| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US10474571B2 |
Garbage collection and defragmentation for solid state drives (SSD) and shingled magnetic recording (SMR) drives
Example apparatus and methods provide improved reclamation, garbage collection (GC) and defragmentation (defrag) for data storage devices including solid state drives (SSD) or shingled magnetic recording (SMR) drives. An erasure code (EC) layer that facilitates logically or physically erasing data from the SSD or SMR as a comprehensive GC or defrag is added to the SSD or SMR. Erased data may be selectively recreated from the EC layer as needed. Pre-planned EC write zones may be established to further optimize GC and defrag. Recreated data may be written to selected locations to further optimize SSD and SMR performance. Erasure code data may be distributed to co-operating devices to further improve GC or defrag. Example apparatus and methods may also facilitate writing data to an SMR drive using tape or VTL applications or processes and providing a pseudo virtual tape library on the SMR drive. |
| US10474569B2 |
Information processing device including nonvolatile cache memory and processor
According to one embodiment, a cache memory device includes a nonvolatile cache memory, write unit, determination unit, selection unit, and erase unit. The nonvolatile cache memory includes a plurality of erase unit areas. Each of the erase unit areas includes a plurality of write unit areas. The write unit writes data to the nonvolatile cache memory. The determination unit determines whether the plurality of erase unit areas satisfy an erase condition or not. The selection unit selects an area to be erased from the plurality of erase unit areas when the plurality of erase unit areas satisfy the erase condition. The erase unit erases the data written to the area to be erased. |
| US10474568B2 |
Re-playable execution optimized for page sharing in a managed runtime environment
Embodiments of this disclosure allow non-position-independent-code to be shared between a closed application and a subsequent application without converting the non-position-independent-code into position-independent-code. In particular, embodiment techniques store live data of a closed application during runtime of the closed application, and thereafter page a portion of the live data that is common to both the closed application and a subsequent application back into volatile memory at the same virtual memory address in which the portion of live data was stored during runtime of the closed application so that the paged lived data may be re-used to execute the subsequent application in the managed runtime environment. Because the paged live data is stored at the same virtual memory address during the runtimes of both applications, non-position-independent-code can be shared between the applications. |
| US10474565B2 |
Root cause analysis of non-deterministic tests
Example implementations relate to root cause analysis of non-deterministic tests. In response to detecting a non-deterministic test of an application under test, some implementations may cause rerun executions of the non-deterministic test. Some implementations may also capture data during the rerun executions. The data may include application data, test data, and environment data. Some implementations may also analyze the captured data to determine a root cause of a failure of the non-deterministic test. The analysis may be based on a comparison between failed rerun executions and passed rerun executions. |
| US10474562B2 |
Machine learning based ranking of test cases for software development
An online system ranks test cases run in connection with check-in of sets of software files in a software repository. The online system ranks the test cases higher if they are more likely to fail as a result of defects in the set of files being checked in. Accordingly, the online system informs software developers of potential defects in the files being checked in early without having to run the complete suite of test cases. The online system determines a vector representation of the files and test cases based on a neural network. The online system determines an aggregate vector representation of the set of files. The online system determines a measure of similarity between the test cases and the aggregate vector representation of the set of files. The online system ranks the test cases based on the measures of similarity of the test cases. |
| US10474551B2 |
Method and system for recovering data from storage systems
A method and system for recovering data from a storage system is disclosed. The method includes predicting, by a fault tolerance device, a fault within the storage system comprising one or more disk array enclosures, wherein each of the one or more disk array enclosures comprise a plurality of disks. The method further includes identifying, by the fault tolerance device, a data block going to be affected by occurrence of the predicted fault, wherein the data block is identified within a first disk in the plurality of disks. The method includes extracting, by the fault tolerance device, data stored in the data block before occurrence of the predicted fault. The method further includes transferring, by the fault tolerance device, the data extracted from the data block to a second disk not going to be affected by occurrence of the predicted fault. |
| US10474547B2 |
Managing contingency capacity of pooled resources in multiple availability zones
A network-based services provider may reserve and provision primary resource instance capacity for a given service (e.g., enough compute instances, storage instances, or other virtual resource instances to implement the service) in one or more availability zones, and may designate contingency resource instance capacity for the service in another availability zone (without provisioning or reserving the contingency instances for the exclusive use of the service). For example, the service provider may provision resource instance(s) for a database engine head node in one availability zone and designate resource instance capacity for another database engine head node in another availability zone without instantiating the other database engine head node. While the service operates as expected using the primary resource instance capacity, the contingency resource capacity may be leased to other entities on a spot market. Leases for contingency instance capacity may be revoked when needed for the given service (e.g., during failover). |
| US10474546B1 |
Oculink electronic device having flexible circuit board
An oculink electronic device having a flexible circuit board includes an oculink connector, a first rigid circuit board, a second rigid circuit board and the flexible circuit board. The first rigid circuit board is connected with the oculink connector. The flexible circuit board is extended from the first rigid circuit board and the second rigid circuit board and disposed between the first rigid circuit board and the second rigid circuit board. Therefore, not only the assembling steps are reduced, but also the total length is significantly shortened. The rotatable characteristic is provided, and the space requirement of installation is reduced. |
| US10474545B1 |
Storage system with distributed input-output sequencing
An apparatus in one embodiment comprises a storage system including a plurality of storage nodes each associated with one or more storage devices. The storage system is configured to provide at least one virtual volume distributed over the storage nodes for utilization by a plurality of host devices. The storage nodes comprise respective input-output sequencers for handling input-output operations directed to the distributed virtual volume by the host devices. The input-output sequencers of the respective storage nodes are configured to interact with one another to collectively form a distributed input-output sequencer that ensures consistency across the storage nodes for the distributed virtual volume when accessed by different ones of the host devices. The storage system may comprise a multi-site storage system, with the plurality of storage nodes comprising at least a first storage node cluster at a first site and a second storage node cluster at a second site. |
| US10474541B2 |
Optimized savepoint during database recovery
Recovery of a database system can be initiated by taking the database system offline. Thereafter, recovery operations specified by a redo log of the database system are replayed. During the replaying, updates to pages implicated by the recovery operations are blocked. In parallel, modified pages are flushed to physical disk storage. The database is later brought online after all of the recovery operations are replayed. |
| US10474539B1 |
Browsing federated backups
Embodiments described herein provide for a system and associated logic to enable browsing of a federated backup having a plurality of portions, each portion separately generated and indexed by a plurality of nodes. In one embodiment, the system performs a federated backup by generating a unique identifier on a primary node and providing the unique identifier to each secondary node tasked with generating the plurality of portions. The secondary nodes associate the unique identifier with each of the plurality of portions. The unique identifier can then be used by a recovery UI to generate and display a consolidated view of the plurality of portions. |
| US10474537B2 |
Utilizing an incremental backup in a decremental backup system
Utilizing an incremental backup in a decremental backup system. In one example embodiment, a method for utilizing an incremental backup in a decremental backup system includes creating a base backup that includes all original allocated blocks in a source storage at a first point in time. Next, an incremental backup is created that includes allocated blocks in the source storage that were newly allocated or were changed between the first point in time and a second point in time. The changed allocated blocks in the incremental backup are identified. During a third time period, a decremental backup is created and the incremental backup is ingested into the base backup by copying, into the decremental backup, original allocated blocks from the base backup that correspond to the changed allocated blocks in the incremental backup. Lastly, the newly-allocated blocks and the changed allocated blocks from the incremental backup are added to the base backup. |
| US10474531B2 |
Processing device
A processing device has a memory including a plurality of storage areas each storing a setting value and the correction frequency change unit. The correction frequency change unit is configured to decrease, when a frequency of correction by the error correction unit for a storage area that stores one of the setting values is changed to a high frequency, a frequency of correction by the error correction processing for one of the storage areas other than the storage area whose correction frequency is changed to a high frequency, and to increase, when a frequency of correction by the error correction unit for a storage area that stores one of the setting values is changed to a low frequency, a frequency of correction by the error correction processing for one of the storage areas other than the storage area whose correction frequency is changed to a low frequency. |
| US10474530B2 |
Data storage method for detecting data storage device and its data storage device
A data storage device includes a flash memory and a controller. The flash memory includes a plurality of planes, and each of the planes includes a plurality of blocks. Each of the blocks includes a plurality of pages. The size of each page is N K-bytes, wherein N is a positive integer greater than 1. The controller is coupled to the flash memory to calculate the ECC bit number of each page using a detection unit of 1 Kbyte. The controller statistically calculates the number of detection units of the pages corresponding to different values of the ECC bit number in order to determine whether each plane of the flash memory is normal or not. |
| US10474528B2 |
Redundancy coding stripe based on coordinated internal address scheme across multiple devices
A system and method pertains to operating non-volatile memory systems. Technology disclosed herein efficiently uses memory available in non-volatile storage devices in a non-volatile memory system. In some aspects, non-volatile storage devices enforce a redundancy coding stripe across the non-volatile storage devices formed from chunks of data having internal addresses assigned in a coordinated scheme across the storage devices. In some aspects, non-volatile storage devices enforce a redundancy coding stripe across the non-volatile storage devices at the same internal addresses in the respective non-volatile storage devices. |
| US10474527B1 |
Host-assisted error recovery
Systems and methods are disclosed for host assisted error recovery at a data storage device. In an example embodiment, an apparatus comprises a data storage drive including an interface to communicate with a host device, a nonvolatile solid state memory, and a processor. The processor is configured to calculate parity data based on a plurality of pages from the nonvolatile solid state memory, and provide, in response to a request for the parity data received from the host device via the interface, the parity data to the host device with an indication to store the parity data to a nonvolatile storage medium. |
| US10474526B2 |
System and method for granular in-field cache repair
A cache controller id disclosed, The cache controller includes circuitry to receive a request to access data in a target location of a last level cache of a processor on a processor package, identify an in-field failure in the target location of the last level cache, perform, in response to the identification of the in-field failure, an in-field repair, including circuitry to write in-field repair information to a non-volatile memory on the processor package and external to the processor, the non-volatile memory including circuitry to store in-field repair information. Systems and methods are also disclosed. |
| US10474524B2 |
Point cloud filter method and apparatus
A point cloud filter method and apparatus is provided for use in point cloud rendering from real-time point cloud data collection from a variety of sensor types is provided that delivers enhanced performance including reducing processing requirements, limiting local memory consumption and optimizing overall data visualization. |
| US10474522B2 |
Providing a network access failure cause value of a user equipment
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information processing method and apparatus. The method comprises: sending a first message to a first equipment, wherein the first message is used for requesting user data of a user equipment; receiving a second message sent by the first equipment according to the first message, wherein the second message carries the user data of the user equipment and a network access failure transmission indication; and when determining a network access failure of the user equipment, sending a network access failure cause value of the user equipment to a storing user subscribed information entity or a failure cause processing entity according to the network access failure transmission indication. The information processing method and apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may be used for achieving a failure diagnosis of the user equipment. |
| US10474517B2 |
Techniques of storing operational states of processes at particular memory locations of an embedded-system device
A method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be an embedded-system device. The embedded-system device determines a respective operational state of each of one or more processes of the embedded-system device. The embedded-system device stores the respective operational state of each of the one or more processes at a memory location in a respective memory area for the each process in a memory of the embedded-system device. The embedded-system device stores the memory locations associated with the one or more processes in a register in the memory. The embedded-system device obtains, from the register, a memory location of at least one process of the one or more processes. The embedded-system device obtains, based on the memory location of the at least one process, the stored operational state of the at least one process from the respective memory area for the at least one process. |
| US10474512B1 |
Inter-process intra-application communications
Multiple processes of an application (or multiple applications capable of sharing private data) of a mobile device can communicate in a process-safe, secure, and efficient manner via a shared private file system. A first process can produce shared data for a second process to consume via the file system. For example, when the shared data changes, the first process can write a new file to the private file system and rename the new file to a specified file name. When the second process needs the shared data, the second process can evaluate certain metadata of the new file, such as a timestamp or a field comprising a monotonically increasing number. If a stored metadata value associated with the specified file name is less than the metadata value of the new file, the second process can safely retrieve the shared data from the new file. |
| US10474511B1 |
Systems and methods for delivering in-application messages
Systems and methods for sending an in-application message to a user of a software application makes use of templated messages. User-specific information is added to the template to create the message delivered to the user. The user-specific information is added to the template to create the message immediately before the message is to be delivered to the user to ensure the user-specific information is as up-to-date as possible. |
| US10474510B2 |
Declarative properties for data collections
A system according one exemplary embodiment may receive instructions regarding a callee function that include a description of properties associated with arguments for the callee function, create a persistent representation of the callee function based on the received description of the callee function, receive instructions from a source describing a set of properties for a data collection, create a persistent representation of the data collection based on the set of properties for the data collection, receive an updated property for the data collection, and in response to receiving the updated property for the data collection: update the persistent representation of the callee function by associating the persistent representation of the callee function with the updated property of the data collection and update the persistent representation of the data collection by associating the persistent representation the data collection with the updated property of the data collection. |
| US10474509B1 |
Computing resource monitoring and alerting system
Systems and methods for monitoring one or more servant regions of an application server. A processor in electronic communication with the application server identifies one or more servant regions of the application server; requests to the application server to receive one or more performance metrics for each of the one or more servant regions, the performance metrics included in a virtual resource statistics module for collecting and reporting available resource data; receives from the application server first information including the one or more performance metrics for each of the one or more servant regions; extracts from the first information the one or more performance metrics for each of the one or more servant regions of the application server; and determines, based on the one or more performance metrics, whether to generate an alert message. |
| US10474508B2 |
Replication management for hyper-converged infrastructures
Disclosed are various examples of replication management for hyper-converged infrastructures. Virtual machine groups are generated using k-means grouping based on a process list of a respective virtual machine of a plurality of virtual machines within a hyper-converged infrastructure. Virtual machines in a respective group are analyzed to determine a first set of resources. A property graph that includes configuration data including a storage resource configuration and a network resource configuration is generated for the first set of resources of the respective virtual machine group. A second set of resources is configured within a second workload domain using the storage resource configuration and the network resource configuration. |
| US10474506B1 |
Finite state machine driven workflows
Disclosed herein are embodiments for providing finite state machine driven workflows. In an embodiment, a workflow template is defined for a type of task. The workflow template may represent a finite state machine. The workflow template may be linked to an external party and an asset type, which may be stored in a workflow database. An asset may be received from the external party including an external party attribute identifying the external party, an asset type attribute, and an owner attribute. The owner attribute may be associated with an application end user. A determination may be made whether the external party attribute and the asset type attribute of the asset match the external party and the asset type linked to the workflow template. If a match is determined, instances of the task and the one or more actions of the workflow template may be created. |
| US10474504B2 |
Distributed node intra-group task scheduling method and system
A distributed node intra-group task scheduling method includes: step 101) collecting resource state information and history service information about each node in a group; step 102) receiving a service request command and parsing the request command to obtain a request task; step 103) according to the resource state information and history service information about each node, calculating the resource utilization rate increment after each node in the group loads a task and the occupation condition of each kind of resource in the group; and according to a principle of making the resource utilization rate increment of each node in the group as low as possible and the occupation of each kind of resource in the group as balanced as possible, selecting service execution nodes in the group, and providing the request task by the selected service execution nodes. |
| US10474502B2 |
Multi-tenant license enforcement across job requests
Scheduling job request submitted by multiple tenants in a manner that honors multiple software license agreements for the multiple tenants. A queue persistently stores job requests that await scheduling. A job state tracking component persistently tracks a state of the job requests, and perhaps provides job requests into the queue. A software license agreement enforcer reviews the job requests in the queue, selects one or more job requests should be scheduled next based on the license agreements, and provide the selected job requests to a resource manager. A subscriber/publisher pool may be used to the various components to communicate. This decouples the communication from being a simple one-to-one correspondence, but instead allows communication from a component of one type to a component of the other type, whichever instance of those components happens to be operating. |
| US10474499B2 |
Resource allocation based on resource distribution data from child node
Disclosed is a computer system for allocating a resource, such as a computing resource. In an aspect, there is provided a method for allocating a resource associated with a root node. The method includes: authenticating a network node by determining that the network node is child node, the child node being a node associated with a child in a hierarchical model; receiving, via a communication module and from the child node, a signal representing resource distribution data, the resource distribution data indicating a proportional distribution of resources among descendants of the child; and in response to receiving the signal representing resource distribution data, allocating the resource to the descendants of the child by: i) determining a total amount of resources allocated to the child; and ii) based on the resource distribution data, allocating respective portions from the total amount of resources allocated to the child to descendants of that child. |
| US10474497B1 |
Computing node job assignment using multiple schedulers
A set of computing nodes may receive a corresponding set of heartbeat messages that originated at the set of computing nodes. The set of heartbeat messages may relate to selecting, among the set of computing nodes, a leader computing node to process a set of jobs. State information included in the heartbeat messages may be provided to a leader election algorithm that outputs information indicating one or more computing nodes that are most qualified to process the set of jobs based on processing capabilities of the computing nodes and processing constraints associated with the set of jobs. The computing node may select itself as the leader computing node to process the set of jobs based on determining, from the information output by the leader election algorithm, that the computing node is most qualified to process the set of jobs and no other computing nodes are processing the set of jobs. |
| US10474496B1 |
Dynamic multitasking for distributed storage systems by detecting events for triggering a context switch
A method is disclosed for dynamic multitasking in a storage system, the storage system including a first storage server configured to execute a first I/O service process and one or more second storage servers, the method comprising: detecting a first event for triggering a context switch; transmitting to each of the second storage servers an instruction to stop transmitting internal I/O requests to the first I/O service process, the instruction including an identifier corresponding to the first I/O service process, the identifier being arranged to distinguish the first I/O service process from other first I/O service processes that are executed by the first storage server concurrently with the first I/O service process; deactivating the first I/O service process by pausing a frontend of the first I/O service process, and pausing one or more I/O providers of the first I/O service process; and executing a first context switch between the first I/O service process and a second process. |
| US10474489B2 |
Techniques to run one or more containers on a virtual machine
Examples may include techniques to run one or more containers on a virtual machine (VM). Examples include cloning a first VM to result in a second VM. The cloned first VM may run at least a set of containers capable of separately executing one or more applications. In some examples, some cloned containers are stopped at either the first or second VMs to allow for at least some resources provisioned to support the first or second VMs to be reused or recycled at a hosting node. In other examples, the second VM is migrated from the hosting node to a destination hosting node to further enable resources to be reused or recycled at the hosting node. |
| US10474486B2 |
Data access accelerator
Various systems, methods, and processes for accelerating data access in application and testing environments are disclosed. A production dataset is received from a storage system, and cached in a consolidated cache. The consolidated cache is implemented by an accelerator virtual machine. A file system client intercepts a request for the production dataset from one or more application virtual machines, and transmits the request to the accelerator virtual machine. The accelerator virtual machine serves the production dataset to the one or more application virtual machines from the consolidated cache. |
| US10474480B2 |
Method and apparatus for simultaneously displaying more items
Methods and an electronic device are provided for displaying one or more items. An aspect ratio of each of the items is determined. A full screen is divided into regions. Each of the regions has an aspect ratio that is the same as that of a respective one of the items. The items are simultaneously displayed in the regions. |
| US10474479B1 |
Preventing framework conflicts for multi-OS applications
Embodiments described herein provide for system and methods to enable an operating environment that supports multi-OS applications. One embodiment provides for a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that cause a data processing system to perform operations to detect conflicts during a build process for a dynamic library, the operations comprising loading program code for the dynamic library to build for a first platform, determining a set of interfaces and data structures exported by the dynamic library for the first platform, determining a set of interfaces and data structures exported by the dynamic library for a second platform, parsing the set of interfaces and data structures to verify consistency of a build contract for the dynamic library, and generating a build error during a build process for the dynamic library upon detecting an inconsistent build contract specifying at least an application binary interface (ABI) for the dynamic library. |
| US10474472B2 |
Operating system establishing method and apparatus
Embodiments of the present invention provide an operating system establishing method and apparatus. The operating system establishing method in the present invention includes: starting a just enough operating system and enabling a basic application service; acquiring a data selection instruction input by a user, determining a profile providing server according to the data selection instruction, and acquiring operating system information from the profile providing server; and accessing an operating system providing server according to the operating system information, acquiring an operating system copy, and deploying the operating system copy in an operating system container to establish an operating system. In the embodiments of the present invention, hardware and an operating system that are of a terminal are decoupled, which achieves a purpose that a terminal may establish an operating system according to a user preference. |
| US10474471B2 |
Methods and systems for performing a replay execution
One or more embodiments may provide a method for performing a replay. The method includes initiating execution of a program, the program having a plurality of sets of instructions, and each set of instructions has a number of chunks of instructions. The method also includes intercepting, by a virtual machine unit executing on a processor, an instruction of a chunk of the number of chunks before execution. The method further includes determining, by a replay module executing on the processor, whether the chunk is an active chunk, and responsive to the chunk being the active chunk, executing the instruction. |
| US10474466B2 |
SIMD sign operation
Method, apparatus, and program means for nonlinear filtering and deblocking applications utilizing SIMD sign and absolute value operations. The method of one embodiment comprises receiving first data for a first block and second data for a second block. The first data and said second data are comprised of a plurality of rows and columns of pixel data. A block boundary between the first block and the second block is characterized. A correction factor for a deblocking algorithm is calculated with a first instruction for a sign operation that multiplies and with a second instruction for an absolute value operation. Data for pixels located along said block boundary between the first and second block are corrected. |
| US10474460B2 |
Technologies for optical communication in rack clusters
Technologies for optical communication in a rack cluster in a data center are disclosed. In the illustrative embodiment, a network switch is connected to each of 1,024 sleds by an optical cable that enables communication at a rate of 200 gigabits per second. The optical cable has low loss, allowing for long cable lengths, which in turn allows for connecting to a large number of sleds. The optical cable also has a very high intrinsic bandwidth limit, allowing for the bandwidth to be upgraded without upgrading the optical infrastructure. |
| US10474455B2 |
Automating identification of code snippets for library suggestion models
A library model addition engine adds library models to a library knowledge base by defining a template for a library configuration file that conveys information about each library model, custom inputs and code snippets to facilitate library comparison operations, and education content for the library model, where the library configuration file template may be automatically filled by populating selected data fields in the template with information identifying the library model and a set of custom inputs for the library model, and then passing a set of test cases from the set of custom inputs to an input/output matching engine to evaluate a repository of code snippets and identify a set of functionally similar code snippets for inclusion one or more data fields in the template. |
| US10474453B2 |
Extending the usage of integrated portals for a better user experience
Decision making for custom portal developments is automated by the collection of product usage logs and analysis of the data collected to determine whether to create a native portlet for the product, and whether the portlet is to have multi-channel capability. Product usage logs include user interaction with the product and the type of traffic coming to the site. The recommended action is based on the analysis of log data with respect to specified key parameters. |
| US10474446B2 |
Installation tool for adhering to enterprise requirements
An installation tool includes a memory, a retrieval engine, an extraction engine, a configuration engine, a compiler, and an installer. The memory stores installation parameters of a previous software update for an application. The retrieval engine receives a request to install a first software update for the application and in response to the request, retrieves the installation parameters of the previous software update. The extraction engine extracts from the application a plurality of source binary files for the application. The configuration engine receives a plurality of requirements for installing the first software update based upon the retrieved installation parameters. The compiler creates an installation executable for the first software update based upon the plurality of source binary files and the plurality of requirements. The installer executes the installation executable to apply the first software update according to the plurality of requirements. |
| US10474440B2 |
Computer-vision based execution of graphical user interface (GUI) application actions
Using computer-vision based training information, a user interface (UI) component of an application-level user interface of an application and rendering coordinates of the UI component within the application-level user interface are recognized. A functional class that is mapped within the computer-vision based training information to the UI component and that is used to instantiate the UI component as part of the application-level user interface is identified in accordance with the computer-vision based training information. A replica object of the identified functional class is instantiated within a user interface container separately from the application. An operating system-level event that specifies a functional operation of the UI component and the recognized rendering coordinates of the UI component is generated from the instantiated replica object on an operating system event queue that provides inputs to the application. |
| US10474438B2 |
Intelligent cloud engineering platform
A device receives application information associated with a monolithic application, and generates a recommendation based on utilizing an artificial intelligence technique. The recommendation relates to a service to be generated, a service category for the service, and a deployment model for the service. The artificial intelligence technique generates the recommendation based on the application information. The device automatically generates code for the service based on the service category and the application information, receives a request to deploy the generated code for the service via the deployment model, and deploys the generated code, based on the request, to provide the service via the deployment model. |
| US10474432B2 |
Repeatable distributed pseudorandom number generation
Repeatable distributed pseudorandom number generation is disclosed. For example, a system has a plurality of pseudorandom number generators (“PRNGs”) including a first and second PRNGs and a randomization engine including a seed engine configured to control the plurality of PRNGs by executing to generate a plurality of seed values equal in quantity to the plurality of PRNGs, including first and second seed values. The first seed value is assigned to the first PRNG and the second seed value to the second PRNG. A first pseudorandom number (“PRN”) set is received from the first PRNG and a second PRN set from the second PRNG. A plurality of PRN sets from the plurality of PRNGs is combined into a combined number set. |
| US10474431B2 |
Device and method for multiplication for impeding side-channel attacks
A device for multiplying two bit sequences has a controller that selects and activates exactly one multiplier unit from a plurality of parallel multiplier units, according to a random signal. A partial multiplier unit shared by all the multiplier units receives and multiplies operands formed by the respectively activated multiplier unit. Each multiplier unit implements a different multiplication method with a respective selector unit that selects segments of the bit sequences to be multiplied, in accordance with a selection plan adapted to the respective multiplication method, to form operands from one or more segments and outputs the operands. The respective accumulation unit receives step by step partial products from the partial multiplier unit, accumulates the partial products in accordance with an accumulation plan adapted to the implemented multiplication method and matching the selection plan, and outputs the calculated product of after accumulation has been completed. |
| US10474430B2 |
Mixed-precision processing elements, systems, and methods for computational models
The disclosed method may include (1) receiving a precision level of each weight associated with each input of a node of a computational model, (2) identifying, for each weight, one of a plurality of multiplier groups, where each multiplier group may include a plurality of hardware multipliers of a corresponding bit width, and where the corresponding bit width of the plurality of hardware multipliers of the one of the plurality of multiplier groups may be sufficient to multiply the weight by the associated input, and (3) multiplying each weight by its associated input using an available hardware multiplier of the one of the plurality of multiplier groups identified for the weight. Various other processing elements, methods, and systems are also disclosed. |
| US10474424B2 |
Control method, audio device, and information storage medium
In a case where a sound of one channel of an audio signal which is reproduced and emitted by a second audio device is emitted from a first audio device, an audio device receives a signal of other channel of the audio signal from the second audio device and causes a sound emission unit to emit a sound of the other channel. |
| US10474423B2 |
Systems and methods for soundscape selection in autonomous vehicles
Systems and method are provided for controlling a vehicle. A method of soundscape selection in a vehicle includes receiving a number of biometric parameters from sensors provided within an interior of the vehicle, and determining a state-of-mind of an occupant within the interior of the vehicle based on the biometric parameters. The method further includes selecting, with a soundscape determination module including a processor, a soundscape responsive to the state of mind of the occupant, and providing to the vehicle a set of vehicle parameters based on the selected soundscape. |
| US10474419B2 |
Audio digital signal processor utilizing a hybrid network architecture
A system and method executed by audio processing software on one or more electronic devices in a computer system to process digital audio signals. The system comprises a digitizer for digitizing a received audio signal; and processor for performing a plurality of audio processing functions on the digitized audio signals, each of the audio processing functions having at least one programmable parameter, and wherein each of the audio processing functions are categorized and grouped as audio objects, and organized into a channel strip, the channel strip processing digitized audio signals for a particular received audio signal, and wherein, the audio objects are fixed in order, so that the digitized received audio signals are processed by a predefined number of N audio objects, and wherein the N audio objects occur in a fixed sequence, and further wherein, the N audio objects comprise a first subset of non-exchangeable audio objects and a second subset of exchangeable audio objects, such that any one or more of the second subset of audio objects can be exchanged by a replacement audio object, and further wherein when the audio processing functions are programmed, they can be saved without compiling the audio processing software. |
| US10474414B2 |
Image display system, information processing apparatus, and image display method
An image display system includes at least one display device and at least one information processing apparatus connected to the display device. The information processing apparatus includes an input unit which receives a plurality of image data items and parameters related to a display image, a determination unit which determines areas of an image indicated by the image data items, which areas are displayed by the display device as partial images of the display image, based on the parameters, a setting unit which sets up a switching condition for switching the image data items, a switching unit which switches the image data items when the switching condition is met, and a transmission unit which transmits data indicating the areas to the display device. The display device is configured to display the areas determined by the determination unit at intervals of a predetermined time. |
| US10474411B2 |
System and method for alerting VR headset user to real-world objects
A system and method are presented for alerting a head mounted display (HMD) user to real-world objects. The HMD includes a controller, an internal display, and an external sensor. One or more characteristics of an object in a vicinity of the user are detected, using the external sensor. It is determined whether a detected characteristic matches a predefined criterion, and, if so, an alert is displayed to the user on the internal display. |
| US10474405B2 |
Controller, server, and storage medium
A controller configured to perform: receiving first type consumable product information from a first type consumable product in a state where the first type consumable product is mounted to a printing execution apparatus; displaying a selection screen in a case where a registering instruction for registering ordering-related information is received, the selection screen including a first type information indicating the first type consumable product and being displayed in a first display mode and another type information indicating another consumable product different from the first type consumable product and being displayed in a second display mode; and registering the ordering-related information in a case where one piece of type information is selected from the plurality of pieces of type information included in the selection screen, the registered ordering-related information including consumable product information specifying a consumable product indicated by the one piece of type information. |
| US10474404B2 |
Image forming system in which a mobile terminal sets print setting information and transmits a print instruction to an image forming apparatus, and related image forming apparatus and image forming method
An image forming system includes a mobile terminal and an image forming apparatus. The mobile terminal obtains a list related to document data from the image forming apparatus, receives, from a user, a selection of document data via the list to create selected document data, transmits information indicating the selected document data to the image forming apparatus, causes a display device to display a preview image based on the preview image data, accepts print setting information and a print instruction of the document data corresponding to the preview image, and transmits the print setting information and the print instruction of the document data to the image forming apparatus. The mobile terminal sets the print setting information and transmits the print instruction of the selected document data to the image forming apparatus without receiving the selected document data from the image forming apparatus. |
| US10474402B2 |
Printing system, print management server, communication relay device, and recording medium
A print management server provided outside a predetermined LAN includes a receiver, a processor, and a transmitter. The receiver receives a print output instruction from a communication terminal of a user, the print output instruction being issued to a print output device provided inside the predetermined LAN and being an instruction to print out a print target file. The processor determines whether the print target file is present inside the predetermined LAN. When it is determined that the print target file is present inside the predetermined LAN, the transmitter transmits a generation command to a communication relay device inside the predetermined LAN, the generation command being a command to generate print job data on the basis of the print target file acquired by the communication relay device and a print setting instruction. |
| US10474396B2 |
System and method for managing multiple file systems in a memory
A system and method for managing multiple file systems on a single non-volatile memory system is described. The system may include a non-volatile memory system with non-volatile memory having first and second file systems, each associated with respective files, and having a common pool of free space. The controller may be configured to update a file system to be mounted to reflect a capacity relating to only the respective files for that file system and all of the common pool of free space, while hiding from the host the file system not being mounted. The method may include the controller only presenting a single file system and hiding the unmounted file system, or may include the controller managing multiple file systems by presenting multiple file systems concurrently. |
| US10474392B2 |
Dynamic scheduling for virtual storage devices
Embodiments described herein relate to adjusting performance of a virtualization layer to reduce underutilization of a physical device. The virtualization layer virtualizes access to the device for a VM. When a guest in the VM makes a request to a virtual device, the virtualization layer and the device work together to satisfy the request. Some time is spent by the virtualization layer (software/CPU time), for instance delivering the request from the VM to the physical device, mapping the request from the virtual device to the physical device, etc. Additional time is spent by the device in performing the request (device time). The software/CPU time relative to the device time serves as a basis for deciding whether to increase or decrease processing capacity of the virtualization layer (or a component thereof), thus reducing underutilization of the device and over-provisioning of processing capacity to the virtualization layer. |
| US10474391B2 |
Storage system and method for executing file-based firmware commands and collecting response data
A storage system and method for executing file-based firmware commands and collecting response data are provided. In one embodiment, a storage system is provided comprising a memory and a controller. The controller is configured to: receive a request from a host in communication with the storage system to write data in a file, wherein the file is identified by a file path name; determine whether the file path name matches a predetermined file path name; in response to determining that the file path name does not match the predetermined file path name, write the data in the file; and in response to determining that the file path name matches the predetermined file path name, execute a command represented by the data. Other embodiments are provided. |
| US10474390B1 |
