). The hold-down device (10) has a base element (11) in the shape of a partial ring, from which an axially flexible hold-down clip (13) extends in a bent-away fashion, the clip having at least two webs (21), two oblique segments (22), and two contact segments (23). The fuel injector (1) is suitable in particular for use in fuel injection systems of mixture-compressing, externally ignited internal combustion engines. |
| US08707928B2 |
Lubrication apparatus for four-stroke engine
A lubrication apparatus for a four-stroke engine that prevents lubrication failure from occurring around the crankshaft and reliably prevents oil from remaining in a valve operating chamber includes: an intake part positioned below the level of an oil A in an oil reservoir even if the oil reservoir is tilted and the level of the oil A changes; an oil feeding passageway that sucks up the oil A from the intake part and supplies the oil A to the crank chamber; and an direct passageway that allows communication between a valve operating chamber and a crank chamber when a negative pressure is created in the crank chamber. Open end parts of the oil feeding passageway and the direct passageway which are open in the crank chamber are provided to open as the piston moves from a position near the top dead center to the top dead center. |
| US08707924B2 |
Control device and control method for engine, engine starting device, and vehicle
An engine is driven by a starter including a pinion gear that can be engaged with a ring gear coupled to a crankshaft; an actuator causing, in a driven state, the pinion gear to be moved to a position where the pinion gear is engaged with the ring gear; and a motor causing the pinion gear to be rotated. The engine is provided with a rotation angle sensor for detecting rotation of the crankshaft. ECU detects the crank angle of the crankshaft based on a signal from the rotation angle sensor after the actuator is driven and the motor is driven. |
| US08707921B2 |
Laser device and method for operating same
A method for operating a laser device which has a laser-active solid and a preferably passive Q-switch in which the laser device is acted upon by pumped light for generating a laser pulse. The radiation spontaneously emitted by the laser device is analyzed for drawing a conclusion about an operating state of the laser device, in particular about a laser pulse being generated. |
| US08707920B2 |
Valve timing control apparatus for internal combustion engine
In an intake valve timing control apparatus, a lock member is arranged to lock a vane rotor with respect to a housing when the vane rotor is in a most retarded position within which rotation of the vane rotor is restricted by a stopper mechanism. In an exhaust valve timing control apparatus, a lock member is arranged to lock a vane rotor with respect to a housing when the vane rotor is in a most advanced position within which rotation of the vane rotor is restricted by a stopper mechanism. The exhaust valve timing control apparatus further includes a biasing member arranged to bias the vane rotor with respect to the housing in a direction toward the most advanced position. In each valve timing control apparatus, a housing body of the housing and a vane rotor are formed by extruding an aluminum-based metal. |
| US08707919B2 |
Camshaft adjuster arrangement and camshaft adjuster
A camshaft adjuster arrangement (2) having a camshaft (4) and a rotor (6) for a camshaft adjuster. The rotor (6) has a central bore (8) for a fixing element (14), the rotor being mounted on the camshaft (4) in a rotationally fixed manner by the fixing element (14). The mounting of the camshaft adjuster arrangement (2) is simplified by forming a frictional connection between the camshaft (4) and the rotor (6) using a clamping unit (16). |
| US08707913B2 |
Fuel management system for variable ethanol octane enhancement of gasoline engines
Fuel management system for efficient operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder of the engine. A fuel management microprocessor system controls injection of the anti-knock agent so as to control knock and minimize that amount of the anti-knock agent that is used in a drive cycle. It is preferred that the anti-knock agent is ethanol. The use of ethanol can be further minimized by injection in a non-uniform manner within a cylinder. The ethanol injection suppresses knock so that higher compression ratio and/or engine downsizing from increased turbocharging or supercharging can be used to increase the efficiency of the engine. |
| US08707912B2 |
Furnace of boiler for power station
A furnace of a boiler for a power plant includes an outer water tube section adapted to receive water from the outside and heat the water into hot water (including steam); and an inner water tube section adapted to receive water from the outside and heat the water into hot water (including steam) while allowing the water to be moved upwardly. The outer water tube section is formed in a shape gradually increasing or substantially uniform in diameter from the bottom toward the middle portion M, and gradually decreasing, increasing and decreasing again in diameter from the middle portion M toward the top, and the inner water tube section is formed in a shape gradually decreasing and increasing in diameter from the bottom toward the middle portion M, and gradually decreasing, increasing and decreasing again in diameter from the middle portion M toward the top. |
| US08707910B1 |
Surgical garment device for a pet
A surgical garment device for a pet prevents the pet from accessing wounds without otherwise restricting the pet's freedom of movement. The device includes a main section having a first lateral side and a second lateral side. A pair of first side openings is positioned in the first lateral side and a pair of second side openings is positioned in the second lateral side. Each of a plurality of leg coverings has an open top end removably coupled to an associated one of the leg coverings and an open bottom end opposite the top end wherein the leg coverings are configured for receiving legs of the pet when the leg coverings are worn by the pet. A plurality of connectors releasably couples the leg coverings to the main section. |
| US08707909B2 |
Blind animal halo guide
A blind animal halo guide that is in the form of a harness, having a neck cushion that fits around the top circumference of the animal's neck to guide and protect the visually impaired animal from bumping into objects, causing injury or harm to the animal. The neck cushion holds a protective halo in place around the dogs head protecting its head, eyes, nose, and shoulders. The halo provides protection for the blind or visually impaired animal, from bumping into objects, while enabling the animal to feel its way around to participate in activities. This device specifically provides protection and guidance for the visually impaired animal, while also providing maximum comfort and does not inhibit the animal's movements, so the animal can lick itself, eat, drink, nap, sleep and participate in other normal daily living activities. |
| US08707907B2 |
Apparatus for preventing an animal from kicking in a cattle chute
Kick bar assemblies mounted to an opposite side walls of a squeeze chute structure each include an upright shaft that is rotatably mounted to the squeeze chute wall. Each kick bar assembly connects at one end to an actuator for rotating the shaft and at the other end to a kick bar which may be pivoted by the actuator between a first retracted position, a second normal extended position in which the kick bar is generally normal to the wall of the squeeze chute and a third forward position in which the kick bar is rotated forward of the normal position and defines an acute angle with the squeeze chute wall. The actuators controlling the motion of the kick bars are capable of being simultaneously remotely controlled to act in unison. |
| US08707905B2 |
Automated system for applying disinfectant to the teats of dairy livestock
A system for applying disinfectant to the teats of a dairy livestock includes a carriage mounted on a track, the carriage operable to translate laterally along the track. The system further includes a robotic arm including a first member pivotally attached to the carriage such that the first member may rotate about a point of attachment to the carriage, a second member pivotally attached to the first member such that the second member may rotate about a point of attachment to the first member, and a spray tool member pivotally attached to the second member such that the spray tool member may rotate about a point of attachment to the second member. The robotic arm further includes a spray tool attached to the spray tool member. The system further includes a controller operable to cause at least a portion of the robotic arm to extend between the hind legs of a dairy livestock such that the spray tool is located at a spray position from which the spray tool may discharge an amount of disinfectant to the teats of the dairy livestock. |
| US08707899B2 |
Plasma processing apparatus
A plasma processing apparatus for processing a subject placed on a subject stage disposed in a processing chamber in a vacuum vessel, by using plasma formed in said processing chamber, includes: an exhaust space communicating with the processing chamber, extending in a horizontal direction, and exhausting gas in the processing chamber; an exhaust port communicating with the exhaust space, the gas being exhausted via the exhaust port; a pump disposed communicating with the exhaust port and exhausting the gas; and a plate member disposed in the exhaust space between a connection portion to the processing chamber and the exhaust port, extending along a direction connecting the connection portion and the exhaust port, and disposed outside a view angle from an upper surface of the subject stage. |
| US08707895B2 |
Device and method for coloring anode coatings using the device
A device for applying a magnetic field to a container comprises an adjustable magnetic field generator. The adjustable magnetic field generator is adjacent to the container and has a magnet having one magnetic pole adjacent a wall of the container and another magnetic pole away from the wall of the container. The adjustable magnetic field generator comprises a magnet. The intensity of magnetic field applied to the container gradually decreases from the container wall adjacent the magnetic pole of the magnet to the opposite container wall. Method for coloring anode coatings using the device is also provided. |
| US08707894B2 |
Mask frame assembly for thin film deposition and method of assembling the same
A mask frame assembly for thin film deposition, the mask frame assembly including a frame having an opening; a plurality of masks having deposition patterns, the masks being fixed to the frame such that the deposition patterns extend over the opening; and a balance stick being fixed to the frame such that the balance stick is between two of the plurality of masks, the balance stick made from an elastically tensile material. |
| US08707892B2 |
Method and apparatus for single side bilayer formation
An apparatus for single-sided bilayer formation includes a first fluid chamber including a sidewall and a second fluid chamber extending through the sidewall. A barrier wall separates the first and second fluid chambers and includes a nanopore therein across which a planar lipid bilayer (PLB) is formed. In use, an electrolyte is added to the first and second fluid chambers and a lipid/organic solvent mixture is added to the first fluid chamber to form a lipid/organic solvent layer. The electrolyte level within the first fluid chamber is adjusted such that the lipid layer is raised above the barrier wall and a PLB is formed. Electrolyte levels may be adjusted manually or utilizing a fluid level regulator with or without feedback control. Optionally, the apparatus may be in the form of a nanopore array. The apparatus may be incorporated into an ion channel sensing system. |
| US08707889B2 |
Patterning slit sheet assembly, organic layer deposition apparatus, method of manufacturing organic light-emitting display apparatus, and the organic light-emitting display apparatus
A patterning slit sheet assembly for performing a deposition process to form a thin film on a substrate in a desired fine pattern. The patterning slit sheet assembly includes a patterning slit sheet having a plurality of slits, a frame combined with the patterning slit sheet to support the patterning slit sheet, and a support unit including an upper member that is allowed to be moved or fixed to support the patterning slit sheet when a gravitational force is applied to the patterning slit sheet and a lower member disposed more apart from the patterning slit sheet than the upper member, wherein the upper member is fixed on the lower member. |
| US08707886B2 |
Protection cap assembly with leak detection capability for a pressurized valve
A protective cap assembly for a pressurized valve adapted to detect a leak therethrough. In accordance with various embodiments, the cap assembly includes a body adapted for placement in fluid communication with the valve, and a sensory indicator supported by the cap assembly body to provide human sensory indication of pressurized fluid leaking from the valve in its closed position. In various embodiments, the sensory indicator can be a whistle that makes an audible sound, a light emitting device that emits a visible light, or both. In further embodiments, the cap assembly body can be coupled to the vent conduit via a tether, and ejected responsive to exhausted pressurized fluid when the valve transitions to the open position. The displaced cap assembly body serves as a visual indication that the valve has opened. |
| US08707885B2 |
Multi-functional bench system for inflatable boats
One aspect of the present invention includes a multi-functional bench system for an inflatable boat having a bottom wall, spaced apart first and second tubular side walls, and an outboard motor. The bench system includes a first seating unit, a second seating unit, and an adjustable bracing assembly. The first seating unit is snugly mounted to a portion of the first tubular side wall. The first seating unit includes a first leg assembly hingedly connected to a first handle assembly. The second seating unit is snugly mounted to a portion of the second tubular side wall. The second seating unit includes a second leg assembly hingedly connected to a second handle assembly. The adjustable bracing assembly is positioned about the bottom wall of the inflatable boat and securely interconnects the first and second leg assemblies. |
| US08707877B2 |
Solid fuel and oxygen combustion with low NOx and efficient burnout
Solid particulate fuels are combusted with a primary oxidant stream of industrially pure oxygen and a secondary oxidant stream of industrially pure oxygen optionally mixed with a portion of recycled flue gas. The fuel is conveyed with a carrier gas of air or recycled flue gas. An oxygen concentration out of the total amount of the fuel stream and the primary and secondary oxidant streams is 40-63% by mass or 47-70% by volume. |
| US08707872B2 |
Railway vehicle
Provided is a railway vehicle having a configuration which can sufficiently protect the cabin even when large external force is applied to the end structures thereof. The vehicle body of the railway vehicle is formed by joining an underframe 20, side structures 30, end structures 50, and a roof structure 60 together. An upper reinforcement beam 56 in the railroad tie direction is disposed at the upper portion of the end structure. A plurality of post reinforcement members are disposed in the vertical direction so as to stand on an end beam 26 of the underframe. The post reinforcement members and the upper reinforcement beam are respectively connected by an end post in the vertical direction disposed at an intermediate portion in the end structure width direction and corner posts 54 in the vertical direction disposed at both end portions in the end structure width direction. The respective post reinforcement members are inserted from the front side into the end post and the corner posts through openings 53a, 54a disposed on the vehicle body inner sides of the end post and the corner posts, and then the end structure is moved in a horizontal direction so as to be assembled. |
| US08707870B2 |
Monorail bogie having a traction/pitching control assembly
A traction/pitching control assembly for attachment to a body portion of a monorail bogie. The monorail bogie is operative for supporting a monorail car over a monorail track that has a running surface and two side surfaces. The assembly comprises a first traction link, a second traction link and a linking member that has a first end portion and a second end portion. The first traction link is attached to the first end portion of the linking member, and the second traction link is attached to the second end portion of the linking member. The assembly further comprises a third traction link and a cross link. The cross link joins the third traction link to the first traction link and the linking member. The first traction link and the second traction link are attached to one of the body portion of the monorail bogie and the monorail car, and the linking member is connected to the other one of the body portion of the monorail bogie and the monorail car. |
| US08707869B2 |
Cableway installation
A cableway installation including a travel cable, a vehicle suspended therefrom, boarding and disembarking points, an aerial carrier configured to support and drive the travel cable, a mobile conductor disposed on the vehicle, a fixed conductor disposed on the aerial carrier adjacent to the travel cable and in an area proximate to at least one of the boarding and disembarking points, the fixed conductor including a first fixed contact element connected to a low voltage electric supply and a first plurality of flexible conductive contact wires extending from the fixed conductor along a longitudinal length of at least one side of the travel cable, where the mobile conductor is disposed so as to the contact the first plurality of flexible conductive contact wires and establish electrical contact with the first fixed contact element and with the low voltage electric supply when the vehicle is transported between the boarding and disembarking points. |
| US08707863B2 |
Strapping machine and method of operating same
A machine for wrapping a strap in one or two loops around a package has a support frame and first and second upright generally annular strap-guiding channels. The channels each have confronting ends defining a respective gap that are immediately adjacent each other, and the package is engageable within the annular channels. A single-loop guide fittable in the gap of the first channel has a guide groove extending in a single-loop mode between the ends of the first channel. A double-loop guide fittable in a dual-loop mode in the gaps of the first and second channels has first and second crossing guide grooves that extend between one of the ends of the first channel and one of the ends of the second channel and the second guide groove extending between the other of the ends of the first channel and the other of the ends of the second channel. |
| US08707850B1 |
Rifle
A rifle with an upper receiver and a barrel attached to the upper receiver and including a bolt carrier, and operating, buffer, and cooling systems. The operating system includes a cylinder and a piston coupled to receive propelling gases from the barrel. As the piston moves between retracted and extended positions the bolt carrier is moved between closed and open positions. The bolt carrier includes a weight movable within a guide frame between rearward and forward limits. The buffer system includes a compression spring in a tube attached to the upper receiver in abutting engagement with the bolt carrier. A partially fluid filled cylinder is attached to a coil of the spring and includes a piston and shaft. The piston is formed so that fluid in the cylinder restricts movement in one direction and allows free movement in a second direction. |
| US08707849B1 |
Modular mortar baseplate
A modular mortar baseplate may include a top plate with an outer annular substantially planar portion and a recessed central portion. A socket may be disposed in the recessed central portion. A hub may be disposed beneath the recessed central portion. A plurality of legs may be connected to an underside of the top plate and to the hub. Each leg may include a pair of vertical portions, a horizontal portion, and a pair of rounded portions that join the pair of vertical portions to the horizontal portion. Each of the pair of rounded portions may have a radius that decreases in a radially inward direction. |
| US08707847B2 |
Pollution-free liquid balancing device
A pollution-free liquid balancing device comprises a sealing bag (1), a front cover (2), a rear cover (3) and liquid balancing matter (4), wherein the sealing bag (1), the front cover (2) and the rear cover (3) are all plastic material. The sealing bag (1) is filled with the liquid balancing matter (4) inside, and plastically sealed under high temperature at both ends. The diameters of the front cover (2) and the rear cover (3) are matched with the inner diameter of a launch barrel (5), and the sealing bag (1) is provided between the front cover (2) and the rear cover (3). In an ordinary transportation state, the liquid balancing matter (4) is well sealed in the sealing bag (1), and a missile is launched forward by the propulsion of powder during launch, the sealing bag (1), the front cover (2) and the rear cover (3) crack instantaneously, and the liquid balancing matter (4) is ejected backward outside the barrel at high speed. The forward and backward impulses are similar or equal, thereby reducing or eliminating the impulse to the launch barrel (5) during launch. The device has a simple structure and uses the pollution-free liquid balancing matter (4), thus there is no pollution after launch. |
| US08707846B2 |
Weapon with recoil and braking device, damping this recoil
The invention relates to a weapon (1), constructed relatively simply and compactly, for shooting ammunition (2), with a barrel (3) with recoil and a braking device (12) damping the barrel recoil. According to the invention, a plastically deformable absorption body (12) is used as the braking device (12) for reducing the recoil energy. Thus, a weapon assembly for firing ammunition is provided, wherein the weapon assembly includes: (a) a weapon including a weapon barrel provided with a recoil spring that holds the weapon barrel in an initial position; and (b) a braking device that damps barrel recoil of the weapon barrel when firing ammunition, wherein the braking device is a plastically deformable absorption body. |
| US08707836B2 |
Movable blade not causing abrasion of fixed blade over long period of time, sheet cutting device provided with movable blade, and printer provided with sheet cutting device
A movable blade used for a sheet cutting device to be mounted to a printer for performing printing on a sheet such as roll paper and a label sheet to automatically cut to a printed sheet. The movable blade is configured to cut the printed sheet by engaging with a fixed blade . The movable blade has a pair of guide portions (22c ) subject to ,after punching a processing of removing a corner portion of an outer edge portion on a punching rear side (Pr). |
| US08707831B2 |
Dual-drive, self-ratcheting mechanism
A dual-drive self-ratcheting device, that efficiently converts alternating clockwise and counterclockwise rotation applied to its input, into unidirectional rotation at its output, by employing a plurality of means, such as, but, not limited to, ratchet and pawls or roller-type clutch mechanisms, oriented the same and arranged in tandem, on a common drive shaft and caused to alternately drive the shaft continuously in either all clockwise or counterclockwise direction, as oscillatory motion is applied to its input; while the first ratchet and pawl or roller clutch mechanism is caused to impart motion onto a drive-shaft, the second ratchet and pawl or roller clutch mechanism is simultaneously caused to override the driveshaft; while the second ratchet and pawl or roller clutch mechanism is caused to impart motion onto a drive-shaft, the first ratchet and pawl or roller clutch mechanism is simultaneously caused to override the driveshaft; hence regardless of the direction of rotation applied to the input, the output is either always clockwise or counterclockwise; dual-drive eliminates the need for unproductive ratcheting-up between drives. |
| US08707827B2 |
Device for extracting a cork from a bottle
A device for extracting a cork from a bottle comprising a generally T-shaped handle mounted on a housing having an upper end and a lower end, a shaft which is operatively connected to handle for axial and rotational movement therewith, the shaft having a hollow passage with an air intake and an air exhausting hole. The shaft depending from the lower end of the housing for griping and penetrating the cork longitudinally thereby presenting the air exhausting hole to the interior of the bottle. A pump configured to push for selectively pumping air from the housing through the shaft into the bottle between the cork and the contents of the bottle such that air in the bottle forces the cork out of the bottle in conjunction with force applied by pulling the T-shaped handle. |
| US08707826B2 |
Axle with variable volume sump
An axle having a variable volume sump. The axle includes an axle housing that defines a gear chamber and a separate reservoir. The gear chamber and the reservoir are in fluid communication with each other via an opening. A regulator is located adjacent the opening. The regulator is operable to assume a first closed position that obstructs the opening when a temperature in the axle is below a predetermined value, and is also operable to assume a second open position that places the gear chamber and the reservoir in fluid communication via the opening when the temperature is above the predetermined value. |
| US08707823B2 |
Bicycle component and method for making such a component
A pedal crank for a bicycle comprising structural fibers incorporated in a matrix of polymeric material which has two seats in which two metal inserts are received. The seats have a mouth which opens onto the outer surface of the pedal crank and have a geometry such as to allow the insertion of the inserts from outside of the pedal crank. |
| US08707821B2 |
Containment reinforced flywheel
An inertial energy storage rotor having a reinforcement harness encompassing its outer circumference and sides, and having improved adjustable tensioning spoke elements extending from said harness and attaches to flywheel hub. The adjustable tensioning spokes allow the harness to be evenly torqued around the perimeter and sides of the rotor to provide additional reinforcement allowing the rotor to withstand centrifugal forces higher than otherwise able. |
| US08707817B2 |
State-changing element operating device, range changing device for automatic transmission, and parking apparatus
An operating device (40) for a state-changing element that is an embodiment of the present invention includes a detent mechanism (50) for displacing and positioning displacement members (22, 33) included in a state-changing element (10), an actuator (60) for driving the detent mechanism (50), and a control unit (5) that controls the actuator (60). The control unit (5) includes an initial motion means (S1) that, in a case of receiving a request to change the state of the state-changing element (10) and changing the position of a detent member (51), drives an electric motor (61) and reduces play in the rotation direction that exists in the actuator (60), and a management means (S2 to S5) that, when it has been determined that the play has been reduced, sets a value obtained by tacking on play in the rotation direction that exists in a coupling portion between a spindle (52) and an output shaft (63) to a rotation angle necessary for a position change of the detent member (51) corresponding to the request, as a target rotation angle of the electric motor (61). |
| US08707814B2 |
Shift mechanism, and vehicle equipped therewith
A shift mechanism that provides a shift mechanism for enabling smooth gear shifting by a transmission, and a vehicle equipped therewith. With this mechanism, a shift drum, to which shift forks are connected via grooves on an outer periphery, is held every predetermined rotation angle. When differences are produced in the degree of rotation between a third rotating member that rotates by motor rotation and a second rotating member that rotates in accordance with the third rotating member, bias is accumulated in a torsion spring. Bias that is accumulated is released when the rotation angle of the third rotating member equals or exceeds a predetermined angle of rotation, rotating a first rotating member via a second rotating member, and rotating the shift drum quickly. |
| US08707810B2 |
Leadscrew drive with annular-shell leadscrew
A leadscrew drive has a leadscrew follower, and a leadscrew. The leadscrew is formed as an elongated annular leadscrew shell having a thread-form outer surface. The leadscrew may be fabricated by depositing a leadscrew-shell material, such as nickel, onto a mandrel having a thread-form outer surface, so that the thread-form outer surface of the mandrel is replicated in an outer surface of the leadscrew-shell material. The mandrel may be removed, to leave a hollow leadscrew shell, or left in place. |
| US08707802B2 |
Detection device, electronic apparatus, and robot
A first substrate that includes pressure sensors which are disposed in plural around a reference point; an approximately hemispherical elastic protrusion that is positioned so that the center of the elastic protrusion is approximately disposed in a position which is overlapped with the reference point, and is elastically deformed by an external force; and a second substrate that is separated from the elastic protrusion and installed on a side which is opposite to the first substrate are provided. When the external force is applied, a predetermined calculation is performed by using a pressure value which is detected through each pressure sensor, and the direction and the intensity of the applied external force are obtained. |
| US08707798B2 |
System and method for testing a fillet bond
A testing apparatus for characterizing a tension strength of a fillet bond of a test specimen may include a lower fixture and an upper fixture. The test specimen may include a skin component bonded to a stiffener component. The lower fixture may maintain the stiffener component in a fixed position. The upper fixture may engage the skin component at a pair of discrete engagement locations on opposite sides of the fillet bond. The upper fixture may be mechanically coupled to a gimbal joint and may substantially isolate the filet bond from asymmetric bending during application of a tension test load to the fillet bond. |
| US08707797B2 |
Fatigue and/or crack growth test sample
A sample for fatigue and/or crack growth testing, including an axisymmetric or cylindrical gage section with a concentric hole running from a first end, and terminating within the gage section, with one mode of loading introduced at the terminus of the hole, and reacted at the end where the hole originates. A second mode of loading is optionally introduced at a second end of the specimen. Use of the specimen is described in both in the context of an apparatus for fatigue/crack growth testing described in the referenced parent application, as well as with conventional test machines. |
| US08707796B2 |
Semiconductor strain gauge array
A strain monitoring system including an array of semiconductor strain gauges. Each strain gauge in the array of strain gauges includes a lithographically fabricated 4-resistor bridge for providing a voltage potential corresponding to the strain in the bridge and thin film transistors to provide addressability to each 4-resistor bridge in the array. After completion of the array of strain gauges, in preferred embodiments the array of strain gauges are transferred to polyimide film which is in turn bonded to a surface region of the component to be tested for strains. Each bridge provides voltage signals corresponding to the strain to which the material under the bridge is being subjected. In preferred embodiments control and data acquisition function are separated from the semiconductor strain gage array. Preferred embodiments the system are utilized to monitor strains on components of aircraft, especially light weight robotic aircraft. |
| US08707794B2 |
Pressure sensor device, electronic apparatus, and method of mounting pressure sensor device
A pressure sensor device includes a semiconductor pressure sensor element and a base part. The base part includes a mounting surface, a through hole having an opening on the mounting surface and configured to introduce a fluid to the semiconductor pressure sensor element, a soldered part that is to be soldered and is provided on the mounting surface, and a step-like structure formed on the mounting surface between the opening and the soldered part. |
| US08707788B2 |
Sound wave testing device and method for testing solar panel
A sound wave testing device is provided. The sound wave testing device comprises at least one sound output unit for providing at least one first sound signal, at least one sound-collecting element disposed above the at least one sound output unit, at least one sound-receiving unit disposed at one end of the at least one sound-collecting element, and an isolating element disposed between the at least one sound output unit and the at least one sound-collecting element, in which the solar panel is disposed on the isolating element. The at least one first sound signal is transformed into at least one second sound signal while passing through the solar panel. The at least one second sound signal is received and transmitted to at least one sound-receiving unit, and the at least one second sound signal is transformed into at least one digital signal for output. |
| US08707787B1 |
Time delay based health monitoring system using a sensor network
A method and apparatus for detecting an inconsistency in an object. Signals sent on a plurality of paths in the object are received at a plurality of transducer units associated with the object. Time delays are identified for a number of modes in the signals received at the plurality of transducer units. A determination is made as to whether a time delay in the time delays for the number of modes in the signals has a difference from a number of other time delays for the number of modes that is greater than a desired amount. |
| US08707786B2 |
Object detection apparatus
The transmission of a detection wave and the reception of a reflected wave are periodically repeated every transmission period. One received signal is compared with another received signal at a similar corresponding comparison periods in different transmission periods of a receiving time of the reflected wave. Switching between the comparison periods is performed each time the transmission period is updated. A waveform of a received signal in a block A0 corresponding to a reflected wave of an ultrasonic signal transmitted in a first transmission period is stored. The absolute values of differences between the waveform of a received signal in a block A1 corresponding to a reflected wave of an ultrasonic signal transmitted in a second transmission period and the stored waveform of the received signal in the block A0 are accumulated. The waveform of a received signal in a block B1 is stored. The absolute values of differences between the waveform of a received signal in a block B2 corresponding to a reflected wave of an ultrasonic signal transmitted in a third transmission period and the stored waveform of the received signal in the block B1 are accumulated. Similar processing is performed in each block and a final accumulated value is set as the amount of change. |
| US08707785B2 |
On-board ultrasonic frequency spectrum and image generation
A portable apparatus for determining testing the condition of a machine or device using ultrasonic signals with an array of ultrasonic sensors for receiving an ultrasonic signal transmitted from the machine or device. The apparatus possesses a heterodyne circuit coupled to receive the output signals from the ultrasonic sensors and convert the output signals to a heterodyned audio signal to be analyzed via a digital spectrum analyzer integral to the portable apparatus. The digital spectrum analyzer performs real-time fast fourier transformations on the heterodyned audio signal. After analyzing the signals, the hand held device uses a variety of audiovisual cues to direct a user to portions of the machine in need of repair or monitoring. |
| US08707781B2 |
Sensor has combined in-plane and parallel-plane configuration
A sensor senses a magnitude of a physical parameter of the sensor's environment. The sensor has first and second electrodes, and a material layer between them. The material has an electrical property, e.g., capacitance or resistance, whose value depends on the magnitude of the physical parameter. The first electrode is formed in a first layer, and the second electrode is formed in a second layer, different from the first layer. The first layer has a trench and an elevation next to the trench. The trench has a bottom wall and a side wall. The material is positioned on the bottom wall and on the side wall and on top of the elevation. The trench accommodates at least a part of the second electrode. The second electrode leaves exposed the material formed on top of the elevation. |
| US08707780B2 |
Fluid mixture metering device including an arcuate path on the periphery of the impeller wheel
The device for metering fluid mixtures, in particular liquids containing a gas such as carbon dioxide, includes a flow sensor, a metering valve, and a controller that drives the metering valve as a function of a set point and of the flow rate measured. The flow sensor has an impeller wheel having a horizontal axis, the fluid mixture being guided on an arcuate path on the periphery of the impeller wheel, the path being directed from bottom to top. Despite the presence of gas, a precise metering is achieved. |
| US08707779B2 |
Internal liquid measurement and monitoring system for a three phase separator
A system for measuring and monitoring the internal liquid within a three phase separator allows a user to accurately and reliably calculate the volumetric flow rate of the liquids exiting the three phase separator. For each liquid inside of the three phase separator, a differential pressure device is attached to where the extension fitting enters its respective liquid. Once a dump valve is actuated, the extension fitting guides its respective liquid out of the three phase separator, and the differential pressure device creates a differential pressure within the respective liquid. A sensor reads the differential pressure through a pair of sensing lines. The sensor relays the differential pressure reading to an RTU flow computer that calculates the volumetric flow rate of the liquid exiting the three phase separator. The calculation is then sent to a SCADA system, which allows the user to observe the volumetric flow rate in real time. |
| US08707778B2 |
Transmission device for transmitting information about tire condition and tire condition monitoring system
A tire condition monitoring system includes a transmission device, a receiving device, and a monitoring section. The transmission device includes a sensor which detects a condition of gas in a tire cavity area surrounded with a tire and a rim as tire information, a transmitter which wirelessly transmits the tire information, and a housing which houses the sensor and the transmitter. An opening portion of an air vent connecting a housing inner space and the cavity area is formed on top of a protruding portion protruding from the surface of the housing. An area of the opening portion is 0.4 mm2 or smaller. An area of contact between the top portion and a contact plane in contact with the top portion and perpendicular to a protruding direction of the protruding portion is not larger than 30% of the opening portion area. |
| US08707774B2 |
Sensor system for differential pressure measurement
Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods for sensor systems for measuring pressure in an exhaust conduit of a combustion engine. The sensor system includes an electronics module assembly and a housing assembly for housing the electronics module assembly. The electronics module assembly can include several components such as sensing element carrier element with a sensing element, an electronics module carrier element carrying electronic components. Electrical connections can be provided between the electronic module carrier element and the sensing element carrier element. Another component includes a main carrier element for supporting the sensing element carrier element and the electronic module carrier element. |
| US08707771B2 |
Airflow measuring device
A first passage has a branch position where a second passage is branched from the first passage to move air along a reference vector. The second passage accommodates a thermal sensor. The first passage has a throttle at a downstream of the branch position. The throttle has a throttle wall surface having a normal vector directed inwardly. A width direction is perpendicular to both a flow direction of air in the throttle and the reference vector. The throttle wall surface has a specific region, in which the normal vector includes a vector component in the width direction, and an angle θ between the normal vector and the reference vector is in a range of 90 degrees<θ<180 degrees. |
| US08707770B2 |
Air flow measuring device
An air flow measuring device includes an air flow meter (AFM), a straightening grid, and a mesh member. The AFM includes an air inlet and is configured to measure a flow rate of air flowing into the air inlet. The straightening grid includes a straightening plate having only one crossing region and is disposed on an upstream side of the AFM in a flow direction of air to straighten a flow of air toward the AFM through the straightening plate. The mesh member is formed in a netted manner and is disposed between the straightening plate and the AFM. |
| US08707768B2 |
Computer readable storage medium storing information processing program and information processing apparatus
An information processing apparatus processes an input signal from a load controller including an input surface and a load detecting means for detecting a load value applied to the input surface. The information processing apparatus detects a center-of-gravity position of a load applied to the input surface of the load controller based on the input signal from the load detecting means. The information processing apparatus determines whether or not the load value applied to the load controller is smaller than a predetermined value, based on the load value detected by the load detecting means, and when the result of determination is positive, executes a menu operation process based on the center-of-gravity position. |
| US08707767B2 |
Combined hydrogen and pressure sensor assembly
A housing sensor having a semiconductor element for measuring hydrogen concentration in an insulating fluid in equipment having a mounting flange on the equipment providing access to the interior of the equipment provided with a plurality of bolt receiving openings arranged on the mounting flange in a first pattern which includes a first flange having at least one or more openings and an outer periphery. The sensor also includes a tubular housing support member having one end received in one of the openings, a plurality of bolt receiving apertures arranged in a pattern corresponding to the first pattern within the outer periphery of the first flange. The sensor further includes at least one wire receiving opening extending through the housing body, a cover closing an end of the housing body distal from the one end, a first seal disposed between the first flange and the tubular housing support member, a second seal disposed on the first flange for engaging the mounting flange. |
| US08707765B2 |
Fuel vapor leak detection device
A fuel vapor leak detection device for detecting a leakage of fuel vapor includes a pump which pressurizes or depressurizes insides of a fuel tank and a canister, a motor which drives the pump, an electrical current detector which detects a current value applied to the motor, a switching valve, and a controller. The switching valve includes an air passage having a narrowing part therein and communicating with atmosphere, a first passage connecting to the pump, a canister connection passage connecting to the canister, and a second passage connecting to the pump. The controller controls a switching operation of the switching valve based on the current value detected by the electrical current detector to select one of a communication between the air passage and the first passage, and a communication between the canister connection passage and the second passage. |
| US08707762B2 |
Low cost humidity and mold indicator for buildings
