最新美国发明专利第2015-03-03期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US08971707B2	LAN cables Use in LAN cable applications, as materials for the coating of the primary cable and for the external jacket, of TFE thermoprocessable perfluoropolymers comprising perfluoroalkylvinylethers in the following amounts, expressed as percent by weight on the total of the monomers: a) 0-5.5% of perfluoromethylvinylether (PMVE); b) 0.4-4.5% of perfluoroethylvinylether (PEVE) and/or perfluoropropylvinylether (PPVE); when a) is present, then a)+b) ranges from 1.5% to 5.5% by weight on the total of the monomers; optionally c) 0-6% of hexafluoropropene (HFP); the TFE amount being the complement to 100% by weight.
US08971704B2	Optical networks An optical network (1) comprising an optical network element (10) comprising a first optical transmitter (14), a first controller (16), a first optical receiver and a second optical receiver and a second optical network element (12). There is provided a transmission path (30) between said first optical network element and said second optical network element. Said first optical transmitter is arranged to generate and transmit a first optical signal. Said first controller is arranged to control said first optical transmitter to generate and transmit said first optical signal at a wavelength selected from a predetermined plurality of wavelengths. Said first optical receiver is arranged to detect a backscatter portion of said first optical signal returned to said first optical network element along said transmission path by distributing scattering.
US08971703B2	Wavelength dispersion amount estimation method, wavelength dispersion compensation circuit, and reception device A wavelength dispersion amount estimation method, a wavelength dispersion compensation circuit, and a receiving device which rapidly estimate and set a wavelength dispersion amount to compensate with high accuracy at the receiving device which compensates waveform distortion at an optical fiber transmission path. The wavelength dispersion compensation circuit includes an analog-digital converter which converts an optical analog waveform received from the optical fiber transmission path to a digital signal, a digital signal processor which compensates waveform distortion of the digital signal output from the analog-digital converter due to wavelength dispersion at the optical fiber transmission path with a dispersion compensation amount estimated with the wavelength dispersion amount estimation method, and a symbol clock extractor which extracts a symbol arrival timing clock of received data contained in the digital signal output from the analog-digital converter and outputs strength of the symbol arrival timing clock as the clock detection value.
US08971702B2	Method and apparatus for detecting chromatic dispersion, and method and apparatus for compensating chromatic dispersion A method of monitoring chromatic dispersion when transmitting an optical signal includes: applying, to an optical signal in which the symbol rate is f, a dip in optical intensity for every n symbols by means of pseudo-RZ modulation where n is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and transmitting the optical signal to which dips have been applied to a transmission path; receiving the optical signal that is transmitted in by the transmission path and detecting the intensity of a frequency component of k*f/n from the received signal where k is an integer equal to or greater than 1; and based on the detected intensity, generating a monitor signal that represents the chromatic dispersion amount.
US08971700B2	Bidirectional monitor module, optical module, optical add-drop multiplexer, and optical system A bidirectional monitor module includes a 2×2 optical coupler configured to output input light that is input from a first port to a second port and drop the input light input from the first port to a third port and also output input light that is input from the second port to the first port and drop the input light input from the second port to a fourth port; an optical output unit configured to output one of light that is dropped and output from the third port and light that is dropped and output from the fourth port; and a monitor unit configured to monitor optical power of the light output from the optical output unit.
US08971699B2	Optical network failure recovery method An optical network failure recovery method for a passive optical network is provided. The method includes steps of: obtaining at least one round-trip delay value according to an equalization delay value of at least one optical network unit with respect to an operating optical line terminal; sorting the round-trip delay values in an increasing order and obtaining a minimum round-trip delay value; obtaining at least one difference between the minimum round-trip delay value and the round-trip delay value of each of the optical network units; and adjusting a start time and a stop time in a bandwidth map for a ranging response message replied by each of the optical network units according to the at least one difference.
US08971698B2	Detachable viewfinder A viewfinder for attaching to a device having image-capturing capability has a structure for supporting an eyepiece, an engagement interface implemented on the structure to engage a complementary portion of a device having image-capture capability in a specific direction, and at least one eyepiece attached to the structure, such that the eyepiece has an axis proceeding in the specific direction with the viewfinder engaged to the device having image-capture capability.
US08971694B2	Control method for a hybrid tankless water heater An on demand tankless water heater system that is capable of quickly delivering water within a desired temperature range. The tankless water heater provides a hybrid heating method that contains a primary heating system and a secondary heating system disposed in a buffer tank that cooperate to facilitate control of output water temperature during water usage. A pressure differential switch detects low flow demand and allows the secondary heating system to provide immediate heating to the water. This secondary heating system provides a faster temperature response and fine tuning of output water temperature.
US08971691B2	Signature device and signature method A signature device including a storage unit configured to store moving image data, and a processor configured to extract original metadata from moving image data for the image data of each of a plurality of images forming the moving image data, the original metadata including location data of the image data and identification data of the moving image data, to encode the image data of each of the images into still image data in accordance with an image format, to write the still image data into a first area, to write the original metadata extracted by the extractor into a second area, the first area and the second area being included in a storage area of a still image data file in which the still image data is filed, and to generate summary data for the still image data file.
US08971689B2	Imaging device and image-audio playback device An imaging device includes: a storage unit that sequentially stores a plurality of frame images and raw recorded audio data; a unit that generates slow-motion movie image data to be played at a second frame rate lower than a first frame rate, based on the plurality of frame images stored in the storage unit during a first predetermined duration; a unit that generates at least one set of still image data on the basis of at least one frame image from among the plurality of frame images stored in the storage unit during the first predetermined duration; a unit that generates audio data on the basis of the raw recorded audio data stored during a second predetermined duration longer than the first predetermined duration; and a unit that records the audio data generated, in association with the slow-motion movie image data generated and the still image data generated.
US08971687B2	Image displaying apparatus, image editing apparatus, image editing system, and method for displaying and editing image using the same An image displaying apparatus, an image editing apparatus, an image editing system, an image displaying method and an image editing method are disclosed. The image displaying apparatus includes an image processing unit which captures a still image, a communication module which communicates with an external device, and a control unit which controls an edited image to be displayed.
US08971684B2	Method of producing preform for coupled multi-core fiber, method of producing coupled multi-core fiber, and coupled multi-core fiber Provided is a method of producing a preform 10P for a coupled multi-core fiber including: an arranging process P1 for arranging a plurality of core glass bodies 11R and a clad glass body 12R in such a way that the plurality of core glass bodies 11R are surrounded by the clad glass body 12R; and a collapsing process P2 for collapsing a gap between the core glass bodies 11R and the clad glass body 12R, wherein the respective core glass bodies 11R have outer regions 16 having a predetermined thickness from the periphery surfaces and made of silica glass undoped with germanium, and the clad glass body 12R is made of silica glass having a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the outer regions of the core glass bodies 11R.
US08971679B2	Apparatus and method for passive alignment of optical devices An apparatus for passive alignment of optical devices comprises a substrate including a trench in a top surface thereof, where the trench has a first end positioned at an edge of the substrate and a second end positioned at an interior region of the substrate, and a lens disposed on the top surface of the substrate adjacent to the second end of the trench. The apparatus further includes a top holder having a longitudinal indentation in a bottom surface thereof for mounting an optical fiber. The longitudinal indentation is sized to fit a top portion of the optical fiber such that a bottom portion of the optical fiber extends below the bottom surface of the top holder when the optical fiber is mounted therein. One or both of the substrate and the top holder include one or more spacer features configured for three-dimensional (3D) alignment of the lens with the optical fiber when the top holder is brought into contact with the substrate.
US08971677B2	Optical 90-degree hybrid circuit An optical 90-degree hybrid circuit includes: first and second optical splitters for receiving and splitting a first and second light beam into two, respectively; a first optical coupler for generating an interfering light beam by multiplexing one of the light beams split by the first optical splitter and the second optical splitter; and a second optical coupler for generating an interfering light beam by multiplexing another one of the light beams split by the first optical splitter and the second optical splitter. The first optical splitter includes an optical coupler configured to output two light beams having equal phases, and the second optical splitter includes an optical coupler configured to output two light beams having a phase difference of 90 degrees.
US08971676B1	Hybrid-integrated photonic chip package A chip package includes an optical integrated circuit (such as a hybrid integrated circuit) and an integrated circuit that are adjacent to each other on the same side of a substrate in the chip package. The integrated circuit includes electrical circuits, such as memory or a processor, and the optical integrated circuit communicates optical signals with very high bandwidth. In addition, an input/output (I/O) integrated circuit is coupled to the optical integrated circuit between the substrate and the optical integrated circuit. This I/O integrated circuit includes high-speed I/O circuits and energy-efficient driver and receiver circuits and communicates with optical devices on the optical integrated circuit. By integrating the optical integrated circuit, the integrated circuit and the I/O integrated circuit in close proximity, the chip package may facilitate improved performance compared to chip packages with electrical interconnects.
US08971675B2	Interconnect structure for MEMS device An interferometric modulator array is formed with connectors and/or an encapsulation layer with electrical connections. The encapsulation layer hermetically seals the array. Circuitry may also be formed over the array.
US08971670B2	Proof reading of text data generated through optical character recognition A system includes preparing respective proof reading tools for performing carpet proof reading and side-by-side proof reading of text data, recording a log of time to perform proof reading operations by using the first and second proof reading tools. The method further includes estimating, based on times stored in a log, times to perform proof reading of a character using 1) the first proof reading tool followed by using the second proof reading tool, and 2) the second proof reading tool. The method further includes determining for each character value, based on the estimated times, to use the first proof reading tool along with using the second proof reading tool and determining, or to use the second proof reading tool without using the first proof reading tool.
US08971668B2	Covariance based color characteristics of images Each of multiple images is analyzed to determine how the colors of the pixels of the image are distributed throughout the color space of the image. Different covariance based characteristics of the image are determined that identify a direction, as well as magnitude in each direction, of the distribution of colors of the image pixels. These different covariance based characteristics that are determined for an image can be saved as associated with the image, allowing the characteristics to be accessed and used as a basis for searching the images to identify particular types of images. These different covariance based characteristics can also be used to order the images identified by a search.
US08971667B2	Digital image auto-resizing A method for auto-resizing an original digital image from an original image to a resized image. The method comprises separating the foreground elements from the background elements, determining an original aspect ratio of the foreground elements and creating resized foreground elements by scaling the foreground elements while maintaining the original aspect ratio. The method further comprises creating resized background elements by stretching or shrinking the background elements to fit the dimensions of the resized image and repositioning the resized foreground and background elements on the resized image while maintaining the design intention of the original image.
US08971665B2	Hierarchical cluster determination based on subgraph density Densest subgraphs of a graph are determined. The graph includes vertices and edges interconnecting the vertices. Each edge connects two of the vertices and has a weight. The vertices and the edges form subgraphs from which the densest subgraphs are determined as those subgraphs having densities greater than a threshold. Clusters at levels of a hierarchy are determined based on the densest subgraphs. Each cluster includes a set of the vertices and a set of the edges of the graph. Each level corresponds to a different density of the clusters. The hierarchy is ordered from a most-dense level of the clusters to a least-dense level of the clusters.
US08971664B2	Method and device for generating a super-resolution image portion A method for generating a super-resolution image from at least two input images, represented by digital samples. The super-resolution image having a final resolution higher than an initial resolution of one of at least two input images. The method including obtaining, for each input image of the at least two input images, a distortion model to register the input image on a reference grid at the final resolution. The method including warping each input image into a warped image according to the distortion model. Computing warped coordinates respectively for digital samples of the input image. Wherein, the contribution of each digital sample of the input image to the warped image is weighted. The weight applied to each digital sample depending on the warped coordinates of the digital sample. Combining the warped images in order to generate a combined warped image having the final resolution.
US08971662B2	Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and recording medium An image processing apparatus to generate a trimming image from an input image. The apparatus including a central processing unit (CPU) programmed such that during operation, when a first trimming region in which an object included in an input image is arranged with a first composition is beyond a range of the input image, sets a second trimming region in which the object is arranged with a second composition. One of the first composition or the second composition is a three division composition and the other of the first composition or the second composition is a two division composition.
US08971661B2	Method of making camouflage Methods are disclosed relating to the production of camouflage that include steps such as harvesting a set of objects that have a diversity of color from the environment, placing the set of objects within a scene, capturing a set of images of the scene, adjusting color in the set of images, assembling a composite image, printing the composite image, making color adjustments and reprinting the composite image.
US08971660B2	Noise reduction device, noise reduction method, noise reduction program, and recording medium Disclosed is a noise reduction device that includes a representative-value vector calculation unit that extracts from the neighboring region the pixels of a similarity region having a degree of similarity, greater than or equal to a threshold, to the notice pixel in a predetermined color space and calculates a representative-value vector of the pixels of the similarity region; a difference projection unit that projects a difference vector between a notice-pixel vector of the notice pixel and the representative-value vector in a specific direction of the color space; and a pixel-value correction unit that replaces an element of a vector obtained by adding the difference vector projected in the specific direction to the representative-value vector with the pixel value of the notice pixel.
US08971658B2	Edge contrast adjustment filter Disclosed herein is a method that includes a classifier that distinguishes objects based on their color shades. A moving window based operator looks at the color class of the adjacent objects and determines if an adjustment is necessary. If at least one of the objects is the type of interest and the color classes of the objects meet the criteria, then the boundary between the objects is subject to be adjusted. Two adjustment modes are discussed: “adjust-tagging” mode and “adjust-color” mode. In the adjust-tagging mode, a specific tag is sent down to the print engine to force the use of high addressability halftones for the boundary pixels in the darker object. In the adjust-color mode, a color lighter (usually white) than that of the lighter object is assigned to the boundary pixels in the lighter object. The width of the modified pixels along the boundary is configurable.
US08971657B2	Method for improving image quality and imaging system using the same The invention provides a method for improving image quality. Through applying variation value during operation of iterated algorithm, this invention can reduce blur phenomenon caused by partial volume effects and improve image accuracy. In an embodiment, by applying the algorithm utilized in the method for improving image quality, this invention further provides an imaging system to detect the distribution of the object, thereby obtaining a clear restored image corresponding to the radiation source.
US08971656B2	Encoding/decoding method and apparatus using a tree structure The present disclosure provides an encoding/decoding method using a tree structure. The encoding method for encoding image information includes: grouping predetermined areas having the image information into a plurality of groups, and generating a node value of each layer up to an uppermost layer by determining a minimum value or a maximum value of information to be encoded within grouped areas as information on the grouped areas; and encoding a difference value between the node value of each layer and a node value of an upper layer or a difference value between the node value of each layer and a value determined based on a preset criterion. Accordingly, the encoding efficiency and in turn the video compression efficiency are improved by using the tree structure in the encoding of various pieces of image information and the decoding of the resultant encoded data.
US08971654B2	Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding image by using large transform unit A method of decoding an image including performing entropy-decoding to obtain quantized transformation coefficients of at least one transformation unit in a coding unit of the image, performing inverse-quantization and inverse-transformation on the quantized transformation coefficients of the at least one transformation unit to obtain residuals, and performing inter prediction for at least one prediction unit in the coding unit to generate a predictor and restoring the image by using the residuals and the predictor.
US08971649B2	Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding image by using large transformation unit An image decoding method including determining coding units having a hierarchical structure for decoding an image using split information of a coding unit, determining at least one prediction unit for predicting a coding unit among the coding units using information about a partition type, determining at least one transformation unit for inversely transforming the coding unit using split information of the at least one transformation unit, wherein the split information of a coding unit, the information about a partition type and the information about a depth of the at least one transformation unit are parsed from a bitstream, parsing from the bitstream transformation coefficients generated by transformation according to the at least one transformation unit generated by dividing the coding unit, reconstructing residual of the at least one transformation unit by performing inverse quantization and inverse transformation on the parsed transformation coefficients, and performing intra prediction or inter prediction on the prediction unit to generate a predictor, and reconstructs the image based on the residual and the predictor.
US08971648B2	Encoding and decoding an image or image sequence divided into pixel blocks A method and apparatus are provided for coding an image or a sequence of images, generating a data stream including data representative of pixel groups, referred to as blocks, in one of the images. The method includes: grouping blocks in a cluster of blocks according to the proximity of their respective values corresponding to at least one block parameter to be coded; determining a value of the parameter, the value being characteristic of said group of blocks; coding blocks of the cluster, where the values of the blocks for the parameter are coded implicitly by inheritance of the characteristic value or are coded as refinements relative to the characteristic value, and coding a data structure associated with the cluster of blocks, the data structure including data associated with the characteristic value.
US08971646B1	Face and license plate detection in street level images with 3-D road width features estimated from laser data A computer implemented system for identifying license plates and faces in street-level images is disclosed. The system includes an object detector configured to determine a set of candidate objects in the image, a feature vector module configured to generate a set of feature vectors using the object detector to generate a feature vector for each candidate object in the set of candidate objects, a composite feature vector module to generate a set of composite feature vectors by combining each generated feature vector with a corresponding road or street description of the object in question, and an identifier module configured to identify objects of a particular type using a classifier that takes a set of composite feature vectors as input and returns a list of candidate objects that are classified as being of the particular type as output.
US08971645B1	Video categorization using heterogeneous signals A system, apparatus, and method for video categorization using heterogeneous signals are disclosed. One aspect of the disclosed embodiments is a method for categorizing a plurality of video streams. The method includes determining a plurality of features of at least some of the plurality of video streams, determining a category of a first video stream of the plurality of video stream based on its plurality of features, identifying, using a processor, a relationship between the first video stream and a second video stream of the plurality of videos, the relationship having an associated weight, and updating, using the processor, the category of the first video stream based on a first message determined using the associated weight.
US08971642B2	Testing the rendering of visual content Methods, systems, and apparatus for testing content rendering are described. A method includes receiving input specifying a change to a parameter relating to display of content in a webpage, in response to receiving the input, generating a test image of the webpage including the content, comparing a target image of the content with the generated test image to determine whether the generated test image includes the target image of the content, and selectively providing a failure notification based upon a result of the comparison.
US08971640B1	Image alignment Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for graphical overlay object translation. One of the methods includes receiving a first plurality of first feature points, each first feature point being associated with a plurality of feature descriptors and a respective location on the first digital image. The method includes receiving a second plurality of second feature points, each second feature point being associated with a plurality of feature descriptors and a respective location on the second digital image. The method includes determining the translation offset for the second digital image from the first digital image by matching locations of the first feature points with locations of the second feature points without regard to the feature descriptors.
US08971635B2	Image processing apparatus, content delivery system, image processing method, and program Disclosed herein is an image processing apparatus including an upper body feature data storage unit (110) which stores upper body directional feature data, which indicates the upper body of a person and indicates that the upper body is facing a specific direction, for each of a plurality of directions in conjunction with directional data indicative of the direction of the upper body directional feature data; and an upper body detection unit (140) which extracts upper body image data indicative of the upper body of the person from image data by reading the plurality of upper body directional feature data stored in the upper body feature data storage unit (110) in conjunction with the directional data and using each of the plurality of upper body directional feature data.
US08971633B2	Content retrieval to facilitate recognizing content details of a moving image An apparatus, a content retrieval method and a program facilitate recognizing content details of a moving image by displaying a retrieval result for each of a plurality of images. A metadata extracting unit extracts metadata of a representative image from content supplied from a content input unit and stores the metadata in a metadata database. An image feature quantity extracting unit extracts image feature quantity from content and stores it in an image feature quantity database while extracting image feature quantity from a retrieval image. A retrieving unit compares the image feature quantity of the retrieval image with the image feature quantity stored in the image feature quantity database and specifies a still image which is similar to the retrieval image. An output unit reads metadata of the content, generates display data necessary for performing timeline displaying, and generates display data for displaying a retrieval result on a timeline.
US08971630B2	Fast CJK character recognition Methods are described for determining an optimal path for creating a scheme for dividing a text line of Chinese, Japanese or Korean (CJK) characters into character cells prior to applying classifiers and recognizing characters. Gaps between characters are found as a window is moved down the text line. Finding gaps may involve finding 4-connected paths. A histogram is built based on distances from start of window to a respective gap. The window is moved to the end of each gap after each gap is found and distances measured. Process is repeated until window reaches the end of the text line and all gaps found. A linear division graph (LDG) is constructed according to detected gaps. Penalties for certain distances are applied. An optimum path is one with a minimal penalty sum and can be used as a scheme for dividing text lines into character cells.
US08971629B2	User interface system based on pointing device The user interaction system comprises a portable pointing device (101) connected to a camera (102) and sending pictures to a digital signal processor (120), capable of recognizing an object (130) and a command given by the user (100) by moving the pointing device (101) in a specific way, and controlling an electrical apparatus (110) on the basis of this recognition.
US08971622B2	Image processing apparatus, image capture apparatus, and image processing method An image processing apparatus and image processing method, which enable suppression of coloring that occurs in image recovery processing for a RAW image are disclosed. Pixel interpolation processing is executed for a predetermined reference color component of the RAW image. For each color component other than the reference color component, a first color difference is obtained using a pixel value of the color component and a corresponding pixel value of the reference color component after the pixel interpolation processing. After applying the image recovery processing to each color component, a second color difference is obtained in a similar manner to the first color difference, and a pixel value is corrected according to the difference between the first and second color differences determined before and after the image recovery processing.
US08971620B2	Detecting a label from an image Determining a label from an image is disclosed, including: obtaining an image; determining a first portion of the image associated with a special mark; determining a second portion of the image associated with a label based at least in part on the first portion of the image associated with the special mark; and applying character recognition to the second portion of the image associated with the label to determine a value associated with the label.
US08971619B2	Method and a device for extracting color features A method and device for extracting color features, relating to the field of image processing includes converting an original image into sub-images corresponding to channels in a color space, dividing the sub-images into a plurality of cells with identical size, and calculating the color histograms of each of the plurality of cells. A cell and neighboring cells thereof are defined as the effective scope of the cell, and a feature vector of the cell is determined according to a degree of similarity of the color histograms of every two neighboring cells in the effective scope. The feature vectors of the cells in the sub-images are concatenated to obtain feature vectors of the sub-images, and a feature vector of the original image is obtained according to the feature vectors of the sub-images.
US08971614B2	Extracting object edges from images A computer system may elicit from a human observer ground truth data useful in automatically detecting one or more features in images. The elicitation may include presenting an image to a human observer that has a visual indicator in an image, the visual indicator indicating having a location and orientation with respect to the image; asking the human observer to judge whether a particular image feature is present in the image at the location and orientation indicated by the visual indicator; receiving input from the human observer indicative of whether the particular image feature is present at the location and orientation indicated by the visual indicator; storing the input received from the human observer as part of the human-labeled ground truth data; and repeating the process described above one or more times in connection with a visual indicator that has a different location or orientation with respect to the image or that uses a different image. The stored human-labeled ground truth data may have a content that is useful in automatically detecting one or more features in other images.
US08971612B2	Learning image processing tasks from scene reconstructions Learning image processing tasks from scene reconstructions is described where the tasks may include but are not limited to: image de-noising, image in-painting, optical flow detection, interest point detection. In various embodiments training data is generated from a 2 or higher dimensional reconstruction of a scene and from empirical images of the same scene. In an example a machine learning system learns at least one parameter of a function for performing the image processing task by using the training data. In an example, the machine learning system comprises a random decision forest. In an example, the scene reconstruction is obtained by moving an image capture apparatus in an environment where the image capture apparatus has an associated dense reconstruction and camera tracking system.
US08971610B2	Method and apparatus of compiling image database for three-dimensional object recognition A method of compiling an image database for a three-dimensional object recognition including the steps of: when a plurality of images each showing an object from different viewpoint are inputted, extracting local features from each of the images, and expressing the local features using feature vectors; forming sets of the feature vectors, each set representing a same part of the object from a series of the viewpoints, and generating subspaces, each subspace representing a characteristic of each set; and storing each subspace to the image database with an identifier of the object to perform a recognition process that is realized by the steps of: when at least one image of an object is given as a query, extracting query feature vectors; determining the subspace most similar to each query feature vector; and executing a counting process to the identifiers to retrieve an object most similar to the query.
US08971607B2	X-ray CT apparatus and image reconstruction method In order to execute a high-resolution reconstructible distance-driven back projection process and to generate a high-resolution tomographic image, an X-ray CT apparatus 1 determines the presence/absence of opposing data corresponding to each piece of target data on the basis of scanning conditions, and calculates a phase range where opposing data is present (Step 21). The X-ray CT apparatus 1 performs high-resolution conversion of a zero-insertion method on a phase range where opposing data is present, and performs high-resolution conversion using a data interpolation method on a phase range where no opposing data is present, thereby creating double sampled high-resolution projection data, and calculates a view weight (Step 22). The X-ray CT apparatus 1 performs a distance-driven high-resolution back projection process using high-resolution projection data and generates a reconstructed image (Step 23).
US08971606B2	Method for automatically identifying the contours of a predefined bone, derived methods and corresponding computer program products A method is provided for automatic identification of the contours of at least one portion of a predefined bone on the basis of a plurality of images representing parallel sections through a measurement volume including the portion of bone and which are obtained by a medical imaging technique. The method includes: a step of obtaining at least one shape of closed contour in at least one of the filtered images; a step of associating with each of the shapes a tag selected within a predefined bone-related nomenclature; a step of classifying the shapes so as to form at least one group of shapes delimiting a common volume isolated in space; a step of selecting the shapes of the group of target shapes.
US08971603B2	Method for the functional visualization and localization of an arteriovenous malformation, rotatable imaging system and combination of a rotatable imaging system and an irradiation unit A method for functional visualization and localization of an arteriovenous malformation is proposed. A patient is scanned over a predetermined projection angle range during a contrast agent uptake time. The examination region is reconstructed using the projections over the entire projection angle range. The arteriovenous malformation is localized. The multiplicity of the projections is subdivided into at least three partial projection datasets each belonging to different consecutive time windows of the total duration of the scan. A time series having tomosynthesis image datasets is generated by the partial projection datasets. An arterial and/or venous assignment of the vessels flooded with contrast agent takes place based on the time series of tomosynthesis image datasets.
US08971596B2	Method for identifying fingerprints through numeric representation A method for searching a database comprising data related to a plurality of fingerprints. Two or more feature points in an image of an unknown fingerprint are identified. A plurality of properties are generated. The plurality of properties are based on the two or more feature points. A number comprising a plurality of digits, e.g. binary digits, is assigned to each of the plurality of properties. In a subsequent step, a numeric representation of said fingerprint is generated based on the assigned numbers. The numeric representation is generated by interleaving the plurality of digits, such that the digits of the numeric representation are arranged in an interleaved or intertwined manner within the numeric representation. The numeric representation is used as a search argument when searching the database. The invention also relates to an apparatus and computer program product.
US08971595B2	Method for generating interleaving digits to match fingerprints A method for searching a database comprising data related to a plurality of fingerprints. Two or more feature points in an image of an unknown fingerprint are identified. A plurality of properties are generated. The plurality of properties are based on the two or more feature points. A number comprising a plurality of digits, e.g. binary digits, is assigned to each of the plurality of properties. In a subsequent step, a numeric representation of said fingerprint is generated based on the assigned numbers. The numeric representation is generated by interleaving the plurality of digits, such that the digits of the numeric representation are arranged in an interleaved or intertwined manner within the numeric representation. The numeric representation is used as a search argument when searching the database. The invention also relates to an apparatus and computer program product.
US08971589B2	Feature point location determination method and apparatus A method for determining feature point locations in an image performs a first search in a predetermined first search area to search for locations of plural feature points in the image, corrects the locations of the plural feature points based on a geometric layout relationship among the plural feature points searched for, sets a second search area based on the corrected location of each of the feature points, and performs a second search in the second search area to search for the location of each of the feature points. Then, the method determines reliability of the location of each feature point searched for by the second search and selects one of the corrected location and the location searched for by the second search, as a location of the feature point.
US08971587B2	Systems and methods for mobile image capture and processing In various embodiments, methods, systems, and computer program products for processing digital images captured by a mobile device are disclosed. Myriad features enable and/or facilitate processing of such digital images using a mobile device that would otherwise be technically impossible or impractical, and furthermore address unique challenges presented by images captured using a camera rather than a traditional flat-bed scanner, paper-feed scanner, or multifunction peripheral. Particularly advantageous features include robustly detecting edges of one or more documents depicted in the digital image data, and defining/locating document pages at least partially on this basis. The statistical approaches employed enable robust yet computationally efficient techniques to accomplish page detection, and associated functions, using hardware typically included in mobile devices and within practical (especially temporal) limits imposed by device manufacturers, users, associated and/or downstream computational and/or business processes.
US08971585B2	Image processing apparatus for retrieving object from moving image and method thereof A face image is detected for each frame at a predetermined interval in moving image data, and the face image is traced using a frame in which the face image is detected and frames subsequent to the frame. A face sequence including an interval in which the face can be traced and motion velocity vectors of the face indicating a change in the position of the face image in the interval is generated based on the tracing result. Further, camera operation information about when the moving image data is acquired is generated from the frame image of the moving image data. When there is an overlap in the plurality of intervals in which the face images are traced, the face being tracked by the camera is determined using the face sequence and the camera operation information of each of the plurality of face images. The face determined to be tracked is then determined to be a key object.
US08971580B2	Identifying spatial locations of events within video image data An invention for identifying a spatial location of an event within video image data is provided. Disclosed are embodiments for generating trajectory data of a trajectory of an object for a plurality of pixel regions of an area of interest within video image data, the generating comprising: identifying one or more pixel regions from the plurality of pixel regions containing trajectory data; performing a multi-point neighborhood scan within the one or more pixel regions from the plurality of pixel regions containing trajectory data; and generating a transition chain code based on the multi-point neighborhood scan. Embodiments further generate a set of compressed spatial representations of the trajectory data of the trajectory of the object for an event based on the transition chain code, and generate a lossless contour code of the trajectory data of the trajectory of the object for the event based on the transition chain code.
US08971579B2	Windshield localization for occupancy detection A system and method to capture an image of an oncoming target vehicle and localize the windshield of the target vehicle. Upon capturing an image, it is then analyzed to detect certain features of the target vehicle. Based on geometrical relationships of the detected features, the area of the image containing the windshield of the vehicle can then be identified and localized for downstream processing.
US08971578B2	Driving support apparatus There is provided a driving support apparatus. A recognition controller determines whether an object detected by processing a captured image by an object detection unit is a smoke-like object or not in a smoke-like object determination unit. When the detected object is determined to be the smoke-like object, the recognition controller checks a range distribution in a region of the smoke-like object, adds the result as attribute information of “density”, and transmits the resultant to a controller. The controller decides in a support operation level decision unit whether a pre-crash brake control can be executed or not and an intensity of an operation based on the attribute information of the smoke-like object. Thus, even if the smoke-like object is detected, an appropriate driving support process according to the condition can be executed.
US08971574B2	Orientation correction method for electronic device used to perform facial recognition and electronic device thereof A method of performing facial recognition and tracking of an image captured by an electronic device includes: utilizing a camera of the electronic device to capture an image including at least a face; displaying the image on a display screen of the electronic device; determining a degree of orientation of the electronic device; and adjusting an orientation of scanning lines used to scan the image for performing face detection so that the orientation of the scanning lines corresponds to the orientation of the electronic device.
US08971570B1	Dual LED usage for glint detection A wearable computing system may include an eye-tracking system configured to track the position of an eye of a wearer of the wearable computing system. In particular, an infrared light source illuminating the eye of a wearer at a relatively high intensity may generate specular reflections off the wearer's cornea, also called ‘glints’. The glints can be imaged with an infrared camera. When the infrared light sources are illuminated at a relatively lower intensity, determination of the pupil location is possible. Glints, in combination with the pupil location, may be used to accurately determine the gaze direction and eye rotation. The determined gaze direction could be used in various eye-tracking applications. By controlling the light sources to change intensity levels and by combining multiple images of the eye to incorporate multiple glint locations with the pupil location, eye tracking can be performed with better accuracy and with fewer light sources.
US08971568B1	Method, apparatus, and manufacture for document writing and annotation with virtual ink A method, apparatus, and manufacture for writing and annotation is provided. An image is provided on a surface. Each time invisible ink is deposited on the surface, the location of the invisible ink deposited on the surface is detected before the invisible ink vanishes from the surface. The invisible ink automatically vanishes from the surface in less than one minute from the time that the invisible ink is deposited on the surface. Location information is stored based on each detected location. The projected image is modified based, at least in part, on the stored location information.
US08971567B2	Reducing watermark perceptibility and extending detection distortion tolerances The present disclosures relates generally to digital watermarking and data hiding. One claim recites a smartphone comprising: a camera to capture video of a display that is rendering video, in which the video comprises a first watermark signal embedded in a first portion of the data, a second watermark signal embedded in a second portion of the data, and a third watermark signal embedded in a third portion of the data, in which at least two of the first watermark signal, second watermark signal and third watermark signal are inversely related to one another; electronic memory for buffering data representing captured video; one or more electronic processors programmed for: applying a first perspective distortion to the data representing the captured video to yield first perspective distorted video; and analyzing the first perspective distorted video to detect digital watermarking, in which a second perspective distortion is applied to the data representing the captured video to yield second perspective distorted video when the analyzing does not detect digital watermarking, and then performing analyzing the second perspective distorted video to detect digital watermarking. Of course, other claims are provided too.
US08971564B2	Voice coil support for a coil transducer motor structure The invention relates to a voice coil support (21) for a coil transducer motor structure (10) having a first surface (26) towards one end and a second surface (22) towards the other end along an axis of displacement Z, the voice coil support being adapted to receive at least one coil (22H, 22L) wound therearound an outer surface (27) arranged in use for displacing the voice coil support (21) along its axis of displacement Z, as a current is driven through the coils (22H, 22L) when the voice coil support (21) is placed in a magnetic field, characterized in that the voice coil support (21) comprises a material adapted to prevent airflow communication between at least the first surface (26) and the second surface (22).