Systems and method for buffering data using a delayed write data signal and a memory receiving write addresses in a first order and read addresses in a second order
A circuit includes a memory and an address generator configured to generate a write address signal and a read address signal, where the write address signal has a first delay relative to the read address signal. The memory is configured to receive a first plurality of write addresses, from the write address signal, including a first plurality of addresses of the memory in a first order, and write, to the first plurality of write addresses, a first plurality of data words during a first time period. The memory is further configured to receive a first plurality of read addresses, from the read address signal, including the first plurality of addresses in a second order, and read, from the first plurality of read addresses, the first plurality of data words during a second time period. The first and second time periods partially overlap. The first order may be one of a natural order and a modified order, with the second order being the other of the natural order and the modified order, and the modified order may be one of a bit-reversed order and a digit-reversed order. The memory may have different write modes, and may be a read-before-write memory or a write-before-read memory. |
| US10474389B2 |
Write tracking for memories
In various examples, device comprises a memory and a memory controller. The memory controller comprises a write tracking buffer. The memory controller to: receive a write request bound for the memory, store an entry associated with the write request in the write tracking buffer, and determine an access pattern of the memory. The access pattern indicates a high or a low write bandwidth of the memory. The memory controller to execute the write request bound for the memory based on the determined memory access pattern, complete execution of the write request, and responsive to completing execution of the write request, free the entry associated with the write request from the write tracking buffer. |
| US10474386B1 |
Memory management method and storage controller
A memory management method is provided. The method includes selecting a target physical programming unit among a plurality of physical programming units of a rewritable non-volatile memory module; identifying a target storage status and a target read voltage according to a memory type of the rewritable non-volatile memory module; using the target read voltage to read the target physical programming unit to obtain a bit value ratio; and identifying a storage pattern of the target physical programming unit according to the bit value ratio. |
| US10474385B2 |
Managing memory fragmentation in hardware-assisted data compression
Systems, devices, and methods for managing fragmentation in hardware-assisted compression of data in physical computer memory which may result in reduced internal fragmentation. An example computer-implemented method comprises: providing, by a memory management program to compression hardware, a compression command including an address in physical computer memory of data to be compressed and a list of at least two available buffers for storing compressed data; using, by the compression hardware, the address included in the compression command to retrieve uncompressed data; compressing the uncompressed data; and selecting, by the compression hardware, from the list of at least two available buffers, at least two buffers for storing compressed data based on an amount of space that would remain if the compressed data were stored in the at least two buffers, wherein each of the at least two selected buffers differs in size from at least one other of the selected buffers. |
| US10474384B2 |
System and method for providing a back door communication path between channels on dual-channel DIMMs
A dual-channel Dual In-Line Memory Module (DIMM) is configured to provide memory transactions on a first memory channel and a second memory channel. The dual-channel DIMM includes a first bank of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices configured to provide a first memory transaction on the first memory channel, a second bank of DRAM devices configured to provide a second memory transaction on the second memory channel, and a plurality of back door communication paths, each back door communication path being between a data bit of the first bank of DRAM devices and a corresponding data bit of the second bank of DRAM devices. |
| US10474382B2 |
Fast virtual machine storage allocation with encrypted storage
Systems and methods for fast storage allocation for encrypted storage are disclosed. An example method may include receiving, by a processing device executing a hypervisor, an identification of a first storage block that has been released by a first virtual machine; tracking, by the hypervisor, an encryption status corresponding to the first storage block to indicate whether the first storage block contains encrypted content; receiving a request to allocate storage to a second virtual machine; analyzing, by the hypervisor, the first storage block to determine that the first storage block contains encrypted content in view of the encryption status corresponding the first storage block; and allocating the first storage block containing the encrypted content to the second virtual machine without clearing the encrypted content of the first storage block. |
| US10474377B2 |
Optimizing data writes in a distributed computing system
The disclosure is directed to optimizing data writes in a distributed computing system, e.g., a social networking application. The system employs a write-ahead log (WAL) and a hybrid logical clock (HLC) together to improve data writes across data centers in the distributed computing system, including improving: (1) consensus monitoring and enforcement in replicating data across the data centers; (2) scalability of data writes, e.g., so that different data centers can together handle a sudden increase in data writes during specified periods and consistently maintain the time ordering of the data writes; (3) replication configuration of data centers so that client devices can specify a replication hierarchy per transaction, e.g., at the time of writing the data, rather than specifying at data center configuration time; and (4) a draining process to write transactions committed to the WAL to data storage systems in the data centers. |
| US10474375B2 |
Runtime address disambiguation in acceleration hardware
An integrated circuit includes a processor to execute instructions and to interact with memory, and acceleration hardware, to execute a sub-program corresponding to instructions. A set of input queues includes a store address queue to receive, from the acceleration hardware, a first address of the memory, the first address associated with a store operation and a store data queue to receive, from the acceleration hardware, first data to be stored at the first address of the memory. The set of input queues also includes a completion queue to buffer response data for a load operation. A disambiguator circuit, coupled to the set of input queues and the memory, is to, responsive to determining the load operation, which succeeds the store operation, has an address conflict with the first address, copy the first data from the store data queue into the completion queue for the load operation. |
| US10474367B1 |
Storage system with input-output performance control utilizing application process detection
A storage array in one embodiment is configured to communicate over one or more networks with a plurality of host devices. The storage array is further configured to detect process tags assigned to respective input-output operations by a given one of the host devices, the process tags being of at least first and second distinct types so as to distinguish at least respective first and second distinct processes generating corresponding ones of the input-output operations on the given host device. Responsive to a particular one of the detected process tags being of the first type, the storage array provides a first level of priority for processing of the corresponding input-output operation, and responsive to a particular one of the detected process tags being of the second type, the storage array provides a second level of priority different than the first level of priority for processing of the corresponding input-output operation. |
| US10474365B2 |
System and method for file processing from a block device
An example system and method includes an electronic memory configured to store electronic data. The system further includes a controller coupled to an electronic storage device including electronic data storage locations arranged in a consecutive sequence on a storage medium and configured to store electronic data corresponding to electronic files in the electronic storage locations and access the electronic storage locations serially according to the consecutive sequence. The controller may be configured to cause the electronic storage device to serially access and transmit to the electronic memory, according to the consecutive sequence, at least some electronic data, cause the electronic memory to store the electronic data as received so that the electronic data of the file forms a complete file, and cause a processor to access the files from the electronic memory upon all electronic data associated with ones of the files having been stored in the electronic memory. |
| US10474363B1 |
Space reporting in a storage system
Space reporting in a storage system, including: determining, for one or more system-visible objects in the storage system, an amount of physical space consumed by each system-visible object and an amount of logical space consumed by each system-visible object; identifying, for each of the one or more system-visible objects in the storage system, one or more user-visible objects that reference the system-visible object; determining, for each of the one or more user-visible objects, an amount of physical space consumed by the user-visible object in dependence upon the amount of physical space consumed by each system-visible object referenced by the user-visible object; and determining, for each of the one or more user-visible objects, an amount of logical space consumed by the user-visible object in dependence upon the amount of logical space consumed by each system-visible object referenced by the user-visible object. |
| US10474359B1 |
Write minimization for de-allocated memory
Disclosed herein are techniques for reducing the number of write operations performed to a storage-class memory in a virtualized environment. In one embodiment, when a memory page is de-allocated from a virtual machine, the memory page and/or the subpages of the memory page are marked as “trimmed” in a control table such that any read to the memory page or subpages is denied, and no physical memory initialization is performed to the memory page or subpages. A de-allocated memory page or subpage is only initialized when it is reallocated and is to be written to by the virtual machine to which the memory page is reallocated. |
| US10474356B2 |
Virtual keyboard improvement
A method and system for improving virtual keyboard input is provided. The method includes presenting a GUI comprising a character display portion and a virtual touch screen activated keyboard. The virtual touch screen activated keyboard internally includes currently viewable alphabetical character keys and a free sketch area for entering specialized characters not currently viewable via the virtual keyboard. A selection for an alphabetical character is received via the virtual touch screen activated keyboard and presented via the display portion. A user defined motion sketching a character associated with the specialized characters is detected from a user via the free sketch area. The character is converted into one of the specialized characters and presented to the user. |
| US10474355B2 |
Input pattern detection over virtual keyboard for candidate word identification
The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for inputting text into an electronic device (10). A virtual keyboard (30) having a plurality of keys (40) is displayed on a display screen (20) and one or more characters are associated with each key. An input pattern is generated by a user and the key(s) (40) positioned on or proximal to the input pattern are identified. The keys (40) in the virtual keyboard (30) are allocated to pre-defined groups (50A, 50B, 50C), such that each group comprises a plurality of said keys (40). The input pattern is encoded in dependence on the pre-defined groups in which each of said one or more identified keys (40) are arranged. A candidate word or words is identified to be input into the electronic device (10) based on the encoded input pattern. The present invention also relates to computer-implemented methods for identifying candidate words based on the correlation between input and candidate string lengths; and/or upper/lower input length thresholds; and/or the identification of valid/invalid string combinations. The present invention also relates to a corresponding system, such as a computational apparatus (10). |
| US10474353B2 |
Application control using a gesture based trigger
Systems and methods for control of application actions using a modification trigger to visually modify an electronic document are disclosed. A computing device, such as a mobile computing device having a touchscreen display, can display an electronic document having a first portion and a second portion. Initially upon displaying the electronic document, the computing device displays the first portion and the second portion may lie out of view, not displayed. A user can swipe along a scroll direction, causing the second portion to be displayed. The second portion can include or otherwise be associated with a modification trigger. Upon receiving a gesture on the second portion, the modification trigger performs actions, including, for example, subscribing to a series of electronic documents and minimizing the visual display of the electronic document. |
| US10474349B2 |
Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same
A mobile terminal including a touch screen; and a controller configured to display a specific content on the touch screen, in response to a first force touch input satisfying a specific touch-force applied to the specific content, execute an aggregated view mode and display objects included in the specific content in an aggregated manner, in response to a first non-force touch input selecting a particular object, distinguishably display the selected particular object on the touch screen, and in response to a second force touch input satisfying the specific touch-force applied to the specific content, display related contents related to the selected particular object on the touch screen. |
| US10474348B2 |
Mobile terminal capable of effectively managing contents by selecting those contents in different manner and control method thereof
A mobile terminal capable of effectively managing contents including a display displaying a plurality of contents, and a controller controlling the display to display a first identifier on a first content among the plurality of contents, the first identifier indicating that the first content has been selected, and to display a second identifier on a second content among the plurality of contents, the second identifier indicating that the second content has been selected in a different manner from the first content. |
| US10474339B2 |
System and method for market visualization
A system for visualization of financial market comprises a data processor for receiving financial data belonging to a plurality of stocks from an external data source. The financial data includes a plurality of available indicator values, where each indicator value corresponds to information relevant to the stocks. A visualization module is configured to provide a navigation bar on a user's display device, enabling the user to select a plurality of indicators from a list of available indicator values, for visualization of the indicators on the user's display device. The visualization module further provides information for displaying a plurality of tiles on the display device, each tile representing a stock from a selected universe of stocks, wherein each tile includes a multi-dimensional information corresponding to one or more indicators from the user selected indicators. The first dimension of information is position of the tile on the display device depending on a value of a first selected indictor. The second dimension of information is the background color of the tile on the display device depending on a value of a second selected indicator. The third dimension is visibility of the tile depending on a value of a third selected indicator. |
| US10474334B2 |
Progress bar for branched videos
A system for navigating and visualizing the progression of selectably presentable video content includes a progress indicator module for dynamically displaying the progression status of video content paths made up of selectably presentable video content segments. The system further includes an interactive control module for facilitating navigation along the video content paths. The progression status may be graphically represented in the form of a tree structure having linked video content segments forming the content paths. The control module may be used to navigate the video within this tree structure. |
| US10474333B2 |
Devices, methods, and graphical user interfaces for moving a current focus using a touch-sensitive remote control
An electronic device provides, to a display, data to present a user interface that includes a first group of user interface objects and a second group of user interface objects. A current focus is on a first user interface object of the first group of user interface objects. The device receives an input that corresponds to a request to move the current focus to a user interface object in the second group of user interface objects; determines a projection of the first user interface object based on a direction of the input; identifies one or more user interface objects that overlap with the projection of the first user interface object in the direction on the display that corresponds to the direction of the input; and moves the current focus to a second user interface object of the one or more identified user input objects. |
| US10474330B1 |
Supplementary content layers
Some implementations include identifying conflicts between multiple layers of supplementary content associated with a digital work (e.g., an electronic book). For individual conflicts between layers of supplementary content at one or more locations within the digital work, conflicts between layers may be resolved in favor of a higher priority layer. Upon resolution of the conflict, information associated with the higher priority layer for supplementing content at a particular location in the digital work may be determined. A visual identifier of the higher priority layer may be displayed along with content associated with the digital work at the particular location. |
| US10474329B2 |
Selective generation and display of interfaces of a website or program
A user device may provide, for display in a first area of a graphical user interface (GUI), a first link to a first predicted interface within a website or a program. The first predicted interface may be an interface to which a user is predicted to navigate. The first link may be a graphical representation of at least a portion of the first predicted interface. The user device may provide, for display in a second area of the GUI, additional links to additional predicted interfaces within the website or the program. The first link may be more prominently displayed in relation to the additional links. The additional predicted interfaces may be interfaces to which the user is predicted to navigate. The additional links may be graphical representations of at least a portion of the additional predicted interfaces. |
| US10474328B2 |
Operating assistant
An operating assistant controls device units and is configured such that elements of a selected functionality are clearly presented to the operator for selection in an operator-specific manner within an overview presentation. The elements are stored in a first or subsequent hierarchy level and further elements can likewise be depicted for selection on the visual display unit and selected operating functions and/or control functions can be executed. |
| US10474327B2 |
Reorder and selection persistence of displayed objects
Providing a thumbnail view of a document or other dataset is disclosed. A user input data associated with a user interaction with a thumbnail as displayed in a viewer component is received via a user interface associated with a viewer component. A tracking data reflecting the interaction is stored in a local data structure. The tracking data stored in the local data structure is used to ensure that a thumbnail affected by the user input is displayed by the viewer component in a manner that reflects the user input. |
| US10474322B2 |
Image display apparatus
Disclosed herein is an image display apparatus. The image display apparatus includes a display, an interface unit to exchange data with a mobile terminal, and a controller to control the display to display an execution icon to execute at least one of applications installed in the mobile terminal and, in response to selection of the execution icon, to display an execution image of at least one application corresponding to the execution icon. Thereby, mirroring between the mobile terminal and the image display apparatus may be simply performed. |
| US10474315B2 |
Cursor enhancement effects
According to an embodiment, a method includes detecting, at a computing device, a sustained repetitive actuation of an input device operatively connected to the computing device, the sustained repetitive actuation being above a first predetermined threshold period of time and magnitude, the input device being associated with a cursor on a display screen of one or more output devices in a first condition and operatively connected to the computing device, and activating one or more cursor enhancement effects associated with the one or more output devices into a second condition, wherein at least one property of the one or more cursor enhancement effects is based on at least one attribute of the detected sustained repetitive actuation. |
| US10474313B2 |
Software robots for programmatically controlling computer programs to perform tasks
A system comprising at least one hardware processor configured to perform: accessing a software robot computer program for controlling at least one application program to perform a task comprising a first sub-task to be performed by a first application program; generating an object hierarchy comprising a plurality of objects corresponding to active graphical user interface (GUI) elements of the first application program; and controlling the first application program to perform the first sub-task. The controlling includes identifying, using the software robot computer program, a first action to perform in furtherance of the first sub-task; automatically accessing, in the object hierarchy, a first object corresponding to a first active GUI element of the first application program, the accessing comprising refreshing the object hierarchy; and automatically using the first object to cause the first application program to at least partially perform the first action. |
| US10474312B2 |
Operation method of portable terminal
An operation method of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: entering a window screen movement mode in which a window screen of a foreground task is displayed uppermost and one or more window screens are stacked in multiple layers under the window screen of the foreground task; selecting a window screen from a plurality of window screens according to a user's movement command; changing the transparency of at least a part of areas of window screens stacked on the selected window screen; and displaying the selected window screen as a foreground screen and terminating the window screen movement mode when an input determining the selected window screen is received. Therefore, it is possible to switch screens and tasks more swiftly and conveniently, thereby improving user convenience. |
| US10474311B2 |
Gaming video processing system
A video control, projection and display system is employed in a gaming establishment and used in conjunction with or without a gaming network or gaming components. The control system includes projection cameras or light sources which may generate and display images associated with the electronic gaming machines or with a player of the electronic gaming machines. The control system enhances the image by using pixel cloning, image blending pixel scaling, pixel movement, and pixel masking. The projection system may generate holographic images and may project images onto a variety of surfaces adjacent to the electronic gaming machines. The control system manages devices associated with the projection and display system. |
| US10474310B2 |
Non-modal toolbar control
Non-modal toolbar control techniques are described. In one or more implementations, techniques are described for controlling output by one or more computing devices of a toolbar with content in a user interface in a manner that supports non-modal interaction with both the toolbar and the content. Display of the user interface is caused by the one or more computing devices, the user interface including a simultaneous display of the toolbar along an edge of the user interface adjacent to and not overlapping the content. The toolbar includes a representation of a task and a plurality of parameters associated with the task. Selection is detected by the one or more computing devices of one or more of the plurality of parameters via the user interface. Selection is also detected of the representation of the task subsequent to the selection of the one or more parameters. Responsive to the selection of the representation, the task is performed on the content by the one or more computing devices using the selected ones of the plurality of parameters. |
| US10474306B2 |
Sensor and display device including the same
A display device includes a display panel, a variable resistance element positioned on the display panel, a first driving wiring line and a first sensing wiring line connected to the variable resistance element with the variable resistance element disposed between the first driving wiring line and the first sensing wiring line, and a second driving wiring line and a second sensing wiring line connected to the variable resistance element with the variable resistance element disposed between the second driving wiring line and the second sensing wiring line. A first current path between the first driving wiring line and the first sensing wiring line in the variable resistance element is different from a second current path between the second driving wiring line and the second sensing wiring line in the variable resistance element. |
| US10474305B2 |
Touch window
A capacitive touch window includes: a substrate; a cover substrate; and an electrode, wherein a portion of the substrate is flat and another portion thereof is curved, and the electrode includes: a first sensing electrode; a second sensing electrode including second unit sensing electrodes spaced apart from the first sensing electrode; a bridge electrode connecting the second unit sensing electrodes; and an insulating layer between the first sensing electrode and the bridge electrode. The first and second sensing electrodes are disposed on a same surface of the substrate. The bridge electrode includes: a first mesh line having a first width; a second mesh line having a second width; and a first cross area in which the first and second mesh lines cross each other, the first cross area having a third width, wherein the third width is 2 to 5 times the first width and the second width. |
| US10474304B1 |
Programmable active matrix of electrodes
An electrode array device has integrated programming circuitry within the unit cells for stable connection of individual electrode elements of the unit cells to one or more control signal lines. An array of unit cells are arranged in a two-dimensional array of rows and columns. Each unit cell includes an individual electrode element that is electrically connectable to at least one function line, and programming circuitry that is integrated into the unit cell and is operable to place the unit cell in a plurality of connection states corresponding to different states of electrical connection or disconnection to the at least one function line. The unit cells are individually selectable for programming and operation in one of the plurality of connection states. The programming circuitry includes storage elements and electronic switches that are operable to place the unit cells in different connection states. |
| US10474300B2 |
Display device
A touch sensing unit includes a touch sensor, a sensor line, a piezoelectric area, and a touch sensor controller. The touch sensor is arranged in an island shape. The sensor line is connected to the touch sensor. The piezoelectric area overlaps the touch sensor and is arranged in an island shape. The touch sensor controller receives a voltage from the piezoelectric area when the piezoelectric area receives pressure and determines a magnitude of the pressure based on the voltage. |
| US10474295B2 |
Display device including sensor and auxiliary sensor parts
Provided is a display device including a display panel and an input sensing unit. The input sensing unit includes at least one insulation layer, an electrode, and an auxiliary electrode. The electrode includes sensor parts including a metal and having a mesh shape and connection parts connecting adjacent sensor parts of the sensor parts to each other. The auxiliary electrode overlaps the sensor parts, is connected to the sensor parts, and includes transparent conductive oxide. |
| US10474294B2 |
Display device and compensation method applied to display device
A display device includes: a plurality of first signal lines, a plurality of second signal lines, and a plurality of sensing pads. The first signal lines are disposed in a first direction, and are parallel to each other. The second signal lines are disposed in a second direction, and are parallel to each other. The second signal lines are substantially perpendicular to the first signal lines. A first row and a second row of the sensing pads are disposed in zigzag in the second direction. |
| US10474290B2 |
Electronic device
An electronic device is capable of having a minimum sensing pressure with a low value through a resistive type force touch sensing method, wherein the electronic device may include a force sensing panel having a force sensor member whose shape is changed according to a touch pressure applied to a cover window so as to electrically connect first and second electrodes prepared on the same plane and provided in parallel. |
| US10474286B2 |
Touch display device, active pen, touch system, touch circuit, and pen recognition method
Embodiments described herein is able to provide a touch display device, an active pen, a touch system, a touch circuit, and a pen recognition method capable of efficiently providing a display function, a touch-sensing function, and a pen-touch-sensing function. |
| US10474285B2 |
Controller, input device, input system, display apparatus, and control method
A controller includes a position detecting unit, switching unit, vibration controlling unit, and vibration detecting unit. The position detecting unit detecting a contact position with an operation surface. The switching unit switches between vibration and detection modes of at least one vibration element in accordance with temporal change in contact position detected by position detecting unit, the vibration mode being a mode wherein at least one vibration element vibrates, and detection mode being a mode wherein at least one vibration element detects vibration. The vibration controlling unit causes one or more first vibration elements to vibrate so as to vibrate the operation surface, at least one vibration element including one or more first vibration elements. The vibration detecting unit detects an operation surface's vibration based on vibration's detection results detected by one or more second vibration elements, at least one vibration element including the one or more second vibration elements. |
| US10474283B2 |
Transparent plate, touch pad, and touch panel
A transparent plate includes a transparent substrate and an antifouling layer. A surface of the transparent substrate includes a fine projecting and recessed structure with a surface roughness of 2.0-100 nm. The antifouling layer includes fluorine, and at least a part of the antifouling layer is formed on a position of the fine projecting and recessed structure. A haze value of the transparent plate at the position of the fine projecting and recessed structure is 2% or less. A value of X defined by (S1−S2)/(S3−S2) is 0.5 or more, where S1, S2 and S3 are F-Kα line strengths of the transparent plate at the position of the fine projecting and recessed structure, a reference glass plate that does not include fluorine, and a reference aluminosilicate glass plate that includes fluorine of 2 wt %, respectively, and S1, S2 and S3 are measured by a fluorescent X-ray measurement device. |
| US10474282B2 |
Electronic device including antenna device
An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a housing having a first face, a second face that faces a direction opposite to the first face, and a side face that encloses at least a portion of a space between the first face and the second face, a touch sensing circuit disposed within the housing, a communication circuit disposed within the housing, a transparent substrate that forms at least a portion of the first face, the second face, and the side face of the housing, at least one display disposed within the housing along at least a portion of the transparent substrate, a first conductive pattern disposed between the transparent substrate and the at least one display or inside the at least one display, and electrically connected with the touch sensing circuit, and a second conductive pattern disposed between the transparent substrate and the first conductive pattern, and electrically connected with the wireless communication circuit. |
| US10474281B2 |
Touch display driving integrated circuit, operation method of the same, and touch display device including the same
A touch display driving integrated circuit (IC) includes a touch driver IC configured to be connected to touch electrodes through touch sensing lines and provide a sensing signal to first touch sensing lines among the touch sensing lines in a touch period. The touch driver IC is further configured to apply a common voltage to second touch sensing lines among the touch sensing lines and apply a voltage different from the common voltage to third touch sensing lines different from the second touch sensing lines in a display period. |
| US10474280B2 |
Touch sensing system including active stylus pen
A touch sensing system is disclosed. The touch sensing system includes an active stylus pen that generates a first pen driving signal for detecting a touch input in synchronization with a touch driving signal input from a touch screen and a second pen driving signal for detecting an additional input related to an additional function of the active stylus pen in a touch driving period and outputs the first and second pen driving signals to the touch screen; and a touch driving device that applies the touch driving signal to the touch screen, senses the first pen driving signal in a first period of the touch driving period, and senses the second pen driving signal in a second period of the touch driving period. |
| US10474277B2 |
Position-based stylus communication
Position-based sensing methods and systems can be used to transmit data from an input device to a touch-sensitive device. For example, the touch sensing system may perform one or more coarse input device sub-scans to determine a coarse location of the input device. The coarse location can be used to select one or more touch sensors (or sensor channels) to sample for decoding data encoded in the stimulation signals from the input device. During one or more fine input device sub-scans, the touch sensing system can determine a fine location of the input device and decode the data from the input device sampled from the selected touch sensors (or sensor channels). |
| US10474273B2 |
Method and apparatus for detecting a force
The present disclosure provide a method for detecting a force, including: acquiring a plurality of sample data of a first electronic device, where each of the plurality of sample data includes a preset force and raw data of the first electronic device, and the raw data of the first electronic device is obtained by detecting a deformation signal generated by the preset force applied to an input medium of the first electronic device; and determining a fitting function according to the plurality of sample data of the first electronic device, where the fitting function denotes a corresponding relationship between a force applied to the input medium of the first electronic device and detected raw data, and the fitting function is used for a second electronic device to determine a force corresponding to raw data detected when an input medium of the second electronic device is subjected to an acting force. |
| US10474272B2 |
Display device
A display device according to an exemplary embodiment includes a display panel displaying an image, and a sensor unit positioned on the display panel and configured to sense a pressure caused by a gas as an input signal. |
| US10474271B2 |
Touch input device
A touch input device capable of detecting a pressure of a touch on a touch surface may be provided that includes a substrate and a display module. The touch input device further includes an electrode which is disposed at a position where a distance between the electrode and a reference potential layer is changed by the touch on the touch surface. The distance may be changed depending on a magnitude of a pressure of the touch. The electrode outputs an electrical signal according to the change of the distance. A spacer layer is disposed between the reference potential layer and the electrode. |
| US10474270B2 |
Flat panel display with integrated touch screen panel
A flat panel display having an integrated touch screen panel directly formed on a sealing thin film is disclosed. In the display, sensing lines of the touch screen panel are formed to extend to a substrate of the display panel, on which organic light emitting elements are formed, so that the touch screen panel and the display panel are connected to a flexible printed circuit board, thereby simplifying manufacturing processes and decreasing product cost. |
| US10474269B2 |
Display panel, pressure detection method thereof and display device
A display panel, a pressure detection method of the display panel and a display device are disclosed. The display panel includes: a plurality of pressure sensors including first and second sensing signal measurement terminals; a detection module; a first multiplexer and a second multiplexer. Each first signal inputting terminal of the first multiplexer is electrically connected to one of the first sensing signal measurement terminals. Each second signal inputting terminal of the first multiplexer is electrically connected to one of the second sensing signal measurement terminals. First and second signal outputting terminals of the first multiplexer are electrically connected to first and second detection signal terminals, respectively. The first multiplexer controls a connection between one of the first signal inputting terminals and the first detection signal terminal and a connection between one of the second signal inputting terminals and the second detection signal terminal. |
| US10474267B2 |
Touch display apparatus
A touch display apparatus including a touch display panel and a control circuit is provided. The touch display panel includes a touch display array, a gate driver, and a sleep driving circuit. The gate driver is coupled to the touch display array to sequentially provide a plurality of gate driving signals. The sleep driving circuit is coupled to the touch display array. The control circuit is coupled to the gate driver and the sleep driving circuit. When the touch display apparatus enters a sleep state, the sleep driving circuit is turned on. The control circuit cuts off the gate driver during a display period and transmits a driving pulse to the touch display array through the sleep driving circuit during a touch sensing period. |
| US10474265B2 |
Touch sensor integrated type display device and method of operating the same
A touch sensor integrated type display device includes: a display panel including first and second panel blocks (PBs), each including a pixel array with embedded touch sensors, a display driving circuit providing image data to pixels of the first and second PBs during a display period, and a touch sensing circuit driving the touch sensors of the first and second PBs during a touch sensing period, the display driving circuit including a shift register sequentially providing gate pulses (GPs) to gate lines, the shift register including: a first stage group (SG) applying a GP to gate lines in the first PB, a bridge stage connected in cascade to a last stage of the first SG, and providing a first carry signal, and a second SG applying a GP to gate lines in the second PB, a first stage of the second SG operating in response to the first carry signal. |
| US10474264B2 |
Display device
A display device, including: a substrate; an electrode unit provided on the substrate; an emission layer driven by the electrode unit; a capacitive touch sensor provided on the electrode unit; and a conductive layer provided on the touch sensor. |
| US10474263B2 |
Display device and method of manufacturing the same
A display device and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. In one aspect, the display device includes a display area and a non-display area adjacent to the display area, a first substrate including a touch sensor in the display area and a touch sensor pad in the non-display area, and a second substrate opposing the first substrate, the second substrate including a pixel in the display area and a connection pad in the non-display area. An interlayer in the display area is provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, a plurality of conductive balls electrically connects the touch sensor pad and the connection pad, and an inter-bar in the non-display area is provided between the first substrate and the second substrate. The inter-bar is disposed adjacent to the connection pad, and the conductive balls have an average diameter that is greater than the height of the inter-bar. |
| US10474262B2 |
Touch screen-integrated display device and method for fabricating the same
There is provided a touch screen-integrated display device including a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, a touch sensing line, a plurality of subpixel areas, a gate electrode provided in each of the subpixel areas, an active layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode, a gate insulator, a pixel electrode, and a sensing contact part. The sensing contact part includes a portion that is formed of the same material as the pixel electrode.Further, there is provided a method for fabricating a touch screen-integrated display device, including forming a gate electrode, forming an active layer, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a data line, forming a pixel electrode and a touch sensing line, and forming a common electrode to be overlapped with the pixel electrode. Thus, there is an effect of reducing the number of mask processes. |
| US10474261B2 |
Touch detecting apparatus and touch detecting method using pixel or pixels in display devices
Disclosed herein are a touch detecting apparatus and a touch detecting method using a pixel or pixels in display devices including a means for applying an AC input voltage to a drive IC of the display device and detecting a change in touch capacitance between the pixel and an object in synchronization with a change in amplitude of the AC input voltage. In particular, the touch detecting apparatus using a pixel or pixels in display devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a grayscale voltage generator applying a grayscale voltage to a source line and a sensing signal processor detecting a touch signal based on a feedback voltage of the grayscale voltage applied to the source line. |
| US10474260B2 |
Display device
The display device having a touch panel includes a detection electrode forming a touch panel and arranged on one surface of a display cell, a protective layer covering the detection electrode, and an optical film adhered to the protective layer, wherein a first surface of the protective layer adjacent to the optical film has a smaller water contact angle compared to a second surface of the protective layer adjacent to the display cell. The first surface of the protective layer is preferred to have a half or less the water contact angle compared to the second surface of the protective layer. |
| US10474259B2 |
Method of controlling device using various input types and device for performing the method
A method of controlling a device is provided. The method includes receiving a touch input and a hovering input, determining an operation corresponding to input pattern information generated according to the received touch input and the received hovering input, from among operations of an application running on the device, and performing the determined operation. |
| US10474258B2 |
Active stylus
Apparatus for determining user operation of an actuator, based on determining a time constant of a state circuit coupled to the actuator. |
| US10474253B2 |
Electronic pen including a pressing member having an extension that extends along an outer wall of a writing-pressure detector
An electronic pen indicates a position to a position detection module by transmitting and receiving signals with the position detection module. A cylindrical casing, a core member, a writing-pressure detector, and a writing-pressure transmission member are accommodated in a interior portion of a cylindrical casing. A pressing member applies, based on a user operation, a displacement force to the core member from a first end, which is opposite to a second end serving a pen tip, to the second end serving as the pen tip. The writing-pressure transmission member includes a protrusion which, in operation, transmits a writing pressure, which has been exerted on the core member fitted in a fit-in portion included in the writing-pressure transmission member, to the writing-pressure detector. The pressing member is configured to apply a displacement force to the core member via the writing-pressure transmission member without applying an axial force to the writing-pressure detector. |
| US10474251B2 |
Ambidextrous mouse
An ambidextrous mouse is disclosed. The ambidextrous mouse is configured for both left and right handed use. The mouse may include right handed buttons on the front side of the mouse and left handed buttons on the back side of the mouse. The user may change the handedness of the mouse by rotating the mouse about a vertical axis of the mouse such that the left hand can use the left hand buttons and the right hand can use the right hand buttons. The mouse may include a handedness selection system for configuring the mouse for right handed or left handed use even though the mouse has the capability for both right and left hands. |
| US10474250B2 |
Input device and method and program
An input device includes a detection unit, a first acquisition unit, a second acquisition unit, and a compensation unit. The detection unit is configured to detect an operation by a user for controlling an electronic device and output an operation signal corresponding to the operation. The first acquisition unit is configured to acquire the detected operation signal and a differential value of the operation signal. The second acquisition unit is configured to acquire a function defined by the differential value to compensate for a delay in response of the operation signal with respect to the operation by the user. The compensation unit is configured to compensate the operation signal with the acquired function. |
| US10474248B2 |
Smart pulsing in regions of interest in scanned beam 3D sensing systems
A scanned beam 3D sensing system includes smart infrared pulsing to detect objects in a field of view. Infrared laser light pulses are emitted at a first density in a field of view and reflections are detected. Times of flight of the infrared laser light pulses are measured to determine if an object is in the field of view. The density of the infrared pulses may be increased based on various factors. The higher density infrared pulses may be scanned in a region of interest that is a subset of the field of view. Power consumption is reduced by reducing the density of laser pulses when possible. |
