Document Document Title
US07721504B2 Floor panel having tongue and groove coupling edges
Hard panels formed from a wood-based material and having a decorative layer for floor coverings are provided, at least on two opposite edges, with coupling devices made in one piece with the panels wherein similar panels may be coupled together to form a floor covering, wherein these coupling devices provide for an interlocking in a direction perpendicular to the plane of coupled panels, as well as in a direction perpendicular to the edges concerned and parallel to the plane of coupled panels. These coupling devices are constituted of a tongue and a groove. The top side of the tongue has a protrusion that cooperates with a meshing recess located in the lower side of the upper lip of the groove of the coupling devices, and a portion extending generally parallel with the plane of the panel to form a contact surface cooperating with the lower side of the upper lip of the groove.
US07721493B2 Roof panel assembly with skylight
A roof assembly includes a skylight panel and a roof panel. The roof panel includes a skylight opening to accommodate the skylight panel and also includes water management channels disposed adjacent to the skylight panel.
US07721490B1 System and method for installing a base for a roadside utility pole
A system and method for creating a pole support base for the installation of a road-side pole. A mounting head assembly is provided. Support legs extend from the bottom surface of the mounting head assembly and support the mounting head assembly at a predetermined height that can be selectively adjusted. Pole mounts are provided on the top surface of the mounting head assembly that enable the base of a pole to be bolted to the mounting head assembly. A hole is excavated in the place where the pole is to be erected. The mounting head assembly is placed into the hole. The legs support the mounting head assembly within the hole and enable the mounting head assembly to be adjusted for height and levelness. The hole is then filled with poured concrete until at least the legs are submersed.
US07721488B1 Flashing apparatus for external use on structures
A flashing apparatus for external use on structures is described. The flashing apparatus essentially serves as an accessory for fiber cement siding and is designed to provide a certain level of water resistance in the seams between the ends of the sections of the siding. The flashing apparatus has a forward projecting flange and comes in various heights to accommodate different sizes of fiber cement siding that may be used in constructing a structure.
US07721484B2 Rodent killing device
A rodent killing trap includes a case having front and rear sides. A plurality of electrodes are operatively coupled to the case and exposed adjacent the case front and rear sides so as to electrocute a rodent upon contact. The rodent killing trap may be connected to an electrical power source and includes a switch for selectively actuating the plurality of electrodes by electrical connection to the power source. The device may only be activated or deactivated using a tool or implement so as to be safe from use by children.
US07721483B2 Device and method for catching zooplankton or other microorganisms
A harvesting device for zooplankton (1) or other micro organisms in a body of water (2). The new and inventive in the harvesting method is amongst others a bubble diffuser (3) arranged for being submerged in the body of water (2) and arranged for releasing gas bubbles (4) preferably air, in the body of water so as for said bubbles (4) may attach to zooplankton (1) and bring them closer to the surface (21) of said body of water (2) for collection by means of a skimmer or trawl (5). Said trawl is further arranged as a skimmer with a transportation tube from the aft of said skimmer to a vessel which both tows the trawl and processes the harvested zooplankton at the same time.
US07721482B1 Folding front sight
A folding front sight for a firearm is disclosed. The folding front sight includes a base with a forward end and a rearward end. A forward sight frame at the forward end of the base is included. The forward sight frame includes a front sight post at an upper end thereof, and is movable between an upright deployed position and a stowed position. A support member has a rear end extending from the rearward end of the base and a forward end engaged with the upper end of the forward sight frame to support the forward sight frame, when the forward sight frame is in the deployed position. The base, the forward sight frame and the support member cooperate to define a triangular silhouette when the forward sight frame is in the deployed position.
US07721479B2 Sight for a handheld weapon
A rear sight for a handheld weapon. The rear sight includes a tubular device that includes a tubular member comprising a material capable of transmitting visible light so that a target may be viewed through the tubular member, the tubular device, when mounted on a weapon, having at least two circle-like images at different locations along the length thereof that are visible when aiming the weapon on which the sight is mounted at a target by viewing the target through the tubular member. When aiming the weapon, a user will look through the tubular member towards the target and for proper alignment with respect to the target, will maneuver the weapon until the circle-like images are concentrically disposed. This constitutes a simple operation that can be quickly performed, particularly also in low light conditions.
US07721473B2 Dragline excavator bucket
A bucket for a dragline has a pivoted mounting by having two spaced pivotal arms, typically of arcuate or cranked form, pivotally connected to the outside of a rear wall of the bucket about pivot axes extending transverse to the bucket and below the upper rim of the bucket whereby pivotal connections at the upper end of each pivot arm may be disposed over the rim and within the bucket zone. Thus the pivot arms may be moved in use through greater than 90° from a position in which the bucket is vertically suspended. The pivot arms act to spread splayed hoist chains without a spreader bar.
US07721472B2 Fine sediment removal attachment for a dredge
Contaminated fine sediment is removed from surfaces beneath a body of water by a shrouded, self-cleaning, wheel-guided, open suction attachment for a swinging ladder suction dredge with articulating capabilities. The attachment comprises a wheel-guided, suction assembly in which the slurry is contained in a shroud. The shroud is attached to a head plate, and is designed to both enclose the solid particles suspended as a result of the removal operation, and to direct the suspended material to the mouth of the suction pipe. Inside the area surrounded by the shroud is a gatling plate rotated by a hydraulic motor mounted just above the shroud and head plate.
US07721470B2 Magnetic shoe attachment
Embodiments of the present invention provide a magnetic attachment (10) having a first magnetic portion (12) operable to be positioned on the inside of a clothing article and a second magnetic portion (14) operable to be positioned on the outside of the clothing article and coupled therewith through magnetic force. The attachment (10) also includes a decorative element (20) coupled with the second magnetic portion (14). Such a configuration allows clothing articles, including shoes and purses, to be easily decorated without damaging the articles or interfering with their use.
US07721469B2 Shoe having retractable cleats
An improved athletic shoe for use in situations where cleats are required. The shoe is provided with a plurality of cleats coupled to the sole of the shoe. Also coupled to the sole of the shoe and provided around the cleats is a resilient material such as rubber. The cleats and rubber are sized and configured so as to allow the resilient material to compress and extend the cleats relative to the material when pressure is applied to the sole. Similarly, when weight is withdrawn from the sole, the resilient material biases the cleats into a retracted position, thereby allowing the shoe to move laterally or in any other direction relative to the ground. By allowing the shoe to move freely when weight is released, injuries otherwise associated with an athlete being struck while the cleats are engaged in the ground are substantially eliminated.
US07721466B2 Shoe sole and insole structure
A shoe sole and insole structure is disclosed. The sole comprises an upper sole and a lower sole; the lower sole has a plurality of through-holes thereon and includes a plurality of lock plugs inserted respectively inside the through-holes; the upper sole has the same number of lock bars on its undersurface. The upper sole directly laminates over the lower sole by inserting the lock bars into the through-holes and then securing the lock bars with lock plugs by inserting the lock plugs into the through-holes. The insole has a plurality of groove rings on its undersurface, each groove ring being disposed with a small through-hole, and further comprises a plurality of ladle discs respectively glued in the groove ring to form an insole with a plurality of air pockets.
US07721465B2 Shoe having an inflatable bladder
An article of footwear including a sole and an upper with an exterior and interior surface, and one or more bladders which comprises at least one of the exterior or interior surfaces of the upper. The bladder comprising sheets of polyurethane or polyester film attached together to form an airtight seal. The article of footwear also includes a inflation mechanism for selectively introducing air in the one or more bladders. The inflation mechanism is located under the foot of the wearer to be activated by the normal action of the wearer to inflate the one or more bladders. The article of footwear may also include an assembly for connecting several tubes to one under foot inflation mechanism. The article of footwear may also include inflatable laces that are inflated by an underfoot inflation mechanism.
US07721460B2 Micro-cycle energy transfer systems and methods
A carrier supports property-transferring material and includes a first portion exposed to a first property and a second portion exposed to a second property. The first property is different from the second property causing the property-transferring material to develop micro-cyclic property transfer between the first and second properties. The first and second properties each include at least one of heat and mass.
US07721458B2 Level adjusting device for a cutter head of a jointer/planer machine
A level adjusting device for a cutter head of a jointer/planer machine, includes a front support frame for supporting a front anti-friction bearing unit that holds a front journal segment of the cutter head, a rear support frame including left and right base abutments, a height-adjustable carrier for receiving a rear anti-friction bearing member that holds a rear journal segment of the cutter head, left and right lugs respectively having inner tubular threaded surfaces, and left and right adjusting screws respectively having threaded segments which are threadedly and respectively engaged with the inner tubular threaded surfaces, and abutting ends which are in frictional engagement with the base abutments, respectively, and which are turnable to move the respective lugs relative to the adjusting screws so as to raise or lower the carrier, thereby enabling level adjustment of the cutter head.
US07721455B2 Measuring instrument
A measuring instrument includes a detector that outputs a measured value, a digital display unit, an analog display unit having a plurality of display segments, and a display controller. The display controller includes: a tolerance range display unit that lights or blinks display segments corresponding to a preset tolerance range relative to a preset value; a first determiner that obtains a difference between the present value and a present measured value and determines whether the difference is within an analog display range wider than the tolerance range; a difference display unit that lights a display segment corresponding to the last one or the last two digits of the present measured value when the first determiner determines that the difference is within the analog display range; a second determiner that determines whether the difference is within the tolerance range; and an acceptance or rejection display unit that displays a result determined by the second determiner.
US07721454B2 Rock fashionable calendar horologe
A calendar indicating device can include easy placement through a north-south block (1) to orient an equinox line (3) to provide sunrise shadow indications of one or more solstice events such as the summer solstice or the winter solstice at the moment of sunrise. Designs can be based on remnants of artifacts that included some of the possible components, even for prehistoric man, in one integral stone device built from a stone base (2). Embodiments may include sunset indicator(s), solar altitude indicator(s), indicators for the maximum solar altitudes on the summer and/or winter solstice dates, and alignment aid(s).
US07721453B1 Calibrated archery bow sight
The current invention relates to the need in the art for a bow sighting device that provides accuracy with the versatility that allows the sighting device to be readily transferred to any bow and fully calibrated using minimal sight in distances. From two sight-in yardages, the current invention extrapolates the remaining yardages on a visible scale essentially filling in the gaps using known mathematical principles of trajectory. Vertically arced displacement of a bow sight used in conjunction with the current invention is capable of performing this desirable function on any bow while allowing the archer to manually select a desired range from full draw.
US07721449B2 Vegetable peeler
The invention relates to a vegetable peeler having two gripping surfaces connected to each other by a peeling blade as well as a cross-piece. According to the invention, the two lateral gripping surfaces and the interconnecting cross-piece are forming a holder, the dimension of the legs (L) of the U-shaped holder being shorter in peeling direction (A) than the distance (B) between the gripping surfaces. In this way, direct guiding the peeling blade is enabled without any lever arm. The peeling blade, when used, is directly between the fingers and, therefore, can be guided in an extremely precise, handy and safe way.
US07721447B2 Hand-held cutter with automatic blade changer
A hand-held cutter with automatic blade changer which has a casing, short blades each with an aperture, a pushbutton and a plug, and the casing is composed of an outer casing, a fixed blade holder and a retractable blade holder; and it further has a blade changer which is divided into a blade unloading chamber and a blade loading chamber. The present invention has the advantages of being simple in construction and convenient to use, and allowing the users to change and dispose of the blades without touching them, thereby effectively protecting personal safety.
US07721446B2 Wet razor with conforming blade support
A safety razor assembly having a blade structure including one or more flexible elongate blades supported by a structure that is deformable to permit the blade structure to flex to follow concave or convex curvatures. The support structure can include two suspension members supporting a blade structure along respective edges, and each suspension member has several support elements interconnected by hinges and in sliding cooperation with the blade structure. The deformation of the suspension members is guided by a guide arrangement located adjacent the suspension members.
US07721440B2 Method for manufacturing inkjet head
A method of manufacturing an inkjet head includes laminating a first separation film on a substrate and laminating a second separation film on the first separation film. A lower structure having a pressure chamber storing ink and an ink ejecting nozzle is formed independently of the substrate. An upper structure having an actuator changing the pressure of the pressure chamber to eject ink is formed on the second separation film with a liquid or vapor phase method. Grooves are formed in the upper structure extending from an upper surface of the upper structure to an interface between the first separation film and the second separation film. A separation liquid applied to the interface at a region exposed by the grooves separates the first and second separation films to release the upper structure from the substrate. The upper structure and the lower structure are then joined together.
US07721437B2 Methods for assembling gas turbine engine combustors
A method facilitates assembling a combustor for a gas turbine engine, wherein the combustor includes a swirler assembly. The method comprises machining material to form a domeplate, positioning a sealplate including an overhanging portion against the domeplate, securing the sealplate in position relative to the domeplate with a welding process, and welding the swirler assembly to the domeplate.
US07721431B2 Method of making a piston
An engine piston is manufactured by assembling an outer shell, comprising a crown and tubular side wall in which a ring groove region and skirt are defined, with a plate-like mounting member and bonding them together by brazing or welding. The mounting member is located within the tubular side wall displaced axially from the crown and is bonded near, but displaced radially from, its centre to the crown and at its periphery to the side wall at the end of the ring groove region. The mounting member carries gudgeon pin boss means facing away from the crown. The outer shell is formed by extrusion or the like that permits minimal wall thickness and the bonded structure is of light weight but great strength and stiffness, particularly in the ring groove region. A combustion bowl formed in the crown facilitates bonding to the mounting member and defines with the mounting member an annular cooling chamber adjacent the ring groove region and crown.
US07721427B2 Method for manufacturing single sided substrate
Holes (40a) are formed with a laser beam through an insulating substrate (40) on which a metallic layer (42) is formed and via holes (36a) are formed by filling up the holes (40a) with a metal (46). After the via holes (36a) are formed, a conductor circuit (32a) is formed by etching the metallic layer (42) and a single-sided circuit board (30A) is formed by forming projecting conductors (38a) on the surfaces of the via holes (36a). The projecting conductors (38a) on the circuit board (30A) are put on the conductor circuit (32b) of another single-sided circuit board (30B) with adhesive layers (50) composed of an uncured resin in-between and heated and pressed against the circuit (32b). The projecting conductors (38a) get in the uncured resin by pushing aside the resin and are electrically connected to the circuit (32b). Since single-sided circuit boards (30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D) can be inspected for defective parts before the boards (30A, 30B, 30C, and 30D) are laminated upon one another, only defectless single-sided circuit can be used in the step of lamination.
US07721425B2 Method for connecting electronic parts
A method of connecting an electronic part, containing: forming an electroless nickel plating coat containing phosphorous on a substrate metal layer which constitutes a connecting terminal of an electronic part; and carrying out connecting to the nickel plating coat through a lead-free solder, wherein a half-width of X-ray diffraction of a (111) plane of Ni crystal in the nickel plating coat is 5 degrees or less.
US07721416B2 Method for installing a magnet valve
A magnet valve is installed by a method in which the fully machined valve member is locked in a receptacle of a fixed installation device. A magnet plate and a spacer plate are mounted on a receiving mandrel. The magnet plate, spacer plate and valve member are pressed against the receptacle, then the magnet plate and the spacer plate are displaced relative to the valve member, and the armature is secured to the receiving mandrel of the valve member in such a way that the armature then rests on the magnet plate.
US07721413B2 Method for inserting of preformed hairpin conductors into a rotor or stator
Method and apparatus for insertion of preformed rotor and stator conductors into a twisting machine for forming hairpin shaped conductors of rectangular wire into stator conductors. The method comprises providing a forming fixture having a plurality of pockets distributed in equal number in an even number of adjacent circles concentric with a center of the forming fixture, receiving hairpin conductors positioned side by side from a feeder and feeding the hairpins, one by one, into a hairpin insertion assembly oriented above the forming fixture so that the legs are side by side along a line passing through the center and disposed adjacent a pair of pockets in first and second adjacent circles, and with the forming fixture angularly indexed relative to the hairpin insertion assembly, pushing a hairpin conductor down so that the legs thereof extend into a respective pair of pockets, and indexing the forming fixture about the center to align an additional pair of pockets with a hairpin in the hairpin insertion assembly and repeating until the forming fixture is substantially populated with hairpin conductors.
US07721411B2 Method of manufacturing an acoustic wave device
A method of manufacturing an acoustic wave device includes: forming a conductive pattern on a wafer made of a piezoelectric substrate having an acoustic wave element, the conductive pattern including a first conductive pattern being continuously formed on a cutting region for individuating the wafer, a second conductive pattern being formed on an electrode region where a plated electrode is to be formed and being connected to the acoustic wave element and a third conductive pattern connecting the first conductive pattern and the second pattern; forming an insulating layer on the wafer so as to have an opening on the second conductive pattern; forming the plated electrode on the second conductive pattern by providing an electrical current to the second conductive pattern via the first conductive pattern and the third conductive pattern; and cutting off and individuating the wafer along the cutting region.
US07721405B2 Joining method for operating a fastening tool
In a method for joining at least two plate-shaped workpieces by a fastening tool and a device for operating the fastening tool, the fastening tool comprises a punch for exerting a punch force to perform a joining operation and a clamp for exerting a clamping force upon the workpieces at the joining area. During the joining operation the punch exerts a high punch force to perform the joining operation and the clamp exerts substantially no clamping force to allow for free material deformation in the joining area. After the joining operation both the punch and the clamp exert high forces at the same time to reduce any material deformations of the workpieces and to provide for compression of the workpieces in the joining area. Preferably the invention is used in a riveting tool for setting self-piercing rivets; as an alternative it may be used in a clinching tool.
US07721404B2 Method of producing honeycomb structure
A method for producing a honeycomb structure is disclosed which includes forming two hexagonal cell metal plates each having uniformly-spaced hexagonal pegs, using a mould and a press, applying a fusing material or strong adhesive to outer surfaces of the hexagonal pegs, and overlapping the metal plates such that surfaces of the metal plates, from which the hexagonal pegs are protruded, face each other, and coupling the metal plates such that adjacent ones of the hexagonal pegs of the metal plates are engaged, thereby producing a honeycomb structure having continuously joined cells.
US07721401B2 Reinforcement of irregular pressure vessels
A method of manufacturing a ram blowout preventer including analyzing a first model of a ram blowout preventer, identifying regions of high stress concentrations in the first model at a selected loading condition, constructing the ram blowout preventer, and selectively reinforcing the regions of high stress concentration corresponding to the manufactured ram blowout preventer. Other embodiments include a method to reinforce an irregular pressure vessel, including analyzing the irregular pressure vessel, identifying regions of high stress concentration in the irregular pressure vessel, and selectively reinforcing the regions of high stress concentration. Other embodiments include a ram blowout preventer having a body, a vertical bore through the body, a horizontal through the body intersecting the vertical bore, two ram assemblies disposed in the horizontal bore on opposite sides of the body, wherein the ram assemblies are adapted for controlled lateral movement to and from the vertical bore, and wherein a portion of the body is selectively reinforced.
US07721397B2 Method for fabricating capacitive ultrasonic transducers
A capacitive ultrasonic transducer includes a flexible layer, a first conductive layer on the flexible layer, a support frame on the first conductive layer, the support frame including a flexible material, a membrane over the support frame being spaced apart from the first conductive layer by the support frame, the membrane including the flexible material, a cavity defined by the first conductive layer, the support frame and the membrane, and a second conductive layer on the membrane.
US07721396B2 Coupling apparatus with accessory attachment
Embodiments of the present invention provide fastening devices adapted to couple to rigid members and which may further include attachment features for coupling items to the rigid member.
US07721395B2 Automatic container coupling tool
An automatic container coupling tool is disclosed, such coupling tool includes a coupling platform, a bottom engager and a top guiding protrusion oppositely extended from the coupling platform, the bottom engager has an engager neck, a pair of projecting lug extended from the engager neck to form a pair of holding cavity between the coupling platform and the projecting lugs, once the bottom engager is inserted into a corner fitting housing of a lower container, the bottom engager is rotated allowing the ceiling wall inserted into the holding cavity. The top guiding protrusion has a front guiding slope and a rear retaining shoulder, such that after the bottom engager is interlocked with the lower container, an upper container is perched onto the coupling tool, the opening edge of the bottom corner housing of the upper container will bias against the front guiding slop thus rearwardly shift the top guiding protrusion to snap onto the corner housing so as to couple the upper container onto the coupling tool as well.
US07721390B2 Handle for hand-held power tool
A handle (2; 4) for a hand-held power tool (6) includes a support member (20; 36) for securing the handle grip element (28; 48) to the hand-held power tool (6), and a decoupling device (24; 34) for at least partially vibration-decoupling of the grip element (28; 48) from the support member (20, 36) and including at least three, spaced from each other and extending parallel to each other pin-shaped decoupling elements (30; 44) for connecting the grip element (28; 48) with the support member (20; 36) and for guiding the grip element (28; 48) relative the support member (20; 36), without a position stability of the grip element being affected.
US07721388B2 Door hinge
Provided is a door hinge. The door hinge includes a fixing member, an activating member, a guide pin, and a guide frame. The fixing member is installed at a door frame. The activating member is installed at a door, and connects with the fixing member by a hinge, and opens and closes the door. The guide pin is fitted into guide holes provided at both sides of the activating member, and elastically moves up/down along the guide hole by a tension force of a spring installed inside the activating member. A guide frame is combined to the guide pin, and connects at its lower end with the fixing member by a pin, and rotates about the pin depending on an operation of the activating member. The guide hole is round (R) shaped at its center, and has a curved shape in entirety.
US07721387B1 Track assembly for an overhead door
A track assembly for an overhead door (10) includes a generally vertically positionable track segment (14) and a generally horizontally positionable track segment (15). The track segment (14) includes a curvilinear portion (17) at one end thereof which telescopically receives a curvilinear portion (21) of the track segment (15). The curvilinear portion (17) of the track segment (14) has a smaller radius of curvature than the curvilinear portion (21) of the track segment (15). In one embodiment, a bracket (30) has tabs (40) which are received in a slot aperture (42) in the curvilinear portion (17) to attach it to the bracket (30), and the bracket (30) has a lug (41) which is received in a slot (44) in the curvilinear portion (21) to attach it to the bracket (30). In another embodiment, the track segment (14) is carried by a bracket (51), and the track segment (15) is carried by a bracket (52) with the telescopic relationship being the only connection between the track segments (14, 15).
US07721386B2 Closer arm assembly for an automatic door closer
Closer arm assembly includes a main arm having a first end fixed to the output shaft of a closer fixed to one of a door and a door jamb so that the main arm pivots when the output shaft rotates, and a connecting arm having a first end pivotably connected to the main arm and a second end connected to the other of the door and the door jamb. The connecting arm contacts a stop to limit relative pivoting of the arms, the stop including a cushion with a contact surface which suppresses noise as the connecting arm contacts the cushion. The stop can be in the form of a spring loaded bumper fixed to a soffit plate, or a pin fixed to the second end of the main arm. A hold open device can be fixed to the connecting arm for engaging a feature on either the soffit plate or the main arm, the hold open device having a spring loaded detent which is released by manually turning a knob.
US07721385B2 Filter housing for a domestic appliance
A filter housing includes an inlet for receiving an airflow, a cavity for receiving a filter and an airflow passage between the inlet and the cavity. At least one vane, positioned in the airflow passage, partitions the airflow passage into a plurality of ducts. The vanes lie adjacent to, or contact, the upstream surface of the filter such that each duct communicates with a separate portion of the upstream surface of the filter. The airflow passage extends in a direction which is inclined to the upstream surface of the filter. The vanes help to distribute the flow of air more evenly across the surface of the filter and also help to reduce acoustic emissions from the machine of which the filter housing forms a part.
US07721384B2 Pneumatic cleaner
A pneumatic cleaner that can be worn as a backpack has a reduced unit overall depth. The impeller shaft is mounted at an acute angle. Tangential airflow chambers are disposed around the motor assembly and substantially surround the impeller. Two of the airflow chambers extend substantially the entire overall unit depth, and have lateral lengths that exceed the overall unit depth.
US07721372B2 Fabric sweeper
The present invention is a device for use in cleaning a fabric surface of dust, dirt, pet hair and other debris present on the surface. The device includes a pair of cleaning members or rollers disposed on an underside of the device which can roll with respect to the device and with respect to one another. The rollers are selectively contacted with one another such that each roller can assist in removing debris picked up by the opposite roller and dispensing the debris into a collection chamber releasably positioned within the housing. The removal of the debris from each roller is also facilitated by opposed edges of a central opening in the housing that contact the rollers and direct the debris into the debris collection chamber.
US07721371B2 Toothbrush and process for producing the same
The invention relates to an electric toothbrush (10) having a rechargeable energy store (24) that is arranged in an inner space (36) in the body (12) of the toothbrush (10). The inner space (36) is sealed by a primary sealing element (56) against splash water and other detrimental influences. At least one contact element (28) for an external power supply unit (46) produces an electrically conductive connection to the energy store (24). The contact element is located either within the inner space (36), it being possible for the primary sealing element (56) to be removed for charging purposes, or outside the inner space (36), in which case it is optionally protected by an additional secondary sealing element (76). The invention also relates to a process for producing such a toothbrush.
US07721370B2 Adjustable hose clip
An adjustable hose clip is provided for use with a pool cleaner debris bag, including a first member having a retaining arm and a second member having a retaining arm. The hose clip also includes means for connecting the hose clip to a pool cleaner debris bag and resilient means for resiliently biasing the retaining arms towards each other such that at least a portion of a pool hose can be retained between the retaining arms. In one example, the resilient means is adapted to automatically adjust the distance between the retaining arms to accommodate various pool hoses having various diameters within the range of a minimum diameter to a maximum diameter at least 50% larger than the minimum diameter. In addition or alternatively, an arrangement for cleaning a swimming pool can include an automatic pool cleaner, a debris bag, a hose and an adjustable hose clip.
US07721368B2 Washing method in steam injection type washing machine
A washing method in a steam injection type washing machine in which wash water is heated to generate high-temperature and high-pressure steam while passing through the steam supply unit in the wash or rinse cycle, and the generated steam is injected into the wash tub at the top of the wash tub. Accordingly, it is possible to rapidly achieve the wetting of clothes with wash water while achieving an enhancement in sterilization and washing performances. In addition, consumption of water and electrical energy can be reduced.
US07721365B2 Kitchen sink knee shield
The disclosed knee shield is a durable, easy-to-install protective barrier that is fastened underneath sink bottoms. It protects the knees of a wheelchair user from rough and abrasive surfaces and extreme temperatures as mandated by the ADA and other federal, state, and local buildings codes. The knee shield is slotted so that it fits around the drain assembly, without requiring the removal of the sink; drain assembly, or plumber's putty that may already exist.
US07721363B2 Slide rail
A slide rail has a mounting shaft and a sliding mount. The sliding mount is movably mounted around the mounting shaft and has a clamp, a handle, a clamp jaw, a holding bracket and a spring. The clamp is mounted around the mounting shaft. The handle is rotatably connected to the clamp and has a lock bar and a grip. The clamp jaw is mounted around and abuts the mounting shaft in the clamp and has a convex surface. The holding bracket is connected to the clamp to hold a showerhead, a soap dish or the like and has a positioning ring. The spring is mounted in the clamp between the clamp jaw and the positioning ring to push the convex surface of the clamp jaw to engage an engaging recess of the lock bar.
US07721360B2 Swimming pool, spa, or combination swimming pool and spa, heated with a heat pump with a heat exchanger
A swimming pool, Spa or combination of a swimming pool or spa is heated with a heat pump and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger comprises a water input, a water output, a heating agent input, a heating agent output, an inner coil and an outer coil being disposed about the outer periphery of the inner coil; and a separator device being configured and disposed to separate the coils in order to minimize vibrating and rubbing against each other. The separator device comprises a first separator device portion having two rounded shoulder portions configured to permit the separator device to be rotated into position between the inner coil and the outer coil, a middle portion comprising two substantially C-shaped curves, which substantially C-shaped curves form a dog bone-shape, and a second separator device portion comprising two rounded configured to be turned or twisted upon assembly of the heat exchanger.
US07721357B2 Wearable air bag device
A wearable air bag device formed by defining air inflating chambers in a jacket of a rider of a vehicle. An ECU, a battery, a rider separation detecting part, a main switch and a warning device are incorporated into the jacket. A wire is connected to a vehicle via a connecting terminal. When a rider who wears the jacket is separated from the vehicle, the wire which is connected to the vehicle is extended and a reel is rotated. Upon detecting a rotational angular speed of the reel, the ECU determines that the rider is separated when the rotational angular speed is large. Upon detection of the separation of the rider, ECU develops an air bag by operating an inflator.
US07721353B2 Hand covering with a hood and a movement mechanism
A hand covering comprises a shell and a hood. The hood of the hand covering is selectively disposable in multiple configurations. In one configuration, the hood can be disposed so that it covers part of the finger portion. In another configuration, the hood can be disposed so that it does not cover the finger portion and the entire finger portion is exposed. In one embodiment, the hand covering includes a movement mechanism that can be manipulated to move the hood relative to the shell.
US07721351B2 Protective assembly for a limb
A protective assembly for a limb, in particular the shaft-forming part of a motorcycle boot, which is designed to protect the tibia of the motorcyclist. The inventive assembly includes: an essentially tubular body (2) including a slit, which extends along a longitudinal axis (6) and which is designed to fit around the limb; a rigid tongue (10) which is designed to cover the front part of the body and which extends along both sides of the slit; and a flange (12) which extends transversely to the longitudinal direction between the edges of the slit, the flange being adjustably-connected to the body on either side of the slit so that the distance between the edges can be adjusted. The aforementioned tongue is mounted to the flange such that it can slide freely and the tongue and the body co-operate in order automatically to align the tongue in relation to the slit.
US07725947B2 Methods and systems for providing benchmark information under controlled access
An electronic data structure comprises benchmark information and an authorizing section for access to said benchmark information. A method processes and stores data objects by means of one or more processes running in a computer system having one or more of the electronic data structures. A request for benchmark information is received from a second party, the request including identification information of the second party. The benchmark information is analyzed to determine whether it contains in its electronic data structures and whether the authorizing section of the electronic data structure includes the identification information. Based on the determination, the benchmark information is presented to the second party.
US07725944B2 Matching session records of network users with corresponding transaction data
A system for collecting data regarding network behaviors of users is disclosed. In one embodiment, the system combines session records of users with corresponding transaction records reflective of e-commerce transactions. The session records may, for example, be generated by one or more collection engines deployed by one or more Internet Service Providers. The transaction records may, for example, be obtained through interactions with one or more merchant web sites. By combining these two types of information, the system can, for example, identify a set of user actions that led to a particular purchase transaction.
US07725938B2 Inline intrusion detection
A method for inline intrusion detection includes receiving a packet at a network gateway, storing the packet, and assigning an identifier to the packet. The method also includes transmitting a copy of the packet and the identifier from the network gateway to an intrusion detection system and analyzing the copy of the packet by the intrusion detection system to determine whether the packet includes an attack signature and communicating a reply message from the intrusion detection system to the network gateway. The reply message includes the identifier and is indicative of the results of the analysis. The size of the reply message is less than the size of the packet.
US07725931B2 Communications system with security checking functions for file transfer operation
A secure data communications system with an enhanced function of preventing information leakage. The system includes a user terminal and a router. The router has a security condition definition unit and a storage unit to receive and store a set of security conditions. A packet parser identifies and parses a packet produced by a file transfer application protocol and extracts from that packet a destination address and a security condition ID that the sending user has specified for a file in the packet. The packet parser discards the packet to prevent information leakage if the extracted destination address does not satisfy the security condition corresponding to the user-specified security condition ID. The user terminal has a security condition user interface that requests the router to provide information about security conditions and gives a security condition ID to each file to indicate which security condition the sending user has specified.
US07725928B2 System and method for establishing temporary and permanent credentials for secure online commerce
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for establishing temporary and permanent credentials for secure remote data access. The system includes a temporary smart card configured to provide a temporary credential for a first device, thereby providing the first device with temporary secure access to a remote data source when the temporary smart card is used with the first device. Additionally, the system includes an enrollment smart card configured to provide a permanent credential for a second device, thereby providing the second device with permanent secure access to the remote data source without presence of the enrollment smart card or the temporary smart card.
US07725926B1 Authentication
A method for authentication in a client computer and a remote computer is disclosed. A client base value is obtained, selected by a user of the client computer for at least a first usage purpose. A client integer is obtained, selected by the user for at least a second usage purpose. The client base value is combined with the client integer to obtain a client combination. The client combination is hashed to obtain a client password.
US07725924B2 Network system, use permission determining method, network device, and recording medium
A network system including a network device and an authentication device is disclosed. The authentication device includes a storing unit for storing identification information items indicating users, and a transmitting unit for transmitting, upon receiving the identification information item indicating one of the users from the network device, a group information item indicating the group to which the user belongs. The network device includes a storing unit for storing use permission information items on a per-group basis, each item indicating which function of the network device is permitted to be used, a transmitting unit for transmitting the identification information item indicating the user trying to use the network device to the authentication device, and a determining unit for receiving the group information item from the authentication server so as to determine which function of the device the user is permitted to use based on the received the group information item.
US07725921B2 Systems and methods for managing networks
The described systems and methods are directed at managing networks using network templates. Each network template is associated with a different network topology and includes parameters for implementing the associated network topology. A user may implement a particular network topology by selecting a corresponding network template. A configurator may be used to configure a network device to implement the network topology associated with the selected network template based, at least in part, on the parameters.
US07725919B1 Manage content in a short-term content buffer with content identifiers
A short-term content buffer maintains segments of audio and/or video content and the content segments are identified with segment identifiers which enables management and playback of the content segments. In an embodiment, independent video content segments corresponding to a particular broadcast channel can be identified by associated content segment identifiers and the video content segments can be recorded together to generate a single recording of the content.
US07725918B2 Interactive television with embedded universal time codes
An interactive television (ITV) system transmitting ITV content created and received by different ITV platforms via a single ITV stream. The system provides universal time codes which are embedded into the ITV stream. Each time code is associated with a program identifier which uniquely identifies a particular program. An ITV receiver receives the ITV stream and compares the program identifier and time code with a program held in the receiver's memory. When a match is found, an interactive event indicated by the program is executed. The program may be loaded into the receiver's memory using a back channel.
US07725915B2 Channel changing method in digital broadcasting service
Disclosed is a channel changing method in a digital broadcasting service. According to the channel changing method, a subscriber device provided with a channel change protocol that operates on a TCP/IP layer transmits an input channel change message through the channel change protocol, and a channel change server that received the channel change message receives a confirmation message that includes channel information according to channel change information included in the channel change message, and transmits data of a requested channel to the subscriber device.
