| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US07738486B2 |
Multi-mode integrated circuit for use in optoelectronic devices
A multi-mode SerDes may be implemented in at least two different optoelectronic device architectures. The serializer includes a dual-mode bypass block for allowing data signals to go straight from input nodes to a multiplexing block or for decoding encoded data signals. A final dynamic high speed multiplexer multiplexes two data signals into one serial signal, or allows a single signal to go through. The deserializer includes an input dynamic high speed demultiplexer for demultiplexing one serial signal into two, or for allowing a serial signal through. A dual-mode bypass block is provided to allow data signals to go straight through from a demultiplexing block to output nodes or to encode data signals prior to providing them to the output nodes. |
| US07738480B2 |
Hybrid access to a contention-free period channel
To increase bandwidth, a channel, which normally is limited to contention-free transmissions, is used for other purposes during times when it is not needed for contention-free transmissions. Although the channel is located in a contention-free portion of a beacon cycle, supplemental uses of this channel include the contention-based transmission of data that normally would be sent during a contention portion of the cycle. These transmissions include those made under the CSMA protocol. |
| US07738479B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer program products for multi-channel communications using universal address book server
A method of providing communications can include forwarding a message from a universal address book server via a plurality of communications channels associated with an addressee of the message based on a priority of the message received at the universal address book server. Related systems and computer program products are also disclosed. |
| US07738477B2 |
Bus architecture and method for exchanging data
A bus architecture has a central processing unit, a data line and bus users. The central processing unit and the bus users are connected to the data line via a bus interface. The data line is constructed as a ring and the central processing unit has two transceiver units which can be switched between transmit and receive modes. The central processing unit provides a clocked emission of data intended for the bus users. The bus users are successively connected to the data line, and each contains a monitoring unit, which is connected to the associated bus interface and is configured for activating a transmit activity of the bus interface only after receiving a synchronization message, and otherwise blocks this activity. In a method for exchanging data with such a bus architecture, a high fault tolerance, particularly when the data line is cut through, and error locating capability are achieved. |
| US07738476B2 |
Method and apparatus for improved multicast streaming in wireless networks
The invention includes a method and apparatus for scheduling packet transmissions on a data channel from a base transceiver station to a plurality of wireless terminals. The method includes, in response to detecting an available timeslot, computing utilization evaluation values for the respective media sub-streams using data rate feedback information from the wireless terminals and respective average data rates associated with respective media sub-streams, selecting one of the media sub-streams having an associated utilization evaluation value indicative of a best available channel utilization for the data channel, and transmitting a packet from the selected media sub-stream toward at least one wireless terminal belonging to a media sub-group associated with the selected media sub-stream. An average data rate associated with each media sub-stream is updated at each timeslot. |
| US07738473B2 |
Multicast switching in a credit based unicast and multicast switching architecture
A system and method of switching packets and/or cells, which includes a switching apparatus having a plurality of input units that receive at least one packet to be transferred by the switching apparatus. A plurality of output units transfer the packet out of the switching apparatus. A switch unit transfers the packet from one of the input units to one of the output units. Each input unit includes at least one input queue that temporarily holds the packet to be transferred by the switching apparatus. Each input unit also includes a respective unicast credit count unit that allows the packet to be transferred out from the queue when a current unicast credit value determined by the unicast credit count unit is at least predetermined value. Each output unit includes at least one output queue that receives the packet as switched by the switch unit, and which is to be transferred out of the switching apparatus. Each output unit also includes a output port scheduler unit that generates credit tokens and that outputs credit messages based on the credit tokens generated. Multicast credit count units are provided for each QoS priority that a multicast packet can be set to, in which they maintain a current multicast credit value for the QoS priorities. |
| US07738472B2 |
Method and apparatus for scheduling packets and/or cells
A system and method of scheduling packets or cells for a switch device that includes a plurality of input ports each having at least one input queue, a plurality of switch units, and a plurality of output ports. There is generated, by each input port having a packet or cell in its at least one queue, a request to output the corresponding packet or cell to each of the output ports to which a corresponding packet or cell is to be sent to, wherein the request includes a specific one of the plurality of switch units to be used in a transfer of the packet or cell from the corresponding input port to the corresponding output port. Access is granted, per output port per switch unit, to the request made on a first priority scheme. Grants are accepted per input port per switch unit, the accepting being based on a second priority scheme. Packets and/or cells are outputted from the respective input ports to the respective output ports, based on the accepted grants, utilizing the corresponding switch units identified in the accepted grants. |
| US07738465B2 |
Packet forwarding device equipped with statistics collection device and statistics collection method
A packet forwarding device equipped with a statistics collection device and statistics collection method for high speed ports at a low cost while maintaining the required statistical accuracy for each flow. In order to collect a statistic flow with the required accurate statistic information this device contains a high speed flow table, a flow table made up of many flow entries, a search decision table to decide whether to search the high speed flow table or large volume flow table; and the table to be searched is decided when a packet is received. The accuracy of the statistic information for the flow requiring accurate statistic information is guaranteed by the high speed flow table. Further by setting the large volume flow table and sampling rate as needed, statistic information for many flow entries can be collected with a sufficient flow of sampled statistic information, without lowering packet forwarding performance. |
| US07738464B2 |
Method for providing service based on service quality and an accounting method in a mobile communication system
Disclosed is a method for providing a service to MS (Mobile Station) according to a service quality in a service system including MS, BTS (Base Transceiver System) that can communicate with the MS, and a profile server for storing service quality profile information for the MS. The profile server comprises storing identification information indicating a user of the MS along with service quality profiles for the services that can be provided to the MS; and upon receipt of an MS information request from the BTS scheduled to service the MS, providing service quality profiles for the MS to the BTS, and providing a service required by the MS according to a service quality profile for the service. |
| US07738462B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing data in controller area network
A method and apparatus for processing data in a Controller Area Network (CAN) are discussed. In an embodiment of this invention, dummy data is added to data to be transmitted via a CAN message, and information indicating that the dummy data is added is transmitted via the CAN message. A length of the dummy data is determined such that data to be transmitted via the CAN message becomes a predetermined length, and data in which five or more successive bits do not have a same value is added as the dummy data. The information is included in a field indicating a length of data to be transmitted via the CAN message, and is indicated by a value within a reserved range of the field. Accordingly, data processing efficiency can be improved, and flexible CAN communication can be performed via the CAN message. |
| US07738460B2 |
Apparatus and method for hardware creation of a header
A media access controller (MAC) is configured with a header creator circuit. The header creator circuit is configured with logic for receiving a data packet and determining whether the received data packet has an existing packet header prepended thereto. The header creator circuit is further configured to determine if the length of the received data packet includes a cyclic redundancy code. Still further, the header creator circuit is configured to determine a packet header length field value for the received data packet. If the header creator circuit determines that a cyclic redundancy code needs to be included with the received data packet, then the header creator circuit is able to generate a CRC flag. If the data packet needs to be encrypted, then the header creator circuit will generate an encryption flag if it is determined that the received data packet should be encrypted. Finally, the header creator circuit generates a packet header having a plurality of fields. |
| US07738458B2 |
Communication device
A communication device simplified in circuit configuration and capable of shortening the time required to copy packets for broadcasting or multicasting. A packet separator separates an incoming packet into a data part and a header part, and a memory stores the data part. An internal packet generator attaches, to the header part, an internal header of a fixed length including the address of the stored data part, to generate an internal packet. A route searcher searches for a route for the internal packet based on the header part. Queues are associated with packet input/output ports, respectively, for temporarily storing the internal packet routed by the route searcher. A reader reads out the data part from the memory in accordance with the address included in the internal header of the internal packet. A packet generator generates an output packet from the data part and the header part of the internal packet. |
| US07738455B2 |
Method and system of overlapping multiple schedules for broadcast and acknowledgement collection
A method of acknowledged communication in a network includes transmitting a message to at least one node of the network, wherein the message is transmitted in each of a plurality of broadcast rounds that overlap one another according to a predetermined broadcast schedule, receiving the message by the at least one node, and transmitting an acknowledgement of the message from the at least one node, wherein the acknowledgement is transmitted in each of a plurality of collection rounds that overlap one another according to a predetermined collection schedule. |
| US07738450B1 |
System architecture for very fast ethernet blade
The system of the present invention provides data transmission speeds at or in excess of 10 gigabits per second between one or more source devices and one or more destination devices. The system comprises a media access control (MAC) interface to facilitate receipt and transmission of packets over a physical interface. A first field programmable gate array is coupled to the MAC interface and operative to receive packets from the MAC interface and configured to perform initial processing of packets, which are dispatched to a first memory. A second field programmable gate array is operative to retrieve packets from the first memory and configured to compute an appropriate destination, which is used to dispatch packets to a backplane. A third field programmable gate array is provided that is operative to receive packets from the backplane and configured to organize the packets for transmission, which are dispatched to a second memory. A fourth field programmable gate array is coupled to the MAC interface and operative to retrieve packets from the second memory and configured to schedule the transmission of packets to the MAC interface for transmission to one or more destination devices. |
| US07738444B2 |
ITU H450.1-based ITU H.323 SCP method and apparatus
A method for providing advanced intelligent network (AIN) supplementary services between an ITU H.323 endpoint and a service control point (SCP) having service logic programs (SLPs) and transaction capabilities applications part (TCAP) protocol support is described. The method preferably includes providing an ITU H.450 interface in the SCP, the ITU H.450 interface being capable of communicating with the ITU H.323 endpoint, and utilizing an ITU H.225 FACILITY message and an ITU H.450 application protocol data unit (APDU) to carry one or more of call-related information, operation codes and AIN messages between the ITU H.323 endpoint and the SCP. In a case in which the AIN supplementary services are not related to an existing ITU H.323 call, the ITU H.225 FACILITY message is empty. Alternatively, in a case in which the AIN supplementary services are related to an existing ITU H.323 call, the ITU H.225 FACILITY message is one of a variety of user-to-user information elements (UUIEs). The invented apparatus for supporting advanced intelligent network (AIN) supplementary services in a voice frame network preferably includes an ITU H.450.1 interface to a service control point (SCP), the SCP having also a transaction capabilities applications part (TCAP) interface to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the SCP providing AIN supplementary services in a network environment compatible with an ITU H.323 endpoint, and an ITU H.323 endpoint interface for coupling to the ITU H.450 interface over the voice frame network, the ITU H.323 endpoint interface supporting an ITU H.450-based communications protocol. |
| US07738438B2 |
Radio base system, channel allocation method and channel allocating program
A radio base system (1000) is multi-path-connected to a plurality of mobile terminal devices to transmit/receive signals. When a communication channel establishment request is sent from one of the plurality of mobile terminal devices, a control unit (80) detects the presence or absence of a mobile terminal device to which a communication channel is already connected for each of a plurality of slots. When channel allocation has to be performed by path multiplexing on the mobile terminal device which has sent the channel establishment request, control unit (80) permits channel establishment in accordance with a result of detection of an error detecting unit (56). |
| US07738435B2 |
Communication system with mobile terminal accessible to mobile communication network and local network simultaneously
A computer readable medium storing a computer program for causing a computer of a mobile terminal device capable of accessing both a mobile communication network and a local network simultaneously, to execute an address assignment, the computer readable medium including first computer program codes for causing the computer to transmit an inquiry message for inquiring information regarding a location on networks of a correspondent of packet communications to be carried out, from the mobile terminal device through the local network, second computer program codes for causing the computer to receive a response message in response to the inquiry message through the local network, third computer program codes for causing the computer to acquire an address to be used by the mobile terminal device in the packet communications with the correspondent according to the response message, fourth computer program codes for causing the computer to assign the address to a first communication interface for the local network at the mobile terminal device, and fifth computer program codes for causing the computer to judge a manner of utilizing first packet communications carried out through the first communication interface and second packet communications carried out through a second communication interface provided for the mobile communication network in the mobile terminal device according to a prescribed policy, when both the first packet communications and the second packet communication are possible. |
| US07738434B1 |
Control and management of a wired or wireless headset
A wireless headset and a system and method for controlling or managing a wireless headset are provided. In one embodiment, a wireless headset includes a World Wide Web (Web) server for providing a Web page to control or manage a headset, and a module operably coupled to the Web server for performing a control function or a management function on the headset. A communication device including a keypad, a display, and a Web browser can then exchange information between the Web page and the Web server to control or manage the wireless headset. |
| US07738431B2 |
System and method for cellular telephone network access point
A wireless telephone includes a cellular telephone controller configured to interface the cellular telephone to a telephone network; a wireless packet network controller configured to interface the wireless telephone to packet network; and a wireless network access point controller configured to interface a computer to said packet network via telephone network. |
| US07738426B2 |
Roaming gateway
A gateway (1) resides in an IP-based network. It acts as a controlling or home HLR for a mobile device roaming in this network, emulating an MSC or VLR to the home network HLR. Thus, as far as the home network HLR is aware, the subscriber is roaming in a foreign network of equivalent type of technology. Meanwhile, the gateway of the invention manages a subscriber profile and authentication as if the visited network were the home network. In fact, the gateway in combination with the home network HLR acts as an IMS-standard HSS. The gateway (1) enables wireless carriers to use existing legacy network infrastructure to provide a smooth evolution to the next generation network architecture, and it supports voice and data inter-working between existing 2/2.5G networks and next-generation IP based networks. For inter-standard roaming, the gateway 1 extends the existing roaming footprint of an ANSI-41 subscriber roaming in GSM foreign mode. In GSM foreign mode, the ANSI-41 subscriber may roam onto alternative access networks using a sponsor GSM IMSI. |
| US07738424B2 |
Clientless mobile subscribers with seamless roaming over scalable wide area wireless networks
System and method for seamless roaming over scalable wide area Wireless LAN networks (WAWLAN) with clientless mobile subscribers. A preferred embodiment comprises a wireless gateway (WG) coupled to one or more access points in a wireless network to form a wireless cluster (WC), a network access gateway (NAG) coupled to a wired network, and a switch coupled to the WG and the NAG. Each wireless cluster is a Wireless LAN Network (WLAN) with homogenous or heterogeneous network architecture. The WG detects mobile nodes in a wireless cluster and tracks mobile node location in the wireless cluster. The NAG is an anchor point for mobile nodes in the WAWLAN and maintains a fixed source of information about each mobile node regardless of their mobility. The switch provides connectivity between the NAG and the WG. Seamless roaming across Wireless LAN network boundary by mobile subscribers without requiring special mobility enabling client software. |
| US07738422B2 |
Interference-reducing method of forward link scheduling for wireless networks
A method of scheduling and sub-channelization is provided for a wireless network such as an OFDMA network. Distributed coordination is applied across sectors, such neighboring sectors will tend to schedule cell-edge users at the same time, while sub-channelizing to different portions of the full frequency band available for forward link transmissions. This tendency is achieved by dividing each sector's users into user classes which depend upon forward link channel quality. Each user class is assigned a different set of priorities for use of available timeslots and subcarriers. |
| US07738421B2 |
WAP push over cell broadcast
A system provides push services and information to mobile stations via broadcast messages. The broadcast messages are made on predetermined cell broadcast channels, which are associated with an inbox on the mobile stations. Contained within the messages are Uniform Resource Locators (URL) that, when accessed, provide multimedia and other rich content to the mobile station. The system allows wireless carriers to provide features such as Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) push operations via cell broadcast to many mobile stations in a geographic area without the need to individually address messages to the mobile stations. |
| US07738419B2 |
Apparatus and method for controlling reverse rate in mobile communication system
Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for controlling a reverse rate of data transmitted to a BTS (base transceiver station) from MSs (mobile stations), to which an autonomous rate control is granted. The method includes the steps of checking whether a limitation for a reverse autonomous rate of an MS is persistent when it is determined from a reverse load that the limitation for the reverse autonomous rate of the MS is necessary, and transmitting information for limiting the reverse autonomous rate of the MS and information indicating persistence of the limitation for the reverse autonomous rate to the MS when it is necessary to persistently maintain the limitation for the reverse autonomous rate of the MS. |
| US07738415B2 |
Methods and apparatus for providing a packet classification protocol associated with a broadcast wireless access network
Embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing a packet classification protocol associated with a broadband wireless access network are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed. |
| US07738412B2 |
Power change estimation for communication system
There is disclosed a technique for estimating a power change, particularly a power increase, in a communication system caused by a change in the load in the system. The technique particularly relates to a mobile communication system. |
| US07738409B2 |
System and method for wireless communications
Systems and methods applicable, for instance, in wireless communications. For example, a mobile node and/or other computer receiving a time slice burst of an elementary stream may act to obtain a delta-t time value specifying time to elapse until a subsequent burst, and/or may act to obtain information corresponding to burst length. As another example, the mobile node and/or other computer may set in view of the delta-t time value an alarm elapsed time value for activating reception circuitry. As yet another example, the mobile node and/or other computer may set in view of the information corresponding to burst length an alarm elapsed time value for deactivating reception circuitry. |
| US07738408B2 |
Transceiver for full duplex communication systems
A transceiver in a full duplex communication system includes a hybrid circuit for transmitting a transmission signal or receiving a receive signal via the channel, the hybrid circuit includes an echo cancellation device for removing transmission signal components from the receive signal; wherein the hybrid circuit outputs a processed receive signal; and a gain amplifier being an OP-RC AGC is directly connected to the hybrid circuit for amplifying the processed receive signal, wherein a first node of the gain amplifier coupled to the echo cancellation device is a virtual ground. |
| US07738407B2 |
Method and apparatus for delivering IPP2T (IP-push-to-talk) wireless LAN mobile radio service
A wireless subscriber terminal (ST) for use with IP push-to-talk (IPP2T) service using a wireless local area network (WLAN) operating in a plurality of modes, including a mobile terminal having an ability to communicate over the air to a wireless Access Point (AP), the mobile terminal further programmable to use conventional WLAN protocols, and a method for operating the wireless terminal are described. |
| US07738396B1 |
Network device having accounting service card
A network device integrates accounting functionality for generation of flow statistics with packet intercept functionality to provide a comprehensive traffic analysis environment. The device comprises a set of network interface cards to receive packets from a network, and a set of accounting service cards to calculate flow statistics for the packets. The device further comprises a control unit to receive the network packets from the interface cards and distribute the packets to the set of accounting service cards. The accounting service card comprises an interface for insertion within a slot of a network device. Accounting service cards may be added to easily scale the network device to support higher bandwidth communication links, such as OC-3, OC-12, OC048 and higher rate links. Additional accounting service cards may be used for purposes of redundancy to support continuous, uninterrupted packet processing and accounting in the event of a card failure. |
| US07738395B2 |
Communication system for improving data transmission efficiency of TCP in a wireless network environment and a method thereof
A communication system having a source node, at least one mobile node, and a router that transmits data packets transmitted from the source node to a corresponding one of the at least one mobile node and multiplexes response signals to the data packets received from the corresponding one of the at least one mobile node to transmit the multiplexed response signals to the source node. The communication system includes: a link monitoring unit which calculates a capacity of a wireless link between the router and the corresponding one of the at least one mobile node; and a congestion control and adjustment unit which adjusts window field values in the response signals according to the calculated capacity. The router transmits the response signals, the response signals including the adjusted window field values to the source node, and the source node sequentially transmits the data packets on the basis of the adjusted window field values. |
| US07738393B2 |
Method and device for evaluating degradation of quality caused by an invariance of a stimulus, as perceived by a recipient of said stimulus
A method and apparatus are provided for evaluating a quality, as perceived by a recipient, of a signal carrying a stimulus. The method includes a step for detecting absences of variation of said signal and a step of quantifying at least one deterioration corresponding to an absence of variation. The quantity of deterioration computed during the quantification step depends on an amplitude of variation of the stimulus immediately following the concerned absence of variation. The method and apparatus enable the correlation of the duration of variance, possible past of invariances and a sudden variation of amplitude following said in variance, in implementing an automatic technique in real time, for example. |
| US07738391B2 |
Method and system for communicating video data in a packet-switched network, related network and computer program product therefor
A method for communicating video data on a wireless channel in a packet-switched network includes the steps of operating at a wireless terminal a compression in packets on the video data during a video coding operation, detecting wireless channel conditions and adapting control parameters of the video coding operation to the detected wireless channel conditions. The compression operation is a robust header compression operation and the step of adapting control parameters of said video coding operation is performed in dependence of information about the wireless channel conditions detected on a feedback channel made available in a decompression step associated with the compression operation. |
| US07738388B2 |
Operational status testing apparatus and method for Ethernet-based automatic protection switching process
Provided is an operational status testing apparatus and method for an Ethernet-based APS process. A test command signal which contains a command to perform an operational test for the APS process of a first node and a second test response signal that indicates that the operation of the APS process of a second node is performed normally, from among far end request signals that are received from the second node connected to own first node via an Ethernet network, are filtered. When the far end request signals are test command signals, a first test response signal that indicates that the operation of the APS process of the first node is performed normally is generated, and a top priority local request signal is selected based on priorities of the first test response signal and at least one local request signal that indicates the status of the APS process of the first node, and an output signal to be transmitted to the second node is determined based on priorities of the top priority local request signal and the filtered the far end request signal. The function for testing the operational status for the APS process defined in ITU-T recommendation G.8031 is embodied, and when an operational status test request is received from another node, the APS process can be tested effectively without having to perform a complicated diagnosis operation for the APS process. |
| US07738386B2 |
Method to ensure that life-critical data is transported effectively and safely
The invention relates generally to a method to ensure that mission-critical data is transported safely and effectively across a wireless LAN, and more particularly, to a method which determines network latency under model network loads and ensures that the RF signal strength requirements are met for all RF coverage areas supported by the wireless network, allowing for data transmission which is effective and complete, with acceptable latency and loss, and no unacceptable corruption of the data. |
| US07738382B2 |
Hierarchical multi-rate multi-precedence policer
A hierarchical multi-rate multi-precedence policer is disclosed. The policer discards packets based on assigned precedence levels. When traffic exceeds an available service rate, the policer drops packets of lower precedence levels to make room for packets of higher precedence levels. In certain implementations, the policer also guarantees bandwidth to each level, thus preventing complete loss of lower precedence traffic when there is a large amount of higher precedence traffic. |
| US07738380B1 |
Reassembly-free rewriting of out-of-order data payload
Techniques for reassembly-free rewriting of out-of-order data packet payload are described herein. In one aspect of the invention, in response to packets received at a network access device from a first network node destined to a second network node, the packets are stored in a buffer within the network access device if the packets need to be modified before sending the packets to the second network node. The original our-of-order packets are dropped and do not reach the second network node. The payloads of the packets stored in the buffer are modified and thereafter, the modified packets with the modified payloads are sent to the second network node. Other methods and apparatuses are also described. |
| US07738378B1 |
RSVP/SBM based side-stream session setup, modification, and teardown for QoS-driven wireless LANs
A method and a system are disclosed for setting up, modifying and tearing down a side-stream communication session in a basic service set (BSS) in a wireless network so that the communication session has a defined Quality of Service (QoS). Regarding setting up a side-stream communication session, a first Path message and a first Resv message (Path/Resv message) of a RSVP protocol is detected at a designated subnet bandwidth manager (DSBM) in a station having a point coordinator (PC). The first Resv message originates from a RSVP agent of a destination non-PC station in the BSS and requests resource reservation for setting up a side-stream session between a source non-PC station and at least one destination non-PC station in the same BSS. The DSBM extracts a QoS parameter set and a classifier from the first Path/Resv message for the session. |
| US07738377B1 |
Method and apparatus for volumetric thresholding and alarming on internet protocol traffic
A method and apparatus for analyzing traffic arriving at and/or departing from a traffic aggregate defined as a given IP-related protocol, a given port associated with a given protocol, an IP address or subset of IP addresses, or by other traffic aggregation, during a given time interval, to determine whether there is a significant increase or decrease in traffic aggregate's traffic volume as compared to the traffic aggregate's expected traffic volume are disclosed. In one embodiment, the present method defines a traffic share ratio threshold associated with a given protocol or a given protocol port or a given IP address or a given subset of IP addresses or other traffic aggregation using said collected volumetric traffic data. The present method also defines a current traffic share, a baseline traffic share and a traffic share ratio to be evaluated for the said traffic aggregate. In turn, the present method raises an alarm if the traffic aggregate's traffic share ratio to be evaluated exceeds or falls below the traffic share ratio threshold defined for the traffic aggregate. |
| US07738374B2 |
Channel allocation for access point in mesh network
A channel allocation method for dynamically allocating channels of a plurality of radio interfaces at each access point included in a mesh network is provided. The method includes the steps of (a) acquiring, at each access point, in-node information about the access point itself, and (b) grouping high-traffic access points in a cluster using a same channel set based on the acquired information. |
| US07738373B2 |
Method and apparatus for rapid location of anomalies in IP traffic logs
An efficient method and apparatus for rapidly detecting anomalies from massive data streams is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method enables near real time detection of anomaly behavior in networks. The invention rapidly identifies the addresses that require further analysis and reduces the cost of monitoring, the cost of managing the security of the network as well as reduces the time needed to initiate mitigation steps. |
| US07738372B2 |
Method and system for capacity analysis for on the move adhoc wireless packet-switched networks
A system and method for capacity analysis in communication networks, particularly for on the move ad hoc wireless packet-switched networks, as well as wide variety of other multimedia networks is disclosed. The invention seeks to use the same two attributes per link (link capacity and link utilization) as known circuit-switched based analysis tools while incorporating useful aspects of various statistical analyses, such as a Queuing Theory based analysis, among others. In one embodiment, the invention introduces four tests to be implemented per each link, with results of these four tests being used to color code link congestion states to generate the reports for a planner. These four tests may generate an improved analysis of the network utilizing the same number of variables used in simple conventional circuit switched based analysis. |
| US07738368B2 |
Voice over internet protocol codec adjustment
A system for changing the coder-decoder utilized during a voice over Internet protocol telephone call is disclosed. The system includes two local area networks connected to each other via a wide area network. Each local area network includes a router connected to the wide area network, a switch connected to the router and a voice over Internet protocol telephone connected to the switch. The voice over Internet protocol telephones are configured to detect when voice packets are being dropped and utilize a lower bandwidth coder-decoder. |
| US07738367B1 |
Performing non-revertive failover with network devices
Techniques are described for performing non-revertive failover with network devices. A network device including a control unit and interface cards receives routing information protocol (RIP) updates each having a metric value. The control unit signals bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) sessions based on the metric values of each of the RIP updates with, for example, a media gateway. The control unit also selectively installs a RIP route based on the metric values. The media gateway monitors the BFD sessions, and upon failure of an active BFD session, indicates the network device to perform non-revertive failover by sending a revised plurality of RIP updates. The network device performs non-revertive failover according to the revised plurality of RIP updates. Because of the flexibility of BFD, the network device need not revert back to a previous RIP route, therefore curtailing excessive failover. |
| US07738361B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating fill frames for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) applications
A method and apparatus that generates fill frames for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications in a communication device is disclosed. The method may include determining if there is a lost frame in a received communication, wherein if it is determined that there is a lost frame, setting a frame loss flag and storing the frame loss flag in the frame loss history register, shifting a loss history register, a line spectral frequency (LSF) history register, a voicing cutoff (VCUT) history register, a pitch history register, and a root mean squared (RMS) gain history register, wherein the loss history register, the LSF history register, the VCUT history register, the pitch history register, and the RMS history register include at least three registers, the three registers being a newest, a middle and an oldest registers, reading the frame loss flag into a newest loss history register, determining contents of the middle register of each of the LSF history register, the VCUT history register, the pitch history register, and the RMS history register, and sending the contents of the middle registers to a synthesizer to generate an output speech signal. |
| US07738359B1 |
System, device, and method for managing alternate site switching in an optical communication system
A system, device, and method for managing alternate site switching in an optical communication system recovers from failures/degradations that are uncorrected by the core optical communication network. When an uncorrected failure/degradation is detected, communications for a protected end-system are switched from a primary end-system to a backup end-system. The backup end-system may be selected a priori, for example, during connection establishment, in order to reduce switching time once a decision has been made to switch communications from the primary end-system to the backup end-system. Provisions are made for completing the alternate site switching within a specified amount of time. Load balancing may be used to further reduce switching time from the primary end-system to the backup end-system. This alternate site switching augments the various protection mechanisms provided by the core optical communication network in order to provide end-to-end protection for the optical communication path. |
| US07738358B1 |
Interference suppressing OFDM method for wireless communications
A method for operating an IS-OFDM system for point-to-point wireless communications that suppresses narrow-band interference comprises the steps of producing and transmitting an IS-OFDM signal including the use of parallel-to-serial converters in order to maintain the same data rate for the transmission as the input data rate. The method further comprises the steps of receiving and recovering an IS-OFDM signal. |
| US07738355B1 |
Packet data transmission with optimum preamble length
In a communication network, a sending node transmits a message with a multisegment preamble and data to a receiving node. The receiving node calculates characteristics of the sending unit, channel, or transmitted signal by processing preamble segments. Once an unknown characteristic is determined, a segment of the preamble can be eliminated or reduced in length for subsequent messages, which increases efficiency of the message transmissions. |
| US07738353B2 |
Recording medium, method and apparatus for reproducing data on the recording medium, and method and apparatus for recording data on the recording medium
A recording medium on which data is recorded in units of clusters, a method and apparatus for reproducing data on the recording medium, and a method and apparatus for recording data on the recording medium, wherein each of the clusters includes a plurality of address fields, each address field includes 32-bit address unit number (AUN) address information, and the AUN address information includes a reserved area recorded on 4 bits, layer information, recorded on 3 bits, indicating a layer on which data corresponding to the AUN address information is recorded, and location information, recorded on 25 bits, indicating a location of the data corresponding to the AUN address information. In the recording medium of the present invention, a space in which addresses are recorded is expanded, thereby securing an address area in which addresses of data can be recorded in a data structure. |
| US07738352B2 |
Information recording medium
An optically detectable information recording medium is at least comprised of a substrate and a recording layer, wherein a surface of the recording layer opposite to another surface of the recording layer in contact with the substrate has a Root Mean Square roughness Rσ of less than 5 nm, and wherein the recording layer has highly reflective recording material selected from aluminum, silver, silicon, titanium, nickel, tantalum, molybdenium, iron, gold, copper, and their alloys. |
| US07738348B2 |
Flexible power interface control system and method of optical disk drive
The present invention provides a flexible power interface control system and a method of the same capable of flexibly changing the LDD setting for complying with different controlling states or different write strategies. The different controlling states or write strategies may be used for different disk types or different writing modes. The flexible LDD setting in accordance with the present invention is contributing to improve the recording performance and stability of an optical disk drive for complying with various disk types or different writing modes. |
| US07738343B2 |
Optical disk device and information recording/reproducing method
An optical disk device is provided with an optical pickup that includes a convergent optical system having an objective lens for converging a light beam emitted from the laser light source to form a microspot on an optical disk and an aberration correcting optical system for controlling a spherical aberration of the convergent optical system, and performs information recording or reproduction with respect to a multi-layer optical disk having at least a first recording layer and a second recording layer. In the optical disk device, an operation of changing a correction quantity of the spherical aberration from a value adequate for the first recording layer to a predetermined value is started before an operation of moving a focus position of the microspot from the first layer to the second layer is completed. This allows a focus control to be performed stably with respect to the second recording layer in a state in which the spherical aberration correction already has been carried out, thereby preventing the focus control from failing due to an unsuccessful interlayer jump. |
| US07738338B2 |
Optical information reproducing method
An optical information reproducing method of reproducing multivalued information recorded on a track of an optical information medium having a recording/reproducing region, which has virtual cells arranged thereon at regular spacings. The multivalued information is recorded thereon by changing a length of an information pit in a track direction or an area of the information pit in a cell with the use of a light spot. The multivalued information is reproduced by detecting the level of a multistage reproduced signal from the information pit. The method includes sampling a reproduced signal in the multivalued information recorded in one cell with an M-value (M |
| US07738337B2 |
Optical information recording device, optical information recording method, and signal processing circuit
It is an object of certain inventive aspects to provide a recording condition closer to an optimum even for a medium unknown to a drive, and more particularly, to provide means for obtaining a preferable recording condition even for a high-speed recording in which conducting a test recording is difficult. In order to accomplish the object, a power and a phase of a recording pulse are simultaneously corrected at predetermined timing, depending on a recording speed or a recording position such as an inner or outer circumference. For instance, a phase shift ΔPhase generated due to a continuing recording from an inner circumference to an outer circumference at ×2 speed is corrected simultaneously with a correction of a power shift at the timing when a recording speed is changed from ×2 to ×4. For the other recording speed, in the same manner as above, a power and a phase shift are simultaneously corrected at every time when a recording speed is changed. |
| US07738330B2 |
Information recording method and apparatus, information reproducing method and apparatus, information recording medium, program storage medium and program