US08971563B2	Docking station for electronic device A docking station includes a main body, a supporting arm projecting from the main body, and a rotating member rotatably coupled to the supporting arm and retaining the electronic device. The rotating member is capable of rotating from a first position to a second position different from the first position, when the rotating member rotates to the first position, the electronic device is supported in a first orientation, and when the rotating member rotates to the second position, the electronic device is supported in a second orientation.
US08971560B2	Sound system for portable devices A speaker assembly comprises a portable device receiver and leg, allowing users to enjoy hands free viewing or listening experience. The sound system can be configured to provide an enhanced listening experience via at least one of a virtual surround system, a speaker driver, one or more speakers, adjustable control functions, and retained or increased acoustic power.
US08971557B2	Binaurally coordinated compression system A hearing assistance system includes a pair of hearing aids performing dynamic range compression while preserving spatial cue to provide a hearing aid wearer with satisfactory listening experience in complex listening environments. In various embodiments, the dynamic range compression is binaurally coordinated based on number and distribution of sound source(s). In various embodiments, in addition to preserving spatial cue, the dynamic range compression is controlled to optimize audibility and comfortable loudness of target signals.
US08971554B2	Hearing aid with a sensor for changing power state of the hearing aid A hearing aid comprising a first sensor for sensing a first parameter indicative of a use situation of the hearing aid, wherein the hearing aid is adapted to change into a high power mode or a low power mode in response to the a first control signal from the first sensor. A second sensor for sensing a second parameter indicative of a use situation of the hearing aid may also be used as well.
US08971548B2	Motor noise reduction circuit A method of reducing noise in an environment where the noise source is in a fixed location relative to a pair of microphones, such as in a camera with a zoom motor, involves receiving signals x1(t), x2(t) from the respective microphones, and filtering each of the signals x1(t), x2(t) with respective first and second linear filters having filter coefficients obtained by computing eigenfilters corresponding to data samples from the respective microphones for noise only and signal only conditions.
US08971547B2	Passive group delay beam forming A loudspeaker array and methods for generating sound in an arc pattern. The loudspeaker array includes a plurality of loudspeakers. A delay network is included, the delay network having a plurality of stages. Each stage has a stage input and a stage output. The stage output of each stage is coupled to the stage input of a next stage. Each stage output is also connected to at least one of the plurality of loudspeakers. The stage input of the first stage is coupled to an audio signal input. Each stage is configured to add an electrical delay of the audio signal at each subsequent stage. The electrical delay is adjusted such that the plurality of loudspeakers generates sound in a desired radiation pattern.
US08971539B2	Management of SSL certificate escrow Methods and systems for providing a secure SSL certificate escrow service comprise: providing a secure upload webpage for a private key holder to upload an encrypted copy of a private key; receiving the encrypted copy of the private key from the private key holder via the secure upload webpage; storing the encrypted copy of the private key in memory; providing a secure decryption webpage for the private key holder to enable the private key escrow service to decrypt the private key; receiving an instruction to decrypt the private key from the private key holder through the secure decryption webpage; and decrypting the private key in response to the instruction to decrypt the private key.
US08971538B1	Firmware validation from an external channel The state of firmware for devices on a provisioned host machine can be validated independent of the host CPU(s) or other components exposed to the user. A port that is not fully exposed or accessible to the user can be used to perform a validation process on firmware without accessing a CPU of the host device. The firmware can be scanned and a hashing or similar algorithm can be used to determine validation information, such as hash values, for the firmware, which can be compared to validation information stored in a secure location. If the current and stored validation information do not match, one or more remedial actions can be taken to address the firmware being in an unknown or unintended state.
US08971535B2	Multi-level key management A key manager provides a way to separate out the management of encryption keys and policies from application domains. The key manager may create cipher objects that may be used by the domains to perform encryption or decryption, without exposing the keys or encryption/decryption algorithms to the domains. A master key managed by the key manager may be used to encrypt and decrypt the domain keys that are stored under the control of the key manager. The key manager supports the rekeying of both the master key and the domain keys based on policy. Multiple versions of domain keys may be supported, allowing domains to access data encrypted with a previous version of a domain key after a rekeying.
US08971533B2	Secure reset of personal and service provider information on mobile devices Systems and methods are described herein for supporting end users of a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, to reset a secure element associated with the communication device. The reset process may include clearing the secure element, associated memories, and storage devices of any user specific or personalized information associated with the user. The reset process may also include removing or resetting keys or other identifiers within the secure element that associate the mobile device with a particular secure service provider. According to various embodiments, a computer-implemented method for resetting a secure element within a network device may include receiving an encrypted reset request message at the secure element, decrypting the encrypted reset request message using a communication key, verifying authorization for the reset request message, and atomically clearing parameters associated with the secure element.
US08971530B2	Cryptographic key generation using a stored input value and a stored count value Embodiments of an invention for cryptographic key generation using a stored input value and a stored count value have been described. In one embodiment, a processor includes non-volatile storage storing an input value and a count value, and logic to generate a cryptographic key based on the stored input value and the stored count value.
US08971527B2	Reliable physical unclonable function for device authentication A device having a physical unclonable function includes an integrated circuit and a phase change memory embedded in the integrated circuit and including a plurality of cells, where the phase change memory is set in a manner that creates a phase variation over the plurality of cells, and where the phase variation comprises the physical unclonable function. In another embodiment, a device having a physical unclonable function includes a phase change memory embedded in the device and comprising a plurality of cells, where the phase change memory is set in a manner that creates a phase variation over the plurality of cells, and where the phase variation comprises the physical unclonable function, and a measurement circuit for extracting the physical unclonable function from the phase change memory.
US08971526B2	Method of counter-measuring against side-channel attacks According to the present invention there is provided a method of counter-measuring against side channel attacks, the method comprising executing a block-cipher algorithm to mask intermediate variables, wherein the block-cipher algorithm comprises one or more non-linear functions, characterized in that at least one of the non-linear functions is implemented using a match-in-place function.
US08971523B2	Over-sampled single-sided subband echo cancellation A method of echo cancellation, particularly for use in high definition applications, splits an input signal and reference signal into M single-sided sub-band. The subbanded signals are downsampled at a downsampling rate N, where N≦M, adaptively filtered, and recombined to produce an output signal. The sub-bands are preferably oversampled such that N
US08971522B2	Noise reduction A method of reducing noise in an acoustic system, the method comprising at a first user terminal: receiving an audio signal from at least one further user terminal over a network; executing a communication client on a processing unit, the client configured so as when executed to: supply the audio signal to an audio signal processing module of the first user terminal, wherein the processing module processes the audio signal, whereby a level of gain is applied to the audio signal, and outputs a processed audio signal to a speaker; estimate a noise level of the audio signal and the processed audio signal and estimate the gain applied by the processing module taking into account both the noise level estimates; selectively apply a system gain reduction step to at least one of the audio signal and an audio signal received via a microphone, based on at least the estimated gain.
US08971521B2	Method for automated handling of outbound contacts requiring assured connection to a live agent A system for assuring agent connection for outbound calls placed in an automated outbound calling campaign includes an outbound dialing server, a digital data repository coupled to the outbound dialing server, the data repository storing outbound dialing records for automated outbound dialing, and software executing on the outbound dialing server from a non-transitory physical medium, the software providing a first function for determining for a specific outbound dialing record if the connection to a live agent must be an assured connection, a second function for dialing and engaging an agent via an internal call for reservation of the agent, and a third function for bridging the call connections forged between the system and the agent and the system and the outbound party upon answer of the outbound call.
US08971519B1	Agent training sensitive call routing system A call-management method and system for distributing calls to agents, wherein each agent has a profile, e.g., defining agent skills, efficiency, etc. The call center management system implements an algorithm for selecting an agent to receive a call to optimize caller utility, call center efficiency, and agent training. Therefore, the algorithm does not seek to necessarily route a call to the agent having the skill set most suited to the call; rather, the call may be routed to an agent who needs experience in the area of the call, and thus serves as a training exercise. Skilled agents may be made available to shadow the training agent when available.
US08971518B1	System and method for providing customer service Systems and methods for providing customer service are provided herein. The systems and methods provide techniques for providing a communication center comprising a plurality of representatives, receiving a request for communication from a first party, determining an available representative from the plurality of representatives and a representative available time period for the request for communication, preventing the available representative from communicating with a second party during the representative available time period, providing the first party with communication information, and connecting the first party to the available representative during the representative available time period.
US08971513B2	Originating locator service A device receives information associated with a calling party, validates the calling party for an originating locator service based on the calling party information, and sends an instruction to play an announcement requesting information associated with a called party. The device also receives the called party information from the calling party in response to the announcement, and retrieves called party destination information based on the called party information. The device then sends an instruction to originate a sequence of calls to the called party based on the called party destination information.
US08971502B2	Voice-over-IP (VoIP) systems, components and methods for providing enhanced location information to emergency responders to respond to emergency calls Disclosed are systems and techniques for identifying VoIP phone connector locations whereby an emergency call request can be specifically located on a VoIP phone network. This system addresses prior-art shortcomings in which the location information is attempted to be tracked with identification information stored in VoIP phones, or in which databases of location information are created relative to MAC addresses of component pieces of the VoIP phone network (such as the VoIP phones themselves, data switches, or LAN routers) in that the VoIP phone connectors are fixedly mounted in buildings and their locations can be more reliably fixed and maintained. Further described are methods for establishing databases of location and/or caller information associated with these VoIP phone connectors. Still further described are VoIP phone server embodiments that enable the location and/or caller information to be determined according to the associated VoIP phone connectors and for that information to be transmitted both to public safety access points and to campus security networks, and for emergency calls to be bridged both to public safety access points and to campus security networks.
US08971501B2	Methods and systems to identify code hierarchy bias in medical priority dispatch systems A system and method assists an emergency medical dispatcher in responding to emergency calls by generating a determinant level code. A computer implemented method to determine Code Hierarchy Bias generates a determinant level sub-code that can be stored and analyzed with the determinant level code to determine the nature of Code Hierarchy Bias, to reveal hidden signs, symptoms, and conditions, to improve the accuracy and usefulness of determinant level codes, and to tailor emergency medical response structure for a more efficient use of emergency response personnel and resources.
US08971500B2	Communication channel capacity estimation Prediction of a channel capacity is accomplished based on a TDR echo without explicitly estimating the topology of the line. The prediction is based on obtaining a measured TDR echo, determining a theoretical TDR echo for a plurality of loop lengths, estimating the equivalent TDR length based on an optimization, updating the equivalent TDR length and utilizing the updated TDR length to predict one or more of the upstream and downstream data rates.
US08971497B2	Contour collimator and adaptive filter with electroactive polymer elements and associated method A contour collimator and an adaptive filter as well as an associated method for adjusting a contour of a ray path of x-ray radiation are provided. The contour collimator and the adaptive filter include fluid impermeable for x-ray radiation and a number of electroactive polymer elements actively connected to the fluid. On application of an electrical voltage to the electroactive polymer elements, an aperture forming the contour in the fluid is formed.
US08971492B2	Analysis method for X-ray diffraction measurement data Peak positions and integrated intensities of diffraction X-ray are determined on the basis of X-ray diffraction measurement data output from an X-ray diffractometer, the number of determined peaks of the diffraction X-ray is counted, and analysis processing is started when the counted number of peaks reaches a preset peak number. The analysis processing is repetitively executed on the basis of X-ray diffraction measurement data. The peak positions and the integrated intensities of the diffraction X-ray are determined from the X-ray diffraction measurement data obtained from the start of the measurement till the analysis processing concerned, and qualitative analysis of collating the determined peak positions and integrated intensities with standard peak card data whose data base is made in advance and searching materials contained in a measurement sample, and quantitative analysis of determining the quantities of the materials contained in the measurement sample are executed.
US08971490B2	Controlling x-ray imaging based on target motion An image guided treatment is performed to treat a target. To perform the image guided treatment, measurement data indicative of target motion is acquired. A timing of one or more x-ray images is determined based on the measurement data. Treatment may be performed on the target using the position of the target.
US08971488B2	Systems and methods for detecting an image of an object using multi-beam imaging from an X-ray beam having a polychromatic distribution Systems and methods for detecting an image of an object using a multi-beam imaging system from an x-ray beam having a polychromatic energy distribution are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method can include generating a first X-ray beam having a polychromatic energy distribution. Further, the method can include positioning a plurality of monochromator crystals in a predetermined position to directly intercept the first X-ray beam such that a plurality of second X-ray beams having predetermined energy levels are produced. Further, an object can be positioned in the path of the second X-ray beams for transmission of the second X-ray beams through the object and emission from the object as transmitted X-ray beams. The transmitted X-ray beams can each be directed at an angle of incidence upon one or more crystal analyzers. Further, an image of the object can be detected from the beams diffracted from the analyzer crystals.
US08971483B2	X-ray composite apparatus There is provided an X-ray composite apparatus capable of performing, with one unit, X-ray CT and element analysis by fluorescent X-rays. The X-ray composite apparatus 100 includes an X-ray source 110 generating cone beam X-rays, a sample support 150 holding a sample S, collimator parts 130 and 140 capable of narrowing the cone beam X-rays to form parallel X-rays, depending on the intended use, between the X-ray source and the sample support 150, a two-dimensional detector 170 detecting the cone beam X-rays transmitted through the sample S, and a fluorescent X-ray detector 176 detecting fluorescent X-rays radiated from the sample S, and when the apparatus is used for X-ray CT, the apparatus irradiates the sample with the cone beam X-rays, while when the apparatus is used for fluorescent X-ray analysis, the apparatus irradiates the sample S with the parallel X-rays.
US08971475B2	Plant with piping mounted on branch pipe and boiling water reactor plant A plant with piping mounted on branch pipe, wherein said piping which introduces gas has a nozzle portion as a joint portion to a vessel and a branch portion connected with a branch pipe; and wherein an enlarged passage portion is formed at least at one of said branch portion and said nozzle portion, and a passage sectional area of said enlarged passage portion is larger than that of said piping other than said enlarged passage portion. Since the flow velocity of the gas flowing inside slows down at the enlarged passage portion, the occurrence of acoustic resonance at the branch portion or the nozzle portion can be suppressed. Accordingly, the fluctuation pressure of the gas flowing in the piping can be reduced even more.
US08971473B2	Plasma driven neutron/gamma generator An apparatus for the generation of neutron/gamma rays is described including a chamber which defines an ion source, said apparatus including an RF antenna positioned outside of or within the chamber. Positioned within the chamber is a target material. One or more sets of confining magnets are also provided to create a cross B magnetic field directly above the target. To generate neutrons/gamma rays, the appropriate source gas is first introduced into the chamber, the RF antenna energized and a plasma formed. A series of high voltage pulses are then applied to the target. A plasma sheath, which serves as an accelerating gap, is formed upon application of the high voltage pulse to the target. Depending upon the selected combination of source gas and target material, either neutrons or gamma rays are generated, which may be used for cargo inspection, and the like.
US08971469B2	Serial data communication method and serial data communication device A master device and slave devices are connected with each other through an SDA and an SCL, and at least one of a serial communication data signal communicated through the SDA and a serial communication clock signal communicated through the SCL is latched with use of a noise removal clock signal whose frequency is higher than that of the serial communication clock signal, and is taken in.
US08971467B2	Quantization of channel state information in multiple antenna systems A method of transmission over multiple wireless channels in a multiple antenna system includes storing channel modulation matrices at a transmitter; receiving quantized channel state information at the transmitter from plural receivers; selecting a transmission modulation matrix using the quantized channel state information from the stored channel modulation matrices; and transmitting over the multiple channels to the plural receivers using the selected transmission modulation matrix. In another embodiment, the method includes storing, at one or more receivers, indexes of modulation matrices generated by a capacity enhancing algorithm; upon a selected one of the one or more receivers receiving a transmission from the transmitter, the selected receiver selecting a modulation matrix from the stored modulation matrices that optimizes transmission between the transmitter and the selected receiver; the selected receiver sending an index representing the selected modulation matrix; and receiving the index at the transmitter from the selected receiver.
US08971454B2	Radio apparatus and data reproducing method A radio apparatus receives a received signal having a frame structure with a synchronization word field interposed between anterior half part data and posterior half part data. The radio apparatus includes: a storage unit that sequentially stores predetermined time length of detected wave data; a synchronization detecting unit that detects a synchronization word from the detected wave data; a symbol timing detecting unit that determines a symbol timing of the detected wave data from the synchronization word; a DC offset detecting unit that detects a DC offset in the detected wave data from the synchronization word; and a data reproducing unit that extracts detected data for every symbol timing from detected wave data of the anterior half part data at a time when the synchronization word is detected, and cancels the DC offset from the detected wave data for every symbol timing so as to extract a symbol value.
US08971453B1	Digital receiver system activated by RSSI signal A digital receiver includes a radio frequency analog front end, a digital processing unit, a plurality of cascaded amplifier stages configured to receive output of the radio frequency analog front end, a first analog to digital converter configured to convert an analog signal output from the plurality of cascaded amplifier stages into a digital signal output to the digital processing unit, a first received signal strength indicator unit configured to receive outputs of each of the plurality of cascaded amplifier stages and output signal to the digital processing unit, a second received signal strength indicator unit configured to receive output of at least one amplifier stage in the plurality of cascaded amplifier stages, and a received signal strength indicator detection unit configured to activate and to deactivate digital units according to a comparison of output from the second received signal strength indicator unit to a predetermined threshold.
US08971446B2	Predistortion factor determination for predistortion in power amplifiers A baseband signal is generated as a sequence of complex sample values at a predetermined sample rate. A sample of the baseband signal is captured as is a sample of an output signal generated by a power amplifier from the captured sample of the baseband signal. Complex values are iteratively assigned to a complex factor intended for predistorting data such that the product of the baseband signal sample and the complex factor converges towards equivalence with the output signal sample with each iterative assignment of the complex values to the complex factor. The complex factor is stored in memory at an address associated with the value of the captured baseband signal sample.
US08971435B2	Multi-user communication using sparse space codes Multi-user sparse space codes are proposed as a new transmission scheme for uplink communication over a multi-user multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication channel.
US08971434B2	Precoding codebook and feedback representation The invention relates to a technical field of multiple-antenna transmission in a wireless communication system. Communication of feedback representation of and generating a codebook suitable for precoding of multiple-antenna transmission is disclosed. An example matrix representation of precoding of a first number of antenna ports comprises precoding sub-matrices of less antenna ports.
US08971433B2	Compressive wireless modulation A projection code is applied to encode symbols as weighted arithmetic sums of approximately random subsets of binary source bits. Pairs of the symbols are combined to form constellation points, which are sequentially mapped through a constellation to modulate a data signal.
US08971431B1	Channel estimation for OFDM signals A method for channel estimation of a signal, comprises the steps: estimating a channel response for pilot carriers of the signal; and estimating a channel response for non-pilot carriers of the signal as a function of the channel response for the pilot carriers of the signal and channel estimation coefficients for the pilot carriers, wherein a symbol of the signal is decoded as a function of the estimated channel response for the non-pilot carriers, and wherein certain ones of the channel estimation coefficients are updated as a function of the decoded symbol.
US08971428B2	Cyclic shift delay detection using a channel impulse response Systems, apparatus and methods for determining a cyclic shift diversity (CSD) mode are presented. Examples use a channel impulse response (CIR) to determine a current CSD mode. Specifically, a channel impulse response from an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, which forms CIR samples. The CIR samples are examined to find a local maxima. A current CSD mode may be selected based on the local maxima found in the CIR samples.
US08971427B2	Wireless transceiver system and method According to one embodiment, a wireless transceiver system includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter includes a first generator, a second generator, a third generator. The second generator generates fixed data item that has bit values corresponding to the clock signal. The third generator performs OFDM modulation for the fixed data item. The receiver includes a first detector, a second detector, a PLL, a controller. The first detector is configured to detect an envelope that indicates amplitude in a time waveform. The controller is configured to control to operate the PLL from a first time point when the head part is detected to a second time point when a first period is elapsed.
US08971421B2	Milli-meter-wave-wireless-interconnect (M2W2-interconnect) method for short-range communications with ultra-high data rate capability A millimeter wave wireless (M2W2) interconnect is used for transmitting and receiving signals at millimeter-wave frequencies for short-range wireless communication with high data rate capability. The transmitter and receiver antennae may comprise an on-chip differential dipole antenna or a bond-wire differential dipole antenna. The bond wire differential dipole antenna is comprised of a pair of bond wires connecting between a pair of pads on an integrated circuit (IC) die and a pair of floating pads on a printed circuit board (PCB).
US08971420B2	Method and system permitting the sequential reorganization of signals A method and system for sequentially reorganizing signals received on a set of sensors, including a network of aerials or sensors, a high-precision clock, controlling a sequencer and suitable for accurately pacing the switching and acquisition times between each aerial, the sequencer is suitable for controlling an antenna switch, an the antenna switch linked to a single-channel radiofrequency receive module, an acquisition card, and a processing model.
US08971417B2	Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding multilayer videos Provided are methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding a bit stream in a multilayer video system in which a base layer and a higher layer use different codecs. The decoding method includes: receiving a bit stream including a higher-layer stream and a base-layer stream, the higher-layer stream including at least one of an identifier for identifying a codec for the higher-layer stream, information indicating features of the higher-layer stream, and information indicating a relationship between the higher-layer stream and a lower-layer stream; demultiplexing the higher-layer stream and the base-layer stream from the bit stream; decoding the base-layer stream; and decoding the higher-layer stream based on the identifier and the information indicating the features of the higher-layer stream.
US08971416B2	Video decoder with vector processor and methods for use therewith A multi-format video decoder includes an entropy decoding device that generates entropy decoded (EDC) data from an encoded video signal. A multi-format video decoding device includes a memory module that stores format configuration data corresponding to a plurality of video coding formats. A plurality of vector processor units generate a decoded video signal from the EDC data, wherein at least one of the plurality of vector processors include a vector function module that generates vector function data based on a vector function of a first input vector and a second input vector. A selection module selects each element of a vector output as one of: a corresponding element of the vector function data, and a corresponding element of a third input vector.
US08971414B2	Encoding digital video A video encoder encodes the video stream frame by frame. An encoding process generally includes receiving a video frame, subdividing the video frame into uniform pixel blocks, comparing a selected pixel block with the corresponding pixel block in a previous decoded video frame to determine which blocks have changed, copying changed pixel blocks into a contiguous memory block, and adding a preamble block, compressing the blocks. This process may be repeated for each frame using a different size pixel block to determine and select a pixel block size that results in the smallest encoded frame.
US08971413B2	Techniques for storing and retrieving pixel data Techniques are described that can be used to store macroblocks to memory and retrieve macroblocks from memory. In some cases, macroblocks can be stored in memory in memory addressable locations with column and row addresses flipped. Because macroblocks are stored in columns but retrieved across rows, portions of multiple macroblocks can be retrieved in a single read burst. The portions can be Golomb decoded and stored so that macroblocks can be re-assembled from the portions. In some cases, macroblocks of encoded video can be stored in continuous memory addressable locations.
US08971411B2	Motion vector calculation method When a block (MB22) of which motion vector is referred to in the direct mode contains a plurality of motion vectors, 2 motion vectors MV23 and MV24, which are used for inter picture prediction of a current picture (P23) to be coded, are determined by scaling a value obtained from averaging the plurality of motion vectors or selecting one of the plurality of the motion vectors.
US08971410B2	Method, apparatus and computer-readable medium processing frames obtained by multiple exposures A method of processing frames obtained by multiple exposures may include categorizing, by at least one processor, a plurality of frames captured by multiple exposures into one of a reference frame and a target frame, compensating for global motion resulting from motion of a capturing apparatus capturing an object, and compensating for local motion resulting from motion of the object, based on a joint histogram between the reference frame and the target frame.
US08971408B2	Piecewise cross color channel predictor A sequence of visual dynamic range (VDR) images may be encoded using a standard dynamic range (SDR) base layer and one or more enhancement layers. A prediction image is generated by using piecewise cross-color channel prediction (PCCC), wherein a color channel in the SDR input may be segmented into two or more color channel segments and each segment is assigned its own cross-color channel predictor to derive a predicted output VDR image. PCCC prediction models may include first order, second order, or higher order parameters. Using a minimum mean-square error criterion, a closed form solution is presented for the prediction parameters for a second-order PCCC model. Algorithms for segmenting the color channels into multiple color channel segments are also presented.
US08971407B2	Detection of skip mode A method to quickly determine whether a macroblock in H.264 or other similar standards should be encoded in skip mode in a SIMD processor environment is provided. The method exploits the fact that the processor provides enough register space to store N=4 4×4 set of 8 bits data. By performing 4 consecutive reads of 16 linear aligned values into 16 SIMD register variables each capable of storing 16 values, the entire data set for operating can be stored within the processors SIMD register variables and can be operated upon, without any memory related latency.
US08971402B2	Processing of impaired and incomplete multi-latticed video streams An apparatus for facilitating reception of multiple representations of a video signal. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a mechanism for receiving plural representations of the video signal corresponding to plural decimated versions of the video signal, associating pictures of the received plural representations of the video signal, and outputting pictures corresponding to information from associated pictures in accordance with a relative temporal order.
US08971401B2	Image decoding device An image decoding device for processing an input bit stream containing encoded data obtained by encoding a moving picture using intra-frame prediction, includes a stream divider configured to divide the input bit stream into a plurality of sub-streams, and a plurality of image decoders each configured to decode the corresponding one of the plurality of sub-streams, thereby outputting images. The stream divider divides the input bit stream so that the plurality of sub-streams each contain the encoded data corresponding to one or more prediction units, where macroblocks of the moving picture each include a plurality of the prediction units for the intra-frame prediction.
US08971399B2	Apparatus for and method of transmitting high efficiency variable power An apparatus for transmitting a high efficiency variable power includes a pulse generating unit configured to generate a pulse signal comprising a pulse having a duration corresponding to an amount of power transmitted; a pulse stream generating unit configured to convert the pulse signal to a pulse stream having pulse shape corresponding to the duration of the pulse and data to be transmitted; and a high frequency modulating unit configured to output a variable power by modulating a high frequency signal having a constant amplitude on a time axis by repeatedly outputting and not outputting the high frequency signal based on the pulse stream.
US08971398B2	System and method for generating a radio frequency pulse-width modulated signal In an embodiment, a method of producing a multi-level RF signal includes producing plurality of pulse-width modulated signals based on an input signal. The method further includes driving a corresponding plurality of parallel amplifiers with the plurality of pulse-width modulated signals by setting a parallel amplifier to have a first output impedance when a corresponding pulse-width modulated signal is in an active state and setting the parallel amplifier to have a second output impedance when the corresponding pulse-width is in an inactive state. The method also includes phase shifting the outputs of the plurality of parallel amplifiers, wherein phase shifting transforms the second output impedance into a third impedance that is higher than the second output impedance, and combining the phase shifted outputs.
US08971397B2	On-the-fly compensation of sampling frequency and phase offset in receiver performing ultra-high-speed wireless communication Received data oversampled twice is polyphased by the receiver, feedback is applied using an adaptive algorithm, and the filter coefficients (tap coefficient sequence) of a compensation filter are simultaneously shifted when the data shifts. The sampling frequency and the phase offset can be compensated for on the fly using a filter combining a tapped filter whose initial value is a correlation value obtained from the preamble and header of a received signal, and a wavefront aligner. In this configuration, a resampling filter circuit, an equalization filter circuit and a decimation filter circuit are realized in a single compensation filter circuit, which is much smaller than the prior art circuits in terms of size.
US08971395B2	Decision feedback equalizer having programmable taps A Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) with programmable taps includes a summer configured to receive a DFE input signal. Delay elements are coupled to the summer. The delay elements are connected in series. Each delay element provides a respective delayed signal of an input signal to the delay element. A weight generator is configured to provide tap weights. The DFE is configured to multiply each tap weight to the respective delayed signal from the respective delay element to provide tap outputs. Each tap output is selectively enabled to be added to the summer or disabled based on a first comparison of a first threshold value and each impulse response or each tap weight corresponding to the respective tap output, where the impulse response is the DFE input signal in response to a pulse signal transmitted through a channel.
US08971391B2	Systems and methods for equalizing retransmission delays for data retransmission over bonded modems Embodiments of the present invention provide systems for incorporating bonding processors while avoiding bonding processor buffer overflow by initiating retransmission requests on all data lines whenever corrupted data is encountered on one data line. Initiating these “extra” retransmission requests equalizes retransmissions delays over all transmission lines, preventing the bonding processor from receiving excess data that cannot be reassembled until the retransmission request is processed.
US08971388B2	Receiver and transmitter apparatus for carrier aggregation An RF receiver/transmitter apparatus for carrier aggregation is disclosed, to provide a routing circuitry formed by a plurality of mixer modules for achieving both the function of carrier aggregation and the mixing frequency process of signals. This architecture allows sharing an RF front-end, improving degree of integration, and reducing hardware cost and circuitry power consumption. In addition, in the process of reception and transmission, the apparatus may perform different processing and configuration for each sub-channel to increase circuit design flexibility. The receiver apparatus includes at least one antenna, a first signal processing unit, a routing mixer device, a second signal processing unit and a digital signal processor (DSP); and the routing mixer device includes a plurality of mixer module and a plurality of current/voltage adders to achieve signal routing control through opening or closing of the mixer, switching the signal transmission path or switching the signal synthesizer.
US08971382B2	Code generating apparatus, reference signal generating apparatus, and methods thereof A code generating apparatus, demodulation reference signal generating apparatus, and methods thereof. The demodulation reference signal generator includes generating a non-correlation sequence for RS of a first resource block; spreading spectrums of elements in the non-correlation sequence for RS to be mapped to a first frequency resource of the first resource block, by using a first group of codes; second spreading spectrums of elements in the non-correlation sequence for RS to be mapped to a second frequency resource of the first resource block, by using a second group of Codes; the first and second frequency resources are adjacent frequency resources in frequency resource elements used for RS transmission in the first resource block, and the first and second groups of Codes are mirrors in column to each other; and mapping the spectrum-spread elements to the first and second frequency resources, respectively.
US08971378B2	Wireless communication device A wireless communication device including an integrated processing circuit and a first memory is provided. The integrated processing circuit includes a processing unit capable of processing a wireless communication signal and a radio frequency (RF) unit capable of performing a conversion between a radio frequency (RF) signal and a baseband signal, wherein the wireless communication signal is one of the RF signal and the baseband signal. The first memory is coupled to the integrated processing circuit. The first memory is capable of storing data used by the processing unit, wherein the integrated processing circuit and the first memory are packaged in a single semiconductor package.
US08971376B2	Broad area laser pump combiner Multiple broad area lasers are coupled to a planar lightwave circuit, where the waveguides come together to form a single wide emitting aperture. A tapered lens is used at the output of the planar lightwave circuit to transform the highly asymmetric mode into a conventional round mode. This configuration allows much higher “brightness”, allowing 10 or more 100 um wide broad area lasers to be coupled into a single 100 um core multimode fiber. This is considerably more efficient than the standard method of combining a single 100 um wide broad area laser to a 100 um core multimode fiber.
US08971375B2	Polarization-stable surface-emitting laser diode The present invention relates to a surface-emitting laser diode with an active amplifying region (2) which is bounded by two laser mirrors (1, 3), while one or more polarization-selective layers (4) are provided for stabilizing the polarization in a region that is located on that side of at least one of the laser mirrors (1, 3) that is opposite the active amplifying region (2), these layers (4) extending parallel to the respective mirror (1; 3) and having a polarization-dependent refractive index and/or absorption.
US08971373B2	Nanolaser for generating coherent electromagnetic radiation Nanolaser for generating coherent electromagnetic radiation, comprising at least one nanoparticle of metal, preferably silver, or semiconductor, at least one exciting element, preferably a quantum dot, for exciting plasmon resonance of the at least one nanoparticle, wherein the at least one nanoparticle and the at least one exciting element are embedded in a matrix of Photonic or Polaritonic Band-gap (PGB)-material, preferably Silica Carbide (SiC).
US08971367B2	Surface-emitting laser, surface-emitting laser array, method of manufacturing surface-emitting laser, method of manufacturing surface-emitting laser array and optical apparatus equipped with surface-emitting laser array A method of manufacturing a surface-emitting laser that allows precise alignment of the center position of a surface relief structure and that of a current confinement structure and formation of the relief structure by means of which a sufficient loss difference can be introduced between the fundamental transverse and higher order transverse mode. Removing the dielectric film on the semiconductor layers and the first-etch stop layer along the second pattern, using a second- and third-etch stop layer are conducted in single step after forming the confinement structure. The relief structure is formed by three layers including a lower, middle and upper layer, and total thickness of three layers is equal to the optical thickness of an odd multiple of ¼ wavelength (λ: oscillation wavelength, n: refractive index of the semiconductor layer). The layer right under the lower layer is the second-etch stop layer and the first-etch stop layer is laid right on this etch stop layer.
US08971364B2	Driving circuit for analog-modulated diode-laser A diode-laser is driven by a modulated voltage through a voltage-to-current converter. The modulated voltage has a fixed level determined by an applied fixed bias voltage and a variable level determined by a modulation voltage signal varying between minimum and maximum values. The fixed voltage level corresponds to a threshold level above which the diode-laser would provide laser-output. The modulation voltage signal is monitored and compared with a predetermined set value. If the monitored voltage signal falls below the set value, the modulated voltage is disconnected from the voltage-to-current converter and the output of the diode-laser falls to zero.
US08971362B2	Monitoring of a laser source with front and rear output photodetectors to determine frontal laser power and power changes over laser lifetime A power monitoring and correction to a desired power level of a laser or group of lasers utilizes two photodetectors which are employed to accurately determine the amount of output power from the front end or “customer” end of a laser or a plurality of such lasers. During power detection, which may be accomplished intermittently or continuously, the laser is modulated with a tone of low frequency modulation. One photodetector at the rear of the laser is employed to detect the DC value of the frequency tone, i.e., a value or number representative of the AC peak-to-peak swing, amplitude or modulation depth of the tone. Also, the rear photodetector may be employed to determine the optical modulation index (OMI). In either case, these values may be employed in a closed loop feedback system to adjust or otherwise calibrate the value of the low tone frequency relative to the total desired bias current applied to the laser. A front photodetector is employed to receive a portion of the total output of the laser, or of each laser, and the average output power of the laser, or of each laser, is determined from already knowing the optical modulation index (OMI) via the rear photodetector. Thus, by measuring and/or calibrating the laser OMI with the use of a rear photodetector, the average output power from the front end output can be unambiguously determined from detection of the AC peak-to-peak swing or amplitude of the low frequency tone received via the front photodetector.
