| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US07905686B2 |
System for removing boiler tube stubs
A rotary milling head for boiler tube stub removal with cylindrical cutting pieces removably secured to the milling head by forces exerted by the material being cut and by friction, without any separate securing element. |
| US07905685B2 |
Gabion deployment
A gabion deployment system comprising: a container (30) for retaining a gabion (22) and a gabion (22) of the folding type comprising hingedly attached, connected side walls (16 & 18) and cross-members (12) such that it can be folded for storage and deployed for use; a retaining means (50) associated with the container (30) for retaining the gabion (20) in the container; and at least one releasable attaching, connecting or retentive engaging means (66) for attaching, connecting or retentively engaging at least one part of the gabion (22) to the retaining means (50); wherein the at least one releasable attaching, connecting or retentively engaging means (66) is adapted to attach, connect or retentively engage a part of the gabion (22) to the retaining means (50) when the gabion (22) is folded but to release the gabion (22) from the retaining means (50) when the gabion (22) is deployed. |
| US07905684B2 |
Offshore power plant
Platform for a power plant equipped for producing oil and made of reinforced concrete to reduce maintenance cost, consisting of at least one module. Each module will consist of at least one circular column surrounded by concrete to create a desired outer surface. Any of the columns can be used to store the petroleum (oil, gas, production water, sand, etc.), act as expansion chamber(s) and act as passive ballast or separation tank. The platform will have at least one deck for oil producing equipment, at least one deck for a power plant, and will have equipment necessary for electric power distribution. |
| US07905679B2 |
Dual lifting manhole cover
A one-piece, unitary manhole cover has dual lifting ports that drain through the outer circumferential edge of the cover. A lifting channel runs from the interior of the upper face out to the outer circumferential edge. A lifting bar spans the lifting channel and defines an ergo lifting port and a pry bar lifting port. Both the ergo lifting port and the pry bar lifting port drain through the outer circumference of the manhole cover. |
| US07905668B2 |
Coating/developing apparatus and method
A coating/developing apparatus includes a first storage section that stores data comprising correlations of different pattern information units including at least a line width of the resist pattern, different values of a film thickness of the underlying film, and different light information profiles. The apparatus further includes a mechanism configured to use a film thickness distribution to obtain an estimated film thickness of the underlying film at a light-irradiation area on the surface of the substrate, and to check the estimated film thickness and a light information profile obtained at the light-irradiation area against the data to determine pattern information at the light-irradiation area. |
| US07905665B2 |
Optical connector
An optical connector includes four main components, namely a clamp; a housing into which the clamp slides; two optical elements, a transmitter and a receiver; and an EMI metal shield surrounding the elements. The clamp has two parallel through holes for receiving fiber terminations, each through-hole having a generally conical mouth for convenient guidance of a fiber termination. Inside of the through-holes there are side resilient clamp members, and there is a single central clamp member. The clamp is of moulded plastics construction, and the clamp members are resilient in the lateral plane. The central clamp member on the other hand has little flexibility and remains essentially static throughout the clamping operation. Each resilient clamping member has a tooth at its end for snap-fitting engagement with the housing at open and closed positions. Fiber terminations are inserted through the clamp mouths and the through-holes and into the sockets of the housing. The clamp is then simply pushed inwardly so that teeth in the socket walls bite into the fiber claddings. |
| US07905664B1 |
Input/output connector having an active electrical/optical communication component
An I/O connector that includes an optical communication component, for example an optical transceiver, mounted to a ferrule body of the I/O connector. The connector can be installed on a circuit card assembly and is configured to allow blind-mate connectivity. Mounting the optical communication component to the ferrule body of the connector frees up the surface of the circuit card that could be eliminated or used for mounting other components, facilitates installation of and access to the optical communication component for repair and maintenance thereof, and eliminates the need for a fiber optic pigtail extending from the connector to the circuit card. |
| US07905663B2 |
Electronic apparatus and photoelectric conversion module
There is provided an electronic apparatus connectable to a receptacle of an external electric device. The electronic apparatus includes: a substrate; an electronic component mounted on the substrate; an electric connector which is provided on one longitudinal end of the substrate, electrically connected with the electronic component, and is insertable into the receptacle of the external electric device; first and second spacers respectively provided on the opposite surfaces of the substrate; a metal case for covering the substrate, the electronic component, the electric connector, and the first and second spacers; and a resin protective cover for covering the metal case. The metal case is provided in such a manner that an electrical connection portion thereof required for electrical connection with the receptacle is left exposed. The metal case is in contact with and supported by the first and second spacers. |
| US07905651B2 |
Diffusively reflective film, method of manufacturing the same, light guiding module, backlight assembly, and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same
A diffusively reflective film includes a base film, a light reflection layer and a light diffusion layer. The base film is flexible. The light reflection layer is disposed on the base film. The light reflection film reflects a first light. The light diffusion layer is disposed on the light reflection layer. The light diffusion layer diffuses the first light to form a second light. The diffusively reflective film may be bent to cover the light guide plate without being broken so as to increase the amount of light. Thus, a display quality is enhanced. Further, the diffusively reflective film covers the first side face, the second side face and the first face of light guide plate at once. Thus, productivity is enhanced and its manufacturing cost is reduced. |
| US07905650B2 |
Backlight suitable for display devices
A backlight suitable for use in a display device includes an illumination device having at least one light source and a back reflector stack including a reflective layer and a transparent layer having substantially uniform refractive index and having a plurality of light-directing protrusions disposed in a matrix array. The transparent layer is disposed between the reflective layer and the illumination device with the plurality of light-directing protrusions facing away from the reflective layer. The plurality of light-directing protrusions are configured and disposed in a configuration that is not registered to any light source of the illumination device. |
| US07905649B2 |
Display device and optical device
Disclosed herein is a display device including, a visual target, and a backlight adapted to illuminate the visual target from the rear, the backlight including, a plurality of first light sources, second light sources, and a light guide plate, wherein the light guide plate has a plurality of projecting portions on a side surface portion thereof upon which the light, produced by the plurality of first and second light sources is incident, the projecting portions being arranged, along the side surface portion and project toward the one side of the given direction, the plurality of first light sources are disposed to be opposed to the tip surfaces of the plurality of projecting portions, and the second light sources are disposed to be opposed to the bottom surfaces of recessed portions formed between the plurality of projecting portions. |
| US07905648B2 |
PDT magnifier camera illumination
A device that enlarges text and images to enable a low vision person to see the text and images includes a hollow structure including a top housing and a bottom housing that are connected to one another. A camera aperture is formed in the bottom housing and a transparent light guide lens is disposed in closing relation to the camera aperture so that all light entering the camera aperture must first pass through the light guide lens. A cavity formed in the light guide lens is bounded by walls that are positioned at a critical angle. Light-emitting diodes are positioned at critical locations about the periphery of the light guide lens to illuminate the object being viewed. |
| US07905644B2 |
System in package high power high efficiency light-emitting diode lamp
The invention provides a system-in-package, high power, and highly efficient light-emitting diode lamp. The light-emitting diode lamp, according to the invention, includes a light-guiding device. At least one end of two ends of the light-guiding device, the light, converted by a diode light-emitting device from an electric energy, is emitted into, and then is guided by the light-guiding device outside. The heat generated during light-emitting of the diode light-emitting is conducted by a heat-conducting device from a flat portion thereof to at least one heat-dissipating fin and further dissipated by the at least one heat-dissipating fin. |
| US07905637B2 |
Transformer assembly and light fixture assembly using same
A potted transformer assembly comprises a housing portion to form an exterior transformer housing, a transformer unit dimensioned to fit within the housing portion, the housing portion including a first passage to receive the transformer unit in an operative position therein, the housing portion having an inner surface which is oriented to provide an interior cavity between the transformer unit and the inner surface, the interior cavity being dimensioned to receive a predetermined quantity of a potting compound, the housing portion further including a second passage in fluid communication with the interior cavity, the second passage being dimensioned to receive a portion of the potting compound therein, the second passage being located on the housing portion in such a manner that, following a transformer encapsulation step, the presence of potting compound in the second passage is indicative of the transformer being substantially encapsulated by the potting compound. |
| US07905634B2 |
Multi-reflector LED light source with cylindrical heat sink
A cylindrical light source comprises multiple LEDs mounted on either the exterior or interior surface of the cylinder, with heat-sink fins respectively on its interior or exterior. The LEDs emit radially, but their emission is redirected along the cylinder axis by individual ellipsoidal reflectors. |
| US07905632B2 |
Projection module for a headlamp or an automobile light
The invention relates to a illumination module (10; 10a; 10b) for a headlamp or a illumination system of an automobile with at least one semiconductor light source (5) secured to a carrier element (4). The carrier element (4) in turn is attached to a heat sink (7) and fixed in place by means of a separate securing bracket (18; 18a; 18b) that is plate-shaped or is in the form of a wire-bale spring. The securing bracket (18; 18a; 18b) is attached to the heat sink (7) and includes a recess that at least partially surrounds the carrier element (4). |
| US07905627B2 |
Keypad device and related input device for an electronic device
A keypad device for an electronic device includes a substrate, a first light-emitting device coupled to the substrate for generating a first colored light source, a second light-emitting device coupled to the substrate for generating a second colored light source different from the first colored light source, a first transparent board made of a translucent material of a first color for displaying a first symbol, a second transparent board made of a translucent material of a second color, for displaying a second symbol, and a transparent film deployed on the first transparent board and the second transparent board. The first color is a complementary color of the color of the first colored light source, and the second color is a complementary color of the color of the second colored light source. |
| US07905626B2 |
Modular lighting apparatus
A modular lighting apparatus includes a replaceable bulb assembly, an adapter, and a mechanical and electrical connector assembly that removably connects the bulb assembly to the adapter for use. The bulb assembly includes a light-emitting component mounted to a body. In example embodiments the light-emitting component includes spiral-tube CFLs, low-profile transverse CFL tubes, and omni-directional LED arrays. The adapter includes a standard screw base mounted to a body that houses an electronic ballast. In this way, the bulb assembly can be removed from the adapter and replaced, while reusing the electronic ballast in the adapter. And the screw-base adapter allows the reuse of the electronic ballast in standard screw-socket household light fixtures. In addition, the reusable adapter base also may be provided with an integral photocell for light-based control of the lighting apparatus without increasing the overall height of the composite lighting apparatus. |
| US07905622B2 |
Traffic safety cone incorporating a flashing light module
A traffic safety cone incorporating a flashing light module includes electrically coupled first and second modules. The first module includes a solar cell array positioned atop an upper surface of a circular mounting member, a resilient, impact cushioning bumper that surrounds the mounting member, and a high-intensity LED flasher unit having a cylindrical base. The circular disk is secured to the top of the flasher unit, and the cylindrical base fits into the top of a traffic cone that has been truncated for a precise fit. The second module includes a truncated cone-shaped housing, electrical batteries installed within the housing, battery charging circuitry and an ON/OFF switch. The second module and a module retainer plate, which also functions as a battery cover, are installed in that order in the bottom of the traffic safety cone and are secured to the first module with threaded securing rods. |
| US07905619B2 |
Optical sheet, and backlight device and display device provided therewith
A notch is formed in a side of an optical sheet. As seen in plan view, the notch is shaped such that the maximum width of the notch as measured in the direction parallel to the line connecting both ends of a mouth portion of the notch is greater than the width of the mouth portion along the side of the optical sheet. Here, it is preferable that the notch be polygonal or have a curved shape as seen in plan view. |
| US07905616B2 |
Illumination unit and display unit incorporating the same
An illumination device has at least one fluorescent tube, a lower frame supporting the fluorescent tube, a light diffusion plate which opposes the lower frame with the fluorescent tube being interposed therebetween for forward diffusion of output light of the fluorescent tube, a reflection sheet disposed along the fluorescent tube side of the lower frame for reflecting the fluorescent light toward the light diffuser plate, and an upside reflector covering an electrode of the fluorescent tube for reflecting the light toward the light diffuser. When letting a direction along a length of the fluorescent tube be a horizontal direction, a distance between the fluorescent tube and the reflection sheet at at least one of nearby portions of right and left ends of the illuminator is greater than such distance at a central portion thereof. A liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus using the illuminator is also disclosed. |
| US07905614B2 |
Refrigerator
The refrigerator includes the following parts. A heat-insulating main body has openings in a front side. A divider creates a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment, by dividing inside of said heat-insulating main body into the first storage compartment and the second storage compartment arranged side by side. A lighting unit, located close to at least one of the openings of the first and second storage compartments, respectively, each of which has a light-emitting diode as a light source. |
| US07905610B1 |
Graphics processor system and associated method for projecting an image onto a three-dimensional object
A system and method are provided for projecting an image onto a three-dimensional object. In use, after an image is received, such image is processed utilizing a graphics processor for projecting the image onto the three-dimensional object in various embodiments, the image may be processed as a function of three-dimensional information associated with the three-dimensional object, for improving projection. |
| US07905609B2 |
Projector and brightness adjusting method
A projector including a projector body, which has a light modulating device that modulates light emitted from a light source according to input image information to thereby form an optical image and a projection optical device that projects the formed optical image in an enlarged manner; an image output device that outputs the image information to the projector body; a connection mechanism for connecting the projector body and the image output device with each other such that the projector body and the image output device can rotate relative to each other; a rotation operation detecting unit that detects a relative rotation operation of the projector body and the image output device; and a control unit that controls the projector body and the rotation operation detecting unit. |
| US07905607B2 |
Projector and keystone distortion correction method for projector
A projector includes an adjusting leg section configured to be capable of protruding/retracting outside/inside an exterior chassis and changing a tilt condition of the projector, an interlocking device that displaces based on the protruding/retracting movement of the adjusting leg section, a variable resistance device that has a resistance that varies based on displacement of the interlocking device, a voltage detection device that detects a voltage based on the resistance of the variable resistance device, a storage device that stores keystone distortion correction amount information, and a keystone distortion correction device that obtains a keystone distortion correction amount from the keystone distortion correction amount information based on the voltage detected by the voltage detection device, and that corrects the keystone distortion of the projection image using the keystone distortion correction amount. |
| US07905602B2 |
Polarization conversion systems for stereoscopic projection
A polarization conversion system (PCS) is located in the output light path of a projector. The PCS may include a polarizing beam splitter, a polarization rotating element, a reflecting element, and a polarization switch. Typically, a projector outputs randomly-polarized light. This light is input to the PCS, in which the PCS separates p-polarized light and s-polarized light at the polarizing beam splitter. P-polarized light is directed toward the polarization switch on a first path. The s-polarized light is passed on a second path through the polarization rotating element (e.g., a half-wave plate), thereby transforming it to p-polarized light. A reflecting element directs the transformed polarized light (now p-polarized) along the second path toward the polarization switch. The first and second light paths are ultimately directed toward a projection screen to collectively form a brighter screen image in cinematic applications utilizing polarized light for three-dimensional viewing. |
| US07905601B2 |
Color filtering device
A color filtering device including a color filter, a plurality of polarization beam splitting units, a plurality of reflecting units, and a plurality of wave plates is provided. The color filter has a plurality of filtering parts and a plurality of light shielding parts alternately arranged thereon. Each of the polarization beam splitting units is disposed in front of one of the filtering parts and makes an angle with a corresponding filtering part. Each of the reflecting units is disposed in front of one of the light shielding parts and makes an angle with a corresponding light shielding part. Each of the wave plates is substantially parallel to one of the filtering parts. Each of the polarization beam splitting units is disposed between a pair of a wave plate and a filtering part. The color filtering device has both color filtering function and polarization conversion function. |
| US07905597B2 |
Fundus observation device and a program controlling the same
A fundus observation device comprises: an image forming part comprising a first image forming part and a second image forming part, the first image forming part forming a 2-dimensional surface image of fundus oculi of an eye through optical processing, the second image forming part optically scanning a surface region of the fundus oculi corresponding to at least a part of the 2-dimensional surface image to form a tomographic image of the fundus oculi; a controller configured to control the image forming part; and a storage configured to store control information including control instructions to be sent from the controller to the image forming part, when one of the 2-dimensional surface image and the tomographic image is formed. The controller, at the time of formation of new one of the 2-dimensional surface image and the tomographic image of the fundus oculi, instructs the image forming part to form the new one of the 2-dimensional surface image and the tomographic image based on the control information stored in the storage. |
| US07905595B2 |
System and method to treat and prevent loss of visual acuity
A system and method for treating and preventing loss of visual acuity. The system comprises a vision correcting lens, such as a contact lens, having a material with a regular pattern of orientation of polarizable molecular bonds, so as to create a birefringent effect. Off-axis light rays are refracted through the contact lens so as to focus in front of the retina, whereas on-axis light rays pass through the contact lens without refraction, such that their focal point on the fovea is unaltered. In an exemplary embodiment, a contact lens of the present invention is capable of independently altering the refractive state of the eye in relation to fovea and peripheral retina so as to simultaneously correcting visual acuity while minimizing the signal for axial growth and hence myopic progression. |
| US07905594B2 |
Free form ophthalmic lens
This invention provides for an ophthalmic lens with at least one portion of the lens including multiple voxels of polymerized crosslinkable material. In addition, the present invention provides for apparatus for generating an ophthalmic lens with at least one portion including multiple voxels of polymerized crosslinkable material. In some embodiments, an ophthalmic Lens includes a surface with one or both of a raised area and a depressed area. |
| US07905584B2 |
Image forming apparatus and image forming method
An image forming apparatus includes at least one liquid discharging head and a pressure release member. The at least one liquid discharging head is configured to discharge a liquid to form an image. The pressure release member is configured to adjust an inner air pressure in the at least one liquid discharging head to be continuously equivalent to an outer air pressure. |
| US07905583B2 |
Ink supply system
The present invention comprises at least a reservoir tank which stores an ink supplied from an ink supply section, and an ink chamber which distributes and supplies the ink supplied from the reservoir tank to each recording head in a recording head group, wherein the reservoir tank maintains a predetermined negative pressure state with respect to the ink in a plurality of ink nozzles of each recording head through the ink chamber, and the ink chamber supplies the ink with an uniformed pressure loss in ink supply paths to each recording head in the recording head group. |
| US07905579B2 |
Shear mode-type piezoelectric actuator and liquid droplet ejection head
This invention provides a shear mode-type piezoelectric actuator using a piezoelectric ceramic composition free from lead having a high coercive electric field and a liquid ejection head having the shear mode-type piezoelectric actuator. The shear mode-type piezoelectric actuator is characterized by using a piezoelectric ceramic composition having a solid solution including a main component of general formula (1) and an auxiliary component of general formula (2) added in an amount of less than 1% by mole based on the total amount of the solid solution: {LiX(K1-YNaY)1-X}(Nb1-Z-WTaZSbW)O3 General formula (1) (Wherein 0≦x≦0.2, 0≦y≦1, 0 |
| US07905578B2 |
Liquid ejection head and liquid ejection device
A liquid ejection head which can fly a minute high viscosity droplet with high precision by a low drive voltage in electric field assist system which exhibiting excellent maintainability such as cleaning. The liquid ejection head (2) comprises a nozzle plate (4) provided with a nozzle (5) having a liquid supply opening (9) for supplying a liquid (L), an ejection opening (11) for ejecting the liquid (L), and a liquid supply passage for supplying the liquid (L) from liquid supply opening (9) to the liquid ejection opening (11), a cavity (20) for storing the liquid (L), a pressure generating means for generating pressure in the cavity (20), and an electrostatic voltage generating means for generating an electrostatic attraction between the liquid (L) and a substrate. The liquid supply opening side of the nozzle (5) is formed of a silicon layer (41), the ejection opening side of the nozzle is formed of at least one resin layer (42) composed of thermosetting or photosensitive fluorine polymer having a volume resistivity of 1015Ω or above and a dielectric constant of 3 or less, and the diameter of the nozzle (5) on the liquid supply opening side is larger than that of the nozzle on the liquid ejection side. |