US07725912B2 Method for implementing a remote display system with transcoding
An apparatus and method for effectively implementing a wireless television system may include a communications processor and a transmitter device that combine at least one of a local-area network interface, a wide-area network interface, and one or more television data interfaces for effectively performing a wireless network transmission process. A transmitted stream from the wireless television system may be received via wireless network processing for viewing local-area network data, wide-area network data (such as Internet data), or television data by flexibly utilizing various electronic devices such as a notepad personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a handheld TV remote control device.
US07725911B2 Method and system to maintain relative statistics for creating automatically a list of favorites
An apparatus may include a front-end with a tuner to receive television broadcasts, a memory to store statistics, and a processor in communication with the front-end and the memory. The processor detects tuning events and maintains relative statistics on items related to tuning events. The processor eliminates any occurrence of rollover of the count value by adjusting the count value of each of the one or more items relative to each other upon reaching a predetermined value prior to being reset. The processor creates a list of favorites based on the relative statistics in the memory. The processor may transfer the list of favorites to another device or auto-tune the tuner to receive the items that are placed in the list of favorites. A length of time represented by the units of time may be changed to allow greater selectivity of items that are placed in the list of favorites.
US07725907B2 Default value initialization of business objects
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, provided default values for business objects. In one exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method for providing default values for attributes of business objects. The method may comprise receiving, at a first service provider, a call to instantiate a first business object. The method may then obtain a static default value of an attribute associated with the first business object. A second service provider may be called to determine a dynamic default value for the attribute based on the static default value. The first service provider may then be provided with the dynamic default value for use when instantiating the first business object.
US07725906B2 Method and device for executing a function with selection and sending of multiple results in a client-server environment
The client obtains an interface of a data object from the server, selects a function to be applied to the data object from the obtained interface, determines types of different results that can be sent back from the server as a result of an execution of the function by the server, where the types of different results are determined from result type identification, encoded in the interface, selects at least one desired result type from the determined different result types, generates a message including the at least one selected desired result type for invoking the function; the server receives the message, extracts arguments of the function invoked by the message, extracts at least one desired result type from the message, executes the function, generates a function execution response containing the selected execution result desired by the client and sends the function execution response to the client.
US07725902B2 Finer grained point-to-point event propagation
A method and apparatus for propagating and managing data, transactions and events either within a database, or from one database to another is provided. In one embodiment, messages are propagated from a source to a first queue and a second queue with the queues associated with the same database. The connection from the source to each queue maintains its own propagation job. This method could also be employed with cluster databases.
US07725901B2 Method and system for performance balancing in a distributed computer system
A method of dynamic performance balancing in a distributed computer system including collecting average service time statistics for application requests distributed from multiple application servers and collecting application server CPU utilization statistics from multiple hosts where each host is associated with at least one of the application servers. In addition, the method includes periodically calculating scaled routing weights from the average service time and CPU utilization statistics and distributing server requests to the application servers in accordance with the scaled routing weights. Also provided is a distributed computer system configured to accomplish dynamic performance balancing as described above, and an article of manufacture for use in programming a distributed computer system containing instructions to accomplish dynamic performance balancing of server requests as described above.
US07725900B2 Method of assigning objects to processing units
Methods and systems for assigning objects to processing units of a cluster of processing units are provided. In one implementation, the objects to be assigned may be sorted by size, which provides a sequence of objects. Starting with the first processing unit, objects may then be assigned in sequential order. This way the loading of the processing units may be balanced.
US07725896B2 Periodic event execution control mechanism
A scheduler schedules a plurality of periodic events. Each periodic event has an associated periodic interval of time and an associated set of services. The scheduler determines when one of the plurality of periodic events occurs and distributes the execution of the services associated with that periodic event during a next periodic interval of time associated with that periodic event following the occurrence of that periodic event. The services can be enabled and disabled. This allows the services to be executed, for example, in one-shot, burst, and continuous modes.
US07725893B2 Platform independent replication
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for platform independent replication. Methods can include capturing a virtualized software application residing on a virtual machine, capturing a guest operating system residing on the virtual machine, and storing the captured virtualized software application including the guest operating system as a virtualization image in a flat file on a physical computing device.
US07725892B2 Field-replaceable unit revision compatibility
A method for use in a computer system includes a first revision compatibility descriptor identifying a first plurality of compatible combinations of field-programmable unit codes. The method includes steps of: (A) determining whether the first revision compatibility descriptor identifies first field-programmable unit code for use in a first field-programmable unit as being compatible with the computer system; and (B) if the first revision compatibility descriptor does not identify the first field-programmable unit code as being compatible with the computer system, performing a step of updating the first revision compatibility descriptor to identify the first field-programmable unit code as being compatible with the computer system.
US07725891B2 Method for effecting changes in a software system landscape and computer system
A method for effecting changes in a software system landscape with a plurality of logical software systems that are interconnected by logical transport paths, comprises: providing system role types, each system role being associated with one of a plurality of system role types; providing low level operational tasks associated to system role types; providing a transport track that defines a route through logical systems in a particular order and that specifies one source system, adjacent interconnected systems, and at least one target system; providing high level operational tasks in a software development system that define software changes; generating transport requests for transporting the software changes; and generating a low level operational task list for the logical systems affected by the changes to the software by: analyzing the transport track(s) and the system role types and selecting low level operational tasks associated with the system role types according to the high level operational tasks.
US07725890B2 Image forming apparatus including a device that updates stored program based on updating data which is selected based on program that is started or startable
An image forming apparatus includes a storage section that stores programs for carrying out processes, an updating data selection section that selects an updating data for at least one of programs from an updating data group, based on a program that is started or is startable, and an updating section that updates at least one arbitrary program stored in the storage section based on the selected updating data.
US07725889B2 Mobile handset capable of updating its update agent
A mobile handset in a mobile services network, with access to a plurality of services including a firmware/software update service, is also capable of updating its update agent using an appropriate update package. The update package is retrieved from an update package repository via a management server. In one embodiment, the existing update agent is copied to a backup section before the update agent itself is updated. On the subsequent reboot, the new update agent is employed unless it is determined that it is corrupted or ineffective, in which case the old update agent is reactivated.
US07725888B2 Systems and methods for dynamically linking application software into a running operating system kernel
The present invention provides systems and methods for dynamically linking modules into a running operating system kernel. Systems and methods described herein have the following advantages: (1) they permit an application programmer to write, compile, execute, and terminate application code that is to be loaded into a kernel as if the application code was an ordinary application program, (2) they allow a standard programming environment to be used to encapsulate application software in a familiar environment, and (3) they permit automatic cleanup of errors and freeing of program resources when the application terminates.
US07725886B2 Merger of tables storing protocol data unit related data
In general, in one aspect, the disclosure describes a method of determining if a first query for data related to a protocol data unit in a first table is a query to a table merged into a combination table formed from multiple tables. If so, the method can generate a second query for the first query for data stored by the combination table.
US07725884B2 System and method for compiling markup files
The present invention is directed to a method and system for compiling a markup language file into an executable application or library dll. The system may also compile a code-behind file associated with the markup language file. The compiling system may include a parser for parsing the markup language file and providing the compiling system with detailed token information to the compiling system. This token information could be user code snippets or non-code token information such as tags, properties or events in the markup. The compiling system may also include a binary file generator for generating a binary file from the non-code token information, wherein the binary file contains one record for each non-code token. Additionally, the system may include a code generator for generating a language-independent tree of code expressions based on the token information, wherein the code expressions represent the markup language file as a class. A compiler may compile the binary files and code files to create an executable application.
US07725880B2 Method and system of remote diagnostic, control and information collection using a dynamic linked library
A system for monitoring a user's usage of a target application on an application unit. Such a target application can, as examples, be a software program running on a computer or a workstation, an image forming device, an appliance, etc. The application unit includes a user interface with a plurality of commands which a user can select. In the example of the target application being a software program, the commands may be icons displayed on a computer screen which a user can point to with a mouse pointer and then click on. In the case of the application unit being an image forming device or an appliance, the interface may be an operation panel with buttons, a touch pad, etc. which a user can press. The present invention monitors the user's usage of such interfaces and logs data of the user's usage of such interfaces. The logged data can then be communicated by the sending unit to a designated location.
US07725864B2 Systematic yield in semiconductor manufacture
Three-dimensional structures are provided which improve manufacturing yield for certain structures in semiconductor devices. The three-dimensional structures take into account the interaction between an upper layer and a lower layer where the lower layer has a tendency to form a non-planar surface due to its design. Accordingly, design changes are performed to make structures more likely to function, either by forming a more planar surface on the lower layer or by compensating in the upper layer for the lack of planarity. The changes to improve manufacturing yield are made at the design stage rather than at the fabrication stage.
US07725853B1 Optimizing long-path and short-path timing and accounting for manufacturing and operating condition variability
Logic designs are optimized to satisfy long-path and short-path timing constraints for multiple process/operating condition corners. A path-based compilation phase determines an implementation for logic design paths, in part, by monitoring a set of paths that are important from a timing perspective and evaluating the timing performance of the set of monitored paths at one or more timing corners. A timing-analysis-based compilation phase determines transformations for converting sets of timing values from one timing corner to another timing corner. The compilation phase transforms timing delay values from one timing corner to another to facilitate analysis of timing performance at different corners. Timing slack values produced by analysis are transformed to map them from one timing corner to another. The transformed timing slack values from multiple corners are amalgamated. The amalgamated timing slack values are used by a compilation phase (that potentially only understands a single corner) to optimize a logic design for multiple corners.
US07725852B2 Sliding window scheme (SWS) for determining clock timing in a mesh-based clock architecture
In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a description of a chip including multiple sequential elements and a clock mesh, information for modeling the sequential elements and interconnections, and a set of parameters of the clock mesh. The method also includes, using the description of the chip, the information for modeling the sequential elements and interconnections, and the set of parameters of the clock mesh, determining multiple window locations covering the clock mesh. Each window location includes one or more of the sequential elements on the chip. The method also includes, for each window location, generating a mesh simulation model including a detailed model inside the window location and an approximate model outside the window location, simulating the mesh simulation model, and measuring clock timing for the sequential elements in the window location based on the mesh simulation model. The method also includes collecting timing information on the sequential elements on the chip based on the measured clock timing for the sequential elements in the window locations.
US07725844B2 Method and circuit for implementing eFuse sense amplifier verification
A method and circuit for implementing Efuse sense amplifier verification, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. A first predefined resistor value is sensed relative to a reference resistor. A second predefined resistor value is sensed relative to a reference resistor. Responsive to identifying a respective sense amplifier output resulting from the sensing steps of an unblown eFuse and a blown eFuse, valid operation of the sense amplifier is identified.
US07725834B2 Designer-created aspect for an electronic form template
Systems and/or methods that enable addition of a designer-created aspect originating from one electronic form template into another electronic form template are described. The systems and/or methods may also, in one embodiment, enable a user to graphically package designer-created aspects of an existing electronic form template into a component capable of being added to another electronic form template. In another embodiment, these systems and/or methods may enable mapping of an existing non-structural designer-created aspect originating from one electronic form template onto a data structure of another electronic form template.
US07725829B1 Media authoring and presentation
A system and method for facilitating non-linear viewing of media is provided. The system facilitates non-linear viewing of media by providing a scene selector that scans a digitized media and selects a scene in the digitized media and a metadata generator that produces metadata associated with the scenes and relates the metadata to the selected scene. With the scenes annotated with metadata, a playlist generator can generate a playlist of related scenes based on user inputs like queries and a playlist updater can adapt the playlist based on user reaction to the displayed scenes. The scenes can be displayed on a variety of devices exhibiting various levels of intelligence. The displays can be distributed as can the system.
US07725819B2 Non-repudiable translation of electronic documents
A method for non-repudiable translation of documents is disclosed, whereby a computer application determines a storage location for a first document, generates a first digital signature for the first document, determines a storage location for a plurality of translation instructions, generates a second digital signature for the plurality of translation instructions, translates the first document, assembles a second document including the storage location for the first document, the storage location for the plurality of translation instructions, the first digital signature, the second digital signature, the translation, and at least one encryption key associated with the first document and the plurality of translation instructions, and digitally signs the second document. The signed document includes sufficient information to demonstrate non-repudiable translation of the first document.
US07725813B2 Method for requesting and viewing a preview of a table attachment on a mobile communication device
A process is set forth for previewing a table attachment on a mobile communication device, and upon identifying table content of interest viewing and/or retrieving the entire table from an attachment server. In one embodiment, a small 4×4 row/column preview is presented on the device of every table found in a document attachment, with the cell content textual information limited to the requesting device display capabilities. This limitation avoids any requirement to download large amounts of individual cell content to the device. Thus, the user is able to quickly identify which tables are of interest and then request a full table download from the attachment server in an on-demand fashion. In this regard, the preview table itself preferably also functions as a link to the full table stored at the server to facilitate easy retrieval to the device for viewing in a spreadsheet view.
US07725812B1 Authoring system for combining temporal and nontemporal digital media
An authoring tool has a graphical user interface enabling interactive authoring of a multimedia presentation including temporal and nontemporal media. The graphical user interface enables specification of the temporal and spatial relationships among the media and playback of the presentation with the specified temporal and spatial relationships. The spatial and temporal relationships among the media may be changed independently of each other. The presentation may be viewed interactively under the control of the author during the authoring process without encoding the audio and video data into a streaming media data file for combination with the other media, simulating behavior of a browser that would receive a streaming media data file. The multimedia presentation may include elements that initiate playback of the presentation from a specified point in time. After authoring of the presentation is completed, the authoring tool assists in encoding and transferring the presentation for distribution. Information about the distribution format and location may be stored as user-defined profiles. Communication with the distribution location may be tested and presentation and the distribution information may be audited prior to encoding and transfer to reduce errors. A presentation is encoded according to the defined temporal and spatial relationships and the distribution format and location information to produce and encoded presentation. The encoded presentation and any supporting media data are transferred to the distribution location, such as a server. A streaming media server may be used for streaming media, whereas other data may be stored on a conventional data server. Accounts may be provided for a streaming media server for authors to publish their presentations. The authoring tool may be associated with a service that uses the streaming media server. Such streaming media servers also may be a source of stock footage for use by authors.
US07725809B2 Signal quality evaluation device, information read/write device, signal quality evaluation method, write conditions determining method, signal quality evaluation computer program, computer-readable storage medium containing signal quality evaluation computer program
A Viterbi decoding circuit performs Viterbi decoding on the basis of a reproduced signal obtained by reading an optical disc. A decoded bit sequence is fed to a first specific pattern detection circuit and a first reverse pattern detection circuit. A path metric difference ΔM is fed to a reproduced signal evaluation circuit. The reproduced signal evaluation circuit extracts path metric differences for a specific pattern and a reverse pattern detected by the first specific pattern detection circuit and the first reverse pattern detection circuit and evaluates the reproduced signal on the basis of results. The evaluation uses not only the bit sequence for which the ideal SAM value is a minimum. The invention achieves accurate evaluation for reproduction.
US07725805B2 Method and information apparatus for improving data reliability
Reliability of data that is stored in a disk drive by a storage system is enhanced. An information apparatus has a processor, a memory, an interface control unit, and a system control unit, which controls communications between the processor, the memory, and the interface control unit. The system control unit judges whether to attach, to data that is transferred between the memory and the system control unit, an error detecting code for protecting the data based on an address in the memory at which the data to be transferred is read or written.
US07725800B2 Decoding techniques for correcting errors using soft information
Two levels of error correction decoding are performed using first and second level decoders. A composite code formed by combining an inner component code and an outer component code can be used to decode the data and correct any errors. Performing two level decoding using a composite code allows the size of the inner parity block to be reduced to a single Reed-Solomon symbol while keeping a good code rate. The first level decoder generates soft information. The soft information can indicate a most likely error event for each possible syndrome value of the inner component code. The soft information can also include error metric values for each of the most likely error events. The second level decoder generates corrected syndrome values based on the soft information using the outer component code. The most likely trellis path that corresponds to the corrected syndrome values is then selected.
US07725798B2 Method for recovering information from channel-coded data streams
A method and system for recovering useful information, in particular useful information transmitted in digital form on terrestrial or satellite-based information paths, for example as voice, image or data signal, from channel-coded data streams encoded with turbo codes with a predefined code rate is disclosed. The data streams are received by a turbo decoder with a presettable number of decoder components and subsequently decoded in an iterative process according to the MAP and/or Max-Log-MAP standard. The iterative process is controlled by a stop criterion, wherein after termination of the iterative process in the turbo decoder at least one of the decoder components, in particular the associated lattice diagram, is used for an additional decoding process that is different from the MAP and/or Max-Log-MAP standard. This approach lowers the error floor of the turbo code.
US07725793B2 Pattern generation for test apparatus and electronic device
There is provided a test apparatus for testing a device under test. The test apparatus includes a main instruction storing section that stores thereon a main test instruction sequence, a sub instruction storing section that stores thereon a sub test instruction sequence which is executed when a subroutine call instruction included in the main test instruction sequence is executed, a pattern generating section that (i) sequentially reads and executes an instruction from the main test instruction sequence and outputs (I) a test pattern associated with the executed instruction and (II) timing set information designating a combination of timings for output of the test pattern, (ii) under a condition of executing the subroutine call instruction, sequentially reads and executes an instruction from the sub test instruction sequence designated by the executed subroutine call instruction and outputs (1) a test pattern associated with the executed instruction and (2) timing set information for a test pattern associated with the subroutine call instruction or an instruction which precedes the subroutine call instruction in the main test instruction sequence, and a test signal output section that generates a test signal in accordance with the test pattern, and supplies the test signal to the device under test at a timing designated by the timing set information.
US07725792B2 Dual-path, multimode sequential storage element
A dual-path, multimode sequential storage element (SSE) is described herein. In one example, the dual-path, multimode SSE comprises first and second sequential storage elements, a data input, a data output, and a selector mechanism. The first and second sequential storage elements each have an input and an output. The data input is coupled to the inputs of both sequential storage elements and is configured to accept data. The data output is coupled to the outputs of both sequential storage elements and is configured to output the data. The selector mechanism is configured to select one of the sequential storage elements for passing the data from the data input to the data output. In one example, the first sequential storage element comprises a pulse-triggered storage element and the second sequential storage element comprises a master-slave storage element.
US07725785B2 Film-type semiconductor package and method using test pads shared by output channels, and test device, semiconductor device and method using patterns shared by test channels
Provided are a film-type semiconductor package and method using test pads shared by output channels, a test device, and a semiconductor device and method using patterns shared by test channels. The semiconductor device includes a film-type semiconductor package and a test device. The film-type semiconductor package outputs test signals through a plurality of test pads. The test device tests the film-type semiconductor package using the test signals. A printed circuit board (PCB) of the test device includes a plurality of common patterns, each of which connects at least two of a plurality of test channels to an input terminal, the test channels connecting the input terminals to the test pins. When the film-type semiconductor package, the method of testing the semiconductor package, the semiconductor device and the test device, and the method of testing the film-type semiconductor package in the semiconductor device are used, the film-type semiconductor package can be tested without replacing an existing test device.
US07725779B2 Multi-valued scrambling and descrambling of digital data on optical disks and other storage media
Method and apparatus for writing scrambled multi-value data to a physical media and for reading scrambled multi-value data from a physical media, are disclosed. The physical media can be an optical disk. The scrambling can be performed by a multi-valued LFSR scrambler and the descrambling can be performed by a multi-valued LFSR descrambler. Further, the multi-valued data that is scrambled can include synchronization data and/or user data. Error correction coding can be used during the writing process and processing to correct for errors can be used during the reading process. Also, methods and apparatus for synchronizing multi-valued data written to and read from physical media are disclosed. Multi-value correlation methods and apparatus are also disclosed.
US07725778B2 Semiconductor integrated circuit and electronic device
A dummy wiring 25 is provided for simulating an actual wiring 26 connecting semiconductor integrated circuits 2 and 6 on a circuit board. The semiconductor integrated circuit comprises a data output circuit 28 capable of variably setting the slew rate and a circuit 29 for measuring signal delay time between a signal sending point and a signal reflection point (characteristic impedance mismatching point) using the dummy wiring 25, and the delay time so obtained by the measuring circuit is used for the determination of the signal transition time of the output circuit. The transition time of the signal is set at least twice of the signal delay time between the signal sending point and the wiring branch at the nearest end. In this way, signal transmission with alleviated reflection by the reflection point at the nearest end is realized.
US07725771B2 Method and system for providing enhanced memory error messages
A system and method are provided to provide an enhanced memory error message. In one embodiment, a first message is associated to a memory error occurring at a virtual machine, the first message indicating the memory error has occurred. A second message is associated to the memory error when the memory error has occurred, the second message explaining the memory error. The memory error having the first message and the second message is thrown.
US07725769B1 Latent VBO reset circuit
A microcontroller receives a supply voltage (VCC) from one or more batteries. Rather than automatically resetting the microcontroller if VCC drops below a VBO voltage, a latent VBO reset circuit does not reset the processor if VCC drops below a second voltage (VBO) as long as VCC does not fall so low that a power on reset (POR) circuit of the latent VBO reset circuit is tripped. The processor continues to operate as long as it can below VBO, thereby maximizing battery usage. When VCC rises to a third voltage (for example, due to battery replacement), then the latent VBO reset circuit automatically resets the processor to remove potential ill-effects of having operated below VBO. User data stored in volatile memory is not lost during battery replacement. A special VBO bit in a processor-readable status register indicates that the microcontroller operated below VBO.
US07725762B2 Implementing redundant memory access using multiple controllers on the same bank of memory
A method and apparatus implement redundant memory access using multiple controllers on the same bank of memory. A first memory controller uses the memory as its primary address space, for storage and fetches. A second redundant controller is also connected to the same memory. System control logic is used to notify the redundant controller of the need to take over the memory interface. The redundant controller initializes if required and takes control of the memory. The memory only needs to be initialized if the system has to be brought down and restarted in the redundant mode. This invention allows the system to continue to stay up and continue running during a memory controller or link failure.
US07725761B2 Computer system, fault tolerant system using the same and operation control method and program thereof
The present invention provides a high reliability fault tolerant computer system capable of constructing a redundant configuration employing PnP software. In duplexing systems, entities of IO bridges (actual IO bridges) which are connected to virtual bus and correspond each other is integrated into the systems as pseudo IO bridges, so that if the systems are physically disconnected each other, by emulating the actual IO bridge in another system, the pseudo-IO bridge can act as if a so-called PnP event in the IO bridge itself does not occur.
US07725759B2 System and method of managing clock speed in an electronic device
A method of controlling a clock frequency is disclosed and includes monitoring a plurality of master devices that are coupled to a bus within a system. The method also includes receiving an input from at least one of the plurality of master devices. The input can be a request an increase to the clock frequency of the bus. Further, the method includes selectively increasing the clock frequency of the bus in response to the request.
US07725757B2 Method and system for fast frequency switch for a power throttle in an integrated device
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a counter to count core clocks, where the counter has a value to be incremented from zero to one less than a first bus ratio. Coupled to the counter may be a control logic to generate a control signal to change from the first bus ratio to a second bus ratio, where the control logic is coupled to receive the counter value and control the counter based on this value. In this way, the bus ratio can change without draining the transaction queues of a processor. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US07725746B2 Apparatus and method for restoring working context
Provided are an apparatus and method of transmitting working context, which can minimize power consumption in a power-off standby mode of a portable apparatus including a system on a chip, where the method includes selecting a power-off standby mode, transmitting working context with respect to a hardware module, which is mounted on a semiconductor chip, to a predetermined memory, and storing the working context in the predetermined memory, transmitting the working context stored in the memory to a non-volatile memory outside the semiconductor chip, and storing the working context in the non-volatile memory, and executing the power-off standby mode; where the method may further include releasing the power-off standby mode, restoring the working context with respect to the hardware module, which is stored in the non-volatile memory, to the predetermined memory, and recovering the at least one hardware module to a state existing immediately before the power-off standby mode was executed by using the working context restored to the memory from the non-volatile memory.
US07725745B2 Power aware software pipelining for hardware accelerators
Forming a plurality of pipeline orderings, each pipeline ordering comprising one of a sequential, a parallel, or a sequential and parallel combination of a plurality of stages of a pipeline, analyzing the plurality of pipeline orderings to determine a total power of each of the orderings, and selecting one of the plurality of pipeline orderings based on the determined total power of each of the plurality of pipeline orderings.
US07725742B2 Remote monitor module for power initialization of computer system
A remote monitor module for power initialization of a computer system includes a monitor logic and a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller). The monitor logic is in circuit connection with a power-up sequence controller and several basic voltage domains on a system board of the computer system. The monitor logic also defines a monitor power-up sequence to perform a basic power-up sequence defined in the power-up sequence controller and allow system changes in power initialization. Extra voltage domain(s) may be enabled and monitored according to the monitor power-up sequence. Eventually, multiple power initialization event/state signals are transmitted by the monitor logic to a remote management host through the BMC.
US07725741B2 Computer system and power supplying method thereof
A computer system and a power supplying method thereof in which noise due to switched power mode is reduced for a user's convenience. The computer system comprises a mode determiner to generate a mode signal comprising a predetermined part corresponding to one among a plurality of power modes; a power supply to supply power having a level of voltage corresponding to the mode signal to a central processing unit; and a mode controller to maintain or convert the predetermined part of the mode signal corresponding to one among the plurality of power modes to lower a difference in the level of voltage when the power mode is switched from a first level of voltage to a second level of voltage, wherein the second level of voltage is higher than the first level of voltage.
US07725737B2 System and methodology providing secure workspace environment
System and methodology providing a secure workspace environment is described. In one embodiment, for example, in a computer system, a method is described for creating a secured workspace within an existing operating system for allowing users to run applications in a secured manner, the method comprises steps of: creating a policy for configuring the secured workspace, the policy specifying how information created during operation of the applications may be accessed; hooking particular functions of the operating system in order to obtain control over the information created during operation of the applications; during operation of the applications, encrypting the information to prevent unauthorized access; in response to a request for access to the information, determining whether the request complies with the policy; and if the request complies with the policy, satisfying the request by providing access to a decrypted copy of the information.
US07725732B1 Object authentication system
A system employing enrollment information and the quality of the enrollment information. The enrollment information includes data unique to the identification of a person. The system also stores biometric sensor quality information. When a person seeks to authenticate his/her identity, the sensor transmits the sensor quality data along with the biometric attribute data to the system. The transmitted data is correlated with the enrollment data, and quality of the enrollment data, to produce a score indicative of the probability of a correct identification.
US07725729B2 Electronic device and controlling method of electronic device
The present invention provides an electronic device for performing a typical processing by storing a predetermined operating procedure and reproducing the stored operating procedure that controls suspending storing information related to an authentication, which includes a control unit, when an operation requiring a predetermined authentication is performed at the time when the predetermined operating procedure is stored.
US07725727B2 Automatic signature generation for content recognition
A user provides signature attributes to a computer system for generating a signature, such as content directories, a signature accuracy level, and whether an existing signature database exists. The computer system generates a signature and the user tests the signature against a test file system. Based on the test results, the user may refine the signature using a different file system or a different content installation. In one embodiment, a user may generate a parent signature from existing “child” signatures that correspond to different versions of particular content. For example, a user may wish to generate a “Program” parent signature using children signatures “program v.0,” “program v.1,” and “program v.2.” When the user is satisfied with the signature, the user may use the signature to detect content that is located in a computer device's file system.
US07725726B2 Method and apparatus for securing and authenticating encoded data and documents containing such data
A method and apparatus for determining the distance between transitions from a first logical state to a second logical state stored on a medium (i.e., a document). This determination is used to precisely characterize the information pattern in order to authenticate the information and the medium on which the information is stored. The invention uses a reader having a leading and trailing read apparatus which allow information to be read simultaneously from two or more locations spaced a known distance apart. The distance between the centerlines of each read apparatus is preferably an odd integer multiple of one half the distance between logical clock transitions. The distance between a first transition at the leading read apparatus and a next transition at the trailing read apparatus is used as a reference (i.e., the “Reference Value”). The Reference Value is compared with the distance between the first transition and the next transition on the medium (i.e., the “Jitter Value”). Detection of an deviations in spacing between transitions is unaffected by variations in the velocity of the medium with respect to the reader.
US07725721B2 Method and system for transferring software and hardware feature licenses between devices
A method and system for transferring licenses between electronic devices supporting licensable features. Specifically, in a method a request is generated for transferring a license between first and second electronic devices. The request includes first information unique to the first electronic device, second information unique to the second electronic device. The request is sent to a license distributor to generate a master key. The master key includes a removal key including the first information and an add key including the second information. The removal key is used to remove the license from the first electronic device when the first information matches official versions of the first information. The add key is revealed from the master key when the license is successfully removed. The add key is used to add the license to the second electronic device when the second information matches official versions of the second information.
US07725717B2 Method and apparatus for user authentication
The invention provides for secure end-to-end user authentication by a remote server communicating with a communication device. The communication device further communicates with an authentication device, which provides a user authentication message to the communication device for forwarding to the remote server. The authentication device comprises a data store for storing user authentication credentials. A user authentication processor performs a local authentication of a user of the authentication device in response to a user input. An authentication processor generates the authentication message if the user authentication is valid. The authentication processor implements a cryptographic function based on the user authentication credentials. A transmitter then transmits the authentication message to the at least one communication device.
US07725715B2 System and method for three-phase data encryption
The present invention is directed to a three-phase encryption method and a three-phase decryption method, and an apparatus implementing the three-phase encryption method and/or the three-phase decryption method. To encrypt a message according to the three-phase encryption method, a content of a message is converted from a first form M to a second form M′; the content of the message is separated according to a spacing pattern; and the content of the message is scrambled according to a scrambling pattern. To decrypt the message encrypted using the three-phase encryption method, the scrambling and spacing patterns are reversed, and the content of the message is converted from the second form M′ to the first form M.
US07725712B2 User authentication system and method
A method of authenticating a user for access includes creating an authentication key in the form of a user formula selected from a set of variables and operations provided by the authentication system, storing the user formula in the authentication system, utilizing a display to present the user with an arrangement of variables generated by the authentication system including the variables of the user formula, each assigned a value, applying the assigned values to matching variables in the user formula and calculating a first result, interspersing one or more additional characters among the characters of the first result, and conveying the first result with the additional characters to the authentication system. The authentication system authenticates the user if the number of additional characters conveyed with the first result is below a predetermined threshold and the first result matches a second result of a separate and independent calculation of the user formula by the authentication system.
US07725708B2 Methods and systems for automatic denial of service protection in an IP device
Methods and systems for automatic denial of service protection in an IP device are disclosed. Packets are received at a network interface of an IP device, the packets being addressed to a network address of the network interface. The packets addressed to the network interface of the IP device are forwarded to a processor in the IP device. The processor determines whether the packets violate a rate-based policing policy of the IP device. In response to determining that the packets violate the rate-based policing policy, source identifying information associated with the packets is added to an access control list in the IP device. Packets matching criteria in the access control list are prevented from being forwarded to the processor in the IP device.
US07725690B2 Distributed dispatch with concurrent, out-of-order dispatch
In one embodiment, a processor comprises an instruction buffer and a pick unit. The instruction buffer is coupled to receive instructions fetched from an instruction cache. The pick unit is configured to select up to N instructions from the instruction buffer for concurrent transmission to respective slots of a plurality of slots, where N is an integer greater than one. Additionally, the pick unit is configured to transmit an oldest instruction of the selected instructions to any of the plurality of slots even if a number of the selected instructions is greater than one. The pick unit is configured to concurrently transmit other ones of the selected instructions to other slots of the plurality of slots based on the slot to which the oldest instruction is transmitted. Some embodiments comprise a computer system including the processor and a communication device configured to communicate with another computer system.
US07725687B2 Register file bypass with optional results storage and separate predication register file in a VLIW processor
This invention makes each register bypass forwarding register explicitly addressable in software. Software chooses whether to access the forwarding register immediately eliminating the need for complex automatic detection. Each instruction executes and always writes its result into the forwarding register. Writing this data into the register file in the next cycle is optional as selected by the destination register file number. This invention separates registers storing predication data from the register file. This separation removes the speed problem by enabling scheduling of the predication computation out of the critical path.
US07725685B2 Intelligent SMT thread hang detect taking into account shared resource contention/blocking
Monitoring is performed to detect a hang condition. A timer is set to detect a hang based on a core hang limit. If a thread hangs for the duration of the core hang limit, then a core hang is detected. If the thread is performing an external memory transaction, then the timer is increased to a longer memory hang limit. If the thread is waiting for a shared resource, then the timer may be increased to the longer memory hang limit if another thread or, more particularly, the thread blocking the resource has a pending memory transaction. Responsive to detecting a hang condition, instructions dispatched to the plurality of execution units may be flushed, or the processor may be reset and restored to a previously known good, checkpointed architected state.
US07725684B2 Speculative instruction issue in a simultaneously multithreaded processor
A method for optimizing throughput in a microprocessor that is capable of processing multiple threads of instructions simultaneously. Instruction issue logic is provided between the input buffers and the pipeline of the microprocessor. The instruction issue logic speculatively issues instructions from a given thread based on the probability that the required operands will be available when the instruction reaches the stage in the pipeline where they are required. Issue of an instruction is blocked if the current pipeline conditions indicate that there is a significant probability that the instruction will need to stall in a shared resource to wait for operands. Once the probability that the instruction will stall is below a certain threshold, based on current pipeline conditions, the instruction is allowed to issue.
US07725672B1 System and method for managing data associated with copying and recovery procedures in a data storage environment
This invention is a system and method related to restoring data in a data storage environment and includes program logic.
US07725671B2 System and method for providing redundant access to metadata over a network
Systems and methods for data classification to facilitate and improve data management within an enterprise are described. The disclosed systems and methods evaluate and define data management operations based on data characteristics rather than data location, among other things. Also provided are methods for generating a data structure of metadata that describes system data and storage operations. This data structure may be consulted to determine changes in system data rather than scanning the data files themselves.
US07725667B2 Method for identifying the time at which data was written to a data store
A method for identifying a time at which first data was written to a data store. A data store is configured to respond to data requests made to the data store with the data in the data store at a first time in the past. The method can be used to identify a time, for example, at which a data store was corrupted.
US07725664B2 Configuration definition setup method for disk array apparatus, and disk array apparatus
A system creates a configuration definition table to be used for accessing a physical disk according to a host I/O request, to decrease a memory size of the configuration definition table even if common firmware is used for models with different scales. For this, a model correspondence table to show the definition of each model is provided in a configuration setup processing module, the maximum values of this model are recorded in a memory based on this content, and a memory area for each item is secured. And the actual content of the configuration definition is developed on the secured memory. Therefore even for a diversity of models, the memory size of the configuration definition table can be decreased to a size matching the model, with common firmware regardless the model.