US08971360B2	Light source, and optical coherence tomography module An optical module includes a light source. The light source can be a swept wavelength light source, and optical module includes a wavemeter. The wavemeter includes a wavemeter tap capable of directing a wavemeter portion of light produced by the light source away from a main beam, a wavelength selective filter arranged to receive the wavemeter portion, a first wavemeter detector arranged to measure a transmitted radiation intensity of radiation transmitted through the filter, and a second wavemeter detector arranged to measure a non-transmitted radiation intensity of radiation not transmitted through but reflected by the filter. In addition, an optical coherence tomography apparatus includes the optical module.
US08971357B2	Method for synchronizing master and slave clocks of a packet-switched network with aggregated connections between nodes, and associated synchronization devices An exemplary technique is provided for synchronizing master and slave clocks of a packet-switched network. The network contains at least two equipments that are connected to one another via an aggregated connection made up of at least two links and that are located between the master and slave clocks to enable them to transmit synchronization packets to one another using a timestamp protocol. The technique includes (a) obtaining a distribution of the synchronization packets in at least one subset of the links that transport these synchronization packets, and (b) transmitting to the slave clock first information representative of that distribution, second information representative of timestamps associated with the synchronization packets, and third information representative of packet transmission times over the at least one subset of links, to synchronize the slave clock to the master clock as a function of at least the first, second, and third information transmitted.
US08971352B2	High accuracy 1588 timestamping over high speed multi lane distribution physical code sublayers A physical layer device provides for synchronization of clocks in a communication network. A place holder for an alignment marker is inserted into a frame to be transmitted. Once the placeholder alignment marker is inserted into the frame, no additional data is added to the frame. Transmission of the frame including the placeholder alignment marker may also be delayed to allow data processing in subsequent blocks within a transmit block to complete prior to further processing of the frame including the placeholder alignment marker (e.g., timestamping, MACSec, etc.) to improve timing accuracy with a multi lane distribution environment.
US08971351B2	Enhanced carrier sensing for multi-channel operation In various embodiments, a multi-channel request-to-send and a multi-channel clear-to-send may be used in a wireless communications network to assure that a subsequent multi-channel communications exchange between two devices takes place only over channels that are sensed by both devices as being free.
US08971347B2	Method for configuring PHICH carrier linkage There is provided a method of configuring the downlink component carrier between one or more linkage methods for PHICH reception on User Equipment (UE), which is configured for carrier aggregation, over a mobile communication network. This method includes (a) providing an indicator, and (b) determining whether the PHICH carrier linkage should be dynamic linkage or cell specific, based on the value of the indicator.
US08971345B1	Method and apparatus for scheduling a heterogeneous communication flow A method and apparatus are provided for scheduling a heterogeneous communication flow. A heterogeneous flow is a flow comprising packets with varying classes or levels of service, which may correspond to different priorities, qualities of service or other service characteristics. When a packet is ready for scheduling, it is queued in order in a flow queue that corresponds to the communication flow. The flow queue then migrates among class queues that correspond to the class or level of service of the packet at the head of the flow queue. Thus, after the head packet is scheduled, the flow queue may be dequeued from its current class queue and requeued at the tail of another class queue. If the subsequent packet has the same classification, it may be requeued at the tail of the class queue or may remain in place for another servicing round.
US08971344B2	Terminal capabilities set exchange between heterogeneous endpoints In one embodiment, a method includes receiving at a protocol translator a first message from a first endpoint to a second endpoint. The first message includes a list of media capabilities of the first endpoint. The method also includes transmitting from the protocol translator a second message to the second endpoint including a media capabilities request header and receiving at the protocol translator a response message from the second endpoint. The response message includes a response header including a list of the media capabilities of the second endpoint.
US08971335B2	System and method for creating a transitive optimized flow path Traffic paths based on common devices available in a network are optimized, controlled, manipulated and created. The new paths used to optimize are not limited to the original OSI layer and/or original networks. Thus, various kinds of users/computers/devices, working in the same or in different abstraction layer networks, are combined into one collective virtual network providing the ability to compute and utilize the best (optimal) traffic path for each flow at each given time. The traffic path can be constructed especially for each flow. All or most devices and layer networks are combined in a collective virtual network when computing and constructing an optimized path for a flow. Thus, there is no need to add additional headers to a flow thereby eliminating the addition of overhead to the flow.
US08971333B2	Bandwidth adjustment method and system for optical channel data unit flexible based on generic framing procedure The disclosure claims a bandwidth adjustment method and system for Optical channel Data Unit flexible (ODUflex) based on a Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), wherein, the method includes that: (501) a source end sends a bandwidth adjustment control frame which contains bandwidth adjustment parameters; (503) a plurality of intermediate nodes forward the bandwidth adjustment control frame to a sink end via an ODUflex link, during the forwarding process, the plurality of intermediate nodes determine that resource thereof can satisfy the bandwidth adjustment parameters, and then reserve the bandwidth adjustment resource; (505) after receiving the bandwidth adjustment control frame, the sink end feeds back an adjustment acknowledgment frame which contains adjustment acknowledgment information to the source end via the plurality of intermediate nodes; (507) the plurality of intermediate nodes use the reserved bandwidth adjustment resource to implement adjustment for the bandwidth of the ODUflex link according to the adjustment acknowledgement information of the adjustment acknowledgment frame. The disclosure realizes the bandwidth adjustment for the ODUflex without interrupting an existing service by increasing an Optical channel Payload Unit (OPU) overhead for the bandwidth adjustment in the ODUflex (GFP) frame.
US08971328B2	Distributed routing architecture A hierarchical distributed routing architecture including at least three levels, or layers, for receiving, processing and forwarding data packets between network components is provided. The core level router components receive an incoming packet from a network component and identify a distribution level router component based on processing a subset of the destination address associated with the received packet. The distribution level router components that receiving a forwarded packet and identify a transit level router component based a second processing of at least a subset of the destination address associated with the received packet. The transit level router components receive the forwarded packet and forward the packet to a respective network. The mapping, or other assignment, of portions of the FIB associated with the distributed routing environment is managed by a router management component.
US08971327B2	Label switched packet transfer device A device for connecting base station(s) to a cellular label switched network in a cellular network. The cellular network includes: base station(s), the connecting device(s); cellular label switched network(s); and service area(s). The base station(s) communicates with mobile terminals using wireless technology. The wireless technology uses a protocol layer architecture that includes at least one of the following: a wireless physical layer; a wireless medium access control protocol layer; a radio link control layer; and a network layer. The connecting device(s) include: a first interface to connect to the base station(s); a second interface to connect to cellular label switched network(s); and a label forwarding layer that: forwards packets between base station(s) and cellular label switched network(s); attaches label(s) to packets and removes label(s) from packets. A service area divided into a multitude of cells through which mobile terminals can move through and communicate with base station(s).
US08971326B2	Apparatus and method for hardware payload header suppression, expansion, and verification The present invention provides methods for performing payload header suppression (PHS), expansion, and verification in hardware. A PHS verify circuit reads a data packet until it reaches the location where the first byte must be compared to PHS rule verify bytes. Next, all the relevant bytes in the payload header are compared to the PHS vile verify bytes obtained from a payload header suppression rule mask. Upon completion of the compare, a flag is generated to a PHS suppress circuit indicating that verification has passed or failed. For payload headers passing the verification process, the payload header suppress circuit examines the payload header suppression mask to identify one or more bits in the payload header for which an associated byte string is to be suppressed. Next, the associated byte string for each of the identified bits are suppressed to generate a suppressed packet payload header. Finally, a payload header suppression index is added to the suppressed packet payload header. The data packet, including the suppressed packet header and suppression index are then transmitted. Once received, a payload header suppress circuit on the receiver end examines the payload header suppression index to determine if the payload header has been suppressed. For each suppressed payload header, each bit in the payload header is compared to a payload header suppression mask to determine if the bit has been suppressed. Next, for each suppressed bit, a byte string is retrieved from a payload header suppression rule and inserted into the suppressed payload header.
US08971325B1	Policy system and method for a switching device Exemplary embodiments of a system and method enable application of policy using Layer 2 fields for a data frame, simplified data structures, or both. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a policy may be based upon a destination address (DA), a source address (SA), or a virtual local area network identification (VID) associated with a data frame.
US08971324B2	Method, device and system for implementing multicast A method for implementing multicast includes: receiving or generating an internet group management protocol IGMP packet; judging whether the packet is a first join packet or a last leave packet of a multicast group, and adding an identifier indicating whether the IGMP packet is a first join packet or a last leave packet of a multicast group to the IGMP packet, where the identifier is used for a subsequent entity not to perform multicast processing on the IGMP packet when judging that the IGMP packet is not the first join packet or the last leave packet of the multicast group according to the identifier; and forwarding the IGMP packet to the subsequent entity. Therefore, the packet processing pressure on the network apparatus is relieved, and meanwhile, the IGMP packet requirements in the practical network are met.
US08971323B2	Systems and methods for dynamic routing in a cluster The present application is directed towards distributing multicast routing packets in a cluster environment utilizing link aggregation. In a cluster environment, a plurality of devices may be connected to an upstream router or switch as a single “virtual” device having a plurality of connections as part of a link aggregation group, allowing the router to easily and efficiently distribute packets among the connections. Multicast routing packets may be sent via only a single connection of the link aggregation group, and accordingly, a recipient device may distribute the multicast routing packet to other devices. To distinguish between a newly received routing packet from the router and an internally distributed routing packet from a first device, the first device may insert a predetermined identifier into a MAC address of the routing packet.
US08971321B2	System and method for accelerating and decelerating packets In one embodiment, a system for accelerating a packet stream includes a first accelerator configured to re-clock the packet stream from a first clock rate to a second clock rate to produce an accelerated packet stream, where the first clock rate is less than the second clock rate, where the packet stream has a first inter-packet gap, where the accelerated packet stream has a second inter-packet gap, and where the second inter-packet gap is greater than the first inter-packet gap. The system also includes a switch coupled to the first accelerator, where the switch is configured to switch the accelerated packet stream at the second clock rate to produce a switched packet stream.
US08971319B2	Enabling routing of data on a network based on a portion of data accessed from a non-network enabled device A system and method for enabling routing of data on a network based on a portion of data accessed from a non-network enabled device is disclosed. The technology includes a method for enabling routing of data on a network based on a portion of data accessed from a non-network enabled device. The method includes detecting a non-network enabled device locally coupled to a first computer system, the first computer system coupled to the network. The method further includes enabling routing of data through the non-network enabled device to a second computer system coupled to the network by using the first computer system as a communication interface between the non-network enabled device and the second computer system wherein the second computer system is automatically identified based on recognizing a portion of the data as a routing destination.
US08971318B2	Relay communication apparatus and multistage relay communication system A multistage relay communication system 100 includes a trunk network 1 and branch networks 2 (2a, 2b), each of which includes one or more communication apparatuses 4. The communication apparatus 4 can switch between a trunk mode to operate in the trunk network 1 and a branch mode to operate in the branch network 2. In the trunk network 1, the communication apparatus 4 carries out fixing of a communication path and redundancy of data based on a path table in order to achieve real-timeness and a data arrival rate. Meanwhile, in the branch network 2, when a communication failure occurs, the communication apparatus 4 autonomously searches for a communication path and constructs a path table, in order to at least secure a data arrival rate even if real-timeness is impaired within an allowable range.
US08971317B2	Method for controlling data stream switch and relevant equipment Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method for controlling data stream switch and a relevant equipment. The method includes: obtaining bandwidth demand information of a data stream; calculating a BWM according to the bandwidth demand information, the physical bandwidth of at least one ingress port and at least one egress port of the data stream, and TDM service bandwidth information; performing sequencing on entries of the BWM, to obtain a bandwidth sequencing information table; performing cell even sequencing processing on the data stream according to the bandwidth sequencing information table, to obtain a cell table; and controlling, sending of cells of the data stream according to the cell table. Through the solutions provided, processing complexity may be effectively reduced, the problem of scale limitation on a bufferless switch structure is solved, and meanwhile, a delay jitter during switch processing is also decreased.
US08971314B2	SS7 ANSI-41 to SIP based call signaling conversion gateway for wireless VoIP E911 An SS7-based call protocol conversion gateway that translates between circuit-switched SS7 protocols and session initiation protocol (SIP) oriented protocol, allowing an E911 call initiated over a switched network to be routed by a VoIP network. The SS7-based call protocol conversion gateway provides a PSAP with MSAG quality (street address) information about a VoIP dual mode phone user without the need for a wireless carrier to invest in building out an entire VoIP core. Thus, wireless carriers may continue signaling the way they are today, i.e., using the J-STD-036 standard for CDMA and GSM in North America, yet see benefits of a VoIP network core, i.e., provision of MSAG quality location data to a PSAP.
US08971311B2	Methods, systems and computer readable media for supporting a plurality of real-time transport protocol (RTP) multiplexing enablement methods in a media gateway Methods, systems, and computer readable media for supporting a plurality of RTP multiplexing enablement methods in a media gateway are disclosed. According to one aspect, a system includes a media gateway controller configured to receive a signaling message to establish a call from a peer node in a first network, an a media gateway configured to perform a first and second RTP multiplexing enablement process on the media portion of the call, wherein the first RTP multiplexing enablement process includes sending a real-time transport control protocol (RTCP) Application packet to the peer node, refraining from performing RTP multiplexing on packets sent to the peer node until a reply RTCP Application packet is received from the peer node, and receiving RTP multiplexed packets from the peer node, and wherein the second RTP multiplexing enablement process includes obtaining an Internet protocol (IP) realm identifier that identifies the first network, accessing configuration data in the media gateway using the IP realm identifier to determine a predefined multiplexing enablement action for packets destined for the first network, and executing the determined predefined multiplexing enablement action on packets sent to the peer node in the first network.
US08971309B1	Universal voice over packet protocol call structure Methods and systems for providing a universal voice over packet (VOP) protocol call structure. The present invention allows VOP calls to be made across different service providers without traversing through a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The calls occur as On-Net calls. Email addresses may be used to call different parties. In addition, telephone numbers may be used to reach parties in the PSTN through an Off-Net carrier causing Off-Net calls.
US08971308B2	Call admission control in VoIP systems A method of controlling call admission within a system comprising a plurality of media gateways (8, 9) interconnected by a packet switched backbone (5). The method comprises, at least one media gateway (8, 9), monitoring the level of congestion suffered by incoming packets to that gateway from each other media gateway over said backbone. Following receipt of a request for a media gateway (8, 9) to terminate a bearer extending over said backbone (5) from a peer media gateway, making a decision on the admissibility of that request based upon the previously monitored level of congestion suffered by incoming packets from that peer media gateway.
US08971307B2	Noise ingress cancelation A demodulator can include an ingress exciser configured to remove ingress noise from a burst mode digital input signal that is above a predetermined threshold and resides within a narrowband. An adaptive equalizer can be configured to adaptively equalize an estimate of the signal provided from the ingress exciser and to provide an adaptively equalized signal. An ingress predictor can be configured to subtract an estimate of remaining predicted ingress noise from the adaptively equalized signal to provide a resultant signal that is substantially free of the ingress noise.
US08971304B2	Reduced interframe spacing in a wireless transmission system Providing wireless transmission, where in a first transmission mode, transmitting a plurality of frames using a first interframe spacing interval. When in a second transmission mode, transmitting the plurality of frames using a second interframe spacing interval, wherein the second interframe spacing is less than the first interframe spacing.
US08971303B2	Method for channel sounding in wireless local area network and apparatus for the same A channel sounding method in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system is provided. The method, performed by a transmitter, includes transmitting a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame to a receiver to initiate a channel sounding procedure; transmitting a null data packet (NDP) to the receiver and receiving a feedback frame. The feedback frame includes a plurality of segment frames and a channel feedback report. The channel feedback report is split into a plurality of feedback segments. Each of the plurality of feedback segments is respectively included in each of the plurality of segment frames. The each of the plurality of segment frames includes a first-segment subfield indicating whether the each of the plurality of feedback segment included is a first segment and a remaining-segment subfield indicating the number of remaining feedback segments.
US08971288B2	Method of supporting handover in a wireless communication system Disclosed are methods of performing handover and supporting thereof in a mobile communication system. The method of supporting handover at a first network entity in a mobile communication system comprises transmitting a plurality of data blocks of a first layer to a user equipment (UE), checking whether each of the plurality of data blocks is successfully transmitted to the user equipment (UE), and transmitting to a second network entity at least one data block of the first layer excluding a data block which is successfully transmitted to the user equipment (UE) among the plurality of data blocks of the first layer, the second network entity being a target network entity for handover of the user equipment (UE).
US08971284B2	Mobile communication system, base station apparatus, and mobile station apparatus The present invention reduces the amount of control information for specifying the transmission method for simultaneously transmitting the uplink data and the reception quality information as well as the uplink data and the ACK/NACK, reduces delay occurring in changing the transmission method, and realizes the mapping of the uplink data and the reception quality information and that of the uplink data and the ACK/NACK, in compliance with modulation scheme and coding rate of the uplink data specified by the base station apparatus. In the mobile communication system where the base station apparatus allocates, to the mobile station apparatus, resources wherein the base station apparatus transmits, to the mobile station apparatus, control information for specifying a transmission format for the mobile station apparatus to transmit information using the uplink, while the mobile station apparatus simultaneously transmits, to the base station apparatus, the uplink data and the reception quality information based on the specified transmission format in case of having received the control information from the base station apparatus.
US08971283B2	Radio resource assignment method for physical channel in uplink, and transmitter for mobile apparatuses A radio resource assignment method for a physical channel in an uplink directed from a mobile apparatus to a base station in a radio communication system, includes: assigning a contention-based channel and a scheduled channel according to one of a time division scheme, a frequency division scheme, and a hybrid scheme of the time division scheme and the frequency division scheme. In addition, radio resources are properly assigned to each of the contention-based channel, a common control channel of the scheduled channel, and a shared data channel of the scheduled channel.
US08971282B2	Allocating a pool of shared bandwidth Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for allocating a pool of shared Internet bandwidth. One of the methods includes providing a first communications channel having a first bandwidth, the first bandwidth being shared by a first group of first users, providing a second communications channel having a second bandwidth different than the first bandwidth, the second bandwidth being shared by a second group of second users, detecting that at least one first data connection for a particular first user in the first group has satisfied a first predetermined condition, and moving, based on the detecting, the at least one first data connection for the particular first user from the first communications channel to the second communications channel.
US08971281B2	Method for transmitting MAC PDUs With respect to generating and sending a MAC PDU by using the radio resources allocated to the mobile terminal, the level of priority between the buffer status report (BSR) and the established logical channels are defined such that the data of each logical channel and buffer status report can be more effectively, efficiently and quickly transmitted.
US08971271B2	Methods and network nodes for scheduling transmission A radio network node (110) configured to schedule transmission between the radio network node (110) and a user equipment (120) and a method therein as well as a user equipment (120) configured to receive a scheduling grant for a transmission between the user equipment (120) and the radio network node (110) and a method therein are provided. The radio network node (110) determines (201) a transport block size scaling factor. Next, the radio network node (110) determines (206) a scheduling grant for the transmission based on the transport block size scaling factor. Furthermore, the radio network node (110) sends (207) the transport block size scaling factor and the scheduling grant to the user equipment (120).
US08971269B2	Uplink control signal design for wireless system A method for an SS to perform network entry in a multi-carrier wireless environment that has a primary carrier and at least one secondary carrier associated with a BS, the method comprising: a. sensing a carrier in an area serviced by the BS; b. determining if the carrier is a primary carrier or a secondary carrier; and c. performing the network entry if the determining establishes that the sensed carrier is a primary carrier and not a secondary carrier.
US08971264B2	Communication method of terminals and access point for uplink MU-MIMO channel access Provided is a communication method of an access point and a plurality of terminals that are capable of enhancing a throughput of an overall network in a random access environment by enabling the access point to wait for additional terminals to transmit data through uplink communication during a predetermined waiting window.
US08971262B2	Apparatuses, system, methods, and computer program products for network control The invention is related to an apparatus including a receiver configured to receive communications from a control node of the macro cell in which the apparatus is located, the communications including system information about operation and maintenance support services the control node is able to provide and/or identity information of the control node; and a generator configured to generate messages including identity information of the apparatus, radio environment information, status information on connections to a core network and/or information on capabilities of the apparatus.
US08971256B2	Ad-hoc directional communication in contention access period Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method for efficient ad-hoc peer to peer communication in a contention access period, while antenna directions of communicating peers can point to each other. Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method for improved association of a device in a wireless network with a controller of the network.
US08971254B2	Controlling uplink and downlink transmission power during asynchronous switching of control states by user equipment A network node is disclosed that communicates with a user equipment node in a communications system. The network node repetitively transmits first uplink transmission power control, TPC, commands on a first physical channel with a first channel configuration while repetitively transmitting second uplink TPC commands on a second physical channel with a second channel configuration. The first and second uplink TPC commands control uplink transmission power from the user equipment node to the network node. Related user equipment nodes and methods are disclosed.
US08971253B2	Uplink data sending method and user equipment The present invention provides an uplink data sending method and a user equipment. The method includes: distinguishing uplink data to be sent, and obtaining acknowledgement data of downlink TCP service data and uplink TCP service data; buffering the acknowledgement data of the downlink TCP service data in a first buffer, and buffering the uplink TCP service data in a second buffer; and sending in priority the acknowledgement data of the downlink TCP service data in the first buffer. In embodiments of the present invention, a peak rate of a downlink TCP service may still be ensured when services are concurrent.
US08971251B2	Method for performing wireless connection control, and associated apparatus and associated computer program product A method and an apparatus for performing wireless connection control are provided. For example, the method can be applied to a first electronic device, and the method may include the steps of: adding specific information into at least one packet while establishing a wireless connection between the first electronic device and a second electronic device, where the specific information indicates a channel that the first electronic device is working on; transmitting the at least one packet carrying the specific information to the second electronic device; and performing handshaking to complete the establishment of the wireless connection with respect to the second electronic device. In another example, the method can be applied to the second electronic device, and the method may include the steps of: receiving from the first electronic device the at least one packet carrying the specific information; and performing handshaking to complete the establishment of the wireless connection.
US08971248B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting control information in a wireless communication system The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for transmitting acknowledgement/negative ACK (ACK/NACK) in a wireless communication system which supports carrier aggregation, and to an apparatus for the method, wherein the method comprises the following steps: detecting one or more control channels from a plurality of component carrier; receiving one or more data indicated by the downlink control information loaded onto said one or more control channels; and transmitting ACK/NACK information relating to said one or more data via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), wherein each of the pieces of downlink control information includes count information which is set in connection with the entire control channel actually allocated to a terminal.
US08971244B2	Access point name list based network access management A method is performed by a device. The method includes determining whether the device is allowed to attach to an operator network based at least partially on whether all access point names in a minimum access point name list are enabled in the device. The device allows itself to attach to the operator network if it is determined that the device is allowed to attach to the operator network. The device prevents itself from attaching to the operator network if it is determined that the device is not allowed to attach to the operator network. The device can wirelessly receive a command to disable an access point name in the device. If an access point name on a detach access point name list is disabled, then the device detaches from the operator network and prevents itself from reattaching until an integrated circuit card in the device is removed and replaced.
US08971242B2	System and method for component carrier reallocation A method for supporting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) transmission during component carrier (CC) reallocation. The method includes starting a HARQ process using a first CC, allocating a second CC, mapping the HARQ process from the first CC to the second CC, and transmitting remaining HARQ data associated with the HARQ process using the second CC. Also included is a method for supporting HARQ transmission during CC reallocation comprising starting a HARQ process using a first CC, determining to allocate a second CC, waiting until completion of the HARQ process using the first CC before allocating the second CC, and beginning another HARQ process on the second CC. Included is a method comprising starting a HARQ process using a first CC, allocating a second CC, discontinuing transmission using the first CC before completion of the HARQ process, and restarting new data using the second CC.
US08971241B2	Techniques for supporting relay operation in wireless communication systems Techniques for supporting operation of relay stations in wireless communication systems are described. In an aspect, a bitmap may be sent by a base station and/or a relay station to identify subframes of at least two types in multiple radio frames. For example, the bitmap may indicate whether each subframe covered by the bitmap is of a first type or a second type. UEs may use the bitmap to control their operation. For example, a UE may perform channel estimation or measurement for the subframes of the first type and may skip channel estimation and measurement for the subframes of the second type. In another aspect, a base station may transmit data and/or control information on resources not used by a relay station to transmit a reference signal. This may avoid interference to the reference signal from the relay station, which may improve performance for UEs communicating with the relay station.
US08971236B2	System and method for real-time interconnection of elements of a wide area monitoring, measurement or data collection system through a direct digital satellite broadcasting multiplexing system System and a method for timely interconnecting elements of a wide spread remote measurement, monitoring or data collection system through multiplexing in a satellite system. The invention provides multiplexing features of a satellite system using on-board processing features to gather data from a plurality of remote monitoring stations (4) on any global navigation reference time and multiplex them into a single stream towards one or more computation centers. Each of said computation centers (3) has a down-link adapter (7) capable of extracting a channel from a down-link transmission of a satellite. The data from each of said remote monitoring stations (4) is also passed through an up-link adapter (5) so as to make it suitable for uplink transmission towards a DDBS satellite. Up-link and down-link adapters can be interconnected together to enable loop-back of information such as timing data to monitor transit times.
US08971234B2	Radio system and radio communication method Regardless of use of small resource in donor (macro) base station, high throughput in relay femto base station is provided. The relay femto base station transfers data of a C-plane communicated between a core network and a mobile station through the donor macro base station by a radio link, and transfers data of a U-plane through an internet by a wired public line. The relay femto base station measures an interfered power from a neighboring relay femto base station, and notifies the donor macro base station of the measured interfered power, and the donor macro base station adjusts radio packet scheduling so as to prevent interference between the relay femto base stations on the basis of a notified measurement value of the interfered power.
US08971233B2	Radio bearer identification for self backhauling and relaying in LTE advanced The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for user terminal and bearer identification that reduces the overhead for LTE relaying (layer 2 and layer 3), which will save radio resources on the backhaul link. Reduction in overhead is achieved by providing a more efficient mechanism for user terminal and bearer identification as compared to using GTP-u and associated UDP/IP headers.
US08971231B2	Systems and methods for mobile communications Messages are delivered in a mobile network by creating a communication route between a source node and a destination node comprised of virtual routers, each virtual router being fixed to a particular geographical area and including a plurality of mobile nodes, each of the mobile nodes being available to forward a data packet on behalf of a virtual router, and each mobile node upon receiving a data packet sent over the communication route monitoring for forwarding of the data packet by another mobile node and, if such forwarding is not detected, the mobile node forwarding the data packet.
US08971227B2	Wireless sensor interface with mobile terminal satellite modem and global location system A system and method for implementing a low-power local-area wireless network for use with a mobile terminal satellite modem. This low-power local-area wireless network enables sensors on an asset to wirelessly transmit sensor data to a mobile terminal affixed on the asset. The mobile terminal reports the sensor data along with asset position information to a centralized facility via a communications satellite.
US08971225B2	Method of communication for station operating based on battery in wireless local area network system and apparatus for the same A method of communication based on battery in a wireless LAN system is provided. The method includes receiving, by a station (STA), a battery lifetime request message from an access point (AP), wherein the battery lifetime request message includes a battery lifetime report interval field and battery lifetime report threshold field, the battery lifetime report interval field indicating an interval at which the STA report a battery lifetime, the battery lifetime report threshold field indicating a threshold of the battery lifetime and transmitting, by the STA, a first battery lifetime report message including information indicating a first battery lifetime.
US08971224B2	Multi-carriers managing device and method and sleep mode operating method of terminal A multi-carriers management device of a communication system supporting multi-carriers requests a terminal attempting to enter a sleep window to change a primary carrier, and transmits a control message to the terminal through the changed primary carrier during the sleep window.
US08971218B2	System and method for programmable matching of detuned RF components Systems and methods are disclosed for returning RF components which exhibit a mismatch with a coupled load. A tuning circuit may be coupled to a signal path of the RF component, wherein the tuning circuit includes a plurality of loads, a switching element associated with each load, wherein each switching element brings the associated load into and out of the signal path, a control line for each switching element, and a phase stage configured to introduce a phase shift, such as 90°, between a first subset of the loads and a second subset of the loads. The disclosure also includes routines for establishing optimum settings for the tuning circuit.
US08971214B2	Method and apparatus for acquiring traffic-engineering label switched path A method and apparatus for acquiring a Traffic-Engineering Label Switched Path (TE LSP) provided by the present invention relate to communication field. The method includes: performing path tracing from a source node to a target node, and obtaining a passing node passed by the path tracing; acquiring a Path Compute Element (PCE) in a region in which the passing node is located; acquiring traffic-engineering database of a region in which the PCE is located from the PCE; and according to the traffic-engineering database, obtaining the TE LSP between the source node and the target node.
US08971211B2	Encapsulation of higher-layer control messages for local area network support into a wide area network protocol Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for integration of a wireless local area network and a wide area cellular network. In one aspect there is provided a method. The method may include the support node receiving, from a first node, a message including a request for information representative of a configuration of a wireless local area network accessible by the first node. The method may also include providing, in response to the received message, the information representative of the configuration of the wireless local area network. Related apparatus, systems, methods, and articles are also described.
US08971209B2	System to configure and manage routers through wireless communication A method for configuring a router is disclosed. The method comprises providing router configuration information. The router configuration information is sent to the router over a cellular data network.
US08971208B2	Multi-channel radio-frequency receiver The invention relates to a multichannel radio-frequency receiver for electromagnetic waves, having a radio-frequency analogue section, which has an input for an electrical signal from a reception device, and having a lower-frequency section, which is connected downstream of the radiofrequency analogue section and has a plurality of parallel channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) for in each case different signal levels and an evaluation circuit, in which, in the radiofrequency analogue section in order to split the signal in accordance with a predeterminable division ratio into signal elements which can be supplied to radio-frequency analogue channels (6a, 7a), downstream from which the channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) of the lower-frequency section are respectively connected, and the channels (6b, 6c; 7b, 7c) of the lower-frequency section each have an evaluation circuit for detection of the phase and amplitude of the respective signal element.
US08971206B2	Self synchronizing data communication method and device A method of receiving a data transmission includes detecting a first switching of a transmission signal to a first signal value, starting a duration measurement of a first time interval that begins with detecting the first switching of the transmission signal, detecting a second switching of the transmission signal to a second signal value, stopping the measurement of the first time interval duration and starting a second duration measurement of a second time interval, detecting a third switching of the transmission signal to the first signal value or to a third signal value, stopping the second measurement in response to detecting the third switching, determining a relation of the first and second time interval durations from the first and second measurements, and determining a data value of the transmission signal based on the determined relation.
US08971203B2	Combining channel quality measurements based on sounding reference signals and demodulation reference signals A first communication node communicates by multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications with a second communication node of a wireless communication system. The method includes receiving a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) over a plurality of subcarriers transmitted by the second communication node for MIMO communications. Channel quality is measured responsive to the sounding reference signal to output a first channel quality value. A demodulation reference signal is received over a plurality of subcarriers transmitted by the second communication node for MIMO communications. Channel quality is measured responsive to the demodulation reference signal to output a second channel quality value. Reliability of the measurements of the first channel quality value and the second channel quality value is determined. The first and second channel quality values are combined while compensating for the determined reliability difference between the measurements to generate a combined channel quality value. Related communication nodes are disclosed.
US08971196B2	Distributed network traffic data collection and storage Network traffic information from multiple sources, at multiple time scales, and at multiple levels of detail are integrated so that users may more easily identify relevant network information. The network monitoring system stores and manipulates low-level and higher-level network traffic data separately to enable efficient data collection and storage. Packet traffic data is collected, stored, and analyzed at multiple locations. The network monitoring locations communicate summary and aggregate data to central modules, which combine this data to provide an end-to-end description of network traffic at coarser time scales. The network monitoring system enables users to zoom in on high-level, coarse time scale network performance data to one or more lower levels of network performance data at finer time scales. When high-level network performance data of interest is selected, corresponding low-level network performance data is retrieved from the appropriate distributed network monitoring locations to provide additional detailed information.
US08971195B2	Querying health of full-meshed forwarding planes In one embodiment, an originating node in a full-mesh computer network receives a trigger to determine integrity of the full-mesh network's data-paths. The originating node determines an ordered list of nodes in the full-mesh computer network. The originating node then sends echo requests to each non-originating node of the ordered list. The originating node may later receive consolidated echo responses from at least some non-originating nodes to which an echo request was sent. Each consolidated echo response indicates a response from the respective non-originating node, and any responses to subsequent echo requests sent by that particular non-originating node to subsequent nodes. The originating node may then use these responses to determine a connectivity status of the full-mesh computer network.
US08971194B2	Controlling wireless transition timers based on application and content Techniques for adaptively controlling wireless transition timers associated with wireless transition states in relation to use of applications by user equipment (UE) are presented herein. A UE can include a transition management component (TMC) that can adaptively control wireless transition timers associated with wireless states based on application type, session content, or other factors. The TMC monitors data flow associated with an application and, for a current or subsequent communication session, controls the length of wireless transition timers and switching between wireless states to improve UE, application, and/or network performance while maintaining QOE for the user. The TMC can access a timer look-up table that maps wireless transition timers to application type, content type, user behavior, or other factors. The TMC also can desirably control maintaining persistence or always-on connections by controlling switching between wireless states using the adapted wireless transition timers.
US08971191B2	Method and apparatus for dynamically changing the monitoring of a cellular data connection A method and apparatus for changing monitoring of a cellular data connection at a mobile device, the method checking, using a processor at the mobile device, whether the mobile device is connected to both the cellular data connection and an alternative data connection; and if yes, extending the slot cycle or suspending monitoring of a slot for the cellular data connection at the mobile device.