| US07905576B2 |
Liquid ejection apparatus and image forming apparatus
The liquid ejection apparatus includes: a nozzle plate in which a nozzle is formed; a substrate which is opposite to the nozzle plate and is provided with a heat generating element; a bubble generation chamber which has an internal diameter greater than an internal diameter of the nozzle, at a boundary between the bubble generation chamber and the nozzle plate; a liquid storage chamber which stores liquid to be supplied to the bubble generation chamber through a supplying channel; a heat generating element drive device which drives the heat generating element to generate and expand an ejection bubble in the liquid in the bubble generation chamber so that the liquid in the bubble generation chamber is ejected from the nozzle by means of the ejection bubble; and an air bubble incorporation unit which incorporates air bubbles into the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber. |
| US07905567B2 |
Closed-loop printing registration systems, devices, components and methods
Closed-loop printing registration systems (e.g., printers), devices, components and methods are provided. In one embodiment, a printer reproduces continuously and sequentially on a sheet of paper invisible ink landmarks that mimic registration information provided initially by permanent invisible ink markers disposed on a platform or platen. According to one embodiment, once the first row of invisible ink landmarks has been printed on a sheet of paper, the first and subsequent rows of invisible ink landmarks provide a basis for continuous registration and alignment of sheet of the paper as it is being printed upon and advanced through the printer. In other embodiments, one or two invisible ink landmarks dispensed on a sheet of paper, preferably in combination with a sensed edge or corner of a sheet of paper, provide sufficient information for a sheet of paper to be registered and aligned initially with respect to a print head or carriage, and for subsequent invisible ink landmarks to be deposited on the sheet of paper at locations which are determined. |
| US07905565B2 |
Recording apparatus and method for detecting the position of an ink container
A recording apparatus and method for detecting the position of an ink container in the recording apparatus, whereby when an ink tank is correctly mounted within the recording apparatus, detection of the position of the ink container is performed in a timely manner, and whereby when in container is incorrectly mounted, the incorrect position as well as the color of the incorrectly mounted ink container are identified using light emitting portions of the ink containers. |
| US07905561B2 |
Pull-out guide for drawer
A pull-out guide for drawers includes a first and at least one second rail, and at least one carriage with load-transmitting roller bodies being arranged between the two rails. The carriage can be coupled to the second rail, particularly when deviating from the differential course between the two rails. A rolling or sliding body is mounted in a freely movable manner on or in the carriage, through which the carriage can be coupled to a coupling part on the second rail. A recess is provided in the first rail into which the rolling or sliding body can be moved during opening of the drawer. The coupling part can de decoupled from the rolling or sliding body and passes along the carriage. |
| US07905560B2 |
Security showcase
A security showcase having a housing with storage and display portions for respectively storing and displaying items. The display portion includes a support for supporting items and being positionable between an item-storing position, within the storage portion, and an item-displaying position for displaying items. A closure with closure elements is movably mounted to the housing. The closure elements are movable between a closed position, for enclosing the support within the storage portion and an open position for when the support is in the item-displaying position. The closure may be automated and move in accordance with the position of the support or operationally linked thereto for simultaneous movement thereof. The closure may be positioned within the storage portion when the support is in the item-displaying position. |
| US07905557B2 |
Brake-pressure modulator pilot unit
A valve control unit including three valve units for two brake channels of an electropneumatic brake system is provided. Each valve unit is embodied as a valve modulator device for a braking pressure control circuit including an air inlet valve with a primary solenoid and a bleed valve with a secondary solenoid. Each modulator device armature includes a common solenoid guide arrangement controlled by the magnetic flux of a common magnetic coil. Independent operation of the armatures is achieved whereby flux through the secondary solenoid is weakened by a shunt in the flux circuit which causes a switching delay for the secondary solenoid relative to the primary solenoid. The magnetic resistance of a non-magnetic disc effects switch-off acceleration in the flux circuit with energized secondary solenoid, weakens the field and causes the secondary solenoid to revert to a spring-loaded base state at a higher flux than the primary solenoid. |
| US07905554B2 |
Working machine
A working machine includes a body, a ground engaging structure including at least one pair of driven wheels, an engine, and a transmission for transmitting power from the engine to the driven wheels, a pressurized air system for providing pressurized air for use in applying service brakes for braking the wheels, the transmission including a transmission member which is rotatable with the wheels, a transmission brake for applying a braking force to the transmission member, and the transmission brake being releasable by a hydraulic fluid operated transmission brake releasing device, the hydraulic fluid for the brake releasing device being derived from a pressurized hydraulic fluid system which includes a hydraulic pump and one or more pressurized fluid operated services, there being a transmission brake control valve to control the flow of hydraulic fluid to the brake releasing device, the transmission brake control valve being actuated to permit pressurized hydraulic fluid to flow therethrough to release the transmission brake, by air pressure, derived from the pressurized air system. |
| US07905552B2 |
Environmentally friendly layered seating assembly
The present invention relates to an environmentally friendly layered vehicle seat assembly and a method of making the same. In at least one embodiment, the vehicle seat assembly comprises a cushion composite comprising a structural layer and a cushion layer adjacent to the structural layer, and a trim material secured over the cushion composite. |
| US07905551B2 |
Seatback frame structure for vehicles
A seatback frame structure is provided for the manufacture of a seat of a vehicle. The seatback frame structure includes a pair of side brackets and an upper cross member. The side brackets are coupled at lower ends thereof to left and right sides of a seat frame. The upper cross member is transversely mounted between the upper ends of the side brackets, and a headrest is placed on the upper portion of the upper cross member. Each of opposite ends of the upper cross member comprises a downwardly inclined surface, and is coupled to the upper end of a corresponding side bracket. |
| US07905544B2 |
Carrier element
A carrier element for an object. The carrier element has an essentially u-shaped form and includes two side pieces, which are interconnected by a bridge. |
| US07905540B2 |
Modular architecture for combat tactical vehicle
A combat tactical modular vehicle structure including a center frame module comprising a front bulkhead a cab portion and a rear bulkhead where the center frame module includes an integrated armor so that the integrated armor is a part of center frame module or the center frame module has at least one piece of armor attached to the center frame module, a front frame module comprising an engine subframe where the front frame module is connected to the front bulkhead by a plurality of mechanical coupling devices, and a rear frame module comprising a gearbox subframe where the rear frame module is connected to the rear bulkhead by the plurality of mechanical coupling devices for selectively connecting and disconnecting the front frame module to the front bulkhead without substantially affecting the connection and the rear frame module to the rear bulkhead without substantially affecting the connection. |
| US07905533B2 |
Rear module for fitting on a motor vehicle
The invention relates to a rear module for fitting to a motor vehicle, the module comprising a large door for being pivotally mounted about an axis, the large door extending in a direction parallel to said axis between two stiffener uprights both presenting a cross-section of thickness, taken perpendicularly to the door, that is not less than a first thickness, the large door having an opening extending as far as said uprights in the direction parallel to said axis; and a small door mounted on the large door to move between an open position uncovering said opening, and a closed position closing said opening, the small door extending in the direction parallel to the axis between two stiffener uprights both having a cross-section of thickness, taken perpendicularly to the door, that is not less than a second thickness, the uprights of the small door covering the uprights of the large door when the small door is in the closed position. The uprights of the small door and the uprights of the large door are shaped in such a manner as to engage in pairs one in another when said small door is in the closed position so as to present a maximum thickness taken perpendicularly to the door, that is less than the sum of the first and second thicknesses. |
| US07905527B1 |
Harness assembly for use in underwater recovery operations
A harness assembly for use in the recovery of an object deployed underwater has legs attached to an object prior to an underwater deployment thereof. A sling is coupled to the second ends of the legs. A first support is coupled to the sling and a rigid ring. Second and third supports are coupled to the ring in a breakaway fashion and adapted to be coupled to the object. The supports work in combination to hold the ring in a stand off position with respect to the object and in a substantially vertical orientation during the underwater deployment of the object so that the ring can be readily accessed by a trained marine mammal transporting a recovery tether thereto. |
| US07905525B2 |
Security latch device with a latching arm cover
Exemplary embodiments of a security latch device comprises a security latching arm configured to move, pivot, swing or slide from a operative position, non-operative position or door-ajaring position and a security latching arm cover. The cover comprises a sleeve configured to conform to the security latching arm and to slip on or install on, over or around the security latching arm and being made of impact absorbing material to protect an impacted surface (e.g., a door's surface, door frame or door jamb) when the security latching arm is impacted by a door. |
| US07905524B2 |
Door with a pressure opening
A door with a pressure opening comprises articulated hinges for hinging to the piece of furniture, and a pull-push closing device to be released by manual thrust of the door towards the inside. At least one articulated hinge comprises a spring acting for its movement from the closed position to the open position, in the way of pushing the door to the open position against the retaining action in the closed position performed by the pull-push device in order to help in opening the door upon release of the pull-push device. |
| US07905522B1 |
Exit pushbar with blocking mechanism
An exit device for latching a door in tornado-prone areas keeps the door closed when the door is subjected to tornado debris impact by incorporating a blocking arm that swings outward away from the door as impact energy is transferred through the door to the blocking arm in the exit device. The blocking arm prevents a pushbar actuator from moving towards the door during impact or rebound which would allow the door to open. The blocking arm is biased close to the door in a non-blocking position where it initially receives the transferred impact energy. During the impact event the blocking arm rapidly rotates on a pivot from the non-blocking position to a blocking position away from the door. After the impact event, the blocking arm returns to the non-blocking position so that the exit device operates normally. |
| US07905521B2 |
Multi-point sliding door latch
A multi-point door latch adapted to fit in the stile of a door. The multi-point door latch includes a pair of hooks that are allowed to rotably pivot around a pair of eccentric cams. The eccentric cams are allowed to rotate inside of apertures located through the hubs of the hooks. The eccentric cams are geometrically centered inside the hubs of the hooks, and are kept in position via pins that are eccentrically orientated through cams. The multi-point door latch also includes an opening for receiving a turning mechanism. In addition, the turning mechanism is connected to a pair of toothed gear wheels that mesh with a toothed bar. The toothed bar is connected to a synchronizing link which simultaneously rotates the hooks to either an engaged or disengaged position. The multi-point door latch also includes stopping members, which prevent the hooks from rotating passed a certain point when the door latch is not engaged. |
| US07905519B2 |
Vehicle seatbelt apparatus
A vehicle seatbelt apparatus includes a power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section incorporated in a control device for detecting fluctuations of power supply voltage occurring when an engine cranking operation is being performed. The control device changes drive mode of the motor when such fluctuations of the power supply voltage are detected by the power supply voltage fluctuation detecting section. |
| US07905517B2 |
Device for increasing occupant protection in a motor vehicle during a lateral impact
The invention is a device for increasing occupant protection in a motor vehicle during a lateral impact, in which the energy input acts laterally on a partial area of the motor vehicle door wherein a motor vehicle seat is situated on the side of the motor vehicle door facing away from the energy input. The motor vehicle door is provided with an interior lining facing the motor vehicle seat and at least one partial area of the interior door lining is conveyable from an initial state into an extended state projecting by a drive unit into the motor vehicle interior. The drive unit is connected to the motor vehicle door and to the partial area of the interior door lining. |
| US07905516B2 |
Airbag module with integrated gas generation
An airbag module integrates the components required for gas generation, thereby eliminating the need for a separate inflation component. The airbag module can comprise a cover with a pocket, a gas generant container, an inflatable cushion an upper and lower retainer housing, and an inflation gas generation system in fluid communication with the cushion. The airbag module does not comprise a discrete inflator that is functional outside the assembled airbag module. The gas generant container houses a package of solid gas generating compound. The energetic materials of the propellant do not become functional as a gas generation source until the cover is secured to the lower retainer housing. |
| US07905509B2 |
Brake mechanism for a baby stroller
A brake mechanism for a baby stroller, having a plurality of wheels and a pair of rotatable push arms capable of being moved either forward or rearward. The brake mechanism comprises a connecting assembly and an actuator; and has a braking block for operatively stopping the baby stroller. The connecting assembly has a pulling slider for operatively associating with the braking block of the brake mechanism, and the actuator is operatively secured to the push arm and associated with the connecting assembly, so as to indirectly drive the brake mechanism. This allows a user to manipulate the actuator to stop the stroller from either in front of or behind the stroller. |
| US07905507B2 |
Trailer reversal self-correcting assembly
A trailer reversal self-correcting assembly (10) adapted to be disposed between the tow bar (12) of a vehicle (14) and the tow member (16) of a trailer (18), the assembly (10) comprising a tow arm (20) pivotally connected to the tow bar (12) at its first end and to the tow member (16) at its second end, a first extension mount (26) extending laterally from the tow bar (12), and a second extension mount (30) extending laterally from the tow member (16), a first correcting linkage device having at least a first linkage member (38) connected between the first extension mount (26) and the second extension mount (30). |
| US07905504B2 |
Seat
A seat (14), particularly but not exclusively for a wheelchair, comprises a bottom rest (13, 60), a back rest support (18) rotatable relative to the bottom rest about an axis of rotation (100); and a back rest (22) slidably mounted on the back rest support and moveable therealong to vary its position relative to the bottom rest. The back rest is kinematically linked to the bottom rest such that the back rest moves nearer to the axis of rotation as the angle between the back rest support and the bottom rest increases. |
| US07905498B2 |
Gasket formed from various material
A gasket for creating a seal between two surfaces. The gasket may include a pervious base sheet and a permeating material applied to or incorporated into the base sheet. The gasket is formed by various methods disclosed herein. The gasket may include a base sheet, a primary sealing material covering the base sheet, and a secondary sealing material covering the primary sealing material. |
| US07905497B2 |
Ring seal and retainer assembly
The ring seal and retainer assembly includes an annularly shaped ring seal defining a radial inner surface, a radial outer surface, first and second axial end surfaces and a central bore for fluid or gas passage. A retainer is provided for affixing and positioning a ring seal in a sealing assembly. The retainer includes a circular sidewall sized and positioned to engage and cover the ring seal's radial outer surface. The retainer includes an arcuate flange which extends at one of the retainer's axial extremities to form a concave interior and a convex exterior. Preferably, the arcuate flange extends outwardly to increase the retainer's radius and the arcuate flange is sized to compressibly engage the interior sidewall of the component block's counterbore. |
| US07905496B2 |
Bearing protector for axial shaft movement
A seal device, which accommodates axial displacement between a housing and shaft of an item of rotating equipment, includes a stator which locates into the housing of a piece of rotating equipment. A first rotor locates on the shaft of the rotating equipment and a second rotor is rotationally coupled to the first rotor with the first rotor being permitted to axially float with respect to the second rotor. The device provides sealing integrity when the shaft is both idle and operational. The sealing device may be used, for instance, in a double ended centrifugal pump where shaft displacement occurs from thermal expansion. |
| US07905495B2 |
Circumferential sealing arrangement
A circumferential sealing arrangement is disclosed herein. The circumferential sealing arrangement includes a structure operable to rotate about an axis and having a first surface facing radially outward. The circumferential sealing arrangement also includes a static housing circumscribing the rotatable structure. The circumferential sealing arrangement also includes at least one seal element connected to the static housing and having a second surface facing radially inward. The circumferential sealing arrangement also includes a seal runner rotatable with the structure and having a third surface facing radially outward. The third surface cooperates with the second surface to form a circumferential seal between the static housing and the rotatable structure. A radial gap is defined between the first surface of the rotatable structure and a fourth surface of the seal runner facing radially inward and opposing the first surface. The circumferential sealing arrangement also includes at least one resilient member disposed in the radial gap and operable to radially compress in response to a change in size of the radial gap to limit hoop stresses being generated in the seal runner. |
| US07905489B2 |
Portable gaming system and related methods
The present invention generally relates to a system and methods for facilitating entertainment. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a system, certain embodiments of which include easy to transport and to assemble components and, when assembled, provide a portable apparatus which a human can engage in horseshoe gaming. The system includes an apparatus which, in one embodiment, includes a frame element, a vertical element and a cushion element. |
| US07905488B2 |
Target game
A target game includes a target area having first and second electrical grids that are configured to maintain a predetermined spacing therebetween. The target game includes a processor in communication with a power supply and grids so as to actuate the power supply to impart a level of capacitance between the grids, to measure an amount of time required for the level of capacitance between the grids to be discharged, and to detect a change in the amount of time required for the level of capacitance to be discharged. The game includes at least one dart having a conductive front portion sized to span the predetermined spacing between the grids. An output device is in data communication with the processor for conveying the detection of a change in an amount of time required for the level of capacitance between the grids to be discharged. |
| US07905487B2 |
Lottery card holding and marking apparatus and associated method
An apparatus for holding and marking a lottery ticket during playing conditions includes a base plate with a planar top surface provided with upwardly extending walls contiguously surrounding a periphery thereof. A lid is pivotally coupled to the base plate in such a manner that the lid and base plate pivot about a fulcrum axis extending along respective proximal latitudinal edges of the lid and the base plate. The apparatus further includes a plurality of brackets attached to opposed ones of the walls of the lid. Each of such brackets is linearly slidable along a corresponding edge of the lid, and the brackets are slidable along mutually exclusive linear paths defined along the corresponding lids respectively. The apparatus further includes a scratching implement removably coupled to one of the brackets, and a marking implement removably coupled to another one of the brackets. |
| US07905485B2 |
Paper feeding apparatus and paper feeding method thereof with a plurality of force units with fluid-supply devices
A paper feeding apparatus includes a fluid-supply device, a connecting pipe communicating with the fluid-supply device, and a plurality of force units connecting to the connecting pipe, each force unit having a pressing wheel on one end thereof, wherein each pressing wheel operates in coordination with a paper feeding wheel for feeding paper. The force units output equal force according to the same hydraulic pressure so that the pressing wheels provide the same component force to the corresponding paper feeding wheel so as to improve the quality of paper feeding. Furthermore, a method for using the paper feeding apparatus is disclosed. |
| US07905483B2 |
Transport device and image forming apparatus
A transport device includes: a positioning member provided in a sheet transport path, used for positioning of a print sheet in a direction orthogonal to a sheet transport direction; and a skewed roller that transports the print sheet while skewing the print sheet toward a direction of the positioning member, a transport roller being provided in a position different from the skewed roller in the sheet transport direction. |
| US07905481B2 |
Method for feeding a shingled stack of sheet material
A method for feeding a shingled stack of sheet material to a downstream processing device includes the step of identifying a discontinuity in the shingled stack of sheet material wherein the discontinuity has a length dimension from an aft end of a downstream portion of the shingled sheet material to a forward end of an upstream portion of the shingled sheet material. In a next step, the motion of first and second serially arranged conveyors are controlled such that the length dimension of the discontinuity is substantially equal to a prescribed gap of known length dimension. The first conveyor supports the upstream portion of the shingled sheet material and the second conveyor supports the downstream portion of the shingled sheet material. The deck of the first is advanced over the deck of the second conveyor toward the aft end of the downstream portion by the length dimension of the prescribed gap. The upstream portion is then dispensed into shingled engagement with the downstream portion to produce a continuous stack of shingled sheet material. |
| US07905479B2 |
Feeder unit, sheet feeding device, and image forming apparatus
A feeder unit to feed sheets is provided. The feeder unit includes a main frame, being swingably supported at a pivotal end by a first shaft, and arranged to extend from the first shaft toward an upper level of a tray, a rotary member, which is rotatably supported, and is arranged to come in contact with a topmost surface of the sheets, a pair of opposing walls, formed in the main frame, a secondary frame, having a pair of supporting walls which come to face the opposing walls, a gear train to transmit rotation force to the rotary member, a positioning system to situate the secondary frame in a predetermined position, and a detachment restricting system to restrict the secondary frame from being detached from the main frame. The secondary frame is situated in the predetermined position when the rotary member rotates in a direction to feed the sheets. |
| US07905478B2 |
Inserter apparatus, printer, print system and insert method