US07725655B2 Method of operating distributed storage system in which data is read from replicated caches and stored as erasure-coded data
Data blocks are read from a distributed cache. The distributed cache comprises m replicated caches, each replicated cache including a plurality of independent computing devices. Each independent computing device of the replicated caches holds a replica of a particular one of the m data blocks in memory. The m data blocks and p parity blocks are stored across m plus p independent computing devices. Each of the m plus p independent computing devices stores a single block selected from the m data blocks and the p parity blocks.
US07725652B2 Storage and reproduction apparatus
The storage and reproducing apparatus includes a signal processing block, a memory, a reproduction block, an operation block, and a control block. The signal processing block converts a sound signal entered, into a digital signal. The memory stores a digital signal outputted form the signal processing block and a management data of the digital data. The reproduction block at least converts a digital signal read out from the memory, into a hearable sound for reproduction output. The operation block is provided on an apparatus main body and includes a rotary operation block provided on the apparatus main body in such a manner that the rotary operation block can be rotated around a rotation center and shifted along plane which almost orthogonally intersects the rotation center. The control block, according to an input from the operation block, writes a digital signal and a management data into the memory and reads out a digital signal and a management data stored in the memory. The control block, according to a rotation direction of the rotary operation block, reads out a management data from the memory. When the rotary operation block is shifted along the plane, the control block reads out a digital signal from the memory according to a management information which is being read out from the memory.
US07725648B2 Automatic media readying system and method for a optical medium with file systems
In one aspect of the invention, a computer system comprises application logic executable to search an optical medium for at least one type of file system that may be resident on the optical medium. In response to identifying the presence of at least one type of file system resident on the optical medium, the system readies a media driver of an apparatus to make the at least one file system available for access.
US07725645B2 Dual use for data valid signal in non-volatile memory
In some types of non-volatile memory devices, the same signal from a memory device may be used for two purposes: During a read operation, the signal may be used by a memory controller to latch the data that is being received from the memory device. During a block erase operation and/or a block write operation, the signal may be used to notify the memory controller that the operation has been completed by the memory device.
US07725644B2 Memory device and an arrangement for protecting software programs against inadvertent execution
A memory device and an arrangement are provided for safeguarding safety-critical program parts against inadvertent execution. At least one program part is executed in a predetermined chronological sequence. At a certain time in the execution, a pattern is generated. At least at one later time, a check is then performed to determine whether the pattern is present. If the pattern is not present, the execution of the respective program part is terminated.
US07725637B2 Methods and apparatus for generating system management interrupts
A method includes determining a plurality of memory addresses, each memory address being different from one another. The method further includes generating a plurality of system management interrupt interprocessor interrupts, each system management interrupt interprocessor interrupt having a corresponding processor in a plurality of processors in a system and each system management interrupt interprocessor interrupt including one of the plurality of memory addresses. The method further includes directing each system management interrupt interprocessor interrupt to the corresponding processor. An associated machine readable medium is also disclosed.
US07725635B2 Method of determining request transmission priority subject to request channel and transmitting request subject to such request transmission priority in application of fieldbus communication framework
A method of determining request transmission priority subject to request channel and transmitting request subject to such request transmission priority in application of Fieldbus communication framework in which the communication device determines whether the request channel from which the received requests came have the priority right and whether there is any logical operation condition established, and then the communication device transmits the received external requests to the connected slave device as an ordinary request or priority request, preventing the slave device from receiving an important external request sent by the main control end or manager at a late time.
US07725634B2 Microprocessor device and related method for a liquid crystal display controller
To reduce production cost, the present invention provides a microprocessor device for an LCD controller, which includes a memory, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, a first arbiter and a second arbiter. The memory is utilized for storing data. The first processing unit is utilized for executing a first program. The second processing unit is utilized for executing a second program. The first arbiter is coupled to the first processing unit and the second processing unit and utilized for deciding an operation order for the first processing unit and the second processing unit. The second arbiter is coupled to the first processing unit, the second processing unit and the memory and utilized for deciding a memory accessing order for the first processing unit and the second processing unit.
US07725631B2 Information system and information storage method of information system
Provided is an information system for preserving data of a storage device in a computer that repeats the connection to and disconnection from a communication network. The computer acquires data to be written into the storage device and manages the update status of the storage device, transfers the data written into the storage device to the storage controller independent from the writing of data into the storage device when the computer is in a communicable state with the storage controller, and discontinues the transfer of data written into the storage device to the storage controller and manages the transfer status when the computer is not in a communicable state with the storage controller.
US07725630B2 Protocol adapter for passing diagnostic messages between a host computer and vehicle networks operating in a J1989 or J1708 protocol
A protocol adapter for transferring diagnostic messages between networks within a vehicle and a host computer. The protocol adapter operates as a voltage translator to support J1708 software. The protocol adapter also recognizes when the protocol adapter is connected to a host computer running the J1939 and/or J1708 protocols and automatically switches to that protocol.
US07725629B2 Processor array arrangement controlled by control computer
A processor arrangement having a plurality of processor units and a control computer. Each of the processor units is connected to at least one adjacent processor unit and has one control element and at least one communications interface for providing a data communications link with an adjacent processor unit. The control computer is connected to one of the processor units, and is configured for exchanging information with the processor unit and for assigning one control element of the plurality of control elements to a device that is electrically connected to the processor arrangement for the control of the device.
US07725624B2 System and method for cryptography processing units and multiplier
In general, in one aspect, the disclosure describes a system including multiple programmable processing units, a dedicated hardware multiplier, and at least one bus connecting the multiple processing units and multiplier.
US07725621B2 Semiconductor device and data transfer method
A semiconductor device and data transfer method capable of efficient DMA transfer processing. The device comprises: a sector buffer which temporarily stores data during transfer, the buffer having an I/O port used for DMA transfer with a system bus and having an I/O port used for data transfer with the I/O controller; a switching section which switches whether to connect between the system bus and the I/O controller, or to connect between the sector buffer and the I/O controller or the system bus; and a sector buffer controller which separately starts data transfer through the I/O ports and which, when detecting completion of the data transfer of a transfer unit between the sector buffer and the I/O controller, transmits to the switching section a control signal for cutting off data transfer between the sector buffer and the I/O controller and for connecting the system bus and the I/O controller.
US07725620B2 Handling DMA requests in a virtual memory environment
An apparatus includes a virtual memory manager that moves data from a first block to second block in memory. When the virtual memory manager is ready to transfer data from the first block to the second block, a third, temporary block of memory is defined. The translation table in a DMA controller is changed to point DMA transfers that target the first block to instead target the temporary block. The virtual memory manager then transfers data from the first block to the second block. When the transfer is complete, a check is made to see if the DMA transferred data to the temporary block while the data from the first block was being written to the second block. If so, the data written to the temporary block is written to the second block. A hardware register is preferably used to efficiently detect changes to the temporary block.
US07725619B2 Data processing system and method that permit pipelining of I/O write operations and multiple operation scopes
A data processing system includes at least a first processing node having an input/output (I/O) controller and a second processing including a memory controller for a memory. The memory controller receives, in order, pipelined first and second DMA write operations from the I/O controller, where the first and second DMA write operations target first and second addresses, respectively. In response to the second DMA write operation, the memory controller establishes a state of a domain indicator associated with the second address to indicate an operation scope including the first processing node. In response to the memory controller receiving a data access request specifying the second address and having a scope excluding the first processing node, the memory controller forces the data access request to be reissued with a scope including the first processing node based upon the state of the domain indicator associated with the second address.
US07725609B2 System memory device having a dual port
A computing system having a plurality of processors including a first processor configured with an address port and a second processor configured with an address port, and a memory device having a first port configured as an address port and to alternatively interface with the address port of the first processor and the address port of the second processor.
US07725605B2 Providing on-demand access to services in a wide area network
An integration services network is described which is operable to facilitate access to a composite service by a plurality of users having associated client machines. Each of the users is associated with one of a plurality of independent enterprises. At least one data store has a directory stored therein which maps an identity for each of the users to a policy framework which defines access information relating to a plurality of services. At least one computing device is operable to set up the composite service by integrating operation of the plurality of services. The plurality of services are associated with and controlled by a plurality of independent service providers. The at least one computing device is further operable to connect with the client machines and each of the services, and to selectively facilitate interaction among the client machines and the services with reference to the directory and the policy framework, thereby enabling each of the users to access the plurality of services as an integrated solution.
US07725602B2 Domain name resolution using a distributed DNS network
A distributed DNS network includes a central origin server that actually controls the zone, and edge DNS cache servers configured to cache the DNS content of the origin server. The edge DNS cache servers are published as the authoritative servers for customer domains instead of the origin server. When a request for a DNS record results in a cache miss, the edge DNS cache servers get the information from the origin server and cache it for use in response to future requests. Multiple edge DNS cache servers can be deployed at multiple locations. Since an unlimited number of edge DNS cache servers can be deployed, the system is highly scalable. The disclosed techniques protect against DoS attacks, as DNS requests are not made to the origin server directly.
US07725601B2 Apparatus, system, and method for presenting a mapping between a namespace and a set of computing resources
An apparatus, graphical user interface, system, and method are provided for presenting a mapping between a namespace and a set of computing resources. The apparatus includes an input module, a format module, and an output module. The input module obtains a mapping between namespace identifiers and a set of computing resources. The format module associates a namespace identifier and a computing resource according to the mapping. The output module provides the namespace identifiers and the associated computing resource corresponding to each namespace identifier. A graphical user interface includes a window with a file system pane and a fileset pane. The file system pane includes a first tree control that displays the components of the file system. The fileset pane includes a second tree control that displays the filesets. The tree controls are updated in response to user input in either the file system pane or the fileset pane.
US07725600B2 Method and apparatus providing address management in a flat structure mobile network
This invention provides an improved address management scheme in a mobile router (MR) that connects a mobile network into the Internet via an access network. The MR performs neighbor advertisement on behalf of mobile network nodes (MNNs) within the mobile network so that packets directed towards the MNNs are routed correctly to the MR, and then to the corresponding MNN, while maintaining standard address management procedures, such as IPv6 address management procedures, in the access network and in the mobile network.
US07725596B2 System and method for resolving network layer anycast addresses to network layer unicast addresses
An information object repository is configured to resolve a network layer anycast address to a network layer unicast address in response to a request for an information object at the network layer anycast address. The information object repository may be further configured to resolve the network layer anycast address by transmitting a request for the network layer unicast address and awaiting a response thereto, and, in some cases, to return a failure message to a source of the request for the information object if the response to the request for the network layer unicast address is not received within a timeout period. Preferably, the request for the network layer unicast address is a single IP packet that includes the network layer anycast address. Similarly, the request for the network layer unicast address is preferably a single IP packet that includes the network layer unicast address. The response to the request for the network layer unicast address may be returned by a host having the network layer unicast address, or another network node configured to do so.
US07725594B2 Assigning priority to network traffic at customer premises
A device may receive a message from a client device and determine whether the message includes particular data. The device may identify an address within a particular address group when the message includes the particular data. The traffic associated with addresses within the particular address group are assigned priority over traffic associated with addresses outside the particular address group. The device may provide the identified address to the client device so that traffic associated with the client device receives priority over other traffic
US07725583B2 System and method for providing advanced reservations in a compute environment
A system and method are disclosed for dynamically reserving resources within a cluster environment. The method embodiment of the invention comprises receiving a request for resources in the cluster environment, monitoring events after receiving the request for resources and based on the monitored events, dynamically modifying at least one of the request for resources and the cluster environment.
US07725575B2 Unexpected demand detection system and unexpected demand detection program
An unexpected demand detection system for detecting an unexpected demand for IT resources includes: a demand model recording part that records a demand model representing a time-based transition in a predetermined time period of a required amount of the IT resources; an unexpected demand model recording part that records an unexpected demand model representing a time-based transition different from the time-based transition of the amount of the IT resources represented by the demand model; and a judging part that performs a comparison among observation data indicating an actual demand for the IT resources observed in the predetermined time period, the amount of the IT resources represented by the demand model, and an amount of the IT resources represented by the unexpected demand model thereby to judge whether an unexpected demand represented by the unexpected demand model occurs.
US07725573B2 Methods and apparatus for supporting agile run-time network systems via identification and execution of most efficient application code in view of changing network traffic conditions
Methods and apparatus for supporting agile run-time network systems via identification and execution of most efficient application binary code in view of changing network traffic conditions. Under one embodiment of the method, respective application binaries are compiled for each of a plurality of profiled system states for a network system, wherein each profiled system state corresponds to a respective workload scenario for the network system. During ongoing run-time operations, the current workload condition for the network system is monitored, and an application binary from amongst the multiple application binaries that is most efficient for the current workload condition is identified, loaded and executed.
US07725572B1 Notification architecture and method employed within a clustered node configuration
A monitoring system and method are described which simplify the management of complex, multi-tiered networks such as those used in large enterprises. One embodiment of the system is implemented across a cluster of application servers which are communicatively coupled together on a network to serve applications over the network to a plurality of client. Each application server is comprised of a plurality of server nodes. Each of the server nodes is assigned its own dedicated management bean (“MBean”) server and each of the MBean servers are associated with a plurality of MBeans for monitoring specified system resources. In addition, one embodiment of the invention includes notification logic which generates cluster-wide notifications on certain specified events associated with certain server node resources. The cluster-wide notifications are accessible from any one of the server nodes within the application server cluster. Thus, a client communicatively coupled to any server node within the cluster will be provided with a comprehensive view of all cluster-wide notifications.
US07725570B1 Method and apparatus for component to service mapping in service level management (SLM)
Method and apparatus for service level management, wherein business processes are composed of services. A state of the service is defined by one or more service parameters, and the service parameters depend upon performance of network components that support the service, e.g., component parameters. The state of the service may depend, for example, on a collection of service parameter values for availability, reliability, security, integrity and response time. A service level agreement is a contract between a supplier and a customer that identifies services supported by a network, service parameters for the services, and service levels (e.g., acceptable levels) for each service parameter.
US07725569B2 Method and system for configuration and download in a restricted architecture network
A method and system are provided for updating software configurations of line-replaceable unit (LRU) computers in a restricted architecture network such as an in-flight entertainment system (IFES). Operating in an efficient and parallel manner, each of the LRUs independently creates an individual configuration file that identifies current software components. Each of the LRUs transmits its respective configuration file to a configuration server either automatically upon startup or manually upon request. The configuration server updates a system configuration data file with the current configuration files received from the individual LRUs. In a downloading method, a download server sends a list of desired software components to the LRUs. Each of the LRUs independently and simultaneously transfer (download) the needed software from the download server. The LRU independently requests the download server to download the needed software components. The file transfers utilize standard protocols, such as FTP.
US07725567B2 Peer-to-peer name resolution protocol (PNRP) security infrastructure and method
A security infrastructure and methods are presented that inhibit the ability of a malicious node from disrupting the normal operations of a peer-to-peer network. The methods of the invention allow both secure and insecure identities to be used by nodes by making them self-verifying. When necessary or opportunistic, ID ownership is validated by piggybacking the validation on existing messages. The probability of connecting initially to a malicious node is reduced by randomly selecting to which node to connect. Further, information from malicious nodes is identified and can be disregarded by maintaining information about prior communications that will require a future response. Denial of service attacks are inhibited by allowing the node to disregard requests when its resource utilization exceeds a predetermined limit. The ability for a malicious node to remove a valid node is reduced by requiring that revocation certificates be signed by the node to be removed.
US07725565B2 System and method for detecting, collecting, analyzing, and communicating event related information
A system and method involves detecting operational social disruptive events on a global scale, assigning disease event staging and warnings to express data in more simplistic terms, modeling data in conjunction with linguistics analysis to establish responsive actions, generating visualization and modeling capabilities for communicating information, and modeling disease propagation for containment and forecasting purposes.
US07725563B2 Nested AND roles
A method and apparatus for managing a nested AND role in a directory server is described. In one embodiment, a plurality of entries is defined in the directory server. At least one of the plurality of entries possesses a role. An entry is queried to determine its possessed role. A nested AND role possesses at least two roles. An entry possesses the nested AND role by possessing all the roles within the nested AND role.
US07725559B2 Virtual data center that allocates and manages system resources across multiple nodes
A virtualization infrastructure that allows multiple guest partitions to run within a host hardware partition. The host system is divided into distinct logical or virtual partitions and special infrastructure partitions are implemented to control resource management and to control physical I/O device drivers that are, in turn, used by operating systems in other distinct logical or virtual guest partitions. Host hardware resource management runs as a tracking application in a resource management “ultravisor” partition, while host resource management decisions are performed in a higher level command partition based on policies maintained in a separate operations partition. Host hardware I/O management is implemented in special redundant I/O partitions. Operating systems in other logical or virtual partitions communicate with the I/O partitions via memory channels established by the ultravisor partion.
US07725557B2 Client-side caching of streaming media content
Various functionality with respect to streaming media content is made available to users. Such functionality includes one or more of: streaming media content at a rate independent of the encoded bit rate of the content, allowing streaming of content to continue even when the user has selected various shuttle control options (e.g., pause, stop, fast forward, seek, rewind, etc.), allowing streaming content to be recorded for playback at a later time, and allowing streaming content to be time-shifted.
US07725547B2 Informing a user of gestures made by others out of the user's line of sight
A gesture-enabled electronic communication system informs users of gestures made by other users participating in a communication session. The system captures a three-dimensional movement of a first user from among the multiple users participating in an electronic communication session, wherein the three-dimensional movement is determined using at least one image capture device aimed at the first user. The system identifies a three-dimensional object properties stream using the captured movement and then identifies a particular electronic communication gesture representing the three-dimensional object properties stream by comparing the identified three-dimensional object properties stream with multiple electronic communication gesture definitions. In response to identifying the particular electronic communication gesture from among the multiple electronic communication gesture definitions, the system transmits, to the users participating in the electronic communication session, an electronic object corresponding to the identified electronic communication gesture.
US07725546B2 System and method for granting deposit-contingent e-mailing rights
An Email guarantee deposit method, system, and program product, with the method comprising in one embodiment, the steps of: receiving from a sender a request to send to a recipient an Email; receiving a deposit or an authorization to obtain a deposit of something of value; sending the Email to the recipient only if a deposit of authorization for a deposit is received; determining if the recipient has accepted the deposit; and if the recipient has accepted the deposit, then facilitating the disposal of the deposit. In an important alternate embodiment, a deposit can be required before an Email with a auditory or visual enhancement is provided, or before routing to a designated type of device occurs.
US07725545B2 Dual use counters for routing loops and spam detection
A method for detecting an undesirable condition within a messaging network. A message is received and a source of the message is identified. If an entry in a database for the source has not been created, an entry is created. A source counter for the source is then set to one and a timestamp is created for the source. If an entry in the database for the source has been previously created, the source counter is incremented by one and the timestamp is updated. The source counter is then compared to a source threshold, and if the source counter exceeds the source threshold over the course of predetermined amount of time, a source alarm is triggered. A sliding with respect to the predetermined amount of time may also be implemented to account for total counts that may fall across or be split by set periods of time. The invention is particularly useful for detecting “spam” events and undesirable routing loops.
US07725543B2 Network communication device for transmitting/receiving an email message containing a disposition notification request
A network communication device is provided with e-mail message composing means and e-mail message transmitting/receiving means. The e-mail message composing means has functions of incorporating an MDN request and return transmission conditions into an e-mail message and of consolidating MDN responses for multiple received e-mail messages into a collective MDN response to compose a single e-mail message. The e-mail message transmitting/receiving means has a function of recognizing the MDN request and the return transmission conditions. The network communication device is further provided with: reception result monitoring means which monitors the reception of an e-mail message to see whether it is a success or failure and which composes an MDN response; and disposition notification controlling means which monitors return transmission conditions incorporated in a received e-mail message and which, if the return transmission conditions are met, instructs the e-mail message composing means to compose a collective MDN response and the e-mail message transmitting/receiving means to transmit the composed collective MDN response. Thus, the invention enables collective confirmation of MDN responses to multiple e-mail messages.
US07725536B2 Method and apparatus for limiting reuse of domain name system information
A method of limiting reuse of domain name information is disclosed. In accordance with the method, domain name information is received at a first domain name sewer. The domain name information includes a time limit and a request limit associated with subsequent distribution of the domain name information to at least one requestor. The received domain name information is validated from a second domain name server based on earliest expiration of the time limit and the request limit.
US07725533B2 System and method for enhanced messaging including a displayable status indicator relating to another user and an associated playlist or webpage
A system and method for enhancing the experience of a user using a communication program over the Internet or other network. The system and method according to one embodiment utilizes a user's status indicator in a communication program to share content such as music or videos among users, and provides access to an electronic commerce application through which content may be obtained. One system and method according to the present invention allows a user to display an indicator and to set an actionable status message which indicates to other users the media content that the first user is experiencing. In another embodiment, a user is given the ability to access content that other users are listening to or viewing at that time. The system and method in an alternate embodiment broadcast metadata about the user's content to other users and the other users are able to utilize that metadata to receive and experience the same or similar content that the first user is experiencing. Access to an electronic commerce application through which content may be obtained is also facilitated.
US07725532B2 System and method for providing flexible context-aware service
Provided are a system and method for determining whether to provide service and a content of the service based on ubiquitous-based context information. The method includes the steps of registering at least one context-aware service (CAS); determining whether sensors associated with the CAS are registered; when all the sensors are registered, checking all contexts associated with the CAS; upon receipt of a CAS request, receiving context information from the sensors and determining whether the context information satisfies the contexts; and providing the CAS if the context information satisfies at least one of the contexts. With the flexible engine determining whether to provide service corresponding to a current context even though all context information constituting the CAS is not collected, information is quickly provided upon receipt of a service request from a user.
US07725531B1 Single use server system
A system and method for processing a client request using single use virtual servers. The method: receives the client request from a network; passes the client request to a new virtual incoming client request server; passes an application request from the virtual incoming client request server to a new virtual application server; destroys the virtual incoming client request server; passes an application result from the virtual application server to a new virtual outgoing client result server; destroys the new virtual application server; passes the application result from the new virtual outgoing client request server to the network; and destroys the virtual outgoing client request server.
US07725529B2 Geographic information system
Disclosed is a geographic information system which comprises a multithreading client and a multithreading server cluster. The multithreading client includes at least one user interface, at least one client coordinator, map data, at least one map manager, at least one client-side spatial analyzer, at least one cache manager, at least one data requester, and at least one information communicator. The multithreading server cluster includes: at least one servlet, at least one image accessor, at least one map configuration mechanism; at least one data storage access mechanism, at least one data source manager, and at least one server-side spatial manager.
US07725528B1 System and methodology providing optimized data exchange with industrial controller
The present invention relates to a system and methodology facilitating network communications between an industrial control system and a client application that interacts with a plurality of data items on the control system. The client application initiates a request or query to the industrial control system for an identification of selected data items of interest. Based on information received in the request, an aggregation component can be constructed by the client, wherein names and buffer allocations relating to the data items of interest are provided. The aggregation component is then installed by the client and updated in the industrial control system, thus providing information access to the client application when fresh or updated information is desired. Information is accessed via a communications packet that is generated from the data items identified in the aggregation component. Information transmitted to the control system can also be optimized by identifying the information via handle identifiers that are employed in place of explicit reference or tag names.
US07725526B1 System and method for web based sharing of search engine queries
While a user browses through a network, the present invention monitors and detects search queries. As a user enables queries to search for documents containing information necessary to the completion of a task, hobby, entertainment or to improve his or her general knowledge, the present invention detects that a query has been enabled and stores the query for later presentation to a user in an integrated browser list window. If a user wishes to share queries with other users in a global database, he or she must select a query string for sharing in an integrated browser list window. The query is stored locally and forwarded across a communication network to a hub processing unit for permanent storage in a global database accessible by a plurality of users. Also, the user can add annotations to the search query prior to its being forwarded to the hub processing unit. The hub processing unit in coordination with the global database organizes and manages the storage of selected shared query. Once stored in the global database, other users can benefit from the intelligence, work and experience of others by searching through categories of search queries as well as simply browsing through them. This is accomplished by a second user entering categorical data to his local graphical user interface which communicates with a search and retrieval program. The search and retrieval program returns a grouping or listing of headlines related to the category selected by the second user.
US07725524B2 Process automation system and method having a hierarchical architecture with multiple tiers
A multi-tiered process automation system employing a novel property attachment mechanism is described. For example, a computer-implemented method according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: providing one or more project objects, procedure objects, and step objects; generating attachment data attaching a plurality of properties to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, each of the properties having a value associated therewith, wherein at least some of the properties are generated and attached to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects at runtime, during execution of the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, respectively; storing the attached properties with the associated values and attachment data; receiving a request to execute one or more of the objects; interpreting the attachment data to identify the properties attached to each of the one or more objects; and executing the one or more of the objects within the process automation system using the values associated with the one or more properties.
US07725519B2 Floating-point processor with selectable subprecision
A floating-point processor with selectable subprecision includes a register configured to store a plurality of bits in a floating-point format, a controller, and a floating-point mathematical operator. The controller is configured to select a subprecision for a floating-point operation, in response to user input. The controller is configured to determine a subset of the bits, in accordance with the selected subprecision. The floating-point operator is configured to perform the floating-point operation using only the subset of the bits. Excess bits that are not used in the floating-point operation may be forced into a low-leakage state. The output value resulting from the floating-point operation is either truncated or rounded to the selected subprecision.
US07725515B2 Digital filter for reducting blocking artifacts in images
The present invention relates to a digital data filtering circuit. This digital data filtering circuit is able to implement the calculation steps of a discrete transform of a set of 8 original data (w), and calculating an inverse discrete transform of the set of transformed data thus obtained. For this purpose, it comprises a first filtering module (FILo1) intended to filter the odd transformed data or the 3 odd transformed data items having the highest frequencies in the set of transformed data, and a second filtering module (FILo2) connected to the first filtering module and intended to filter the 2 odd transformed data having the highest frequencies in the set of transformed data.
US07725514B2 Liquid and plate-based random number generator
A random number generating unit includes an external containment casing and a measurement cone within the external containment casing, to which liquid detection contacts are attached. One or more terminals on a random number generation integrated circuit, which terminals connect to the liquid detection contacts are included, as is a primary reservoir connected to a secondary reservoir containing a pump and a dropper to provide a bead of liquid from the pump, wherein the bead falls on the measurement cone to be detected by the liquid detection contacts and then fall into the primary reservoir.
US07725512B1 Apparatus and method for performing multiple exclusive or operations using multiplication circuitry
An apparatus and method for performing multiple exclusive OR (XOR) operations using standard binary multiplication circuitry to create multiple XOR expressions simultaneously. The method and apparatus include a multiplication circuit to generate a product result by performing a multiplication between a multiplier and a multiplicand. A selection circuit is then used to break down the product result into a plurality of partial product sub-expressions. An XOR gate is provided to generate a final expression from one or more of the plurality of partial product sub-expression. The present invention is suited for performing calculations involving a large number of XOR operations with various combinations of product terms, such as cyclical redundancy check calculations.
US07725511B2 Bio-metric input mechanism
A biometric keyboard or other input device, such as a keypad or touch screen, may be part of an input mechanism for inputting user information to a computing system. The mechanism may include biometric sensors associated with the buttons or keys of the input device. A mapping scheme may be used such that the input value forwarded to a processing resource when a user activates one or more of the buttons or keys varies depending on which digit (finger, toe, etc.) was used to activate the key(s) or button(s). Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
US07725506B1 Defragmentation in a virtual environment
Defragmentation of a file system. Multiple files within the file system may be fully or partially defragmented with respect to the physical storage system containing the physical file system. The defragmented files include at least one file that represents a virtual storage system. That virtual storage system file contains a number of sub-files that represent files (i.e., virtual files) of the virtual storage system. These virtual files are not files managed by the physical file system, but are files recognized by a virtual file system managed by a virtual machine running on the physical machine. The defragmentation of the virtual files occurs using knowledge of the unordered nature of the allocation segments that make up the virtual storage system file. Accordingly, after defragmentation, the files of the physical file system and the virtual file system are more defragmented with respect to the physical storage system, while not requiring a shut down of the virtual file system.
US07725504B2 Method and apparatus for helping user form structured diagram from unstructured information source
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for helping a user form a structured diagram from an unstructured information source. Starting with one or more key information elements such as some special words, the requests of a customer contained in the information source can be obtained by performing interactive and iterative searching in the unstructured information source such as text, audio, video and etc., the artifacts representing them are drawn in the diagram, and linkages are established between the artifacts and the corresponding contents in the information source. The present invention also proposes that the distribution of established linkages can be used to check whether all the requests in the information source have been extracted in the diagram. Further, various levels of warnings can be shown according to the density of linkage distribution. Therefore the user can draw a structured diagram more conveniently and quickly, and can perform checking and reusing more easily.
US07725501B1 System and method for rapid database application deployment and use
A system and a method for rapid database application deployment and use. A system includes a host server that includes a database and a database application framework. The database stores a virtual relational database structure and a virtual relational database implementation. The database may store the virtual relational database structure and virtual relational database implementation in an existing relational database structure. The virtual relational database structure includes one or more object types and one or more object properties. Object types are definitions of types of objects for which data may be stored in the database and object properties are definitions of types of data that may be stored for objects and are associated with the one or more object types. The virtual relational database implementation includes one or more actual objects that are based on the one or more object types and one or more populated properties that are based on the object properties and which include data for the one or more actual objects. The database application framework enables a user to define virtual relational database structures and create virtual relational database implementations. The database application framework communicates with the database and includes user interface software that creates and processes user interface displays that enable a user to view, edit and search the database and which adapt to changes to the virtual relational database structure to immediately reflect such changes on the user interface displays.
US07725495B2 Implementing referential integrity in a database hosting service
Generally described, embodiments of the present invention provide the ability to assign primary keys and foreign keys to lists of any number of sites that are maintained by a database hosting service. More specifically, a scalable table, like the master table described below, may continue to be used without specifying primary keys or foreign keys within the table by using two additional tables in which the keys are specified for each list of each site. Integrity may be maintained by confirming that all changes to either a primary key or foreign key are appropriate before applying the changes to the master table.
US07725494B2 System and method for networked media access
A method, system, and media management application for providing a user access to a media file from multiple locations on a network. In one aspect, a user communicates a desire to access a media file at a future time and is able to access the bookmarked media file from various locations on a network at any future time. In one aspect, the media file is available from multiple locations on the network and in different media formats.
US07725492B2 Managing information about relationships in a social network via a social timeline
A system, method, and computer program for generating a social timeline is provided. A plurality of data items associated with at least one relationship between users associated with a social network is received, each data item having an associated time. The data items are ordered according to the at least one relationship. A social timeline is generated according to the ordered data items.
US07725488B2 System and method for receiving and loading fare and schedule data
A system for loading data to a search system configured to process requests and present data meeting criteria specified in the request. A first server is configured to monitor a second server for the availability of a new data set, to request a transfer of the new data set when the second server indicates that the new data set is available, and to store the new data set. A third server is in communication with the first server and is configured to transfer the new data set from the first server and simultaneously store an old data set and the new data set. A fourth server is in communication with the third server and is configured to simultaneously operate a first search process and a second search process. The first search process processes requests searching the old data set and the second search process processes requests searching the new data set.
US07725485B1 Generating query suggestions using contextual information
A search engine receives a query from an end-user. The search engine executes the query on a content database and identifies a set of matching content. The search engine utilizes the matching content to generate a query vector describing the end-user query. The search engine searches a repository of other vectors, called “centroids,” to produce a ranked set of centroids matching the query vector. These centroids are converted into search queries and form a set of candidate queries. The search engine filters the candidate queries to identify ones that are likely to be meaningful to the end-user. The selected candidate queries are returned to the end-user as query suggestions.
US07725483B2 Method for improved processing of expression-based data
Expression-based data may comprise data that is processed by a validation expression for example. After a validation expression is created it may then be performed with respect to one or more data values or data records. A validation expression returns a Boolean result that signifies a success or failure result. A validation expression can define complex intra-record tests and inter-record tests with unlimited complexity. In order to improve processing of validations, the system uses virtual data known as calculation fields. Calculation fields are stored in memory at runtime and not in a database thereby eliminating the necessity of selecting and updating records in the database. A dirty bit identifying fields and attributes that need to be calculated based on a dependent data may be used to defer calculation to a later time when the calculation field is displayed or a sort operation occurs for example.
US07725480B2 Method, system, and program for accessing calendar information for shadowed users from a database
Provided is a method, system, and program for accessing calendar information of users in a database for presentation by a personal information manager. Scheduled event records for users are maintained within the database. Further maintained in the database is information on a current location of wireless devices of users in the database, wherein one user is associated with each wireless device. Scheduled event records and the current location of a wireless device for a shadowed user are provided from the database to a device operated by a shadower user in the database.
US07725478B2 Localization of CIM-Based instrumentation
A system and method are disclosed for Common Information Model (CIM) management clients to predetermine a data provider's support for localization, select an available locale implementation, and receive the provider's indications and responses in the selected locale. A registered locale class is added to the CIM schema for instantiating predetermined locales within an Interop namespace and a referenced locale class is added to associate registered locale class instances to a registered profile class. Instances of the registered locale class are created by a CIM data provider in the Interop namespace for each supported locale. Element Conforms To Profile (ECTP) association classes are then implemented to create associations between registered locale classes with top level scoping classes and their corresponding locale namespace. The top level scoping class comprising its associated locale namespace is then established as the locale implemented by the data provider.
US07725476B2 System and method for automated data retrieval based on data placed in clipboard memory
A data retrieval system and method of the invention provide automatic retrieval of information based on data placed into, for example, a Windows™ clipboard. A user highlights and cuts (or pastes) data into the clipboard during execution of an application program. A data retriever program periodically reads the clipboard to determine whether new data has been placed therein. Upon finding new data in the clipboard, the data retriever program determines whether the data or a variation thereof satisfies a predetermined criterion. If the criterion is satisfied, the data retriever program initiates a data-retrieval operation, such as a Web-based search, based on the data. If the criterion is not satisfied, the data retriever program does not perform any data-retrieval action. The data retrieval program does not interfere with the clipboard; any application program sharing the clipboard can use data placed therein, e.g., by a paste operation.
US07725475B1 Simplifying lexicon creation in hybrid duplicate detection and inductive classifier systems
A classification system includes a signature-based duplicate detector and an inductive classifier that share attribute information. To perform the duplicate detection and the classification, the duplicate detector and inductive classifier are first initialized by generating a lexicon of attributes for the duplicate detector and a classification model for the classifier. To develop a classification model, a training set of documents of known class are used by the classifier to determine the attributes of the documents that are most useful in classifying an unknown document. The model is developed from these attributes. Attribute information containing the attributes determined by the classifier is then passed to the duplicate detector and the duplicate detector uses the attribute information to generate the lexicon of attributes.