Congested rewriting in the same area is to be evaded to suppress the tendency towards occurrence of defective areas. When a stream 1 has been recorded, the last written address, representing the last written position, is stored. When recording a stream 2 next, recording is started directly following the position indicated by the last written address for the stream 1. The last written address, corresponding to the last address of the recording position, is stored. If the stream 2 is erased for recording a stream 3, recording is started not at a position directly following the last written address of the stream 1, but from a position directly following the last written address of the stream 2. When the stream 3 has reached the end of a recording area, the next following data is recorded as from a position directly following the stream 1. |
| US07738329B2 |
Random access control method and optical disc drive
A random access control method is provided, implemented in an optical disc drive for recording data to an optical disc. In the optical disc drive, a buffer stores a plurality of write commands each associated with a data block bound to a destination address. A processor controls the buffer to build a disc write task from the write commands in which addresses are organized in order. A drive unit is controlled by the processor, performing a recording operation to record the data blocks to the optical disc according to the disc write task; wherein the processor further controls the drive unit to verify the recorded data blocks after completing the recording operation. |
| US07738324B2 |
Display device and timepiece calendar device
A display device and a timepiece calendar device capable of large display of letters and numbers is provided, which can be simplified and reduced in size. The display device comprises a first display wheel having a denotation portion for showing information about a part of a period and a toothed portion including a plurality of teeth to be driven. The device also has a second display wheel having a denotation portion for showing a part of the period other than the part of the period shown by the first display wheel, an opening via which the first display wheel is exposed, and a toothed portion including a plurality of teeth to be driven, and placed overlapping the first display wheel. The device also has a driving finger for driving the first display wheel and the second display wheel to rotate. |
| US07738323B2 |
Arrangement for the mechanical interfacing of a MEMS micromotor with a clock wheel and timepiece comprising this arrangement
The invention proposes an arrangement for the mechanical interfacing of a micromotor of the MEMS type with a toothed wheel in which the micromotor is produced in the upper layer of a plate made of crystalline or amorphous material and comprises at least one actuator which drives a rotor in rotation, characterised in that a pinion, coaxial with the rotor and arranged above the rotor, is connected in rotation to the rotor by means of at least one pin which is received in an associated housing and in that the pinion meshes with the toothed wheel. |
| US07738322B2 |
Radio-wave timepieces and time information receivers
When lack of a part data on a time code included in a received standard radio wave is detected, the lack is filled up with a corresponding data part of another time code. The time of a radio-wave timepiece is corrected in accordance with the time code whose lack has been filled up. |
| US07738319B2 |
Determining angles of arrival using multipaths
In one aspect, a method to determine multipath angles of arrival includes performing an autocorrelation on a first signal received at a first received beam from a signal source, performing a cross-correlation between the first signal and a second signal received at a second receive beam from the signal source, and determining an angle of arrival for a first path from the signal source and an angle of arrival for a second path from the signal source based on the autocorrelation and the cross-correlation. |
| US07738313B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor storage device
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory comprising: a plurality of memory cell blocks each including a plurality of memory cells serially connected to each other; a word line that is connected to corresponding ones of the plurality of memory cells each included in respective one of the plurality of memory cellblocks; and a pair of drive circuits each configured to apply a voltage to the word line, wherein the corresponding ones of the plurality of memory cells are connected to the word line between the pair of drive circuits. |
| US07738311B2 |
Semiconductor memory devices having optimized memory block organization and data line routing for reducing chip size and increasing speed
Multi-bank semiconductor memory devices are provided having optimized memory block layouts and data line routing to enable chip size reduction and increase operating memory access speed. |
| US07738308B2 |
Memory row and column redundancy
In one embodiment, a memory includes a row and/or column redundancy architecture that uses binary cells to indicate whether a given row or column of memory cells is faulty. The binary cell is adapted to store a “repair true” signal in response to a conventional access to the corresponding row or column and also the assertion of a set signal. |
| US07738307B2 |
Data transmission device in semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor device is capable of minimizing data skew among respective data which are transmitted to a receiver through respective data lines. The semiconductor device includes a synchronization unit connected to at least one portion of the respective data lines, for synchronizing time that the plurality of data transferred through the respective data lines take to arrive at the receiver. |
| US07738304B2 |
Multiple use memory chip
A die for a memory array may store Flash and EEPROM bits in at least one Nitride Read Only Memory (NROM) array. Each array may store Flash, EEPROM or both types of bits. |
| US07738303B2 |
Method of erasing a nonvolatile memory device
The present invention relates to a method of erasing a nonvolatile memory device. According to an aspect of the present invention, an erase operation is performed on a selected memory block. The bit lines of the memory block are precharged, and a change of a voltage level of the bit lines is verified according to an erase state of the memory cells. A data read operation is performed on a first bit line according to a voltage level of the first bit line. A data read operation is performed on a second bit line according to a voltage level of the second bit line. The data read operation is performed on the second bit line after the data read operation is performed on the first bit line. An erase verify result is then determined according to the data read operation result. |
| US07738298B2 |
Flash memory device
A NAND flash memory device includes a high voltage switch and a bulk voltage supplying circuit. The high voltage switch is configured to transfer a word line voltage to selected word lines of selected memory cells. The bulk voltage supplying circuit is configured to provide a negative voltage to a bulk region of the high voltage switch in response to an operation mode. |
| US07738295B2 |
Programming a non-volatile memory device
A non-volatile memory device that has a cache register coupled between each pair of bit lines and, in one embodiment, a data cache coupled between each pair of bit lines. The cache register toggles a bit when a memory cell on one of the bit lines to which it is coupled is successfully programmed. The set bit inhibits further programming on that bit line. The data cache is programmed with the original data to be programmed in the particular memory cell coupled to the respective bit line. A programming method performs a programming/verification operation until the memory cell is programmed. The data cache is then read and this data is used in a secondary programming operation, after the initial programming/verification operation, on the same memory cells. |
| US07738291B2 |
Memory page boosting method, device and system
A memory page boosting method, device and system for boosting unselected memory cells in a multi-level cell memory cell is described. The memory device includes a memory array of multi-level cell memory cells configured to store a first portion of logic states and a second portion of logic states. When programming the first portion of logic states, a first boosting process is applied to unselected memory cells and when programming the second portion of logic states, a second boosting process is applied to unselected memory cells. |
| US07738288B2 |
Phase change memory device having a plurality of reference currents and operating method thereof
A phase change memory device includes a cell array unit including a phase change resistance cell positioned at an intersection of a word line and a bit line. A plurality of sense amplifiers sense and amplify data of the phase change resistance cell selected using a plurality of reference currents. A plurality of comparing units compare an output signal of the corresponding sense amplifier with that of the neighboring sense amplifier so as to output a flag enable signal. |
| US07738286B2 |
Magnetic memory device
A magnetic memory device comprises a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) connecting to a bit line to a sense line through an isolation transistor. The MTJ includes a ferromagnetic layer having a magnetic hard axis. An assist current line overlies the bit line and is insulated from the bit line. The MTJ is switchable between a first, relatively high resistance state and a second, relatively low resistance state. The assist current line applies a magnetic field along the magnetic hard axis in the ferromagnetic layer, independently of current flow through the MTJ for assisting switching of the MTJ between the first and second states. |
| US07738284B2 |
Memory cell with independent-gate controlled access devices and memory using the cell
A memory cell includes double-gate first and second access devices configured to selectively interconnect cross-coupled inverters with true and complementary bit lines. Each access device has a first gate connected to a READ word line and a second gate connected to a WRITE word line. During a READ operation, the first and second access devices are configured to operate in a single-gate mode with the READ word line “ON” and the WRITE word line “OFF” while the double-gate pull-down devices are configured to operate in a double gate mode. During a WRITE operation, the first and second access devices are configured to operate in a double-gate mode with the READ word line “ON” and the WRITE word line also “ON.” |
| US07738283B2 |
Design structure for SRAM active write assist for improved operational margins
A design structure embodied in a machine-readable medium used in a design process is provided. The design structure comprises a static random access memory (“SRAM”), including a plurality of cells arranged in an SRAM having a plurality of columns; and a voltage control circuit operable to temporarily raise a voltage level of a low voltage reference to cells belonging to a column selected for writing from the plurality of columns, wherein the voltage control circuit includes a first n-type field effect transistor (“NFET”) and a second NFET, the first NFET having a conduction path connected between ground and the low voltage reference, the second NFET having a conduction path connected between a power supply and the low voltage reference. |
| US07738282B2 |
Cell structure of dual port SRAM
An integrated circuit and methods for laying out the integrated circuit are provided. The integrated circuit includes a first and a second transistor. The first transistor includes a first active region comprising a first source and a first drain; and a first gate electrode over the first active region. The second transistor includes a second active region comprising a second source and a second drain; and a second gate electrode over the second active region and connected to the first gate electrode, wherein the first source and the second source are electrically connected, and the first drain and the second drain are electrically connected. |
| US07738279B2 |
Integrated circuit and method of operating an integrated circuit
According to one embodiment of the present invention, an integrated circuit is provided including a plurality of resistivity changing memory elements and a plurality of memory element select devices, wherein the select devices are floating body select devices. |
| US07738277B2 |
Semiconductor memory device, memory device support and memory module
In one embodiment, the semiconductor memory device includes at least a first semiconductor memory die, and a surface of the semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of connectors. At least one of the plurality of connectors is electrically connected to the first semiconductor memory die. The plurality of connectors include at least first and second control signal connectors. The first control signal connector is for a first control signal of a first type, the second control signal connector is for a second control signal of the first type, and the first and second control signal connectors are disposed in different areas of the surface. For example, the first type may be a chip select signal, a clock enable signal, or an on die termination enable signal. |
| US07738274B1 |
Content-addressable memory architecture
A content-addressable memory (“CAM”) architecture and method for reducing power consumption thereof are described. A CAM cell array includes CAM cells, each of which includes two thyristor-based storage elements. Each thyristor-based storage element of the CAM cells has a control gate, an anode, and a cathode for providing control gates, anodes, and cathodes of the CAM cells. The CAM cell array further includes matchlines directly coupled to the cathodes of the CAM cells; searchlines directly coupled to the anodes of the CAM cell; and gatelines coupled to the control gates of the CAM cells. |
| US07738270B2 |
Power supply device
A power supply device with power conversion capabilities is disclosed. The power supply device comprises an input module, a power converter, and an output module. The input module is used for receiving an alternating current power. The power converter is coupled to the input module for converting the alternating current power to a direct current power. The output module is coupled to the power converter for outputting the direct current power. |
| US07738268B2 |
EMC filtering device in a variable speed drive
The invention relates to a filtering device connected between a rectifier module of a variable speed drive and an alternating current power supply network, the filtering device comprising an EMC filter comprising a common-mode inductor having a winding on each phase of the power supply network, the windings being magnetically coupled together. The filtering device comprises a shunt circuit connected in parallel with at least one of the windings of the common-mode inductor, the shunt circuit comprising passive components and making it possible to shunt a common-mode current flowing in the common-mode inductor in a frequency zone about a resonance frequency of the EMC filter. |
| US07738263B2 |
Circuit module and process for producing the same
A circuit module containing a ceramic carrier substrate to carry electronic parts, ceramic substrate pads provided on a surface of the ceramic carrier substrate, and a lid having a cavity and a bottom surface joined to the ceramic substrate pads with solder, the lid being a stepped lid having protrusions adjacent to the cavity, and dents adjacent to the cavity with the protrusions intervening therebetween, the protrusions being in contact with the ceramic carrier substrate with a prescribed distance to the ceramic substrate pads, and the dents being joined to the ceramic substrate pads with solder. |
| US07738261B2 |
Functional device fabrication apparatus and functional device fabricated with the same
A functional device fabrication apparatus is provided for forming a wiring pattern or an electronic device on a substrate using paper or paper-based material by depositing solid content of a solution on the substrate. The functional device fabrication apparatus includes a jet head. The jet head jets the solution including electronic function material onto the substrate as dot patterns. The jet head includes a device for dispensing a droplet of the solution from the jet head. A drive signal applied to the device is configured to cause the droplet jetted by the device to have a specific shape before impacting a face of the substrate. |
| US07738260B2 |
Grounding connector for an electronic device
A grounding connector for an electronic device having a first housing element and a second housing element comprising a ground clip, a cam surface and a follower. The ground clip is electrically coupled to a first housing element, and selectably electrically coupled with the second housing element. A cam surface is positioned on the first housing element and in proximity to the ground clip. The follower is slidably positionable on the second housing element, and has a first end that engages the cam surface and a second end that engages the ground clip. The ground clip is electrically coupled to a second housing element while the electronic device is in each of the collapsed orientation and the articulated orientation. Upon movement between the collapsed orientation and the articulated orientation, the cam surface directs the follower to electrically decouple the ground clip from the second housing element. |
| US07738258B2 |
Semiconductor mounting board
A semiconductor mounting board 80 is prepared by electrically joining an IC chip 70 via an interposer 60 of high rigidity to external pads 41 and internal pads 43, which are formed on the uppermost surface of a build-up layer 30. When the IC chip 70 generates heat, since pads 41 are positioned away from the center, a large shearing stress is applied to the portions at which pads 41 are joined to the interposer 60 in comparison to the portions at which pads 43 are joined to the interposer 60. Here, pads 41 are formed at substantially flat wiring portions and thus when joined to the interposer 60 by means of solder bumps 51, voids and angled portions, at which stress tends to concentrate, are not formed in the interiors of solder bumps 51. The joining reliability is thus high. |
| US07738256B2 |
Multilayer substrate including components therein
Components having different heights are installed in a multilayer substrate using a metal core layer formed by bonding a plurality of metal layers. The metal core layer includes through-holes and a spot-faced portion. Passive components and an active component are disposed in the through-holes and the spot-faced portion, respectively. These components are connected to conductive patterns formed on wiring layers, with connecting vias therebetween. Contact faces of each component with the connecting vias are controlled so as to be disposed at the same level with the metal layers. |
| US07738255B2 |
Electronic module and electronic device
An electronic module includes a board unit having a handle and a module housing. The handle includes a grip portion and a pair of leg portions. The leg portions have engagement convex portions extending from portions serving as rotary pivots, of the leg portions. The module housing includes an engagement concave portion provided to correspond to the engagement convex portions. When the board unit is inserted into the module housing, by rotating the handle around the rotary pivots in a direction along which the grip portion approaches the panel portion, the engagement convex portions are brought into contact with a part of the engagement concave portion to produce a force in a direction, along which the board unit is pressed into the module housing. |
| US07738253B2 |
Power supply assembly
A power supply assembly includes a housing having side walls, end walls, and a bottom wall defining a rectangular box with an interior space and an open top. A first dividing wall and a second dividing wall are positioned in the interior space of the housing which divides the interior space into first, second, and third compartments.A method of manufacturing a power supply with the above power supply assembly includes installing a printed circuit board in the second compartment and positioning the first wire set to terminate in the first compartment and the second wire set to terminate in the third compartment. |
| US07738247B2 |
Removable and replaceable docking unit
A removable/replaceable docking unit includes a cradle, a dock connector extending through an opening in a bottom portion of the cradle, a circuit board to which the dock connector is integrally attached, a wire connector integrally attached to the circuit board at a side thereof opposite the dock connector and the dock connector and the wire connector communicatively coupled via the circuit board and a removable connector provided in the cradle for removably connecting the docking unit to an electronic device. |
| US07738245B1 |
Display mount
A mounting system for mounting a plurality of devices to a surface, including an overhead surface. According to various embodiments, a support arm is configured to operatively attach to a mounting surface and is operatively connected to a plurality of device support assemblies that include a mount bracket a selectively moveable tilt bracket. A device support member is operatively coupled to the tilt brackets and configured to operatively attach to at least one display device such as a flat panel display. The device support member, and attached devices, are selectively tiltable to a tilt angle. |
| US07738239B2 |
Electronic apparatus
According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus comprises: a casing comprising a circuit module; a keyboard mounting portion on which a keyboard is detachably mounted, and a cover detachably covering the opening. The key board mounting portion comprises an opening which allows a wiring electrically connecting the keyboard and the circuit module to be passed therethrough. An area of the opening is equal to or less than half of an area of the keyboard mounting portion. |
| US07738237B2 |
Tunable inter-digital capacitor and method of manufacturing the same
Provided are a tunable inter-digital capacitor (IDC) and a method of manufacturing the same. The tunable IDC includes: a first dielectric layer formed on a substrate and having electrode pattern grooves of an IDC including a ground line and a signal line formed therein; electrode metal patterns formed in the electrode pattern grooves of the IDC including the ground line and the signal line formed in the first dielectric layer; and a second dielectric layer formed on an upper surface of the first dielectric layer to cover all of the electrode metal patterns except for parts of the ground and signal lines. Therefore, it is possible to increase tunability of the IDC and reduce drive voltage. |
| US07738234B2 |
Solenoid-operated valve and solenoid-operated valve-driving circuit
When a power source voltage is applied to a switch control section, a control signal is supplied from the switch control section to a transistor. The transistor is placed in an ON state during a period of time corresponding to a pulse width of the control signal. The power source voltage is applied as a first voltage to a solenoid coil. On the other hand, when supply of the control signal to the transistor is stopped, the transistor is placed in an OFF state. A voltage-generating section generates a DC voltage, which is lower than the power source voltage. The transistor applies the generated DC voltage as a second voltage to the solenoid coil. |
| US07738221B2 |
Transformer inrush current detector
A differential protection system for power transformers using Rogowski coils as current sensors can support an inrush current detection method based on sensing lows in the derivative of the sensed current. Effective detection of power transformer inrush conditions can enable blocking of a protection relay during inrush where the differential current may exceed a differential threshold value indicative of a fault without the presence of an actual fault. The outputs of the Rogowski coils, being proportional to the first time derivative of the sensed current, may be useful in the inrush detection method. Also, with reduced saturation concerns, the Rogowski coil protection system may employ a single slope response with increased sensitivity. A discrete time sampling technique for identifying low di/dt portions within the sensed current also may be useful in detecting power transformer inrush conditions. |
| US07738220B1 |
Magnetoresistance effect element, magnetic head, magnetic head assembly, magnetic storage system
A magnetoresistance effect element, comprising a nonmagnetic spacer layer, first and second ferromagnetic layers separated by the nonmagnetic spacer layer, the first ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization direction at an angle relative to a magnetization direction of the second ferromagnetic layer at zero applied magnetic field, the magnetization of the first ferromagnetic layer freely rotating in a magnetic field signal, a magnetoresistance effect-improving layer comprising a plurality of metal films and disposed in contact with the first ferromagnetic layer so that the first ferromagnetic layer is disposed between the nonmagnetic spacer layer and the magnetoresistance effect-improving layer, one of the plurality of metal films disposed in contact with the first ferromagnetic layer contains metal element of not solid solution with metal element of the first ferromagnetic layer and a nonmagnetic underlayer or a nonmagnetic protecting layer disposed in contact with the magnetoresistance effect-improving layer so that the magnetoresistance effect-improving layer is disposed between the first ferromagnetic layer and the nonmagnetic underlayer or the nonmagnetic protecting layer. |
| US07738217B2 |
EMR magnetic head having a magnetic flux guide and a body formed at a tail end of a slider
A magnetic head of the present application has a sensor which employs the extraordinary magnetoresistance (EMR) effect. The magnetic head includes a body of semiconductor material positioned over a tail end of a carrying mechanism; a field receiving surface of the body oriented perpendicular to a sensing plane of the magnetic head; an electrically conducting shunt coupled to a first end of the body; a plurality of electrically conducting contacts coupled to a second end of the body opposite the first end; and a magnetic flux guide having a first end at least partially formed over the field receiving surface and a second end exposed at the sensing plane. Advantageously, the magnetic flux guide orients a signal field of recorded data from a magnetic medium in a suitable direction for the field receiving surface, at least partially shields the field receiving surface magnetically, and allows for positioning of the magnetic head on the tail end of the carrying mechanism. Preferably, the slider over which the body is formed is made from a material of similar crystal structure, but higher electrical resistance, as the material of the body. In this way, the body may be grown epitaxially from the slider and be integrally formed therewith. |
| US07738214B2 |
Thin film magnetic head
When exogenous noise is applied to the ground wire of a thin film magnetic head, crosstalk noise occurs in a lead line and a ground lines located near the ground wire. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention avoid this by providing a common terminal near the central portion of a thin film head portion. Write element terminals are connected to lines extending from a coil. Read element terminals are connected to lead wires extending from electrodes of a GMR element. A heater terminal is connected to a line extending from a heater. The common terminal is connected to a ground line of upper and lower shields via a resistor, to ground lines of electrodes via other resistors and to a ground line of upper and lower magnetic pole pieces of a write element via another resistor. A ground line of a slider, a ground line of the heater, and a ground line of the common terminal are all connected to a ground terminal. |
| US07738212B2 |
Methods, systems, and apparatus for reducing the effects of tape dimensional stability
A method, system, apparatus, and computer readable medium storing instructions for recording data tracks and a method and system for reading data tracks. For recording data tracks, virtual boundary of a first data track recorded on the storage medium is determined. The recording element is positioned based on the determined virtual boundary of the first track and a second data track is recorded by the positioned recording element. For reading data tracks, a first virtual boundary of a first data track and a second virtual boundary of the first data track are determined and a reading element is positioned at a center of the first data track based on the determined virtual boundaries. In the system of reading recorded data tracks, a number of forward reading elements and backward reading elements are provided. The forward reading elements have different pitches. |
| US07738208B2 |
Data recovery through eliminating adjacent track interference
A hard disk drive with a disk that contains a target track and an adjacent track. The drive includes a circuit that determines an error in data read from the target track. Data from the adjacent track is stored in memory. The adjacent track is then erased and the target track data is re-read from the target track. Erasing the adjacent track allows the target track data to be read without adjacent track interference. The data from the adjacent track is typically rewritten onto the disk from memory so no data is lost. |
| US07738202B1 |
Wide-biphase-detector quality monitor for sensing of pin layer reversal
An apparatus and method are disclosed for decoding servo data recorded on a magnetic disk drive and detecting pinned layer reversals and signal errors, for example, errors due to noise. The servo data is encoded using wide-bi-phase encoding. This encoding is detected by a magneto-resistive sensor that senses the magnetization in domains passing by the sensor. The decoder includes an A/D converter for sampling the signals emitted by the sensor, to provide a sequence of the encoded data. A trellis, such as a Viterbi trellis, is employed to decode the samples generated by the converter. The trellis includes nodes representing states, connected by paths representing transitions, among the nodes. A quality value is generated for the transitions, the quality value representing the distance between each sample in the sequence output by the A/D converter and a corresponding expected sample. By applying servo data to two trellises, each corresponding to a different pinned layer magnetic orientation, and comparing the quality values produced, the correct pinned layer orientation may be selected. |
| US07738201B2 |
Read error recovery using soft information
In general, this disclosure describes read recovery techniques for data storage devices that use soft information associated with multiple read operations to detect data. Specifically, the read recovery techniques comprise computing soft information for each bit detected during a first read operation of a data storage medium, computing soft information for each bit detected during a second read operation of the data storage medium and averaging the soft information computed during the first and second read operations to determine the value of each of the bits. |
| US07738192B1 |
Illuminated optical apparatus
A device may include a magnifying lens having a focal length that defines a focal plane, a light source providing visible light directed toward the focal plane, and a controller. The controller may be programmed to receive a signal indicative of the distance from the device to an object, cause the light source to emit visible light at a first brightness if the distance is at least substantially equal to the focal length of the lens, and cause the light source to emit visible light at a second brightness, dimmer than the first brightness, if the distance is not at least substantially equal to the focal length of the lens. |
| US07738188B2 |
Projection objective and projection exposure apparatus including the same
A reduction projection objective for projection lithography has a plurality of optical elements configured to image an effective object field arranged in an object surface of the projection objective into an effective image field arranged in an image surface of the projection objective at a reducing magnification ratio |β|<1. The optical elements form a dry objective adapted with regard to aberrations to a gaseous medium with refractive index n′<1.01 filling an image space of finite thickness between an exit surface of the projection objective and the image surface. The optical elements include a largest lens having a maximum lens diameter Dmax and are configured to provide an image-side numerical aperture NA<1 in an effective image field having a maximum image field height Y′. With COMP=Dmax/(Y′·(NA/n′)2) the condition COMP<15.8 holds. |
| US07738185B2 |
Zoom lens and imaging apparatus
A zoom lens and imaging apparatus implementing four lens groups including a first lens group G1 having a positive refractive power, a second lens group G2 having a negative refractive power, a third lens group G3 having a positive refractive power, and a fourth lens group G4 having a positive refractive power. When a positional state is varied from a wide-angle-end state to a telephoto-end state, the second lens group is moved to an image side, and the fourth lens group is moved to compensate for image plane variation caused by the movement of the second lens group. |
| US07738180B2 |
Objective optical system for endoscopes
An objective optical system for endoscopes has, in order form the object side, a single lens with negative power, a cemented lens with positive power, and an image sensor unit. The cemented lens has a plano-convex lens, located at the image-side end, with a convex surface facing the image side and an aperture stop placed proximate to a cemented portion and the image sensor unit includes an optically cemented body of at least one optical part, a path bending prism, and a solid-state image sensor to satisfy the following conditions: 1.5 |
| US07738178B2 |
Laser assembly
A laser assembly is suitable for coupling laser light into at least one optical fiber. The laser assembly contains a plurality of laser light sources disposed spaced from a light entrance surface of the at least one optical fiber. The laser light sources are divided into at least one group of first laser light sources and at least one group of second laser light sources. An aperture is provided and is suitable for spatially confining the laser light emitted during operation of the laser light sources before being coupled into the at least one optical fiber. A coupling device is provided and is suitable for coupling the laser light during operation of the first and second laser light sources before it enters into the at least one optical fiber. |
| US07738167B2 |
Reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA), RSOA module having the same, and passive optical network using the same
A Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (RSOA) for compensating for light loss in an optical link, an RSOA module for improving polarization dependency using the RSOA, and a Passive Optical Network (PON) for increasing economical efficiency and practical use of a bandwidth using the RSOA are provided. The PON includes a central office comprising a plurality of optic sources transmitting a downstream signal and a plurality of first receivers receiving an upstream signal; at least one optical network terminal (ONT) including a second receiver receiving the downstream signal and an RSOA which receives the downstream signal, remodulates the downstream signal into the upstream signal, and transmits the upstream signal in loopback mode; and a remote node interfacing the central office with the ONT. The upstream signal and the downstream signal are transmitted between the remote node and the ONT via a single optical fiber. The remote node includes an optical power splitter at its port connected to the ONT. |
| US07738163B2 |
Optical transmission system
In an optical transmission system for transmission of data along an optical fiber link, a receiver for an optical supervisory channel is capable of detecting data at a lower rate at which a Raman pump is enabled, and at a higher rate which is commenced when the higher power of a Raman amplified signal has been received. |
| US07738152B2 |
High areal density holographic data storage system
An apparatus for recording or reading high areal density holographically stored information with high signal-to-noise ratio. The apparatus comprises a holographic imaging system for recording or reconstructing a holographic image, having a first numerical aperture and a first focal length and an additional optical system for filtering the signal beam, having a second numerical aperture and a second focal length, wherein the numerical aperture of the additional optical system is less than the numerical aperture of the holographic imaging system and/or the focal length of the additional optical system is greater than the optical length of the holographic imaging system. |
| US07738145B2 |
Apparatus and method for scanning an object
A scanner has a plurality of cameras positioned around an object to be scanned. The object is illuminated by unstructured light and the object is covered by a textured surface. The cameras can be arranged as pairs and each camera pair is supported on a single support. The scanned object can be a foot, among other things, and the scanner is positioned at a predetermined incline so that the foot is evenly supported. Method for attaching the camera pairs on the support, method for calibrating the camera pairs and method of scanning the foot to provide shoe sizes and shoe lasts are also disclosed. |
| US07738143B2 |
Copy-forgery-inhibited pattern or stamp image combined with image data based on user actions
The image data with the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image added and an image area flag signal stored in the hard disk drive are inputted into a thinning filter. A thinning circuit does not perform thinning processing on these pieces of data and outputs the inputted image, as it is. The filter performs processing so that an image of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern background part may be deleted. A selector selects an image signal not passing through the filter for a latent mark of the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern whose image area flag is set as “Character,” and select an image signal subjected to the processing by the filter for a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern background part whose image area flag is set as “Photograph.” By doing so, it is possible to perform low pass processing on only the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern background part and perform processing of making a latent-mark part emerge. |
| US07738141B2 |
Image processing device that processes color image data
A printing unit prints an image based on print data. The printing unit has characteristics. An input-color-data storing portion stores input color data indicative of colors of inputted image data. The input color data have color component values of a first color group. A print-data generating portion converts the color component values of the first color group stored in the input-color-data storing portion into color component values of a second color group, thereby generating pre-correction print data having a predetermined bit width. A correcting portion converts the pre-correction print data into post-correction print data that is adapted to the characteristics of the printing unit. The correcting portion includes a bit-width correcting portion that generates the post-correction print data having a bit width greater than the predetermined bit width. The bit-width correcting portion selectively increases the bit width based on predetermined criteria. |
| US07738135B2 |
Image processor, image forming device, method for image processing and storage medium for storing image processing program
An image processor is provided with an acquisition unit; a discriminating unit; a decomposing unit; and a rearranging unit. The acquisition unit acquires image data and layout information of an original document which are obtained by reading the original document in which the layout information is recorded in advance. The discriminating unit discriminates number of logical pages in the original document, an arranged order of the logical pages, and orientation of the original document, based on the layout information. The decomposing unit decomposes the image data into the logical pages, based on the result of the discriminating. The rearranging unit rearranges the decomposed logical pages according to a predetermined output layout, and outputs image data in which the logical pages has been rearranged. |
| US07738130B2 |
Internet facsimile apparatus and method of controlling internet facsimile communication using the apparatus
Disclosed is an Internet FAX apparatus which, after receiving an Internet address from a certain destination, can communicate with the same destination in later transmission or during communication by connecting to a LAN and switching to an Internet FAX mode requiring no communication charge. An Internet facsimile apparatus on the receiving side transmits its Internet facsimile function and Internet address on an NSF signal in a standard protocol of G3 facsimile transmission and/or transmits its telephone number, Internet facsimile function, and Internet address on TSI and NSS signals in the standard protocol of G3 facsimile communication. The Internet facsimile apparatus registers an Internet facsimile function and Internet address of a partner apparatus as destination data. The Internet facsimile apparatus communicates with the partner apparatus by using the Internet address in the destination data in later transmission or by disconnecting ordinary facsimile mode communication and switching to the Internet FAX mode. |
| US07738128B2 |
Network device, device link system, and device link method
In a device link system for connecting a first device and a second device through a communication interface, the first device comprises a network connection unit that connects the first device to a network; a web server that delivers a web page describing first device information relating to the first device via the network connection unit; an acquisition unit that acquires second device information relating to the second device from the second device via the communication interface; and a web page processor that generates a page describing the second device information acquired by the acquisition unit and adds the generated page to the web page, and the second device comprises a provision unit that provides the second device information to the first device via the communication interface upon receiving a request for the second device information from the first device. |
| US07738116B2 |
Photoacoustic detector
The invention relates to a photoacoustic detector, comprising at least a first chamber (V0) suppliable with a gas to be analyzed, a window for letting modulated and/or pulsed infrared radiation and/or light in the first chamber (V0), and means for detecting pressure variations created in the first chamber by absorbed infrared radiation and/or light. The means for detecting pressure variations created in the first chamber by absorbed infrared radiation and/or light comprise at least an aperture provided in the wall of the first chamber (V0), in communication with which is provided a door arranged to be movable in response to the movement of a gas, and means for a contactless measurement of the door movement. The invention relates also to a sensor for a photoacoustic detector and to a method in the optimization of a door used as a sensor for a photoacoustic detector. |
| US07738114B2 |
Exposure apparatus configured to minimize effects of mechanism for measuring stage position on peripheral mechanism and device-manufacturing method
An exposure apparatus includes a stage configured to hold an original thereon and to move in a horizontal direction, a first interferometer configured to emit first measurement light used for measuring a position of the stage in a vertical direction thereof, a first mirror provided on a bottom surface of the stage, and a second mirror provided directly below the first mirror. The second mirror is disposed so as to guide the first measurement light emitted from the first interferometer to the first mirror. |
| US07738103B2 |
Inspection method and apparatus, lithographic apparatus, lithographic processing cell and device manufacturing method for determining a parameter of a target pattern
In a method for determining a structure parameter of a target pattern, a first series of calibration spectra are determined from at least one reference pattern, each spectra being determined using a different known value of at least one structure parameter of the respective reference pattern. The first series of calibration spectra does not take into account parameters of an apparatus used to produce the reference pattern. A representation of each of the first series calibration spectra is stored in a central library. A second series of calibration spectra corresponding to at least one of the stored spectra for a target spectrum is determined using the parameters of the apparatus for measuring the target spectrum. A measured target spectrum is produced by directing a beam of radiation onto the target pattern. The measured target spectrum and the second series of calibration spectra are compared, where this comparison is used to derive a value for the structure parameter of the target pattern. |
| US07738101B2 |
Systems and methods for in-line monitoring of particles in opaque flows
Systems and methods are disclosed for particle monitoring. An exemplary method includes confining a flowable sample which is opaque to at least a first range of wavelengths of light waves; measuring transparency of the flowable sample; compressing the flowable sample in a first direction while confining the sample in a second direction parallel to a flow direction of the flowable sample and orthogonal to the first direction, while elongating the sample in a third direction orthogonal to the first and second directions. When the sample is compressed in the first direction, the sample becomes transparent to at least one of the wavelengths in the first range of wavelengths, and the method can include identifying characteristics of particles contained in the sample which has been compressed. |
| US07738098B2 |
Particle monitors and method(s) therefor