An inserter apparatus has a printer A and an inserter apparatus B. The printer A has a print section 13, and an insert information output section 9 for outputting insert information including an insert page showing a position of an insert paper and an interval of printing papers. The inserter apparatus B has a discharged paper carrying section 17 of printing papers from the print section 13; a counter section 19 for counting the number of sheets of the printing papers; a paper feeding section 21 for setting the insert paper therein; and a paper feeding controller 23. Based on insert information from the insert information output section 9, the paper feeding controller 23 controls the insert paper to be fed at a timing before the next paper interval is passed after a count value of the counter section 19 reaches one page before the insert page. Therefore, it is possible to realize an excellent short insert processing for the printing papers. |
| US07905477B2 |
Intermediate conveying apparatus
A conveyance control device of an intermediate conveying apparatus calculates the number of sweets finished in terms of processing, based on information about the number of superposed sheets for one set and about the number of sets finished in terms of processing received from the post-processing apparatus, and controls to transmit the calculated number of sheets to the aforesaid image forming apparatus. |
| US07905474B2 |
Sheet finisher, image forming apparatus using the same, and sheet finishing method
A sheet finisher of the invention includes a fold reinforcing unit that reinforces the fold line. The fold reinforcing unit includes a roller unit, a drive unit that has a single motor and moves the roller unit along the direction of the fold line from a standby position; and a nip unit. The nip unit includes a first nip plate and a second nip plate. The first nip plate and the second nip plate are opened in a thickness direction of the sheet bundle when the roller unit is located at the standby position, and are closed to nip the sheet bundle when the roller unit reinforces the fold line after the sheet bundle is transported to between the first and the second nip plate. The second nip plate is driven to be opened and closed in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle by the single motor. |
| US07905470B2 |
Vibration damper
An object of the present invention is to obtain a vibration damper capable of instantly changing or rapidly increasing the spring constant of the vibration damper, with improving sealing properties. An intermediate cylinder 16 is fittingly engaged with the inner peripheral surface of an outer cylindrical metal member 12. The intermediate cylinder 16 and a mounting metal member 22 are elastically connected by a rubber elastic body 24. A circular tube portion 36A of a yoke forming member 36 is provided at a position on the inner peripheral side of the intermediate cylinder 16. A coil 46 is to disposed between the intermediate cylinder 16 and the yoke forming member 36. A pressure receiving liquid chamber 40 in which a portion of an inner wall thereof is formed of the rubber elastic body 24 communicates via an orifice 44 with a secondary liquid chamber 42 which is elastically deformable due to presence of a diaphragm 38, such that a magnetism responsive fluid can flow in either direction between the pressure receiving liquid chamber and the second liquid chamber. A yoke portion 36C is provided on the inner peripheral side of the circular tube portion 36A such that the yoke portion 36C is situated along magnetic path which is generated upon electrical activation of the coil 46. |
| US07905465B1 |
Shimless aligner
A shimless aligner for insertion between a machine foot and base to align the foot relative to the base, which foot and base are secured together by a hold-down bolt extending between the foot and base. The aligner includes, a top plate having a slanted bottom surface, a taper wedge having a slanted top surface slidably engaging the slanted bottom surface of the top plate and further having a vertical alignment rod extending substantially laterally, a bottom plate below the taper wedge, and a back plate attached substantially perpendicularly at one end of the bottom plate. For receiving the hold-down bolt, the top and bottom plates have a corresponding hole, while the taper wedge has a slot. Said back plate has a hole for the vertical alignment rod to slidably engage the hole thereby preventing rotation of the taper wedge during vertical alignment operations and preserving bent foot corrections. |
| US07905461B2 |
Seat track latch assembly
A track system for a seat is disclosed. The track system comprises a first track including a plurality of apertures; a second track configured to move relative to the first track and including a plurality of apertures; and a latch assembly coupled to the first track. The latch assembly comprises a base, a first pin, and a second pin. The base comprises a first slot and a second slot. The first pin is moveable in the first slot between a first position, in which the first pin engages the second track and cants in a first direction, and a second position, in which the first pin disengages the second track. The second pin is moveable in the second slot between a first position, in which the second pin engages the second track and cants in a second direction, and a second position, in which the second pin disengages the second track. |
| US07905457B2 |
Interlocking brackets for filter capsules and method of forming the same
Interlocking brackets for filter capsules are provided. According to one embodiment, a filter capsule bracket includes a first bracket portion including a first side having a concave surface and at least one plug; and a second bracket portion including a first side having a concave surface corresponding to the concave surface of the first bracket portion and at least one socket for receiving the at least one plug of the first side of the first bracket, wherein the concave surfaces of the first and second bracket portions are configured to retain a filter capsule when the at least one plug of the first side of the first bracket portion is received by the at least one socket of the first side of the second bracket portion. |
| US07905454B2 |
Metal tube support bracket
A tube support bracket that comprises an aluminum-coated steel support bracket formed having a circular tube-receiving aperture and an annular, castellated collar abutting the aperture. The aperture and collar are sized for receiving therethrough in close-fitting relationship an aluminum alloy heat exchanger tube. The collar, formed by a draw-punching process, has a plurality of spaced-apart, axial tabs sized for swaging against in hoop stress and bite the received tube. An inner surface of each of the collar tabs being has at least one axial groove therein, the groove being configured for receiving exterior regions of the received tube when the collar is swaged tightly against the tube to thereby lock the tube in the collar and thus in the support bracket. A corresponding method for making a tube support is disclosed. |
| US07905453B2 |
Piggyback equipment panel payload arrangement, a device for and method of attaching a hosted secondary piggyback payload and adapter to be used for a piggyback secondary payload arrangement for launching the piggyback equipment panel secondary
The invention relates to piggyback secondary payloads, a device for and a method of attaching piggyback secondary payloads, including a primary satellite and at least one secondary payload, such as a deployable microsatellite, affixed instrument package or the like, wherein the secondary payload is mounted on the nadir end of the primary satellite, preferably employing a universal adapter between the primary satellite and the at least one secondary payload. |
| US07905452B2 |
Window frame for aircraft
A window frame for installation in the exterior shell of an aircraft, which comprises one outer flange, an inner flange, and a vertical flange extending between flanges. A window frame is fixed in its position via a plurality of holder elements being arranged substantially equidistance from each other over the periphery of the window frame, being distributed on the outer flange of the window frame. Each of the holder elements comprises a base plate having a face, a pin, a pin extending outwardly from the face of the base plate and a pin to, a downholder clip. The clip may be adapted for a press fit engagement with the pin. The outer surfaces of the pin include a sawtooth-like structure, which engages with hook-shaped clamping elements flexibly formed on the downholder clip and over which an annular locking element is displaced. The holder elements may include a thermoplastic material, which may be provided with reinforcement fibers and may be die cast. Before installation of the window frame in the aircraft, the base plates of the holder elements are adhered to the outer flange of the window frame, and upon mounting of the window frame to an aircraft structure, the outer flange is riveted to an exterior shell of the aircraft. |
| US07905450B2 |
Aircraft equipment support
A support for aircraft seats and other equipment has a lower support link that sweeps out a lateral arc. The lower support link supports a platform that may have a conventional linear track. The linear track provides fore/aft movement substantially orthogonal to a line tangent to the center of the lateral arc. A pilot link is attached to the platform to form a parallelogram linkage that maintains the equipment platform in a rotationally fixed attitude as the lower support link sweeps out its lateral arc. |
| US07905448B2 |
Annular torsional rigid static component for an aircraft engine
In an annular torsional rigid static component for an aircraft engine, the component includes at least one arrangement for mounting the engine to an aircraft. The mounting arrangement comprises a body formed in a composite material. |
| US07905446B2 |
Unwind and feed system for elastomeric thread
An overend unwind system for unwinding tacky elastomeric fiber threads such as uncoated spandex thread, capturing the ballooning affect of the thread as the thread leaves the spool, applying a first-stage tension control on the thread adjacent where the thread leaves the spool, feeding the unwound thread to a nip in a downstream process, and applying a final tension increment to the thread adjacent where the thread enters the downstream process. All thread guide surfaces encountered by the thread after leaving the spool, and while the thread is under designed operating tension, are moving surfaces, such that the tensioned thread thereby experiences a reduced level of drag as the thread traverses its path of travel from the spool to the downstream process. |
| US07905444B2 |
Carbon ribbon shaft of barcode printer
A carbon ribbon shaft is provided for a barcode printer and includes a shaft rod and at least one first rotation member and one second rotation member. The shaft rod has an end coupled to a housing of the barcode printer. The first and second rotation members are fit over the shaft rod. Arranged between inside of the first rotation member and the shaft rod is a resilient element that allows the first rotation member to effect resilient rotation with respect to the shaft rod. The first rotation member has an outer surface forming sliding-resistant resilient tabs. Arranged between inside of the second rotation member and the shaft rod is a resilient element that allows the second rotation member to effect resilient rotation with respect to the shaft rod. The second rotation member has an outer surface forming sliding-resistant resilient tabs. The surfaces of first and second rotation members receive a carbon ribbon roll of the barcode printer to fit thereon. With the resilient expansion of the sliding-resistant resilient tabs of the first and second rotation members, the carbon ribbon roll is securely fixed on the first and second rotation members to thereby form a carbon ribbon shaft assembly for a modularized carbon ribbon roll. |
| US07905439B2 |
Apparatus and method for tapered core drum package payoff
Arrangements and methods for welding wire payoff sources. A tapered core and base plate, optionally along with a wire guide insert, are configured with a payout drum package and a cover containing a welding wire stack such that the welding wire may be payed off smoothly from the wire stack during an arc welding operation, without the welding wire flipping or tangling. |
| US07905437B2 |
Waste shredder comprising at least two rotors
A waste shredder (1) includes at least one loading chamber (3), two or more rotors (4) placed in seats formed in the bottom wall of the loading chamber (3) and a movable hopper (2) sliding above the loading chamber (3) and provided with a reciprocating translational movement. The hopper (2) has two end walls (B, B′) and carries a plurality of stiff vanes (5) placed in the spaces between the rotors (4), the end walls (B, B1) and the stiff vanes (5) protruding downward until they skim the bottom of the loading chamber (3) to press the material (8) to be shredded against the rotors (4). The rotors (4) turn in the opposite direction to the translational movement of the hopper (2) and reverse their direction of rotation when the hopper (2) reverses its direction of translation. |
| US07905435B1 |
Roof grinder
A roof grinder is operative to both comminute and transport rubber, asphalt, insulation, rock and other diverse material. The grinder has a cutter which comminutes commercial roofing material. An air transport uses a high velocity air stream to blow the comminuted particles to a collection site on the ground. A rotary air lock couples to the cutter for receiving comminuted roofing material and isolates the cutter from the air transport, to prevent high velocity air from passing through the rotary air lock to cutter. The device is sized for placement on the roof, and has wheels or tracks for easy movement. A flexible hose couples the air transport to a remote location for discharge, such as to a roll-off container. In an alternative embodiment, a roof grinder is operative to both comminute and transport rubber, asphalt, insulation and rock material, and the cutter is operative upon a roof sub-floor to both remove and comminute commercial roofing material. |
| US07905434B2 |
Powder processing apparatus
In order to manufacture the compound powder or the porous granulated substance in an efficient manner, a powder processing apparatus has an accumulating face on which the processing target powder is to be accumulated and a processing face disposed in opposition to the accumulating face and convexly curved, and a moving means for moving the accumulating face and the processing face along the accumulating face relative to each other. The apparatus comprises an excitement treatment means capable of applying an excitation energy to the processing target powder accumulated on the accumulating face from an excitation energy supplying portion disposed in opposition to the accumulating face or an oscillation means for oscillating the accumulating face or the processing face in a direction intersecting the accumulating face. |
| US07905432B2 |
Casting nozzle
An object of the invention is to provide a casting nozzle in which attachment and deposition of alumina or the like can be prevented while a drift of molten steel can be prevented.The casting nozzle according to the invention is characterized in that the casting nozzle has a molten steel flow hole portion in which “a plurality of independent protrusion portions and/or concave portions” are disposed so that each of the protrusion portions and/or concave portions has a size satisfying the expression (1): H≧2 mm and the expression (2): L>2×H mm [in which “H” shows the maximum height of the protrusion portion or the maximum depth of the concave portion, and “L” shows the maximum length of a base portion of the protrusion portion or concave portion]. |
| US07905429B2 |
Dispensing system and method for shower arm
Dispensing systems for dispensing one or more materials into a fluid flow conduit, during the conveyance of fluid through the conduit are configured to connect to a fluid conduit, such as a standard pipe of a shower arm and dispense a material into the water flow in the shower arm. The system includes a first tube member having a restrictor flow passage to provide a pressure differential, as fluid flows through the tube member. The pressure differential created within the restrictor passage by the fluid flow is communicated to a flask, to provide a pressure differential between the interior and the exterior of a flexible container within the flask. The pressure differential causes material within the flexible container to be drawn out and conveyed to the fluid flowing through the tube member. The flask may be connected to the first tube member, through an extension portion that is rotatable around the first tube member for convenient positioning. A quick-release connection structure may allow the flask to be connected and selectively releasable from the system. |
| US07905428B1 |
Multiple chemical sprayer
A sprayer has a sprayer outlet and a pressurizable reservoir adapted to contain a fluid. The reservoir has an air-pressure outlet and a reservoir outlet, the reservoir outlet being in fluid connection with the sprayer outlet. Detachable, pressurizable tanks are adapted to contain a chemical, each tank having a chemical outlet and an air-pressure inlet. Each air-pressure inlet is in fluid connection with the air-pressure outlet of the reservoir for equalizing air pressure between the reservoir and each tank. A switch is adjustable between a plurality of settings for causing at least one of the chemical outlets to be in fluid connection with the sprayer outlet. A ratio valve is provided for selecting a fluid flow rate out of the selected outlet. Fluids flowing into the sprayer outlet from the outlets are mixed together prior to discharge from the sprayer outlet. |
| US07905427B2 |
Apparatus and method for cleaning and de-icing
A windshield heated liquid spray assembly including a liquid heating assembly and a heated liquid spray assembly operative to spray the heated liquid onto a windshield, the liquid heating assembly including a liquid heating chamber, at least one heating element disposed in the liquid heating chamber and at least one heat dissipator in heat conduction contact with the at least one heating element, the at least one heat dissipator at least partially defining at least one liquid flow channel and being operative to transfer heat from the at least one heating element to the liquid flowing through the at least one liquid flow channel. |
| US07905425B2 |
Modular outward opening solenoid direct fuel injector
A module, direct fuel injector (10) includes a fuel module (46) having a valve body (12) defining an outlet opening (20) and including a seating surface (18). A needle 14, disposed in valve body, has a sealing surface (16). An armature (28) is coupled with the needle such that movement of the armature moves the needle between a closed position with the sealing surface engaging the seating surface and an open position with the needle moving outwardly from the valve body with the sealing surface being disengaged from the seating. A spring (38) biases the armature and thus the needle to the closed position. An inlet tube (22) is coupled to the fuel module defining an inlet of the injector. A power assembly (42) is separate from, but coupled to, the fuel module. The power assembly includes an electromagnetic coil (44) for causing movement of the armature, and a connector (43). |
| US07905423B2 |
Coding pattern with plurality of orientation features in each tag
A substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof. The coding pattern comprises a plurality of target elements defining a target grid. The target grid comprises a plurality of cells, wherein neighboring cells share target elements. A plurality of data elements are contained in each cell. Tags are defined by a plurality of contiguous cells and each tag comprises respective tag data encoded by a respective set of the data elements. Each cell comprises an orientation symbol encoded by at least one data element. Any tag-sized portion of the coding pattern is guaranteed to contain a plurality of the orientation symbols. Each orientation symbol identifies an orientation of a layout of the tag data with respect to the target grid, enabling a relative orientation of an optical reader imaging the coding pattern to be determined. |
| US07905419B2 |
Method for routing outgoing and incoming data in an NFC chipset
A method for routing data in a chipset comprising at least one host processor and an RFID-type contactless data send/receive interface includes, in response to a command for opening a data path sent by a source point located in the host processor and designating a destination point located in the contactless data send/receive interface, defining a data path linking the source point to the destination point by allocating to the data path a routing channel number and by saving in a routing table the routing channel number and routing parameters comprising at least one identifier of the source point and one identifier of the destination point, and sending to the destination point data supplied by the source point by encapsulating the data in a frame having a header field comprising the routing channel number. |
| US07905405B2 |
Method of imaging a coding pattern having fragments of common data distributed in each tag
A method of imaging a coding pattern disposed on a surface of a substrate. The method comprises the steps of: (a) operatively positioning an optical reader relative to the surface and capturing an image of a portion of the coding pattern; (b) sampling and decoding fragments of common data contained in the imaged portion; and (c) assembling the decoded fragments to determine the common data. The imaged portion has a diameter of at least one tag diameter and less than two tag diameters. |
| US07905398B1 |
Card including account number with value amount
Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein provide a method of participating in prepaid programs through retail systems without the need to first upgrade their POS capabilities to participate, and allow for a merchant (retailer) to participate in proof of concept programs to determine if prepaid is a viable solution for their retail business model. |
| US07905397B2 |
Data management method and data management system
In managing an underground facility, considering the enormous number of documents, the number of people who are involved with the management of electric power, communication, gas, water, sewage or the like, and expended hours, enormous cost and time have been needed so far. A wireless chip is attached to each buried object itself in substitution for a boundary stake or a display stake of an underground facility or a ground facility. Then, data such as embedded date, position data, or an owner is written into a memory portion of the wireless chip. In addition, by incorporating a CUP in the wireless chip, only a terminal having an encryption function which has obtained permission of communication can communicate, and access by unspecified number of devices, leakage of position data or the like, an erasure of stored data, rewriting, and the like can be prevented. Such a system can surely perform management of facility data. |
| US07905393B2 |
Generating an optimized supplier allocation plan
Generating an optimized supplier allocation plan includes identifying parts and suppliers associated with an allocation problem, where each supplier can supply at least one part. One or more objective functions are selected. Each objective function has part variables, and each part variable represents a quantity of a part to be procured from a supplier. At least one constraint constraining at least one part variable is received. The one or more objective functions are optimized with respect to the at least one constraint to yield a value for each part variable. A quantity of each part to be procured from at least one supplier is determined according to the values to generate the optimized supplier allocation plan. |
| US07905389B2 |
Container and foldable blank for forming the container itself
Container obtained by the folding of a single respective foldable blank, is delimited by walls of which at least one is shaped in such a way as to protrude towards the outside of the container, and has at least one flat stiffening wall, which extends between two walls bordering on the shaped wall and is arranged at a distance from the shaped wall in order to make stable the shape of the latter. |
| US07905387B2 |
Method of manufacturing expansion joint
A method of manufacturing an expansion joint includes steps of: marking parts, which will form the expansion joint, on a piece of raw material, so that the original 360 degree shape of the expansion joint is equally divided by the parts, and cutting the marked parts from the raw material; welding the divided parts, so that opposing ends of the welded parts are separated from each other; bending the welded parts into the form of a cone using a bending roller, thereby welding and joining the opposing ends thereof; fixedly mounting the resultant structures on a press; shaping the mounted resultant structures into products using a mold having a desired shape and dimension; and butting a pair of the products against each other and welding the products in the outer radial direction. |
| US07905382B2 |
Wave soldering tank
A wave soldering tank is provided on which it is easy to perform maintenance, which does not have fluctuation of the height of spouted solder, which does not damage the rotating shaft of a discharge pump, and which can be stably used for long periods.The wave soldering tank 1 has a tank body 1a which houses molten solder S, a discharge pump 5 which pumps molten solder S, a discharge nozzle 4 which spouts molten solder S which was sent to it by the discharge pump 5 upwards, a duct 2 having the discharge pump 5 installed at one of its ends and the discharge nozzle 4 installed at its other end, an oxidation preventing member 22 which has a prescribed size and which floats on the surface of the molten solder S, and an engaging means 13 which controls rotation of the oxidation preventing member 22 in a horizontal plane. The oxidation preventing member 22 has a surrounding member 28 which extends downwards at its center and which surrounds the rotating shaft 10 with a gap between it and the rotating shaft 10, and a hollow space 26 in its interior for providing buoyancy. |
| US07905381B2 |
Surgical stapling instrument with cutting member arrangement