US07725470B2 Distributed query search using partition nodes
A distributed search system including a group of nodes assigned to different partitions, each partition storing a partial index for a group of documents. At least one of the nodes receives a search request from a user, sends the search request to a set of nodes, receives partial results from the set of nodes and creates a combined result from the partial results. The combined result includes results from a node in each partition.
US07725463B2 System and method for generating normalized relevance measure for analysis of search results
A system and related techniques permit a search service operator to access a variety of disparate relevance measures, and integrate those measures into idealized or unified data sets. A search service operator may employ self-learning networks to generate relevance rankings of Web site hits in response to user queries or searches, such as Boolean text or other searches. To improve the accuracy and quality of the rankings of results, the service provider may accept as inputs relevance measures created from query logs, from human-annotated search records, from independent commercial or other search sites, or from other sources and feed those measures to a normalization engine. That engine may normalize those relevance ratings to a common scale, such as quintiles, percentages or other scales or levels. The provider may then use that idealized or normalized combined measure to train the search algorithms or heuristics to arrive at more accurate results.
US07725460B2 Method and system for a transparent application of multiple queries across multiple data sources
There is provided a system to respond to a request for data. The system receives a request for the data, queries at least two data sources for the data based on the request and receives results that include the data that is populated to at least one data object.
US07725455B1 Computing aggregates on distinct attribute values
A database system computes an aggregate on distinct values of at least one attribute for each of plural groups specified by multiple levels of grouping sets. Distinct values of the at least one attribute are identified and stored in a first table. The first table is used to compute aggregates for groups specified by a first grouping set and for groups specified by a second grouping set.
US07725454B2 Indexing and searching of information including handler chaining
Embodiments are provided to manage information associated with a number of disparate information sources. In an embodiment, a system includes a data structure having a uniform metadata representation and a metadata handler for interacting with the data structure. The data structure can be associated with an underlying file or some other type of information source. In one embodiment, a number of handlers can be chained together to extract and return information according to a desired mode of operation. The embodiments provide extensibility and can be tailored according to a desired implementation. Other embodiments and implementations are available.
US07725451B2 Generating clusters of images for search results
A method and system for generating clusters of images for a search result of an image query is provided. When an original image query is received, the search system identifies text associated with the original image query by submitting the original image query to a search engine. The search system identifies phrases from the text of the web page containing the search result. The search system uses each of the identified phrases as an image query and submits the image queries to an image search engine. The search system considers the image search result for each image query to represent a cluster of related images. The search system then presents the clusters of images as the images of the image search result of the original image query.
US07725444B2 Method for a policy based storage manager
Provided are data structures for use in storing data. A plurality of data structures are defined in a computer readable medium, wherein each data structure indicates a plurality of attributes and at least one function of a storage resource to store data. Policies are defined in the computer readable medium that associate data characteristics to data structures based on a correspondence of data characteristics and the attributes defined in the data structures, wherein each defined data structure is adapted to provide requirements to determine a storage resource to store associated data, and wherein the defined data structure is adapted to provide the storage resource with requirements for storing the data.
US07725442B2 Automatic evaluation of summaries
A probability distribution for a reference summary of a document is determined. The probability distribution for the reference summary is then used to generate a score for a machine-generated summary of the document.
US07725441B2 Methods, systems, and computer program products for disaster recovery planning
Formulating an integrated disaster recovery (DR) plan based upon a plurality of DR requirements for an application by receiving a first set of inputs identifying one or more entity types for which the plan is to be formulated, such as an enterprise, one or more sites of the enterprise, the application, or a particular data type for the application. At least one data container representing a subset of data for an application is identified. A second set of inputs is received identifying at least one disaster type for which the plan is to be formulated. A third set of inputs is received identifying a DR requirement for the application as a category of DR Quality of Service (QoS) class to be applied to the disaster type. A composition model is generated specifying one or more respective DR QoS parameters as a function of a corresponding set of one or more QoS parameters representative of a replication technology solution. The replication technology solution encompasses a plurality of storage stack levels. A solution template library is generated for mapping the application to each of a plurality of candidate replication technology solutions. The template library is used to select a DR plan in the form of a replication technology solution for the application.
US07725437B2 Providing an index for a data store
Chunks are stored in a data store, where respective collections of chunks form respective files. An index that maps digests of chunks to pages containing information to recreate the chunks is provided, where the index is stored in persistent storage.
US07725435B1 Method and apparatus for a dynamic web portal with content distributed network content availability and user locality
A system for providing a dynamic portal page in a content distributed network responds to a client request by generating the dynamic portal page at a content engine. The content engine has a portal template with at least one dynamic portion. The content engine writes into the at least one dynamic portion of the portal template links to content cached at the content engine. The content engine also writes into the at least one dynamic portion of the portal template information about availability of content not yet cached at the content engine.
US07725434B2 Methods, systems, and computer program products for automatic creation of data tables and elements
A method for implementing standardized enterprise warehouse system processes, including: extracting content from one or more source systems that provide a feed for the content; loading extracted content into one or more standardized data layout tables of a data control structure based upon meta-data and rules that define the data control structure, wherein the extracted content is in condition for transformation and data warehouse loading, and the standardized data layout tables comprise a logical data model; propagating the extracted content into a physical data model, and updating the physical data model upon the detection of a data event.
US07725433B1 Data navigation system and method employing data transformation lineage model
A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for a transformation lineage model. Data stored on a data storage device connected to a computer is navigated. In response to receiving user input, a target object in an information catalog is selected. Then, information about a source from which the target object was derived is provided.
US07725427B2 Recurrent billing maintenance with radio frequency payment devices
An RF recurrent billing system in which an account number associated with a recurrent billing account is stored within an RF transaction device. The user of the RF transaction device may present the device for completing a transaction, and the transaction, if successfully completed, is billed to the user's recurrent billing account. The user is billed for the transaction during a billing cycle, typically occurring on a regular basis according to the recurrent billing account.
US07725426B2 Lot/serial engine for a warehouse management system
A novel method for configuring an item specific user-definable lot or serial attribute. The method also provides for grouping one or more attributes into an time specific context. The method also provides for capturing, maintaining and querying attribute data values according to the item specific context.
US07725423B1 Analyzing associations in the order of transactions
A method, computer program and database system for use in analyzing associations in the order of transactions are disclosed. Data is loaded from the transactions into the database system. The data includes an entry for each transaction and the transactions are grouped into groups. The transactions within each group are put into an order. An analysis of the groups of transactions is performed to find associations in the order of the transactions in the groups.
US07725422B2 Search engine
The present invention provides for a method of updating an internet search engine database with the results of a user's selection of specific web page listings from the general web page listing provided to the user as a result of his initial keyword search entry. By updating the database with the selections of many different users, the database can be updated to prioritize those web listings that have been selected the most with respect to a given keyword, and thereby presenting first the most popular web page listings in a subsequent search using the same keyword search entry.
US07725421B1 Duplicate account identification and scoring
A system matches accounts based on attributes of the accounts, and scores the matched account pairs based on a probability of the matched accounts being duplicate accounts. The system can utilize the matched and scored account pairs to determine duplicate accounts, and terminate at least one of the accounts in a duplicate account pair.
US07725419B2 Proactive user interface including emotional agent
A proactive user interface, installed in (or otherwise control and/or be associated with) any type of computational device. The proactive user interface actively makes suggestions to the user, based upon prior experience with a particular user and/or various preprogrammed patterns from which the computational device could select, depending upon user behavior. These suggestions could be made by altering the appearance of at least a portion of the display, for example by changing a menu or a portion thereof; providing different menus for display; and/or altering touch screen functionality. The suggestions could also be made audibly.
US07725412B2 Identifying temporal sequences using a recurrent self organizing map
A data processing device for processing time-sequence data includes a data extracting unit extracting time-sequence data for a predetermined time unit from time-sequence data; and a processing unit obtaining scores for nodes of an SOM configured from multiple nodes provided with a spatial array configuration, the scores showing applicability to time-sequence data for a predetermined time unit thereof. The node with the best score is determined to be the winning node which is the node most applicable. The processing unit obtains scores as to the time-sequence data for one predetermined time unit, regarding a distance-restricted node wherein distance from the winning node as to the time-sequence for a predetermined time unit immediately preceding the time-sequence data of one predetermined time unit is within a predetermined distance. The distance-restricted node with the best the score is determined to be the winning node.
US07725411B2 Method, apparatus, mobile terminal and computer program product for providing data clustering and mode selection
An apparatus for providing data clustering and mode selection includes a training element and a transformation element. The training element is configured to receive a first training data set, a second training data set and auxiliary data extracted from the same material as the first training data set. The training element is also configured to train a classifier to group the first training data set into M clusters based on the auxiliary data and the first training data set and train M processing schemes corresponding to the M clusters for transforming the first training data set into the second training data set. The transformation element is in communication with the training element and is configured to cluster the second training data set into M clusters based on features associated with the second training data set.
US07725410B2 Method, apparatus and system for aircraft deicing and estimating deicing completion times
The overall operating efficiency of processing objects, which are placed in a selected one of several available queues for subsequent processing at respective processing sites, is improved using a model relating the total time for processing to time of waiting in queue and processing. A deicing decision support tool uses the model for estimating completion times for deicing aircraft.
US07725406B2 Systems and methods for international shipping and brokerage operations support processing
Systems and methods are disclosed for a brokerage operations support system to facilitate international shipping of goods into a country. The system receives information pertaining to a shipment and rates the shipment for a specific country by applying rules defined for the country's customs regulations. Status information of the shipment is received by the system, including whether the shipment has cleared the importing country's customs process. If the shipment has not cleared, the handling systems ensure the shipment is withheld from delivery until clearance is obtained. A flexible system architecture comprising a server and both attended and unattended workstations for a core system that can be modified to allow rating and processing of shipments occur in various modes to accommodate the procedures for each importing country.
US07725405B2 System and method for agency based posting and searching for job openings via a computer system and network
System and Method For Agency Based Posting and Searching For Job Openings Via a Computer System and Network for use by placement agents who normally would not have access to files in a career bulletin board. The system gives placement agents the opportunity to interact directly with corporate recruiters who are members of the system. Communication between the placement agent and the corporate member is permitted only if so designated by the corporate member. Utilities for the corporate member allow jobs to be defined, stored, and conveyed to preferred placement agents. Utilities for placement agents permit candidates to be registered, candidate profiles to be created, and sent to the corporate member who is the client of the placement agent.
US07725402B2 System and method for booking a performance venue
A system and method for booking a performance venue. The system comprises a booking engine enabling communication between at least two of a performer, a consumer, and a venue agent, the at least two of a performer, a consumer, and a venue agent using at least one client station connected to the booking engine over a communications link. The system also comprises a market module associated with the booking engine for selling performer endorsement entities to at least one consumer and for selecting a particular venue from a group of at least one venue.
US07725399B2 Content usage device and network system, and license information acquisition method
A content usage device includes (i) a license management unit that holds license information and (ii) a content output unit that uses a content in compliance with license information and outputs the content in at least one manner of a sound, video and data. The license management unit, upon receiving a request of license information from the content output unit, requests a license management unit of another content usage device to transfer the license information and acquires the license information, and passes the acquired license information to the content output unit. The content output unit uses a content in compliance with the license information passed from the license management unit.
US07725396B2 Secure keys for software activation
A secure method for generating and verifying keys to be utilized for software feature activation. The method includes secure key generation by a software manufacturer and secure key verification by the end software-product that reveals to the software which features to activate. This ensures that any key which activates a feature in the software is generated by the software manufacturer.
US07725395B2 System and method for devising a human interactive proof that determines whether a remote client is a human or a computer program
A system and method for automatically determining if a remote client is a human or a computer. A set of HIP design guidelines which are important to ensure the security and usability of a HIP system are described. Furthermore, one embodiment of this new HIP system and method is based on human face and facial feature detection. Because human face is the most familiar object to all human users the embodiment of the invention employing a face is possibly the most universal HIP system so far.
US07725394B2 Method and system for conducting transactions with oligopolistic entities
A method for conducting a business transaction using a payment processing network is disclosed. The method includes sending an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer, where the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity. The issuer sends an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved. Economic incentives associated with the business transaction are provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer. A method for encouraging use of electronic payment methods is also disclosed, wherein an oligopolistic entity and a group of business consumers in an industry vertical are identified based on sales information, and an economic incentive is provided to the oligopolistic business entity after it agrees to accept electronic payment transactions for conducting business with the group of business consumers.
US07725390B2 Method and system for processing an account
A method and system for processing an account for a transaction between a merchant and a customer. The transaction provided goods and/or services by the merchant to the customer for which the merchant is owed a total payment by the customer to settle the account. The account is divided into N subaccounts. The total payment is divided into N subaccount payments respectively associated with the N subaccounts. N is at least 2. N payers responsible for making the N subaccount payments to settle the N subaccounts are notified of the N subaccounts, respectively. The N subaccounts are made available to the N payers. The N subaccount payments are received from N payment providers using N payment instruments for settling the N subaccounts, respectively. The N payment providers and the N payment instruments were previously identified by the N payers. The total payment is paid to the merchant.
US07725386B2 Method for offering representation and warranty insurance for mortgage loans
An insurance program for entities in the mortgage industry that provides coverage for financial loss as a result of material inaccuracies in the financial information provided by or on behalf of the borrower. The insurance program preferably includes the initial insurance application and establishment of an insurance agreement, periodic issuing of individual insurance coverages for particular loans handled by the lender, training and consulting on improved controls for lenders, maintaining an ineligible database of entities and a database of loan information, and handling of claims. The insurance program preferably in exchange for an insurance premium will in the event of a financial loss which is caused by a financial inaccuracy of information provided by the borrower or by third parties on the borrower's behalf at the time of funding and not by in whole or in part a breach of certain guidelines by a lender's participation, the insurer will pay the deficiency between 1) the mortgage balance plus the cost of foreclosure, resale, and any interest charges that have accumulated and 2) the net proceeds received upon disposition of the loan. The payment preferably is capped at a coverage limit amount for the particular insurance agreement.
US07725382B2 Click based trading with intuitive grid display of market depth
A method and system for reducing the time it takes for a trader to place a trade when electronically trading on an exchange, thus increasing the likelihood that the trader will have orders filled at desirable prices and quantities. The “Mercury” display and trading method of the present invention ensure fast and accurate execution of trades by displaying market depth on a vertical or horizontal plane, which fluctuates logically up or down, left or right across the plane as the market prices fluctuates. This allows the trader to trade quickly and efficiently.
US07725381B2 Trader counterpart precondition in anonymous trading system
An anonymous trading system that enables users to select counterparty requirements. Each user has an interface to add trader preconditions regarding available counterparties. Those trader preconditions include an expression of the user's willingness to trade with selected counterparties. The added trader preconditions are collected from the users and combined into a trader matrix. The trader matrix is used to determine matching criteria for orders sent in by users. An anonymous trading system and a terminal for sending orders to an anonymous trading system are also provided.
US07725379B2 System and method for settling trades
A method of settling trades includes the steps of obtaining an authenticated delivery instrument, wherein the authenticated delivery instrument is authenticated by a first exchange and may be used to settle a trade undertaken on the first exchange. An electronic proxy is issued for the delivery instrument, wherein the electronic proxy may be exchanged for the authenticated delivery instrument and where the electronic proxy is used to settle a trade undertaken on a second exchange.
US07725377B2 Personalized wealth management
Described herein is a system that includes a receiver component that receives personal preferences of a user regarding wealth management. The receiver component can further receive first wealth management advice from a first financial expert that has been selected by the user. Additionally, the system may include a customization component that automatically modifies the first wealth management advice from the first financial expert based at least in part upon the received personal preferences of the user to generate first personalized wealth management advice. The system may additionally include an output component that outputs the personalized wealth management advice to the user.
US07725376B2 Systems, methods and computer program products for modeling demand, supply and associated profitability of a good in an aggregate market
A method is provided that includes defining a plurality of independent component markets for a good. In accordance with the method, each component market can be defined a respective price sensitivity distribution of a unit purchase of the good, as well as a market potential distribution of a number of units of the good. The demand and/or supply in the aggregate market can thus then be modeled based upon the price sensitivity distributions and market potential distributions of the component markets. The method can further include modeling cost and/or profitability of the good in an aggregate market. Profitability can be modeled based upon the demand model and the cost model for the aggregate market.
US07725374B2 Asset analysis according to the required yield method
A method, computer system, and computer program product for performing an asset analysis for at least one asset, using the Required Yield Method (RYM). The method provides first economic data relating to a first economy. The economic data includes a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth rate for the first economy. The economic data may further include an expected inflation rate for the first economy over a time interval. At least one asset characteristic (e.g, asset valuation) of each asset of the least one asset is computed. The at least one asset characteristic is a function of a portion of the economic data. The computing is in accordance with the RYM. The computed at least one asset characteristic is transferred to a tangible medium. The at least one asset may include an equity index, a bond, gold, a currency, a derivative, etc.
US07725373B2 Timing mechanism and direct messaging for electronic trading platform
A system and interface for trading financial instruments includes an intermediary computer system that is operable to communicate with one or more trader terminals. The intermediary computer system includes one or more processors and storage media, and it communicates with trader terminals and displays to the trader terminals a listing of financial instruments, and information related to such financial instruments, that are available for trading. The intermediary computer system periodically updates the option adjusted price of financial instruments to provide traders with a time period in which the price will remain stable and during which time the traders can confidently execute orders based on the then available price. A timer, which is constantly visible to traders, displays the amount of time remaining until the displayed adjusted prices will be updated.
US07725369B2 Method and server for management of electronic receipts
A system for managing electronic receipts is provided. According to one aspect, the system includes a portable device, a base device, a user device and an electronic receipts administration system. The electronic receipts administration system provides the base device with the appropriate data to allow the base device to generate, store and manage electronic receipts accordingly. A user uses the portable device to conduct a transaction with the base device. The base device uses a variety of information to generate an electronic receipt for the transaction. Such information includes, for example, information stored on the portable device, information stored locally on the base device and information stored on another device such as an electronic cash register. The electronic receipt is then stored on the portable device. The user device allows the user to subsequently retrieve the electronic receipt for management purposes.
US07725366B1 Supply-chain management system
An Internet-based computer-assisted supply-chain management system (SCMS) replaces the archaic commerce systems presently in use. It coordinates just-in-time distribution of items purchased by consumers from a plurality of merchants whereby the inventory in the distribution pipeline is reduced to inventory in transport. It uses regional distributions centers and neighborhood order aggregation facilities for an efficient transfer of items to consumers. Consumers can pick up aggregated orders at an order aggregation facility or have them delivered at a residence. The SCMS phases out conventional checkout registers in favor of web browsers with automatic transaction execution. Retailers can operate with little or no inventory. Window shops facilitate promotion of items and help consumers make selections and decisions with respect to purchases they may be contemplating. The SCMS provides real-time consumption monitoring and forecasts, significantly reduces supply-chain costs and retail prices, promotes economic growth, and minimizes undesirable cyclic economic fluctuations.
US07725364B2 Part catalog creating system
In a part catalog creating system, a part table containing design change numbers respectively set for parts, and header numbers, part numbers, and quantity of the parts, each of which corresponds to the design change numbers, is created, and product number data that contains design change number of part used for manufacturing each product is created, and information that coincides with the product number data is selected from the part table, thereby creating a product number list. The product number list and images of parts corresponding to the product number list are combined and the part catalog data for each product number is output. Thus, the part catalog can be easily created without errors.
US07725363B2 Method of generating product categories from a metadata tag
Methods of the present invention allow a user to be enabled to create a metadata tag associated with a product on an ecommerce site. Using the metadata tag, a product category associated with the product may be dynamically created.
US07725360B2 Portable communication device and method of use
A portable communication device and method of use is provided. In one embodiment, the method of using a handheld mobile telephone includes capturing a plurality of images via an image input device; storing the plurality of images in a memory, receiving a first speech input, identifying command information in said first speech input; retrieving information from memory based, at least in part, on the command information. The method may further include generating a request related to an article of commerce that includes, at least in part, the information retrieved from memory, determining a destination for transmitting the request, and wirelessly transmitting said request through a mobile telephone network to the destination.
US07725351B1 Point of sale system interface for processing of transactions at a secondary transaction payment network
An interface for an integrated POS solution that allows a merchant to process card payment transactions through a secondary transaction payment processing network. The interface of the present invention expands the functionality of POS system by expanding the scope of use of a secondary port in the POS system. A primary POS port connects to a primary transaction payment processing network and a secondary POS port connects via an interface to an Internet payment gateway and then to a secondary transaction payment processing network. The interface converts the secondary port message formats into a message format for processing through an Internet payment gateway and secondary transaction payment processing network. The interface also performs additional reasonability and security checks typically not performed by a secondary port on cardholder track data. The improved processing of track data results in fewer declines so that transactions are processed more efficiently and accurately.
US07725348B1 Multilane vehicle information capture system
A system and method for accurate express tolling of highway vehicles. A multilane tolling system comprises a tolling (MVIC) unit that collects information from tolling subsystems arranged to take various vehicle measurements. Preferably, an intelligent vehicle identification subsystem sends vehicle information to the MVIC unit many times per second. Preferably, a vision tracking system (VTS) communicates with the MVIC unit and sends the latter information about the vehicle position using vision tracking sensors. Preferably, an RF subsystem conducts multiple reads of a transponder on a passing vehicle and forwards the read information to the MVIC unit. Preferably, a vehicle image capture unit (VICU) captures images of the passing vehicle when a camera in the VICU receives a trigger from the MVIC unit. Preferably, a driver alert module is used alert a driver passing through a tolling point as to account balance associated with a silent toll tag or pay by plate system.
US07725347B2 System and method for facilitating bilateral and multilateral decision-making
Techniques for facilitating evaluation, in connection with the procurement or delivery of products or services, in a context of at least one of (i) a financial transaction and (ii) operation of an enterprise, such context involving a member of a first class of parties in a first role and a member of a second class of counterparties in a second role, are disclosed. The techniques involve supplying to at least one of the parties a series of forced choice questions so as to elicit party responses; supplying to at least one of the counterparties a series of forced choice questions so as to elicit counterparty responses; and delivering a list matching the at least one party and the at least one counterparty according to analysis of preference profiles determined using conjoint analysis of the party responses and the counterparty responses.
US07725343B2 Activity based cost modeling
A computer system, computer-readable medium and a method for performing activity based cost modeling. A cost object array has dimensions defined by weight arrays each corresponding to facets of the business by which one would assess profitability and efficiency, such as by products and customers. Each element of the weight arrays represents a user-definable classification, such as particular product families or geographic regions, and is assigned an allocation weight. A cost driver array has the same dimensions as the cost object array comprising metrics, such as the quantity sold or dollars of revenue. A weighted allocation factor for each cost object is a function of the allocation weights and the cost driver for that cost object, normalized over all the cost objects. Activity costs are allocated to a particular cost object in proportion to the weighted allocation factor associated with that cost object.
US07725336B2 Methods and systems of insuring fertility care lifestyle affairs
Beneficiaries are registered by an insurance provider for an insurance coverage policy for fertility diagnosis and treatable infertility conditions using either manual or online registration applications over a communications network. Using, knowledge base systems, prospective beneficiary personal descriptor information is matched with terms and conditions information preloaded into the insurance company computer system to generate a customized contract for delivery of infertility treatment services to different categories of beneficiaries. Beneficiaries may range in age from newborn infants up to adults. However, infertility treatment services are not provided either until the beneficiaries reach childbearing age or until the policies of adult beneficiaries vest over a designated time period. Adults can purchase infertility insurance naming their infant child as beneficiary and pay premiums over time until the child reaches childbearing age. Once the child reaches childbearing age, the insurance policy can be utilized by the beneficiary or can be transferred.
US07725333B2 Cluster of correlated medical claims in an episode treatment group
A computer-implemented method for profiling medical claims to assist health care managers in determining the cost-efficiency and service quality of health care providers. The method allows an objective means for measuring and quantifying health care services. An episode treatment group (ETG) is a patient classification unit, which defines groups that are clinically homogenous (similar cause of illness and treatment) and statistically stable. The ETG grouper methodology uses service or segment-level claim data as input data and assigns each service to the appropriate episode. The program identifies concurrent and recurrent episodes, flags records, creates new groupings, shifts groupings for changed conditions, selects the most recent claims, resets windows, makes a determination if the provider is an independent lab and continues to collect information until an absence of treatment is detected.
US07725330B2 Systems and methods for automated extraction and processing of billing information in patient records
Systems and methods for automated processing of medical information in electronic patient medical record databases, wherein billing information (e.g., diagnosis codes, procedural codes) is automatically extracted from electronic patient medical records through comprehensive analysis of clinical information included in the patient medical records using a knowledge base of domain-specific criteria. The extracted billing information can be automatically processed for purposes of, e.g., medical claims correction, medical claims billing, quality assurance of recorded billing information, or claim reimbursement tracking.
US07725329B2 System and method for automatic generation of a hierarchical tree network and the use of two complementary learning algorithms, optimized for each leaf of the hierarchical tree network
A system and method that generates a hierarchical tree network and uses linear-plus-nonlinear learning algorithms to form a consensus view on a member's future health status. Each leaf in the hierarchical tree network is homogeneous in clinical characteristics, experience period, and available data assets. Optimization is performed on each leaf so that features and learning algorithms can be tailored to local characteristics specific to each leaf.
US07725324B2 Constrained filter encoding of polyphonic signals
Signals of different channels are combined into one mono signal. A set of adaptive filters, preferably one for each channel, is derived in a respective filter adaptation unit. When an adaptive filter is applied to the mono signal it reconstructs the signal of the respective channel under a perceptual constraint. The perceptual constraint is a gain and/or shape constraint. The gain constraint allows the preservation of the relative energy between the channels while the shape constraint allows more stability by avoiding unnecessary filtering of spectral nulls. The transmitted parameters are the mono signal, in encoded form, and the parameters of the adaptive filters, preferably also encoded. The receiver reconstructs the signal of the different channels by applying the adaptive filters and possibly some additional post-processing.
US07725321B2 Speech based query system using semantic decoding
An intelligent query system for processing voiced-based queries is disclosed, which uses a combination of both statistical and semantic based processing to identify the question posed by the user by understanding the meaning of the user's utterance. Based on identifying the meaning of the utterance, the system selects a single answer that best matches the user's query. The answer that is paired to this single question is then retrieved and presented to the user. The system, as implemented, accepts environmental variables selected by the user and is scalable to provide answers to a variety and quantity of user-initiated queries.
US07725320B2 Internet based speech recognition system with dynamic grammars
A speech-enabled WWW based computing system allows a user to interact with content associated with a web page and select items of interest using speech as a mode of input. Dynamic grammars can assist in the recognition operations to improve speed and comprehension.
US07725318B2 System and method for improving the accuracy of audio searching
A system and method for improving the accuracy of audio searching using multiple models to process an audio file or stream to obtain search tracks. The search tracks are processed to locate at least one search term and generate multiple search results. The number of search results is equivalent to the number of models used to process the audio stream. The search results are combined to generate a unified search result. The multiple models may represent different languages, dialects and accents.
US07725317B2 Interactive control system and method
An interactive control system is disclosed with which the recognition rate and the responsiveness when operating a plurality of interactive services in parallel can be improved. A recognition lexicon and consolidated and reorganized information are generated for each individual interaction. Thus, excessive growth of the recognition lexicon can be avoided and a lowering of the recognition rate can be prevented. Moreover, based on the consolidated and reorganized information, it is possible to specify interactive services that may respond to the same input information, so that responses that are unexpected for the user can be prevented.
US07725313B2 Method, system and apparatus for allocating bits in perceptual audio coders
A non-iterative and computationally efficient bit allocation technique for perceptual audio coders employing uniform quantization schemes. This is achieved by computing a target MNR for all critical bands in a frame using a target bit rate and associated SMRs. Associated SNRs are then computed for the critical bands using the computed target MNR and the associated SMRs. Bits are then allocated to the critical bands based on the computed associated SNRs.
US07725309B2 System, method, and technique for identifying a spoken utterance as a member of a list of known items allowing for variations in the form of the utterance
An application-specific dictionary is provided that includes a plurality of entries, where each entry matches to one or more items that comprise one or more records of a record store. For at least some of the plurality of entries, each entry has multiple phonetic representations, including one or more phonetic representations that are at least one of (i) an abbreviation of that entry, or (ii) a null use of the entry when that entry is combined with another entry.
US07725308B2 Interactive tool for semi-automatic generation of a natural language grammar from a device descriptor
A method, system, and tool product for creating a grammar for a natural language dialog system from a device description is provided. The system can include a device descriptor for identifying configuration, interface, object, and attribute information of the device, a speech grammar for identifying one or more rules generated from the device descriptor that are supported by the device, a speech recognition system for invoking rules of the speech grammar, and a processor for facilitating interoperability and development of distributed applications and providing delineated coverage of the one or more rules in view of the device descriptor.
US07725306B2 Efficient phrase pair extraction from bilingual word alignments
A method is provided for identifying phrase alignment pairs between a source sentence and a target sentence. Boundaries for a phrase in the source sentence are identified by requiring that a source word be aligned with at least one target word in a target sentence in order to form a boundary for the source phrase. Boundaries for a phrase in the target sentence are identified based on alignments between words in the source phrase and words in the target sentence. The words in the target phrase are examined to determine if any of the words are aligned with source words outside of the source phrase. If they are not aligned with source words outside of the source phrase, the source phrase and target phrase are determined to form an alignment pair and are stored as a phrase alignment pair.
US07725305B2 Partial virtualization on computing device
A computing device hosts a virtual machine executing a guest that issues guest hardware requests by way of any of a plurality of paths. Such paths include a path to non-existent virtual hardware, where an emulator intercepts and processes such guest hardware request with a corresponding actual hardware command; a path to an instantiated operating system, where the instantiated operating system processes each such guest hardware request with a corresponding actual hardware request; and a path to device hardware, where the device hardware directly processes each such guest hardware request.
US07725304B1 Method and apparatus for coupling data between discrete processor based emulation integrated chips
A method and apparatus for coupling data between discrete processor-based emulation chips is described. The apparatus is a processor-based hardware emulation integrated circuits (chips) element comprising a plurality of discrete hardware emulation chips, each emulation chip coupled to another emulation chip by a crossbar for coupling data between the plurality of chips. The method comprises providing data to a crossbar from a first discrete emulation chip, selecting the data from the crossbar using a discrete second emulation chip, and storing the data in a data array in the second discrete emulation chip.
US07725301B2 System and method for estimating multi-phase fluid rates in a subterranean well
Methods and systems for estimating multi-phase fluid rates in a subterranean well (10). Stored and measured static (40) and transient (44) well conditions are used to model well conditions for comparison against additional transient data (42) relating to temperature, pressure, and flow. Multi-phase fluid rates are estimated by iteratively comparing well conditions with the model (30) for the well (10). Multi-phase fluid flow estimates may be obtained for the various liquid and gaseous fluids in the well (10) at multiple well locations (24).
US07725287B2 System and method for using structured shapes to increase laser scanner accuracy
A system and method for determining the rectangular coordinate position of a first object spaced apart from and opposing a second object by placing at least three three-dimensional structures at different known locations on the top surface of the first object and a corresponding number of pulse transceivers at known locations on the bottom surface of the second object, directing a series of pulses having a known speed from each of the transceivers along a path crossing the highest point of a corresponding one of the structures, determining the shortest and second shortest distances travelled by the transmitted pulses and using that data together with other known data to locate edges of the first object and calculate the rectangular coordinate position of the first object with respect to the second object.
US07725285B2 Method and apparatus for determining whether components are not present in a computer system
A system that determines whether components are not present in a computer system is presented. During operation the system receives telemetry signals from sensors within the computer system. Next, the system dynamically generates a temperature map for the computer system based on the telemetry signals. The system then analyzes the temperature map to determine whether components are not present in the computer system.
US07725282B2 Method for providing a pattern forecast
A method for providing a pattern forecast for an object from a number of objects that are associated with one another, in which the pattern forecast is provided by taking into account consumption series of these associated objects. A device for providing a pattern forecast for an object from a number of objects that are associated with one another, the device being designed to provide the pattern forecast by taking into account consumption series of these associated objects.
US07725280B2 Method for checking the lambda value indicated by a binary lambda probe
In a method for checking the lambda value λ indicated by a binary lambda probe, the lambda probe being situated in the exhaust line of an internal combustion engine and provided downstream from a catalyst having oxygen storage capacity, the invention provides that the time progression of the voltage signal Uλ is plotted in the range of the lambda value λactual of 1.0 indicated by the lambda probe until a first inflection point W1 and a second inflection point W2 of the voltage signal Uλ have been detected, the time derivative dUλ/dt of the voltage signal is generated, the jumps S1, S2 in the time derivative dUλ/dt which occur at the inflection points W1, W2 are compared to one another, and based on the comparison of the jumps S1, S2 the indicated lambda value λactual of 1.0 is checked. According to the invention, the actual lambda value λtarget of 1.0 is always maintained in the air/fuel mixture supplied to the internal combustion engine in order to ensure optimal conversion C of pollutants in the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.
US07725279B2 System and a method for motion tracking using a calibration unit
The invention relates to motion tracking system (10) for tracking a movement of an object (P) in a three-dimensional space, the said object being composed of object portions having individual dimensions and mutual proportions and being sequentially interconnected by joints the system comprising orientation measurement units (S1, S3, . . . SN) for measuring data related to at least orientation of the object portions, wherein the orientation measurement units are arranged in positional and orientational relationships with respective object portions and having at least orientational parameters; a processor (3, 5) for receiving data from the orientation measurement units, the said processor comprising a module for deriving orientation and/or position information of the object portions using the received data and a calibration unit (7) arranged to calculate calibration values based on received data and pre-determined constraints for determining at least the mutual proportions of the object portions and orientational parameters of the orientation measurement units based on received data, pre-determined constrains and additional input data. The invention further relates to a method for tracking a movement of an object, a medical rehabilitation system and an animation system.
US07725275B2 Telematics-based method and system of battery parasitic load validation for a vehicle fleet
Parasitic loads on a vehicular battery are evaluated based on an estimated reduction in the state of charge of the battery over the course of an engine-off state.
US07725273B2 Apparatus for monitoring height of liquid in storage tank
An apparatus for monitoring a height of liquid in a liquid storage tank is provided, the apparatus includes a first rotatable element rotatable in response to a change of a liquid level in a liquid storage tank and including a first magnetic component having a first magnetic field, and a second rotatable element rotatable in response to the rotation of the first rotatable element and including a second magnetic component having a second magnetic field. The apparatus further includes a sensor assembly which includes a first sensor component located within range of the first magnetic field and structured to be effective in providing a first signal indicative of a position of the first magnetic component, and a second sensor component located within range of the second magnetic field and structured to be effective in providing a second signal indicative of a position of the second magnetic component. The apparatus further includes a data transmitter/microprocessor assembly in electronic communication with the sensor assembly and structured to be effective in receiving the first and second signals from the first and second sensor components, respectively, and processing said first and second signals into data representing a height of liquid in a liquid storage tank.