| US10474247B2 |
Electronic devices with touch screen and optical wave plate assembly thereof
A user input system includes an optical wave plate assembly a reading device. The optical wave plate assembly includes a phase wave plate and a phase retardation layer. The phase retardation layer is disposed on at least one surface of the phase wave plate. The phase retardation layer includes a code pattern with coordinate information. The optical wave plate assembly converts incident light into at least one of a first polarized light having a first polarization state and a second polarized light having a second polarization state through the phase retardation layer. The first polarization state and the second polarization state are different. The reading device is operated on the optical wave plate assembly for sensing presence or absence of the first polarized light, analyzing a distribution of a change in brightness of the code pattern, and performing a decoding to obtain the coordinate information. |
| US10474246B2 |
Multi-press input and control device and process
A keypad having a keypad frame and at least three input devices arranged in a grid layout within the keypad frame. A signal output is generated by the keypad after two sequential actuations of any two selected input devices of the at least three input devices. A first selected input device of the two selected input devices selects a block of signal outputs associated with the first selected input device, the block of signal outputs being mapped to match the grid layout of the at least three input devices. A second selected input device of the two selected input devices selects a particular signal output from the block of signal outputs, the second selected input device corresponding in a relative position with a position of the particular signal output in the block of signal outputs. |
| US10474245B2 |
Input method and electronic device for improving character recognition rate
An input method and an electronic device are provided. The input method includes: detecting a presence of a first track set which corresponds to a first predetermined identifier, wherein the first track set comprises at least one track and is inputted into the electronic device; and if the first track set corresponds to the first predetermined identifier, associating a second track set with at least one second predetermined character that is related to the first predetermined identifier, wherein the second track set comprises at least one second track and is inputted into the electronic device after the first track set has been inputted. Recognition ability of the electronic device for the character is improved, and the input efficiency is increased. |
| US10474242B2 |
Three-dimensional graphical user interface for informational input in virtual reality environment
Hand displacement data is received from sensing hardware and analyzed using a three-dimensional (3D) gesture recognition algorithm. The received hand displacement data is recognized as representing a 3D gesture. An operational position of the 3D gesture is calculated with respect to a 3D input graphical user interface (GUI). A virtual input element associated with the 3D input GUI and corresponding to the calculated operational position is selected. Input information corresponding to the selected virtual input element is read from the selected virtual element. |
| US10474240B2 |
Frameworks, devices and methods configured for enabling gesture-based interaction between a touch/gesture controlled display and other networked devices
Described herein are frameworks, devices and methods configured for enabling display for facility information and content, in some cases via touch/gesture controlled interfaces. Embodiments of the invention have been particularly developed for allowing an operator to conveniently access a wide range of information relating to a facility via, for example, one or more wall mounted displays. While some embodiments will be described herein with particular reference to that application, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such a field of use, and is applicable in broader contexts. |
| US10474236B1 |
Haptic device for variable bending resistance
A haptic glove comprises a glove body including a glove digit corresponding to a phalange of a user hand with the glove digit having a bend location that is located along the glove digit. A haptic apparatus is coupled to the glove body at the bend location with the haptic apparatus comprising a plurality of sheets that are flexible and inextensible and a pressure actuator coupled to one or more of the plurality of sheets. The plurality of sheets are stacked and configured to translate relative to each other along the centerline with bending of the glove digit. The pressure actuator is configured to adjust an applied pressure to the plurality of sheets to adjust friction between the sheets. The adjustment of friction is proportional to a bending resistance of the glove digit. |
| US10474216B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing power state information using in-band signaling
A method and apparatus for providing power state information using in-band signaling are described. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit (IC) device comprises a controller operable to receive a command from a platform control bus, the command requesting data that is unrelated to information about a power state in which the IC resides; and control logic operable to obtain data for inclusion in a response to the command, wherein the controller is operable to send the response over a bus, the response containing at least a portion of the data responsive to the command and containing power state information for the IC. |
| US10474215B2 |
Control apparatus for controlling memory and control method for power saving of memory
A control apparatus includes functional modules and an arbitration unit. Each functional module includes a memory capable of transitioning, per a control signal, between a first power state and a second power state consuming lower power than the first power state. The arbitration unit performs control to cause a power state of the memory of one of the functional modules to make a transition. Each functional module receiving a request for power state transition of the memory makes an inquiry of whether the power state of the memory can transition to another state. In response to the inquiry, the arbitration unit issues a permission for transition of the power state of the memory of one of the functional modules. The functional modules that have received the permission from the arbitration unit control the control signal input to the memory, to make the transition of the power state of the memory. |
| US10474213B1 |
Predictive power management in a wireless sensor network using scheduling data
A system comprising a plurality of self-powered devices and at least one remote device. The plurality of self-powered devices may be configured to perform instructions. The plurality of self-powered devices may be configured to select one of a plurality of modes of operation. The remote device may be configured to store scheduling data. The remote device may be configured to communicate with the self-powered devices. The self-powered devices may select one of the plurality of modes of operation based on the scheduling data. |
| US10474212B2 |
Process and hardware for proactively protecting computers and mobile devices against bad weather
One embodiment of system that proactively protects computers from storm-related electrical damage. System includes chassis housing microchip and circuitry; software application installed on computer; and cloud-based server. Server scans online weather services for local weather alerts. When server sends alert to software application, based on computer location, application turns computer off and wirelessly instructs chassis to disconnect computer from power supply—before storm arrives. One embodiment uses a hub-and-spoke workflow that periodically scans once and routes alerts to users' software applications in affected locations only. Protection system scans every few minutes so even fast-moving storms are not missed, yet system neither overloads weather service servers nor incurs excessive usage fees. System also protects other appliances with wireless connectivity. Improvement to other known systems which: scan for alerts for users individually; omit a scanning process; or turn computers off or disconnect them from power supplies, but typically not both. |
| US10474206B1 |
Retaining tray for retaining an M.2 compatible device used in autonomous driving vehicles
According to some embodiments, before an M.2 compatible module or device is mounted onto a data processing system that operates an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV), the M.2 module is placed onto a tray device to increase the stiffness of the M.2 module. The tray device containing the M.2 module is then mounted on a board or motherboard of the data processing system. Since the M.2 module is placed on the tray device, the overall stiffness has been significantly increased, which can sustain the physical impact on the M.2 module due to the physical movement and oscillation during the autonomous driving of the ADV. In addition, the tray device also provides suspension effect on the M.2 module during the movement of the ADV. As a result, the M.2 module would not easily damaged during the autonomous driving. |
| US10474203B2 |
Hinged device
The description relates to devices, such as computing devices that have hinged portions. One example can include a first portion that includes a first display and a second portion that includes a second display. This example can also include a determinative hinge assembly that rotatably secures the first and second portions around first and second hinge axes. The determinative hinge assembly can have a first unflexed configuration when the first and second portions are parallel or perpendicular to one another and a second flexed configuration when the first and second portions contact one another when oriented at an oblique angle. |
| US10474202B2 |
Electronic device
An electronic device includes: a first housing and a second housing provided to be capable of being displaced between a first state in which the first major surfaces thereof face each other and a second state in which the second major surfaces thereof face each other; a magnetic detection part provided in the first housing; a magnet provided in the second housing; and a control part configured to determine the first state and the second state based on an output of the magnetic detection part. The magnet is disposed such that a magnetization direction thereof is orthogonal to the first major surface and the second major surface of the second housing, and the magnetic detection part includes a first magnetic sensor and a second magnetic sensor arranged along a direction normal to the first major surface and the second major surface of the first housing. |
| US10474201B1 |
Electronic apparatus having an elevation mechanism and method using the same
An electronic apparatus includes a base subassembly and a display subassembly. A hinge is rotatably coupled to the base subassembly and the display subassembly. The hinge allows the base subassembly and the display subassembly to rotate about an operating axis to change a rotational orientation of the display subassembly relative to the base subassembly. An elevation mechanism is operatively coupled to the hinge. The elevation mechanism includes a support tray disposed in the base subassembly that holds the mechanical elements. The elevation mechanism is responsive to torque that changes the rotational orientation of the display subassembly such that the elevation mechanism lifts the support tray when the display subassembly is moved to an upright position and lowers the support tray when the display subassembly is moved to a closed position. |
| US10474197B2 |
Methods, systems and apparatus to manage a spatially dynamic display
Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed An example apparatus to update a spatially adjustable display disclosed herein includes a display size monitor to acquire an indication of a size of the spatially adjustable display, a service image comparator to compare the indication of the size to a size model, and a source image adjuster to invoke visual configuration adjustments to an output image of the spatially adjustable display based on parameters identified in the size model. |
| US10474196B2 |
Display device
The present invention provides a display device including a housing assembly, a connective frame, a link, and a flexible screen. The housing assembly includes middle frames and housings pivotally connected with each other. The connective frame includes a pivotal connector pivotally connected with the housings. The link is pivotally connected with the middle frames and the pivotal connector. The flexible screen is set on surfaces of the middle frames. When the housings are folded and the middle frames approach the housings, the interval between the second ends of the two middle frames is greater than that of the first ends of the two middle frames. The present invention causes bending perimeter of the folding region of the flexible screen being increased to release the stress. Thus, it can avoid breakage or wrinkle after the display device is folded and improve reliability of the display device. |
| US10474195B2 |
Method of providing interaction in wearable device with a curved periphery
A method of user interaction in a wearable device with a curved periphery is provided. The method includes displaying a blob when an item is displayed on the screen of the wearable device, obtaining a first input on the curved periphery associated with the blob, obtaining a second input along the curved periphery in conjunction with the first input, and performing an action in the item displayed on the screen of the wearable device. |
| US10474194B1 |
Wearable electronic device with an inductive user interface
A wearable electronic device comprises a housing, a pushbutton, a sensor, and a processing element. The housing includes a sealed internal cavity formed in part by a bottom wall and a side wall. The pushbutton is coupled to an outer surface of the side wall and includes a plunger configured to move in relation to the side wall when the pushbutton is pushed. The sensor is positioned in the internal cavity adjacent to an inner surface of the side wall and includes a conductive element through which an electronic signal is operable to flow. The sensor is configured to modify an electrical characteristic of the electronic signal according to a distance between the plunger and the conductive element. The processing element is configured to receive the electronic signal from the sensor and to process the electronic signal to determine when the pushbutton is pushed. |
| US10474192B2 |
Wearable smart device having flexible semiconductor package mounted on a band
A wearable smart device of the present invention comprises: a main body on which a basic module is mounted; a band on which at least one auxiliary module is mounted, which is selectively attached and detached to the main body made of a polymer material or a rubber material to be bent; a connector electrically connecting the main body and the band; and a coupler physically connecting the main body and the band. According to a configuration of the present invention, the present invention is possible in realizing a high-capacity and high-performance smart device. |
| US10474191B2 |
Wearable device
Disclosed is a wearable device. The wearable device includes an optical signal transmission unit configured to transmit optical signals, an optical signal sensing unit configured to receive reflected optical signals generated upon reflection of the optical signals by an object, a data processing unit configured to process the received reflected optical signals, and a key determination unit configured to sense a user's key input motion based on data acquired by processing the reflected optical signals and to generate an input value matching the key input motion. |
| US10474190B2 |
360 static/hinge structure with deformable parts
Systems and methods are disclosed for rotationally coupling housing portions of an information handling system. An information handling system may include a housing having a first housing portion and a second housing portion. The information handling system may also include a hinge assembly coupling the first housing portion and the second housing portion, the hinge assembly including a first hinge, a second hinge, and a deformable foam, the first hinge, the second hinge, and the deformable foam may allow the hinge assembly to bend when the first housing portion is rotated in relation to the second housing portion. In addition, the information handling system may include a flexible display coupled to the first housing portion and the second housing portion, the flexible display to be placed over the first housing portion, the second housing portion, and the hinge assembly and configured to bend when the hinge assembly bends. |
| US10474175B2 |
Linear regulator with a common resistance
A linear regulator is disclosed, comprising: a transistor having a control terminal, a first main terminal being a supply terminal connected to a supply input, and a second main terminal being an output terminal configured to provide a regulated output at an output connection; an error amplifier having a reference input, a feedback input and an output connected to the control terminal; a reference current source; a reference circuit configured to provide a reference voltage to the reference input from the reference current source; and a feedback circuit from the second main terminal through a feedback resistance (Rfb) and configured to provide a feedback voltage to the feedback input of the error amplifier; wherein the feedback circuit and the reference circuit include a common resistance (Rtail, Rd3), and at least one of the reference circuit and the reference circuit comprises a capacitive path (Cref) to a ground. |
| US10474173B2 |
Voltage regulator having a phase compensation circuit
A voltage regulator is equipped with the first and the second source-grounded amplifier circuits connected to an output terminal of a differential amplifier circuit; a phase compensation circuit having a resistor part and a capacitor part, and connected between an output terminal of the first source-grounded amplifier circuit and an output terminal of the second source-grounded amplifier circuit; and an output transistor connected to the output terminal of the second source-grounded amplifier circuit. At least one of the resistor part and the capacitor part of the phase compensation circuit has a filter. |
| US10474165B2 |
Method and system for operating irrigation systems motors
An irrigation system includes a central pivot and a series of mobile towers connected to the central pivot and to one another by support structure. Each mobile tower has wheels and a motor for driving at least one of the wheels. A control system operates the motors to maintain alignment of the mobile towers and the central pivot while preventing power usage of the system from exceeding a maximum power threshold. The control system determines in which sequence to operate the motors to maintain alignment of the mobile towers while operating no more than a selected number of the motors simultaneously. |
| US10474162B2 |
Autonomous vehicle localization using passive image data
A system to use submaps to control operation of a vehicle is disclosed. A storage system may be provided with a vehicle to store a collection of submaps that represent a geographic area where the vehicle may be driven. A programmatic interface may be provided to receive submaps and submap updates independently of other submaps. |
| US10474157B2 |
Data-based control error detection and parameter compensation system
State of an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) is measured and stored for a location and speed of the ADV. Later, the state of the ADV is measured for the location and speed corresponding to a previously stored state of the ADV at the same location and speed. Fields of the measured stored states of the ADV are compared. If one or more differences between the measured and stored ADV states exceeds a threshold, then one or more control input parameters of the ADV is adjusted, such as steering, braking, or throttle. Differences may be attributable to road conditions or to state of servicing of the ADV. Differences between measured and stored states of the ADV can be passed to a service module. Service module can access crowd sourced data to determine whether one or more control input parameters for a driving state of one or more ADVs should be updated. |
| US10474155B2 |
System and method for material disposal
A control system for operating an autonomous earthmoving machine to move material from a work area to a dumping location is disclosed. The control system includes a receiving module to receive values of a set of parameters associated with a profile of a first ground surface between the work area and the first dump location, a profile of a second ground surface between the work area and the second dump location, and operational characteristics of the machine. The control system includes a controller to generate a first cost and a second cost of moving the material from the work area to the first dump location and the second dump location, respectively, and send instructions to the autonomous earthmoving machine to move the material from the work area to either of the first dump location and the second dump location, based on the first cost and the second cost. |
| US10474154B1 |
Self-driving vehicle systems and methods
A vehicle monitoring system can include a detection system having a camera, radar, and lidar. The vehicle monitoring system can detect a vehicle, generate numerical position data indicative of a first path of the vehicle as the vehicle drives on a road, numerically analyze the first numerical position data, and in response, take actions to protect lives. |
| US10474152B2 |
Path-based flight maneuvering system
The presented embodiments relates to a path-based flight maneuvering system and a method for providing easier operation control and enhanced operation capability of unmanned aerial vehicles and their associated features. The embodiments further entails a method for maneuvering an aircraft by means of a positioning device, a camera and a display displaying an image captured by the camera including a cursor projected on the image in the display. |
| US10474149B2 |
Autonomous behavior control using policy triggering and execution
An autonomous vehicle, a system and method of operating the autonomous vehicle. An environmental sensor obtains one or more parameters of external agents of the vehicle. A processor of the vehicle obtains a route having a destination at the autonomous vehicle, builds a Markov state model of the route that includes a plurality of states for the autonomous vehicle and one or more parameters of the external agents, generates a plurality of driving policies for navigating the route, selects a policy for navigating the route from the plurality of driving policies using a Markov Decision Process, and executes the selected policy at the autonomous vehicle to navigate the vehicle along the route towards the destination. |
| US10474148B2 |
Navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle
Systems and methods for navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle are provided. One example aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method for navigating an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method includes capturing, by one or more processors associated with a flight management system of an unmanned aerial vehicle, one or more images. The method includes assessing, by the one or more processors, signals from an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The method includes processing, by the one or more processors, the one or more captured images based on the assessed signals to generate one or more corrected images. The method includes processing, by the one or more processors, the one or more generated corrected images to approximate position data. The method includes causing, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aerial vehicle to be controlled based on the position data. |
| US10474141B2 |
Methods, systems and apparatus for controlling movement of transporting devices
A system and method for controlling movement of transporting devices arranged to transport containers stored in stacks arranged in a facility having pathways arranged in a grid-like structure above the stacks, the transporting devices being configured to operate on the grid-like structure. A movement optimization unit is configured to determine a route of a transporting device from one location on a grid-like structure to another location on the grid-like structure for each transporting device. A reservation unit is configured to reserve a path on the grid-like structure for each transporting device based on the determined route. A clearance unit is configured to provide clearance for each transporting device to traverse a portion of the reserved path. |
| US10474136B2 |
Detection of interconnections between control and instrumentation systems
A method of automatically determining interconnections between control and instrumentation (C&I) systems within an industrial facility (IF). A data collection system including a data collection algorithm that provides a data collection block and a data agents block is coupled to the IF which has C&I systems collectively utilizing different data formats each including C&I devices, where the C&I systems are coupled to field devices coupled to processing equipment configured for implementing an industrial process. A data collection process is initiated using respective data formats for obtaining engineering configuration data used in the C&I systems stored therein. The engineering configuration data from each C&I system is used to determine connections within and interconnections between the C&I systems. The format of the engineering configuration data can be converted to common format engineering configuration data and then be stored. |
| US10474134B2 |
Systems and methods for compensating for 3D shape deviations in additive manufacturing
Methods and systems for predicting deformation error and compensating for shape deviation in Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques include, in one aspect, a method including: obtaining a deformation model for an AM machine; predicting deformation for the object using the deformation model applied to the 3D model; selecting an amount of deformation compensation to effect by minimizing deviation for the predicted deformation; and providing the selected amount of deformation compensation to modify the 3D model to compensate for deformation during creation by the AM machine. |
| US10474130B2 |
Machining simulation device
A machining simulation device includes a cutting condition extraction unit, a tool type determine unit, a load calculation unit configured to calculate a spindle load, a load determination unit configured to determine whether the calculated spindle load is within a predetermined maximum load, an adjustment amount calculation unit configured to calculate an adjustment amount of the cutting condition when the calculated spindle load is determined not to be within the predetermined maximum load, and a display unit configured to display a result of the determination. |
| US10474125B2 |
Method for the management of optional functions in a screw driving system, corresponding system, control hub and computer program product
A method is provided for managing optional functions in a screw driving system using a fleet of at least two control hubs, each controlling at least one piece of production equipment and being capable of being used with at least one optional function. Each control hub stores non-differentiated tokens. The optional function is assigned a pre-defined weight, corresponding to a number of tokens. The optional function is pre-installed and deactivated in the control hub. The optional function can be selectively activated on the control hub if the control hub has available a number of tokens greater than the weight of the function, a quantity of tokens corresponding to the weight being debited from the number of tokens available to the control hub, and the function can be selectively deactivated. The quantity of tokens are then made freely usable. Two control hubs can transfer non-differentiated tokens to each other. |
| US10474124B2 |
Image processing system, image processing device, method of reconfiguring circuit in FPGA, and program for reconfiguring circuit in FPGA
An image processing system which can execute various image processings in an operation process of a robot is provided. The image processing system includes: a robot for performing a predetermined operation on a workpiece; a photographing unit for photographing the workpiece; an acquisition unit for acquiring a position of the robot; a field programmable gate array (FPGA) for reconfiguring an internal circuit configuration; a storage unit for storing area information where circuit information for implementing predetermined image processing on an image obtained from the photographing unit as information for defining the circuit configuration of the FPGA is defined for each operation area of the robot; and a reconfiguration unit for reconfiguring the circuit configuration of the FPGA with the circuit information associated with the operation area based on that a position of the robot sequentially acquired by the acquisition unit belongs to one operation area defined in the area information. |
| US10474121B2 |
Control device and editing device
A control device includes a storage unit that stores a program, a program execution unit that executes the program stored in the storage unit to control a device to be controlled, and a backup execution unit that stores, at the start of a backup operation of the program currently being executed, the program, information for identifying a location currently in execution in the program, information for identifying a location currently being held in the program, and operation data, in a backup storage unit. |
| US10474120B2 |
Systems and methods for redundant monitoring of electrical property in high availability systems
A system includes a control device that coordinates within the system to control one or more operations of industrial automation equipment. The system also includes a terminal base that couples to the control device, wherein the terminal base includes a circuit. The system further includes a first input module and a second input module that couple to the terminal base. The first input module includes a first resistor and a first measuring device, and the second input module includes a second resistor and a second measuring device. The terminal base electrically couples the first resistor to the circuit and electrically isolates the second resistor from the circuit when the first input module and the second input module are coupled to the terminal block. |
| US10474118B2 |
Heat energy management system
Methods and systems relating to the monitoring and control of heating devices in multiple units in one or more buildings. An intelligent node, containing a monitoring module and a controlling module, is installed for each unit in a building. The monitoring module monitors the activation and deactivation of the heating device or, alternatively, directly measures the amount of power used by the heating device. This monitoring data is transmitted to a central server and is sent to a user. The user can control the duty cycle of the heating device and, as such, can directly cause savings in energy. The duty cycle for each heating device is adjusted by the controlling module based on the user's commands. The system can also be used so that the duty cycle is set such that energy settings for adjacent units are similar. |
| US10474116B2 |
Device synchronization and testing
The present invention provides a platform that enables devices, services and applications to be connected together. Creating a “connected environment” via this platform requires co-ordinating multiple device manufacturers and service providers, and multiple standards/protocols. Advantageously, the platform removes the requirement for different manufacturers of different devices to adopt common protocols to enable device connection, and further, the platform removes the burden of configuration away from the consumer. Time-dependent behaviors, and time-dependent behaviors of groups of devices, may be tested in a simulated environment to identify emergent behaviors and software bugs before they are implemented via the platform, to enhance the user experience. |
| US10474114B2 |
Queuing access to a shared power supply
A method of queuing access to a power supply shared by a set of electrical access points. The access points turn on independently from one another and thus have independent power draws. Each access point has a specific power draw when on. The on state and associated power draw of each of access point is identified, and a load duration curve for each access point is normalized (i.e., combined with load duration curve(s)) from the other access points) into a probability distribution function. The probability distribution function is a normalized load duration curve that thus accounts for a varying set of “operating states” that may occur with respect to the set of access points (when viewed collectively). Each operating state has an associated probability of occurrence. As the operating state of the set (of access points) changes, access to the power supply is selectively queued, or de-queued (if previously queued). |
| US10474107B2 |
Magnetic anti-shock system for a timepiece arbor
Sub-assembly for watches, including an arbor including a magnetized or electrically charged surface pivoting inside a housing, and a pole piece subjecting this surface to a magnetic or electrostatic field about an axis, one pole piece cooperating axially with this surface to absorb a shock and then return the arbor to an operating position, and creating, in proximity to this surface, a magnetic or electrostatic field, which radially attracts the arbor towards a wall of the housing. |
| US10474101B2 |
Circular buffers for leaky mode displays
A method and system for recycling signals in a leaky mode device for a holographic display or other application. A leaky mode device comprises at least a first transducer, a substrate, and a second transducer. The first transducer may be configured to receive an input signal from a signal arbiter, which forwards to the first transducer as an input signal either a new input signal or a recycled input signal (or some combination of the two). The first transducer converts the received input signal to a SAW (surface acoustic wave) and transmits the SAW through the substrate to the second transducer, which converts the received SAW to an output signal, and forwards the output signal to an amplifier, which amplifies the output signal (now a “recycled” signal) and forwards to the signal arbiter. This system facilitates persistence for points in a holographic display without the need for continually rewriting to leaky mode devices. |
| US10474100B2 |
Display device and driving method thereof
A display device including a flat display unit configured to output a planar image, a hologram generation unit configured to output a hologram image, and a controller for acquiring the holographic image with respect to at least a portion of the planar image. |
| US10474099B2 |
Method of producing volume hologram laminate
A main object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a volume hologram laminate which can regenerate a hologram image in an arbitrary wavelength by a simple process. To attain the object, the present invention provides a method of producing a volume hologram laminate using a volume hologram forming substrate which comprises: a substrate, a volume hologram layer formed on the substrate and containing a photopolymerizable material, a resin layer, formed on the substrate so as to contact to the volume hologram layer, containing a resin and a polymerizable compound, characterized in that the producing method comprises processes of: a hologram recording process to record a volume hologram to the volume hologram layer, a substance transit process of transiting the polymerizable compound to the volume hologram layer, and an after-treatment process of polymerizing the polymerizable compound. |
| US10474098B2 |
Powder processing apparatus
A powder processing apparatus includes: a fixing unit that is provided in an apparatus housing and heats powder containing ultrafine particles to fix the powder on a processed medium; an exhaust unit including an exhaust path through which air near the fixing unit can be exhausted, a capturing part capable of capturing the ultrafine particles, and an airflow generating part that generates exhaust airflow, the exhaust unit exhausting the air near the fixing unit to the outside of the apparatus housing through the exhaust path; and an intake unit including an intake path through which air outside the apparatus housing can be taken in, a capturing part capable of capturing the ultrafine particles, and an airflow generating part that generates intake airflow, the intake unit taking the air outside the apparatus housing into the apparatus housing through the intake path. An intake port is provided below an exhaust port. |
| US10474097B2 |
Image forming apparatus, electronic storage device, cartridge, and method of controlling image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus to which a cartridge including an electronic storage device can detachably be attached, comprises: an obtaining unit that obtains control information used for image formation from a first area of the electronic storage device and obtain determination information used to determine correctness of the control information stored in the first area from a second area configured to store the determination information; a determination unit that determines the correctness of the control information based on the control information and the determination information; and a control unit that, if the determination unit determines that the control information is correct, controls image formation using the control information obtained by the obtaining unit. |
| US10474093B1 |
Toner cartridge having a positioning boss
A toner cartridge includes a photoconductive drum and a boss that protrudes outward from a first longitudinal end of the toner cartridge at a rotational axis of the photoconductive drum. An outermost axial segment of the boss along the rotational axis includes a partial cylinder having a cross-sectional shape of a circular segment. An outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder is convex to a bottom of the toner cartridge and forms a bottom contact surface of the boss that is unobstructed to contact and sit in a corresponding V-block in an image forming device when the toner cartridge is installed in the image forming device. The outermost axial segment of the boss includes clearance above a topmost portion of the partial cylinder and within the radius of the outer circumferential surface of the partial cylinder permitting the clearance to accommodate one or more features in the image forming device. |
| US10474091B2 |
Drive device and image forming apparatus incorporating the drive device
A drive device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a drive source, an input side rotary body, an output side rotary body, two drive transmission routes, a drive transmission state switcher, and a drive transmission changer. The input side rotary body receives a driving force from the drive source. The output side rotary body outputs the driving force to a driving target body. The drive transmission state switcher switches a first drive transmission route between a transmission state and a non transmission state. The drive transmission changer transmits the driving force via a second drive transmission route to the output side rotary body when the first drive transmission route is in the non transmission state and restricts the driving force from being transmitted via the second drive transmission route when the first drive transmission route to the output side rotary body is in the transmission state. |
| US10474086B2 |
Image forming apparatus capable of adjusting print position of image on recording paper
The image forming apparatus includes: a paper feed unit; a print unit; a registration roller; a sheet leading end sensor provided downstream, in a transport direction of the recording paper, of the registration roller; a time measuring unit for measuring a time from a start point of transportation of the recording paper by the registration roller to a point of detection of the leading end of the recording paper by the sheet leading end sensor; a memory unit for storing a reference image forming time and a reference time; a print control unit; and an arithmetic unit for obtaining a difference between the reference time and the time detected by the time measuring unit. The print control unit adjusts the length of the image forming period in accordance with the adjusted image forming time determined based on the difference obtained by the arithmetic unit and the reference image forming time. |
| US10474080B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a sheet, first and second rollers, a motor, a phase determiner, a controller, a current detector, and a discriminator. The motor drives the first roller which conveys the sheet. The second roller is downstream from the first roller. The phase determiner determines a rotation phase of a rotor of the motor. The controller controls a drive current flowing through a motor winding to reduce a deviation between a command phase representing a rotor target phase and the determined rotation phase. The current detector detects the drive current flowing through the winding. The discriminator determines a type of the sheet conveyed by the first roller based on a value of the drive current detected in a state in which the sheet is deflected while being conveyed by the first roller and not conveyed by the second roller. |
| US10474076B2 |
Fixing device and image forming apparatus
A fixing device fixes a toner image onto a piece of paper by conveying the piece of paper formed with the toner image while nipping the piece of paper at a fixing nip, and includes: an endless belt that is rotated; a pressing member that presses the belt; a support member that supports the pressing member; a sheet wound around the pressing member along the conveyance direction; and a pressurizing member that forms the fixing nip with the belt, wherein a part of an upstream region of the sheet existing more on an upstream side in a winding direction than a contact region contacting the belt and the pressing member and a part of a downstream region of the sheet existing more on a downstream side in the winding direction than the contact region are interposed between the pressing member and the support member, and are fixed by pressing force. |
| US10474074B2 |
Film for use in fixing device and fixing device with film
A film for use in a fixing device includes a base layer having a cylindrical shape. An electrode portion is formed at an end part of the base layer in a longitudinal direction of the film. A heat generation portion is formed at a central part of the base layer in the longitudinal direction of the film and electrically connected to the electrode portion. The heat generation portion is formed of a conductive layer made of a same material as a material of the electrode portion. A thickness of the conductive layer is larger in the electrode portion than in the heat generation portion. A surface area of the conductive layer per unit length in the longitudinal direction of the film is larger in the electrode portion than in the heat generation portion. |
| US10474071B2 |
Fixing device having sheet separation members which are displaced by different amounts according to a change in diameter of a heated rotator, and image forming apparatus
A fixing device is configured to fix a toner image to a sheet by heat and includes: a heating rotator; a pressurizing roller contacting with the heating rotator; a heater configured to heat the heating rotator such that the heat is transferred to the sheet passing through a contact portion between the heating rotator and the pressurizing roller; a plurality of separation claws configured to separate the sheet from the heating rotator such that the sheet passing through the contact portion is not caught in the heating rotator, the separation claws being provided opposite to the heating rotator; and an adjustor configured to adjust positions of the separation claws relative to the heating rotator such that distances between the separation claws and the heating rotator are equal to each other. |
| US10474069B2 |
Image forming apparatus capable of restraining occurrence of electric discharge between intermediate transfer belt and sheet
An image forming apparatus includes: a drum unit including a photosensitive drum; a belt unit; and a secondary transfer member. The belt unit includes: a first roller; a second roller spaced apart from the first roller; an intermediate transfer belt supported by the first roller and the second roller; and a primary transfer member. The intermediate transfer belt includes: a first portion; and a second portion. The first portion has an upstream end and a downstream end in a first direction. The second portion has an upstream end and a downstream end in a second direction. The primary transfer member is configured to transfer a toner image from the photosensitive drum to the first portion. The secondary transfer member is capable of contacting the downstream end of the second portion, and is configured to transfer the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to a sheet. |
| US10474065B2 |
Toner case including rotator rotating around rotation axis and cover moving along rotation axis direction of rotator and image forming apparatus including the same
A toner case includes a case main body, a rotator, a transmitter and a cover. The case main body stores a toner. The rotator is stored in the case main body and rotates around a rotation axis. The transmitter transmits rotation to the rotator. At least apart of the transmitter is arranged outside the case main body. The cover moves along a rotation axis direction of the rotator between a covering position where the cover covers an outer circumference of the transmitter and an exposing position where the cover exposes the transmitter. |
| US10474064B2 |
Developing apparatus
A developing apparatus includes a developer carrier configured to carry developer, a developer container having a first chamber and a second chamber, a first conveying member provided in the first chamber, and including a first conveying unit and, on a downstream side in a first direction, a reverse conveying unit, a second conveying member, a discharge unit configured to discharge the developer, and a partition wall having a first communication port and a second communication port and configured to partition the first chamber and the second chamber. In addition, a plurality of protruding portions are provided so as to oppose the first conveying member at a position above a region between the first conveying unit and the reverse conveying unit in a vertical direction, each of the protruding portions extending along the first direction, wherein the plurality of protruding portions are arranged in a row in a direction orthogonal to the first direction. |
| US10474062B2 |
Powder container and image forming apparatus
The powder container includes a container body containing a powder for image formation, the powder being to be supplied to a powder replenishing device; a conveyor configured to convey the powder from one end in a longitudinal direction to the other end at which a cylindrical container opening is formed, the conveyor being provided inside the container body; a gear configured to rotate the conveyor with an external driving force; a container cover configured to cover the gear, the container cover having a gear exposing hole for partially exposing a gear tooth; and a nozzle receiver configured to guide the conveying nozzle inside of the container body, the nozzle receiver being provided on the container opening. The container cover includes a container engaged portion provided outer than the tooth of the gear in a radial direction. |
| US10474061B2 |
Reduced capacity toner cartridge for an electrophotographic image forming device having an isolated toner volume surrounding an auger of the toner cartridge