A surgical stapling instrument including a first jaw member, a second jaw member, and a cutting member. In at least one form of the invention, the surgical stapling instrument can further include a housing which can at least partially extend over and/or around the cutting member. In various embodiments, the housing can at least partially cover the cutting member when the first and second jaw members are detached from one another, yet permit the cutting member to be moved relative to the first and second jaw members during use. |
| US07905380B2 |
Surgical instrument having a multiple rate directional switching mechanism
A surgical instrument including a drive mechanism configured to advance a staple driver and/or cutting member at a first rate and retract the staple driver and/or cutting member at a different rate. In at least one embodiment, the rate at which the driver and cutting member is advanced and/or retracted is the distance that the driver and/or cutting member is translated per actuation of a trigger, for example. In various embodiments, the cutting member can be retracted at a faster rate as compared to the rate in which it is advanced. In such embodiments, the surgical instrument can, owing to the slower advancing rate, provide a greater torque or advancing force to the cutting member while, owing to the faster retracting rate, reduce the time required for the surgeon to retract the cutting member. |
| US07905375B2 |
Dispensing device arranged to reduce the risk of strain and injury during use
A device for dispensing flowable materials to low locations without the user being required to bend over or kneel down during dispensing provides relief from back strain or other injuries. The device includes a cylinder having a piston mounted therein which reciprocates between forward ejecting and return directions. A driven rod, connected to the piston, extends through a front wall of the cylinder. Upon actuation, a trigger mechanism supplies a pressure medium within the cylinder for displacing the piston in the forward ejecting direction to dispense flowable material from the dispensing device. The trigger mechanism is oriented to enable the user to hold the dispensing device like a suitcase and is spaced a sufficient distance from where the flowable material is dispensed to enable a user to remain standing erect while dispensing to low areas such as where a floor and wall meet. |
| US07905374B2 |
Bottled water cooler with hot water sterilization system
The present invention is a bottled water cooler with a hot water sterilization system. A bottled water cooler with a hot water sterilizing system having a cold tank installed on the top of the cooler. There is a bottle receptacle in it, and the bottle receptacle groove having a probe connecting with water bottle and the cold tank inside. There is a baffle on a hollow baffle leader under the probe. The end of the baffle leader connects with a hot tank installed under cold tank by the cold and hot tank connecting tube, hot tank draining three-way pipe or draining pipe. |
| US07905372B2 |
Devices useful in system and method for dispensing prescriptions
An automated method for dispensing pharmaceuticals, particularly tablets and capsules, and other small discrete objects, includes: receiving prescription information, selecting a container, labeling the container, dispensing the tablets or capsules into the labeled container, applying a closure to the filled, labeled container, and offloading the container to a designated location. Preferably, the tablets are dispensed with high speed dispensing bins that employ forced air to agitate and singulate the tablets. The other functions within the system are typically carried out at stations designed to offer speed, flexibility and precision to the dispensing operation. |
| US07905370B2 |
Dispenser of consumable products such as drinks
A simple, inexpensive, reliable and maintenance-free dispenser in which the stored products are offered automatically on the outside of the dispenser where they can be grasped by a hand without further manipulation. The dispenser includes housings in which the products, stacked in a column, are stored and moved by gravity and, at the base of each housing in front of the first product of the column, outlet orifices are closed by a closing membrane with slits. A slope is provided, in the lower rear part of each housing, to automatically advance the first product a predetermined distance through the outlet orifice so that the product partially emerges and can be grasped by hand on the outside of the dispenser. The dispenser can be used to automatically dispense consumable products, such as drinks, without prepayment, and for all types of industrial, commercial, home and other applications. |
| US07905367B2 |
Oil pan for an internal combustion engine
An oil pan having a drain mechanism (10) that comprises an adjustable valve body (11) which is introduced into a drain opening (13) in an oil pan wall and which is adjustable between a closed position and an open position. A sealing member (12) made of a flexible material is arranged on the valve body (11) of the drain mechanism (10) for closing the drain opening (13) in the wall of the oil pan (1) when the valve body is in the closed position, and the valve body (11) when in the closed position is secured against the wall of the oil pan (1) by a closing element, and the sealing member (12) is held in the closed position by the closing element. |
| US07905366B2 |
Energy dissipation device for a multi-member vehicle
The invention relates to an energy dissipation device (100) for a multi-member vehicle, a rail-mounted vehicle in particular, comprising a first end plate (10), a second end plate (20) and an energy dissipation element (30) in the form of a hollow body extending in the longitudinal direction (L) of the energy dissipation device (100) and arranged between the first and the second end plate (10, 20), whereby to prescribe the formation of folds for the energy dissipation element (30) upon activation of the energy dissipation device (100), said energy dissipation element (30) comprises a response trigger in the form of a fold/bulge area (33, 33′) extending peripherally at least partly around the periphery of the hollow body. In order to ensure that the energy dissipation device (100) can be utilized to transfer both compressive forces as well as tractive forces, the invention provides for the energy dissipation device (100) to comprise at least one tractive force-transferring element (31) which connects the first end plate (10) to the second end plate (20) and is designed to transfer tractive forces in the longitudinal direction (L) of the energy dissipation device (100), whereby the line of action (W2) for the tractive force transferred over the at least one tractive force-transferring element (31) runs completely through the interior of said tractive force-transferring element (31). |
| US07905360B2 |
Centrifugal separator for mixtures in a liquid or gaseous medium
The invention concerns a separator, wherein the mixture, after passing through the inlet channels of the container body (1), penetrates into the admission chamber (30) of the rotor (2), where blades (35) arranged in star formation and perpendicular to the axis of rotation produce a centrifugal propulsion and, further, compact the components with greater density, thus facilitating extraction thereof. The thus modified mixture passes into the separating chamber (31), where blades (36) arranged in star formation and parallel to the axis of rotation, through their centrifugal force, push the components with greater density outwards; the latter having penetrated into the collecting cells (41) of the grid (34) which is coated on the outside of the separating chamber, through holes (42) exit from the rotor upon reaching the accumulation chamber (13). The fluid medium which, countered by a suitable pressure, cannot penetrate into the accumulation chamber, exit through evacuation channels. An electromechanical control system (3) adjusts the functioning of the method. |
| US07905359B2 |
Device for delivering bulk material stored in a supply container
The device for delivering bulk material consisting of individual products has a supply container for storing the individual products. A perforated plate is arranged downstream of the product outlet of the supply container on a base stand and serves to receive the individual products from the product outlet and to move them further in a transport direction while removing broken products and dust. A clamping strip is supported and removably fixed in a motion guideway of a motion guideway carrier mounted on the base stand. The motion guideway extends at an angle to a vertical direction. The clamping strip thus removably fixes the perforated plate to the base stand. |
| US07905356B2 |
Method for separation of heterogeneous products, including household waste
A method for separation of heterogeneous products included in household waste (HW) comprises separating the products in a fractionation vessel containing a liquid. The waste includes components, of which at least some are capable of floating in the liquid. The components are exposed to a first essentially horizontal force (P1) in a first direction (D1) enforced by a flow of the liquid in the fractionation vessel and to a second essentially horizontal force (P2) in a second direction (D2), which is substantially different from the first direction (D1). The combined impact of the forces (P1; P2) on the components spreads the components and leads them to at least two collection areas. Products of varying buoyancy may thus be treated separately. |
| US07905355B2 |
Theft-resistant and senior-friendly packaging of consumer products
The present invention is a novel, theft-resistant, and senior-friendly packaging for consumer and retail products that is cheap and easy to manufacture. The packaging is designed to prevent individuals from gaining access to the enclosed product through tampering with the packaging while at the same time meeting or exceeding federal child-resistant and senior-friendly guidelines. The packaging incorporates plastic material and multiple cuts to be tear-resistant and to halt the propagation of a tear, if one should occur. |
| US07905354B1 |
Magnetic tool holder
A tool holder has a housing with magnets mounted in a pair of dove-tailed grooves with a slot therebetween and movable pegs therein cooperating to hold a series of sockets, or a series of screw drivers or bits therefor, or a series of wrenches, or other tools, or combinations thereof, mounted at a desired position on the tool holder. |
| US07905352B2 |
Kits containing medicine injection devices and containers
A reloadable medicine injector and methods are described in which a barrel with a receiving cavity is adapted to slidably receive a syringe subassembly for axial movement therein. Upon removal of a safety and release of a syringe driver, the syringe driver moves forward and injects the syringe needle. A plurality of penetration controls are shown for controlling injection needle penetration depth. The penetration controls have an abutment and various lengths to provide different needle penetration depth positions. In one form of penetration control a sleeve is used against which the syringe or related parts contact. In another form the front return spring is used as a penetration control. A cushioning ring may be used to reduce syringe breakage. A load distribution and guide ring may be used to distribute loading applied to the syringe and help guide the moving syringe. |
| US07905350B2 |
Side-open gun case
A gun case having a waterproof outer shell and an oil impregnated inside fabric liner, and conjoined sidelong and end access openings that allow the gun case to be quickly turned inside out and hung for cleaning and/or drying. Secure fold-over VELCRO® closure flaps are provided for both openings to solidly retain the gun within the gun case and to prevent accidental opening and release of the gun. Padding is disposed between the patterned outer shell fabric and inner liner to cushion the gun as it is transported, and to maintain the buoyancy of the gun case so that it floats even with a gun contained therein. |
| US07905342B2 |
Supply unit
A supply unit including a funnel-shaped container for receiving a quantity of unsorted, or randomly oriented, nuts and bolts, a conveyor that is driven, in a reciprocating manner, along an inwardly tapering interior wall of the container. The upper carrying surface of the conveyor dips into the unsorted nuts and bolts on its downward stroke and picks up some of the nuts and bolts. On its upward stroke, or travel, the conveyor cooperates with the adjacent wall to properly orient the majority of the nuts and bolts. Some of the improperly oriented nuts and bolts may fall off the conveyor during its upward travel. Blasts of air, or mechanical deflectors, cause other improperly oriented nuts and bolts to fall back into the container. A step is formed near the top of the container, and the upward travel of the conveyor term mates above the step. The properly oriented nuts and bolts are transferred away from the container by a transport assembly located in proximity to the step. The transport assembly includes an endless belt, and a guide for maintaining the sorted nuts and bolts in proper orientation. |
| US07905341B1 |
Handling system for multiple workpieces
A handling system for multiple workpieces is provided for repeatedly lifting rows of multiple workpieces on a lift assembly from a collection of workpieces in a hopper and selectively delivering one or more rows of orientated workpieces to an exit conveyor. Any disoriented workpieces on the exit conveyor can be discarded from the exit conveyor and returned to the collection of workpieces in the hopper. |
| US07905339B2 |
Operation mechanism of working machine
Operation mechanism of a working machine includes a main clutch lever pivotably provided on an operating handle, and a pivot member operable in interlocked relation to pivoting operation of the main clutch lever. The pivot member pivots about a pivot point differing in position from a pivot point of the main clutch lever. When fully pulled by pivoting operation of the main clutch lever, the cable member is located nearest to the pivot point of the pivot member, so that force reverse-pivoting the pivot member is reduced. |
| US07905337B2 |
Force transmission device
A force transmission device including an input and an output, a hydrodynamic component, having at least one pump shell and one turbine shell, and a device for damping vibrations including a primary component and a secondary component, rotatable relative to each other in circumferential direction, wherein the secondary component is connected at least indirectly torque proof with the output, and the turbine shell is connected at least indirectly torque proof with the output.The connection between the turbine shell and the output, or an element coupled torque proof with the output, is performed through the intermediary element connected with the turbine shell in a first coupling section and coupled in a second coupling section with the output, or with the element coupled torque proof with the output, wherein the intermediary element is characterized by a substantially constant wall thickness, and the two coupling areas are disposed offset relative to each other in axial and in radial direction. |
| US07905329B2 |
Earthquake control operating system for an elevator and earthquake control operating method for an elevator
An earthquake control operating system for an elevator is provided so that the elevator can operate free of the influence of earthquakes. Data concerning zones without resonance between the intrinsic vibration frequency of the ropes of the elevator and the intrinsic vibration frequency of the building, and data corresponding to the speed at which vibrations of ropes of the elevator are in a safe range during a long-period seismic wave are stored in a database. When an emergency earthquake report is received by an emergency earthquake information receiver, the elevator car is driven to a floor free of resonance at the speed stored in database. Then, when it is judged that the long-period seismic wave has been sufficiently attenuated on the basis of a detection signal of a long-period vibration sensor, the operation of the elevator is restored. |
| US07905328B2 |
Brake device of an elevator car
A brake device of an elevator car with a brake unit that is mounted on the elevator car. The brake drive includes a flexible tension member that passes around two tension-members reversing-sheaves. One end of the tension members extends parallel to the travel path of the elevator car and is coupled to an actuating element of the brake unit, and thereby also to the elevator car, so that in normal operation the tension member moves synchronously with the elevator car. A blocking device, at least on overspeed of the elevator car, brakes the tension member, as a consequence of which the tension member, via the actuating element, activates the brake unit. A monitoring device detects failure of the coupling between the tension member and the elevator car. |
| US07905320B2 |
Exhaust system for saddle-ride type vehicle
An exhaust valve and a catalyst can be easily disposed of in a simple manner. The interior of a triangular muffler is partitioned into three expansion chambers. A manifold pipe is connected to the second, middle expansion chamber sideways from a lower portion thereof and is accommodated therein so as to face upward. A catalyst is accommodated in the interior of the manifold pipe. Exhaust gas flowing out from an open end of the manifold pipe expands into the second chamber. A short-circuiting aperture is formed in a second separator and is opened and closed with an exhaust valve installed within the third chamber. The exhaust valve is normally closed by a spring. When the exhaust pressure reaches a predetermined magnitude, the exhaust valve opens automatically, allowing the exhaust gas to flow out into the third chamber through the short-circuiting aperture, thereby controlling the exhaust pressure. |
| US07905316B2 |
Clutch device of oil pump in power steering system
A clutch device of an oil pump in a power steering system includes a pulley shaft coupled with a pulley connected with a crankshaft of an engine via a belt, a body shaft coupled with a rotor rotatably installed in a pump body and provided with a vein, clutch plates provided in the pulley shaft and the body shaft, and transmitting a rotation power of the pulley shaft to the body shaft or blocking the rotation power therebetween, an elastic member provided in the body shaft, a check valve installed on a supply port connecting an airtight space, a solenoid valve installed on a return port connecting the airtight space in the pump body with an input port through which oil is supplied to the pump body, and a controller to control the operation of the solenoid valve. |
| US07905315B2 |
Vehicles having exhaust pipe extending through space between cylinder housings of engine
A vehicle, such as a motorcycle, includes an engine having first and second cylinder housings arranged in a V-shape such that a space is defined between the first and second cylinder housings. The first cylinder housing includes a first exhaust port and the second cylinder housing includes a second exhaust port. A first exhaust pipe is attached to the first exhaust port and is configured to facilitate passage of exhaust fluid from the first cylinder housing and toward a muffler. A second exhaust pipe is attached to the second exhaust port and is configured to facilitate passage of exhaust fluid from the second cylinder housing and toward the muffler. The second exhaust pipe extends through the space. |
| US07905306B2 |
Home care equipment system
A system for assisting a person of limited mobility in moving from room to room within a home and performing essential daily activities includes a personal mobility device which includes transfer drivers which engage a transfer system to transition from a first elevation to a second elevation. |
| US07905305B2 |
Blow-molded wheels having undulating treads, methods for producing the same, and children's ride-on vehicles including the same
Improved blow-molded wheels, methods for producing the same, and children's ride-on vehicles including the same are disclosed. The blow-molded wheels may include a blow-molded wheel body that is configured to rotate about an axis and has a tread surface that extends circumferentially around the wheel body and may have a circumferential profile that is defined as the locus of points at which the radial distance from the axis to the tread surface is greatest at each position around the circumference of the tread surface. The radial distance from the axis to the circumferential profile may change from a first radius to a second radius that is larger than the first radius at a plurality of spaced-apart positions along the circumferential profile. The method for producing the blow-molded wheels may include providing a mold with pinch-off rings that have an opening configured to form the circumferential profile. |
| US07905299B2 |
Articulation assembly for moving a drill mast
A jib assembly for use with a drill rig includes a jib boom having a first end and a second end. The jib boom is to rotate about the first end and the second end is configured to be coupled to a mast assembly mount. The jib assembly also includes an articulation assembly having at least one variable length link having a first end and a second end. The first end of the variable length link is offset from the jib boom and the second end is configured to be pivotingly coupled to the mast assembly mount. |
| US07905297B2 |
Automatic connection for mid-mounted implement
An automatic connection mechanism for a mid-mounted implement to a tractor is disclosed. The automatic connection mechanism includes a rear lift linkage pivotably attached to the tractor, that automatically and releasably engage the rear of the implement. The forward lift linkage is pivotably attached to the front of the implement, and automatically and releasably engages the forward end of the tractor. A PTO coupling member also is attached to the rear lift linkage to engage an opposing PTO coupling member on the implement. |
| US07905286B2 |
Method and apparatus for sealing a hole made with a cased hole formation tester
Apparatus and methods for forming and sealing a hole in the sidewall of a borehole are provided. The method may include conveying a carrier into the borehole, forming the hole in the sidewall using a bit, and sealing at least a portion of the hole by leaving at least a portion of the bit in the hole. An apparatus includes a carrier conveyable into the borehole, and a bit disposed on the carrier that forms the hole in a sidewall, the bit including a sealing portion that seals at least a portion of the hole. |
| US07905284B2 |
Fracturing/gravel packing tool system with dual flow capabilities
A fracturing/gravel packing tool system with dual flow capabilities. A method of treating a well includes the steps of: flowing a fluid into the well through a work string while simultaneously flowing another fluid into the well through an annulus; and directing each of the fluids to the exterior of a well screen in the well. A well treatment system includes a slurry and a fluid flowed into a well. The slurry has an initial density, but the fluid is mixed with the slurry in the well, thereby causing the slurry to have a reduced density in the well. Another method of treating a well includes the steps of: installing a gravel packing assembly including a well screen in the well; flowing a slurry and a fluid into the well; mixing the slurry with the fluid, thereby reducing a density of the slurry in the well; and flowing the reduced density slurry about an exterior of the well screen. |
| US07905279B2 |
Combination whipstock and seal bore diverter system
A combination whipstock and seal bore diverter system includes a whipstock; and a diverter configured to receive and support the whipstock in a selected orientation, the system being installable in a single run in a borehole. |
| US07905277B2 |
Method of producing a heat exchanger module
The invention relates to a heat exchange fin, particularly for cooling, consisting of a strip (30) comprising a first heat-exchange zone (18), intended to collaborate with tubes of a first heat exchanger, and a second heat-exchange zone (20), intended to collaborate with tubes of a second heat exchanger.According to the invention, said strip comprises a zone of weakness (22) able to allow it to be parted into a first element (64) comprising said first heat-exchange zone (18) and a second element (66) comprising said second heat-exchange zone (20).The invention also relates to a heat-exchange module comprising such a fin and to a method of producing such a module. |
| US07905276B2 |
Method and apparatus for leak-proof mounting of a liquid cooling device on an integrated circuit
Apparatus for cooling of an electrical circuit element on an electrical element package, comprising in combination, structure including a hollow body defining a cavity for containing cooling fluid located in heat transfer relation with said element, a rotatably tightenable connection between said package and said hollow body, and acting to block leakage of cooling fluid from said cavity. |
| US07905272B2 |
Method and device for the production of wide strips of copper or copper alloys
A method for producing wide strips of copper is performed by pouring a molten liquid into a revolving wide strip mold via a distribution container and a pour nozzle. A surface of the molten metal in the distribution container is maintained at a constant level above the place where the pour nozzle is fixed in the distribution container in the range of 75 mm to 90 mm with respect to the level of the bath surface of the mold. The molten metal is guided by an ascending channel from the distribution container to the pour nozzle and is distributed within the pour nozzle symmetrically over a width corresponding to the width of the strip. Within the pour nozzle, the molten metal is guided through first and second flow restrictors and is separated into numerous small individual flows in a vertical direction over the entire strip width of the mold. |
| US07905267B2 |
Handheld welding tool with external air supply
The invention relates to a handheld welding tool with external air supply for welding thermoplastic synthetic material, with a preferably wand-shaped housing containing at least one hot air generating device, and with flexible supply lines for air and power supply that are combined in a supply line package. The supply lines of the supply line package are connected with rear connection elements on the housing, to the supply line for the air supply encasing the power supply line as a sheath. The invention proposes to connect the supply line package rotatably to a common rear non-rotatable connection piece of the housing. This makes it possible to rotate the handheld welding tool with little force in relation to the supply line package in order to facilitate the handling of the handheld welding tool. |