US07725272B2 Methods and devices for monitoring fluid of an implantable infusion pump
Methods and devices are described for monitoring reservoir fluid in an implantable infusion pump. Such methods and devices can be used when the infusion pump has a temperature-dependent component. For example, a method of monitoring reservoir fluid can include obtaining measurements from the reservoir that include corresponding data related to the amount of fluid and temperature in the reservoir. A pair of measurements can be used to monitor the fluid level, or flow rate out of, the reservoir when the corresponding temperatures of the measurements are within a temperature tolerance value. In such an instance, a measured amount difference can be calculated based on the fluid amounts corresponding to the pair of measurements. Other variations of fluid monitoring methods, and implantable infusion pump systems that can perform fluid monitoring, are also described.
US07725266B2 System and method for 3D frequency domain waveform inversion based on 3D time-domain forward modeling
According to a first preferred aspect of the instant invention, there is provided an efficient method of computing a 3D frequency domain waveform inversion based on 3D time domain modeling. In the preferred arrangement, 3D frequency domain wavefields are computed using 3D time-domain modeling and a discrete Fourier transformation that is preferably computed “on the fly” instead of solving the large systems of linear equations that have traditionally been required by direct frequency domain modeling. The instant invention makes use of the theory of gradient-based waveform inversion that estimates model parameters (for example velocities) by matching modeled data to field data sets. Preferably the modeled data are calculated using a forward modeling algorithm.
US07725263B2 Gravity azimuth measurement at a non-rotating housing
Aspects of this invention include methods for surveying a subterranean borehole. In one exemplary aspect, a change in borehole azimuth between first and second longitudinally spaced gravity measurement sensors may be determined directly from gravity measurements made by the sensors and a measured angular position between the sensors. The gravity measurement sensors are typically disposed to rotate freely with respect to one another about a longitudinal axis of the borehole. Gravity MWD measurements in accordance with the present invention may be advantageously made without imposing any relative rotational constraints on first and second gravity sensor sets. The present invention also advantageously provides for downhole processing of the change in azimuth between the first and second gravity sensor sets. As such, Gravity MWD measurements in accordance with this invention may be advantageously utilized in closed-loop steering control methods.
US07725261B2 Vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus and traveling control system incorporating the apparatus
A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus, comprises frontal information detecting means for detecting solid object information in front of an own vehicle, preceding vehicle recognizing means for recognizing a preceding vehicle based on the solid object information, traveling path estimating means for estimating a traveling path of the own vehicle, first evacuation possibility judging means for judging a first possibility of relative evacuation between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle according to positions of the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle, second evacuation possibility judging means for judging a second possibility of relative evacuation between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle according to information of solid objects other than the preceding vehicle, and preceding vehicle evacuation possibility judging means for judging a final possibility of relative evacuation between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle based on the first possibility and the second possibility.
US07725253B2 Tracking, auto-calibration, and map-building system
A navigation or motion tracking system includes components associated with particular sensors, which are decoupled from a tracking component that takes advantage of information in the sensor measurements. The architecture of this system enables development of sensor-specific components independently of the tracking component, and enables sensors and their associated components to be added or removed without having to re-implement the tracking component. In a software implementation of the system, sensor-specific software components may be dynamically incorporated into the system and the tracking component is then automatically configured to take advantage of measurements from the corresponding sensors without having to modify the tracking component.
US07725251B2 Systems and methods for compensation for a dynamic axle load transfer
The present invention proposes an improved method for at least partially compensating for the dynamic transfer of an axle load when part of a motor vehicle load dips over at least one front wheel. A demand for a drive moment is applied and thus a time-limited virtually maximum drive moment is produced for the purposes of compensating for the transfer of the axle load. Moreover, for the first time, the present invention proposes a microprocessor and also a control device for carrying out this method in accordance with the invention. Furthermore, a motor vehicle drive is indicated which is equipped with such a control device or such a microprocessor. Finally, software is designated for carrying out the method. A motor vehicle is presented which is equipped with such a control device or such a microprocessor for the execution of the software for carrying out the method in accordance with the invention.
US07725250B2 Proactive mechanism for supporting the global management of vehicle traffic flow
The invention addresses the disadvantage of automated vehicle traffic management systems by providing a solution for predicting and avoiding traffic congestion before the congestion is experienced. The invention includes a decentralized mechanism for predicting congestion. An exemplary embodiment of the invention uses a system of sensors to determine current traffic flow; the sensors communicate their state to a network of servers and then an algorithm is applied to the collected data to predict traffic congestion; upon detection of congestion, signals are communicated to the system controllers to prevent the traffic congestion.
US07725245B2 Throttle valve control system for internal combustion engine
A throttle valve control system for an internal combustion engine which controls an opening of a throttle valve of the engine so that the opening coincides with a target opening. A regulation value of a change amount of the throttle valve opening is set according to at least a temperature parameter indicative of a temperature of the engine. The target opening is set within a range defined by the regulation value. An upper limit value and a lower limit value of the regulation value is set according to the temperature parameter, and a transition control is performed wherein the regulation value is set according to an elapsed time period after start of the engine so as to change from the lower limit value to the upper limit value.
US07725238B2 System and method for smart system control for flowing fluid conditioners
A method and system for temperature and boost control of engine intake air by use of an active conditioner control unit, which regulates relative amounts of electric current to at least one active conditioning device and an electrically driven booster motor. In one preferred embodiment it controls valves which optimally direct the path of airflow through a plurality of thermal conditioner storage chambers in response to signals from engine load level, temperature, and other sensors in order to optimally provide temperature conditioned air to the engine. This embodiment of the invention features immediate and efficient provision of conditioned and pressurized airflow to an internal combustion engine and removes parasitic power drains during low demand situations. This invention enhances cold start performance and operation with a pre-start thermal conditioner with warming capabilities. System increases flexibility for stationary operation and traffic restraints by supplementing heat sink transfers. System sensor array with advanced sensors monitoring combustion parameters to safely facilitate additional power output from host engines.
US07725236B2 Maneuver based aircraft gas turbine engine speed control
A system and method for controlling the rotational speed of a gas turbine engine in an aircraft includes appropriate devices and processes for determining a pressure of lubricant supplied to the turbine engine, and for determining a maneuver state of the aircraft. The rotational speed of the gas turbine engine is controlled based at least partially on the determined pressure and the determined maneuver state. Thus, if the aircraft is in a maneuver state that may cause a reduction or loss of lubricant to the gas turbine engine, the rotational speed of the gas turbine engine can be reduced to a magnitude sufficient to increase turbomachine tolerance to the reduced or no lubricant flow.
US07725234B2 System for controlling implement position
A system for controlling implement position including a method for controlling movement of an implement is disclosed. The method includes determining a first parameter configured to affect control of the implement with respect to a first timing. The method also includes determining a second parameter configured to affect control of the implement with respect to a second timing. The second timing is shorter than the first timing. The method also includes selectively establishing a third parameter as a function of the first and second parameters when the second parameter is greater than a predetermined value. The method further includes controlling a position of the implement as a function of the third parameter.
US07725233B2 Crop attribute map input for vehicle guidance
A method for dividing a field into zones with similar crop attributes and developing a mission plan for steering the harvester to selectively harvest crops based on one or more of the attributes. The attributes include protein level, starch level, oil level, sugar content, moisture level, digestible nutrient level, or any other crop characteristic of interest. The method can be applied to selectively harvest and/or segregate according to attribute any crop, including grains such as wheat, corn, or beans, fruits such as grapes, and forage crops. Directed crop sampling provides absolute value and variance information for segregated batches of harvested crop.
US07725227B2 Method, system, and apparatus for providing enhanced steering pull compensation
A method, system, and apparatus for providing enhanced steering pull compensation are provided. The method compensates for steering pull in a vehicle steering system that includes a handwheel. The method includes monitoring the vehicle to determine whether the vehicle is heading forward along a substantially linear straight-ahead path and, if so, measuring handwheel torque, as a sensed torque signal, to determine an amount of steering pull existing at the handwheel. The method also includes generating a torque assist signal in response to the sensed torque signal and calculating an offset signal for reducing the amount of steering pull to substantially zero. The method further includes producing a modified torque assist signal by adding the offset signal to the torque assist signal, and applying the modified torque assist signal to the vehicle steering system.
US07725224B2 Method and device for detecting oscillatory failures in a position servocontrol subsystem of an aircraft control surface
A method and device for detecting oscillatory failures in a position servocontrol subsystem of an aircraft control surface. The detection device includes a estimation unit for estimating, using a control surface control instruction, a theoretical position corresponding to a reference position of the control surface, a computing unit for computing the difference between this theoretical position and an actual position measured by a sensor so as to form a residual value, and a comparison unit for comparing this residual value to a threshold value and making a count of the overshoots of this threshold value in order to detect an oscillatory failure.
US07725221B2 Dynamic non-linear display
A method and apparatus is disclosed for displaying a dynamic parameter, the apparatus comprises a display unit receiving a display signal and displaying a scale that changes dynamically and non-linearly in accordance with a selected display algorithm, the display unit further displaying a pointer pointing to said scale in accordance with a reading of said dynamic parameter, thereby emphasizing a range of said reading of said dynamic parameter.
US07725216B2 Critical event reporting
A fleet management system for remotely monitoring a vehicle is disclosed in one embodiment. The fleet management system includes a data receiver and a display. The data receiver is configured to wirelessly receive information from the vehicle. That information includes a location for the vehicle. The display is configured to present a planned route configured for the vehicle before travel and a driven route of the vehicle. The driven route is determined from the information from the vehicle. The planned route and driven route are displayed simultaneously.
US07725215B2 Distributed and recoverable digital control system
A real-time multi-tasking digital control system with rapid recovery capability is disclosed. The control system includes a plurality of computing units comprising a plurality of redundant processing units, with each of the processing units configured to generate one or more redundant control commands. One or more internal monitors are employed for detecting data errors in the control commands. One or more recovery triggers are provided for initiating rapid recovery of a processing unit if data errors are detected. The control system also includes a plurality of actuator control units each in operative communication with the computing units. The actuator control units are configured to initiate a rapid recovery if data errors are detected in one or more of the processing units. A plurality of smart actuators communicates with the actuator control units, and a plurality of redundant sensors communicates with the computing units.
US07725214B2 Minimally invasive surgical system
A control system for a minimally invasive surgical system. In one aspect the control system is a distributed system. A control and transform processor receives data from a master arm controller, an instrument controller, an imaging system controller, and a guide tube controller and distributes data received from one controller to the other controllers. The other controllers use the received data, along with received optimization goals, to control associated slave arms in a distributed but coordinated way. In another aspect, the control system is centralized, in which a motion coordinator receives master inputs, sensor inputs from the slave arms, and optimization inputs. The motion coordinator uses the received inputs to output control signals to an instrument, an imaging system, and a guide tube controller.
US07725213B2 Sortation conveyor apparatus and methods
Sortation conveyor apparatus and methods for selectively diverting articles from a primary conveying surface onto branch lines are provided. In one embodiment, a method comprises assigning memory cells to first and second articles based upon the location of the articles along the primary conveyor, and determining if the second article is to be diverted to the same location as the first article, and if so, assigning the trailing cell assigned to the trailing end of the first article to other than the first article.
US07725212B2 Datacenter with automated robotic maintenance
A datacenter with automated robotic maintenance comprises: a plurality of computer systems disposed at different locations therein, each system including: a cabinet rack; and a plurality of system cell units disposed therein for operation of the corresponding computer system; a robotic vehicle operative to move to each of the cabinet racks of the plurality and to perform maintenance on the system cell units thereof; and a central management station operative to communicate with the plurality of computer systems to determine an occurrence of a maintenance event for a system cell unit at one of the computer systems, and operative to direct the robotic vehicle to move to the cabinet rack of the one computer system and to perform maintenance on the system cell unit in accordance with the maintenance event.
US07725209B2 Three-dimensional object printing
Apparatus and method for controlling modeling material supply in a three-dimensional object-printing system (100). The apparatus may include one or more cartridges (180) containing modeling materials that may be connected via a set or matrix of valves (175) to the three-dimensional object printing system (100). Sensors (185) associated with the cartridges (180) may continuously or periodically monitor the status of the material within the cartridges. The controller receives data about the material presently available in each cartridge (180) and computes supply parameters for the available materials in the various cartridges (180).
US07725205B1 Apparatus and methods for providing a homogenous I/O interface for controlling a heterogenous mixture of hardware I/O systems
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for controlling a heterogeneous mixture of hardware devices in a variety of semiconductor process equipment. In general, a generic Input and Output (I/O) interface is provided between a process management module for specifying control operations and the actual hardware devices of a particular process tool. The process management module generally includes high level processes and/or user interfaces for controlling one or more process tool(s) by interacting with a set of generic device objects that are abstractions of actual hardware devices of such tool(s). The I/O interface translates interactions with the generic device objects into interactions with the different hardware devices. The process management module utilizes one or more of these generic device objects to specify operation, in a generic manner, of hardware devices and the I/O interface translates such operations into operations that are specific to the different hardware devices. As a result of this interface that manages and separates the interactions with the generic device objects from interactions with the hardware, both the process management module and the generic device objects can remain unchanged when changes occur to the hardware configuration or to an individual hardware device.
US07725202B2 Audio splice process for digital Ad insertion
A system and method for audio splicing (insertion) of an Ad audio stream in the compressed domain, where variable early delivery of the Ad audio stream and variable bit rate are allowed, without creating audio distortion, glitches, or other digital artefacts or errors, in the resultant audio stream is disclosed. The present system and method provides for a splice delay buffer which delays the first five Ad audio frames until transmission of the last frame of the primary audio stream, but before the splice time. Subsequent Ad audio frames are delayed by a fixed amount, where the fixed amount is greater than the frame delay of the primary audio stream, to allow for ease of splice back to the primary audio stream.
US07725199B2 Framework for generating model-based system control parameters
A control framework generates control parameters for controlling operation of a physical system, and includes one or more embedded models each producing a model output corresponding to a different operating parameter of the system as a function of one or more system operating conditions and/or a number of solution parameters, objective logic producing a scalar performance metric as a function of the number model outputs and of one or more system performance target values, objective optimization logic determining a number of unconstrained solution parameters in a manner that minimizes the scalar performance metric, and solution constraining logic determining the number of solution parameters from the number of unconstrained solution parameters in a manner that limits an operating range of at least one of the unconstrained solution parameters. The control parameters may correspond to one of the number of unconstrained solution parameters or to the number of solution parameters.
US07725196B2 Corpus callosum neuromodulation assembly
Neuromodulation assemblies with lead bodies having curvatures that mimic the curvatures of the splenium, trunk, genu, or rostrum of the corpus callosum. Methods of stimulating the corpus callosum and methods of securing an electrical lead in the brain are also provided.
US07725187B1 Motion detection for sensors sensitive to motion induced noise
Provided herein are implantable systems, and methods for use therewith, for estimating a level of noise in a signal produced by an implantable sensor that is sensitive to motion induced noise. Sample data is obtained that is representative of a window of a signal produced by the implantable sensor that is sensitive to motion induced noise. Such sample data includes a plurality of samples each having a magnitude (e.g., amplitude). Each of at least some of the samples is assigned to one of a plurality of bins based on the magnitude of the sample, wherein each bin corresponds to a different range of magnitudes. The plurality of bins includes at least a low bin defining a lowest magnitude range and a high bin defining a highest magnitude range. A level of motion induced noise in the sensor signal is estimated based on a distribution of the samples to the bins.
US07725186B1 Complimentary activity sensor network for disease monitoring and therapy modulation in an implantable device
Energy efficient methods and systems for using multi-dimensional activity sensors with implantable cardiac devices are provided. In certain embodiments the output of a passive activity sensor (used for rate responsive pacing) is used to trigger temporary use of a relatively high power multi-dimensional activity sensor. In other embodiments, the output of a relatively low power oxygen saturation sensor is used to trigger temporary use of a relatively high power multi-dimensional activity sensor. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention.
US07725185B2 Cardiac stimulation at high ventricular wall stress areas
An apparatus and method for reversing ventricular remodeling with electro-stimulatory therapy. A ventricle is paced by delivering one or more stimulatory pulses in a manner such that a stressed region of the myocardium is pre-excited relative to other regions in order to subject the stressed region to a lessened preload and afterload during systole. The unloading of the stressed myocardium over time effects reversal of undesirable ventricular remodeling.
US07725180B2 Method and apparatus for testing an alternating current power source for defibrillation compatibility
A device tests a circuit that is a source of alternating current by measuring at least one electrical parameter of the circuit to determine whether the circuit is able to provide adequate energy for defibrillation by an external defibrillator. The device may test the circuit by applying a load to the circuit, and measuring one or more electrical parameters when the load is applied to the circuit. The device may be the external defibrillator itself, or a separate testing device. In some embodiments in which an external defibrillator tests a circuit, the defibrillator modifies a value of at least one therapy delivery parameter for a subsequent delivery of one or more defibrillation pulses based on the measured electrical parameter value measured. By modifying a therapy delivery parameter, the defibrillator may deliver defibrillation pulses at an energy level that is supportable by the circuit.
US07725179B2 Catheter, in particular for insertion of heart-pacemaker-or ICD-electrodes into a patient'body
A catheter, in particular for insertion of heart-pacemaker- or ICD-electrodes into a patient's body, comprises a catheter wall and a reinforcement therein for stabilization of the catheter. The reinforcement is a profile element which is adjusted to the desired mechanical properties of the catheter in the axial and peripheral direction thereof.
US07725177B2 Filtered feedthrough assemblies for implantable medical devices and methods of manufacture
A feedthrough assembly for an implantable medical device includes an insulator element hermitically sealed to a ferrule and a feedthrough member, and a capacitive element spaced apart from the insulator element within the ferrule and coupled to the feedthrough member by a conductive material; the conductive material extends in an area between the capacitive element and the feedthrough member. The assembly further includes a heat and pressure deformed thermoplastic adhesive member that extends around the feedthrough member within the ferrule, is located between the capacitive element and the insulator element, and is sealed to an external surface of the capacitive element in order to isolate the conductive material.
US07725176B2 Method and system for regulation of endocrine and exocrine glands by means of neuro-electrical coded signals
A method to regulate the endocrine and exocrine glands generally comprising generating at least one glandular function waveform signal that substantially corresponds to at least one waveform signal that is generated in the body and is operative in the regulation of an endocrine or exocrine gland and transmitting the generated glandular function waveform signal to the subject's nervous system.
US07725175B2 System and method for neuromuscular reeducation
A system and a method that promotes the restoration of physical functions of the neuromuscular system by incorporating into one device the treatment modalities of biofeedback based repetitive practice, includes an actuator, a joint position measurement system, a force sensing measurement system, an EMG measurement system, a neuromuscular low-level stimulation system, a controller, and a display device.
US07725173B2 Measurement of responsiveness of a subject with lowered level of consciousness
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring the responsiveness of a subject with lowered level of consciousness. Physiological signal data is obtained from the subject and a first measure indicative of the level of consciousness of the subject is derived from the physiological signal data. In order to obtain an objective measure of the responsiveness of the subject and to improve the specificity of patient monitoring, a sequence of the first measure is recorded without inducing arousals in the subject and a second measure indicative of a responsiveness of the subject is determined based on the recorded sequence. The determination of the second measure may be independent of the unintentional stimuli that cause arousals in the patient or the stimuli causing such arousals in the clinical environment may be detected to find out their effect on the first measure.
US07725172B2 T-wave alternans train spotter
A method and system for detecting T-wave alternans for use in an implanted medical device uses wave transformation of QT intervals to obtain a reliable measure of TWA. In one embodiment, an array provides alternating sign multiplication factors which are applied respectively to n consecutive QT values. Each successive QT value is high pass filtered and moved sequentially through a queue so that each cycle each of the n QT values is multiplied by one of the factors; the products are summed and made absolute to provide an alternans match value. The alternans match is compared with a noise threshold signal, and alternans is declared when the match exceeds the threshold by a predetermined amount. The array is programmable and can be varied, providing a high degree of flexibility to optimize the test for the patient.
US07725165B2 Method and apparatus for visualizing anatomical structures
Apparatus and method for producing a virtual road map of a patient's vascular anatomy comprising a virtual 3D model of the patient's vascular and bony structure in proper registration with one another, a fluoroscope for providing real-time images of the bony structure of the patient, registration apparatus for placing the virtual 3D model in proper registration with the patient space of the fluoroscope, bone mask subtraction apparatus for generating a bone mask of the bony structure, and subtracting the same from the real-time images, whereby to create modified fluoroscope images omitting bony structure, and image generating apparatus for generating the virtual road map comprising a composite image combining (i) images of the virtual 3D structure representing the vascular structure, and (ii) modified fluoroscope images omitting bony structure, wherein the images of the virtual 3D structure representing vascular structure are in proper registration with the modified fluoroscope images omitting bony structure.
US07725163B2 System and method with automatically optimized imaging
An image system, notably an X-ray system and an ultrasound system, is provided in which images or sequences of images are generated and used to automatically change or optimize the operational behavior of individual image system components. Measurement fields are defined in the images of an image sequence by means of a data processing unit. Information is extracted from the measurement fields in order to adapt the system components. More specifically, in the course of a sequence of images the measurement fields are adapted or shifted in conformity with the motion of objects.
US07725159B2 Horizontal field MRI shoulder coil
The present invention relates to a design of a radiofrequency (RF) receive coil (also commonly referred to as an imaging coil) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a horizontal field MRI system of a patient's shoulder region.
US07725157B2 System and method for interventional procedures using MRI
An imaging and interventional system and methods are provided. The system comprises an imaging device for acquiring volumetric image data for an anatomical region of interest, a catheter for acquiring electrophysiological (EP) measurements of the anatomical region of interest, the catheter having at least one tracking coil for detecting signals indicative of a position of the catheter, and, a processor coupled to the catheter for receiving the EP measurements and signals indicative of the position of the catheter. The position of the catheter and EP measurements are combined and superimposed on a resultant image. The method comprises acquiring volumetric image data for an anatomical region of interest, acquiring position data for a catheter inserted in the region of interest, obtaining electrophysiological (EP) measurements for the region of interest and combining the image data, position data and EP measurements into a resultant image for use in the interventional procedure.
US07725156B2 Magnetic resonance tomography apparatus and method for representation of tissue with very short T2 relaxation time
In a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus and method for determination of T2-weighted images of tissue with short T2 time, in the framework of a steady-state free precession sequence with non-slice-selective RF excitation pulses and projection-reconstruction methods, in each sequence repetition a first steady-state is read out in the form of a half echo and a second steady-state signal is read out in the form of a further half echo with very short echo times TE1 and TE2=2TR−TE1, and are combined by weighted addition such that an MRT image of tissue with very short T2 time is obtained with the sequence.
US07725153B2 Estimating visceral fat by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry
A system and a method of using dual-energy absoptiometry to estimate visceral fat metrics and display results, preferably as related to normative data. The process involves deriving x-ray measurements for respective pixel positions related to a two-dimensional projection image of a body slice containing visceral fat as well as subcutaneous fat; at least some of the measurements being dual-energy x-ray measurements, processing the measurements to derive estimates of metrics related to the visceral fat in the slice; and using the resulting estimates.
US07725152B2 Extended optical range system for monitoring motion of a member
A garment and system includes a monitoring fabric comprising a first plurality of reflective yarns knitted or woven with a second plurality of stretchable yarns. The fabric exhibits both a light transmission property and a light reflection property. The amount of light transmitted through the fabric relative to the amount of light reflected by the fabric changes when the fabric stretches in response to motion, such as the motion induced by physiological activity (e.g., heart rate). The system includes at least one source of radiation having wavelength(s) in the range of 400 to 2200 nanometers and at least one detector responsive to such incident radiation. The source and detector are associated with the fabric such that the reception of incident radiation by the detector is directly affected by a change in the amount of light transmitted through the fabric relative to the amount of light reflected by the fabric when the fabric stretches. A signal processor converts a signal from the detector into a signal representative of at least one predetermined physiological parameter of a wearer of the garment.
US07725149B2 Devices, methods, and kits for non-invasive glucose measurement
Described are devices, methods, and kits for non-invasively measuring glucose. In general, the devices comprise skin patches for placement on a skin surface and measurement devices for measuring glucose collected in the patches. The patches may include an adhesive material, a collection layer, an interface layer, and a sweat-permeable membrane. The sweat-permeable membrane is configured to act as a barrier to epidermal contaminants and glucose brought to the skin surface via diffusion. In this way, non-correlatable skin surface glucose will not be measured. The patches may further include components to induce a local sweat response. The measurement device typically includes a display, a processor, and a measurement mechanism. The methods typically include the steps of wiping the skin surface with a wipe containing at least one solvent for removing glucose, placing a patch on a skin surface, and measuring glucose collected in the patch. Kits comprising the patch and measurement device are also described.
US07725146B2 System and method for pre-processing waveforms
A technique is provided for processing a physiological signal. The technique includes performing one or more multi-resolution decompositions on a physiological signal and one or more morphological operations on some or all of the respective decomposition components. In one embodiment, the technique is implemented as iteratively wavelet transformations where morphological operations, such as erosions and dilations, are applied to modify some or all of the respective wavelet coefficients. The modified wavelet coefficients may then be reconstructed to generate a clean version of the physiological signal from which some or all of the noise and/or artifacts have been removed.
US07725142B2 Telecommunications chassis and card
A chassis and associated telecommunication circuit card are disclosed. The chassis has heat dissipation structures and may accommodate a high density of the circuitry cards. Embodiments may include one surface with one or more ridges for rigidity and ventilation and fin slots for receiving circuit card guide fins. Embodiments may include a surface with knockouts for receiving circuit card guides. Embodiments may also include multiple bracket hole patterns for mounting brackets for different racks or for a single multi-rack bracket having more than one mounting hole pattern. The circuit card includes conductor structures such as multiple board layers with paired and segregated conductors. The circuit card also includes some components positioned to cooperate with the ventilation structures of the chassis and includes some components chosen for low-power consumption or reduced flammability.
US07725137B2 Battery device in a mobile terminal and operating method thereof
Disclosed herein are a battery device for preventing danger caused by battery overheating in a mobile terminal, and a method of operating the battery device. In the battery device, a battery state sensor periodically monitors a change in the state of a battery during operation or charging of the battery, and outputs a predetermined signal corresponding to the monitored state change, a controller senses a battery overheating-caused danger from the signal received from the battery state sensor and outputs a control signal, and an automatic locker separates the battery from the mobile terminal according to the control signal received from the controller.
US07725133B2 Mobile wireless communication devices with quick-send features and methods therefor
A mobile wireless communication device like a cellular handset includes multiple communication addresses stored in its memory. Each address is associated with one or more inputs of an input key. For example a first telephone number is associated with a single input of a particular key, and a second telephone number may be associated with two sequential inputs of the same key. The communication address is transmitted from the wireless communication device upon entering the one or more key inputs associated therewith and upon maintaining a last of the sequential key inputs for a predetermined time interval.
US07725131B2 Systems and methods for maintaining data integrity of removable media of an electronic device
The described embodiments relate generally to methods, systems and devices for maintaining data integrity of a removable media card of a handheld electronic device, particularly when such media card is removed from such device.
US07725126B2 Hybrid communications link
A hybrid communications link includes a slow, reliable communications link and a fast unreliable communications link. Communication via the hybrid communications link selectively uses both the slow, reliable communications link and the fast, unreliable communications link.
US07725123B2 Cellular wireless unit
Antenna characteristics of a folding cellphone are adjusted to appropriate values. The cellphone includes a first casing 10a containing a first circuit member 15a, and a second casing 10b containing a second circuit member 15b. The first circuit member 15a and the second circuit member 15b are connected by a connection structure consisting of a first connecting conductor 23a extending from each lateral end of the first circuit member 15a downward (toward the second casing), and a second connecting conductor 25a extending from each lateral end of the second circuit member 15b upward (toward the first casing). The first circuit member 15a and the second circuit member 15b are each comprised of shields, substrates, and so on. Antenna 111 is disposed at an upper edge of the first casing 10a. The effective casing length is affected by the length of the first casing 10a and the second casing 10b, which are both electrically conductive. The end of the first connecting conductor 23a is formed by a first circular portion 31a having a circular opening 31c. The second connecting conductor 25a has a second circular portion 31b and an opening 31d at the tip thereof, which are shaped similarly to those of the first connecting conductor 23a. A spacer 27a made of an insulator is inserted between the first and second connecting conductors.
US07725119B2 System and method for transmitting graphics data in a push-to-talk system
A system and method that transmits and displays graphical images among wireless devices in a push-to-talk system. A predefined set of graphical images is stored in a wireless device, and when a user presses a push-to-talk button on the wireless device, the wireless device displays a list of predefined images to the user to select. After the user selects an image, the wireless device transmits an image code associated with the selected image to a server for relaying to every wireless device in a push-to-talk communication group. When a receiving wireless device receives the image code, it retrieves an image corresponding to the image code from the predefined set and displays the image to the user of the wireless device.
US07725117B2 Communication support system, communication support method, communication support program, and communication terminal
In a network including a relay apparatus, a relay apparatus management part, a communication management server for controlling communication between communication terminals including a mobile communication terminal, and a messaging server, a communication support system that supports an establishment of connection between communication terminals includes a communication information acquiring part for, in a case where communication cannot be established between a mobile communication terminal and a partner-side terminal due to the congestion of communication, receiving terminal data thereof, a relay apparatus specifying part for specifying an alternative relay apparatus, and a message control part for causing a messaging server to perform processing of transmitting an inquiry message for inquiring about a possibility of movement to a coverage area of the alternative relay apparatus and processing of transmitting a content of a response message. The communication support system enables a rapid transition to a state in which communication between the mobile communication terminal and the partner-side terminal can be established, by allowing information to be exchanged between both the terminals, even in a case where the communication between the terminal and the relay apparatus is congested.
US07725116B2 Techniques for combining voice with wireless text short message services
Combining speech with existing text wireless Short Message Service (SMS) to create a multimodal SMS service. A user of standard SMS text service is provided with a link within each message that allows adding or retrieval of a voice message associated with an SMS text message. A speech server in the wireless network may be used for recognition of voice commands, rendering of text into speech, and recording or playing back voice recordings. The messages may be retrieved or sent using any wireless handset. Additional services that may be used include message lists, prerecorded messages, integration with voicemail systems, image and video messages, cross-functional applications with Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and Enhanced Message Services (EMS), and extensions of the combination of voice with text SMS to other computing devices such as PDAs and PCs.
US07725114B2 Wi-Fi, GPS and MIMO systems
Video and data cross-correlated in-phase and quadrature-phase processed and filtered baseband signals and location finder signals are quadrature modulated and transmitted in systems having two or more than two antennas. Signals used in Wi-Fi networks using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) modulated signals are also transmitted in the two or more than two antenna transmit system. Data and OFDM signal is used in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Video over Internet Protocol (ViIP) network and video cross-correlated modulated signal is used in ViIP wireless networks and in cellular systems.
US07725107B2 Wireless transmit receive unit having a transition state for transitioning from monitoring to duplex connected states and method
A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) and method for wireless uplink communication to and downlink communication from a wireless network are provided. The WTRU has a selectively configurable transceiver that has a network connected mode defined by a plurality of functional states including at least one monitoring state and a duplex state. The transceiver is configured to transition from a monitoring state upon occurrence of predefined WTRU events that are each associated with a respective uplink procedure initiation communication where at least one of procedures results in a network response that includes a temporary identifier. The transceiver is configurable into a transition state wherein the transceiver is configured to send only the uplink initiation communications and is otherwise configured only for downlink communications.
US07725105B2 Mobile site management system
Tasks of a contents provider are supported, and construction or change of a mobile site, which is accompanied with replacement or correction of contents, is easily executed. In a mobile site management system that manages a site of a portable terminal in a system that provides contents of the site to the portable terminal through a network from a contents provider, the mobile site management system includes an application server providing the contents of the site of the portable terminal; and an operation management server operating and managing the site handled by the application server. The operation management server includes first processing means for preparing the site of the portable terminal; second processing means for executing a test of the prepared site by accessing a predetermined related line; and third processing means for reporting information related to the site to the application server to open a site suitable for the test according to the second processing means onto the network.
US07725102B2 Method and apparatus for associating a received command with a control for performing actions with a mobile telecommunication device
The invention is directed to associating a received command with a control such as a push button on a mobile telecommunication device, and enabling an action associated with the command to be performed when the control is later activated. The command may be received from another mobile device or remote computer. The actions that may be associated with the performance instruction include tuning to a broadcast such as a radio or television, browsing a web site or hyperlinked text, and tuning to a streamed broadcast over a network, such as the Internet. The command button can be a physical element such as the “*” key on a keypad or a virtual button on a display.
US07725096B2 Multi-wideband communications over power lines
Systems and methods for communicating over a power line are configured to substantially simultaneously communicate over a plurality of wideband frequency ranges. Signals may be communicated two or from a communication node at two different frequencies simultaneously. These signals may be exchanged with different nodes and/or include independent data. In some embodiments, some of the wideband frequency ranges are above 30 MHz.
US07725094B2 Power prioritization among functions of a multi-function device
A device can provide a first function and a second function. The first function can have a higher priority for power than the second function. An input element can receive an indication of a remaining capacity of a power source for the device. A comparison element can compare the indication of the remaining capacity of the power source to a power threshold associated with the second function. A control element can initiate a power control action with respect to the second function if the indication of the remaining capacity of the power source is below the power threshold.
US07725091B2 Method and device for transmitting a signal in a multi-antenna system, signal, and method for estimating the corresponding transmission channels
A method for transmitting a digital signal via n transmit antennas, wherein n is strictly greater than 2, comprising the steps of combining with a source data vector n vectors to be transmitted respectively by each of the transmit antennas by a coding matrix M with a yield equal to 1, using reference symbols known to at least one receiver whereby it is able to estimate at least three transmission channels corresponding respectively to each of said transmit antennas. Said coding matrix M applied a mathematical transformation to the reference symbols prior to the transmission thereof.
US07725088B2 Fast mode switching frequency synthesizing apparatus and method for operating in low power consumption
A fast mode switching frequency synthesizing apparatus and method for operating in low power consumption. In the frequency synthesizer, according to a mode control signal, an SSB mixer selectively generates and outputs a signal having a frequency which is identical to an input signal RF or outputs a signal having a frequency which is a synthesized frequency of the input signals RF and LO. Frequency synthesized signals having a frequency which is a sum of frequencies of the input signals RF and LO, or a difference of frequencies therebetween, may be generated by changing wiring of a path switch according to a phase control signal.