A low-cost, easily manufactured humidity and mold indicator for buildings that incorporates a one-piece transparent plastic injection-molded body. Appearance of a warning icon or a change in color alerts the owners or occupants of a building to a hidden leak and thereby prevents costly structural damage, cosmetic damage and mold damage to building components. The indicator is easily inserted and secured into a drilled hole in panel such as a wall or soffit. In one embodiment, the indicator snaps into place after being fully inserted into the panel. In another embodiment, a retainer inserted into the hole holds the indicator enabling easier removal of the indicator for replacement or for inspection of the area behind the panel. An optional removable cap can be painted the same color as the wall. An optional mask covers the integral viewing window during painting of the device. |
| US08707756B2 |
Device and method for estimating frictional condition of ground surface with which vehicle is in contact
Apparatus (or method) for estimating a gripping characteristic of a vehicle wheel of a vehicle on a ground contact surface includes first input section (or step), a second input section (or step) and an output section (or step). The first input section sets a first input which is a ratio of a first wheel force acting on the vehicle wheel in the ground contact surface in a first direction, and a first wheel slip degree. The second input section sets a second input which is a ratio of a second wheel force acting on the vehicle wheel in the ground contact surface in a second direction, and a second wheel slip degree of the vehicle wheel. The output section determines, from the first and second inputs, an output which is a grip characteristic parameter indicative of the gripping characteristic of the vehicle wheel. |
| US08707750B2 |
Method and apparatus to deform the cross section of one or more longitudinal sections of an oblong object
The invention relates to such a method and apparatus, as well as to the resulting deformed object out of a relatively hard material such as e.g. a metal or plastic wire in which an undeformed section (2) is clamped near its ends (3, 4) and is subsequently upset in a controlled way by an axial pressure force (22) to a predefined shortened and thickened longitudinal section (5), with which simultaneously over substantially the entire contour sheath (19) of this section (2) a counterforce (29) is exerted so that, with the progressive deformation during upsetting, the total volume of the longitudinal section that is deforming, remains substantially constant. In this thickened section (5) a flattened zone (8) can subsequently be applied in order to realise a final shape (10) such as an opening (26). The invention concerns in particular also the use of a deformation line (40) for manufacturing a heddle for weaving looms. |
| US08707743B2 |
Washing machine
The present invention relates to a laundry machine using steam. The laundry machine includes a drum for holding laundry, a steam generator for generating steam, a water supply unit for supplying water to the steam generator, an additive supply unit for supplying additive to the steam generator, and a supply line for supplying the steam and the additive to the drum. |
| US08707742B2 |
Laundry treatment machine and control method thereof
A laundry treatment machine includes a device driving unit configured to control a lock device including a lock element, and a lead, which moves along with the lock element. If the lock element is moved to a lock position, a device controller determines whether the lead is moved from its initial position to a predetermined position and outputs a first detection signal as the result of the determination. The device controller outputs lock information if the first detection signal is received, and determines that the lid assembly and the top cover are not locked and outputs lock error information if the first detection signal is not received. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine whether laundry is stuck between the lid assembly and the top cover and whether the motor is broken by locking or unlocking the lid assembly and the top cover with the use of the lock element. |
| US08707740B2 |
Submerged combustion glass manufacturing systems and methods
Submerged combustion glass manufacturing systems include a melter having a floor, a roof, a wall structure connecting the floor and roof, and an exhaust passage through the roof. One or more submerged combustion burners are mounted in the floor and/or wall structure discharging combustion products under a level of material being melted in the melter and create turbulent conditions in the material. The melter exhausts through an exhaust structure connecting the exhaust passage with an exhaust stack. The exhaust structure includes a barrier defining an exhaust chamber having an interior surface, the exhaust chamber having a cross-sectional area greater than that of the exhaust stack but less than the melter. The barrier maintains temperature and pressure in the exhaust structure at values sufficient to substantially prevent condensation of exhaust material on the interior surface. |
| US08707736B2 |
Method and apparatus for manufacturing solar concentrators using glass process
A method for manufacturing a glass concentrator for a solar module. The method includes providing a glass material in a molten state and processing the glass material in the molten state to form a ribbon glass including a first surface and a second surface. Additionally, the method includes subjecting the first surface to one or more drum members to form a plurality of concentrating structures while continuously passing the ribbon glass via the second surface over a plurality of rollers. Each of the concentrating structures includes an aperture region, an exit region, and one or more reflection regions. The aperture region is configured to receive incoming light and the one or more reflection regions are configured to concentrate the received incoming light to the exit region. The method further includes cutting the ribbon glass into one or more sheets of glasses including a predetermined number of the plurality of concentrating structures. |
| US08707734B2 |
Method of embedding material in a glass substrate
A method of embedding material in a glass substrate is provided. The method includes providing a glass composition and a mold substrate having a patterned surface defining a recess therein. The mold substrate is formed from a material having a higher reflow temperature than the glass composition. A surface wettability of the patterned surface is increased relative to the glass composition. At least a portion of the glass composition is flowed into the recess defined by the patterned surface of the mold substrate, followed by solidifying the glass composition to form a solidified glass layer. Material is removed from the solidified glass layer until a portion of the underlying patterned surface of the mold substrate is exposed with at least a portion of the mold substrate embedded in the solidified glass layer to thereby form the glass substrate having the material embedded therein. |
| US08707732B2 |
Arrangement for the presentation of a jewellery element
An arrangement for the presentation of a jewelry element which has a carrier, the carrier and the jewelry element each having a pair of bearing parts for supporting the jewelry element. The bearing parts associated with the carrier are a component part of a separate bearing device. The carrier, the jewelry element, and the bearing device are modular structural component parts. The bearing device can be connected to the carrier and to the jewelry element. The bearing parts may comprise a pin and a recess for movably supporting the jewelry element. The pin converges in the direction of the recess according to a defined converging angle. The recess diverges in direction of the pin according to a diverging angle. The diverging angle is greater than the converging angle. The pin and the recess meet at the vertex of the diverging angle and converging angle to form a point-type bearing support. |
| US08707729B2 |
Adsorption heat pump, adsorption refrigerator and adsorber elements therefor
The invention relates to an adsorber element for a heat exchanger and an adsorption heat pump or adsorption refrigerator that contains at least one such adsorber element. The adsorber element includes a heat-conducting solid body and a sorption material for a vaporous adsorbate arranged on the surface of this solid body. A fluid-tight foil composite is arranged on the outer surface of the open-pore solid body, at least in the areas in which a contact with a heat transfer fluid is provided, wherein this adsorber element is embodied such that the heat exchange between the open-pore solid body and the heat transfer fluid can take place via the fluid-tight foil composite. |
| US08707724B2 |
Refrigerator with ice making room
A refrigerator with an ice making chamber is provided. The refrigerator may include a main body that defines a cooling chamber, and lateral wall passages formed at a lateral wall of the cooling chamber. A door that is rotatably coupled to the cooling chamber may be provided with an ice making chamber installed on an interior side thereof, and a connection duct part that connects the ice making chamber to the lateral wall passages. The connection duct part may include passage forming members that define a cold air passage therein, and insulation portion formed around the passage forming members, whereby components of the duct may be quickly and easily assembled at correct positions. |
| US08707720B2 |
Hybrid vapor compression-absorption cycle
The present invention relates to a hybrid vapor compression—absorption cooling or heating system and apparatus containing a refrigerant pair comprising at least one refrigerant and at least one ionic liquid. The present invention also provides for the performance of a hybrid vapor compression—absorption cycle that utilizes refrigerants and absorbents such as fluorocarbon gases in fluorinated ionic liquids. The present invention also provides a method of cooling by the execution of a hybrid vapor compression—absorption cycle using a refrigerant pair comprising at least one refrigerant and at least one ionic liquid. The present invention also provides a method of heating by the execution of a hybrid vapor compression—absorption cycle using a refrigerant pair comprising at least one refrigerant and at least one ionic liquid. |
| US08707716B1 |
Re-circulating defrosting heat exchanger
A method of defrosting a heat exchanger while the heat exchanger continues to cool air passing through the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes liquid passages for carrying cold liquid between an inlet and an outlet and air passages in thermal communication with the liquid passages for cooling air passing through the air passages. The method includes introducing warmer liquid to a first selected section of the heat exchanger liquid passage while continuing to provide cold liquid to the liquid passages of the heat exchanger. |
| US08707714B2 |
Component temperature control
There is disclosed an electronic apparatus comprising a chip within a casing. A thermoelectric cooler has thermal connections to the chip and the casing and is configured to transport heat from the chip to the casing. A temperature measuring device is provided for determining the temperature of the chip. A control system is configured to maintain the chip at a target temperature by controlling current supplied to the thermoelectric cooler in response to the measured temperature. A temperature selection system is configured to select the chip target temperature dynamically on the basis of the casing temperature. |
| US08707713B2 |
Cooling hole with crenellation features
A gas turbine engine component includes a wall having first and second wall surfaces and a cooling hole extending through the wall. The cooling hole includes an inlet located at the first wall surface, an outlet located at the second wall surface and a diffusing section in communication with the inlet and extending to the outlet. The diffusing section includes a plurality of crenellation features that encourage lateral spreading of cooling air flowing through the cooling hole. |
| US08707709B2 |
Systems and methods for controlling compressor extraction cooling
Embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing compressor extraction cooling are provided. According to one example embodiment, a method is disclosed for controlling compressor extraction cooling. The method can include providing a cooling medium. The method can include extracting air from a compressor associated with a gas turbine. The method can also include introducing the cooling medium to the compressor extraction air, wherein the compressor extraction air is cooled by the cooling medium prior to or during introduction to the turbine section. Furthermore, method can include selectively controlling at least one of the compressor extraction air or the cooling medium based at least in part on a characteristic associated with the gas turbine. |
| US08707705B2 |
Impingement cooled transition piece aft frame
An aft frame of a turbine engine transition piece body is provided and includes an annular body disposed within a first annular space defined between an impingement sleeve and a compressor discharge casing and aft of a second annular space defined between the transition piece body and the impingement sleeve and including a main portion with a first surface facing the first annular space and a second surface facing the forward annular space. The main portion has an impingement hole extending therethrough from an inlet at the first surface of the annular body to an outlet at the second surface of the annular body to define a fluid path along which the first and second annular spaces communicate with one another. |
| US08707703B2 |
Dual swirler
A swirler arrangement for injecting a fluid into a tubular swirling chamber is provided. The swirler arrangement includes a first radial swirler device and a second radial swirler device. The swirler arrangement is fixed around an internal circulation zone of the tubular swirling chamber. The first radial swirler device includes first vanes, wherein the first vanes are formed to inject the fluid into the internal circulation zone with a first injecting angle. The second radial swirler device includes second vanes, wherein the second vanes are formed to inject the fluid into the internal circulation zone with a second injecting angle. The first injecting angle and the second injecting angle are defined by an angle between an injecting direction of the fluid and the tangential direction along the inner surface. A method of injecting a fluid into a tubular swirling chamber by the swirler arrangement is also provided. |
| US08707700B2 |
Carbon dioxide recovery method and carbon-dioxide-recovery-type steam power generation system
According to one embodiment, a carbon-dioxide-recovery-type steam power generation system comprises a boiler that generates steam and an exhaust gas, an absorption tower that allows carbon dioxide contained in the exhaust gas to be absorbed in an absorption liquid, a regeneration tower that discharges a carbon dioxide gas from the absorption liquid supplied from the absorption tower, a reboiler that heats the absorption liquid of the regeneration tower, a turbine that is rotationally driven by the steam, a first condenser, a second condenser, and a desuperheater. The first condenser generates condensate by cooling steam exhausted from the turbine. The second condenser condenses the carbon dioxide gas while using a part of the condensate as cooling water, and generates hot water.The desuperheater lowers the temperature of the steam exhausted from the turbine by spraying the hot water, and supplies the steam at lowered temperature to the reboiler. |
| US08707698B2 |
Modular energy harvesting system
A modular energy harvesting system. The system preferably uses an organic Rankine cycle heat engine to recover energy from relatively low-temperature heat sources. The system is both modular and scalable. The components are preferably housed within shipping containers so that they may be easily transported by sea and over land. Two or more power harvesting modules may be assembled on a single site to increase the production capacity in a scalar fashion. Each of the integrated units preferably includes an oil-less turbine and motor. |
| US08707694B2 |
Shape memory alloy actuator
A device or actuator includes a first component made of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) that applies force to a second component of the device to provide a controllable actuator. The SMA component is selectively energized by using active electric current through it. |
| US08707691B2 |
Hydrostatic drive
A hydrostatic drive, in particular a fan drive, with a variable displacement pump is configured to drive at least one hydraulic motor. The variable displacement pump is activated via a pressure regulating valve and a following directional valve predetermining the feed direction, via which valves the control spaces of an actuating cylinder can be acted upon with a control pressure difference. The variable displacement pump is prestressed into a basic position in which the feed volume flow is maximum. |
| US08707690B2 |
Hydraulic pump controller for construction machine
A hydraulic pump controlling apparatus of a construction machine according to the present disclosure includes: a hydraulic pump in which a swash plate angle is controlled to control a discharge flow; an auxiliary pump; a control valve controlling a flowing direction of a fluid discharged from the hydraulic pump and selectively supplying the fluid to an actuator; an orifice and a relief valve connected between a center bypass line of the control valve and a tank T to be parallel to each other; signal pressure selecting units receiving a fluid passing through the center bypass line of the control valve and a fluid discharged from the auxiliary pump, and selecting the pressure of any one of the fluids as a signal pressure; and a regulator receiving the signal pressure selected from the signal pressure selecting units to control the swash plate angle of the hydraulic pump, and the signal pressure selecting unit selects the pressure of the fluid discharged from the auxiliary pump as the signal pressure and transfers the selected pressure to the regulator when the construction machine is in an idle state. |
| US08707689B1 |
Exhaust system for an internal combustion engine
An exhaust system for an internal combustion engine including an elongated tube for receiving exhaust gas and exhaust flow modification structure within the tube interior configured to cooperate with the elongated tube to produce a laminar flow of exhaust gas and modify the flow speed of the exhaust gas due to the venturi effect. |
| US08707688B2 |
Commercial vehicle with an internal combustion engine and a heat recovery system using the heat sources of that engine
In a commercial vehicle with an internal combustion engine, a muffler in the exhaust gas system, and a heat recovery system, including a medium-containing circuit having at least one pump, an evaporator, an expander, and a condenser, the evaporator present in the medium-containing circuit of the heat recovery system is placed so that the evaporator is integrated into the muffler, where it either is installed in the tailpipe or partially replaces it, or is attached externally to the muffler, and an end section of the tailpipe, or is integrated into the tailpipe, which extends from the muffler and proceeds vertically upward behind the driver's cab, the evaporator being either installed in the tailpipe or partially replacing it, or is integrated into a muffler, which is installed in an exhaust pipe proceeding vertically upward behind the driver's cab. |
| US08707687B2 |
Treatment of diesel engine exhaust
A diesel exhaust treatment system for treating exhaust gas from a diesel engine comprises at least one diesel particulate filter, at least one diesel exhaust fluid mixing chamber and at least one selective catalytic reduction converter (SCR). In one desirable embodiment, plural diesel particulate filters are arranged in parallel and plural SCRs are arranged in parallel. These components including the diesel exhaust fluid mixing chamber can be included in a common housing with the exhaust flow reversing directions a plurality of times as it passes through the treatment system from an exhaust inlet to an exhaust outlet. The housing can be coupled to one vehicle frame rail with most of the housing and components contained therein positioned outside the outer surface of the one frame rail. |
| US08707685B2 |
Exhaust gas purification device for internal combustion engine
An exhaust gas purification device for an engine has a filter in an engine exhaust passage, a diesel oxidation catalyst upstream of the filter, and a control unit which effects combustion using the catalyst to perform Active Regeneration of the filter by injecting fuel when no contribution is made to combustion in a combustion chamber when the quantity of particles collected in the filter reaches a predetermined quantity, or is less than the predetermined quantity and an elapsed time from the last filter reconditioning reaches a predetermined time. In the control unit, a mixing quantity of the fuel in oil at Active Regeneration and an evaporation quantity of the fuel from the oil are calculated, whereby a mixing ratio of the fuel in the oil is calculated, and the predetermined time or an engine operation mode is adjusted such that the mixing ratio does not exceed a prescribed control value. |
| US08707683B2 |
Hydrocarbon retaining and purging system
Methods and systems are provided for operating an engine having a hydrocarbon retaining system and an emission control device coupled to an engine exhaust, the engine exhaust comprising a venturi. One example method comprises, during a storing condition, routing exhaust gas through the venturi without generating a venturi action, and then to the hydrocarbon retaining system, while bypassing the emission control device, to store hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon retaining system, and during a purging condition, routing exhaust gas through the venturi while generating venturi action, then to the emission control device, and then to the hydrocarbon retaining system, to purge stored hydrocarbons, wherein a flow of purged hydrocarbons is drawn back to the venturi via venturi action. |
| US08707679B2 |
Catalyst temperature based valvetrain control systems and methods
A system for a vehicle includes a triggering module and a cylinder control module. The triggering module generates a trigger when a catalyst temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature. In response to the generation of the trigger, the cylinder control module: disables opening of an exhaust valve of a cylinder for an exhaust phase of a first combustion cycle of the cylinder; disables opening of the exhaust valve for N combustion cycles of the cylinder that follow the first combustion cycle; and enables opening of the exhaust valve for a second combustion cycle that follows the N combustion cycles. N is an integer greater than zero. |
| US08707675B2 |
Pressure assisted direct drive proportional hot-gas thruster
A hot-gas thruster is actuated using a relatively small electric motor. The hot-gas thruster includes a pressure assisted pilot shaft to keep electric power demand to only a few hundred watts peak and only tens of watts on average, while exhibiting relatively fast response times. |
| US08707673B1 |
Articulated transition duct in turbomachine
Turbine systems are provided. A turbine system includes a transition duct comprising an inlet, an outlet, and a duct passage extending between the inlet and the outlet and defining a longitudinal axis, a radial axis, and a tangential axis. The outlet of the transition duct is offset from the inlet along the longitudinal axis and the tangential axis. The duct passage includes an upstream portion and a downstream portion. The upstream portion extends from the inlet between an inlet end and an aft end. The downstream portion extends from the outlet between an outlet end and a head end. The turbine system further includes a joint coupling the aft end of the upstream portion and the head end of the downstream portion together. The joint is configured to allow movement of the upstream portion and the downstream portion relative to each other about or along at least one axis. |
| US08707672B2 |
Apparatus and method for cooling a combustor cap
A combustor includes an end cap having a perforated downstream plate and a combustion chamber downstream of the downstream plate. A plenum is in fluid communication with the downstream plate and supplies a cooling medium to the combustion chamber through the perforations in the downstream plate. A method for cooling a combustor includes flowing a cooling medium into a combustor end cap and impinging the cooling medium on a downstream plate in the combustor end cap. The method further includes flowing the cooling medium into a combustion chamber through perforations in the downstream plate. |
| US08707667B2 |
Textile machine with a plurality of workstations
A textile machine with multiple workstations equipped with a yarn processing device, and a drive shaft extending along multiple workstations, each yarn processing device connected to the drive shaft by a continuous traction means, and the drive shaft including multiple drive devices each guiding a continuous traction means. Each drive device has two grooves coaxially to the drive shaft, one of the grooves being part of a free wheel about the drive shaft. An output means is connected to each yarn processing device, each output means having front and rear guide grooves, the front groove at a free end of the output means and the rear groove adjacent the associated yarn processing device. Each traction means has one loop engaged in the rear groove of the associated output means and another loop engaged in the front groove through 180 degrees. |
| US08707660B2 |
Packaging system and method
A package for an article (1) comprises a pressurized outer bag (5) having gas-tight seals (7) at opposite ends, and an inner web for supporting the article within the outer bag. The web extends along the length of the outer bag and is secured to the outer bag only at the gas-tight seals (7). The web is maintained under sufficient tension by the pressure within the outer bag to suspend the article within the bag and to maintain a space between the article and the outer bag on all sides of the article. |
| US08707656B2 |
Safety blanket
The present invention relates to a tower for a wind power installation. The tower comprises a wall extending from a foundation in an upwards direction towards a nacelle and defines an enclosed space. Furthermore, the tower comprises a safety blanket which is distended across the tower interior along an inner surface of the wall to thereby split the enclosed space into an upper compartment above the blanket and a lower compartment below the blanket. The safety blanket is flexible. |
| US08707649B2 |
Mortarless modular masonry siding system
A pre-cast siding panel for mortarless application to a building structure is disclosed, which includes a structure for capturing and draining infiltrated water away from the building structure. In a preferred embodiment, the siding panel includes a cast facing panel made of settable material and having a front face exposed in an installed condition of the panel and top, bottom and side edges for engagement with like panels positioned adjacent thereto; and a supporting spacer partially embedded in the rear surface of the facing panel, the spacer including a mounting portion for fastening the siding panel to the building structure and a water management portion for managing infiltrated water away from the building structure, by capturing infiltrated water which has seeped past the front face along one or more of the edges and draining the captured infiltrated water away from the building structure. |
| US08707645B1 |
Form system for poured concrete
A method and apparatus using foam forms for poured concrete roof and floor decks for on-site concrete structural joists is shown that may be integrated into the concrete deck formed by the forms or otherwise used as structural supports. Greater joist strength results from providing a communication channel in the forms between an opening in C channel metal studs used in such panel forms and a space between piers that forms the main concrete beam portion of a finished concrete structural joist. By providing such flow of concrete, when the joist is completed, the concrete structural joint is stronger because the concrete is disposed inside of the C channel studs and continuously between the inside of the C channel studs and the main concrete beam portion. The concrete thereby interlocks the C channels to the main concrete portion of beam. |
| US08707640B2 |
Removable bulkheads for building fixtures
The present invention is directed towards a series of removable bulkheads which surround and protect immovable building fixtures such as sprinkler and plumbing lines, heating and ventilation ducts, electrical and telecommunications wiring. A single bulkhead is generally comprised of a vertical panel and a horizontal panel. The bulkheads attach to preexisting ceilings and walls and provide a quick and cost effective method of concealing fixtures and allow easy access to renovate or repair the fixtures. |
| US08707637B1 |
Systems and methods for removable stair treads and risers
Provided is a system and method for removable stair treads and risers having a bracket with a horizontal mounting surface and a vertical mounting surface. The bracket has openings on the horizontal mounting surface to allow a fastener to secure the bottom of a stair tread to the bracket. The bracket has openings on the vertical mounting surface to allow a fastener to secure the bracket to a supporting structure. The vertical mounting surface has at least one recess connected to a primary portion of an attaching element. A riser has a secondary portion of an attaching element attached to an unexposed surface of the riser located opposite at least one recess of the bracket. This allows the riser to be removably attached to the bracket without causing damage to the surrounding stair treads or risers. |
| US08707636B1 |
Memorial foundation system and installation method
A memorial foundation system includes a pair of vertical supports having screw threads on their bottom ends and first attachment structure at their upper ends. Support plates corresponding to the vertical supports have respective second attachment structures configured to mate with the first attachment structures. A block has a first end supported by one of the pair of support plates and one of the pair of vertical supports and a second opposite end supported by the other of the pair of support plates and the other of the pair of vertical supports. The block includes a plurality of pockets in a row, each of the pockets open to an upper side. Each of a plurality of markers is configured to be received by a corresponding one of the plurality of pockets in the block to arrange the plurality of markers in an aligned row with even height. |
| US08707635B1 |
Multi-heel connector
A multi-heel connector for securing a rafter, a ceiling joist and blocking, and supporting building roof structural members in a single bracket connection to withstand enhanced load forces such as hurricane forces. The multi-heel connector combines a loop portion for securing a joist, a rafter contact surface adjacent the loop portion, having a slope which provides for a selected, predetermined roof pitch, mounting tabs for securing the multi-heel connector to a top wall plate, tabs to fasten blocking and a tie down for securing the multi-heel connector to exterior wall stud. The multi-heel connector is adaptable for accommodating a riser key to adjust the rafter contact surface pitch, and a joist spacer to accommodate a joist having a cross-section smaller than the multi-heel connector loop portion cross-section. |
| US08707628B1 |
Plantation fan top window shutter
A plantation window shutter comprises a frame and a plurality of shutter blades pivotably supported by the frame in a fan configuration. The frame comprises a front surface and a rear surface. The rear surface has a plurality of upper grooves and a plurality of lower grooves, each upper groove being axially aligned with a respective lower groove. Each of the shutter blades has a longitudinal pivotal axis and a top pivot and a bottom pivot aligned along the axis, the top pivot and the bottom pivot being received in respective upper groove and the lower groove for pivotal motion therein. At least one member is attached to the rear surface disposed to bridge over the upper grooves and the lower grooves, thereby to capture the top and bottom pivots within respective the upper grooves and the lower grooves. |
| US08707616B1 |
Controlling bed bugs with solvent vapors
The present invention provides an environmentally safe and highly effective method for killing bed bugs by enclosing infested items, belongings or possessions in a sealed container along with a small amount of certain solvents, the vapors of which kill bed bugs that are present. |
| US08707615B2 |
Modular bed bug trap system
A segmented, floor-based trap system, which may be configured to delineate a floor area of arbitrary rectilinear geometry that is infested with crawling arthropods, particularly bed bugs, or an area to be protected from such infestation, thereby to intercept egress of such insects from such an area, or their ingress into it.The trap system comprises a plurality of trough-like linear segments containing a layer of mechanical insecticide, such as diatomaceous earth, and serving as an insect pitfall, and a plurality of linear and right-angled connectors, by which the linear segments may be connected continuously in fluid communication. A roughened, obtusely inclined flange extends from the top of each of the side walls of each linear segment to the floor, serving as a ramp leading insects to the smooth-walled pitfall. Foreshortened linear segments fitted to corner connectors in concave corners of the trap assembly preserve rectilinear alignment. |
| US08707614B2 |
Illuminated insect catching device
This disclosure relates to the field of illuminated insect-catching devices. In particular to insect-catching devices comprising an adhesive surface upon which insects are trapped. In particular the illuminating component is electrically powered. |
| US08707609B2 |
Firearm sight tool
Firearm sight tools for removing and installing a firearm sight are presented, the firearm sight tool including: a tool frame having a top wall, a bottom wall, and sidewalls, the sidewalls connecting the top wall and the bottom wall; a firearm clamping assembly including, a stationary jaw, a clamping spindle, a clamping jaw, and a clamping spindle handle; a bottom spacer removably attached with the bottom wall, the bottom spacer selected to provide vertical alignment; and a sight press assembly including, a carriage, a carriage spindle, and a sight carriage where the sight carriage includes a sight blade aligned along the carriage spindle. |
| US08707607B2 |
Gun cleaning tool kit
A gun cleaning tool kit, comprising an openable case, at least one mount for receiving a removable tool insert, a portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit disposable in the openable case, a foldable work surface apron. The kit may further comprise at least one removable tool insert, a plurality of gun cleaning tools disposed on the removable tool insert, and an exterior pocket formed in the openable case for storing the portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit. Preferably, the foldable work surface apron is removably attached to, and stored within, the openable case. Preferably, both the openable case and the portable miniature gun cleaning tool kit are closable by zippers. |
| US08707606B2 |
Rail adaptive platform system
A detachable rail platform adaptable for selective and secure mounting to a weapon's rear iron sight assembly, the rear iron sight assembly having a sight base and a sight guard. The detachable rail platform includes a body having forward and rearward portions. The body further includes a rail portion and is positionable to envelop the rear iron sight assembly. A first clamp assembly is selectively engageable with the sight base at a predetermined position. A second clamp assembly is selectively engageable with the sight guard. Upon engagement of the first and second clamp assemblies to the sight base and the sight guard respectively, the rail platform is selectively and securely mounted to the weapon. |
| US08707603B2 |
Firearm butt stock GPS unit holder
A firearm butt stock includes a portable GPS unit having a display on a surface, and control buttons on adjacent surface/surfaces, and a butt stock including a cavity defined by sidewalls formed in one side thereof intermediate a rearward end and a forward end. The cavity receives the portable GPS unit therein with the display facing outwardly. Attachment apparatus removably secures the portable GPS unit within the cavity. |
| US08707593B2 |
Clothing iron comprising a sole having a recess equipped with steam exit holes
Clothing iron including a sole (1) having a bottom side with a sliding surface (11) coming into contact with cloth and comprising at least one steam-supplied recess (10), the recess (10) being bounded on its entire periphery by the sliding surface (11) in such a manner that the recess (10) forms a steam diffusion cavity that is surrounded by the sliding surface (11) when the sole (1) is applied to the cloth being ironed, characterized in that the depth of the recess (10) is greater than or equal to 1 mm. |
| US08707588B2 |
Traction cleat for footwear
A thinner shoe mounted receptacle results from a thin cleat attachment flange received in a shallow receptacle cavity. An angled interface between the cleat and receptacle provide a friction fit engagement to minimize inadvertent disengagement of the cleat and receptacle. Rotational locking occurring inside or outside the cavity further prevents inadvertent cleat rotation. Multiple positionally synchronized angular stops positively define the final angular orientation of the cleat in the receptacle. |
| US08707587B2 |
Sole and article of footwear
Articles of footwear and soles are disclosed. The article of footwear may include an upper; an outer midsole having a base coupled to the upper, and a rim portion extending from the periphery of the base, wherein the rim portion defines a plurality of spaced apart gaps; and an inner midsole disposed interiorly to the rim portion, wherein a portion of the inner midsole is disposed in at least one gap. |
| US08707582B2 |
Energy storage and return spring
A spring shoe, and also in particular a spring, as well as a method of returning energy to a user, are provided. In one embodiment, a method and apparatus stores foot strike energy and releases it after a slight delay, when it will exert a force on the user which includes a forward component. This is accomplished in an embodiment by a spring in the sole which has a decreasing spring force, such that the force required to compress the sole decreases for all or part of the compression displacement as the spring is compressed. |
| US08707580B2 |
Dryness detection method for clothes dryer based on charge rate of a capacitor
A dryer having an improved automatic dryness detection circuit is provided. Wet clothing in the dryer bin contacts a sensor and causes a pulse to be sent to a microcontroller if the resistance of the clothes is low enough. The microcontroller disregards pulses which are shorter than a threshold time and counts pulses which are longer than a threshold time. The microcontroller issues a termination signal if the rate of pulses is lower than a threshold rate. |
| US08707579B2 |
Method for operating an adsorption dryer and dryer for implementing the method
In a method for operating an adsorption dryer, a process air flow, generated by at least one blower, is routed at least at times through an adsorption apparatus and over a textile goods in care during a textile care process in a “dry” operating mode to thereby charge a reversibly dehydratable adsorbent of the adsorption apparatus with moisture. A charge state of the adsorbent with water is detected and is displayed at least after the end of the “drying” textile care process. The absorbent is desorbed at least in part during a subsequent, selected and started textile care process in a “refresh” operating mode, and the desorbed moisture is routed as a moist process air flow into a receptacle for refreshing textile goods which are stored or hung in a stationary manner. |
| US08707576B2 |
Tableware sterilizing and drying apparatus
A tableware sterilizing and drying apparatus of the present invention includes a rotatable base plate, several frames, and a fixation wheel. The frames have rotatable members, which are revolved by rotation of the base plate, and rotated by engagement or contaction of the fixation wheel. Thus, the rotatable member is provided for tableware to be placed thereon. The tableware is then brought drying and sterilizing with flipping motion. Surface of the tableware can be fully dried and sterilized. |
| US08707572B2 |
Systems and methods for control and calibration of a CMM
A method of operating an articulated arm CMM is provided. Instructions for the CMM can be inputted to the CMM arm by an action chosen from the group consisting of placing the arm in a predefined position and moving the arm in a predefined manner. |
| US08707567B2 |
Trimmer head for use in flexible line rotary trimmers having improved line loading mechanism
A trimmer head for a rotary line trimmer including a housing operatively connected to the trimmer and a spool for carrying cutting line thereon. The spool is operatively connected to the housing for rotation therewith and defines a pair of opposed line receptor channels having opposed open ends, traversing opposed portions of the spool and defining opposed outlet openings above a lowermost end of the spool. The channels can be aligned with the eyelets in the housing skirt such that lengths of cutting line can be inserted therethrough and wrapped about the spool upon relative rotation of the spool and housing without having to interrupt the operative connection therebetween. The channel outlet openings provide access to the inner ends of the line so that the line also can be pulled from the head without having to interrupt the operative connection therebetween. |
| US08707554B2 |
Method of manufacturing multilayer wiring substrate
In a build-up step, a plurality of resin insulation layers and a plurality of conductive layers are alternately laminated in multilayer arrangement on a metal foil separably laminated on a side of a base material, thereby forming a wiring laminate portion. In a drilling step, a plurality of openings are formed in an outermost resin insulation layer through laser drilling so as to expose connection terminals. Subsequently, in a desmear step, smears from inside the openings are removed. In a base-material removing step performed after the build-up step, the base material is removed and the metal foil is exposed. |
| US08707553B2 |
Method and system for improving alignment precision of parts in MEMS
A method and system for improving alignment precision of a pair of MEMS parts. The method involves stacking the two parts such that at least one rolling element is between facing surfaces of said two parts, and each rolling element has a first diameter and an axis of rotation parallel to the facing surfaces. The first and second of a pair of MEMS parts respectively include a first alignment pad and a second alignment pad and a liquid drop formed in contact with both alignment pads can align the two parts which can then be locked together by solidification of solder while remaining spaced by the first diameter. |
| US08707551B2 |
Bendable circuit board for LED mounting and interconnection
This invention is directed to bendable circuit substrate structures useful for LED mounting and interconnection. |
| US08707544B2 |
Method of manufacturing in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display
Provided is a method for manufacturing an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display, which can prevent the problem of bubble generation caused by an Ag dot during the attachment process of a liquid crystal panel and a cover substrate, and improve the yield of an Ag dot process. A method for manufacturing an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: forming a liquid crystal panel by interposing a liquid crystal layer between a color filter substrate and a TFT array substrate; attaching a polarizer, with a protective film attached thereon, on the color filter substrate; forming an Ag dot to be in contact with an edge of the protective film, the color filter substrate, and the TFT array substrate; removing part of the Ag dot by removing the protective film; and attaching a cover substrate on the color filter substrate. |
| US08707538B2 |
Method and apparatus for connecting a hose to a fitting
A clamp tool that has stop edges and ear edges is disclosed. In one embodiment, stop edges close against each other while the ear edges, being cut deeper than the stop edges, do not touch each other and provide a space between which an ear of a clamp is position and closed by the clamp tool without cutting or nicking unnecessarily into the ear of the clamp. The width of the stop edges is predetermined to provide an alignment for proper alignment of the clamp on a hose that obscures features of a fitting that is positioned beneath the hose. |