| US07905265B2 |
Aircraft tire with composite cables
An aircraft tire inflated to high pressure and including a tread and a crown reinforcement in the form of composite textile cables which form at least one twin ply of two layers of crossed elements obtained by winding, in a zigzag around a cylindrical support and from one edge of the crown reinforcement to the other, a strip of at least one reinforcement until the two layers of crossed elements form angles of opposing directions of between 8° and 30° with the circumferential direction. |
| US07905264B2 |
Runflat tire
A pneumatic tire comprises a sidewall reinforcing rubber disposed axially inside the carcass in each of the sidewall portion, and in order improving the ride comfort during normal running without deteriorating runflat performance, the axially inner surface of the sidewall reinforcing rubber is provided with a circumferentially extending groove. When the tire is deflated, the groove in the ground contacting patch is closed and the sidewall reinforcing rubber supports the tire load. When the tire is inflated-normally, as the sidewall portion can be bent around the groove, the ride comfort is improved. |
| US07905260B2 |
Router dust collection assembly
A dust collector is provided for use with a router that is mounted to the underside of a router table. The device serves as a means for collecting dust from both upper and lower surfaces of a cutting tool. The dust collector includes a flexible cup attachable to the underside of the router table, a vacuum hose opening on the cup connectable to a workshop vacuum hose and reducer fitting in combination are attachable to a router table fence and to one of two small openings of a “T” connector fitting on the other end, a vacuum hose attachable to the vacuum hose opening of the cup on one end and attachable to the other of two small openings of the “T” connector on the other end, a larger opening on the “T” connector connectable to a vacuum hose of a workshop vacuum, which in combination. |
| US07905258B2 |
Ventilation assembly for a machine for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals
A ventilation assembly for a machine for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals. The ventilation assembly includes a suction apparatus and release apparatus for generating a circulation of air within a vacuum dispensing chamber, a product filling calibrator accommodated in the dispensing chamber and presenting a cavity accommodating a container to be filled with radiopharmaceutical, and a suction conduit adapted to connect a bottom portion of the accommodating cavity to the suction apparatus for creating a one-way flow in the accommodating cavity. Also, a machine that includes the ventilation assembly. |
| US07905255B2 |
Installation of sealant materials for repair of underground conduits
A method and apparatus for use in repairing an underground conduit, such as a sewer pipe. A tubular bladder is filled within a selected portion of the length a conduit to occupy a large part of the interior while a sealant material in a fluid state is forced into the conduit to flow along the bladder to plug and seal defects in the conduit and at least partially fill voids in adjacent soil. A slender object such as a smaller tubular bladder extends along the bladder to provide a passageway for flow of sealant to defects in the conduit. A special plug may be used to direct the sealant into a selected portion of the conduit. |
| US07905253B2 |
Double seat valve
The invention relates to a double seat valve with cleanable seats, the valve including first and second closing elements (3, 4) and a leakage cavity (5). An intermediate seal (8) seals the closing elements (3, 4) in their opening and closing movements and in the open position against each other, is arranged in the second closing element (4). The second closing element (4) abuts in its closed position at a transition area (2e, 2e*) with a stop face (4e) arranged at a front face of a cylindrical lug (4*) and that directly adjacent to a first seat (2a, 2g), a central recess (4d) is provided in a front face of a second cylindrical lug (4*). |
| US07905252B2 |
Apparatus and methods to dispense fluid from a bank of containers and to refill same
A fluid dispensing system includes a manifold having a fluid outlet port to dispense fluid from a plurality of fluid supply containers. The system additionally includes a plurality of valves connected to the manifold for controlling the flow of fluid from the containers. The manifold and valves are configured such that all fluid flow connections are disposed within the manifold, thereby reducing and/or eliminating the amount of piping required external to the manifold. So configured, the valves include simple cartridge-type devices that are easily installed into and removed from the manifold. |
| US07905251B2 |
Method for wellhead high integrity protection system
A high integrity protection system (HIPS) for protection of a pipe downstream of a wellhead includes an inlet connected to the wellhead; outlet connected to the downstream pipe; two sets of two series-connected surface safety valves (SSVs) in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet, the sets being in parallel fluid flow relation to each other, either one or both of the sets of SSVs operable as a flowpath for fluids entering the inlet and passing through the outlet to the downstream pipe; two vent control valves (VCVs), each connected to piping intermediate one set of series-connected SSVs, the VCVs being in fluid communication with a vent line, whereby, upon opening of a VCV, process pressure between the two SSVs is vented; a signal-generating safety logic solver, in accordance with preprogrammed safety and operational protocols; and pressure sensing transmitters attached to piping upstream of the HIPS outlet. |
| US07905247B2 |
Vacuum actuated valve for high capacity storage and delivery systems
The invention relates to a re-configured valve design to accommodate a high volume of product in the delivery system and the dispensation of product upon the application of a predetermined vacuum condition on the downstream side of the valve. |
| US07905246B2 |
Low pressure measurement devices in high pressure environments
The present invention presents various novel approaches to solving the problems inherent in measuring biological pressures in high pressure systems. Thus, to protect a pressure transducer exposed to fluid flows at higher pressures than its overpressure rating, a novel valve is used that closes a protected leg in which the transducer is located. The various exemplary embodiments of such valves each have a high pressure input, one or more low pressure inputs, and an output. In operation, when a high pressure fluid flow occurs at a high pressure input, such valves automatically close the low pressure inputs. Alternatively, a novel transducer system is presented, which automatically limits the effective pressure sensed by a transducer to a certain maximum. |
| US07905237B2 |
Hair braiding machine
A hair braiding machine makes it possible to mechanically braid hair in a short period of time and to stably braid hair regardless of the state of hair. The hair braiding machine includes a pair of stationary rotors, which is rotated in opposite directions by driving of a motor and has a plurality of insertion recesses along an outer circumference thereof at regular intervals, a plurality of movable rotors, which is inserted into insertion recesses of the stationary rotors along orbital tracks, makes a circular motion along the orbital tracks by means of a rotating force of the stationary rotors, and includes a fastener at an upper portion thereof to and from which a hair holding unit holding hairs to be braided is coupled and decoupled, and a guide, which is installed at the intersections of circles of an upper orbital hole, changes a path of each movable rotor reaching one of the intersections in a diagonal direction by one of the stationary rotors, and guides the movable rotor, the path of which is changed, to make a circular motion by means of the other stationary rotor. |
| US07905235B2 |
Cigarette rolling machine
The present invention generally relates to a compact electrical cigarette rolling machine. The machine is particularly suitable for easily and quickly rolling tobacco into a cigarette. The tobacco is placed into a holding reservoir having tapered walls which help guide the tobacco into a rotating coil located near the bottom of a holding reservoir. The rotating coil then forces the tobacco through a hollow tube and into a pre-rolled paper cigarette in a compact and efficient manner. The machine has a support bar which allows the tobacco to become easily compacted within the paper of the cigarette without the pre-rolled paper becoming accidentally dislodged. The user may control how tightly the tobacco is packed within the cigarette by use of a control knob. |
| US07905234B2 |
Medical manipulator
A medical manipulator comprises a working unit (10) that performs operations, an operating unit (20) that generates instructions, a drive unit (50) that drives the working unit on the basis of instructions given thereto by the operating unit, a power transmission mechanism (60) for transmitting driving force of the drive unit to the working unit, and a control unit (40) for controlling the power transmission mechanism on the basis of instructions given thereto by the operating unit. The power transmission mechanism includes a first power transmission unit (61) interlocked with the drive unit, and a second power transmission unit (63) interlocked with the working unit and capable of being detachably connected to the first power transmission unit. A back drive torque of the first power transmission unit is larger than a back drive torque of the second power transmission unit. |
| US07905230B2 |
Metered dose inhaler with lockout
An aerosolization device comprises a housing, a container comprising a reservoir storing a pharmaceutical formulation which comprises a propellant, and a metering valve. The metering valve is in communication with the reservoir and is moveable into the container to an actuated position where a predetermined amount of the pharmaceutical formulation is released. A contact member is provided in the housing. In one version, the contact member is moveable between a first position and a second position to allow for selective actuation of the metering valve. In another version, the contact member's configuration may be changed to allow for selective actuation of the metering valve. |
| US07905229B2 |
Aerosol generating and delivery device
Particular aspects provide novel atomizers for generating particles over a broad range of MMAD size distributions, the eliminating the requirement for an impaction baffle in generating the desired particle sizes. In particular aspects, the atomization means communicates with a remote particle filter member configured and positioned to provide for particle size filtering. In additional aspects, the atomization means communicates with a particle dispersion chamber suitable to impart a desired particle flow pattern to particles within and exiting the dispersion chamber. In further aspects, the atomization means communicates with a nasal, ocular, oral or ‘vicinity’ adapter. The novel devices provide for targeted (e.g., nasal, ocular, oral, local vicinity), systemic, and/or topical delivery of an atomized liquid (e.g., via the nasal cavity, olfactory region, and mouth). Further exemplary aspects relate to aerosolization and delivery of perfume, fragrance, essential oil or cosmeceutical agents and the like. |
| US07905226B2 |
Synthetic oil-filled double-bottom pot and pan
A double-bottom pot with synthetic, silicon heat transfer oil sealed in a cavity formed between them to the extent of 100 percent of its volume, to disperse and evenly spread to the food contents the heat from an applied flame or burner no matter how high the temperature. |
| US07905223B2 |
Guide cart and power tool with guide a cart
A guide cart for a hand-held power tool with a driven tool has a pivot device that is pivotable between an open position and a fixation position. A fixation elements is provided that releasably secures the power tool on the guide cart. The fixation element is secured on the pivot device. The pivot device has at least one support for supporting a tool of the power tool in the fixation position of the pivot device. The guide cart has a holder for the power tool, wherein holder is provided with a base plate and has at least one lateral guide for the power tool. The pivot device is supported on the base plate. The pivot device and the baseplate together form a C-shaped frame. |
| US07905220B2 |
Speed and position sensing device for EMD two-cycle diesel engines
A device is disclosed for sensing the speed of an EMD 567/645/710 two-cycle diesel engine having a crankcase, electronic fuel injectors and an electronic control system for controlling the electronic fuel injectors. The device includes a spline shaft sized for insertion into the crankcase of the engine so that the spline shaft rotates with the engine, a gear operably secured to the spline shaft to rotate with the spline shaft and sized to rotate with the engine in a 1:1 ratio, and at least one electronic sensor located adjacent the gear to sense rotation of the gear. The at least one electronic sensor is connectable to the electronic control system to provide electronic signals to the electronic control system for determining when to inject fuel with the electronic fuel injectors. Also disclosed is a method for retrofitting the engine and a kit for retrofitting the engine. |
| US07905214B2 |
Method for ascertaining the gas work performed by the cylinder pressure on the piston of a cylinder and the internal mean pressure
To determine the gas work WK from the areas formed by the cylinder pressure curve over the associated stroke volume Vα, a cylinder-pressure-proportional integrator is started integrating the signals of the cylinder pressure sensor in multiple integrator runs depending on a settable integrator capacitance. A lower and an upper threshold value are predefined, whose difference corresponds to the integrator capacitance. Upon reaching one of the threshold values, respective new integrator runs are started, at the beginning and end of which the current crankshaft angle α (is detected, respectively. For each integrator run, the associated individual work is determined depending on the product of the integrator capacitance and the particular covered stroke volume and the gas work resulting from the cylinder pressure curve is determined by summation of the individual works. The gas work may be used in particular for determining the internal mean pressure of the cylinder. |
| US07905213B2 |
Adaptive positioning method for an actuator
In an adaptive positioning method for an actuator, in particular, for a throttle butterfly on an internal combustion engine, during the adaptive positioning method, after a request for a set position and selection of a pilot value a corresponding pilot position for the actuator is adopted. The pilot position is adjusted until said position corresponds to the requested set position. The control value actually required or this set position is subsequently measured and recorded as corrected pilot value for the corresponding set position. |
| US07905212B2 |
Balancer apparatus of engine
A pump chamber is arranged on the side of a balancer shaft on a vehicle backward side of the two balancer shafts. An oil strainer for sucking oil into an inlet passage is arranged on a vehicle forward side of the axis of the balancer shaft on the vehicle forward side of said two balancer shafts. The inlet passage and the delivery passage are overlaid in the vertical direction and oriented to one side in the circumferential direction of the pump chamber, and the inlet passage and the delivery passage are arranged in a state where they are rectilinearly extended from the pump chamber in the vehicle forward direction. |
| US07905209B2 |
Glow plug with combustion pressure sensor
A glow plug with combustion pressure sensor is disclosed having a cover and a housing with which a piezoelectric element is hermetically accommodated. A lead wire having flexibility is employed to supply electric power to a heating member. The lead wire, fixedly connected to the heating member, extends through an insertion bore of the cover and is hermetically bonded to an inner circumferential wall of the insertion bore. When the heating member is axially displaced upon receipt of a combustion pressure, the lead wire flexes to absorb the resulting displacement, causing a joint portion between the cover and the lead wire to have no drag against the displacement. This allows the piezoelectric element to detect the combustion pressure with high precision. |
| US07905208B2 |
Valve bridge with integrated lost motion system
A system and method of actuating one or more engine valves is disclosed. In one embodiment, the system comprises: a valve train element; a rocker arm pivotally mounted on a shaft and adapted to rotate between a first position and a second position, the rocker arm selectively receiving motion from the valve train element; a valve bridge disposed above the one or more engine valves; and a lost motion system disposed in the valve bridge. |
| US07905207B2 |
Variable valve lift apparatus
A variable valve lift apparatus may include a camshaft having an input cam, a rocker arm shaft disposed in parallel with the camshaft with a distance therebetween, a shaft carrier with a camshaft and a rocker arm shaft, a rocker arm that is mounted on the rocker arm shaft with a first roller contacting the input cam, a first link connected to the rocker arm, an amplification lever with a middle portion thereof connected to the first link and the shaft carrier, a second link connected to the amplification lever, an output cam mounted on the camshaft, one side of the output cam connected to the second link, and a profile portion formed at an exterior circumference thereof, a variable driveshaft rotating the shaft carrier by a predetermined angle, and a valve moved by the profile portion with rotation of the output cam. |
| US07905205B1 |
2-stroke engine crank shaft
A two-cycle engine heaving a pair of disk wheel shaped counterweights attached to the crankshaft. The rims of the first and second counterweights provided with a plurality of parallel grooves arranged continuously around the circumference of the rims and extending from an outer edge to an inner edge of the rims. The grooves are angularly disposed with respect to an axis of rotation of the crankshaft and in a direction against the direction of rotation of the crankshaft. The grooves of the first counterweight are aligned with the grooves of the second counterweight whereby the corresponding grooves form a “V” configuration. |
| US07905204B2 |
Internal combustion engine and method with improved combustion chamber
Constant pressure internal combustion engine having compression and expansion chambers of variable volume, an elongated combustion chamber of substantially constant volume between the compression and expansion chambers, and a fuel inlet for introducing fuel into the combustion chamber where it mixes with compressed air from the compression chamber to form a mixture of fuel and air that burns as it travels through the combustion chamber. In some embodiments, the combustion chamber is folded back upon itself and has a rough, twisting interior side wall, with long, sharp protrusions extending inwardly therefrom and forming hot spots which help to provide complete combustion of the fuel mixture throughout the combustion chamber. These protrusions, together with flow turbulators within the chamber, promote complete mixing and, hence, combustion of the fuel and air in the combustion chamber. |
| US07905202B2 |
Condensate trap for condensing gas boiler
A condensate trap for a condensing boiler has a generally hollow body for receiving condensate from a heat exchanger of the condensing boiler and for providing a path of flow for condensate out of the side of the boiler. The body of the condensate trap includes a condensate receiving end having an inlet, a condensate discharging end having an outlet, and an intermediate reversely-turned trap portion interconnecting the condensate receiving and discharging ends. The hollow body can be one-piece and molded of plastic. A level sensor can be mounted on or within the condensate receiving end of the body. In a preferred embodiment, the condensate receiving end includes a chamber with an opening, and the level sensor extends within the chamber and seals the opening. The condensate trap can also include an air vent located above the level sensor in communication with an air pressure sensor. |
| US07905195B2 |
Floating-type substrate conveying and processing apparatus
The present invention provides a floating-type substrate conveying and processing apparatus that floats a substrate to be processed. The device includes a floating stage that floats the substrate, a liquid supplier placed above the floating stage via the substrate to supply a process liquid to a surface of the substrate, and a moving mechanism for holding the substrate as detachable at opposite ends of the substrate, at a floating height of the substrate, and for moving the substrate on the floating stage. The floating stage is formed of a porous member and has a plurality of suction apertures airtightly defined in a porous portion of the porous member. The floating stage injects gas through the porous portion and sucks gas through the suction apertures to float the substrate placed on the porous portion. |
| US07905189B2 |
Bobbin thread winder and sewing machine equipped therewith
A bobbin thread winder for sewing machine includes a thread winding shaft to which a bobbin is detachably set, a thread winding shaft gear attached to the shaft and having a gear portion, a gear mounted integrally on a timing pulley so as to be mesh-engageable with the gear portion, and a torque limiter mechanism transmitting rotation of the shaft gear to the shaft when load exerted on the shaft is below a predetermined value. The mechanism cuts off transmission of shaft gear rotation so that the shaft gear rotation is prevented from transmission to the shaft when the load is not less than the value. The mechanism includes a closely wound portion on a shaft periphery and a coil spring engaged with the shaft gear. The shaft gear rotation is transmitted to the shaft by frictional force of the closely wound portion when the load is below the value. |
| US07905184B2 |
Foldable stool or table
A foldable stool or table having hinges comprises a plurality of support members. In one embodiment, a foldable device comprises three legs. In another embodiment, the foldable stool or table comprises two foldable support members and two non-foldable support members. Relative to the top and bottom of the device, embodiments of the present invention may comprise one or more intermediately located steps or shelves, wherein the steps or shelves are located along at least one of the non-foldable support members. The one or more intermediately located steps or shelves may be forwardly-offset relative to a front surface of the non-foldable support members. A method of using the stool is also provided. |
| US07905180B2 |
Long range electrified projectile immobilization system
A long range electrified projectile immobilization system is mainly comprised of a launching device, a projectile and a high voltage electric pulse current generator. The projectile has two rotary arms which can rotate around hinges on the projectile head at an arc toward the target, there are two pointed electrodes affixed on the rear end of the two rotary arms, these two pointed electrodes are connected to the high voltage electric pulse current generator by two trailing wires. There is also an electric arc sensitive deploying squib inside the projectile and interlock with the two rotary arms, so that these two rotary arms can not separated from each other until the deploying squib is destroyed or removed from the projectile. Once the projectile is launched out by the launching device and hits a target, the deploying squib is initiated by the high voltage electric pulse current, the explosion of the deploying squib will destroy the interlock relation with the two rotary arms and force them rotate around the hinges at an arc toward the target, thus deploy the two pointed electrodes onto the target. The high voltage electric pulse current that conduct through the target from the two electrodes will immobilize the human or animal target. |
| US07905175B2 |
Screen printing method and apparatus including clampers for substrate
Movable claws 13 are formed in clampers 10 holding a substrate 3 so that the movable claws can be selectively moved to a position where they have projected above the substrate 3, and to a position where they have retreated from above the substrate 3. Thereby, the safety of operation is ensured by causing the movable claws 13 to retreat during maintenance. Moreover, printing with high precision can be performed in a state where the surface of the substrate 3 and the rear face of the mask 2 are brought into surface contact with each other without any clearance by causing the movable claws 13 to retreat. |
| US07905174B2 |
Device for machining the surface of parts
The invention relates to a device (1) for processing the surface of objects (3) and comprises a predetermined number of processing stations (B1-B8) performing processing processes and a conveying unit performing processing movements. The objects are transported into predetermined desired positions at the processing stations (B1-B8) by means of the conveying unit. The device (1) further comprises a central controller (7), by means of which the processing movements of the conveying unit and the processing processes of the processing stations are synchronized by presetting a clock pulse being correlated with the processing movement of the object (3) to be processed and controlling the respective processing process via the central controller (7) for each processing station (B1-B8). |
| US07905173B2 |
Food staging device, method of storing foods, and method of making a sandwich