US07725087B2 Feedback compensation detector for a direct conversion transmitter
A feedback compensation detector for a direct conversion transmitter includes a baseband processor, a direct up-converter, an antenna, and an impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit. The baseband processor generates an in-phase (I) baseband signal and a quadrature-phase (Q) baseband signal. The direct up-converter is coupled to the baseband processor, and combines the I and Q baseband signals with an RF carrier signal to generate an RF output signal. The antenna is coupled to the direct up-converter, and transmits the RF output signal. The impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit is coupled to the RF output signal and the I and Q baseband signals. The impairment detection and compensation feedback circuit down-converts the RF output signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, measures at least one signal impairment in the IF signal, and pre-distorts the I and Q baseband signals to compensate for the measured signal impairment.
US07725080B2 Mote networks having directional antennas
A mote network having and/or using one or more directional antennas.
US07725077B2 Wireless device with an aggregate user interface for controlling other devices
An apparatus, device, methods, computer program product, and system make a determination that a wireless device is in proximity to at least one secondary wireless device, and determine an aggregate user interface on the wireless device based on the determination.
US07725076B2 System and method for maximizing throughput in the forward packet data channel of a 1xEVDV wireless network
A base station for use in a wireless network that communicates with wireless mobile stations. The base station comprises: 1) a transceiver for transmitting forward channel data to a first mobile station via a beam-forming antenna array; and 2) a beam-forming circuit for maximizing data throughput to the first mobile station by jointly optimizing i) selection of a beam for transmitting the forward channel data to the first mobile station, ii) a level of Walsh code multiplexing of the forward channel data, and iii) a modulation scheme used to transmit the forward channel data.
US07725075B2 Control element for simplex HF to VHF/UHF cross-band system with transmission breakthrough
The device and method disclosed deals with the operation of a cross-band simplex radio frequency communications system. In a system having a first band receiver on a first radio frequency band for receiving and demodulating a first received signal, and a second band transmitter using a second radio frequency band to modulate and transmit the demodulated first received signal so as to communicate audio and signaling received by the receiver in one band to the transmitter of another band when in a cross band mode. There is also at least a second band receiver using the second radio frequency band typically associated with the second frequency band transmitter for receiving signals containing audio and signaling which is to be communicated to a first band transmitter so as to reply to the signal received on the first band receiver. A method of the invention disclosed includes the steps of: detecting the occurrence of a predetermined condition associated with the first received signal in the first band receiver; and replacing transmission of the demodulated signal received on the first band receiver with a breakthrough signal for a first predetermined time; ceasing transmission from the second band transmitter; and receiving on the second band receiver for a second predetermined time and determining if a signal is received on the second band receiver and if so allowing remote operation of the first band receiver of the single frequency simplex communications system.
US07725069B2 Image forming apparatus and process unit for effectively applying lubricant and cleaning an image carrier
An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier configured to carry an image on a surface thereof, a cleaning unit including a cleaning blade and configured to remove residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier with the cleaning blade, and an application unit including a brush roller having a modified cross-section fiber and configured to use the brush roller to scrape molded lubricant into scraped lubricant and apply the scraped lubricant to the image carrier. A process cartridge is provided to the image forming apparatus and integrally includes the image carrier, the cleaning unit, the application unit, and at least one of a charging unit and a developing unit in a single unit.
US07725068B2 Electrophotographic fixing member and manufacturing method thereof, fixing apparatus, and electrophotographic image forming apparatus
An electrophotographic fixing member is provided, which is excellent in toner releasability and hard to change in rubber elasticity of a silicone rubber elastic layer. The fixing member is laminated with a substrate, a cured silicone rubber layer, a cured silicone rubber adhesive layer and a fluorine resin layer, wherein when infrared light absorption strength ratios (1020 cm−1/1260 cm−1) at 1020 cm−1 and 1260 cm−1 determined by sampling the portions of 5 μm and 20 μm from the outer surface of the cured silicone rubber layer are taken as α(5) and α(20), respectively, a relationship of α(5) and α(20) satisfies 1.03≦α(5)/α(20)≦1.30 and α(20) is 0.8 or more and 1.2 or less.
US07725059B2 Image developer providing improved developer dispersibility and image forming apparatus containing the same
An image developer, including a developer bearer rotatable facing an electrostatic latent image bearer; a developer feeder feeding a developer including a toner to the developer bearer; a developer collector collecting the developer separated and left from the developer bearer after the developer is fed to the electrostatic latent image bearer; a detour route including a developer stirrer and transfer stirring and transferring the developer between the developer feeder and the developer collector; a first opening connecting the developer feeder with the detour route; a second opening connecting the detour route with the developer collector; a developer supplier supplying the developer to the image developer; and a third opening connecting to the developer supplier, wherein the toner has a volume-average particle diameter of from 3 to 8 μm and a ratio (Dv/Dn) of the volume-average particle diameter (Dv) to a number-average particle diameter (Dn) thereof of from 1.00 to 1.40.
US07725057B2 Image forming method and image forming apparatus
Disclosed is an image forming method, containing a development step of developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrostatic image supporting material using a toner formed on a development sleeve in the from of a thin layer to form a toner image, wherein a ten-point average roughness Rz on the surface of the development sleeve is from 3.0 to 5.7 μm, a volume average particle size of toner particles is from 6.0 to 8.0 μm, the content of a volume average particle size of the toner particles of 5.0 μm or less is from 2.2 to 11.0% by volume, a shape coefficient SF-1 of the toner particles that is measured by an image-analyzing apparatus satisfies the relation: 115≦SF-1≦155, and a shape coefficient SF-2 of the toner particles that is measured by an image-analyzing apparatus satisfies the relation: 112≦SF-2≦150.
US07725056B2 Triboelectric charging device and field assisted toner transporter
A developing device configured to form toner cloud without making toner particles adhere to the electrostatic transport substrate having electrodes. By applying periodical voltages to electrodes, electrically charged toner particles float on the electrostatic transport substrate. Also, a rotatable toner transporter designed to carry toner particles floating on the electrostatic transport substrate. Also, a two-component developer bearer including a sleeve with magnets on which the two-component developer is borne. The two-component developer borne on the sleeve is sent to the toner transporter by rotation of the sleeve. There, toner particles are transported to the toner transporter because of the electric bias applied between the two-component developer bearer and the toner transporter. Toner particles electrically floating on the toner transporter are sent to the photoconductor for development.
US07725052B2 Ion generating device and image forming apparatus including same
An ion generating device provided in an image forming apparatus of the present invention as a charging device for charging before a first transfer, a charging device for charging before a second transfer, or a charge device for charging an electrostatic latent image is arranged such that a discharge electrode can move with respect to a dielectric material and the relative positions of the discharge electrode and the dielectric material can be changed. This makes it possible to provide: a long-life ion generating device whose life has been extended by making effective use of a dielectric material; and an image forming apparatus including the ion generating device.
US07725051B2 Cartridge, image forming apparatus, and method for mounting and dismounting the cartridge in and from a main body of the image forming apparatus
A process cartridge, an image forming apparatus having the cartridge, and a method for mounting and dismounting the process cartridge in and from an image forming apparatus body are provided. The process cartridge includes at least one photosensitive body on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a developing member for developing the electrostatic latent image, and a housing receiving and supporting at least one photosensitive body and the developing member. The housing includes first and second guide outwardly extending protrusions on a first surface and a second opposite surface of the housing in order to position the process cartridge in the image forming apparatus body, and a mount and dismount supporting part formed on a third surface to rotate the housing to mount and dismount the process cartridge from the image forming apparatus body.
US07725050B2 Heated drum assembly having a multiple speed fan for use in a printer
A heated drum assembly improves thermal control of a rotating drum in a printer. The assembly includes a hollow drum, two stationary heaters located within an internal cavity of the drum, one of the two stationary heaters being at one end of the drum and the other stationary heater being at another end of the drum, a fan located at one end of the drum, a temperature sensor at one end of the drum, and a second temperature sensor at the other end of the drum, and a controller electrically coupled to the heaters, the fan, and the two temperature sensors to control a temperature of the wall of the drum to a set point by activating at least one of the heaters in response to a signal indicating a temperature below a first predetermined temperature threshold and operating the fan at one of three speeds.
US07725049B2 Image forming apparatus having duct and exhaust outlet
An image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording sheet includes a housing having an exhaust outlet and an image forming unit disposed in the housing and configured to form an image on a recording sheet. A duct in the housing may have an inlet at a first end in the housing, and communicate with the exhaust outlet at a second end in the housing. The image forming apparatus includes an exhaust fan disposed between the exhaust outlet and the duct, and being configured to cause air entering the duct from the inlet to go toward the exhaust outlet; a first filter disposed in the duct to cover the inlet and being configured to remove dust suspended in the air, and a second filter disposed in the duct downstream from the first filter in a direction of airflow and being configured to remove dust suspended in the air.
US07725048B2 Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus has: a housing; a member to be cooled provided inside the housing, the member to be cooled in which heat builds up; an airflow producing portion provided in a predetermined position of the housing for taking in air outside the housing; an air guide member for passing the air thus taken in through a hollow cross-section part, and guiding the air to the member to be cooled to cool the member to be cooled; an air inlet portion provided at one end of the air guide member for taking in the air from the airflow producing portion; and an air blowoff portion provided at another end of the air guide member for sending the air to the member to be cooled, the air blowoff portion in which the cross-sectional area of the hollow cross-section part is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the hollow cross-section part in the air inlet portion.
US07725047B2 Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus provided therewith, computer-readable medium storing a control program for the fixing apparatus, and a contact method for an external heating member in the fixing apparatus
A fixing apparatus including: a fixing roller, pressed against a printing paper at a fixing nip area, for fixing toner on the printing paper, and transporting the printing paper by undergoing rotation; an external heating section for heating a surface of the fixing roller by being brought into contact therewith; a release/contact operating section for causing the external heating section to be brought into contact with or separated from the fixing roller; and a cleaning section for cleaning the surface of the fixing roller. The release/contact operating section brings the external heating section into contact with the fixing roller at such a timing that a portion of fixing roller initially in contact with the external heating section does not make contact with the printing paper at the fixing nip area in one rotation of the fixing roller.
US07725041B2 All-optical intensity to DPSK converter
An all-optical converter (10) for converting an intensity-modulated optical signal into an optical signal modulated to the DPSK format, includes a first input (152a) for a first intensity-modulated optical signal (12), a differential encoding module (100) adapted to perform a differential encoding between the first signal (12) and a second optical signal synchronous with the first signal (12), a device adapted to modulate (200) the phase of an optical signal (16) according to the differential encoding performed by the differential encoding module (100), and an output (162c) of the device adapted to modulate (200) delivering an optical signal modulated to the DPSK format (14).
US07725038B2 System and method for transporting unaltered optical data stream
Embodiments of the invention provide systems, apparatuses, and methods for maintaining proper bit sequence as well as the rate at which the bits occur within the data stream, enabling the transport of an unaltered optical stream from one point to another. Bits of data in a data stream are read into a buffer at a rate controlled by a Phase Locked Loop. A bit count (Ci) embedded in the data stream is extracted and compared with a locally generated bit count (Co) over a predetermined time interval. If Ci and Co are not the same, the PLL frequency can be adjusted to increase or decrease the rate data is read from the buffer.
US07725037B2 Optical switch based on parametric interaction
A method and apparatus for switching at least one wavelength component of an optical signal beam from a first state to a second state. The phase characterizing the optical signal component is incremented by interaction with one or more escort beams in a non-linear medium thereby switching the state of the optical signal component on the basis of its incremented phase. Multiple escort beams may also be employed to switch different wavelength components of the signal. The method may be employed to achieve high speed, and substantially transparent, switching of phase, intensity or polarization of a signal.
US07725035B2 Method and system for managing network traffic
A method for managing network traffic includes provisioning an internet protocol (IP) network for communicating traffic. The IP network comprises a plurality of nodes coupled by IP links. The method includes monitoring the IP network for a congestion event and, upon detecting a congestion event, selecting a label switched path (LSP) of the IP network for reroute. The method includes computing a hybrid path route for the selected LSP between a first node and a second node of the plurality of nodes. The hybrid path route comprises at least one lightpath of a wavelength division multiplex (WDM) topology coupled to the IP network. The method also includes determining whether performance of the hybrid path route for the selected LSP reduces costs and, if the hybrid path route reduces costs, activating a new IP link on each of the at least one lightpaths of the WDM topology and rerouting the selected LSP according to the hybrid path route.
US07725032B2 Optical transmission apparatus
An optical transmission apparatus includes an optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) that adds/drops an optical signal to/from a transmission path. The optical transmission apparatus further includes a pump light multiplexer and a dispersion compensation fiber that are located downstream of the OADM on the transmission path. The optical transmission apparatus is configured to house a pump light source connectable to the pump light multiplexer to Raman amplify an optical signal in the dispersion compensation fiber.
US07725025B2 Switchable fiber termination
An apparatus, system and method are provided for a switchable fiber termination (SFT) incorporated into an optical network device that responds to a test signal received via an optical network carrying data. The test signal may be a part of a multiplexed signal carrying data and is separated from the data by a wavelength division multiplexer. The SFT may be used to determine the characteristics of an optical network, including the operational status of optical network devices.
US07725023B2 Electronic device, photographing control method, and recording medium
An electronic device, such as mobile terminal devices, with a photographing function, and in the case where a photographing target is a person, enhances its function for protecting the photographing target from being photographed without consent by such as spy shots. This can be realized by an electronic device with a photographing function comprising a target judging part for judging whether the photographing target is a person or not; a photographing inquiry part for issuing an inquiry information for approval/disapproval of the photographing based on the judgment result of the target judging part if the target is a person and making an inquiry for the target about whether the photographing is approved or not with the inquiry information; a response information acquisition part (for acquiring a response information issued from the target; and a photographing control part for outputting in response to the inquiry information either a photographing approval information representing an approval of photographing the target or a photographing prohibition information representing a ban of photographing the target, based on the response information the response information acquisition part has acquired.
US07725022B2 Dynamic automatic exposure compensation for image capture devices
Techniques are described for dynamic automatic exposure compensation within image capture devices. The techniques include dynamically adjusting a default target brightness for a scene to compensate an exposure value (EV) selected by an automatic exposure process. A sensor array obtains light information from the scene at a default target brightness and an image capture controller calculates brightness values of a plurality of regions in the scene based on the light information. An automatic exposure compensation module dynamically adjusts the default target brightness based on the brightness values for the plurality of regions in the scene and threshold values set for the sensor array to set an adjusted target brightness. The sensor array may then capture an image frame of the scene using an EV for the adjusted target brightness. The techniques also include building a hysteresis zone to substantially stabilize the adjusted target brightness over a sequence of image scenes.
US07725016B2 Liquid zoom lens
Disclosed herein is a liquid zoom lens. The liquid zoom lens comprises a cylindrical body including glass lenses respectively coupled at upper and lower openings to the body, an auto-focus lens part including a first liquid insulating layer and a first electrolyte layer stacked at a lower portion of the body to form an interface therebetween, and an optical zoom lens part including a second liquid insulating layer and a second electrolyte layer stacked on the first electrolyte layer to form an interface therebetween and a lens positioned in the second liquid insulating layer and fixed to the body with an outer peripheral surface of the lens closely contacting an inner peripheral surface of the body. The liquid zoom lens enables an auto-focus function and an optical zoom function to be performed simultaneously by means of a single liquid lens having a variable curvature.
US07725013B2 Electronic endoscope with brightness adjustment function
An electronic endoscope has a video-scope with an image sensor, a light source that emits illuminating-light to illuminate an object, an image sensor driver, a luminance detector, one rotary shutter, and a brightness adjuster. The luminance detector detects a luminance of an object image on the basis of image-pixel signals read from the image sensor. The rotary shutter has a light-transmitting portion that transmits the illuminating light, and a shield portion that blocks the illuminating light. The brightness adjuster controls the rotary shutter to adjust an irradiation-interval of the illuminating-light in accordance with a charge accumulation interval. The brightness adjuster shifts a rotation-phase of the rotary shutter by changing a rotation-speed on the basis of the detected luminance, so as to maintain a brightness of the object image at a proper brightness.
US07725009B2 Battery driven video reproduction apparatus
A video reproduction apparatus detects the remaining time of a movie being reproduced and a battery's availability and calculates therefrom power available before reproducing the movie ends, and uses the power as calculated and a table representing a relationship between the liquid crystal display device's screen brightness and power consumption to calculate and set the liquid crystal display device's screen brightness to prevent the battery from running out while the movie is being reproduced.
US07725008B2 Information processing apparatus and decoding control method
According to one embodiment, the information processing apparatus includes an input module, a decoding module, a first analysis module, a second analysis module and a decoding control module. The first analysis module acquires the number of macroblocks, which are generated by dividing each image in a matrix pattern, in a row direction of each image. The second analysis module acquires a vertical position of each slice, which is formed by arranging the macroblocks in a row direction, within each image. The decoding control module sends as arguments an address representing both a start position in a horizontal direction of each image and the vertical position acquired by the second analysis module, and the number of macroblocks acquired by the first analysis module to cause the decoding module to execute decoding processing of the moving image stream for each slice.
US07725005B2 Signal processing method, signal processing apparatus, signal processing system, and machine readable storage medium storing control information of signal processing apparatus
A signal processing apparatus capable of easily linking video data of a DVCR connected by an i-Link or the like and utilizing the same in a desired format is disclosed. Streaming data such as video data is defined, managed, and controlled in usage by an “optional-media” link tag linked to a “gpoi” tag defining a specific position in a position information file. The “optional-media” link can describe the five attributes of a format attribute for designating a connected apparatus and format information thereof, id attribute for further specifying the target in the connected apparatus designated by the format attribute, an “in” attribute and “out” attribute for designating a reproduction start position and ending position of the designated data, and a repeat attribute for designating a number of times of reproduction.
US07725002B2 Video content recording apparatus and video content transfer method
According to one embodiment, a content recording apparatus includes a management module configured to manage information on content that is transferred from a source apparatus and stored in a storage device, and the content the source apparatus has, a recording module configured to record the content transferred from the source apparatus to the storage device in the inactive state and to retain the content in the source apparatus, and a control module configured to issue a command to the source apparatus based on the information on the content managed by the management module if the user determines that the content is used, the command being intended to deactivate content the source apparatus has, and configured to activate the content stored in the storage device in response to deactivation of the content the source apparatus has.
US07725001B2 Method and device for optical fiber connection
A device for coupling an optical fiber includes: a first surface and a second surface, including respective active surface portions; at least one optical fiber positioning element adapted to position at least one point of an optical fiber on a longitudinally median plane of the second surface. The first and second surfaces are movable relative to one another between a first and a second relative position, and, when in the second relative position, cooperate to accommodate a section of the optical fiber therebetween. In this position, the first and second active surface portions cooperate to keep the optical fiber in a predetermined bent condition, particularly adapted to extract light from, or inject light into, the optical fiber. In at least a part of the relative movement from the first to the second relative positions, the first surface rotates with respect to the second surface around a rotational axis oriented transversally with respect to the median plane.
US07725000B2 Method for effective refractive index trimming of optical waveguiding structures and optical waveguiding structures
A method for trimming an effective refractive index of optical waveguiding structures made for example in a high refractive index contrast material system. By compaction of cladding material in a compaction area next to patterns or ridges that are formed in the core material for realizing an optical waveguiding structure, the effective index of refraction of the optical waveguiding structure can be trimmed. Thus, the operating wavelength of an optical component comprising such an optical waveguiding structure can be trimmed. An optical waveguide structure thus obtained is also disclosed.
US07724999B2 Electro-optical device
An electro-optical device having a non-volatile programmable refractive index. The device includes: a waveguiding structure with waveguiding material, the waveguiding structure defining an optical beam path, where the waveguiding structure includes a transition metal oxide with oxygen vacancies that migrate when exposed to an electric field; and a plurality of electrodes for applying an electric field to a region including the transition metal oxide with oxygen vacancies; where the transition metal oxide and the electrodes are arranged such that under the applied electric field the oxygen vacancies migrate in a direction that has a component which is radial relative to a center of the beam path. Further, there is provided a method for making the electro-optical device, including: fabricating the waveguiding structure; positioning a plurality of electrodes for application of an electric field; and arranging the transition metal oxide and the electrodes.
US07724994B1 Digitally controlled optical tapped time delay modules and arrays
An optical time delay module has a plurality of time delay elements connected in a series and a plurality an optical output couplers wherein each of said optical output couplers is operationally connected between one or more time delay elements in said series, the optical output couplers providing a plurality of optical outputs from said module with different optical delays controlled by a digital control word.
US07724992B2 Glass-based micropositioning systems and methods
A method of forming a microbump for micropositioning an optical element comprises providing a base substrate, providing a first optical element to be supported by the base substrate, and providing an alignment element capable of locally expanding when locally heated and adapted to support the first optical element from the base substrate. The method further comprises locally heating the alignment element to cause local expansion of the alignment element so as to create a microbump alignment element, terminating heating of the alignment element so as to fix the microbump and securing the alignment element to the base substrate, thereby supporting the first optical element from the base substrate.
US07724990B2 Fiber array unit with integrated optical power monitor
A technique for monitoring optical power in a fiber array unit having a plurality of optical transmission waveguides terminating at an edge thereof for carrying optical signals to and/or from a PLC. A tapping filter is placed within a slit formed in the substrate and interrupting the transmission channels, thereby tapping at least some of the optical power from the channels and directing the tapped optical power toward respective photodetector channels for detection, while allowing other optical power to continue transmission in the at least one channel of the fiber array unit.
US07724989B2 Optical/electrical composite wiring board and a manufacturing method thereof
The optical/electrical composite wiring board comprises a lower insulating layer that also serves as a lower clad; a upper insulating layer that also serves as an upper clad; a core that is placed between the lower insulating layer and the upper insulating layer and has a predetermined optical wiring pattern; and a conductor layer that is placed along with the core between the lower insulating layer and the upper insulating layer and has a predetermined electrical wiring pattern. Herein, the core and the conductor layer are formed via a short manufacturing method, whereby the concave portion for optical wiring and the concave portion for electrical wiring are formed on the lower insulating layer by press process, and a core material and conductor material are filled into each of the concave portions, and afterward, the core material and conductor material are ground until they are flush with the upper surface of the lower insulating layer.
US07724988B2 Opto-electronic board
An opto-electronic board including a printed wiring board with an optical waveguide, a metallic area, and a hole, wherein an abutting face of the optical waveguide and an abutting face of the metallic area form a part of the side face of the hole. The opto-electronic board further comprises an opto-electronic circuit with a bonding pad, wherein the opto-electronic circuit is arranged in the hole and soldered with its bonding pad to the abutting face of the metallic area.
US07724982B2 Estimation of lighting conditions based on near-gray pixel detection using cylindrical boundaries
This disclosure describes image processing techniques that facilitate the determination of the lighting condition associated with an image. Once the lighting condition is determined, white balance can be performed on the image such as by applying white balance gains defined for the lighting condition. According to the techniques of this disclosure, gray point lines are defined and plotted for the different lighting conditions, and cylindrical bounding volumes are defined around the gray point lines, e.g., in a three-dimensional color space. The image is then analyzed with respect to each of the cylindrical bounding volumes to determine how many pixels of the image fall within the respective cylindrical bounding volumes formed around the gray point lines for the different lighting conditions. Based on this analysis, the actual lighting condition can be determined. The use of cylindrical bounding volumes can significantly improve the process of determining lighting conditions relative to conventional techniques.
US07724979B2 Video preprocessing temporal and spatial filter
The invention refers to an apparatus and a method for reducing random noise in a sequence of digital video frames comprising the following steps: 1. for each of the pixels (center pixel) in a frame a set of adjacent pixels is defined; 2. for each of the adjacent pixels the difference of their values in the current frame and the previous frame is calculated, whereby the value of the center pixel is omitted; 3. each difference value is shifted right for a predefined number of bits; 4. the square of the difference value is added to an activity value of that center pixel; 5. if the activity value remains below a predefined threshold value, then a weighting factor depending from activity value is calculated and 6. the value of the center pixel is set to a weighted value.
US07724976B2 Reduced error processing of transformed digital data
This invention solves problems due to employing error degraded data in digital processing. It particularly solves multi-generation problems wherein transform data degrade during each inverse transform and forward transform cycle even without any processing due to the rounding and clipping errors. It provides methods, systems and devices for reduced-error processing of transform-coded data. After inverse transformation of transform data, high-precision numbers are manipulated. The converting to integers and clipping to an allowed range steps are executed at any stage in the manipulation to obtain integer representation of the inverse transformed data such as for displaying of the data. However, further processing including forward transforming back to the transform domain is executed on the high-precision numbers. Thus, the rounding and clipping errors are not present in the processed data. Although advantageous to many applications employing digital transformed data, the invention is particularly advantageous for use in digital studios during editing of MPEG-coded, JPEG-coded and wavelet-coded video and audio data.
US07724966B2 Recording medium having recorded thereon coded information using plus and/or minus rounding of images
A recording medium having recorded thereon information related to coded data of an image sequence; wherein the information related to coded data of an image sequence is a set of coded frame information of a plurality of frames of an image sequence; wherein the coded frame information includes: information related to a difference image between an image of a current frame and a prediction image of the current frame, the prediction image being synthesized by performing motion compensation, information related to motion vectors estimated in performing the motion compensation, and rounding method information specifying either a positive rounding method or a negative rounding method for interpolating intensity values of pixels in performing the motion compensation when the input image is coded as a P frame, wherein no rounding method information is included in the coded frame information when the input image is coded as an I frame.
US07724964B2 Digital intermediate (DI) processing and distribution with scalable compression in the post-production of motion pictures
Scalable image compression is exploited to facilitate the creative process in the post-production of motion pictures. Specifically, digital intermediate (DI) processing of motion pictures is enabled by dynamically rendering proxies 126 (steps 122, 124, 128) in response to client requests (steps 116, 118). A DI application is designed to enhance the efficiency of post-processing and the quality of the work product of the editors, colorists and other creative people. The DI application also provides a method for efficiently formatting the product for film, digital cinema, DVD and other video applications.
US07724960B1 Recognition and classification based on principal component analysis in the transform domain
Methods, system apparatus and devices for classification and recognition that is based on principal component analysis and is implemented in the transform domain using the fast two-dimensional PCA to processes the signal in the transform domain. The signal is represented with a reduced number of coefficients, therefore reducing the storage requirements and computational complexity while yielding high recognition accuracy.
US07724959B2 Determining regions of interest in photographs and images
An algorithm for finding regions of interest (ROI) in images and photos based on an information driven approach in which sub-blocks of an image are analyzed for information content or compressibility based on the discrete cosine transform. The sub-blocks of low compressibility are grouped into ROIs using a morphological technique. Unlike other algorithms that are geared for highly specific types of ROI (e.g. face detection), the method of the present invention is generally applicable to arbitrary images and photos. A center-weighted variation of the algorithm can produce better results for certain photo applications. The algorithm can be used with several other image applications, including Stained-Glass collages and Pan-and-Scan presentations.
US07724956B2 Systems and methods for identifying characters and words in a document
A data capture and mining method which enables identification of characters and words through their visible patterns. Specifically, a data capture and mining method involves searching a scanned image using isomorphic, graphical pattern matching techniques that eliminate both the need to convert imaged writing to electronic format through, e.g., OCR and the subsequent need to convert the electronic text into English.
US07724954B2 Method and system for interactive image segmentation
A method for segmentation of an image interactively with a user utilizes level set segmentation and includes selecting by user input respective areas of object and of background; initializing an embedding function implementing a segmentation boundary according to the selecting; computing intensity distributions and for the respective areas of object and of background; and performing repeatedly the steps below until convergence is reached: (a) evolving the embedding function, (b) recomputing the intensity distributions, and (c) checking for new user input and, if so: (d) updating labeling of the areas of object and background.
US07724951B2 Signal processing method, signal processing apparatus, and image reading apparatus
Upon processing a visible light image signal and infrared image signal respectively obtained by illuminating a transparent document with light beams coming from a visible light lamp for mainly emitting visible light and an infrared lamp for mainly emitting infrared light, and photoelectrically converting optical images of the transparent document, a histogram is generated on the basis of the infrared image signal, a threshold value is calculated based on the histogram, and infrared image signal components equal to or smaller than the threshold value are extracted by comparing the calculated threshold value and infrared image signal components. Visible light image signal components corresponding to the extracted infrared image signal components are interpolated using surrounding visible light image signal components.
US07724950B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, computer program, and storage medium
An image processing apparatus configured to detect an image region indicating a poor color tone of eyes from candidate regions includes: a first determination unit configured to perform a determination relating to an evaluation amount with respect to the poor color tone based on a predetermined color component in a target candidate region, and the evaluation amount in a peripheral region of the candidate region, a second determination unit configured to update the candidate region based on the first determination result, and to perform a determination relating to the evaluation amount or a predetermined color component with reference to pixels in an updated second candidate region, and a third determination unit configured to update the second candidate region based on the second determination result, and to perform a determination relating to a characteristic amount of a peripheral region with reference to pixels in a peripheral region of an updated third candidate region. A calculation amount of the third determination is greater than a calculation amount of the first or second determination.
US07724943B2 Rapid and robust 3D/3D registration technique
Exemplary methods are provided. In one exemplary method, a lower-dimension signature is generated for each of a plurality of data sets of a given dimension. Registration is performed on the lower-dimension signatures. In another exemplary method, a two-dimensional signature is generated for each of a plurality of three-dimensional volumes. Registration is performed on the two-dimensional signatures.
US07724941B2 Defect analysis place specifying device and defect analysis place specifying method
A defect analysis place specifying device for specifying defect analysis places from an inspection result of produced printed wiring boards in an electronic part mounting device for mounting parts on the printed wiring boards through plural steps, including an accepting unit for accepting plural printed wiring boards as inspection targets every predetermined unit, a defect mode specifying unit for specifying a defect mode having a predetermined frequency or more on the basis of the defect modes of the printed wiring boards and the occurrence frequencies thereof in the last step of the plural steps every unit accepted by the accepting unit, an extracting unit for extracting a combination having the same abnormal phenomenon causing the defect mode specified by the defect mode specifying unit in the other steps than the last step in the plural steps, and an output unit for outputting the combination extracted by the extracting unit.
US07724937B2 Systems and methods for volumetric tissue scanning microscopy
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, a method for imaging tissue, for example, includes the steps of mounting the tissue on a computer controlled stage of a microscope, determining volumetric imaging parameters, directing at least two photons into a region of interest, scanning the region of interest across a portion of the tissue, imaging a plurality of layers of the tissue in a plurality of volumes of the tissue in the region of interest, sectioning the portion of the tissue and imaging a second plurality of layers of the tissue in a second plurality of volumes of the tissue in the region of interest, detecting a fluorescence image of the tissue due to said excitation light; and processing three-dimensional data that is collected to create a three-dimensional image of the region of interest.
US07724936B2 Image generation apparatus and image generation method for detecting abnormalities
An artificial image used for comparison with a medical image can be generated efficiently and accurately. A medical image including anatomically characteristic structures obtained by radiography of a predetermined part of a subject such as a human body is classified into segments having similar anatomic characteristics represented by the structures. The artificial image is generated for a specified one of the segments regarding the structures in normality.
US07724935B2 Correction of artifacts caused by the heel effect
A method for processing polychromatic attenuation values, wherein the polychromatic attenuation values are acquired by means of a polychromatic source of radiation generating a cone beam and radiation detector array with a plurality of detector rows, wherein the plurality of detector rows are arranged adjacent to each other in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction, wherein the second direction is parallel to the plurality of detector rows, the method comprising the step of: assigning the monochromatic attenuation values to polychromatic attenuation values, wherein the polychromatic attenuation values depend on the first direction and a three-dimensional look-up table is used for assigning the monochromatic attenuation values to the polychromatic attenuation values.
US07724934B2 Gradation conversion processing
In gradation conversion of a radiographic image, a pixel value range in an object area as a pixel value width, a representative pixel value of the object, and a curved line of the gradation conversion such that the pixel value width is adjusted to a predetermined width and the representative pixel value is adjusted to a predetermined pixel value, are extracted, and a gradation converting step is performed, of performing conversion on the image, based on the curved line of the gradation conversion.
US07724932B2 Three-dimensional modeling of the oral cavity
A method for creating three-dimensional models of intra-oral scenes and features. The intra-oral scene is illuminated by a two-dimensional array of structured illumination points, with anti-aliasing achieved by using stored two-dimensional patterns of pixels for anti-aliasing. Using a single camera to form images reduces the amount of apparatus necessary to introduce into the patient's mouth. Three-dimensional models are obtained from the single image by triangulation with a stored image of the structured illumination onto a reference surface such as a plane. Alternative methods include the use of “bar-coded” one-dimensional patterns.
US07724931B2 Method and apparatus for evaluating a 3D image of a laterally-symmetric organ system
In a method for automated evaluation of a three-dimensional map of a laterally-symmetric organ system as well as medical image acquisition system and a computer program for this purpose, a three-dimensional image of the organ system is segmented, and the segmented organ system is deformed such that the deformed organ system has two mirror-symmetric halves with regard to its external shape. The differences between both mirror-symmetrical halves of the deformed organ system are determined by a comparison of one half with the other half. Alternatively, instead of the deformation of the segmented organ system a mirror-symmetric normal model of the organ system can be deformed, relative to the organ system, or vice versa, such that differences of corresponding regions of both halves of the organ system can be determined using the normal model. The determined differences are presented to a user.
US07724924B2 Person identification control method and system for implementing same
The invention relates to a person identification control method and to a system for implementing same. The inventive method comprises the following steps consisting in: detecting biometric data (23, 48, 79, 94, 108) relating to at least one person; seeking a concordance between the biometric data relating to the person and biometric data that have been pre-stored in a biometric database (26, 51, 83, 97, 110), said pre-stored biometric data relating to persons for whom identification means have already been generated; and, when no concordance is found, generating an identification means (29, 56, 84, 98, 103, 111) that is associated with the person from the biometric data relating to the person and at least one identity (24, 49, 80, 95, 117) for said person.
US07724922B2 Inter-step plate image inspection for printing prepress
Plate-image-inspection RIP data CD2, CD3 are prepared using the same RIP processing conditions from two print image data prepared in different steps of the prepress process, and inspection results are obtained by comparing these data CD2, CD3. Plate-image-inspection RIP data CD2, CD3 can be prepared in several methods: (1) a method for RIP processing respective non-RIP data using standard RIP processing conditions; (2) a method for respectively converting two RIP data to standard RIP processing conditions; and (3) a method for converting one of two RIP data such that it conforms to the RIP processing conditions of the other.