| US08707532B2 |
Method for removing wires from a bale
A method and apparatus for removing wires from a bale includes a conveyor system for moving one or more bales and a de-wiring station positioned adjacent the conveyor system. The de-wiring station includes a robot with an end tool. A bale that is bound by one or more wires is transferred by the conveyor system to a position proximate the de-wiring station. The robot with end tool moves to sense the location of the wires, cut the wires, collect the wires and deposit the wires in a collection hopper. |
| US08707531B1 |
Storage device assembly fixture
A storage device assembly fixture comprises a platform configured to receive an external cover for a storage device, the external cover having a first face and a second face generally parallel to and opposing the first face, the first face coupled to the second face at a back end of the external cover, the first face defining a first edge at a front end of the external cover opposite the back end, and the second face defining a second edge at the front end; a first finger configured to engage the first edge; a second finger configured to engage the second edge; and a pivot assembly coupled to the second finger, the pivot assembly rotatable about a pivot axis and configured to pivot the second finger away from the first finger. |
| US08707520B2 |
Deceleration device
A deceleration device comprises a cylindrical container (14) housing at least one friction disc (16) against at least an internal wall of the cylindrical container (14), and a movable cursor (18), actuated by an external element, for the actuation of the friction disc (16), the friction disc (16) being bound to the cylindrical container (14) through constraint means which permit a roto-translational motion in order to acquire a further sliding contact surface in addition to the internal wall of the cylindrical container (14) at the end of the initial translation phase of the cursor (18) in which the friction disc (16) is subjected to a mainly or completely translational motion. |
| US08707515B2 |
Strain relief insert
A strain relief device for securing three radially arrayed flat cables coming into a closure includes a body having three armatures extending radially. Each armature includes at least two cantilevered segments extending from the at least one armature in opposing directions. At least one cable may be received in a receiving area partially defined by the armature and the cantilevered segment. Compressive force acting on the strain relief device secures the cables in the receiving area relative to the strain relief device. |
| US08707514B2 |
Cleaner head
A cleaner head for a cleaning appliance includes a housing, a suction opening through which dirt-bearing air enters the cleaner head, and a plurality of floor engaging support members connected to the housing. Each support member includes a curved lower surface and a rolling element located within a recessed portion of the lower surface of the support member. The outer surface of the rolling element is substantially coincident with a locus, or virtual surface, described by the lower surface of the support member. |
| US08707505B2 |
Cleaning device comprising a strip mop with strips covered with microfiber for cleaning floors
A cleaning device connectable to a handle includes a head (100) with a substantially circular profile formed by a plurality (200) of flexible strips in non-woven fabric overlapped and arranged to cover the circumference of the head (100) wherein the outermost strips (1) of the plurality of overlapped strips (200) have the outer surface formed by a microfiber layer (8) supported by a non-woven fabric layer (9), and the innermost strips (3) have a greater stiffness than the remaining strips. |
| US08707504B2 |
Hygienic toothbrush and method of using same
A hygienic toothbrush comprises a bristle cover movably secured to the elongated body of the toothbrush to protect the bristles of the toothbrush when it is not being used. A storage compartment with a removable lid is provided in the handle of the toothbrush body for storing the cover when not in use. |
| US08707501B2 |
Tool for pointing bullnose and method thereof
A tool for pointing or filling joints formed between bullnose paving stones or pavers and method thereof are provided. The tool includes an arcuate, resilient body having an inner, concave-shaped surface and an outer, convex-shaped surface, the arcuate, resilient body configured to conform to a convex-shaped rounded portion of each of the at least two adjacent bullnose coping pavers; and a handle coupled to the outer, convex-shaped surface for manipulating the body. The opening of the arcuate, resilient body has an angle of about 45 degrees to about 90 degrees. The resilient body deforms to conform to a variety of sizes of bullnose paving stones or pavers when positioned thereon and returns to its original shape when removed. The tool may further include a finishing member for smoothing a material disposed in the joint formed between the bullnose paving stones or pavers. |
| US08707492B2 |
Lath and plaster removal tools and systems
A tool and system for lath and plaster removal. The lath and plaster removal tool is a specialty multi-purpose demolition tool device designed specifically for prying lath and plaster off of walls and ceilings. This tool facilitates the fast and easy removal of both materials at the same time, while also keeping the items separate for easy cleanup. The product is ideal for use by contractors, homeowners, and individuals who wish to remove lath and plaster in buildings. Using this tool of the present invention allows consumers to remove the material in greater quantities, as well as enables them to pry the material off in line with the wall studs, making the process much simpler. The tool may be used in other construction and demolition operations. |
| US08707488B2 |
Multiple configuration air mattress pump system
A multiple configuration air mattress pump system is disclosed. The pump system includes a number of standard components with a few inexpensive varied components to allow for easy and less expensive use of the pump with mattresses having varying numbers of inflatable zones. |
| US08707487B2 |
Cane holder
A cane holder comprising one or more horizontal perpendicular plates, optionally one or more horizontal parallel plates, and a pair of support members for holding a cane, wherein the distance between the support members can be adjusted to fit the length of the cane. |
| US08707486B2 |
Lacing system to secure a limb in a surgical support apparatus
A surgical support apparatus comprising a surgical boot sized to receive a portion of a limb of a patient therein and a tightening device positioned between a first end and a second end of the surgical boot. The tightening device is configured to apply a clamping force to the portion of the limb of the patient positioned in the surgical boot. |
| US08707483B2 |
Therapy enabler system
A patient support apparatus includes a patient support structure, such as a bed frame or mattress or both, that is configured to support a patient in a recumbent position. The patient support structure is configured to provide at least one therapy to a patient. A therapy enabler token is coupleable to the patient support structure. The at least one therapy is disabled when the therapy enabler token is decoupled from the patient support structure and the at least one therapy is enabled in response to the therapy enabler token being coupled to the patient support structure. |
| US08707476B2 |
Apparatuses for posterior surgery
Various apparatuses for supporting a patient in a prone position are described. In embodiment, an apparatus rotates a person from a supine position to a prone position and vice versa and includes opposing patient support platens each coupled to a corresponding end of a first and a second COG assembly, the first and second COG assemblies each coupled to a corresponding one of a pair of spindles, each one of the spindles disposed on a corresponding lift column. Embodiments described herein provide for an axis of rotation that is adjustable with respect to the plane of either an upper or lower support platen. Embodiments provide for adjusting the separation distance between the axis of rotation and the center of gravity defined by the combination of the person and the supporting platens. |
| US08707475B2 |
Shower door storage assembly
A shower door assembly is provided that includes a frame mountable at an opening of a shower enclosure. The shower door assembly also includes a door panel movably mounted to the frame and configured to close off a first portion of the enclosure opening. The shower door assembly further includes a storage unit movably mounted to the frame and configured to close off a second portion of the enclosure opening. The storage unit has at least one shelf accessible at least from inside the shower enclosure. |
| US08707474B2 |
Toilet controls
Controls for use in association with a toilet conserve water by allowing the amount of water utilized for each flush to be varied. The controls conserve water by minimizing the amount of water lost in the event of either a minor leak or a major leak. The controls may include a magnet to raise a float connected with a water float control valve. The controls may include water level sensor apparatus. The controls may include a force transmission assembly which effects operation of water inlet and outlet valves under the influence of force transmitted from a handle of a toilet. A separate body of water may be maintained in a container in the tank. A pump may be connected in fluid communication with the container and operated under the influence of force transmitted from the handle. |
| US08707473B2 |
Apparatus to assist squatting on toilets
An apparatus for assisting a person in assumption of a beneficial position for evacuations when using a toilet, the apparatus including a platform adapted to raise a user's feet from the ground surface, the platform having at least one height adjustment means associated therewith and an opening therein to at least partially receive a portion of the toilet or bowl. |
| US08707470B1 |
Enhanced impact absorption strips for protective head gear
An integrated impact energy absorption system application for enhanced safety performance of sports related protective head gear. A multiplicity of pattern positioned energy shock absorption impact strips of high performance dual elastomeric polyurethane resin of the invention are selectively secured in a pattern orientation on a sports helmet to protect critical vulnerable locations on the exterior thereof. Preformed impact absorption strips are of a composite construction having internalized compartment energy attenuating cells in a repetitive matrix construction for enhanced forced absorption and deflection to the helmet surface to which they are so secured. |
| US08707469B1 |
Concealed smartphone pocket
A concealed safety pocket in a garment for securely carrying a smart phone and a method for making same. The safety pocket provides a separate storage place for carrying a smart phone where it can be found quickly, a user knowing exactly the place where the smart phone is. The smart phone is stored on a user's person and can be easily heard and answered, the safety pocket providing quick access to the smart phone. The separate safety pocket protects the smart phone from scratches from coins and keys. The safety pocket has a closure that prevents the smart phone from sliding out or falling out of a pocket, but providing quick access through the easily opened closure. The safety pocket attaches to a waistband and an open side seam, the closure of the pocket completing the side seam. |
| US08707467B2 |
Caregiver cover
A caregiver cover with a stretched torus or other like shaped body and an elongated open or closed shaped neck opening. The caregiver cover provides adequate coverage of chest, shoulders, upper arms, and upper back of a caregiver to protect the caregiver's clothes from becoming soiled when burping, holding, bathing, or otherwise performing activities common to caring for a baby; and/or to provide adequate coverage for a nursing mother to maintain privacy while nursing without fully covering the baby; and/or to provide a comfortable surface for the baby. The body may be a soft, comfortable, absorbent fabric such as terry cloth, flannel, knit or the like and/or reversible. A neck fastener and/or a collar may be joined to the body. The body may be a single layer, a double layer, a triple layer, or multiple layers with a top panel, a middle panel, a bottom panel and/or multiple panels. |
| US08713702B2 |
Digital media content distribution
A method for distributing digital media content, including the use of a digital performance right key that is unique for a media content and a subscriber of the digital media content distribution service, and apparatuses configured to practice the method or portions thereof, are described herein. |
| US08713699B2 |
Securing information by hiding identity on a computing device
A mechanism for securing information by hiding identity in a computing device is disclosed. A method includes generating, by a computing device, a dummy profile of the computing device. The dummy profile is a clone of a home profile stored in the computing device and the home profile is assigned to a user authorized to use the computing device. The method also includes altering, based on instructions from the user, the dummy profile to remove data that the user indicates is not to be included in the dummy profile. The method further includes switching a current operating profile of the computing device from the home profile to the dummy profile and executing the computing device in a normal operation mode using the dummy profile. |
| US08713698B2 |
Data communication apparatus, method of controlling the same, program, and storage medium
A data communication apparatus that permits the use of a communication function in an appropriate manner even before a license for the communication function is made valid. A CPU of a printing apparatus as the data communication apparatus determines whether or not a trial transmission license is valid. If it is determined that the license is not valid, the CPU performs inhibits execution of processing associated with the transmission function, and restricts processing to be performed on data received using the reception function without inhibiting execution of processing associated with the reception function. |
| US08713690B2 |
Secure data exchange between data processing systems
A data transfer method performed at a proxy server includes intercepting a data request from a client computer that is directed to a target server, encrypting profile information, augmenting the data request by adding the encrypted profile information to the data request, and sending the augmented data request to the target server. A data transfer method that is performed at an information server includes receiving a data request from a proxy server, extracting profile information added to the data request by the proxy server, using the extracted profile information to generate a response, and sending the response to the proxy server. |
| US08713688B2 |
Automated security analysis for federated relationship
A secure collaboration mechanism between two organizations may be created based on a set of security system definitions provided by a receiving organization to a providing organization. The providing organization may create a shared portal that has a federated access between both organizations and has access and other security functions. The data collection process may be automated using digitally signed forms or other documents to analyze the security practices of the receiving organization and create a shared portal that has increased or decreased security provisions compared to the providing organization's standard procedures. The collaboration mechanism may be implemented in a bilateral arrangement, a hub and spoke arrangement, and a multilateral arrangement. |
| US08713680B2 |
Method and apparatus for modeling computer program behaviour for behavioural detection of malicious program
A method and apparatus for modeling a behavior of a computer program that is executed in a computer system is described. The method and apparatus for modeling a behavior of a computer program may be used to detect a malicious program based on the behavior of the computer program. A method includes collecting system use information about resources of the computer system the computer program uses; extracting a behavior signature of the computer program from the collected system use information; and encoding the extracted behavior signature to generate a behavior vector. As a result, behaviors of a particular computer program may be modeled to enable a malicious program detection program and to determine whether the computer program is either normal or malicious. |
| US08713676B2 |
Systems and methods for identifying malicious domains using internet-wide DNS lookup patterns
Systems and methods are disclosed for identifying domains as malicious based on Internet-wide DNS lookup patterns. Disclosed embodiments look for variance in the servers that look up a domain and also look at the popularity growth (quantity of queries from unique addresses) of a domain after registration to identify malicious domains. Other disclosed embodiments measure the similarity of servers that query a domain and cluster domains based on the similarity of those servers. Disclosed embodiments may use such temporal and spatial lookup patterns as input to a blacklist process to more effectively and quickly blacklist domains based on their Internet-wide lookup patterns. |
| US08713672B2 |
Method and apparatus for token-based context caching
According to one embodiment, an apparatus may receive a token that indicates a change that occurs during a session. The session may facilitate access to a resource. The token may indicate a risk token should be computed. The apparatus may determine, from the token, a first set of attributes. The first set of attributes may include attributes required to compute the risk token. The apparatus may determine that a cache contains a set of cached attributes. The apparatus may examine an attribute in the set of cached attributes, and determine the attribute in the set of cached attributes is not in the first set of attributes. The apparatus may then remove the attribute in the set of cached attributes from the cache. |
| US08713669B2 |
Multi-domain dynamic group virtual private networks
Systems and/or methods of secure communication of information between multi-domain virtual private networks (VPNs) are presented. A dynamic group VPN (DGVPN) can reside in one domain and a disparate DGVPN can reside in a disparate domain. An administrative security authority (ASA) can be employed in each domain. Each ASA can generate and exchange respective keying material and crypto-policy information to be used for inter-domain communications when routing data from a member in one DGVPN to a member(s) in the disparate DGVPN, such that an ASA in one domain can facilitate encryption of data in accordance with the policy of the other domain before the data is sent to the other domain. Each ASA can establish a key server to generate the keying material and crypto-policy information associated with its local DGVPN, and such material and information can be propagated to intra-domain members. |
| US08713667B2 |
Policy based cryptographic application programming interface in secure memory
Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for policy protected cryptographic Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are deployed in secure memory. One embodiment is a method of software execution. The method includes executing an application in a first secure memory partition; formatting a request to comply with a pre-defined secure communication protocol; transmitting the request from the application to a cryptographic application programming interface (API) of the application, the API being in a second secure memory partition that is separate and secure from the first secure memory partition; and verifying, in the second secure memory partition, that the request complies with a security policy before executing the request. |
| US08713664B2 |
Detecting the type of NAT firewall using messages
A method, system, and computer program product for detecting the type of NAT firewall using messages provides the capability to determine the type of NAT in use without requiring special purpose hardware or software. A method for determining a type of a NAT firewall may comprise receiving a message from a device inside the NAT firewall, the message addressed to a first IP address and port of a device outside the NAT firewall, transmitting a plurality of messages to the device inside the NAT firewall, at least one of the plurality of messages addressed from the first IP address and port and at least one of the messages addressed from a second IP address and port, receiving responses to at least some of the plurality of messages transmitted to the device inside the NAT firewall and determining the type of the NAT firewall based on the received responses. |
| US08713654B2 |
Reverse mapping method and apparatus for form filling
In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, every time a user submits a form the client software tries to match the submitted information with the stored profile of that user. If a match is discovered, the program tags the field of the recognized data with a corresponding type. The resulting profile can be used after that to help all subsequent users to fill the same form. |
| US08713650B2 |
Systems and methods for universal enhanced log-in, identity document verification and dedicated survey participation
Systems and methods are provided for controlling access via a computer network to a subscriber server. A log-in server receives a query to connect through the computer network to the subscriber server, and the log-in server receives registrant identification data. A first session is established between the log-in server and the subscriber server to validate the registrant identification data, and to generate a session password. A second session is established between the log-in server and the subscriber server. The second session is configured to authorize, based in part on the registrant identification data, access to at least a portion of a website associated with the subscriber server. |
| US08713648B2 |
Information processing apparatus capable of authentication processing with improved user convenience, control program for information processing apparatus, and recording medium having control program for information processing apparatus recorded thereon
An information processing apparatus determines whether a device accesses a box region of the information processing apparatus. When it is determined that the box region is accessed, a box ID entry screen is displayed on the device. The information processing apparatus determines whether a box ID is entered by a user of the device. If it is determined that a box ID is entered, then device information about the device is obtained. After the device information is obtained, the information processing apparatus determines whether the device possesses a hardware keyboard. If it is determined that the device possesses a hardware keyboard, a password authentication screen is displayed on the device. If it is determined that the device does not possess a hardware keyboard, an image authentication screen is displayed on the device. |
| US08713645B2 |
Authentication for social networking messages
A tool for verifying that a message received by a social networking service was sent by a bona fide owner of a social networking account who purportedly sent the message. The tool receives a message and it locates in the message a string that was entered into a message text field of the message. The string is compared with a registered authentication string for the bona fide owner of the account. If the string in the message matches the registered authentication string, the string is removed from the message and the message is forwarded to the social networking service. If the string in the message does not match the registered authentication string, the message is blocked from being forwarded to the social networking service. |
| US08713643B2 |
Method and devices for handling access privileges
A method and apparatus are disclosed for configuring access privileges in a system of networked devices. A plurality of access identities is selected and information of access privileges of each of the selected access identities to accessible functions of networked devices is retrieved. The access privileges of the selected access identities for each one of said accessible function of each one of said networked devices is accumulated. The accumulated access privileges are presented for each one of said accessible function of each one of said networked devices in an interface allowing editing of the accumulated access privileges. Change in accumulated access privileges to a specific function in a specific networked device is indicated, and the specific function of the specific networked device is configured for allowing access by the selected users in accordance with the indicated change of accumulated access privileges. |
| US08713638B2 |
Managing personal information on a network
Devices, systems, and methods for managing personal information by providing a centralized source or database for a user's information, and enabling the user to regulate privacy levels for each information item or category of information. Templates are provided as a table of hierarchies, or an onion layers model. Private information may be stored in an inner layer while public information may be stored in an outer layer, with the ability to define and customize multiple layers and categories within the template. A requesting entity requests information via a disseminating server that acts as a gateway for authenticating, authorizing, and providing access to the requesting entity. The user may therefore control and regulate their online presence simply by monitoring who requests their information and adjusting privacy levels accordingly. |
| US08713637B2 |
Diameter signaling for mobile IPv4
The invention consists of a new registration and authentication protocol for between a Mobile Node and a Home Agent. The new protocol uses a novel messaging sequence to request registration, authentication and authorization of the Mobile Node when it is located on a foreign network, and the novel protocol will avoid some of the standard registration and authentication protocol messages in order to eliminate the problems associated with re-transmission errors. |
| US08713635B2 |
Information terminal, setting information distribution server, right information distribution server, network connection setting program and method
When connecting a mobile information terminal to a communication network via a public access point, a user of the mobile information terminal is undesirably required to input detailed information for connection to the communication network via a poor input interface. In order to solve this problem, the information acquisition function receives network connection setting information from a setting information distribution server which distributes network connection setting information which is information indicative of settings of connections with communication networks. In accordance with the network connection setting information received by the information acquisition function, an NW connection function establishes a connection with a communication network via an access point. |
| US08713626B2 |
Network client validation of network management frames
Methods and systems for use in a wireless client that includes one or more wireless network interfaces for communicating with at least one access point wherein the method enables the wireless client to validate the authenticity and integrity of received management frames. The method includes receiving a protected wireless network management frame from an access point verifying a message integrity check (MIC) appended to the protected wireless network management frame. One or more security policies are then conditionally applied based on a failure to verify the MIC. |
| US08713625B2 |
Delivery of captions, content advisory and other data through digital interface
In certain implementations, closed captioning data can be packaged in IP packets and transmitted over an HDMI interface to permit closed captioning data to be rendered at a television set or other HDMI sink closer to the TV set rather than at a source so as to more closely match the capabilities of the display device. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract. |
| US08713622B2 |
Method and system for providing complete internet anywhere with partial server processing
Methods and systems are described for providing complete Internet anywhere with partial server processing in which a request is sent from a set-top-box (STB) to a server communicatively coupled with the STB to process a portion of a web page that is unsupported by a web browser running on the STB. In one such method, the STB sends to the server an unsupported content request associated with a portion of a web page that is unsupported by a web browser executing on the STB. The STB receives a data stream from the server in response to the unsupported content request. The data stream was generated at the server by processing the unsupported portion of the web page. The STB composites the received data stream with another portion of the web page, that is supported by the web browser, to produce the web page. |
| US08713620B2 |
Methods and apparatus for providing video on demand and network PVR functions using IP streaming
Methods and apparatus for supporting on-demand content services, using conventional non-IP based VOD servers are described. The methods and apparatus of the present invention, through the use of a protocol converter and/or a content redirector, can be used to enable a conventional VOD server to supply content to a customer premise equipment (CPE) device which supports IP based content delivery and/or RSTP control of content delivery. The protocol converter of the invention can be implemented as an RTSP-ISA PROXY. The RTSP Proxy converts messages between RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) to the appropriate ISA protocol signal or another protocol format. The proxy module handles the conversion between these formats and converts a received signal, e.g. message, into the format required by the device which responds by implementing the operation requested by the signal. |
| US08713613B2 |
Data distribution unit for vehicle entertainment system
A data distribution unit for a vehicle includes a wireless receiver configured to receive coded data wirelessly via a cellular network, a signal processor configured to decode the coded data into video data and audio data, and a wireless transmitter configured to transmit the video data wirelessly to a display and transmit the audio data wirelessly to a speaker. |
| US08713609B2 |
Method and apparatus for communicating electronic service guide information in a satellite television system
Aspects of a method and apparatus for communicating electronic service guide information in a satellite television system are provided. A satellite communication system may receive a signal via an interface to a satellite dish, and receive data from a network via a second interface (e.g., an interface to a LAN or a WAN, such as the Internet). The satellite communication system may be operable to channelize the received satellite signal into a plurality of channels, wherein a first channel of the plurality of channels carries electronic service guide (ESG) data. The satellite communication system may select which of the plurality of channels to input to a demodulator based, at least in part, on whether ESG data is available via the second interface. A second channel carrying media data may be input to the demodulator while the ESG data is available via the second interface. |
| US08713606B2 |
Systems and methods for generating a user profile based customized media guide with user-generated content and non-user-generated content
Systems and methods for presenting user-generated content in an easily accessible manner using an interactive media guide are provided. In particular, a user may be able to peruse user-generated content through an interactive media guide which is also used to access non-user-generated media content such as linear programming (e.g., over-the-air broadcast, cable, and satellite scheduled programming) and on-demand media. The interactive media guide may include a provider of user-generated content populated with user-generated content according to the user's interests or most recently added to the provider. |
| US08713605B2 |
Method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content
A method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content enables the secure transfer of multimedia content from a digital video recorder (DVR) to a personal computer (PC) and further to a handheld device. A DVR determines which devices on a Local Area Network (LAN) are authorized to share and/or retrieve content from the DVR. The DVR receives a connection request from a PC on the LAN, authorizes the connection request and establishes a secure connection between the DVR and the PC. Once the secure connection is established, the DVR receives a request for multimedia content from the PC, prepares the multimedia content for transfer and transfers the multimedia content to the PC. |
| US08713603B2 |
Method and apparatus for user selection of advertising combinations
A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for providing advertisements with a media program transmitted to a user device are described. The method permits the user to control the presentation of advertisements to select prefacing advertisements in lieu of more time consuming or more numerous intervening advertisements presented during the media program. |
| US08713602B2 |
Alternate source programming
An apparatus, method, and system are provided for associating or tying an audio source/content to visual/video content. A request to tie a selected audio source to visual/video content may be received. Upon receiving the request, the selected audio source may be tied to the visual/video content. Audio received from the selected audio source may be substituted for audio associated with the visual/video content. One or more synchronization techniques/methods may be used to synchronize audio content with visual/video content. |
| US08713601B2 |
System and method for content delivery
Systems and methods of content delivery are provided. A particular content delivery system includes a gateway to deliver content to an end user device. The particular content delivery system also includes a content delivery module to deliver content to the gateway for display on the end user device. The particular content delivery module also includes a management controller. The particular content delivery system also includes an out-of-band signaling controller which receives input from the management controller and provides signaling to control the gateway. |
| US08713600B2 |
User control of replacement television advertisements inserted by a smart television
A method is performed using a smart TV, which receives from a television signal source device a television signal feed encoding primary television content and then presents that content. The smart TV receives data via the computer network, including first data representing a to-be-replaced portion of the primary television content and second data representing secondary television content. Using the second data, the smart TV automatically presents the secondary television content in place of the to-be-replaced television content. The method includes the smart TV: (a) automatically monitoring, during presentation of the secondary television content, the television signal feed and comparing it with the first data; and (b) automatically altering presentation of the secondary television content in accordance with a user-control action with respect to the television signal source device, in response to detecting any difference between the television signal feed and the first data indicative of that user-control action. |
| US08713597B2 |
Authenticating and off-loading IPTV operations from mobile devices to fixed rendering viewing devices
A mobile IPTV system enables authenticating and off-loading of IPTV operations from a mobile device to an external fixed viewing device. The mobile device performs authentication to an IPTV network to receive decryption key(s) for use in decrypting IPTV content and provides the decryption key to the viewing device. The viewing device uses the decryption key to decrypt and render IPTV content thereon. |
| US08713592B2 |
Self-service channel marketplace
A content hosting system allows content providers to create channels of video content and make them available to users in a marketplace. Users can search or browse for channels of interest, and selectively subscribe to channels. Users can also pay for the right to view premium videos in each channel. The system ranks channels according to the value provided. Generally, users will seek out and subscribe to the highest ranked channels that provide the greatest value. The ranking function allows different providers to compete for the subscriptions of users. Providers can observe their channel's reception in the market by analyzing rankings and usage statistics to adjust channels to maximize channel performance. The system operator can also create bundled channels containing videos from multiple providers, and the resulting subscription revenue can be distributed to the various providers of the videos in the channel. |
| US08713591B2 |
Automatic adjustment of devices in a home entertainment system
A method of detecting missing devices in a home entertainment system using a wireless home entertainment hub includes obtaining a registration of at least one device that includes a source device. An instruction is received from a user to present program content from the source device. A set of one or more sink devices missing from the home entertainment system for a presentation of the program content based on an assessment by the wireless home entertainment hub of presentation capabilities of the home entertainment system using the at least one device registered with the wireless home entertainment hub is determined. The set of one or more sink devices is presented to the user. |
| US08713588B2 |
Integrated disk driving module including a stepping motor integrally formed with a base unit
An integrated disk driving module is disclosed, the module including a base unit including a stepping motor fixture bent from an upper plate toward an accommodation space, wherein the stepping motor fixture is integrally formed with the upper plate, and a stepping motor rotatably fixed to the stepping motor fixture. |
| US08713587B2 |
Optical disc drive having a tray for loading a disc using supporting portions
Provided is an optical disc drive having a tray to receive a disc. The tray includes a hollow portion having a bottom corresponding to the disc and a wall surrounding a portion of the bottom, and a plurality of supporting portions formed on the bottom of the hollow portion to locally support a bottom surface of the disc. |
| US08713585B2 |
Communication apparatus, communication method, and program for exchanging data with a target
A communication device includes a first processing unit that detects a target and receives a first command for activating an interface upon a detection of the target. The communication device also includes a second processing unit that exchanges data with the target through the first processing unit. Further, the communication device includes an interface between the first processing unit and the second processing unit. The first processing unit selects a predetermined interface level from among a plurality of interface levels based on the first command and exchanges data with the second processing unit based on the predetermined interface level. |
| US08713580B2 |
Information processing device and display control method
To improve operability of screen switching of native APs and virtual machine APs. It is an information processing device capable of executing native APs described in a native code and JavaAPs described in a Java (registered trademark) bytecode. A key event processing unit manages a current mode. It also decides display or non-display of each of images generated by the native APs and images generated by the Java APs according to the current mode which is managed. It further changes the current mode which is managed according to a type of a key event received from a key driver. A graphics driver superimposes and outputs the images decided to be displayed in predetermined order. |
| US08713578B2 |
Managing job execution
This disclosure describes monitoring the execution of jobs in a work plan. In an embodiment, a system maintains a risk level associated with the critical job to represent whether the execution of a job preceding the critical job has a problem, and it maintains the list associated with the critical job so as to quickly identify the preceding job which may cause a delay to the critical job execution. |
| US08713576B2 |
Load balancing for parallel tasks
Techniques for balancing processing loads when performing parallel tasks on one or more processing nodes that share memory resources are provided. For some embodiments, the techniques involve distributing work according to an alternate block cyclic distribution scheme of at least one dimension, wherein work processes are assigned to sets of threads in at least first and second adjacent blocks based on round-robin manner according to a first sequence and an alternate round-robin manner according to a second sequence that is a mirror image of the first sequence, respectively. |
| US08713574B2 |
Soft co-processors to provide a software service function off-load architecture in a multi-core processing environment
A method of distributing functions among a plurality of cores in a multi-core processing environment can include organizing cores of the multi-core processing environment into a plurality of different service pools. Each of the plurality of service pools can be associated with at least one function and have at least one core executing at least one soft co-processor that performs the associated function. The method further can include, responsive to a request from a primary processor to offload a selected function, selecting an available soft co-processor from a service pool associated with the selected function and assigning the selected function to the selected soft co-processor. The method also can include marking the selected soft co-processor as busy and, responsive to receiving an indication from the soft co-processor that processing of the selected function has completed, marking the selected soft co-processor as available. |
| US08713568B2 |
System and method for detecting deadlock in a multithread program
A system and method for detecting deadlock in multithread program is provided. The method includes: selecting the thread to be detected; initiating a tracking program to track the thread running in a kernel; initiating a target multithread program; determining whether the selected thread is running; dynamically inserting a probe in the database in order to detect the selected thread through the instrument function. The instrument function records the detected data, and when the recorded data goes beyond the threshold value of the kernel, the data is transmitted to the user space which stores the data, and analyzing the data stored in the user space to judge whether deadlock has been generated. Accordingly, it is possible to detect deadlock efficiently, without the source code of the target program. This is beneficial to a debug task of the multithread and is beneficial to analysis of the usage of the source by the multithread program. |
| US08713559B2 |
System and method for updating firmware
A system and method for guiding a user through a procedure for updating firmware on an uninterruptible power supply. In one example, the system includes a computer system and a communication link to connect the computer system to the uninterruptible power supply. The computer system includes a discovery component, which is configured to detect a version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply and to detect a model type of the uninterruptible power supply. The computer system also includes a firmware update component, a preparation sequence and an instruction component corresponding to the model type of the uninterruptible power supply and the version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply. The preparation sequence is configured to prepare the uninterruptible power supply for the firmware update component. The instruction component is configured to display instructions that guide the user through the procedure for updating the firmware. |
| US08713557B2 |
Peer-to-peer method of deploying and managing executable code and associated plug-ins