A cooked food staging device and method are provided. The device and method are particularly suited for storing breaded, battered or bread food items for extended periods of time without becoming soggy. A heated compartment having a slot has a flexible member covering at least a portion of the slot to restrict airflow and to permit access to the food items contained therein, which may be contained on trays, without the necessity of removing the tray to view and remove selected food items therefrom. |
| US07905171B1 |
Noise reducing booster insert
A noise reducing booster insert of a sound suppressor coupled to a barrel of a firearm includes an elongate body, a plurality of gas vents, and a plurality of indexing spokes. The gas vents permit expanding gases from the firearm to fill a space about the body to thereby increase noise reduction without the need of modifying a baffle stack of the sound suppressor. The gas vents are angled such that the expanding gases force the booster insert to rotate into tighter threaded engagement with the barrel of the firearm. |
| US07905169B2 |
Load reducing stores launch tube
Stores launch tubes and vehicles equipped with stores launch tubes are disclosed. According to a particular illustrative example, a stores launch tube includes a tube member and a flexible seal. The flexible seal couples an exterior of the tube member to a hull. The flexible seal acts as a pressure barrier against an ambient environment. |
| US07905166B2 |
Anti-kickback device
The present invention provides an anti-kickback for arresting movement of a rail accommodated within an elongate channel. The anti-kickback device includes a slide member arranged to slide along a slide surface between an extended position and a retracted position. The device further includes a resilient member, housed in a sleeve, which biases the slide member along the slide surface. The slide member, when in the extended position, is designed to urge the rail into abutment with a wall of the channel to arrest movement of the rail accommodated within the channel. |
| US07905165B1 |
Adapter assembly for hubbed rotor
A adapter assembly for refinishing a hubbed rotor is provided. The adapter assembly for a hubbed rotor includes an adapter drum and a self-centering bearing mechanism sleeve mountable on a brake lathe arbor to secure a hubbed rotor during a refinishing operation. |
| US07905164B2 |
Adjustable one way screw remover
A tool for removing conventional one way fasteners that includes, generally, a member, a collar, and, a shaft that can be removably received by the collar, wherein in the shaft is configured to engage regions of the fastener head. The collar is adjustable to fit fastener heads of different sizes. The member can be configured to correspond to a threaded portion of the outer surface of the collar. The collar may also have a bottom portion that includes multiple splines. |
| US07905163B1 |
Tool combination
A tool combination includes a shaft having a non-circular segment, a tool carrying head having a stud pivotally mounted to the shaft, and a sleeve slidably engaging onto the shaft and having a compartment formed in one end for receiving the end portion of the shaft and the stud of the tool carrying head and for retaining the stud of the tool carrying head in line with the shaft, and one end of the shaft is engageable with a power driving tool for being driven by the power driving tool automatically, and the non-circular segment of the shaft is engageable with a non-circular space of the sleeve for allowing the shaft to be selectively rotated by the sleeve manually. |
| US07905159B2 |
Torsional vibration damper
A torsional vibration damper having a hub carrying a radially projecting flange and an annular inertia mass defining an annular channel encompassing the radially projecting flange and an elastomeric member. An annular compression ring is attached to the opening of the annular channel to axially compress and extrude the elastomeric member to fill the annular channel around the radial flange within the inertia ring. Projections defining an intermittent annular inner rim of the inertia mass extend through openings between the spokes of the hub and cooperate with an annular outer rim of the inertia mass to retain the compression ring. |
| US07905158B2 |
Actuation device for a control cable for a bicycle gearshift, with rotatable support of the cable-winding bobbin
The described actuation device comprises a housing, intended for attachment to the handlebars or to the frame of a bicycle, a cable-winding bobbin, angularly mobile in the housing about a main axis (X) of the device, and support means of the bobbin in the housing. Such support means comprise a first support unit at an outer guide collar of the cable-winding bobbin, situated in an intermediate position of the bobbin in the direction of the main axis (X) of the device. An excellent distribution of the stresses between the bobbin and the housing is thus ensured, substantially reducing the risks of excessive deformation and breaking. |
| US07905157B2 |
Ball screw unit
A housing has a screw shaft passing wall in which a through hole, through which a screw shaft passes, is formed. A spline outer cylinder is held at one end by the screw shaft passing wall, and a disc spring that biases the spline outer cylinder toward the screw shaft passing wall is arranged at the other end of the spline outer cylinder. A tapered recess is formed in one end face of the spline outer cylinder, and a tapered projection that is fitted in the tapered recess is formed in a face of the screw shaft passing wall of the housing, which faces the spline outer cylinder. |
| US07905156B2 |
Single chain linear actuator
A linear actuator comprises a chain having adjacent first and second links. A pivotal connection pivotally connects the first link to the second link. The first link is pivotable about a pivot axis which is non-perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the first link. A locking mechanism releasably locks the first link and the second link to prevent the first link from pivoting about the pivot axis. A releasing mechanism releases the locking mechanism to allow the first link to pivot about the pivot axis. A drive mechanism moves the chain between an extended position and a retracted position. At least a portion of the chain is helically wound when the chain is in the retracted position. |
| US07905148B2 |
Method for imaging strain of a target body
The invention is directed toward a new method for estimating and imaging the spatial and temporal mechanical behavior of materials in responses to a mechanical stimulus. This method is designed to work in inherently noisy applications, such as the imaging of the time-dependent mechanical behavior of biological tissues in vivo and using a preferred hand-held configuration of scanning. |
| US07905147B2 |
Methods for imaging displacement of a target body
The invention is directed toward a new method for estimating and imaging the spatial and temporal mechanical behavior of materials in responses to a mechanical stimulus. This method is designed to work in inherently noisy applications, such as the imaging of the time-dependent mechanical behavior of biological tissues in vivo and using a preferred hand-held configuration of scanning. |
| US07905146B2 |
Inertial sensor
An inertial sensor includes a stopper having a first locking member extending from a flame onto a proof-mass, a first recess formed at the proof-mass, including a bottom surface, a second locking member extending from the proof-mass onto the edge of the flame, a second recess formed at the edge of the side member of the flame and a projection member projecting from the flame toward the proof-mass, wherein each of the first locking member and the projection member is disposed on the both sides of the second recess. |
| US07905143B2 |
Ultrasonic fuel level monitoring system incorporating an acoustic lens
An ultrasonic liquid level monitoring system includes an ultrasonic transducer unit that is mountable to a tank. The unit has an emitter to generate an ultrasonic beam passing through the wall of the tank. The emitter further receives an echo of the ultrasonic beam off a liquid surface. An acoustic lens is disposed between the emitter and the tank wall to receive and shape the ultrasonic beam to compensate for lensing effects of the tank wall. |
| US07905142B2 |
Servo type volumetric flowmeter employing a pump unit system
A volumetric flowmeter (1) is equipped with a detachable pump unit (2), a main body casing (3) accommodating the pump unit (2), and a cover member (4). The main body casing (3) is equipped with a front side main body casing (8) accommodating the pump unit (2) and integrated with a differential pressure detector (6), and a rear side main body casing (10) connected to the front side main body casing (8) and allowing mounting therewithin of a servomotor (9) constituting a main body of a shaft driving unit (5). The pump unit (2) is inserted into a unit accommodating recess (11) of the front side main body casing (8) and is then covered with the cover member (4) to be thereby completely accommodated. |
| US07905140B2 |
Device with flow sensor for handling fluids
A channel substrate containing at least one channel for a fluid is provided. A sensor substrate carrying a thermal flow sensor is arranged adjacent to the channel substrate. The flow sensor contains at least one temperature sensor and at least one heater, which are integrated on the sensor substrate. The heater and the temperature sensor are in thermal contact with the channel in the channel substrate. This arrangement allows to measure the flow of the fluid in the channel, which provides an improved monitoring and control. The sensor substrate can have contact pads connected to bond wires or, using flip-chip technology, the contact pads can be connected to circuit paths to the channel substrate. |
| US07905139B2 |
Mass flow controller with improved dynamic
A system and method of compensating for pressure variations in a flow controller entails the use of the compressibility of the gas being controlled to provide a more accurate measurement of the flow. |
| US07905131B2 |
Apparatus and method for detecting resin leak
A resin leak detector includes a pressure sensor element and a leak determination unit. The pressure sensor element detects a pressure in a case cavity. That is, when resin leaks into a space between an upper circuit case and a lower circuit case, the pressure in the case cavity decreases temporarily. The decrease of the pressure in the case cavity is detected by the pressure sensor element based on comparison between a detected pressure and a predetermined lower limit. The resin leak into the upper and lower circuit case is detected without cutting an outer case of an electronic device such as an acceleration sensor or the like. |
| US07905127B2 |
Automated monitoring for clinching joints
A system and method for monitoring clinched joints senses lateral displacement of die segments during formation of a joint, which depends on joint button diameter. The system determines whether a joint is acceptable by correlating acceptable button diameter with acceptable amount of punch advancement. A predetermined number of unacceptable joints indicates excessive punch and/or die wear. |
| US07905126B2 |
Die cushion controller of press machine
A die-cushion controlling device includes a position-command-signal outputting section for outputting a position command signal of a die-cushion pad; a position detecting section for detecting a position of the die-cushion pad; a position comparing section for outputting a position deviation signal corresponding to a deviation between a target position value based on the position command signal and a position detection value based on a position detection signal; a position controlling section for outputting a position-speed command signal based on the position deviation signal; a speed controlling section for outputting a motor-current command signal based on the position-speed command signal; a servo amplifier for generating a current corresponding to the motor-current command signal; and an escape-position-command-signal outputting section for outputting a position command signal for commanding the die-cushion pad to escape from a bottom dead center position based on a press signal outputted when a slide has reached a bottom dead center. |
| US07905125B2 |
Programmable lock with integral change tooling
A key-operated lock that can be programmed for use with one of a plurality of user keys without disassembling the lock or replacing the tumblers, that employs a programming key and an integral change tool to effect the lock programming. The lock can be configured to permit or to prevent use of the user key to program or reconfigure the lock. The lock is typically manually latched or bolted into a locked configuration. The integral change tooling simplifies the lock programming operation, and avoids the need for carrying a separate change tool. |
| US07905121B2 |
Washing machine with ion eluting and imbalance correcting units
A washing machine includes: a drum (630) in which laundry is put; an ion elution unit that elutes metal ions and adds them to water; a sensing unit (701) for sensing imbalance at the time of rotation of the laundry tub; and an imbalance correcting unit (702). When the sensing unit senses imbalance in the drum at the time of spin-drying rotation of the drum performed after metal ion added water supplied from the ion elution unit to the drum is supplied, the imbalance correcting unit corrects the imbalance by performing a processing different from a processing performed when imbalance is sensed in a case where the metal ion added water is not supplied. The different processing is not supply of tap water but balance correction rinsing in which the metal ion added water is supplied to the drum and agitation is performed. |
| US07905120B2 |
Washing machine with air wash function
A washing machine including a treating tub that houses clothes and that has an outer tub and an inner tub rotatably provided in the outer tub; a motor for rotating the inner tub; a circulating air duct for extracting and returning air in the treating tub during drying; a blowing means for circulating the air in the circulating air duct; a heating device for heating the air circulated in the circulating air duct; an ozone generation device connected to the circulating air duct for generating ozone by discharge; a command key for instructing execution of air wash; an air wash execution control device for operating the blowing device, the ozone generation device and the heating device in a predetermined mode in response to command key instruction; and a selection key for selecting whether to rotate the inner tub or to stop the inner tub during execution of the air wash. |
| US07905114B1 |
Method for forming optical fiber preforms
Optical fiber preforms can comprise a glass preform structure with an inner cavity. A powder can be placed within the inner cavity having an average primary particle size of less than about one micron. The powder can be in the form of an unagglomerated particles or a powder coating with a degree of agglomeration or hard fusing ranging from none to significant amounts as long as the primary particles are visible in a micrograph. Powders can be placed within a preform structure by forming a slurry with a dispersion of submicron/nanoscale particles within a cavity within the preform. In other embodiments, a powder coating is formed within a preform structure by depositing the powder coating directly from a reaction product stream. The formation of the powder coating can be formed within the reaction chamber or outside of the reaction chamber by flowing the product particle stream through a conduit leading to the preform structure. In additional embodiments, a powder coating is placed on an insert, e.g., a glass insert, that is subsequently placed within a preform structure. |
| US07905112B2 |
Reforming process of quartz glass crucible
A reforming process of a quartz glass crucible in which the quartz glass crucible is reformed by an arc discharge generated by electrodes positioned around a rotational axis and configured to heat an inside surface of the crucible while the crucible is rotated. The process includes arranging electrodes in an electrode structure such that neighboring electrodes are positioned at regular intervals in a ring-like configuration; forming a stable ring-like arc between the neighboring electrodes, without generating a continuous arc between electrodes facing each other across a central portion of the ring-like configuration; heating the inside surface of the crucible; and removing a foreign substance located on the inside surface of the crucible or a bubble located under the inside surface of the crucible. |
| US07905111B2 |
Bracelet
The present invention is a bracelet having an inner layer and an outer later. The inner layer of the bracelet is copper and the outer layer is another metal, preferably a precious metal such as sterling silver or gold, platinum or titanium. However, any suitable material may be used for the outer layer. Since copper can be absorbed through the skin, a wearer receives the medicinal benefits of copper while wearing a bracelet that is a fine piece of jewelry. In a preferred embodiment, the copper inner layer is a comfort fit layer. |
| US07905108B2 |
Air conditioning apparatus
An air conditioning apparatus is provided which includes a plurality of heat exchangers (11, 12, 13) for effecting heat exchange between a heating medium (such as refrigerant, cold and hot water et cetera) and air and which is adapted to separately perform sensible heat processing and latent heat processing of room air (RA). In the air conditioning apparatus, at least one heat exchanger (13) is made up of an adsorption heat exchanger (13) that supports on its surface an adsorbent, thereby preventing the increase in apparatus size and making it possible to perform operations at high COP. |
| US07905107B2 |
High efficiency dehumidifiers and combine dehumidifying/air-conditioning systems
An air-conditioning system for conditioning air by removing heat and moisture from the air and transferring it to the environment, comprising: a dehumidifier (14) that produces dehumidified air and utilizes a liquid desiccant for drying; at least one non-desiccant fluid at a temperature lower than the temperature of the liquid desiccant; and at least one heat exchanger (20) in which the liquid desiccant is cooled by the at least one fluid. |
| US07905106B2 |
Case and rack system for liquid submersion cooling of electronic devices connected in an array
A liquid submersion cooling system that is suitable for cooling a number of electronic devices in parallel using a plurality of cases connected to a rack system. The system cools heat-generating components in server computers and other devices that use electronic, heat-generating components and are connected in parallel systems. The system includes a housing having an interior space, a dielectric cooling liquid in the interior space, a heat-generating electronic component disposed within the space and submerged in the dielectric cooling liquid. The rack system contains a manifold system to engage and allow liquid transfer for multiple cases and IO connectors to engage electrically with multiple cases/electronic devices. The rack system can be connected to a pump system for pumping the liquid into and out of the rack, to and from external heat exchangers, heat pumps, or other thermal dissipation/recovery devices. |
| US07905105B2 |
Modular in-frame pumped refrigerant distribution and heat removal system
An apparatus, method and system are provided for a modular in-frame pumped refrigerant distribution system. Specifically, a micro-channel heat exchanger is positioned in an equipment cabinet close to equipment that generates heat. More specifically, the micro-channel heat exchanger may be positioned on a) a shelf above the equipment, b) the back side of the equipment, or c) a shelf below the equipment. The micro-channel heat exchanger is operable to receive a refrigerant supplied by an external heat exchanger along a primary flow path, transfer heat from air above and/or near the equipment to a coil of the micro-channel heat exchanger, circulate the refrigerant to extract the heat, and return the refrigerant with an extracted portion of generated heat to the external heat exchanger along a secondary flow path. The external heat exchanger may remove extracted heat from a building via a building chilled water system or an outdoor condenser unit. |
| US07905103B2 |
Model prediction controlled refrigeration system
The invention provides a refrigeration system with a compressing unit, and a method of controlling a refrigeration system. To facilitate a better control, the capacity of the compressing unit is controlled based on a predicted future cooling demand rather than an actually determined cooling demand. The invention further provides a system wherein a cost value for changing the cooling capacity of the system is taken into consideration. |
| US07905101B2 |
Refrigerated merchandiser with glass door heat control
A method of operating a refrigerated merchandiser. The refrigerated merchandiser includes a case that defines a product display area, and at least one door that provides access to the product display area. The method includes sensing a parameter of an ambient environment adjacent the case, delivering a signal indicative of the sensed parameter to a controller, and determining a duty cycle using the controller based on the signal indicative of the sensed parameter. The method also includes detecting a change in the sensed parameter using the controller, interrupting the duty cycle by initiating a clearing interval using the controller in response to the controller receiving the signal indicative of the change in the sensed parameter, and clearing condensation from the door during the clearing interval. |
| US07905100B2 |
Method for controlling temperature in a refrigeration system
A method for controlling a temperature in a refrigeration system using a quality decay value expressing an expected decay rate in quality of the products being refrigerated, and which depends on the temperature of air present in the refrigeration system. The quality decay value is obtained using a mathematical model reflecting one or more physical and/or biological processes in the products. Prevents or reduces the quality degradation of the products in terms of shelf life, appearance or tastiness. Furthermore, a method for controlling the temperature in such a way that effects of scheduled events, such as temperature increase during defrosts, can be compensated prior to the event. |
| US07905090B2 |
Steam engine
A steam engine has a pipe shaped fluid container, a heating and cooling devices respectively provided at a heating and cooling portions of the fluid container, and an output device connected to the fluid container, so that the output device is operated by the fluid pressure change in the fluid container, to generate an electric power. In such a steam engine, an inner radius “r1” of the cooling portion is made to almost equal to a depth “δ1” of the thermal penetration, which is calculated by the following formula (1); δ 1 = 2 a 1 ω ( 1 ) wherein, “a1” is a heat diffusivity of the working fluid at its low pressure, and “ω” is an angular frequency of the movement of the working fluid. |
| US07905088B2 |
Energy recovery and reuse techniques for a hydraulic system
A hydraulic system has a valve assembly with two workports coupled to chambers of first and second cylinders which are connected mechanically in parallel to a machine component. A separation control valve is connected between first chambers of both cylinders, and a shunt control valve is connected between the workports. A recovery control valve couples an accumulator to the first chamber of the second cylinder. Opening and closing the valves in different combinations routes fluid from one or both cylinders into the accumulator where the fluid is stored under pressure, and thereafter enables stored fluid to be used to power one or both cylinders. The shunt control valve is used to route fluid exhausting from one chamber of each cylinder to the other chambers of those cylinders. Thus the hydraulic system recovers and reuses energy in various manners. |
| US07905087B2 |
Method for regenerating nitrogen oxide storage catalysts
Nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converters for purifying the exhaust gas of lean-burn engines are periodically regenerated by switching the engine from lean-burn mode to rich-burn mode. After regeneration has taken place, the engine is switched back to lean-burn mode. At this time, rich exhaust gas is still flowing in the exhaust line from the engine to the catalytic converter, which rich exhaust gas is ejected via the catalytic converter into the environment by the following, lean exhaust gas. This leads to brief emissions peaks of the rich exhaust gas constituents and impairs the level of exhaust gas cleaning which can be obtained. In order to solve said problem, it is proposed to create oxidizing conditions by injecting air upstream of the storage catalytic converter, so that the rich exhaust gas constituents still flowing in the exhaust line upstream of the storage catalytic converter can be converted at the storage catalytic converter to form non-harmful products. The proposed method can lead to a considerable improvement in exhaust gas purification in particular in the case of catalytic converters which are already impaired in terms of their storage capacity through aging, and which must be regenerated significantly more frequently than fresh catalytic converters. |
| US07905085B2 |
Method for operating an internal combustion engine and device for executing the method
A method for operating an internal combustion engine, in whose exhaust gas system an exhaust gas treatment device is positioned, a reagent, which is possibly mixed with compressed air, being introduced into the exhaust gas system upstream from the exhaust gas treatment device, and a device for performing the method. The reagent is brought to a predefined reagent setpoint pressure using a reagent pump and subsequently metered using a reagent dosing valve. The reagent pressure existing upstream from the reagent dosing valve is detected. In the framework of a diagnosis, a time curve of the reagent setpoint pressure is predefined. The reagent pressure detected during the diagnosis is compared to at least one predefined threshold value. If the threshold value is exceeded, an error signal is provided. The corresponding diagnosis of a compressed air path may be provided alternatively or additionally to the diagnosis of the reagent path. |
| US07905081B2 |
Sewing thread
An improved sewing thread and method of making it where at least one strand of spun yarn is composed of 100% staple fibers and has a high level of single twist that is equal to or greater than 4 more turns per inch than that of the ply twisted final product. |