The present invention relates to the field of the detection, analysis and/or determination of matter or particles suspended in fluid. In one particular form, the present invention relates to smoke detectors, which detect unwanted pyrolysis or combustion of material. In another form, the present invention relates to smoke detectors of the early detection type, and which may be applied to ventilation, air-conditioning or duct monitoring of a particular area. In yet another form, the present invention relates to surveillance monitoring, such as building, fire or security monitoring. In still another form, the present invention relates to environment monitoring, such as monitoring, detection and/or analysis of a fluid, zone, area and/or ambient environment, including commercial and industrial environments. |
| US07738092B1 |
System and method for reducing speckle noise in die-to-die inspection systems
Systems and methods are provided herein for eliminating speckle noise in die-to-die inspection systems. In one embodiment, an illumination system in accordance with the present invention may include a coherent light source, a diffuser, a first detector, a second detector and a controller. The diffuser may be coupled within an illumination path between the coherent light source and the specimen. In one embodiment, the diffuser may be a rotational diffuser having a variable rotational rate. The first detector may be coupled for detecting a desired position on the specimen. The second detector may be coupled for detecting a rotational position of the diffuser when the desired position on the specimen is detected. The controller may be coupled to: (i) the first and second detectors for determining a difference between the rotational position of the diffuser and the desired position on the specimen, and (ii) the diffuser for adjusting the rotational rate of the diffuser to eliminate the difference. |
| US07738091B2 |
Visual inspection apparatus
A visual inspection apparatus includes: a first substrate holding portion that holds a substrate so that a top surface is observable; a second substrate holding portion that holds the substrate so that a bottom surface is observable; a first substrate holding portion moving mechanism that moves the first substrate holding portion; a second substrate holding portion moving mechanism that moves the second substrate holding portion; and a control device that controls the first substrate holding portion moving mechanism and the second substrate holding portion moving mechanism so that the position of the substrate when observing the top surface of the substrate in the first substrate holding portion substantially matches the position of the substrate when observing the bottom surface of the substrate in the second substrate holding portion. |
| US07738090B1 |
Fourier filters, systems for fabricating fourier filters, and systems and methods for inspecting a specimen using fourier filters
Fourier filters, systems configured to fabricate Fourier filters and systems and methods configured to inspect specimens are provided herein. One Fourier filter configured for use in an inspection system comprises an array of patterned features formed within an optically opaque layer. The array of patterned features is generally configured to block light reflected and diffracted from structures on a specimen and to allow light scattered from defects on the specimen to pass through the filter. The array of patterned features is generally formed by removing select portions of the optically opaque layer to create transmissive regions, which only allow the light scattered from the defects to pass through. In one embodiment, the select portions of the optically opaque layer are removed with laser light. |
| US07738087B1 |
Stereoscopic targeting, tracking and navigation device, system and method
A measurement system with a minimum of 2 sensors that identifies precise locations of remote objects. The sensors measure the elevation and azimuth angles to the target using the electro-magnetic radiation that is either intentionally or incidentally reflected off of the object. Given the known distance between the sensors, the system are able to calculate the exact X-Y-Z coordinates of the object using a modified type of triangulation. In the case of moving targets, this data is used to determine target origin and destination. In the case of stationary targets, the data is used to determine exact location of target and for navigation to or around the stationary target. |
| US07738083B2 |
Distant measurement method and distant measurement system
A distant measurement method and a distant measurement system are provided. The distant measurement method includes the following steps: emitting a first light beam and a second light beam from an emitting terminal, wherein the first light beam travels toward a target; providing a switching sequence by a switch mechanism; placing a receiving terminal to receive the first light beam reflected from the target in accordance with the switching sequence and correspondingly provide a first electrical signal, and to receive the second light beam and correspondingly provide a second electrical signal; and utilizing a controlling terminal to receive the first and second electrical signals, and calculate distance between the distant measurement system and the target in accordance with a phase differential formed between the first and second electrical signals. |
| US07738081B2 |
Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method utilizing a flat panel display handler with conveyor device and substrate handler
A lithographic apparatus can include an illumination system that conditions a radiation beam, a patterning device that modulates the radiation beam, a substrate table that supports a substrate, and a projection system that projects the modulated radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate. The lithographic apparatus can also include a substrate handler that loads and/or unloads a substrate on/from the substrate table. The substrate handler supports the substrate in a support plane and can include a conveyor device for moving the substrate in a direction substantially parallel to the support plane. The conveyor device can include a gripping device configured to push or pull the substrate in the indicated direction and a driving device for driving the gripping device in the indicated direction. |
| US07738079B2 |
Radiation beam pulse trimming
A system is used to perform fast and slow applications, for example fast application can be pulse trimming. The system includes a radiation source, an electro-optical modulator, and a beam splitter. The radiation source is configured to generate a polarized beam of radiation. The electro-optical modulator, formed of crystalline quartz, is configured to modulate the beam of radiation. The beam splitter is configured to direct a first portion of the beam to a beam dump and to form an output beam from a second portion of the beam. |
| US07738078B2 |
Optimized mirror design for optical direct write
The present invention provides an optimized direct write lithography system using optical mirrors. That is, a maskless lithography system is provided. The maskless direct-write lithography system provided uses an array of mirrors configured to operate in a tilting mode, a piston-displacement mode, or both in combination. The controlled mirror array is used as a substitute for the traditional chrome on glass masks. In order to avoid constraining the system to forming edges of patterns aligned with the array of mirrors, gray-scale techniques are used for subpixel feature placement. The direct-writing of a pattern portion may rely on a single mirror mode or a combination of modes. |
| US07738076B2 |
Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method
An exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate to exposure light via a pattern of a mask. The apparatus includes a stage configured to hold one of the substrate and the mask, and to move, a projection optical system configured to project the pattern onto the substrate, a defining member facing the stage and configured to define a space, between the stage and the projection optical system, through which the exposure light passes and which is to be filled with fluid, a first stream mechanism having a first supply port in the defining member and configured to stream the fluid through the space from the first supply port, an exhaust mechanism having an exhaust port in the defining member and configured to exhaust fluid in the space from the exhaust port, and a second stream mechanism having a second supply port different from the first supply port. The second supply port is arranged to surround the space at a lower portion of the defining member, and configured to stream fluid from the second supply port against the stage to seal the space. |
| US07738075B2 |
Lithographic attribute enhancement
A method, computer program product, and apparatus configured to improve attribute uniformity of a substrate is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method involves calculating corrective data based on measured values of an attribute of a substrate processed by a lithographic exposure apparatus, the corrective data configured to at least partially correct non-uniformity of the values of the substrate attribute by controlling the temperature generated by a zone of a thermal plate used to heat or cool the substrate, and making the corrective data available to the thermal plate. |
| US07738072B2 |
Liquid crystal display array substrate and its manufacturing method
A liquid crystal display (LCD) array substrate and its manufacturing method are provided. Scan lines and data lines of the LCD array substrate are composed of two conductive layers to decrease their RC delay. Moreover, the dielectric layer and even the planarization layer are removed from pixel areas defined by the scan lines and the data lines to increase the light penetration percentage. |
| US07738069B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
There is provided a liquid crystal display device in which light leaks near spacers are prevented. The liquid crystal display device controls the optical transmissivity of a liquid crystal layer interposed between substrates disposed in opposition to each other, by means of an electric field generated in the layer-thickness direction of the liquid crystal layer, includes spacers formed on a liquid-crystal-side surface of one of the substrates, signal lines formed on a liquid-crystal-side surface of the other substrate, an insulating film formed to cover the signal lines, and electrodes formed on the upper surface of the insulating film, each of which serves as one electrode contributing to control of the optical transmissivity of the liquid crystal layer. Each of the spacers has a vertex surface disposed in opposition to any of the signal lines, and a portion of each of the electrodes is extended to the upper surface of a corresponding one of the signal lines and the extended portion is opposed to a part of the vertex surface of a spacer disposed in opposition to the corresponding one of the signal lines. |
| US07738066B2 |
Display device having counter-twisting liquid crystal areas and method of operating and manufacturing the same
A display apparatus, includes: a first substrate; a gate line formed over the first substrate; a data line traversing the gate line, and comprising a source electrode; a drain electrode facing the source electrode to define a channel area; a passivation layer formed over the data line and the drain electrode, and comprising an organic material; a pixel electrode formed over the passivation layer, and comprising a first stem electrode, at least a part of which is overlapped with the gate line or the data line, and a plurality of first branch electrodes contacted to the first stem electrode where one set of the first branch electrodes extend longitudinally in a direction different from the longitudinal extension direction of another set of the first branch electrodes so as to thereby cause opposed twisting of corresponding liquid crystal material. |
| US07738061B2 |
Display panel and method for manufacturing the same and electro-optical device including the display panel and method for manufacturing the same
A display panel and a manufacturing method are disclosed. The method is to thin the thickness of a pair of transparent substrates for the display panel by grinding or lapping only, or grinding with simplified polishing, so that at least one of the outer surface of the transparent substrates has Haze substantially less than 90% and a profile arithmetic mean roughness ranged from about 0.02 μm to about 0.66 μm. |
| US07738060B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel having particular protrusion and light blocking film features
Liquid crystal display panel 10 is provided with TFT and pixel electrode 19, between which interlayer insulator 17 is interposed, and with reflective section 15, in each of a matrix of pixels; having first substrate whereon the pixel electrode 19 and the TFT's electrode D electrically connect via contact hole 20 formed in the reflective section 15; second substrate whereon at least one protrusions 311 to 313 are formed on common electrode in positions corresponding to the each pixel; perpendicular alignment layers deposited on each substrate; and liquid crystal 29 with negative dielectric anisotropy disposed between substrates. In position corresponding to base of protrusion 313 provided opposite the second substrate's contact hole 20, light-blocking film 363 is formed so as to cover the base viewed from above. Thus, liquid crystal display panel is provided wherein light leakage from reflective section's contact hole and from protrusions is curbed, with high contrast and display quality. |
| US07738059B2 |
Thin film transistor panel having passivation layer overlapping TFT with color filter and black matrix formed on passivation layer where black matrix partitions color filter
A thin film transistor panel, a liquid crystal display having the same, and a method of manufacturing the thin film transistor panel are provided. The thin film transistor includes a gate line formed on an insulating substrate in a predetermined direction, a data line crossing the gate line, a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line, a black matrix formed to overlap at least a portion of the gate line, the data line, and the thin film transistor, a color filter formed in a region partitioned by the black matrix, and a pixel electrode formed on the color filter and electrically connected to the thin film transistor. |
| US07738056B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel and device thereof
A liquid crystal display capable of improving the brightness without depending on the aperture ratio. By setting a lower polarization plate between an array substrate and a color filter substrate, the light reflected from a metal film formed on the array substrate can directly return to a light guide plate. Therefore, the light recycling efficiency is improved and the brightness of the liquid crystal display is improved. |
| US07738055B2 |
Display device having stacked polarizers that differ in degrees of light absorbing bands and that are between a pair of protective layers such that no protective layer is located between the stacked polarizers
To provide a display device having a high contrast ratio by a simple and easy method and to manufacture a high-performance display device at low cost, in a display device having a display element between a pair of light-transmitting substrates, layers each including a polarizer having different wavelength distribution of extinction coefficient from each other with respect to the absorption axes are stacked and provided on an outer side of the light-transmitting substrates. Further, a retardation plate may be provided between the stacked polarizers. |
| US07738054B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
The liquid crystal display device with a simple configuration is capable of emitting light with a desired color temperature, achieving high light use efficiency, and displaying high quality images. The liquid crystal display device includes a planar lighting device and a liquid crystal display panel. The planar lighting device includes a light source having LED chips for emitting blue light, a transparent light guide plate having a light entrance plane admitting light emitted by the light source and a light exit plane emitting planar light, and a fluorescent member disposed between the light emission plane and the light entrance plane and having one or more fluorescent substance coated areas for emitting white light by converting blue light from the light source into white light and one or more blue light passing areas passing blue light as blue light. The liquid crystal display panel essentially includes red, green and blue filters. |
| US07738053B2 |
Backlight unit and liquid crystal display device
A backlight unit includes a light-source substrate having mounted thereon a plurality of light-emitting elements emitting illumination light; a light guide plate having a side surface with the light-source substrate attached thereto so as to receive the illumination light from the light-emitting elements, the light guide plate also having a first surface extending substantially perpendicular to the side surface, and a second surface; a reflective sheet attached to the first surface and reflecting the illumination light towards the second surface; and an optical sheet layer attached to the second surface and including a plurality of stacked optical sheets. The side surface has a reflective portion that reflects at least a part of the illumination light. The at least a part of the illumination light to be reflected at the reflective portion is incident on the reflective portion at an incidence angle equal to or above a critical angle. |
| US07738052B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
An LCD device is disclosed, which prevents optical sheets from being wrinkled. The LCD device includes an LCD panel displaying images, a back light unit including optical sheets for irradiating light to the LCD panel, and a support main receiving the LCD panel and the back light unit, partially overlapping side portions of the optical sheets, and having inclined edge surfaces at four corners to obtain a gap with the optical sheets. |
| US07738050B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
A method of manufacturing, with high mass productivity, liquid crystal display devices having highly reliable thin film transistors with excellent electric characteristics is provided. In a liquid crystal display device having an inverted staggered thin film transistor, the inverted staggered thin film transistor is formed as follows: a gate insulating film is formed over a gate electrode; a microcrystalline semiconductor film which functions as a channel formation region is formed over the gate insulating film; a buffer layer is formed over the microcrystalline semiconductor film; a pair of source and drain regions are formed over the buffer layer; and a pair of source and drain electrodes are formed in contact with the source and drain regions so as to expose a part of the source and drain regions. |
| US07738049B2 |
Active device array substrate, electro-optical apparatus and method for fabricating the same
An active device array substrate including a substrate, a plurality of semiconductor patterns, a gate insulator layer, a first patterned conductive layer, a dielectric layer, a plurality of transparent electrodes, a passivation layer, and a second patterned conductive layer is provided. The semiconductor patterns are disposed on the substrate. The gate insulator layer is disposed on the substrate to cover the semiconductor patterns. The first patterned conductive layer disposed on the gate insulator layer includes a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of gate electrodes disposed on each semiconductor pattern and connected with the scan lines, and a plurality of common electrodes disposed between the scan lines. The dielectric layer is disposed on the gate insulator layer to cover the first patterned conductive layer. The transparent electrodes are disposed on the dielectric layer. The passivation layer is disposed on parts of the dielectric layer to expose the transparent electrodes. |
| US07738048B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing the same
The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device to be operated at high speed and with high precision by improving performance of a thin-film transistor without increasing cross capacity of gate lines and data lines. On an upper layer of a gate insulator GI at an intersection of gate lines GL and data lines DL to be prepared on an active matrix substrate SUB1, which makes up a liquid crystal display panel of a liquid crystal display device, an insulating material with low dielectric constant is dropped by ink jet coating method to prepare another insulator LDP in order to improve performance characteristics of the thin-film transistor to be prepared on a silicon semiconductor layer SI without increasing cross capacity on said intersection. |
| US07738045B2 |
Film-mode (3:2/2:2 Pulldown) detector, method and video device
A film mode detector detects film mode of a series of fields of video by comparing pixels in a field adjacent the current field, with corresponding pixels directly above and directly below the pixels in an adjacent field. The number of pixels in the adjacent in time to the current field having (or not having) a value approximately between values of the pixels above and below in the current field is assessed. Film mode for a current field may be detected by monitoring the assessment from field to field. Alternatively or additionally, the detector may detect film mode by assessing for each current field, whether a relatively large or relatively small number of pixels in the immediately previous field have values outside a specified distance of values of a corresponding pixel in the immediately subsequent field, for at least a portion of the immediately previous and subsequent fields. Again, film mode may be detected by monitoring this second assessment from field to field. |
| US07738044B2 |
Method and apparatus for adjusting a chrominance signal
A composite video signal has a chrominance signal (14) and a luminance signal (10). A method and apparatus are disclosed for adjusting the chrominance signal (14) to obtain an enhanced chrominance signal (15) in which at least some transitions in the enhanced chrominance signal (15) align more closely with edges in the luminance signal (10) than transitions in the original chrominance signal (14) align with edges in the luminance signal (10). An edge in the luminance signal (10) of the composite video signal is detected (11). The position of the edge relative to a current pixel is detected (11). The chrominance of the current pixel is adjusted (13) in accordance with at least the position of said current pixel relative to the edge to obtain an enhanced chrominance signal (15). |
| US07738043B2 |
Noise reducing circuit, noise reducing method, and video apparatus
According to one embodiment, a noise reducing circuit includes a frame memory configured to frame-delay a video signal, a first arithmetic unit configured to subtract the frame-delayed video signal given by the frame memory from the video signal to output a first frame difference signal, a first rectangular wave removing unit configured to remove a rectangular wave component from the first frame difference signal to generate a second frame difference signal, a first pulse discriminating unit configured to receive the second frame difference signal, remove a continuous pulse component from the second frame difference signal, and output a single pulse component, and a second arithmetic unit configured to subtract the single pulse component from the video signal. |
| US07738041B2 |
Video signal processor and video signal processing method
According to one embodiment, a video signal processor has a moving block determining module, a vertical edge detector, a moving block number counter, a moving field determining module, a pulldown pattern detector, and a pulldown signal determining module. The moving block determining module divides each field configuring an input video signal into a plurality of blocks, and determines a motion of a block within the plurality of blocks, the block of which the motion is determined having a same spatial position within two fields adjacent to each other. The vertical edge detector detects a vertical edge within each of the plurality of blocks in the each field. The moving block number counter counts a number of moving blocks excluding a block having the vertical edge within a screen based on the detection result of the vertical edge detector and the determination result of the moving block determining module. The moving field determining module determines a motion between the each field based on the counting result of the moving block number counter. The pulldown pattern detector detects a 2:2 pulldown pattern based on the determination result of the moving field determining module. The pulldown signal determining module determines whether the input video signal is a 2:2 pulldown signal depending on the detection result of the pulldown pattern detector. |
| US07738036B2 |
System and method for smoothing seams in tiled displays
The present invention provides method for producing a substantially seamless video image on a display surface. The method comprises the steps of separately projecting at least a first and a second video image onto a display surface such that a seam is defined by overlapping portions of said first and second video images. Inside the seam, the brightness of the first video image and the brightness of the second video image are adjusted electronically so as to provide a uniform brightness profile. |
| US07738034B2 |
Image processing apparatus with illumination unit and imaging unit in different casings
A control unit converts image information into differential signals to transmit to a controller. The control unit receives control signals (differential signals) for controlling a lens unit or an illumination unit, to control the lens unit or the illumination unit. Only a signal cable is used for being connected between an imaging device and the controller to remotely control the lens unit or the illumination unit from the controller. Therefore, compact wiring can be realized between the controller and the imaging device. |
| US07738033B2 |
Illumination device for a monitoring camera
An illumination device is described for a monitoring camera with a plurality of light devices, each having a light device axis. The light device axes of the invention, intersect an optical axis of the monitoring camera.The illumination device can have light devices that emit light in the visible range and/or in the near-infrared range. |
| US07738030B2 |
Image processing apparatus for print process of photographed image
An image processing method of performing various image correction processes to a photographed image and printing the photographed image comprises the steps of: inputting image information to which photographing condition information is added; analyzing the characteristic of the input image information; performing an imago correction process of improving image quality to the photographed image on the basis of the characteristic of the analyzed image information; discriminating the photographing condition information added to the photographed image; and determining an image correction process to be performed in a step of performing the image correction process on the basis of the photographing condition information discriminated in the discriminating step, whereby it becomes possible to provide a high quality print-output result of reflecting the intention of a user at a time of photographing. |
| US07738029B2 |
Image-taking apparatus that shoots a still image when a release button is pressed
The present invention relates to an image-taking apparatus such as a digital camera which is equipped with a release button and shoots a still image when the release button is pressed. It can perform proper metering for still images and reduce a time lag between a half press and the time when it is ready to shoot a still image. The image-taking apparatus has a through image display section which displays a through image which is moving images for display before a half press, a metering section which performs both metering for a through image and metering for a still image before the half press, a distance measuring section which measures distance in response to a half press, and a shooting section which shoots a still image in response to a full press. |
| US07738022B2 |
Transfer pulse generator circuit and image pickup apparatus
A transfer pulse generator circuit for outputting a vertical register transfer pulse includes transfer pulse control means for controlling to set rise and fall timings of the vertical register transfer pulse to desired timings in a predetermined period. |
| US07738021B2 |
Imaging device
A imaging device includes an image pickup region composed of a plurality of light-receiving portions (2) and vertical transfer registers (3) including a plurality of transfer electrodes containing a transfer electrode (8) serving as a read electrode as well and other transfer electrode (7), the vertical transfer registers (3) being arrayed at every column of light-receiving portions (2). Each transfer electrode (8) serving as the read electrode as well disposed within the vertical transfer register (3) is formed such that it may be separated from the transfer electrode (8) serving as read electrode as well and other transfer electrode (7) which are adjoining each other in the horizontal direction. In this imaging device including a plurality of light-receiving portions (2) regularly arrayed, it is possible to prevent color mixture from occurring between the light-receiving portions (pixels) (2) which are adjoining each other in the vertical direction. |
| US07738020B1 |
Method and apparatus for saturation detection and electronic shutter in a solid state image sensor
An imaging system includes a photocell circuit. The photocell circuit includes a photodetector circuit. The photodetector circuit includes an input configured to receive incident light. A first terminal communicates with a sample node. A second terminal communicates with a monitor node. A sampling circuit is configured to drive the sample node to a first reset value at a first time in response to a first reset signal. The sampling circuit allows the first reset value to decay at a second time subsequent to the first time. A monitor circuit is configured to drive the monitor node to a second reset value at the first time in response to a second reset signal. The monitor circuit allows the second reset value to decay at the second time. The monitor circuit detects a third time when the monitor node decays to a predetermined stop value subsequent to the second time. |
| US07738016B2 |
Digital camera with dual optical systems
A digital camera has a first optical system having a wide zoom lens and a second optical system for a telephotography zoom lens. In an initial state where power is active, a controller and timing-generator controls the wide zoom lens so as to be situated at a wide position and the telephotography zoom lens so as to be situated at a telephotograph position. When zoom-in is effected, the wide zoom lens is actuated, and the telephotography zoom lens is maintained at the telephotograph position. When a zoom position of the wide zoom lens has reached a threshold zoom position set to a wider angle of view than that achieved at the telephotograph position, the telephotography zoom lens starts being actuated toward the wide position. When the zoom lens has reached the telephotograph position, an image signal is switched from the wide zoom lens to the telephotography zoom lens, and the selected image signal is output. |
| US07738014B2 |
Image sensor and optical pointing system
Provided is an image sensor and optical pointing system using the same. The image sensor has a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a photocell for receiving light and generating an analog signal having a voltage corresponding to a quantity of the received light, a comparator for, in response to a shutter control signal, comparing the analog signal of the photocell with an analog signal of an adjacent pixel to generate a digital signal for movement calculation, or comparing the analog signal of the photocell with a reference voltage to generate a digital signal for shutter control, and a switch for transferring the digital signal for movement calculation and the digital signal for shutter control in response to a pixel selection signal. The optical pointing system includes a reference voltage generation unit for generating a reference voltage, the image sensor, a signal selector for receiving the digital signal for movement calculation and the digital signal for shutter control, and selecting and outputting one of the digital signal for movement calculation and the digital signal for shutter control in response to a shutter control period selection signal, a movement calculation and shutter control unit for receiving the digital signal for movement calculation to obtain an image of an object and output a movement value of the optical pointing system and the shutter control period selection signal, and receiving the digital signal for shutter control to compare a high-level count value with a maximum count value and a minimum count value and output the shutter control signal. |
| US07738012B2 |
Image device having image color adjustment function
An imaging device according to the present invention includes a registration unit, an imaging unit, a searching unit, and a color adjustment unit. The registration unit registers a reference subject. The imaging unit shoots a subject and outputs image data. The searching unit searches a specific area matching with the reference subject from an image area of the image data. The color adjustment unit performs color adjustment such that color information of the specific area approximates to the color information of the registered reference subject. |
| US07738010B2 |
Digital camera with overscan sensor
The invention relates to a digital motion picture camera comprising at least one optoelectronic sensor device for the recording of motion pictures. The sensor device has, in an areal arrangement, a plurality of sensor elements for the production of a respective received signal in dependence on a light exposure. The camera further has a control device for the controlling of the read-out of the received signals of the sensor elements as well as a digitizing device for the digitizing of the received signals. A part of the sensor elements is associated with a central areal region of the sensor device for the production of received recording signals and another part of the sensor elements is associated with a frame-shaped areal region of the sensor device for the production of received monitoring signals, said frame-shaped areal region surrounding the central areal region. |
| US07738008B1 |
Infrared security system and method
An infrared (IR) security system and method is disclosed comprising two or more IR cameras directed upon a common surveillance area. Locations of the cameras and their optical fields of view are pre-established and stored in a central computer database. Computer programs harmonize the information into a 3D grid. The camera processors perform image processing on the surveillance area to detect moving objects. Object angular position, size, aspect ratio, and radiometric intensity are simultaneously transmitted to the central computer. The grid position, physical size, and inherent electro-magnetic contrast of the objects are computed. These IR signatures are then compared to the target definitions in the database of IR signatures on pre-defined threats. Alarm criteria can be based on object size, location, and movement over time. When a threat is determined, the user is notified by text message, image or video. |
| US07738007B2 |
Optical scanning device and method for adjusting errors
In an optical scanning device, a lateral magnification in a direction corresponding to a sub scanning direction of an optical system is adjusted to be small by a coupling optical system that includes a first lens and a second lens. As a result, scanning by a plurality of light beams can be performed with high precision while avoiding high costs. |
| US07738006B2 |
Methods and apparatus for ascertaining sensor signal delay in an electrophotographic device
In an electrophotographic (EP) device, methods and apparatus include determining a delay of one or more sensors (hsync) to accurately know when to start the process of scanning latent images. In one aspect, the sensor includes a leading and trailing edge defined along a direction of laser beam scan travel. Determining the delay includes learning a position of a laser beam on the sensor at a time when a controller connected to the sensor receives a signal from the sensor indicating the sensor is being sufficiently impinged upon by the laser beam. It also includes learning a latest possible position of the laser beam along the direction of laser scan travel where the laser beam can be turned on and still have the sensor assert a signal indicating it has been sufficiently impinged upon by the laser beam. Bi-directionally scanning EP devices are also disclosed, including controllers, photoconductors, sensors, etc. |
| US07738002B2 |
Control apparatus and method for use with digitally controlled light sources
The present invention provides an extension to a standard N-bit digital pulse width control method which can discriminate 2N discrete pulse widths per pulse cycle. The present invention provides a method and apparatus that can modulate the pulse widths over a period of 2M pulse cycles in which each pulse cycle can have its own pulse width or respective duty cycle. The resulting time averaged or effective pulse width therefore can be controlled with a resolution of 2N+M states rather than a resolution of 2N states as is common with standard methods. |
| US07738000B2 |
Driving system for display device
A driving system of the present invention for use in a displaying device is provided with a pseudo bit-depth extension section. In the pseudo bit-depth extension section, a noise pattern is added to upper-n-bit data of an input signal D0 in m-bit, where (i) m is an integer of 9 or greater, and (ii) n is an integer of 8 or greater, but less than m. Then, upper-n-bit of data D1 thus obtained from the D0 is outputted, as output data D2, from the pseudo bit-depth extension section. The driving system is further provided with an overshoot-driving section for carrying out an overshoot-driving with respect to each of pixels. A noise amount of the noise pattern is 1 or less in 8-bit data, and a calculation in the overshoot-driving section is carried out with n-bit data. With this driving system which adopts a combination of (a) a overshoot-driving method for enforcing liquid crystal to respond at a high speed, and (b) a bit-depth extension technology in which a number of grayscales is increased by adding noise, it is possible to provide, at a low cost, a high-definition displaying device such as a liquid crystal display, having a high-response-characteristics and a high quality of grayscale reproduction. |
| US07737997B2 |
Collision detection of concave bodies using art gallery problem and cube maps
A method is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first polygon, receiving a second polygon, determining a first distance corresponding to a distance from a first origin of the first polygon to a vertex of the second polygon, the origin of the first polygon and the vertex of the second polygon defining a direction vector, determining, along the direction vector a second distance corresponding to a distance from the first origin of the first polygon to a face of the first polygon; and detecting a collision between the first and second polygons if the second distance is greater than or equal to the first distance. |
| US07737995B2 |
Graphical user interface system and process for navigating a set of images
A system and process for navigating unstructured or loosely structured image sets on a display screen is presented. These image sets are navigated by grouping each image thereof into clusters and arranging the clusters in a left-to-right or up-and-down manner. A set number of the clusters are displayed to a viewer. The viewer can then scroll through and select another cluster in the arrangement as desired. Within a cluster, images are arranged in a grid in a sequence order based on a sequence number assigned to each in the clustering procedure. The viewer is also able to zoom into a selected cluster to, in effect, successively form smaller sub-clusters until only a single image is displayed in a cluster under consideration. In addition, the viewer can zoom out again in a similar manner. |
| US07737993B2 |
Methods, systems, and programming for producing and displaying subpixel-optimized images and digital content including such images
Methods, systems, and programming for producing and displaying a scaled-down representation of subpixel-optimized images and digital content including such images that is represented by a mark-up language. Some embodiments display the text in such digital content using a different subpixel optimization than that used for the images. Others produce the subpixel-optimized images by calculating the luminosity of a subpixel as a function of the length of a plurality of coverage lines within a window in a source image corresponding to the subpixel that is covered by source image pixels having the subpixel's color. Some embodiments calculate the luminosity of a subpixel in such a subpixel-optimized image as a function both of the average luminosity of pixels in the subpixel's source image window and as a function of any color balancing distribution between resulting subpixel luminosities necessary to reduce color imbalance. |
| US07737991B2 |
Method of visualizing a color deviation
A method of visualizing a color deviation of an actual color on a vehicle panel being painted utilizing a computer. A reference color image is displayed on a monitor to confirm that the reference color image is the appropriate color image relating to the actual color. Differences between that displayed reference color image and the actual color are inputted into the computer and the reference image is then translated into a revised color image. The revised color image is displayed on the monitor along with the reference color image such that a user can visually compare the differences between that displayed reference color image and displayed revised color image. The displayed revised color image can then be compared to the actual color to determine if any color deviations between the revised color image and the actual color remain. |
| US07737990B2 |
Colorization process and system and user interface for setting colorization information
To implement a colorization process which generates color data from monochrome data to print a receipt or other sales document, a user interface is provided. Such interface includes components for setting text color, background color and background style, respectively. The interface enables visual conformation of the settings to be used in the colorization process. |
| US07737989B2 |
System and method for computing color correction coefficients
System and method for computing coefficients for color correcting rendered colors used in displaying images. A preferred embodiment comprises measuring color values of light output for a display system, receiving color values of desired colors, and computing a color correction matrix based on the measured color values and the input color values. The color correction matrix may be used to modify color commands to a light engine of the display system. The modifications to the color commands permit the storage and use of a set of color commands designed for a reference display system, simplifying display system design and manufacture. |
| US07737987B2 |
Display method and apparatus for adjusting contrast of map elements for navigation system
A method and apparatus of valuing contrast of representation on background displayed on a screen of a navigation apparatus, by counting a number of the presentations on the background of the screen, adjusting contrast of the representations against the background displayed on the screen in response to the number of the representation on the background, and displaying the representations on the screen based on the adjusted contrast of the representation. The contrast of the representations against the background is set lower than original contrast against the background when the number of the representations is equal to or more than a predetermined number. The contrast of the representations is set higher than current contrast when the number of the representations on the screen is less than a predetermined number. |
| US07737983B2 |
GPU pipeline multiple level synchronization controller processor and method
A method for high level synchronization between an application and a graphics pipeline comprises receiving an application instruction in an input stream at a predetermined component, such as a command stream processor (CSP), as sent by a central processing unit. The CSP may have a first portion coupled to a next component in the graphics pipeline and a second portion coupled to a plurality of components of the graphics pipeline. A command associated with the application instruction may be forwarded from the first portion to the next component in the graphics pipeline or some other component coupled thereto. The command may be received and thereafter executed. A response may be communicated on a feedback path to the second portion of the CSP. Nonlimiting exemplary application instructions that may be received and executed by the CSP include check surface fault, trap, wait, signal, stall, flip, and trigger. |
| US07737976B2 |
Method and system for displaying stereoscopic detail-in-context presentations
A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a monoscopic information representation. The method includes the steps of: (a) selecting first and second viewpoints for the region-of-interest; (b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for the region-of-interest, the lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from the lens surface shape; (c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying the representation on the lens surface and perspectively projecting the lens surface with the overlaid representation onto a plane spaced from the first and second viewpoints, respectively; and, (d) displaying the first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate the stereoscopic presentation. |
| US07737970B2 |
Ray tracing with depth buffered display