A toner cartridge according to one example embodiment includes a housing having a toner reservoir. An outlet is positioned on the housing for exiting toner from the toner cartridge. An insert is selectably installable in the toner reservoir. The insert separates a first portion of the toner reservoir that is in fluid communication with the outlet from a remainder of the toner reservoir when the insert is installed in the toner reservoir providing a reduced capacity toner reservoir in the first portion of the toner reservoir. |
| US10474060B1 |
Toner level sensing using rotatable magnets having varying angular offset
A method for estimating an amount of toner in a reservoir of an image forming device according to one example embodiment includes rotating a shaft positioned in the reservoir. By rotating the shaft, a first magnet and a second magnet having a variable angular offset between them are rotated around an axis of rotation of the shaft. The first magnet and the second magnet are continually sensed at a point in their rotational paths. An amount of angular offset between the first magnet and the second magnet is continually determined from the sensing. An estimate of the amount of toner remaining in the reservoir is continually updated based on a predetermined correlation between the determined amount of angular offset between the first magnet and the second magnet and the amount of toner remaining in the reservoir. |
| US10474059B2 |
Developing unit and process cartridge
A developing unit includes an elastic member that is disposed nearer a middle portion in a rotational axis direction in relation to an edge portion seal member disposed between a developing roller and a developer container, in an edge portion of a regulation member in a rotational axis direction, and contacts a confronting surface at a side opposite to a contact portion in a developing blade, wherein the developing roller, the developing blade, and the elastic member are arranged so as to make contact with one another in sequence in a normal direction in the contact portion of the developing roller. |
| US10474056B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer; a writing device configured to write a latent image onto the latent image bearer; a detection device configured to detect, at a plurality of positions, a density of a toner image obtained through development of the latent image; and a controller configured to correct a writing intensity of the writing device to correct an uneven density based on detection values of the detection device. The controller determines whether each of the detection values is pass or fail. In response to a determination that a detection value is fail, the controller corrects the wiring intensity based on another detection value determined to be pass at a position different from a position at which the detection value is determined to be fail, instead of correcting the writing intensity based on the detection value determined to be fail. |
| US10474052B2 |
Electrophotographic composition
The present disclosure relates to an electrophotographic composition that comprises a polymer resin mixture and a liquid carrier. The polymer resin mixture comprises (i) an olefin polymer A having acid and/or ester side groups and a melt index of 22 to 100 g/10 min; and (ii) an olefin polymer B having a melt index of 1 to 20 g/10 min. The olefin polymer B forms 1 to 50 weight % of the polymer resin mixture. |
| US10474047B2 |
Toner set, image forming method, and image forming apparatus
Provided here are toner sets and image forming apparatus and methods for the formation of a bright image with excellent brightness and concealability. A toner set according to an embodiment comprises a first toner which is stored in a first container and comprises a plurality of first toner particles containing a first bright pigment and a first binder resin, and a second toner which is stored in a second container and comprises a plurality of second toner particles containing a second bright pigment and a second binder resin, wherein the second toner has a larger volume average particle diameter than the first toner. |
| US10474046B2 |
Crash cooling method to prepare toner
The present disclosure relates generally to a method to make a chemically prepared toner that employs a crash cooling process. In particular, the crash cooling process involves the addition of a toner slurry having a temperature between 70° C. and 90° C. to an equivalent amount of cold water having a temperature between 5° C. and 20° C. Polyester and styrene acrylic toners as well as polyester core shell toners having a borax coupling agent between the toner core and toner shell made from this cooling process results in an improvement to the amount of toner waste, thereby achieving a higher toner usage efficiency for an electrophotographic printing system. |
| US10474044B2 |
Movable body apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
A stage device is equipped with a surface plate and a wafer stage which is mounted on the surface plate and has an exhausting port formed on a surface facing the surface plate. In a state where the wafer stage lands on the surface plate, an air chamber is formed in between the surface plate and the wafer stage. Pressurized gas blows out from the exhausting port provided at a stage main section into the air chamber, and self-weight of the wafer stage is cancelled by an inner pressure of the air chamber. This allows to the wafer stage which has stopped on the surface plate to be moved manually. |
| US10474042B2 |
Stochastically-aware metrology and fabrication
A system for stochastically-aware metrology includes a controller to be communicatively coupled to a fabrication tool. The controller receives a production recipe including at least a pattern of elements to be fabricated on a sample and one or more exposure parameters for exposing the pattern of elements, identifies candidate care areas of the pattern of elements susceptible to stochastic repeaters including fabrication defects predicted to occur stochastically when fabricated according to the production recipe, selects one or more care areas from the candidate care areas by comparing one or more predicted likelihoods of the one or more stochastic repeaters to a defect likelihood threshold, modifies the production recipe to mitigate the stochastic repeaters within the one or more care areas within a selected tolerance, and directs the fabrication tool to fabricate at least one sample according to the modified production recipe. |
| US10474039B2 |
Methods and patterning devices and apparatuses for measuring focus performance of a lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method
A lithographic apparatus (LA) prints product features and at least one focus metrology pattern (T) on a substrate. The focus metrology pattern is defined by a reflective reticle and printing is performed using EUV radiation (404) incident at an oblique angle (θ). The focus metrology pattern comprises a periodic array of groups of first features (422). A spacing (S1) between adjacent groups of first features is much greater than a dimension (CD) of the first features within each group. Due to the oblique illumination, the printed first features become distorted and/or displaced as a function of focus error. Second features 424 may be provided as a reference against which displacement of the first features may be seen. Measurement of this distortion and/or displacement may be by measuring asymmetry as a property of the printed pattern. Measurement can be done at longer wavelengths, for example in the range 350-800 nm. |
| US10474034B2 |
Phase shift mask
A phase shift mask includes a substrate, a second phase shift pattern on the substrate, the second phase shift pattern extending to an outermost perimeter of the substrate, the second phase shift pattern being formed of a material that is semi-transmissive to light of a first wavelength and the substrate being substantially transparent to the light of the first wavelength such that the mask transmits about 2 to about 10% of the light of the first wavelength at the second phase shift pattern, and a first phase shift pattern on the substrate, the second phase shift pattern being disposed between the outermost perimeter of the substrate and the first phase shift pattern. |
| US10474029B2 |
Polymer pen lithography
The disclosure relates to methods of printing indicia on a substrate using a tip array comprised of elastomeric, compressible polymers. The tip array can be prepared using conventional photolithographic methods and can be tailored to have any desired number and/or arrangement of tips. Numerous copies (e.g., greater than 15,000, or greater than 11 million) of a pattern can be made in a parallel fashion in as little as 40 minutes. |
| US10474028B2 |
Template, method for fabricating template, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device
A method for fabricating a template includes providing a substrate having a first protrusion portion, forming, on the first protrusion portion of the substrate, a first film including a plurality of first pattern portions and a second pattern portion surrounding the first pattern portions and having a thickness thicker than the first pattern portions, covering at least a portion of the first film with a second film, removing the second pattern portion and exposing one or more of the first pattern portions by removing a portion of the second film from an upper surface of the first pattern by a first etching process, and forming a second protrusion portion by etching the first protrusion portion using the second film as a mask. The method further includes removing the first pattern portions and processing the first protrusion portion and the second protrusion portion by a second etching process. |
| US10474026B2 |
Method for correcting bevel corners of a layout pattern
A method of correcting a layout pattern is provided in the present invention. The method includes the following steps. A layout pattern including at least two adjacent rectangular sub patterns is provided. The layout pattern is then input into a computer system. An optical proximity correction including a bevel correction is then performed. The bevel correction includes forming a bevel at a corner of at least one of the two adjacent rectangular sub patterns, wherein the bevel is formed by chopping the corner, and moving the bevel toward an interaction of two neighboring segments of the bevel if a distance between the bevel and the other rectangular sub pattern is larger than a minimum value. The angle between a surface of the bevel and a surface of the rectangular sub pattern is not rectangular. The layout pattern is output to a mask after the optical proximity correction. |
| US10474024B2 |
Folding projection screen
A portable display screen that can be broken down into components for easy transport and storage, while also being relatively easy to assemble into a self-supporting display screen with a flat surface without distracting wrinkles or other defects. |
| US10474022B2 |
Illuminator and projector
An illuminator includes a light source apparatus that outputs first light containing a first polarized light component, an afocal system that includes a first lens and a second lens so arranged that optical axis directions thereof coincide with each other and reduces the light flux diameter of the first light, a polarization adjusting element that converts the first light, while transmitting the first light, into second light containing the first polarized light component and a second polarized light component the polarization direction of which is perpendicular to the polarization direction of the first polarized light component, and a polarization separation element that separates the second light into light formed of the first polarized light component and light formed of the second polarized light component. The polarization adjusting element is located between the first lens and the second lens. |
| US10474021B2 |
Illuminator and projector
An illuminator includes a light source apparatus that outputs first light that belongs to a first wavelength band, an optical element including a dichroic film and a first retardation element, a reflection element, a light dividing element including a plurality of lenses, and a polarization conversion element. A first component of the first light outputted from the light source apparatus passes through the dichroic film and the first retardation element in this order, is reflected off the reflection element, passes through the first retardation element, and is further reflected off the dichroic film. The first component reflected off the dichroic film passes through the light dividing element and is incident on the polarization conversion element. |
| US10474018B2 |
Illumination system, control unit thereof and projection apparatus using the same
An illumination system includes a first exciting light source, a second exciting light source and a wavelength-converting wheel. The first exciting light source provides a first exciting beam. The second exciting light source provides a second exciting beam. The wavelength-converting wheel is disposed on a transmission path of the first exciting beam and the second exciting beam. The wavelength-converting wheel has a first annular irradiation portion and a second annular irradiation portion. The first annular irradiation portion has a first light reflecting region and a first light converting region. The second annular irradiation portion has a second light reflecting region and a second light converting region. The invention further provides a control unit and a projection apparatus. The invention can adjust the color proportion of the illumination beam projected by the illumination system, and reduce the volume of the illumination system and the number of optical components. |
| US10474017B1 |
Projection apparatus
A projection apparatus includes a casing, a light source module, an optical engine module, a heat dissipation module and a projection lens. The casing has multiple air inlets and an air outlet. The light source module is disposed in the casing, and is configured to provide an illumination beam, wherein the light source module includes multiple light sources. The optical engine module is disposed in the casing, and is located on a transmission path of the illumination beam, and is configured to convert the illumination beam into an image beam. The heat dissipation module is disposed in the casing, and is connected to the light sources, where the heat dissipation module includes multiple heat sinks located close to the air inlets, respectively. The projection lens is disposed in the casing, and is connected to the optical engine module, and is configured to project the image beam out of the casing. |
| US10474012B2 |
Gimbal, gimbal assembly and unmanned aerial vehicle
The present invention provides a gimbal, a gimbal assembly and an unmanned aerial vehicle. The gimbal includes a mounting frame used for mounting a photographic device and a bind buckle used for fastening the photographic device. The bind buckle includes a main body and an adjustment structure. The main body is coupled to the mounting frame by using the adjustable structure, so that the bind buckle is capable of matching different types of photographic devices by adjusting the adjustable structure. |
| US10474011B2 |
Plate for camera equipment
A plate provides clearance between a camera and a quick-release receiver securing the camera to a support. |
| US10474009B2 |
Filter adjustment of vehicle cameras
Method and apparatus are disclosed for filter adjustment of vehicle cameras. An example vehicle camera includes sensors, a lens to direct light to the sensors, a slide including a first filter and a second filter, and an electromagnet to actuate the slide between a first position and a second position. The first filter is between the sensors and the lens at the first position. The second filter is between the sensors and the lens at the first position. |
| US10474007B2 |
Imaging apparatus with display and image display apparatus
A digital camera is provided with a vertically long camera body having an approximately rectangular solid shape. An LCD panel provided in a rear surface of the camera body is arranged such that longitudinal directions of the display screen and the camera body correspond to each other. The digital camera is operated through a touch panel provided in a lower portion of the display screen. In a taking mode, an image is displayed in a small size on an upper portion of the display screen. In reproducing, the camera body is rotated sideways by 90 degree. In a reproducing mode, display posture of the image is also rotated by 90 degree, and the image is displayed in a large size on the entire display screen. |
| US10474006B2 |
Outdoor photography system
A photography system provides a photography station which can be conveniently set up and provides consistent quality of photographs regardless of ambient conditions. The system includes a digital camera, a ring flash, and a tent providing a subject space for arranging the subject during photography. The tent is configured to surround the subject to at least partially isolate the subject from the surroundings. The system further includes a background unit arranged within the tent to allow for subsequent background replacement processing. |
| US10474003B2 |
Lifetime extending and performance improvements of optical fibers via loading
A method of making a microstructured optical fiber including loading the core and cladding materials of the fiber with hydrogen and deuterium at a loading temperature; annealing the fiber at a selected temperature Tanneal; pumping the fiber with radiation; and reducing the temperature of the fiber and storing the fiber at the reduced temperature before the step of pumping the fiber; and wherein the method allows the hydrogen and the deuterium to become bound to the core material and the cladding material. |
| US10474002B2 |
Generation of high energy mid-infrared continuum laser pulses
In one aspect, a method is provided for generating supercontinuum laser pulses within a continuous mid-infrared spectral range in a chalcogenide material. This method includes focusing an input laser beam of femtosecond pulses with a pulse energy higher than 10 microjoule along an optical path of the input laser beam; placing a chalcogenide material at a selected location along the optical path of the laser beam so that the laser intensity at the chalcogenide material is sufficiently high to cause nonlinear optical absorption that causes conversion of input optical energy into supercontinuum laser pulses of a pulse energy at or above a microjoule level at optical wavelengths within a broad continuous mid-infrared spectral range without damaging the chalcogenide material; and simultaneously moving the chalcogenide material laterally relative to the input laser beam to avoid damage to the chalcogenide material. |
| US10473999B2 |
Optical modulator with FPC and optical transmission device using same
In an optical modulator including an FPC for performing electrical connection with an external circuit substrate, to maintain high light transmission quality by appropriately driving the optical modulator even when the reflection of a radio frequency signal occurs in a connection portion between the FPC and the main body of the optical modulator. Provided is an optical modulator including a flexible printed circuit for performing electrical connection with a circuit substrate, in which the flexible printed circuit includes at least one wire pattern for propagating a radio frequency signal, and the wire pattern includes at least one radio frequency attenuation portion for attenuating power of the radio frequency signal by a predetermined amount. |
| US10473998B2 |
FPC-attached optical modulator and optical transmission apparatus using same
An optical modulator includes: an optical modulation element which includes signal electrodes; lead pins; and a relay substrate in which a conductor pattern which electrically connects each of the lead pins and each of the signal electrodes to each other are formed, and the optical modulator is configured such that the amount of radiation of a high frequency at a connection portion between the conductor pattern and the signal electrode is increased compared to a portion other than the connection portion. |
| US10473997B2 |
Electrochromic device assemblies
An electrochromic device is provided. The device includes a first substrate and a second substrate. The device includes electrochromic material, with the first substrate, the electrochromic material and the second substrate forming a laminate, the first substrate offset in a lateral direction from the second substrate along at least a portion of an edge of the electrochromic device. The device includes a plurality of terminals coupled to the electrochromic material, with at least two of the plurality of terminals exposed on the first substrate by the first substrate being offset in the lateral direction from the second substrate. A method of manufacturing an electrochromic device is also provided. |
| US10473992B2 |
Display panel, methods of fabricating and repairing the same
The present application discloses a display panel including an array substrate and an opposing substrate facing the array substrate; a data line layer having a plurality of data lines on the array substrate; a passivation layer on a side of the data line layer proximal to the opposing substrate; a sealant layer on a side of the passivation layer distal to the data line layer, sealing the array substrate and the opposing substrate together; the display panel having a first area enclosed by the sealant layer and a second area outside of the first area and the sealant layer; the plurality of data lines extending from the first area into the second area; and a common electrode layer on a side of the sealant layer distal to the passivation layer. The common electrode layer includes a portion having a plurality of connections, and a plurality of slits spaced apart from each other by the plurality of connections; the plurality of slits and the plurality of connections extending from the first area into the second area, each of the plurality of connections is between two adjacent slits; each of the plurality of connections has a first portion in the first area and a second portion in the second area. |
| US10473990B2 |
Manufacture method of low temperature poly-silicon array substrate
A manufacture method of a low temperature poly-silicon array substrate is provided. A halftone mask is utilized to realize a patterning process applied to a polysilicon layer and an N type heavy doping process of a polysilicon section of an NMOS region. In comparison with prior art, one mask is saved, and thus, the production cost is reduced, and a low temperature poly-silicon array substrate manufactured with such a process possesses excellent electronic property. |
| US10473989B2 |
Thin film transistor and display device including the same
A thin film transistor (TFT) and a display device including the same capable of displaying an image having a uniform luminance are provided, the TFT including a gate electrode; a gate insulating layer disposed on the gate electrode; a semiconductor layer disposed on the gate insulating layer; a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the semiconductor layer while being spaced apart from one another; and a protective layer disposed on the source electrode and the drain electrode and having a contact hole through which a portion of the drain electrode is exposed, wherein the drain electrode includes a first drain electrode overlapping a portion of the gate electrode, a second drain electrode extending from the first drain electrode and having a portion exposed through the contact hole, and a third drain electrode branched from the first drain electrode to be spaced apart from the second drain electrode. |
| US10473984B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
At a corner of a TFT substrate where sealants are coated overlapping each other, a phenomenon that the sealants protrude into the display region is prevented by a structure that: the TFT substrate having an organic passivation film is formed as far as the outside of the display region. A groove-like organic passivation film removed portion is formed surrounding the display region. Since the sealants are coated overlapping each other at the corner, when a TFT substrate and a counter substrate are superposed at a predetermined gap, the width of the groove-like organic passivation film removed portion is made larger at the corner than the side in order to prevent the sealant from extending. Since an excessive sealant is absorbed in the groove-like organic passivation film removing portion of a larger width at the corner, the sealant can be prevented from protruding to the inside of the display region. |
| US10473979B2 |
Color conversion films produced by UV curing processes
Color conversion films for a LCD (liquid crystal display) having RGB (red, green, blue) color filters, as well as such displays, formulations, precursors and methods are provided, which improve display performances with respect to color gamut, energy efficiency, materials and costs. The color conversion films absorb backlight illumination and convert the energy to green and/or red emission at high efficiency, specified wavelength ranges and narrow emission peaks. For example, rhodamine-based fluorescent compounds are used in matrices produced by sol gel processes and/or UV (ultraviolet) curing processes which are configured to stabilize the compounds and extend their lifetime—to provide the required emission specifications of the color conversion films. Film integration and display configurations further enhance the display performance with color conversion films utilizing various color conversion elements. |
| US10473977B2 |
Surface light source apparatus comprising a light-distribution control element having a diffusion part and liquid crystal display having the same
Provided is a surface light source apparatus that improves homogeneity of surface illumination light, using both light rays passing through a light emitting surface of a light-distribution control element and the reflected light rays. A surface light source apparatus according to the present invention includes: a light source; a holding substrate having a main surface on which the light source is held; a light-distribution control element disposed on the main surface of the holding substrate to cover the light source, the light-distribution control element changing distribution of light emitted from the light source; and a diffuser that diffuses light emitted from the light-distribution control element. The light-distribution control element includes a diffusion part disposed at an installation surface that can abut the main surface of the holding substrate. |
| US10473975B2 |
Adhesive tape, backlight unit and display device
An adhesive tape, a backlight unit and a display device are provided. The adhesive tape (1) includes a plurality of nonlinear gaps (100) that separate the adhesive tape (1) into a plurality of adhesive tape bodies (11, 12, 2, 3, 2′, 3′, 31′, 33′). The backlight unit includes the adhesive tape for blocking light. |
| US10473974B2 |
Backlight module and display device having the same
Disclosed are a backlight module and a display device having the same. The backlight module includes an optical assembly including a light guide plate, a plastic frame and an optical film disposed on a light-emitting side of the light guide plate. The plastic frame includes a side wall and a bearing portion formed on the top of the side wall of plastic frame and located on the light-emitting side of the light guide plate, the side wall of plastic frame is arranged to surround the light guide plate, the bearing portion extends from the top of the side wall of plastic frame to the light guide plate, and a side surface of the bearing portion faces a side surface of the optical film. The backlight module according to the disclosure can reduce the optical retardation of the display device, thereby reducing the dark-state light leakage of the display device. |
| US10473966B2 |
Display device
A display device includes a light source, an optical system, a liquid crystal panel, and a first heat sink. The optical system converts light emitted from the light source into irradiation light that is to be an irradiation area having a predetermined width. The liquid crystal panel receives the irradiation light. The first heat sink includes an opening through which the irradiation light passes, and supports the liquid crystal panel. The first heat sink is in contact with the liquid crystal panel. |
| US10473963B2 |
Touch display apparatus with anti-peeping technology
A touch display apparatus includes a first substrate including first and second surfaces, a second substrate having a side facing the second surface and provided with a pixel electrode layer, an insulator layer and a common electrode layer, and a liquid crystal (LC) layer disposed between the first and second substrates. The second surface is provided with opening areas, a non-opening area surrounding the opening areas, a black matrix layer, a color filter layer, a protection layer, a touch electrode layer, first and second flat layers, and a patterned viewing angle control transparent electrode layer including control electrode members disposed corresponding to the opening areas, first connection electrode members disposed corresponding to the non-opening area in a first direction and connected to the control electrode members, and second connection electrode members disposed corresponding to the non-opening area in a second direction and connected to the first connection electrode members. |
| US10473956B2 |
Glasses with wearing cushion device
A pair of glasses with a wearing cushion device comprises a main body, an inflatable cushion system, an air pump, a switch element, a control unit and an air channel. The inflatable cushion system comprises two supporting cushions and two buffer cushions. When the switch element is turned on, the switch element issues an enabling signal to the control unit and the control unit enables the air pump in response to the enabling signal. When the air pump is enabled, an ambient gas is transferred to the two supporting cushions and the two buffer cushions through the air channel. The two supporting cushions and the two buffer cushions are inflated with the gas and expanded, so as to fit closely on the ears of the user by the two buffer cushions, and fit closely on the bridge of the nose of the user by the supporting cushions. |
| US10473951B2 |
Method and system for determining personalized near addition value, lens with such addition
A method for determining personalized near addition value for non-presbyopes, including measuring fusional amplitudes and phoria with at least one addition value, on both eyes of a person at a working distance; finding a mathematical function that predicts the change of a pair of fusional amplitudes and phoria as a function of addition value based on the addition value and the measured fusional amplitudes and phoria; and determining the near addition value according to a suitable relationship between the pair of fusional amplitudes and phoria on the mathematical function. |
| US10473949B2 |
Systems and methods for an optical image stabilizer system
The optical image stabilizer system according to various aspects of the present technology may comprise a set of springs connected to a lens such that the force exerted by the set of springs and the force exerted by gravity are in equilibrium. A position detection sensor may be linked to the lens and detect a current position of the lens. An accelerometer may be communicatively linked to the lens and generate a set of acceleration data corresponding to the acceleration of the lens. A control unit may be coupled to at least one of the lens, position detector sensor, and the accelerometer, and calculate a new target position for the lens. A motor may be coupled to the lens and respond to the target position received from the control unit. |
| US10473941B2 |
Head mounted display content capture and sharing
A virtual reality goggle includes a goggle shaped body having multiple cameras mounted thereon. A display is supported by the goggle shaped body. A support extends between sides of the goggle shaped body and includes multiple cameras. Circuitry is coupled to receive video from the multiple cameras, the video comprising a composite field of view of approximately 360 degrees about the goggle, the circuitry to couple to a wireless communication device to transmit the received video to networked processing services, and to receive stitched stereoscopic three dimensional virtual reality video from the networked processing services, the circuitry further coupled to provide the received stitched stereoscopic three dimensional virtual reality video for display. |
| US10473937B2 |
Displays
A method and apparatus are provided for controlling a display device to generate an image for viewing by a user on a display, the image being formed by one or more light having predetermined relative timings. Received image data define one or more light components of a feature to be displayed as an element in the image. Rate data are received, e.g. from an associated tracker system, indicative of a rate of change in orientation of the display relative to a direction of gaze of an eye of the user. The received rate data are used to determine a position on the display for displaying each of the one or more light components of the feature including determining any respective adjustment required to a determined position for the light component according to the received rate data and the predetermined relative timings. The determined position of each of the one or more light components is output to the display device for display of the light component at the respective determined position. |
| US10473932B2 |
Method for operating a virtual reality system, and virtual reality system
A virtual reality system displays a virtual motor vehicle from a virtual observation position using virtual reality glasses worn by a person. If the virtual motor vehicle is displayed in an interior view, a height of the virtual observation position is set depending on a height position of the virtual reality glasses detected by a detection device, and depending on the vehicle model of the virtual motor vehicle on display. If the virtual motor vehicle is displayed in an exterior view, the height of the virtual observation position is set depending on the detected height position of the virtual reality glasses but independently of the vehicle model. |
| US10473929B2 |
Image projector
A head-up display includes a display device and a projection optical system. The projection optical system has a lens group including at least one lens element and projects onto a reflecting member an image displayed on the display device. The lens group includes a drive lens that shifts along an optical path to change its distance from the display device. |
| US10473928B2 |
Backlight unit and head-up display device
A backlight unit includes a light source; a condensing unit that condenses light emitted from the light source; and a diverging unit that diverges the light entering from the condensing unit and that emits the light toward an image display unit of a light transmission type in a head-up display device. For example, the diverging unit is a lens in which both surfaces of an incident surface into which the light from the condensing unit enters as well as an emission surface from which the light is emitted toward the image display unit, are concave surfaces. |
| US10473923B2 |
Focal region optical elements for high-performance optical scanners
An optical device includes a light source, which is configured to emit a beam of light at a given wavelength, and at least one scanning mirror configured to scan the beam across a target scene. Light collection optics include a collection optic positioned to receive the light from the scene that is reflected from the at least one scanning mirror and to focus the collected light onto a focal plane, and a non-imaging optical element including a solid piece of a material that is transparent at the given wavelength, having a front surface positioned at the focal plane of the collection lens and a rear surface through which the guided light is emitted from the material in proximity to a sensor, so that the collected light is guided through the material and spread over the detection area of the sensor. |
| US10473922B2 |
Casing of optical scanning apparatus and optical scanning apparatus
A casing of an optical scanning apparatus housing a rotary polygon mirror and an optical member: a mounting portion on which a sound insulation member separating the optical member from the rotary polygon mirror is mountable; a first support portion supporting a transparent member which covers an opening of the casing on which the sound insulation member is mounted; a second support portion supporting a transparent member which covers the opening of the casing on which the sound insulation member is not mounted and is thicker than the transparent member to be supported by the first support portion; and a bearing surface of the second support portion located on an inner side of the casing than a bearing surface of the first support portion so that light beam emission surfaces of the transparent members to be supported by the first and second support portions are on a substantially same plane. |
| US10473917B2 |
Movable reflection device and reflection surface drive system utilizing same
A mirror with a reflective layer formed thereon is supported within a frame-shaped support by two U-shaped arms. A plate-like arm connects fixation points (Q1, Q2), and a plate-like arm connects fixation points (Q3, Q4). A pair of piezoelectric elements (E11, E12) disposed along a longitudinal axis (L1) on an upper surface of an outside bridge of the arm, and a single piezoelectric element (E20) disposed along the longitudinal axis (L2) on the upper surface of an inside bridge. Similarly, a pair of piezoelectric elements (E31, E32) disposed on an upper surface of an outside bridge of the arm, and a single piezoelectric element (E40) disposed on the upper surface of an inside bridge. When a positive drive signal is applied to the piezoelectric elements (E11, E20, E31, E40) and a negative drive signal is applied to the piezoelectric elements (E12, E32), the mirror is displaced efficiently. |
| US10473915B2 |
Beam manipulation system
A beam director, typically comprises a first mirror rotating about a longitudinal axis, with a reflective surface at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis, which enables a laser beam to be transmitted along the longitudinal axis and redirected onto a work surface, which is typically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. A second stationary arcuate mirror segment may be used to reflect the beam along an arcuate path on the work surface. Previous beam director systems can be improved or simplified by: 1) elimination of the second mirror with a 90° reflection to the work surface; 2) fixing the Tangent factor when drawing/rendering/sintering/cutting using f-theta like lens; and 3) fixing the Tangent factor by controlling the amount and/or the duration of energy. |
| US10473910B2 |
Observation device
In an observation device including a display device, paired ocular optical systems each include a resin lens having a shape defined by an arch and a chord, and provided with a molding gate in an outer peripheral portion of the arc shape, and is appropriately set in: a difference RC between the radius of the resin lens and the length of a line connecting the midpoint of the chord and the point on the optical axis; the diameter D of the resin lens; an angle θ between a direction connecting a midpoint of a long side of the display surface and the point on the optical axis and a direction connecting the molding gate and the point on the optical axis; and an acute angle α between directions connecting the point on the optical axis and the respective molding gates of the resin lenses in the paired ocular optical systems. |
| US10473904B2 |
Sunlight modulation device with divergent reflection of converged sunlight for solar energy utilization
A sunlight modulation device includes a light focusing module and a light deflection module. The light focusing module is configured to let incident sunlight pass through and to converge direct sunlight of the incident sunlight. The light deflection module is configured to separate the converged direct sunlight from diffusion sunlight of the incident sunlight by reflecting the converged direct sunlight. The above-mentioned sunlight modulation device allows more diverse configurations for solar panels, heating devices or the like means, as well as illumination purpose. |
| US10473902B2 |
Projection system and projection-type image display apparatus
A projection system that can be incorporated in a projector includes a first lens unit that makes a screen (enlargement-side image formation plane), which is located on the enlargement-side, conjugate with an intermediate image and a second lens unit that makes the intermediate image conjugate with a reduction-side image formation plane, which is located on the reduction side. The first lens unit has positive power, and the second lens unit has negative power. A second-lens-unit intermediate-image-side first lens, which is provided in the second lens unit and closest to the intermediate image, has positive power. The following expression is satisfied: −0.3≤fU1/fU2<0 where fU1 denotes the focal length of the first lens unit, and fU2 denotes the focal length of the second lens unit. |
| US10473897B2 |
Camera optical lens
The present invention includes a camera optical lens. The camera optical lens including, in an order from an object side to an image side, a first lens, a second lens, a third lens, a fourth lens, a fifth lens, a sixth lens and a seventh lens. The camera optical lens further satisfies specific conditions. |
| US10473888B2 |
Cycloolefin resin composition, molded article thereof, and mirror
The present invention relates to a cycloolefin resin composition, a molded article of the cycloolefin resin composition, and an optical element, and in particular, to a resin composition containing inorganic particles in a resin, a molded article of the resin composition, and an optical element formed of the molded article. |
| US10473887B2 |
Heated shaving mirror
A portable heated mirror includes a mount subassembly that includes a mount housing and a mount member that is configured to releasably attach the heated mirror to a support surface. The heated mirror also includes a mirror subassembly that is pivotally attached to the mount subassembly by a ball-in-socket arrangement. The mirror subassembly includes a mirror housing that contains a mirror and a flexible heating element in the form of a flexible heat film that contains heating elements and is secured to a rear surface of the mirror for heating the mirror when the flexible heat film is actuated. A battery power source is operatively connected to a printed circuit board that is contained within the mirror housing. |
| US10473886B2 |
Lens driving apparatus, and camera module and optical device comprising same
An embodiment comprises: a housing; a bobbin for mounting a lens, the bobbin being accommodated inside the housing; a first coil disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the bobbin; a magnet disposed in the housing; and a second coil disposed in the housing, wherein the second coil comprises a third coil and a fourth coil, a first signal is applied to the first coil, a second signal is applied to the fourth coil, and an induction voltage is generated in the second coil by a mutual induction operation between the first coil and the second coil. |
| US10473883B2 |
Variable magnification optical system and control method thereof
There are provided a variable magnification optical system and a control method thereof which are capable of relatively accurately adjusting a positional relationship between a variable magnification optical device and an imaging surface of an imaging device according to a zoom amount. A zoom lens included in the variable magnification optical device is positioned at a telephoto end and a wide angle end, and shift amounts ΔS1 and ΔS2, tilt angles θ1 and θ2, rotation angles ϕ1 and ϕ2, and focusing adjustment amounts Δ1 and Δ2 of the variable magnification optical device are set by a user and are stored. In a case where a zoom amount of the zoom lens is set to a desired value by the user, a shift amount corresponding to the set zoom amount is calculated by using the stored shift amounts ΔS1 and ΔS2. The positional relationship between the variable magnification optical device and the imaging surface of the imaging device is adjusted so as to have the calculated shift amount. |
| US10473882B2 |
Lead screw device, lens driver, lens barrel, and camera using the lead screw device
An optical device includes an optical system including a plurality of lens groups, at least one lens group being a movable lens group moving in an optical axis direction, and a movable frame to move the movable lens group. The movable frame includes a driving source, a drive screw, a lens supporting frame, and maintaining an integrated state relative to the movable lens group, a plurality of arms disposed in a position to face the drive screw and being openable and closable relative to the drive screw with a single opening and closing axis as a support axis, the plurality of arms including a first arm and a second arm, and a biasing spring configured to apply a biasing force to the first arm in a direction in which the first arm approaches the drive screw, wherein the lens supporting frame is further configured to support the biasing spring. |
| US10473880B2 |
Portable electronic device, camera module, and lens assembly
A lens assembly includes a lens including an optical portion refracting light and a flange portion extended along a periphery of at least a portion of the optical portion, and a lens barrel accommodating the lens. The lens includes a first D-cut portion on one side surface of the flange portion spaced apart from the lens barrel and a second D-cut portion on another side surface of the flange portion spaced apart from the lens barrel, wherein the first D-cut portion and the second D-cut portion each include first inclined surfaces, and the first inclined surfaces are spaced apart from respective ends of the first D-cut portion and the second D-cut portion by a predetermined interval. |
| US10473879B2 |
Lens module and camera module including same
A lens module includes a lens and a lens barrel accommodating the lens. A distance between an internal surface of the lens barrel and an optical axis varies in a circumferential direction of the lens barrel. |
| US10473873B2 |
Fiber optic enclosure with cable management drawer
A fiber optic enclosure system (100) includes an enclosure (102), a plurality of fiber optic adaptors (132), and a drawer (130). The enclosure (102) defines an enclosure chamber (108). The plurality of fiber optic adaptors (132) is arranged on the enclosure (102). The drawer (130) is used to route an optical fiber main cable (90) within the drawer (130). The drawer (130) is removably inserted into the enclosure chamber (108). |
| US10473872B2 |
Fiber optic cable with large-diameter optical fibers
A large and small diameter optical fiber carrying cable is provided. The cable includes a cable body including an inner surface defining a channel within the cable body, a first group of optical fibers comprising a plurality of first optical fibers located within the channel and a second group of optical fibers comprising a plurality of second optical fibers located within the channel. The optical core diameter of the first optical fibers is larger than the optical core diameter of the second optical fibers. |
| US10473869B2 |
Light guide device, light guide method, and LD module
To increase the reliability of an LD module without decreasing the efficiency of coupling between the laser diode and the optical fiber, an LD module (1) includes a light-guiding device mounted therein that includes (i) a dividing optical system (DM) configured to divide a laser beam so as to generate a partial beam group and (ii) a compositing optical system (RM1, RM2, PRE, PBC) configured to composite the partial beam group so as to generate a partial beam bundle including a plurality of partial beams each having an S axis parallel to a particular spatial axis. |
| US10473866B2 |
Integrated fiber optic cable fan-out connector
An integral fan-out connector assembly for fiber optic cables includes a connector housing that provides an integrated fan-out housing and connection adapter. The fan-out connector housing may be configured with a variety of cable adapters, and may be installed as a ‘plug and play’ type solution where it will be ready to accept a feed cable for use when needed. |
| US10473865B2 |
Stepped ferrule seating in an MTP inner housing