| US07905079B2 |
Row-insensitive feeding and picking device for an agricultural header
A feeding and picking device having a rotating feeding device that is rotated about a vertical axis. The device is able to work in fields not planted in rows and is designed to grasp plant stalks and feed them into a picking device. The picking device comprises a snapping channel formed by snapping bars under which is located at least one snapping roll. The feeding device comprises a disc having fingers that overlap the snapping channel. The feeding device is therefore designed to transport the plant throughout the effective length of the picking device. |
| US07905075B2 |
Method of packaging thermally labile goods employing color-coded panels of phase change material
A method of packaging thermally labile goods. The method includes the steps of (a) obtaining a legend correlating some thermally labile goods with a first color and other thermally labile goods with a second color, (b) locating the thermally labile goods to be packaged on the legend and identifying the correlated color, (c) selecting thermally conditioned panels displaying the correlated color from amongst a plurality of panels displaying different colors wherein the panels are color coded in relation to the phase change temperature of the phase change material contained within the panels, (d) lining the retention chamber of a thermally insulated container with the obtained thermally conditioned panels, (e) placing the thermally labile goods to be packaged into the lined retention chamber, and (f) closing the container. |
| US07905074B1 |
Apparatus and method for the automated manufacture of self-sealing inflatable dunnage bags
An apparatus and method for the automated manufacture of self-sealing inflatable dunnage bags includes a bag making machine. The bag making machine includes a plurality of sheet roll spindles and a plurality of heat sealing rollers. A first bag sheet roll is retained on a first bag spindle. A second bag sheet roll is retained on a second bag spindle. A strip bag sheet roll is retained on a strip spindle. A plurality of first openings are formed through the first bag sheet. A plurality of second openings are formed through the strip bag sheet. Each edge of the strip bag sheet is heat sealed to the first bag sheet with a first roller. A first bag roller seals an end partition across the first and second bag sheets. The edges of the first and second bag sheet are heat sealed to each other with a second bag roller. |
| US07905072B2 |
Support panel structure
A support panel structure includes at least one panel which extends in longitudinal and cross direction of the support panel structure and essentially forms one integrated structure, which integrated structure is at least partly built up of at least one composite resin laminate building block comprising at least a first and a second face sheet of a fibrous reinforced material with sandwiched in between a sheet of a foamed core material, wherein the first and second face sheet and the sheet of core material are mutually connected by means of fibrous reinforcing material at least part of which extends in height direction of the resin laminate building block, further with the support panel structure including in height direction a multiplicity of composite resin laminate building blocks stacked on top of each other and bonded to each other, at least a first and a second superposed resin laminate building blocks which sandwich between them a layer of a foamed material, the resin laminate building blocks and foamed material being adhered to each other. |
| US07905070B2 |
Interlocking mortarless structural concrete block building system
An interlocking modular building block system for mortarless cavity wall construction having blocks configured such that upon grouting, the cavity is solidly filled in a unified mass. Four block configurations are provided, namely runner, half, corner, and end block units. The runner has a length two times its width, and the other blocks have the same width and length as the width of the runner. Common to all blocks is a pair of parallel offset solid walls forming the outside and inside walls while creating vertical and horizontal positive and negative alignment features. The offset walls also form flat horizontal and vertical surfaces where successive units meet upon alignment. These walls are connected by one or more transverse membranes, with the exception of the corner block, where the walls are joined end to end at right angles. |
| US07905069B1 |
Reinforcing systems to strengthen monopole towers
An existing vertical monopole tower is reinforced by a plurality of vertically extending metal reinforcing members in the form of elongated channel members or angle plate members or ribbed plate members. The reinforcing members have longitudinally spaced holes which align with vertically spaced holes in the tower wall, and blind fasteners extend through the aligned holes to secure the reinforcing members to the tower. The fasteners provide for transferring only tensile forces or tensile and shear forces to the reinforcing members. Vertically aligned reinforcing members have adjacent end portions spliced together by splice plates and blind fasteners, and the splice plates are fastened to the web portions of the channel members or the ribs of the rib plate members or the wing portions of the angle plate members. Shear plates and pin assemblies may also be used to transfer shear forces and in splicing vertically aligned reinforcing members. |
| US07905068B2 |
Protective cap for coupler bar
The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for protecting a coupling that is disposable within a concrete structure. In one aspect, a cap for engaging a coupling of a cement coupler bar is provided. The cap includes a body having an engagement portion and a back portion, wherein the engagement portion is configured to engage the coupling of the cement coupler bar. Additionally, the cap includes a flexible tail having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is attached to the back portion of the body. In another aspect, a method of using a protective cap with a coupling of a cement coupler bar is provided. In a further aspect, a coupler bar assembly for use in reinforcing a cement structure is provided. |
| US07905065B2 |
Fastener device
A fastener device for releasably securing an object within an opening formed in a structure comprises a first fastening member and a second fastening member each having a pair of legs which are oriented at an angle relative to one another. A coupling element is movable along one of the legs of at least one of the first and second fastening members. One leg of each fastening member is inserted into a hole formed in the structure surrounding the opening allowing the other leg to pivot, preferably in a trochoidal motion, until the pivoting legs align with one another at which time the coupling element may be moved into engagement with the two pivoting legs to releasably connect the fastening members together in position to secure the object relative to the opening. |
| US07905063B2 |
Double anchor and lifting shackle for concrete slabs
A lifting mechanism for a concrete structure is provided through means of a void former and anchor assembly which it cast in place to provide an accurate recess in the structure having two or more spaced divergent anchors therein. The anchors define annularly aligned apertures within the recess. A lifting shackle of an arcuate configuration complimental with that of the recess is received within the recess and carries an arcuate locking bolt extendable through the aligned apertures. |
| US07905061B2 |
Wind spoiler for roofs
A wind spoiler including a vertical member mounted vertically along a roof of a structure to extend above the plane of the roof for creating turbulence in wind flowing over the roof. |
| US07905060B2 |
Tiered seating system
A tiered seating system includes a series of tiers each including a block pair, a riser, brackets securing the riser to the block pair, and concrete. The block pair includes a lower block and an upper block. The riser is spaced from the front surface of the block pair. The system includes two rows of brackets. The first row is secured between the upper block and the lower block, and is secured to the riser between the bottom and the top of the riser. The second row is secured only to the upper block, and is secured to the top of the riser. The concrete fills the gap between the riser and the blocks and form a layer over the upper block. |
| US07905055B2 |
Method and apparatus for robotic ocean farming for food and energy
A robotic ocean farm includes a plant support means such as a grid, with a submersible towing system incorporating means for navigation of the support grid in the open ocean, and means for positioning of the support grid in a first surfaced position for sunlight exposure of the plants and a second submerged position for nutrient gathering by the plants. The submersible towing system incorporates one or more tow boats connected to a forward periphery of the grid, each of the tow boats incorporating a propulsion system for navigation of the grid and maintaining lateral tension in the forward periphery of the grid. Additionally, one or more reaction boats are connected to an aft periphery of the grid. Each of the reaction boats incorporates a propulsion system for maintaining lateral tension in the aft periphery of the grid and reacting in concert with the tow boats to maintain longitudinal tension in the grid. A system for harvesting multiple independently operating farms incorporates a harvesting station which is placed or positions itself to meet the farms at predetermined locations during their voyage to harvest and replenish the plants carried on the farm grid. Base stations, separately or as a part of the harvesting station, communicate with the farms provide mutual support and informational exchange for optimized operation of the farms. |
| US07905045B1 |
Mounting assembly with adjustable spring tension
An improved mounting assembly is provided that is configured to be releasably attached to a standard dovetail rail profile, wherein the initial clamping tension of the clamping actuator is adjustable. The mounting assembly generally includes a main body having a lower portion that is configured to engage a standard dovetail and an upper portion accessory receiving formation. The lower portion of the mounting assembly has a first engagement member extending downwardly along one side thereof for engaging one side of the dovetail rail and a clamping assembly to engage the opposing side of the dovetail rail. At least one spring and a retention nut are provided as part of the clamping assembly such that retention nut controls the preset spring tension thereby controlling the clamping force applied by the clamping assembly. |
| US07905044B2 |
Sighting system
A sighting assembly is configured for use on a firearm in long-range sighting applications and broadly comprises proximal and distal sights. The sights present various sighting surfaces including at least a pair of complemental surfaces that, when viewed along a sighting direction, are opposed to one another. The distal sight presents a radially outer one of the opposed sighting surfaces and the proximal sight presents a radially inner one of the opposed sighting surfaces. The opposed surfaces cooperatively present at least one aiming window for accurately aligning the sights and viewing a target. |
| US07905041B1 |
Stabilized rifle barrel and rifle
A firearm includes a support block having a forward end and a rearward end, and carrying a receiver on a top surface thereof. A rearward barrel guide having a thrust coupling extending radially outwardly therefrom, the thrust coupling engaging an engagement element located at the forward end of the support block, thereby aligning the rearward barrel guide with the support block. Also provided is a barrel having a breech end and a muzzle end, the breech end is received through the rearward barrel guide and coupled to the receiver. A forward barrel guide is fixed to the barrel intermediate the muzzle end and the breech end. A handguard assembly is received over the barrel and coupled to the rearward barrel guide and the forward barrel guide, stabilizing the barrel. |
| US07905038B2 |
Container with integrated media display
A container having an integrated media display includes a base having a storage compartment for holding contents and an orifice for receiving the contents into the storage compartment. A cover is adapted for coupling to the base and closing the orifice and enclosing the storage compartment. A cavity is integrated in an outer surface of the container and has an opening. The cavity is configured for receiving a media insert having at least one visual display and holding the media insert for displaying the visual display through the opening. |
| US07905037B1 |
Customizable universal-fit drinkmarker
A wearable drinkmarker element fitting a variety of beverage containers and customizable to depict individual ownership for health considerations. The element includes inner ribs configured to engage containers and affording space for condensation flow away from rib gripping areas. The element is fabricated from a flexible material and configured in a substantial C-shape defining an interior space where a container is embraced. The element is flexible with memory to embrace the container when spread apart for mounting thereon. The ribs are slightly tapered to promote proper adherence to containers, and have sloped or inclined surfaces at their upper ends to accommodate container placement. The ribs may extend inwardly individually or be interconnected by an inner rim, affording stability in use and comfortable wrist wear by the user when not placed on a container. Finally, outwardly curved ends of the element allow for easy placement and removal of the drink marker. |
| US07905036B2 |
Holder for wearing by a user, slidably, replaceably, and visibly holding an ID card, and replaceably and visibly holding at least one specifically configured charm
A holder for wearing by a user, slidably, replaceably, and visibly holding an ID card, and replaceably and visibly holding at least one specifically configured charm. The holder includes a frame, a first apparatus allowing the holder to be worn by the user, a second apparatus slidably, replaceably, and visibly holding the ID card, and a third apparatus replaceably and visibly holding the at least one specifically configured charm. |
| US07905035B2 |
Corrugated clearing bar
A clearing bar for the clearing blade of a snow plough, is defined at least partially in cross section by a curved contour and avoids undesirable swirling of snow within the clearing blade Snow is swirled on parts of the fastener for fastening the clearing bar to the clearing blade. To solve this problem, a design of the curved contour is optimized dynamically in terms of flow. |
| US07905034B2 |
Golf shoe outsole
The present invention is further directed towards a golf shoe having an outsole comprising of forward and rear base sections that are connected and molded together with an arch support shank. The base sections are relatively soft and made from thermoplastic polyurethane having a maximum Shore A hardness of between 75 to 85. The shank is also made of thermoplastic polyurethane having a minimum hardness of at least 95 Shore A hardness. Each base section has a plurality of openings, wherein a corresponding plurality of relatively hard pods are molded, each pod of a size and configuration to fit within a corresponding opening and extend at least 6.3 mm from the bottom surfaces of the base sections. The shoe provides flexibility both across the metatarsal area and longitudinally at approximately the metatarsal area thereby providing the golfer with improved traction and balance, especially when the golfer executes a golf shot. |
| US07905033B1 |
Energy-return shoe system
An energy-return shoe system includes a shoe portion for containing a foot, with an upper sole on a bottom surface of the shoe part. The upper sole has an upper toe sole area and an upper heel sole area. The upper sole is capable of bending at a point between the upper toe sole area and the upper heel sole area. A lower sole has a lower toe sole area and a lower heel sole area, also capable of bending at a point between the lower toe sole area and the lower heel sole area. A compressible heel mechanism interfaces the upper heel sole area to the lower heel sole area so that the upper heel sole area is held parallel to the lower heel sole area and the upper heel sole area is held in a same horizontal position with respect to the lower heel sole area. A spring pushes the upper heel sole area away from the lower heel sole area, thereby absorbing energy upon impact and releasing the energy on step-off. |
| US07905030B2 |
Linearity measuring apparatus for wafer orientation flat
Straight tracks are formed in a first direction on a base. The top surface of a platform is formed so as to be flat to mount a wafer having an Ori-Fla, and the platform is moved in the first direction by being engaged with the straight tracks via engagement means. A block having a flat face against which the Ori-Fla of the wafer abuts and which is parallel with the first direction is installed with a first clearance L being provided with the straight track in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Wafer fixing means for fixing the wafer in a state in which the wafer is mounted on the platform is provided in the platform, and a measurement device having a probe opposed to the straight track and capable of being displaced in the second direction is installed on the base with a second clearance M being provided with the block in the first direction. When a clearance between the tip end of the probe and the straight track is taken as N, the relationship of 0 μm |
| US07905029B2 |
Adjustment device for the alignment of supporting parts on structures having inherent dimensional tolerances
In an adjustment device for the alignment of supporting parts on structures having inherent dimensional tolerances, in particular in an aircraft fuselage, by means of joining surfaces, the joining surfaces form positive shapes and negative shapes corresponding with one another in a form fit. The positive shapes and the negative shapes in each case are arranged in a cross grid. |
| US07905027B2 |
Method and apparatus for probe tip diameter calibration
A method for determining probe tip diameters with improved accuracy and reliability that includes performing a routine for determining probe tip diameter multiple times with the arm of the coordinate measurement machine in different machine positions. Diameter values associated with each of the calibration routines may be combined in a manner that provides more accurate diameter measurements. |
| US07905026B2 |
Compass device and method for a compass device
The invention relates to a method for defining a compass direction by means of an electronic compass device. In the method at least two field components of an external magnetic field are measured, from which a set of data points is formed, which correspond to the different orientations of the device relative to the external magnetic field, so that the location of the data points in a set of co-ordinates depends on the Earth's magnetic field and the magnetic disturbances of the environment. From the data points it is determined whether the set of data points correspond to a measurement, in which the device has remained on the horizontal plane with a predefined accuracy, or the tilting of the device is detected relative to the horizontal plane during measurement and the set of data points is corrected to correspond to a measurement in which the device has remained on the horizontal plane with a predefined accuracy. If the set of data points corresponds to a measurement in which the device has remained on the horizontal plane with a predefined accuracy, or the said correction of the set of data points has been performed, a new compass direction is defined by using the disturbance correction made on the basis of the said set of data points. The invention achieves a practical way of displaying an accurate direction. |
| US07905024B2 |
Drive wheel
A drive wheel for centerless drive of an annular saw blade of a cutting machine. The drive wheel includes a drive ring having concentrically arranged first and second annular elements, each of which has a first beveled side surface located radially outward from a second beveled side surface. The second beveled side surfaces are in contact with one another and the first beveled side surfaces together define a wedge-shaped drive groove for the inner edge of an annular saw blade that is to be driven by the drive ring. Third and fourth annular elements are arranged concentrically with, and outboard to the first and second annular elements located therebetween. The third and fourth annular elements are configured to inwardly compress upon the first and second annular elements. An anti-relative-rotation member interconnects the first and second annular elements to prevent relative rotation therebetween while driving the annular saw blade of a cutting machine. |
| US07905020B2 |
Automatic shaving apparatus system
A shaving apparatus system includes an electrically actuated and starting and shutting off device for improved shaving comfort. The system can include an electrical device, e.g. a battery, which actuates an operating device, e.g. vibrating, oscillating, heating and water-sprinkling system, etc. |
| US07905019B2 |
Working fluid injection apparatus for a fluid dynamic pressure bearing
A working fluid injection apparatus for injecting a working fluid into a gap between a housing and a shaft of a bearing unit of a fluid dynamic pressure bearing. The apparatus has an adapter configured to support the bearing unit in a state in which an end portion of the shaft protrudes from an open portion of the housing. A cover member has an upper opening, a lower opening, and a tapered inner surface with a radial dimension that increases gradually from the lower opening to the upper opening. The cover member is configured to be mounted in contact with an upper surface of the housing when the bearing unit is supported by the adapter so that the lower opening of the cover member surrounds the open portion of the housing and so that the protruding end portion of the shaft and the tapered inner surface of the cover member form a reservoir portion that communicates with the open portion of the housing and that is configured to store a working fluid. |
| US07905017B2 |
Method for repairing guide rails of an assembly radially maintaining a support plate of a pressurized water nuclear reactor core
The invention concerns a method for repairing guide rails (27) of an assembly (10) radially maintaining a core supporting plate (5), which consists in measuring the spacing between the spans of the lateral branches of the guide rail (27) to be repaired, cutting and removing at least one lateral branch of said guide rail (27) to be repaired, measuring the dimensions of said lateral branch and machining with identical dimensions at least one substitution lateral branch, mounting and fixing said substitution lateral branch and measuring the spacing between the spans of the lateral branches of the repaired guide rail. |
| US07905006B2 |
Method of manufacturing faceplate for in-the-ear hearing aid
Provided is a faceplate for an In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing aid and a method of manufacturing a faceplate for an In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing aid in which the faceplate can be manufactured in a compact size, using a foldable flexible printed circuit board (PCB), while maintaining the quality, enabling mass-production, and reducing the manufacturing cost. |
| US07905005B2 |
Sealing foam panels with a compression-generating joint
A method of joining panels of foam materials such that edges are compressed into panel surfaces to provide a secured and effectively sealed structure is disclosed. Panels in an orthogonal relationship to each other, which are made of foam (or other materials not intended to be load bearing) can be joined by compressing the outer side of one of the panels into the edge surface of an adjoining panel. This is done using two plates, one resting on the outer side of the first panel, and one inserted into the side of the second panel, where the plates are connected by a bolt, screw or wire under tension. |
| US07905002B2 |
Method of manufacturing a steel housing
A method is provided for producing metal housings composed of at least two housing parts, in particular for units mounted in commercial vehicles. A corrosion prevention layer composed of zinc or a zinc-containing alloy is applied onto an outwardly facing surface of at least one housing part with a subsequent passivation, and a positive overlapping of an edge of one housing part by the edge of another housing part is effected by way of a relative movement of the housing parts being reciprocally aligned beforehand with regard to a die stamp, which plastically deforms the edge of housing part and/or the edge of the other housing part. |
| US07904999B2 |
Adjustable temporary casket
A temporary casket made substantially from burnable material, having a positionable inclining mechanism inside a casket shell. The temporary casket may be inserted into a formal, traditional casket where the temporary casket shell protects the traditional casket. Inside the temporary casket, a plank is attached by a clamp or bracket to an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the tilt angle between the plank and the floor of the casket shell. The mechanism also includes a vertical threaded rod that engages the clamp, allowing the rod to be rotatable and move the clamp axially along the rod to lift or lower the plank. This allows a funeral director to easily adjust the deceased to achieve the most “restful” state, and without jostling or appearing disrespectful to the deceased. After a service, the deceased, along with the temporary casket and the mechanism itself, may be cremated. |
| US07904998B2 |
Casket and memorialization accessory
A casket and memorialization accessory combination comprises a casket comprising a casket shell having a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls and a casket lid closable on the casket shell, a decorative ornament, and a planter adapted to receive a plant therein. The casket shell and ornament are configured such that the ornament is removably attachable to the casket shell. The planter and ornament are configured such that the ornament is attachable to the planter. The ornament can be removed from the casket in which a deceased was displayed for viewing and attached to the planter so that the planter and ornament can be presented to a loved one of the deceased as a memorial to the deceased. |