An image is generated that includes ray traced pixel data and rasterized pixel data. A synergistic processing unit (SPU) uses a rendering algorithm to generate ray traced data for objects that require high-quality image rendering. The ray traced data is fragmented, whereby each fragment includes a ray traced pixel depth value and a ray traced pixel color value. A rasterizer compares ray traced pixel depth values to corresponding rasterized pixel depth values, and overwrites ray traced pixel data with rasterized pixel data when the corresponding rasterized fragment is “closer” to a viewing point, which results in composite data. A display subsystem uses the resultant composite data to generate an image on a user's display. |
| US07737969B2 |
System and program product for re-meshing of a three-dimensional input model using progressive implicit approximating levels
A system and program product for re-meshing of a three-dimensional (3D) input model using progressive implicit approximating levels are provided. Specifically, an initial quadrilateral mesh for a 3D input model is provided. Then, an implicit approximating field is built for a first approximating level (L) of the 3D input model using an implicit surface modeling technique. An iso-contour of the implicit approximating field is then extracted, and the quadrilateral mesh is fit to the first approximating level (L). The fit between the quadrilateral mesh and the first approximating level (L) is then estimated, and it is determined whether the fit meets a predetermined quality criterion. If not, the quadrilateral mesh is refined using one or more of a sequence of topological operations are performed to improve the fit. The process is then iteratively repeated for subsequent approximation levels until one of the subsequent approximation levels is fit to the 3D input model. |
| US07737967B2 |
Method and apparatus for correction of perspective distortion
Perspective distortion in an imaged scene is corrected by identifying a group of points in the imaged scene such that the group of points define a shape. Two vanishing points are determined based on the group of points in the imaged scene. The process determines a first set of reference points within the shape defined by the group of points and transforms the first set of reference points into a second set of reference points. An aspect ratio associated with the first set of reference points is adjusted and the imaged scene is transformed to reduce perspective distortion in the imaged scene. |
| US07737964B2 |
On-screen display system
An on-screen display system is located externally a KVM switch. The on-screen display system includes a first end, an on-screen display circuit, a switch circuit and a second end. The first end receives a video signal from a computer. The on-screen display circuit generates an on-screen display menu signal. The switch circuit receives the video signal from the computer and the on-screen display menu signal from the on-screen display circuit. The on-screen display system combines the video signal and the on-screen display menu signal, or overlaps the on-screen display menu signal on the video signal to be displayed on the display according to a control signal. |
| US07737963B2 |
Liquid crystal display having gray voltages with varying magnitudes and driving method thereof
A liquid crystal display (“LCD”) having a plurality of gray voltages with varying magnitudes and a driving method thereof. An LCD includes a reference voltage generator changing level of a supply voltage based on a first signal to generate a reference voltage. The first signal varies depending on the surrounding brightness of the LCD, the brightness of the on-screen images of the LCD, and user's manipulation. The LCD also includes a gray voltage generator generating a plurality of gray voltages with magnitudes varying dependent on the magnitude of the reference voltage and a predetermined voltage such as a ground voltage. The LCD further includes a plurality of gate lines transmitting a plurality of gate signals, a plurality of data lines transmitting the gray voltages, and a plurality of pixels. Each pixel has a switching element connected to one of the gate lines and one of the data lines and transmitting the gray voltages to the pixels under the control of the gate signal. The LCD includes a gate driver supplying the gate signals to the gate lines and a data driver selecting the gray voltages based on gray data from an external source to supply to the pixels via the data lines. |
| US07737961B2 |
Method and system for controlling and monitoring an array of point-of-load regulators
A power control system comprises a plurality of POL regulators, at least one serial data bus operatively connecting the plurality of POL regulators, and a system controller connected to the serial data bus and adapted to send and receive digital data to and from the plurality of POL regulators. The serial data bus further comprises a first data bus carrying programming and control information between the system controller and the plurality of POL regulators. The serial data bus may also include a second data bus carrying fault management information between the system controller and the plurality of POL regulators. The power control may also include a front-end regulator providing an intermediate voltage to the plurality of POL regulators on an intermediate voltage bus. |
| US07737960B2 |
Apparatus and method for image frame synchronization
A source frame signal received at a first frame rate is converted to a destination frame signal output at a second frame rate. By adjusting the clock frequency of the clock signal in the destination frame signal, the second frame rate is made to be the same as the first frame rate. Adjusting the destination clock frequency prevents overflow and underflow conditions. The destination clock frequency is decreased to prevent underflow or increased to prevent overflow. The destination clock frequency during the last horizontal line is adjusted to comply with some display devices having a maximum time constraint from a last horizontal sync signal to a vertical sync signal in the destination frame signal. |
| US07737955B2 |
Electronic device and method providing a touch-based interface for a display control
An electronic device and method providing a touch-based interface for a display control is provided. The electronic device includes a display, and a processing unit. The display includes a screen installed with a cursor thereon and a frame attached to the screen. The frame further has a first touch sensitive region and a second touch sensitive region for generating sensing signals in response to an input operation. Each sensing signal is assigned a coordinate for identification. The processing unit identifies the sensing signals according to the coordinates assigned therewith, controls a movement of the cursor displayed on the screen if the identified sensing signals from the first touch sensitive region, and controls a movement of pages displayed on the screen if the identified sensing signals from the second touch sensitive region. A related method is also provided. |
| US07737954B2 |
Pointing device for a terminal having a touch screen and method for using the same
A device and a method are disclosed for providing a pointer for a terminal with a touch screen, which can easily select an intended item displayed on the touch screen by accurately pointing to the intended item through the pointer displayed on a screen when a pointer activating mode is selected by a user and performing an operation according to the selected item so that input errors are reduced by allowing a user to provide accurate input. |
| US07737948B2 |
Speckle navigation system
One embodiment relates to a laser positioning device for sensing relative movement between a data input device and a surface by determining displacement of image features in a succession of images of the surface. The device forms a single integrated package, which includes a planar substrate and a transparent encapsulant that also embodies a collimating lens. Both a coherent light source and a sensor array and associated circuitry are configured on the planar substrate. Another embodiment relates to a method of sensing relative movement between a data input device and a surface. Coherent light is emitted from a laser and collimated so as to form a collimated illumination beam with a predetermined diameter, D, and a substantially uniform phase front. A speckle pattern is generated by impingement of the collimated illumination beam on the surface and detected by a sensor array. Other embodiments are also disclosed. |
| US07737946B2 |
Mouse with a two-way movable cover module
A mouse is disclosed to include a mouse body, which has a coupling structure on the top and two accommodation open chambers respectively at two sides of the coupling structure for storing different items, and a movable cover module, which has a top cover and a coupling structure fastened to the top cover and coupled to the coupling structure of the guide structure for allowing movement of the top cover relative to the mouse body selectively to a first open position to close the first accommodation open chamber and to open the second accommodation open chamber, a second open position to close the second accommodation open chamber and to open the first accommodation open chamber, or a closed position to close the first and second accommodation open chambers and to keep storage items in the accommodation open chambers from sight. |
| US07737945B2 |
Pointing device with moveable magnetic disc and method
Disclosed is a pointing device for facilitating user interaction with an electronic device. The pointing device includes a magnetic disc, a magnetic field over which the magnetic disc laterally travels in response to force applied by a user, and a plurality of sensors to detect the location of the magnetic disc relative to the magnetic field. |
| US07737944B2 |
Method and system for adding a new player to a game in response to controller activity
A method for use in operation of a game apparatus includes obtaining a time series of samples containing information usable to determine activity of a plurality of predetermined objects used for controlling the game apparatus, processing the time series to determine whether one of the plurality of predetermined objects has been inactive during a game already in progress, and adding a new player to the game already in progress in response to a determination that one of the plurality of predetermined objects is currently active after determining that it was inactive. A system for use in operation of a game apparatus includes means for performing these steps. |
| US07737940B2 |
Touch-control liquid crystal display background of the invention
A liquid crystal display includes a source driver, a gate driver, a plurality of pixel units, a plurality of detecting circuits, and a decision unit. Each pixel unit includes a switch transistor and a liquid crystal capacitor. When turned on by a scan signal generated by the gate driver, the switch transistor conducts a data signal voltage generated by the source driver to the liquid crystal capacitor, to adjust alignment of liquid crystal molecules. Each detecting circuit is electrically connected to one pixel unit, and includes a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor and a sensor unit. The first transistor conducts a constant voltage to the sensor unit when turned on, and generates a dynamic voltage when turned off. Based on the dynamic voltage, the second transistor generates a dynamic current. The third transistor conducts the dynamic current to the decision unit when turned on. The decision unit determines the position of one detecting circuit by comparing the dynamic currents output by the plurality of detecting circuits. |
| US07737935B2 |
Method of driving liquid crystal display device
A method of driving a liquid crystal display device having a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of pixel electrodes includes: applying sequentially a gate signal to the plurality of gate lines, the gate signal being applied to odd gates lines of the plurality of gate lines for a first pulse time period and being applied to even gate lines of the plurality of gate lines for a second pulse time period shorter than the first pulse time period; and supplying a data signal to each of the plurality of data lines. |
| US07737932B2 |
Drive circuit for display device
A drive circuit for driving a display device includes: a first data latch circuit that holds image data corresponding to one line from; a second data latch circuit that holds image data held in the first data latch circuit; a decoding circuit that decodes the image data held in the second data latch circuit; a gradation amplifier circuit that includes gradation amplifiers that amplify or buffer, and output respective gradation voltages; a gradation voltage selection circuit that selects gradation voltages necessary for display; a decision circuit that decides on use/non-use of gradations, using the image data; and an enabling/disabling circuit that selectively disables operation of the gradation amplifiers corresponding to gradations that are identified as not to be used, using the decision results output from the decision circuit. |
| US07737928B2 |
Stacked display with shared electrode addressing
A stacked color liquid crystal display uses shared electrode addressing including a plurality of liquid crystal layers each sandwiched between electrically conductive layers. Adjacent liquid crystal layers share one or two electrode layers located between the adjacent liquid crystal layers. A driving scheme is provided that allows the display to be driven by updating the liquid crystal layers sequentially, concurrently, or some combination of the two. Further, a method of manufacturing the display using a deposition process is also disclosed. |
| US07737917B2 |
Plasma display apparatus and method of driving a plasma display panel
An interlace-type PDP is driven by an improved driving method so as to achieve a greater operating margin, higher resolution, and higher brightness. The interlace-type PDP is driven using odd and even frames in such a manner that the cells are grouped into cell groups such that each cell group includes two or three cells which are adjacent in a direction crossing the electrode pairs, and the cells are driven in units of cell groups. The grouping of cells is performed differently for even and odd frames such that, in one type of frame, locations of two or three cells grouped into each group are shifted by one cell, in the direction crossing the electrode pairs, from the locations of cells grouped together in the other type of frame. |
| US07737915B1 |
Techniques for displaying information through a computer display
A computer display includes a screen, a workstation port configured to receive a workstation signal from a workstation controller, and a wireless port configured to receive an external signal from an external device. The external device is different than the workstation controller. The computer display further includes a display circuit coupled to the screen, the workstation port and the wireless port. The display circuit is configured to output (i) workstation information on the screen in response to the workstation signal from the workstation controller and (ii) external information on the screen in response to the external signal from the external device. Accordingly, the user is now capable of enjoying the image quality of a larger video display (e.g., a 15-inches, 17-inches, 19-inches, 21-inches, large projection screens, etc.). |
| US07737908B2 |
Antenna apparatus
A disclosed antenna apparatus includes: a punched out antenna element made of a sheet metal; a punched out ground element made of a sheet metal, the ground element facing the antenna element; and a surface mount type coaxial connector mounted across the antenna element and the ground element. |
| US07737906B2 |
Electronically steered phased array blade antenna assembly
An antenna design, having two symmetrical phased array blade antenna elements which provide improved lateral target coverage with an increased effective radiated power and exhibits smooth null-free unidirectional antenna patterns. The direction of the unidirectional antenna pattern is dictated by a switching command under control of a user. Each blade antenna element is coupled to a 90-degree hybrid coupler and an RF switching device by a semi-rigid RF cable. Each blade antenna element is also connected to a sub-resonant choke balun for improved impedance matching and resultant distortion-less antenna patterns. |
| US07737901B2 |
Multi-band antenna
A multi-band antenna, made by an integral plate and comprises a radiating element, a grounding element, a slit formed as part of the plate, and a feeding line; wherein horizontal conductive portion of said plate are separated from each other with said slit between them and serve as the radiating element and the ground element respectively; the feeding line, comprising an inner conductor connected with the radiating element and an outer conductor connected with the grounding element; wherein said radiating element comprising at least two radiating portions defining at least one radiating arm with gradually increasing width, and at least two radiating portion cooperatively acting to achieve a Ultra Wide Band antenna. |
| US07737897B2 |
Portable wireless apparatus
The present invention provides a folding type and portable wireless apparatus with a built-in antenna, particularly a portable wireless apparatus that reduces a local average SAR and improves performance of antenna.A housing open/close detecting unit 6 detects open/close of bodies 1 and 2. When the bodies 1 and 2 are open, a first antenna 4 and a wireless circuit 24 are connected and resonant frequency of a second antenna 5 is adjusted into a first frequency bandwidth, and when the bodies 1 and 2 are closed, the resonant frequency of the second antenna 5 is adjusted into the first frequency bandwidth and a second frequency bandwidth and a wireless circuit 24 is connected. Therefore, when the bodies 1 and 2 are open, it is possible to reduce a local average SAR by separating an antenna current. Further, when the bodies 1 and 2 are closed, it is possible to obtain a high antenna gain. |
| US07737896B1 |
System and method for optimized use of a dual mode wireless communication device
Systems and methods for the operation of a dual mode wireless communication device are provided. A wireless communication device includes a scan module, a registration module and a learning module that cooperate to allow the device to identify available radio access technologies, select a radio interface, manage the radio interface, and learn behavioral patterns that optimize operation of the dual mode device. The dual mode device maximizes the overall time it is operational on the better radio access technology while not performing unnecessary scans. This helps in improving performance, preserving battery life and enhancing the overall user experience. In operation, the dual mode device scans for available voice or data networks upon identification of a trigger event, for example, a manual instruction, a drop in signal strength, a loss of signal, a time of usage on a particular network, a battery condition, an application preference, a state of the wireless communication device, or a geographic location. Various trigger events may be stored in a data storage area on the device and new trigger events such as geographic locations where manual scans are frequently requested by the user or geographic locations where signal strength is low or the network signal is typically lost can be stored for future reference by the device in order to improve performance. |
| US07737895B2 |
Automatic antenna orientation for USB pass-through port
An apparatus, system, and method are generally related to an antenna device that includes a pass-through interface such as for a USB device. The antenna device is enclosed in a housing. The pass-through interface includes two ports. The housing is coupled to the pass-through interface body such that one of the ports is blocked by a blocking member when the housing is in a first position. The blocking member prevents impact damage to the blocked port, while also preventing dirt and dust from collecting. The blocking member is cleared from the opening of the blocked port when the housing is biased into a second position by inserting a connector. The blocking member automatically returns to the first position when the connector is removed from the port. Antenna performance is improved by automatically aligning the antenna away from the connector, which may otherwise degrade performance. |
| US07737888B2 |
Conveying orbit information via ambiguous position information
In a method of conveying information regarding an orbit used at a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) base station to a GNSS receiver, a satellite position is determined for a particular time from an orbit of a GNSS satellite. An ambiguity value is extracted from the satellite position. The ambiguity value is extracted based upon a satellite position determination margin of error of a GNSS receiver. The ambiguity value is encoded into an encoded ambiguity value which is assembled into a message. The message also includes a time tag representing the particular time. The message is transmitted from the GNSS base station. The encoded ambiguity value and the time tag convey information regarding the orbit to a GNSS receiver in receipt of the message. |
| US07737887B2 |
Nudged broadcast orbit drift correction
In method of correcting for drift in a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, a broadcast orbit in use at the GNSS receiver is nudged based on a first message received from a GNSS base station. The nudging creates a first nudged broadcast orbit for a GNSS satellite, the first nudged broadcast orbit being more precise than the broadcast orbit. A second message is received from the GNSS base station. Information included in the second message is employed to determine a drift rate of the first nudged broadcast orbit relative to a more precise orbit in use at the GNSS base station. Based upon the second message, the broadcast orbit is nudged to create a second nudged broadcast orbit for the GNSS satellite. A component of the drift rate is corrected for, relative to the second nudged broadcast orbit. |
| US07737885B2 |
Ramp linearization for FMCW radar using digital down-conversion of a sampled VCO signal
The invention relates to an FMCW radar system and a method of operating an FMCW radar system to produce a linear frequency ramp. The FMCW radar system includes a VCO, a frequency divider coupled to the VCO output, followed by an A/D converter. A down-converter shifts the digitally converted signal to baseband samples, followed by a low-pass filter coupled to an output thereof. A VCO frequency estimator produces instantaneous VCO frequency estimates from phase differences determined from the filtered baseband samples. A D/A converter coupled to an output of the VCO frequency estimator produces an input signal for the VCO to produce therewith a linear VCO frequency ramp. A Δ-Σ modulator is coupled between the VCO frequency estimator and the input of the D/A converter to produce a dithered VCO control signal, thereby increasing the effective number of bits of the D/A converter. |
| US07737881B2 |
Signal processing system for pulse-doppler radar
A signal processing system for use in pulse-Doppler radar, arranged to receive frequency domain signals for each of a plurality of Doppler bins for each range cell, comprising a data processor arranged successively to threshold each Doppler bin signal under test relative to a local average of signals formed over plural Doppler bins and/or plural ranges adjacent to the Doppler bin under test, using a variable thresholding factor, and using the thresholding result as an indication of the presence of an object of interest; the data processor using a pulse-Doppler constant false alarm rate control process to set and reset the variable thresholding factor using closed loop feedback by counting the indications of presence and incrementing or decrementing the variable thresholding factor for each thresholding result by comparing the frequency of these counts with a predetermined probability of false alarms; whereby the constant false alarm rate thresholding is a function of the range and the Doppler frequency of the range-Doppler bin signal under test. |
| US07737879B2 |
Split aperture array for increased short range target coverage
A phased array radar system comprising a plurality of radiating elements configured in a common array aperture for detecting and tracking targets; and a transmit and receive arrangement responsive to a first control signal for configuring the plurality of radiating elements to define a plurality of sub-apertures from the common array aperture for detecting and tracking short range targets, wherein the plurality of sub-apertures are independently steerable array apertures and include an amplitude taper applied across each of the plurality of sub-apertures to reduce a peak sidelobe level. |
| US07737875B2 |
Time interpolation flash ADC having automatic feedback calibration
An input signal is compared to 2N−1 reference voltages to generate 2N−1 corresponding binary valued comparison signals, delaying at least one of the comparison signals by a variable delay and detecting a difference in arrival time between the delayed signal and another comparison signal. A time interpolation signal encoding a plurality of bins within a least significant bit quantization level is generated, based on the detected difference in arrival time. An M-bit output data is generated based on the comparison signals and the time interpolation signal. A non-uniformity of a code density of the M-bit output data is detected, and based on the detecting the delaying is varied. |
| US07737873B2 |
Flash A/D converter
A flash analog-to-digital converter comprising a resistive reference ladder, a set of comparators for comparing the analog input signal with the reference voltages of the ladder to provide a digital code representing a coarse quantization of the input signal, a set of switches connected to the reference ladder and controlled by said digital code to provide an analog representation of the coarse quantization of the input signal, means to derive from said analog representation of the coarse quantization and from the input signal one or more residue signals and a fine analog-to-digital converter stage to generate a digital code representing a fine quantization of the one or more residue signals. For minimizing the number of switches required, each selector for one residue signal selects voltages of one half of the ladder at two values of the coarse quantization and the output signals of the two selectors for that residue signal are reversed by a crossover switch when the coarse quantization passes its center value. |
| US07737871B2 |
MCU with integrated voltage isolator to provide a galvanic isolation between input and output
An integrated circuit comprises a first microcontroller unit located on a first die. The first microcontroller unit includes a first processing core for providing a parallel stream of data. A second microcontroller unit is located on a second die and includes a second processing core for receiving the parallel stream of data. Voltage isolation circuitry transmits data from the parallel data stream between the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller in a serial data stream and provides galvanic isolation between the first microcontroller unit and the second microcontroller unit. |
| US07737870B1 |
Bit-stream huffman coding for data compression
Bit-stream Huffman coding may be used for data compression to quickly and efficiently compress relatively small and large datasets. A symbol used in data compression may not be a byte or 8 bits. Rather it has any number of bits. For a certain dataset, a symbol has a dynamic number of bits according to the data size. A symbol may have less than 8 bits for a small dataset, or more than 8 bits for a large dataset. For rapid processing, a large dataset may be broken into smaller datasets that are fast encoded in parallel. Accordingly, the Huffman encoding inputs from a bit-stream instead of a conventional byte-stream and outputs a bit-stream. In particular, bit-stream Static and Adaptive Huffman codings are presented with extended algorithms. Hardware implementation with parallel Huffman encoders and decoders is also illustrated for fast network data compression. |
| US07737869B2 |
Symbol based data compression
Briefly, within a computer or digital data processing system, embodiments describe a method, article and apparatus for compressing data is described, which may be used for communicating between two or more components connected to an interconnection medium (e.g., a bus) within a single computer or digital data processing system, and/or for communicating between two or more computers or digital data processing systems via an interconnection medium such as a network. |
| US07737868B2 |
Method and system for saving and retrieving spatial related information
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for storing, referencing, retrieving, and graphically displaying spatial and non-spatial related information of a mobile computing device, such as a laptop computer or a cellular telephone. The spatial-related information may be obtained by using positioning tracking systems such as a global positioning system, whereas the non-spatial related information may include communication activities associated with the mobile computing device, such as phone calls, e-mails, text messages, pages, etc. The present invention also provides methods and apparatus of sharing event information between mobile communication devices as well as related navigational information for traveling to an event from a real-time position of a mobile communication device. |
| US07737865B2 |
Method for displaying dynamically determined priority lanes to customers returning vehicles to a vehicle rental company
A method for displaying dynamically determined priority lanes for customers returning vehicles to a vehicle rental company. The method includes identifying a vehicle being returned by a customer to a vehicle rental company by an identification device and dynamically determining directions for the customer based on at least one of vehicle and customer specific parameters. The dynamically determined priority lanes are displayed to the customer in real time using a sign board, a display panel, etc. |
| US07737863B2 |
Common interface architecture for horizontal directional drilling machines and walk-over guidance systems
A system and method of interfacing a drilling machine with one of a number of different walk-over guidance systems involves receiving an ID signal from a particular walk-over guidance system selected for use with the drilling machine. A protocol library associated with the particular walk-over guidance system is accessed in response to the ID signal. The protocol library is used to effect communication between the particular walk-over guidance system and a control system of the drilling machine during cooperative use of the particular walk-over guidance system and drilling machine. Using the protocol library involves converting, as prescribed by the protocol library, locator signals received from the particular walk-over guidance system from a locator protocol to a common protocol used by the control system of the drilling machine. Locator and drilling machine data of various types can be presented to a drilling machine operator via an on-board display. |
| US07737859B2 |
Psychosomatic state determination system
The present invention provides a psychosomatic state determination system 1 for the purpose of predicting or determining the psychosomatic state of a subject without imparting any awareness to the subject, comprising a data processing means 20 for calculating a psychosomatic state exponent such as Lyapunov exponent from the time series signal of a load value or a barycentric position of the subject, and an evaluation means 22 for comparing the temporal tendency of a psychosomatic state exponent calculated in said data processing means with the temporal tendency of a known psychosomatic state exponent corresponding to a psychosomatic state to thereby predict the psychosomatic state of the subject. |
| US07737857B2 |
Context-aware and real-time item tracking system architecture and scenarios
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for real-time and context-aware tracking of items. Tags bound to items are read and information read from the tags and location information about the tags is provided by at least two enterprises and used to maintain disposition information about the items, which is made visible to enterprises in the supply chain. The disposition information can be mapped to a world model that tracks the items and circumstances affecting the items, for example, geo-spatial events and traffic delays. Visibility of the disposition information can be controlled through authorization. Visible information can include relationships between particular items and business documents such as order and shipping documents. |
| US07737855B2 |
Apparatus and system for stock control
An apparatus (500) for detecting removal of items from a compartment is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a reader (540) for reading Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags attached to items in the compartment and a processor (510), coupled to the reader (540), for identifying items removed from the compartment. Removal of an item from the compartment is detected based on absence of a RFID tag that was previously detected by the reader (540). The RFID tags may be read exclusively when a door of the compartment is closed and the apparatus may further comprise a detector coupled to the processor (510) for detecting open/close status of the door. Removal of an item is preferably confirmed only when a RFID tag attached to an item has been absent from the compartment for longer than a defined time period. |
| US07737854B2 |
Radio frequency identification tag, method of fabricating the same, and method of using the same
A radio frequency identification tag is provided. The radio frequency identification tag includes a body and a cutting indication formed on the body. The body includes a substrate, an antenna disposed on the substrate and an integrated circuit disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the antenna for performing a radio frequency communication. An extension of the cutting indication intersects with the antenna to separate the body into two parts after breaking. |
| US07737851B2 |
Radio frequency identification devices, remote communication devices, identification systems, communication methods, and identification methods
The present invention provides radio frequency identification devices, remote communication devices, identification systems, communication methods, and identification methods. A radio frequency identification device according to one aspect includes a substrate; communication circuitry coupled with the substrate and configured to receive a wireless signal including an identifier, to process the identifier of the wireless signal and to output a control signal responsive to the processing of the identifier; and indication circuitry coupled with the communication circuitry and configured to receive the control signal and to indicate presence of the radio frequency identification device responsive to the control signal. A communication method according to another aspect includes providing a radio frequency identification device; receiving a wireless signal including an identifier within the radio frequency identification device; processing the identifier; generating a control signal after the processing; and indicating presence of the radio frequency identification device using indication circuitry of the radio frequency identification device responsive to the control signal. |
| US07737850B2 |
Methods and apparatus for locationing emergency personnel
Systems and methods are provided for determining the location of an individual (e.g., emergency personnel) within an environment. A system includes a wearable RFID tag removably attached to the individual (e.g., on his/her wrist, or uniform), wherein the wearable RFID tag is configured to send data to one or more access ports positioned external to the environment (e.g., on a fire truck or other such vehicle). A locationing module is communicatively coupled to the access port and is configured to determine the location of the individual within the site based on the data acquired from the wearable RFID tag. |
| US07737845B2 |
Programmable key for a security system for protecting merchandise
A programmable key for use in a security system for protecting items of merchandise has a housing, a power supply mounted in the housing, a logic control circuit which includes a controller, a wireless communication circuit and a security disarm code (SDC) memory. The key has visual indicators such as an LED which is operatively connected to the logic control circuit and pulsed to indicate the state of the SDC. The control circuit includes a timer which has a preset time limit programmed therein, which invalidates the stored SDC if not refreshed by a remote programming source within a certain time period. The logic circuit further includes a counter which counts the number of activations of a control switch, and which permanently deactivates the control circuit upon reaching a certain count value to ensure that the internal battery has sufficient power to maintain the key operational. The wireless communication circuit preferably is infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) controlled. |
| US07737844B2 |
Programming station for a security system for protecting merchandise
A programming apparatus for generating and retaining a security disarm code (SDC) for use in a security system for protecting items of merchandise has a housing and a logic control circuit located within the housing. The control circuit includes a controller for generating the SDC, a memory for storing the generated SDC and a wireless communication system for interfacing with a programmable key used for operating a security device attached to an item of merchandise. A visual display includes a plurality of LEDs which indicate the status of the logic control circuit. The SDC is generated initially as a random SDC by the programming apparatus, which SDC is retained in the controller of the apparatus for the life of the programming apparatus. |
| US07737840B2 |
Container security system
A security system for shipping containers transported onboard a vessel detects intrusions into the containers and transmits a security message to a land-based security monitoring station that identifies the container and the current geographic location of the vessel. Each container protected by the security system is provided with a cellular telephone that initiates a limited range telephone call transmission in response to an intrusion. Multiple base stations spread over the vessel each receive calls from proximal containers and forwards call messages to the vessel's communication system which retransmits the call information in the form of the security message to the land based monitoring station. |
| US07737837B2 |
Hierarchical data storage manager, anonymous tip processing engine, and a vehicle information processing engine for security and safety applications
The present invention is an alerting system having one or more sensors for capturing sensory data, one or more processors and one or more memories having program code to (1) capture sensory data from the one or more sensors; (2) capture attribute data representing information about the sensors used to capture the sensory data; (3) process the sensory data from the one or more sensors to detect primitive events in the sensory data; (4) correlate two or more primitive events, the primitive events weighted by the attribute data of the sensors used to capture the sensory data; and (5) perform one or more actions based on the correlation performed in the correlating step. The system may also be connected to one or more legacy systems, such as FBI, Interpol, or other criminal database systems. |
| US07737833B2 |
Pedestrian collision detection apparatus and pedestrian protection system
A pedestrian collision detection apparatus includes a bumper sensor, an acceleration sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a controller. The controller calculates an effective mass based on outputs from the bumper sensor and the speed sensor. The controller calculates a velocity change based on an output from the acceleration sensor. Further, the controller includes a two-dimensional map, which contains an effective mass and a velocity change and defines a pedestrian area for collision with a pedestrian. The controller determines a collision with a pedestrian when the pedestrian area contains a point determined by the calculated maximum effective mass and maximum velocity change. It is therefore possible to accurately distinguish a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian from collision with the other object to reliably detect the collision. |
| US07737830B2 |
Electronic navigation system and method
The invention provides a system for providing tracking information. The system includes a base unit that receives a request from a first mobile unit and provides a response to the first mobile unit. The base unit obtains a current position of a second mobile unit. The response from the base unit to the mobile unit indicates the current position of the second mobile unit. |
| US07737829B2 |
Communications system, vehicle information communicating apparatus, and indoor information processing apparatus
There are provided a communications system between a vehicle, a home and a center, a vehicle information communicating apparatus and an indoor information processing apparatus which imposes no limitation on communicating time enables bulk communication. The communications system comprises an on-board server and DSRC on-board equipment which are installed on the vehicle 10 and includes a DSRC base station 23 residing outside the vehicle which can communicate with the DSRC on-board equipment and a PC or a home server 22 residing indoors which is connected to the DSRC base station 23, the communication system having a detection apparatus installed on the vehicle and/or an indoor detection apparatus for detecting the state of the vehicle 10 and a communication activating apparatus for activating the communication of information between the on-board server and the PC or the home server 22 using the detection result of either or both of the detection apparatus. |
| US07737827B2 |
Communications system and protocol for medical environment
A communications system and protocol are described for wirelessly interconnecting a pair of bed and wall units that communicate the patient information, including bed exit alerts, from the patient supporting equipment to the hospital nurse call system. A linking procedure is provided for establishing a communications link to interconnect the pair of units, wherein the communications link fails upon detection of a third communications device simultaneously undergoing the link attempt mode. In one embodiment, the system provides for advanced collision detection by monitoring corruption of the end-of-packet byte within the periodic check-in message sequences between the linked units to prevent data corruption and future collisions. To ensure prompt interconnection of units, embodiments of the invention provide for a link reminder to alert the health care provider to initiate the steps for linking the bed and wall units whenever two or more unlinked units are in proximity. |
| US07737826B2 |
Event notification device, event notification method, and computer program product
An event notification device notifies an event occurring in it to a plurality of client devices via a network. A receiving unit receives a request from a client device indicating an event to be monitored. An adding unit adds information about the client device from where the request is received and the event mentioned in the request, an event monitoring unit monitors events occurring in the event notification device based on setting information, and an event notifying unit notifies to the client device from where the request is received that the event mentioned in the request has occurred when the event mentioned in the request occurs. |
| US07737813B2 |
Magnetic field generator for MRI
There is provided a magnetic field generator for MRI 10 applicable to a variety of magnetic field generators, and capable of preventing separation of permanent magnets 20 which constitute permanent magnet groups 14a, 14b. The magnetic field generator for MRI 10 includes a pair of permanent magnet groups 14a, 14b. The pair of permanent magnet groups 14a, 14b each including a plurality of permanent magnets 20 bonded to each other, are opposed to each other with a space in between. The permanent magnet groups 14a, 14b have projections 18 projecting more outward than the area of contact with respective pole pieces 16a, 16b. A flange-shaped member 34 is attached to each outer circumferential surface of the pole pieces 16a, 16b, covering a space-facing surface 18a of the projection 18. |
| US07737812B2 |
Method for opening hollow structures made from magnetic nanoparticles
A method is proposed for opening of hollow structures made of magnetic nanoparticles. To avoid an unwanted heating, the hollow structures are opened by a strong, preferably rotating magnetic field. The method can be used, in particular, for the releasing of a diagnostic and/or therapeutic agent in a human or animal body. |
| US07737811B2 |
Electromechanical switching device
An electromechanical switching device of at least one embodiment includes fixed contacts securely arranged in a housing and a moving contact bridge for bridging the fixed contacts, a moving contact carrier to carry the contact bridge, and a solenoid to act on the contact carrier. In at least one embodiment the solenoid includes a coil body fixed to the housing, an armature coupled to the contact carrier so as to move with it, a yoke to act together with the armature, and a fixing mechanism, which engages with the yoke and coil body for fixing the yoke to the coil body. |
| US07737809B2 |
Circuit interrupting device and system utilizing bridge contact mechanism and reset lockout
A GFCI device which has reverse wiring protection is provided where no power is present at the face terminals even when the device is reverse wired. The device has a pair of movable bridges connected to its terminals. The terminal bridge pair makes contact with the load and face terminals providing power to these terminals when the device is reset. The device also has a reset lockout feature that prevents it from being reset after having been tripped if the circuit interrupting portion of the device is non-operational. |