A system for peer-to peer distributed client updates. The system includes a server to which a list of target network accessible devices as devices that are to receive an update file is uploaded. The server then generates a list of the targeted network accessible devices, which includes a plurality of superior nodes and a plurality of subordinate nodes, which are each subordinate to a respective one of the superior nodes. The server then sends an update file to each of said superior nodes, which sends the update file to each of the nodes subordinate to the respective superior nodes. Each of the target network accessible devices then directly transmits a reporting result indicating a result of a software update at each of the superior and subordinate nodes. |
| US08713550B2 |
Methods, devices and software applications for facilitating a development of a computer program
A software development application determines whether routine name and version number parameters have been identified (33). If so, the application determines whether the specified version of the routine can be accessed (35). If the specified version cannot be accessed, the application locates a substitute version of the routine (37) and compiles and links the routines and a source file to produce an executable file (39). |
| US08713547B2 |
Generating compiled code that indicates register liveness
Object code is generated from an internal representation that includes a plurality of source operands. The generating includes performing for each source operand in the internal representation determining whether a last use has occurred for the source operand. The determining includes accessing a data flow graph to determine whether all uses of a live range have been emitted. If it is determined that a last use has occurred for the source operand, an architected resource associated with the source operand is marked for last-use indication. A last-use indication is then generated for the architected resource. Instructions and the last-use indications are emitted into the object code. |
| US08713543B2 |
Evaluation compiler method
A method and software system allowing the ability to use an existing Excel model and extract the business intelligence, relationships, computations and model into pure mathematical relationships and codes such that the business intelligence in the original model is completely protected and the model can be run at extremely high speed and advanced simulations of hundreds of thousands to millions of trials can be run. |
| US08713541B2 |
Model matching for trace link generation
Implementations of the present disclosure include methods, systems, and computer-readable storage mediums for identifying matching elements between a source model and a target model comprising receiving a source model and a target model, the source model and the target model each being stored in computer-readable memory; processing the source model and the target model to generate a plurality of similarity values, each similarity value being associated with an element of the source model and an element of the target model; generating a similarity value construct based on the plurality of similarity values and elements of the source model and the target model; and identifying matching elements between the source model and the target model based on the similarity value construct. |
| US08713538B2 |
Monitoring heap in real-time by a mobile agent to assess performance of virtual machine
A method for monitoring a heap in real-time to assess the performance of a virtual machine. A mobile agent is created to be preloaded with boundary settings for each heap metric. Boundary settings are thresholds that are used to diagnose the effectiveness of operation of the heap. The mobile agent is deployed onto an application server to monitor the effectiveness of operation of the heap of a virtual machine within the application server. If a boundary setting for one of the heap metrics is exceeded, then the mobile agent determines whether a non-critical, a critical or a fatal error has occurred. An appropriate response is then performed. By monitoring the heap in real-time, undesirable behavior characteristics of the heap can be detected early thereby allowing remedial actions to be enacted to address such problems before those problems escalate into more serious problems. |
| US08713537B2 |
Monitoring heap in real-time by a mobile agent to assess performance of virtual machine
A system and computer program product for monitoring a heap in real-time to assess the performance of a virtual machine. A mobile agent is created to be preloaded with boundary settings for each heap metric. Boundary settings are thresholds that are used to diagnose the effectiveness of operation of the heap. The mobile agent is deployed onto an application server to monitor the effectiveness of operation of the heap of a virtual machine within the application server. If a boundary setting for one of the heap metrics is exceeded, then the mobile agent determines whether a non-critical, a critical or a fatal error has occurred. An appropriate response is then performed. By monitoring the heap in real-time, undesirable behavior characteristics of the heap can be detected early thereby allowing remedial actions to be enacted to address such problems before those problems escalate into more serious problems. |
| US08713534B2 |
System, method and program product for guiding correction of semantic errors in code using collaboration records
A method, system and program product for guiding correction of semantic errors in code in an integrated development environment. The method includes inputting, using a code editor, code being developed by a developer in an integrated development environment, identifying, using one or more collaboration records located for a node in a syntax tree constructed for the code inputted, any semantic errors pertaining to use of a third-party library in the code inputted by the developer and, displaying one or more suggestions associated with the one or more collaboration records located to correct the any semantic errors identified for the node, wherein the developer can choose a suggestion of the one or more suggestions displayed to guide correction of the any semantic errors. |
| US08713533B2 |
Module-code verification layer to automatically validate user input
Methods and systems for verifying module codes are presented. The module code may be verified by associating the module code with a user interface screen and determining whether the module code was generated from the user interface screen. A module corresponding to the module code may be executed if the module code is verified. The module code may be verified by using routines from a user interface framework system. The module code may be verified by determining whether a user interface element associated with the module code is disabled. The module code may be verified by determining whether each user interface element associated with the module code is enabled. The module code may be verified by insuring that the module code was generated by the selection of a user interface element. The module codes may be received from a front-end system and verified on a back-end system. |
| US08713530B2 |
Test framework of visual components in a multitenant database environment
Disclosed herein are techniques for compiling a procedure for testing a page. In some implementations, a component definition for a component instance referred to in computer programming language instructions defining a test procedure for testing a page may be received. The page may be defined by a page description implemented in a markup language. The page description may include a reference to a first portion of a component instance. Compiled wrapper code operable to simulate the presence of the component instance may be generated. The compiled wrapper code may represent the first portion of the component instance referenced in the page description. A compiled test procedure may be generated based on the computer programming language instructions. The compiled test procedure may include the compiled wrapper code. The compiled test procedure may be capable of being executed to perform the test procedure. |
| US08713529B2 |
Replacing memory pointers with implicit pointers to be used in compiler-generated debug output
A mechanism for replacing memory pointers with implicit pointers is disclosed. A method of embodiments of the invention includes determining a memory pointer in a source code compiling on a computer system. The memory pointer is associated with a first value in the source code and serves as a referencing link to a second value in memory. The method further includes replacing the memory pointer with an implicit pointer as the memory pointer is optimized away during code optimization of the source code such that the implicit pointer is provided in a compiler-generated debug output to serve as an implicit reference link between the first value and second value. The implicit reference link was once provided as an explicit reference link by the memory pointer before getting optimized away. |
| US08713525B2 |
Software management system for network data processing systems
A method, data processing system, and computer program product are presented for planning upgrades to a network data processing system. A processor unit identifies configuration information for hardware and software programs for a plurality of computers in the network data processing system. The processor unit obtains end of life dates for the software programs, release dates for the replacement software programs, and prerequisites for replacement software programs for the software programs identified in the configuration information. The processor unit identifies at least one change to the plurality of computers based on the configuration information and a set of prerequisites in the prerequisites for each of a plurality of replacement software programs for a plurality of software programs in the software programs. The processor unit generates at least one upgrade plan to implement at least one change to the plurality of computers in which a number of overlaps between life cycles for the plurality of replacement software programs and life cycles for the plurality of software programs in the software programs is increased. |
| US08713521B2 |
Discovery, analysis, and visualization of dependencies
Product data pertaining to a plurality of products is gathered from a plurality of sources. Dependency information for the plurality of products is extracted from the product data. The dependency information is analyzed to determine dependencies for each product of the plurality of products. The dependencies for each product of the plurality of products are displayed to a user. |
| US08713520B2 |
Web development environment that enables a developer to interact with run-time output presentation of a page
A web page authoring tool is provided enables a developer to interact with run-time output presentation of a page being authored. The web page authoring tool includes an embedded browser that supports a “live preview mode” that enables a run-time page to be viewed. Thus, the live preview mode presents an operational run-time output presentation that is generated by browser source code (rather than original source code), just as would be presented by a client-side browser, and which may present a code view of the run-time browser source code that generates such run-time output presentation. Further, the run-time output presentation view provided by the web page authoring tool remains interoperable with certain authoring support functions of the web page authoring tool, such as enabling a developer to easily access corresponding original source code for selected portions of a run-time page view. |
| US08713518B2 |
System and method for computational unification of heterogeneous implicit and explicit processing elements
A system and method for computational unification of heterogeneous implicit and explicit processing elements which supports the aggregation of any number of such processing elements. The system and method of the present invention supports the generation of a unified executable program through the use of directive statements which are analyzed in conjunction with the semantic structures in the parsed source code to generate appropriate source code targeted to the implicit and explicit processing elements. The computational unification system and method of the present invention further embodies expertise with the particular programming style and idiom of the various processing elements. |
| US08713517B2 |
Data architecture and user interface for plasma processing related software applications
An architecture for creating a plasma-processing-related application is provided. The architecture includes a foundation layer having a plurality of framework components, wherein the framework components including at least one of security component, data management component and user interface (UI) component. The architecture also includes an analysis view layer having a set of views, wherein the set of views are generated utilizing components from the foundation layer. The architecture further includes an analysis module layer having a plurality of analysis modules, wherein each analysis module of the plurality of analysis modules is assembled from one or more view of the set of views. The architecture moreover includes an application layer having a plurality of applications, wherein each application of the plurality of applications is assembled from one or more analysis module. |
| US08713516B2 |
System and method for leveraging independent innovation in entertainment content and graphics hardware
A system and method is presented that leverages independent innovation in entertainment content and graphics hardware. In this system and method, the current image generation run-time application is replaced with a new framework defining the connectivity, features, and behavior necessary to implement a graphics system. All this takes place in the context of a software platform utilizing a late-integration mechanism that dynamically integrates the various real-time components in a run-time application. Ultimately displacing hardware as the central focus of development efforts, this software platform functionally is the graphics application, at least as viewed by the simulation host computer, database developers, and those responsible for visual system procurement and maintenance. An innovative software architecture, the Graphical Application Platform (GAP) is presented. The GAP builds on image generator, workstation, and scene graph success by extending the concepts of platform and framework into the real-time graphics domain—bridging the gap between image generation concerns and contemporary hardware and software realities by decoupling content, hardware and applications. This new approach also provides technology to address emerging concerns related to the selection and acquisition processes in the context of new low-cost, high-performance graphics hardware. |
| US08713515B1 |
Automated synchronization of design features in disparate code components using type differencing
A method and a system for automatically synchronizing the design features of disparate but conceptually corresponding code elements (e.g., image representations) within disparate but potentially composable code components (e.g., frameworks and their payloads). For example, an element that is a field within a structure that points to an abstract image BP within a skeletal framework component may conceptually correspond to a simple element that is a concrete image B within some intended framework payload. In the composition of the framework and the computational payload, the concrete image B must acquire the design features of the abstract image BP (i.e., a pointer within a structure field) to be properly synchronized with the design of the framework. This invention automates differencing of composite types to compute transformations that can add design features to B to convert it to BP thereby synchronizing the design features of the framework and its payload. |
| US08713512B2 |
System for programming domestic appliances and method for programming assembly-line programmable domestic appliances
The present invention relates to a system for programming domestic appliances and a method for programming assembly-line programmable domestic appliances, especially a system wherein programming occurs without the physical connection between a transmission unit and a reprogrammable processor present in a processing unit integrated into the domestic appliance. The system for programming domestic appliances comprises a remote programming unit (UR) and a reprogrammable processor (PR) present in a processing unit (UP) integrated into the domestic appliance (EN), the remote programming unit (UR) being provided with a data transmission device (TUR) and the reprogrammable processor (PR) present in a processing unit (UP) being provided with a data receiving device (RUP), and the data transmission and reception devices (TUR, RUP) are based on a magnetic field. The remote programming unit (UR) is loaded with at least one program code (SN) to be transmitted by the data transmission device (TUR) of the remote programming unit (UR) to the reprogrammable processor (PR) present in the processing unit (UP) of the domestic appliance (EN). A method for programming assembly-line programmable domestic appliances is also disclosed, which is applicable to control the system object of the present invention. |
| US08713511B1 |
Tools and methods for yield-aware semiconductor manufacturing process target generation
An integrated circuit having at least one array of circuit cells, each circuit cell having a plurality of transistors each performing a specified function, the transistors having predefined performance parameter margins for the specified function, the circuit cells designed by providing at least one operating condition for the circuit cell; providing a value of sigma over a predefined range; determining for each transistor, at least one variable transistor characteristic, which is defined by a semiconductor process that results in transistors having such transistor characteristics; providing an array of instances based upon the value of the sigma and using a design of experiments factorial calculation; providing a metric of interest by which to deter-nine pass/fail instances; extracting individual pass/fail instances for the metric of interest; and determining a yield for the array of circuit cells for the targeted operating condition. |
| US08713509B2 |
Circuit design approximation
A circuit design, responsive the input signals, may be obtained and processed. The circuit design may define connections between combinational elements, memory elements, and input signals. Identification of cut-off points may be performed with respect to predetermined combinational logic input signals. The cut-off points may be connections whose values are not dependant on the value of the predetermined combinational logic input signals. An approximated circuit design may be synthesized by relaxing the logic associated with the cut-off points. Based on the approximated circuit design, processing may be performed. In some exemplary embodiments, a clock gating function of a memory element may be determined by approximating the circuit design with respect to the output signal of the memory element. The clock gating function may be determined based on the approximated circuit design and introduced to the circuit design, with or without additional refinement. |
| US08713508B2 |
Semiconductor device, semiconductor device design method, semiconductor design apparatus, and program
A potential-supply connection interconnect is provided in a multilayer interconnect layer. The potential supply connection interconnect overlaps some cell of I/O cells in the outer peripheral cell column and some cell of I/O cells in the inner peripheral cell column in a plan view. The potential-supply connection interconnect connects a power potential supply interconnect located below the outer peripheral cell column to a power potential supply interconnect located below the inner peripheral cell column and also connects a ground potential supply interconnect located below the outer peripheral cell column to a ground potential supply interconnect located below the inner peripheral cell column. |
| US08713500B2 |
Computer program and apparatus for evaluating signal propagation delays
A computer executes a signal delay evaluation program to determine whether reference levels used to define slew rates of a first circuit block are different from those used for a second circuit block that receives an output signal from the first circuit block. The computer corrects an output slew rate of the output signal supplied from the first circuit block to the second circuit block, based on a difference in the reference levels that is found between the first and second circuit blocks. |
| US08713496B1 |
Specification of latency in programmable device configuration
A method of configuring a programmable integrated circuit device with a user logic design includes accepting a first user input defining the user logic design, accepting a second user input defining latency characteristics of the user logic design, determining a configuration of the programmable integrated circuit device having the user logic design, and retiming the configuration based on the second user input. |
| US08713489B2 |
Simulation parameter correction technique
A parameter correction method includes: obtaining, from a variability-aware simulation, a simulation result value of a predetermined product performance for a reference candidate value set concerning statistics of predetermined product characteristics; calculating a likelihood by substituting the reference candidate value set, the obtained simulation result value, statistics of measurement values of the predetermined product characteristics and a measurement value of the predetermined product performance into a likelihood function that is defined from a probability density function for the statistics of the predetermined product characteristics and a probability density function for the predetermined product performance, and is a function to calculate a combined likelihood of the statistics of the predetermined product characteristics and the predetermined product performance; and searching for a reference candidate value set in case where the calculated likelihood becomes maximum, by carrying out the obtaining and the calculating plural times while changing the reference candidate value set. |
| US08713488B2 |
Layout design defect repair based on inverse lithography and traditional optical proximity correction
Aspects of the invention relate to techniques for repairing layout design defects after layout data have been processed by resolution enhancement techniques. The repair process first determines a re-correction region that includes three portions: core, context and visible portions. An inverse lithography process is then performed on the core portion of the re-correction region while taking into account effects from the context portion of the re-correction region to generate a first modified re-correction region. A traditional OPC process is then performed on the core and context portions of the first modified re-correction region while taking into account effects from the visible portion of the first modified re-correction region to generate a second modified re-correction region. |
| US08713487B2 |
Sub-resolution assist feature repair
After layout design data has been modified using a resolution enhancement process, a repair flow is initiated. This repair flow includes checking a layout design altered by a resolution enhancement process for errors. A repair process is performed to correct detected sub-resolution assist feature errors. The repair process may employ a rule-based sub-resolution assist feature technique, a model-based sub-resolution assist feature technique, an inverse lithography-based sub-resolution assist feature technique, or any combination thereof. |
| US08713485B2 |
Categorization of design rule errors
Embodiments of the invention include a method for categorizing and displaying design rule errors. The method may include receiving, from a design rule checker, more than one violation of a design rule within a design layout. The method may also include determining distinct categories of the design rule violations by comparing parameters associated with the design rule violations. |
| US08713484B2 |
Aware manufacturing of integrated circuits
Some embodiments of the invention provide a manufacturing aware process for designing an integrated circuit (“IC”) layout. The process receives a manufacturing configuration that specifies a set of manufacturing settings for a set of machines to be used to manufacture an IC based on the IC layout. The process defines a set of design rules based on the specified manufacturing configuration. The process uses the set of design rules to design the IC layout. Some embodiments of the invention provide a design aware process for manufacturing an integrated circuit (“IC”). The process receives an IC design with an associated set of design properties. The process specifies a manufacturing configuration that specifies a set of manufacturing settings for a set of machines to be used to manufacture the IC, where the specified set of manufacturing settings are based on the set of design properties. The process manufactures the IC based on the manufacturing settings. |
| US08713481B2 |
Navigational cube for matching vendor offerings to service provider requirements
A displayed navigational cube configured to be navigated for use by a service provider to enable the service provider to select at least one vendor for meeting requirements of the service provider for deploying a selected service in a service delivery environment. The displayed navigational cube includes mutually orthogonal axes of a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis. Subservices of the selected service, vendors, and requirements are respectively represented on the first, second, and third axis to define elements at each unique combination of subservice, vendor, and requirement. Each element is transparent or non-transparent such that the navigational cube includes transparent elements and non-transparent elements. Each transparent element denotes an indication that the vendor is unable to meet each requirement for implementing each subservice. Each non-transparent element denotes an indication that the vendor is able to meet each requirement for implementing each subservice. |
| US08713476B2 |
Computing device with improved user interface for applications
A computing device includes a display screen, where the computing device is configured to display on the screen a menu listing one or more applications, and to display on the screen an application summary that can be reached directly from the menu, where the application summary displays a limited list of data offered within the one or more applications, each of the data in the list being selectable to launch the respective application and enable the selected data to be seen within the respective application, and where the application summary is displayed while the one or more applications are in an un-launched state. |
| US08713475B2 |
Secure device sharing
A device and method for placing the device in a locked state having an associated set of permitted tasks so as to permit the device owner to share the device with others but maintain security over aspects of the device. A task change request is evaluated to determine whether the requested task is permitted and, if so, the requested task is allowed; if not, then an authorization process is invoked to prompt the user to input authorization data. Upon verification of the authorization data, the device may be unlocked and the requested change implemented. The permitted tasks may designate specific applications, specific operations or functions within applications or at the operating system level, one or more currently open windows, and other levels of granularity. |
| US08713467B1 |
Context-sensitive views
A context-sensitive viewing system is disclosed in which various data visualizations, also referred to a contextual views, of a common set of data may be viewed by a user on an electronic device. Data in the system may comprise data objects and associated properties and/or metadata, and may be stored in one or more electronic data stores. As a user of the system views and manipulates a first contextual view of a set of data objects, one or more other contextual views of the same set of data objects may be updated accordingly. Updates to the secondary contextual views may, in various embodiments, happen real-time. Further, the secondary contextual views may be visible to the user simultaneously with the primary contextual view. A user may switch from one view to another, and may manipulate data in any view, resulting in updates in the other views. |
| US08713466B2 |
Dynamic bar oriented user interface
Method and user interface for controlling an apparatus are provided. At least one dynamic bar is provided for displaying on a main screen of a graphical user interface for controlling the apparatus. Each dynamic bar is associated with respective one or more interfaces for applications and/or functions provided by the apparatus and each dynamic bar has a pop-up interface for providing at least one of preview information determined from information managed by the applications and/or functions and links to invoke said respective interfaces. |
| US08713463B2 |
Mobile terminal and controlling method thereof
A mobile terminal is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the mobile terminal includes: a housing including a front side, a rear side and a plurality of lateral sides; a touchscreen located on the front side of the housing, configured to display at least one touch-executable object, and including a predefined edge region; and a controller. The controller is configured to preempt execution of a function corresponding to a particular object of the at least one touch-executable object if a first touch of the particular object is detected in the predefined edge region of the touchscreen. |
| US08713460B2 |
User interfaces
User interface (UI) techniques, and more particularly to graphical user interface (GUI) techniques providing 3-dimensional (3-D) renditions. A method of displaying one or more graphical objects, the method being carried out in an electronic device, the device having processing circuitry, memory and a display device, the method comprising: obtaining first image data, the first image data defining at least one two-dimensional graphical component; performing a transformation operation on the first image data to generate second image data, the second image data defining, for the or each graphical component, a modified form of the graphical component; using said second image data, displaying the modified form whereby the or each graphical component has the appearance of having a component of dimension perpendicular the plane of the display device. |
| US08713458B2 |
Visualization of information associated with applications in user interfaces
Methods, computer program products and apparatus are provided that enable a user interface or user interface element (e.g., an icon) to communicate additional contextual information for an associated application or file through attributes of the user interface or user interface element. For example, a simulated shadow of an icon or a simulated image projected on an icon can communicate contextual information for the application or file corresponding to the icon. One exemplary method includes: displaying an icon associated with an application or file; and displaying in association with the icon a simulated shadow having contextual information associated with the application or file. |
| US08713457B2 |
Systems and methods for implementing multi-application tabs and tab sets
A sharing model enables users to easily and conveniently create and share standard and custom database objects, and applications, among users or groups of users. The sharing model includes systems and methods that allow users to conveniently create and customize tabs and tab sets that define relationships between custom objects and fields, standard objects and fields, and applications. A tab visually represents a user interface into an element of an application or into a database object. Selection of a tab provides a user access to the object or element of the application represented by the tab. A tab set is a group of related tabs that work as a unit to provide application functionality. New tabs and tab sets may be defined and tab set views may be customized so that an end user can easily and conveniently switch between the various objects and application elements represented by the displayed tabs and tab set views. |
| US08713456B2 |
Establishing a graphical user interface (‘GUI’) theme
Methods, apparatus, and products for establishing a graphical user interface (‘GUI’) theme, including: receiving, by a GUI theme creator, a media file including one or more digital images, the one or more digital images including a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels representing a plurality of colors, the plurality of pixels organized for display at a resolution and an aspect ratio; identifying, by the GUI theme creator, one or more characteristics of the media file; and creating, by the GUI theme creator, a GUI theme in dependence upon the characteristics of the media file. |
| US08713454B2 |
Method and apparatus for sharing virtual workspaces
An approach is provided for sharing the virtual workspaces of a plurality of user devices. One of the plurality of devices is designated as the only active device. The active device submits an update of the virtual workspace of the active device. Then an update of the virtual workspaces of the other devices is initiated that includes the workspace of the active device. A request from one of the other devices to become active is granted and the previously active device is undesignated as active. |
| US08713450B2 |
Detecting patterns of abuse in a virtual environment
Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for detecting patterns of abuse in users of a virtual world. The patterns of abuse may be detected by examining records of inappropriate interactions between users. Subsequently, preventative actions may be taken to prevent further abuse. The preventative actions may include blocking access to all or part of the virtual world, blocking interactions with other users, warning other users, or notifying authorities of the behavior of the other user. |
| US08713449B2 |
Transferring data by touch between touch-screen devices
A very intuitive and simple set of touch-screen input steps along with the processing of those input steps allows a user to appear to gather shareable files with his fingers on one touch-screen apparatus, lift the files from the touch-screen and drop the shareable files on a touch screen of a second, co-located touch-screen apparatus. The touch-screen apparatus initiating the transfer of files is preset with sharing parameters to manage the transfer of files to a local or remote server. One or more touch-screen apparatus accepting the transfer of files is preset with acceptance parameters to manage the transfer of files from the server to the accepting touch-screen apparatus. Once the files are at the server, multiple touch-screen apparatus may be used to request shareable files from the server. |
| US08713446B2 |
Personalized dashboard architecture for displaying data display applications
In an embodiment, a method of providing a personalized display of data is presented. In this method, an identity of each of multiple applications for displaying data is transmitted to a user device, such as, for example, a computer or mobile communication device. Selections of more than one of the multiple applications are received from the user device. Configuration data indicating the selected applications are generated and stored. A request for a presentation application is received from the user device. The presentation application is to display the data via execution of the selected applications. In response to the request, the presentation application is generated based on the configuration data, and includes the selected applications. The presentation application is then transmitted to the user device for execution. |
| US08713441B2 |
Adding co-users to user definable co-user lists
A real time notification system that tracks, for each user, the logon status of selected co-users of an on-line or network system and displays that information in real time to the tracking user in a unique graphical interface. The invention provides user definable on-line co-user lists, or “buddy lists”, that track specific co-users in real-time automatically. A user can create many separate buddy lists of co-users, either with intersecting or disjoint lists of users, and label these buddy lists according to the user's preference. The user can update a buddy list or create new buddy lists whenever necessary. When a user to logs on to a system, the user's set of buddy lists is presented to the buddy list system. The buddy list system attempts to match co-users currently logged into the system with the entries on the user's buddy list. Any matches are displayed to the user. As co-users logon and logoff, a user's buddy list is updated to reflect these changes. An indication can also be added to show that a co-user just logged on or just left the system. |
| US08713439B2 |
Systems and methods for providing a video playlist
Systems and Methods of presenting video on a display are disclosed. A video clip is displayed on a video display area. The video clip is one of a plurality of video clips in a video playlist. A playlist pane can be displayed and includes video thumbnails displayed in an order that is representative of an order of playing the video clips in the video playlist. Furthermore, one or more selectable video thumbnails can also be displayed. A drag and drop input is received from a user in order to place on the playlist pane a selected video thumbnail from the one or more selectable video thumbnails. The video content corresponding to the selected video thumbnail is added in real-time to the video playlist while simultaneously continuing to play the video clip on the video display area. |
| US08713437B2 |
System and method for providing dynamic navigation through a property to a selected destination
A system and method for providing navigation for visitors to casinos allows the visitors to select a game, amenity, attraction, or facility as a desired destination, and then have a route provided them to that destination. The route can be drawn on a touch screen display. As an avatar proceeds along the route, it passes landmarks that are highlighted through animation. They may grow as the avatar approaches, then shrink back as it continues beyond the landmark. This is typically repeated several times, allowing the customer to easily remember the series of landmarks, and, thus, the route to the desired destination. He can then follow the route by moving from landmark to landmark across the casino floor. A customized map with the route may also be printed. |
| US08713435B2 |
Dynamic rebasing of persisted time information
Dynamic time rebasing may be provided. After receiving a request to view a calendar item, a base time associated with the calendar item may be retrieved. A local bias associated with the request to view the calendar item may be identified. The base time may be converted to a local time according to the local bias. The calendar item may then be displayed according to the converted local time. |
| US08713434B2 |
Indexing, relating and managing information about entities
Systems and methods for use in association with a master entity index system may allow data records to be grouped together into various entities, where each of the entities may represent a logical or physical item. These entities may also be associated with one another in a manner such that relationships between entities may likewise be represented. In one embodiment, an interface may be provided for use in conjunction with the master entity index system such that these various entities and relationships may be better managed, manipulated or visualized. This interface may allow a user to search for or otherwise obtain an entity, where a representation of this entity and one or more associated entities may be presented to the user along with representations of the relationships between these entities. |
| US08713433B1 |
Feature-based autocorrection
A computing device is described that outputs for display at a presence-sensitive screen, a graphical keyboard having keys. The computing device receives an indication of a selection of one or more of the keys. Based on the selection the computing device determines a character string from which the computing device determines one or more candidate words. Based at least in part on the candidate words and a plurality of features, the computing device determines a spelling probability that the character string represents an incorrect spelling of at least one candidate word. The plurality of features includes a spatial model probability associated with at least one of the candidate words. If the spelling probability satisfies a threshold, the computing device outputs for display the at least one candidate word. |
| US08713432B2 |
Device and method incorporating an improved text input mechanism
A device and method for its operation comprising a display and input device, a processor to receive character input maintain an input context of words and a dictionary comprising a plurality of word occurrence indicators for selection of candidate words that may follow context words. A word occurrence indicator is associated with a kth order combination of a context word and a candidate word that indicates the frequency by which a respective candidate word follows the corresponding context word by k words in a text corpus. The processor is able to select a list of candidate words where the context word of at least one kth order combination matches the kth last word of input context. A score is determined depending on an associated word occurrence indicator for at least one relevant kth order combination. |
| US08713425B2 |
Audio/video program-related hyperlink printer
A system is disclosed for hyperlinking to hyperlinked content corresponding to program material wherein the hyperlinking prints only pre-defined printable output of the hyperlinked content comprising a generator for generating a hyperlink address string associated with the program material including a first attribute indicating a hyperlink address to the hyperlinked content and a second attribute indicating one or more parameters defining the pre-defined printable output of the hyperlinked content, an encoder for encoding the hyperlink address string for transmission via a program signal transmitter, the program signal transmitter for transmitting the hyperlink address string, a program signal receiver for receiving the hyperlink address string, a data processor for processing the hyperlink address string for hyperlinking to the hyperlinked content printing only the pre-defined printable output of the hyperlinked content and a web browser for hyperlinking to the hyperlinked content printing only the pre-defined printable output of the hyperlinked content. |
| US08713423B2 |
Automated dynamic differential data processing
A request for differential data relative to a first data element within a group of data elements is received via a user input device. A first differential data value for each of the group of data elements relative to the first data element is calculated. The first differential data value for each of the group of data elements relative to the first data element are displayed on a display in response to the received request. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract. |
| US08713421B2 |
Scale information for drawing annotations
The present disclosure includes, among other things, systems, methods and program products for identifying a drawing scale for a graphical view of a drawing, the drawing scale specifying a ratio of two units; selecting one or more annotations associated with the view that support the drawing scale, each of the selected annotations associated with context for the drawing scale, the context specifying one or more of: the annotation's position in the view, the annotation's style in the view, or the annotation's rotation in the view; adding a graphical representation of each of the selected annotations to the view according to the drawing scale and each annotation's respective context; and removing any one or more of the annotations from the view that does not support the drawing scale. |
| US08713417B2 |
Multi-channel memory system including error correction decoder architecture with efficient area utilization
A memory system includes: a memory controller including an error correction decoder. The error correction decoder includes: a demultiplexer adapted to receive data and demultiplex the data into a first set of data and a second set of data; first and second buffer memories for storing the first and second sets of data, respectively; an error detector; an error corrector; and a multiplexer adapted to multiplex the first set of data and the second set of data and to provide the multiplexed data to the error corrector. While the error corrector corrects errors in the first set of data, the error detector detects errors in the second set of data stored in the second buffer memory. |