US07724921B2 Vehicle-onboard driving lane recognizing apparatus
A vehicle-onboard driving lane recognizing apparatus of a small scale includes an image pick-up unit (1) mounted on a motor vehicle for picking up images of scenes making appearance in front of the motor vehicle, an image data selecting unit (2) for selecting image data only of a predetermined region from the image picked up by the image pick-up unit (1), an image data storing unit (3) for storing the image data, and a driving lane recognizing unit (4) for detecting lane markings (21) on the road from the image data stored in the image data storing unit (3) to thereby recognize a driving lane extending along the lane markings (21). The image data selecting unit (2), the image data storing unit (3) and the driving lane recognizing unit (4) are all implemented in a single chip.
US07724919B2 Methods and systems for steganographic processing
Media content (e.g., audio or visual) can be steganographically encoded for a variety of purposes. One such purpose relates to tracing rendered media content back to a particular time and place. For example, one claim recites a method including: receiving data representing media content, the media content is to be rendered to an audience assembled at a location; and then encoding tracing information in the data utilizing at least a programmed electronic processor, said encoding alters at least some portions of the data to hide the tracing information in the data, the tracing information is associated with a time and location of rendering the media content to the audience assembled at the location, the tracing information will permit an illicitly captured version of the rendered media content to be traced back to the time and location of the rendering. Of course, other combinations and claims are presented as well.
US07724917B2 Apparatus, method, and program product for detecting digital watermark
A digital watermark detection apparatus detects a watermark value from a motion image in which a topological invariant is embedded as the watermark value. The digital watermark detection apparatus includes a watermark component extracting unit which extracts each watermark component from the motion image; an average value computing unit which computes an average value of component values of pixels included in the watermark component; an identified watermark component determination unit which determines whether or not the watermark component is an identified watermark component to be utilized in identifying an arrangement unit of a plurality of watermark components based on the average value; a watermark component identifying unit which identifies the watermark component except for the identified watermark component; and a watermark value computing unit which computes the watermark value based on the identified watermark component and the watermark components except for the identified watermark component.
US07724915B2 Speaker device
A speaker device that comprises a cabinet and a speaker unit. The speaker unit is attached to an opening portion formed in a front surface of the cabinet. The speaker unit has a back surface frame, a front surface frame, a first magnetic circuit, a second magnetic circuit, an edge, a damper, a diaphragm, a voice coil bobbin, and a voice coil. A non-magnet member which is a portion of the diaphragm, the first magnetic circuit, and the second magnetic circuit play a role as a negative stiffness mechanism to suppress an influence of an acoustic stiffness, thereby achieving a small-size speaker device capable of reproducing low-frequency sound.
US07724909B2 Automobile audio system
The invention features a dual-mode audio system for an automobile which in one mode is configured for play while the doors to the automobile are closed, and in a second mode, is configured for play while a door, such as a tailgate, is opened. Additionally, the invention also features a battery monitor which monitors the operating condition of the battery and may estimate the energy capacity of the battery. The system may also take power conservation measures if the system determines that the engine is not running or the operating condition of the batter reaches a predetermined state. The invention also features a remote control integrated within a key fob for controlling the audio system. The invention features various orientations for mounting a pair of loudspeakers within an automobile which directly radiate sound out of a rear opening of the automobile.
US07724908B2 System and method for programming a hearing aid
A system for providing a talk-over functionality from an attendant to a hearing aid user comprises a hearing aid (4), a link device (5) connected to the hearing aid (4), a computer (7) with a talk-over microphone (9), and a communications link (6) linking the computer (7) to the link device (5), the hearing aid user, the hearing aid (4), and the link device (5) being positioned in a sound-proof box (1). The computer (7) is adapted for receiving signals from the microphone (9), and for executing audio processing software for processing the microphone signals for converting them into compressed, digital audio signals and transmitting these signals via the communications link (6) to the link device (5). The link device (5) is adapted for decompressing the received signals and converting them into audio signals to be served to the hearing aid (4) in real-time. The system enables an attendant or a hearing aid fitter to talk to a hearing aid user via the communications link (6). This may, for instance, be useful when the hearing aid user is acoustically isolated from the fitter during fitting of the hearing aid (4). The invention provides a system and a method for providing a talk-over functionality.
US07724905B2 Method and arrangement for generation of a secret session key
In a method for generation of a secret session key for cryptographically securing a communication channel between a first communication partner and a second communication partner, the first communication partner generates at least one first key parameter, receives at least one second key parameter generated by the second communication partner, and generates the secret session key using the first key parameter and the second key parameter. The first communication partner generates, stores and communicates to the second communication partner a first random number, receives from the second communication partner a sent-back random number, compares the sent-back random number with the stored random number, and releases the generated secret session key for use given the presence of a predeterminable correlation between the sent-back first random number and the stored random number.
US07724904B2 Authentication system and method thereof in a communication system
An authentication method and system in a communication system are provided. An MS, a BS and an AAA server acquire a first MSK by a first EAP authentication for the MS in an EAP-in-EAP scheme. After the first EAP authentication, they acquire a second MSK by a second EAP authentication for the MS in the EAP-in-EAP scheme.
US07724903B1 Framing of transmit encoded data and linear feedback shifting
Framing transmit encoded output data begins by determining a scrambling remainder between scrambling of an input code word in accordance with a 1st scrambling protocol and the scrambling of the input code word in accordance with an adjustable scrambling protocol. The processing continues by adjusting the adjustable scrambling protocol based on the scrambling remainder to produce an adjusted scrambling protocol. The processing then continues by scrambling the input code word in accordance with the 1st scrambling protocol to produce a 1st scrambled code word. The processing continues by scrambling the input code word in accordance with the adjusted scrambling protocol to produce a scrambled partial code word. The processing continues by determining a portion of the 1st scrambled code word based on the scrambling remainder. The process then continues by combining the scrambled partial code word with the portion of the 1st scrambled code word to produce the transmit encoded output data.
US07724902B2 Faceplate for quick removal and securing of encryption device
A reach back secure communications terminal includes an easily removed and secured personality faceplate including an encryption device. The personality faceplate removes the encryption device from the reach back secure communications terminal, while leaving behind non-secure portions of the reach back secure communications terminal. This feature is most advantageous in emergency situations where a user needs to evacuate an area quickly, without the need to have to disconnect and carry in a secure manner the entire reach-back terminal. Because the personality faceplate with the encryption device attached is smaller than the entire reach-back terminal, it is more easily physically secured once removed.
US07724898B2 Cryptography using finite fields of odd characteristic on binary hardware
A cryptographic method is described. The method comprises storing binary data representing at least a portion of a field element of an odd-characteristic finite field GF(pk) in a register, p being an odd prime number, the field element comprising k coefficients in accordance with a polynomial-basis representation, the binary data comprising plural groups of data bits, wherein each group of data bits represents an associated one of the k coefficients and processing the binary data in accordance with a cryptographic algorithm such that the plural groups of data bits are processed in parallel. An apparatus comprising a memory and a processing unit coupled to the memory to carry out the method is also described.
US07724895B2 Cordless telephone apparatus
A cordless telephone apparatus includes: a battery which is rechargeable with a direct current based on an electric energy supplied from an outside of the cordless telephone apparatus; a constant current circuit which limits the direct current charged into the battery to a constant current; a voltage-dividing resistor which divides a direct voltage inputted into the constant current circuit; an A/D converter which converts a value of the direct voltage divided by the voltage-dividing resistor into digital data; a charging-state acquiring portion which acquires a charging state of the battery based on the digital data from the A/D converter; and a charging-state informing portion which informs the charging state of the battery acquired by the charging-state acquiring portion.
US07724893B2 Method of adaptation step control in echo cancellers
A method is set forth for calculating an expected Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) in an echo canceller. The expected ERLE is used to control the adaptation step of an adaptive filter in the echo canceller. Also, a novel echo canceller is set forth where the adaptation step of its adaptive filter is controlled based on the expected ERLE.
US07724889B2 System and method for utilizing confidence levels in automated call routing
A call routing system prompts a caller for information and receives a response from the caller. Based on the caller's response, a confidence value is assigned to the call. The confidence value can be assigned based on the likelihood that the received information is consistent with the prompt and other criteria. Additional prompts are provided to the caller based on the confidence value, and additional caller's responses are used to modify the confidence value. At least one threshold confidence level is set and when the confidence value of the call meets or exceeds the threshold (because of low confidence), the call is immediately routed to a human operator.
US07724884B1 Method and apparatus for notifying called and/or calling parties of a call placement
A method and apparatus for providing email notification for called and/or calling parties of a call placement are disclosed. The method enables a packet network service provider, e.g., a VoIP or SoIP service provider, to register customers for email notification service, to obtain the disposition of calls from Call Detail Records (CDRs), call control elements or application servers that have access to call signaling information in real time, to identify calls that resulted in ringing without an answer or busy disposition, and to determine whether or not the called and/or calling party subscribed to the email notification service. If the calling and/or called party subscribe to the notification service, the service provider sends an email notification to the calling and/or called party containing the caller and called party information, the time of the call, the disposition of the call and the like.
US07724880B2 Networked voicemail
An integrated messaging system for performing various types of messaging across different types of networks, including integrated user interfaces and administrator interfaces. Embodiments include a communication server that couples among networks of different types, and an interface module that couples to the communication server. The interface module may be hosted on a messaging server of a network. The interface module pulls various user information from the messaging server, including information relevant to at least the network that includes the messaging server. A cache couples to the communication server and to the interface module to hold information from the communication server and/or the user information pulled from messaging server. The interface module directs a message from the messaging server and/or the cache to at least one device on the networks using the user information.
US07724874B2 Radiation imaging apparatus, driving method thereof and radiation imaging system
A memory stores first image data for offset correction generated by performing an interlace scanning of the driving lines of odd rows only in a driving circuit unit. A memory stores second image data for offset correction generated by performing the interlace scanning of the driving lines of even rows only in the driving circuit unit. A processing unit synthesizes the first image data for offset correction and the second image data for offset correction, thereby to generate image data for offset correction of one frame portion, and an arithmetic operation unit performs an arithmetic operation processing on the radiation image data by using the image data for offset correction of one frame portion synthesized and generated, thereby to perform the offset correction of the radiation image data.
US07724873B2 X-ray diagnostic apparatus and X-ray diagnostic system
An X-ray diagnostic apparatus includes a bed, an X-ray generating unit, an X-ray detection unit, a support which movably supports the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detection unit, an X-ray application switch which triggers generation of X-rays from the X-ray generating unit, an operation unit for moving the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detection unit, an image generating unit which generates an image on the basis of an output from the X-ray detection unit, a display unit which is placed near the bed and displays the image, and a simulation image generating unit which generates a simulation image from stored data during a simulation period in accordance with operation of the X-ray application switch and operation of the operation unit.
US07724872B2 Inspection method for thin film stack
An X-ray reflectivity measuring method is provided to measure and inspect, with higher accuracy, film thickness of a thin film stack as a sample where a thick film is provided on the thin film stack. This X-ray reflectivity measuring method can measure X-ray reflectivity of the thin film stack embedded within a thick film by applying the X-ray focused to ⅓ or less the thickness of a thick film on the thin film stack to an end surface of the thick film, transmitting the X-ray through the thick film, thereafter applying the X-ray to the thin film stack, transmitting again the reflected X-ray to the thick film, and then extracting the reflection X-ray from the end surface in the opposite side of the incident surface and also can inspect film thickness of the thin film stack embedded in the thick film with the Fourier transformation method and the minimum square analysis method with the theoretical curve.
US07724870B2 Digital tomosynthesis in robotic stereotactic radiosurgery
Some embodiments include a support movable with at least four degrees of freedom, a therapeutic radiation source coupled to the support, a plurality of radiation sources disposed in a fixed relationship to each other, the plurality of radiation sources movable in the fixed relationship with at least four degrees of freedom, a detector to acquire a projection image based on radiation emitted from one of the plurality of radiation sources, and a processor to perform digital tomosynthesis on the projection image acquired by the detector and a plurality of other projection images to generate a cross-sectional image representing a plane viewed from a perspective of the therapeutic radiation source.
US07724867B2 Proximity-based X-Ray fluorescence visualizer, imager, or information provider
One aspect relates to detecting at least one induced X-ray fluorescing photon fluoresced from substantially within an at least some matter of an at least a portion of an at least one individual at least partially as a result of receiving at least one induced X-ray fluorescing photon generated at least partially within at least one X-ray fluorescence event within the at least some matter of the at least the portion of the at least one individual which has been generated responsive to an at least some input energy resulting from a single input energy event, wherein the at least one induced X-ray fluorescing photon that has passed through the at least some matter of the at least the portion of the at least one individual is at a level to substantially limit interference between the at least one induced X-ray fluorescing photon with an at least one other induced X-ray fluorescing photon that travel for distances greater than a prescribed limit through the at least some matter of the at least the portion of the at least one individual, wherein the at least one other induced X-ray fluorescing photon attenuates by a prescribed percentage after passing through the prescribed distance through the at least some matter of the at least the portion of the at least one individual.
US07724866B2 Method of and system for variable pitch computed tomography scanning for baggage screening
A method of and a system for variable pitch CT scanning for baggage screening and variable pitch image reconstruction are disclosed. The method comprises decelerating conveyor belt speed when additional time is needed to render a decision on a complex bag; accelerating conveyor belt speed to its normal speed when decisions are reached on undecided bags; generating cone-beam projection data at variable scanning pitch corresponding to variable conveyor belt speed; computing a tilt angle and a distance offset for each tilted slice using the pitch values at which the cone-beam projection data is acquired for that tilted slice; generating fan-beam projection data for each tilted slice using the tilted angle and the distance offset; generating correction projection data to compensate for the error between the source trajectory and the tilted reconstruction plane; generating the corrected fan-beam projection data by adding the correction projection data to the fan-beam projection data; reconstructing tilted slices using the corrected fan-beam projection data; and interpolating the reconstructed tilted slices into axial slices.
US07724864B2 Shift register and display device having the same
A shift register includes a plurality of stages to output a plurality of output signals, in sequence. Each of the stages includes a driving part and a discharging part. The driving part outputs an output signal of a present stage based on one of a start signal and an output signal of a previous stage, and a clock signal. The discharging part discharges the output signal of the present stage. The discharging part includes a discharge transistor and an auxiliary transistor. The discharge transistor has a gate electrode receiving an output signal of a next stage. The auxiliary transistor has a gate electrode receiving the output signal of the next stage. The auxiliary transistor is electrically connected in series to the discharge transistor. Therefore, the chance of a malfunction is decreased, and image display quality of the display device is improved.
US07724863B2 Core spray sparger T-box clamp apparatus and method for installing the same
A core spray sparger T-box attachment assembly for a nuclear reactor pressure vessel, wherein the pressure vessel includes a shroud, a sparger T-box penetrating the shroud, a plurality of sparger distribution header pipes coupled to the sparger T-box, and a downcomer pipe. The sparger header pipes may include at least one sparger nozzle, and the sparger T-box attachment assembly may include a downcomer pipe coupling and a sparger T-box clamp. The sparger T-box clamp may include an anchor plate having a draw bolt opening to receive a draw bolt, a first clamp block substantially aligned at one end of the anchor plate, and a second clamp block substantially aligned at the other end of the anchor plate.
US07724860B2 Auto-adaptive digital phase-locked loop for large frequency multiplication factors
An auto-adaptive digital phase locked loop (DPLL) includes a phase detector comprising an edge detector having an input that receives an input clock, and an output that outputs a reference event generated from a reference edge of the input clock. The DPLL also includes a programmable first counter that counts down at the generated clock rate, the first counter having a first input that is programmed with an integer value M, a second input that receives the generated clock, and an output that outputs a counter state based on the generated clock and the integer value M. A first register has a first input that receives the reference event, a second input that receives the counter state, and an output that outputs a sample value N(t), wherein the register stores the counter state as the sampled value N(t) that represents a code for a phase between the reference event and the counter state.
US07724859B2 Synchronizing apparatus and synchronizing method
A synchronizing apparatus comprises a normal lock synchronization detecting unit for detecting synchronization by detecting from demodulated data a synchronization pattern in a normal lock state, and a pseudo lock synchronization detecting unit for detecting synchronization by detecting from the demodulated data a synchronization pattern in a pseudo lock state.
US07724853B2 Enabling mobile switched antennas
The claimed subject matter relates to enabling antenna switching in a wireless terminal that has multiple receive antennas per receive chain via soft-demodulation and interleaving of concatenated code received in a strip channel. A coherent demodulation protocol may be performed to estimate an SNR for a first antenna during a first time period, and a non-coherent demodulation protocol may be utilized on the strip channel to estimate an SNR for at least one other antenna during a second time period. SNRs may be compared and the terminal may select the antenna with the highest SNR for a next transmission superslot.
US07724851B2 Receiver with multiple collectors in a multiple user detection system
A digital wireless communication system for increasing the number of users capable of communicating over a network permits multiusers to transmit information simultaneously on the same channel of frequency. The primary example of such a system would be that employing radio frequency transmissions, even optical transmissions; however, the invention will also apply to magnectic detections such as in the reading of information stored on a magnetic tape. It is possible to increase overall throughput in terms of total number of bits transmitted through the shared medium by all users of a multiple access system if the signals are allowed to interfere. The present invention provides a multiuser detection process and apparatus that is capable of pulling apart signals in heavy interference in real time by combining the signals received from two or more spatially seperated collectors or antennas. The present invention includes the step of taking more measurements of the received signal from two separate collections prior to definition of the multiuser algorithm parameters and combining the different collection of signals as one signal for multiple user detection processing.
US07724848B2 Predictive signal cancellation for extracting 1 Mb/s MIL-STD-1553 component from composite high performance 1553 signal
Method and apparatus for maximizing the usable bandwidth for High Performance 1553 terminals operating concurrently on the same physical bus with legacy 1 Mb/s MIL-STD-1553 terminals. More specifically, the method and apparatus provides implementation for predictive cancellation by synthesizing an estimate of the 1 Mb/s MIL-STD-1553 component of a composite 1 Mb/s plus High Performance 1553 input signal using either of two different techniques: (1) a combination of digital and analog techniques; and (2) an all digital technique. The synthesized signal is then subtracted from the composite signal. Both techniques employ an algorithm for minimizing the effects of clock skew between 1 Mb/s 1553 transmitting clocks and the local High Performance 1553 sampling clock. Both techniques also incorporate an adaptation algorithm for developing and maintaining digital models of 1 Mb/s 1553 signals received from multiple 1 Mb/s 1553 terminals on a bus.
US07724847B2 Techniques for reduction of delayed reflection inter-symbol interference
Techniques are described to reduce delayed reflection inter-symbol interference (ISI) in signals. In some implementations, a channel reflection canceller is provided at a signal receiver to reduce delayed reflection ISI in received signals. The channel reflection canceller may be provided with a signal from an equalizer output or a tentative or final decision from a forward-error correction (FEC) decoder. Based on the signal from the equalizer output or tentative or final decisions from the FEC decoder, the channel reflection canceller may generate a signal to reduce delayed reflection ISI in received signals. In addition or as an alternative, in some implementations, the remote transmitter of the signal generates a delayed reflection ISI reducing signal to reduce delayed reflection ISI present in the signal transmitted over a channel. The transmitter may generate the delayed reflection ISI reducing signal using information provided by the remote signal receiver.
US07724846B2 Method and apparatus for mitigating interference in a satellite signal receiver
A method and apparatus for mitigating interference in a satellite signal receiver is described. The satellite signal receiver receives satellite signals from a plurality of satellites. In one example, data transmission of a wireless transceiver operating in proximity to the satellite signal receiver is monitored. A control signal is transmitted to the satellite signal receiver upon occurrence of data transmission from the wireless transceiver. Signal integration within the satellite signal receiver is then gated is response to the control signal. In another example, one or more values of satellite signal samples are selected from a plurality of possible values. A percentage of satellite signal samples having the one or more selected values is monitored over a predefined period. Signal integration within the satellite signal receiver is gated in response to the percentage exceeding a predefined threshold. In yet another example, a gain setting of an automatic gain control circuit within the satellite signal receiver is adjusted in response to detection of interference.
US07724828B2 Signal compressing system
A multi-scanner scans a signal according to several different patterns. A scanning pattern selector determines which scanning pattern produced the most efficient coding result, for example, for runlength coding, and outputs a coded signal, coded most efficiently, and a selection signal which identifies the scanning pattern found to be most efficient.
US07724824B2 Signal compressing system
A multi-scanner scans a signal according to several different patterns. A scanning pattern selector determines which scanning pattern produced the most efficient coding result, for example, for runlength coding, and outputs a coded signal, coded most efficiently, and a selection signal which identifies the scanning pattern found to be most efficient.
US07724822B2 Signal compressing system
A multi-scanner scans a signal according to several different patterns. A scanning pattern selector determines which scanning pattern produced the most efficient coding result, for example, for runlength coding, and outputs a coded signal, coded most efficiently, and a selection signal which identifies the scanning pattern found to be most efficient.
US07724821B2 Signal compressing system
A multi-scanner scans a signal according to several different patterns. A scanning pattern selector determines which scanning pattern produced the most efficient coding result, for example, for runlength coding, and outputs a coded signal, coded most efficiently, and a selection signal which identifies the scanning pattern found to be most efficient.
US07724819B2 Wireless image transmission device and image transmission method
A wireless image transmission device comprises an encoder 180 which encodes combined image data, and includes quantization means 130 to perform quantization of input data based on a quantization value, and an encoding amount control means to control the encoding amount, comprising: first information portion counting means 100, second information portion counting means 102, first information portion transmission time computation means 105, a second information portion transmission time computation means 110, second information portion transmittable bits computation means 112, untransmitted bits computation means 113, and quantization value computation means 115, so that even when a video bitstream is transmitted using a plurality of modulation methods with different transmission rates, by transmitting in a constant amount of time, bandwidth can be used efficiently.
US07724818B2 Method for coding sequences of pictures
A method for encoding sequences of pictures into a bitstream, wherein parameters are defined in a parameter set and each picture comprises information of one or more slices. The method comprises defining parameters in a sequence parameter set; defining parameters in a picture parameter set; and defining at least one picture parameter in a slice header. The picture parameter remains unchanged at least in all slice headers of one picture.
US07724817B2 Method and apparatus for estimating the step-size of an adaptive equalizer
A step-size estimator for controlling the step-size of an adaptive equalizer incorporated in a transceiver (e.g., a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU)). The step-size estimator updates at least one adaptive equalizer tap used by the adaptive equalizer based on an apparent speed of a channel established between the transceiver and another transceiver. The step-size estimator includes a speed estimator, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) averager and a step-size mapping unit. The speed estimator is used to estimate the apparent speed of the channel (i.e., the observed and/or measured rate of change of the channel impulse response). The SNR averager generates a common pilot channel (CPICH) SNR estimate. The step-size mapping unit uses the speed estimate and the CPICH SNR estimate to generate a step-size parameter, μ, and a filter taps leakage factor parameter, α, used by the adaptive equalizer to update the filter tap coefficient.
US07724808B2 Efficient delay profile computation with receive diversity
An instantaneous power density profile (PDP) is generated by dynamically switching between signals from two or more antennae, each for a variable number of signal samples. A variable number NC of samples are correlated with a known chip code, the correlations phase-coherently accumulated, and a number NNC of such coherent accumulations is accumulated non-coherently for each of a plurality of delay values. The parameters considered in determining the dynamic switching pattern may include values of NC and NNC, how often and at which point in the PDP generation process to switch between antennae, and other factors, such as the velocity of a transmitter. The coherent accumulations from each antenna may be weighted in response to the signal quality of the respective antenna, and the weighted coherent accumulations accumulated non-coherently.
US07724807B2 Method for reducing auto-correlation or cross-correlation in weak signals
The present invention discloses methods, apparatuses, and systems for eliminating auto- and cross-correlation in weak signal CDMA systems, such as GPS systems. The invention uses parallel data paths that allow standard correlation of signals in parallel with verification of the lock signal to determine whether the system has locked onto the proper signal within the scanned signal window. The invention can be made with multiple CPUs, a single CPU with dual input modes, on multiple IC chips, or as a single IC chip solution for small, low cost reception, downconversion, correlation, and verification systems.
US07724805B1 Fast RMS measurement of input I/Q signals in a W-CDMA system
A system and method are provided for quickly measuring the Root Mean Square (RMS) value of digital quadrature signals (I, Q) input to a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) transmitter. In general, in a W-CDMA transmitter such as that in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), multiple channels are combined to provide the digital quadrature signal (I, Q) input to the transmitter. The RMS value of the digital quadrature signal (I, Q) may be determined using a number of consecutive samples of the digital quadrature signal (I, Q) over a period corresponding to mutually orthogonal segments of the spreading codes used for the transmitted channels. As a result of the mutual orthogonality of the segments of the spreading codes, a residual error of the RMS measurement is equal to zero, thereby providing an accurate RMS measurement in much less time than required by traditional RMS measurement schemes.
US07724803B2 Predictive collision avoidance in macrodiverse wireless networks with frequency hopping using switching
A communication system using fast macrodiversity switching (FMS) and frequency hopping (FH) for wireless signals including downlink signals to and uplink signals from mobile stations. Frequency hopping sequences are determined for the uplink and downlink signals for the mobile stations. A plurality of transceiver stations employ broadcast channels and dedicated channels for communications with the mobile stations. A zone manager controls fast macrodiversity switching of dedicated channels among the mobile stations while broadcast channels remain unswitched. The zone manager extracts frequency hopping information to form predictions of dedicated channel collisions, and based upon the predictions, controls the dynamic switching of dedicated channels to avoid collisions.
US07724796B2 Organic laser
A device comprising an organic light emitting layer may be optically pumped to create excited states within the layer. When an electric field is applied across the layer, the excited states may dissociate into geminate polaron pairs within the organic layer. The dissociated states may change back to excitons when the electric field is rapidly reduced or removed. The organic light emitting layer may be optically pumped by an adjacent OLED, allowing for an electrically-driven device.
US07724793B2 Nitride semiconductor laser element and fabrication method thereof
At each side of a ridge stripe 110, a trench is formed as a region carved relative to a wafer surface so that, at the time of cleaving, a surface irregularity that develops at a mirror facet near an active layer is prevented from reaching the ridge stripe 110.
US07724792B2 Driving laser diodes with immunity to temperature changes, aging, and other effects
Various systems and methods are provided to achieve laser power control. In one embodiment, a system is provided that comprises a counter that holds a digital value. An digital-to-analog converter is employed to convert the digital value to an analog current. A data threshold current is generated by a laser driver based upon the analog current. The data threshold current is employed to represent a data value in a data signal employed to drive a laser diode. Also, circuitry is employed to adjust the digital value based upon a comparison between a target threshold current and a feedback current generated from a laser output of the laser diode.
US07724790B2 Method and apparatus for driving semiconductor lasers, and method and apparatus for deriving drive current patterns for semiconductor lasers
Semiconductor lasers are driven such that high output laser beams are stably obtained without a long start up time. A method for driving semiconductor lasers by automatic current control or automatic power control with a constant current source involves the steps of: generating a pattern of drive current values for the semiconductor lasers, which is defined according to the amount of time which has elapsed since initiating driving thereof, that enables obtainment of substantially the same light output as a target light output by the automatic current control or the automatic power control; and varying the drive current of the semiconductor lasers in stepwise increments according to the pattern for a predetermined period of time from initiation of drive thereof. A single pattern is used in common to drive the plurality of semiconductor lasers.
US07724786B2 Process and apparatus for a wavelength tuning source
An apparatus and source arrangement for filtering an electromagnetic radiation can be provided which may include at least one spectral separating arrangement configured to physically separate one or more components of the electromagnetic radiation based on a frequency of the electromagnetic radiation. The apparatus and source arrangement may also have at least one continuously rotating optical arrangement which is configured to receive at least one signal that is associated with the one or more components. Further, the apparatus and source arrangement can include at least one beam selecting arrangement configured to receive the signal.
US07724784B2 System and method for classifying data streams using high-order models
A computer implemented method, system, and computer usable program code for classifying a data stream using high-order models. The data stream is divided into a plurality of data segments. A classifier is selected for each of the plurality of data segments. Each of a plurality of classifiers is clustered into states. A state transition matrix is computed for the states. The states of the state transition matrix specify one of the high-order models for classifying the data stream.
US07724783B2 System and method for passing data frames in a wireless network
A method is provided for receiving a data frame in an ultrawide bandwidth network. In this method, a device receives an ultrawide bandwidth signal containing a data frame. The device then performs an acquisition operation during a first preamble in the data frame, and identifies a marker after the first preamble that indicates that the first preamble has ended. After this, the device performs a signal processing operation during a second preamble in the data frame. After the training, the device then receives a header in the data frame, and then receives a payload in the data frame. By having a marker between the two preambles, this method provides a receiving device with critical information regarding the timing of the preamble section of a frame.
US07724781B1 Receive virtual concatenation processor
A receive virtual concatenation processor (processor) is adapted to receive time-slot interleaved data carried over SONET/SDH frames. The processor first generates per time-slot data and subsequently generates per channel data. The processor supports virtual concatenation, contiguous concatenation as well as mixed concatenation in which some channels are contiguously concatenated and others are virtually concatenated. The processor supports virtual concatenation at both STS-1 and STS-3c granularities and with arbitrary differential delay among constituent time-slots. The processor supports contiguous concatenation with any multiple of STS-3c granularity. The processor is highly scalable to support multiple channels and different frame sizes such as STS-12, STS-48, STS-192, etc.
US07724780B2 Synchronization of one or more source RTP streams at multiple receiver destinations
In one embodiment, a method includes synchronizing to a common reference timeframe between a sender node and a plurality of receiver nodes connected over a packet-based network. The sender node sends Real-Time Protocol (RTP) frames to the receiver nodes, and also sends a RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) sender report to each receiver node that contains a rendering offset value, each receiver node rendering the RTP frames at a render time equal to a sampling time in units of the common reference timeframe plus the rendering offset value. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure.
US07724779B2 Transmission system and control method
This invention provides a transmission system and control method capable of reliably transmitting real-time data. A switching device and router each serving as an intermediate device mediate an iso-data packet sent from each iso-data server to a predetermined terminal at a timing designated by an iso-packet from the iso-server. If a plurality of iso-data packets conflict in the transmission path, the switching device and router collectively continuously output the plurality of iso-data packets.
US07724776B2 Method and ingress node for handling fragmented datagrams in an IP network
Problems caused by Internet Protocol datagram fragmentation are solved by creating a session context for the datagram fragments without actually reassembling the datagram from its fragments. The session context enables treatment of the datagram without actually reassembling it. Processing fragments can be followed by forwarding the processed fragments to another node that can further fragment the IP datagram.
US07724775B2 Data transmission circuit and method for controlling the data transmission circuit
A circuit connected to a data transmission path, said circuit comprising, a merge element which generates merged data by merging a plurality of incoming data; and a controller which transmits said merged data through said data transmission path when said data transmission path comes open.
US07724769B2 Data transmission system, data transmission method, and media apparatus
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided with a data transmission method that uses first and second media devices which communicate with each other according to a predetermined transmission protocol and a control device which controls the first and second media devices based on a UPnP AV protocol, including: establishing a virtual connection between the first and second media devices under control of the control device; transmitting a real connection establishment request from the first media device to the second media device, the real connection establishment request including information of the virtual connection; establishing a real connection between the first and second media devices, the established real connection being related to the virtual connection; and transmitting media data from the second media device to the first media device or versa by using the established real connection.
US07724763B2 Apparatuses to utilize multiple protocols in a wireless communication system
A wireless communication system is adapted for compatible inter-operation of a plurality of devices operating in accordance with a plurality of protocols. The wireless communication system includes a first group of one or more subscriber stations that interface with a base station in accordance with a first protocol and a second group of one or more subscriber stations that interface with the base station in accordance with a second protocol. The base station includes a protocol processor that identifies transmissions from the first and second groups of subscriber stations and routes transmissions from the first group of subscriber stations to a first processor operating in accordance with the first protocol and routes transmissions from the second group of subscriber stations to a second processor operating in accordance with the second protocol.
US07724761B1 Systems and methods for reducing reflections and frequency dependent dispersions in redundant links
A network device includes a group of high speed redundant transmission lines and a switch. The switch is configured to select one of the high speed redundant transmission lines. The switch causes reflections and frequency dependent dispersions in the selected high speed redundant transmission line. The network device further includes a transmitting device that is configured to adjust signals transmitted over the selected high speed redundant transmission line so as to reduce the reflections and frequency dependent dispersions.
US07724752B1 Communication system across networks and method thereof
This specification discloses a communication system across networks and the method thereof for processing remote controls of devices in a private network from a public network. By providing a server end that contains correspondence relations between client ends and mobile ends in a public network, packets in the public network are automatically transmitted to devices in a private network according to the correspondence table in the server end for remote controls. The invention increases the convenience in managing devices in a private network.
US07724747B2 Methods and apparatus for creating addresses
In a first aspect, a first method is provided for creating a media access control (MAC) address for a device. The first method includes the steps of (1) obtaining one or more identifiers; (2) obtaining a first MAC address; and (3) creating at least a second MAC address based on the one or more identifiers and the first MAC address. Numerous other aspects are provided.
US07724746B2 Method and system for providing load balanced traffic in redundant infiniband ethernet gateways network
Method and system for providing load balancing in Infiniband-to-Ethernet networks including detecting a data traffic request, determining a network interface port information associated with the detected data traffic request, and selecting a network gateway based on the network interface port information is disclosed.
US07724744B2 Method and system for a unicast endpoint client to access a multicast internet protocol (IP) session
Unicast endpoint clients on an IP Unicast network are provided access to Multicast sessions on an IP Multicast network through a Multicast-Unicast gateway server. The server obtains information about sessions on the Multicast network and makes such information available to a Unicast client on the Unicast network upon request by the client. Upon being presented with a list describing the subject matter of each session, the user at the Unicast client selects the session to which he or she wants to join, which causes the Multicast-Unicast server to join the appropriate session on behalf of the requesting client. All packets then received by the server from the Unicast client are address-translated to the appropriate Multicast session address and vice versa. The Unicast client is then able to participate in the Multicast session as both a sender and receiver of packets to and from other Unicast and Multicast clients which are active.
US07724741B2 Image forming apparatus connected to network
When a command packet for an image forming apparatus is received, the image forming apparatus extracts information for specifying a source from the received packet, specifies the user who sends the command from the information, and decides the presence of the right to execute the command. When the user has the right, the command is received. When the user does not have the right, the command is not received. Thereby, an unintentional access from an outsider is rejected so that confidential information can be prevented from leaking.
US07724735B2 On-chip bandwidth allocator
A bandwidth allocator to allocate in real time shared resources of a network on-chip is disclosed. The bandwidth allocator routes data packets between elements of the network in response to requests to access the shared resources. The bandwidth allocator could include a plurality of network interfaces to process the data packets to be routed within the network and a plurality of routers for routing the data packets through the network. A processor, distributed within the routers, controls the routers and the transmission of each data of the data packets through the routers to provide a bandwidth for each data flow. The network interfaces is adapted to fill a header field of each data packet with header field information depending on a requested bandwidth. The processor controls the transmission of the data packets through the routers as a function of the value of the header field information of each data packet.