A fiber optic ferrule and a fiber optic connector housing make contact only along two sides of the fiber optic ferrule when in an unmated condition. One of the fiber optic ferrule and the fiber optic connector housing have been modified such that only two of the surfaces engage one another. The shoulders can be shortened, lengthened, or have a projection added to the current surfaces. |
| US10473864B2 |
Managed fiber connectivity systems
A communications connection system includes an adapter module defining at least first and second ports and at least one media reading interface mounted at one of the ports. The first adapter module is configured to receive a fiber optic connector at each port. Some type of connectors may be formed as duplex connector arrangements. Some types of adapters may include ports without media reading interfaces. Some types of media reading interfaces include contact members having three contact sections. |
| US10473860B1 |
Compact devices for multiplexing applications
Disclosed is a compact device for wavelength-division multiplexing applications. In particular, disclosed is a device that includes a housing and a core at least partially positioned within the housing. The core includes a first single fiber stub, a second single fiber stub, and at least one functional layer positioned between a first fiber of the first single fiber stub and a second fiber of the second single fiber stub. The at least one functional layer is configured to: (i) permit routing of a transmission signal of a multiplexed signal along an optical path from the first fiber stub to the second fiber stub, and (ii) prevent routing of a non-transmission signal of the multiplexed signal along the optical path from the first fiber stub to the second fiber stub. A distance between a first ferrule of the first fiber stub and a second ferrule of the second fiber stub is less than about 0.05 mm. |
| US10473859B2 |
Fiber optic connector
A fiber optic connector comprising a fusion assembly for strengthening a splice point. The fusion assembly comprises an elongate mechanical support positioned adjacent the splice point and snugly encased by a flexible tube. In one embodiment, a meltable adhesive in the form of a hollow tube is positioned over the splice point and the flexible tube comprises a heat shrinkable material. In another embodiment, the mechanical support is an elongate plate having a concave surface positioned adjacent the splice point and a C shaped cross section. |
| US10473857B2 |
Gradient-index waveguide lateral coupler having an active region with an index of refraction that is non-constant laterally
A waveguide having a gradient-index (GRIN) waveguide lateral coupler is provided. In an example embodiment, the waveguide comprises an active region. The refractive index profile of the active region is non-constant. |
| US10473853B2 |
Fully integrated avalanche photodiode receiver
Various embodiments of a fully integrated avalanche photodiode receiver and manufacturing method thereof are described herein. A photonic device includes a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with a buried oxide (BOX) layer therein, an avalanche photodiode integrated with the SOI substrate, a capacitor integrated with the SOI substrate, a resistor integrated with the SOI substrate, and silicon passive waveguides as well as bonding pads integrated with the SOI substrate. |
| US10473846B2 |
Illumination system
An illumination system includes a lightguide having light extractors. A first light source is disposed at an end face of the lightguide. Light emitted by the first light source is extracted from the lightguide by the light extractors and exits the lightguide primarily along a first direction different than the length direction. A second light source is disposed along the length of the lightguide. Light emitted by the second light source enters the lightguide from a first side surface and exits the lightguide from a different second side surface along a second direction different than the first and length directions. Light emitted by the second light source has a first divergence in a first plane before entering the lightguide through the first side surface and a different second divergence in the first plane after exiting the lightguide from the second side surface. |
| US10473845B2 |
Directional backlight unit, three-dimensional image display apparatus having the same, and method of manufacturing the same
There are provided a backlight unit, a 3D image display apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the same. The backlight unit may include a light source, a light guide plate that guides light irradiated from the light source, and including an exit surface through which the light exits, and a reflection plate provided on at least a part of the exit surface of the light guide plate. |
| US10473842B2 |
Wide dispersion source multiple path light direction system
A lighting system uses optics to redirect stray light from unlensed LEDs toward a desired region while avoiding hot spots. The optics involve essentially planar surfaces with both reflective and light transmissive characteristics. The lighting system may be used in display cases. |
| US10473841B2 |
Light guide optical assembly
An optical assembly for optical aperture expansion combines facet reflective technology with diffractive technology. At least two diffractive components having opposite optical power (matching) are used, so that chromatic dispersion introduced by the first diffractive component will then be cancelled by the second diffractive component. The two diffractive components are used in combination with a reflective optical component to achieve more efficient aperture expansion (for near eye display), reducing distortions and noise, while also reducing design constraints on the system and individual components, as compared to conventional techniques. The assembly eliminates and/or reduces the need for polarization management, while enabling wider field of view. In addition, embodiments can have reduced nonuniformity, as compared to conventional single technology implementations, since the distortion patterns of the two technologies do not correlate. |
| US10473839B2 |
Reflective LC devices including thin film metal grating
A sub-wavelength thin-film metal grating is placed inside a liquid crystal variable optical retarder at a selected distance from a reflective electrode to form a reflective half wave plate, thereby reducing polarization dependence of the optical retardation generated by the variable optical retarder. The approach enables to form within the device the reflective half wave plate that is suitably thin without modifying the reflective electrode of the device. |
| US10473837B2 |
3D lens with reduced back reflectance
An optical interference coating with reduced back reflectance for 3D glasses based on colour separation has a substantial transmittance at one or more passbands over the visible spectral range in order to view the desired left (right) eye image and a substantial reflectance and absorption at one or more different blocking bands over the visible spectral range in order to block the undesired right (left) eye image while simultaneously reducing the back reflectance of visible light towards the viewer's eye. The thicknesses and materials are chosen such that the left eye reduced back reflectance 3D coated lens transmits the desired left eye image and blocks the right eye image while the right eye reduced back reflectance 3D coated lens transmits the desired right eye image and blocks the left eye image so that a 3D image can be viewed whilst substantially reducing distracting back reflections from the coated lenses. |
| US10473828B2 |
Beam dumps having tailored absorbing surfaces
An apparatus includes a housing defining a cavity configured to receive laser energy and an absorbing surface within the cavity configured to absorb and convert the laser energy into thermal energy. A shape of the absorbing surface is based on a profile of the laser energy. At least one first portion of the absorbing surface has one or more first angles of incidence with respect to the laser energy and is configured to receive at least one first portion of the laser energy. At least one second portion of the absorbing surface has one or more second angles of incidence with respect to the laser energy and is configured to receive at least one second portion of the laser energy. The first angle(s) is/are larger than the second angle(s). The first portion(s) of the laser energy is/are more intense than the second portion(s) of the laser energy. |
| US10473825B2 |
Resin composition for a polarizer protective film, a polarizer protective film, a polarizing plate including the same, and a preparation method of a polarizing plate
The present invention relates to a resin composition for a polarizer protective film, a polarizer protective film, a polarizing plate including the same, and a preparation method of a polarizing plate, and, more specifically, to a resin composition for a polarizer protective film and a polarizer protective film exhibiting high hardness and excellent properties, a polarizing plate including the same, and a preparation method of a polarizing plate. According to the polarizing plate of the present invention, it can be usefully utilized in various fields because of its excellent hardness, flexibility, and optical properties. |
| US10473821B2 |
Optical member and its production method
A first light-shied-coating formation step that forms a light shield coating only in a part of an area of a transparent-substrate in which a light shield coating is to be formed, a step that deposits an optical thin film including, as its outermost layer, a layer to be hydrothermally treated, which will become a fine uneven pattern coating by being hydrothermally treated, in an area in which an antireflection coating is to be formed, a second light-shield-coating formation step that forms a light shield coating in all of the area in which the light shield coating is to be formed, but the light shield coating was not formed in the first light-shield-coating formation step, and a step that forms the fine uneven pattern coating in the area in which the antireflection coating is to be formed by hydrothermally treating the layer to be hydrothermally treated are performed in this order. |
| US10473820B2 |
Compound containing mesogenic group, and mixture, composition, and optically anisotropic body using said compound
There is provided a compound containing a mesogenic group, which includes a silicon compound at a low concentration, a polymerizable compound containing the mesogenic group, a mixture and a composition using these compounds, a polymerizable mixture having the polymerizable compound, and a polymer, an optically anisotropic body, and a phase difference film using the polymerizable composition. It is possible to obtain the optically anisotropic body and the phase difference film having satisfactory scratch resistance and adhesion, by using the polymerizable composition composed of the compound containing a mesogenic group, which includes a silicon compound at a low concentration. |
| US10473816B2 |
Calibrations for a well drilling apparatus
A calibration quality associated with a well-drilling apparatus can be determined. A projected value and a calculated value based upon a data set corresponding to a time interval section of a rig state of the well-drilling apparatus can be determined. A difference can be calculated between the projected value and the calculated value. A quality indicator can be applied to the difference, and a calibration quality based upon the application of the quality indicator can be determined. |
| US10473812B2 |
Gamma ray image logging tool sensor placement
A method of creating a well image log of a cased well is provided. A passive cased well image logging tool assembly including a logging tool body, a plurality of gamma ray radiation sensor assemblies and a spatial positioning device is moved through at least a portion of the wellbore. Corrected gamma ray radiation data is vertically sampled. Based on the sampled data, a well image log is prepared. A passive cased well image logging tool assembly for use in a cased well is also provided. |
| US10473811B1 |
Multi-modal scanner with metal detector for defining X-ray scan region of a human body
Multi-modal scanner with metal detector for defining an X-ray scan region of a human body with a metal object includes an X-ray source; adjustable collimator outputting a fan-shaped X-ray beam from the X-ray source; an X-ray detector detecting the X-ray beam after passing through a human body; a metal detector adapted to identify an area with the metallic object; and a processor controlling the X-ray source, the adjustable collimator and the metal detector, and changing an aperture of the collimator to limit the fan-shaped X-ray beam to the identified area of the human body. Visual indicators (LEDs) are on a frame of the scanner for indicating the area of the human body with the metallic object. The collimator includes two lead plates that are moved vertically automatically upon detection of the metallic object to direct the fan-shaped X-ray beam to only the area of the human body with the metal. |
| US10473809B2 |
Apparatus and method for identifying physical security risks to power transmission structures
An apparatus and method for identifying physical security risks to power transmission structures and other associated assets of a power transmission system is disclosed. The apparatus includes a sensor having a sensor assembly; and a floating electrode electrically connected to the sensor and positioned adjacent to the asset being monitored. The floating electrode assumes a space potential created around the asset and provides a voltage signal to the sensor indicative of a voltage of the space potential. When an object approaches the asset, the space potential is impacted and the voltage signal changes to indicate the presence of the object. |
| US10473808B2 |
Acoustic logging tool utilizing fundamental resonance
An acoustic logging tool includes a first acoustic transducer and a second acoustic transducer. At least a portion of the first transducer is parallel with the second transducer. The first and second acoustic transducers are configured to propagate an acoustic signal in the same direction. The first acoustic transducer is configured to generate an acoustic output having a different frequency than the second acoustic transducer. |
| US10473807B2 |
Ocean bottom seismometer package
A marine seismic exploration method and system comprised of continuous recording, self-contained ocean bottom pods characterized by low profile casings. An external bumper is provided to promote ocean bottom coupling and prevent fishing net entrapment. Pods are tethered together with flexible, non-rigid, non-conducting cable used to control pod deployment. Pods are deployed and retrieved from a boat deck configured to have a storage system and a handling system to attach pods to cable on-the-fly. The storage system is a juke box configuration of slots wherein individual pods are randomly stored in the slots to permit data extraction, charging, testing and synchronizing without opening the pods. A pod may include an inertial navigation system to determine ocean floor location and a rubidium clock for timing. The system includes mathematical gimballing. The cable may include shear couplings designed to automatically shear apart if a certain level of cable tension is reached. |
| US10473801B2 |
Radiation imaging apparatus, radiation imaging system, method of controlling radiation imaging apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
A radiation imaging apparatus including conversion elements acquiring a radiation image and detectors, a readout unit and a controller is provided. In a first operation, the controller causes the readout unit to output a composition signal obtained by composing signals from the detectors, detects irradiation with radiation based on the composition signal, and shifts to a second operation. In the second operation, the controller acquires first signals individually read out from the detectors, decides a signal component, of the composition signal, which is output from a selected detector of the detectors in accordance with a ratio of the first signal from the selected detector to a sum of the first signals, and acquires an integrated dose of radiation incident on the selected detector based on the signal component and the first signal of the selected detector. |
| US10473799B2 |
Structured detectors and detector systems for radiation imaging
Detector module designs for radiographic imaging include first and second layers of scintillator rods or pixel arrays oriented in first and second directions. The first and second directions are transversely oriented to define a light sharing region between the first and second layers. Encoding features may be disposed in, on or between the first and second layers, and configured to modulate propagation of optical signals therealong or therebetween. |
| US10473796B2 |
Scintillating array with alignment features
A scintillator module for a CT detector includes an array of pixelated scintillators extending in a first direction at a first spacing, and extending in a second direction at a second spacing, a reflector on the array and between the pixelated scintillators, the reflector having a first thickness and forming notches having a second thickness that is greater than the first thickness. The module includes an anti-scatter grid having plates, each plate extending along a length such that, when the CT detector is positioned in a CT system, the length of the plates extend approximately toward a focal spot. The plates are separated from one another at one of the first spacing and the second spacing, and two of the notches have a gap therebetween that engages one of the plates. An adhesive positioned in the gap to adhere the one plate to the reflector. |
| US10473795B2 |
Large-area X-ray gas detector
A large-area X-ray gas detector includes a housing having an inner cavity and a ray entrance communicated with the inner cavity, a thin entrance window and a signal collection module. The inner cavity is filled with a working gas which is a non-electronegativity gas sensitive to the X-ray. The entrance window is hermetically connected to the ray entrance such that the X-ray enters into the inner cavity. The signal collection module comprises an anode wire electrode layer and a cathode electrode layer arranged parallel with each other in the inner cavity, in which the anode wire electrode layer has an anode wire for accessing to a high voltage, and the cathode electrode layer is grounded. The anode wire electrode layer collects electrons generated by the working gas under an action of the X-ray. |
| US10473787B2 |
Target rotation determination by speckle motion characterization
Systems and corresponding methods for use in measuring rotation characteristics (e.g., rotation magnitude and direction) of remote targets are provided. A laser light of a known frequency is incident upon the target and reflected. A portion of the reflected laser light is directed to detector field of view, where it is measured and analyzed. The detector field of view is divided into multiple segments, each capable of independently measuring the intensity of laser light incident thereon as a function of time. The linear rotation of the target may be determined from cross-correlation of the light intensity-time response measured at orthogonal pairs of detector halves arranged from combinations of the detector segments. The angular rotation of the target is further determined from this linear rotation. |
| US10473785B2 |
Distance measuring device
A distance measuring device according to an embodiment includes a weight value generator, a cumulative signal generator, and a distance measurer. The weight value generator generates, on the basis of similarity between a first digital signal obtained by digitizing reflected light of laser light irradiated in a first irradiation direction and a second digital signal obtained by digitizing reflected light of laser light irradiated in a second irradiation direction different from the first irradiation direction, a weight value of the second digital signal. The cumulative signal generator accumulates, on the first digital signal, a signal obtained by weighting the second digital signal with the weight value and generates a third digital signal. The distance measurer measures a distance to a target object on the basis of a time difference between irradiation timing of the laser light and timing of a peak position in the third digital signal. |
| US10473780B1 |
Use of motion data in the processing of automotive radar image processing
In an example method, a vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous mode could have a radar system used to aid in vehicle guidance. The method could include a plurality of antennas configured to transmit and receive electromagnetic signals. The method may also include a one or more sensors configured to measure a movement of the vehicle. A portion of the method may be performed by a processor configured to: i) determine adjustments based on the movement of the vehicle; ii) calculate distance and direction information for received electromagnetic signals; and iii) recover distance and direction information for received electromagnetic signals with the adjustments applied. The processor may be further configured to adjust the movement of the autonomous vehicle based on the distance and direction information with adjustments applied. |
| US10473777B2 |
ASIC implemented motion detector
A motion detector and method of operating the motion detector including an antenna configured to transmit radio frequency (RF) signals and receive reflected RF signals. The motion detector also includes a controller configured to generate a notification when a target object is detected and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) electrically coupled to the antenna and the controller. The ASIC is configured to generate and send the RF signals to the antenna and to receive the reflected RF signals via the antenna. The ASIC also receives at least one control parameter from the controller and sends an output signal to the controller indicative of motion of a target object based on the at least one control parameter and the reflected RF signals. |
| US10473774B2 |
Precipitation determining device
A radar device includes a transmission part that transmits a radar wave which has been frequency-modulated such that one measurement cycle has a rising section in which a frequency increases and a falling section in which a frequency decreases, a reception part that derives respective beat signals of the rising section and the falling section, and a signal processor that performs a precipitation determining process on the basis of an analysis of the beat signals. In the precipitation determining process, in the absence of objects other than precipitation objects from a transmission range of the radar wave, it is determined whether a spectral similarity of the frequency spectra of the rising and falling section with precipitation reference spectra is not less than a threshold, and if the spectral similarity is not less than the threshold as a result of the determination, it is determined that precipitation is present. |
| US10473767B2 |
Lidar system and method
A Lidar system may comprise a rotor and a stator. The rotor is configured to rotate with respect to the stator. The rotor comprises at least one supporting body and a plurality of light sources disposed on the at least one supporting body, the plurality of light sources configured to emit a plurality of first light beams. The plurality of light beams are non-uniformly distributed along a vertical direction in a vertical field of view of the Lidar system. |
| US10473763B2 |
LiDAR scanner
A LiDAR sensor can include a laser, a directional sensor, a window, an electromagnetic pulse receiving sensor, and a processor. The laser can be configured to emit a narrow electromagnetic pulse. Further, the directional sensor can be configured to measure the direction of the narrow electromagnetic pulse emitted by the laser. The narrow emitted electromagnetic pulse can pass through the window. The pulse can then be reflected by at least the window and an object external from the LiDAR sensor, creating at least two reflected pulses. The electromagnetic pulse receiving sensor can be configured to measure the two reflected pulses resulting from the narrow pulse emitted by the laser. The processor can be configured to receive information from the sensors, indicating a position of the object relative to the LiDAR sensor. Further, the processor can be configured to measure the intensity of the pulse being reflected by the window. |
| US10473760B2 |
Radar device and vertical axis-misalignment detecting method
There is provided a radar device which is mounted on a moving object and configured to detect a target on the basis of reception signals acquired by receiving reflected waves from the target by receiving antennae. A transmitting unit has a transmission axis substantially parallel to a traveling direction of the moving object. The transmitting unit is configured to transmit transmission waves around the transmission axis as a center thereof. A determining unit is configured to determine upward axis misalignment or downward axis misalignment of the transmission axis, on the basis of the reception signals acquired by receiving the reflected waves of the transmission waves. |
| US10473754B2 |
Radar device for vehicle
A radar device for a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprises: a case; a first printed circuit board (PCB) that is accommodated in the case and has a plurality of antenna arrays and an integrated circuit (IC) chip that are formed thereon, wherein the IC chip is connected to the plurality of antenna arrays; and a radome that is coupled to the case and covers the first printed circuit board, wherein the radome includes: a cover facing the first printed circuit board; a first wall connected to the cover surface; and a second wall connected to the cover and facing the first wall, wherein the internal angle between the cover and the first wall and the internal angle between the cover and the second wall are formed to be greater than 90° and less than 180°. |
| US10473753B2 |
Fill level measurement device comprising interfering signal detection
A fill level measurement device is provided, including a transmission branch configured to generate and emit a transmission signal towards a filling material surface; and a receiving branch configured to receive and evaluate a received signal, wherein the fill level measurement device is configured to selectively assume an interfering signal detection mode for detecting whether the received signal comprises an interfering signal, and a fill level measurement mode for measuring the fill level, and wherein the transmission signal has a lower intensity in the interfering signal detection mode than in the fill level measurement mode. |
| US10473745B2 |
Magnetic resonance system for generating magnetic resonance data of a flowing fluid
A magnetic resonance system for generating magnetic resonance data of a flowing fluid is featured. A plurality of magnetic resonance measurements are carried out, wherein in each measurement a) the fluid is either magnetically labeled or not labeled at different first points in time in a first region, so as to generate a flowing sequence of labeled and/or unlabeled fluid boli, and b) first magnetic resonance data are measured at a second point in time in a second region. Second magnetic resonance data are determined, each of which are indicative of a combination fluid bolus—combined from a plurality of fluid boli generated at different first points in time and flowing to the second region—and a time interval between one of the first points in time and the second point in time, based on a combination of the first magnetic resonance data measured in the different magnetic resonance measurements. |
| US10473741B2 |
Attenuation correction in emission tomography taking into account the hardware parts that are actually present
A method to generate an attenuation correction map to compensate imaging errors in emission tomography resulting from the presence of hardware parts inside the imaging volume of an emission tomograph. Components of 3-dimensional CAD models of the hardware parts to be compensated are converted into voxels on a predetermined grid and assigned a filling factor per voxel. Image data sets of each component are multiplied with respective attenuation coefficients and thereafter superimposed to form an attenuation correction map. Thereby, in a simple and automatable way a profoundly exact, mostly noise-free and exactly reproducible attenuation correction map for attenuation correction in an emission tomography device may be generated. |
| US10473740B2 |
Redundant cooling system for a magnetic resonance tomography system
A cooling system for a magnetic resonance tomography system is provided. The cooling system includes a first coolant circuit with a first coolant pump and a first heat exchanger in thermal contact with an object to be cooled. The first cooling circuit further includes a switchover apparatus that is configured to adjust a heat flow from the first coolant circuit optionally to a first heat sink and/or a second heat sink. In such cases the second heat sink is a second heat exchanger that is fluidically connected to an emergency cooling system. |
| US10473731B2 |
Magnetic sensor reading device, system and method
A reading circuit for a magnetic-field sensor, provided with a detection structure generating an electrical detection signal as a function of an external magnetic field, has a signal-conditioning stage, which is electrically coupled to the detection structure and generates an output signal as a function of the electrical detection signal; the reading circuit is provided with a full-scale-control stage that is able to select automatically a full-scale value for the signal-conditioning stage, as a function of the value of the external magnetic field, such as to prevent saturation of the same conditioning stage. |
| US10473724B2 |
Method for determining a load current and battery sensor
The invention relates to a method for determining a load current, which is based on conducting a calibration current in a particular manner and on particular calculation methods. |
| US10473717B2 |
Methods and apparatus for test insertion points
Described examples include a method of providing K bits of test data to a combinatorial circuit. The method further includes generating N bits of test data using the combinatorial circuit, where N is greater than K. The method further includes providing the N bits of test data to a module under test. |
| US10473715B2 |
IC handler
An IC handler (4) of the present invention is provided with: a contact head (7), which holds a plurality of IC devices, and which presses the IC devices to a plurality of sockets (3); and a movable arm (6) that moves the contact head (7). The movable arm (6) has power supply ports (VO, HO) that are connected to supply sources (VS, HS) of power for generating operations of the contact head (7), and the contact head (7) has a plurality of operating sections (70) that operate with the power, and a supporting section (71), which supports the operating sections (70), and which is removably attached to the movable arm (6). The supporting section (71) of the contact head (7) has: connecting ports (VC, HC) that are removably connected to the supply ports (VO, HO); and supply paths (71a, 71d) for supplying the power to the operating sections (70) from the connecting ports (VC, HC) connected to the supply ports (VO, HO). |
| US10473713B2 |
Interposer block with retractable spring pin top cover plate
An interposer block, a chip package assembly test system and method for testing a chip package assembly are described herein. In one example, an interposer block for an integrated circuit chip package test system is provided. The interposer block includes a main body, a retainer plate, and a cover plate. A plurality of spring pins are each disposed in a respective one of a plurality of spring pin receiving holes formed in the main body. The retainer plate is coupled to the main body and captures the spring pins within the plurality of spring pin receiving holes. The cover plate is movably coupled to the main body. The cover plate has a plurality of spring pin clearance holes form therethrough that align with the plurality of spring pin receiving holes formed in the main body. A spring bias the cover plate away from the main body to a position where the spring pins not an exposed through a top surface the cover plate, and where the cover plate is movable towards the main body to a position that exposes the spring pins through the top surface of the cover plate. |
| US10473711B2 |
Multi-channel fault detection with a single diagnosis output
A multi-channel device with a single diagnosis status pin may be configured to detect if one or more channels has a fault. The multi-channel device, which may operate within a system, can communicate which channel, of a plurality of channels, has the fault using only a single diagnosis status pin and no additional diagnosis control pins. The multi-channel device may output a fault signal on the diagnosis status pin and in response to an interrogation input signal on the same channel as a fault channel indicate to the system which channel is the fault channel. |
| US10473708B2 |
Methods and systems for real-time monitoring of the insulation state of wind-powered generator windings
The invention provides methods and systems for real-time monitoring of the insulation state of wind-powered generator windings comprising the following steps: a) capturing in real-time, during a predetermined time period (in situations where the generator is synchronized to the electrical network but is not yet couplet thereto as well as in situations where the generator is producing energy) the values of one or more electrical and vibration variables of the generator; b) obtaining in real-time, the temporal evolution of the vibration and of the inverse components of electrical variables at one or more predetermined frequencies; c) identifying a possible generator insulation fault when the inverse component of at least one electrical variable and/or one vibration at a predetermined frequency exceeds an absolute threshold or a temporal increase threshold pre-sets. |
| US10473702B2 |
Estimating operation state of individual load
The disclosure is related to a method for estimating an operation state of each individual load in a target electric power consumer. The method may include obtaining an operation state table of a target electric power consumer upon generation of a predetermined event, collecting predetermined electricity parameter values in response to a request to estimate an operation state of each individual load, and estimating operation states of individual loads in the target electric power consumer based on the obtained operation state table and the collected predetermined electricity parameter values. |
| US10473700B2 |
Voltage stability monitoring device and method
A voltage stability monitoring device, which monitors voltage stability of a power system, produces a plurality of assumed change scenarios indicating a scenario of a change that is assumed based on at least one of a system configuration of the power system and a change of a tide state, calculates the voltage stability using the assumed change scenario, calculates a voltage stability margin indicating margin degree of the voltage stability, based on the voltage stability selects an assumed change scenario with high severity of the voltage stability for each assumed change scenario, based on the voltage stability margin calculates which buses in the power system are vulnerable buses that decrease voltage stability, based on the assumed change scenario which is selected, and changes a monitoring target of the voltage stability, based on information of the vulnerable bus. |
| US10473698B2 |
Voltage monitor
A voltage monitor circuit comprises: a monitored voltage input (42); a reference capacitor (32) arranged to be able to store a value of the monitored voltage as a reference capacitor voltage; a timeout capacitor (34) arranged to be able to store a value of the monitored voltage as a timeout capacitor voltage. The timeout capacitor undergoes a higher leakage than the reference capacitor. The voltage monitor circuit also comprises a comparator (2) arranged to: compare the monitored voltage to the reference capacitor voltage; compare the timeout capacitor voltage to the reference capacitor voltage; and produce a logic signal on an output (9) of the comparator based on said comparisons, the logic signal having a first logic value at least if the reference capacitor voltage is lower than or equal to both the monitored voltage and the timeout capacitor voltage. |
| US10473692B2 |
Method of calibrating a nanometrology instrument
A method of calibrating a topography metrology instrument using a calibration reference, which includes a substrate and a plurality of bi-layer stacks. Each bi-layer stack includes a plurality of bi-layer steps. At least one bi-layer step of the plurality of bi-layer steps includes two materials. The at least one bi-layer step of the plurality of bi-layer steps includes an etch stop layer and a bulk layer. The calibration reference includes a calibration reference step profile includes a plurality of predetermined bi-layer stack heights. The calibration reference step profile and the predetermined bi-layer stack heights are measured using a topography metrology instrument. The topography metrology instrument is calibrated based on the measured calibration reference step profile and the measured bi-layer stack heights. |
| US10473688B2 |
Sensor system for measuring a parameter
The present disclosure provides a sensor system for measuring a parameter of a body. The sensor system includes a housing mountable to a rotating part of the body. The housing includes a first dual-axis accelerometer having a first measurement axis and a second measurement axis, the first dual-axis accelerometer arranged to measure a first acceleration along the first measurement axis and a second acceleration along the second measurement axis and a second dual-axis accelerometer having a third measurement axis and a fourth measurement axis, the second dual-axis accelerometer arranged to measure a third acceleration along the third measurement axis and a fourth acceleration along the fourth measurement axis. The sensor system also includes a processor configured to receive the first, second, third and fourth measured accelerations and determine from the first, second, third and fourth measured accelerations the parameter. |
| US10473681B2 |
Measuring apparatus and measuring method
According to one embodiment, a beam splitter splits light into first light and second light. The second light is used to irradiate a sample containing particles. A first imaging device images a first interference pattern formed by multiplexing third light, which has been generated by irradiating the particles with the second light, and the first light. A second imaging device images a second interference pattern formed by the third light. An arithmetic device compares a composite image with a calculated image. The composite image is created by using a first interference image picked up by the first imaging device and a second interference image picked up by the second imaging device. The calculated image is obtained by combining single particle interference images, each of which is expected to be obtained by the first imaging device in a case where a particle is present alone in the sample. |
| US10473680B2 |
Wheel unit with a location sensor
A wheel unit includes a rotating wheel, a wheel axle, and a location sensor. The rotating wheel rotates with respect to the wheel axle. The location sensor is disposed in a fixed position with respect to the wheel axle. The location sensor determines coordinates for a location of the wheel unit. |
| US10473678B2 |
Detection and wireless transmission of wheel rotation direction
Wireless transmission of wheel rotation direction is disclosed. A disclosed apparatus includes a tone ring exhibiting a rotational asymmetry and a detector to measure a rotational direction of a wheel of a vehicle based on the rotational asymmetry and to measure a rotational speed of the wheel, where the detector or the tone ring is operatively coupled to the wheel. The disclosed apparatus also includes a wireless transmitter to transmit the rotational direction and the rotational speed to a receiver proximate or within an engine compartment of the vehicle. |
| US10473677B2 |
Reliability of an integrity or leak test of a sample
A method for improving reliability of an integrity or leak test includes determining at least one first parameter indicative of: a first volume of a sample, a first temperature of the sample, a first pressure of the sample and/or a first assessment of integrity of the sample. The method further determines at least one second parameter indicative of a deviation from the first parameter and at least one third parameter indicative of a second assessment of the integrity of the sample. The second assessment provides an indication of a passed or failed test. The method further determines whether the deviation has an impact on the indication of the second assessment. When the deviation is determined to have an impact on the indication of the second assessment, the method comprises identifying a possibility that the indication of the second assessment is incorrect. |
| US10473676B2 |
Laboratory product transport element and path arrangement
The invention concerns a laboratory product transport element for a laboratory transport system with an energy receiver and/or energy accumulator to provide drive power, at least one signal receiver to receive control signals, a control unit to generate drive signals as a function of at least one control signal obtained from the at least one signal receiver, movement devices for independent movement of the laboratory product transport element on a transfer path as a function of the drive signals of the control unit, in which the drive devices are driven by the drive power and at least one holder to hold a laboratory product being transported. The invention also concerns a laboratory transport system with at least one laboratory product transport element according to an embodiment of the invention and a transfer path arrangement. The invention also concerns methods for operation of laboratory transport systems according to an embodiment of the invention. |
| US10473674B2 |
Controlled blood delivery to mixing chamber of a blood testing cartridge
Embodiments of a blood coagulation testing system can operate as an automated thromboelastometry system that is particularly useful, for example, at a point-of-care site. In some embodiments, the blood coagulation testing system includes a single-use cartridge component configured to measure and mix reagents with blood received from a blood sample reservoir. A mixing chamber in the single-use cartridge includes different reagent beads that, when exposed to a pre-determined volume of blood, dissolve and mix specific reagents with the blood. The assembled blood cartridge further includes configurations that are designed to prevent blood from prematurely mixing with reagent beads in the mixing chamber and to guide blood flow in the mixing chamber to dissolve reagent beads in a desired order. Thus, the mixture obtained from the mixing chamber can be readily utilized to generate results for the blood coagulation testing system. |
| US10473673B2 |
Methods for increasing palatability of pet foodstuff
The present invention relates to a method of identifying a compound that binds to or modulates the activity of one or more polypeptides encoding one or more receptors that are involved in the detection and perception of fatty acids. |
| US10473662B2 |
Diagnostic and prognostic markers for cancer
Compositions and methods useful for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer are provided. More particularly, methods for detecting breast or prostate cancer protein or nucleic acid biomarkers consisting of iron homeostasis biomarkers in a biological sample obtained from a subject are provided. |
| US10473661B2 |
Method for diagnosis, prognosis and determination of treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
The present invention relates to biomarkers associated with CTCL, including TOX, PLS3, KIR3DL2, GATA3 and RUNX3, where increased expression, relative to normal control, of one or more of TOX, PLS3, KIR3DL2, and/or GATA3 is associated with CTCL and decreased expression of RUNX3, relative to normal control, is associated with CTCL. One or more of these biomarkers may be used to diagnose CTCL and/or design and monitor treatment. |
| US10473656B2 |
Testing device including resin layer, testing kit, transfer member, testing device fabrication method, and testing method
Provided is a testing device, including: a porous flow path member in which a flow path for flowing a sample is formed; and a resin layer provided at one position or a plurality of positions over the flow path member, wherein a reagent reactive with the sample is provided as a solid phase over a surface of the resin layer facing the flow path member. |
| US10473655B2 |
Immunoassay utilizing trapping conjugate
Test devices are provided for determining the presence of a first ligand in a sample. In some embodiments depletion conjugates are used to deplete the ligands different from but related to the first ligands from the sample. In some embodiments, interim binding agents are used to enhance the test signal. |
| US10473654B1 |
Methods of assaying proteins
Methods and systems for identifying a protein within a sample are provided herein. A panel of antibodies are acquired, none of which are specific for a single protein or family of proteins. Additionally, the binding properties of the antibodies in the panel are determined. Further, the protein is iteratively exposed to a panel of antibodies. Additionally, a set of antibodies which bind the protein are determined. The identity of the protein is determined using one or more deconvolution methods based on the known binding properties of the antibodies to match the set of antibodies to a sequence of a protein. |
| US10473647B1 |
Peptides for use in treatment and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes
Provided herein are compositions and methods for treating autoimmune diabetes such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), diagnosing autoimmune diabetes such as T1D, assessing treatment efficacy, and selecting subjects for treatment, e.g., using a peptide or epitope disclosed. |
| US10473646B2 |
In vitro culturing or expanding human or animal tissue
The invention relates to a method of in vitro culturing or expanding human or animal tissue (2, 2′). The method comprises: obtaining a sample of human or animal tissue; downsizing tissue (21, 21′) of the sample; generating an assembly by placing the downsized tissue on a scaffold or hydrogel (22, 22′); arranging the assembly inside a culture chamber of a 3D perfusion system (23, 23′); and perfusing the assembly in the 3D perfusion system for a predefined time (24, 24′). The method according to the invention allows for preparing and directly culturing in vitro fresh tissue specimens for a high efficient in vitro culturing using a perfused bioreactor system. As single cells of tissue are in most cases undergoing to an in vitro cell-death due to missing micro environmental signals, the use of downsized tissue, comprising cell clumps and tissue fragments of hundreds of cells, may help to prevent cell death in vitro as well as to maintain the initial heterogeneous tissue microenvironment consisting of specific cell types such as epithelial, stromal and immune cells together. Thus, the method according to the invention is capable of efficiently culturing the whole tissue over time, thus allowing for survival of original cell types. |
| US10473642B2 |
Effect-directed identification of targeted and non-targeted androgen disruptors
Implementations herein relates to effect-directed identification of targeted and non-targeted androgen disruptors. The implementations include primary separation, androgenic activity testing, high throughput separation and preparation of toxicants, active component scanning based on high performance liquid chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry, targeted screening of suspicious androgenic substances, non-target identification of androgenic compounds combining mass spectrum, chromatography and toxicity characteristics and toxicity confirmation. The implementations perform separation using SPE and preparative separation in series to obtain high throughput separation fractions, utilize DMSO as a protective agent to optimize concentration of second fractions, utilize target databases to achieve target identification of key toxicants. In addition, assess mass spectrum characteristic identification based on TOF-MS library spectrum, assess chromatography characteristic identification methods based on relationship between retention times and characteristics of compounds, assess toxicity characteristic identification methods based on molecular dynamics simulation techniques, and further assess non-targeted identification and determination of key androgenic substances in the fractions. |