US08971190B2	Methods and devices for implementing shortest path bridging MAC mode support over a virtual private LAN service network Methods and devices for implementing Shortest Path Bridging over a VPLS network. The method includes determining, from IS-IS PDU information received by a PE switch, whether a DF configuration for the PE switch needs to be changed and, if so, the method further includes determining whether the PE switch remains a DF for one or more B-VIDs. If the PE switch is no longer a DF for one or more B-VIDs, the method further includes removing local DF associated information for the PE switch from each PW adjacency's LDP database, and removing, from a local IS-IS database, DF associated remote LDP information. The method also includes, if the PE switch has become a DF for one or more of the B-VIDs, adding, from the IS-IS database, local DF information for the PE switch to the LDP databases, and adding, from the LDB databases, DF associated remote information for the PE switch to the IS-IS database.
US08971187B2	Communication relay device, communication relay system, and method of controlling communication relay device A CPU load monitoring unit monitors a load of a server that receives and processes data. An ARP table chance instructing unit instructs a second information processing device, which transmits data in which an IP address of the server is designated as a transmission destination toward a MAC address associated with the designated IP address, to associate an IP address oil the server with a MAC address of a communication relay device when the load of the server is a threshold value or more. A data relay unit receives data in which the IP address of the server is designated as the transmission destination from a client A transmission rate adjusting unit transmits the data received by the data relay unit to the server at a predetermined transmission rate.
US08971186B2	Method and device A method and system is provided for efficiently controlling data packet routing through a switching element which has a first plurality of input ports and a second plurality of output ports. The method and system are configured for detecting issuance of a first congestion indicator from an output port of the switching element which is related to a first routing request received from a first input port. Reassertion of the first routing request is then carried out after a first time period. Similarly, the method and system are configured for detecting issuance of a second congestion indicator from the output port of the switching element, which is related to a second routing request from a second input port. Reassertion of the second routing request is then carried out after a second time period. In addition, the first and second time periods are set up so that reassertions of the first and second connection requests occur substantially simultaneously.
US08971185B1	Tiered subscriber service with advanced header compression methods in a VOIP system One or more computer readable media, methods and systems that allow phone calls involving a mobile telephone to be to be conducted using VOIP technology with header compression of the voice packets and dynamically adjustable tiered subscriber service. A dynamic, tiered-subscriber service allows the bandwidth allotted to users subscribing to different levels of service to be adjusted between sessions to accommodate changing network conditions. Header compression involves compressing the voice packet header into a reduced number of bites. Embodiments of the present invention enable simultaneous header compression and dynamic tiered-subscriber service through a new call flow set up that includes a new policy. The new policy is given preference over the other installed policies and includes new attribute value pairs that enables both header compression and dynamic bandwidth adjustments.
US08971180B2	Pooling available network bandwidth from multiple devices Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for pooling available network bandwidth from multiple devices are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein comprises registering, at a router, availability of a first device, the first device to provide access to first wide area network bandwidth provided by a first wide area network, after registering the availability of the first device, including the first wide area network bandwidth in a network bandwidth pool accessible via the router when a pooling configuration parameter associated with the first device is determined to be valid, the network bandwidth pool including second wide area network bandwidth accessible via a second device registered with the router, the second device being different from the first device, and allocating at least a portion of the network bandwidth pool to route Internet protocol traffic associated with a third device.
US08971176B2	Fibre channel over Ethernet switch implicit logout A process for an implicit logout of links to a fiber channel over Ethernet switch includes receiving, at a second switch, a first message from a first switch. The first message indicates an implicit link logout event on one of two or more links between the first switch and a node. Also, the process includes transmitting a second message from the second switch. The second message indicates zoning information for all of the two or more links between the first switch and the node.
US08971175B2	Method for implementing protection group overlay, and method and system for ethernet protection switching This disclosure discloses a method for implementing protection group overlay and a method for implementing Ethernet protection switching based on the protection group overlay. The method for implementing Ethernet protection switching based on the protection group overlay comprises: when the fault of TESI is detected by multiple IPG which protect the same TESI, only one IPG of the multiple nested IPGs performs protection switching. This disclosure further discloses a system for implementing Ethernet protection switching based on the protection group overlay, comprising a protection switching performing unit, configured to when a fault of a TESI is detected by multiple IPGs which protect the TESI, only one IPG of the multiple nested IPGs performing protection switching. Application of the method and system of this disclosure implements protection for key protected path through protection group overlay, and can achieve effects of saving network resource and increasing utilization rate of network resource.
US08971172B2	Network and fault recovery method A ring network of a multicast label switch path scheme includes a transmitting node and receiving nodes connected to form a ring. A signal input to the transmitting node is branched to be transmitted in first and second different directions to first and second receiving nodes through first and second working paths, respectively, in the ring network. The first and second receiving nodes define terminal points of the first and second working paths, respectively, from the transmitting node. A first backup path is set from the first receiving node to the transmitting node, and a second backup path is set from the second receiving node to the transmitting node. The first backup path is in an opposite direction to the first working path and the second backup path is in an opposite direction to the second working path.
US08971171B2	Reduced FEC overhead in an optical transmission system A transmission system for transmitting data over a channel in the form of a digital signal comprising bits of data, the system comprising an encoder for encoding the data prior to transmission, the encoder producing coding in the form of an overhead, and a decoder for decoding the data after transmission, characterised in that a first portion only of the data is encoded, the second portion remaining uncoded, the system further comprising a partitioner for partitioning the overhead from the uncoded data portion of the signal, after the first portion data has been encoded.
US08971164B2	Optical pick-up device and optical component for the same An optical component for an optical pick-up for converging a laser beam having a particular wavelength onto a recording layer of an optical disc. The optical component comprises a base material formed of a resin composition, an undercoating which is formed of three layers of thin films having a same main constituent and is formed on a top surface of the base material, and a functional thin film formed on a top surface of the undercoating. In this configuration, each of a first layer and a third layer of the undercoating is a thin film formed without introducing oxygen, and a second layer is a thin film formed while introducing oxygen. A film thickness of the undercoating falls within a range of 160 nm to 270 nm, and film thicknesses of the thin films constituting the undercoating are substantially equal to each other.
US08971158B2	Method for securing a decoration to an external timepiece element and external element made in accordance with this method Method for securing a decoration (1) to an external timepiece element (2) coated with a galvanically deposited metallic layer (3). Instead of the decoration (1), a dummy part (5) is temporarily placed in the hole (4) pierced in the external element (2), and the galvanic deposition (3) is then carried out. After the deposition has been levelled, the dummy part (5) is removed and the decoration is placed in the hole (4).
US08971155B2	Radio wave timepiece A radio wave timepiece includes: a display unit, a display drive unit, a receiver unit and a control unit. The display unit displays a current time in a digital manner. The display drive unit drives the display unit by a drive signal of a predetermined drive waveform frequency. The receiver unit is capable of receiving radio waves of a plurality of different frequencies including time information. The control unit sets the drive waveform frequency during the reception of a radio wave by the receiver unit so that harmonic frequencies with respect to the drive waveform frequencies can be different from a receiving frequency of the radio wave.
US08971153B2	Information display device and analog electronic timepiece An information display device includes a dial plate having a display window; a rotatable date display plate provided under the dial plate and having dates to be selectively displayed through the window; an information display plate provided between the dial plate and the date display plate and including a display portion having an information item on a top surface thereof; an information display plate driver capable of moving the information display plate to any one of first and second positions. When the information display plate is in the first position, the display portion does not lie just under the window and a date in a position corresponding to the window is displayed through the window. When the information display plate is in the second position, the display portion is in a position corresponding to the window.
US08971147B2	Control gate word line driver circuit for multigate memory A memory having an array of multi-gate memory cells and a word line driver circuit coupled to a sector of memory cells of the array. In at least one mode of operation, the word line driver circuit is controllable to place an associated control gate word line coupled to the control gate word line driver and coupled to the sector in a floating state during a read operation where the sector is a non selected sector.
US08971142B2	Semiconductor memory device and method of operating the same A semiconductor memory device includes a bit line pre-sense amplifier configured to sense a potential difference between bit line pair and amplify the voltages of the bit line pair based on the sensed potential difference, a bit line main sense amplifier configured to sense a potential difference between the bit line pair and amplify the voltages of the bit line pair to first and second driving voltages based on the sensed potential difference, and a power supplying controller configured to supply the second driving voltage to the bit line pre-sense amplifier and the bit line main sense amplifier.
US08971137B2	Bit based fuse repair In accordance with some embodiments, instead of providing replacement rows, an area within a fuse array may be reserved for storing addresses of bits that are defective. Then these bits can be readily repaired by simply reading the stored state of identified defective bit, and inverting the stored state of the identified defective bit to get the correct output.
US08971136B2	Memory device correcting the effect of collision of high-energy particles A memory device automatically correcting the effect of collisions of high-energy particles, comprising at least one memory cell, and further comprising: retention means for retaining, for a determined period, a single copy of the stored value stored in said memory cell; detection means for detecting a change of state of said memory cell, by comparing the stored value stored in said memory cell with the value in retention in said retention means; and management means suitable for determining whether a detected change of state of said memory cell is due to a high-energy particle and, in which case, to automatically command a reloading of the stored value stored in said retention means into said memory cell.
US08971135B2	Semiconductor memory device receiving data in response to data strobe signal, memory system including the same and operating method thereof A semiconductor memory device includes an input/output circuit configured to receive an address and data from an exterior, and a peripheral circuit configured to receive the address through the input/output circuit and generate a chip selection signal based on the address. The input/output circuit may include a control pad circuit configured to apply or block at least one data strobe signal in response to the chip selection signal, and one or more input/output pad circuits configured to transfer the data to the peripheral circuits in response to the at least one data strobe signal.
US08971132B2	Semiconductor device, method for controlling the same, and semiconductor system The semiconductor device includes a temperature sensor controlled so that temperature measurement is made once at each of a plurality of different reference temperatures at an interval of a preset number of times of refresh operations and a plurality of latch circuits holding the results of temperature measurement. A refresh period is set from outputs of the latch circuits inclusive of the result of temperature measurement carried out last time for each of a plurality of different reference temperatures. After start of measurement, temperature measurements are repeated every wait time corresponding to circulation of the refresh operations. The refresh period is set such that the high-temperature side results of temperature measurement are prioritized.
US08971121B2	Method and devices for memory cell erasure with a programming monitor of reference cells Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices, modules, and systems for operating memory cells. One method includes: performing an erase operation on a selected group of memory cells, the selected group including a number of reference cells and a number of data cells; performing a programming monitor operation on the number of reference cells as part of the erase operation; and determining a number of particular operating parameters associated with operating the number of data cells at least partially based on the programming monitor operation performed on the number of reference cells.
US08971111B2	Threshold voltage calibration using reference pattern detection A memory controller identifies a predominant type of error of a memory unit of solid state memory cells. An error type differential is calculated. The error type differential is a difference between a number of charge loss errors and a number of charge gain errors of the memory unit. A VT offset error differential is calculated. The VT offset error differential is a difference between a number of errors of the predominant type at a first VT offset and a number of errors of the predominant type at a second VT offset. A VT offset is determined using a ratio of the error type differential and the VT offset error differential.
US08971110B2	Nonvolatile memory device and programming method of the same A method is provided for programming a multi-level cell flash memory device. The programming method includes programming a first memory cell of the multi-level call flash memory device to one of first through i-th program states, wherein i is a positive integer, by applying a first program pulse to the first memory cell in a first type programming operation, and programming a second memory cell to one of i+1-th through j-th program states, wherein j is an integer equal to or greater than three, by applying a second program pulse to the second memory cell in a second type programming operation. At least one of a second step voltage, a second bit-line forcing voltage and a second verification operation of the second type programming operation is different from a first step voltage, a first bit-line forcing voltage, and a first verification operation of the first type programming operation, respectively.
US08971104B2	Memory programming to reduce thermal disturb A resistive memory array is programmed such that particular adjacent pairs of memory cells along a bit line having a back-to-back relationship are programmed together. The memory cells having the back-to-back relationship share a continuous chalcogenide material and a SiN material.
US08971103B2	Thermally-assisted MRAM with ferromagnetic layers with temperature dependent magnetization A technique is provided for a thermally assisted magnetoresistive random access memory device. The device has a synthetic antiferromagnetic layer disposed on an antiferromagnetic layer. The synthetic antiferromagnetic layer has a first ferromagnetic storage layer, a non-magnetic coupling layer disposed on the first ferromagnetic storage layer, and a second ferromagnetic storage layer disposed on the non-magnetic coupling layer. A non-magnetic tunnel barrier is disposed on the second ferromagnetic storage layer, and a ferromagnetic sense layer is disposed on the non-magnetic tunnel barrier. A first ferromagnetic critical temperature of the first ferromagnetic storage layer is higher than an antiferromagnetic critical temperature of the antiferromagnetic layer, is higher than a second ferromagnetic critical temperature of the second ferromagnetic storage layer, and is higher than a third ferromagnetic critical temperature of the ferromagnetic sense layer.
US08971102B2	MRAM cell and method for writing to the MRAM cell using a thermally assisted write operation with a reduced field current The present disclosure concerns a method for writing to a MRAM cell comprising a magnetic tunnel junction formed from a storage layer having a storage magnetization; a reference layer having a reference magnetization; and a tunnel barrier layer included between the sense and storage layers; and a current line electrically connected to said magnetic tunnel junction; the method comprising: passing a heating current in the magnetic tunnel junction for heating the magnetic tunnel junction; passing a field current for switching the storage magnetization in a written direction in accordance with the polarity of the field current. The magnitude of the heating current is such that it acts as a spin polarized current and can adjust the storage magnetization; and the polarity of the heating current is such as to adjust the storage magnetization substantially towards said written direction.
US08971098B1	Latch-based array with enhanced read enable fault testing A latch-based array includes a plurality of columns and rows. Each column comprises a plurality of slave latches that all latch in parallel a master-latched data output from the column's master latch during normal operation. In a fault-testing mode of operation, one of the slaves in the column latches an inverted version of the master-latched data output while the remaining slave latches in the column latch the master-latched data output. In this fashion, the slave latches are decorrelated in a single write operation.
US08971094B2	Replacement of a faulty memory cell with a spare cell for a memory circuit A memory interface device has an address input(s) configured to receive address information from an address stream of a host controller; an address output(s) configured to drive address information, and is coupled to a plurality of memory devices; an address match table comprising at least a revised address corresponding to a spare memory location; a control module configured to determine address information from an address stream from an address command bus coupled to a host controller during a run time operation; and a multiplexer coupled to the address input and coupled to the address output.
US08971093B2	Memory device and method of controlling memory device According to one embodiment, a memory device includes a semiconductor layer connected between a first conductive line and one end of a third conductive line, resistance change elements connected between second conductive lines and the third conductive line respectively, a select FET having a select gate electrode, and using the semiconductor layer as a channel, and a control circuit executing a write/erase of at least one of the resistance change elements, and executing a recovering operation which adjusts a threshold voltage shift of the select FET after the write/erase.
US08971090B2	Semiconductor memory device A semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment comprises: a memory cell array including memory cells, each of the memory cells disposed at each of intersections of first lines and second lines and including a variable resistor; and a control circuit configured to apply a first voltage to a selected first line and to apply a second voltage having a voltage value which is smaller than that of the first voltage to a selected second line, such that a selected memory cell is applied with a first potential difference required in an operation of the selected memory cell. The control circuit is configured such that when the first potential difference is applied a plurality of times to a plurality of the selected memory cells to execute the operation, the number of selected memory cells simultaneously applied with the first potential difference can be changed.
US08971085B2	Self-refresh adjustment in memory devices configured for stacked arrangements Disclosed are various embodiments related to stacked memory devices, such as DRAMs, SRAMs, EEPROMs, and CAMs. For example, stack position identifiers (SPIDs) are assigned or otherwise determined, and are used by each memory device to make a number of adjustments. In one embodiment, a self-refresh rate of a DRAM is adjusted based on the SPID of that device. In another embodiment, a latency of a DRAM or SRAM is adjusted based on the SPID. In another embodiment, internal regulation signals are shared with other devices via TSVs. In another embodiment, adjustments to internally regulated signals are made based on the SPID of a particular device. In another embodiment, serially connected signals can be controlled based on a chip SPID (e.g., an even or odd stack position), and whether the signal is an upstream or a downstream type of signal.
US08971082B2	Power conditioning unit with voltage converters A power conditioning unit for delivering power from a power source to a mains utility supply, the power conditioning unit comprising a plurality of input terminals for connecting to the power source, a plurality of output terminals for connecting to the mains utility supply, a voltage increasing converter connected to the input terminals, a voltage reducing converter connected to the voltage increasing converter and a dc-to-ac converter connected to the voltage reducing converter and to the output terminals.
US08971078B2	DC/AC inverter switch controller An inverter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a converter having a switch, configured to convert a DC voltage into a half-wave rectified sine waveform voltage; a switching device unit having a switch, configured to convert the half-wave rectified sine waveform voltage into a sine waveform voltage; and a controller configured to control the on/off of the switch of the converter and the switch of the switching device unit.
US08971074B2	Bias supply, a power supply and a method of using bias supply voltage levels to signal information across an isolation barrier A bias supply, a method of communicating data across an isolation barrier and a power supply are provided herein. In one embodiment, the bias supply includes: (1) a bias supply transformer having a primary winding inductively coupled to a secondary winding across an isolation barrier, (2) a controller configured to direct operation of the bias supply and (3) bias voltage manipulating circuitry, coupled to an input of the controller, configured to receive primary data and based thereon alter a secondary bias output voltage of the secondary winding between defined voltage levels by varying a voltage provided to the controller, the controller and the bias voltage manipulating circuitry located on the primary side.
US08971073B2	System and method for providing a high efficiency bypass circuit for multi-stage DC-DC converters used in battery powered systems A system and method are disclosed for providing a high efficiency bypass circuit for multi-stage direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converters used in battery powered systems. When the system is operating in a battery mode, the vehicle power source is unplugged from the power supply input connector and the external battery is connected in its place. The system uses a relay to bypass the flyback converter so as to connect the boost converter output directly to the output terminals. The system uses a single control signal to: 1) energize the relay connecting the boost converter output directly to the output terminals, 2) adjust the boost converter circuit to cause the boost converter to deliver a voltage equal to what the flyback converter would have delivered, and 3) disable the flyback converter.
US08971067B2	Output current distortion compensating apparatus in inverter An output current distortion compensating apparatus in an inverter is disclosed, the inverter including an inverter controller generating a PWM signal for controlling a PWM voltage generator, wherein the inverter controller includes a first dead time compensation voltage generator generating a compensation voltage based on an output current polarity of each phase in the inverter, and a second dead time compensation voltage generator generating a compensation voltage based on an output current waveform of each phase in the inverter, and wherein a first dead time compensation voltage outputted from the first dead time compensation voltage generator and a second dead time compensation voltage outputted from the second dead time compensation voltage generator are added to generate a final dead time compensation voltage, thereby preventing occurrence of hunting phenomenon in which a current is greatly fluctuated.
US08971066B2	Harmonic current suppression method and harmonic current suppression device of power conversion device A current control unit takes a deviation between a current command value and a current flowing through an inverter of a power conversion device, and controls the inverter based on the deviation. A harmonic sensing part receives input of an output current of an AC filter, and outputs a predetermined order harmonic of the input current in a direct current value form. A disturbance observer estimates the disturbance of the harmonic based on the output current and a coefficient defined as an inverse function of a transfer function from harmonic suppression current command value to filter output current detection value. A harmonic suppression control unit takes the deviation between the estimated harmonic disturbance and a disturbance command value that suppresses the disturbance, and calculates a harmonic suppression current command value. The harmonic suppression current command value is superimposed on the current command value of the current control unit.
US08971063B2	Grid tied inverter, system and method including a buck-boost mode A grid tied inverter connectable to an electricity grid, the grid tied inverter comprising a DC to DC current fed push-pull converter operable to generate a current waveform from a DC voltage source, the current waveform being substantially synchronised to the electricity grid, and a transformer having a first side connected to the DC to DC current fed converter and a second side having an output line connectable to the grid.
US08971061B2	Off time control method for switching regulator The present invention provides an off time control method and switching regulator using it. The current flowing through a switch is compared with a current threshold, and the switch is turned off if the current flowing through the switch is larger than the current threshold. The off time of the switch is determined by the load. The current threshold is variable at light load to prevent generating the audible noise and improve the whole efficiency.
US08971059B2	Resonant converting circuit and resonant controller A current detecting circuit detects a resonant current in a primary side of a resonant converting circuit to generate a current detecting signal. An output detecting circuit generates a feedback signal according to the output voltage. A resonant controller generates a clock signal and adjusts an operating frequency of the clock signal in response to the feedback signal for modulating the output voltage of the resonant circuit. The resonant controller includes a resonance deviation protection unit which detects the current detecting signal according to a phase of the clock signal to determine whether the resonant circuit enters a region of zero current switching or not. When the resonant circuit enters the region of zero current switching, the resonant controller executes a corresponding protection process in response to that the resonant controller operates in a starting mode or a normal operating mode.
US08971049B1	Portable electronic device having integrated peripheral expansion module A portable electronic device, a peripheral expansion module and methods for assembling a peripheral expansion module onto a portable electronic device are provided herein. The portable electronic device may comprise a main housing unit having a front cover and a back cover which, when coupled together, enclose internal components of the portable electronic device. The peripheral expansion module, comprising one or more peripheral devices coupled within or on a peripheral module housing, may be securely integrated with the portable electronic device. A majority of the peripheral expansion module may be positioned outside of the main housing unit along one side of the portable electronic device. In some embodiments, the peripheral expansion module includes a pair of rails, which extend out from within an interior of the module housing for attachment via one or more mechanical fasteners to an interior surface of the main housing unit of the portable electronic device.
US08971039B2	Battery pack, holster, and extendible processing and interface platform for mobile devices A battery pack is provided for a mobile communication device, comprising a casing defining a cavity that conforms, at least partially, to the outer shape of the mobile communication device and one or more rechargeable power cells housed within the thickness of the casing. An internal interface engages a corresponding interface on the mobile communication device to provide power from the one or more rechargeable cells to the mobile communication device. An external interface is electrically coupled to the internal interface in order to transmit signals from the mobile communication device to an external device and may further serve to recharge the one or more rechargeable power cells. The battery pack may also serve as an extendible platform by providing additional integrated communication interfaces and/or processors that can be utilized by the mobile communication device to extend its communication and/or processing capabilities.
US08971034B2	Display device with flexible display A display device including a device body, a continuous flexible display and a support frame is disclosed. A support frame is movable with respect to the device body between a closed configuration for fixing the flexible display in a storage position and an open configuration for fixing the flexible display in an open position. In the open configuration at least one surface support part of the support frame and the surface support part of a lower body side of the device body are positioned in one plane, enabling a supporting of the surface support part of the support frame and of the device body on a surface. In the closed configuration, the device body is partially covered by a portion of the support frame, and the flexible display is sandwiched between the device body and the portion of the support frame.
US08971033B2	Clamshell device with anti-wobble holding mechanism A clamshell device comprises a base module, a cover module, a center hinge for hinging the cover module to the base module, and a holding mechanism. The holding mechanism is coupled between corresponding sides of the base module and the cover module such that when the cover module is at an open angle pivotally away from the base module, the cover module is capable of being steadily held at the open angle.
US08971031B2	Display system with a flexible display A display system includes a continuous flexible display, and two main display supports, hingeable with respect to each other and each structurally configured to support a respective portion of the flexible display. The two main display supports are rotatable in opposite directions connected to each other by a respective hinge of a hinge mechanism. The main display supports are rotatable between a configuration for fixing the flexible display in a closed storage position and a planar configuration for fixing the flexible display in an open position. The two main display supports are coupled with each other by a movement synchronizing coupling enabling during movement between the closed and open position a mutual substantially synchronized rotating of the main display supports at substantially equal but opposite angles.
US08971028B2	Display module A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include a single piece housing and a display module. The display module can include a protective top glass cover that is bonded to a plastic display frame and surrounded by a seal frame. The display module can also include a display panel and its associated circuitry suspended from the display frame below the protective glass cover. The display module is coupled to the single piece housing using mounting clips in a manner that allows the display module to move relative to the single piece housing during an impact event. The plastic display frame can include inserts that provide structural support near openings in the single piece housing.
US08971025B2	Devices and methods for aligning a display with a keyboard Methods and devices are provided for aligning a display with a keyboard. In one exemplary embodiment, a device is provided that includes a lid and a based hingedly connected together to allow the computing device to be opened and closed. When the device is opened, the lid can be configured to automatically move relative to the base. In this way, a display included in the lid can be moved relative to a keyboard included in the base to align to display and the keyboard in an optimal orientation relative to one another, e.g., with the display centered relative to a center of an alphanumeric portion of the keyboard.
US08971024B1	Input for computing device Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to inputs for computing devices. For example, an input, such as a keyboard, may include a plurality of layers, such as a base layer. The base layer may include a cutout defined at least partially by interior edges of the base layer. An antenna may be secured to a structural member of the computing device, and the antenna may receive electromagnetic radiation through the cutout in the base layer. In another example, the antenna may be mounted to a lower surface of a key cap.
US08971023B2	Wearable computing device frame A device is configured to be worn on a user's head. In one aspect, the device includes a center frame support and first and second side arms. Each side arm has a first end connecting to the center frame support and a free end remote from the first end. The device also includes an extension arm that projects from one of the side arms in a direction proximate the center frame support. The extension arm is configured to present information to the user via a display device. The center frame support and the first and second side arms form a band worn on the user's head. In one embodiment, the free end of the first side arm is elongated relative to the free end of the second side arm to form an asymmetric U shape. In another embodiment, a removable or adjustable nose bridge couples to the center frame support.
US08971022B2	Electrode foil and method for manufacturing same, and capacitor An electrode foil including a substrate made of metal material, a first layer made of metal oxide and formed on the substrate, a second layer made of TiNxOy (x>y>0) and formed on the first layer, and a third layer made of TiNxOy (0
US08971021B2	Solid electrolytic capacitor and method for manufacturing the same A solid electrolytic capacitor includes an anode body, a dielectric coating provided on a surface of the anode body, and a first conductive polymer layer provided on the anode body. The first conductive polymer layer includes a bis(perfluoroalkanesulfonyl)imide anion and an organic solvent having a boiling point of 240° C. or higher.
US08971015B2	Electronic component An electronic component includes a laminate including a plurality of insulating layers that are laminated on each other. A capacitor conductor is embedded in the laminate and includes an exposed portion exposed between the insulating layers at a predetermined surface of the laminate. An external electrode is provided on the predetermined surface by direct plating so as to cover the exposed portion. An outer edge of the external electrode is spaced away from the exposed portion by about 0.8 μm or more.
US08971013B2	Electronic devices with floating metal rings A electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first electrode formed in a first layer; a second electrode formed in the first layer, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are symmetrically disposed with respect to a first point; and a first floating metal ring formed in the first layer and enclosing the first electrode and the second electrode.
US08971011B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a first static actuator having a first drive electrode and a second drive electrode, the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode being capable of coming close to each other upon shifting from an open state to a close state due to an electrostatic attractive force against an elastic force thereof; a detection circuit configured to detect a temperature of the first static actuator; and a drive circuit configured to apply a first voltage between the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode to maintain the first static actuator in the closed state between the first drive electrode and the second drive electrode, and to switch a polarity of the first voltage every first time period. The drive circuit varies a length of the first time period based on a detection result of the detection circuit.
US08971008B2	Electrostatic chuck According to one embodiment, an electrostatic chuck includes: a ceramic dielectric substrate, an electrode, and a conductive member. The ceramic dielectric substrate has a first major surface on which a material to be adsorbed is to be mounted and a second major surface on a side opposite the first major surface. The electrode is interposed between the first major surface and the second major surface of the ceramic dielectric substrate. The conductive member is provided in a recess formed in the second major surface of the ceramic dielectric substrate. A tip end of the recess has a curved surface.
US08971004B2	Variable precision thermal sensor A high accuracy on-chip thermal sensor includes an integrated circuit and sensing elements. The thermal sensor finds application in various mobile and battery powered devices and includes a processor that analyzes a measured temperature signal and decides if the thermal sensor operates in low or high power operational mode, or if the device's CPU is to be reset. A method utilizing the thermal sensor includes making comparisons to two threshold temperatures and operating at low power mode below the first threshold temperature, high power mode between the two threshold temperatures and causing reset if the second threshold temperature is exceeded. Low power operational mode includes a lower clock frequency, lower bias current and lower power consumption. Higher power operational mode is used when the upper threshold temperature is being approached and includes a higher data sampling frequency and more accurate temperature control and uses higher power.
US08971003B2	Electronic control device including interrupt wire An electronic control device includes one or more substrates, a casing, a plurality of circuit blocks, a common wire, a plurality of branch wires and two interrupt wires. The circuit blocks are disposed on the substrates and the substrates are disposed in the casing. The common wire is shared by the circuit blocks. The branch wires are respectively coupled between the circuit blocks and the common wire. The two interrupt wires are respectively coupled with two of the common wire and the branch wires for overcurrent protection of the circuit blocks.
US08971000B2	Leak current absorption circuit, voltage generating circuit, power supply apparatus, and vehicle A leak current absorption circuit for absorbing a leak current from an output transistor includes a switch connected to a grounding node on one end, a constant voltage circuit connected between the other end of the switch and an output node, a switch-operating circuit connected between the output node and the grounding node to operate the switch based on a voltage of the output node. When the voltage of the output node becomes equal to a predetermined threshold voltage or more, the switch-operating circuit turns on the switch to clamp the voltage of the output node by allowing at least a portion of the leak current from the output transistor flow to the grounding node.
US08970992B2	Write head with modified side shields A write head, the write head having an air bearing surface, the write head including a magnetic write pole, wherein at the air bearing surface, the write pole has a trailing surface, a leading surface that is opposite the trailing surface, and first and second surfaces; a trailing shield proximate the trailing surface of the magnetic write pole; first and second gaps proximate the first and second surfaces of the magnetic write pole; first and second side shields proximate the first and second gaps, each of the first and second side shields having a trailing shield surface; and first and second antiferromagnetic-coupling layers positioned between the trailing shield surfaces of the first and second side shields and the trailing shield.
US08970989B1	Hard disk drive suspension with reduced PSA change due to humidity and temperature variations In a disk drive suspension circuit, in order to improve stability of the stable pitch static attitude (PSA) over changes in humidity, the suspended portion of the flexible circuit and/or the gimbal support arm are modified to change their response(s) to humidity. Additional hygroscopic material is added to the circuit, and/or the polyimide insulating layer or the coverlayer are selectively removed, so that the net bend in the suspended portion of the circuit over humidity is reduced, ideally to a condition of zero or close to zero net bending. Hygroscopic material such as the material of the insulating layer may be added to the stainless steel gimbal support arm, so that in response to humidity it bends in the opposite direction as the suspended portion of the circuit.
US08970986B2	Magnetic head and magnetic head assembly having a spin torque oscillator A magnetic head includes a main magnetic pole, a trailing shield that forms a magnetic circuit with the main magnetic pole, a spin torque oscillator that is provided between the main magnetic pole and the trailing shield, a first cooling layer that partially has a Heusler structure, and a second cooling layer that is provided on the first cooling layer and mainly comprised of silver. The first cooling layer and the second cooling layer are provided either between the main magnetic pole and spin torque oscillator or between the trailing shield and the spin torque oscillator, with either of the two cooling layers being disposed closer to the spin torque oscillator. A third cooling layer may be formed to be in contact with the first cooling layer.
US08970985B2	Graded bevel tapered write pole design for field enhancement A structure and a process for a perpendicular write pole that provides increased magnetic flux at the ABS is disclosed. This is accomplished by increasing the amount of write flux that originates above the write gap, without changing the pole taper at the ABS. Three embodiment of the invention are discussed.
US08970983B1	Disk storage apparatus and method for adjusting head disk interference sensor threshold According to one embodiment, a disk storage apparatus includes a disk, a slider, and a controller. The slider includes a head having a write element, a read element, and a head disk interference (HDI) sensor. The controller detects at least abnormality in vibration of the head based on an alternating current component of interference detected by the HDI sensor and an HDI sensor threshold. The controller further measures a characteristic of the HDI sensor and a flying height of the head and adjusts the HDI sensor threshold based on results of the measurements.
US08970982B1	Disk drive compensating for non-linearity of a head based on a fly height of the head A disk drive is disclosed comprising a disk comprising a plurality of servo tracks, wherein each servo track comprises a plurality of servo sectors. A position of the head is measured based on the servo sectors, and a compensated position of the head is generated based on the measured position of the head and a fly height of the head. The head is actuated over the disk based on the compensated position of the head.
US08970973B2	Lens actuating device A lens actuating device includes a fixed member, an adjustable member, a driving unit and a movable support unit. The adjustable member is movably disposed in the fixed member along an optical axis, and has a lens module disposed therein. The driving unit is disposed between the fixed member and the adjustable member to provide a driving force for the adjustable member. The movable support unit is disposed at one side of the adjustable member opposite to the driving unit and has a first guiding structure formed on an inner side of the fixed member parallel to the optical axis, a second guiding structure, and a plurality of rolling members. The rolling members are configured into two rows and are disposed between the first and second guiding structures to fix the seconding guiding structure such that the displacement of the adjustable member is constrained along the optical axis.
US08970972B2	Camera lens A camera lens is formed with a casing and a lens stack having at least one lens element, the lens stack arranged within the casing. A spring arrangement is pre-compressed to exert a clamping force between the casing and the lens stark basically in a direction of an optical axis of the at least one lens element.
US08970969B2	Image lens with high resolution and small distance An image lens, in the order from the object side to the image side thereof, includes a first lens including a first surface and a second surface, a second lens including a third surface and a fourth surface, a third lens including a fifth surface and a sixth surface, a fourth lens including a seventh surface and a eighth surface, a fifth lens including a ninth surface and a tenth surface, and an image plane. The image lens satisfies the following formulas: (1) D/TTL>0.94; (2) D/L>1.21; wherein D is the maximum image diameter of the image plane; TTL is a total length of the image lens, and L is a distance from an outmost edge of the tenth surface to an optical axis of the image lens along a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.