US07724734B1 Methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling updating of a layer 3 host table based on packet forwarding lookup miss counts
Methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling updating of a layer 3 host table based on packet forwarding miss counts are disclosed. According to one method, layer 3 packets are routed using at least one of a layer 3 host table containing entries corresponding to remote hosts and a longest prefix matching table containing prefixes corresponding to remote hosts. For each layer 3 destination address for which a lookup in at least one table fails, a number of packets received within a time period are counted. Remote destination entries in the host table are replaced based on the counts.
US07724725B2 Method and system for efficient utilization of transmission resources in a wireless network
A method and system for efficient utilization of transmission resources in a wireless network includes requesting retransmission of an unsuccessfully received radio frame up to an allowed number of times. In response to at least unsuccessfully receiving the frame from the allowed number of retransmissions, a signal is generated for transmission to a device transmitting the frame. The signal is operable to prevent the device from transmitting a set of remaining frames for a packet to which the frame belongs.
US07724724B2 Radio communication apparatus
In order to realize such communication control as to reliably reconstruct communication information transmitted from a plurality of ANs at a plurality of ATs even when a BCMCS flow is added or deleted, a radio communication system includes a transmitter for transmitting control information necessary for the ATs to receive the communication information from a radio communication system at intervals of a predetermined period, and a controller for controlling to transmit a plurality of pieces of communication information to the ATs at intervals of a constant cycle and in synchronism with a transmission period of the control information.
US07724723B2 High-throughput scheduler with integer-based eligible number initialization
A scheduler is adapted to schedule packets or other data blocks for transmission from a plurality of transmission elements in timeslots of a frame in a communication system. In scheduling for a given frame, the scheduler determines eligible numbers for respective ones of the transmission elements that are eligible to transmit one or more data blocks in a given frame. The eligible numbers are initialized using a common designated integer value n, where n is a finite value greater than or equal to two. The scheduler selects from those of the transmission elements having eligible numbers within a particular range at least one of the transmission elements for scheduling in a next available timeslot. The scheduler then adjusts the eligible number(s) of the selected transmission element(s), and repeats the selecting and adjusting operations for one or more remaining timeslots of the given frame. The scheduler in an illustrative embodiment may be implemented in a network processor integrated circuit or other processing device of the communication system.
US07724722B2 System and method for transmitting uplink control information in an OFDMA communication system
A method for transmitting uplink control information in a communication system using an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme is provided. A mobile station (MS) selects a target anchor base station (BS) with which the MS desires to communicate through a fast feedback channel, and transmits a codeword allocated to the selected target anchor BS to a current anchor BS. Upon receiving the codeword, transmitting to the MS, by the anchor BS, fast feedback channel allocation information for the selected BS corresponding to the received codeword. The MS switches to a new anchor BS corresponding to the fast feedback channel allocation information.
US07724721B2 Frame communication apparatus and method in broadband wireless communication system
A frame communication apparatus and method for a broadband wireless communication system are provided that employ a transmitter. In the transmitter, a control channel generating unit generates burst allocation information including a receiver identification (ID) with respect to a transmission packet, a burst generating unit constructs data burst by adding a header including a traffic ID to the transmission packet, and a transmitting unit transmits the burst allocation information and the data burst. An existing connection ID (CID) is subdivided into a user ID (UID) and a traffic ID (TID). The UID and the TID are recorded in a map channel message and a medium access control (MAC) header, respectively. Accordingly, an amount of information contained in a downlink map (DL-MAP) and uplink map (UL-MAP), and an amount of the MAC header of a data packet can be reduced.
US07724716B2 Wireless communication system
A processing system is described that includes a wireless communication interface that wirelessly communicates with one or more wireless client devices in the vicinity of an establishment. The wireless communication interface receives a remote order corresponding to an item selected by at least one of the wireless client devices. A local server computer located in proximity to the establishment generates instructions for processing the remote order received from the wireless communication interface. The local server computer then passes the processing instructions to an order processing queue in preparation for processing of the remote order.
US07724713B2 Beaconing protocol for ad-hoc networks
A distributed MAC protocol that includes a super-frame having a slotted Beaconing Period and a data transfer period. The super-frame includes a plurality of medium access slots which are assigned to the slotted Beaconing Period. The Beaconing Period length may be fixed or variable. The Beaconing protocol defines initializing an ad hoc network by means of starting a Beaconing Period, joining an existing Beaconing Period of ad hoc network and resolving collisions during the Beaconing Period.
US07724712B2 Communication control method and wireless communication apparatus
A printer (103) belongs to a service set (107) and communicates via an access point (101) in the infrastructure mode. The printer (103) searches for a beacon periodically. If a beacon is received from a terminal such as a digital camera (104), the printer registers the terminal address, service-set identifier and communication mode, which are contained in the beacon, in a function table. The printer sends each terminal, which has been registered in the function table, a frame that is for searching for a terminal that has a required function. If the response to the frame is positive, then the printer registers the fact that the search succeeded in the function table. A similar function search is conducted also by a digital camera (104) for which a print command has been issued, and the digital camera creates a function table. If there is a terminal (a printer) having the required function, the digital camera (104) transmits print data to this terminal.
US07724708B2 Channel switching method for use with wireless peripheral device
The present invention provides a channel switching method for use with a wireless mouse by intelligently switching the communication channels with a wireless signal receiver. Firstly, the packet error rate is detected to discriminate whether the number of continuous failed packets is greater than a threshold value. Subsequently, the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) is detected to discriminate whether the wireless transmitter needs to switch the current communication channel with the wireless signal receiver.
US07724702B2 Multiple configuration communication apparatus
Multiple-configuration communication apparatus includes: a communication device (130) simultaneously maintaining at least a first and a second channel; a storage device (114, 116, 118) storing a plurality of communication configurations; and a configuration controller (120) determining a first time frame and during the first time frame, selecting a first communication configuration of the plurality of communication configurations and controlling the communication device to configure itself to the first communication configuration to at least one of transmit and receive information over the first channel, and determining a second time frame that is different from the first time frame and during the second time frame, selecting a second communication configuration of the plurality of communication configurations, and controlling the communication device to configure itself to the second communication configuration to at least one of transmit and receive information over the second channel.
US07724699B2 Adaptive rate matching method
The invention relates to a method, in a transmission system providing a set of multiplexed services transported on specific transport channels forming a single composite transport channel and having predetermined quality factors corresponding to required error rates which necessitate adequately adjusted individual transmission powers, for balancing the current individual transmission powers of said multiplexed services during a communication in order to satisfy the multiplexed service quality requirements while limiting the interference level. The method comprises a step of determining rate-matching coefficients enabling to balance the individual transmission powers of the multiplexed services with respect to the global transmission power on the composite transport channel, a step of transmitting, using said determined rate-matching coefficients and a step of adapting said rate-matching coefficients with respect to measured error rates of the multiplexed services on the specific transport channels.
US07724697B2 Method, apparatus and system for providing reports on channel quality of a communication system
In accordance with aspects of the present invention, a method, an apparatus, a system, and software are provided to link channel quality indication reporting with periods when communication terminals, such as user equipment, are active. In one aspect, an apparatus (e.g., a communication terminal) includes a determination module configured to determine when at least one component of the apparatus is in an inactivated state. The apparatus also includes an interrupter configured to interrupt a transmission of at least one channel quality indication report when the at least one component is in the inactivated state. In another aspect, a method includes determining when at least one component of a communication terminal is in an inactivated state and interrupting transmitting at least one channel quality indication report when the at least one component is in the inactivated state.
US07724694B2 Doppler frequency calculating apparatus and method and OFDM demodulating apparatus
A Doppler frequency calculating apparatus that calculates a Doppler frequency, which is the magnitude of a time-dependent fluctuation of a characteristic of the transmission path through which an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal is transmitted, includes a received signal point memory operable to store a received signal point of a sub-carrier having a reference carrier signal of the OFDM signal, a modulated component eliminating section operable to eliminate a modulated component from the received signal point stored in the received signal point memory, and a Doppler frequency calculating section operable to calculate a Doppler frequency by performing frequency analysis on the received signal point of each sub-carrier from which the modulated component has been eliminated by the modulated component eliminating section.
US07724692B1 Method and apparatus for autonegotiation between network devices
A physical layer device comprises a transmitter of a first network device that transmits an autonegotiation signal to a second network device. A receiver of the first network device receives a received signal from the second network device. An autonegotiation controller autonegotiates link parameters for a link between the first network device and the second network device, monitors autonegotiation pulses in the autonegotiation signal relative to autonegotiation pulses in the received signal received during a window, and selectively blinds autonegotiation based on the monitoring.
US07724687B2 Method for transmitting information between bidirectional objects
Secure transfer of information between a first command transmitter and a second command transmitter such as those employed for remote control of actuators employed in home automation systems for example for opening and closing windows, solar protection, ventilation, roller blinds, garage doors and the like, is achieved by first authenticating the first command transmitter with respect to a third object preferably constituting part of the existing network, such as a command receiver or command transmitter and only transferring information to the second command transmitter when authentication of the first command transmitter has succeeded. The method particularly applies when a new second command transmitter is to be installed on a home automation network, having identical rights and functionalities to those of the existing first command transmitter.
US07724682B2 Method and system for generating transport stream packets
In accordance with a specific aspect of the present invention, a compressed video stream, such as an MPEG-2 video stream, is received by a transport demultiplexor, synchronized, parsed into separate packet types, and written to buffer locations external the demultiplexor. Adaptation field is handled by a separate parser. In addition, primary elementary stream data can be handled by separate primary elementary stream parsers based upon the packet identifier of the primary elementary stream. Video packets can be parsed based upon stream identifier values. Specific packets of data are stored in one or more system memory or video memory buffers by an output controller based upon allocation table information. Private data associated with specific elementary streams or packet adaptation fields are repacketized, and written to an output buffer location. In specific implementations, the hardware associated with the system is used to acquire the data stream without any knowledge of the specific protocol of the stream. In another embodiment, the hardware is used to implement a splicing of streams of data. A method and system for generating a transport stream for testing such a system is disclosed using a data record specifying a packetized elementary stream payload portion, a transport packet portion, and an adaptation field portion. A text data record is used to generate specific transport stream data to test demultiplexer systems.
US07724679B2 Device and method for automatically detecting network information
A network information detection apparatus includes a packet monitoring section and a subnet mask detection section. The packet monitoring section monitors packets on LAN connecting a plurality of network devices. Based on an IP address included in at least one monitored packet, the subnet mask detection section detects a subnet mask of a network device having the monitored IP address. When a destination MAC address and a destination IP address included in the monitored packet do not indicate the same network device, a router of the LAN can be detected by detecting an IP address corresponding to the destination MAC address.
US07724676B2 Proactive protection mechanism based on advanced failure warning
In one embodiment, an apparatus can include: (i) logic configured to detect an advanced warning indication, such as for a degraded signal condition, on a first link between first and second network devices, where the detection can utilize a number of corrected bits and forward error correction (FEC), for example; and (ii) logic configured to reroute packet traffic from the first link to a second link when the degraded signal condition is detected.
US07724671B2 Architecture for resource management in a telecommunications network
An architecture for resource management in a telecommunications network includes two or more nodes connected over a logically direct path in a peer-to-peer manner. At each node, local events typically trigger the node to transmit a broadcast to every other node. Broadcast information comprises a status of the local node's resources. Remote nodes receive the local node's broadcast and independently transmit their own broadcasts with similar information. Each node stores the received broadcast information in a local storage for future retrieval. When a session is desired with a remote node, the local node simply retrieves the remote node's resource status information from its local storage and determines if a session can occur. In this manner, every node of the network is aware of the nodal addresses of the other nodes, remote node's resource status, and can quickly retrieve, from its own local storage, the availability of the remote node's resources.
US07724670B2 Method and apparatus for achieving dynamic capacity and high availability in multi-stage data networks using adaptive flow-based routing
Methods and systems for determining paths for flows within a multi-stage network made up of clusters of processing nodes. The flow paths may be determined without knowledge of whether or not packets of a particular flow will actually traverse specific ones of the clusters within the multi-stage network. In various implementations, the nodes of the multi-stage network may be coupled to one or more physical network switches through respective physical interfaces and a virtual connectivity grid superimposed thereon and configured through the use of a flow routing framework and system management framework to group the nodes into a number of clusters. The nodes of each cluster are configured to perform similar packet processing functions and the clusters are interconnected through virtual networks to which the nodes are communicatively coupled via virtual interfaces overlaid on top of the physical network interfaces.
US07724666B1 Credit-based flow control over unreliable links
A fabric request controller implements flow control for data cells to a network or switch fabric. The fabric request controller issues request messages to the fabric switch and receives back corresponding grant messages. The fabric request controller includes a credit counter for metering the number of allowable outstanding requests. A fake request vector component periodically issues fake requests to compensate for information loss on the switch fabric.
US07724665B2 Common channel flow control method and system
A flow control method includes a step of receiving individual data of each session from a network in an individual trunk apparatus and transmitting the received individual data as a transmission side common channel data to a common buffer, a step of temporarily storing data of plural sessions received from the individual trunk apparatus all at once and monitoring the congestion of the common channel according to the common buffer use amount, and upon detection of a congestion level, a step of stopping or limiting transmission of individual data of a session corresponding to a QoS class having a low priority from the individual trunk apparatus to the common buffer.
US07724662B2 Dynamic rate limiting adjustment
Dynamic rate limiting adjustment may be provided by sampling actual output rates from a rate limited device and utilizing this information to modify configured traffic limits. This allows the device to achieve actual output rates much closer to the desired rate limits for users and services.
US07724654B2 Method for synchronized trunk failover and failback in a FC-AL switching environment
The synchronization of trunk failover between two FC-AL switches when a primary trunk failure occurs is disclosed. If primary trunk T1 should fail, S1 bypasses the cascade port and sends a MaRK (MRK) ordered set out over duplicate trunk T2 to switch S2. In response, S2 sends an acknowledgement MRK ordered set over T2 back to S1. S1 then reconfigures the switch to establish T2 as the primary trunk, and acts as a masters in the failover process and initiates LIP ordered sets which are communicated to all devices in the system to initialize them. Note that when S2 receives the MRK ordered set and acknowledges it by sending an acknowledgement MRK back to S1, it acts as a slave in the failover process and does not attempt to initiate LIPs, thereby eliminating the possibility of multiple Loop Initialization cycles and reducing the time in which data cannot be transmitted.
US07724652B2 Method of reducing network congestion
In a method of reducing network congestion between a source computer and a destination computer, a receiving router receives a source quench message and determines whether originator of the source quench message is the destination computer or an intermediate router. If the receiving router determines the originator to be the destination computer, the receiving router forwards the source quench message to the source computer. If the receiving router determines the originator to be an intermediate router, the receiving computer determines if there is an alternative route from the receiving router to the destination computer. If the receiving router determines there is no alternative route from the receiving router to the destination computer, the receiving router forwards the source quench message to the source computer. If the receiving router determines there is an alternative route to the destination computer, the receiving router does not forward the source quench message to the source computer, and, going forward, routes packets to the destination computer by the alternative route.
US07724648B2 System and method for monitoring the functionality of network interfaces
A system, method and computer readable medium are provided for monitoring functionality of multiple network interfaces and providing fault recovery. The network interfaces are grouped into nodes and a monitoring address is assigned to each of the network interfaces such that the monitoring address for each of the network interfaces is on a different subnet than the monitoring addresses for all of the other network interfaces in the same node as that network interface. According to the method, each of the network interfaces is assigned one or more recovery addresses that each are different than its monitoring address. A monitoring message is periodically sent to each of the network interfaces via the monitoring addresses in order to determine the functionality of the network interfaces. If no monitoring message is received within a predetermined period, a recovery operation is performed for one of the network interfaces using one or more recovery addresses of the one network interface.
US07724646B2 System and method for implementing service switching
A system for implementing service switching includes a primary service processing unit, a physical interface card, a control center, a switching unit and a standby service processing unit, to guarantee that the physical interface card connected to the failed primary service processing unit transmits the service data that should be processed by the primary service processing unit to the standby service processing unit, and to control the control switching unit to transmit the service data that should be transmitted to the primary service processing unit to the standby service processing unit. A method for implementing service switching includes: managing the physical interface card to transmit the service data that should be processed by the primary service processing unit to the standby service processing unit, and managing the switching unit to transmit the service data that should be transmitted to the primary service processing unit to the standby service processing unit.
US07724645B2 Method and apparatus for serial link down detection
An apparatus and method for serial link down detection are described. In one embodiment, the method includes the detection of an initial link down condition of a serial link. In one embodiment, the initial link down condition is detected, for example, when a transition from a normal signaling voltage level to a squelch signaling voltage level is detected at a receiver input. When an initial link down condition is detected, the issuance of a link down signal is delayed for a predetermined period of time from the detection of the squelch voltage over the serial link. In one embodiment, the link down signal is asserted if a data error is detected following the predetermined period of time from the detection of the squelch voltage. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US07724643B2 Recovery of duplex data system after power failure
A duplex data system performs a recovery process normally even in the event of an abrupt abnormal power failure. The duplex data system has a first storage device, a second storage device, and a control unit for duplicating data by storing the data in the first storage device and the second storage device. For duplicating the data, the control unit first writes the data into the first storage device and, after having completed the writing of the data into the first storage device, writes the data into the second storage device.
US07724642B2 Method and apparatus for continuous operation of a point-of-sale system during a single point-of-failure
A computer network includes servers, controllers, and a plurality of workstations. The servers and controllers are coupled by Ethernet and secondary communication links. The workstations are serially coupled with the controllers. In this network, each server and controller acts as a failsafe and is adapted to assume the functionality of another server or controller in response to failure in that server or controller. In this manner, the secondary communication link assumes functionality of the Ethernet link in response to failure in the Ethernet link. A method of eliminating interruptions in a computer network due to a single point-of-failure includes assuming functionality of a server or controller by another server or controller in response to failure in the server or controller, and assuming functionality of an Ethernet link by a secondary communication link in response to failure in the Ethernet link.
US07724641B2 System and method for utilizing direct user signaling to enhance fault tolerant H.323 systems
An H.323 client terminal (102) according to an embodiment of the invention employs primary and secondary H.323 control units or state machines (110a, 110b). The primary control unit (110a) sends signaling messages to a primary gatekeeper (108a) and triggers the secondary control unit (110b) to send a message with an appropriate correlation identifier directly to a second client terminal. The primary control unit (110a) establishes a call per standard H.323 protocols. The secondary control unit (110b) also establishes a direct signaling connection to the second client terminal as back up. However, no media channels are established for this backup signaling. The secondary control unit (110b) checks the status of the call with the primary control unit (110a). If the call signaling on the primary control unit (110a) is proceeding normally, no further action is taken. If the call signaling with the primary gatekeeper (108a) fails, the secondary control unit (110b) takes over the signaling communication via the direct signaling channel.
US07724630B2 Optical disc device and disc determining method
The number of recording layers of the loaded disc is determined using the blue laser light. If the number of recording layers is two, drawing is performed in the recording layer on the near side when seen from the laser light entering side, and demodulation is performed with the HDDVD decoder. If demodulatable, the disc is determined as a disc in which two HDDVD layers are arranged. If not demodulatable, determination is made on whether or not the data of the recording layer is demodulatable with the DVD decoder. If demodulatable with the DVD decoder, the laser light is switched to the red laser light and the number of recording layers is determined. If two recording layers are detected in this determination, the disc is determined as a disc in which two DVD layers are arranged. On the other hand, if one recording layer is detected, the disc is determined as a hybrid HDDVD in which one HDDVD layer and one DVD layer are arranged.
US07724628B2 Method and apparatus for recording data on optical recording medium
A method and apparatus to record data on an optical recording medium include generating a recording waveform having an erase pattern comprising a predetermined pulse having a high level which is higher than an erase power level and having a low level which is lower than the erase power level.
US07724626B2 Optical pickup and optical information recording apparatus using the same
An optical pickup includes a diffraction grating partitioned into three areas, in which the phase of periodic grating groove structure in an area is successively shifted from that in the adjacent area by 90°. In the generation of a differential push-pull signal, an amplification factor K for sub push-pull signals is varied depending on the type of the optical disk. By such composition of the optical pickup, amplitude deterioration of the tracking error signal accompanying displacement of the object lens is reduced.
US07724622B2 Recording device capable of determining the media type based on detecting the capacitance of pair electrodes
A device enabling simple detection of a recording medium placed on a tray includes at least two electrodes arranged on the tray, an electric field sensor connected to the electrodes, and a control circuit connected to the electric field sensor. The electric field sensor detects capacitance in accordance with the distance between the electrodes relative to the recording medium placed on the tray. The control circuit determines the recording media type of the recording medium based on the capacitance detected by the electric field sensor.
US07724620B2 Information recording/reproducing apparatus and a data reproducing method thereof, as well as an optical disk thereof
A data reproducing method for reproducing data, upon an optical disk of rewritable type, having an alternated block management area, a data area, on which recording/reproducing of the information is conducted by a unit of block, and an alternation area, on which recording/reproducing of information including a defective sector therein is conducted by the unit of block, through an information recording/reproducing apparatus enabling to execute Read Modify Write operation thereon, comprising the following steps of, in case where said alternation areas are in a plural number thereof when executing Read Modify Write operation onto said optical disk of rewritable type: executing reproducing on said data area including the defective sector therein, by only one (1) time; executing reproducing on said alternation area, thereafter, so as to hold data reproduced; and thereby reproducing the data. With this, it is possible to increase speed (i.e., speedup) in the reproducing time thereof, in total, but without necessary of reproducing operation upon the data area by a plural number of times.
US07724618B2 Recording apparatus, method for controlling the apparatus, and storage medium storing control program
A recording apparatus to record data on a recording medium including a plurality of recording layers is provided. The recording apparatus includes a recording circuit adapted to record data on a recording layer selected from among the plurality of recording layers included on the recording medium; a recordable capacity detecting circuit adapted to detect recordable capacity of each of the plurality of recording layers; an instructing circuit adapted to provide instructions to start recording of the data; and a selecting circuit adapted to select a recording layer on which the data is to be recorded in accordance with the instructions to start recording provided from the instructing circuit based on the recordable capacity of the plurality of recording layers detected by the recordable capacity detecting circuit.
US07724617B2 Optical head device
An optical head device may include a twin laser light source which is integrally provided with a first laser beam emitting element and a second laser beam emitting element, a light receiving element, and an optical system including an objective lens for converging a laser beam on an optical recording medium. The optical system is provided with a detection lens structured of a toric lens. The toric lens applies an astigmatic difference caused by a toric face to the one of the return light beams, and the toric lens applies the other of the return light beams an astigmatic difference caused by a toric face and astigmatism composed of astigmatism and curvature of image field caused by passing off-axis position to coincide a focusing position of the first laser beam with that of the second laser beam.
US07724611B2 Day of the month display mechanism for watch movement
Day of the month display mechanism for watch movement, comprising two mobiles (1), each bearing a sequence of digits (10). The two mobiles are disposed in such a manner that, at least for certain dates, the day of the month (3) displayed to the user corresponds to the combination of indications borne by the first mobile (1) and of indications borne by the second mobile (2), whilst for other dates, the day of the month (3) corresponds to the combination of two digits borne by the same mobile (2). The second mobile (2) is driven by the first mobile (1) through a star wheel (50) held by a jumper (51) to prevent the undesired rotation of said star. A banking element (511) is arranged in a manner to prevent said jumper from passing directly from one tooth (501) of the star to a non-adjacent tooth when the date changes.
US07724609B2 Sonic cup gun
A paint spray gun and range finder for positioning the gun with respect to a target surface to be sprayed. The range finder provides a user of the gun with information about the distance between the gun and the target surface, with different indications when the gun is too close, too far or distanced properly from the target surface to be sprayed. An acoustic range finder provides visual indications of the proximity of the gun to the target surface. Visual indications include a digital display of the distance from the target surface and may be frozen while the gun is spraying.
US07724595B2 Current-mode sense amplifier and sense amplifying method
A current-mode sense amplifier comprises a first current mirror, a second current mirror and an amplifying circuit. The first current mirror outputs a cell current to a memory cell and duplicates the cell current to generate a mirrored cell current. The second current mirror outputs a reference current to the reference cell and duplicates the reference current to generate a mirrored reference current. The amplifying circuit comprises a first switch, second switch, third switch and fourth switch. The first switch has first and second terminals for respectively receiving the mirrored cell and reference currents. The second and third switches have first terminals respectively coupled to the first and second terminals of the first switch, and control terminals respectively coupled to the second and first terminals of the first switch. The fourth switch is connected to second terminals of the second and third switches.
US07724591B2 Semiconductor memory device and local input/output division method
A semiconductor memory device includes: a memory cell array that is arrayed on a plurality of mats; an even number of redundancy Y-switch (YS) signal lines that are provided in three mat units and arranged in the bit line direction on the mat that is positioned in the middle among the three mats disposed continuously in the word line direction; a local input/output (LIO) line that is connected to a sense amplifier portion of the three mats, extends in the word line direction, and is divided in two in a redundancy area that is a part of the even number of redundancy Y switch signal lines; and a plurality of bit line selecting Y switch signal lines that connect bit line output of the memory cell array on the three mats to the local input/output line; wherein 8-bit data prefetch is performed from the three mats by selecting the plurality of bit line selecting Y switch signal lines and turning them ON simultaneously so as to connect the selected bit line output to each local input/output line divided in two.
US07724590B2 Memory controller with multiple delayed timing signals
A memory controller with multiple delayed timing signals. Control information is provided by a first output driver circuit to a first signal path. Write data, associated with the control information, is provided by a second output driver circuit to a second signal path. Timing information is provided by a third output driver to a third signal path. Rising and falling edge transitions of the timing information indicate times at which subsequent symbols of the write data are valid on the signal path. The timing information is delayed with respect to the control information to account for a difference between a time that the control information takes to reach the destination device while traversing the first signal path and a time that the write data takes to reach the destination device while traversing the second signal path.
US07724587B2 Apparatuses, computer program products and methods for reading data from memory cells
In reading data from a memory cell, a determining circuit determines whether a received voltage value is within at least one first voltage range through a one-time read operation using a semiconductor device that senses an output current corresponding to the received voltage value. The at least one first voltage range includes a first upper limit voltage value and a first lower limit voltage value. A data value of the memory cell is set as a first data value when the received voltage value is within the specific voltage range.
US07724586B2 Implementing local evaluation of domino read SRAM with enhanced SRAM cell stability with minimized area usage
A method and circuit for implementing domino static random access memory (SRAM) local evaluation with enhanced SRAM cell stability, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. A SRAM local evaluation circuit enabling a read and write operations of an associated SRAM cell group includes true and complement bitlines, true and complement write data propagation inputs, a precharge signal, and a precharge write signal. A respective precharge device is connected between a voltage supply VDD and the true bitline and the complement bitline. A first passgate device is connected between the complement bitline and the true write data propagation input. A second passgate device is connected between the true bitline and the complement write data propagation input. The precharge write signal disables the passgate devices during a read operation. During write operations, the precharge write signal enables the passgate devices.
US07724585B2 Implementing local evaluation of domino read SRAM with enhanced SRAM cell stability
A method and circuit for implementing domino static random access memory (SRAM) local evaluation with enhanced SRAM cell stability, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. A SRAM local evaluation circuit enabling a read and write operations of an associated SRAM cell group includes true and complement bitlines, a single write data propagation input, a precharge signal, and a precharge write signal. A passgate device is connected between the complement bitline and the write data propagation input. A transistor stack is connected in series with the precharge device between the true bitline and ground. The precharge write signal disables the passgate device connected between the complement bitline and the write data propagation input during a read operation. During write operations, the precharge write signal enables the passgate device connected between the complement bitline and the write data propagation input and activates the transistor stack.
US07724579B2 Semiconductor memory devices and method for preventing mismatch of reference signals in data sending
Semiconductor memory devices and a method thereof are provided. An example semiconductor memory device may include a control signal generation unit configured to generate a plurality of control signals in response to a bias current, a reference current generation unit configured to generate a reference current in response to the plurality of control signals and a sense amplifier configured to sense and amplify data stored in a given memory cell based on the reference current and a current on a bit line connected to the memory cell. Another example semiconductor memory device may include a memory bank including a plurality of memory cells and a sense amplifier bank including a plurality of sense amplifier units sharing a common line, each of the sense amplifier units including a current source configured to form a current path between the common line and a first voltage supply in response to an enable signal and a gating signal and a sense amplifier configured to sense and amplify data stored in a corresponding memory cell among the plurality of memory cells based on a signal on a bit line connected with the corresponding memory cell and a signal on the common line.
US07724575B2 Page-buffer and non-volatile semiconductor memory including page buffer
In one aspect a non-volatile memory device is provided which is operable in a programming mode and a read mode. The memory device includes a memory cell array which includes a plurality of non-volatile memory cells, a plurality of word lines, and a plurality of bit lines. The memory device further includes an internal data output line for outputting data read from the bit lines of the memory array, and a page buffer operatively connected between a bit line of the memory cell array and the internal data output line. The page buffer includes a sense node which is selectively connected to the bit line, a latch circuit having a latch node which is selectively connected to the sense node, a latch input path which sets a logic voltage of the latch node in the programming mode and the read mode, and a latch output path which is separate from the latch input path and which sets as logic voltage of the internal date output line according to the logic voltage of the latch node.
US07724572B2 Integrated circuit having a non-volatile memory cell transistor as a fuse device
A semiconductor integrated circuit device has a fuse device that can be electrically disconnected without a breakage caused by using a laser beam or current. The semiconductor integrated circuit device employs, as the fuse device for storing status information, a MOSFET of a single polysilicon EEPROM-type cell manufactured through a process of fabricating a volatile semiconductor memory cell array.
US07724569B2 1-transistor type DRAM driving method with an improved write operation margin
A 1-transistor type DRAM driving process writes a data bit that corresponds to a level applied to a bit line. A first hold period holds data by deactivating a word line of an NMOS transistor and precharging a source and bit line. After the first hold period, a complex operation period operates the NMOS transistor and a bipolar transistor by activating the word line of the NMOS transistor, shifting the source line voltage to a ground voltage, and shifting the bit line voltage to a corresponding multi level bit voltage level. After the complex operation period, a bipolar transistor operation period operates only the bipolar transistor by deactivating the word line of the NMOS transistor. After the bipolar transistor operation period, a second hold period holds the data by precharging the source and bit lines of the NMOS transistor and the bit level applied to the bit line is written.
US07724568B2 Memory device having read cache
A memory device comprises a non-volatile electrically alterable memory which is susceptible to read disturbance. The device has a control circuit for controlling the operation of the non-volatile memory. The device further has a first volatile cache memory. The first volatile cache memory is connected to the control circuit and is for storing data to be written to or read from the non-volatile memory, as cache for the memory device. The device further has a second volatile cache memory. The second volatile cache memory is connected to the control circuit and is for storing data read from the non-volatile memory as read cache for the memory device. Finally the control circuit reads data from the second volatile cache memory in the event of a data miss from the first volatile cache memory, and reads data from the non-volatile memory in the event of a data miss from the first and second volatile cache memories.
US07724567B2 Memory device and method of refreshing
A content addressable memory includes a first plurality of search lines, a second plurality of search lines, a first match line, and a storage location. Each search line of the first plurality of search lines receives a corresponding high voltage level or low voltage level during a match detect operation, and each search line of the second plurality of search lines to receive a corresponding high voltage level or low voltage level during the match detect operation. The storage location of the content addressable memory includes a plurality of CAM cells, each CAM cell a first thyristor and second thyristor.
US07724565B2 Apparatus and method for small signal sensing in an SRAM cell utilizing PFET access devices
A design structure embodied in a machine readable medium used in a design process for small signal sensing during a read operation of a static random access memory (SRAM) cell includes coupling a pair of complementary sense amplifier data lines to a corresponding pair of complementary bit lines associated with the SRAM cell, and setting a sense amplifier so as to amplify a signal developed on the sense amplifier data lines, wherein the bit line pair remains coupled to the sense amplifier data lines at the time the sense amplifier is set.
US07724561B2 Ferroelectric memory device, its driving method and electronic apparatus
A ferroelectric memory device includes: a plurality of bit lines; a plurality of memory cells connected to each of the plurality of bit lines, and each storing “0” data with a smaller amount of readout charge or “1” data with a greater amount of readout charge according to a polarization state; a plurality of data lines; a plurality of charge transfer circuits that connect the plurality of bit lines to the plurality of data lines, respectively, based on a potential on each of the bit lines; a capacitor connected to each of the plurality of data lines for storing negative charge; a positive charge canceling circuit that pulls out positive charge corresponding to the amount of “0” data readout charge from each of the plurality of bit lines; and a sense amplifier that judges data read out from the memory cells.
US07724560B2 Nonvolatile memory device having twin memory cells
A nonvolatile memory device includes multiple first bit lines extending in a first direction, multiple word lines formed on the first bit lines and extending in a second direction different from the first direction, and multiple second bit lines, formed on the word lines and extending in the first direction. The nonvoliative memory device also includes multiple twin memory cells, each of which includes a first memory cell coupled between a first bit line and a word line and a second memory cell coupled between the word line and a second bit line. The first and second memory cells store different data.
US07724558B1 Magnetic signal transmission line
A magnetic signal transmission line includes a one-dimensional array of a plurality of single-magnetization domains each formed in a ferromagnetic body. The anisotropic energy of the single-magnetization domains is zero to 120% of the interactive energy acting between dipoles in adjacent single-magnetization domains. The single-magnetization domains are formed by sputtering iron onto a silicon substrate by using a mask.
US07724557B2 Electrical wiring device with a center nightlight having automatic and manual control features
The present invention is directed to a electrical wiring device that includes a housing having a plurality of line terminals. A cover assembly is coupled to the housing, the cover assembly including at least one set of receptacle openings disposed on either side of a central portion of the cover assembly. A plurality of receptacle terminals are disposed in the housing, each of the plurality of receptacle terminals being coupled to a corresponding one of a plurality of load terminal structures. Each of the plurality of receptacle terminals is in communication with a corresponding one of the at least one set of receptacle openings. A light assembly is disposed in the central portion of the cover assembly and coupled to the plurality of line terminals or the plurality of load terminals. The light assembly has a light transmission region disposed in the central portion. The light transmissive region occupies a substantial portion of a width of the cover assembly. An automatic control mechanism is coupled to the light assembly and configured to selectively drive the light assembly from a deenergized state to a light emitting state in response to a predetermined stimulus. A manual control mechanism is coupled to the light assembly and configured to selectively regulate the amount of light transmitted by the light assembly when in the light emitting state.