| US07737806B2 |
Piezoelectric thin-film resonator and filter
A piezoelectric thin-film resonator includes: a lower electrode that is formed on a substrate; a piezoelectric film that is formed on the substrate and the lower electrode; an upper electrode that is formed on the piezoelectric film, with a portion of the piezoelectric film being interposed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode facing each other; and an additional film that is formed on the substrate on at least a part of the outer periphery of the lower electrode at the portion at which the lower electrode and the upper electrode face each other, with the additional film being laid along the lower electrode. |
| US07737805B2 |
Electrical circuit and component with said circuit
An electrical circuit that includes an electric four-terminal network is disclosed. The electric four-terminal network includes a first electrical port with a first terminal and a second terminal and a second electrical port with a first terminal and a second terminal. The electrical circuit also includes a first shunt branch between the second terminal of first electrical port and ground. |
| US07737804B2 |
Support for acoustic resonator and corresponding integrated circuit
An integrated circuit includes at least one interconnection level and an acoustic resonator provided with an active element and a support. The includes at least one bilayer assembly having a layer of high acoustic impedance material and a layer of low acoustic impedance material. The support further includes a protruding element arranged on a metallization level of the interconnection level, making it possible to produce an electrical contact between an interconnection level and the active element of the acoustic resonator. |
| US07737802B2 |
Passive equalizer with negative impedance to increase a gain
A passive equalizer with negative impedance to increase a gain includes a first RC loop, a second RC loop, a cascade RL circuit and a cross-coupled inverter unit. Each of the first and the second RC loops includes a first resistor, a second resistor connected in series to the first resistor at a node to thereby form a resistor series, and a capacitor connected in parallel to the resistor series. The cascade RL circuit is connected between the RC loops and includes a fifth resistor, a sixth resistor and an inductor connected between the fifth resistor and the sixth resistor. The cross-coupled inverter unit is connected in parallel to the RL circuit and connected between the RC loops for using the feature of negative impedance to obtain an excellent high-frequency gain. |
| US07737799B2 |
Digital phase modulator and corresponding method
A simple, interference-free digital phase modulator is to be provided. To this end, the phase modulator is provided with a counter for outputting a counter signal on the basis of a predetermined clock signal and a comparator, which receives a current counter state from the counter, in order to record a digital input signal. The comparator compares the input signal with the current counter state on the basis of a predetermined allocation table and resets the counter, if the input signal corresponds to a counter state assigned via the allocation table. A predetermined signal value of the output counter signal is herewith phase-modulated as a function of the input signal. As only one phase position is generated with the circuit at any point in time, interferences, which are produced by the digital phase modulator itself, are significantly less. |
| US07737797B2 |
Controllable oscillating system and related method for selectively adjusting currents passing through cross-coupling driving device
A controllable oscillating system for generating a differential oscillating signal is disclosed. The controllable oscillating system includes an oscillating circuit and a current adjusting device. The oscillating circuit includes a controllable resonator, a cross-coupling driving device, and a current source. The cross-coupling driving device is coupled to the controllable resonator and utilized for driving the controllable resonator to generate the differential oscillating signal. The current source is coupled to the cross-coupling driving device and utilized for providing a first current. The current adjusting device is coupled to the cross-coupling driving device and utilized for adjusting currents passing through the cross-coupling driving device. |
| US07737789B2 |
Broadband active balun
A broadband active balun configuration is provided. According to embodiments, the subject active balun can include a cascade and cascade transistor pair using a shared input transistor. In a further implementation, a low-pass bias-feedback mechanism for maintaining stable bias conditions can be provided. |
| US07737785B2 |
Amplifier circuit with adjustable amplification
An amplifier circuit has an amplifier element having an amplifier element input and an amplifier element input impedance, an amplification adjuster adapted to adjust an amplification of the amplifier element, an amplifier circuit input coupled to the amplifier element input, an impedance element having a alterable impedance value and being coupled to the amplifier circuit input, and an impedance adjuster adapted to adjust the impedance value of the impedance element as a function of the amplification of the amplifier element. |
| US07737783B2 |
Differential amplifier
A differential amplifier comprises a left amplifier having transistors, a right amplifier having transistors, a negative feedback network having a resistor, and a negative feedback network having a transformer with a center tap. Phase compensation networks comprising a capacitor and a resistor, a capacitor and a resistor, and a capacitor and a resistor are further added to the amplifier. Both ends of a secondary winding of the transformer are connected to the output terminals of the right and left amplifiers, and the center tap of the secondary winding is grounded, so that a differential amplified output signal can be fed back to a single-phase input using one transformer, thereby reducing a cost and an area. |
| US07737780B2 |
Scheme for improving settling behavior of gain boosted fully differential operational amplifier
Embodiments of the present invention disclose operational amplifiers which demonstrate good settling behavior with minimum over-shoot or ringing for improving settling behavior. The amplifiers include one or more amplification stages connected to form a symmetric structure. The amplification stage includes a boosting amplifier, a MOS transistor and a compensation capacitor. The MOS transistor can be an NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor. Using this scheme pole-zero doublets are rearranged in a manner to improve the transient settling response. |
| US07737774B2 |
Electronic circuit with compensation of intrinsic offset of differential pairs
The invention relates to analog integrated electronic circuits using differential pairs. The proposal is for a method of automatic correction of offset voltage. The inputs (V1, V2) of the differential circuit are short circuited during a calibration phase distinct from the normal usage phase. A capacitor is charged through the difference of the output currents of the branches of the differential pair in this phase. The voltage at the terminals of the capacitor is compared with at least one threshold. During the normal usage phase following the calibration phase, the result of the comparison is kept in memory. In the normal usage phase, a correction is applied depending on the result kept in memory to a current source of a follower stage upstream of the differential pair. |
| US07737771B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit
A bias generation circuit is between a power voltage node and ground voltage node at a far end from power voltage and ground voltage terminals. Reference voltage nodes are connected to an amplifier circuit block from the far end. The amplifier block is closer to the power supply source, and the bias generation circuit is distant therefrom. Even if the power supply voltage drops due to current constantly flowing in the amplification block and bias generation circuit, the bias generation circuit generates reference voltages at the reference voltage nodes based on the voltage-dropped power supply. Therefore, the voltage in the constant current source MOS transistor of the amplifier block becomes lowest at the amplifier circuit closest to the bias generation circuit. The response speeds of other amplifier circuits do not drop if the circuit is designed based on the amplifier closest to the bias generation circuit. |
| US07737770B2 |
Power switches having positive-channel high dielectric constant insulated gate field effect transistors
Power switch units for microelectronic devices are disclosed. In one aspect, a microelectronic device may include a functional circuit, and a power switch unit to switch power to the functional circuit on and off. The power switch unit may include a large number of transistors coupled together. The transistors may include predominantly positive-channel, insulated gate field effect transistors, which have a gate dielectric that includes a high dielectric constant material. Power switch units having such transistors may tend to have low power consumption. In an aspect, an overdrive voltage may be applied to the gates of such transistors to further reduce power consumption. Methods of overdriving such transistors and systems including such power switch units are also disclosed. |
| US07737768B2 |
Internal voltage generator
An internal voltage generator of a semiconductor memory device generates an internal voltage sensitive to a change in a temperature. The internal voltage generator includes a reference voltage generator, an internal voltage detecting unit and an internal voltage pumping unit. The reference voltage generator generates a reference voltage which is inversely proportional to the change in the temperature. The internal voltage detecting unit detects a difference between the reference voltage and the internal voltage to output a pumping control signal according to a detecting result, wherein the pumping control signal has an identical temperature characteristic as the reference voltage. The internal voltage pumping unit generates the internal voltage by a pumping operation in response to the pumping control signal. |
| US07737766B2 |
Two stage voltage boost circuit, IC and design structure
A two stage voltage boost circuit, IC and design structure are disclosed for boosting a supply voltage using gate control circuitry to reduce gate oxide stress, thus allowing lower voltage level FETs to be used. The voltage boost circuit may include a first stage for boosting the supply voltage to a first boosted voltage; a first passgate coupled to the first stage; a first gate control circuit for generating an on-state gate voltage level for the first passgate adjusted to reduce gate oxide voltage stress on the passgate; a second stage for boosting the first boosted voltage to a second boosted voltage; a second passgate coupled to the second stage, and a second gate control circuit for generating an on-state gate voltage level for the second passgate adjusted to reduce gate oxide voltage stress on the second passgate. |
| US07737764B2 |
Circuit arrangement having a changeover apparatus and method for operating a circuit arrangement
A circuit arrangement having a changeover apparatus which provides a first voltage in a first state and a second voltage in a second state in order to operate a circuit, where the changeover apparatus is designed such that when changing over from the first state to the second state the voltage provided for operating the circuit changes from the first voltage to the second voltage linearly with time. |
| US07737762B2 |
Solid-state switch
A solid state switch that employs a controller driven input and MOSFET power switching devices is disclosed. The controller can test for a short-circuit on the load side of the MOSFET power switching devices before putting the switch in a sustained conductive state. |
| US07737761B2 |
Gate drive circuit with reduced switching loss and noise
A subject of the present invention is to reduce noise caused by ringing or the like while reducing turn-on power loss of the element and reverse recovery loss of the diode in a switching circuit of a power semiconductor element to which a SiC diode having small recovery current is connected in parallel.A means for solving the problem is to detect gate voltage and/or collector voltage of the power semiconductor switching element and change gate drive voltage in several stages based on the detected value. |
| US07737757B2 |
Low power level shifting latch circuits with gated feedback for high speed integrated circuits
Low power level shifter latch circuits with gated feedback for high speed integrated circuits, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides are provided. A latch input stage operating in a domain of a first voltage supply receives a data input responsive to being enabled by predefined clock signals. A latch storage element coupled to the latch input stage includes a latch output stage operating in a domain of a second voltage supply provides a data output having a voltage level corresponding to the second voltage supply. The latch storage element includes a level shifting device providing level shifting from the first supply level to the second voltage supply level. The latch storage element includes feedback gate devices receiving the predefined clock signals to gate feedback to the latch input stage when data is being written to the latch input stage. |
| US07737755B2 |
Level shifting
Various aspects are described, such as a method for operating a level shifter, in which the level shifter is coupled to a first supply voltage and a second supply voltage different from the first supply voltage. The method may include detecting whether the first supply voltage is present, and decoupling an input of the level shifter from an output of the level shifter responsive to detecting that the first supply voltage is not present. |
| US07737754B2 |
Method of forming a signal level translator and structure therefor
In one embodiment, a first portion (20) of translator circuit (17) is configured to extract a first supply voltage level from a high level of an input signal, an inverter (25) is configured to operate from the first supply-voltage level and a second portion (30) of the translator circuit is configured to operate from a second supply voltage level (V2) that is greater than the first supply voltage level. |
| US07737752B2 |
Techniques for integrated circuit clock management
A clock generator (622) includes a first circuit (812) and a second circuit (814). The first circuit (812) includes a first clock input configured to receive a first clock signal at a first frequency, a second clock input configured to receive a second clock signal at the first frequency, and an output. The second clock signal is out-of-phase with the first clock signal. The second circuit (814) is coupled to the first circuit (812) and includes a mode signal input configured to receive a mode signal. The output of the first circuit (812) is configured to provide a generated clock signal whose effective frequency is based on the first and second clock signals and the mode signal. |
| US07737749B1 |
Elastic pipeline latch with a safe mode
An elastic pipelined latch. The latch includes a control input for configuring the latch into a repeater state or a latch state, a drive component responsive to the control input and for driving an input signal through as an output signal, and a pulse width/inhibit component coupled to the drive component. The latch may further include a reset threshold component coupled to the drive component for inhibiting oscillation of the drive component, and/or a latch component for passing the present state of the input signal to the output signal when configured as the repeater state and for maintaining the previous state of the output signal during transitions of a clock signal when configured as the latch state. |
| US07737746B2 |
DLL circuit and method of controlling the same
A delay locked loop (DLL) circuit includes an initial operation setting unit configured to generate an initial operation signal in response to a reference clock signal and an operation start signal; a shift register configured to generate a delay control code in response to the initial operation signal, a phase comparison signal, and an initial setting code; a delay line configured to delay the reference clock signal or a feedback clock signal in response to the initial operation signal and the delay control code, thereby generating a plurality of unit delay clock signals; and an initial delay monitoring unit configured to generate the initial setting code in response to the reference clock signal and the plurality of unit delay clock signals. |
| US07737743B1 |
Phase-locked loop including sampling phase detector and charge pump with pulse width control
Phase-locked loop (PLL) circuitry in which a sampling phase detector samples the output signal in accordance with the reference signal and a frequency detector detects the output signal frequency in accordance with the reference signal. |
| US07737737B2 |
Drive circuit for voltage driven electronic element
A drive circuit for driving a voltage-driven-type element including a gate terminal, an emitter terminal and a collector terminal includes a first semiconductor switch including an output terminal disposed between a power source for the drive circuit and the gate terminal, a first resistor disposed between the output terminal and the gate terminal and a capacitive element connected in parallel with the first semiconductor switch. The capacitive element supplies an external electric charge from the power source to a portion between the gate terminal and the emitter terminal after an internal electric charge accumulated in the portion between the gate terminal and the emitter terminal is supplied to a portion between the gate terminal and the collector terminal. |
| US07737731B1 |
High data rate envelope detector for high speed optical storage application
To detect the peaks level of an incoming signal, the difference between the voltage level of the incoming signal and a voltage developed across a capacitor is amplified. The amplified difference signal is applied to a transconductor adapted to vary its output current in response to changes in the amplified difference signal. The variations in the current generated by the transconductor are used to change a current flowing through a current mirror that charges the capacitor. The voltage developed across the capacitor represents the detected peak. The capacitor is discharged to a predefined voltage level during the reset periods. A second amplifier receiving the capacitor voltage is optionally used to develop a voltage across a second capacitor that is not reset and thus carries only the detected peak levels. |
| US07737729B2 |
Input buffer with optimal biasing and method thereof
A method and circuit of a biased input buffer is described to maximize the quality in the output signals. The input buffer includes a first stage for receiving differential input signals and generating differential internal signals as biased in response to an averaging of the differential internal signals. The input buffer further includes a second stage coupled to the differential internal signals and configured to generate differential output signals. A memory device includes a memory array with the respective input buffer. Differential input signals are received and differential internal signals are generated as biased in response to an averaging of the differential internal signals. Differential output signals are generated in a second stage from the differential internal signals. |
| US07737725B1 |
Device control register for a processor block
A device control register controller for a processor block Application Specific Integrated Circuit (“ASIC”) core is described. Device control register slave blocks are coupled to the device control register controller and have access to device registers for a plurality of interfaces of the processor block ASIC core. A master device interface is for coupling at least one slave device external to the processor block ASIC core to the device control register controller. A slave device interface is for coupling a master device external to the processor block ASIC core to the device control register controller. |
| US07737721B2 |
Latch circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit device that has it
A semiconductor integrated circuit comprises: a latch circuit constituted with a drive inverter and a feedback inverter so as to be connected in a cyclic form, wherein at least one of the drive inverter and the feedback inverter comprises a MOS transistor; anda current source connected to at least one of latch nodes of the latch unit. The magnitude relation of electric current flown in the MOS transistor and electric current flown in the current source is judged based on presence or absence of inversions in data values latched in the latch node. |
| US07737719B2 |
Apparatus for adjusting resistance value of a driver in a semiconductor integrated circuit
An apparatus for adjusting a resistance value of a driver of a semiconductor integrated circuit in which the resistance value of the driver is adjusted according to a code signal. The apparatus includes a control means that generates a plurality of counting mode signals such that the unit of counting is changed in a predetermined period, a counting means that counts the code signal in the unit of counting that is changed in response to the plurality of counting mode signals, according to a count up/down signal, and a comparing means that compares a voltage obtained by converting the code signal with a reference voltage to generate the count up/down signal. |
| US07737716B2 |
Methods and systems for semiconductor testing using reference dice
Methods and systems of semiconductor testing where reference dice and non-reference dice in a wafer and/or lot are tested differently. In one embodiment of the invention, geography, lithography exposure, other characteristics, performance and/or behavior are taken into account when selecting reference dice, thereby improving the likelihood that the response of reference dice to testing is well representative of the wafer and/or lot. In one embodiment, based on data from the testing of reference dice, the test flow for non-reference dice and/or other testing may or may not be adjusted. |
| US07737714B2 |
Probe assembly arrangement
A probe array is assembled on a probe card platform. Each of the probes in the probe array has a probe base that includes a gripping handle. The probe bases have two or more different shapes. The probe bases of different shapes are interleaved such that any two adjacent probes on the platform have probe bases of different shapes. The arrangement of the probes increases effective spacing between the probes to facilitate the maneuvering of a handling tool. |
| US07737711B2 |
Test apparatus having pogo probes for chip scale package
A pogo-type probe to be installed in a probe socket and a probe card for testing chip scale package of a semiconductor device is characterized in that the pogo probe has a hollow main body for receiving at least one resilient element internally and the main body comprises two end portions disposed with a first probe head and a second probe head respectively, wherein each of the probe heads is composed of a plurality of taper members to form a crown shape, and each of the taper members has an individual chamfer so that each chamfer has a tip to contact each contact pad of the semiconductor device under test for chip scale package. |
| US07737708B2 |
Contact for use in testing integrated circuits
A contact for use in a contact set assembly. The contact spans a space which separates a lead of an integrated circuit to be tested and a pad of a load board interfacing with the tester. The contact construction provides electrical communication between integrated circuit lead and the load board pad. Included is an insulating lamina which comprises, in part, a contact. A conductive lamina overlies at least a portion of the insulating lamina. The laminar construction and size and shape of conductive traces applied to a ceramic lamina enable parameters of the contact to be provided. |
| US07737701B2 |
Method and tester for verifying the electrical connection integrity of a component to a substrate
A method for verifying the integrity of the electrical connection between at least one signal path of a substrate and at least one respective contact of a component mounted on the substrate is disclosed. The method includes generating a step signal on one of the at least one signal path connected to a respective contact, and capturing a capacitively coupled signal due to the step signal at the contact. The method further includes determining the integrity of the electrical connection from a characteristic of the capacitively coupled signal or a response signal obtained from the capacitively coupled signal. A tester in which the method is implemented is also disclosed. |
| US07737698B2 |
Low noise, towed electromagnetic system for subsurface exploration
A detector for a marine electromagnetic survey system includes a housing arranged to minimize turbulence when the housing is towed through a body of water, and to minimize motion of the housing in any direction other than the tow direction. The housing includes at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field sensing element associated therewith. |
| US07737693B2 |
Signal acquisition and processing method and apparatus for magnetic resonance imaging
A method and apparatus are disclosed for Magnetic Resonance Imaging using specialized signal acquisition and processing techniques for image reconstruction with a generally inhomogeneous static magnetic field. New signal processing methods for image reconstruction and for minimizing dephasing effects are disclosed. Imaging systems with smaller static magnetic field strengths and smaller hardware demands than those with homogeneous static magnetic fields are provided, leading to significant reductions in system size and cost as compared to standard MRI systems. Such systems can also exploit imaging coils having high Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR), including those made from Carbon nanotube conductors, leading to further imaging system efficiencies. |
| US07737691B2 |
NMR characterization of thin films
A method, apparatus, and system for characterizing thin film materials. The method, apparatus, and system includes a container for receiving a starting material, applying a gravitational force, a magnetic force, and an electric force or combinations thereof to at least the starting material, forming a thin film material, sensing an NMR signal from the thin film material and analyzing the NMR signal to characterize the thin film of material. |
| US07737690B2 |
System and method for amplitude reduction in RF pulse design
A system and method are provided for adjusting RF pulses and gradient waveforms to reduce B1 field magnitude in MR imaging sequences. When an RF pulse is presented which has a high amplitude segment that would exceed a maximum B1 magnitude, the system and method provided herein can apply a variable slew rate design technique. A slew rate of at least one gradient waveform can be varied to reduce a B1 field magnitude during transmission of the high amplitude segment of the RF pulse. By controlling the slew rate of gradient waveforms for non-Cartesian k-space trajectories according to a calculated maximum allowable slew rate function, embodiments of the system and method can, in effect, reduce gradient amplitude. |
| US07737683B2 |
Process and device for electromagnetically based detection of field-influencing parts in a material flow
A device for detecting parts in a material flow which influence an electromagnetic alternating field comprises an oscillator (1) and at least one transmitting coil (2) for generating an electromagnetic alternating field extending across the width of a conveying distance of the material flow. At least one detector coil (4) comprising two windings (4a, 4b) connected inversely detects the electromagnetic alternating field and generates a detection signal (DS), the phase signal portion (PS′) of which is detected by means (7), from the relative motion between the alternating field and a field-influencing part. The phase signal portion (PS) and the amplitude signal portion (AS) of the detection signal are supplied to means (12) for forming a locus curve from the detection signal, which means form pairs of variates at the respective points of time from the progressions of the phase signal portion and the amplitude signal portion of the detection signal and plot these pairs of variates as a locus curve (15, 20, 30) in a system of coordinates. The locus curve (15, 20, 30) is analyzed by means (14) for evaluating the locus curve with respect to material-specific characteristics and for emitting an identification signal (ES) upon detection of a material-specific characteristic. |
| US07737678B2 |
Magnetic sensor and current sensor
A current sensor capable of detecting current magnetic fields generated by a current to be detected with high precision and stability while realizing a compact configuration is provided. The current sensor includes: a conductor generating a current magnetic field in accordance with supplied current to be detected; a magnetoresistive element including a free layer having a magnetization direction that varies in accordance with the current magnetic field, a pinned layer having the magnetization direction that is pinned to a direction orthogonal to the magnetization direction of the free layer under no current magnetic field, and an intermediate layer provided between the free layer and the pinned layer; and a bias applying means for applying, to the magnetoresistive element, a bias magnetic field along a direction same with the magnetization direction of the free layer under no current magnetic field. |
| US07737673B2 |
Controlling a voltage regulator
A technique includes energizing a storage element of a voltage regulator in response to the detection of an output voltage of the voltage regulator falling below a threshold level. The technique includes halting the energization of the storage element in response to the detection of a current in the storage element reaching a predetermined threshold. |
| US07737672B2 |
Semiconductor circuit and switching power supply apparatus
To provide a power supply apparatus which realizes a high-speed response, a stable operation, and a low output ripple with low power consumption. The first stage switching regulator receives an input voltage and forms a first voltage. The second stage switching regulator receives the first voltage and forms a second voltage. The second stage switching regulator includes an N-phase (N is two or more) switching regulator, and the first voltage is set to be N times a target value of the second voltage. The input voltage is set to be higher than the first voltage. |
| US07737668B2 |
Buck-boost switching regulator
A buck-boost switching regulator which includes a first switch, a first diode, an inductor, a second switch, a second diode, and a controller for controlling the first switch and the second switch, the controller being configured to receive a current signal indicative of a inductor current flowing in the inductor, and generating a signal indicative of an average current flowing in the inductor, the average current being utilized to control the first switch and the second switch, wherein the controller includes a first compensator circuit for outputting a voltage error signal, a second compensator circuit for outputting a current error signal and a modulator circuit to output a first control signal to control the first switch and a second control switch to control the second switch. |
| US07737667B2 |
3-phase electronic tap changer commutation and device
The invention provides a novel 3-phase electronic tap changer commutation and related device. In one embodiment, the invention includes firing a commutation silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), removing a gating signal from a first SCR connected to a first of the plurality of taps, firing a second SCR connected to a second of the plurality of taps, and removing a gating signal from the commutation SCR. |
| US07737665B2 |
Multi-threshold charging of a rechargeable battery
In a preferred embodiment, a battery charging system in the form of an integrated circuit (IC), incorporated in a consumer electronic device, has a charging controller, a charging current generator, a junction temperature sensor, and a device current monitor. The junction temperature sensor provides to the charging controller a measured junction temperature of the IC. The charging current generator utilizes fractional synthesis, which involves regulating the duty cycles of multiple current sources, to achieve increased current resolution. The charging controller regulates the charging current provided by the charging current generator based on the relation of the measured junction temperature to three or more threshold temperatures. The device current monitor provides to the charging controller information about the current utilization of the consumer electronic device, thus allowing the charging controller to determine the device non-charging current and give priority for available current to user applications running on the consumer electronic device. |
| US07737659B2 |
Battery charging method
A battery charging method that charges a battery to a full charged state at a specified voltage. In the battery charging method, the battery is charged to the full charged state at the specified voltage that decreases as battery charging/discharging processes are repeated. |
| US07737658B2 |
Battery packs having a charging mode and a discharging mode
A battery pack having a secondary battery is disclosed. The battery pack comprises at least one voltage converter; and switching means for switching an operation mode of the voltage converter to one of a charging mode and a discharging mode, in the charging mode, a charging voltage being output to the secondary battery, in the discharging mode, a voltage of the secondary battery being converted into a predetermined discharging voltage and the converted voltage being output. |
| US07737652B2 |
Method and apparatus for safe torque limiting
A method for safely limiting the torque of a frequency-converter-fed three-phase motor operated under field-oriented control (controlled torque) is disclosed. Actual phase current values of the three-phase motor are used to calculate a sum current signal on two channels which is checked for a sum current value of zero. A rotor position angle is determined on the two channels, and torque-forming current components of the two orthogonal field-oriented current components of a stator current space vector are calculated on the two channels as a function of the measured phase currents and the rotor position angle. The three-phase motor is switched on the two channels without applying a torque if the sum value is not equal to zero and/or if the torque-forming current components calculated on the two channels are not equal. This produces a safety function “safe torque limiting” which can be integrated in commercially available frequency converters. |
| US07737650B2 |
MOS transistor control
The invention concerns a method for controlling a switching assembly comprising a plurality of transistors connected in parallel, having a linear operating mode, a closed-switch operating mode and an off operating mode including a first operating phase during which a current flows from a source terminal to a drain terminal and a second operating phase during which no current flows. The method includes the following successive steps; (a) controlling the switching assembly in closed-switch mode during part of the first phase; (b) controlling the switching assembly in linear mode; (c) controlling the assembly in off mode during part of the second phase. |
| US07737634B2 |
LED devices having improved containment for liquid encapsulant
A light emitting diode (“LED”) Device with Flexible Containment for Liquid Encapsulant is disclosed. The LED Device with Flexible Containment for Liquid Encapsulant includes an LED in a concave base housing, the LED having a p-doped semiconductor body and an n-doped semiconductor body. The device further includes a liquid containment chamber over the LED, configured to contain liquid encapsulant, and space permitting expansion and contraction of the liquid encapsulant in the chamber. |
| US07737631B2 |
Flat panel display with repellant and border areas and method of manufacturing the same
A flat panel display and a method of manufacturing the same, which allows the formation of an organic film by inkjet printing while avoiding overflow of ink into adjacent areas, thus increasing the uniformity of thickness of the organic film and decreasing manufacturing costs. The flat panel display includes a substrate, a first electrode layer formed on the substrate, ink with material for a light emission layer formed on an active area of the first electrode layer, a repellant area formed of organic material located around the active area, and a border area also formed of organic material located between the active area and the repellant area. A surface energy of the border area is higher than a surface energy of the repellant area. |
| US07737625B2 |
Organic electroluminescent device with carrier blocking layer interposed between two emitting layers
An organic electroluminescent device including in sequence an anode, a first emitting layer (5), a carrier barrier layer (6), a second emitting layer (7) and a cathode stacked; wherein the ionization potential of the carrier barrier layer (6) is more than the ionization potential of the first emitting layer (5) by 0.1 eV or more and the affinity level of the carrier barrier layer (6) is less than the affinity levels of the first emitting layer (5) and the second emitting layer (7) by 0.1 eV or more. |
| US07737613B2 |
Electrodeless lamp and core having indented coil winding section for use with tubular lamp envelope
An electrodeless lamp assembly includes a tubular lamp envelope, at least one core having a closed-loop body disposed so as to surround a core mounting portion of the tubular lamp envelope. The core includes an indented coil winding section formed by an indentation formed in an inner side section of the closed-loop body adjacent to a centrally located opening. The electrodeless lamp assembly further includes an induction coil wound around the indented coil winding section of the core. |
| US07737611B2 |
Piezoelectric/electrostrictive ceramics and piezoelectric/electrostrictive device
The piezoelectric/electrostrictive properties and mechanical durability of a piezoelectric/electrostrictive ceramic can be improved. A piezoelectric/electrostrictive device has a laminated structure in which an electrode film, a piezoelectric/electrostrictive film, an electrode film, an piezoelectric/electrostrictive film, and an electrode film are laminated in the order mentioned on a thin portion of a substrate. The piezoelectric/electrostrictive films are ceramic films with a matrix of perovskite oxide that contains lead (Pb) as an A-site component and nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), niobium (Nb), zirconium (Zr), and titanium (Ti) as B-site components. The piezoelectric/electrostrictive films are formed by firing as a unit the substrate that contains aluminum oxide and an intermediate coating film of perovskite oxide that contains components other than aluminum so that aluminum oxide is diffused from the substrate to the intermediate coating film. |
| US07737607B2 |
Actuator having first and second electrodes and deformable joining member and method for mounting actuator
Temporary assembling is carried out by inserting an ion conducting actuator into a groove which is provided at a central portion of a substrate. Thereafter, a bump is pressed by forcing in a direction of a surface of the substrate while carrying out leveling and thrust control, by a flat portion of a pedestal having a recess which is provided such that the ion conducting actuator is not crushed. At this time, due to a deformation of the bump which is pressed, the electrical connections are carried out assuredly, and the ion conducting actuator is held mechanically by both sides. |
| US07737605B2 |
Linear ultrasound motor
The invention relates to an ultrasound linear piezoelectric motor comprising an ultrasound oscillator (1) embodied in the form of a piezoelectric plate (4) or a cylinder shell part (3), acoustic oscillation generators (5) and a friction element (6) which frictionally interacts with a driven element (8) and is disposed in a holder. The inventive holder is embodied in the form of an elastic clamp (13) which embraces a driven element, is fixed to the ultrasound oscillator and made of a sound-conducting material. |
| US07737603B2 |
Boundary acoustic wave device
A boundary acoustic wave device includes a solid layer laminated onto a single crystal substrate, electrodes provided between the single crystal substrate and the solid layer, and boundary acoustic wave elements provided on the single crystal substrate having the same cut angle, wherein the propagation direction of one of the boundary acoustic wave elements is different from that of at least one of the other boundary acoustic wave elements. A compact and high-performance boundary acoustic wave device using a boundary acoustic wave is provided by increasing the steepness of a filter band and by forming filters or resonators with different fractional bandwidths on a single substrate. |
| US07737602B2 |
Rotating electrical machine or alternator and method of manufacturing rotor core used in the same
A rotor core which has relatively high rigidity, can ensure sufficient magnetic performance, and can be produced at a cheaper cost with a relatively small-scale facility. A claw-equipped core and a yoke are manufactured separately. After fitting the yoke to a fitting portion formed in the claw-equipped core, a part of the claw-equipped core in the vicinity of the fitting portion is axially pressed to plastically flow into an annular groove formed in the yoke, thereby integrally joining the claw-equipped core and the yoke to each other. Thus, a large-scaled manufacturing facility is not required, and claws of the claw-equipped core are hard to open in the radial direction even under the action of a centrifugal force during high-speed rotation. A stator core and the claws of the claw-equipped core can be positioned closer to each other, and deterioration of magnetic performance can be avoided. |
| US07737600B2 |
Motor generator and automobile carrying the same
In a stator core composed of a powder compacted magnetic body, a yoke part comprises a protrusion protruding from an axial end face of a tooth. The tooth has an axial length gradually decreases towards an outside along the radial direction of the stator core, and a circumferential length which gradually increases towards an outside along the radial direction of the stator core. In one of the cross sections of stator core perpendicular to a radial direction, the height difference between axial end faces of the yoke part and the tooth is substantially equal to an axial length of a coil end part. Further, a cross-sectional area of the tooth perpendicular to the radial direction is substantially maintained constant along the radial direction, and the cross-sectional area is secured at a junction between the tooth and the yoke part, while half of the cross-sectional area is secured in a circumferential cross section of the yoke part. |
| US07737597B2 |
Toothed module for primary parts of permanent-magnet synchronous motors
The invention relates to a module (6) for primary parts (12) of synchronous motors (7, 8, 13) which are excited by permanent magnets, which comprise at least one secondary part (9) which is at least sectionally devoid of permanent magnets. Said secondary part (9) is made of an iron structure comprising teeth (11) which leads to the primary part (12). Said module (6) comprises at least one permanent magnet (1, 14) and at least one iron rod (2) which is arranged on the opposite sides. Recesses (3) are arranged between the iron rod (2) on one side and at least one winding (5) is guided about the iron rod (2). An additional module (6) can be secured at least to one side of the module (6) such that the iron rod (2) engages in the recesses (3) of the adjacent module (6) and the modules (6) can be placed together in relation to various predetermined primary parts (12). |
| US07737596B2 |
Anti-cogging apparatus for permanent magnet electrical machines
The present invention provides cancellation of cogging torque of a permanent magnet electrical machine using two sets of magnetic elements, one set is mechanically coupled to the stator with the other set being mechanically coupled to the rotor of the machine. At least one of the two sets has permanent magnets with the magnetic elements of the other set being made of permanent magnets or non-magnetized ferromagnetic materials such as soft iron. When the arrangement of the elements of the two sets is properly designed, magnetic attraction and repulsion forces between the magnetic elements of the two sets produces, as the machine operates, an anti-cogging torque which substantially cancels the cogging torque of the machine. |
| US07737592B2 |
Motor
In a motor, an upper surface of a flange portion of a shaft is arranged axially below a bottom end surface of a rotor core. A spacer having an axial thickness slightly greater than that of the flange portion is arranged on a radially outer side of the flange portion. A bottom surface of the spacer makes contact with an end plate whose inner circumferential surface has a radius, centered about a central axis, smaller than a radius of the flange portion. The end plate is secured to the rotor core via a fixing member. |
| US07737591B2 |
Coaxial twin variable field permanent magnetic dynamoelectric machine
A coaxial twin variable field permanent magnetic dynamoelectric machine comprising first and second stators displaced from each other and first and second permanent magnet rotors. The rotors comprising hydraulic actuators mounted within the rotors for axially displacing the outer and inner surfaces of the first and second rotors, respectively, with the inner and outer surfaces of the first and second stators, respectively, in order to change magnetic flux interaction between the first stator and rotor and the second stator and rotor. Both stators have magnetic shields covering outer and inner surfaces of the first and second stators, respectively. The first axial hydraulic actuator displaces the first rotor outer surface within the second stator magnetic shield and the second axial hydraulic actuator displaces the second rotor inner surface over the first stator magnetic shield with reduced first rotor-second stator and second rotor-first stator magnetic flux interaction. |