US08970968B2	Photographing lens system A photographing lens system includes a positive front lens group, an aperture diaphragm, and a positive rear lens group, in that order from the object side. The front lens group includes at least one negative lens element, and at least two positive cemented lenses, in that order from the object side, and the following conditions are satisfied: 0.35
US08970964B2	Projection objective lens system A projection objective lens system includes from an object plane to an image plane: a first lens group (S1) with a positive refractive power; a second lens group (S2) with a negative refractive power; a third lens group (S3) with a positive refractive power; a fourth lens group (S4) with a negative refractive power; and a fifth lens group (S5) with a positive refractive power being divided into two sub-lens groups. An aperture stop (AS) is provided between the two sub-lens groups. The following conditions are met: 0.12<\|L/f\|<0.4, and ΔR/R<1%, wherein, f is an effective focal length of the system, L is a distance between the object and image planes, ΔR represents a difference between radii at the aperture stop of a marginal field beam bundle and a central field beam bundle, and R represents a radius at the aperture stop of a central field beam bundle.
US08970963B2	Multiple beam combiner for laser processing apparatus Apparatus and methods for combining beams of amplified radiation are disclosed. A beam combiner has a collimating optic positioned to receive a plurality of coherent radiation beams at a constant angle of incidence with respect to an optical axis of the collimating optic. The respective angles of incidence may also be different in some embodiments. The collimating optic has an optical property that collimates the beams. The optical property may be refractive or reflective, or a combination thereof. A collecting optic may also be provided to direct the plurality of beams to the collimating optic. The beam combiner may be used in a thermal processing apparatus to combine more than two beams of coherent amplified radiation, such as lasers, into a single beam.
US08970962B2	Visor heads-up display A wearable system is shown that presents one or more heads-up displays to the wearer. A data source provides information to an image generator that is sufficient to generate one or more display images, which are still or moving, characters or graphical displays. The output image from the image generator passes through a lens, reflects off a curved mirror, and passes back through the lens the other way. The image then passes through two lenses, between which an intermediate image exists. The image reflects off the “lens,” or visor, of the glasses and proceeds to the pupil of the wearer's eye. Alternative embodiments use a helmet visor, mirror, or other (at least partially) reflective surface for the final reflection.
US08970961B2	Display device comprising multifunction glass, production method and optical element having a fresnel structure A multifunction optical element including an image generating module that generates an image, and couples the image into a multifunction glass that has a coupling in area and a coupling out area. The image produced is coupled into the multifunction glass via the coupling in area, guided in the multifunction glass to the coupling in area, and coupled out via the coupling out area, in such a way that the user can perceive the coupled out image superimposed on the surroundings when the holding device is placed on the head of the user. The coupling out area has a Fresnel structure which receives light from the coupling-in-area via a folded beam path and couples the image out of the multifunction optical element. The coupling out element has an imaging property.
US08970960B2	Augmented reality head gear An augmented reality electronic head gear is disclosed. The head gear includes an electronic device compartment configured to receive and support an electronic device such as an iPhone®. The head gear further includes a reflective surface configured to reflect the display of the electronic device to the eyes of a user. The head set is configured to rest upon a user's head, keeping the user's hands free and able to interact with the surrounding environment, while the user's eyes view real-time images of the surrounding environment being augmented.
US08970953B2	Identification medium and identification method therefor An identification medium is provided in which latent image having plural colors can be observed even when the identification medium is spaced away from a polarization filter. A cholesteric liquid crystal layer is provided as a specific polarization light reflection layer which reflects light having a specific polarized condition. An optical anisotropic layer having an optical anisotropy is provided at an upper position overlapping with the specific polarization light reflection layer. An image A fanned by an area having an optical anisotropy different from that of surroundings is formed at the optical anisotropic layer. When the identification medium is directly viewed, the influence of the optical anisotropy cannot be seen. When the identification medium is observed via a circular polarization filter, the image can be seen to have a specific color by the influence of the optical anisotropy.
US08970949B2	Optical body with suppressed change in color tone and window member, fitting, and solar shading including the optical body An optical body includes a first optical layer having a concave-convex surface, a wavelength-selective reflecting layer formed on the concave-convex surface, and a second optical layer formed on the wavelength-selective reflecting layer to embed the concave-convex surface, the wavelength-selective reflecting layer having a multilayer structure formed by successively stacking at least a first high refractive index layer, a metal layer, and a second high refractive index layer, wherein, given that optical film thicknesses of the first high refractive index layer and the second high refractive index layer are x and y, respectively, and a geometrical film thickness of the metal layer is z, x, y and z satisfy the following formula (1): z ≤ 12.1 ⁢ exp ⁢ { - 1 2 ⁢ ( x - 120 145.17 ) 2 - 1 2 ⁢ ( y - 120 123.14 ) 2 } ( 1 )
US08970947B2	Auto-cladded multi-core optical fibers Embodiments of auto-cladded optical fibers are described. The fibers may have a refractive index profile having a small relative refractive index change. For example, the fiber may include an auto-cladded structure having, e.g., a trough or gradient in the refractive index profile. A beam of light propagating in the fiber may be guided, at least in part, with the auto-cladded structure. In some embodiments, the optical fiber may be all glass. In some embodiments, the optical fiber may include a large-core or an ultra large-core.
US08970941B2	Analog IMOD having a color notch filter This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus related to an electromechanical display device. In one aspect, an analog interferometric modulator (AIMOD) includes a reflective display pixel having a movable reflective layer and a stationary absorber layer, the reflective layer and absorber layer defining a cavity therebetween. A color notch filter may be employed to produce an improved white state. In some implementations, the color notch filter is positioned on a side of the substrate opposite the absorber layer. In some other implementations, the color notch filter is positioned between the substrate and the movable reflective layer.
US08970939B2	Method and device for multistate interferometric light modulation A multi-state light modulator comprises a first reflector. A first electrode is positioned at a distance from the first reflector. A second reflector is positioned between the first reflector and the first electrode. The second reflector is movable between an undriven position, a first driven position, and a second driven position, each having a corresponding distance from the first reflector. In one embodiment, the three positions correspond to reflecting white light, being non-reflective, and reflecting a selected color of light. Another embodiment is a method of making the light modulator. Another embodiment is a display including the light modulator.
US08970938B2	Electrochromic device An electrochromic device (1) comprises a layered structure (11) having an ion conducting electrolyte layer (20). The ion conducting electrolyte layer (20) in turn comprises particles (30) absorbing electromagnetic radiation. The particles (30) are electrically conducting. The particles have a main light absorption above 700 nm.
US08970937B2	Electrochromic materials and electrochromic devices using the same Disclosed herein are novel electrochromic materials. The electrochromic materials produce various colors. The electrochromic materials can be used to form red electrochromic layers in a simple manner. Therefore, the electrochromic materials are suitable for use in the fabrication of RGB full-color electrochromic devices. Also disclosed herein are electrochromic devices fabricated using the electrochromic materials.
US08970933B2	Head-up display device for vehicle A HUD device includes a stepper motor, which rotates a reflection mirror for adjusting a display position of a virtual image. The stepper motor has an electric stabilization point and a mechanical stabilization point. A control system controls a drive signal for the stepper motor to change by a step angle at every predetermined period Ts in response to an adjustment instruction inputted from an adjustment switch. The control system continues to apply the drive signal until the electric stabilization point is attained even after the adjustment instruction is stopped to operate the stepper motor in a powered rotation mode. The stepper motor then operates in an inertia rotation mode toward the mechanical stabilization point is attained.
US08970930B2	Sheet conveying device capable of preventing edges of sheet from curling A sheet conveying device includes: a conveying unit; and a controller. The conveying unit is configured to convey a sheet along a conveying path. The sheet has a leading edge and a trailing edge. The conveying path includes a segment that is curved. The controller is configured to control the conveying unit to convey the sheet, determine whether or not a halting condition for halting conveyance of the sheet is met, and halt, if the halting condition is met, conveyance of the sheet when one of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet is positioned in a segment of the conveying path different from the segment that is curved.
US08970926B2	Document reading apparatus and method of controlling the same A document reading apparatus includes a conveyance unit for conveying a document and a reading unit for reading an image of a document. In the document reading apparatus, the reading unit includes a platen glass. The conveyance unit allows a cleaning member of a cleaning roller to start contact with the front end in a conveyance direction of a document, on the platen glass, upstream in the conveyance direction from a reading position.
US08970923B2	Scanning device A scanning device has a controller which is configured to judge whether the scanning device is to be operated in a conveyed sheet scanning mode in which the controller controls a conveying unit to convey a sheet and control the scanning unit to scan images on the sheet being conveyed, or in a held sheet scanning mode in which the sheet stationarily held by a sheet table is scanned, to display functions related to the conveyed sheet scanning mode on a display unit in a first prioritized manner when the controller judges that the scanning device is to be operated in the conveyed sheet scanning mode, and to display functions related to the held sheet scanning mode on the display unit in a second prioritized manner when the controller judges that the scanning device is to be operated in the held sheet scanning mode.
US08970920B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method The apparatus of the present invention totalizes a frequency distribution while switching frequency distributions as targets, for each region having a set width, by using a sensor which captures document image data and a setting unit which sets a region width in accordance with frequency distribution generation targets. Upon detecting the trailing end of the document, the apparatus decides a remainder region which is not a totalization target in accordance with the remaining amount of image data of the document, and does not totalize any frequency distribution in the remainder region.
US08970917B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method An image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: an identifying area dividing unit configured to divide the image data into plural identifying areas; a binarization processing unit configured to perform a binarization process for the identifying areas with respective binarization threshold values preset for the identifying areas; a black pixel number identifying unit configured to identify whether or not the numbers of pixels with a density value of black in the respective identifying area exceed respective number threshold values preset for the identifying areas; and a blank sheet identifying unit configured to identify that the image data is image data of a blank sheet if the black pixel number identifying unit identifies that none of the numbers of pixels with the density value of black in the respective identifying areas exceeds the number threshold value.
US08970911B2	Image processing apparatus By using different conversion patterns from input gradation values to output gradation values for each coordinate inside a continuous region with a predetermined area, an image processing circuit is for halftoning which approximately expresses a number of gradations which is higher than the number of gradations which are output for each dot is optimized for each type of apparatus while being shared between types of devices where the number of gradations in the output gradation values is different. There is an image processing apparatus where the number of indexes is relatively high in a case which corresponds to a low gradation level which is a halftone level where the number of gradations in the corresponding output gradation values is relatively low.
US08970909B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus of this invention determines a correction amount for each image signal so as to correct banding as periodic density unevenness in a sub scanning direction, corrects each pixel value of an n-bit image signal in accordance with the correction amount, generates the first corrected image signal, and quantizes, for each pixel, the first corrected image signal into a second corrected image signal of m bits smaller than n bits. This image forming apparatus diffuses, in a main scanning direction, quantization errors at the time of quantization of the first corrected image signal into the second corrected image signal so as to cancel the quantization errors within a predetermined region including a plurality of continuous pixels on a main scanning line.
US08970905B2	Profile setting apparatus, profile setting method, storage medium, and profile managing system A combination of types of a printing device, a print medium, an input color space characteristic which is a color space characteristic of an object to be reproduced, and an output color space characteristic which is a color space characteristic of a print, is designated with respect to a printing job to be executed. A device link profile corresponding to the designated combination is set with respect to the printing job to be executed.
US08970904B2	Printing apparatus, method and computer program forming an engraved image on a recording medium A printer apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium by providing a heat amount according to a gradation includes a first image forming unit configured to form a first image by transferring ink to the recording medium, and a second image forming unit configured to form a second image by forming concavity and convexity on the recording medium. The second image forming unit forms concavity and convexity on a surface of the recording medium by setting one of a gradation of a drawing region of the second image and a gradation of a drawing peripheral region surrounding the drawing region higher than a predetermined threshold gradation, and setting the other of the gradation of the drawing region and the gradation of the drawing peripheral region lower than the predetermined threshold gradation.
US08970903B2	Devices and methods for printing background images Disclosed is a printing apparatus that forms a color image and a background image on a medium by repeating a dot formation operation of causing ink to be discharged from a first nozzle array and a second nozzle array moving in a moving direction so as to form the color dot and the background dot on the medium and a transport operation of transporting the medium in a transport direction, wherein a pixel in which the background dot is formed on the color dot and a pixel in which the color dot is formed on the background dot are mixed so as to form an area where the color image and the background image overlap.
US08970902B2	Red-eye removal systems and method for variable data printing (VDP) workflows A VDP workflow system and method are disclosed. The system includes an image memory to store a photograph image. The system also includes a VDP document tool to access the photograph image from the image memory and to generate a VDP document comprising the photograph image. The system further includes a red-eye removal tool to process the VDP document to discover red-eye artifacts and to remove the red-eye artifacts from the photograph image on the VDP document based on a programmable red-eye sensitivity value.
US08970898B2	Image processing method, electronic apparatus, and image forming apparatus An image processing method includes an extraction step, a specifying step, and a data generating step. The extraction step extracts the positions of one or a plurality of objects and the position of a reference character indicating reference to each object, included in image data. Based on the extraction result of the extraction step, the specifying step specifies, among the objects, a specific object for which the corresponding reference character is to be printed on a side opposite to the object printed side when the image data is printed by both-side printing. The data generating step, based on the image data, generates edited image data in which the specific object is copied to a position that allows the specific object to be printed on a paper sheet different from that for the reference character corresponding to the specific object when the both-side printing is performed.
US08970894B2	Print processing apparatus for printing a print job having a paper type not included in a paper information database Before transmitting a print job to a printing apparatus, a CPU of a print processing apparatus determines whether paper information designated in the print job has been registered in a paper information database of the print processing apparatus. If the paper information has not been registered, the CPU extracts paper information similar to the paper information designated in the print job from those stored in the paper information database of the print processing apparatus. Furthermore, the CPU copies information about the dependency on the printing apparatus, which is included in the extracted paper information (printer dependency information) to the paper information designated in the print job. Then, the CPU registers the paper information designated in the print job, to which the printer dependency information has been copied, in a paper information database of the printing apparatus and transmits the print job to the printing apparatus.
US08970893B1	Method of producing an ordered stack of bound product information sheets for a store from planogram or ordered data An ordered stack of bound sheets may comprise a set of printed product information sheets. An individual bound sheet may comprise a single printed product information sheet or may comprise a plurality of printed product information sheets. Each of the individual printed product information sheets may be detached from the ordered stack of bound sheets in the order in which the printed product information sheets are presented. The individual printed product information sheets (which are detached from the ordered stack in order) may be connected to structures in the stores based on a planogram for a set of products for display in the store. The order of the printed product information sheets may match an order in which the sheets are positioned based on the planogram.
US08970889B2	Information processing apparatus, print system control method, and storage medium receiving a setting screen for setting positional information from an image forming apparatus The information processing apparatus receives a screen for setting positional information about an image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus and displays the screen, acquires positional information about the information processing apparatus in response to the selection of settings for the positional information via the screen by a user, and transmits the acquired positional information about the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus. In this manner, the positional information about the information processing apparatus is set as the positional information about the image forming apparatus.
US08970881B1	System and method for handling multi-function printers and applications at a facsimile server Embodiments disclosed herein disclose methods and systems utilizing a fax server. The method may include configuring at least one setting for a multifunction printer (MFP) at the fax server. The method may further include receiving a document. The method may further include determining the at least one setting associated with the MFP based on a network address associated with the received document and applying the at least one setting for the MFP at the fax server.
US08970880B2	System, method and computer program product for multi-tenant facsimile server In embodiments disclosed herein disclose methods and systems for providing a multitenant facsimile server. The computer instructions may be executable to maintain a set of entity information, wherein the entity information defines a plurality of tenants, and maintain a database configured to store transmitted and received fax documents corresponding to a plurality of tenants. The computer instructions may be further executable to receive a facsimile document at the fax server, wherein the facsimile document comprises one of a document to be transmitted or a received fax. The computer instructions may be further executable to identify a tenant associated with the document based on an identifier. Further, the computer instructions may be executable to store the document in the database, wherein the document is associated with the tenant in the database.
US08970878B2	System, apparatus and method for processing document for combined-page output Apparatuses, systems and methods are provided for reducing consumption of paper and other resources in connection with printing, copying, etc, by converting a document suitable for combined-page print, to a combined-page output, even when the user has not specified combined-page output.
US08970877B2	Using a generic email address of a server and a sender email address to determine a destination printer for print data An electronic message is received from a sender having a destination address indicative of a request to print data included in the message. A printer is determined to fulfill the request based at least in part on the sender address and a printer characteristic. The data to be printed is sent to the printer for fulfillment of the request.
US08970876B2	Printing system, cloud computing system, printing system control method, and storage medium A cloud computing system includes an input data storage unit, a data input unit, an output data storage unit, and a data extraction unit. When an execution instruction is externally input, the cloud computing system reads data from the input data storage unit and processes the read data. Then, the cloud computing system stores a result of processing of the data on the output data storage unit.
US08970874B2	Information processing apparatus, method of controlling the same, and storage medium When displaying an access history, information input from a user's mobile terminal is displayed and catches the eye of many and unspecified persons. In an information processing apparatus according to the present invention, when displaying a plurality of job histories stored, if at least some of pieces of information of the history of a job requested by a mobile terminal is set to non-display, control is performed not to display, out of the plurality of job histories displayed, the at least some of the pieces of information of the history of the job requested by the mobile terminal.
US08970871B2	Document processing system that embeds unique information in document A document processing system includes a unique information acquiring section, a similar document element selecting section and a replacement document data acquiring section. The unique information acquiring section acquires unique information to be recorded. The similar document element selecting section selects one similar document element corresponding to the unique information from each of one or a plurality of groups of similar document elements. The one or the plurality of groups of similar document elements relate to one or a plurality of document elements respectively. The one or the plurality of document elements is contained in document data. The replacement document data acquiring section acquires replacement document data which is generated by replacing the document elements with the respective similar document elements selected by the similar document element selecting section.
US08970851B2	Detecting method and device for curved surface precision of dish parabolic reflecting mirror A method and device for detecting a precision of a dish parabolic reflecting mirror are provided. Accurate coordinate values of positions on an X-axis and a Y-axis may be obtained by adjusting and controlling a double helix lifting mechanism, a 360-degree plane rotary mechanism, a telescoping mechanism, and an extension rod, and using a photoelectric position sensor with a high precision and the extension rod being measured. Then, the curved surface of the dish paraboloid reflecting mirror being detected is obtained by fitting sampling values of the coordinate values of spatial positions of the detecting points at various, and the precision error value by comparing the curved surface of the dish paraboloid reflecting mirror being detected to the theoretical curved surface, thereby realizing detection of the precision of the curved surface of the dish paraboloid reflecting mirror.
US08970850B2	Method and apparatus for surface profilometry Methods of performing surface profilometry are provided. A low coherence light beam is scanned relative to a sample surface. The intensity of interference fringes generated by the interference of a sample beam and a reference beam are recorded by an image sensor. Variations of light intensity around each pixel are calculated in terms of variance or standard derivation. The peak position of variance on a particular location along vertical scan direction is identified as the scan position corresponding to zero optical path difference between the reference and measuring beams. A topography map (height map) may be generated using the relative scanning position where zero optical path difference occurs at each location on sample surface.
US08970848B2	Optical image measurement apparatus A motion detector 220 calculates the Doppler frequency shift amount based on the movement velocity of an eye E. A drive controller 230 calculates the modulation frequency of the intensity of output light M based on this Doppler frequency shift amount. A light source unit 201 outputs the light M in which the intensity is modulated with this modulation frequency. The light M is divided into a signal light S and a reference light R. Interference light L is generated by superimposing the signal light S passing through the eye E and the reference light R. Two polarized components of the interference light L have a phase difference of 180°, resulting from a quarter-wave plate 207. The polarized components L1, L2 which are divided by a polarization beam splitter 211 are detected by CCD 212, 213. A computer 250 forms a tomographical image based on these detection results.
US08970845B1	In-situ three-dimensional shape rendering from strain values obtained through optical fiber sensors A method and system for rendering the shape of a multi-core optical fiber or multi-fiber bundle in three-dimensional space in real time based on measured fiber strain data. Three optical fiber cores arc arranged in parallel at 120° intervals about a central axis. A series of longitudinally co-located strain sensor triplets, typically fiber Bragg gratings, are positioned along the length of each fiber at known intervals. A tunable laser interrogates the sensors to detect strain on the fiber cores. Software determines the strain magnitude (ΔL/L) for each fiber at a given triplet, but then applies beam theory to calculate curvature, beading angle and torsion of the fiber bundle, and from there it determines the shape of the fiber in s Cartesian coordinate system by solving a series of ordinary differential equations expanded from the Frenet-Serrat equations. This approach eliminates the need for computationally time-intensive curve-tilting and allows the three-dimensional shape of the optical fiber assembly to be displayed in real-time.
US08970841B2	Spectral and temporal laser fluorescence analysis such as for natural aquatic environments An Advanced Laser Fluorometer (ALF) can combine spectrally and temporally resolved measurements of laser-stimulated emission (LSE) for characterization of dissolved and particulate matter, including fluorescence constituents, in liquids. Spectral deconvolution (SDC) analysis of LSE spectral measurements can accurately retrieve information about individual fluorescent bands, such as can be attributed to chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), phycobiliprotein (PBP) pigments, or chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), among others. Improved physiological assessments of photosynthesizing organisms can use SDC analysis and temporal LSE measurements to assess variable fluorescence corrected for SDC-retrieved background fluorescence. Fluorescence assessments of Chl-a concentration based on LSE spectral measurements can be improved using photo-physiological information from temporal measurements. Quantitative assessments of PBP pigments, CDOM, and other fluorescent constituents, as well as basic structural characterizations of photosynthesizing populations, can be performed using SDC analysis of LSE spectral measurements.
US08970838B2	Method and apparatus for evaluating a sample through variable angle Raman spectroscopy Described are systems and methods for variable angle Raman spectroscopy, in which electromagnetic radiation will be caused to intersect the sample under investigation at a plurality of angles of incidence, so as to provide Raman scattering spectra at each angle. One example use of measuring such spectra at multiple angles of incidence is to enable evaluation at a plurality of depths within the sample. In many implementations, the range of the angles of incidence will include, and extend to either side, of the critical angle.
US08970837B2	Apparatus for taking an accurate photometric measurement of a liquid An apparatus for taking an accurate photometric measurement of a liquid by way of forming a specimen volume of a controlled optical path length for use with photometric measurement equipment is disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a transparent body configured for displacing a volume of a fluid and at least one support element wherein the support element is configured to maintain the transparent body at a location such that specimen fluid may enter a void volume to form a specimen volume of a controlled optical path length. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a plurality of transparent bodies interconnected by a web such that the transparent bodies are maintained at a spacing arrangement which allows for them to be inserted into the wells of a microplate in order to create a plurality of specimen volumes of a controlled optical path length.
US08970836B2	Defect inspecting apparatus and defect inspecting method An invention being applied is a defect detecting apparatus that has: an illuminating optical system with a laser light source for irradiating a sample on whose surface a pattern is formed with light; a detecting optical system with a sensor for detecting light generated from the sample illuminated by the illuminating optical system; and a signal processing unit that extracts a defect from an image based on the light detected by the detecting optical system, in which an amplification rate of the sensor is dynamically changed during a time when the light is detected by the detecting optical system.
US08970834B2	Method for calibrating a sensor cluster in a motor vehicle A method is disclosed for calibrating a sensor cluster located at an inside of a windshield of a motor vehicle and arranged such that the pitch thereof is adjustable. The sensor cluster may include a narrow beam sensor and an imaging sensor, both of which are directed forward of the motor vehicle. An angle gamma (γ) between center directions of the narrow beam sensor and the imaging sensor has been pre-calibrated and stored in at least one memory unit. The method may include calibrating at least one of the narrow beam sensor and the imaging sensor with respect to a geometrical travel axis of the vehicle, recording a measure epsilon (ε) corresponding to an angle between the center direction of the imaging sensor and a reference provided by a fixed vehicle structural part, and storing the recorded measure epsilon (ε) in the at least one memory unit.
US08970830B2	Measuring method and device for determining transmission and/or reflection properties The disclosure relates to optical measuring methods and apparatus for determining the transmission and/or reflection properties of translucent objects with utility for process monitoring and quality inspection in the manufacture of surface-coated substrates. According to the disclosure the transmission and reflection properties are determined in such a way that sequentially: a first large surface of the object is illuminated by a first illuminating device, with a photodetector measuring the total transmittance (Ttotal), a second, large surface of the object, lying opposite and parallel to the first one, is illuminated by a second illuminating device, with a photodetector measuring the diffuse transmittance (Tdiffuse), and optionally the first large surface of the object is illuminated by the first illuminating device, with the photodetector measuring the reflectance, and/or the second large surface of the object is illuminated by the second illuminating device, with the photodetector measuring the reflectance.
US08970829B2	Fouling detection setup and method to detect fouling The invention refers to a fouling detection setup (I) and method for determining the amount of fouling (5) of surfaces (3) of fluid (6) treating devices (2) and/or internal functional components (4) of such devices, which are exposed to said fluid and are subjected to fouling. Fouling detection setups and methods are useful for monitoring the amount of fouling of surfaces, e.g. heat-transfer surfaces and also for monitoring the cleaning procedure of such fluid treating devices and/or internal functional components of such devices. According to the invention the detection setup (I) comprises at least one first sensor (7), with means (9) for measuring the optical transparency T and/or electrical conductive conductivity Q of said fluid (6). The Sensor includes at least one sensitive area (8) that is located nearby and/or within said surfaces (3) and wherein said area is at least temporarily exposed to said fluid (6).
US08970823B2	Device for optically scanning and measuring an environment A device for optically scanning and measuring an environment is provided. The device includes a movable scanner having at least one first projector for producing at least one uncoded first pattern on an object in the environment. The scanner includes at least one camera for recording images of the object provided with the pattern and a controller coupled to the first projector and the camera. The device further includes at least one second projector which projects a stationary uncoded second pattern on the object while the scanner is moved. Wherein the controller has a processor configured to determine a set of three-dimensional coordinates of points on a surface of the object from a set of images acquired by the camera based at least in part on the first pattern. The controller is further configured to register the set of images relative based in part on the stationary second pattern.
US08970821B2	Positioning apparatus, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method A positioning apparatus includes a stage, a base, a supporting mechanism which is arranged between the stage and the base and supports the stage with a supporting portion having a spring characteristic, an actuator which is arranged between the stage and the base so as to drive the stage, and a controller which controls the actuator so as to reduce a position error of the stage relative to a target position and cancel at least part of a force acting on the stage due to the spring characteristic of the supporting portion, based on the position error of the stage and a variation of a relative position between the stage and the base.
US08970820B2	Object exchange method, exposure method, carrier system, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method A carrier apparatus positions a chuck member above a wafer mounted on a fine movement stage, relatively moves the chuck member and the fine movement stage in a vertical direction, makes the chuck member approach a position which is a predetermined distance away from the upper surface of the wafer, makes the chuck member hold the wafer from above in a non-contact manner, and makes the chuck member holding the wafer and the fine movement stage move apart within a predetermined plane after making the chuck member holding the wafer and the fine movement stage move apart in the vertical direction. Further, the carrier apparatus loads the wafer held in a non-contact manner from above by the chuck member on the fine movement stage.
US08970819B2	Microlithography projection optical system, tool and method of production A microlithography projection optical system is disclosed. The system can include a plurality of optical elements arranged to image radiation having a wavelength λ from an object field in an object plane to an image field in an image plane. The plurality of optical elements can have an entrance pupil located more than 2.8 m from the object plane. A path of radiation through the optical system can be characterized by chief rays having an angle of 3° or more with respect to the normal to the object plane. This can allow the use of phase shifting masks as objects to be imaged, in particular for EUV wavelengths.
US08970813B2	Optical compensation film group and method for reducing light leakage of vertical alignment LCD using the same The present invention provides an optical compensation film group and a method for reducing light leakage of a vertical alignment LCD using the same. For the vertical alignment LCD at a wavelength of 550 nm, an LCΔnd in the range of [305.8 nm, 324.3 nm], and a pretilt angle in the range of [85°, 90°), a compensation value Ro of an in-plane optical path difference of the biaxial compensation film is in the range of 48 nm≦Ro≦84 nm, and a compensation value Rth of an out-of-plane optical path difference of the biaxial compensation film is in the range of 160 nm≦Rth≦280 nm, and a TAC compensation film having a compensation value Rth is in the range of Y1≦Rth≦Y2. The present invention can effectively improve the serious light leakage caused by the conventional compensation structure with a single biaxial compensation film, the contrast and sharpness at the large viewing angles, and the costs.
US08970802B2	Display device, backlight module and mainframe structure unit thereof The present invention discloses a display device which is configured with a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight module. The backlight module includes at least an optical film and a mainframe structure which includes a plastic frame and a backboard integrally with the plastic frame. The backboard includes an integral bottom to support the optical films of the backlight module, and a first sidewall. Wherein the plastic frame is integrally formed with a carrying portion, a second sidewall, and a supporting portion, wherein the carrying portion is used to position optical films, and also support the liquid crystal display panel, wherein to receiving slot is defined between the second sidewall and the supporting main portion such that the first sidewall is received therein, wherein the supporting portion includes an integrally formed main portion interconnected to the carrying portion and a positioning block which prevent the plastic frame from transversal movement with respect to the backboard together with the bottom of the backboard. The present invention readily increases the stability and firmness of the plastic frame.
US08970796B2	Field-line repeater (FLR) structure of a sense array Apparatuses and methods of field-line repeater structures for sense arrays are described. One apparatus includes a substrate, a capacitive-sense array with electrodes disposed on one or more sides of the substrate in one or more layers and a protective cover layer disposed to cover the capacitive-sense array. A coating film is disposed over the protective cover layer and a field-line repeater (FLR) structure of floating electrodes is disposed between the coating film and the protective cover layer.
US08970792B2	Remote controller and remote controller set applied to display device A remote controller applied to a display device includes a wireless communication element, a voice receiving and transmitting element and a control unit. The wireless communication element is utilized for performing a wireless communication with a set-up box of the display device. The control unit is coupled to the wireless communication element and the voice receiving and transmitting element, and is utilized for controlling a voice communication between the wireless communication element and the set-up box. When the remote controller does not need to have the voice communication and any other communication with the set-up box, the control unit disables the wireless communication element to make the wireless communication element be unable to receive and process any information from the set-up box.
US08970789B2	Receiving apparatus and control method thereof There is provided a receiving apparatus. The receiving apparatus comprises, among other things, a transmitting unit that transmits a power-on command that instructs the transmitting apparatus detected by the detecting unit to turn on power when there is no connecting unit whose status signal has been changed from “unable” to “able” as a result of the determination made by the determining unit, the transmitting unit causing the determining unit to perform the determination again after transmitting the power-on command, and a control unit that, when there is a connecting unit whose status signal has been changed from “unable” to “able” as a result of the determination made by the determining unit, controls the selecting unit so as to select the connecting unit.
US08970782B2	Method and system for redisplaying text A method and system for playing a video image including video frames and on-screen displays, and displaying an on-screen display associated with a video frame already played without interrupting the playing of the video frames. The displaying of the on-screen displays can be activated by the user commands received from a user. The user can select on-screen displays associated with frames of the video image played in a past pre-defined interval.
US08970780B2	Camera module having image sensor and cover glass A camera module includes an image sensor, a number of metal balls, and a cover glass. The image sensor includes an active surface and a number of pads. The active surface includes an imaging zone and a non-imaging zone surrounding the imaging zone. The imaging zone is configured to sense incident light and to convert the incident light into corresponding electric signals. The pads are formed on the non-imaging zone. The metal balls are stacked on three of the pads, which are not linear. The numbers of the metal balls on each of the three pads are equal to each other such that heights of the metal balls on each of the three pads are substantially equal to each other. The cover glass is positioned on the metal balls.
US08970777B2	Structure of a ring flash module The disclosure relates to a flash lighting module for providing flash lighting for a camera of a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone or a tablet computer having a phone communication capability. The flash lighting module includes a relay, at least one driver, and a plurality of light sources; the relay is in serial communication with the driver; the driver is electrically connected to the light sources; the light sources include at least three LEDs which are equidistantly arranged around the camera.
US08970776B2	Image capture using display device as light source A digital image capture system and method uses a display device to illuminate a target with light for improved image capture under poor lighting conditions. Various characteristics of the flash (e.g., brightness, color, duration, etc.) can be adjusted to improve image capture. Users are provided with feedback (e.g., live video feed, audio and/or visual countdowns, etc.) to assist them in preparing for image capture. The captured images are seamlessly integrated with existing applications (e.g., video conferencing, instant text messaging, etc.).
US08970775B2	Interchangeable lens camera, camera body, and method for determining mounting of lens An interchangeable lens camera includes a camera body and a lens unit. The camera body includes: a body-side mount section; a mounting determination section; a body-side communication section; and a body control section. The lens unit includes a lens-side mount section and a lens-side communication section. A specific body-side signal terminal among plural body-side signal terminals of the camera body is connected to a power supply through a pull-up resistor, and a specific lens-side signal terminal, which is capable of coming into contact with the specific body-side signal terminal, among plural lens-side signal terminals of the lens unit is grounded through a pull-down resistor. The mounting determination section determines that the lens unit is mounted on the body-side mount section when resistance values of both the specific body-side signal terminal at time of non-communication and a body-side detection terminal of the camera body are at low levels.
US08970773B2	Image capture apparatus with first and second pixel groups An image capture apparatus comprises an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an object image formed by an imaging lens, the image sensor including a first pixel group having a first light-receiving area, and a second pixel group which is discretely arranged in the first pixel group and configured by dividing a light-receiving area substantially equal in area to the first light-receiving area into a second light-receiving area and a third light-receiving area different in area from the second light-receiving area, and control means for integrally controlling the second light-receiving area of the second pixel group and the first light-receiving area of the first pixel group.