| US10473639B1 |
Control of enzyme translocation in nanopore sequencing
The invention relates to devices and methods for nanopore sequencing. Methods for controlling translocation of through the nanopore are disclosed. The rate of transport of the template nucleic acids through the nanopore can be controlled using a translocating enzyme having two slow, or kinetically observable kinetic steps. The translocating enzyme and reaction conditions can be selected such that the translocating enzyme exhibits two kinetic steps wherein each of the kinetic steps has a rate constant, and the ratio of the rate constants of the kinetic steps is from 5:1 to 1:5. The invention also provides for using the signals from n-mers to provide sequence information, for example where the system has less than single base resolution. The invention includes arrays of nanopores having incorporated electronic circuits, for example, in CMOS. |
| US10473638B2 |
Methods and systems for improving precision of measurements for reduced sample volumes
There is described a process for improving precision in an analytical test for a target analyte in a sample. The process includes prior to analyzing the sample for a target analyte via a biosensor, introducing to an analytical zone defined by the biosensor a fluid comprising an effective amount of the target analyte. |
| US10473634B2 |
Data processing device for mass spectrometry and program for said device
A check condition setting screen, for confirming, whether a target ion originates from a target compound, is provided with qualifier ion mode choices: “ABSOLUTE TOLERATION,” “RELATIVE TOLERATION”, and “ABSOLUTE TOLERATION OR RELATIVE TOLERATION”. When the “ABSOLUTE TOLERATION OR RELATIVE TOLERATION” mode is set, an identification range Pa is calculated from a qualifier ion ratio reference value and an absolute tolerance, and an identification range Pr is calculated from the qualifier ion ratio reference value and a relative tolerance, for each qualifier ion for one target ion, and whichever of the two identification ranges is the greater is selected. In addition, when a setting to limit the upper limit value of an identification range to 100% is enabled, the upper limit value of the identification range is limited to 100%, and when the lower limit value of the identification range exceeds 100%, a warning display indicating above upper limit is performed. |
| US10473627B2 |
Portable acoustic apparatus for in-situ monitoring of a workpiece
An apparatus for in-situ monitoring of a workpiece includes a fluidic container defining a cavity and having a peripheral portion that defines an aperture. The fluidic container contains an acoustic transmission fluid. A conformable membrane is sealably disposed about the peripheral portion of the aperture of the fluidic container. The conformable membrane is disposed to sealably contain the acoustic transmission fluid within the fluidic container and to conform to a surface of a portion of the workpiece absent an interposed fluid. An acoustic source transducer is disposed in the cavity of the fluidic container and in contact with the acoustic transmission fluid. The acoustic source transducer is disposed to generate a first acoustic wave in the direction of the workpiece. An acoustic receiving transducer is disposed to monitor a residual acoustic wave that is reflected from the workpiece in response to the first acoustic wave. |
| US10473623B2 |
Slug flow monitoring and gas measurement
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for monitoring slug flow in subterranean wells. In one aspect, a method includes at a time instant, transmitting an acoustic signal across a cross-section of a pipeline flowing multiphase fluid including gaseous fluid and liquid fluid, wherein a portion of the acoustic signal is carried through the cross-section of the pipeline by the multiphase fluid and determining, at the time instant, a first quantity of the gaseous fluid and a second quantity of the liquid fluid passing the cross-section of the pipeline based, in part, on an energy of the portion of the acoustic signal carried through the cross-section and at least a portion of a total energy of the transmitted acoustic signal. |
| US10473622B2 |
Method and apparatus for flaw inspection of friction-weld part of stem in engine valve
Provided is a method for flaw inspection of a stem joint of a valve including: an internal flaw inspection step including causing a flaw detection probe to be disposed so as to face upward in water in a tank in an ultrasonic inspection chamber, holding a valve in such fashion as to cause the tip to face the flaw detection probe, and inspecting for a flaw at the interior of the stem joint; and a surface flaw inspection step including causing a flaw detection probe to be disposed horizontally in an eddy-current inspection chamber, holding a valve in such fashion as to cause the side face of a stem of the valve to be close to and facing the flaw detection probe, inspecting for a flaw on the surface of the stem joint while the flaw detection probe and the valve are made to engage in mutual rotation. The valves are transferred from a valve loading position to the ultrasonic inspection chamber, from the ultrasonic inspection chamber to the eddy-current inspection chamber, and from the eddy-current inspection chamber to a valve unloading position in substantially simultaneous, continuous, synchronous, and/or coordinated fashion. |
| US10473619B2 |
Side-eluting molecular fractionator
The disclosure provides cassettes, electrophoresis systems, methods for making the device, and methods of fractionating a sample using the cassettes and electrophoresis systems described herein. |
| US10473618B2 |
Residual chlorine measuring apparatus and method of measuring residual chlorine
A residual chlorine measuring apparatus includes: a detection electrode that is immersed in a sample solution, the detection electrode being made of gold or platinum; a counter electrode that is immersed in the sample solution, the counter electrode being made of silver/silver chloride; a voltage applying device that applies an applied voltage between the detection electrode and the counter electrode; an ammeter that measures an oxidation-reduction current flowing between the detection electrode and the counter electrode; and an arithmetic controller that controls the voltage applying device and acquires the oxidation-reduction current measured by the ammeter. |
| US10473617B2 |
Gas detection apparatus
A multi-gas detection apparatus is configured such that electric power supplied from a power supply to a heater is controlled by pulse width modulation so as to control the temperature of a first solid electrolyte body. The multi-gas detection apparatus detects the concentration of ammonia by using a first ammonia detection section in which an electromotive force is generated between a first reference electrode and a first detection electrode in accordance with the concentration of ammonia in the exhaust gas. The multi-gas detection apparatus calculates the amount of a change (i.e., offset voltage) in the ammonia electromotive force caused by change in the output voltage of the power supply. The multi-gas detection apparatus corrects the ammonia electromotive force generated in the first ammonia detection section through use of the calculated change amount. |
| US10473610B2 |
Planar ammonia selective sensing electrode and manufacturing method thereof
A planar ammonia selective sensing electrode for water quality monitoring and a manufacturing method of the sensing electrode are provided. The sensing electrode includes an insulating base plate, an electric-conductive layer, an ammonium ion sensing layer, a hydroxide ion sensing layer, and an electrolyte layer. The electric-conductive layer is disposed on the planar surface of the insulating base plate. The electric-conductive layer includes a first conductive part and a second conductive part. The first conductive part and the second conductive part are insulated and apart from each other, and configured to form a first reaction zone and a second reaction zone, respectively. The ammonium ion sensing layer is disposed on the first reaction zone. The hydroxide ion sensing layer is disposed on the second reaction zone. The electrolyte layer is disposed on and covers the ammonium ion sensing layer and the hydroxide ion sensing layer. |
| US10473609B2 |
Vital information measurement device
An objective of the present invention is to provide a vital information measurement device which measures vital information using a biosensor, with which it is possible to adjudicate more precisely whether a mounted biosensor is usable, and to alleviate inconsistency in measured values therefrom. Specifically, the present invention provides a vital information measurement device comprising: an input terminal to which a biosensor is connected; a voltage application unit which applies a voltage to the input terminal; an adjudication unit which is connected to the input terminal; a control unit which is connected to the adjudication unit; and a display unit which is connected to the control unit. The control unit causes the adjudication unit to carry out a first adjudication, a second adjudication, and a third adjudication. |
| US10473605B2 |
Fluid testing system
A fluid testing system comprises controlling hardware that serves to control an electric sensor on a fluid testing cassette. In one implementation, the controlling hardware is part of a cassette interface. In another implementation, the controlling hardware is part of the portable electronic device. In one implementation, the fluid testing system applies two different frequencies of alternating current are applied to two different electric sensors. |
| US10473600B2 |
Selective NMR pulse for downhole measurements
Various embodiments include a method for generating a pulse for use in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging. One such method generates the pulse by adjusting one or more of pulse parameters including a pulse shape, a pulse amplitude, a pulse phase, and/or a pulse frequency. The generated pulse produces a substantially uniform nuclear spin saturation or nuclear spin inversion response from a fluid. A wait time between the pulse transmission and an echo that indicates spin equilibrium has been achieved is substantially equal to a T1 time indicating characteristics of the fluid. |
| US10473595B2 |
Apparatus and method for measuring a composition of a fluid
An apparatus for measuring a composition of a fluid has a fluid conduit with a wall defining a fluid flow path, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna, and an electrically conductive waveguide member for electromagnetic coupling with the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna and for guiding an electromagnetic field from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna along a waveguide path. The waveguide member is separated from the fluid flow path by an electrically insulating inner region of the wall. The waveguide member defines an opening disposed towards the fluid flow path to permit a portion of the electromagnetic field to extend through the opening and the inner region of the wall into the fluid flow path. |
| US10473594B2 |
Arrangement, method, apparatus and software for inspecting a container
An arrangement for inspecting a container and a method for inspecting a container. The arrangement is also directed to software and a device for carrying out the inspecting wherein the method for inspecting includes receiving image data on a container, verifying the location and/or position data of the image data in relation to the container, analyzing the received image data, and detecting possible damage points. |
| US10473589B2 |
Optical biosensor referencing method
A referencing method for an optical biosensor system using a single sensing region is provided. The method involves limiting the ligand immobilized in a single sensing region to only a portion thereof. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by selectively deactivating a portion of the sensing surface to prevent immobilization of ligand to that portion. As a result, a reference response can be recorded in the same sensing region as a molecular interaction response. Thus, the bulk refractive index can be accurately accounted for in measuring the kinetics of a molecular interaction. |
| US10473586B2 |
Enhanced optical data capture using NDIR for liquids
The concentration of a targeted molecule (such as glucose) in a liquid medium having at least one interfering molecule coexisting with the targeted molecule is detected by use of NDIR and a sampling technique in which an imposed location of a pulse beam from a signal source, an interference source and a reference source is varied over a plurality of sites of a sampling area. |
| US10473584B2 |
Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy apparatus for use in analyzing a sample comprising a sample receiving location 2 for receiving a sample 3 for analysis; an illumination arrangement 4 for directing light towards a received sample; a detector 6 for detecting light reflected by a received sample; and collection optics 5 for directing light reflected by a received sample towards the detector. The illumination arrangement further comprises an interferometer 42 and a half beam block 45a, 45b which is disposed substantially at a focus in the optical path for blocking light which exits the interferometer, passes said focus, and is reflected from re-entering the interferometer. A half beam block 45a may be disposed in the optical path between the interferometer and the light source 41 for blocking light that exits the interferometer back towards the light source and is reflected by the light source from re-entering the interferometer and/or a half beam block 45b may be disposed in the optical path on the opposite side of the interferometer than the light source. |
| US10473582B2 |
Combination optical hemoglobin and electrochemical lead assay
A sensor and analyzer for measuring an analyte in a liquid sample are disclosed. The sensor includes a substrate with a reservoir disposed therein. The reservoir may include a top surface and a bottom surface, at least one transparent portion forming at least a part of the bottom surface of the reservoir, and a reflector disposed on the upper surface of the reservoir at a location opposite the at least one transparent portion. The analyzer may include a support surface, an aperture extending through the support surface, a light source disposed below the support surface and oriented so that at least a portion of the light emitted from the light source passes through the aperture, and a detector configured to measure an intensity of light received at the detector. |
| US10473576B2 |
System for analysing a transparent sample with control of position, and associated method
A system for analyzing a transparent particle including: an analysis pathway, including a first light source emitting an analysis light beam, and a first optical system focusing the analysis light beam in a focusing plane; and a position control pathway including a second light source, an image sensor, and a second optical system at least partially merged with the first optical system. The image sensor is offset relative to the image of the focusing plane by the second optical system. The system makes it possible to control correct positioning of the particle, even though it is transparent, and without disturbing the analysis pathway. |
| US10473575B2 |
Nozzle and method for flow cytometry
The invention relates to a nozzle for flow cytometry, the housing of which is tapering towards an outlet and in which a feed tube is arranged for a core flow liquid, the outlet opening of which is arranged at a distance from the outlet of the housing. The outlet of the housing forms the outlet of the nozzle. The housing of the nozzle extends from its outlet, which is arranged at its first end to its opposite second end, and has an inlet for a sheath flow liquid connected with the internal volume. The nozzle is characterized in that in the housing a leading element that promotes the alignment of particles extends from both sides of the feed tube. |
| US10473573B2 |
Particulate matter sensor and exhaust gas purification system using the same
A particulate matter sensor and an exhaust gas purification system using the same are provided. A particular matter sensor according to some embodiments of the present invention includes a first insulation layer including a first electrode unit exposed on a first side thereof, which includes a plurality of first electrodes not electrically connected to each other, a second insulation layer arranged in parallel to the first insulation layer with a space therebetween, including a second electrode unit on a first side thereof, which includes a plurality of second electrodes electrically connected to each other, a temperature sensing unit formed on a first side of a third insulation layer located on a second side of the second insulation layer, and a heater unit formed on a first side of a fourth insulation layer located on a second side of the third insulation layer, the heater unit configured to heat the first and second electrode units. One of the first electrodes is configured to be electrically connected to a first electrical contact terminal. The second electrodes are electrically connected to a second electrical contact terminal. The first electrodes and the second electrodes are arranged respectively corresponding to each other. The first electrodes are configured to be electrically connected to each other by particulates deposited therebetween to allow capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode to be changed. |
| US10473567B2 |
Cell collecting device
A cell collecting device is configured to collect target cells from a fluid sample such as blood or physiological fluid. The cell collecting device includes a conduit through which a fluid sample containing target cells passes. The cell collecting device further includes a screen filter installed inside the conduit and configured to guide the target cells toward a specified region. The screen filter includes a plurality of filtering holes for filtering the target cells. |
| US10473562B2 |
Corrugated-tube constant-pressure cylinder apparatus having no microleakage and method for using same
A corrugated constant pressure cylinder apparatus having no micro leaks and its method of use. The internal pressure of the corrugated cylinder (b10) is maintained at a constant pressure so as to allow for transport or storage in a state without micro leaks. The corrugated constant pressure cylinder apparatus is able to keep substances that exist in gaseous or liquid form at room temperature such as mixed refrigerant gases, volatile organic compounds (VOC), hydrocarbon mixtures-in liquid form, or is able to keep the pressure constant even if the internal volume changes due to the contents inside the cylinder. |
| US10473549B2 |
Fluid leak measurement test device and methods
A testing device and method for improved detecting of fluid leaks considered important, for example, fluid leaks that would be external to a component or machine are disclosed. The testing device includes a conventional infinite fluid pressure supply source which supplies equal fluid pressure to a reference volume zone, a critical zone and an internal zone, the critical zone and internal zone may be positioned inside of a device being tested. |
| US10473548B2 |
Method and apparatus for detecting presence of a fluid
A device for detecting presence of a fluid is described, and includes a resistive sensing element including a first conductive element proximal to a second conductive element, wherein the first conductive element is electrically isolated from the second conductive element, and a controller disposed to monitor electrical conductivity between the first conductive element and the second conductive element. The controller includes an instruction set that is executable to periodically monitor a signal associated with the electrical conductivity between the first conductive element and the second conductive element. A baseline value for the electrical conductivity between the first conductive element and the second conductive element can be determined based upon the periodically monitored signal, and a signal waveform can be determined based upon the periodically monitored signal. The signal waveform can be characterized, and presence of a fluid can be detected based upon the characterized waveform. |
| US10473544B2 |
Device and a method for measuring a fluid pressure and for verifying the fluid pressure that has been measured
A device for measuring a fluid pressure and for verifying the fluid pressure that has been measured comprises a sensor element having a fluid chamber and an element that adjoins said fluid chamber and can be deformed under fluid pressure, a resistance bridge being arranged on the deformable element side that faces away from said fluid chamber, for the purpose of generating a transverse bridge voltage dependent on said fluid pressure. The device also comprises a voltage divider which is connected in parallel to said resistance bridge for generating a differential voltage. |
| US10473542B2 |
System, method, and apparatus for operating a high efficiency, high output transmission
A transmission includes an input shaft and an output shaft, the input shaft selectively accepting a torque input from a prime mover, and the output shaft selectively providing torque output to a driveline. A controller determines a shaft displacement angle representing an angle value of rotational displacement difference between at least two shafts of the transmission, and performs a transmission operation responsive to the shaft displacement angle. |
| US10473538B2 |
Pressure sensing device having a rigid force conductor and a soft deformable object sensing arrangement
A pressure sensing device is provided. The pressure sensing device includes a force sensor. The pressure sensing device further includes a rigid force conductor and a soft deformable object. The rigid force conductor is disposed between the force sensor and the soft deformable object. |
| US10473533B2 |
Method and device for monitoring temperature of an electronic element
A method for monitoring temperature of an electronic element is provided. The method is used in an embedded controller of a device and includes: determining whether the temperature reading is higher than or equal to a temperature threshold; increasing a time value of a timer with an accumulated time value when the temperature reading is higher than or equal to the temperature threshold; determining whether the time value is greater than or equal to a time threshold; and transmitting a notification signal to a basic input/output system (BIOS) to notify the BIOS to read the temperature reading when the time value is greater than or equal to the time threshold. |
| US10473532B2 |
Method and apparatus for power management
A method for use in an electronic device having an amplification unit, the method comprising: detecting a current temperature of the electronic device when the amplification unit is in a first state in which the amplification unit is operated in accordance with first control value; detecting whether the current temperature meets a threshold; identifying a second control value that is lower than the first control value, when the current temperature meets the threshold; and changing an amount of power supplied to the amplification unit by transitioning the amplification unit into a second state in which the amplification unit is operated in accordance with the second control value. |
| US10473530B2 |
Apparatus and method for generating temperature-indicating signal using correlated-oscillators
A temperature sensor configured to generate a temperature-indicating signal with improved accuracy over a wide temperature range is disclosed. The temperature sensor includes a first oscillator configured to generate a first oscillating signal with a first frequency that varies with a sensed temperature and a reference parameter; a second oscillator configured to generate a second oscillating signal with a second frequency that varies with the reference parameter; and a time-to-digital converter (TDC) configured to generate a digital output indicative of the sensed temperature based on a ratio of the first frequency to the second frequency. Because the first and second frequencies depend on the reference parameter, and the temperature-indicating signal is a function of the ratio of the first and second frequencies, temperature-variation in the reference parameter cancels out in the temperature-indicating signal. |
| US10473529B2 |
Duct thermometer
The disclosed device is a hand-held probe thermometer which operates to display temperatures sensed by a temperature sensing probe, and a protective probe cover featuring one or more openings to allow for accurate airflow temperature measurements without removing the protective probe cover. The probe cover is also configured to function as a extendable handle for the duct thermometer to allow for an extended reach when taking measurements. |
| US10473526B2 |
Spatially resolved gas detection
The invention pertains to a method of spatially resolved detection of a gas substance in an area, comprising: imaging the area on a first image sensor, in a wavelength spectrum including an absorption wavelength peak corresponding to said gas substance; imaging the area on a second image sensor, to provide for each pixel of the first image a corresponding pixel of the second image for respective on- and off-peak wavelengths relative to the absorption wavelength; and providing a difference image as a function of the two pixel values of first and second image sensors to produce an image of the spatially resolved absorption wavelength corresponding to said gas substance. |
| US10473524B2 |
Optical filter and optical spectrometer including the same
An optical spectrometer may include an optical filter including a plurality of filter layers formed on a base substrate. The filter layers may include a perovskite material and at least two filter layers among the plurality of filter layers may include perovskite materials having different composition ratios from each other. The filter layers may show respective band-gap characteristics in different optical wavelength ranges from each other, in an optical absorption spectrum and/or an optical transmission spectrum. |
| US10473523B2 |
Apparatus for illuminating the surface of a material
An apparatus for illuminating the surface of a material, comprising an illuminating device for illuminating the surface of the material with a calibrating light, a recording device for recording a measuring light, emitted by the surface of the material in response to the calibrating light, and a processor device for recording the spectral characteristic of the measuring light that characterizes a diffuse spectral reflectance of the surface of the material, wherein the illuminating device is configured to generate an illuminating light for illuminating the surface of the material that has a spectral characteristic that corresponds to the spectral characteristic of the measuring light. |
| US10473521B2 |
Analog photon counting
A photon counting system is provided. The photon counting system comprises an analog domain and a digital domain in communication with the analog domain. A detector is configured to detect photons. An analog digital converter is provided in the digital domain, while an amplifier circuit is provided in the analog domain that is configured to receive the detector's output, wherein the amplifier circuit's output is in communication with the analog digital converter. The output of the analog digital converter is in communication with a signal processing system that may perform accumulation of signals and store them in memory. |
| US10473519B2 |
Radiated light filtering for a flow cytometer
A filter mask for use in a flow cytometer includes light blocking features and light passing apertures. The flow cytometer operates to evaluate one or more characteristics of a sample by illuminating the sample and a carrier fluid and collecting light rays that are radiated from the sample and the carrier fluid. The light rays are passed through the filter mask. The light blocking features of the filter mask are arranged to selectively block radiated light at certain radiation angles, while permit light rays having other radiation angles to pass therethrough. A sensor analyzer receives the light rays that pass through to evaluate at least one characteristic of the sample. The light rays can also be separated into two beams, which can be independently filtered using different filter masks. The results can then be compared to provide even more information regarding characteristics of the sample. |
| US10473517B2 |
Acoustic emission source expansion apparatus integrated hydraulic engineering construction behavior fiber sensing device
An acoustic emission source expansion apparatus integrated hydraulic engineering construction behavior fiber sensing device includes a base plate, a first side plate and a second side plate fixedly connected with two sides of the base plate, the top portion of the first side plate is connected with the top portion of the second side plate through an arc-shaped fiber-carrying channel, and a main common cavity is formed by the base plate, the first side plate, the second side plate and the arc-shaped fiber-carrying channel; a pair of sensing fibers is arranged in the arc-shaped fiber-carrying channel, the sensing fibers are tightly pressed in the arc-shaped fiber-carrying channel through a pressing block, the pressing block is provided with a plurality of springs, the springs tightly press the pressing block through a cover plate, and the cover plate is arranged on the first side plate and the second side plate. |
| US10473514B1 |
Livestock weighing device
A livestock weighing device that performs a secondary operation such as marking animals having a desired minimum weight with a visual indicia to aid sorting thereof. The weight of an animal moving across the platform actuates a cable system to move a shuttle associated with an actuator. The actuator changes condition to initiate a secondary operation, such as opening an outlet valve for a container of paint to dispense a quantity of paint onto the animal supported on the platform, when the sled is moved in a predetermined direction and the animal weighs more than the minimum required weight. |
| US10473512B2 |
Detecting an inaccurate flow rate measurement by a vibratory meter
A method of detecting an inaccurate flow rate measurement by a vibratory meter is provided. The method includes flowing fluid through the vibratory meter and measuring a flow rate and a density of the fluid with the vibratory meter, and calculating a density change rate of the fluid. The method also includes determining if the measured flow rate is inaccurate based on a comparison between the measured density and a density reference, and a comparison between the density change rate and a density change rate reference. |
| US10473510B2 |
Continuous-type long-ranged molten metal level measuring device and thermal system using multi-point temperature sensor
A molten metal level measuring device in a continuous molten metal level measuring device uses temperature compensation. The device includes a cylindrical bobbin, a liquid level measuring unit helically wound around an outer surface of the bobbin, a circular inner cylinder in which the bobbin and the liquid level measuring part are located and which seals the bobbin and the liquid level measuring part from the outside and has the same axial direction as the bobbin, and a cylindrical protective tube in which the inner cylinder is located and which has the same axial direction as the bobbin and has one open end. Thermocouples extend axially in the space between the inner cylinder and the protective tube, and a control unit controls the liquid level measuring part to measure a liquid level of the molten metal based on the temperatures measured by the thermocouples. |
| US10473508B2 |
Measuring tank fluids and remote monitoring system
A device that measures fluid level in fuel storage tanks of mining trucks resistant to rapid filling includes an externally mounted sensor, a protective metallic tube, an anchorage system, and a pressure dissipator; and a remote monitor system that controls fluid level in fuel storage tanks of mining trucks includes a device that measures fluid level in fuel storage tanks of mining trucks including an externally mounted sensor, a protective metallic tube, an anchorage system and pressure dissipator, antennas, a Web server, remote means, and a power source. |
| US10473507B2 |
E-11 switch assembly
A switch assembly includes an automatic type 11 switch having 1 and 2 contacts and 3 and 4 contacts with the 2 and 3 contacts being shorted together, configured to respond to a water level of a boiler, short the 1 and 2 contacts when the water level is high, short the 3 and 4 contacts when the water level is low; and an electronic circuit board having a processor configured to sense signaling containing information about the 1, 2/3 and 4 contacts, and provide control signaling containing information about the water level of the boiler. The electronic circuit board also includes a relay configured to respond to the control signaling, and turn the relay on/off. |
| US10473506B1 |
Oil level visualization system
The present invention relates to oil level visualization system that is used in place of a conventional dipstick to measure oil level. The system may include a strip that has a tube attached thereto comprising an oil absorbent material. Oil from the oil reservoir is configured to absorb to the oil absorbent material and absorbing of the oil to the oil absorbent material is configured to provide a stain on the oil absorbent material visible to the naked eye. The present invention also relates to methods of using the same. |
| US10473502B2 |
Dielectric multiphase flow meter
A sensor is provided for detecting relative amounts of components within a mixture. The sensor includes a dielectric transducer comprising a first conductive rod and a second conductive rod; an oscillator configured to apply a voltage to the first conductive rod; an amplifier configured receive a voltage from the second conductive rod as input; and a controller configured to periodically sample an output voltage of the amplifier to generate a plurality of sample voltages, compare the sample voltages against distinct voltage values for identifying each of the components to determine the relative amounts of the components. |
| US10473500B2 |
System and method for improved indicated flow in mass flow controllers
A mass flow controller and associated methods for providing indicated flow from the mass flow controller are disclosed. The method may include obtaining a measured flow signal indicative of a mass flow rate of a fluid that is controlled by the mass flow controller and filtering the measured flow signal to generate indicated flow that provides a representation of the actual mass flow rate of the fluid. The indicated flow is provided to an operator of the mass flow controller, and a rate of change of the mass flow rate of the fluid is determined based upon samples of the measured flow signal. A time constant used in connection with the filtering is then adjusted based upon the rate of change of the mass flow rate. |
| US10473499B2 |
System and method of metering with array of transducers
A Doppler array flowmeter system that includes a phased array antenna coupled to a conduit. The phased array antenna includes a plurality of transducers that produce an acoustic beam by emitting a respective first acoustic signal. The transducers receive respective second signals, wherein the second signals are frequency shifted reflections of the first acoustic signals off of particulate in a fluid. A controller couples to the plurality of transducers and compares the first acoustic signals to the second signals to determine a volumetric flowrate of the fluid through a conduit. |
| US10473497B2 |
Magneto-inductive flow measuring device having cable strands extending in grooves on the core body within a coil component
A magneto-inductive flow measuring device for ascertaining flow of a measured medium through a measuring tube having a measuring tube axis, comprising: at least a first coil component having a coil body for accommodating a coil core of a coil. The coil is wound on the coil body and the coil core is arranged in a first passageway of the coil body with a longitudinal axis of the coil core coaxial with the coil. At least two cable strands are arranged between the coil core and the coil body, wherein the cable strands serve for tapping the signal of two or more measuring electrodes arranged on the measuring tube. The cable strands extend within the coil component essentially along a cutting plane, which extends perpendicular to the measuring tube axis. |
| US10473496B2 |
Devices, systems and methods for measuring flow
The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to a flow meter for flowable material configured to be used in non-vertical orientations. |
| US10473491B2 |
Rotary encoder
A rotary encoder includes: an axis holding unit that holds a rotary axis member; a rotary slit plate that rotates around a rotary axis of the rotary axis member; a fixed slit plate that is arranged so as to face the rotary slit plate; a light emitting unit; a light receiving unit that receives the light emitted from the light emitting unit; and a fixed slit table that has a first positioning unit that is attached with the fixed slit plate and positions the fixed slit plate, and a light emitting unit holding unit that holds the light emitting unit. The first positioning unit has an abutting unit and a deformation unit. The fixed slit plate is arranged in between the abutting unit and the deformation unit while the fixed slit plate abuts to the abutting unit, by the deformation unit that has deformed. |
| US10473489B1 |
Fiber optic panel with integrated sensors
A lighting apparatus is composed of optical fibers that are grouped at one end thereof in a bundle so as to optically couple to a common light source. A set of the optical fibers are configured to emit light transversely to the optical axis thereof to form an illumination region in a fiber optic panel. At least one sensor is coupled to at least one of the optical fibers in the bundle and generates an electrical signal in response to a physical phenomenon. |
| US10473487B2 |
Sensor arrangement comprising an angle sensor and rolling bearing arrangement comprising sensor arrangement
A sensor arrangement comprising an angle sensor for measuring torsion is disclosed. The angle sensor is designed for carrying out a measurement via n poles, where n≥1, and primarily comprises a sensor ring which at least partially surrounds a rotational axis, and a material measure which is rotatable relative to this sensor ring. One transmitting coil and multiple receiver coils are situated on the sensor ring. A magnetic circuit is formed between the transmitting coil and the receiver coils, which magnetic circuit comprises the material measure and a pot core including two limbs. In this case, the material measure forms a variable reluctance in the magnetic circuit. At least one of the two limbs of the pot core is segmented in such a way that the limb comprises ring segments. Each of the receiver coils surrounds at least one of the ring segments. Each of the ring segments forms a circular arc having a mean radius. The ring segments may be provided in pairs. The mean radii of the two ring segments of the individual pairs have an angle (β) relative to each other of (60°/n+i·360°/n), wherein i is a whole number. The disclosure further relates to a rolling bearing arrangement. |
| US10473484B1 |
System and method for mapping aircraft position on a non-linear flight procedure chart
A system and method for mapping an aircraft position on segments that lie between waypoints on a non-linear map by converting real world geographic coordinates of an aircraft to image X, Y coordinates using an image X, Y length or scale of a respective segment as a basis for the conversion. The aircraft position may be mapped in real time and presented to a user via an aircraft device. |
| US10473483B2 |
Smart shoes, method of providing sensor information to smart shoes, smart device and method of providing guidance program via smart device
Smart shoes including a sensor unit including at least one sensor of a pressure sensor to sense a pressure in the smart shoes, a temperature sensor to sense a temperature in the smart shoes, an acceleration sensor to sense a movement of the smart shoes and an altitude sensor to sense an altitude, a controller to collect sensor information output by the at least one sensor and process the collected sensor information according to a request from a user device, and a providing unit to provide the processed sensor information to the user device. |
| US10473472B2 |
Payment of highway tolls via a mobile telecommunications network
Disclosed are method and apparatus for processing of highway toll payments by a mobile telecommunications service provider. A mobile telecommunications device communicates with a mobile telecommunications service provider. The mobile telecommunications service provider receives a request to calculate a route to a destination. The mobile telecommunications service provider determines the location of the mobile telecommunications device from a global navigation satellite system or from a mobile telecommunications network and calculates a route. The mobile telecommunications service provider then identifies toll booths along the calculated route. The mobile telecommunications service provider pre-pays the tolls. The mobile telecommunications service provider sends turn-by-turn instructions to the mobile telecommunications device and tracks the location of the mobile telecommunications device and records the date and time at which the mobile telecommunications device passes through a toll booth. |
| US10473470B2 |
Identifying a stopping place for an autonomous vehicle
Among other things, a vehicle is caused to drive autonomously through a road network toward a defined goal position at which a stopped activity is to occur. A set of acceptable stopping places is identified in the vicinity of the goal position. The identifying of the set includes: identifying a proximity region in the vicinity of the goal position, identifying a goal region within the proximity region, discretizing the goal region to identify acceptable stopping places given characteristics of the vehicle and of the stopped activity analyzing current information about potential stopping places in the goal region in the vicinity of the goal position to make a choice of a currently selected stopping place that is acceptable and feasible. Current information is analyzed about the potential stopping places, to make a choice of a currently selected stopping place that is acceptable and feasible the vehicle is caused to drive autonomously toward the currently selected stopping place. The activities are repeated until the vehicle stops at a currently selected stopping place. |
| US10473468B1 |
Systems and methods for real-time updating of attributes of an area and status of devices within the area
A system described herein may generate visual representations of physical locations, such as floors of office buildings, outdoor areas, or other types of places. The visual representations may be based on a node map, which may be generated based on data received from user devices and/or by owners or proprietors of business or other types of locations. The node map, for a given place, may indicate features of the place, such as architectural features (e.g., doors, walls, or rooms), visible features (e.g., wall hangings, signs, or other landmarks), Radio Frequency (“RF”) footprint features, or other features. The node map may indicate the likelihood of a given user device moving from one node to another node, and these likelihoods may be used to generate navigation instructions. |
| US10473465B2 |
System and method for creating, storing and utilizing images of a geographical location
A system and method synthesizing images of a locale to generate a composite image that provide a panoramic view of the locale. A video camera moves along a street recording images of objects along the street. A GPS receiver and inertial navigation system provide the position of the camera as the images are being recorded. The images are indexed with the position data provided by the GPS receiver and inertial navigation system. The composite image is created on a column-by-column basis by determining which of the acquired images contains the desired pixel column, extracting the pixels associated with the column, and stacking the columns side by side. The composite images are stored in an image database and associated with a street name and number range of the street being depicted in the image. The image database covers a substantial amount of a geographic area allowing a user to visually navigate the area from a user terminal. |
| US10473462B2 |
System of measuring three-dimensional position
The system includes a survey machine having an image-taking section, a section of measuring a distance to a target and a section of measuring an angle, a pointing rod which is positioned on the measurement point X and includes, at a position deviated from a fixed length L from the measurement point, the prism, and an inclination sheet having a mark. The three-dimensional position of the measurement point is measured by equipping the inclination sheet to the pointing rod, imaging a mark surface in the image-taking section, calculating the inclination angle of the inclination sheet with respect to the eye direction from the survey machine by image-analyzing the mark surface, and determining the three-dimensional position of the measurement point from a three-dimensional position of the prism, the inclination angle of the inclination sheet and the fixed length. |
| US10473454B1 |
Imaging-based height measurement based on known geometric information
A height mapping system includes a controller configured to generate a height map of a region of interest of a sample with a first optical metrology system having a first numerical aperture, receive images of features having known three-dimensional shapes at selected image plane locations from a second optical metrology system having a second numerical aperture larger than the first numerical aperture, calculate distances between the imaging plane locations and peaks of the features based on in-focus portions of the images and the known three-dimensional shapes, determine distances between the imaging plane locations and a surface of the sample for the features based on the height map, and determine heights of the features by combining the distances between the imaging plane locations and peaks of the features with the distances between the imaging plane locations and the surface of the sample for the one or more features. |
| US10473451B2 |
Measuring the position of objects in space
Interference fringes in a bullseye pattern are produced by a measurement module by interfering a flat reference beam with a spherical beam reflected by a sphere connected to the tip of a probe in point contact with a test object. The bullseye interferogram is registered at a detector and analyzed conventionally to produce a position measurement of the tip of the probe. A beam correction module is used to align the bullseye interferogram with the illumination axis of the measurement module. By combining at least three such measurement modules in a coordinate measurement machine, the three-dimensional position of the probe and of its point contact with the test object can be obtained from analysis of the bullseye interferograms registered by the detectors with high precision and greatly reduced Abbe error. |
| US10473434B1 |
Bulletproof material, production method thereof and bulletproof backpack
The present disclosure provides a novel bulletproof material, manufacture method thereof and a bulletproof backpack. The bulletproof material comprises a plurality of layers of bulletproof fiber cloths and shock-absorption layers, wherein each layer of bulletproof fiber cloth has a plurality of diamond-shaped reinforcing units, and an included angle is formed between two neighboring diamond-shaped reinforcing units of the adjacent bulletproof fiber cloths; a carbon nano layer is provided on the front side of each layer of bulletproof fiber cloth; the carbon nano layer comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped integrated carbon nano tube units; and the plurality of diamond-shaped integrated carbon nano tube units correspond to the plurality of diamond-shaped reinforcing units at positions. |