| US08713415B2 |
Method for generating codewords
Provided is a method for generating codewords. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an information bit; generating a generating matrix in which a size of a column is identical with a length of the information bit, a size of a row is 24 rows, and values of symbols that are elements of the matrix are 0 or 1; modifying the generating matrix by dividing the generated generating matrix into an upper group and a lower group having an identical size and replacing rows so that the number of symbols having a value of 1 in the upper group is identical with the number of symbols having a value of 1 in the lower group; and obtaining inner products from the information bit and each row of the modified generating matrix and generating codewords from remainders obtained by dividing the inner products by 2. |
| US08713409B1 |
Bit error mitigation
Approaches for mitigating single event upsets (SEUs) in a circuit arrangement. In response to each bit error of a plurality of bit errors, an error address indicative of the bit error in a configuration memory cell in the circuit arrangement is translated into a non-volatile memory address. A partial bitstream at the non-volatile memory address is read from a non-volatile memory. Successive partial bitstreams read in response to successive ones of the bit errors are alternately transmitted to first and second internal configuration ports. A subset of configuration memory cells of the circuit arrangement, including the configuration memory cell referenced by the error address, is reconfigured with the partial bitstream. |
| US08713407B2 |
Semiconductor memory system having ECC circuit and controlling method thereof
A semiconductor memory system includes a memory area and an error-correcting (ECC) circuit. The memory area includes a plurality of cells, and the ECC circuit is configured to determine whether uncorrectable error data exists or not by using a parity according to cell data of the memory area in a read mode and a parity according to an encoding result of corrected data of the cell data. |
| US08713406B2 |
Erasing a non-volatile memory (NVM) system having error correction code (ECC)
A method of erasing a non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprising determining a number of bit cells that failed to erase verify during an erase operation. The bit cells are included in a subset of bit cells in an array of bit cells. The method further comprises determining whether an Error Correction Code (ECC) correction has been previously performed for the subset of bit cells. The erase operation is considered successful if the number of bit cells that failed to erase verify after a predetermined number of erase pulses is below a threshold number and the ECC correction has not been performed for the subset of bit cells. |
| US08713402B2 |
Optical channel transport unit frames transmission having interleaved parity
A transmission system carrying out sending and receiving of OTU frames has a first transmission device carrying out the sending of an OTU frame, and a second transmission device carrying out the receiving of the OTU frame. The first transmission device calculates BIP-8 for an objective calculation range preset in the OTU frame, inserts the calculation result into the OTU frame, and sends the same. The second transmission device calculates BIP-8 from the received OTU frame for the same objective calculation range as the first transmission device, compares the calculation result with the BIP-8 sent from the first transmission device, and detects any presence of transmission error. The calculation range is set in terms of one of an area including OPU only and an area at least including an arbitrary byte of OTU/ODU overhead. |
| US08713399B1 |
Reconfigurable barrel shifter and rotator
The present invention is directed toward reconfigurable barrel shifters and rotators. A barrel shifter comprises an array of multiplexers, the array having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs and wherein the array of multiplexers is configured to rotate a set of n input messages applied to the inputs by a selected number of positions at the outputs and wherein the number n of messages contained in the set is selectable from among a plurality of values, by changing only select control signal inputs to the array of multiplexers. |
| US08713398B2 |
Error correct coding device, error correct coding method, and error correct coding program
Disclosed are an encoding apparatus for a quasi-cyclic low-density parity check code for calculating r×m-bit redundant data for information data of length k×m bits (k, m and r are positive integers), and a cyclic addition apparatus including a k×m-bit shift register and exclusive OR. With information data of a length of k×m×L bits (L≦k), a length of (r×m×(L+1)+k×m) bits is calculated as redundant data by adding redundant data of a length of r×m×L bits calculated using the encoding apparatus L times, k×m-bit data calculated by inputting the information data of a length of k×m×L bits to the cyclic addition apparatus, and r×m-bit redundant data calculated by inputting the k×m-bit data to the encoding apparatus. |
| US08713396B2 |
Transmission apparatus, receiving apparatus, method, and storage medium
In a transmission apparatus for transmitting periodical data transmitted at predetermined intervals and event data transmitted in response to occurrence of an event, an information generation unit generates identification information for a receiving apparatus to identify transmitted event data, and a control unit includes the generated identification information in the periodical data in response to generation of identification information by the identification information generation unit. |
| US08713393B2 |
Retransmission and retransmission request in data communication systems
Embodiments related to retransmission and a retransmission request are described and depicted. |
| US08713391B1 |
System and method for testing an integrated circuit embedded in a system on a chip
A system for testing an integrated circuit, in which the system includes a deserializer, a frame sync module, and a diagnostic module. The deserializer is external to the integrated circuit and is configured to receive messages in a serial data format, wherein the messages include test results associated with the integrated circuit, and deserialize the messages into data frames. The frame sync module is configured to provide control code based on the data frames, wherein the control code includes, in a digital format, status information associated with the messages deserialized into the data frames. The diagnostic module is configured to generate, based on the control code, diagnostic data associated with states of the integrated circuit. |
| US08713386B2 |
Device for increasing chip testing efficiency and method thereof
A device for increasing chip testing efficiency includes a pattern generator, a reading unit, a logic operation circuit, and a judgment unit. The pattern generator is used for writing a logic voltage to each bank of a memory chip. The reading unit is used for reading logic voltages stored in all memory cells of each bank. The logic operation circuit is used for executing a first logic operation on the logic voltages stored in all memory cells of each bank to generate a plurality of first logic operation results corresponding to each bank, and executing a second logic operation on the plurality of first logic operation results to generate a second logic operation result corresponding to the memory chip. The judgment unit determines whether the memory chip passes the test according to the second logic operation result. |
| US08713385B2 |
Error scanning in flash memory
Various embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems to scan at least a portion of a memory device for potential errors when a condition for scanning is met. The condition may be dependent on one or more of a number of read operations, a number of write operations, time, and others. Other embodiments including additional methods, apparatus, and systems are disclosed. |
| US08713375B2 |
Correlating trace data streams
A data processing apparatus is provided with trace circuitry for generating a plurality of trace streams including an instruction trace stream 10 and a data trace stream 12. The instruction elements within the instruction trace stream and the data elements within the data trace stream are marked with key values KV such that a match may be made between data elements and corresponding instruction elements. When predetermined conditions are met, synchronization markers 66 are inserted in both the instruction trace stream 10 and the data trace stream 12 in order to permit a precise correlation to be made between the instruction elements and the data elements when the data is subsequently analyzed. |
| US08713372B2 |
Method and system for updating device management application meter read logic
The disclosure relates to a computerized method and system for automatically updating a device management application with meter retrieval logic that is customized to the device mix in a managed environment. The management application would interrogate the environment and make intelligent decisions on what meter logic to implement. The management application would self adapt and retrieve the correct meter logic as the environment changes. This adaptation is not tied to product names or other identification methods, rather using rules associated with queries and responses the meter read logic is altered to the device mix. The method would first try submitting small test jobs and seeing if the known meter read logics produced the correct meter increment. If this does not confirm, the system then interprets the query of the private portion of the MIB or the web server to determine where the correct increment is located. |
| US08713370B2 |
Non-intrusive processor tracing
A system, apparatus, and method for writing trace data to storage. Trace data is captured from one or more processors, and then the trace data is written to a trace buffer. The trace data includes program counters of instructions executed by the processors and other debug data. A direct memory access (DMA) controller in a non-real-time block of the system reads trace data from the trace buffer and then writes the trace data to memory via a non-real-time port of a memory controller. |
| US08713367B2 |
Apparatus and method for recording reboot reason of equipment
Embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus and a method for recording a reboot reason of equipment. Besides a first watchdog provided for triggering a global reset of the equipment, the apparatus provided by the present invention further includes a second watchdog. The second watchdog is used to trigger a logic chip to record a value representing the reboot reason of power-down in a storage array after the equipment is powered on. Thus, reboot reason of the equipment could recorded as power-down reboot. |
| US08713359B1 |
Autonomous primary-mirror synchronized reset
Server supervisor processes in the segment nodes of a database cluster afford transparent reset mechanisms to a fault tolerant service (FTS). FTS probes only primary segments as to their status unless a primary segment does not respond, in which case FTS will probe the mirror of that primary-mirror pair, and change the state of the mirror to primary if the primary is faulty. Only a primary segment to initiate a reset of its mirror segment and then resets itself. If a mirror segment fails, it shuts down and its corresponding primary segment will report the failure to FTS. Transient communication failures are addressed by retry logic on FTS probing, and not reported to FTS. Reset is not initiated by FTS and preserves the segment state in the absence of errors. |
| US08713358B2 |
Method and apparatus for rebuilding data in a dispersed data storage network
A method begins a first rebuilder application identifying a data slice having a storage error. The method continues with the first rebuilder application or a second rebuilder application identifying a data segment based on the identified data slice. The method continues with the second rebuilder application identifying one or more other slice servers that are storing other data slices of the encoded data segment. The method continues with the second rebuilder application receiving a sufficient number of the other data slices to reconstruct the data segment and decoding them to reconstruct the data segment. The method continues with the second rebuilder application encoding the reconstructed data segment in accordance with the information dispersal algorithm to produce a new set of data slices and selecting one of them as the rebuild data slice. |
| US08713357B1 |
Systems and methods for detailed error reporting in data storage systems
Embodiments of the invention are directed to providing detailed error reporting of data operations performed on a NVM storage device. In one embodiment, a controller interfaces with a NVM storage device including NVM storage coupled with a bridge. In one embodiment, the controller is provided physical, page-level access to the NVM via the bridge, and the bridge provides detailed error reporting of the data operations that the bridge performs on the NVM on behalf of the controller. For example, the bridge may provide page level reporting indicating which page(s) failed during a read operation. Detailed error reporting allows the controller to better understand the failures that occurred in a data access operation in the NVM. It also enables the controller to manage the flash media at the physical page/block level. In one embodiment, detailed error reporting also enables the return of discontinuous ranges of data with the error portions removed. |
| US08713355B2 |
Method and apparatus for managing communication services for user endpoint devices
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an edge device having a controller to receive a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message from a user endpoint device (UE) requesting communication services, forward the SIP message to a network element of a Server Office, receive from the network element a first error message indicating communication services at the Server Office are unavailable, replace the first error message with a second error message, the second error message indicating a temporary unavailability of communication services, and transmit the second error message to the UE. Additional embodiments are disclosed. |
| US08713346B2 |
Resuming piecewise calibration of a real-time-clock unit after a measured offset that begins at the next calibration period
A method of calibrating a module whose operation is dependent upon a module clock signal, the method comprising: over each calibration period of a plurality of such periods, obtaining a measure of the frequency of an observed signal, the observed signal being the module clock signal or a clock signal generated based upon the module clock signal; influencing operation of the module in dependence upon the obtained measures so as to calibrate the module; and for each said calibration period, taking account of a position in time of the end of that calibration period relative to a particular feature of the observed signal and delaying the start of the following calibration period relative to a subsequent said particular feature of the observed signal in dependence upon that position. |
| US08713345B2 |
Apparatus with a local timing circuit that generates a multi-phase timing signal for a digital signal processing circuit
A local timing circuit receives a reference timing signal and generates a multi-phase timing signal for output to a digital signal processing circuit. |
| US08713344B2 |
Methods and apparatus for clock signal synchronization in a configuration of series connected semiconductor devices
A system includes a system controller and a configuration of series-connected semiconductor devices. Such a device includes an input for receiving a clock signal originating from a previous device, and an output for providing a synchronized clock signal destined for a succeeding device. The device further includes a clock synchronizer for producing the synchronized clock signal by processing the received clock signal and an earlier version of the synchronized clock signal. The device further includes a device controller for adjusting a parameter used by the clock synchronizer in processing the earlier version of the synchronized clock signal. The system controller has an output for providing a first clock signal to a first device, and an input for receiving a second clock signal from a second device. The second clock signal corresponds to a version of the first clock signal that has undergone processing by a clock synchronizer in at least one of the devices. The system controller further includes a detector for processing the first and second clock signals to detect a phase difference therebetween; and a synchronization controller for commanding an adjustment to the clock synchronizer in at least one of the devices based on the phase difference detected by the detector. |
| US08713340B2 |
Method and apparatus for power management control of an embedded memory having sleep and shutdown features
A power management controller controls a power mode associated with a memory device and includes a logic element operative to provide a power mode control signal. The logic element is responsive to first and second control signals, the second control signal being a delayed version of the first control signal. The first control signal is provided by a processing device, and the power mode control signal transitions (i) inactive before a chip select signal transitions active and/or (ii) active after the chip select signal transitions inactive. The chip select signal controls the memory device, and the power mode control signal controls the power mode associated with the memory device. A corresponding method, computer-readable medium, and electronic system are also disclosed. A method that selects a power control mode associated with the power management controller, which controls a power mode associated with the memory device, is also disclosed. |
| US08713334B2 |
Demand based power allocation
A demand based power re-allocation system includes one or more subsystems to assign a power allocation level to a plurality of servers, wherein the power allocation level is assigned by priority of the server. The system may throttle power for one or more of the plurality of servers approaching the power allocation level, wherein throttling includes limiting performance of a processor, track server power throttling for the plurality of servers. The method compares power throttling for a first server with power throttling for remaining servers in the plurality of servers and adjusts throttling of the plurality of servers, wherein throttled servers receive excess power from unthrottled servers. |
| US08713333B1 |
Apparatus and method to simulate a power trip to a disk drive
Disclosed is a disk drive test system to simulate a power trip to a disk drive, a cell, and a test computer. The disk drive test system comprises: a disk drive coupled to a cell, a test computer coupled to the cell and the disk drive, and a power trip simulator. The power strip simulator is coupled to the disk drive and the test computer and is configured to cut off power to the test computer, the cell, and the disk drive in response to a trigger pulse received from the disk drive, wherein the power trip simulator restores power to the test computer, the cell, and the disk drive after a pre-set time duration. |
| US08713327B1 |
Circuit for and method of enabling communication of cryptographic data
A circuit for enabling communication of cryptographic data in an integrated circuit is disclosed. The circuit comprises a first interface coupled to receive data having a first security level; a second interface coupled to receive data having a second security level; a cryptographic application; and a routing block coupled between the first and second interfaces and the cryptographic application, the routing block comprising configurable logic, wherein the routing block is configurable to selectively route the data having the first security level by way of the first interface and to route data having the second security level by way of the second interface. A method of enabling communication of cryptographic data in an integrated circuit is also disclosed. |
| US08713326B2 |
Software self-checking systems and methods
Software self-checking mechanisms are described for improving software tamper resistance and/or reliability. Redundant tests are performed to detect modifications to a program while it is running. Modifications are recorded or reported. Embodiments of the software self-checking mechanisms can be implemented such that they are relatively stealthy and robust, and so that it they are compatible with copy-specific static watermarking and other tamper-resistance techniques. |
| US08713319B2 |
Preserving privacy of digital communication information
Method for verifying that an item of information relating to an issuer has been registered correctly by a receiving entity while preserving the issuer's privacy, which method includes the following steps: a) the information relating to the issuer is coded in an issuing entity and said coding is sent to the receiving entity; b) the receiving entity generates a content test on the basis of the information coded in step a), and the content test is subsequently sent to the issuing entity; and c) the issuer verifies that the content test corresponds to the information which has been coded. |
| US08713318B1 |
Email certificates
Systems and methods for providing an email certificate for an email message. In some aspects, a method includes receiving a request from a user for providing an email certificate for an email message, generating an email certificate by encrypting the email message, and sending the email certificate to the user. |
| US08713316B2 |
System, apparatus and method for enabling/disabling display data channel access to enable/disable high-bandwidth digital content protection
A switcher device comprises a multiplexer coupled in-between at least one input and output cards. The multiplexer detects the presence of an event signal from an activated sink. In response to the detection of the event signal, the switch dynamically switches to a closed position in order to enable the at least one source to authenticate with the input card and the output card to authenticate with the at least one sink for security protocol encryption. In response to the non-detection of the event signal, the switch switches dynamically to an open position in order to disable the at least one source from authenticating with the input card, therefore the output card also does not attempt to authenticate with the at least one sink for security protocol encryption. |
| US08713315B2 |
Content distribution system, mobile communication terminal device, and computer readable medium
A content distribution system includes a management device and a viewing device. The management device manages encrypted content information. The viewing device acquires the encrypted content information from the management device, decodes the encrypted content information, and allows the decoded content information to be viewed. The management device includes a view control information issuing unit. Upon receipt of a request from the viewing device to issue view control information, the view control information issuing unit issues view control information including decryption key information corresponding to an (i)-th random number corresponding to an ordinal number (i) among plural random numbers and period-of-validity information about a period of validity. The plural random numbers are shared between the management device and the viewing device. The viewing device includes a storage unit, a counting unit, a holding unit, a request unit, a calculation unit, a display controller, an update unit, and a deletion unit. |
| US08713311B1 |
Encryption using alternate authentication key
Methods for changing authentication keys when transmitting data are provided. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a first data packet including a first sender-generated authentication value generated using a first authentication key, and a first message encrypted using a first encryption key, and receiving an indication that subsequent packets will include authentication values generated using a second authentication key. The method also includes receiving a second packet includes a second sender-generated authentication value and an encrypted second message, and applying the second authentication key to the second packet to generate a recipient-generated authentication value. The encrypted second message is decrypted if these two authentication values match. Otherwise, the first authentication key is applied to the second packet to generate another recipient-generated authentication value. If these two authentication values match, the encrypted message is decrypted using the first encryption key. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided. |
| US08713310B2 |
Method and device for authenticating transmitted user data
The invention relates to a method for transmitting user data, particularly user data realizing real-time applications, between at least one first communication device and at least one second communication device, the user data being transmitted as data packets during a communication connection, wherein during the communication connection at least from the first communication device at least one packet enabling an authentication of the first communication device is embedded in at least one of the data packets transmitting the user data and directed at the second communication device. The invention furthermore relates to an arrangement for carrying out the method. |
| US08713301B2 |
Device in a system operating with CAN-protocol and in a control and/or supervision system
A control or supervision system incorporates a digital serial communication and modules which are mutually communicable to this and operate with CAN-protocol. A control desk can be wirelessly connected to one or more modules operating with a signal protocol which takes no account of arbitration and/or confirmation functions appearing in the CAN-system. A particular receiving communication part executes the conversion of said signal protocol to the signal protocol of the CAN-system. A device for controlling a function in a first module in a CAN-system via a wireless connection to a second module in said system. A system of mutually separate units, whereof each unit operates with a CAN-signalling protocol, intercommunicable by means of radiocommunications operating with an identification system in which a key allocation between the units is based upon identities that are assigned by a module in the unit or a master system. |
| US08713300B2 |
System and method for netbackup data decryption in a high latency low bandwidth environment
A system and method for efficient transfer of encrypted data over a low-bandwidth network. A backup server and a client computer are coupled to one another via a first network. The backup server is coupled to a remote data storage via another network, such as the Internet, also referred to as a cloud. The backup server encrypts received data for backup from the client computer. Cryptography segment and sub-segment sizes may be chosen that are aligned on a byte boundary with one another and with selected backup segment and sub-segment sizes used by backup software on the remote data storage. A selected cryptography algorithm has a property of allowing a given protected sub-segment with the cryptography sub-segment size to be decrypted by initially decrypting an immediate prior protected sub-segment that has the same cryptography sub-segment size. Therefore, the size of data transmitted via the cloud may be smaller than the cryptography segment size. |
| US08713299B2 |
System and method for configuring software applications in a motor vehicle
A system and method for allowing a user to select and manage software applications in their vehicle from any Internet enabled device and allows the user to remotely configure the content of each specific application from any Internet enabled device. Once the application has been configured via the internet enabled device, the user launches the application from the vehicle. Upon launching, the application dynamically retrieves the user's settings from the server and downloads any information or content necessary. In this manner, the application is personalized to the user's settings, without the user ever having to take any actions from within the vehicle, or to personalize the user's settings while the vehicle is in Park. |
| US08713294B2 |
Heap/stack guard pages using a wakeup unit
A method and system for providing a memory access check on a processor including the steps of detecting accesses to a memory device including level-1 cache using a wakeup unit. The method includes invalidating level-1 cache ranges corresponding to a guard page, and configuring a plurality of wakeup address compare (WAC) registers to allow access to selected WAC registers. The method selects one of the plurality of WAC registers, and sets up a WAC register related to the guard page. The method configures the wakeup unit to interrupt on access of the selected WAC register. The method detects access of the memory device using the wakeup unit when a guard page is violated. The method generates an interrupt to the core using the wakeup unit, and determines the source of the interrupt. The method detects the activated WAC registers assigned to the violated guard page, and initiates a response. |
| US08713292B2 |
Reducing energy and increasing speed by an instruction substituting subsequent instructions with specific function instruction
A data processing system is used to evaluate a data processing function by executing a sequence of program instructions including an intermediate value generating instruction and an intermediate value consuming instruction. In dependence upon one or more input operands to the evaluation, an embedded opcode within the intermediate value passed between the intermediate value generating instruction and the intermediate value consuming instruction may be set to have a value indicating that a substitute instruction should be used in place of the intermediate value consuming instruction. The instructions may be floating point instructions, such as a floating point power instruction evaluating the data processing function ab. |
| US08713285B2 |
Address generation unit for accessing a multi-dimensional data structure in a desired pattern
An apparatus, system, and method for providing a multi-dimensional data structure and address generation unit configured to calculate real addresses in order to access the multi-dimensional data structure in a desired pattern. The address generation unit may be configured to calculate the real addresses by executing a series of nested loops pre-programmed into the address generation unit prior to accessing the multi-dimensional data structure. The address generation unit may receive as inputs a set of parameters defining characteristics of the nested loops such as a starting offset, number of iterations or step size for loops, data structure dimensions, or loop starting point inheritance. A vector processor may then access the multi-dimensional data structure at the real addresses calculated by the address generation unit. The multi-dimensional data structure may be stored in a buffer in a data memory. |
| US08713281B1 |
Storage device performance alignment notification
Storage device performance alignment notification includes informing a storage device of a starting logical block address (LBA) for each of one or more host containers to be stored on the storage device, and placing the one or more host containers at natural storage boundaries of the storage device based at least in part on the informing. |
| US08713280B2 |
Hard disk drives having different rotational speeds
A system includes a number of hard disk drives and a controller. Each hard disk drive is selected from a number of different hard disk drive types. Each hard disk drive type has a different speed at which the hard disk drives of the hard disk drive type rotate to read and write data. At least one of the hard disk drives is of a different hard disk drive type than at least one other of the hard disk drives. The controller, responsive to a request to write particular data to the hard disk drives, is to select a given hard disk drive of the hard disk drives based on a type of the particular data, and is to write the particular data to the given hard disk drive. |
| US08713279B2 |
Storage system with LU-setting function
In a storage system, an operator makes an input only of minimum-required information, and when an LU setting command including the information is accepted, in response to the LU setting command, any internal process is executed using configuration management information about an LU and a plurality of physical storage devices. After completion of the internal process, the processing result is forwarded back. Herein, the configuration management information is about the LU and the physical storage devices, including information about a free area and a free capacity in a storage space of each of the physical storage devices, and information about the LU based on the storage spaces. The free area is an address area occupied by the free space not used as the LU. The free capacity is the capacity of the free space. Accordingly, an LU setting technology with a reduced level of the operator's load of work can be favorably provided. |
| US08713275B2 |
Memory access monitoring method and device
A memory access monitoring method and a memory access monitoring method device are disclosed, The method comprises: performing coarse grain monitoring on local memory pages, if a hot page with coarse grain monitoring exists in the local memory pages, requesting an operating system to perform an optimized migration for the content of the hot page, and if a half hot page with coarse grain monitoring exists in the local memory pages, initiating fine grain monitoring to the half hot page; and performing fine grain monitoring on the half hot page, if a hot area with fine grain monitoring exists in the half hot page, requesting the operating system to perform an optimized migration for the content of the hot area. |
| US08713272B2 |
Point-in-time copies in a cascade using maps and fdisks
A technique for handling a FlashCopy® process includes receiving a FlashCopy® instruction for a source disk, performing a FlashCopy® point in time copy of the source disk on to a target disk, creating a map specifying the FlashCopy® point in time copy from the source disk to the target disk, creating a primary fdisk for the source disk, if one does not already exist, and creating a primary fdisk for the target disk, if one does not already exist, or, if one does already exist, converting the existing primary fdisk for the target disk into a secondary fdisk, and creating a new primary fdisk for the target disk. |
| US08713266B2 |
Storage apparatus and method including page discard processing for primary and secondary volumes configured as a copy pair
A storage apparatus having a plurality of logical volumes includes a storage device, and a storage controller that operates each of the logical volumes as a virtual volume. A primary volume and a secondary volume are configured as a copy pair in which data in the primary volume can be copied to the secondary volume. If the primary volume receives a discard request for a unit physical storage area, the storage controller determines whether or not a unit physical storage area exists configuring the secondary volume corresponding to the unit physical storage area, which is a target of the discard request. If the unit physical storage area configuring the secondary volume exists, an instruction is transmitted to the secondary volume to discard the page or unit physical storage area assigned to the secondary volume. |
| US08713255B2 |
System and method for conditionally sending a request for data to a home node
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for conditionally sending a request for data to a home node. In operation, a first request for data is sent to a first cache of a node. Additionally, if the data does not exist in the first cache, a second request for the data is sent to a second cache of the node. Furthermore, a third request for the data is conditionally sent to a home node. |
| US08713252B1 |
Transactional consistency scheme
A proxy manages write operations between devices that initiate write operations and one or more storage devices that store data for the write operations. A write log buffers the data for the write operations while the proxy waits for acknowledgments back from the storage device. The proxy is configured to copy at least some of the data from the write log into an overflow log when the data from the write operations is about to overflow the write log. The proxy device is further configured to maintain data consistency by delaying or blocking read operations until associated data from previously received write operations is acknowledged by the storage device. |
| US08713250B2 |
Storage device, data processing device, registration method, and recording medium
A storage device includes a switching unit which switches an access destination in a storage area between a first storage area and a second storage area in response to an access request from a host device; and a nonvolatile storage medium which stores a first host device information used to identify the host device in the second storage area, and a software module executed by a CPU provided in the host device, the software module comprising causing an authority grant unit which transmits a control signal for switching the access destination to the first storage area to the switching unit of the storage device, when the acquired first and second host device information are compared to find that the first and second host device information match with each other. |
| US08713247B2 |
Data transfer operation completion detection circuit and semiconductor memory device provided therewith
A data transfer operation completion detection circuit including a first counter for performing a shifting operation in response to the generation of a read initiation signal, a second counter for performing a shifting operation in response to the generation of a burst completion signal, and an SR latch circuit for generating a read enable signal in response to the burst completion signal being generated when the count value of the first counter matches the count value of the second counter. The completion of a read operation or another data transfer operation is thus detected based on a read initiation signal reception history; therefore, it is possible to detect whether all read operations are complete at a given time even if a new read command is received while a read operation or the like is in progress. |
| US08713244B2 |
Sub-LUN input/output profiling for SSD devices
A read/write ratio for each of a plurality of data segments classified in a hot category as hot data segments is determined. Each of the plurality of hot data segments is ordered by the read/write ratio in a descending order. Each of a plurality of available SSD devices is ordered by a remaining life expectancy in an ascending order. Those of the plurality of hot data segments are matched with those of the plurality of hot data segments with those of the plurality of available SSD devices such that a hot data segment having a higher read/write ratio is provided to an SSD device having a smaller remaining life expectancy than another hot data segment having a lower read/write ratio. |
| US08713237B2 |
X2 10GBASE-T transceiver with 1 Gigabit side-band support
An apparatus includes a transceiver device mounted on a printed circuit board and configured to selectively transmit and receive signals at a first data rate or signals at a second data rate. An X2 form factor pluggable connector disposed at one end of the printed circuit board includes first and second pins that respectively convey signals at the first and second data rates between the transceiver device and a system device. A port device disposed at an opposite end of the printed circuit board conveys signals between the transceiver device and a network device. A management circuit determines which of the first and second data rates is selected based on transmissions between the system device and the network device and controls the transceiver device to transmit and receive signal at the first data rate via the first pins and at the second data rate via the second pins. |
| US08713231B2 |
Interface circuit and interface system
To aim to provide an interface circuit that supports both a single-ended method and a differential method as a transmission method, and one of pairs of input terminals for a differential signal is shared to input/output a single-ended signal.A differential signal receiving circuit that receives a differential signal input through the pair of shared terminals is activated when a differential signal is input to a pair of dedicated input terminals for a differential signal, which is different from the pair of shared terminals. After the differential signal receiving circuit is activated, the active state is maintained by a built-in controller.Accordingly, the activation of the differential signal receiving circuit that receives a differential signal input through the shared terminals is controlled by controlling the differential signal input through the pair of dedicated input terminals, and furthermore, the possibility that the differential signal receiving circuit becomes inactive at an unexpected timing is reduced to a low level. |
| US08713229B2 |
Sensor interface engineering
A method for communication between function modules in drive engineering is described, wherein a first function module has a first sensor interface, wherein a second function module has a second sensor interface, wherein the first sensor interface is functionally assigned to the second sensor interface, wherein the first function module is assigned to a first automation component, wherein the second function module is assigned to a second automation component, wherein an address, in particular a logical address, for the transfer of sensor data is automatically specified. |
| US08713228B2 |
Shared system to operationally connect logic nodes
A shared system to operationally connect logic nodes may include an inter-nodal circuit to provide communications between any connected logic nodes. The system may also include a fabric bus carried by the inter-nodal circuit, the fabric bus to provide logical connections to a first logic node and any other logic node. The system may further include a clock circuit carried by the inter-nodal circuit that controls both the inter-nodal circuit and the fabric bus. |
| US08713227B2 |
Accessing device via communication protocol selection
An accessing device communicating with a host device and including a connector, a storage unit and a control unit is disclosed. The connector connects to the host device. The storage unit stores data. The control unit communicates with the storage unit according to a first communication protocol and communicates with the host device via the connector according to a second communication protocol. The control unit determines the kind of the second communication protocol according to selection information. |
| US08713221B1 |
Rate controlled first in first out (FIFO) queues for clock domain crossing
First in, first out (FIFO) queues may be used to transfer data between a producer clock domain and a number of consumer clock domains. In one implementation, a control component for the FIFO queues may include a number of counters, corresponding to each of the consumer clock domains, each of the counters maintaining a count value relating to an amount of data read by the corresponding consumer clock domain. The control component may additionally include a credit deduction component coupled to the count values of the counters, the credit deduction component determining whether any of the count values is above a threshold, and in response to the determination that any of the count values is above the threshold, reducing the count value of each of the counters and issuing a write pulse signal to the producer clock domain, the write pulse signal causing the producer clock domain to perform a write operation to the FIFO queues. |
| US08713216B2 |
Processor and data transfer method
A processor. In response to requests from a processing section, first and second memory controllers transfer first and second data items to the processing section via first and second buses, respectively. When transfers of the data items are concurrently performed via the first and second buses, one of the data items is transferred to the processing section by the buffer controller, and the other of the data items is stored in the buffer by the buffer controller. Then, after termination of transfer of the one of the data items, the other data item is transferred from the buffer to the processing section by the buffer controller. |
| US08713213B1 |
Fast port switching in an audiovisual receiver by use of port pre-authentication by a partial PHY decoder core