US08970769B2	Solid-state imaging apparatus, method of manufacturing the same, and camera A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising a substrate having a first face and a second face opposing each other, and in which photoelectric conversion portions are formed, an optical system including microlenses provided on a side of the first face, and light absorbing portions provided on a side of the second face, wherein the apparatus has pixels of first type for detecting light of a first wavelength and second type for detecting light of a second wavelength shorter than the first wavelength, and the apparatus further comprises a first portion between the substrate and the light absorbing portion for each first type pixel, and a second portion between the substrate and the light absorbing portion for each second type pixel, and the first portion has a reflectance higher than that of the second portion for the light of the first wavelength.
US08970764B2	Digital image signal processing apparatus for displaying angle of view information, method of controlling the apparatus, and medium for recording the method A digital image signal processing apparatus having an angle of view preview function, a method of controlling the digital image signal processing apparatus, and a recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing the method. Accordingly, a display image displaying at least one piece of angle of view information that is different from angle of view information of a currently mounted interchangeable lens is generated by performing image signal processing, and the display image is displayed. Accordingly, a photographer is informed about angle of view information needed to capture a desired image, and the photographer may easily select an interchangeable lens having desired angle of view information.
US08970763B2	Image pickup apparatus having electronic compass function, control method therefor, and storage medium An image pickup apparatus which is capable of displaying a shooting azimuth for a user such that it can be intuitively understood with ease while keeping the amount of computations required to display a shooting azimuth small. When a though-the-lens image or a moving image from an image pickup sensor, which shoots a subject, is displayed on a TFT display, a shooting azimuth is displayed by a first azimuth display method based on shooting azimuth information, and when a though-the-lens image or a moving image from the image pickup sensor is not displayed on the TFT display, the shooting azimuth is displayed based on the shooting azimuth information by a second azimuth display method different from the first azimuth display method.
US08970762B2	Digital photographing apparatus and method of controlling the same Provided are a digital photographing apparatus and a method of controlling the digital photographing apparatus. The digital photographing apparatus includes an image generator configured to generate an image comprising a subject; a subject recognizer configured to recognize the subject from the generated image of the subject; a cue selector configured to select a cue for the recognized subject; and an output unit configured to output the selected cue. The recognized subject may be captured after the selected cue is output.
US08970759B2	Digital camera A digital camera of the present invention includes a receiving portion 155 that receives a control signal from a remote controller, and a microcomputer 110 having a live view mode controlling so that image data generated by a CMOS sensor 130 or image data obtained by subjecting the image data generated by the CMOS sensor 130 to predetermined processing is displayed on a liquid crystal monitor 150 as a moving image in real time, wherein when the receiving portion 155 receives the control signal from the remote controller, the microcomputer 110 controls so as to shift the digital camera to a live view mode. Due to this configuration, in a digital camera that includes a movable mirror and is capable of displaying a subject image in a live view through an electronic viewfinder, the operability thereof can be enhanced.
US08970757B2	Solid-state image pickup element, driving method thereof, and control program A solid-state image pickup element comprises a plurality of first signal storage units connected to each vertical output line to store a signal transferred from a selected unit cell to each vertical output line, and a plurality of second signal storage units connected to each vertical output line to store the signals transferred from a first number of first signal storage units, wherein the plurality of first signal storage units and the plurality of second signal storage units are selectively driven such that in a period of time for selectively driving the first signal storage unit to store the signal transferred to the vertical output line by driving a signal read-out unit of the selected unit cell, another first signal storage unit connected to the vertical output line and the second signal storage unit to store the signal transferred from the another first signal storage unit are selectively driven.
US08970755B2	Radiographic imaging device, radiographic imaging system, control method, and non-transitory computer readable medium The present invention may suppress feedthrough components in video imaging. Namely, TFT driving waveforms are plurally overlapped, and an integration period of capacitors C of amplification circuits is set so as to encompass a generation period of a feedthrough component (OFF), a generation period of a feedthrough component (ON), and a period in which charges (a signal component) are read out from storage capacitors of pixels by ON states of the TFTs. A number of driving waveforms to be overlapped is determined in accordance with a frame rate, the integration period and a reset period, or the like.
US08970748B2	Imaging device, storage medium storing a control program for imaging device, and control method for imaging device Correction processing load is reduced even when employing a color filter with a basic array pattern that is large in size. An imaging apparatus divides image data output from an image pickup device into line image data running along a predetermined direction for each line, and when a basic array pattern configuring a color filter has been divided into pattern lines running along the predetermined direction, line correction data that corresponds to the divided line image data is read, the line correction data being configured by plural correction data corresponding to each filter on the pattern line. The read line correction data is used to correct the line image data for each pattern line of the basic array pattern.
US08970746B2	Image processing device, storage medium, and image processing method for correcting an image An image processing device that corrects an obtained image includes: an image acquisition unit that obtains the image; a region setting unit that sets a first region including a main object and a second region not including the main object on the image; an image characteristic amount calculation unit that calculates a first image characteristic amount, which is an occurrence state of a predetermined image characteristic amount, respectively in the first region and the second region; a comparison unit that compares the first image characteristic amounts of the first region and the second region; and an image characteristic adjustment unit that adjusts a second image characteristic amount of the obtained image on the basis of a comparison result obtained by the comparison unit.
US08970744B2	Two-dimensional lens shading correction In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of correcting a captured image for lens shading artifacts, comprising for a given lens determining a function L(x,y) being a lens shading correction function to be applied to images captured by the lens in order to correct for lens shading artifacts; applying a sampling technique to sample the function L(x,y) at selected points; and storing the sampled function L(x,y) in memory.
US08970742B2	Image processing apparatus and method capable of performing correction process speedily and easily An image processing apparatus capable of performing a correction process by filtering speedily and easily. A digital signal processor captures image data including effective area data from within a preset range of an image pickup device and ineffective area data from outside the preset range of the image pickup device. The digital signal processor superimposes a defective pixel detection signal and an ineffective image data detection signal to thereby generate a defective pixel determination signal. When a target pixel in the image data is determined based on the defective pixel determination signal as a determined-as-defective pixel, the digital signal processor corrects the value of the target pixel using values of the image data associated with ones, which are not determined, based on the defective pixel determination signal, as the determined-as-defective pixel, of pixels around the target pixel.
US08970740B2	Overlap patterns and image stitching for multiple-detector compressive-sensing camera A mechanism for reconstructing sub-images based on measurement data acquired by an imaging system including an array of light modulating elements and an array of photodetectors. Each sub-image is reconstructed based on samples from a respective photodetector and a respective set of measurement patterns defined on a respective virtual sub-region on the modulating array. Each virtual sub-region is configured to include at least the light modulating elements that are able to send a non-trivial amount of light to the respective photodetector during a pattern application period. The virtual sub-regions overlap because many light modulating elements are capable of sending light to more than one photodetector. Whenever a measurement pattern of one virtual sub-region overlaps the measurement pattern of a neighboring virtual sub-region, the two measurement patterns agree by design. Thus, the measurement patterns for the collection of virtual sub-regions combine to form a pattern on the whole modulating array.
US08970738B2	Arrangement for macro photography An apparatus for capturing images. The apparatus includes a camera unit configured to capture images of target objects, and a processing unit configured to control the apparatus to detect close-up photography conditions, and to automatically zoom said camera unit in response to said detection.
US08970730B2	Imaging apparatus for controlling and displaying flicker amounts An imaging apparatus is provided in which a flicker is prevented. The imaging apparatus includes an imaging part that includes an optical system to form an image of a subject and an imaging element to generate an image signal by photoelectrically converting an optical image of the subject formed by the optical system, an image processing part to perform an image processing on the image signal, a display part/operation part having at least display and setting functions, a luminance change detection part to detect change of luminance of the subject, a signal processing part to calculate flicker amounts at respective frequencies based on signal intensities with respect to luminance change information acquired by the luminance change detection part, and a control unit to cause the display part/operation part to display the flicker amounts at the respective frequencies calculated by the signal processing part.
US08970729B2	Image capturing apparatus, control method therefor, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium An image capturing apparatus for capturing an object and generate an image, displaying the image, performing signal processing for the image, and accepting an input from a user, wherein the image is displayed with a vectorscope superimposed thereon, the vectorscope indicating a distribution of color components included in the image based on a hue and a color density and an index for specifying a range of a skin color region in the image, a display position of the index on the vectorscope is specified based on the hue and the color density values, and a size of the index is specified by the range of the skin color region value, and processing is performed for decreasing a detail level of an image signal of the image having a color component included in the index.
US08970720B2	Automatic digital camera photography mode selection A digital camera having a plurality of photography modes, comprising: an image sensor; an optical system for imaging a scene onto the image sensor; an image capture control for initiating an image capture operation; a photography mode user interface for selecting between a plurality of photography modes, the photography modes having associated image capture and image processing settings; a power control for turning the digital camera on or off, wherein when the camera is in an off state and the power control is activated with a first activation pattern the digital camera is turned on and set to operate in a default photography mode and when the power control is activated with a second activation pattern the digital camera is turned on and set to operate in a previously selected photography mode.
US08970717B2	Photographing apparatus A photographing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an imaging section converting an object image into image data; a photographing section obtaining the image data from the imaging section in response to release operation and also obtaining the image data of continuous shooting from the imaging section before or after the release operation; a trimming section generating trimming images sequentially for frames in different areas, respectively, using the image data of the continuous shooting; and a control section recording the trimming image generated in the trimming section and the image data obtained in the release operation.
US08970714B2	Image capturing apparatus, image processing apparatus, and method thereof An image processing apparatus and method relate to an imaging process which is applied to image data captured by an image capturing apparatus such as a multi-eye camera, multi-view camera, and the like. The image processing apparatus and method generates synthetic image data which focused on a curved focus surface by compositing multi-view image data captured from multi-viewpoints.
US08970711B2	Imaging apparatus for correcting distortion in image captured using rolling shutter method and distortion correction method An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit configured to capture an image by using a rolling shutter method, a movement detection unit configured to detect a movement amount of the imaging apparatus relative to an object, an in-focus detection unit configured to detect an in-focus degree to the object, a distortion correction unit configured to correct a distortion in the image generated due to the rolling shutter method by changing a reading position of each line in the image, and a control unit configured to determine a correction amount of the distortion generated due to the rolling shutter method from the movement amount detected by the movement detection unit and the in-focus degree detected by the in-focus detection unit.
US08970709B2	Reduced homography for recovery of pose parameters of an optical apparatus producing image data with structural uncertainty A reduced homography H for an optical apparatus to recover pose parameters from imaged space points Pi using an optical sensor. The electromagnetic radiation from the space points Pi is recorded on the optical sensor at measured image coordinates. A structural uncertainty introduced in the measured image points is determined and a reduced representation of the measured image points is selected based on the type of structural uncertainty. The reduced representation includes rays {circumflex over (r)}i defined in homogeneous coordinates and contained in a projective plane of the optical apparatus. At least one pose parameter of the optical apparatus is then estimated by applying the reduced homography H and by applying a condition on the motion of the optical apparatus, the condition being consonant with the reduced representation employed in the reduced homography H.
US08970703B1	Automatically triggered video surveillance system A method is provided for supplying to an operator a video stream from at least one of a plurality of cameras that capture images. This includes connecting the cameras and a computer to a network and recording the images from each camera into a corresponding buffer accessible to the computer. Upon detecting a triggering event associated with an event-recording camera, further operations include responding to the triggering event by depositing the images from an event-recording buffer corresponding to said event-recording camera as the video stream into a reviewable memory, and retrieving the video stream from the reviewable memory for the operator. The operator is preferably one of a commander using a command workstation, a lethal response operator using a lethal workstation, and a non-lethal response operator using a non-lethal workstation. Also preferably, each workstation is assigned as one of a primary brain and failover brains. The primary brain functions to execute software and issue control signals, so that if the primary brain fails, one of the failover brains assumes the functions, that failover brain being selected in a sequential order.
US08970702B2	Controlling access to a control panel compartment The present invention relates to a method for controlling access to a compartment of a control panel. The method includes the step of posing, with a controller, an indemnification query to a user. The controller receives a response to the indemnification query. The method further includes the step of enabling, with the controller, access to the compartment subsequent to receiving said response.
US08970701B2	System and method for predicting vehicle location A system and method for detecting a traffic signal violation. In one embodiment a system includes a video image capture device, an image rectifier, and a vehicle position predictor. The image rectifier is configured to provide a rectified image by applying a rectification function an image captured by the video image capture device. The vehicle position predictor is configured to provide a prediction, based on the rectified image, of whether a vehicle approaching an intersection will enter the intersection.
US08970700B2	Imaging apparatus An imaging apparatus includes: an electronic circuit unit (30) including an imaging device (31) to acquire an object image formed by an imaging optical system (20); and a housing member (13) housing the electronic circuit unit (30). The electronic circuit unit (30) includes a thermally-conductive heat transfer member (37) in contact with an outer peripheral surface thereof which is in parallel with a fitting direction of the electronic circuit unit (30) into the housing member (13). The heat transfer member (37) includes a soft material portion (37b) in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electronic circuit unit (37), and a plate portion (37a) in contact with the soft material portion (37b) and an inner peripheral wall surface of the housing member (13). The soft material portion (37b) is made of a shape-conformable member.
US08970697B2	Image distribution apparatus An image distribution apparatus that ensures both privacy protection and security is provided. A private area storage section stores private areas relating to the privacy of users. A cutout area storage section stores, as a cutout area, an area requested by an identified user to be distributed. An image processing level storage section stores an image processing rule that defines an image processing level for each of areas having different levels of privacy. An image processing area generation section acquires the cutout area of the identified user from the cutout area storage section, acquires, from the private area storage section, a private area of the identified user and a private area of a person other than the identified user, which private areas are contained in an image of the acquired cutout area, acquires the image processing rule from the image processing level storage section, and then determines an image processing method for each area in the cutout area in accordance with the acquired image processing rule.
US08970694B2	Video processing system providing overlay of selected geospatially-tagged metadata relating to a geolocation outside viewable area and related methods A video processing system may include a display, at least one geospatial database, and a video processor. The video processor may cooperate with the display and the at least one geospatial database and be configured to display a georeferenced video feed on the display and defining a viewable area, and to overlay selected geospatially-tagged metadata onto the viewable area and relating to a geolocation outside the viewable area.
US08970692B2	Head mount personal computer and interactive system using the same A head mount personal computer (HMPC) and an interactive system using the same are provided. The provided HMPC includes a microprocessing unit, an output unit and an image capture unit with a distance detection function (ICWDD). The microprocessing unit is served as an operation core of the HMPC. The output unit is coupled to and controlled by the microprocessing unit, and configured to project an optical image onto a space. The ICWDD is coupled to and controlled by the microprocessing unit, and configured to capture operation gestures on the projected optical image from a user wearing the HMPC, such that the microprocessing unit correspondingly controls operations of the HMPC in response to the operation gestures on the projected optical image from the user.
US08970690B2	Methods and systems for determining the pose of a camera with respect to at least one object of a real environment Method for determining the pose of a camera with respect to at least one object of a real environment for use in authoring/augmented reality application that includes generating a first image by the camera capturing a real object of a real environment, generating first orientation data from at least one orientation sensor associated with the camera or from an algorithm which analysis the first image for finding and determining features which are indicative of an orientation of the camera, allocating a distance of the camera to the real object, generating distance data indicative of the allocated distance, determining the pose of the camera with respect to a coordinate system related to the real object of the real environment using the distance data and the first orientation data. May be performed with reduced processing requirements and/or higher processing speed, in mobile device such as mobile phones having display, camera and orientation sensor.
US08970688B2	Method and microscope for three-dimensional resolution-enhanced microscopy The invention relates to a high resolution microscope for three-dimensionally determining the position of objects, in particular individual fluorophores, and preferably for the high spatial resolution luminescence microscopy of a sample, which is marked with marker molecules that can be activated or switched using a signal such that they can be induced to emit certain luminescent radiation only in the activated state. The object is represented by means of an imaging system, preferably the microscope lens, on a surface detector consisting of individual detector elements. At least one microlens array is located in front of the detector elements, and different, preferably adjacent, detector elements receive light from microlenses having different focal lengths and from different object planes, or wherein by means of at least once microlens array, located in part in front of the detector elements, a different object plane is represented on the detector elements in the direction of the light behind the microlenses than on detector elements having no microlenses in front of the latter.
US08970686B2	Electronic endoscopic apparatus An electronic endoscopic apparatus includes an endoscopic scope and an image processing processor. The endoscopic scope includes a solid-state imaging device, an imaging-side multiplying unit, and an imaging synchronization signal generating unit. The image processing processor includes a display clock generating unit, a monitor synchronization signal generating unit, a master imaging clock generating unit, a processor-side multiplying/dividing unit, a phase-comparison oscillation control unit, and a display timing adjustment unit.
US08970685B2	Endoscope apparatus An endoscope apparatus is provided for which a user does not need to adjust irradiation light quantity intentionally while confirming a captured image. A captured image which is bright and has stable tint can be obtained without being limited by an imaging distance with respect to the observation of the structure or components of living bodies. The endoscope apparatus includes a first light source section, a second light source section, a light source control unit which controls the irradiation and irradiation light quantity, an imaging unit which obtains a captured image, luminance value calculating unit which calculates the luminance value, a light source light quantity changing unit which changes the irradiation light quantity according to the luminance value, a white balance adjustment value calculating unit which calculates a white balance adjustment value, and a gain adjusting unit which adjusts the gain of the imaging unit.
US08970682B2	3 dimensional image display device and method of driving the same A stereoscopic image display device includes; a display device into which left-eye image data and right-eye image data are alternately input, and a shutter member including a left-eye shutter and a right-eye shutter, wherein the left-eye shutter and the right-eye shutter are opened in at least one of at least a part of an input period for the left-eye image data and at least a part of an input period for the right-eye image data.
US08970681B2	Method of controlling view of stereoscopic image and stereoscopic image display using the same A method of controlling a view of a stereoscopic image and a stereoscopic image display using the same are disclosed. The method of controlling a view of a stereoscopic image includes: detecting a position information of a viewer from an output of a sensor; changing parameters for rendering a viewing angle and a depth information according to the position information; generating a left-eye image and a right-eye image in which a viewing angle and a depth information are changed in accordance with the parameters; and displaying the left-eye image and the right-eye image on a stereoscopic image display.
US08970679B2	Three dimensional camera device and method of controlling the same A three dimensional camera device and a method of controlling the same are provided. The three dimensional camera device and the method enable a user to photograph a three dimensional image suitable for a photographing angle. Since a swing hinge rotates a left camera element and a right camera element about a mid-point between the left camera element and the right camera element, a user may photograph a three dimensional image suitable for a photographing angle.
US08970678B2	Computer-readable storage medium, image display apparatus, system, and method First, a stereoscopic vision reference distances is individually determined for each virtual object disposed in a virtual space, based on a depth position of each of the virtual objects. Next, each of the virtual objects is rendered and combined based on one pair of virtual cameras such that a relative position, with respect to the screen of a stereoscopic display device, of a virtual object, viewed by a user through a screen of the stereoscopic display device, matches a relative position of the virtual object with respect to a stereoscopic vision reference surface for the virtual object in the virtual space.
US08970673B2	Method and system for stereoscopic scanning Provided is a system and method for scanning a target area, including capturing images from onboard a platform for use in producing one or more stereoscopic views. A first set of at least two image sequences of at least two images each, covering the target area or a subsection thereof is captured. As the platform continues to move forward, at least one other set of images covering the same target area or subsection thereof is captured. At least one captured image from each of at least two of the sets may be used in producing a stereoscopic view.
US08970672B2	Three-dimensional image processing Systems and methods of 3D image processing are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a three-dimensional (3D) media player is configured to receive input data including at least a first image corresponding to a scene and a second image corresponding to the scene and to provide output data to a 3D display device. The 3D media player is responsive to user input including at least one of a zoom command and a pan command. The 3D media player includes a convergence control module configured to determine a convergence point of a 3D rendering of the scene responsive to the user input.
US08970671B2	Nondiffracting beam detection devices for three-dimensional imaging Embodiments of the present invention relate a nondiffracting beam detection module for generating three-dimensional image data that has a surface layer having a first surface and a light transmissive region, a microaxicon, and a light detector. The microaxicon receives light through the light transmissive region from outside the first surface and generates one or more detection nondiffracting beams based on the received light. The light detector receives the nondiffracting beams and generates three-dimensional image data associated with an object located outside the first surface based on the one or more detection nondiffracting beams received. In some cases, the light detector can localize a three-dimensional position on the object associated with each detection nondiffracting beam received. In other cases, the light detector can determine perspective projections based on the detection nondiffracting beams received and generates the three-dimensional image data, using tomography, based on the determined perspective projections.
US08970670B2	Method and apparatus for adjusting 3D depth of object and method for detecting 3D depth of object A method for adjusting three-dimensional (3D) depth including performing block matching on left-eye/right-eye frames of a stereo video signal to generate a motion vector of a specific object and to obtain 3D depth of the specific object; and adjusting 3D depth of an additive object according to that of the specific object, wherein the additive object is one of a subtitle object, an on screen display (OSD) object or a program guide object.
US08970669B2	Systems and methods for generating a three-dimensional media guidance application Systems and methods for navigating a three-dimensional (3D) media guidance application are provided. A first selectable media guidance object may be displayed on a screen that when viewed through the stereoscopic optical device may appear in a first plane. A second selectable media guidance object may be displayed on the screen that when viewed through the stereoscopic optical device may appear in a second plane. The first and second planes may be perceived to intersect an axis normal to the display in different locations. A user selection of at least one of the first and second selectable media guidance objects may be received. An action of moving a cursor in 3D space or selecting one of the selectable media guidance objects displayed in the 3D space may be performed based on the user selection. The user selection may be performed with an input device having an accelerometer.
US08970668B2	High bandwidth streaming to media player A method performed by one or more computing devices includes receiving, by a data center and from a user device via a public network connection, a selection of high-definition three-dimensional (HD3D) content and sending, by the data center and to the user device, a link to a content delivery system to provide the selected HD3D content. The method also includes receiving, by the content delivery system and from the user device, a streaming request for the selected HD3D content; reserving, by the content delivery system, bandwidth, for the selected HD3D content, within a managed network; and sending, by the content delivery system and to the user device, a streaming Internet protocol (IP) address for providing the selected HD3D content over the managed network.
US08970667B1	Camera arrangements with backlighting detection and methods of using same A method of providing an image to be displayed includes providing captured scene data representing one or more images of a real scene and providing illumination data representing real illumination impinging on the real scene, providing a virtual reality image of a theoretical object by modeling said theoretical object using said illumination data to define illumination impinging on the theoretical object, and providing a combined image including elements of the real scene based on said captured scene data and including said virtual reality image.
US08970665B2	Orientation-based generation of panoramic fields A field sensor may be capable of generating a panoramic field, e.g., by instructing the user to capture a sequence of fields of the panorama, performing a field evaluation to identify one or more landmarks depicted in overlapping areas of two contiguous fields, performing a field registration therebetween, and stitching together the panoramic field. However, panoramic field stitching based on field evaluation may fail to register two fields accurately or at all. Rather, panoramic field stitching may be performed using a device having an orientation sensor that detects the orientation of the device while capturing each field with a field sensor. The detected orientation may be used to orient the fields within a projection, from which a panoramic field may be accurately stitched. Additional variations include stitching together projections of the panorama captured at different times and utilizing fields captured at a distance from the root location of the panorama.
US08970664B2	Method of operating a display with gaps, a backlight and a camera A method of operating a display with gaps in between the pixels, a primarily transparent backlight and a camera is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method comprises capturing an image in the camera through the primarily transparent backlight and gaps in between the pixels of the transmissive display during a capture period, not capturing an image in the camera during the display period and making the gaps in between the pixels of the transmissive display opaque during the display period.
US08970661B2	Routing for video in conferencing Methods and systems for routing video in conferencing are disclosed. A device receives one or more data streams from a media source, where each data stream associated with a data stream identifier. A media source identifier is assigned to each data stream from the media source. The data stream identifiers are mapped to the media source identifiers. At least one of the data streams may be modified by replacing an associated data stream identifier with the media source identifier. The modified data streams are provided to a destination device. A request is received from a destination device for data streams associated with a media source identifier. One or more data stream identifiers are associated with the requested media source identifier. The one or more data streams may be associated with Application sharing/Desktop Sharing, a video quality, a video resolution, a video frame rate, or an audio quality.
US08970659B1	Methods and systems for secure media-based conferencing Methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, are described for media-based (e.g., video and/or audio) conferencing between a plurality of end point devices. The methods and apparatuses provide for secure conferencing while offering a robust feature set that provides call enhancement features such as interactive voice response (IVR) functionality and auto attendance, call security features such as password management, multi-factor authentication and authorization of end points (including filtering and allow/deny functionality), and call compliance features such as recording options, regulatory rules, and other retention/surveillance features.
US08970655B2	Reflective and refractive solutions to providing direct eye contact videoconferencing A videoconferencing unit for enhancing direct eye-contact between participants can include a curved fully reflective mirror to reflect the image of the near end to a camera. The curved mirror can be placed in front of the display screen near a location where images of faces/eyes of far end participants are to appear. In another example, the videoconferencing unit can include a disintegrated camera configuration that provides an air gap between a front lens element and a rear lens element. The front lens element can be located behind an aperture within the display screen. The air gap can provide an unobstructed path to light from projectors and therefore avoid any undesirable shadows from appearing on the display screen. In another example, the videoconferencing unit can include a combination of the disintegrated camera configuration and mirrors for providing direct eye contact videoconferencing.
US08970654B1	System and method for selecting portions of video data for high quality feed while continuing a low quality feed A method for operating a video system is provided. The method includes receiving video data comprising a scene from a video capture device at a video processor, and processing the video data to produce first video data of the scene at a first quality level in the video processor. The method continues by transferring the first video data at a first data rate from the video processor to a remote video processor, receiving a control signal, and processing the video data to produce second video data of the scene at a second quality level in response to the control signal in the video processor, where the second quality level is greater than the first quality level. The method concludes by transferring the second video data at a second data rate from the video processor to the remote video processor.
US08970644B2	AMOLED driving and compensating circuit and method, and AMOLED display device The present disclosure discloses an AMOLED driving and compensating circuit and method, and AMOLED display device. The driving and compensating circuit including: several driving circuits set inside several pixel regions used for driving several AMOLEDs; an external compensating circuit set outside the pixel regions used for eliminating an effect of threshold voltage of a driving thin film transistors in the several driving circuits set inside the several pixel regions on driving currents passing through the driving thin film transistors. The driving and compensating method including: storing threshold voltage of the driving thin film transistors of the several driving circuits set inside the several pixel regions; storing grayscale voltage of each of the several driving circuits set inside the several pixel regions; gate voltage of the driving thin film transistor of each of the several driving circuits set inside the several pixel regions jumping to a sum of the threshold voltage and the grayscale voltage of the driving circuit. The display device includes the AMOLED driving and compensating circuit.
US08970643B2	Display apparatus light emission control method and display unit A light emission control method controls a display that includes a display portion, a scanning portion, and a driving portion. The display portion includes light emitting elements in a matrix form. The scanning portion is connected to common lines. Each common line is connected to the anode terminals of corresponding elements in corresponding row so that the common lines are scanned. The driving portion is connected to driving lines. Each driving line is connected to the cathodes terminals of corresponding elements in a corresponding column. The driving portion can drive selected elements when the common line corresponding to the selected elements is scanned. The method displays an image in each cycle including frames. All common lines are scanned in each frame. A part of the rows in one frame in one cycle is/are driven. Other part is driven in a frame after the one frame in the one cycle.
US08970642B2	Display device and driving method thereof In one aspect, the display device includes a display unit including a plurality of pixels connected to scan lines, light emission control lines, and data lines, where each pixel is configured to emit light with a driving current corresponding to image data signals transmitted through the data lines based on light emission control signals transmitted through the light emission control lines. Each of the pixels includes subpixels, each configured to display one of a plurality of colors. The device also includes a controller configured to convert external video signals to image data signals, output the converted signals to a data driver, generate light emission driving control signals for controlling the light emission duty ratio of the light emission control signals, and calculate the pixel-on-ratio for each subpixel to reduce the driving current.
US08970640B2	Electronic paper display drive method and apparatus thereof The present invention provides a drive method for an electronic paper display. The method comprises to display a present image. Then, color data of pixels of the present image is gathered. The color data is compared to select one of a first color and a second color to be as a main color. Finally, a refresh image is displayed in the electronic paper display following the present image based on the main color.
US08970639B2	Two-stage DAC architecture for LCD source driver utilizing one-bit serial charge redistribution DAC A two-stage digital-to-analog converter for outputting an analog voltage in response to a M-bit digital input code includes a one-bit serial charge redistribution digital-to-analog converter having a high reference voltage input node for receiving a high reference voltage and a low reference voltage input node for receiving a low reference voltage. A voltage selector sets the high reference voltage and low reference voltage to selected levels depending on at least a portion of the M-bit digital input code.
US08970635B2	Liquid crystal display with brightness extractor and driving method thereof for modulating image brightness by controlling the average picture level to reduce glare and eye fatigue The present disclosure is related to the liquid crystal display device and the driving method for selectively controlling the average picture level. The liquid crystal display device of the present disclosure comprises: a brightness extractor separating a brightness and a color difference information from an input image; an user interface receiving a limit APL; an APL restrictor calculating an average APL of the input image based on the brightness from the brightness extractor, modulating the brightness of the input image such that the average APL is restricted lower than the limit APL when the average APL of input image is higher than the limit APL, and converting the modulated brightness and the color difference information into a RGB data; and a driving circuit representing the RGB data from the APL restrictor on a liquid crystal display panel.
US08970634B2	Operation control device, operation control method and computer program An operation control device includes a contact detection unit for detecting contact of an operation body with a display surface of a display unit on which information is displayed, a pressure detection unit, provided on the display unit, for detecting a pressure at which the operation body presses the display surface of the display unit, and an operation control unit for changing a display state of the information displayed on the display unit in a forward or reverse direction on the basis of an amount of pressure detected by the pressure detection unit until the operation body makes contact with and is separated from the display surface of the display unit.
US08970630B2	Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program An information processing device includes: an operation recognition part that recognizes a user operation for a display screen of a display unit; a determination part that determines whether the user operation recognized by the operation recognition part is an operation starting from within a predetermined region of the display screen or not; and a control part that scrolls information being displayed on the display screen while changing a level of detail of the information if the determination part determines that the user operation is the operation starting from within the predetermined region in response to the user operation, and performs changing of the level of detail of the information or scrolling of the information if the determination part determines that the user operation is not the operation starting from within the predetermined region in response to the user operation.
US08970628B1	Graphical user interface for performing deformations A method allowing for quick manipulation of weight values associated with points on a polygonal mesh that is to be deformed. A point on the polygonal mesh may be selected by the user. Then, a solution space of possible positions for the selected point may be calculated by solving a deformation model for a range of weight values. A graphical representation of the solution space may be provided, such as a locus of possible positions for the selected point, where each point on the locus corresponds to a particular weight value. Manipulation of these weight values, and hence, the deformation of the polygonal mesh, may be achieved simply by selecting a position on the locus. The mesh may be updated to reflect the weight corresponding to the selected position.
US08970617B2	3-dimensional display device and data processing method thereof The display device includes a timing controller, a data driving unit, a gate driving unit, and a display panel. The timing controller divides m-bit image data (m is a natural number) received from the outside into n different image data for each viewpoint (n is 2 or larger natural number), and generates an output frame composed of a plurality of 3-dimensional image data including the n image data for each viewpoint. Then, the output frame is dithered so that the image data for each viewpoint expresses m-bit gradation with l bit, and image data for each viewpoint included in the output frame are outputted as output image signals.
US08970616B2	Method for adjusting image-quality and display unit enabling the same A method of displaying images, which includes displaying a first image in a first display portion, receiving a first image-quality condition for setting a first image quality of the first image displayed in the first display portion, generating, via a first display controller of the first display portion, a first image-quality setting image by applying the first image-quality condition to the first image displayed in the first display portion, transmitting the generated first image-quality setting image from the first display controller to a second display controller of a second display portion, and displaying the transmitted first image-quality setting image on the second display portion.
US08970612B2	Image processing device, image processing method, and liquid crystal display incorporated with image processing device The present invention provides an image processing device, including a buffering unit, a minifying unit, a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an overdriving unit, a comparing unit, a restoring unit, and an output controlling unit. The present invention further provides an image processing method and a liquid crystal display incorporated with the image processing device. The image processing device, the image processing method, and the liquid crystal display incorporated with the image processing device will not only directly perform the overdrive-processing of an input high-resolution image, but will also, on the one hand caches an input high-resolution image by the buffering unit, and on the other hand minifies an input high-resolution image. As a result, the image data is already reduced when the overdrive-processing performs, and the consumption of the space of the SDRAM is also accordingly reduced. For the input of a high-resolution image, there is no need to increase the amount of the SDRAM anymore, and it is easier to control the overall cost. During output, a static image is directly output, and a dynamic image is output through the overdrive-processing and the restoration of original resolution to maintain the quality of the image.
US08970611B2	Display device and method for transferring image data For providing a display device and a method for transferring an image data, shortening process time required to transfer image data without greater processing capacity, the CPU 4 outputs the bypass write signal to the GDC 6, the CPU 4 then outputs the read signal to both the ROM 5 and the GDC 6, and the ROM 5 outputs the image data to the data bus 8 according to input of the read signal, wherein the GDC 6 directly reads the image data outputted on the data bus 8 according to input of the read not through the CPU 4 and writes the read image data to the VRAM 7.
US08970609B2	Text-to-visual switching and mapping System, methods and computer-readable mediums for generating a visual representation of a continuous computation language (CCL) document. The CCL document includes one or more CCL statements. For each CCL statement, a text-to-visual mapping module converts each CCL statements to visual objects as a representation of instruction logic of the CCL document graphically on a display device.