| US07737589B2 |
Axial fan motor
A motor includes a rotor portion including a shaft and a rotor magnet rotatable about a center axis, an armature arranged opposite to the rotor magnet to generate a torque therebetween, a circuit board arranged below the armature in an axial direction substantially parallel to the center axis and including a control circuit controlling rotation of the rotor portion, and a base portion including a bearing holder which supports the armature on its outer side surface and the shaft on its inner side surface via a bearing member. The armature is pressed against the bearing holder in the axial direction with an elastic member. |
| US07737583B2 |
Vibration-damping rotor assembly
A rotor assembly comprising: an inner rotor and an outer rotor for rotating in a magnetic field of a motor, the inner rotor comprising a main inner rotor cavity, and a plurality of first holes being formed between the inner rotor and the outer rotor; two side boards, each side board having a main side board cavity, and being perforated by a plurality of second holes; two damping elements each damping element comprising a main damping element cavity; a plurality of rubber sleeves, each rubber sleeve having a rubber sleeve lip; and a plurality of third holes; an axle; and a plurality of positioning pins. |
| US07737581B2 |
Method and apparatus for predicting end of battery life
A powering subassembly for a portable electronic device includes a main battery, a converter, a backup battery, and a controller. The main battery provides a main voltage and the backup battery can provide a backup voltage. The converter receives the main voltage and increases the main voltage to at least one operating voltage. The controller receives the operating voltage from the converter, monitors the voltage of the main battery, and compares the monitored main battery voltage to a main battery low voltage threshold. The controller transmits a disconnect signal to decouple the main battery from the converter if the monitored voltage from the main battery is less than the main battery low voltage threshold. The controller transmits a connection signal to couple the backup battery to the converter if the monitored voltage is less than the main battery low voltage threshold. The backup battery provides the power for a predetermined minimum amount of time. |
| US07737580B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing uninterruptible power
Methods and apparatus for providing uninterruptible power are provided by aspects of the invention. One aspect is more particularly directed to an uninterruptible power supply for providing power to a load. The uninterruptible power supply includes an input to receive input power, an output to provide output power, a plurality of battery modules that provide backup power, a power circuit coupled to the input, coupled to the plurality of battery modules and coupled to the output to provide power derived from at least one of the input power and the backup power to the output, a controller, a return line coupled to the controller and coupled to each of the battery modules, and a first sense line coupled to the controller and coupled to the plurality of battery modules. The controller and each of the battery modules are configured and arranged such that at least one characteristic of the battery modules is determined by the controller based on signals detected by the controller on the first sense line. |
| US07737575B2 |
Electric power supply system for vehicle
To enable a circuit configuration to be easily changed over depending on whether a recoil starter is present or absent. A battery charged by a generator driven by an engine, a charging circuit for charging the battery by the generator, and a drive electric power supply circuit for supplying engine drive system loads with electric power generated by the generator, are provided. In a system having a recoil starter, a contact configuration is adopted in which, when an ignition switch is changed over to a recoil start position, the charging circuit is disconnected and the drive electric power supply circuit is connected. The disconnection of the charging circuit may be conducted by use of a charging inhibition relay. The charging inhibition relay is formed as a sub harness, and, in a system not using the recoil starter, the sub harness is replaced by a sub harness in which the charging inhibition relay is not mounted. |
| US07737574B2 |
Terminating device for installation at a termination of a power line usable for power line communication
A terminating device enables power line communication to be performed while suppressing degradation of the communication quality without decreasing the communication efficiency. The terminating device includes power supply plugs, a terminating circuit, a changeover switch, and power jack terminals, which are housed in an adapter case. The terminating circuit has an impedance corresponding to the impedance between power lines in the used frequency band of power line communication and is connected or disconnected between the power supply plugs by the changeover switch. |
| US07737569B2 |
System and method for converting ocean wave energy into electricity
A system and method for harnessing power associated with ocean waves and converting that power into electricity. The apparatus is a buoy that houses a vertically oriented central shaft, a pendulum, a generator mechanism, and other components that synergistically operate to optimize power output of the buoy. Both the load on the pendulum and the effective length of the pendulum may be varied in response to changing environmental conditions. Also, the buoy may be part of a network that shares environmental data and a series of best tuning responses to that data, across the network. A library of environmental data and associated tuning responses is built at a central location and shared across the network. |
| US07737568B2 |
Wave energy device
A wave energy device converts the motion of waves on a body of water into a usable form of energy, for example a flow of pressurized water or an electrical current. The device includes a buoyant body for tracking the rise and fall of the waves and a working surface coupled for movement with the buoyant body and which is designed to capture and convert both heave and surge forces of the waves. The invention also involves a rapid deployment and retrieval capability and a capability to rotate to accommodate changes in wave direction. The device is universally attached to the seafloor, which allows the device to safely pitch, yaw and roll with the wave forces from any direction thereby reducing the likelihood of damage due to extreme weather or marine traffic. The universal attachment also allows the device to automatically adjust for varying water elevation due to tides. |
| US07737567B2 |
Method and apparatus for wafer marking
A semiconductor substrate is provided. The substrate includes a first surface and an opposing second surface, wherein the first surface includes a marking in a centroid region of the first surface. The marking indicates a location of a center point on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate or identification data unique to the substrate. A system, methods of transporting and marking, and a device for reading the substrate markings are also provided. |
| US07737562B2 |
Semiconductor element mount, semiconductor device, imaging device, light emitting diode component and light emitting diode
A collective substrate has through-holes. The through-holes each have an interior surface including taper surfaces which are tapered as having an opening size progressively decreasing from a main surface and an external connection surface toward a minimum size hole portion. A semiconductor element mount includes an insulative member cut out of the collective substrate. An imaging device includes an imaging element mounted in a region surrounded by a frame which is bonded to the main surface of the insulative member and closed by a cover. A light emitting diode component includes a light emitting element mounted on the main surface of the insulative member with the minimum size hole portion of the through-hole being filled with an electrically conductive material, the light emitting element being sealed with a fluorescent material and/or a protective resin. |
| US07737557B2 |
Semiconductor apparatus
In the present invention, a wiring layer comprises wirings respectively having different sheet resistance values, or a contact for connecting opposing wiring layers comprises contacts having different sheet resistance values respectively. |
| US07737553B2 |
Semiconductor device
Fine-pitch first and second bonding pads are formed on a chip along its perimeter. The first bonding pads are formed at the peripheral parts on the chip, while the second bonding pads are formed inside the peripheral parts. An ESD protection circuit is connected to the first bonding pad, and an I/O circuit is connected to the second bonding pad. First and second bonding wires connect the first and second bonding pads to the same package pin, respectively. The second bonding wire is configured to be sufficiently longer than the first bonding wire, regardless of the pitch of the first bonding pads. |
| US07737550B2 |
Optimization of electronic package geometry for thermal dissipation
An electronic package device is disclosed including a microelectronic package and a heat sink positioned over the microelectronic package. A thermal interface element is positioned between the microelectronic package and the heat sink. The thermal interface element is elongated and has differing thicknesses along its length to enhance the dissipation of heat. |
| US07737548B2 |
Semiconductor die package including heat sinks
A semiconductor die package including at least two heat sinks. The semiconductor die package includes a first heat sink, a second heat sink coupled to the first heat sink, and a semiconductor die between the first heat sink and the second heat sink. The semiconductor die is electrically coupled to the first heat sink and the second heat sink. The semiconductor die may also be attached to a lead. |
| US07737547B2 |
Dummy buried contacts and vias for improving contact via resistance in a semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of conductive layers. The device further includes buried contacts and buried vias, which connect the interconnect layers respectively. At least one of the contacts and vias are dummy contacts and dummy vias. |
| US07737544B2 |
Sensor system having a substrate and a housing, and method for manufacturing a sensor system
A sensor system having a substrate and a housing and a method for manufacturing a sensor system are provided, the housing essentially completely enclosing the substrate in a first substrate region, the housing in a second substrate region being provided at least partially open via an opening, the second substrate region in the region of the opening being provided so as to project from the housing, the housing being manufactured using an injection molding compound and being molded in such a way that the injection molding compound has only one flow front. |
| US07737543B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor construction assembly having a semiconductor substrate which has first and second surfaces, and has an integrated circuit element formed on the first surface, a plurality of connection pads which are connected to the integrated circuit element, a protective layer which covers the semiconductor substrate and has openings for exposing the connection pads, and conductors which are connected to the connection pads, arranged on the protective layer, and have pads. An upper insulating layer covers the entire upper surface of the semiconductor construction assembly including the conductors except the pads. A sealing member covers at least one side surface of the semiconductor construction assembly. An upper conductors is formed on the upper insulating layer, and has one ends electrically connected to the pads and an external connection pads, respectively, an external connection pad of at least one of the upper conductors being disposed in a region corresponding to the sealing member. |
| US07737539B2 |
Integrated circuit package system including honeycomb molding
An integrated circuit package system including a substrate with a top surface and a bottom surface. Configuring the top surface to include electrical contacts formed between a perimeter of the substrate and a semiconductor die. Aligning over the top surface of the substrate a mold plate with a honeycomb meshwork of posts or a stepped honeycomb meshwork of posts and depositing a material to prevent warpage of the substrate between the top surface of the substrate and the mold plate. Removing the mold plate to reveal discrete hollow conduits formed within the material that align with the electrical contacts. |
| US07737538B2 |
Semiconductor package
A semiconductor package. The semiconductor package of the invention comprises: a substrate comprising at least one exposed area with photosensitive devices; a cover for isolating the exposed area from the external atmosphere, wherein one of either the substrate or the cover is a base, and the other is a top structure; and a dam formed on the base to form a cavity, wherein the top of the dam has a recess, the dam is attached the top structure by an adhesive, and the cavity corresponds to the exposed area. |
| US07737532B2 |
Hybrid Schottky source-drain CMOS for high mobility and low barrier
A CMOS device is provided. A semiconductor device comprises a substrate, the substrate having a first region and a second region, the first region having a first crystal orientation represented by a family of Miller indices comprising {i,j,k}, the second region having a second crystal orientation represented a family of Miller indices comprising {l,m,n}, wherein l2+m2+n2>i2+j2+k2. Alternative embodiments further comprise an NMOSFET formed on the first region, and a PMOSFET formed on the second region. Embodiments further comprise a Schottky contact formed with at least one of a the NMOSFET or PMOSFET. |
| US07737529B2 |
Printed circuit board with film capacitor embedded therein and method for manufacturing the same
The invention provides a PCB with a thin film capacitor embedded therein and a method for manufacturing the same. The PCB includes a lower electrode formed on an insulating substrate; an amorphous paraelectric film formed on the lower electrode via low temperature film formation; a buffer layer formed on the amorphous paraelectric film; a metal seed layer formed on the buffer layer; and an upper electrode formed on the metal seed layer. |
| US07737528B2 |
Structure and method of forming electrically blown metal fuses for integrated circuits
A fuse structure for an integrated circuit device includes an elongated metal interconnect layer defined within an insulating layer; a metal cap layer formed on only a portion of a top surface of the metal interconnect layer; and a dielectric cap layer formed on both the metal cap layer and the remaining portions of the metal interconnect layer not having the metal cap layer formed thereon; wherein the remaining portions of the metal interconnect layer not having the metal cap layer formed thereon are susceptible to an electromigration failure mechanism so as to facilitate programming of the fuse structure by application of electric current through the elongated metal interconnect layer. |
| US07737527B2 |
Phase change material containing carbon, memory device including the phase change material, and method of operating the memory device
Provided are a phase change material containing carbon (C), a memory device including the phase change material, and a method of operating the memory device. The phase change material contains a main compound and an additive, wherein the main compound is In—Sb—Te and the additive includes carbon (C). A content a of the carbon (C) may be 0.005≦a≦0.30 atomic (at) %. The additive may further contain nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), boron (B), or a transition metal. The additive may include carbide instead of the carbon (C). |
| US07737522B2 |
Trench junction barrier controlled Schottky device with top and bottom doped regions for enhancing forward current in a vertical direction
A Schottky diode includes at least a trenched opened in a semiconductor substrate doped with a dopant of a first conductivity type wherein the trench is filled with a Schottky junction barrier metal. The Schottky diode further includes one or more dopant region of a second conductivity type surrounding sidewalls of the trench distributed along the depth of the trench for shielding a reverse leakage current through the sidewalls of the trench. The Schottky diode further includes a bottom-doped region of the second conductivity type surrounding a bottom surface of the trench and a top-doped region of the second conductivity type surrounding a top portion of the sidewalls of the trench. In a preferred embodiment, the first conductivity type is a N-type conductivity type and the middle-depth dopant region comprising a P-dopant region. |
| US07737513B2 |
Chip assembly including package element and integrated circuit chip
The present invention provides an integrated circuit chip assembly and a method of manufacturing the same. The assembly includes a package element having a top surface and an integrated circuit chip having a top surface, a bottom surface, edge surface between the top and bottom surfaces, and contacts exposed at the top surface. The package element is disposed below the chip with the top surface of the package element facing toward the bottom surface of the chip. At least one spacer element resides between the top surface of the package element and the bottom surface of the chip. According to one embodiment, the at least one spacer element may form a substantially closed cavity between the package element and the integrated circuit chip. According to another embodiment, first conductive features may extend from the contacts of the chip along the top surface, and at least some of said first conductive features extend along at least one of the edge surfaces of the chip. |
| US07737512B2 |
Integrated circuit devices having uniform silicide junctions
Integrated circuit devices are provided including an integrated circuit substrate and a gate on the integrated circuit substrate. The gate has sidewalls. A barrier layer spacer is provided on the sidewalls of the gate. A portion of the barrier layer spacer protrudes from the sidewalls of the gate exposing a lower surface of the barrier layer spacer that faces the integrated circuit substrate. A silicide layer is provided on the portion of the barrier layer spacer protruding from the sidewalls of the gate. |
| US07737511B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
There is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, including forming a structure including a first layer containing Si and a metal oxide layer in contact with the first layer, the metal oxide layer having a dielectric constant higher than that of silicon oxide, and heating the structure in an atmosphere containing He and/or Ne. |
| US07737495B2 |
Semiconductor device having inter-layers with stress levels corresponding to the transistor type
The present invention provides a semiconductor device including an N channel MIS type transistor and a P channel MIS type transistor. The semiconductor device includes a first inter-layer film formed on the NMIS transistor and having a tensile stress, and a second inter-layer film formed on the first inter-layer film and a PMIS transistor and having a compressive stress, and the compressive stress in the second inter-layer film is relaxed on the upper side of the first inter-layer film. |
| US07737494B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer with an impurity of a first conductivity type diffused therein, and a local insulating layer, source layer, and a drain layer formed therein. The drain layer has an impurity of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type. A gate electrode is formed over the semiconductor layer extending from over the local insulating layer to the source layer. A low-concentration diffusion layer is formed in the semiconductor layer below the drain layer. First and second gate insulating films are formed between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer, and respectively extending from an end, on the source layer side, of the gate electrode to the local insulating layer without reaching the local insulating layer, and extending from an end on another side of the local insulting layer to the source layer. |
| US07737491B2 |
Trench gate field effect devices
The present invention relates to a technique for reducing the on-voltage of the semiconductor device by increasing the concentration of minority carriers in the deep region (26) and the intermediate region (28). A semiconductor device according to the invention comprises an electrode, a top region (36) of a second conductivity type connected to the electrode, a deep region of the second conductivity type, and an intermediate region of a first conductivity type connected to the electrode. A portion of the intermediate region isolates the top region and the deep region. The semiconductor device further comprises a gate electrode (32) facing the portion of the intermediate region via an insulating layer. The portion facing the gate electrode isolates the top region and the deep region. The semiconductor device according to the invention further comprises a barrier region (40) that is formed within the intermediate region and/or the top region. |
| US07737488B2 |
Blocking dielectric engineered charge trapping memory cell with high speed erase
A band gap engineered, charge trapping memory cell includes a charge trapping element that is separated from a gate by a blocking layer of metal doped silicon oxide material having a medium dielectric constant, such as aluminum doped silicon oxide, and separated from the semiconductor body including the channel by an engineered tunneling dielectric. |
| US07737484B2 |
Semiconductor memory device and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor memory device comprises a memory cell unit including at least one memory cell having a structure with a floating gate and a control gate stacked via an insulator on a semiconductor substrate. A common source line is connected to one end of the memory cell unit. A bit line is connected to the other end of the memory cell unit. The control gate has at least an upper portion with a width along the gate length formed wider than the width of the floating gate. |
| US07737483B2 |
Low resistance void-free contacts
A plug is formed by depositing a first material to partially fill an opening, leaving an unfilled portion with a lower aspect ratio than the original opening. A second material is then deposited to fill the remaining portion of the opening. The first material has good filling characteristics but has higher resistivity than the second material. The second material has low resistivity to give the plug low resistance. |
| US07737482B2 |
Self-aligned strap for embedded trench memory on hybrid orientation substrate
Structures including a self-aligned strap for embedded trench memory (e.g., trench capacitor) on hybrid orientation technology (HOT) substrate, and related method, are disclosed. One structure includes a hybrid orientation substrate including a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) section and a bulk semiconductor section; a transistor over the SOI section; a trench capacitor in the bulk semiconductor section; and a self-aligned strap extending from a source/drain region of the transistor to an electrode of the trench capacitor. The method does not require additional masks to generate the strap, results in a self-aligned strap and improved device performance. In one embodiment, the strap is a silicide strap. |
| US07737474B2 |
Semiconductor device with seal ring having protruding portions
A semiconductor device includes a substrate, on which an element region and a peripheral region are defined. At least one function element is to be provided in the element region, and the peripheral region surrounds the element region. The semiconductor device also includes a layer of wiring. The semiconductor device also includes a seal ring having a ring portion that is provided in the peripheral region in the same layer as the wiring layer. The ring portion has a main body surrounding a chip region, and a plurality of portions protruding toward the element region from the seal ring main body. |
| US07737472B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit device
A semiconductor integrated circuit device capable of suppressing variations in transistor characteristics due to the well proximity effect is provided. Standard cell rows are arranged in a vertical direction, each standard cell row including standard cells arranged in a horizontal direction. In the standard cell rows, positions of the N well and the P region in the vertical direction are switched every other row. Adjacent standard cell rows share the P region or the N well. A distance from a PMOS transistor located at an end of a standard cell row to an end of an N well is greater than or equal to a width of an N well shared by standard cell rows. |
| US07737471B2 |
Receiver circuit using nanotube-based switches and transistors
Receiver circuits using nanotube-based switches and transistors. A receiver circuit includes a differential input having a first and second input link, a differential output having a first and second output link, and first and second switching elements in electrical communication with the input links and the output links. Each switching element has an input node, an output node, a nanotube channel element, and a control structure disposed in relation to the nanotube channel element to controllably form and unform an electrically conductive channel between said input node and said output node. First and second MOS transistors are each in electrical communication with a reference signal and with the output node of a corresponding one of the first and second switching elements. |
| US07737467B2 |
Nitride semiconductor device with a hole extraction electrode
A nitride semiconductor device comprises: a laminated body; a first and second main electrode provided in a second and third region, respectively, adjacent to either end of the first region on the major surface of the laminated body; and a third main electrode. The laminated body includes a first semiconductor layer of a nitride semiconductor and a second semiconductor layer of a nondoped or n-type nitride semiconductor having a wider bandgap than the first semiconductor layer, the second semiconductor layer being provided on the first semiconductor layer. The third main electrode is provided on the major surface of the laminated body and opposite to the control electrode across the second main electrode. |
| US07737465B2 |
Semiconductor apparatus and manufacturing method thereof
The present invention provides a semiconductor apparatus for improving a switching speed and a withstand voltage, and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor apparatus. The semiconductor apparatus of the invention including a first conductive type semiconductor substrate, a first conductive type first semiconductor region with an impurity concentration lower than that of the semiconductor substrate and formed on a first principal surface of the semiconductor substrate, a second conductive type second semiconductor region formed in a surface region of the first semiconductor region and which forms a PN junction with the first semiconductor region, a contact region including a part of the first semiconductor region and a part of the second semiconductor region, an insulating layer having an opening part through which at least the contact region are exposed, a first electrode formed so as to be in contact with at least the contact region and a second electrode formed on a second principal surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the second semiconductor region, viewed from a direction perpendicular to the first principal surface includes a first region in which a plurality of islands of the second semiconductor are aligned with intervals and a second region which connects each end of the islands of the first region each other. |
| US07737459B2 |
High output group III nitride light emitting diodes
A light emitting diode is disclosed that includes a silicon carbide substrate and a light emitting structure formed from the Group III nitride material system on the substrate. The diode has an area greater than 100,000 square microns and has a radiant flux at 20 milliamps current of at least 29 milliwatts at its dominant wavelength between 390 and 540 nanometers. |
| US07737458B2 |
Light emitting device having a straight-line shape
A light emitting device having a straight-line shape is provided with: a pair of first and second electrodes each having a straight-line shape which face each other; and a phosphor layer having a straight-line shape provided so as to be sandwiched between the pair of electrodes, wherein at least one of the pair of first and second electrodes is a transparent electrode, at least one buffer layer is provided so as to be sandwiched between the first or second electrode and the phosphor layer, and the buffer layer makes the height of a potential barrier between the electrode and the phosphor layer which sandwich the buffer layer lower than the height of a Schottky barrier when the electrode and the phosphor layer are brought into direct contact. |
| US07737454B2 |
Organic light-emitting element, organic light-emitting device, and electronic apparatus
A light-emitting element includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a light-emitting layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, the light-emitting layer including an inorganic semiconductor material, a first material, and a second material, at least one of the first material and the inorganic semiconductor material having a function emit light. |
| US07737453B2 |
Light emitting diode structure
Disclosed is a light emitting diode structure including a Constructive Oxide Contact Structure contact layer. The light emitting diode structure comprises a substrate, a buffer layer formed on the substrate, a lower confinement layer formed on the buffer layer, a light emitting layer formed on the lower confinement layer, an upper confinement layer formed on the light emitting layer, a Constructive Oxide Contact Structure contact layer formed on the upper confinement layer whose conducting type can be P-type, N-type, or I-type, a first electrode, and a second electrode (transparent electrode). The transparent electrode is formed on the Constructive Oxide Contact Structure contact layer as an anode of the light emitting diode. The first electrode is formed on the lower confinement layer and is spaced apart from the light emitting layer, the upper confinement layer, the contact layer, and the transparent electrode. The first electrode is used as a cathode of the light emitting diode. |
| US07737448B2 |
Thin film transistor array panel and manufacture thereof
A method for a thin film transistor array panel includes forming a gate line and a pixel electrode on a substrate, forming a gate insulating layer covering the gate line, forming a data line including a source electrode and a drain electrode on the gate insulating layer, forming an interlayer insulating layer covering the data line and the drain electrode on the gate insulating layer, forming a first opening in the interlayer insulating layer, forming an organic semiconductor in the first opening, forming a passivation layer on the organic semiconductor and the interlayer insulating layer, and forming a second opening in the interlayer insulating layer to expose the pixel electrode. |
| US07737434B2 |
Light-emitting diode illumination source
The invention provides light emitting diode illumination source having excellent properties as an illumination source such as a flat spectral distribution in the wavelength region from green to red and a sufficient emission intensity in the red region, comprising a light emitting diode having multiple peaks with a half-value width of 20 nm or more within a range from 480 to 700 nm in a spectral distribution, wherein the minimum of the intensities of the valleys between the peaks in the wavelength range from 480 to 700 nm is 65% or more of the maximum peak intensity in the same range, and an illuminator and a backlight for a liquid crystal display using the illumination source. |
| US07737432B2 |
Voltage controlled computing element for quantum computer
A computing element for use in a quantum computer has at least three coupled quantum dots, and at least one gate for applying an electric field to manipulate the state of said qubit. |
| US07737429B2 |
Nitride based semiconductor device using nanorods and process for preparing the same
Disclosed are a nitride based semiconductor device, including a high-quality GaN layer formed on a silicon substrate, and a process for preparing the same. A nitride based semiconductor device in accordance with the present invention comprises a plurality of nanorods aligned and formed on the silicone substrate in the vertical direction; an amorphous matrix layer filling spaces between nanorods so as to protrude some upper portion of the nanorods; and a GaN layer formed on the matrix layer. |
| US07737428B2 |
Memory component with memory cells having changeable resistance and fabrication method therefor
The invention relates to a memory component having memory cells based on an active solid electrolyte material which can be changed in terms of its resistance value. The active solid electrolyte material is embedded between a bottom and top electrode, can be switched between an on state with a low resistance and an off state with a high resistance by comparison therewith by application of a suitable electric field between said electrodes. A resistance material is embedded in parallel with the solid electrolyte material between the electrodes. |
| US07737423B2 |
Central dryer for electron beam curing
A central dryer for electron beam curing is described which includes a first application unit for the application of a first coating to a web. The central dryer for electron beam curing also includes an irradiation unit in which a first electron beam generator and a second electron beam generator are arranged for the irradiation of the web. The electron beam generators arranged in the irradiation unit have connections for at least one pump system to generate an operating vacuum. In addition to this the central dryer for electron beam curing also has a web guiding system which feeds the web successively but not necessarily in direct succession, to the first application unit, the first electron beam generator, the second electron beam generator. |
| US07737422B2 |
Charged-particle exposure apparatus
A particle-beam projection processing apparatus for irradiating a target, with an illumination system for forming a wide-area illuminating beam of energetic electrically charged particles; a pattern definition means for positioning an aperture pattern in the path of the illuminating beam; and a projection system for projecting the beam thus patterned onto a target to be positioned after the projection system. A foil located across the path of the patterned beam is positioned between the pattern definition means and the position of the target at a location close to an image of the aperture pattern formed by the projection system. |
| US07737419B2 |
Alignment apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an alignment apparatus which includes a moving member, a structural object arranged on the moving member, and an electromagnetic actuator which moves the structural object relative to the moving member. The electromagnetic actuator includes a plurality of linear motor units, which apply forces in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to the structural object. The plurality of linear motor units apply, to the structural object, forces in the rotation direction about each of two axes orthogonal to each other in the horizontal plane and the rotation direction about the axis in the vertical direction. |
| US07737417B2 |
Device and method for verifying value documents
A method and apparatus for checking luminescent value documents, in particular bank notes, with a luminescence sensor. The value document to be checked is irradiated to excite luminescence radiation, and the luminescence radiation emanating from the value document is detected with spectral resolution. Since the value document to be checked is transported past the luminescence sensor in the transport direction and is illuminated with an illumination area which extends in the transport direction, an effective measurement is possible even of value documents that emit very little luminescence radiation. |
| US07737404B2 |
Signal acquisition in PET scanners
A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner has a plurality of photo detector blocks. Each photo detector block or region has a plurality of photo detectors, a multiplexer receiving output signals from the plurality of photo detectors and generating a multiplexer output signal, a multiplexer control unit controlling switching of the multiplexer, and an analog-to-digital converter receiving the multiplexer output signal and generating a digital output signal. |
| US07737402B2 |
Distance adjusting apparatus and method, and object examining apparatus and method
In apparatuses and methods for adjusting a distance to an object, or examining an object, by using terahertz radiation, a sensor portion and a distance changing portion are used. The sensor portion includes a generator for generating terahertz radiation, a transmission line for transmitting the terahertz radiation, and a detector for detecting the terahertz radiation transmitted through the transmission line. The distance changing portion is configured to change the distance between the object and the sensor portion. The distance is adjusted based on information of the terahertz radiation detected by the detector. The object is examined based on the information of the terahertz radiation detected by the detector, after the distance is adjusted based on the information of the terahertz radiation detected by the detector. Under a condition of the adjusted distance, leaking electromagnetic field of the terahertz radiation transmitted through the transmission line interacts with the object. |
| US07737400B2 |
Bolometer type uncooled infrared ray sensor and method for driving the same
A bolometer type uncooled infrared ray sensor includes: an image pickup region having detection pixels arranged in a matrix form on a semiconductor substrate to detect incident infrared rays; a plurality of row selection lines provided in the image pickup region; current sources capable of letting constant currents flow through the respective row selection lines; a plurality of signal lines provided in the image pickup region; voltage readout circuits provided so as to respectively correspond to the signal lines to read out signal voltages generated on the respectively corresponding signal lines; coupling capacitances respectively provided between the respective signal lines and the corresponding voltage readout circuits; and a calculator which calculates a difference between two signal voltages read out by the voltage readout circuits, corresponding to outputs of the same detection pixel for two different current values supplied from the current sources. |
| US07737399B1 |
Infrared Mueller matrix acquisition and preprocessing system and method
An analog Mueller matrix data acquisition system (AMMS) acquiring middle-infrared Mueller (M) matrices of backscattering surfaces. The M-elements are measured by means of an active photopolarimetric sensor. The AMMS records nine M-elements simultaneously in groups of four modulo 2 incident continuous-wave CO2 laser beams—one incident beam is tuned to a fundamental molecular absorption cross-section by the aerosol of detection interest (analytic wavelength λa) while the other beam is detuned off that resonance band (reference wavelength λr) and in the closest vicinity to λa. Accordingly, those ΔM elements exhibiting susceptible behavior to the aerosol analyte, driven on-then-off its molecular vibrational resonance band, cues an identification event thus providing detection decision information. The AMMS is comprised of PEM reference frequency synthesizer, optical power regulation, data digitizer, and computer interface components in an interfaced and integrated framework that governs all operations of M-elements production by the photopolarimetric sensor. |
| US07737397B2 |
Devices and systems including a boost device
A device for mass spectroscopy comprising a chamber configured to provide an atomization source, a boost device configured to provide radio frequency energy to the chamber, and a mass analyzer in fluid communication with the chamber and configured to separate species based on mass-to-charge ratios is disclosed. In certain examples, a boost device may be used with a flame or plasma to provide additional energy to a flame or plasma to enhance desolvation, atomization, and/or ionization. |
| US07737388B2 |
Row driven imager pixel
An imaging system includes a pixel that does not require a row select transistor. Instead, an operating voltage is selectively provided to the pixel's readout circuitry, and the readout circuitry provides output signals based on charge or voltage of a storage node. The operating voltage can be selectively provided to each row of a pixel array by a row driver. Each pixel includes a source follower transistor that provides an output signal on a column output line for readout. An anti-blooming transistor may be linked to each pixel's photosensor to provide an overflow path for electrons during charge integration, prior to transfer of charge to the pixel's storage node by a transfer transistor. Electrons not produced by an image are introduced to the photosensor prior to image acquisition, filling traps in the photosensor to reduce image degradation. |
| US07737386B2 |
Focus detection optical system having a plurality of focus detection areas, and imaging apparatus incorporating the same
The invention relates to a focus detection optical system used with the so-called autofocus (AF) system mounted on single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) or the like, and an imaging apparatus incorporating it. The focus detection optical system comprises at least n focus detection areas that are adjacent to or intersect each other on a predetermined imaging plane, where n≧2. A re-imaging lens group comprises n+1 re-imaging lenses, A (n−1)th re-imaging lens and an nth re-imaging lens are a pair of re-imaging lenses that correspond to a (n−1)th focus detection area and are adjacent to each other. An nth re-imaging lens and a (n+1)th re-imaging lens are a pair of re-imaging lenses that correspond to the nth focus detection area and are adjacent to each other. The (n−1)th re-imaging lens and (n+1)th re-imaging lens are located at different positions. |
| US07737379B2 |
System and method for sorting larvae cocoons
A cocoon sorting system sorts cocoons with healthy larvae therein, for example healthy leafcutter bee cells, from those with non-healthy larvae therein. The system conveys cocoons through a target scanning area on a conveyor where an x-ray source directs x-rays at the cocoons in the target scanning area. An opposing sensor head receives the x-rays which have passed through the target scanning area for generating a density image of cocoons in the target area. A processor compares the density image to a prescribed density criteria and determines a rejected cocoon if the density criteria is not met. A sorting mechanism removes the rejected cocoon from a remainder of cocoons on the conveyor. |
| US07737377B1 |
Slip connection
An electrical device includes a cradle and a terminal. The cradle includes a body portion, a transition portion, and a connection portion. The body portion includes a transition portion that is bent from the body portion and extends between the body portion and the connection portion. The connection portion includes a plate extending away from the body portion. The terminal includes a main wall and a slip receiver connected to and angled away from the main wall. The slip receiver includes first and second walls connected by an integral receiver bridge. The slip receiver slidably receives the plate of the connection portion to establish an electrical connection between the cradle and the terminal. The plate of the connection portion of the cradle is at least partially disposed between the first and second walls of the slip receiver to complete the electrical connection between the cradle and the common terminal. |
| US07737375B2 |
Key sheet
Disclosed is a key sheet helping to solve problems caused by a rubber-like elastic material filling dividing grooves. A key sheet is provided with protrusions swelling from the back surface of an operation plate toward dividing grooves. The protrusions, which are formed by a film sheet formed of a thermoplastic resin, can prevent the problems when the rubber-like elastic material filling the dividing grooves are exposed, that is, separation or severance of the rubber-like elastic material. Further, nails or fingertips are not easily allowed to enter the dividing grooves of the operation plate. The protrusions in the grooves formed by the film sheet are not easily worn out through repeated depressing operation, thus realizing a thin and safe key sheet. |
| US07737374B2 |
Input device and mobile communication device having same
An input device is provided. The input device includes a first input unit configured to provide at least two directional signals, a second input unit located in the first input unit, the second input unit being configured to provide at least two directional signals different from the at least two directional signals of the first input unit, and a circuitry supporting substrate configured to receive a signal that is input through the first input unit and the second input unit. In addition, a mobile communication device having an input device is also provided. |
| US07737373B2 |
Mobile terminal key input device and method