A partial HDMI physical layer (“phy”) decoder core is used in an audiovisual (A/V) sink device to perform HDCP pre-authentication on inactive HDMI ports, so as to enable fast switching between HDMI ports. Whenever a source device is connected to the any HDMI port of the A/V sink device, HDCP authentication is performed on that port immediately, even if A/V data on that port is not being output to a user. As a result, when the user switches between HDMI channels, the output is available to the user instantly, without any HDCP-related delay. The A/V sink includes the partial HDMI phy decoder core in addition to a full HDMI phy decoder core. The full HDMI phy decoder core is used to extract and decode signals received on the active port. The partial HDMI phy decoder core is used to extract and decode only those HDMI signals received on an inactive port that are needed for pre-authenticating the inactive port. |
| US08713212B1 |
Electronic device, communication control method of electronic device, and information terminal device
An electronic device includes a connection unit that enables a USB connection to a smartphone, a normal communication mode in which communication is performed by using a device class prepared in advance in the smartphone, a request unit that makes a request for switching to a unique communication mode, a search unit that searches for a device class usable in the normal communication mode after the request for switching to the unique communication mode has been made, a determination unit that determines, on the basis of a search result, whether or not a disadvantageous change has occurred in the normal communication mode, and a reset unit that resets the USB connection when it is determined that a disadvantageous change has occurred. |
| US08713211B2 |
Method and apparatus for connecting to external device
A method of connecting an external device to an apparatus including calculating a time during which the external device is located within a reference range from the apparatus when a distance between the apparatus and the external device is within the reference range, and connecting the apparatus to the external device when the calculated time exceeds a critical value. |
| US08713210B2 |
Event handling in an integrated execution environment
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, are described for handling input received from a common interface of a program and a runtime environment when both the program and the runtime environment are configured to consume the received input. Given that both a browser program and a media player program hosted by the browser program are configured to detect an event of a certain type, there may be a contention of whether the browser program or the media player program may act first on the detected event. The disclosed systems and techniques enable interpretation of a user's intent when the user interacts with a webpage hosting media content and when the user's input occurs over media content rendered by the media player program. Similar advantages may also be realized within the context of another execution environment, or other program, different than a browser program. |
| US08713204B2 |
High-performance AHCI interface
A method includes receiving from a host multiple commands for execution in a memory, in accordance with a storage protocol that supports processing of only a single command at any given time. At a first time, a first command is executed in the memory and data related to the first command is exchanged with the host, even though a second command, different from the first command, is selected to serve as the single command for which the processing is currently supported in accordance with the storage protocol. A progress of the first command is reported to the host at a second time, which is later than the first time, upon detecting that the first command is selected to serve as the single command for which the processing is currently supported. |
| US08713200B2 |
System and method for broadcasting rich media to devices over multiple carriers
The invention pertains to systems and methods for providing content to a device including receiving an identifier for each of at least one device that should receive the content; determining a device type for each of the at least one device that should receive the content; determining device parameters for each of the at least one device that should receive the content based on the determined device type; tailoring the content for each of the at least one device that should receive the content based on the determined device parameters; and providing the tailored content to each of the at least one device that should receive the content. |
| US08713199B2 |
Method and system for filtering home-network content
A method for filtering and storing information about content which is available on a network device of many network devices in a network includes filtering the information by removing information about content which cannot be rendered by at least one of the network devices adapted for rendering content, storing the filtered information and making it available on the network. When the network is a UPnP network, then control points have faster reaction times when they browse a content directory that includes the stored filtered information. For reducing load on the content directory service, the control point and the network is obtained when the control point browses the content directories. Further, the content presented to the user on the user screen of a control point only comprises content which can be used. |
| US08713198B2 |
Hierarchical binding and lookup of addresses in inter-process communications systems
Systems/methods of looking up an address of a target server include receiving a first lookup request at a first lookup server that manages a first database that contains data relating to a first plurality of servers. First metadata relating to the target server is retrieved from the first database, and a second lookup request including the first metadata is sent to a second lookup server that manages a second database that contains data relating to a second plurality of servers. The second plurality of servers is a subset of the first plurality of servers and includes the target server. Second metadata relating to the target server is retrieved from the second database, and a response based on the first and second metadata is transmitted to the client. Corresponding systems/methods of binding a server address to a lookup key are also disclosed. |
| US08713185B2 |
Methods of establishing virtual circuits and of providing a virtual private network service through a shared network, and provider edge device for such network
A virtual private network (VPN) service is provided through a shared network infrastructure comprising interconnected provider edge (PE) devices having customer edge (CE) interfaces. Some of the CE interfaces are allocated to a VPN supporting virtual LANs. A correspondence between a CE interface and a virtual LAN is learnt on the basis of tagged frames received at this CE interface and including an identifier of this virtual LAN. The learning process permits the detection of pairs of CE interfaces which correspond to a common virtual LAN. Upon such detection, a virtual circuit is established in the shared network infrastructure between the PE devices having these CE interfaces, and subsequently used for forwarding frames including the identifier of the common virtual VLAN. |
| US08713182B2 |
Selection of a suitable node to host a virtual machine in an environment containing a large number of nodes
An aspect of the present invention facilitates selecting suitable nodes to host virtual machines (VMs) in an environment containing a large number of nodes (such as a grid). In one embodiment, information indicating corresponding resources available in each machine node (a node capable of hosting VMs) in the grid is maintained distributed over a set of management nodes contained in the grid. On receiving an indication that a VM requiring a set of resources is sought to be hosted, a machine node having available the set of resources is identified based on the distributed information. The VM is then provisioned/hosted on the identified machine node. The maintenance of the resource availability information distributed across multiple management nodes enables the solution to be scaled for use in environments having a large number of nodes. |
| US08713181B2 |
Method for transferring inventory between virtual universes
The present invention provides a computer implemented method for transferring an item from a source virtual universe to a target virtual universe. A target virtual universe host opens a session between a source virtual universe host and itself. Next, it determines that the source virtual universe host is authorized to transmit the item to the target virtual universe host. Next, it receives a command from a client computer to transfer the item from the source virtual universe host to the target virtual universe host. Next, it receives item data in the target virtual universe host. |
| US08713178B2 |
Tiered cost model for access to a computer network
A home gateway accesses a host system that differentially routes messages over a communication network to a destination system. The selection of a communication pathway from multiple possible communication pathways through a communication network is based on a user experience type (e.g., gaming user experience, streaming user experience, or browsing user experience) that generally reflects network resource consumption preferences of the user of the access account for the home gateway. Examples of user experience types include a gaming user experience, a streaming user experience and a browsing user experience. The user experience type generally reflects the online experience desired by the user. |
| US08713174B2 |
Matching engine for comparing data feeds with user profile criteria
An event notification matching system, including an event matching table forming a plurality of nodes. Each node is assigned a subscriber request value and contains identifiers for one or more subscribers to be notified at the occurrence of an event relating to the subscriber request value. The event notification matching system may also include a table index. The table index receives input values from an event processing module and selects one or more of the nodes that have subscriber request values corresponding to the received input values. The event processor receives event data from a predetermined source, and formats the input values to simplify the operations performed by the event matching table. The event notification matching system is configured such that the event data need not be compared to non-matching nodes in the event matching table. |
| US08713173B2 |
System and method for ensuring compliance with organizational policies
A method for ensuring compliance with organizational policies is described herein. The method can include the step of monitoring one or more parameters of a managed computing device for compliance with one or more policies of an organization in which the organizational policies may include limitations on the managed computing device. The method can also include the step of detecting a non-conformance event at the managed computing device with respect to at least one organizational policy. In response to the detection of the non-conformance event, the operation of the managed computing device may be restricted with respect to features or data associated with the organization. |
| US08713168B2 |
Methods and apparatus to determine impressions using distributed demographic information
Methods and apparatus to determine media impressions using distributed demographic information are disclosed. An example method to monitor media exposure involves receiving, at a first internet domain, a first request from a client computer, the first request indicative of access to the media at the client computer, sending, from the first internet domain, a response to the client computer, the response to instruct the client computer to send a second request to an intermediary associated with a sub-domain of a second internet domain, the second request to be indicative of the access to the media at the client computer, the intermediary to transmit an indication of the second request to an entity of the second internet domain, and logging an impression of the media. |
| US08713165B2 |
Method and system for providing status of a machine
A method for providing machine status information via an enterprise social network is disclosed. The method embodiment includes receiving by a server a status update message from a machine where the status update message includes an identifier of the machine and an indication of a status update of the machine. The server is configured to determine information identifying a first user from a database system, where the first user follows a status of the machine, and to post a notification message in a feed on a web page associated with the first user. In an embodiment, the notification message identifies the machine and includes the status update of the machine. By posting the status update on the first user's web page, the first user is notified of the status of the machine. |
| US08713157B2 |
System for collecting computer application usage data of targeted application programs executed on a plurality of client devices
A system and method for collecting computer application usage data from a plurality of client devices. The system may include a monitoring program executable on each of the plurality of client devices. The monitoring program may be configured to receive from a server via a computer network monitoring data including one or more application identifiers, and to identify one or more target application programs executed on the client device as matching one of the identifiers. The monitoring program may further be configured to gather usage data for the target application program over a period of time, and send a message back to the server including the usage data. Reports may be generated based on the usage data. |
| US08713155B2 |
Method and device for managing devices in device management system
A method for managing devices in a device management system includes: sending, by a server, target device condition information to a gateway; and sending, by the server, management information for a target device to the gateway, and triggering the gateway to determine the target device according to the target device condition information and send the management information to the target device. According to a trigger of the server and the target device condition information sent by the server, the gateway searches for the target device; and according to a trigger of the server, the gateway sends the management information sent by the server to the target device. Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a server and a gateway in a device management system. Thereby, a type of target devices can be managed in batches. |
| US08713154B2 |
Monitoring agent programs in a distributed computing platform
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for monitoring information passed from instances of role(s) of a service application installed on a distributed computing platform and for indexing and analyzing the information within a data store are provided. Monitoring involves a monitoring agent that is integrated within an operating system of computing devices that make up the distributed computing platform. In operation, the monitoring agent retrieves information from the role instances and converts the information into parameters that are assembled to documents. Generally, the parameters are assembled to a uniform-structured format in accordance with a schema imposed by the distributed computing platform. Accordingly, each of the documents across the platform have a common format that promotes processing and analysis without a need for reconfiguration. Accordingly, the health of the service application, although dispersed throughout the distributed computing environment, may be observed and evaluated in a consistent manner. |
| US08713153B2 |
Domain isolation through virtual network machines
A method and device for communicating information resources between subscriber end stations and nodes belonging to different network domains is described. The device instantiates different virtual network machines for different network domains using separate independently administrable network databases. Each of the administrable chores of the separate independently administrable network databases includes the assignment of access control and the configuration of the policies for those network databases. The policies include traffic filtering policies to indicate what kind of information payloads can be carried, traffic and route filtering policies to indicate what paths through the network will be used for each payload carried. Each of the network domains includes one of the different virtual network machines and each of the different network domains is virtually isolated from other network domains. |
| US08713152B2 |
Managing distributed applications using structural diagrams
Embodiments are directed to providing a structural diagram to collect user input data in a non-linear manner and to managing multiple distributed application models using a structural diagram. In one scenario, a computer system receives a user input specifying a distributed software application that is to be managed across various different computer systems. The computer system determines, based the specified distributed application, which nodes are to be displayed in a structural diagram, where the nodes of the structural diagram represent application properties for managing the specified distributed software application. The computer system then provides a structural diagram that displays the determined nodes. The nodes allow non-linear configuration of the specified application across the various computer systems. |
| US08713151B2 |
Configuration method and system of complex network and configuration and management module of server resources
A method and system for configuring a complex network and a server resource configuration and management module are provided. The method comprises: obtaining an access record of each cloud computing server in a cloud server pool in a network; constructing a complex network model according to the access record(s); performing a community division process to the complex network model to obtain a community structure and memberships of members in each community; and configuring a structure of the network according to the community structure and the memberships of the members in each community. The provided technical scheme is applicable to a cloud computing network. The method and system for configuring a complex network and the server resource configuration and management module, realize configuring the network according to the usage of each cloud computing server in the current network, solve the problem of no mechanism for configuring a cloud computing network reasonably. |
| US08713148B2 |
Transmission terminal, transmission system, transmission method, and recording medium storing transmission control program
A transmission terminal communicates contents data with a counterpart transmission terminal through a first session, and transmits management data to a management system through a second session. When a predetermined event that may prevent or interrupt communication with a user at the counterpart terminal is detected, the transmission terminal obtains countermeasure data, and transmits the countermeasure data to the management system through the second session. |
| US08713146B2 |
Change management automation tool
A change management system for an IT environment or other enterprise level environment may comprise a server comprising memory and a controller. A change management application comprising machine readable instructions may be stored in the memory. The change management application may be arranged to perform the following steps: receive a plurality of work orders via a network to be performed during a maintenance period, concatenate the plurality of work orders to generate a master plan for performing the work orders during the maintenance period, and receive status updates for the work orders during the maintenance period down to the individual step level. A display may display a view of the master plan during the maintenance period. The view may include information related to the work orders and a status of the work orders. The status may be updated automatically based on status updates received by the change management application. |
| US08713145B2 |
Information distribution system, information distributing method, node, and recording medium
A node is provided in an information distribution system having a plurality of nodes capable of performing communication with each other via a network and in which at least one piece of distribution information is copied and stored into a plurality of nodes, the node managing node information indicative of a node that stores the copied distribution information.The node includes: node information storing means for storing the node information; dividing determining means, when amount of the stored node information becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined reference amount, for determining that a part of the node information is divided and managed by a new node; and, node information deleting means for deleting the node information managed by the new node from the node information storing means. |
| US08713144B2 |
Workflow-enabled client
A workflow-enabled client comprises a client and a workflow manager interface unit. The workflow manager interface unit couples the client to a workflow manager to provide the automatic discovering, distributed processing and dynamic user interface generating functionality of the present invention. A communication manager of the workflow-enabled client has a registration unit that registers, and unregisters, the client with the workflow manager such as by providing a name, a data and other commands. A polling module uses a received location from the workflow manager to retrieve data. The process control module performs a plurality of processing functions such a processing polled data, storing it or providing it to other clients. The process control module can also initiate other clients. The present invention also includes a number of novel methods including a method for registering a client, a method for polling data, and a method for initiating other clients. |
| US08713143B2 |
Establishing a social network
A method of creating social networks designed to facilitate diffusion of desired behavior among groups of people. A social network may be created prior to assigning people to nodes in the network. Communications between people in the network may be controlled and modified to promote diffusion of the desired behavior. |
| US08713142B2 |
Profile-based user access to a network management system
A system includes a relational database and processing logic. The relational database is configured to define a relationship between users and a group of device groups to which the users are permitted access. The processing logic is configured to receive identification information from a user, identify one or more device groups using the relational database and the user identification information, construct a first graphical user interface using the one or more device groups, and provide the first graphical user interface to the user. |
| US08713136B2 |
Method of allocating IP address of image forming apparatus using DHCP, image forming apparatus and system of allocating IP address using DHCP
A method of allocating an IP address of an image forming apparatus using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and an image forming apparatus and system performing the method, the method including requesting a DHCP server to allocate an IP address to an image forming apparatus having a previously allocated IP address in response to the image forming apparatus being re-connected to a network, responding to the IP address allocation request by the DHCP server, declining to respond to the response of the DHCP server, and providing the previously allocated IP address to the image forming apparatus upon receiving no response from the image forming apparatus after a predetermined time. |
| US08713135B1 |
Managing imaging of computing devices
Systems and methods for managing imaging of computing devices are provided. A device image manager enables selection of one or more device images on the basis of various computing device criteria. The device image manager may obtain hardware qualification information associated with one or more device images, and obtain device configuration information associated with a computing device. The device image manager may select a set of appropriate device images for the computing device based on the hardware qualification information, device configuration information, or various device image selection criteria. |
| US08713126B2 |
Information-provision control method, information reproduction system, information-provision apparatus, information reproduction apparatus and information-presentation control program
When the information-provision apparatus is providing an audio signal to the specific information reproduction apparatus, the user enters an operation input to the specific information reproduction apparatus to switch processing to reproduce an audio content from the specific information reproduction apparatus to another information reproduction apparatus. In this case, the specific information reproduction apparatus requests the information-provision apparatus to start an operation of providing the audio content to the other information reproduction apparatus specified in the operation input as an apparatus to newly reproduce the audio content. Then, the specific information reproduction apparatus requests the information-provision apparatus to end an operation of providing the audio content to the specific information reproduction apparatus specified in the operation input as an apparatus to terminate an operation of reproducing the audio content. |
| US08713125B2 |
Method and system for scaling usage of a social based application on an online social network
Method, system and computer program to provide transparent scalability to Online Social Networks and better performance of its back-end databases, by an efficient partitioning of the underlying community structure and replicating of user profiles, ensuring that every user has a master or slave replica of all his neighbors on the same partition where he is located. |
| US08713105B2 |
Method and apparatus for transcoding and transrating in distributed video systems
Disclosed are video conferencing systems, devices, architectures, and methods for transcoding, transrating, and the like, to facilitate video streaming in a distributed arrangement. An exemplary translator in accordance with embodiments can include: an input configured to receive a first video stream in a first format, the first video stream being from a first media switch, the first media switch being associated with a first stream group having one or more first endpoints; and an output configured to provide a second video stream in a second format, the second video stream being sent to a second media switch, the second media switch being associated with a second stream group having one or more second endpoints, whereby the translator is configured to convert from the first to the second format. Further, the translator can be configured as a logical endpoint where a first interface having an input/output pair uses the first format and a second interface having another input/output pair uses the second format. The two formats may differ in at least one characteristic. |
| US08713101B2 |
Decentralized processing network
A free-space, decentralized, distributed computing network may comprise at least one free-space dynamic memory unit, at least one free-space processing unit, at least one free-space static memory unit, and at least one free-space communications link. The free-space dynamic memory unit may store data. The free-space processing unit may process the data, stored by the free-space dynamic memory unit, into information. The free-space static memory unit may provide operational instructions to the free-space dynamic memory unit and to the free-space processing unit. The free-space communications link may connect in the free-space the free-space dynamic memory unit, the free-space processing unit, and the free-space static memory unit. The free-space dynamic memory unit, the free-space processing unit, and the free-space static memory unit may each comprise at least one tracking device, and a transducer, transmitter, and/or receiver. |
| US08713098B1 |
Method and system for migrating object update messages through synchronous data propagation
A computer-implemented method in a distributed network system is disclosed. The computer-implemented method includes: receiving, at a server, a first object update message from a server-side application, wherein the first object update message includes a first object identifier; identifying, among a plurality of object-client registration records, an object-client registration record that includes the first object identifier; updating the object-client registration record in accordance with the first object update message; selecting a set of client identifiers associated with the first object identifier from the object-client registration record; and, for a first client identifier in the selected set of client identifiers, sending a second object update message to a first client device associated with the first client identifier, wherein the second object update message includes the first object identifier. |
| US08713096B2 |
State control of remote hosts for management of distributed applications
Configuring a node. A method includes determining a current state of a target node. The current state of the target node refers to objects currently deployed or running in the remote target node. It includes at least one of an operating system, one or more applications, or configuration setting at the target node. The method further includes determining a desired state for the target node to change the current state. The method further includes accessing a dependency graph based on the version of an agent running on the target node. The dependency graph is supplied to a state machine. The state machine is particular to the target node. The state machine using the current state of the target node, the desired state and the dependency graph, performs operations to drive the target node toward its goal. |
| US08713093B1 |
Selecting content for storage in a multi-device cache
A method, system, and computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for managing caches on a gateway are provided. Content received in response to requests for media objects, such as web pages and pictures, are stored on a gateway in either a device-specific cache or a multi-device cache. Objects that are generic are stored in the multi-device cache. A generic object is an object that may be requested by all devices visiting a web page. A device-specific object is tailored to a particular device and may not be requested by multiple devices. Embodiments of the present invention may determine that a particular object is a generic object when a request for it is received from more than one mobile device. The object determined to be generic may then be stored in a multi-device cache. |
| US08713092B2 |
Method and system for distributing load by redirecting traffic
Disclosed is a system for servers to redirect client requests to other servers in order to distribute client traffic among the servers. A client is assigned to a server although the client may be unaware of that assignment. When the client accesses a server, a server possibly identified to the client by a name service, the server checks the client's assignment. If the client is not assigned to this server, then in some scenarios this server redirects the client to its assigned server. The client responds by sending its request to the assigned server. In other scenarios, the first server accessed by the client proxies the client's traffic to the assigned server. A database is kept of client-to-server assignments. If the present load distribution is less than ideal (e.g., clients are assigned to an unavailable server), then the assignment database is updated to reflect how the load should be distributed. |
| US08713084B2 |
Method, system and computer program product for verifying floating point divide operation results
A method, system and computer program product for verifying a result of a floating point division operation are provided. The method includes: receiving a result of a floating point division operation for a dividend and a divisor; performing a comparison of a magnitude of a least significant bit (LSB) of the dividend and a magnitude of a most significant bit (MSB) of a remainder; and determining whether the result is correct based on the comparison. |
| US08713083B2 |
Digital fine delay processing
Digital fine delay processing provides an accurate and continuous delay for an analog signal generated from source digital data. A digital processor generates processed digital data corresponding to a delayed analog signal having a desired delay relative to the analog signal represented by the source digital data. The processed digital data is directly derived from the source digital data by digital processing, and both digital data are processed by a reference clock, or by the same phase and cycle of the reference clock. The processed digital data is converted into a the delayed analog signal. Modifying coefficients in a convolution function performed by the digital processor changes the desired delay so that the delay is accurately controlled and is continuous. Since the entire process is digital, degradation of the delayed analog signal is minimal. |
| US08713078B2 |
Method for building taxonomy of topics and categorizing videos
A computer-implemented method for managing video contents includes collecting a plurality of keywords related to a topic, the keywords being collected using at least one dynamic data source. One or more sub-topics of the topic are identified using the keywords collected. A topic node in a taxonomy of topics is built, the topic node including a topic identifier for the topic, a child topic identifier for the sub-topics identified, and a keyword section for one or more of the keywords collected. A plurality of videos is organized using the topic node built to assist a user in locating a video of interest. |
| US08713077B2 |
System and method for multi-tiered meta-data caching and distribution in a clustered computer environment
A system and method caches and distributes meta-data for one or more data containers stored on a plurality of volumes configured as a striped volume set (SVS) and served by a plurality of nodes interconnected as a cluster. The SVS comprises one meta-data volume (MDV) configured to store a canonical copy of certain meta-data, including access control lists and directories, associated with all data containers stored on the SVS, and one or more data volumes (DV) configured to store, at least, data content of those containers. In addition, for each data container stored on the SVS, one volume is designated a container attribute volume (CAV) and, as such, is configured to store (“cache”) a canonical copy of certain, rapidly-changing attribute meta-data, including time stamps and container length, associated with that container. |
| US08713074B2 |
Instance management of code in a database
The compiled code of a computer program is stored in multiple pieces within a database. Each piece is optionally stored within a separate data record. Execution of the computer program includes using database queries to retrieve pieces of the compiled code for execution. The database and associated database management logic are used to provide numerous advantages in execution and management of the computer program. For example, in some embodiments, database queries are used to help facilitate program flow logic. In another example, database queries are based on a command line or universal resource locator. These queries may be used to select functionality of a computer program in response to the command line or universal resource locator. |
| US08713073B2 |
Management of temporal data by means of a canonical schema
Computer programs embodied in computer-readable media that can use canonical schemas to persist data from non-temporal tables, effective-time tables, assertion-time tables, and bitemporal tables, and that can enforce temporal integrity constraints on those tables, are provided. In one embodiment, the canonical schemas are used by database tables. In another embodiment, they are used by the physical files which persist data from those tables. Temporal metadata is used to express temporal requirements. Thus, uni-temporal, bitemporal, and temporally-enabled non-temporal tables can be generated without altering existing data models or designing temporal features into new data models. Support is also provided for managing temporal data that exists in future assertion time, and for using episodes to enforce temporal referential integrity. |
| US08713072B2 |
Computer systems and methods for the query and visualization of multidimensional databases
In response to a user request, a computer generates a graphical user interface on a computer display. A schema information region of the graphical user interface includes multiple operand names, each operand name associated with one or more fields of a multi-dimensional database. A data visualization region of the graphical user interface includes multiple shelves. Upon detecting a user selection of the operand names and a user request to associate each user-selected operand name with a respective shelf in the data visualization region, the computer generates a visual table in the data visualization region in accordance with the associations between the operand names and the corresponding shelves. The visual table includes a plurality of panes, each pane having at least one axis defined based on data for the fields associated with a respective operand name. |
| US08713066B1 |
Managing wear leveling and garbage collection operations in a solid-state memory using linked lists
Embodiments of the invention provide a storage subsystem comprising a non-volatile solid-state memory array and a system operation module for managing memory operations. The system operation module is configured to store system operation data in a data structure that includes linked lists for storing system operation data, with at least some lists including entries referencing blocks in the solid-state memory array belonging to a category. The system operation module is further configured to (1) move a particular entry from a first linked list to a second linked list when a block referenced by the particular entry in the first linked list has met a condition for being classified in a new category that is different from that of the blocks referenced by entries in the first linked list, and (2) update entries within the first and second linked lists so that the dependencies in the linked lists are maintained. |
| US08713065B2 |
Preserving and handling native data in hybrid object trees
A hybrid object tree that interconnects individual data objects of different data types from a group of different input data sources is provided. The instantiated data objects of the hybrid object tree include an internal dynamic data area that encapsulates at least one reference to an original input data source. At least one attribute is identified that is unavailable at the referenced original input data source of a first instantiated data object of the hybrid object tree. The at least one attribute is added to the first instantiated data object of the hybrid object tree within the internal dynamic data area of the first instantiated data object. |
| US08713061B1 |
Self-service administration of a database
Administrative aspects of a data environment, such as the creation, deletion, and management of databases, are managed using a set of self-service Web services of a separate control environment. A user can submit a Web services call into an externally-facing interface of the control environment. The control environment can receive the call, extract information from the call, and determine appropriate actions to be performed in the data environment. A workflow can be instantiated that includes tasks used to perform the action in the data environment. Such an approach allows administrative aspects of the data environment to be managed through Web service calls to the control environment. Native access to databases in the data environment is provided using at least one externally-facing interface of the data environment, without accessing the control environment. |
| US08713057B2 |
Techniques for data assignment from an external distributed file system to a database management system
Techniques for data assignment from an external distributed file system (DFS) to a database management system (DBMS) are provided. Data blocks from the DFS are represented as first nodes and access module processors of the DBMS are represented as second nodes. A graph is produced with the first and second nodes. Assignments are made for the first nodes to the second nodes based on evaluation of the graph to integrate the DFS with the DBMS. |
| US08713052B2 |
File management apparatus and file management apparatus controlling method
A file management apparatus that communicates with an online storage subject to use constraints. The file management apparatus including a processor that controls at least one of two access processes, one of the two access processes being an upload to the online storage, the other access process being a download from the online storage, and performs access inhibit control to inhibit the access processes to meet the use constraints based on at least one of a number of times access is made to the online storage per unit time and an amount of data communicated with the online storage per unit time. |
| US08713049B2 |
Support for a parameterized query/view in complex event processing
The present invention includes a method for providing parameterized queries in complex event processing (CEP). The method includes providing a query template which includes one or more bind variables, providing sets of parameters corresponding to the one or more bind variables, and parsing the query template to determine positions of the one or more bind variables. The method further includes scanning the provided sets of parameters to determine which of the sets of parameters are to be bound to the one or more bind variables, binding the one or more bind variables which are determined to be bound to the sets of parameters, and substituting the bound one or more bind variables with the corresponding sets of parameters. The method further includes injecting all incarnations of the parameterized queries into the system, and one template/parameterized query is configured to run them all. |
| US08713047B2 |
System and method for providing definitions
A system and method for providing definitions is described. A phrase to be defined is received. One or more documents, which each contain at least one definition, are determined. The phrase is matched to at least one of the definitions. One or more definitions for the phrase are presented. |
| US08713043B2 |
System, method and computer program product for sharing a single instance of a database stored using a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database system
In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for sharing a single instance of a database stored using a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database system. These mechanisms and methods for sharing a single instance of a database stored using a tenant of a multi-tenant on-demand database system can provide a single instance of a database that is shared amongst tenants of a multi-tenant on-demand database system. The ability to provide a single instance of a database that is shared amongst tenants of a multi-tenant on-demand database system can enable the database to be managed or otherwise maintained in a central location. |
| US08713036B2 |
Processing abstract derived entities defined in a data abstraction model
Techniques involving an abstract derived entity. The abstract derived entity is a data object present in an abstract data model that may be referenced by other entities in the abstract data model as though it were a relational table present in a physical data source. The abstract data model provides data access independent of the manner in which the data is physically represented in a set of physical data sources. The abstract derived entity may be used to provide aggregate data joined with other non-aggregate data. The abstract derived entity may describe a relational table comprising a set of aggregate data used to form a column of the relational table joined to other columns formed from the sets of input data specified by the abstract derived entity. The resulting abstract derived table may be queried as though it were an actual relational table stored in a physical data source. |
| US08713035B2 |
Identifying conceptually related terms in search query results