US08970608B2	State objects for specifying dynamic state One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for transmitting state information associated with at least one graphics command to a graphics processor. The method includes the steps of generating a state object that specifies a set of properties that is needed to execute a first graphics command within the graphics processor, storing in the state object a value associated with a first property included in the set of properties, marking a second property included in the set of properties as a dynamic property, where a value associated with the second property is not stored in the state object and can be updated without having to modify the state object, and transmitting the state object to the graphics processor in order to execute the first graphics command.
US08970606B2	Facilitating use of multiple graphics chips An information processing apparatus includes a first graphics chip having a first drawing processing capacity and being capable of producing a first image signal; a second graphics chip having a second drawing processing capacity higher than the first drawing processing capacity and being capable of producing a second image signal; an output changeover section capable of selectively outputting one of the first or second image signals; an inputting section configured to input a user operation to select one of the first graphics chip or the second graphics chip; and a control section configured to control the output of the output changeover section in response to the inputted user operation.
US08970603B2	Dynamic virtual device failure recovery Exemplary techniques for recovering from a graphics processor reset are herein disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, a 3D graphics service manager 404 can detect that a graphics processing unit reset and can restart a rendering process configured to render 3D graphics for a virtual machine and cause a graphics buffer to be established between the rendering process and the virtual machine. In addition to the foregoing, other aspects are described in the detailed description, claims, and figures.
US08970602B2	Object operating device and method, and program Motion data to be inserted between two different object actions that include a rotating action and are to be successively performed are generated so that the two actions are smoothly connected. Respective elements d required to define a transitional motion action are calculated from the respective frames after the end point of the former motion and before the start point of the latter motion. As for the three-dimensional rotation R(t) that defines the posture in each frame, independent linear values rx(t), ry(t), and rz(t) are calculated as values approximating the three-dimensional rotation R(t) by using exponential maps. The velocity components of the respective elements d are determined, and the largest value of the absolute values of the velocity components in each of the post-end frames and the pre-start frames is extracted as an interpolating velocity v(t). The respective elements d(t) in each of blended transitional motion frames can be determined.
US08970601B1	System and method for generating, transmitting, and/or presenting an animation sequence An animation sequence is generated, transmitted, and/or presented to a user. The animation sequence may depict a first object that moves relative to a second object. The second object may partially block the first object in a first portion of the animation sequence that includes a first frame and a second frame. Shape tweening between a masked image of the first object in the first frame and a masked image of the first object in the second frame may be implemented to depict the motion of the first object relative to the second object.
US08970599B2	Data exhibition method and system based on ring angles Data values are exhibited based on sector-ring angles. The data values to be exhibited are first received by a processing device. The sector-ring angles are then determined for the data values to be exhibited. Using the sector-ring angles for the data values to be exhibited, the data values are exhibited in a sector-ring manner.
US08970592B1	Simulating an arbitrary number of particles A system includes a computing device that includes a memory configured to store instructions. The computing device also includes a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method that includes obtaining first data corresponding to a first simulation of matter in a space domain. The method also includes performing, using the first data, a second simulation that produces second data representative of particles in the space domain. The method also includes rasterizing the second data representative of the particles as defined by cells of a grid, wherein each cell has a common depth-to-size ratio, and, rendering an image of the particles from the rasterized second data.
US08970591B2	Memory efficient progressive refinement in ray tracing In one aspect, a method provides for iteratively taking passes of samples for each pixel of a set of pixels. Initially, the set of pixels can be all of the pixels of an image. For each pixel, an accumulated color at the beginning of a pass and at the end of a pass can be compared. If a difference between these is within a threshold, a convergence count, which begins at an initial value, is reduced. If the difference is not within the threshold, then the convergence count is reset. When the convergence count reaches a preset value, then the pixel is considered converged and removed from the set. However, if a pixel adjacent to a converged pixel fails a convergence test, then the converged pixel is reset to unconverged and returned to the set and at least a minimum number of additional sample passes are undertaken for that pixel.
US08970590B1	Surface mesh generation systems and methods A method for generating a finite element mesh that includes receiving, by a computer system, data regarding a model of a simulated object, categorizing one or more geometric features of the model and dividing the one or more geometric features of the model into surface shapes based on the data regarding the model. The method includes generating a mesh for each surface shape; and interconnecting the generated mesh to form a mesh for the model.
US08970587B2	Five-dimensional occlusion queries A standard occlusion query (OQ) may be generalized to five dimensions, which can be used for motion blurred, defocused, occlusion culling. As such, the occlusion query concept is generalized so that it can be used within 5D rasterization, which is used for rendering of motion blur and depth of field. For 5D rasterization, occlusion culling may be done with OQs as well, applied to solve other rendering related problems.
US08970585B2	Method and system for a computer-rendered three-dimensional mannequin A system and method for displaying garments, including: a computer-rendered three-dimensional, rotatable model; and a size selection control for selecting different garment sizes to be displayed on the model.
US08970584B1	Bounding box-based techniques for improved sample test efficiency in image rendering A bounding box-based method for reducing the number of samples tested for rendering a screen space region of an image includes determining a trajectory of a primitive in screen space for an image which is to be rendered and constructing an axis-aligned bounding box for the screen space region. The axis-aligned bounding box includes a bound in a non-screen dimension that is defined as a function of the screen space trajectory of the primitive, and overlaps a portion of the screen space region. One or more sample points which are located within the screen space region, and which are not overlapped by the axis-aligned bounding box are excluded from testing.
US08970581B2	System and method for interactive contouring for 3D medical images A method for segmenting an object in a volume image, executed at least in part on a computer, renders the volume image data to a two-dimensional display screen showing first, second, and third mutually orthogonal planes in the two-dimensional rendering. One or more operator instructions that identify a plurality of seed points on the rendered volume image are accepted. Two-dimensional coordinates of the identified seed points on the display screen are converted to three-dimensional seed-point coordinates relating to the first, second, and third mutually orthogonal planes a segmentation operation is performed on the volume image according to the converted three-dimensional seed-point coordinates. Segmentation results are displayed on the display screen, relative to the first, second, and third mutually orthogonal planes.
US08970579B2	Computer system and method for generating a 3D geometric model For generating a 3D geometric model (44) and/or a definition of the 3D geometric model from a single digital image of a building facade (4), a facade structure is detected from the digital image by dividing the facade (4) along horizontal lines into horizontal layers representative of floors (41), and by dividing the horizontal layers along vertical lines into tiles (42). The tiles (42) are further subdivided into a hierarchy of rectangular image regions (43). 3D architectural objects (45) corresponding to the image regions (43) are determined in an architectural element library. The 3D geometric model (44) or the definition of the 3D geometric model is generated based on the facade structure, the hierarchy and the 3D architectural objects (45). The library-based generation of the 3D geometric model makes it possible to enhance simple textured building models constructed from aerial images and/or ground-based photographs.
US08970577B2	Reducing display artifacts after non-display update periods Embodiments of the present invention generally provide a processing system for a display device having an integrated sensing device. The processing system includes a driver module coupled to a plurality of source lines and a plurality of transmitter electrodes. Each transmitter electrode includes one or more common electrodes configured for display updating and input sensing. The driver module is configured for selecting a first display line for display updating and driving the sources lines with first display update signals to update the first display line. The drive module is further configured for driving a first transmitter electrode of the plurality of transmitter electrodes for input sensing during a non-display update period and driving the source lines with restore signals during a restart period. The processing system further includes a receiver module coupled to a plurality of receiver electrodes and configured for receiving resulting signals with the receiver electrodes.
US08970573B2	Voltage interpolating circuit A display driver maps a selection code (a digital signal) to a reference voltage which is then used to produce a particular intensity of the radiation emitted from a pixel on a display screen (e.g., a LCD display). This mapping may be performed by one or more DACs in the display driver. However, instead of transmitting all of the different possible reference voltages to the DACs, only a subset of the reference voltages are transmitted. Each DAC may include an interpolator circuit that uses the received reference voltages to interpolate the reference voltages that were not transmitted. In this manner, the display driver may still provide the same number of unique reference voltages to a display screen while transmitting fewer reference voltages along the driver's optical channel.
US08970571B1	Apparatus and method for display lighting adjustment An apparatus includes a light source, a display array, a light relay, a photodetector, control circuitry, and measurement circuitry. The light source is for providing lamp light during an ON-time of the light source. The display array is positioned to receive and selectively manipulate the lamp light. The light relay is positioned to receive the image light from the display array. The photodetector is optically coupled to receive light. Control circuitry is coupled to the light source for cycling the light source and coupled to the measurement circuitry for coordinating light measurements of the photodetector.
US08970568B2	Display device and control method thereof A display device is disclosed. A display panel displays a first image according to a first output image. A timing controller includes a receiving unit, a compression unit, a decompression unit and a processing unit. The receiving unit receives a first input image and a second input image and outputs a first processed image and a second processed image. The first input image is the same as the first processed image. The second input image is the same as the second processed image. The compression unit generates a first compressed image according to the first processed image. The receiving unit stores the first compressed image. The decompression unit processes the stored first compressed image to generate a first decompressed image. The processing unit processes the second processed image and the first decompressed image to generate the first output image.
US08970567B2	Organic light emitting display and method of driving the same An organic light emitting display includes first scan lines, data lines, and first emission control lines at an active region for displaying an image, second scan lines and second emission control lines at a blank region where no image is displayed, pixels coupled to the first scan lines, the data lines, and the first emission control lines in the active region, a dimming controller for controlling brightness of the pixels, and an emission control line driver for supplying emission control signals to the first and second emission control lines corresponding to control of the dimming controller so that a light-emitting area including ones of the pixels is uniform in the active region.
US08970560B2	Writing instrument A writing instrument includes a cylindrical barrel and an end cover having a robust structure and attached to the cylindrical barrel. The end cover includes a cylindrical base attached to a rear end portion of the cylindrical barrel, a cover body fitted around an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base, a stopper ring fitted around an outer peripheral surface of at least a fitted portion between the cylindrical base and the cover body, and a cooperation structure for enhancing a holding force which is exerted on the cover body by the cylindrical base and the stopper ring and for joining the cylindrical base, the cover body, and the stopper ring together to form a joined unit which includes the cylindrical base, the cover body and the stopper ring.
US08970556B2	Apparatus to sense touching and proximate objects A sensing apparatus may emit light, radiated from a light source, to an upper part and may preserve light in an internal part, based on a total internal emission angle of the light. Also, the sensing apparatus may project the light radiated to the upper part, and the light preserved in the internal part, towards at least one of a touching object and the proximate object.
US08970553B2	Light sensing circuit, and remote optical touch panel and image acquisition apparatus including the light sensing circuit Example embodiments are directed to light sensing circuits having a relatively simpler structure by using light-sensitive oxide semiconductor transistors as light sensing devices, and remote optical touch panels and image acquisition apparatuses, each including the light sensing circuits. The light sensing circuit includes a light-sensitive oxide semiconductor transistor in each pixel, wherein the light-sensitive oxide semiconductor transistor is configured as a light sensing device, and a driving circuit that outputs data. The light sensing circuit may have a relatively simple circuit structure including a plurality of transistors in one pixel. As a result, the structure and operation of the light sensing circuit may be simplified.
US08970551B2	Method and device for position detection A method and device for position detection are disclosed. A self-capacitance detection can be performed by a sensing device. According to the result of the self-capacitance detection, a first mutual-capacitance detection can be performed for determining one or more first 1-D positions. According to the result of the first mutual-capacitance detection, a second mutual-capacitance detection can be performed for determining one or more second 1-D positions corresponding to each first 1-D position. One or more 2-D positions can be provided according to the one or more second 1-D positions corresponding to each first 1-D position. Besides, during the self-capacitance detection, the first mutual-capacitance detection, and the second mutual-capacitance detection, a touch related sensing information corresponding to a touch that covers a wide area can be neglected for palm rejection.
US08970534B2	Electronic device Provided is an electronic device including: a base; a panel; a support for supporting the panel with respect to the base; and a vibrator for causing the panel to vibrate at a given frequency. The support includes a first region located at a part corresponding to a node of vibration of the panel, and a second region located at a part other than the node of the vibration of the panel. The support has a rigidity that is smaller in the first region than in the second region.
US08970533B2	Selective input signal rejection and modification This is related to user input devices that accept complex user input including a combination of touch and push (or pick) input. The invention provides for selective ignoring or rejection of input received from such devices in order to avoid interpreting unintentional user actions as commands. Furthermore, some input signals can be modified. The selective rejection or modification can be performed by the user interface device itself or by a computing device that includes or is attached to the user interface device. The selective rejection or modification may be performed by a module that processes input signals, performs the necessary rejections and modifications and sends revised input signals to higher level modules.
US08970528B2	Information input device, information input method, and program In order to provide an information input device that solves the misclick caused by a clickable touch sensor without using information corresponding to pressure of the user's finger, the information input device includes: a touch information detecting unit that detects a touch information item obtained when a finger of the user is in contact with the touch sensor; a touch information sequence storage unit configured to store the touch information item for a predetermined period; and a pressing start position estimating unit configured to estimate a pressing start position at which the user started to press the touch sensor with the finger, based on touch information items stored in the touch information sequence storage unit, when the switch was pressed down, the touch information items including the touch information item.
US08970526B2	Input instruction processing device, communication system therefor, computer program therefor, and information recording medium therewith The present invention provides a game device that has a touch panel, a processor, and a RAM. The processor, from among detected position data output from touch panel, stores in RAM, as the position of the start point, the position indicated by detected position data output by the start of a continuous touch operation. Also, given that the position indicated by detected position data output immediately before the end of the continuous touch operation is determined as the position of the end point, processor identifies, from among plural input instructions each being associated with plural direction ranges extending radially from a common basal point on the contact face of touch panel, an input instruction that is associated with a direction range having a direction from the start point to the end point therewithin, from among plural direction ranges having the start point as a basal point.
US08970525B1	Method and system for trackpad input error mitigation In response to detecting a predetermined pressure change between two consecutive contacts on a trackpad of a computing device, the two consecutive contacts are ignored. In response to detecting a predetermined pressure change of a single contact on the trackpad, the single contact is ignored. After detecting a new contact on the trackpad after a predetermined period of time without any contact on the trackpad, any movement tied to a predetermined amount of increasing pressure on the trackpad for the new contact is temporarily discarded, for a preset amount of time.
US08970519B2	System and method for spurious signal detection and compensation on an input device A method for applying a first or second set of threshold values for touch sensor gesture recognition based on the presence of one of a plurality of predetermined conditions is described herein. The plurality of predetermined conditions can include one or more of a lift detection, a speed threshold detection, and a button press detection. Lift detection can be detected by one or more of an optical sensor, gyroscope, or accelerometer. Speed detection can be detected by one or more of an optical sensor, gyroscope, or accelerometer. Button detection can be detected by a mechanical button, pressure sensitive button, or a touch sensor.
US08970518B2	Click position control apparatus, click position control method, and touch sensor system A click position control apparatus that controls a click position on a touch sensor clicked by a user when the user operates an input device including a clickable touch sensor including the touch sensor and a click detecting unit, the click position control apparatus including: a touch position information generating unit which generates touch position information indicating a position on the touch sensor touched by the user; a click judging unit which detects a click on the click detecting unit; a click position information generating unit which generates click position information indicating a click position when the click is detected; and a correcting unit which corrects the click position information based on a positional relationship between a reference position on the input device and the click position.
US08970517B2	Display device having touch screen panel that offsets induction voltage induced in common electrode A display device having a touch screen panel includes a display panel includes a common electrode; a touch screen panel including a plurality of first conductive patterns that are formed on one surface of the display panel and arranged in a first direction, and a plurality of second conductive patterns that are electrically insulated from the plurality of first conductive patterns and arranged in a second direction to cross over the first conductive patterns; a power source circuitry to supply a first common voltage to the common electrode and to supply a pulse voltage to at least one of the plurality of first and second conductive patterns; and a common voltage feedback circuit to remove an induction voltage induced to the common electrode by the pulse voltage supplied to the at least one of the plurality of first and second conductive patterns.
US08970516B2	Integrated passives and power amplifier This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for combining devices deposited on a first substrate, with integrated circuits formed on a second substrate such as a semiconducting substrate or a glass substrate. The first substrate may be a glass substrate. The first substrate may include conductive vias. A power combiner circuit may be deposited on a first side of the first substrate. The power combiner circuit may include passive devices deposited on at least the first side of the first substrate. The integrated circuit may include a power amplifier circuit disposed on and configured for electrical connection with the power combiner circuit, to form a power amplification system. The conductive vias may include thermal vias configured for conducting heat from the power amplification system and/or interconnect vias configured for electrical connection between the power amplification system and a conductor on a second side of the first substrate.
US08970513B2	Touch panel having deformable electroactive polymer actuator A touch panel is provided. The touch panel includes an electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator which is deformable when protruded or depressed locally at a part to which a driving voltage is applied; and a flexible touch sensor which is disposed on the EAP actuator. The flexible touch sensor is deformable locally in correspondence with a deformation of the EAP actuator, and senses an input according to a contact or pressing operation.
US08970512B2	Touch screen display and method of driving the touch screen display with signal adjustment A touch screen display device is described that includes a display panel, a display driver, a sensor circuit and a combination unit. The display panel has a plurality of display elements arranged between a first and a second electrode layer. The display driver is arranged for providing display signals comprising a common display signal and an input control signal to the display panel. The sensor circuit is arranged for providing a probe signal and a shield signal mutually having the same phase and frequency and for generating a touch signal in response to the output signal received from the first electrode layer. The combination unit provides a drive signal to the first electrode layer derived from the common display signal and the probe signal, and further provides an output control signal for the display panel from the input control signal and the shield signal.
US08970511B2	Touch screen panel A touch screen panel includes a transparent substrate, a plurality of first connection patterns on the transparent substrate, the plurality of first connection patterns being separated from one another, a plurality of first sensing cells electrically connected along a first direction to the first connection patterns, a plurality of second sensing cells disposed between the first sensing cells and insulated therefrom, the second sensing cells being connected along a second direction by second connection patterns intersecting the first connection patterns, an insulating layer between the first and second connection patterns, edges of the insulating layer being overlapped by the second connection patterns or the second sensing cells, and conductive auxiliary patterns at the edges of the insulating layer, the conductive auxiliary patterns being electrically connected to the second connection patterns and being positioned under the second connection patterns or the second sensing cells.
US08970508B2	Touch screen panel A touch screen panel includes a plurality of first connection patterns formed on a substrate; an insulation layer having a plurality of contact holes that exposes portions of the plurality of first connection patterns; and a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes formed on the insulating layer, wherein at least one of the plurality of first connection patterns connects at least one adjacent pair of the plurality of first electrodes through at least two of the plurality of contact holes that expose respective portions of the at least one of the plurality of first connection patterns, and at least one hollow is formed by portions of the at least one adjacent pair of the plurality of first electrodes being formed in the at least two of the plurality of contact holes.
US08970506B2	Power management for touch controller A power management system for a touch controller can include a transmit section for transmitting stimulation signals to an associated touch sensor panel to drive the panel, where the touch controller can selectively adjust the transmit section to reduce power during the transmission. The touch controller can also include a receive section for receiving touch signals resulting from the driving of the panel, where the touch controller can selectively adjust the receive section to reduce power during the receipt of the touch signals. The touch controller can also include a demodulation section for demodulating the received touch signals to obtain touch event results, where the touch controller can selectively adjust the demodulation section to reduce power during the demodulation of the touch signals. The touch controller can also selectively reduce power below present low levels during idle periods. The touch controller can be incorporated into a touch sensitive device.
US08970504B2	Reliability metal traces The formation of improved reliability conductive traces in touch sensor panels that are less prone to failures due to environmental effects is disclosed. Conductive traces, which can be formed from a stackup of metal layers or a single metal layer, can be protected with an additional photoimageable passivation layer of a material such as an organic polymer. This photoimageable coating can be patterned so that it does not appear in the visible area of the touch sensor panel, with much finer tolerances than conventional passivation layers to help keep product dimensions to a minimum.
US08970503B2	Gestures for devices having one or more touch sensitive surfaces Rolling gestures on a touch sensitive surface of a device can be used to control the device or to remotely control another device. The device detects a roll, determines a parameter of the roll and performs an operation relating to the device or the other device based on the determined parameter. The touch sensitive surface of the device can be positioned on the device to enable a set of gestures for configuring the operation of the device, for operating the device and for enabling additional gestures for operating the device.
US08970499B2	Alternative inputs of a mobile communications device In an implementation, a mobile communications device includes a display device having touchscreen functionality, a keyboard having a plurality of physical keys that include a dedicated key and letter keys arranged according to a QWERTY layout, and one or more modules. The one or more modules are configured to output a user interface on the display device responsive to selection of the dedicated key, the user interface having a plurality of portions that are selectable via the touchscreen functionality to cause input of a respective one of a plurality of emoticons.
US08970498B2	Touch-enabled input device Embodiments of the present invention disclose a touch-enabled input device for a computing system. According to one embodiment, the touch enabled device includes a housing having an input surface and a plurality of identifiable key areas formed along the input surface. The input surface of the device is configured to detect individual presses of each key area in addition to touch-based input from a user.
US08970492B2	Remote session control using multi-touch inputs Accessing and controlling a remote desktop of a remote computing system using a multi-touch display of a local computing system. The remote desktop is displayed on the multi-touch display. Upon detecting a user contact with the multi-touch display when the display is not engaged as a trackpad, the multi-touch display is engaged as a trackpad; and the user contact is assigned as a cursor pointer for controlling the multi-touch display as a trackpad. In accordance with some embodiments described herein, left and right pointer controls (e.g., left mouse button and right mouse button) controls may be emulated also. This remote desktop technique allows multi-touch displays to be used to manipulate remote desktops, even for those that do not support multi-touch semantics, interaction techniques, or metaphors.
US08970491B2	Computer system, computer system control method, program, and information storage medium To prevent a user from sensing change in feeling of operation of a pointing device. There is provided a computer system control method for controlling a computer system having a coordinate designation system for producing base data for calculating position coordinates, the method comprising the steps of obtaining the position coordinates calculated based on the base data; when a predetermined application program is activated from another application program, obtaining position coordinates notified by the other application program, and showing a designated position image on a display screen based on the position coordinates obtained; and when the predetermined application program is activated from an operating system, showing the designated position image on the display screen based on the position coordinates obtained at the step of obtaining the position coordinates.
US08970485B2	Electronic device An electronic device includes a first body with a first face and a second face opposite to the first face; a second body with a third face and a fourth face opposite the third face; a first connecting unit connected to the first and second body and set at a first edge of the first face. The first body can be rotated relative to the second body through the first connecting unit. The electronic device is in a first state when an angle between the first and second body is in a first interval and in a second state when the angle is in a second interval. A first displaying unit is set on the first face; a display direction of which is a first direction from the first edge to a second edge opposite to the first edge when the electronic device is in the second state.
US08970484B2	Three dimensional display device and three dimensional display method Provided is a three dimensional display device that includes: three dimensional image display unit (1) having display surface (11) for spatially separating and displaying parallax images corresponding to at least two viewpoints; and force sense generation unit (2) configured to generate a sound wave toward display surface (11) of three dimensional display unit (1) and then generate predetermined pressure of the sound wave reflected on display surface (11) at a position spatially similar to the position of three dimensional image (8) displayed by three dimensional display unit (1).
US08970483B2	Method and apparatus for determining input An apparatus, comprising a processor, a memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, working with the processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving a first image, recognizing at least part of the first image as a command receiver, recognizing at least part of the first image as an input article, determining that at least part of the input article is associated with at least part of the command receiver, and causing display of a guidance associated with the command receiver is disclosed.
US08970482B2	Image processing device, image processing method and program Embodiments of the technology involve apparatus and methods for control of displaying of images. In an example, an apparatus may include an image display, a sensor to detect posture of the image display and a processor to control sequentially displaying images of a group of images on the image display based on changes in the detected posture. The processor may control a display of a posture indicator on the image display such that the indicator may represent a relation between a change in the detected posture and an image of the group of images. Optionally, the indicator may be represented by a tilt meter. Moreover, in some embodiments, the sensor may be implemented with a gyroscopic sensor.
US08970479B1	Hand gesture detection Techniques are described for detecting a hand gesture made by a user. Fingertips of a hand may be identified and tracked over time. When a user contracts the fingertips from an extended position, hand spread may be calculated based on the area of the hand and fingers. The hand spread over time may be compared to a Gaussian function to evaluate whether the observed motion represents a grasping motion.
US08970478B2	Autostereoscopic rendering and display apparatus An apparatus comprising a sensor configured to detect the position and orientation of a user viewpoint with respect to an auto-stereoscopic display; a processor configured to determine a surface viewable from the user viewpoint of at least one three dimensional object; and an image generator configured to generate a left and right eye image for display on the auto-stereoscopic display dependent on the surface viewable from the user viewpoint.
US08970466B2	Timing controller, display device using the same, and method for driving timing controller A timing controller, a display device using the timing controller, and a method for driving the timing controller are discussed. The timing controller includes a frequency change sensing unit, that measures a length of an (n−1)th frame period and a length of an nth frame period, where n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2, and outputs timing signals of a low logic level when a length difference between the (n−1)th frame period and the nth frame period is greater than a predetermined first threshold value, a scan timing control signal output unit for outputting a scan timing control signal based on the timing signals, and a data timing control signal output unit controlling a data driving circuit based on the timing signals.
US08970463B2	Signal transmission apparatus and imaging display system A signal transmission apparatus including electrostatic discharge protection circuits arranged between a signal line and a wiring line of plural pixel wiring lines, each having a first transistor and a capacitor device; and a first control line connected to the electrostatic discharge protection circuits, wherein, in the electrostatic discharge protection circuit, a gate of the first transistor is connected to the first control line, one of a source and a drain in the first transistor is connected to one signal line and one terminal of the capacitor device as well as the other is connected to another wiring line, and the other terminal of the capacitor device is connected to the gate of the first transistor.
US08970460B2	Liquid crystal driving apparatus A voltage amplifier circuit (300) comprises: an input voltage generating unit (302) that generates an input voltage (VL1) based on a set value (SL); an operational amplifier (303) that amplifies the input voltage (VL1) such that the input voltage (VL1) becomes equal to a feedback voltage (VL3), thereby generating an output voltage (VL2); a feedback resistor unit (304) that performs a voltage division between the output voltage (VL2) applied to one end of the feedback resistor unit and a reference voltage (VL4) applied to the other end of the feedback resistor unit, thereby generating the feedback voltage (VL3); a selector control unit (305) that generates a selector control signal (SS) based on the set value (SL); and a selector (306) that selects, based on the selector control signal SS, the reference voltage (VL4) from a plurality of candidates (GND/VR).
US08970455B2	Systems and methods for processing content displayed on a flexible display Systems and methods are provided for managing the display of content on a display screen (110) of an electronic device (100). According to certain aspects, a sensor (119) or a set of a plurality of sensors (225) generate image data corresponding to a user viewing the device. Further, in one embodiment, a film (111) generates electrical signals corresponding to a shape or configuration of the display screen. The electronic device can calculate a distortion parameter based on the electrical signals. In another embodiment, an additional set of the plurality of sensors generates image data, from which the electronic device can calculate the distortion parameter. The electronic device generates processed image data based on the viewing position and the distortion parameter, and displays the processed image data on the display screen in such a way that the content appears oriented and proportioned to the user viewing the display screen.
US08970452B2	Imaging method A wearable computing device or a head-mounted display (HMD) may be configured to track the gaze axis of an eye of the wearer. In particular, the device may be configured to observe movement of a wearer's pupil and, based on the movement, determine inputs to a user interface. For example, using eye gaze detection, the HMD may change a tracking rate of a displayed virtual image based on where the user is looking. Gazing at the center of the HMD field of view may, for instance, allow for fine movements of the virtual display. Gazing near an edge of the HMD field of view may provide coarser movements.
US08970447B2	Deployable helical antenna for nano-satellites A helical antenna operable to be stowed on and deployed from a cubesat. The antenna includes two helical elements wound in opposite directions and defining an antenna column, where one of the helical elements is a conductive antenna element. The antenna also includes a plurality of circumferentially disposed vertical stiffeners extending along a length of the column and being coupled to the helical elements at each location where the vertical stiffeners and the helical elements cross. The helical elements and the vertical stiffeners are formed of a flexible material, such as a fiber glass, so that the antenna can be collapsed and stowed into a relatively small space. To position the antenna in the stowed configuration, the vertical stiffeners are folded on each other in a radial direction, and then the folded antenna is rolled in an axial direction from one end of the column to the other end.
US08970437B2	Electronic device An electronic device includes: a circuit substrate; and an antenna element installed on the circuit substrate, wherein the antenna element is installed at a position apart from an end of the circuit substrate by a given offset so that distribution variation of irradiation characteristics of the antenna element within a horizontal surface is reduced both in cases where the electronic device in which the antenna element is installed is set in portrait orientation and in landscape orientation.
US08970436B2	Surface mount device multi-frequency antenna module A surface mount device multi-frequency antenna module includes a base plate, a carrier, a first ground layer, a first signal feed-in line, a second signal feed-in line, and a third signal feed-in line, wherein the last four parts are arranged on the base plate. The carrier includes a first radiator, a second radiator, a third radiator, and a fourth radiator. The first radiator is electrically connected to the second radiator. The first radiator is not electrically connected to the third radiator and the fourth radiator. A contact connecting the first radiator and the second radiator is electrically connected to the first signal feed-in line when the carrier is electrically connected to the base plate. The third radiator is electrically connected to the second signal feed-in line. The fourth radiator is electrically-connected to the third signal feed-in line.
US08970435B2	Pie shape phased array antenna design A radially segmented antenna design is described. In an embodiment, the radially segmented antenna is formed from multiple patches which are arranged in a ring around the central point of the radially segmented antenna. Each patch is shaped to form a segment of the ring and is separated from the two adjacent patches. In operation, alternate patches in the ring may be used for transmitting and the remaining patches may be terminated in an open circuit or may be used for receiving. Alternatively, all the patches in the ring may be used for transmitting or receiving. In some examples, there may be more than one concentric ring of patches within the radially segmented antenna and the additional rings may be located on the same face of the antenna as the first ring of patches, or on the opposite face of the antenna.
US08970433B2	Antenna assembly that is operable in multiple frequencies for a computing device An antenna assembly for a computing device is disclosed. The antenna assembly includes a first radiating element coupled to a feed point and a first ground point of a printed circuit board, and a second radiating element coupled to a second ground point of the printed circuit board. The first radiating element is positioned adjacent to the printed circuit board so as to form a first gap that extends between the first radiating element and the printed circuit board along at least a portion of the length of the first radiating element. The second radiating element is positioned adjacent to the printed circuit board so as to form a second gap that extends between the second radiating element and the printed circuit board along at least a portion of the length of the second radiating element. The two radiating elements are spaced apart by a third gap.
US08970432B2	Femtocell calibration for timing based locating systems Systems and methods disclosed herein can implement a femtocell calibration solution that uses the known location of the femtocell to calibrate timing based locating systems. The calculated time differences of different signals sent between macrocells and a mobile device can be used to solve for a reference time difference that accounts for the timing differences of the unsynchronized macrocells. The reference time difference can then be used to solve for the location of another mobile device if the calculated time differences between that mobile device and the macrocells are known. The solution can include taking many measurements of the calculated time difference at the first mobile device in order to average them to get a more accurate reference time difference. The solution can further include ceasing measurements at the first mobile device when the mobile device is no longer within range of the femtocell.
US08970430B2	Auxiliary positioning method and auxiliary positioning device using the method An auxiliary positioning method, applied to a portable electronic device operative in a wireless communication network system and a satellite positioning system, for determining current position information of the potable electronic device, includes steps of receiving a plurality of current signals from at least one base station in the wireless communication network system to generate current signal information; accessing at least one track record related to the current signal information from a track record database, wherein the track record database includes a plurality of track records which record respective position information and signal information of base stations corresponding to the position information; and calculating the current position information according to the at least one track record.
US08970429B2	Systems and methods for tracking targets by a through-the-wall radar using multiple hypothesis tracking Aspects of the present invention relate to a system (10) and a method for tracking one or more targets by a radar using a multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) algorithm, the method including operating the radar to transmit a radar beam from a first location toward the one or more targets, operating the radar to receive a plurality of return signals at the first location from the one or more targets, and to generate a plurality of observations for a single radar dwell respectively corresponding to the plurality of return signals, and processing the plurality of observations in accordance with the MHT algorithm for at least two passes such that more than one of the plurality of observations are associated with a single track of the one or more targets.
US08970423B2	Helicopter collision-avoidance system using light fixture mounted radar sensors A helicopter collision-avoidance system is disclosed. An exemplary system includes at least one lamp, such as a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, an infrared lamp, or the like; a radar emitter configured to emit a radar signal; a radar detector configured to receive a radar return signal associated with reflections of the emitted radar signal that are reflected from an object; and a radio frequency (RF) system configured to wirelessly transmit radar information associated with the received radar return signal to a radar information receiver configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted radar information. The light module is located at one of a plurality of light positions on an external surface of a helicopter.
US08970412B2	Signal quantization method and apparatus and sensor based thereon A signal quantizer includes a summing junction, a loop filter, a quantizer and a reconstruction filter. The summing junction is responsive to an input signal and to a modulated signal and is operative to combine the modulated signal and the input signal to generate a summing junction output. The loop filter is responsive to the summing junction output and is operative to generate a loop filter output and has a first regenerative gain associated therewith. The quantizer is responsive to the loop filter output and is operative to generate the modulated signal. The reconstruction filter is responsive to the modulated signal and is operative to generate a quantized output signal and has a second regenerative gain associated therewith that is substantially equal to that of the loop filter.
US08970410B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device and data processing system The semiconductor integrated circuit device has: more than one analog port; an A/D conversion part operable to execute an A/D conversion process for converting an analog signal taken in through each analog port into a digital signal for each preset virtual channel; and an A/D conversion control part operable to control an action of the A/D conversion part. The A/D conversion control part includes: virtual channel registers on which correspondence between the virtual channel and the analog port can be set; and a scan-group-forming register on which a start position of a scan group and an end position thereof can be set. The A/D conversion control part controls the A/D conversion part to successively execute an A/D conversion process on a plurality of virtual channels from a virtual channel associated with the start pointer to a virtual channel associated with the end pointer.