| US10473432B2 |
Dual interface rail mount
A firearm accessory connecting device to be mounted on a rail interface system has two locking mechanism and alignment relief lugs by which the device can be aligned and secured onto either a KeyMod rail interface or an M-LOK rail interface. The two locking mechanisms situated at a first front-end and a second rear-end of the connecting device and defined by a screw hole whereby a screw will engage the top surface of the connecting device and extend through the screw hole to the interior surface of the rail interface wherein a nut will be used to secure the screw in position and hence the mount onto the rail. The alignment lugs located at specific distances along the bottom surface of the connecting device will be slidably attached and aligned onto the rail interface. |
| US10473431B2 |
Sight training aid attachment
When a shooter aims down the slide of semi auto handgun needs to align the front sight between the two posts of the rear sight. This is the hardest thing for an instructor to correct not being able to see what the student is looking at. This aid will provide a reference point for the shooter to keep the front sight below, this helps promote proper sight acquisition. This is a plastic hood that slides over top of the rear sight and over the slide. The shooter is able to shoot with this aid on the firearm. |
| US10473429B1 |
Projectile detection system and method
A projectile detection technique is disclosed. The technique helps improve the self-defense capabilities of strategic platforms such as naval ships against asymmetric threats such as anti-ship missiles (ASMs). These threats can be particularly challenging in a highly cluttered maritime environment, where the threats can be too close for radar to accurately detect. In one example, the projectile detection technique automatically detects ASMs flying above the horizon by using mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and visible/near-infrared (VNIR) camera systems, and locating the horizon line and segmenting the imagery into different regions. Projectiles are detected in the near-horizon segment using a Fourier phase-only transform and convolution matched filters to enhance exceedances, then applying multi-frame processing to measure persistence and scintillation (e.g., flicker from missile exhaust) to help filter out background clutter objects. The use of the phase-only transform, matched filters, and multi-frame processing helps detect single-point anomalies and distinguish ASMs from background clutter. |
| US10473428B2 |
Ankle holster
Representative implementations of devices and techniques provide a ankle holster assembly to mount and to support an implement (such as a handgun, for example) or an implement holster (such as a handgun holster, for example), or the like, in a variety of configurations. The ankle holster assembly includes a base having a receiver and a post having a shaft, the shaft arranged to be inserted into the receiver to removably couple the post to the base. |
| US10473416B2 |
Extractor pin tool
Apparatus, systems, and methods for the maintenance, repair, modification, cleaning, disassembly, and reassembly of firearms and firearm components are disclosed. Particular embodiments include tools to aid in the removal and insertion of an extractor pin from the bolt assembly of an AR-15 or M-16 rifle. Preferred embodiments are directed to bolt assemblies for .223 and .308 imperial caliber firearms, as well as 5.56 and 7.62 metric caliber firearms. The tools include a housing with a channel to receive the bolt, a channel to insert a locking rod to orient and secure the bolt in the housing, a channel for inserting a removal rod to remove the extractor pin from the bolt or an inserting rod to insert the extractor pin into the bolt. |
| US10473414B1 |
Magazine catch
A magazine catch uses a spring biased plunger captured within a housing to bias the housing into engagement with a magazine to retain the magazine within the firearm. The plunger has a projection which engages the frame of the firearm. The plunger is rotatable relatively to the housing to orient the projection in opposite directions and thus permits the magazine catch to be reversibly positioned within the frame. |
| US10473410B2 |
Pool boiling enhancement with feeder channels supplying liquid to nucleating regions
A boiling heat transfer unit includes a substrate having a heat exchange region including a plurality of nucleating regions adjacent to feeder channels, wherein adjacent nucleating regions are separated by the feeder channels at a distance whereby vapor formed in the nucleating regions is moved away from the nucleating regions influencing liquid flow through the feeder channels towards the nucleating regions thereby establishing continuous self-sustaining separate vapor and liquid pathways increasing heat transfer due to developing region heat transfer in the feeder channels and enhancing overall boiling performance. |
| US10473405B2 |
System and method for cooling a body
A system and method for cooling an external surface of a heat conductive body heated by a heat source is provided. The system includes a tank containing an evaporation liquid, a conduit supplying the evaporation liquid to the external surface of the body, a controllable supply valve for regulating a flow rate of egress of the evaporation liquid from the tank, and a control unit for controlling operation of the supply valve. The control unit includes a temperature sensor producing a temperature sensor signal representative of the temperature of the body at the predetermined place; and a controller capable of generating control signals for controlling operation of the controllable supply valve to provide a pulsed supply of the evaporation liquid to the external surface of the body for obtaining a desired temperature decrease of the body. |
| US10473404B2 |
Straight-through structure of heat dissipation unit
A straight-through structure of heat dissipation unit includes a first plate body and a second plate body correspondingly mated with each other to define a closed chamber. A hydrophilic layer is disposed on the surface of the closed chamber and a capillary structure is disposed in the closed chamber. The first plate body is formed with a first recess, a first perforation and a second recess. The first recess is connected with the capillary structure disposed on the third face of the second plate body. One end of the second recess abuts against the capillary structure. The capillary structure layer is not in contact with the first recess. The second plate body has a second perforation in alignment with the first perforation. When it is necessary to perforate the heat dissipation unit, the straight-through structure can keep the closed chamber in the vacuumed and airtight state. |
| US10473403B2 |
Heat exchanger
The invention relates to a plate heat exchanger (9) with a plurality of heat exchanger plates (1, 13), each comprising at least one section showing indentations (2, 3, 14, 15), intended to be placed against corresponding indentations (2, 3, 14, 15) of a heat exchanger plate (1, 13) of a corresponding design. The heat exchanger (9) has a first type of indentations (2, 14) and a second type of indentations (3, 15), wherein the number of said first type of indentations (2, 14) and said second type of indentations (3, 15) are differing. |
| US10473397B2 |
Method for the use of heat energy from gasification sources in gypsum board production
The present invention relates to an improved method for using heat energy in a gypsum board plant. More specifically, the method contemplates taking heat from a gasifier, or other alternative heat source, and using it to dry gypsum boards. In order to control humidity levels, this heat is delivered to one or more board dryers via a heat exchanger. |
| US10473396B2 |
Wafer dryer apparatus and method
Wafers on a first wafer carrier in a tank are lifted from the first wafer carrier and a bath in the tank so as to accomplish Marangoni drying of the wafers. The lifted dry wafers are positioned on a second wafer carrier in a chamber and shifted to an offset position. A barrier, which can be a wall of the chamber with or without a sweeping flow of gas, impedes the passage of deposits to the wafers arising during drying of the first wafer carrier. Static electricity can be discharged from wafer supports in the offset position. |
| US10473392B2 |
Column for separating air by cryogenic distillation, air separation device comprising such a column and method for producing such a column
The invention relates to a column for separating air by means of cryogenic distillation, said column comprising a shell and at least four distillation segments, including at least a first intermediate distillation segment of the low-pressure column, which is surrounded by an auxiliary shell around which a space is defined that is divided into a lower section and an upper section along the radius of the column, the intermediate segment(s) being located in an intermediate part of the low-pressure column, the capacity of the first intermediate segment being greater than that of at least one adjacent segment, and an opening being disposed in the shell between two adjacent segments, which opening can be sealed if the column is to form part of an argon production device. |
| US10473391B2 |
Process for heating the column for distillation of the C3 fraction from an FCC unit by means of a circuit of water heated by streams belonging to units placed upstream and/or downstream of the FCC unit
The present invention describes a process for heating the reboiler of the propane/propylene separation column situated downstream of an FCC unit and fed with the C3 cut from said FCC unit, a process consisting of heating the water in a hot water circuit by means of one or more process fluids originating from units placed upstream and/or downstream of the FCC unit and called hot fluids, one of these fluids being constituted by the overhead vapours from the fractionation column connected to the mild hydrocracking unit. |
| US10473388B2 |
Refrigerator and method for controlling constant temperature thereof
A method, which is for controlling a temperature of a refrigerating compartment, includes cooling the refrigerating compartment, cooling the freezing compartment, determining a temperature of the refrigerating compartment, and based on the temperature of the refrigerating compartment, controlling the refrigerating compartment to a constant temperature range by controlling opening and closing of first and second passages of a three-way valve of the refrigerator to alternate cooling the refrigerating compartment and cooling the freezing compartment. |
| US10473385B2 |
Refrigerator and controlling method thereof
A refrigerator includes a water tank which stores water, a carbon dioxide cylinder which stores carbon dioxide, a dispenser module which accommodates an external container and supplies the carbon dioxide and the water to the external container, and a controller which supplies the water to the external container and supplies the carbon dioxide to the external container when supplying the water is completed. |
| US10473384B2 |
Cooler divider
A divider device for dividing an interior chamber of a cooler into a plurality of separate chambers and preventing fluid flow between the plurality of chambers. The divider device has a dividing wall that is insertable into the interior chamber of the cooler. A waterproof seal is positioned around the outer surfaces of the dividing wall. The seal is inflatable by a pump that is part of the divider device such that the seal is urged into contact with walls of the interior chamber to form a fluid-tight seal that prevents fluid flow from a first side of the dividing wall to a second side of the dividing wall. |
| US10473383B2 |
Refrigerator shelf translation system
A refrigerator shelf translation system for a refrigerating appliance includes a movable shelf, a guide structure provided with one or more indentations, and a fixed anchoring component associated with the movable shelf and movably associated with the guide structure. The movable shelf is held in a fixed position relative to the guide structure when there is cooperation between at least one locking span of at least one anchoring component and at least one indentation of the guide structure and, on the other hand, the movable shelf may be shifted vertically relative to the guide structure when distancing from all possible locking spans of all possible anchoring components and their respective indentations of the guide structure. |
| US10473380B2 |
Liquid dispenser
The present disclosure relates to a water purifier. A water purifier according to an aspect includes a coolant tank in which a coolant is stored, a cold water pipe accommodated in the coolant tank, an evaporator accommodated in the coolant tank, a stirring member placed inside the coolant tank to stir the coolant, and a partition member accommodated inside the coolant tank to partition an inner space of the coolant tank into a first space and a second space, wherein the evaporator is located in the first space, and the cold water pipe is located in the second space. |
| US10473379B2 |
Refrigerator
A refrigerator includes a heat exchange chamber, first inlets arranged on side surfaces of a first storage chamber and configured to introduce cold air in the first storage chamber into the heat exchange chamber, and second inlets arranged on side surfaces of a second storage chamber and configured to introduce cold air in the second storage chamber into the heat exchange chamber. |
| US10473377B2 |
High outdoor ambient and high suction pressure oil pump out mitigation for air conditioners
A method of operating an air conditioning system including: operating a refrigerant compression device at a demand speed to circulate refrigerant through a refrigeration circuit; monitoring, using a temperature sensor, a temperature of external ambient air; monitoring, using a pressure sensor, a pressure of the refrigerant within the refrigerant circuit; detecting, using a controller, when the temperature of external ambient air is greater than a selected temperature; detecting, using the controller, when the pressure of the refrigerant is greater than a selected pressure; and reducing the speed of the refrigerant compression device to a selected speed for a first duration of time when the temperature of external ambient air is greater than the selected temperature and the pressure of the refrigerant is greater than the selected pressure. |
| US10473370B2 |
Ejector-receiver refrigeration circuit with valve
An automobile vehicle refrigeration system combined ejector-receiver includes a container. An internal heat exchanger (IHX) is positioned entirely within the container. The IHX includes a canister. A receiver and dryer is located entirely within the container and is positioned at least partially within the canister defining a cavity between the receiver and dryer and the canister to receive a refrigerant. An ejector is positioned within the container. An ejector feed line is in communication with the cavity between the receiver and dryer and the canister, the ejector feed line receiving the refrigerant after discharge from the cavity for flow into the ejector. A refrigerant phase separator is positioned within the container. The refrigerant phase separator receives the refrigerant after discharge from the ejector for separation into each of a refrigerant gas and a refrigerant liquid. |
| US10473365B2 |
Thermoelectric heat pump
In certain embodiments, a thermoelectric heat pump includes a heat transfer region having an array of thermoelectric modules, a waste channel in substantial thermal communication with a high temperature portion of the heat transfer region, and a main channel in substantial thermal communication with a low temperature portion of the heat transfer region. An enclosure wall provides a barrier between fluid in the waste channel and fluid in the main channel throughout the interior of the thermoelectric heat pump. In some embodiments, the waste fluid channel and the main fluid channel are positioned and shaped such that differences in temperature between fluids disposed near opposite sides of the enclosure wall are substantially decreased or minimized at corresponding positions along the channels. |
| US10473364B2 |
Heat pump system and regulating method thereof
A heat pump system comprises a compressor, a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, a mode switching valve, a throttling element and a reservoir, wherein the throttling element is arranged on a flow path between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; and which further comprises a mode switching flow path in which a first flow path and a second flow path are arranged, the reservoir is arranged on the second flow path and each flow path is controllably opened or closed to realize different functional modes. |
| US10473360B2 |
Fan and water heater provided with the same, and impeller and water heater provided with the same
A fan includes: an impeller including a main plate having a first plane, a plurality of first blades each formed the first plane, and a shroud formed integrally with the plurality of first blades; a fan case; a drive source; and a rotation shaft. The first blades each include a linearly protruding region that is linearly increased in height from an outer circumferential side to an inner circumferential side, and a curvedly protruding region that is curvedly increased in height from the outer circumferential side to the inner circumferential side, the height extending in a direction in which each first blade protrudes. The linearly protruding region is welded to the main plate. Accordingly, a highly durable fan can be implemented that allows sufficient durability to be maintained even under a high temperature environment or an acid environment. |
| US10473352B2 |
Air conditioner and control method thereof
An air conditioner includes a main body, a fan configured to cause air to flow through the main body, and a water reservoir detachably disposed on an upper portion of the main body. A humidifying fabric member is disposed inside the main body and configured to receive water from the water reservoir. A water collecting tank is configured to collect water that flows down from the humidifying fabric member. In addition, a pump is configured to pump the water in the water collecting tank to the water reservoir through a suction hole. A bottom of the water collecting tank is formed to be downwardly inclined toward one portion of the bottom and the suction hole of the pump is disposed adjacent to the one portion. |
| US10473349B2 |
Adaptive makeup air system and method for tight enclosures
A system and method for introducing external air into an enclosure having an exhaust fan for removing internal air at an outflow rate. A sensor measures a quantifiable characteristic which is indicative of the outflow rate. Based on the measured quantifiable characteristic, a controller determines a speed of a makeup air fan that results in the inflow rate matching the outflow rate, and opens a damper and runs the makeup air fan at the determined speed. For example, the sensor may measure an amount of electrical current flowing to the exhaust fan, and low and high speed exhaust fan values are stored in a memory, and corresponding low and high makeup air fan speeds are set. The controller then controls operation of the makeup air fan based on the amount of current flowing to the exhaust fan and the corresponding makeup air fan speed to match the inflow and outflow rates. |
| US10473347B2 |
Method and apparatus for commanding temperatures targeted by air conditioner
On the screen of a display unit, period border lines are displayed. The period border lines divide hours (for example 24 hours) for a user's desired one day into a plurality of periods and present line segments movable on the screen in a predetermined direction. Each of the line segments acts as a border lien between mutually adjacent periods. On the screen, target temperatures which are set for the respective periods are also displayed. Dragging the period border liens (K1 to K4) so as to move on the screen makes it possible to move a start time and a stop time of mutually adjacent periods are changed simultaneously. In addition to this change, target temperatures which were set before the change are reset for changed periods. |
| US10473345B2 |
Cooled fan for micro-climate control
A micro-climate control system includes a thermoelectric system integrated with a fan assembly. The thermoelectric system is operable to actively cool or heat air as the air passes through the fan assembly. The thermoelectric system includes a thermoelectric heat pump, a heat reject subsystem, and a heat accept subsystem. The fan assembly is operable to draw air from a space to be conditioned and output conditioned air passed through one of the heat reject subsystem and the heat accept subsystem to the space to be conditioned and output air passed through the other away from the space to be conditioned. In this way, the micro-climate control system may provide localized comfort, while allowing a larger climate control system to maintain a more efficient temperature set point. In this way, the overall energy consumption may be reduced while providing the same level of effective comfort. |
| US10473344B2 |
Electric re-heat dehumidification
An electric re-heat dehumidification apparatus to dehumidify a conditioned space is provided and includes a conditioning unit to produce an output airstream including overcooled air to be provided to the conditioned space to overcool the conditioned space during the dehumidifying of the conditioned space, a resistive element disposed within an output airstream of the conditioning unit, which, when activated, heats the overcooled air of the output airstream and a controller, operably coupled to the resistive element, to activate the resistive element in accordance with information of the conditioning unit, the resistive element and a temperature of the conditioned space to limit the overcooling of the conditioned space. |
| US10473341B2 |
Indoor unit and refrigeration cycle apparatus
An indoor unit includes a main unit including an air inlet through which air enters from a room and an air outlet through which air blows into the room, an electrical component box mounted on an outer surface of the main unit and accommodating an electrical device, a refrigerant pipe connection portion to which a refrigerant pipe through which refrigerant passes is connected, a drain pipe connection portion to which a drain pipe through which drain water discharged from the main unit passes is connected, and an installation bolt attachment bracket mounted on the outer surface of the main unit and fixing the main unit to an installation bolt suspended from above a ceiling. The indoor unit has the refrigerant pipe connection portion, the drain pipe connection portion, and the electrical component box on the same mounting surface. |
| US10473339B2 |
Guide blade and air conditioner having the same
Disclosed is a plurality of guide blades configured to guide air discharged through a discharge port, and an air conditioner having the same. The guide blade includes an eddy induction groove that is concaved from at least one surface of the guide blade, and a plurality of protrusions each protruding from an inner surface of the eddy induction groove in the form of a polypyramid, to generate eddy currents of various directions, so that the guide blade may cope with air flow of various flow speeds and wind directions. |
| US10473338B2 |
Superimposed conveyance of data and electrical power
In a method for superimposed conveyance of data and electrical power, a first switch can cycle to convey the electric power and data from a first device. Binary digits of the data from the first device can be represented by transitions, of a voltage at a node of a second device, between a first voltage and a second voltage. A second switch can cycle to convey data from the second device. Binary digits of the data from the second device can be represented by transitions, of a current through a component of the first device, between being less than a threshold and being greater than the threshold. A voltage regulator of the second device can provide, in response to the voltage at the node being within a range of voltages that includes the first voltage and the second voltage, the electrical power to one or more components. |
| US10473335B2 |
Concealable electric fireplace insert
A combined furniture and heating device having a concealable electric fireplace insert installed within a fireplace compartment of a furniture apparatus is provided. The electric fireplace insert has a front surface from which simulated flames are viewable when an opening of the fireplace compartment is uncovered so that the furniture apparatus is configured in its open configuration. The furniture apparatus includes a concealing panel removably installable over the opening configure the device in a concealed configuration so that the electric fireplace insert and its simulated flames viewable at its front surface are at least partially concealed. Power to a heating apparatus of the electric fireplace insert is turned on and off by a disabling device as the concealing panel is alternated between the open and concealed configurations. The disabling device can include a switch or a thermistor. |
| US10473331B2 |
Combustor panel endrail interface
A combustor of a gas turbine engine may include a combustor shell, a first combustor panel coupled to the combustor shell, and a second combustor panel coupled to the combustor shell. The first combustor panel may have a first endrail and the second combustor panel may have a second endrail. An annular cooling cavity may be defined between the combustor shell and the first and second combustor panels and a channel may be defined between the first endrail and the second endrail, wherein direct line-of-sight through the channel from the annular cooling cavity to a combustor chamber is obstructed. Said differently, the interface between the adjacent endrails may be non-linear, in a direction from the annular cooling cavity to the combustor chamber. |
| US10473324B2 |
Infrared agricultural heater
An infrared heater for use in an agricultural setting, particular for use in poultry houses, is provided that includes a burner assembly supported by an opposing pair of generally T-shaped end plates. The heater further includes a pair of emitter assemblies having a parabolic configuration that are each supported by an elongated emitter support. The emitter assemblies surround an inner core member assembly that in part define burn chambers. The heater includes a pair of end deflector members that together with the parabolic inner surfaces of the emitter assemblies direct infrared heat outwardly and downwardly in a wide and generally quadrilaterally shaped heat footprint. |
| US10473319B2 |
Lighting device, LED module for a lighting device, and method for assembling a lighting device
A lighting device is provided, comprising at least one LED module, which is connected to a retainer, and a driver that is electrically connected to the LED module, wherein the driver is at least partially cast by a potting material wherein the driver is connected to the retainer via an adaptor board that is positioned in between the driver and the retainer. |
| US10473313B2 |
Flexible electrical coupling device for a lighting system
An electrical coupling device for coupling functional elements of a lighting system comprises a first wire, a second wire, at least one spacer and at least one coupling spacer. The spacer is arranged to provide a first defined distance between the first and second wires at the position of the spacer. The coupling spacer is arranged to provide a second defined distance between the first and second wires at the position of the coupling spacer and to electrically couple the functional element to the electrical coupling device. Wherein the spacer and the coupling spacer are physically separated from each other, and the coupling spacer, the spacer, and the first and second wires are embedded in a flexible cover. The flexible cover enables flexibility in all three dimensions at a position between the spacer and the coupling spacer. Further a lighting system may comprise the electrical coupling device and functional element. |
| US10473310B2 |
Method and apparatus for illumination of drilling rigs and surrounding locations
A lighting assembly can be quickly and efficiently mounted to a crown of a drilling rig derrick in order to provide wide-area illumination of the derrick and surrounding work location. An adjustable support frame member can be operationally attached to a hand rail of a derrick crown using fixed-length bracket members, adjustable-length bracket members and/or a combination(s) thereof. Lighting-emitting light source elements are adjustably attached to the support frame, and can be selectively aimed to direct light as desired. |
| US10473308B2 |
Lighting fixture with high structural integrity
Tenon-mounted lighting fixtures with high structural integrity are provided. In one embodiment, the lighting fixture has a housing that has an integrally formed tenon cradle, which is configured to receive a tenon of a light pole. A light source is also mounted on a bottom side of the housing. The tenon cradle is between a first bolt boss and a second bolt boss, and is in communication with a rear opening of the housing. The first and second bolt bosses may be integrally formed in the housing. The tenon cradle includes multiple ribs. An arcuate cross rib resides in a first plane in which a first bolt shaft of the first bolt boss and a second bolt shaft of the second bolt shaft reside. An axial rib intersects the arcuate cross rib and runs perpendicular to the first plane. |
| US10473307B2 |
Removable positioning of light fixtures
A linear light fixture assembly for supporting a light fixture in a ceiling structure, comprises a light fixture mounting structure having a pair of opposed boundary regions configured to fit within a designated light fixture receiving region in the ceiling structure, and a plurality of spring elements configured to spaced outwardly from at least one of the boundary regions, each spring element having a mounting region configured to be anchored to the mounting structure and a free end region to extend therefrom and to be laterally outwardly biased in a first position to form a path of contact with a support surface region on the ceiling structure to anchor the structure in the receiving region, each of the spring elements configured to be movable toward the corresponding boundary region in a second position to release the path of contact to release the light fixture from the receiving region. |
| US10473306B2 |
Flush mount lighting fixture
In an example embodiment, a lighting fixture comprising a lighting device and a mounting bracket is provided. The lighting device comprises a front cover, a back cover, a frame, and at least one LED mounted within the interior of the lighting device. The frame has an interior edge that is in contact with a perimeter of the front cover and a perimeter of the back cover. The front cover, the back cover, and the frame define the interior of the lighting device. At least one of the frame and the back cover comprises one or more attachment mechanisms. The mounting bracket comprises a junction box mounting element configured for securing the mounting bracket to a junction box or a mounting surface, and one or more attachment mechanism mating elements configured to mate with the one or more attachment mechanisms when the lighting device is rotated within the mounting bracket to secure the lighting device into the mounting bracket. |
| US10473304B1 |
Reducing thermal sensitivity of a lighting arrangement
The invention relates to a lighting arrangement with at least one LED lighting element (15) arranged on a support member (12). An optical element (16) is arranged spaced from the LED lighting element (15) in a first direction O. A holder (14) is provided to hold the optical element (16) in a position relative to the LED lighting element (15). The holder (14) comprises at least a first holding portion (24a) extending from the support member (12) into the first direction O and a second holding portion (24b) connected to the optical element (16). The second holding portion (24b) is arranged such that at least a part extends into the first direction O. The second holding portion (26b) is spaced from the first holding portion (24a) in a direction traverse to the first direction O. In the case of distortions due to temperature changes and a mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion, the lighting arrangement minimizes variations in the displacement of the optical element (16) relative to the LED lighting element (15). |
| US10473301B2 |
LED lighting fixture assembly
Various embodiments of the present invention provide a light emitting diode (LED) lighting fixture and methods of installing the same. In various embodiments, an LED lighting fixture may comprise: at least one socket comprising a socket opening; at least one LED positioned substantially within the socket opening; at least one shield member positioned adjacent the at least one socket such that the shield substantially encloses the socket opening; at least one decorative light shade; at least one cover comprising a neck portion having an internal surface, the internal surface defining a cover opening. The cover opening is configured to receive there-through at least a portion of a socket and substantially engage the socket. At least a portion of the cover is configured to substantially engage the decorative light shade. Also, at least a portion of the cover is configured to substantially enclose the LED and shield. |
| US10473300B2 |
Light source assembly and camera device having the same
A light source assembly comprises a base body and at least one light source module. The base body comprises a first and a second bearing base connected to each other. The first bearing base is configured for an image capture module to be disposed thereon. The second bearing base is located on the periphery of the first bearing base. The at least one light source module is slidably disposed on the second bearing base, and movable toward and away from the first bearing base. The at least one light source module forms an adjustable space. The adjustable space is configured for receiving the image capture module. The first bearing base has a first bearing surface configured for the image capture module to be disposed thereon. A sliding direction of the at least one light source module is not parallel to a normal direction of the first bearing surface. |
| US10473299B2 |
Optical converter colour wheel
A light converter comprises: a solid-state optical member configured to absorb light of an excitation wavelength and generate light of an emission wavelength; a base; and a mechanical fastener attaching the solid-state optical member to the base. The light converter may be part of a light engine, a phosphor wheel or an automotive headlight. A method of manufacturing such a phosphor wheel is also provided. |
| US10473297B1 |
Lighting system
A lighting system may include a plurality of suspenders and a beam configured to provide light in at least one direction. The suspenders may structurally support the beam from a ceiling and may provide electrical power and dimming control signals to the beam. The beam may include a plurality of light engines for emitting light. The light engines may be single sided or dual sided, and may transmit electrical power among each other. The dual sided light engines may emit light upwardly and downwardly from the beam, and the single sided light engines may emit light downwardly. |
| US10473292B2 |
Solid state illumination devices including spatially-extended light sources and reflectors
A luminaire module delivers light with a beam angle of α. The luminaire module includes a light emitting module and a reflector positioned symmetrically about an axis. Light produced by the light emitting module exits the light emitting module from one or more spatially-extended light emitting portions. The light emitting portion(s) is (are) fully contained within a spatially extended notional design envelope which is used to guide the design of reflector and its corresponding reflective surface, such that when any light exiting the light emitting portions through the design envelope strikes the reflective surface of the reflector, the light does not return to the source and escapes from the luminaire module within a beam angle α, with no more than a single reflection from a reflector. |
| US10473290B2 |
Motor vehicle component
A motor vehicle component consisting of a metal profile element and a lighting element. The profile element has a channel extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile with an externally accessible opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile. The lighting element serves to produce a strip of light radiating in the longitudinal direction of the profile, and is arranged in the channel of the profile element so as to be concealed behind an outer surface of the profile element so that the radiated light does not arrive directly at the outside, but instead is reflected outward by a reflecting surface of the profile element. |
| US10473289B2 |
Lighting device
Embodiments include: a light emitting diode for emitting light; and a lens array including first to fourth lenses sequentially arranged in line in a first direction, wherein the first to fourth lenses are each convex lenses, the first lens and the fourth lens are the same in shape, the second lens and the third lens are the same in shape, the first and second lenses are each arranged in convex configurations in the first direction, the third and fourth lenses are each arranged in convex configurations in the direction opposite to the first direction, and the first direction is a direction oriented toward the first lens from the light emitting diode. |
| US10473286B2 |
Vehicle lamp
The present invention is characterized by a lens body in which a first lens unit configured to form a first light distribution pattern which includes a first cut-off line; and a second lens unit configured to form a second light distribution pattern which includes a second cut-off line, wherein the first lens unit forms the first light distribution pattern when light from a first light source which entered the first lens unit is emitted from the first lens unit, the second lens unit forms the second light distribution pattern when light from a second light source which entered the second lens unit is emitted from the second lens unit, and the first lens unit and the second lens unit are integrally molded. |
| US10473283B2 |
Structure of a lighting display device
An improved structure of a lighting display device includes a lower fixing element, an upper fixing element, a projection device, a transparent bottle, and an assembling element. The projection device is disposed inside the lower fixing element and the transparent bottle is disposed thereon and fixed by a positioning annulus on an inner surface of the lower fixing element. The assembling element has an upper engaging space to be mounted on the transparent bottle and a top surface for a depression surface under a positioning plate of the upper fixing element to be engaged and fixed thereon. A spring is further disposed between the upper engaging space and the transparent bottle. Thereby the transparent bottle is able to display attractive visual effects by lighting projection and to be easily engaged and disengaged. |
| US10473275B2 |
Lighting device with plurality of stacked luminescent concentrators
Lighting device includes a first concentrator with a first luminescent material, a second concentrator with a second luminescent material having an absorption band overlapping with the emission band of the first luminescent material, and a plurality of light sources arranged to project light into a first input surface of the first concentrator to be converted at least partially into a first converted light by the first luminescent material and outputted from a first output surface of the first luminescent concentrator. The second concentrator arranged parallel to the first concentrator such that light from the light sources that leaks from a side surface of the first concentrator is received by the second concentrator and converted by the second luminescent material and outputted from a second exit surface of the second concentrator. The first and second concentrators having different lengths. |
| US10473271B2 |
LED filament module and LED light bulb
An LED filament module and an LED light bulb are disclosed. The LED filament module includes one or more LED filaments, a first connecting portion, and a second connecting portion. The LED filaments are spaced from each other. Each of the LED filaments includes a first conductive electrode and a second conductive electrode opposite to the first conductive electrode. The first connecting portion is connected with the first conductive electrodes. The second connecting portion is connected with the second conductive electrodes. The LED filament module has a first type. The LED filaments, the first connecting portion, and the second connecting portion of the first type are in a three dimensional form. One or two between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion of the first type has a torus shape. |
| US10473268B2 |
Compressor unit and gas supply apparatus
A gas supply apparatus includes; a compressor unit including a compression section compressing hydrogen gas and storing pressure accumulators with the compressed hydrogen gas and a drive portion including an electric motor as drive source and driving the compression section; and a control unit controlling the electric motor. The electric motor has output characteristics where rated torque can be maintained against rotational speed changes in a standard rotation region, rotation region at or below standard speed, and output torque decreases from the rated torque as electric motor rotational speed increases in an overspeed region, rotation region above the standard speed. The control unit performs, in at least part of a storage process where the compression section stores the pressure accumulators with the hydrogen gas until set pressure is reached, overspeed operation control for allowing driving of the electric motor in the overspeed region. |
| US10473254B2 |
Modular hopper tee and method of using same
A modular hopper tee including a modified tee box, a tee box liner, a readily detachable inflow adapter for coupling a first pipe to the tee box and a readily detachable outflow adapter for coupling a second pipe to the tee box, the liner and adapters being constructed from an elastomeric polymer such as polyurethane. Each of the inflow and outflow adapters includes a flange portion and a cylinder portion extending through the flange portion, the flange portion dividing the cylinder portion into a first cylinder portion that extends through a sidewall opening of the tee box and sealingly engages the liner and a second cylinder portion that is located outside of the box. A metal cylinder member, which is embedded within the first cylinder portion and surrounds an exterior of the second cylinder portion, is provided for reinforcing the adapter. |
| US10473251B2 |
Multi quick connector for subsea use
Connector for fluid, connectable by a remotely operated vehicle, ROV, includes a first part including a first cam element including an opening and a cam for engagement of a protrusion, the first cam element and the cam being rotably arranged relative to the first part; a second part includes a second cam element for insertion into the opening, the second cam element including the protrusion for the cam; a clutch between the first cam element and a handle to be held by the ROV; an indicator on the first part to indicate correct position for connecting, and disconnecting, the first part with, or from, the second part with the first and second cam elements; and an emergency release mechanism to disconnect the first part from the second part. |
| US10473248B2 |
Double cam levers and safety lock for cam lock fitting
A method and apparatus for an improved safety cam lock fitting having double cam levers having outer and inner portions so that when the outer cam levers are opened and the inner cam lever remain closed, the male and female portions of the cam lock fitting only slightly separate from each other allowing the operator to quickly reclose the cam lock fitting if the operator observes that the cam lock fitting still contains pressurized material. This is accomplished by providing a larger cam lobe on the outer cam lever and a smaller cam lobe on the inner cam lever so that when the smaller cam lobe is in a closed position and protrudes into a peripheral groove on the male portion the male and female ends have a small space therein between. Various lever locking assemblies may be used to prevent the cam levers from being inadvertently opened. |
| US10473245B2 |
Locking element for a connector
A locking element for detachably fixing a fluid-carrying plug to a connector, including, a locking element having at least one spring element, by means of which the locking element is moved automatically into a locking position with the connector as the plug is inserted, and held in its locking position, wherein the locking element has a limb that is moved at right angles to an axis of the connector, in which limb there is formed a bore for the plug to be led through; and characterized in that the locking element consists of a spring steel and the spring element is formed in one piece therewith. |
| US10473237B2 |
Push rack pipe pusher for floating pipeline installations
A push rack pipe pusher having a base. A first frame coupled to the base. A second frame coupled to the base. A first pressurized cylinder coupled to the base. A second pressurized cylinder coupled to the base. A third pressurized cylinder coupled to the base. A fourth pressurized cylinder coupled to the base. A lower track conveyer system coupled to the base and positioned between the first frame and the second frame. An upper track conveyer system coupled to the pressurized cylinders and positioned between the first frame and the second frame. A control unit coupled to the upper track conveyer system, the lower track conveyer system, and the pressurized cylinders. |
| US10473232B2 |
Split linkage mechanism for valve assembly
A linkage mechanism for a valve assembly includes one of a slot and an engagement component operably coupled to at least one drive component and located eccentrically from a rotational axis of the at least one drive component, a link operably coupled to one end of a valve stem of a valve member and being moveable with the valve stem, the link having another one of a slot and an engagement component, and a rotatable lever coupled to at least one housing, the lever including one of a first slot and a first engagement component operably engaged with the one of the slot and the engagement component of the at least one drive component and one of a second slot and a second engagement component operably engaged with the one of the slot and the engagement component of the link, wherein rotation of the at least one drive component causes the lever to rotate to convert a rotational movement of the at least one drive component to a linear movement of the link such that the link, the valve stem, and the valve member are moved axially in a direction along a longitudinal axis of the valve stem. |
| US10473231B2 |
Flow rate adjustment device
Provided is a flow rate adjustment device including: a diaphragm integrated valve body; a valve seat section provided around an inflow opening and including a valve seat surface disposed at a position facing a valve surface; and a transfer mechanism configured to cause the diaphragm integrated valve body to move along an axis line to adjust a distance between the valve surface and the valve seat surface. The valve surface 11a and the valve seat surface form an angle, which is an acute angle, with the axis line and are disposed in parallel. |
| US10473228B2 |
Solenoid valve with an integrated check valve functionality for an air braking system of a heavy vehicle
A solenoid valve comprises first, second, and third ports. The solenoid valve further comprises an armature movable between a first position in which fluid flow from the second port to the third port is blocked and fluid flow from the first port to the third port is unblocked and a second position in which fluid flow from the second port to the third port is unblocked and fluid flow from the first port to the third port is blocked. The fluid flow in the second position is blocked until fluid pressure at the first port exceeds fluid pressure at the third port by a predetermined amount to thereby provide check valve functionality. The check valve functionality is integral to the armature. The solenoid valve also comprises an energizeable solenoid that, when energized, moves the armature from the first position to the second position. |