A mobile terminal keypad is provided having a plurality of key switches on the keypad that provides a first signal or a second signal according to the pressure applied to the key switch. In each of the plurality of key switches, a plate is provided to sequentially contact with a first contact and a second contact according to the applied pressure. |
| US07737371B2 |
Safety devices for insulative tools
Safety devices and methods of use thereof are provided for improving electrical safety of insulative tools. In particular, the present invention provides a safety device for improving safety of an elongated insulative tool of a certain length with a substantially circular cross section having a cross sectional diameter and outer circumference, the device comprising a substantially circular disc with an inner opening for said elongated insulative tool to position therethrough, and said inner opening having a bore diameter that is substantially the same as or greater than the diameter of the elongated insulative tool. The present invention further provides novel methods of using through specific arrangement of the safety devices of the present invention on an elongated insulative tool. |
| US07737368B2 |
Circuit board and method of manufacturing circuit board
A circuit board includes: a plurality of wiring layers; an insulating layer which insulates the plurality of wiring layers, the insulating layer containing a fibrous filler and a resin; and a conductor part formed on a sidewall of a via piercing through the insulating layer. The fibrous filler protrudes from the sidewall and is covered with the conductor part, with a length greater than the thickness of the conductor layer. |
| US07737365B2 |
Wired circuit board
A wired circuit board has a metal supporting board, an insulating layer formed on the metal supporting board, a conductive pattern formed on the insulating layer and having a pair of wires arranged in spaced-apart relation, and a semiconductive layer formed on the insulating layer and electrically connected to the metal supporting board and the conductive pattern. The conductive pattern has a first region in which a distance between the pair of wires is small and a second region in which the distance between the pair of wires is larger than that in the first region. The semiconductive layer is provided in the second region. |
| US07737363B2 |
Halogen-free resin composition, covered wire covered with that and wiring harness with at least one above covered wire
A halogen-free resin composition for a covered wire and a wiring harness which has a base resin composition of 100 weight division having 45 to 65% by weight of a polypropylene resin, 15 to 30% by weight of a low-density polyethylene resin, 15 to 30% by weight of a styrene thermoplastic elastomer, and a metal hydrate of 80-120 weight division. The styrene thermoplastic elastomer of the composition is an aromatic vinyl-conjugated diene system block copolymer and with a peak temperature of dynamic factor (tan δ) thereof measured in a range from −100 to 50° C. by a dynamic viscoelasticity measurement device being made in 0-30° C. |
| US07737361B2 |
Sealant gel for a telecommunication enclosure
A sealant gel for a telecommunication enclosure, wherein the gel is formulated from three different polyols. The first polyol is a polybutadiene-based polyol that has a low glass transition temperature. The second polyol is a polyether polyol. The third polyol is butene diol, which is a short molecule that quickly builds up a hard backbone structure. |
| US07737360B2 |
Enclosure apparatus, system and method
An enclosure apparatus comprises a single receptacle comprising a patch member connected to electrical equipment in a remote location and at least one communication device. The communication device may comprise a microprocessor for processing data received from the electrical equipment in the remote location. The enclosure apparatus is often used in connection with building automation equipment. |
| US07737359B2 |
Electrical wire and method of fabricating the electrical wire
An electrical wire includes at least one electrifiable conductor for delivering electrical power, a first insulating layer formed on one side of the electrifiable conductor, a second insulating layer formed on the opposite side of the electrifiable conductors, a first return conductor formed on the first insulating layer opposite the at least one electrifiable conductor, and a second return conductor formed on the second insulating layer opposite the at least one electrifiable conductor. The at least one electrifiable conductor is at least substantially entrapped by the first and second return conductors such that the distance between said at least one electrifiable conductor and each of said first and second return conductors is no greater than approximately 0.030 inches. At least one of the first insulating layer or the second insulating layer comprises a plurality of insulating layers. |
| US07737357B2 |
Solar cell having doped semiconductor heterojunction contacts
A silicon solar cell has doped amorphous silicon contacts formed on a tunnel silicon oxide layer on a surface of a silicon substrate. High temperature processing is unnecessary in fabricating the solar cell. |
| US07737356B2 |
Solar cell device
A photovoltaic cell for converting a light source into electricity, including: (a) a housing for the photovoltaic cell, including: (i) an at least partially transparent cell wall; (b) at least one electrically-conductive element, disposed at least partially within the photovoltaic cell, for boosting collection of a current generated by the cell; (c) a conductive coating, electrically associated with the electrically-conductive element, and disposed on a surface within the photovoltaic cell; (d) an electrolyte, disposed within the cell wall, the electrolyte containing a redox species, and (e) a current collection element, disposed on a side of the cell wall, wherein the current collection element is electrically connected to the electrically-conductive element, so as to remove the current produced by the cell. |
| US07737355B2 |
Electrical junction and joint box for a solar cell module
An electrical junction and joint box for a solar cell module having solar cells and an associated method. The junction and joint box and solar cell module are connected by conductor strips. The junction and joint box includes a housing having electrical and/or electronic means and a connection device located in the housing. The connection device is arranged to directly, without manual alteration, receive thin conductor strips routed out of the solar cell module from underneath when the junction and joint box is seated on the solar cell module. In this way reliable and efficient connection of the individual solar cells of the solar cell module can be easily achieved, and faulty contact-making can be avoided. |
| US07737354B2 |
Creating music via concatenative synthesis
A “Concatenative Synthesizer” applies concatenative synthesis to create a musical output from a database of musical notes and an input musical score (such as a MIDI score or other computer readable musical score format). In various embodiments, the musical output is either a music score, or an analog or digital audio file. This musical output is constructed by evaluating the database of musical notes to identify sets of candidate notes for each note of the input musical score. An “optimal path” through candidate notes is identified by minimizing an overall cost function through the candidate notes relative to the input musical score. The musical output is then constructed by concatenating the selected candidate notes. In further embodiments, the database of musical notes is generated from any desired musical genre, performer, performance, or instrument. Furthermore, notes in the database may be modified to better fit notes of the input musical score. |
| US07737353B2 |
Apparatus for controlling music reproduction and apparatus for reproducing music
In order to reproduce music suitable for a situation where a user listens to the music while performing repetitive exercise, if a walking tempo value sensed by a walking tempo sensing portion 3 falls outside a certain range defined on the basis of a music tempo value of a music data file currently being reproduced by a music data reproduction portion 6, a music tempo specifying portion 4 specifies a music tempo value agreeing with the walking tempo value. A reproduction control portion 5 selects a music data file having a music tempo value corresponding to the music tempo specified by the music tempo specifying portion 4 from among a plurality of music data files stored along with data on music tempo of the respective music data files in a data storage portion 2, and causes the music data reproduction portion 6 to start the reproduction of the selected music data file. |
| US07737352B2 |
Instrument stand with variable supporting positions
An instrument stand with variable ground contact positions of its supporting pods is disclosed. It has a standing post mounted with two positioning rings. One of them is fixed, and the other can slide relative to the former. The positioning rings have several supporting bases and several connecting elements that fix with the supporting bases after angle adjustment. The supporting pods are locked on the two positioning rings. Each supporting pod is controlled by the relative motion of the two positioning rings to expand and collapse. The ground contact positions of the supporting pods of the invention are thus variable. |
| US07737351B2 |
Head for a percussion instrument
A base 20 made of a steel plate is fasten to a case 10 made of ABS (acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene) resin, while a pad 30 made of adhesive and elastic material such as urethane or olefin is fastened to the top surface of the base 20. To the reverse side of the surface of the pad 30 which is fastened to the base 20, i.e., to the side which is hit with sticks there is applied zinc oxide starch powder 40. A drumhead configured as described above can maintain flexibility but does not reduce repulsion between the sticks and drumhead. |
| US07737349B1 |
Decorating guitars
Apparatus and methods of decorating guitars and other stringed musical instruments are disclosed. In one aspect, a method may include UV printing a first portion of a decoration over a first region of at least part of a guitar using a first ink drop size, and UV printing a second portion of the decoration over a second region of said at least part of the guitar using a second ink drop size. In another aspect, a method may include UV printing a mask layer over a surface of at least a portion of a guitar using a first amount of image constriction and a first amount of feathering, and UV printing a decorative layer over at least a portion of the mask layer using a second amount of image constriction and a second amount of feathering. |
| US07737348B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH027859
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH027859. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH027859, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH027859 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH027859. |
| US07737346B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH887239
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH887239. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH887239, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH887239 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH887239. |
| US07737344B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH947918
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH947918. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH947918, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH947918 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH947918. |
| US07737343B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH939349
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH939349. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH939349, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH939349 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH939349. |
| US07737340B1 |
Maize variety PHGWD
A novel maize variety designated PHGWD and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PHGWD with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHGWD through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PHGWD or a trait conversion of PHGWD with another maize variety. Inbred maize varieties derived from maize variety PHGWD, methods for producing other inbred maize varieties derived from maize variety PHGWD and the inbred maize varieties and their parts derived by the use of those methods. |
| US07737337B1 |
Inbred corn line G07-NPID3260
Basically, this invention provides for an inbred corn line designated G07-NPID3260, methods for producing a corn plant by crossing plants of the inbred line G07-NPID3260 with plants of another corn plant. The invention relates to the various parts of inbred G07-NPID3260 including culturable cells. This invention also relates to methods for introducing transgenic transgenes into inbred corn line G07-NPID3260 and plants produced by said methods. |
| US07737336B1 |
Inbred maize line PHD62
A novel inbred maize variety designated PHD62 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing inbred maize variety PHD62 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHD62 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the inbred variety PHD62 or a trait conversion of PHD62 with another maize variety. Inbred maize varieties derived from inbred maize variety PHD62, methods for producing other inbred maize varieties derived from inbred maize variety PHD62 and the inbred maize varieties and their parts derived by the use of those methods. |
| US07737335B2 |
Cotton variety 05H270
The invention relates to the novel cotton variety designated 05H270. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants, plant parts and derivatives of the cotton variety 05H270. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the cotton variety 05H270 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing cotton plants by crossing the cotton variety 05H270 with itself or another cotton variety and plants produced by such methods. |
| US07737334B2 |
Cotton variety 05H229
The invention relates to the novel cotton variety designated 05H229. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants, plant parts and derivatives of the cotton variety 05H229. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the cotton variety 05H229 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing cotton plants by crossing the cotton variety 05H229 with itself or another cotton variety and plants produced by such methods. |
| US07737327B2 |
Methods for screening for genes and small molecules that activate mammalian receptor proteins
Methods for screening mutations that affect the synthesis of plant small molecules or compounds capable of activating a mammalian nuclear receptor protein and systems for rapidly assigning functionality to genes that regulate plant secondary metabolism are provided. |
| US07737323B2 |
Absorbent article
An absorbent article is provided which has such a structure that a bled portion of the colored indicator is unnoticeable. The absorbent article includes a liquid permeable top sheet, a liquid impermeable back sheet, an absorbing core interposed between the two sheets, and an indicator making it possible to visually ascertain that the absorbing core is in the wet state. The back sheet has an average hole diameter of 0.3 μm to 3 μm, and has a light transmittance of not less than 20% and not more than 45% in a state in which the absorbing core is dry. |
| US07737318B2 |
Process for fine purification of 1-butenic streams
The invention relates to a process for preparing 1-butenic fractions having less than 2000 ppm of isobutene in relation to 1-butene from technical mixtures of C4 hydrocarbons I which contain at least 1-butene and 2000 ppmw to 8% by mass of isobutene based on the 1-butene, with or without n-butane, isobutane and/or 2-butenes. |
| US07737312B2 |
Production of linear alkyl benzene
This invention relates to a process for producing linear alkyl benzene, the process including the steps of obtaining a hydrocarbon condensate containing olefins, paraffins and oxygenates from a low temperature Fischer-Tropsch reaction; a) fractionating a desired carbon number distribution from the hydrocarbon condensate to form a fractionated hydrocarbon condensate stream; b) extracting oxygenates from the fractionated hydrocarbon condensate stream from step (a) to form a stream containing olefins and paraffins; c) combining the stream containing olefins and paraffins from step (b) with the feed stream from step (g) to form a combined stream; d) alkylating olefins in the combined stream from step (c) with benzene in the presence of a suitable alkylation catalyst in an alkylation reactor; e) recovering linear alkyl benzene from the alkylation reactor; f) recovering unreacted paraffins from the alkylation reactor; g) dehydrogenating the unreacted paraffins in the presence of a suitable dehydrogenation catalyst to form a feed stream containing olefins and paraffins; and h) sending the feed stream containing olefins and paraffins from step (g) to step (c). |
| US07737311B2 |
Fuel compositions
Use of a Fischer-Tropsch derived fuel in a fuel composition is disclosed, for the purpose of reducing catalyst degradation in a catalytically driven or catalyst containing system which is running on, or is to be run on, the composition or its products, wherein the Fischer-Tropsch derived fuel is used to reduce the level of silicon in the fuel composition, such as by reducing the concentration of silicon-containing antifoaming additive(s) in the fuel composition. It may also be used to reduce loss of efficiency of fuel atomization and/or combustion, and/or to reduce build up of silicon deposits, in a fuel consuming system which is running on, or is to be run on, the fuel composition. |
| US07737309B2 |
Clathrate compound, method for controlling concentration of aqueous agricultural chemical active ingredient solution, and agricultural chemical formulation
The present invention provides a clathrate compound characterized by containing: a polymolecular host compound as a host compound; and an agricultural chemical active ingredient having a saturated solubility in water at 25° C. of not less than 500 ppm as a guest compound. The present invention also provides a method for controlling the concentration of an aqueous agricultural chemical active ingredient solution, characterized by containings a step of including an agricultural chemical active ingredient having high saturated solubility in an interior space formed of a polymolecular host compound, thereby maintaining the saturated solubility of the agricultural chemical active ingredient in water within a predetermined concentration range. The present invention also provides an agricultural chemical formulation containing the clathrate compound. The present invention also provides an agricultural active composition containing the clathrate compound and a synthetic pyrethroid. |
| US07737304B2 |
Sulfonic acid polyol compound, polyurethane resin, polyurethane resin for magnetic recording medium, and magnetic recording medium
A compound represented by the Formula (1) below is provided: wherein X denotes a divalent linking group, R1 and R2 independently denote an alkyl group having 3 or more carbons and having at least one hydroxy group or an aralkyl group having 8 or more carbons and having at least one hydroxy group, the alkyl group and aralkyl group may have a substituent, and M denotes a hydrogen atom or a cation. There is also provided a polyurethane resin obtained by polymerization of a polyisocyanate and a polyol that includes the compound. There is also provided a magnetic recording medium that includes a non-magnetic support and, above the support, at least one magnetic layer including a ferromagnetic powder dispersed in a binder that includes the polyurethane resin. There is also provided a magnetic recording medium that includes a non-magnetic support, above the support at least one non-magnetic layer including a non-magnetic powder dispersed in a binder (1), and, above the non-magnetic layer, at least one magnetic layer having a ferromagnetic powder dispersed in a binder (2), in which binder (1) and/or binder (2) is the polyurethane resin. |
| US07737297B2 |
Esterification process of polyols with tertiary alkyl substituted acids
A process to prepare polyol esters from tertiary alkyl acid with reduced homo-polymerisation of the polyols. The ester polyol can be used in the synthesis of further polyester resins for coating or structural/composite or lube oil applications. |
| US07737295B2 |
CETP inhibitors
Compounds of Formula I, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds, are CETP inhibitors, and are useful for raising HDL-cholesterol, reducing LDL-cholesterol, and for treating or preventing atherosclerosis. In the compounds of Formula 1, A1 and A2 are each an aromatic ring, a 5-6-membered heterocyclic ring, an aromatic ring fused to a heterocyclic ring, a phenyl ring fused to a heterocyclic ring, or a cycloalkyl ring. |
| US07737293B2 |
Amide forming chemical ligation
An amide is formed by reacting an α-ketoacid or salt thereof in a decarboxylative condensation reaction with an amine or salt thereof comprising a nitrogen covalently bound to an atom selected from oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The amide bond is formed between the α-carbon of the ketoacid and the nitrogen of the amine. The α-ketoacid can be formed using a novel sulfur reagent. |
| US07737291B2 |
Composition containing siloxane compound and phenol compound
A composition containing 100 parts by mass of a siloxane compound having —HSiRO— (wherein R is a hydrogen atom, a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms or a phenoxy group) and 0.0001 to 1 part by mass of at least one phenol compound of general formula (1) or (2) as a stabilizer. wherein a and b are each an integer of 0 to 4; m is 0 or 1; p and q are each 1 or 2; R1, R2, R3, and R4 are each an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; X1 and X2 each represent an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a halogen atom; Y is an alkanediyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and a plurality of R1s, R2s, R3s, R4s, X1s, X2s or Ys, where present per molecule, may be the same or different. |
| US07737289B2 |
Process for enriching polyunsaturated fatty acids
A process for enriching and separating polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) acyl groups in a fatty acid mixture, which mixture contains other non-PUFA fatty acid acyl groups, is disclosed. |
| US07737287B2 |
Anomeric derivatives of monosaccharides
This invention relates to combinatorial libraries of potentially biologically active mainly monosaccharide compounds and to methods of preparing same. These compounds are variously functionalized, with a view to varying lipid solubility, size, function and other properties, with the particular aim of discovering a drug or drug-like compound, or compounds with useful properties. The invention provides intermediates, processes and synthetic strategies for the solution or solid phase synthesis of monosaccharides, variously functionalized about the sugar ring, including the addition of aromaticity and charge, and the placement of amino acid and peptide side chain units of isosteres thereof. |
| US07737284B2 |
Synthesis of temozolomide and analogs
This invention relates to a novel process for the synthesis of Temozolomide, an antitumor compound, and analogs, and to intermediates useful in this novel process. |
| US07737282B2 |
Benzimidazole compound crystal
A novel crystal of (R)-2-[[[3-methyl-4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-2-pyridinyl]methyl]sulfinyl]-1H-benzimidazole or a salt thereof of the present invention is useful for an excellent antiulcer agent. |
| US07737280B2 |
Processes for preparing palonosetron salts
The present invention provides processes for preparing Palonosetron salts, especially, the hydrochloride salt and intermediates used to prepare Palonosetron salts. |
| US07737275B2 |
Method for producing 3-phenyl(thio)uracils and 3-phenyldithiouracils
A process is described for preparing 3-phenyl(thio)uracils or 3-phenyldithiouracils of the formula I, by reacting a phenyl iso(thio)cyanate of the formula II with an enamine of the formula III and, if appropriate, in a further step, the resulting 3-phenyl(thio)uracil or 3-phenyldithiouracil of the formula I where R1=R1a, when R1=hydrogen, is reacted with an aminating agent of the formula IV to give 3-phenyl(thio)uracils or 3-phenyldithiouracils of the formula I where R1=amino where the variables R1, R1a, R2, R3, R4, X1, X2, X3, Ar, A and L1 are each as defined in claim 1. |
| US07737272B2 |
Diazaphosphacycle transition metal complexes
Transition metal complexes include a diazaphosphacycle of formula III and a transition metal. The phosphorus atom of the diazaphosphacycle is bonded to the transition metal and the diazaphosphacycle of formula III has the following structure where the variables have the values set forth herein. |
| US07737270B2 |
Method for producing a pigment
Provided is a method for producing a pigment, in particular, a metal phthalocyanine, in high yield and in a green process. The method has (1) a step of obtaining a solution mixture by mixing at least one type of compound serving as a raw material for a pigment with a solvent, and (2) a step of obtaining the pigment by reacting the compound while holding the solution mixture at not less than a temperature where a subcritical state or a supercritical state of the solvent occurs. |
| US07737268B2 |
Method of recovering nucleic acids and kit for recovering nucleic acids
Disclosure is a method of separately recovering deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid from a biological sample solution. They are separated and recovered from a single biological sample by controlling pH values, temperature, and/or concentration of cationic ions of a nucleic acid sample solution containing a caotropic agent. It is possible to easily and safely separate and recover deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid from the single biological sample. |
| US07737262B2 |
Plasmodium falciparum polypeptides and methods of using same
Compositions and methods are provided for the induction of a protective immunize response in primates against a lethal challenge of Plasmodium. |
| US07737259B2 |
Compositions and methods for the treatment of diseases and disorders associated with cytokine signaling
Compositions and methods are provided for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation and autoimmune disorders, such as psoriasis. Compositions and methods for modulating IL-23 or IL-22 signaling are provided. |
| US07737258B2 |
Uses of monoclonal antibody 8H9
This invention provides a composition comprising an effective amount of monoclonal antibody 8H9 or a derivative thereof and a suitable carrier. This invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of monoclonal antibody 8H9 or a derivative thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. This invention also provides an antibody other than the monoclonal antibody 8H9 comprising the complementary determining regions of monoclonal antibody 8H9 or a derivative thereof, capable of binding to the same antigen as the monoclonal antibody 8H9. This invention provides a substance capable of competitively inhibiting the binding of monoclonal antibody 8H9. This invention also provides an isolated scFv of monoclonal antibody 8H9 or a derivative thereof. This invention also provides the 8H9 antigen. This invention also provides a method of inhibiting the growth of tumor cells comprising contacting said tumor cells with an appropriate amount of monoclonal antibody 8H9 or a derivative thereof. |
| US07737257B2 |
Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF-3)
The present invention relates to a novel connective tissue growth factor-3 protein which is a member of the growth factor superfamily. In particular, isolated nucleic acid molecules are provided encoding the human connective tissue growth factor-3 protein. Connective tissue growth factor-3 polypeptides are also provided as are vectors, host cells and recombinant methods for producing the same. Also provided are diagnostic and therapeutic methods for detecting and treating connective tissue related disorders. |
| US07737255B1 |
Method of diagnosing, monitoring, staging, imaging and treating various cancers
The present invention provides a new method for detecting, diagnosing, monitoring, staging, prognosticating, imaging and treating selected cancers including gynecologic cancers such as breast, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancer and lung cancer. |
| US07737254B2 |
Chimeric human T1R1 taste receptor polypeptides and compositions containing same
Newly identified mammalian taste-cell-specific G protein-coupled receptors, and the genes and cDNA encoding said receptors are described. Specifically, T1R G protein-coupled receptors active in taste signaling, and the genes and cDNA encoding the same, are described, along with methods for isolating such genes and for isolating and expressing such receptors. Methods for representing taste perception of a particular tastant in a mammal are also described, as are methods for generating novel molecules or combinations of molecules that elicit a predetermined taste perception in a mammal, and methods for simulating one or more tastes. Further, methods for stimulating or blocking taste perception in a mammal are also disclosed. |
| US07737250B2 |
Peptides for treating axonal damage, inhibition of neurotransmitter release and pain transmission, and blocking calcium influx in neurons
The present invention pertains to methods to promote outgrowth of, or extension across a substrate of, neuronal cells by inhibiting the interaction between the cytoplasmic tail of the L1-CAM cell surface adhesion molecule and the cytoskeletal protein ankyrin. The invention also pertains to a method to treat diseases characterized by axonal damage such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative disease by administration of novel peptides that inhibit the binding of the L1-CAM cytoplasmic tail to ankyrin, and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such peptides. The invention further pertains to a method of blocking calcium flux to protect against neural cell death following stroke or traumatic head injury. |
| US07737248B2 |
Charge-transporting compound, charge-transporting material, charge-transporting varnish, charge-transporting thin film, and organic electroluminescent device
Using a charge transporting organic compound made of a polymer whose polymer main chain has a fluorene derivative, which is substituted with an amino group having an aromatic ring or heterocyclic ring, connected thereto at the 9 position thereof, e.g. a compound represented by the following formula (1), in a charge transporting thin film, the resulting organic EL element ensures low voltage drive, a high luminance, a very long life and no imperfections. |
| US07737247B2 |
Polymers of thieno[3,4-b]furan, method of making, and use thereof
Polymers and copolymers having units derived from unsubstituted or substituted thieno[3,4-b]furan are disclosed. Also provided are methods of making and using the same. |
| US07737246B2 |
Polyester compositions which comprise cyclobutanediol, cyclohexanedimethanol, and ethylene glycol and manufacturing processes therefor
Described as one aspect of the invention are polyester compositions comprising at least one polyester which comprises: (a) a dicarboxylic acid component comprising: (i) about 90 to about 100 mole % of terephthalic acid residues; (ii) about 0 to about 10 mole % of aromatic and/or aliphatic dicarboxylic acid residues having up to 20 carbon atoms; and (b) a glycol component comprising: (i) about 20 to about 40 mole % 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol residues; and (ii) about 20 to about 40 mole % cyclohexanedimethanol residues; (iii) ethylene glycol residues, and (iv) less than about 2 mole % of a modifying glycol having from 3 to 16 carbon atoms; wherein the total mole % of the dicarboxylic acid component is 100 mole %, and wherein the total mole % of the glycol component is 100 mole %; and wherein the inherent viscosity of the polyester is from 0.50 to 1.2 dL/g as determined in 60/40 (wt/wt) phenol/tetrachloroethane at a concentration of 0.25 g/50 ml at 25° C. The polyesters may be manufactured into articles. |
| US07737245B2 |
Process for preparing phenolic polymer by using phenothiazines mediator
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a phenolic polymer using a phenothiazine-based mediator, in particular, to a process for preparing a phenolic polymer via polymerization of phenolic monomers by using a phenothiazine-based mediator in the presence of peroxidase biocatalyst and an oxidant, thereby drastically improving the enzyme reactivity of peroxidase. The phenolic polymers prepared according to the polymerization of this invention maintain unsaturated hydrocarbon groups linked to their side chains, so that they are very useful as a curing resin because they can easily form coatings through radical curing. In addition, the coating formed using the curing resin has an antioxidation effect and a low surface energy, so that they can prevent physical attachment of marine livings. Because the antifouling-causing functional groups are not consumed, the coatings continuously exhibit durability. |
| US07737244B2 |
Process for preparing polyarylate
The present invention relates to a process for preparing polyarylate, and more specifically, to a process for preparing polyarylate by interfacial polymerization of a bivalent phenol compound and an aromatic dicarboxylic acid or a halide thereof, which comprises mixing a cationic catalyst for the phase transition and a nonionic surfactant in a predetermined ratio, to further increase the yield of polyarylate, as compared with the case of using each of the nonionic surfactant and the cationic catalyst for the phase transition alone. |
| US07737241B2 |
Amido-organoborate initiator systems
The invention is a system for initiating free radical polymerization comprising: a) in one part, one or more amido-borate compounds containing one or more anionic amido-borate moieties comprising an organoborate wherein the boron atom is bonded to a nitrogen atom of ammonia or an organic compound containing one or more nitrogen atoms, such as a hydrocarbyl amine, a hydrocarbyl polyamine, or an aromatic heterocycle containing one or more nitrogen atoms and optionally containing one or more heteroatoms or heteroatom containing functional moieties, and one or more cationic counter ions and b) in a second part, a liberating compound which reacts with the nitrogen atom(s) bound to the boron atom(s) upon contact with the amido-borate to form an organoborane radical. |
| US07737240B2 |
Hydrogel functionalized with a polymerizable moiety and their uses as biosensors or bioreactors
The present invention relates to a new hydrogel functionalized with a polymerizable moiety, the polymerized hydrogels, films and gels comprising the same and their use for cells, proteins, DNA or other molecules encapsulation, including use as biosensors or bioreactors. |
| US07737239B2 |
Propylene copolymer, polypropylene composition and uses thereof, transition metal compound and olefin polymerization catalyst
A propylene elastomer (PBER) comprising (a) 50 to 85 mol % of units derived from propylene, (b) 5 to 25 mol % of units derived from 1-butene and (c) 10 to 25 mol % of units derived from ethylene, and having a molar ratio of propylene content to ethylene content of from 89/11 to 70/30, and a modulus in tension (YM), as measured in accordance with JIS 6301, of not more than 40 Mpa. |
| US07737238B2 |
Resin suitable for powder coating compositions
A resin suitable for powder coating including glycidyl acrylate or glycidyl methacrylate. The resin may also contain a high Tg and hydrophobicity monomer. Typical powder coatings made from the resin show improved powder coating handling, and particularly acid etch resistance. |
| US07737237B2 |
Controlled structure copolymer comprising an amphoteric or zwitterionic part
The present invention concerns a controlled structure copolymer comprising at least two different parts, a first part A, amphoteric or zwitterionic, including anionic or potentially anionic units, and cationic or potentially cationic units, or zwitterionic units, and another part B, non amphoteric or zwitterionic. Said copolymer further exhibits a high potential for adaptation, through variation in its composition, in order to improve or modify the properties of compositions in which it is introduced. |
| US07737232B2 |
Method for the production of water-free rare earth metal halogenides, synthesis mixtures containing water-free rare earth metal halogenides and use thereof
A method for the production of water-free rare earth metal halogenides by reacting rare earth metal oxides with a halogentation agent. |
| US07737231B2 |
Process for producing water-absorbing resin
A process for preparing a water-absorbent resin made from an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid as an essential monomer characterized in that the process comprises allowing a metal chelating agent to be present at any step in the process in an amount of 0.001 to 6 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid; and adding a reducing agent or an oxidizing agent thereto in an amount of 0.001 to 6 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid before initiation of drying and/or during drying of a gelated product containing a water-absorbent resin obtained by polymerization. |
| US07737229B2 |
Continuous preparation of ethylene homopolymers or copolymers
The invention relates to a process for the continuous preparation of ethylene homopolymers or copolymers in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators and, if desired, molecular weight regulators at from 120° C. to 350° C. and pressures in the range from 100 to 4000 bar, in which the polymer is separated from unpolymerized ethylene in a high-pressure stage at a pressure of from 100 to 500 bar and at least one low-pressure stage at a pressure of from 1 to 100 bar and the ethylene separated off in the high-pressure stage is separated from remaining monomeric, oligomeric and/or polymeric constituents and recirculated to the inlet of the tube reactor in a high-pressure circuit and the ethylene separated off in the low-pressure stage is separated from remaining monomeric, oligomeric and/or polymeric constituents and recirculated to the inlet of the tube reactor in a low-pressure circuit. The initiator is used as a solution in an isoparaffinic solvent having a boiling point of not more than 160° C. and the solvent is separated from the other monomeric, oligomeric and/or polymeric constituents in the low-pressure circuit. The solvent is then, if appropriate after being admixed with fresh solvent, reused for dissolving initiator. |
| US07737227B2 |
Composition for an organic hard mask and method for forming a pattern on a semiconductor device using the same
A composition for the organic hard mask includes a polyamic acid compound, and a method for forming a pattern is used in a manufacturing process of semiconductor devices by coating the composition for organic hard mask film on an underlying layer, and depositing a second hard mask film with a silicon nitride SiON film thereon to form a double hard mask film having an excellent etching selectivity, thereby obtaining a uniform pattern. |
| US07737223B2 |
Coating compositions containing amine-hydroxy functional polymer and/or amine-carbamate functional polymer
The present invention is directed to a substantially pigment-free coating composition with good cure response and improved appearance. In particular, the substantially pigment-free coating composition may comprise (a) at least one functional polymer containing amine groups and groups selected from hydroxyl and carbamate; and (b) a crosslinking agent. |
| US07737220B2 |
High density homopolymer blends
A blend of ethylene homopolymers contains at least one blend component having a very low molecular weight and a narrow molecular weight distribution. The blend has surprisingly high density and low hexane extractables. The blend is suitable for the manufacture of a wide variety of plastic goods including extruded goods and molded goods. Plastic film prepared from the blends of this invention have a low Water Vapor Transmission Rate (“WVTR”). |
| US07737210B2 |
Composition comprising polyvinyl chloride and ethylene copolymer
Disclosed is a composition comprising, consisting essentially of, consisting of, or produced from polyvinyl chloride, filler, and an impact strength-retaining amount of a modifier wherein the modifier includes is or an ethylene copolymer, an acid anhydride- or acid monoester-modified polyolefin, or combinations thereof. Also disclosed is a process comprising combining an impact strength-retaining amount of a modifier to a blend that comprises or is produced by combining a rigid PVC and one or more fillers. The combining is carried out under a condition sufficient to prevent or minimize the reduction of impact strength of the blend, to reduce the molten viscosity of the blend, or to minimize the loss in stiffness (flexural modulus) of the blend, in comparison to the unmodified blend. |
| US07737200B2 |
Barrier compositions and articles produced with the compositions
A stable, aqueous barrier coating composition includes: (a) prolamine; (b) cold water insoluble polymer; (c) water; (d) water-soluble co-solvent; and (e) stabilizer. The composition, when applied to a substrate, produces an article having a high surface energy and resistance to oil and grease penetration. A method of producing the article involves applying the composition to a substrate. |
| US07737197B2 |
Bonding of powder coating compositions
A method of producing a coating composition containing flake-like, color effect pigment particles and polymeric binder. The pigment composition has an initial size with fine particles. Upon mixing and heating the pigment composition to a temperature to achieve a second particle size distribution, the fine particles in the initial particle size distribution are bound to the larger particles in the pigment composition. The time and temperature of bonding the pigment composition can be adjusted to account for the chemistry of the polymeric binder and the loading of the flake-like, color effect pigment. |
| US07737194B2 |
Silicone lens and silicone resin composition for molding lens
A colorless transparent silicone lens produced by thermally curing a silicone resin composition comprising (A) an organopolysiloxane having a resin structure comprising R1SiO1.5 unit, R22SiO unit, and R3aR4bSiO(4-a-b)/2 unit wherein R1, R2, and R3 are independently methyl group, ethyl group, propyl group, cyclohexyl group, or phenyl group, R4 is vinyl group or allyl group, a is 0, 1, or 2, b is 1 or 2, and a+b is 2 or 3, and wherein number of repetition of the R22SiO unit is 5 to 300, (B) an organohydrogen polysiloxane having a resin structure comprising R1SiO1.5 unit, R22SiO unit, and R3cHdSiO(4-c-d)/2 unit wherein c is 0, 1, or 2, d is 1 or 2, and c+d is 2 or 3, and wherein number of repetition of the R22SiO unit is 5 to 300, the component, and (C) a platinum group catalyst. A silicone lens having excellent flexibility, transparency, and moldability as well as reduced surface tackiness is provided. |
| US07737193B2 |
Hydrogenated nitrile rubber with narrow molecular weight distribution, a process for its preparation and a method of use
A novel process produces a novel hydrogenated nitrile rubber (B) which features a very narrow molecular weight distribution and a correspondingly low value for the polydispersity index. The preparation process encompasses the treatment of a hydrogenated nitrile rubber (A) with ultrasound, whereupon the resultant hydrogenated nitrile rubber (B) has a lower weight-average molecular weight (Mw) than the hydrogenated nitrile rubber (A). The resultant hydrogenated nitrile rubber (B) has excellent suitability for the production of mouldings via processing by extrusion processes or by injection-moulding processes. |
| US07737189B2 |
Process for the preparation, under subcritical conditions, of monolithic xerogels and aerogels of silica/latex hybrids, modified with alkoxysilane groups
The invention relates to a process for the preparation of monolithic xerogels and aerogels of silica/latex hybrids under subcritical conditions. In the two-stage synthesis of these alcogels in the presence of an acid-base catalyst, the hydrolysis and polycondensation of a silicon alkoxide are carried out in an organic medium containing excess water. A latex consisting of polybutyl methacrylate and polybutyl acrylate, modified with alkoxysilane groups, is first synthesized and then incorporated in the mixture either in the first stage in order to effect its co-hydrolysis with the silicon alkoxide, or in the second stage to effect its co-condensation with the previously hydrolysed colloidal silica. The resulting alcogels are aged, washed, and dried under subcritical conditions. This process gives hybrid products containing 0.1-50 wt-% of latex and having a density of 300-1300 kg/m3, a porosity of 40-85%, a specific surface area of 400-900 m2/g and a mean pore diameter of 2-12 nm. The products are resistant to atmospheric humidity and moisture, have better mechanical properties than the corresponding inorganic products, and can be used as thermal, acoustic and electrical insulators. |
| US07737186B2 |
Cosmetic use of phytosphingosine as slimming agent and cosmetic compositions comprising phytosphingosine
The invention relates to novel cosmetic uses of phytosphingosine or of one of its cosmetically acceptable salts, particularly its hydrochloride, as a slimming agent and/or as an active agent which stimulates the synthesis of leptin by adipocytes, for preparing a cosmetic composition intended for reducing subcutaneous excess fat.The invention also relates to a method of cosmetic treatment intended for obtaining a slimming effect on the human body according to which a cosmetic composition containing phytosphingosine or one of its cosmetically acceptable salts, particularly its hydrochloride, is applied on the parts of the body to be treated.The invention also relates to novel cosmetic compositions containing phytosphingosine or one of its cosmetically acceptable salts, particularly its hydrochloride, in combination with a lipolytic agent selected from the group consisting of cAMP and its derivatives, adenylate cyclase enzyme activating agents and phosphodiesterase enzyme inhibiting agents. |
| US07737185B2 |
Methods and compositions with trans-clomiphene