Conceptually related term identification technique embodiments are presented that involve identifying in the results of a search query, terms that are conceptually related to the search query terms. In one general embodiment, this is accomplished by first inputting the terms employed in a search query and the results of the search. Word tokens found in the search query terms are then identified, as are potential phrases that can be made from the identified word tokens. Conceptually related words and phrases are then identified in the search query results. These words and phrases correspond to the previously identified word tokens and potential phrases. The search query results are presented to a user on a display device in such a manner as to visually distinguish the conceptually related words and phrases from other words and phrases in the search query results. |
| US08713032B2 |
Cross-platform cloud-based map creation
Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for cross-platform cloud based map creation are described herein. A method embodiment includes receiving one or more GIS datasets in their respective source formats, each GIS dataset comprising one or more map assets, translating the GIS datasets into a platform independent format, and providing the translated GIS datasets and their respective map assets in the platform independent format to one or more client platforms. The embodiment further includes identifying missing map assets and metadata that comprise a GIS dataset, tracking map assets that comprise a single translated GIS dataset to maintain the translated GIS dataset as a single entity, and providing the translated GIS datasets to a serving system. |
| US08713030B2 |
Video editing apparatus
A video editing apparatus 100 includes a registering unit 91 configured to register a key candidate having a feature vector of a sound signal which is determined to be registered on the basis of a co-occurrence score to a managing unit 51 as a search key, and a cutting out unit 71 configured to obtain an integration score in each of the blocks from the degree of similarity of the registered search key in each of the blocks and cut out a group of blocks exceeding an integration threshold value from among the integration scores as one video scene. |
| US08713025B2 |
Complete context search system
A system, method and computer program product for developing an entity context frame or situation summary before using said context frame/situation summary to develop an index, perform a context search and return prioritized results. The search results may comprise a plurality of health related data where said health related data comprises a plurality of microbiome data. |
| US08713021B2 |
Unsupervised document clustering using latent semantic density analysis
According to one embodiment, a latent semantic mapping (LSM) space is generated from a collection of a plurality of documents, where the LSM space includes a plurality of document vectors, each representing one of the documents in the collection. For each of the document vectors considered as a centroid document vector, a group of document vectors is identified in the LSM space that are within a predetermined hypersphere diameter from the centroid document vector. As a result, multiple groups of document vectors are formed. The predetermined hypersphere diameter represents a predetermined closeness measure among the document vectors in the LSM space. Thereafter, a group from the plurality of groups is designated as a cluster of document vectors, where the designated group contains a maximum number of document vectors among the plurality of groups. |
| US08713019B2 |
Method and apparatus for predicting object properties and events using similarity-based information retrieval and modeling
Method and apparatus for predicting properties of a target object comprise application of a search manager for analyzing parameters of a plurality of databases for a plurality of objects, the databases comprising an electrical, electromagnetic, acoustic spectral database (ESD), a micro-body assemblage database (MAD) and a database of image data whereby the databases store data objects containing identifying features, source information and information on site properties and context including time and frequency varying data. The method utilizes a model comprising application of multivariate statistical analysis and principal component analysis in combination with content-based image retrieval for providing two-dimensional attributes of three dimensional objects, for example, via preferential image segmentation using a tree of shapes and to predict further properties of objects by means of k-means clustering and related methods. |
| US08713016B2 |
Method and apparatus for organizing segments of media assets and determining relevance of segments to a query
The invention pertains to methods, systems, and apparatus for identifying media items relevant to a selected subject matter, the method comprising determining the subject matter of a first media item, the first media item comprising at least one of audio content and video content, determining the classification within an ontology of the subject matter of the first media item, analyzing the ontology to identify other subject matter related to the subject matter of the first media item, and performing a search for other media items relevant to the subject matter of the first media item as a function of at least the other related subject matter according to the ontology. |
| US08713010B1 |
Processor engine, integrated circuit and method therefor
A processor engine for affecting at least one authorized website's position on at least one Internet search engine's page ranking is described. The processor engine comprises at least one processor arranged to: identify a target list comprising at least one authorized website that is to be promoted; open a web browser; access an internet search engine on the first web browser; load at least a part of at least one search term into the internet search engine running on the web browser; associate at least the part of the at least one search term with the at least one authorized website on the target list; close the web browser, and repeat a plurality of times, the operations of open, access, load, associate, and close, thereby affecting the at least one authorized website's position on the internet search engine's page ranking. |
| US08713009B2 |
Associating objects in databases by rate-based tagging
Embodiments of the present invention provide automatic systems and methods for associating objects in databases of a web site by rate-based tagging. The frequencies of users entering specific tag terms for objects stored in the databases of the web site are used to determine hard associations between objects and tag terms and between objects. When the frequencies of user tags exceed established thresholds, hard associations between objects and tag terms are established. When objects are identified or determined to have hard association with tag terms, the objects are determined to be more clearly associated with the corresponding tag terms. Therefore, they should be highlighted or featured in more prominent locations on web pages of the web site to increase users' confidence in content of the web site. To identify hard-associated objects, more weights can be assigned to the hard-associated objects, which allows them to be more likely to be selected for display in prominent locations. In addition, objects that are determined to have hard associations with tag terms can also have hard associations with one another due to the common tag terms they share. The hard association relationship between objects can be displayed through links to associated objects when an object is selected for display. |
| US08713008B2 |
Apparatus and method for information processing, program, and recording medium
An information processing apparatus includes the following elements. A feature amount extraction unit extracts feature amounts from a content block. An extraction unit extracts predetermined scenes from the content block using the feature amounts extracted by the feature amount extraction unit. An acquisition unit acquires information for retrieving the content block. A retrieval unit retrieves a scene that meets the information acquired by the acquisition unit from among the scenes extracted by the extraction unit. A presentation unit presents the content block including the scene retrieved by the retrieval unit as a result of retrieval. |
| US08713006B2 |
System, method, and software for researching, analyzing and comparing expert witnesses
The present inventors devised, among other things, system, methods, and interfaces for researching, evaluating, and comparing expert witnesses. One exemplary system includes interfaces that facilitate users entering queries regarding experts based on name or subject matter and filtering search results based on damage awards, case types, attorneys, clients and date range. The system also enables side-by-side comparisons of the cumulative litigation history for multiple experts, and provides an expert challenge report that indicates whether an expert has been challenged in past litigation, the result of any challenges, the presiding judges in the any challenges, and the text of the challenged testimony. |
| US08712998B2 |
Deadline-driven parallel execution of queries
A method includes receiving a query for data, the query including a deadline for completion. The method includes determining a plurality of access plans for the query. The method includes selecting an access plan from the plurality of access plans, wherein the access plan is selected according to an execution time for the access plan that indicates the query can be completed prior to the deadline for completion and wherein the access plan is selected to provide a lowest resource usage among access plans that can be completed prior to the deadline for completion. |
| US08712996B2 |
Information repository search system
A system for receiving search criteria from users is disclosed. The search criteria are for application to a common information repository. The search criteria are received from at least two of the users. The system further associates the search criteria with source information that identifies multiple sources via which the search criteria are received. The system further generates a ranked set of search criteria based on the search criteria and presents a user interface including the ranked set of search criteria. |
| US08712992B2 |
Method and apparatus for web crawling
A method and system for retrieving data from a webpage is described herein. A scheduler organizes, or rather orders, a group of webpage identifiers according to some predetermined criteria. Based upon this ordering, a fetcher may be configured to fetch data from webpages identified by the identifiers. To promote efficiency and reduce the latency between when a webpage is updated and when the fetcher retrieves data from the webpage, the scheduler may be configured to reorder the identifiers in such a manner that it causes an identifier that was less relevant, and would not have been sent to the fetcher, to become more relevant. In this way, the method and system may be particularly useful for retrieving data related to webpages that are updated frequently, such as social media webpages, for example. |
| US08712991B2 |
Document-related representative information
Some implementations include techniques and arrangements to provide document-related representative information with search results. For example, a representative query and/or representative results may be provided for one or more individual documents identified in a set of search results to supplement the search results returned in response to a received search query. The representative queries may be determined by correlating a plurality of previously submitted queries in search log data with a plurality of documents returned in response to the queries. In some implementations, click-through frequency for a particular document with respect to the plurality of queries may be taken into consideration when determining the representative queries for the particular document. In some implementations, the representative queries serve to categorize the search results based on subject matter, and a link may be provided to representative results corresponding to the representative query for accessing documents directed to similar subject matter. |
| US08712990B2 |
Methods and systems for providing a business repository
Computer-implemented systems and methods are disclosed for providing a business rule repository in a memory. An exemplary method includes displaying, on a display device, a graphical user interface (GUI) for creating a business rule, and receiving, in a computer, via the GUI user input relating to an input variable of the business rule, and user input relating to an action required by the business rule based on the input variable. The method further includes generating, by the computer, a text document associated with the business rule based on the input, and storing the text document associated with the business rule in the business rule repository. |
| US08712987B2 |
Emergent information database management system
A method for recreating known emergent information comprises initially storing data in a database. Multiple data patterns, which are based on known emergent information, are developed. These multiple data patterns are ranked according to each data pattern's historic accuracy in creating the known emergent information. The data is applied to a highest-ranked data pattern to recreate the known emergent information. |
| US08712984B2 |
Buffer pool extension for database server
Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to a buffer pool for a database system. In aspects, secondary memory such as solid state storage is used to extend the buffer pool of a database system. Thresholds such as hot, warm, and cold for classifying pages based on access history of the pages may be determined via a sampling algorithm. When a database system needs to free space in a buffer pool in main memory, a page may be evicted to the buffer pool in secondary memory or other storage based on how the page is classified and conditions of the secondary memory or other storage. |
| US08712982B2 |
Virtual multi-cluster clouds
An improved scalable object storage system allows multiple clusters to work together. Users working with a first cluster, or with a multi-cluster gateway, can ask for services and have the request or data transparently proxied to a second cluster. This gives transparent cross-cluster replication, as well as multi-cluster compute or storage farms based upon spot availability or various provisioning policies. Vendors providing a cloud storage “frontend” can provide multiple backends simultaneously. In one embodiment, a multi-cluster gateway can have a two, three, or higher-level ring that transparently matches an incoming request with the correct cluster. In the ring, a request is first mapped to an abstract “partition” based on a consistent hash function, and then one or more constrained mappings map the partition number to an actual resource. In another embodiment, the multi-cluster gateway is a dumb gateway, and the rings are located only at the cluster level. |
| US08712974B2 |
Asynchronous distributed de-duplication for replicated content addressable storage clusters
A method is performed by a device of a group of devices in a distributed data replication system. The method includes storing an index of objects in the distributed data replication system, the index being replicated while the objects are stored locally by the plurality of devices in the distributed data replication system. The method also includes conducting a scan of at least a portion of the index and identifying a redundant replica(s) of the at least one of the objects based on the scan of the index. The method further includes de-duplicating the redundant replica(s), and updating the index to reflect the status of the redundant replica. |
| US08712972B2 |
Query optimization with awareness of limited resource usage
System, method, computer program product embodiments and combinations and sub-combinations thereof for tuning query execution performance in a database management system are described. In an aspect, query optimization in a database management system (DBMS) with awareness of limited resource usage includes identifying limited resource usage for each possible plan being considered for query execution by a query engine. A determination of whether any possible plan has limited resource usage that does not exceed a threshold level is made, and when at least one possible plan does not exceed the threshold level, the identified limited resource usage is included as a consideration during plan selection by the query engine. In an embodiment, temporary database usage is identified for each possible plan. |
| US08712971B2 |
Restore software with aggregated view of content databases
A system and method for restoring multiple content databases of a web application are disclosed. A restoration GUI may indicate one or more available recovery times. User input selecting a particular recovery time may be received. The selected recovery time may correspond to a first time when a first database was backed up. The system may determine that the web application also included one or more other databases in addition to the first database at the first time. Information indicating the first database together with the one or more other databases may be displayed in association with the selected recovery time in the graphical user interface. |
| US08712970B1 |
Recovering a database to any point-in-time in the past with guaranteed data consistency
A data management method wherein a real-time history of a database system is stored as a logical representation and the logical representation is then used for any point-in-time recovery of the database system. More specifically, a method for capturing transaction data, binary data changes, metadata, and events, and for tracking a real-time history of a database system according to the events. The method enables tracking and storing of consistent checkpoint images of the database system, and also enables tracking of transaction activities between checkpoints. The database system may be recovered to any consistent checkpoint or to any point between two checkpoints. |
| US08712969B2 |
System and method for storing redundant information
A method and system for reducing storage requirements and speeding up storage operations by reducing the storage of redundant data includes receiving a request that identifies one or more data objects to which to apply a storage operation. For each data object, the storage system determines if the data object contains data that matches another data object to which the storage operation was previously applied. If the data objects do not match, then the storage system performs the storage operation in a usual manner. However, if the data objects do match, then the storage system may avoid performing the storage operation. |
| US08712964B2 |
Systems and methods for updating a data store using a transaction store
Embodiments include systems and methods for updating a data store in a distributed data store system. In one embodiment, a previous version of a data store is compared to an updated version of the data store in order to create a transaction store. The transaction store may include a cryptographic hash indicative of the previous version of the data store and a cryptographic hash indicative of the updated version of the data store. The transaction store further indicates data differences between the previous and updated versions of the data stores. The transaction store may then be used to update data stores at other locations. |
| US08712960B2 |
Method and system for parallelizing data copy in a distributed file system
Multiple servers sharing a distributed file system are used to perform copies of regions of a source file in parallel from a source storage unit to corresponding temporary files at a destination storage unit. These temporary files are then merged or combined into a single file at the destination storage unit in a way that preserves the inode structure and attributes of the source file. A substantial speedup is obtained by copying regions of the file in parallel. |
| US08712959B1 |
Collaborative data redundancy for configuration tracking systems
In one embodiment, a method and apparatus for collaborative data redundancy for configuration management database is disclosed. The method includes requesting, by a server of a configuration tracking system, an agent of the configuration tracking system to retrieve asset data when a copy of the asset data located in the server becomes corrupted, retrieving by the agent the requested asset data from one or more assets, and transferring by the agent the asset data to the server without utilizing data redundancy services performed outside of the configuration tracking system. Other embodiments are also disclosed. |
| US08712957B2 |
Method, apparatus, and system for synchronizing contents
A method, apparatus and system for synchronizing contents are provided. The method for synchronizing contents includes comparing contents stored in a first device with a content list stored in a second device, and deleting contents from the content list or adding contents to the content list. Therefore, is possible to prevent incorrect contents from being browsed even when contents are not completely synchronized. |
| US08712955B2 |
Optimizing federated and ETL'd databases with considerations of specialized data structures within an environment having multidimensional constraint
A method for creating a data warehousing scheme having optimally selected components. A mathematical model of a goal for the data warehousing scheme is input into an optimization engine. At least one constraint on the data warehousing scheme is input into the optimization engine. A mathematical optimization algorithm is performed using the optimization engine, wherein an output of the optimization engine is an optimized data warehousing scheme having optimally selected components. The optimized data warehousing scheme can be stored. |
| US08712953B2 |
Data consumption framework for semantic objects
A data enrichment and consumption framework enables defining data object consumption based on semantic aspects of the data object. Views, contexts, and associations of the data object are defined to dynamically render UI content based on interaction with the data object. Additionally, standard views can be defined to enable rapid development of UIs. The same data content is rendered in consistent ways across different devices and UI technologies. |
| US08712950B2 |
Resource capacity monitoring and reporting
Embodiments provide capacity estimates for components of a computing environment, but are not so limited. In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes using residual capacity estimates and smooth averages to provide point-in-time capacity estimates for resources of a computing environment. In one embodiment, a computing environment includes a capacity manager that can operate under processor control to provide capacity estimates for a collection of resources as part of a capacity monitoring and planning process. Other embodiments are included and available. |
| US08712944B1 |
Adaptive contact window wherein the probability that an answering user/expert will respond to a question corresponds to the answering users having response rates that are based on the time of day
Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving aggregate user data, the aggregate user data corresponding to response rate of one or more answering users responding to requests, processing the aggregate user data to generate one or more analytical models, each of the one or more analytical models providing a plurality probabilities that an average answering user will respond to a request, each probability of the plurality of probabilities corresponding to a particular time period during a day, receiving a request, determining a time corresponding to the request, identifying a plurality of answering users, processing the one or more analytical models based on the time to identify a sub-set of answering users of the plurality of answering users, and transmitting the request to each answering user of the sub-set of answering users. |
| US08712942B2 |
Active element machine computation
An active element machine is a new kind of computing machine. When implemented in hardware, the active element machine can execute multiple instructions simultaneously, because every one of its computing elements is active. This greatly enhances the computing speed. By executing a meta program whose instructions change the connections in a dynamic active element machine, the active element machine can perform tasks that a digital computer are unable to compute.In an embodiment, instructions in a computer language are translated into instructions in a register machine language. The instructions in the register machine language are translated into active element machine instructions.In an embodiment, an active element machine may be programmed using instructions for a register machine. The active element machine is not limited to these embodiments. |
| US08712936B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program
An information processing apparatus for generating a similarity determination algorithm determining a similarity between a pair of data. The apparatus includes: a feature-quantity-extraction expression list generation mechanism generating a feature quantity-extraction expression list including a plurality of feature-quantity-extraction expressions including a plurality of operators by updating the feature-quantity extraction expression list of a preceding generation; a calculation mechanism inputting first and second data given as teacher data into each of the feature-quantity-extraction expressions in the feature-quantity-extraction expression list to calculate a feature quantity corresponding to each of the first and the second data; an evaluation-value calculation mechanism calculating the evaluation value of each of the feature-quantity-extraction expressions using the calculated feature quantities and a similarity between the first and the second data; and a similarity-calculation expression estimation mechanism estimating a similarity calculation expression for calculating a similarity between the first and the second data. |
| US08712935B2 |
Evolutionary clustering algorithm
The invention relates to selecting a set of candidate genes from a pool of genes. The method comprising receiving a set of gene data; arranging the set of gene data into a set of clusters with similar profiles by use of a clustering algorithm; and inputting the set of clusters into a genetic algorithm to select a set of candidate genes from the set of clusters. The method thus relates to hybrid between selection by clustering computation and selection by evolutionary computation. This hybrid is also referred to as an evolutionary clustering algorithm (ECA). |
| US08712930B1 |
Encoding digital content based on models for predicting similarity between exemplars
An exemplar dictionary is built from exemplars of digital content for determining predictor blocks for encoding and decoding digital content. The exemplar dictionary organizes the exemplars as clusters of similar exemplars. Each cluster is mapped to a label. Machine learning techniques are used to generate a prediction model for predicting a label for an exemplar. The exemplar dictionary is used to encode digital content. Clusters of exemplars are obtained by applying a prediction model to a target block of digital content for encoding. A predictor block is selected for encoding the target block based on frequency of occurrence of exemplars in the clusters. The target block is encoded using the predictor block. |
| US08712927B2 |
Systems and methods for parameter adaptation
A method of parameter adaptation is used to modify the parameters of a model to improve model performance. The model separately estimates the contribution of each model parameter to the prediction error. It achieves this by transforming to the time-scale plane the vectors of output sensitivities with respect to model parameters and then identifying the regions within the time-scale plane at which the dynamic effect of individual model parameters is dominant on the output. The method then attributes the prediction error in these regions to the deviation of a single parameter from its true value as the basis of estimating individual parametric errors. The proposed Parameter Signature Isolation Method (PARSIM) then uses these estimates to adapt individual model parameters independently of the others, implementing, in effect, concurrent adaptation of individual parameters by the Newton-Raphson method in the time-scale plane. |
| US08712926B2 |
Using rule induction to identify emerging trends in unstructured text streams
A method for identifying emerging concepts in unstructured text streams comprises: selecting a subset V of documents from a set U of documents; generating at least one Boolean combination of terms that partitions the set U into a plurality of categories that represent a generalized, statistically based model of the selected subset V wherein the categories are disjoint inasmuch as each document of U is included in only one category of the partition; and generating a descriptive label for each of the disjoint categories from the Boolean combination of terms for that category. |
| US08712925B2 |
Method and system for billing based on color component histograms
Disclosed is a processor-implemented method for processing images. The processor receives image data of a color space defined by input provided to a system by a user, determines at least one color attribute of the pixels in the received image correlating to at least perceptual image characteristics, determines statistics using the attribute(s), and analyzes the statistics to classify the image into a category. Based on at least the category, a billing structure for the image is determined. For example, chroma and/or hue of pixels can be used to create histograms, whose data is used to determine a degree of color and/or content of an image, which is categorized. Color space components of received pixels can also be statistically analyzed. Such determinations consider billing based on human perception of use of color. Billing for color images in this manner satisfies the user and increases use of color output (e.g., printing). |
| US08712922B2 |
Computer system for routing package deliveries
A shipping system for shipping packages involving the coordinated use of at least a first carrier and a second carrier. The shipping system includes physical delivery facilities for the physical delivery of packages, the physical delivery facilities including at least one transfer location at which the second carrier may take over delivery responsibilities for a package. |
| US08712921B2 |
Receiving security risk feedback from linked contacts due to a user's system actions and behaviors
An approach is provided in receiving risk feedback from a social network. Feedback transmissions are received by a user's system with each of the feedback transmissions being received over a computer network from a social network contact. The received feedback transmissions are analyzed and, based on the analysis, a risky action that was performed by the user is identified. The user performs a risk avoidance measure to counteract the identified risky action. In one embodiment, the risk avoidance measure is reported back to the user's contacts. |
| US08712917B2 |
Software execution management apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium thereof
Even if the process for permitting execution of software is enabled in accordance with first license information, upon transmitting an invalidation signal from the invalidation signal transmitter 116, the execution of the process for permitting execution of software is limited in accordance with second license information. Thus, the invalidation signal can limit the execution of the process for permitting execution of software in accordance with specific license information and the execution of the licensed software without fail. |
| US08712914B2 |
Method and system for facilitating micropayments in a financial transaction system
A system for processing accounts includes a database configured to store a plurality of accounts, the accounts including a consumer account associated with a consumer and a plurality of merchant accounts including a transacting merchant account associated with a merchant, wherein at least one account includes an amount of a virtual currency associated with the account. The system further includes a processor configured to process a financial transaction, wherein the transaction includes the consumer and the merchant, is for a specified amount of virtual currency, and processing the transaction includes transferring the specified amount of virtual currency from the consumer account to the transacting merchant account. The processor is further configured to process the at least one account, wherein processing the at least one account includes converting the associated amount of virtual currency to or from a real currency when the at least one account meets a predetermined criteria. |
| US08712910B2 |
Equipment to facilitate money transfers into bank accounts
Arrangements for transferring money to a bank account, typically when paid in cash or a cash equivalent at a point of sale device, are provided. Transactional information may be transmitted to a host computer system from a point of sale device. The transactional information may include information on a bank account that is to receive the money. At least some of the transaction information may be sent to an intermediary computer system that is configured to interact with a plurality of banking networks and may determine which one of the banking networks is associated with the bank account that is to receive the money. A request may be transmitted from the intermediary computer network to a local banking network and may include information on the bank account that is to receive the money and an amount of money to deposit. |
| US08712909B1 |
Systems and methods for managing fleet services
Systems and methods are described for managing fleet services. In an example, a vehicle selected from a plurality of vehicles presented in the user interface is received. A selected vehicle insurance for the vehicle is then received. A total cost for a lease of the vehicle and vehicle insurance associated with the selected vehicle insurance is determined. A lease of the vehicle and corresponding vehicle insurance is provided by the lessor. Other systems and methods are described. |
| US08712904B2 |
System and method for order placement in an electronic trading environment
A system and associated methods are provided for intelligent placement and movement of orders in an electronic trading environment. According to one example method, in addition to submitting a leg order at a calculated price level, additional orders, queue holder orders, are submitted for the leg order at prices either below or above the calculated price level. Based on this configuration, if the conditions change such that it is necessary to re-price the leg order, there will be already an order resting in the exchange order book at the re-calculated price that can be used in the strategy. Upon re-pricing the leg order, one or more additional queue holder orders will be placed in the market. Other tools are provided as well. |
| US08712900B2 |
Generating a funding and investment strategy associated with an underfunded pension plan
Methods and apparatuses are described generating a funding and investment strategy associated with an underfunded pension plan. A computing device determines an amount of funding required to fund the pension plan to a predetermined liability limit, where the amount of funding required is adjusted for (i) an expected return on pension plan assets, (ii) governmental premiums imposed on underfunded pension plans, and (iii) tax deduction amounts. The computing device determines an amount of debt to incur based on the amount of funding required, and contributes the incurred debt amount into the pension plan as a pension plan asset. The computing device generates a strategic plan for investing the contributed pension plan asset in long-duration bonds, where the long-duration bonds have a higher yield curve than the incurred debt interest rate. The computing device acquires long-duration bonds that have characteristics consistent with the strategic plan. |
| US08712899B2 |
System and method for managing investment funds
Method for establishing an investment mandate and for managing institutional investment funds associated with equity-based investments, bond-based investments and other investments. |
| US08712898B2 |
Computer-implemented method of constructing a stock index using index rotation
Computer-implemented methods of creating and maintaining stock indexes are provided. Stock migration is controlled using a systematic stock migration process so that stocks are gradually added and deleted from an index. |
| US08712892B2 |
Verification of a portable consumer device in an offline environment
A portable consumer device includes a base, and a computer readable medium on the base. The computer readable medium comprises code for an issuer verification value and a supplemental verification value. The issuer verification value is used by an issuer to verify that the portable consumer device is authentic in an on-line transaction and the supplemental verification value is used to verify that the portable consumer device is authentic in an off-line transaction. |
| US08712888B2 |
Methods and systems for assessing sales activity of a merchant
A method for assessing sales activity of a merchant using a computer system coupled to a database is provided. The sales activity includes purchases made by a customer using a financial transaction card over a financial transaction card network. The method includes storing within the database a plurality of merchant profiles wherein each merchant profile describes a customer community of the corresponding merchant utilizing the financial transaction card network, determining a violator merchant profile based on a customer community associated with a violator merchant wherein the violator merchant uses the financial transaction card network to engage in at least one of illegal, potentially illegal and undesirable sales activities with at least a portion of the associated customer community, comparing the violator merchant profile to each merchant profile stored within the database, and identifying at least one potential violator merchant for further investigation based on the comparison. |
| US08712882B2 |
Predictive time entry for workforce management systems
This disclosure describes, generally, methods and systems for predictive approaches used to auto-populate timecards for an employee/contractor. A system/framework is proposed that can auto-populate timecards for employees using predictive approaches. The predictive approaches may look at the patterns of time entry for the individual who is performing entry of the time. The system can also look at patterns of time entry for other team members within an organization or group whose time entry patterns may be similar or identical to other individuals. |
| US08712881B1 |
Method, system and computer program product for managing funds in custodial deposit accounts
A method, system and computer program product for managing aggregate funds held in a custodial deposit accounts by a custodial agent on behalf of a plurality of individuals. According to the present invention, the custodial deposit accounts comprises an omnibus transaction account (“Omnibus TA”) and a Omnibus money market deposit account (“Omnibus MMDA”). A corresponding individual transaction account (“Individual TA”) and individual money market deposit account (“Individual MMDA”) are kept on the books and records of the custodial agent for each individual, representing the amount of the individual's funds deposited in the Omnibus TA and Omnibus MMDA, respectively. According to the present invention, limitations on transfers from the Omnibus MMDA to the Omnibus TA and limitations on transfers from the corresponding Individual MMDAs to the Individual TAs are managed by daily allocation of the funds in the Individual TAs and Individual MMDAs. |
| US08712880B2 |
Transfer formulas
A method of using a formula to execute periodic transfers in a hierarchal accounting structure includes receiving a transfer formula that may comprise a source account, a target account, an offset account, an account characteristic, and a formula for determining a first amount of the source account based on the account characteristic. The method may also include accessing a multidimensional data cube with a hierarchal arrangement and aggregated balances for each level. The method may additionally include generating a transfer scenario by transferring the first amount to the aggregated balance for the target account according to the transfer formula, and generating one or more accounting journal entries corresponding to the transfer scenario. The method may further include posting the one or more accounting journal entries to a general ledger associated with a relational database; and updating the multidimensional data cube to reflect the transfer scenario. |
| US08712876B2 |
System and method for creating a build set and bill of materials from a master source model
A system and method for creating a build set and a BOM from user selected options from a single source model. |
| US08712873B2 |
System for and method of remotely auditing inventoried assets
A system and method for remotely auditing inventoried assets, particularly those financed by asset-based inventory lending, by capturing unique, non-clonable, auditing information with an interrogation device at an inventory location to indicate whether each asset is present or absent at the inventory location, and by sending inventory information about such assets based on the captured auditing information to an auditor. |
| US08712872B2 |
System and method for optimizing utilization of inventory space for dispensable articles
A system and method for optimizing the utilization of inventory space for articles dispensable from an article dispensing machine is provided. A subset of articles in the article dispensing machine may be targeted for removal for various purposes. Based on a list of the subset of articles, the article dispensing machine may move the subset of articles from a storage unit to a predetermined area, such as a merchandising zone of the storage unit or a separate article removal bin. The subset of articles may be removed from the predetermined area, followed by loading of new articles to the predetermined area. |
| US08712871B2 |
Method and apparatus for supporting delivery, sale and billing of perishable and time-sensitive goods such as newspapers, periodicals and direct marketing and promotional materials
Tracking, controlling, optimizing, and otherwise managing the delivery of goods with a web server, a database server, and handheld computers. A database has at least route delivery information. At least portions of the database are communicated to respective handheld devices for display. Time-sensitive goods may be delivered based on information displayed on the handheld devices, which are also used to collect information during delivery. The collected information is communicated to the database for buffing, reporting and analysis. |
| US08712869B2 |
Non-serialized electronic product registration system and method of operating same
A non-serialized electronic product registration (ER) system and method which enables return qualification information to be provided upon request for non-serialized products. Retailer specific return policies are enforced by providing the ER system with retailer return policies for UPCs, SKUs, model numbers and/or other non-unique product identifiers. The retailer periodically provides information to the ER system that indicates the last date on which products having a particular non-unique identifier have been sold. The ER system then determine the last date on which such products can be returned and provides non-serialized return qualification information to the retailer upon request. |
| US08712866B2 |
Variable month cross-platform photo calendar builder
A system and method for ordering a print of a digitally represented still image on a calendar using a remote computer is provided. The system includes a remote computer connected to a photofinisher through a network. A computer readable medium is located on the photofinisher and has computer-executable instructions for performing the method that includes selecting an image using the remote computer and displaying the image in an image tray pane. A calendar workspace pane includes separate calendar image windows associated with each of the calendar pages. One of the images displayed in the image tray pane is associated with one or more of the calendar image windows. A calendar print order data file is established, which includes the association of the selected image with one or more of the calendar image windows. The computer-executable instructions are in HTML and JavaScript. |
| US08712864B2 |
System and method for enhancing buyer and seller interaction during a group-buying sale