| US10473225B2 |
Passive valve
A passive in-line valve configured to be actuated without an external control includes a valve housing defining an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path between the inlet and the outlet and a piston housing extending inwardly from the housing. The valve includes a valve piston movably disposed within the piston housing, the valve piston including an upstream side and a downstream side. The valve also includes a control mechanism disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to port outlet static pressure to the upstream cavity in a first state such that pressure is equalized on the valve piston. |
| US10473224B2 |
Check valve and valve body
Disclosed is a check valve reliably closing a fluid path without the need of machining with high accuracy. The check valve includes a pair of members with clamping surfaces; and a valve body clamped by the clamping surfaces from both sides in a thickness direction of the valve body. The valve body is formed from an elastic body and includes an outer frame, a sealing part arranged inside the outer frame and configured to open and close a fluid path formed in one of the pair of members, and a coupling part configured to allow fluid to pass therethrough in the thickness direction and configured to couple the outer frame and the sealing part to each other. The outer frame has a thickness larger than an interplane dimension between the clamping surfaces when the pair of members are joined together. |
| US10473223B2 |
Evacuation valve
An evacuation valve for a metering device or pump for a liquid medium is disclosed. The valve includes a seal holder having an annular groove formed therein and an O-ring seal. The O-ring seal is positioned within the annular groove and provides an evacuation valve seal surface. |
| US10473218B2 |
Perimeter seal
A sealing system includes a first-housing, a second-housing, and a seal. The first-housing defines a mating-surface. The second-housing defines a seal-gland having an inner-wall, a base, and an outer-wall. The second-housing has a perimeter-flange. The seal includes a continuous beam of compliant material compressed within the seal-gland. The seal defines a captured-end disposed within the seal-gland and a free-end extending beyond the second-housing. The seal defines an inner-flange, an outer-flange, a web, and a lip. The lip extends radially outward from and generally perpendicular to the free-end of the outer-flange and is disposed between the perimeter-flange and a portion of the mating-surface. When the second-housing is attached to the first-housing, the inner-flange and the outer-flange forcibly engages the mating-surface of the first-housing, the inner-wall, the base, and the outer-wall of the seal-gland. The lip is compressed between the perimeter-flange and the portion of the mating-surface. |
| US10473217B2 |
Encapsulation system for a vacuum insulated structure using an elastic adhesive and barrier coating
An appliance includes an outer wrapper, an inner liner, a trim breaker having a channel that receives at least one of a wrapper edge of the outer wrapper and a liner edge of the inner liner and a composite encapsulation system including a base elastic adhesive and an outer barrier coating. The base elastic adhesive and the outer barrier coating define a structural adhesive that hermetically seals an insulation cavity defined between the outer wrapper and the inner liner. |
| US10473213B2 |
Method of controlling clamping of wedge-actuated CVT and powertrain with wedge-actuated CVT
A method of controlling a continuously variable transmission includes monitoring powertrain operating conditions, and calculating, via an electronic controller, a commanded clamping force based on the powertrain operating conditions, wherein the commanded clamping force includes a commanded clamping force of an input pulley and a commanded clamping force of an output pulley on the endless rotatable device. The method also includes activating, via the electronic controller, at least one of the input actuator and the output actuator such that an axial component of the input wedge force and the axial force of the input actuator together provide the commanded clamping force of the input pulley, and an axial component of the output wedge force and the axial force of the output actuator together provide the commanded clamping force of the output pulley. |
| US10473209B2 |
Heat exchange device
A heat exchange device includes a heat exchanger, a mounting plate, and a connecting block. The heat exchanger includes several first plates, several second plates, and an end plate and a bottom plate located at two sides of the heat exchanger. Each of the first plates and an adjacent second plate form a first flow passage and a second flow passage, the mounting plate and the end plate are fixedly mounted, and the connecting block is fixedly mounted to the bottom plate. A passage running through the heat exchanger and not in communication with the first flow passage and the second flow passage is formed in the heat exchanger, the passage has one end in communication with a communicating hole of the mounting plate, and another end in communication with a connecting channel of the connecting block. |
| US10473203B2 |
Vehicle differential having an electromagnetic actuator
In at least some implementations, a vehicle differential includes a housing having a mounting flange with multiple openings through the flange, an annular gear mounted to the flange by a plurality of fasteners received through the openings, a coil received radially inwardly of the fasteners, and a coupler. The coupler is fixed to the housing and engaged with the coil to retain the position of the coil relative to the housing, and the coupler extends into an area between adjacent fasteners, where the area is circumferentially between adjacent fasteners and radially overlapped with at least a portion of the adjacent fasteners. |
| US10473199B1 |
Mechanical energy storage system
A system and method for using electrical power and mechanical means to store and release potential energy via mechanical means to re-generate electrical power. The system functions by using externally generated electricity to power an electric motor, which by rotation through a transmission of gears, deforms a collection of springs between two plates, thereby storing electricity as potential energy, until the energy is released to a kinetic flywheel which in turn powers an electric power generator. |
| US10473193B2 |
Control method for variable speed electric motor system and control device for variable speed electric motor system
A control method of a variable speed electric motor system, which includes an electric device and a planetary gear transmission device, the control method includes: a step of accepting an instruction for a number of rotations of an output shaft; a step of calculating a number of rotations of a variable speed electric motor based on the number of rotations of the output shaft; a step of determining whether the calculated number of rotations of the variable speed electric motor is in an uncontrollable range; and a step of performing uncontrollable speed range operation for repeatedly and alternately performing a forward direction minimum rotation number instruction for driving the variable speed electric motor at a minimum number of rotations in a forward direction, and a reverse direction minimum rotation number instruction for driving the variable speed electric motor at a minimum number of rotations in a reverse direction. |
| US10473192B2 |
Multi-stage transmission
In an automatic transmission, an engagement oil chamber and a centrifugal oil pressure cancel chamber of a clutch corresponding to a third ring gear of a Ravigneaux type planetary gear mechanism are defined by a drum member, a piston, and a cancel plate that rotate integrally with the third ring gear. An engagement oil chamber and a centrifugal oil pressure cancel chamber of a clutch corresponding to a third sun gear of the Ravigneaux type planetary gear mechanism are defined by a shaft portion, a piston, and an oil-chamber defining member that rotate integrally with the third sun gear. |
| US10473186B2 |
Coupling structure
The present invention aims to provide a coupling structure which facilitates work of coupling an end portion of a cable to an object to be coupled. The present invention relates to a coupling structure that couples one end of a first cable and another member. The coupling structure includes a coupling portion that couples the one end of the first cable and the other member, and a protection member that slidably houses the coupling portion. The protection member has a first opening portion which is provided at one end portion of the protection member and through which the first cable is inserted such that the first cable and the protection member are relatively movable, and a second opening portion provided at the other end portion of the protection member and from which the first cable is extendable. The coupling portion has an inclined surface that is inclined from the other member side toward the first cable side so as to abut on the second opening portion and guide the coupling portion inside the protection member in a state where the coupling portion is positioned on a radially outer side of the second opening portion when the coupling portion is relatively moved with respect to and housed into the protection member. Thus, the present invention has good coupling workability. |
| US10473184B2 |
Dynamic vibration absorbing device and fluid coupling
A dynamic vibration absorbing device includes a tubular member having an annular shape. The dynamic vibration absorbing device also includes at least one elastic member disposed inside the tubular member so as to be non-rotatable relatively to the tubular member. The dynamic vibration absorbing device further includes at least one mass body disposed inside the tubular member so as to be rotatable relatively to the tubular member. |
| US10473183B2 |
Damper device and starting device
A damper device of a starting device includes a drive member, a driven member, outer springs that transmit torque between the drive member and the driven member, first and second inner springs that are placed inward of the outer springs and that transmit torque between the drive member and the driven member, and a dynamic damper having third springs coupled to a first intermediate member as a rotary element and a turbine runner as a mass body coupled to the third springs. The third springs of the dynamic damper are disposed so as to be located next to the outer springs of the damper device in the circumferential direction. |
| US10473182B2 |
Torsional vibration absorption system
A system for absorbing vibration and transmitting torque from a rotating power source to a rotatable load includes a rotatable driving member configured as an input to be driven by the power source to rotate about an axis of rotation. The system has a cam plate with a cam surface. A spring is configured to extend lengthwise in a radial direction relative to the axis of rotation. The spring is configured to be compressed due to the cam surface during relative rotation of the driving member and a driven member when the cam plate is operatively connected to rotate in unison with said one of the driving member and the driven member. The spring therefore has an effective spring rate dependent upon the cam surface, compression of the spring absorbs torsional vibration of the driving member, and the cam plate. |
| US10473181B2 |
Hydraulic mount for vehicle
A hydraulic mount for a vehicle includes: a core bush coupled to a bolt; a main rubber formed on an outer surface of the core bush; an orifice portion coupled to a lower portion of the main rubber to divide an upper fluid chamber and a lower fluid chamber; and a lower rubber film coupled to a lower portion of the orifice portion. The orifice portion includes an upper nozzle plate formed with a first fluid inlet and outlet port, a lower nozzle plate formed with a fluid path and a second fluid inlet and outlet port, and a cylinder-type membrane vertically arranged between the upper nozzle plate and the lower nozzle plate, and a pattern of crests and valleys is formed along a circumference of the membrane, the pattern of crests and valleys selectively contacting the upper nozzle plate and the lower nozzle plate. |
| US10473176B2 |
Compression spring assembly and methods of using the same
An all plastic compression spring assembly includes a slotted tubular spring element formed from a tensile polymer material and first and second loading cones received at opposing first and second ends of the slotted tubular spring element. The loading cones are axially compressible toward each other within the slotted tubular spring element whereby the slotted tubular spring element radially expands in tension to create an opposing radial contraction force, and in turn, an axial extension spring force. When released, the spring element elastically returns to its normal at rest shape, returning the cones to their normal at rest positions. |
| US10473175B1 |
Systems and methods for miniaturized drawbar extension springs
Extension springs that can be manufactured to a small size with a precise free length are described herein. An extension spring comprises a first drawbar member and a second drawbar member that extend along a same direction. The extension spring further comprises a compression spring coil that surrounds respective portions of the draw bar members. At either end of the spring coil are positioned end caps that surround the drawbar members. The end caps provide flat surfaces on which the ends of the spring coil rest in a resting position of the extension spring. The end caps are held against bent ends of arms of the drawbar members by tension of the spring coil. When the drawbar members are drawn apart from one another, the end caps compress the spring coil. Compression of the spring coil causes forces that resist the motion of the drawbar members apart from one another. |
| US10473172B2 |
Brake screw for surgical lighting systems
A brake screw for use with a surgical lighting system. The brake screw includes a screw member retained within a threaded aperture of a mounting hub of a spindle of an arm used with the lighting system. The screw member is rotationally adjusted to enable displacement in an axial direction. A brake member is in axial alignment with the screw member and disposed for movement in the axial direction against a mounting tube retained within the mounting hub upon rotational adjustment of the screw member. A rivet section is integrally formed with the brake member and has a distal end retained within an axial recess formed within the screw member, allowing movement of the brake member in the axial direction within the screw member. A bias member is disposed between the screw member and the brake member to create a biasing force that urges apart the screw member and the brake member along the axial direction. |
| US10473171B2 |
Extended torque tube
A torque tube for a brake assembly may include a tube portion having a first centerline axis, a conical back-leg portion extending from the tube portion in a radially outward angled orientation relative to the first centerline axis, and a lip portion disposed at a radially outward end of the conical back-leg portion. The lip portion may have added structural material to improve the structural properties of the torque tube to prevent or mitigate damage that would otherwise be caused by friction-induced vibrations. |
| US10473170B2 |
Centrifugally disengaging multi-mode clutch module
An automatic transmission multi-mode clutch module (10, 100) may include either two concentric (30B, 30A) or two axially (130B, 130A) spaced sets of pawls (30B, 130B, 30A, 130A) nested between a pair of inner (20, 120) and outer races (12, 112). A first set of pawls (30B, 130B) is secured to the outer race (12, 112), and may be selectively released from a normally spring-biased default engagement with the inner race (20, 120) by an actuator cam ring (16, 116) rotatable between two angular limits. A second set of pawls (30A, 130A) is secured to the inner race (20, 120), and is released from a normally spring-biased default engagement with the outer race (12, 112) whenever the inner race (20, 120) reaches a threshold rotational speed, at which centrifugal forces acting on the inner set of pawls (30A, 130A) overcome the default spring bias to disengage the pawls (30A, 130A) from the outer race (12, 112). In either the concentric or the axial arrangement, the two sets of pawls (30B, 130B, 30A, 130A) are configured to secure two clutch module races (12, 112, 20, 120) together in either locked, one-way, or unlocked operating modes. |
| US10473166B2 |
Frictional engagement element and automatic transmission
Provided is a frictional engagement element including: a plurality of friction plates; a piston movable between a releasing position and an engaging position; and a first urging mechanism and a second urging mechanism configured to urge the piston in an engaging direction from the releasing position toward the engaging position. Urging forces of both of the first urging mechanism and the second urging mechanism act on the piston from the releasing position to a first position in the engaging direction. The urging force of the first urging mechanism acts on the piston from the first position to a second position closer to the engaging position than the first position. The first position is a predetermined position where the piston does not abut against the friction plates, and the second position is a position where the piston abuts against the friction plates and the clearances are reduced. |
| US10473165B2 |
Self-adjusting clutch
A self-adjusting clutch mechanism has a pressure plate, a wear compensation plate, a wear sensor adjusting plate, a wear sensor, a clutch cover, a first screw thread, and a second screw thread. The mechanism on the clutch pressure plate can keep clutch pedal load and clutch clamp load constant. |
| US10473163B2 |
Torque-limiter health monitoring
A predictive system is provided and include a torque-limiter, a sensor disposed to sense a condition of the torque-limiter and a processing system. The processing system is coupled to the sensor and configured to process readings of the sensor, to calculate whether the condition of the torque-limiter is indicative of degradation or failure incidents based on the readings being processed and to determine whether an action should be taken based on a calculation result. |
| US10473162B1 |
Universal constant velocity joint system and method of use
A constant velocity (CV) joint system include a CV joint assembly with a first elongated ring pivotally attached to a second elongated ring via a first rotating housing and a second rotating housing, the first rotating housing and the second rotating housing being configured to rotate along a first axis; a third elongated ring pivotally attached to a fourth elongated ring via a third rotating housing and a fourth rotating housing, the third rotating housing and the fourth rotating housing being configured to rotate along a second axis; a first sliding support; and a second sliding support. The first sliding support includes a first elongated opening; and a second elongated opening, the first elongated opening extending in a direction relatively perpendicular to the second elongated opening. The second sliding support includes a third elongated opening and a fourth elongated opening, the third elongated opening extending in a direction relatively perpendicular to the fourth elongated opening. |
| US10473153B2 |
Air foil bearing assembly
An air foil bearing assembly is provided. The air foil bearing assembly includes a bearing housing that has a hollow into which a rotary shaft is fitted and a slot of which both ends are open toward front and rear sides formed on an inner circumference surface of the hollow. A bump foil is provided to have a combining portion inserted to the slot and disposed in the inner circumference surface of the hollow. A top foil having a combining portion is inserted to the slot and is disposed in an inner side of the bump foil. A stopper is disposed on one of the combining portions of the bump foil or the top foil to prevent the combining portion of the bump foil or the top foil from being displaced from the slot toward the front and rear sides. |
| US10473152B1 |
Linear bi-stable compliant crank-slider-mechanism
A linear element with two stable points, it can be used as trust element allows for change in length. It can transform structure from one shape to another thus allowing for morphable configuration. A new model is presented herein for a linear bi-stable compliant mechanism and design guidelines for its use. The mechanism is based on the crank-slider mechanism. This model takes into account the first mode of buckling and post-buckling behavior of a compliant segment to describe the mechanism's hi-stable behavior. The kinetic and kinematic equations, derived from the Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model, were solved numerically and are represented in plots. This representation allows the generation of step-by-step design guidelines. Because different applications may have different input requirements, two different design approaches are described herein with different parameters subsets as inputs. |
| US10473151B2 |
Utility mount with removable adjustable ball joint and device mount
An adjustable mount for holding equipment or an equipment-holding arm at, for example, a hunting location such as a deer blind or a tree stand includes a base mounting bracket and an adjustable ball joint removably secured to the mounting bracket. The base mounting bracket is secured to something and can be left in place during the hunting season. The ball joint can be removed and taken with the user. In some configurations, the ball joint can be locked in a desired orientation which is maintained when the ball joint is removed from the base mounting bracket so that the desired orientation is reestablished when the user replaces the ball joint in the base mounting bracket. One version of the ball joint includes a bearing block assembly that supports a down post. A configuration of the base mounting bracket can be readily assembled from a collapsed flat configuration. An articulating equipment holding arm with first and second arms provides an adjustable mount for holding equipment. |
| US10473150B2 |
Mounting arrangement for attachment to device sockets and methods of making and using
A mounting arrangement for coupling to a device having a pair of sockets includes a mount having a base, a ball, and a neck coupling the ball to the base; two device engagement units, each of the device engagement units having a receiving platform and a leg extending from the receiving platform, each of the legs of the two device engagement units having a male socket engagement element to engage one of the sockets of the device; and two fasteners to fasten the mount to the two device engagement units. The mounting arrangement is configured for the base to be received by, and fastened to, both of the receiving platforms of the two device engagement units and for the base to form a wedge pushing the male socket engagement elements into engagement with the sockets of the device to non-rotatably secure the mounting arrangement to the device. |
| US10473149B2 |
Pivot joint assembly for vehicle steering and suspension systems
The pivot joint assembly includes a housing with an inner wall that surrounds an inner bore which extends along a central axis. A stud is partially received in the inner bore, projects out of one axial end of the housing and is rotatable relative to the housing about the central axis. A sealing body, which is made of a single piece of a semi-rigid material, is in a static sealing condition with the housing and is in a dynamic sealing condition with the stud. The sealing body includes a portion which extends at an acute angle relative to the central axis to contact the stud such that the portion is deflectable to allow lubricant to escape the inner bore during greasing. |
| US10473148B2 |
Socket assembly with an improved boot
The moveable socket assembly which includes a housing that has an inner bore. A stud projects out of the inner bore of the housing, and the stud has a shank portion which is at least partially disposed outside of the inner bore. A boot with a flexible body and an adapter is also provided to seal the housing with the stud. The flexible body and the adapter of the boot are made as separate pieces from one another, and the flexible body extends from a first end portion that is sealed with the housing to a second end portion. The adapter is interposed between the second end portion of the flexible body and the shank portion of the stud, and the adapter holds the second end portion in a predetermined location relative to the shank portion. |
| US10473147B2 |
Socket assembly and method of making a socket assembly
The socket assembly includes a housing with an inner bore that extends from a closed end to an open end. A ball portion of a ball stud is received in the inner bore. A shank portion projects through the open end. A backing bearing is disposed in the inner bore and is movable in a radial direction relative to the housing. The backing bearing presents a first bearing surface which is in sliding contact with the ball portion. A radial ring with an annular shape is also disposed in the inner bore of the housing and presents a second bearing surface which is in sliding contact with an equator of the ball portion. An exit bearing is in the inner bore, and the exit bearing has a curved third bearing surface that is in sliding contact with an opposite hemisphere of the ball portion from the first bearing surface. |
| US10473146B2 |
Ball socket assembly
The ball socket assembly includes a housing with an open interior which extends along an axis. A bearing is disposed in the open interior of the housing and has a curved primary contact surface which surrounds the axis and surrounds a stud ball opening. A stud ball is disposed in the opening and is in sliding contact with the primary contact surface for allowing rotation of the stud ball relative to the bearing. The stud ball has an equator and is in sliding contact with the bearing on both sides of the equator. A stud is operably connected with the stud ball. A shoe is further provided and has a pair of supplemental contact surfaces that are biased against the stud ball. The shoe provides the stud with a predetermined rotational torque and also adjusts for wear in the assembly to maintain the performance of the socket assembly. |
| US10473145B2 |
Length-adjustable control rod
A length-adjustable control rod includes a first part including a cylindrical peripheral face which has a succession of peripheral grooves separated from one another and positioned in transverse planes. A second part includes a barrel configured to at least partially receive the first part and which has several cutouts configured to divide up the barrel into several cylinder sectors and at least one inner rib, protruding from the inner lateral face of the barrel, which has a section configured to be housed in one of the peripheral grooves. |
| US10473140B2 |
Insert nut and fastening device
An insert nut includes a cylindrical portion into which a bolt is removably insertable. An inner periphery of the cylindrical portion includes a first region, a second region and a third region which are provided in the order named from an upstream side to a downstream side with respect to an insertion direction of the bolt at an inner periphery thereof. The first region and the third region include a female screw portion threadably engageable with the bolt. The second region has a minimum inner diameter larger than D1+2×h1×0.3, where D1 is an inner diameter of the female screw portion in the first region at a screw thread position and h1 is a height of a screw thread of the female screw portion in the first region. |
| US10473139B2 |
2-component clip
A lightweight construction fastener or clip having a clip body and a fastening element 32. The clip body includes a first leg and a second leg, which are connected with each other by a web 45 at one end. The clip body is formed of one piece, but includes at least two volume sections 61, 62, wherein the first section 61 is formed of a first plastic and the second volume section 62 is formed of a second plastic. The properties of the first and second plastics are different from each other with respect to one or more criteria. A method for producing such a clip body includes manufacturing it in one piece in a multi-component injection molding process from at least two plastics. Further the invention includes a method for manufacturing the lightweight construction fastener or clip by placing a fastening element 32 into the injection molding tool; encapsulating the fastening element 32 and overmolding the fastening element 32 in a multi-component injection molding process. |
| US10473138B2 |
Lightweight construction fastener
A lightweight construction fastener 30 has two basic elements, a clip body 40 including a connected fastening element 32. The clip body 40 has a first leg 41 and a second leg 42, which are arranged located opposite one another and which are connected to one another by a web 45 on one end. The fastening element 32 includes a flat base plate 34 with two protrusions 35, 36, and a cylindrical holding part 33. On its outer side, the second leg 42 has two frames 43, 44 with apertures 46, 47. They are provided to accommodate the protrusions 35, 36 of the fastening element 32, so that the fastening element is held in the clip body 40 with play, but in a captive manner. The frames 43, 44 are substantially arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis LA, which is why the orientation of the two protrusions 35, 36 is also oriented along the axis LA. |
| US10473137B2 |
Winged threaded fastener
The present disclosure provides various embodiments of a winged threaded fastener primarily suited to be used to connect a wooden object to a metal object. The fastener includes a head, a shank, a helical thread formation extending from the shank, a first wing extending from the shank, and a second wing extending from the shank. In various embodiments, the wings are offset along the longitudinal axis of the shank with respect to each other and are angled with respect the longitudinal axis of the shank. |
| US10473136B2 |
Vehicle seating cushion with snap-fit fasteners to interconnect with snap-fit receivers on a structural support
A seating assembly for a vehicle comprises: a cushion comprising an outer edge and a plurality of snap-fit-fasteners; and a carrier comprising an outer edge surface and a plurality of snap-fit receivers near the outer edge surface of the carrier arranged to receive the plurality of snap-fit fasteners; wherein the plurality of snap-fit receivers have received and are retaining the plurality of snap-fit fasteners such that the cushion is interconnected with the carrier; and wherein the plurality of snap-fit fasteners and plurality of receivers are arranged to prevent the edge of the cushion from rolling up. The cushion further comprises a lip having an inward facing surface; wherein the cushion at least partially surrounds the carrier with at least a portion of the inward facing surface of the lip facing the outer edge surface of the carrier. |
| US10473135B2 |
Biased blind side temporary fasteners, systems and methods
A temporary fastener a plunger having a distal portion including a plurality of plunger fingers, where depressing the plunger causes axial translation of a collet body to place the temporary fastener in an activated state where a plurality of flexible fingers in the collet body radially converge and where releasing the plunger places the temporary fastener in a clamped state in which the plurality of flexible fingers in the collet body are outwardly displaced. The temporary fastener further includes a web element positioned at a proximal end of a rod and including a plurality of opening permitting the plurality of plunger fingers to axially translate there through during depression and release of the plunger. The temporary fastener further includes a spring positioned within a case and exerting a restorative force on the collet body and the plunger in response to depression of the plunger. |
| US10473131B1 |
Helical strakes and collar
A vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppression system including a strake having a cylindrical body portion dimensioned to encircle an underlying tubular and having opposing ends that form at least one gap extending from a top end to a bottom end of the body portion, a fin portion extending radially outward from the body portion and helically positioned around the body portion, and a connecting member dimensioned to secure the opposing ends of the body portion in a fixed position with respect to one another; and a collar dimensioned to encircle the underlying tubular and position the strake at a fixed axial location along the underlying tubular. |
| US10473128B2 |
Actuating drive for a control valve, in particular steam turbine control valve and method for operating same
An actuating drive for a control valve contains a working cylinder which has a piston and a piston rod and forms an actuator for the control valve. The piston bounds a first pressure space and a second pressure space to displace the piston counter to the force of a spring by applying pressure to the first pressure space via a working medium. A working medium circuit is connected to the working cylinder at first and second pressure connections to introduce and evacuate the working medium into/from the first and second pressure spaces. The working medium circuit has a working medium pump connected to convey the working fluid, at a pressure side, to the first pressure connection, and at a suction side, to the second pressure connection. The first pressure space is permanently connected, so as to convey working fluid, to the second pressure space via a bypass line. |
| US10473123B2 |
Metal bellows type accumulator
The invention provides a metal bellows type accumulator having an outer shell provided in its one end with a pressure introducing passage in an opening manner, an axially expandable metal bellows including peak portions directed to an outer side in a radial direction and trough portions directed to an inner side alternately in an axial direction, having an axially fixed end to the outer shell and separating an inner chamber of the outer shell into a pressure introducing chamber and a gas chamber charged with cushion gas, and a support member arranged in an inner periphery of the metal bellows, fixed to the outer shell and constructed by a cushioning member. A clearance in a radial direction between the trough portions of the metal bellows and the support member is smaller than a clearance in a radial direction between the peak portions of the metal bellows and the outer shell. |
| US10473122B2 |
Compact air aspirator with annular ejector
An aspirator assembly for an inflatable device includes an outer housing disposed about an axis, an inner housing disposed about the axis, and a manifold coupled through the outer housing to an annulus located between the inner housing and the outer housing, the manifold providing pressurized gas to said annulus via a plurality of gas ejector nozzles. The annulus may be divided into a plurality of annulus segments by a plurality of vanes protruding radially from the inner housing. |
| US10473117B2 |
Diffuser case for a gas powered turbine
A turbine engine includes a diffuser connecting a compressor section and a turbine section. The diffuser includes a diffuser frame and multiple diffuser case sections are connected to the diffuser frame. |
| US10473116B2 |
Engine cooling fan casing shroud with unobstructed outlet
A shroud for an axial-flow fan includes an annular barrel. The barrel includes a cylindrical segment and a conical segment downstream of the cylindrical segment. The conical segment is angled radially inwardly from the cylindrical segment at an angle of between 15 and 35 degrees. The shroud also includes an annular outlet bell coupled to the conical segment at an apex defining a transition between the conical segment and the outlet bell. The outlet bell and barrel contain a plurality of leakage stators. A stator pedestal extends from a radially-inner surface of the outlet bell to a stator pedestal tip, and a depth (a) of the outlet bell measured from an end surface of the outlet bell to the apex is less than one-half a depth (b) measured from the end surface of the outlet bell to the stator tip in the direction of axial airflow through the fan shroud. |
| US10473114B2 |
Compressor assembly for a turbocharger
The present invention relates to a compressor assembly for a turbocharger. The compressor assembly may comprise a spiral housing with a flow channel which is designed to convey a fluid which can be sucked up from outside the compressor assembly, a compressor outlet flange which is fluidically connected to the spiral housing via the flow channel, and an injection device designed to introduce a fluid from outside the compressor assembly into the flow channel, wherein the injection device is arranged outside the flow channel of the spiral housing. |
| US10473110B2 |
Centrifugal compressor having equalizing vent to prevent grease from being pushed out of a bearing
A centrifugal compressor including: a impeller; a wall portion having an opposed surface that is spaced apart from and opposed to a back surface of the impeller; an insertion hole, which is formed in the wall portion, and is configured to receive a shaft inserted into the insertion hole; a bearing, which is provided in the insertion hole or apart from the impeller with respect to the insertion hole, and is configured to axially support the shaft through interposition of grease being a lubricant inside; an electric motor which is provided on a side opposite to the impeller over the wall portion; and an opposed hole, which is formed in the wall portion, is disclosed. The opposed hole has one end opened in the opposed surface and another end opened at a position opposed to a stator of the electric motor on a side opposite to the impeller. |
| US10473108B2 |
Blower motor assembly having air directing surface
A blower assembly includes a centrifugal fan and a motor assembly. The centrifugal fan has a plurality of axially extending impeller blades, a first axial end, and an air inlet. The air inlet is at the first axial end of the centrifugal fan. The motor assembly comprises a stator, a rotor, and an air directing surface. The air directing surface is shaped and configured to direct air drawn into the air inlet radially outwardly toward the impeller blades. The air directing surface extends generally along the rotor axis from its first end to its second end. At least a surface region of the air directing surface generally circumscribes the rotor axis and diverges radially outwardly as such surface region of the air directing surface extends away from the first end toward the second end. |
| US10473107B1 |
Variable performance axial flow ducted fan with high efficiency and reduced current drawn
The ideal design for a fan with variable performance that can replace a family of current axial flow ducted, un-ducted, and centrifugal fan designs by meeting air flow and pressure requirements while drawing less electric current to rotate and thus produce the required flow not only would reduce cost of operation over the life of the fan but opens new possibilities for direct connection to solar collection systems by greatly extending the life of the battery charge employed by the designer of the collection system. In addition the entry of flying machines using pairs of lifting fans such as hover bikes and quadcopters, manned or unmanned is driving a need to re-examine the application of force applied to rotate these fans to achieve a reduction in aircraft weight and increase flying time for a given battery charge or load of fuel. |
| US10473105B2 |
Centrifugal blood pump impeller and flow path
An impeller and rotor structure for a magnetically levitated pump define a smooth primary flow path and U-shaped secondary flow path, which extends around an annular magnetic rotor. The u-shaped secondary flow path is defined by a large outer side gap along an outer surface of the rotor, a large bottom gap along a bottom surface of the rotor and a large inner gap along an inner surface of the rotor. Shroudless impeller blades are purely radial and overhung from a thin peripheral ring attached to the annular magnetic rotor. A center post having a low aspect ratio extends through the annular rotor. The low aspect ratio is configured to prevent flow in the primary flow path from colliding directly with flow in the secondary flow path at the inner radial gap. |
| US10473099B2 |
Modular pump system
A modular system of reciprocating pumps is to be designed in such a way that any type of said reciprocating pumps can be economically assembled and tested on a flexible assembly device. The magnetic part is a pre-assembled subassembly that can be tested separately and is overmolded with plastic material; the connection point to the pump part has a given connecting contour that allows different types of pump parts of the modular system to be connected; and the pump part is a pre-assembled subassembly that can be tested for the displaced volume thereof. Feed pumps and metering pumps for fuels and aqueous reagents. |
| US10473097B2 |
System and method for speed control of variable speed pumping systems
A system and method for controlling a speed of a pumping system includes a controller, a variable frequency drive connected to the controller, a motor connected to the variable frequency drive, a pump connected to the motor, a set of sensors connected to the motor, the pump, and the controller, and an interface connected to the controller. The controller includes a processor and a memory connected to the processor. A motor control process is saved in the memory and executed by the processor that generates a motor control signal to control the speed of the motor and the pump. |
| US10473094B2 |
Thermal morphing anisogrid structure
A thermally-controlled actuator includes a cylindrical anisogrid structure formed from a plurality of circumferentially offset clockwise and counter-clockwise helical members, and a plurality of longitudinally offset cylindrical ring members. A thermal control element is configured to control the temperature of at least some of the members. The cylindrical anisogrid structure has a top interface constraint and a bottom interface constraint, and the thermal control element is configured to control a displacement of the top interface constraint relative to the bottom interface constraint via control of the temperature of at least one of the helical members. |
| US10473093B2 |
Soft actuator using thermoelectric effect
The present invention relates to a soft actuator moving linearly against external stimuli whose expansion and contraction can be actively controlled, suggesting that the actuator of the invention overcomes the problems of the conventional soft actuators, The soft actuator of the present invention can be repetitively driven quickly and accurately by controlling heating and cooling by using thermoelectric effect and, the soft actuator of the present invention can realize bending, tensioning, compression, and rotational driving of a tubular device containing a driver. |
| US10473089B2 |
Vertical axis wind turbine
A vertical axis turbine is disclosed, having a vertically oriented rotor shaft, a plurality of radially extended arms rotatably mounted on the rotor shaft, and a chassis at the distal end of each. For each chassis, an upper blade set is on an upper portion, having upper blade panels interconnected pivotally by upper guide links, and a lower blade set is on a lower portion, having lower blade panels interconnected pivotally by lower guide links. Each chassis has an upper shaft with an upper gear, coupled to the upper guide links, and a lower shaft with a lower gear coupled to the lower guide links. The upper gear and the lower gear mesh, limiting rotation of the upper shaft and lower shaft to opposite directions with similar rotational speeds. |
| US10473086B2 |
Erosion resistant leading edge cap for a wind turbine rotor blade
A wind turbine rotor blade may generally include a blade root, a blade tip opposite the blade root and a body shell extending between the blade root and the blade tip. The body shell may include a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge and may define an outer shell surface. The rotor blade may also include a leading edge cap coupled to the body shell at the leading edge. The leading edge cap may be formed from a fiber-reinforced composite including an inner surface extending directly adjacent to the body shell along a portion of the outer shell surface and an outer surface opposite the inner surface. The fiber-reinforced composite may include a plurality of fibers surrounded by a thermoplastic resin material, with the thermoplastic resin material extending throughout the fiber reinforced composite from the inner surface to the outer surface. |
| US10473083B2 |
Inertial wave energy converter
A wave energy converter generates power from a wave-induced separation of a positively buoyant flotation module and a submerged negatively buoyant mass, using a rotating pulley to drive a power-take-off system. |
| US10473075B2 |
Fuel rail and method of manufacturing same
An objective of the present invention is to provide a fuel rail that can be used at a high fuel pressure of 50 MPa or more, for example, has good engine mountability, and has improved material yield. The present invention is regarding a fuel rail including a main pipe portion 10 extending in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of distribution pipe portions 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d branching from the main pipe portion in a cross direction, in a fuel supply system in which a fuel compressed by a fuel pump passes through a fuel passage hole of the fuel rail fixed to an engine trough a bracket or a stay, the fuel is supplied to injectors, and the fuel is injected into the engine, the present invention is to cut and form the main pipe portion 10 and the plurality of distribution pipe portions 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d from a same single-sheet plate 100, the single-sheet plate being a plane plate or a flat plate having an irregular shape in cross section, and to seamlessly configure a main pipe hole 11, distribution pipe holes 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, and injector attaching holes 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d, without joints. |
| US10473074B2 |
Leakage return circuit connector
A method for molding a connector which includes a connecting element having a cylindrical body and, one arm extending along an arm axis for the L-shaped connector or, two arms extending along two different arm axes for the T-shaped connector, the body being capable of being connected to an injector, and each arm being capable of being connected to the end of a pipe. The molding method includes a) providing a mold having a cavity for a T-shaped connecting element, the cavity including a cavity for a body and two cavities for arms and b) arranging an insert in the cavity for one of the two arms when an L-shaped connecting element is to be molded. |
| US10473073B2 |
Fuel injector having valve stack with vented back-up plate for check seal retention
A fuel injector includes a valve stack forming a seal cavity, and an outlet check extending through the seal cavity. A check seal is positioned within the seal cavity and seals about the outlet check. The valve stack also includes a back-up plate trapping the check seal within the seal cavity, such that a crevice is formed within the seal cavity between the check seal and the back-up plate. The back-up plate has a vent formed therein that fluidly connects the crevice to a drain. |
| US10473072B2 |
Fuel pump locking assembly
A fuel pump to fuel tank attachment assembly for a vehicle includes a retainer ring firmly attached to a portion of the fuel tank. The retainer ring is formed of the same material as the material of the fuel tank. A lock ring is positioned over, and secured to the retainer ring. A flange of the fuel pump is positioned and clamped between the retainer ring and the lock ring. The retainer ring and the lock ring circumferentially engage the flange of the fuel pump, in the mounted position of the assembly. |
| US10473068B2 |
Kit for sealing joints of motorcycle intake manifold with cylinder heads
A kit maintains a seal of a joint of a fuel intake port member of a cylinder head and a fuel distribution port member of an intake manifold of a Harley Davidson® motorcycle with panhead, ironhead or shovelhead engine. The kit includes an elastomeric band and a pair of circular clamps. |