The present invention relates to the use of compositions comprising trans-clomiphene for treating wasting, especially a loss of muscle mass. The invention is also directed to methods for treating wasting in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. The present invention is also directed to methods for treating hypogonadism in males with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. |
| US07737179B2 |
Methods for treatment of dermatological conditions
A method of reducing the appearance of skin conditions associated with loss of skin tightness, skin firmness, or dark circles under the eyes with topical compositions comprising compounds of any of the Formulae I or Ia as described herein, is disclosed. |
| US07737175B2 |
Methods and compositions for regulating HDAC4 activity
The present invention provides methods and compositions for modulating HDAC4 activity and modulating the activity of proteins downstream of HDAC4 in the muscle transcriptional pathway in a cell by modulating HDAC4 activity. Further provided are methods and compositions for treating muscle atrophy and/or inflammation by inhibiting HDAC4 activity. |
| US07737172B2 |
3-3-di-substituted-oxindoles as inhibitors of translation initiation
Compositions and methods for inhibiting translation using 3-(5-tert-Butyl-2-Hydroxy-phenyl)-3-phenyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one and/or its derivatives are provided. Compositions, methods and kits for treating (1) cellular proliferative disorders, (2) non-proliferative, degenerative disorders, (3) viral infections, and/or (4) disorders associated with viral infections, using 3-(5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-phenyl)-3-phenyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one and/or its derivatives are described. |
| US07737163B2 |
Benzimidazolone carboxylic acid derivatives
This invention relates to compounds of the formula (I): wherein R1, R2, R3, A and m are each as described herein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, and compositions containing such compounds and the use of such compounds in the treatment of a condition mediated by 5-HT4 receptor activity such as, but not limited to, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastrointestinal disease, gastric motility disorder, non-ulcer dyspepsia, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, dyspepsia, esophagitis, gastroesophageral disease, nausea, central nervous system disease, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive disorder, emesis, migraine, neurological disease, pain, cardiovascular disorders such as cardiac failure and heart arrhythmia, diabetes and apnea syndrome. |
| US07737162B2 |
Viral inhibitors
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment or prevention of viral infections comprising as an active principle at least one imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine derivative having the general formula (Z): (formula). The invention also relates to processes for the preparation of compounds according to the invention having above mentioned general formula and their use as a medicine or to treat or prevent viral infections. |
| US07737161B2 |
Condensed furan compounds
The present invention provides a condensed furan compound of the formula (I): wherein Ring X is benzene, pyridine, or the like; Y is an optionally substituted amino, an optionally substituted cycloalkyl, an optionally substituted aryl, an optionally substituted saturated heterocyclic group, an optionally substituted unsaturated heterocyclic group; A is a single bond, lower alkylene, lower alkenylidene, lower alkenylene or an oxygen atom; R3 is hydrogen or the like; and, R4 is hydrogen, or the like, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, which is useful as a medicament, particularly, as an activated blood coagulation factor X inhibitor. |
| US07737151B2 |
Pyrazine kinase inhibitors
The present invention relates to compounds useful as inhibitors of protein kinases of the following formula: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The invention also provides pharmaceutically acceptable compositions comprising those compounds and methods of using the compounds and compositions in the treatment of various disease, conditions, and disorders. The invention also provides processes for preparing compounds of the inventions. |
| US07737148B2 |
Therapeutic agents useful for treating pain
A compound of formula: wherein Ar, Ar1, Ar2, R3-R6, R13, m, and t are disclosed herein, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof (a “Hydroxyiminopiperazine Compound”); compositions comprising an effective amount of a Hydroxyiminopiperazine Compound; and methods for treating or preventing pain and other conditions in an animal comprising administering to an animal in need thereof an effective amount of a Hydroxyiminopiperazine Compound are disclosed. |
| US07737147B2 |
Methods and compositions to enhance the efficacy of phosphodiesterase inhibitors
Methods for treatment of sexual dysfunction in men and women using combinations of phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 5 inhibitors and l-deprenyl or propargylamine compounds are described. Methods of reducing the dosage and preventing the side effects of PDE type 5 inhibitors are also described. The methods comprise administering a therapeutically effective amount of l-deprenyl or propargylamine compounds (also called monoamine oxidase [MAO] inhibitors) in combination with PDE inhibitors. Stimulation of nitric oxide production and vasodilation by l-deprenyl and propargylamine compounds augments the actions of PDE inhibitors or other drugs and methods used in the treatment of sexual dysfunction. The composition described here enhances the actions of PDE inhibitors primarily by increasing the generation of cyclic GMP by stimulating the nitric oxide pathway and secondarily by providing several additional benefits such as enhanced dopamine activity. Methods of enhancing the efficacy of various PDE inhibitors in the treatment of a number of disorders other than sexual dysfunction are also disclosed. |
| US07737146B2 |
Compound, useful for pancreatic lipase inhibition and the process for isolation thereof
The present invention relates to a novel, Nonadeca-6-enoic acid-3-(hexadecyloxy-hydroxy-thiophosphoryloxy)-quinoxalin-2-yl ester designated as streptolipin, useful for pancreatic lipase inhibition, isolated from the culture of Streptomyces vayuensis strain N2 having molecular formula (1) and a process for the preparation thereof. |
| US07737144B2 |
Pyrimido[5,4-e][1,2,4]triazine-5-7-diones, processes for preparing them and their use
The invention relates to pyrimido[5,4-e][1,2,4]triazine-5,7-diones, pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and physiologically functional derivatives.The invention therefore relates to compounds of the formula I, in which the radicals have the given meanings, and to their physiologically tolerated salts and processes for preparing them. The compounds are suitable for use as antidiabetics, for example. |
| US07737143B2 |
Substituted pyrazines as kinase inhibitors
A compound of general formula (I) or pharmaceutically acceptable prodrugs, salts, hydrates, solvates, crystal forms or diastereomers thereof is described. A method of treating kinase-associated disease states using the compound of formula (I) is also described. |
| US07737140B2 |
Therapeutic compounds
Compounds comprising or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or a prodrug thereof, are disclosed, wherein J1, J2, U1, B, Y, and A are as described. Methods, compositions, and medicaments related thereto are also disclosed. |
| US07737135B2 |
Biphenyloxyacetic acid derivatives for the treatment of respiratory disease
The invention relates to substituted phenoxyacetic acids of formula (I), where the variables are as defined in claim 1, as useful pharmaceutical compounds for treating respiratory disorders, pharmaceutical compositions containing them, and processes for their preparation. |
| US07737132B2 |
β-cyclodextrin derivatives as antibacterial agents
The invention provides a new class of antibiotics to which pathogenic bacteria have not been exposed, and thus should not have developed resistance. This new class of antibiotics are derivatives of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), which is a cyclic molecule comprising seven D-glucose units. |
| US07737131B2 |
Multifunctional and biologically active matrices from multicomponent polymeric solutions
The present invention relates to a biologically active functionalized electrospun matrix to permit immobilization and long-term delivery of biologically active agents. In particular the invention relates to a functionalized polymer matrix comprising a matrix polymer, a compatibilizing polymer and a biomolecule or other small functioning molecule. In certain aspects the electrospun polymer fibers comprise at least one biologically active molecule functionalized with low molecular weight heparin. Examples of active molecules that may be used with the multicomponent polymer of the invention include, for example, a drug, a biopolymer, for example a growth factor, a protein, a peptide, a nucleotide, a polysaccharide, a biological macromolecule or the like. The invention is further directed to the formation of functionalized crosslinked matrices, such as hydrogels, that include at least one functionalized compatibilizing polymer capable of assembly. |
| US07737127B2 |
2-propynyl adenosine analogs having A2A agonist activity and compositions thereof
The invention provides compounds having the following general formula (I): wherein X, R1, R2, R7 and Z are as described here. |
| US07737126B2 |
Purine derivative
A compound of formula (I) and salts and solvates thereof are disclosed. Compounds of formula (I) are agonists of the adenosine A2A receptor and are believed to be of potential use in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. |
| US07737124B2 |
Method for expression of small antiviral RNA molecules with reduced cytotoxicity within a cell
In one aspect, the invention provides methods and compositions for the expression of small RNA molecules within a cell using a retroviral vector (FIG. 1A). Small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be expressed using the methods of the invention within a cell. In a further aspect, the invention provides methods for producing siRNA encoding lentivirus where the siRNA activity may interfere with the lentiviral life cycle. In yet a further aspect, the invention provides methods for expression of a small RNA molecule within a cell, such as an siRNA capable of downregulating CCR5, wherein expression of the small RNA molecule is relatively non-cytotoxic to the cell. The invention also includes small RNA molecules, such as an siRNA capable of downregulating CCR5, that are relatively non-cytotoxic to cells. |
| US07737123B2 |
Multidrug resistant anticancer anthracyclines
Daunorubicin (“DNR”) compounds synthesized with uncommon sugars exhibit enhanced effectiveness in treating various drug-resistant cancers. |
| US07737119B2 |
Cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition comprising peptides, uses and treatment processes
The present invention has as an aim a cosmetic and/or dermatological and/or pharmaceutical composition comprising, as an active ingredient, at least a peptide of sequence X1-Y-Phe-Thr-X2-Ala-Thr-Z-Ile-X3-Leu-X4-Phe-Leu-X5 (SEQ ID NO: 1); wherein: X1, X2, X3, X4, X5=Arg, Lys, His; Y=Asp, Glu; Z=Asn, Gln, or one of its fragment containing from 4 to 7 amino acids, and the motif Phe-Leu.The invention also relates to a method for preventing or treating skin against the manifestations of cutaneous aging. |
| US07737118B2 |
Rotational intrathecal analgesia
A method of producing analgesia in a mammal is provided by rotational (alternating) intrathecal administration to the mammal of a pharmaceutically effective dose of at least one opioid receptor agonist, such as a μ-, δ-, or κ-opioid receptor agonist for a first period of time, followed by intrathecal administration to the mammal of a pharmaceutically effective dose of at least one opioid receptor-like receptor 1 (ORL-1) agonist for a second period of time. The intrathecal drug administration of the first and second periods of time may be repeated a plurality of times without attaining tolerance in the mammal to either drug. Implantable apparatus for rotational administration of the active agents is also disclosed. |
| US07737111B2 |
Peptides and related molecules that bind to TALL-1
The present invention concerns therapeutic agents that modulate the activity of TALL-1. In accordance with the present invention, modulators of TALL-1 may comprise an amino acid sequence Dz2Lz4 wherein z2 is an amino acid residue and z4 is threonyl or isoleucyl. Exemplary molecules comprise a sequence of the formulae (SEQ. ID. NO:100) a1a2a3CDa6La8a9a10Ca12a13a14, (SEQ. ID. NO:104) b1b2b3Cb5b6Db8Lb10b11b12b13b14Cb16b17b18 (SEQ. ID. NO:105) c1c2c3Cc5Dc7Lc9c10c11c12c13c14Cc16c17c18 (SEQ. ID. NO:106) d1d2d3Cd5d6d7WDd10Ld13d14d15Cd16d17d18 (SEQ. ID. NO:107) e1e2e3Ce5e6e7De9Le11Ke13Ce15e16e17e18 (SEQ. ID NO:109) f1f2f3Kf5Df7Lf9f10Qf12f13f14 wherein the substituents are as defined in the specification. The invention further comprises compositions of matter of the formula (X1)a—V1—(X2)b wherein V1 is a vehicle that is covalently attached to one or more of the above TALL-1 modulating compositions of matter. The vehicle and the TALL-1 modulating composition of matter may be linked through the N- or C-terminus of the TALL-1 modulating portion. The preferred vehicle is an Fc domain, and the preferred Fc domain is an IgG Fc domain. |
| US07737109B2 |
Obesity controlling method
A method of controlling obesity by physically narrowing the lumen of the pylorus One embodiment includes injection of a bio-compatible bulking or stiffening material into the pyloric sphincter area of the stomach. The injection of this material bulks the pyloric sphincter, narrowing the lumen, retarding stomach emptying and producing a feeling of satiation in the patient. The method may be practiced or supplemented by cauterization of the pyloric sphincter or by suturing the sphincter to narrow the same and may be augmented by inducing flacid paralysis of the stomach by injecting botulinum toxin into the muscle tissue of the antrum or fundus of the stomach. |
| US07737108B1 |
Enhanced transport using membrane disruptive agents
Compositions and methods for transport or release of therapeutic and diagnostic agents or metabolites or other analytes from cells, compartments within cells, or through cell layers or barriers are described. The compositions include a membrane barrier transport enhancing agent and are usually administered in combination with an enhancer and/or exposure to stimuli to effect disruption or altered permeability, transport or release. In a preferred embodiment, the compositions include compounds which disrupt endosomal membranes in response to the low pH in the endosomes but which are relatively inactive toward cell membranes (at physiologic pH, but can become active toward cell membranes if the environment is acidified below ca. pH 6.8), coupled directly or indirectly to a therapeutic or diagnostic agent. Other disruptive agents can also be used, responsive to stimuli and/or enhancers other than pH, such as light, electrical stimuli, electromagnetic stimuli, ultrasound, temperature, or combinations thereof. The compounds can be coupled by ionic, covalent or H bonds to an agent to be delivered or to a ligand which forms a complex with the agent to be delivered. Agents to be delivered can be therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents. Treatments which enhance delivery such as ultrasound, iontopheresis, and/or electrophereis can also be used with the disrupting agents. |
| US07737089B2 |
Photoactivatable two-stage protective groups for the synthesis of biopolymers
The present invention relates to a process for synthesizing biopolymers by stepwise assembly from protected synthesis building blocks which carry two-stage protective groups. The two-stage protective groups are activated by a first illumination step and eliminated by a subsequent chemical treatment step. Photoactivatable components which considerably speed up the activation process via intramolecular triplet sensitizers or/and have fluorescence properties are used. The two-stage protective groups can be used in particular within the framework of quality control. |
| US07737084B2 |
Image fading preventing agent, image forming element, recording medium, image forming method and image
The invention provides an image fading preventing agent capable of preventing the discoloration/fading of an image formed and stably retaining its image quality over a long period of time, as well as an image forming element, a recording medium, an image forming method and an image using the agent. The image fading preventing agent is used in a region in which an image is formed by a coloring material, and has a functional group to cause intramolecular proton transfer in its molecule. An image is formed by the image forming element, recording medium or image forming method using the agent. |
| US07737083B2 |
High performance adsorbents based on activated carbon of high microporosity
The invention concerns high performance adsorbents based on activated carbon of high microporosity which are present in the form of discrete grains of activated carbon, preferably in spherical form, and which are characterized by the following parameters: a Gurvich total pore volume of at least 0.7 cm3/g, at least 70% of this total pore volume being formed by micropores having pore diameters of ≦20 Å, a measure of central tendency pore diameter of not more than 30 Å, and a BET surface area of at least 1500 m2/g. These high performance adsorbents are particularly useful for the adsorption of toxins, noxiants and odors, in particular from gas or to be more precise air streams, for purifying or cleaning gases, such as in particular air, for application in medicine or to be more precise pharmacy and as sorptive storage media for gases, in particular hydrogen. |
| US07737081B2 |
Method of operating a catalyst which includes components for storing hydrocarbons
This invention relates to a method of operating a catalyst for treating the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, the catalyst comprising, in addition to catalytically active noble metals, also storage components for storing hydrocarbons. During engine operating phases at low exhaust-gas temperatures, such a catalyst stores the hydrocarbons contained in the exhaust gas without burning them. When the exhaust-gas temperature rises, these hydrocarbons are desorbed again and then oxidized at the catalytically active noble metals. This process can lead to uncontrolled, vigorous combustion of the hydrocarbons stored on the catalyst and, therefore, damage to the catalyst. According to the invention, this damage is avoided by continuously calculating the respective loading of the storage components with hydrocarbons and repeatedly regenerating the storage components depending on the loading by temporarily raising the exhaust-gas temperature before damage to the catalyst can occur. |
| US07737077B2 |
Catalyst for purifying exhaust gases
This is to provide a catalyst for purifying exhaust gases, catalyst which are good in terms of the purifying performance.A catalyst according to the present invention for purifying exhaust gases comprises: a catalytic support substrate (1); a first catalytic layer (2) having a first loading layer formed on an upstream side of the catalytic support substrate (1) and made of a fire-resistant inorganic oxide, and Rh loaded in the first loading layer; a second catalytic layer (3) having a second loading layer formed on a surface of the catalytic support substrate (1) on an downstream side of the first catalytic layer (2) and made of a fire-resistant inorganic oxide, and Pd and/or Pt loaded in the second loading layer; and a third catalytic layer (4) having a third loading layer formed on a surface of the second catalytic layer (3) and made of a fire-resistant inorganic oxide, and Rh loaded in the third loading layer; and is characterized in that: the first catalytic layer (2) is such that, when taking Rh loaded in the first catalytic layer as 100% by weight, Rh is loaded in an amount of 70% by weight or more within such a range that the distance from the surface is 20 μm; and the loading amount of Rh loaded in the first catalytic layer (2) is from 1.5 to 15 times as much as the loading amount of Rh loaded in the third loading layer. Because of the fact that Rh is loaded in a great loading amount in the superficial layer portion on an upstream side of exhaust-gas flow, it turns into a catalyst for purifying exhaust gases, catalyst which is good in terms of the purifying characteristics. |
| US07737073B2 |
Hydroprocessing bulk catalyst and uses thereof
A hydroprocessing bulk catalyst is provided. A process to prepare hydroprocessing bulk catalysts is also provided. The hydroprocessing catalyst has the formula (Mt)a(Lu)b(Sv)d(Cw)e(Hx)f(Oy)g(Nz)h, wherein M is at least one group VIB metal; promoter metal L is optional and if present, L is at least one Group VIII non-noble metal; t, u, v, w, x, y, z representing the total charge for each of the components (M, L, S, C, H, O and N, respectively); ta+ub+vd+we+xf+yg+zh=0; 0= |
| US07737071B2 |
Catalyst for hydrotreating hydrocarbon oil, process for producing the same, and method for hydrotreating hydrocarbon oil
There is provided a catalyst for hydrotreating a hydrocarbon oil, which comprises an inorganic oxide support containing a certain amount of phosphorus oxide having provided thereon: at least one selected from metals in the Group 6 of the periodic table, at least one selected from metals in the Group 8 of the periodic table, and carbon, and which has a certain specific surface area, pore volume, and mean pore diameter, a process for producing the same, and a method for hydrotreating a hydrocarbon oil using the same.Thereby, the catalyst can be produced in a simple and convenient manner and sulfur compounds in the hydrocarbon oil can be exceedingly highly desulfurized and simultaneously nitrogen compounds can be diminished without necessitating severe operating conditions. |
| US07737070B2 |
Process for the preparation of a metal-organic compound comprising at least one imine ligand
A process for the preparation of a metal-organic compound, comprising at least one imine ligand, characterized in that an imine ligand according to formula (1) or the HA adduct thereof, wherein HA represents an acid, of which H represents its proton and A its conjugate base, is contacted with a metal-organic reagent of formula (2) in the presence of at least 1, respectively at least 2 equivalents of a base, with Y═N—R as formula (1), wherein Y is selected from a substituted carbon, or nitrogen atom and R represents a substituent, and with Mv(L1)k(L2)l(L3)m(L4)nx as formula (2), wherein: M represents a group 4 or group 5 metal ion, V represents the valency of the metal ion, being 3, 4 or 5, L1, L2, L3, and L4 represent a ligand or a group 17 halogen atom on M and may be equal or different, X represents a group 17 halogen atom, k, l, m, n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 with k+l+m+n+l=V. The invention further relates to a process for the preparation of a polyolefin by making a metal-organic compound according to the process of the invention, wherein the base is an olefin polymerisation compatible base, which metal-organic compound is activated anywhere in, or before a polymerisation reactor. |
| US07737068B2 |
Conversion of fine catalyst into coke-like material
A process for recovering catalytic metals from fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil comprises pyrolizing fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil to provide one or more lighter oil products and a coke-like material and recovering catalytic metals from the coke-like material. |
| US07737065B2 |
Process for producing aluminum nitride sintered compacts
The present invention relates to a process of producing an aluminum nitride sintered body which satisfies both high thermal conductivity and reduction in the shrinkage factor at the time of sintering. The aluminum nitride sintered body is a sintered body of a powder mixture containing an aluminum nitride powder and a sintering aid, characterized by having a thermal conductivity of at least 190 W/m·K and a shrinkage factor represented by the percentage of {(dimensions of the molded body before sintering)−(dimensions of the sintered body after sintering)}/(dimensions of the molded body before sintering) of at most 15%. |
| US07737062B2 |
Forehearth concentrate and method for opalization of glass
The invention provides an opalescent forehearth color concentrate comprising a non-smelted agglomerated interspersion of particles for use in coloring glass, said concentrate comprising by weight from about 10% to about 70% of a glass component and from about 30% to about 90% of one or more opalescent pigments, the glass component comprising by weight from about 10% to about 50% ZnO and about 15 to about 60% SiO2. The invention also provides a method of using the color concentrate. |
| US07737061B2 |
Compositions of ethylene/alpha-olefin multi-block interpolymer for elastic films and laminates
This invention relates to polyolefin compositions. In particular, the invention pertains to elastic polymer compositions that can be more easily processed on cast film lines, extrusion lamination or coating lines due to improved resistance to draw resonance. The compositions of the present invention preferably comprise an elastomeric polyolefin resin and a high pressure low density type resin. |
| US07737060B2 |
Medical devices containing multi-component fibers
According to an aspect of the present invention, medical devices are provided that contain at least one multi-component polymeric fiber. The multi-component polymeric fiber further contains at least two components of differing composition. |
| US07737055B2 |
Systems and methods for manipulating liquid films on semiconductor substrates
A semiconductor substrate undergoing processing to fabricate integrated circuit devices thereon is spun about a rotational axis while introducing liquid onto a surface of the substrate. An annular-shaped sheet of liquid is formed on the surface, the sheet of liquid having an inner diameter defining a liquid-free void. The size of a diameter of the void is reduced by manipulation of the annular-shaped sheet of liquid. The void may then be enlarged until the surface is substantially dry. The annular-shaped sheet of liquid may be formed and altered by selectively moving a contact area on the surface of the substrate on which the liquid is introduced. Systems for processing a substrate and configured to deposit and manipulate a sheet of liquid thereon are also disclosed. |
| US07737054B2 |
Laser irradiation apparatus, laser irradiation method, and method for manufacturing a semiconductor device
A second laser light of a continuous wave oscillation is irradiated to a region melted by a first laser light of a pulsed oscillation having a harmonic. Specifically, the first laser light has a wavelength not longer than that of visible light (830 nm, preferably not more than 780 nm). The absorption coefficient of the second laser light to a semiconductor film considerably increases because the semiconductor film is melted by the first laser light, and therefore the second laser light becomes easy to be absorbed in the semiconductor film. |
| US07737053B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of the same
An RTA method has a limitation on miniaturization. The RTA method needs a heating time of several seconds, and has a risk that impurities are diffused into a deep portion, since a semiconductor substrate is heated at a high temperature. Thus, the RTA method has a difficulty in responding miniaturization which is expected in the future. According to the present invention, a fundamental wave is used without putting laser light into a non-linear optical device, and laser annealing is conducted by irradiating an impurity diffusion layer with pulsed laser light having high intensity and a high repetition rate, so as to electrically activate the impurities. By the present invention, a thin layer on the surface of a silicon substrate can be partially melted to conduct activation. Further, the width of the region activated by laser-scanning once can be increased, and thus the productivity can be enhanced dramatically. |
| US07737052B2 |
Advanced multilayer dielectric cap with improved mechanical and electrical properties
A dielectric cap, interconnect structure containing the same and related methods are disclosed. The inventive dielectric cap includes a multilayered dielectric material stack wherein at least one layer of the stack has good oxidation resistance, Cu diffusion and/or substantially higher mechanical stability during a post-deposition curing treatment, and including Si—N bonds at the interface of a conductive material such as, for example, Cu. The dielectric cap exhibits a high compressive stress and high modulus and is still remain compressive stress under post-deposition curing treatments for, for example: copper low k back-end-of-line (BEOL) nanoelectronic devices, leading to less film and device cracking and improved reliability. |
| US07737051B2 |
Silicon germanium surface layer for high-k dielectric integration
A method for using a silicon germanium (SiGe) surface layer to integrate a high-k dielectric layer into a semiconductor device. The method forms a SiGe surface layer on a substrate and deposits a high-k dielectric layer on the SiGe surface layer. An oxide layer, located between the high-k dielectric layer and an unreacted portion of the SiGe surface layer, is formed during one or both of deposition of the high-k dielectric layer and an annealing process after deposition of the high-k dielectric layer. The method further includes forming an electrode layer on the high-k dielectric layer. |
| US07737050B2 |
Method of fabricating a nitrided silicon oxide gate dielectric layer
A method of forming a nitrided silicon oxide layer. The method includes: forming a silicon dioxide layer on a surface of a silicon substrate; performing a rapid thermal nitridation of the silicon dioxide layer at a temperature of less than or equal to about 900° C. and a pressure greater than about 500 Torr to form an initial nitrided silicon oxide layer; and performing a rapid thermal oxidation or anneal of the initial nitrided silicon oxide layer at a temperature of less than or equal to about 900° C. and a pressure greater than about 500 Torr to form a nitrided silicon oxide layer. Also a method of forming a MOSFET with a nitrided silicon oxide dielectric layer. |
| US07737047B2 |
Semiconductor constructions, and methods of forming dielectric materials
Some embodiments include methods of forming dielectric materials associated with semiconductor constructions. A semiconductor substrate surface having two different compositions may be exposed to a first silanol, then to organoaluminum to form a monolayer, and finally to a second silanol to form a dielectric material containing aluminum from the organoaluminum together with silicon and oxygen from the second silanol. Alternatively, or additionally, an organoaluminum monolayer may be formed across a semiconductor substrate, and then exposed to silanol within a deposition chamber, with the silanol being provided in two doses. Initially, a first dose of the silanol is injected the chamber, and then the first dose is flushed from the chamber to remove substantially all unreacted silanol from within the chamber. Subsequently, the second dose of silanol is injected into the chamber. Some embodiments include semiconductor constructions. |
| US07737044B2 |
Solid state imaging device, manufacturing method of the same, and substrate for solid state imaging device
A method of manufacturing a solid state imaging device having photoelectric conversion devices, the method including: 1) forming a plurality of color filters differing in color from each other, 2) forming a transparent resin layer on the color filters, 3) forming an etching control layer on the transparent resin layer, the etching control layer being enabled to be etched at a different etching rate from the etching rate of the transparent resin layer, 4) forming a lens master on the etching control layer by using a heat-flowable resin material, 5) transferring a pattern of the lens master to the etching control layer by dry etching to form an intermediate micro lens, and 6) transferring a pattern of the intermediate micro lens to the transparent resin layer by dry etching to form the transfer lenses. |
| US07737033B2 |
Etchant and method for fabricating electric device including thin film transistor using the same
The present embodiments relate to an etchant and a method of fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor. The etchant includes a fluorine ion (F−) source, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a sulfate, a phosphate, an azole-based compound, and a solvent. The etchant and method of fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor, can etch a multi-layered film including copper layer, and a titanium or titanium alloy layer in a batch and can provide a thin film transistor having a good pattern profile at high yield. When reusing the etchant, uniform etching performance can be maintained with a long replacement period of the etchant, and therefore costs can be saved. |
| US07737032B2 |
MOSFET structure with multiple self-aligned silicide contacts
A metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) structure that includes multiple and distinct self-aligned silicide contacts and methods of fabricating the same are provided. The MOSFET structure includes at least one metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor having a gate conductor including a gate edge located on a surface of a Si-containing substrate; a first inner silicide having an edge that is substantially aligned to the gate edge of the at least one metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor; and a second outer silicide located adjacent to the first inner silicide. In accordance with the present invention, the second outer silicide has second thickness is greater than the first thickness of the first inner silicide. Moreover, the second outer silicide has a resistivity that is lower than the resistivity of the first inner silicide. |
| US07737031B2 |
Insitu formation of inverse floating gate poly structures
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a method of making an inverse-t shaped floating gate in a non-volatile memory cell or the like is disclosed. |
| US07737024B2 |
Small grain size, conformal aluminum interconnects and method for their formation
A first layer of titanium nitride (TiN) is formed on a semiconductor structure, such as an interconnect via. Then, a second layer of TiN is formed on the first layer of TiN. The first layer of TiN is amorphous. The second layer of TiN is polycrystalline, having a mixed grain orientation. Finally, an aluminum film is formed on the second layer of titanium nitride. Optionally, a titanium silicide layer is formed on the semiconductor structure prior to the step of forming the first layer of titanium nitride. Interconnects formed according to the invention have polycrystalline aluminum films with grain sizes of approximately less than 0.25 microns. |
| US07737022B2 |
Contact formation
The present disclosure includes various method, circuit, device, and system embodiments. One such method embodiment includes creating a trench in an insulator stack material having a portion of the trench positioned between two of a number of gates and depositing a spacer material to at least one side surface of the trench. This method also includes depositing a conductive material into the trench and depositing a cap material into the trench. |
| US07737021B1 |
Resist trim process to define small openings in dielectric layers
The present invention is directed to a method of forming semiconductor devices. In one illustrative embodiment, the method comprises defining a photoresist feature having a first size in a layer of photoresist that is formed above a layer of dielectric material. The method further comprises reducing the first size of the photoresist feature to produce a reduced size photoresist feature, forming an opening in the layer of dielectric material under the reduced size photoresist feature, and forming a conductive material in the opening in the layer of dielectric material. |
| US07737014B2 |
Reduction of boron diffusivity in pFETs
A stressed film applied across a boundary defined by a structure or a body (e.g. substrate or layer) of semiconductor material provides a change from tensile to compressive stress in the semiconductor material proximate to the boundary and is used to modify boron diffusion rate during annealing and thus modify final boron concentrations. In the case of a field effect transistor, the gate structure may be formed with or without sidewalls to regulate the location of the boundary relative to source/drain, extension and/or halo implants. Different boron diffusion rates can be produced in the lateral and vertical directions and diffusion rates comparable to arsenic can be achieved. Reduction of junction capacitance of both nFETs and pFETs can be achieved simultaneously with the same process steps. |
| US07737012B2 |
Manufacturing method of a semiconductor device
An amorphous layer 101 is formed in a region from a surface of a silicon substrate 100 to a first depth A. At this time, defects 103 are generated near an amorphous-crystal interface 102. By heat treatment, the crystal structure of the amorphous layer 101 is restored in a region from the first depth A to a second depth B that is shallower than the first depth A. The resultant amorphous layer 101 extends from the surface of the silicon substrate 100 to the second depth B. The defects 103 remain at the first depth A. By ion implantation, a pn junction 104 is formed at a third depth C that is shallower than the second depth B. |
| US07737010B2 |
Method of photoresist strip for plasma doping process of semiconductor manufacturing
A method of forming an intermediate semiconductor device is disclosed that comprises providing a semiconductor substrate, forming a photoresist layer on the semiconductor substrate, implanting a dopant into the semiconductor substrate, and removing a dopant-containing layer from the photoresist layer. The dopant-containing layer includes dopant residuals and a carbon-rich crust and may be formed during implantation. The dopant-containing layer may be removed from the photoresist layer by exposing the dopant-containing layer to a water rinse, a chlorinated plasma or to a fluorinated plasma. The water rinse may include deionized water that is maintained at a temperature that ranges from approximately 25° C. to approximately 80° C. The fluorinated plasma may be formed from a gaseous precursor selected from the group consisting of nitrogen trifluoride, carbon tetrafluoride, trifluoromethane, hexafluoroethane, sulfur hexafluoride, and mixtures thereof. A method of forming an ultrashallow junction is also disclosed. |
| US07737009B2 |
Method of implanting a non-dopant atom into a semiconductor device
A method of forming an isolation trench structure is disclosed, the method includes forming an isolation trench in a semiconductor body associated with an isolation region, and implanting a non-dopant atom into the isolation trench, thereby forming a region to modify the halo profile in the semiconductor body. Subsequently, the isolation trench is filled with a dielectric material. |
| US07737003B2 |
Method and structure for optimizing yield of 3-D chip manufacture
The process begins with separate device wafers having complimentary chips. Thin metal capture pads, having a preferred thickness of about 10 microns so that substantial pressure may be applied during processing without damaging capture pads, are deposited on both device wafers, which are then tested and mapped for good chip sites. A handle wafer is attached to one device wafer, which can then be thinned to improve via etching and filling. Capture pads are removed and replaced after thinning. The device wafer with handle wafer is diced, and good chips with attached portions of the diced handle wafer are positioned and bonded to the good chip sites of the other device wafer, and the handle wafer portions are removed. The device wafer having known good 3-D chips then undergoes final processing. |
| US07737002B2 |
Wafer dividing method
A method of dividing a wafer having a plurality of areas defined by the plurality of streets formed in a lattice on the front surface, devices formed in the defined areas and an adhesive film for die bonding on the rear surface and put on a dicing tape affixed to an annular frame along the streets, the method comprising the steps of:forming a groove along the streets in the wafer by applying a first laser beam whose elliptic focal spot has a ratio of the long axis of the short axis of 15 to 20:1 along the streets formed on the wafer; anddividing the adhesive film along the grooves by applying a second laser beam whose elliptical focal spot has a ratio of the long axis to the short axis of 60 to 70:1 to the adhesive film through the grooves formed by the wafer dividing step. |
| US07736997B2 |
Production method of flexible electronic device
A flexible electronic device excellent in heat liberation characteristics and toughness and a production method for actualizing thereof in low cost and with satisfactory reproducibility are provided. A protection film is adhered onto the surface of a substrate on which surface a thin film device is formed. Successively, the substrate is soaked in an etching solution to be etched from the back surface thereof so as for the residual thickness of the substrate to fall within the range larger than 0 μm and not larger than 200 μm. Then, a flexible film is adhered onto the etched surface of the substrate, and thereafter the protection film is peeled to produce a flexible electronic device. |
| US07736996B2 |
Method for damage avoidance in transferring an ultra-thin layer of crystalline material with high crystalline quality
A method for damage avoidance in transferring a monocrystalline, thin layer from a first substrate onto a second substrate involves epitaxial growth of a sandwich structure with a strained epitaxial layer buried below a monocrystalline thin layer, and lift-off and transfer of the monocrystalline thin layer with the cleaving controlled to happen within the buried strained layer in conjunction with the introduction of hydrogen. |
| US07736995B2 |
Process for producing components
The invention relates to a process for producing components, in particular small glass plates such as windows for optical caps for optical components. The process includes providing a substrate, providing a carrier, joining a first surface of the substrate to a first surface of the carrier, machining the components out of the substrate, and detaching the components from the carrier in order to separate the components. |
| US07736992B2 |
Isolation trench geometry for image sensors
A pixel cell including a substrate having a top surface. A photo-conversion device is at a surface of the substrate and a trench is in the substrate adjacent the photo-conversion device. The trench has sidewalls and a bottom. At least one sidewall is angled less than approximately 85 degrees from the plane of the top surface of the substrate. |
| US07736991B2 |
Method of forming isolation layer of semiconductor device
A method of forming an isolation layer of a semiconductor device includes forming first trenches in an isolation region of a semiconductor substrate. A spacer is formed on sidewalls of each of the first trenches. Second trenches are formed in the isolation region below the corresponding first trenches. Each second trench is narrower and deeper than the corresponding first trench. A first oxide layer is formed on sidewalls and a bottom surface of each of the second trenches. The first trench is filled with an insulating layer. |
| US07736982B2 |
Method for forming a semiconductor device
A method for forming a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having at least a gate positioned thereon, forming at least a recess in the substrate adjacent to the gate, performing a first selective epitaxial growth (SEG) process to form a first epitaxial layer in the recess, performing an etching process to remove a portion of the first epitaxial layer to expose the substrate, and performing a second SEG process to form a second epitaxial layer on the first epitaxial layer. |
| US07736981B2 |
Metal high dielectric constant transistor with reverse-T gate
A transistor is provided. The transistor includes a silicon layer including a source region and a drain region. A gate stack is disposed on the silicon layer between the source region and the drain region. The gate stack comprises a first layer of a high dielectric constant material, a second layer comprising a metal or metal alloy, and a third layer comprising silicon or polysilicon. A lateral extent of the second layer of the gate stack is substantially greater than a lateral extent of the third layer of the gate stack. Also provided are methods for fabricating such a transistor. |
| US07736977B2 |
Semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing therefor
An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device capable of radiating electron-beams only to a desired region without forming a layer for restricting the radiating rays. A source electrode 22 made of aluminum prevents the generation of bremsstrahlung even when the electron-beams are radiated to the source electrode in a exposed condition. Also, the source electrode having an opening 25 at above of a crystal defect region 11 is used as a mask when the electron-beams are radiated thereto. That is the source electrode made of aluminum can be used both as a wiring and a mask for the radiating rays. |
| US07736970B2 |
Method of fabricating semiconductor device having capacitor
Methods are provided for fabricating semiconductor devices having capacitors, which prevent lower electrodes of the capacitors from breaking or collapsing and which provide increased capacitance of the capacitors. For instance, a method includes forming a first insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a first hole in the first insulating layer, forming a contact plug in the first hole, forming a second insulating layer having a landing pad, wherein the landing pad contacts an upper surface of the contact plug, forming an etch stop layer on the landing pad and the second insulating layer, forming a third insulating layer on the etch stop layer, forming a third hole through the third insulating layer and etch stop layer to expose the landing pad, selectively etching the exposed landing pad, forming a lower electrode on the selectively etched landing pad, and then forming a capacitor by forming a dielectric layer and an upper electrode on the lower electrode. |