A method and system are provided that enable buyers and sellers to communicate with each other and to negotiate the purchase terms of featured merchandise in a group-buying opportunity. Sellers and buyers may use various forms of on-line group-buying mechanisms in conjunction with the negotiation features of the invention. Buyers may send various inquiries to sellers regarding merchandise offered for sale through the online group-buying sale. Sellers may respond to buyer questions and queries, and in some instances, sellers may communicate instructions to the on-line group-buying mechanism to alter the course of an on-line group-buying sale in progress, e.g., a further reduction in price. The method and system further provides a mechanism for calculating a demand curve based on received buyer offers and applying the demand curve to an on-line group-buying sale. |
| US08712863B1 |
Apparatus and methods for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods
A system comprises: (a) storage and distribution means; (b) inventory upload means; (c) product information download means; (d) order upload means; and (e) delivery download means. A method comprises: (a) digitally transferring the goods and pertinent product information from a provider of the goods to a storage and distribution means; (b) storing the goods, pertinent product information, order information, sales information, or marketing information on the storage and distribution means; (c) digitally transferring product information to a shopper; (d) digitally transferring order information from a buyer of goods to the storage and distribution means; and (e) digitally transferring the goods to the buyer. The storage and distribution means may be provided with a network connection for access by providers, shoppers, and buyers. |
| US08712859B2 |
Configuration and incentive in event management environment providing an automated segmentation of consideration
This disclosure relates to configuration and incentive management in an event management environment providing an automated segmentation of consideration. The method may include incentivizing a set of users to promote a reservation of a ticket associated with an event on a event management server. The method may also include publishing a set of details associated with the ticket on the event management server, and generating a reselling agreement promising a consideration between a first user who may be a seller of the ticket, and a second user who may be a promoter of the event. The method may further include automatically generating a split of a ticket price purchased through a third user to the second user and the first user based on a set of agreed terms of the reselling agreement. |
| US08712856B2 |
Systems and/or methods for determining item serial number structure and intelligence
Certain exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for determining the correct item serial number structure, even when information regarding the serial number data and/or structure is lacking. Such techniques advantageously promote data integrity by helping to ensure that the desired data is captured correctly, while also reducing (and sometimes even eliminating) the need to obtain detailed information regarding serial number structure and intelligence that sometimes is guarded by producers/manufacturers. Statistical sampling of collected unknown data formats may be used to help decipher product identification numbers (or other numbers) such as product serial numbers through a repetitive process of scanning a known constant such as the UPC number, followed by a variable number such as a products serial number. Certain exemplary embodiments check serial number against a database containing algorithms to determine if and which algorithm is used to create such serial numbers. |
| US08712854B1 |
Systems, methods and apparatus for payment processing
Systems and methods for processing payment transactions using combination payment cards. The combination payment card is associated with an open-loop account and one or more closed-loop accounts. Transaction information is received from a point-of-sale device. At least one of the closed-loop and open-loop account is debited. |
| US08712853B2 |
Code reading apparatus, sales registering apparatus, and sales registering method
According to one embodiment, a code reading apparatus includes a commodity-information reading unit, a commodity-information output unit, a benefit-information reading unit, and a benefit-information output unit. The commodity-information reading unit reads commodity information from a code symbol attached to a commodity. The commodity-information output unit outputs the commodity information read by the commodity-information reading unit. The benefit-information reading unit detects an image of benefit indication from an image imaged by an imaging unit and reads benefit information corresponding to the benefit indication from the detected image. The benefit-information output unit outputs the benefit information read by the benefit-information reading unit. |
| US08712852B2 |
Systems, methods, and devices for selling transaction instruments via web-based tool
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for distributing a transaction instrument. The system includes the steps of: offering for sale, in a retail environment, the transaction instrument; selling a selected transaction instrument; communicating with the issuer of the transaction instrument via an internet accessible web site, and enabling the use of the transaction instrument. The transaction instrument may be, for example, an open pre-paid card. The distribution of the transaction instrument may also include the step of sending a message, through the web site, in substantially real time, causing the pre-paid transaction instrument to be funded but not activated until later through an interactive voice response system, for example. In another example, an associated transaction account may be funded and activated at the time of distribution. Furthermore, an issuer system may be suitably configured to leverage existing Travelers Cheque infrastructure for inventory and related processes. |
| US08712850B1 |
Promoting content
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium, and including a computer-implemented method for providing a creative. The method comprises identifying, using one or more processors, a creative for processing, the creative including a title portion, a body portion and optionally a reference portion. The method further comprises evaluating the body portion including determining when the body portion includes one or more words that can be added to the title portion. The method further comprises promoting, using the one or more processors, the one or more words into the title portion. The method further comprises providing the creative including the title portion with the promoted one or more words. |
| US08712849B2 |
System and method for providing advertising content using a group training system
A method of providing advertising content using a group training system (GTS) includes transferring first advertising content from an advertiser system (AS) to a first GTS by an advertising content service provider system (ACSPS), transferring payment from the AS by the ACSPS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on a multi-user display associated with the first GTS, and transferring payment from the ACSPS to an entity associated with the first GTS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS. An advertising content service provider system (ACSPS) includes a processing device and a memory device. The processing device transfers first advertising content from an advertiser system (AS) to a first GTS for display on a multi-user display associated with the first GTS, payment is transferred by the processing device from the AS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS, and payment is transferred by the processing device to an entity associated with the first GTS as compensation for the first advertising content being displayed on the multi-user display associated with the first GTS. A computer-readable storage medium includes instructions in accordance with the disclosed method. |
| US08712848B2 |
Method for distributing advertisements to client devices using an obscured ad monitoring function
Software for use on a client device that is configured for communications via a communications network instantiates a communications function that effects an advertisement download communication link between the client device and an advertisement distribution server system via the communications network, at selected advertisement download times, an advertisement download function that downloads advertisements identified in a playlist(s) generated by at least one playlist server, via the advertisement download communication link, at the selected advertisement download times, an advertisement storage function for storing the downloaded advertisements on a storage medium associated with the client device, and an advertisement display function that effects display of at least selected ones of the stored advertisements. |
| US08712845B2 |
Advertising system and method
An advertising system including at least one consumer database containing a plurality of consumer profiles with consumer preference identifying data, at least one brand database containing details of brand clients, each having one or more branding parameters, at least one content database containing a plurality of pieces of content provided by at least one content provider with each piece of content having one or more content profile identifiers, and a content matching engine which matches the branding parameters of the brand clients with one or more of pieces of content and provides these pieces of content to one or more consumers upon the consumer request, based on the matching of the branding parameters and the consumer preference identifying data at no cost to the consumer whilst charging an advertising fee to the brand client and paying a content provision fee to the content provider. |
| US08712843B2 |
Scoring users of network based users
Methods, systems and computer program products for evaluating a score for a particular user of network-based services. In one method, advertisements are provides on webpage(s) of the user. The webpage(s) may include content generated by the user. Advertising revenue generated by the webpage(s) is calculated and a score is assigned to the user based on the calculated advertising revenue. |
| US08712842B2 |
Method and system for advertisement using internet browser to insert advertisements
An electronic advertisement method and system for an Internet browser with a book-like page-based flipping interface. Full pages of electronic advertisements presented on the computer screen are possible without obstructing the viewing and reading of other contents. This benefits both the viewer as well as the advertiser. An advertisement matching/delivery system provides a novel method of inserting advertisements into content as well as a novel method for revenue sharing among the parties involved. |
| US08712839B2 |
System and method for managing a loyalty program via an association network infrastructure
A system and method for providing a loyalty program by utilizing a pre-existing association network. When a consumer is registered with the program, the consumer's personal information is stored in a database and associated with a token ID. The token is capable of initiating a transaction message request over an association network when used in conjunction with a merchant transaction system. A program manager is provided that includes an association network interface for receiving over the association network the transaction request message initiated by the token at a merchant, where the transaction request message includes a first set of transaction information regarding a consumer-initiated product purchase transaction. The program manager is then configured to store the first set of transaction information, transmit to the merchant a response message that includes an indication that the token cannot provide tender for a product purchase, and utilize the first set of transaction information to facilitate the identification of one or more rewards for the consumer. |
| US08712836B2 |
Point-of-sale server and method
A method for use in marketing includes detecting, at the point-of-sale, a plurality of Uniform Product Codes associated with respective items purchased by a customer. The method also includes transmitting, on a substantially real-time basis, the plurality of Uniform Product Codes over the Internet to a remote computer connected to the Internet. |
| US08712833B2 |
System and method for advertising messages on distributed document processing devices
The subject application is directed to a system and method for selective control of advertising messages on distributed document processing devices. Device identification data is first received corresponding to the identity of networked document processing devices available for display of selected advertising content. Device selection data representing a selected subset of the networked document processing devices is then received, with the selection made in accordance with the received identification data. Next, customization data is received corresponding to a selected display parameter associated with the selected advertising content. The selected advertising content and the received customization data are then communicated to each of the networked document processing devices in the selected subset. Each of the document processing devices then commences the display of the selected advertising content in accordance with the customization data. |
| US08712821B2 |
Separate matching models based on type of phone associated with a caller
Systems and methods are disclosed for routing callers to agents in a contact center. Exemplary methods and systems include using one of a plurality of different methods or computer models for matching callers to agents, the method or model selected based on a type of phone or phone number associated with a caller (e.g., residential, business, or mobile). The models may include queue routing, performance based matching, adaptive pattern matching algorithms, or the like. In one example, similar adaptive models may be used for two or more different types of phones, but trained differently, e.g., based on data and outcomes for the particular type of phone. Different models for routing callers to agents may perform differently for different types of phones. Further, training correlation or adaptive pattern matching algorithms based on different types of phones may improve performance compared to a single algorithm for all types of phones. |
| US08712819B2 |
System and method for internet based procurement of goods and services
A system for internet-based procurement of non-cataloged goods and services based upon qualified resumes includes a human resources procurement server, an associate vendor terminal, and a hiring manager terminal. The associate vendor terminal is connected to the human resources procurement server. The hiring manager terminal is connected to the human resources procurement server. The human resources procurement server receives at least one job request from the hiring manager terminal. The human resources procurement server also receives at least one qualified resume from the associate vendor terminal and forwards the qualified resume to the hiring manager terminal for review. |
| US08712815B1 |
Method and system for dynamically representing distributed information
Techniques for dynamically representing distributed information are disclosed. According to one embodiment, metrics for deployed resources in a predefined environment (e.g., an enterprise) is designed. The metrics includes at least various logic and data sources and is deployed as one or more Metrics Definition Packages (MDP), wherein data sources are used for calculating such metrics. The metrics is defined in terms of the data sources and their associated meta-data, but has no dependency upon specific external systems that are eventually used to populate the data sources when the Metrics Definition Package is executed. The metrics results from the execution of the Metrics Definition Package in accordance with the deployed resources (e.g., storage space, and security means) are represented in what is referred to as a Scorecard Definition Package (SDP) that is designed to represent the metrics results in a dynamic and comprehensible manner. |
| US08712812B2 |
Strategic planning management
An information technology (IT) strategic management system (and corresponding methodology) that enhances efficiency and effectiveness of IT planning processes and projects is provided. In particular aspects, the systems commence with a review of current IT state and strategy influencers. The state is analyzed to establish (or alternatively, to update) a strategy summary. The strategy summary can be presented for leadership approval and subsequently communicated to stakeholders for deployment. |
| US08712808B2 |
Computer program, system, and method for mapping Social Security claiming strategies
A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for directing operation of a processor. The computer program receives personal and financial data for a couple; accesses data for a plurality of Social Security claiming strategies for the couple based on the personal and financial data; and illustrates on a graphical display which of the Social Security claiming strategies would provide the maximum present value of benefits for multiple mortality combinations of the couple so that the couple or an advisor for the couple can quickly ascertain which claiming strategy would provide the maximum benefits for a particular mortality combination. |
| US08712799B2 |
Method of providing tailor-made software for hospital departments
To provide tailor-made software for use in a specific department of a hospital, a software package suitable for use by more than one department of the hospital is provided including components implementing general tasks. Then, software is added implementing tasks which may be considered to extend the general tasks. This extension can be tailor-made for the specific department. In at least one embodiment, the software package includes both front end and back end software components, front end components reacting to user inputs and calling up back end software components, and the extension may be both at the front end and at the back end side. |
| US08712796B2 |
Systems, computer programs, and methods for controlling costs of a healthcare practice
Systems, computer programs, and methods for controlling ancillary medical costs of a healthcare practice and/or insurance network with a plurality of physicians participating therein, are provided. According to an example method, the steps include identifying one or more a plurality of physicians having ancillary medical costs that exceed a certain level to thereby identify the physician or physicians for behavior modification with respect to ancillary medical costs. The method can also include generating information identifying recommended alternative ancillary medical procedures to modify behavior of a physician or physicians with respect to management of the ancillary medical costs. The method can also determining whether the ancillary medical costs of the physician or physicians have decreased to a preselected/baseline level, and distributing a percentage of a savings attributed to the modified ancillary medical cost management behavior when the ancillary medical costs have decreased to or below the preselected/baseline level. |
| US08712792B2 |
Personalized health communication system
Personalization of access to health-related information on a computer network is provided based upon a health history of a user. In one implementation, personal health-related information about the user is obtaining from the user operating a client computer. The health-related information includes one or more health-related terms that each corresponds to a health-related concept. The health related terms provided by the user are correlated with a health terminology thesaurus that is stored on a computer-readable medium, such as at a server remote from the user client. Each of the health-related terms is associated with a single concept unique identifier that uniquely identifies a corresponding health-related concept. Health-related works or content is made accessible over the computer network by correlating the concept unique identifiers for the user's health information with corresponding concept unique identifiers that are associated with the health-related content. |
| US08712790B1 |
Multi-user remote health monitoring system with biometrics support
The invention presents a networked system for identifying an individual, communicating information to the individual, and remotely monitoring the individual. The system includes a remotely programmable apparatus that occasionally connects to a server via a communication network such as the Internet. The remotely programmable apparatus interacts with the individual in accordance with a script program received from the server Among other capabilities, the script program may instruct the remotely programmable apparatus to identify the individual, to communicate information to the individual, to communicate queries to the individual, to receive responses to the queries, and to transmit information identifying the individual and the responses from the remotely programmable apparatus to the server. Information identifying the individual may be obtained via a biometrics sensor, a data card, a remote monitoring device, or the interception of data from a separate information system. The information identifying the individual may be used by either or both the server system and remotely programmable apparatus for security, customization and other purposes. As the present invention has multi-user capabilities, it can be used in a public place, such as a pharmacy or health care clinic. The multi-user capabilities also allow collection and tracking of user data for the healthcare industry. |
| US08712789B2 |
People engine optimization
Some embodiments promote website credibility and the optimization of websites for people by automatedly quantifying various elements of a website into component credibility scores. In some embodiments, a set of encoded credibility scoring rules are used to compute each of the component credibility scores, wherein the credibility scoring rules are derived based on factors that have been identified by a grouping of people that preferably represent a primary demographic of users that consume the content of a particular classified type of website. In some such embodiments, the credibility scoring rules are derived from commonality that is identified from a sample set of known credible and/or non-credible websites of a particular classification. Once the credibility scoring rules are defined, the system applies the rules to other websites having the same classification as those from which the rules are derived to automatically generate credibility scores for the other websites. |
| US08712787B2 |
Systems and methods for managing and utilizing excess corn residue
Systems and methods for managing excess above-ground corn residue are disclosed. Systems and methods for combusting corn residue to produce heat for generating steam are also disclosed. Additionally, methods and systems for harvesting and pre-processing corn residue prior to combustion of the corn residue are disclosed. |
| US08712786B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling a multi-node process
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling multi-node services. There is described a process broker for controlling a process between two or more clients and service registry comprising; a plurality of process templates, each process template representing a process to co-ordinate a service on nodes and comprising one or more steps for coordinating such a service with each node; means for receiving a message from a first node; means for selecting a process template and participating node/s in response to the message; means for envoking the process steps as defined in the selected process template on the selected nodes; and means for responding to the first node with a response of the type defined in the selected process template and based on the response from the participating node/s. |
| US08712780B2 |
Systems and methods for picture based communication
A picture based communication system and mechanisms of implementation thereof allowing for rapid translation of picture based input into words or sentences of a previously chosen output language. Communication systems may be incorporated on PCs, mobile devices or may be a software running on a remote system which allows for language-independent messages to be constructed, which can be de-constructed into any language on the receiver's side. Mechanisms of implementation would also be of assistance in allowing people with language difficulties, dyslexia or illiteracy to communicate effectively. |
| US08712778B1 |
Systems and methods for archiving and retrieving navigation points in a voice command platform
A method and system for identifying, saving and utilizing bookmarks in a voice-command platform. The system allows a user to bookmark objects specified within voice-markup filed resulting in the ability to directly recall the object rather than the voice-markup file as a whole. The system of the invention also provides a user of the voice command platform with a list of proposed bookmark names that are appropriate for the object. Once a user selects a bookmark, the platform may determine that a voice command is a bookmark command, such as a request to save a given voice command navigation point in a centralized list of bookmarks for the user, or to recall a navigation point from the user's centralized list, and the platform may respond to the bookmark command accordingly. The system improves accuracy in the use of bookmarks by proposing bookmark names for a given navigation point that avoid confusion with established grammars. |
| US08712776B2 |
Systems and methods for selective text to speech synthesis
Algorithms for synthesizing speech used to identify media assets are provided. Speech may be selectively synthesized form text strings associated with media assets. A text string may be normalized and its native language determined for obtaining a target phoneme for providing human-sounding speech in a language (e.g., dialect or accent) that is familiar to a user. The algorithms may be implemented on a system including several dedicated render engines. The system may be part of a back end coupled to a front end including storage for media assets and associated synthesized speech, and a request processor for receiving and processing requests that result in providing the synthesized speech. The front end may communicate media assets and associated synthesized speech content over a network to host devices coupled to portable electronic devices on which the media assets and synthesized speech are played back. |
| US08712773B2 |
Method and system for modeling a common-language speech recognition, by a computer, under the influence of a plurality of dialects
The present invention relates to a method for modeling a common-language speech recognition, by a computer, under the influence of multiple dialects and concerns a technical field of speech recognition by a computer. In this method, a triphone standard common-language model is first generated based on training data of standard common language, and first and second monophone dialectal-accented common-language models are based on development data of dialectal-accented common languages of first kind and second kind, respectively. Then a temporary merged model is obtained in a manner that the first dialectal-accented common-language model is merged into the standard common-language model according to a first confusion matrix obtained by recognizing the development data of first dialectal-accented common language using the standard common-language model. Finally, a recognition model is obtained in a manner that the second dialectal-accented common-language model is merged into the temporary merged model according to a second confusion matrix generated by recognizing the development data of second dialectal-accented common language by the temporary merged model. This method effectively enhances the operating efficiency and admittedly raises the recognition rate for the dialectal-accented common language. The recognition rate for the standard common language is also raised. |
| US08712768B2 |
System and method for enhanced artificial bandwidth expansion
A method, device, system, and computer program product expand narrowband speech signals to wideband speech signals. The method includes determining signal type information from a signal, obtaining characteristics for forming an upper band signal using the determined signal type information, determining signal noise information, using the determined signal noise information to modify the obtained characteristics for forming the upper band signal, and forming the upper band signal using the modified characteristics. |
| US08712762B2 |
Noise suppression in speech signals
During speech processing a filter adjusts a spectral envelope of an input speech signal with a frequency dependent adjustment factor. The adjustment factors for respective spectral components are selected dependent on the input speech signal. The factor is set to a first or second non-zero value, the second value being smaller than the first value, when a strength average for the spectral component is above and below a threshold value respectively. |
| US08712761B2 |
Techniques for performing translation of messages
Techniques for providing a translation environment interface to a user are disclosed herein. The techniques include receiving a message template to be translated, the message template including a text portion and one or more template placeholders, parsing the message template to identify the text portion and the template placeholders, generating non-editable objects corresponding to the template placeholders and generating a display message template by replacing each of the one or more template placeholders with its corresponding non-editable object in the message template, the display message template including the text portion to be translated. The techniques further include providing the display message template to a user device and receiving a translated display message template from the user device, the translated message including a translated text portion and the one or more non-editable objects. The techniques further include generating a translated message template based on the translated display message template. |
| US08712760B2 |
Method and mobile device for awareness of language ability
A method and mobile device for awareness of language ability are provided. “Repeated pattern index”-related properties, such as, a vocabulary usage amount, a vocabulary type, or a ratio, a time point, a time length or repeated contents of a repeated voice segment, and “community interaction index”-related properties, such as, a number of persons who speak with a user, a conversation time length, or whether the user talks alone during each time interval, are extracted according to voice data collected by a voice collection element worn on the user. Then, a language ability of the user is further calculated, so as to provide evaluation of the language ability of a dementia patient for reference. |
| US08712756B2 |
Character input device and program for displaying next word candidates based on the candidates' usage history
A character input device is disclosed. The device includes a character input section including a plurality of character keys; a display section that displays an input character(s); and a next word prediction section that predicts a respective word being subsequently input in an event of input-word reception in the character input section and that displays the word as a next word candidate on the display section. The next word prediction section stores usage history information indicative of whether the next word candidate for the respective input-received word was used by a user, and determines in accordance with the usage history information of words as of a time point of the event of input-word reception of the word whether to display the next word candidate on the display section, and inhibits the display of a next word candidate when a value obtained by adding a constant to the number of used times of the candidate is smaller than the number of its unused times. |
| US08712754B2 |
Requirements model comparative analysis method for effort estimation in customizing a network monitoring and control system
A method, including: receiving, at a processing device, an input, wherein the input includes a first model of data flows between a proposed Network Monitoring and Control (NMC) unit and devices connected to the proposed NMC unit, wherein the first model is based on a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the data flows are defined by data types and primitives conforming to a modeling formalism; and comparing, by using the processing device, the first model with a second model, wherein the second model is a model of data flows between a previously developed NMC unit and devices connected to the previously developed NMC unit, wherein the second model is based on a prior RFP and the data flows are defined by data types and primitives conforming to the modeling formalism, wherein the comparison identifies differences between the data flows of the first and second models. |
| US08712751B2 |
System and method of verification of analog circuits
In a particular embodiment, a first digital function module is created that represents a first analog circuit and a second digital function module is created that represents a second analog circuit. A first value representing a first analog signal is transmitted from the first digital function module to the second digital function module while concurrently or substantially currently, the second digital function module transmits a second value representing a second analog signal to the first digital function module. In a particular embodiment, the first digital function module is a current signal related to an output of the first analog circuit and the second analog signal from the second digital function module is a voltage signal related to an output of the second analog circuit. The values may be transmitted along a bidirectional analog data bus capable of communicating real floating point numbers. |
| US08712749B2 |
Crystal structure of human JAK3 kinase domain complex and binding pockets thereof
The present invention relates to human Janus Kinase 3 (JAK3) and JAK3-like binding pockets. The present invention provides a computer comprising a data storage medium encoded with the structure coordinates of such binding pockets. This invention also relates to methods of using the structure coordinates to solve the structure of homologous proteins or protein complexes. In addition, this invention relates to methods of using the structure coordinates to screen for and design compounds, including inhibitory compounds, that bind to JAK3 protein or JAK3 protein homologues, or complexes thereof. The invention also relates to crystallizable compositions and crystals comprising JAK3 kinase domain and JAK3 kinase domain complexes with AMP-PNP. |
| US08712745B2 |
Automated solar collector installation design including ability to define heterogeneous design preferences
Embodiments may include systems and methods to create and edit a representation of a worksite, to create various data objects, to classify such objects as various types of pre -defined “features” with attendant properties and layout constraints. As part of or in addition to classification, an embodiment may include systems and methods to create, associate, and edit intrinsic and extrinsic properties to these objects. A design engine may apply of design rules to the features described above to generate one or more solar collectors installation design alternatives, including generation of on-screen and/or paper representations of the physical layout or arrangement of the one or more design alternatives. Embodiments may also include definition of one or more design apertures, each of which may correspond to boundaries in which solar collector layouts should comply with distinct sets of user-defined design preferences. Distinct apertures may provide heterogeneous regions of collector layout according to the user-defined design preferences. |
| US08712740B2 |
Signal judgment method, signal judgment apparatus, program, and signal judgment system
Provided is a high-accuracy signal judgment method for noise or vibrations of a living environment. Provided is a signal judgment method associated with noise or vibrations of a living environment. The signal judgment method includes: inputting, into a model equation of a to-be-measured/analyzed target, unknown data; and obtaining an output value as a probability value of whether the unknown data is a to-be-measured/analyzed target. The model equation of the to-be-measured/analyzed target is created with the use of measured already-known data. The model equation is created by prediction model equation calculation means. Incidentally, a logistic regression equation can be used as the prediction model equation. |
| US08712739B2 |
System and method for hybrid risk modeling of turbomachinery
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for enhancing turbomachine operations. Such systems and methods include a hybrid risk model. The hybrid risk model includes a physics-based sub model and a statistical sub model. The physics-based sub model is configured to model physical components of a turbomachine. The statistical sub model is configured to model historical information of the turbomachine. The hybrid risk model is configured to calculate a turbomachine parameter. |
| US08712734B2 |
Method for installing industrial components in an environment
A method for installing industrial components in an environment is provided, in which, with the aid of a computer-assisted design model representing the theoretical layout of the industrial components in the environment, various measuring points of the theoretical positioning of the supports of each component are determined, those theoretical measuring points are codified with values, parameterisable model measuring ranges are parameterized by the codified values, and at least one measuring device is controlled with the aid of the codified values by application of the corresponding range in order to compare the actual positioning points in the environment as a function of theoretical positioning points of the supports of each component. The method is applicable to the installation of the components of the loops of the primary circuits of nuclear power stations. |
| US08712733B2 |
Adjusting dental prostheses based on soft tissue
Herein are provided methods, systems, computer-readable media, techniques and processes for adjusting dental prostheses based on soft tissue. These include allowing an operator to define the surface of a dental prosthesis, such as an abutment, that is proximal to the patient's gum relative to a 3D scan of the patient's gums. The operator can define the offset of that surface as well as the limits of that surface. |
| US08712723B1 |
Human activity monitoring device
A method for monitoring human activity using an inertial sensor includes continuously determining an orientation of the inertial sensor, assigning a dominant axis, updating the dominant axis as the orientation of the inertial sensor changes, and counting periodic human motions by monitoring accelerations relative to the dominant axis. |
| US08712720B2 |
Filtering method for improving the data quality of geometric tire measurements
A tire measurement system includes a computer with various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed tire measurement data (e.g., a data set of measured radial or lateral run-out values) as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to filter selected run-out values within the obtained data set that spike above adjacent measurements, identify selected ones of the filtered run-out values that lie on a convex hull surrounding the entire set of values, and perform interpolation of the identified selected ones of the run-out values that lie on the convex hull to obtain a final data set of filtered run-out measurements. Similar steps can be performed on an inverted data set to better detect sidewall deformation features such as sidewall depressions. |
| US08712716B2 |
Circuitry for measuring and compensating phase and amplitude differences in NDT/NDI operation
Disclosed are a method and an NDT/NDI inspection device deploying digital circuitry to conduct detection and compensation of phase and amplitude shift in responding signals. A digital waveform generator, such as a direct digital synthesizer (DDS) is used to generate a digital sine-wave of a specific frequency and amplitude, mimicking the pulser frequency and amplitude. The sine-wave is converted to analog signal through a DAC and transmitted to the transducer. The received analog sine-wave from the transducer is converted back to a digital signal through an ADC. The transmitted and received digital signals are then compared for phase and amplitude differences. A null circuit involving another waveform generating component is employed to compensate the detected phase and amplitude differences. As a result the phase and amplitude differences are effectively eliminated before being further processed and analyzed for defects information. |
| US08712713B2 |
Method and apparatus for determining the altitude of a mobile device
A method and apparatus for combining pressure information from pressure sensors, motion information from dead reckoning or other motion sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and geomagnetic sensors, and temperature information from temperature sensors, to separate a change in altitude from a change in environmental pressure or temperature. A change in measured pressure without any motion or change in temperature must be a weather-related barometric pressure change. If there is an associated temperature change, but no motion, and the rate of change is too fast for a normal weather change, the measured change represents a change in sensitivity of the pressure sensor with temperature, and the sensor calibration can be adjusted. A rapid change in pressure, associated with horizontal motion, but no measurable vertical motion represents a movement into a different pressure environment. Only changes in pressure that are associated with measurable vertical motion are true changes in altitude. |
| US08712712B2 |
System and method for producing statistically valid assay means and ranges for quality control materials
A method of establishing statistically valid assay means and ranges for quality control materials, used to qualify medical testing machines, utilizes tests on a new lot of quality control material to establish an assay mean, and uses data from a database of historical test results to establish an assay range. The system may estimate the variability of test results from prior lot data, and then compute the limits of the assay range such that a new test on a new lot of the quality control material will be expected to fall within the range with a specified probability. Because historical data is used to estimate the test variability, the number of new tests required to specify a statistically valid mean and range may be dramatically reduced, as compared with establishing the mean and range based only on tests of the new lot of material. |
| US08712709B2 |
Delta-sigma AD converter circuit and battery pack
A delta-sigma AD converter circuit includes a plurality of registers to store plural data obtained by dividing data stored in the shift register and to hold the plural data in such a form that each of the plural data is readable independently of the others, wherein one or more of the plurality of registers store the pulse density modulated data stored in the shift register in response to the register store instruction signal, and the filtering unit reads the pulse density modulated data from one or more of the plurality of registers responsive to the mode in response to the read request signal. |
| US08712707B2 |
Power collecting device, power measuring device, and power collecting method
A power collecting device (101) according to the present invention includes: a polling interval determination unit configured to determine a polling interval (212) as a time interval at which measured data (220) is collected from an appliance (102); a band measurement unit configured to measure a communicable band (711) usable for communication between the power collecting device (101) and the appliance (102); a sampling interval determination unit (710) configured to determine a sampling interval (712) as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data (220) so that a data volume of the measured data (220) becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated at the polling interval (212) by using the communicable band (711); and a data transmission request unit (204) configured to transmit, to the appliance (102) at the polling interval (212), a data transmission request message (213) requesting the appliance (102) for transmitting the measured data (220) including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval (712). |