US08970409B2	Dynamic dithering method and apparatus for analog-to-digital converters A dynamic dithering method is provided for improving linearity in analog-to-digital converters.
US08970403B2	Method for actuating a tactile interface layer A method for actuating a tactile interface layer of a device that defines a surface with a deformable region, comprising the steps of deforming a deformable region of the surface into a formation tactilely distinguishable from the surface, detecting a force from the user on a deformed deformable region, interpreting the force as a command for the deformable region, and manipulating the deformable region of the surface based on the command.
US08970401B2	Using image sensor and tracking filter time-to-go to avoid mid-air collisions A collision avoidance system for deciding whether an autonomous avoidance maneuver should be performed in order to avoid a mid-air collision between a host aerial vehicle equipped with the system and an intruding aerial vehicle. At least one electro-optical sensor captures consecutive images of an intruding vehicle such that the vehicle manifests itself as a target point in the images. An image processor estimates the azimuth angle, elevation angle and a first time-to-collision estimate of the time to collision between the host vehicle and the intruding vehicle. The first time-to-collision estimate is estimated based on scale change in the target point between at least two of said consecutive images. A tracking filter is arranged to estimate a second time-to-collision estimate using the azimuth angle, the elevation angle and the first time-to-collision estimate estimated by the image processor as input parameters. A collision avoidance module is arranged to decide whether or not an avoidance maneuver should be performed based on any of at least one parameter, of which at least one is indicative of said second time-to-collision estimate.
US08970395B2	Battery-powered level gauge system adapted for wireless communication The present invention relates to a method comprising providing an activation signal from a wireless communication unit to a measurement unit to switch the measurement unit from its inactive state to its active state; providing a measurement request signal to the measurement unit to request measurement of a filling level of a product in a tank; and thereafter switching the wireless communication unit from its active state to its inactive state. The measurement unit measures the filling level and provides a measurement ready signal to the wireless communication unit; the wireless communication unit is switched from its inactive state to its active state in response to the measurement ready signal received from the measurement unit; the wireless communication unit retrieves the value indicative of the filling level from the measurement unit; and wirelessly transmits the value indicative of the filling level to the remote device.
US08970392B2	Medical data transport over wireless life critical network A communicator facilitates communications with a remote server via a wireless network supporting a plurality of disparate data transport mechanisms having differing characteristics. A processor coupled to memory is disposed in a communicator housing, which is configured for portability. The memory stores wireless radio firmware and data transfer instructions that are executable by the processor for transferring data to the remote server in accordance with a priority level. The priority level is based in part on criticality of the data and the communicator status. A radio disposed in the housing effects communications via the wireless network in accordance with the firmware. A power source in the housing supplies power for communicator components. The processor executes program instructions for selecting a data transport mechanism among the plurality transport mechanisms based on the priority level, and transmits the data via the wireless network via the radio using the selected transport mechanism.
US08970390B2	Method and apparatus of aiding viewing position adjustment with autostereoscopic displays A method of aiding viewing position for autostereoscopic displays having a suggested viewing zone or optimal viewing position. The method detects a position of a viewer using a detection sensor associated with the display and determines if the viewer is within the suggested viewing zone. If the viewer is not within the suggested viewing zone, the method provides feedback to the viewer, such as visual cues on the display, indicating how the viewer should move in order to be within the suggested viewing zone. The method can continuously provide the feedback in order to indicate how the viewer is moving with respect to the suggested viewing zone and when the viewer has moved into the suggested viewing zone.
US08970387B2	Smoke detector An alarm for detecting smoke comprises a housing (1) having vents (9) for allowing ingress of smoke into the housing. A sensor chamber (22,26) is disposed within the housing and has vents (24a,24b) for allowing ingress of smoke into the sensor chamber and comprises two parts. A diode emitter and diode sensor (25) is mounted within the sensor chamber for sensing light reflected off smoke. An alarm circuit (32), including detection means for detecting smoke sensed by the sensor diode (25), is supported on a printed circuit board (PCB) (29). The PCB is sandwiched between two halves (22 and 26) of the sensor chamber such that an edge (30) thereof extends part-way into said sensor chamber. The sensor is mounted on, near or adjacent to the edge.
US08970385B1	Moisture-detection apparatus and method A water alarm is disclosed. The water alarm may include a housing, circuit board, power source, sound generator, and a plurality of conductors. The housing may define an interior and an exterior and comprise a bottom portion and a top portion. The circuit board may be contained within the interior of the housing. The power source may be electrically connected to deliver electrical power to the circuit board. The sound generator and plurality of conductors may be electrically connected to the circuit board. Each conductor of the plurality of conductors may be electrically conductive. Each may also be and insert molded within the bottom portion to extend from the interior to the exterior.
US08970375B2	Memory tag, method for providing information and enabling the release of stored content, and apparatus therefor A method of providing information, the method comprising interrogating a memory tag; receiving content from the memory tag by wireless electromagnetic communication in response to the interrogation, the memory tag comprising a memory and a transponder to enable the wireless electromagnetic communication; storing the content; sending a release request to an authorizer; receiving a release confirmation from the authorizer in response to the release request; and releasing the stored content in response to receipt of the release confirmation. The memory tag may contain encrypted content. A plurality of said release requests may be sent, each release request having an associated cost. An aggregate cost can then be calculated in accordance with the sum of the associated costs.
US08970370B2	Method and system to calibrate physical data A system and method for calibrating physical data sensing devices with physical data control devices is disclosed. The system and method are particularly useful for calibrating physical data sensing devices that measure physical data at periodic intervals different from the periodic intervals in which the physical data control device measure the physical data. The system and method provide a quick and accurate calibration between devices sampling at different rates.
US08970369B2	“Invisi wall” anti-theft system A system which monitors a display of products includes a motion detection unit. The motion detection unit is configured to receive an electromagnetic signal from a sensor concerning a portion of a plane disposed between at least one product held in a display and an individual. Further, the motion detection unit determines whether the portion of the plane is breached based on temporal deviations in the electromagnetic signal and, in response to determining a breach, generates a notification of the breach.
US08970368B2	Communicating within a wireless security system Techniques are provided that enable a wireless security system that is designed to detect and receive wireless transmissions in one protocol, to use sensor-transmitters that operate in a different protocol. The techniques involve, generally, the use of an integration device, and in some implementations, first enrolling sensor-transmitters of a first protocol into the integration device, along with device type information for the sensor-transmitters. Thereafter, during system operation, transmissions with message packets in the first message packet protocol are received by the integration device, recognized as having been previously enrolled, and a message packet in a second message packet protocol that includes device type information is then formulated and transmitted by the integration device, for receipt by a system control device for the wireless security system. In some scenarios, an enrollment process need not be done in the integration device, and the integration device is utilized in the communication process.
US08970367B2	Person on board system and method A system and method provides updated personnel count information for offshore locations for daily use and use during emergencies that is coordinated with a cloud database. The system allows persons not at an offshore rig or installation to monitor the presence, excuse, or absence of personnel at fixed mustering stations and moveable mustering stations such as lifeboats and the launch status of particular lifeboats. The system provides simplified touch screen information that is intuitively available to obtain user profiles for persons missing, present and excused from being present at mustering stations as well as participation in drills or emergency situations.
US08970360B2	Apparatus for promoting improvement of driving skill to improve fuel efficiency An apparatus for performing a display indicating a state of fuel efficiency of a vehicle according to a driving operation, detects an operating state of the vehicle according to a driving operation performed by a driver of the vehicle. A score for representing the state of fuel efficiency of the vehicle according to the driving operation is determined. Here, the score is allocated to correspond to the operating state. A display indicating the score is performed as the display indicating the state of fuel efficiency. The allocation of the score to the operating state of the vehicle is changed according to a value obtained by accumulating the score. For example, the allocation of the score to the operating state is changed such that the score is lower as the value obtained by accumulating the score is higher. Thus, a degree of strictness with which the score is marked is higher as the level of the driving skill represented by the accumulated value is higher.
US08970356B2	Vehicle approach notification apparatus for electric motorcycle A vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycle, which outputs notification sound for notifying a walker or the like of approach of a vehicle from a speaker attached to a vehicle body includes a control unit for controlling the notification sound. The control unit is attached to a position, displaced rather forwardly of the vehicle body, of a bottom face in an accommodating box disposed below a seat of the electric motorcycle. A cover plate, which configures part of the bottom of the accommodating box, is removably disposed above the control unit. A low voltage battery as a power supply for auxiliaries is accommodated on the bottom of the accommodating box displaced rather rearwardly of the vehicle body from the control unit. The cover plate is disposed so as to cover an upper portion of the low voltage battery in flush with an upper face of the control unit.
US08970351B2	Systems and/or methods of data acquisition from a transceiver Systems and/or Methods are disclosed for acquiring data from a transceiver responsive to one or more signals that are received at the transceiver from one or more devices. In one embodiment, a transceiver is configured to transmit a signal responsive to having received a first signal from a first device, wherein the signal that is transmitted by the transceiver is configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal. The transceiver is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device. In other embodiments, a transceiver is configured to receive a signal from a first device over frequencies of a predetermined frequency band that the first device is authorized to use, to receive a signal from a second device over frequencies of the predetermined frequency band and to transmit data responsive to having received both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device. The transceiver is further configured to require that both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device be received at the transceiver before the data is transmitted. Analogous methods are also disclosed.
US08970348B1	Using sequences of facial gestures to authenticate users The disclosed embodiments provide a system that authenticates a user. During operation, the system obtains a sequence of facial gestures from the user. Next, the system authenticates the user based on a likeness of the sequence to a set of baseline representations of the facial gestures.
US08970345B2	Channel-switching remote controlled barrier opening system An improved barrier door one way wireless communication system for operating a barrier, such as a garage door, includes the transmission and reception of multibit code hopping data packets in combination with automatic RF channel switching. Packet data is transmitted automatically on more than one RF channels in a switching style while sending two or more redundant multibit code hopping data packets on each of the RF channels. The system also provides for the learning of a transmitter to a receiver where two or more code hopping data packets must be received and decoded by the receiver on all RF channels before a transmitter can be learned to a receiver. Once the transmitter is learned, actuation of the transmitter during a learn mode can open a window for learning of a single channel transmitter.
US08970344B2	Method and system for data control in electronic locks Disclosed are apparatus and corresponding methodologies for data control in an electronic access control system. A plurality of electronic locks are connected to a central server over a network such as an 802.11 WiFi wireless network that may be used to provide data updates and management for the individual electronic locks. To address power management problems associated with electronic locks having the capability to communicate over an 802.11 WiFi network, the present disclosure provides method and apparatus for selectively powering on and off an 802.11 WiFi communications module integrated into the electronic lock to conserve power resources. An electronic access control system is disclosed which allows efficient data exchange between a central server and a plurality of electronic locks using a database structure, and which allows for multiple simultaneous database manipulations in a cost effective manner.
US08970341B2	Electric vehicle, battery charging station, battery exchanging reservation system comprising the same and method thereof Disclosed is an electric vehicle, a battery charging station, and an electric vehicle battery exchange reservation system including the same. The electric vehicle includes a power level detection unit adapted to detect a power level of a battery mounted on the electric vehicle; a communication unit adapted to communicate with a battery charging station; and a control unit adapted to determine a battery charging station, in which the battery of the electric vehicle is to be exchanged, based on the power level of the battery and a route of travel of the electric vehicle and transmit a battery exchange reservation command to the determined battery charging station. Based on the battery power level of the electric vehicle, a battery charging station existing along the route of travel is requested to provide battery information, and battery exchange is reserved accordingly, so that batteries can be exchanged more efficiently and conveniently.
US08970340B2	Chip resistor and manufacturing method thereof A method of manufacturing a chip resistor includes forming a resistor assembly in which a conductive member including portions separated from each other in a first direction is provided in a resistance body member; and dividing the resistor assembly into chip resistors, each including a chip-shaped resistance body formed by a part of the resistance body member, a pair of main electrodes formed by a part of the conductive member and separated from each other in the first direction, and a pair of sub-electrodes formed by a part of the conductive member, separated from each other in the first direction, and adjacent to the main electrodes in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction with concave portions recessed in the first direction interposed therebetween, by punching.
US08970338B2	Transformer having a core frame with interlocking members A distribution transformer having a slot-and-tab core frame assembly. The core frame (17) encloses a transformer core (11) having at least one phase and provides compression on the core yokes and end members of the transformer to bind the assembly together. First and second clamps (10, 24) of the core frame contain receiving slots (34) for the tabbed (18, 28), longitudinal side supports (20), creating an interlock when connected. For larger transformers, the tabbed side supports may be alternatively comprised of a subassembly of end plates, cams, and tabbed locking plates, encompassing a sturdy locking mechanism.
US08970337B2	Adhesively bonded cylindrical magnets comprising annular coils, and method of manufacture thereof In a solenoid magnet assembly, and a method for manufacture thereof, the magnet assembly includes a number of concentrically aligned coils, each including a winding impregnated with a resin. Each coil is mechanically restrained so as to hold the coils in fixed relative positions relative to each other when forming the magnet assembly. The mechanical restraint can be formed by annular support sections bonded to the respective coils, lugs bonded to the respective coils, or by lugs that are at least partially embedded in a crust formed on a radially outer surface of the respective windings.
US08970334B2	Magnetic substance holding device using permanent magnet energy control There is provided a magnetic substance holding device that controls permanent magnet energy with which it is possible to obtain a strong holding force with a simple structure.The magnetic substance holding device that controls permanent magnet energy of the present invention includes an N pole piece formed of a magnetic substance, wherein the N pole piece has a holding face to which a target formed of a magnetic substance is attached and a base attachment face at a side different from the holding face; an S pole piece formed of a magnetic substance, wherein the S pole piece has a holding face to which the target is attached and a base attachment face at a side different from the holding face; a permanent magnet that is disposed such that the N pole thereof comes in contact with the N pole piece and the S-pole thereof comes in contact with the S pole piece; a coil that is wound around at least one of the N pole piece and the S pole piece; a base that is movable between a first position at which the base does not come in contact with both of the base attachment face of the N pole piece and the base attachment face of the S pole piece and a second position at which the base comes in contact with both of the base attachment face of the N pole piece and the base attachment face of the S pole piece; and a control device that controls a current applied to the coil, in which the target is held or released by applying a current to the coil through the control device such that at least one of the N pole piece and the S pole piece is magnetized.
US08970330B2	Contactor A contactor is disclosed. The contactor includes one or more phase units, a mechanical drive and an electronic control module. Each phase unit includes an independent insulating housing, and, inside the housing, a positive pole, a static conducting rod, a negative pole, a moving conducting rod and a counter-force elastic component. The electronic control module drives a transmission to move, the transmission drives the central shaft to rotate, the central shaft drives the engagement between the moving conducting rod and the static conducting rod, the central shaft passes through the insulating housings of the one or more phase units and drives each phase unit, so that the contactor can be formed by absolutely independent phase units and it is convenient to add a phase unit along the central shaft so as to add rated operational current.
US08970328B2	TEM mode transmission line comprising a conductor line mounted in a three sided open groove and method of manufacture Method of manufacturing a transmission line including the steps:—forming an element with at least one longitudinal groove on a surface of the element, the longitudinal groove being defined by two opposite wall portions in the element and having a longitudinal opening adjacent to the surface, and—locating a conductor line in the at least one longitudinal groove. The method is distinguished by the steps:—forming the conductor line from a metal strip upon punching the same from a sheet of metal,—attaching the metal strip to at least one holding device, and—mounting the at least one holding device, with the attached metal strip, on the element, so as to locate the metal strip in the longitudinal groove at a distance from the opposite wall portions of the element. The invention also concerns a transmission line manufactured in accordance with the method.
US08970327B2	Filter based on a combined via structure A filter is provided with a planar transmission line and a combined via structure connected to (both) one ends of the planar transmission line. The planar transmission line and the combined via structure are disposed in a same multilayer board. The combined via structure comprises two working parts. The first working part comprises a segment of signal via and a plurality of segments of ground vias surrounding the signal via. The second working part comprises a segment of the same signal via, a plurality of segments of the same ground vias, smooth conductive plate and corrugated conductive plate. The smooth conductive plate and the corrugated conductive plate are connected to the signal via. The second working part comprises a segment of the same signal via, a plurality of segments of the same ground vias and corrugated conductive plate. The corrugated conductive plate is connected to the signal via.
US08970319B2	Variable matching circuit A first line stub SB1 and one end of each of two switches SW1 and SW2 are connected to a transmission line 11L at spacings L1, L2 and L3 in order from the input end of the transmission line 11L, the other ends of the two switches are connected to a second line stub SB2, the first and second line stubs have an open end or short-circuit end, and matching at any of four frequency bands can be selected by combining on and off of the two switches SW1 and SW2.
US08970315B2	Low noise oscillator having passive impedance network Apparatus and methods are disclosed related to an oscillator that includes a sustaining amplifier. One such apparatus includes a resonant circuit configured to operate at a resonant frequency, a sustaining amplifier, and a passive impedance network. The resonant circuit can have a first terminal and a second terminal. The sustaining amplifier can include at least a first switch configured to drive the first terminal of the resonant circuit in response to an input at a first control terminal of the first switch. The passive impedance network can be configured to pass a bias to the first control terminal, such as a gate of a field effect transistor, of the first switch. The passive impedance network can be electrically coupled to the second terminal of the resonant circuit and can include at least one inductor.
US08970314B2	Interference resistant local oscillator With some embodiments, a VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) operates at an integer multiple (N) above a desired transmission frequency. In accordance with one embodiment, a chip is provided with a VCO to generate a signal and a frequency dividing circuit to provide a reduced frequency version of the signal to a transmit mixer. The transmit mixer is followed by a power amplifier that is on the same die as the VCO. The power amplifier is to generate an OFDM output transmission.
US08970312B2	Differential ring oscillation circuit, device, and oscillation control method There is provided a differential ring oscillation circuit including a differential ring oscillation unit in which delay circuits, to which signals of 2 phases are input, and which delay and output the input signals of 2 phases, are connected at even stages in a ring form, first and second common-mode level detection units that detect that the input signals of 2 phases of one delay circuit at an even stage of the differential ring oscillation unit and the input signals of 2 phases of one delay circuit at an odd stage of the differential ring oscillation unit are at same predetermined levels, respectively, and first and second switches that set, to specific potentials, one of the output signals of 2 phases of the delay circuit delaying the input signals of 2 phases, when the first and second common-mode level detection units detect the same predetermined levels, respectively.
US08970309B2	Atomic oscillator and method for fabricating atomic oscillator An atomic oscillator is disclosed, including an Alkaline metal cell, a light source illuminating a laser beam to the Alkaline metal cell, and a light detector detecting light passing through the Alkaline metal cell. The Alkaline metal cell includes a first member, a second member, a cell internal portion, and an Alkaline metal raw material. In the first member, a first glass substrate is bonded on a second surface of a first substrate where a first opening part is formed. In the second member, a second glass substrate is bonded to a fourth surface of a second substrate where a second opening part is formed. The cell internal portion is formed by the first opening part and the second opening part by bonding the first surface to the third surface. The Alkaline metal raw material is enclosed by the cell internal portion.
US08970306B2	Wireless communication device The present invention improves the transmission power characteristics of a wireless communication device or reduces the resources required for improving the transmission power characteristics. The wireless communication device includes, for example, a bias detection circuit, an error amplifier, and a correction circuit. The bias detection circuit detects a bias that is supplied to a high-frequency power amplifier. The error amplifier amplifies the error between the detected bias and a predetermined reference voltage. The correction circuit searches for a bit correction value that minimizes the error detected in the error amplifier. During a normal operation, a digital-to-analog conversion circuit receives a bias instruction code from a baseband unit and outputs a bias setup voltage, which is obtained when the bit correction value is reflected in the bias instruction code. A bias corresponding to the bias setup voltage is then supplied to the high-frequency power amplifier.
US08970305B1	Method and apparatus for amplifying an input signal An amplifier circuit including an amplifier, a first feedback path, and a second feedback path. The amplifier is configured to amplify an input signal in accordance with a gain. The first feedback path includes a first capacitance, and responsive to the input signal being within in a first frequency range, the first feedback path configured to provide feedback from the output of the amplifier to an inverting input of the amplifier. The second feedback path includes a first resistance connected in series with a second capacitance, and responsive to the input signal being within in a second frequency range, the second feedback path is configured to provide feedback from the output of the amplifier to the inverting input of the amplifier. The second frequency range is less than the first frequency range, and the gain of the amplifier levels off according to a value of the second capacitance.
US08970303B2	Amplifiers and related biasing methods and devices Biasing methods and devices for amplifiers are described. The described methods generate bias voltages proportional to the amplifier output voltage to control stress voltages across transistors used within the amplifier.
US08970302B2	Operational amplifier with selective input An operational amplifier includes a selective differential stage including a first current mirror and a current distribution circuit. First and second legs of the first current mirror are responsive to current in first and second paths of the current distribution circuit, which distributes a tail current in response to a first signal received by a first input of the operational amplifier. Current in a first path of a selection circuit in the second path of the current distribution circuit is responsive to a second signal received by a second input of the operational amplifier. Current in the second path of the selection circuit is responsive to a third signal received by a third input of the operational amplifier. An output stage generates an output signal responsive to a difference between the first signal and one of the second and third signals.
US08970301B2	Method for low power low noise input bias current compensation Low power low noise input bias current compensation for an amplifier input stage is provided by recycling the tail current of the differential pair transistors. A local amplifier regulates the tail current and buffers the base current of the tail current transistor, which is mirrored back to the input transistors to provide input bias current compensation.
US08970296B1	Amplifying circuit with bypass mode and series isolation switch An amplifying circuit for receiving a signal in a wireless network includes an amplifier and two switches. The amplifier includes an isolation switch having a gate connected to a control signal for activating the isolation switch transistor in a bypass mode and a source/drain connected to the input for receiving the signal and the other source/drain connected to the gate of an amplifier transistor. The amplifier also includes a bypass transistor having a gate connected to a control signal for activating the bypass transistor in a bypass mode. The bypass switch is connected in parallel with the series combination of the isolation switch and amplifier between the input and output, enabling the received signal to bypass the amplifier. In the bypass mode, the isolation switch prevents RF energy from voltage modulating the gate of the amplifier transistor gate thus reducing undesirable distortion and harmonics from the amplifier.
US08970293B1	Active RC filter having gain-setting attenuator Disclosed herein are embodiments of an active RC filter that has a gain-setting attenuator. An embodiment takes the form of a filter circuit having a filter-circuit input node; a filter-circuit output node; an operational amplifier (op-amp) having first and second inputs and also having an output coupled to the filter-circuit output node; and a passive feedback path extending between the filter-circuit output node and the first op-amp input, the passive feedback path having a gain-setting attenuator segment in series with a signal-filtering segment.
US08970292B2	Universal filter implementing second-order transfer function An apparatus includes a biquad filter having first and second lossy integrators and multiple input networks. Each lossy integrator includes an amplifier, and each input network is coupled to an input of the amplifier in one of the lossy integrators. Each input network includes multiple resistors and a capacitor arranged in a T-structure. In a single-ended configuration, each input network includes a grounded capacitor. In a fully-differential configuration, each input network includes one of: a grounded capacitor and a floating capacitor coupled to another input network. The amplifiers and resistors could form a portion of an integrated circuit chip, which also includes multiple input/output pins. A single grounded capacitor could be coupled to a single input/output pin of the integrated circuit chip for an input network. A single floating capacitor could be coupled to two input/output pins of the integrated circuit chip for a pair of input networks.
US08970291B1	Method of debouncing a variable frequency step signal A method of debouncing a variable frequency step signal is provided. The method includes the steps of: (a) determining a first period in oscillations of the variable frequency step signal and applying a first debounce time to debounce oscillations in the variable frequency step signal, (b) detecting a second period in the oscillations of the variable frequency step signal, (c) calculating a second debounce time as a fraction of the first period, (d) applying the second debounce time to debounce oscillations having the second period, and (e) repeating the steps (b)-(d) for debouncing successive oscillations of varying periods in the variable frequency step signal.
US08970290B2	Method and apparatus for implementing slew rate control using bypass capacitor An example circuit includes a capacitance circuit, a regulator circuit, and a slew rate control circuit. The capacitance circuit is coupled between a first node and a second node. The regulator circuit is coupled to the capacitance circuit to regulate a supply voltage across the capacitance circuit with a charge current during a normal operation mode of the circuit. The slew rate control circuit is coupled to the capacitance circuit and the regulator circuit. The slew rate control circuit is coupled to lower a slew rate of a change in voltage over change in time between the first and second nodes during a power up mode of the circuit. The slew rate control circuit includes a transistor coupled between the first and second nodes to shunt excess current from the charge current.
US08970289B1	Circuits and devices for generating bi-directional body bias voltages, and methods therefor An integrated circuit device can include at least a first bi-directional biasing circuit having a first substrate portion containing a plurality of first transistors; a first control digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to generate any of a plurality of first target values in response to a first target code; a first detect circuit configured to generate a difference value between the first target values and a first limit value; and at least a first charge pump circuit configured to drive the first substrate portion between a forward body bias voltage and a reverse body bias voltage for the first transistors in response to first target values. Embodiments can also include a performance monitor section configured to determine a difference between the voltage of the first substrate portion and a target voltage. Control logic can generate first code values in response to the difference between the voltage of the first substrate portion and the target voltage. Methods are also disclosed.
US08970287B1	Apparatus and method of adjusting analog parameters for extended temperature operation A circuit includes a temperature sensor configured to determine a circuit temperature and includes an analog circuit including one or more controllable circuit elements. The analog circuit includes at least one adjustable parameter. The circuit further includes a controller coupled to the temperature sensor and configured to select a threshold temperature. The controller is configured to control the analog circuit in response to the circuit temperature to selectively adjust at least one adjustable parameter of the analog circuit when the temperature exceeds the selected threshold temperature.
US08970285B2	Dual supply level shifter circuits A dual supply level shifter circuit includes a switching circuit and a set of level shifter circuits coupled to the switching circuit. The switching circuit includes a first set of coupled transistors, wherein the supply switching circuit is coupled to a first supply source that is configured to provide a first power supply voltage and is coupled to a second supply source that is configured to provide a second power supply voltage. The set of level shifter circuits includes a second set of coupled transistors, wherein the set of level shifter circuits is configured to receive a voltage input signal at an input node from a first circuit and to supply to an output node of the dual supply level shifter circuit an output signal having a value that is a highest voltage value between the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage.
US08970282B2	High frequency switch There is provided a high frequency switch including: a first signal transferring unit including a plurality of first switching devices; a second signal transferring unit including a plurality of second switching devices; a first shunting unit including a plurality of third switching devices; and a second shunting unit including a plurality of fourth switching devices.
US08970279B2	Radio frequency switch circuit There is provided a radio frequency switch circuit including a first switch circuit unit connected between a first node connected to a first signal port and a common node connected to a common port, and operated according to a first control signal, a second switch circuit unit connected between a second node connected to a second signal port and the common node and operated according to a second control signal having a phase opposite to that of the first control signal, a first shunt circuit unit connected between the second node and a common source node and operated according to the first control signal, a second shunt circuit unit connected between the first node and the common source node, and a source voltage generating unit generating a source voltage, wherein the source voltage is lower than a high level of the first control signal and higher than a ground potential.
US08970278B2	High power FET switch Described are embodiments of stacked field effect transistor (FET) switch having a plurality of FET devices coupled in series to form an FET device stack. A control circuit provides biasing voltages to the gate, source, and drain contacts of each of the plurality of FET devices to switch the FET device stack to and from a closed state and an open state. In the open state, the gate contacts of each of the plurality of FET devices are biased by the control circuit at the second voltage. To prevent activation in the open state, the control circuit biases the drain contacts and source contacts of each of the plurality of FET devices at the first voltage. The first voltage is positive relative to a reference voltage, such as ground, while the second voltage is non-negative relative to the reference voltage but less than the first voltage.
US08970270B2	Duty cycle adjusting circuit and adjusting method The present invention relates to a square wave generator circuit, an integrated circuit, a DC/DC converter and an AC/DC converter. The square wave generator circuit comprises a first mirror current branch which is connected with ground via a first switching element and a first capacitor in parallel with the first switching element, wherein the first switching element is operable to be opened or closed periodically under control of a first clock signal so as to generate a first sawtooth wave signal at a non-grounded terminal of the first capacitor; a second mirror current branch which is connected with ground via a second switching element and a second capacitor in parallel with the second switching element, wherein the second switching element is operable to be opened or closed periodically under control of a second clock signal synchronous with the first clock signal so as to generate a second sawtooth wave signal at a non-grounded terminal of the second capacitor; and a comparator, one input terminal of which is connected to the non-grounded terminal of the first capacitor and the other input terminal of which is connected to the non-grounded terminal of the second capacitor, so that a square wave signal can be outputted at an output terminal of the comparator, wherein a duty cycle of the square wave signal depends on a ratio of a capacitance of the second capacitor to a capacitance of the first capacitor.
US08970268B2	Semiconductor apparatus A semiconductor apparatus includes: a variable delay unit configured to delay a reference clock signal in response to a delay code and generate a data latch clock signal; a delay amount control unit configured to convert a phase of external data and a phase of the data latch clock signal into first and second codes, respectively, and generate the delay code through a calculation of the first and second codes; and a data receiver configured to latch the external data as internal data in synchronization with the data latch clock signal.
US08970263B2	Semiconductor device driving unit A semiconductor device driving unit to supply a drive signal to a gate of a semiconductor switching device, the semiconductor device driving unit comprising: a plurality of gate impedance circuits selectably connectable to the gate of the semiconductor switching device; and a selector to select one or more of the gate impedance circuits to connect to the semiconductor switching device. Also provided is a method of supplying a drive signal to a gate of a semiconductor switching device, the method comprising: selecting one or more of a plurality of gate impedance circuits to be connected to the gate of the semiconductor switching device based on one or more operating conditions and stored data relating to the one or more operating conditions; and connecting the selected one or more of the gate impedance circuits to the semiconductor switching device.
US08970261B2	Power module A power module includes an IGBT; a MOSFET connected in parallel with the IGBT; a lead frame having a first frame portion on which the IGBT is mounted and a second frame portion on which the MOSFET is mounted, and having a step by which the first frame portion is located at a first height and the second frame portion is located at a second height larger than the first height; and an insulation sheet for a heat sink which is disposed on an underside of only the first frame portion of the lead frame.
US08970260B1	Output drivers Various aspects of the disclosure are directed to methods and apparatuses involving communications. As consistent with one or more embodiments, first and second sets of multiple current drivers are implemented respectively in a high-side and a low-side circuit. Current is driven via an output port in the high-side circuit by activating the first set of multiple current drivers until a steady-state high voltage is detected, and by deactivating one of the current drivers in the first set when the steady-state high voltage is detected. Current is driven in the low-side circuit by activating the second set of multiple current drivers until a steady-state low voltage is detected, and by deactivating one of the current drivers in the second set when the steady-state low voltage is detected.
US08970258B2	Systems and methods for edge control in a switched output stage In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods may include a switch coupled at its gate terminal to an input signal voltage, the input signal voltage for controlling a gate voltage of a gate terminal of a driver device coupled at its non-gate terminals between a rail voltage and an output node. The systems and methods may also include a diode having a first terminal and a second terminal, the diode coupled to a non-gate terminal of the switch such that when the switch is enabled, the first terminal is electrically coupled to the gate terminal of the driver device and the second terminal is electrically coupled to the output node.
US08970257B2	Semiconductor device for offset compensation of reference current A semiconductor device includes a reference current generator suitable for generating a reference current, a current-voltage converter suitable for generating a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage in response to the reference current, and an analog-digital converter suitable for generating a digital code value based on a voltage difference between the first and second reference voltages, wherein the reference current generator includes a current control unit for controlling the reference current in response to the digital code value.
US08970251B2	Programmable logic device Disclosed is a programmable logic device (PLD) which can undergo dynamic configuration at a high speed. The PLD includes a plurality of programmable logic elements (PLEs) and a switch for selecting electrical connection between the PLEs. The switch includes a plurality of circuit groups each of which includes first and second transistors. The second transistors of the circuit groups are electrically connected in parallel with one another. In each of the circuit groups, the electrical conduction between a source and a drain of the second transistor is determined based on configuration data held at a node between the gate of the second transistor and a drain of the first transistor, which allows the selection of the electrical connection and disconnection between the programmable logic elements by the selection of one of the circuit groups.
US08970250B2	Configuration context switcher with a latch Some embodiments provide an IC with configuration context switchers. The IC includes several configurable circuits, each of which configurably performs one of several operations at any given time, based on the configuration data set that it receives at that time. The IC includes several storage circuits for storing several configuration data sets for each of the configurable circuits. The IC also includes a context switching interconnect circuit for switchably connecting the configurable circuit to different sets of storage circuits to receive different sets of configuration data sets. The context switcher includes one or more stages for re-timing the data coming from the configuration storage elements. The stages can include interconnect circuitry or storage circuitry. Some embodiments build one of the stages in the configuration data storage elements. Some embodiments encode the configuration data bits and hence utilize a decoder in the context switcher to decode the encoded configuration data.
US08970248B2	Sharing hardware resources between D-PHY and N-factorial termination networks A termination network for a receiver device is provided to support both D-PHY signaling and N-factorial signaling. The first end of each of a plurality dynamically configurable switches is coupled to a common node. A first end of each of a plurality of resistances is coupled to a second end of a corresponding switch. A plurality of terminals receive differential signals and each terminal is coupled to a corresponding second end of a resistance. Each of a plurality differential receivers is coupled between two terminals of the termination network, wherein a first differential receiver and a second differential receiver are coupled to the same two terminals, the first differential receiver is used when the differential signals use a first type of differential signal encoding, the second differential receiver is used when the differential signals use a second type of differential signal encoding.

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