| US07904997B2 |
Buckles for inflatable personal restraint systems and associated systems and methods
Buckles for inflatable personal restraint systems and associated systems and methods. In one embodiment, a buckle assembly can include a body and a latching mechanism carried by the body. The latching mechanism is configured to engage a corresponding tongue portion when the tongue is inserted into a front portion of the body. The buckle assembly also includes a cover operably coupled to the body and configured to pivotably move about an axis between a first position in which the latching mechanism engages the tongue and a second position in which the latching mechanism disengages the tongue. The buckle assembly further includes one or more counterweight components carried by the body and positioned such that the buckle assembly has a center of gravity (a) between the front portion of the body and a vertical plane extending through the axis, and (b) below a horizontal plane extending through the axis. |
| US07904995B2 |
Bi-material closure device for a bag
A closure assembly includes two complementary zippers, respectively with support backing-strips (220) and complementary closure elements (242), wherein at least one of these closure elements includes a widened soleplate (246) that is at least partially surrounded by the associated support backing-strip (220). |
| US07904986B2 |
Golf club cleaning device
In various exemplary embodiments, the present invention provides a golf club cleaning device that includes a cleaning portion including an upper and lower or concentrically-arranged cleaning surfaces; a flag portion disposed at a top end of the cleaning portion, the flag portion including a gripping means; and a spike portion disposed at a bottom end of the cleaning portion substantially opposite the top end of the cleaning portion, the spike portion including a support means for supporting the device in an upright manner when depressed into the ground. By grasping the flag portion, the spike portion is selectively disposed in the ground at a predetermined location associated with a golf course, practice range, or the like, thereby allowing a player to clean a golf club by selectively running the front face and/or rear face of the golf club horizontally and/or vertically across the one or more cleaning surfaces/materials of the cleaning portion. Advantageously, the flag portion may incorporate an advertising logo and/or informational text. |
| US07904984B2 |
Method of controlling motor-driven washing machine and control system for the same
A method of controlling a motor-driven washing machine. The method includes increasing a speed of a motor from zero to a first predetermined speed W1. Reducing the motor speed from W1 to a second predetermined speed W2 and measuring the deceleration period. Increasing the motor speed from W2 to a third predetermined speed W3 and braking the motor according to a slow brake logic if a first interruption of the motor is ordered during the step of increasing the motor speed from W2 to W3. Increasing the motor speed from W3 to a fourth predetermined speed W4 and selecting one of plurality of rapid-brake logics on the basis of the measured deceleration period and braking the motor according to the selected rapid-brake logic if a second interruption of the motor is ordered during the step of increasing the motor speed from W3 to W4. |
| US07904983B2 |
Method of controlling a multi-tub washing machine
A method of controlling a washing machine having a first washing tub and a second washing tub, the method having the operations: receiving a first operating command to be performed in the first washing tub; determining whether the operating command can be performed; and when the operating command can be performed, performing the operating command in the first washing tub. |
| US07904982B2 |
Washing machine having steam generator and method for controlling the same
A washing machine having a steam generator, which prevents the accumulation of scale in the steam generator due to the long-term use thereof, and a method for controlling the same. The washing machine includes a water supply valve for supplying water to the inside of the steam generator therethrough so as to cool the steam generator when the operating time of the steam generator exceeds a predetermined time, and a controller for controlling the operation of a heater for heating the water supplied through the water supply valve. |
| US07904980B2 |
Washing machine and method for controlling the same
A washing machine in which the poor heat-resistant laundry is sufficiently wet so that a plurality of water curtain layers are formed at the laundry, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam. According to the present invention, cold water is supplied simultaneously with injection of the steam so that the real temperature of the steam contacting the surfaces of the laundry is lowered, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam. |
| US07904974B2 |
Device for active temperature equalization in a sauna room
A device (1a) for positioning next to an existing sauna heater (3). Device (1a) is equipped with an air duct (2′) which is designed to conduct air from a level close to the floor in a sauna to a location close to the upper part of the sauna heater. The air from the floor (91) will be combined with the hot air from sauna heater (3′). The device will increase the airflow (92) down towards the lower parts of the sauna, which results in a more even temperature distribution and a more comfortable sauna experience. |
| US07904972B2 |
Ergonomic contoured urinal floor mat
An ergonomic, contoured urinal floor mat for use with wall-urinals with the purpose of positioning a user center, up and toward a wall-urinal so as to prevent urine spillage and drippings from reaching floor below a wall-urinal. The floor mat consists of a heavy duty, permanent material with topside anti-slip and floor conforming anti-skid surfaces and is designed with three unique contouring angles which, in combination, elevates heels above toes, spreads legs, pushes toes outward, pulls heels inward, and creates a lift in the inner arch of the foot. The system also incorporates a replaceable drip tray, located between the users' legs and the urinal lip (to catch the inevitable last drops), a topside perimeter gutter (for complete urinal misses), and underside seal (to prevent liquids seepage under mat). If spills do occur, the overall contouring guides liquid into the gutter and keeps the topside foot areas dry. |
| US07904971B2 |
Protective padding and protective padding systems
The present invention provides pads and padding systems for use in protective helmets, and particularly ballistic helmets. Generally, the pad includes a first, outer layer which provides substantial impact resistance and a second, inner layer which provides cushioning and comfort. The pad does not require the use of a moisture-proof, non-perforated, encapsulating layer since both layers provide little resistance to fluid flow. The pad may also include a cover made of moisture-wicking material. |
| US07904970B2 |
Headwear with features for holding eyeglasses
Stem holders are attached to opposing sides of the headwear crown, each forming an opening extending from its front edge to its back edge. The front and back edges of each stem holder may be partially attached to the crown such that the opening is larger along the front than along the back. At least a portion of the opening may be angled downward from front to back. For brimmed headwear, a raised flair may be positioned on the brim to create a pocket between it and the crown. For brimless headwear, the raised flair may be attached to the front of the crown to form a pocket between it and at least a portion of the crown. In either the brimmed or brimless configuration, the lens portion of the glasses will rest in the pocket when the stems of the glasses are inserted into the stem holders. |
| US07908663B2 |
Abstractions and automation for enhanced sharing and collaboration
The present invention provides methods for using abstractions of people, including dynamic and static groups of people, to enhance the efficiency of the specification and automation of policies for sharing information between users with a “need-to-know.” An instance of the present invention can also provide these users information based on a “time-to-know.” By providing access to information based on group affiliation and properties of the content of the information, the present invention maintains optimal information privacy while minimizing encumbrances to sharing data with appropriate users and even at appropriate times. The present invention can be integrated with other communication technologies to facilitate access to information in a time appropriate manner. Other instances of the present invention employ automated and semi-automated, mixed-initiative techniques, to make information-sharing decisions. Additional instances of the present invention include the employment of machine-learning techniques to facilitate construction of access policies from the actions or profile of a single user or a community of users, including the construction of automated sharing agents that work in an automated or mixed-initiative manner to respond to real-time requests for information. |
| US07908662B2 |
System and method for auditing software usage
Systems and methods are provided for auditing and selectively restricting software usage based on, for example, software copy counts or execution counts. In one embodiment, the method comprises verifying whether the serial number for a software installed on a computing device corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers, and calculating a copy count (or software execution count) for the serial number. In response to the copy count exceeding a defined upper limit, a limited unlock key may be sent to the device. The limited unlock key may allow the software to be executed on the device for a defined time period, a defined number of executions, and/or with at least one feature of the software disabled. |
| US07908659B2 |
Extensible framework for system security state reporting and remediation
A security health reporting system provides an application program interface (API) for use by independent software vendors (ISVs) to extend the security health reporting capabilities of the security health reporting system. An ISV security solution can register with the security health reporting system, create a schema that describes a new security class, and use the API to publish an instance of the schema for the new security class with the security health reporting system. When an instance of a schema for a new security class is published, the security health reporting system creates the new security class, and recognizes the definition for the security class within the security health reporting system. Registered ISV security solutions can then use the published schema to report their health statuses for the new security class. |
| US07908654B2 |
Accomodating fragmentation with deterministic packet marking
The deterministic packet marking (DPM) method is based on marking packets with the partial address information of ingress interface only. The attack victim is able to recover the complete address(es) information after receiving several packets from a particular attacking host or hosts. The full path is not really essential for the traceback since it can be different for different packets for different reasons. In order to deal with fragmentation, it is required that the ID field (as well as some other fields) of all the fragments in a given series is the same. DPM randomly selects the marks from the pool, which is created at startup. The mark completely occupies the ID field in the IP packet header, as well as Reserved Flag. Since every single packet passing through the DPM-enabled interface is marked, the ID field of all the fragments of a series are ensured to be the same. By allowing DPM to suspend randomness in selecting the marks for the fragments of a series, all fragments are ensured to have the same ID. This ID would be different from the one originally set by the origin of the packet, but this would not make a difference for the reassembly process. |
| US07908648B2 |
Method and system for enabling remote access to a computer system
Method and systems configured for allowing a non-local remote user to access a computer system with a particular authorization level. Such access is facilitated by examining non-local directory services group memberships of the user and performing a mapping of the user's identity to a corresponding universal local user account that have the proper authorization level or levels. Such methods and systems allow any number of non-local remote users access to the computer system in such a way that the remote user assumes the identity of (i.e., is mapped to) a corresponding universal local user account of an appropriate privilege level. All non-local remote users that the computer system determines to be of the same privilege level will share the identity of the same universal local user account. |
| US07908647B1 |
Aggregation system
Machine, method for use and method for making, and corresponding products produced thereby, as well as data structures, computer-readable media tangibly embodying program instructions, manufactures, and necessary intermediates of the foregoing, each pertaining to digital aspects of a computerized aggregation system. The system can include a user computer system interposed between a segment of a network allowing communication between the user computer system and at least one server system, and other segments allowing communication between the user computer system and a plurality of third party server systems. The one server system enables the user computer system to access the plurality of other servers. The access permits forming an aggregation of information obtained from the third party server systems. |
| US07908644B2 |
Adaptive multi-tier authentication system
An adaptive multi-tier authentication system provides secondary tiers of authentication which are used only when the user attempts a connection from a new environment. The invention accepts user input such as login attempts and responses to the system's questions. User login information such as IP address, originating phone number, or cookies on the user's machine are obtained for evaluation. User/usage profiles are kept for each user and the user login information is compared to the information from the user/usage profile for the specific user which contains all of the user information that the user used to establish the account and also the usage profile detailing the user's access patterns. The trust level of the current user login location is calculated and the invention determines if any additional questions to the user are required. If the trust level is high, then the user is granted access to the system. If the trust level is not high enough, then questions are sent to the user and the user's answers are evaluated and access is granted or denied based on the trust level and answers. The user's profile is updated to reflect the access attempt. |
| US07908643B2 |
Apparatus and method for secure configuration of shared medium devices
An UNENROLLED adapter responds to an enrollment activation signal by generating an enrollment supplicant signal. The enrollment supplicant signal is received by an ENROLLED adapter, an enrollment provider, which responds by formulating and transmitting an enrollment provider signal, including security management service information, to the UNENROLLED adapter. The UNENROLLED adapter changes a network adapter configuration responsive to the security management service information provided by the ENROLLED adapter, by which the network adapter is configured securely, and secure communications are effectuated. Enrolled adapter can solicit enrollment of an UNENROLLED adapter. The activation signal can be a physical or virtual activation sequence. |
| US07908639B2 |
Information transfer apparatus and method, information processing apparatus and method, and information processing system
When a transport stream is transmitted between each unit connected through an interface, if any data which is not permitted to be transmitted on a partial transport stream is transmitted, information of this section is transmitted as a private section or a user private. As a result, information of a section of an EIT can be transmitted from for example a digital satellite broadcast tuner to a personal computer and an original program schedule list can be created on the personal computer. |
| US07908635B2 |
System and method for internet access to a personal television service
A communication system and a family of methods for remote access to personal television service are disclosed. According to this invention, a remote personal TV service center provides centralized program guide information. A user may access to the personal TV service center through a digital video recorder which is connected to the personal TV service center via telephone modem or a network server. A user may access to the personal TV service center through a remote computer terminal or a personal digital assistant which is connected to a computer network. The user selects program events and programs the digital video recorder by using a graphical user interface installed in the front panel of the digital video recorder in case of local programming, or using a similar GUI which is incorporated into the Web pages presented to remote users by a Web server in case of remote programming. The media stream stored in one digital video recorder may be transferred to another digital video recorder. For data security protection during data transfer, all communication are authenticated and encrypted. |
| US07908630B2 |
Method and apparatus for internet co-browsing over cable television and controlled through computer telephony
A novel mechanism is disclosed by which a sender can direct information such as an audiovisual signal to a particular recipient's audiovisual display device, such as a cable television set and, thereby, share information between the sender and the recipient. In one embodiment of the invention, a calling party originates a telephone call and associates that telephone call with audio-visual information that exists on the caller's personal computer or on an Internet server. The called party answers the call, and can tune an associated cable television to the appropriate channel in order to view the audio-visual information. The caller can modify the audio-visual information during the call. Accordingly, the current invention ties together the telephone, cable, and IP networks in a manner that does not require large investments from cable or telephone service providers. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a called party, such as a representative at a customer service center or an interactive voice response unit, can associate audio-visual information with the call such that the calling party can see the data on the appropriate television channel. In another embodiment, the telephone keypad can be used to move forwards and backwards through a series of audio-visual screens. In another embodiment, the cable subscriber can preset the television to a particular URL which can be viewed, but not navigated, without the telephone call. |
| US07908627B2 |
System and method to provide a unified video signal for diverse receiving platforms
A system and method are disclosed for providing a unified video data stream for diverse receiving platforms. In some embodiments, the unified data stream can provide video data to multiple receiving devices with diverse video data input requirements. The communication system can include a digitizer that converts an analog video to a high resolution (HR) digital video signal. The communication system can also include a signal processing engine that receives the HR digital video signal, compress the video signal, creates video packets from the compressed signal, and identifies at least a portion of the video packets for distribution to lower resolution devices. The HR data stream can be sent to high resolution devices wherein the identified packets can be “copied” from the HR data stream and sent to devices having lower resolution requirements. |
| US07908623B2 |
Set top box for PC/HDTV multimedia center
A multimedia system is provided, comprising a computer for receiving audio data and video data from a source and transmitting the data serially over a high speed serial link, a set-top box connected through the link to the computer for receiving the audio data and video data, the set-top box having a southbridge module with a link interface connected to the link and providing a local parallel data bus output and at least one audio playback channel receiving the audio data; and a graphics processor receiving from the southbridge module the video data over the bus, processing the video data and providing a video output in at least one display format. At least one display device is connected to the graphics processor for receiving and displaying the video output; and at least one speaker is connected to the audio playback channel. |
| US07908622B1 |
Systems and methods for service provisioning of multiple dwelling units
Systems and methods for providing goods and services from one or more service providers to consumers, such as multiple dwelling unit (MDU) tenants are provided. In a first aspect, the invention provides a system for facilitating the provision of goods and services to a tenant of an MDU operated by an MDU operator. In one implementation, the system of the invention comprises at least one service provider that is configured to provide goods and services; an MDU tenant interface configured to communicate MDU tenant requests for goods and services to one of the MDU operator and the service provider; and a coordinating site configured to provide a provision interface operably connected to the service provider and the MDU tenant interface. |
| US07908618B2 |
System and method for monitoring and recovering the state of user participation in interactive broadcasts
A system and method for managing interactive program and commercial content is disclosed. The system includes an interactive enabling device for receiving a broadcast stream containing interactive program and commercial triggers for retrieving interactive program and commercial content. An interactive content server communicates with a control application in the interactive enabling device. The interactive enabling device executes the control application to manage retrieval of interactive program and commercial content from the content server in response to the interactive program and commercial triggers. The interactive control application includes a gatekeeper function for selectively retrieving interactive program and commercial content in response to recognized interactive program and commercial triggers. |
| US07908617B2 |
Broadcast receiving system responsive to ambient conditions
A broadcast receiving system incorporating an echo canceling means automatically initiates recording of the broadcast and also controls the sound volume by taking into account the viewer's movements and ambient conditions, by using echo canceling means of the type used in hand-free telephones. The broadcast receiving system includes a broadcast receiving unit for receiving a broadcast in the form of either digital or analog signals; an echo canceling unit; and a determining unit for monitoring the amount of residual echoes in the echo canceling unit, determining whether the amount of residual echoes has exceeded a predetermined value, and instructing a storage unit to store the broadcast if the amount of residual echoes is found to have exceeded the predetermined value. |
| US07908616B2 |
Measuring audience viewership of online live broadcast
Method and apparatus for measuring an audience viewership of an online live broadcast are provided. Code information included in live broadcast data is received from the encoding server or the media server, transmission information of the live broadcast data to the client is received from the media server, the transmission information is compensated using the code information, and the audience viewership of the online live broadcast is computed using the compensated transmission information. It is possible to obtain the accurate viewership of an online live broadcast and to obtain the accurate viewership of the online live broadcast even when users erroneously access a web page or intentionally access the web page to increase the number of page views. |
| US07908615B2 |
Telescopic compactable memory disc adapter
A compactable disc adapter having a substrate capable of effectively extending the diameter of a disc having a compacted position and an extended position. The diameter of the compacted substrate is less than the diameter of the disc whereas the diameter of the expanded substrate is greater than the diameter of the disc. |
| US07908614B2 |
Chucking mechanism, brushless motor having the chucking mechanism, and disk driving apparatus having the brushless motor
A movement pivot receiving portion which receives a movement pivot portion of a claw member and a movement support receiving portion which receives a movement assist portion of the claw member are arranged radially within a cylindrical portion of a center case. By virtue of such configuration, both receiving portions are designed with a greater degree of freedom within a space between an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and an outer circumferential surface of a base portion. Therefore, the claw member may be designed to have a preferable thickness while achieving a preferable movement of in an axial direction. |
| US07908612B2 |
Emergency ejecting apparatus for optical disc drive
The present invention discloses an optical disc drive including a pickup head for reading data from a disc; a spindle motor for supporting and rotating the disc; a loading/ejecting apparatus for loading or ejecting the disc; and an emergency ejecting apparatus. The emergency ejecting apparatus includes a slider for connecting the loading/ejecting apparatus, a rack, and an elastic component for connecting the slider and the rack. When a user drives the slider and the elastic component is elastically deformed, the slider is moved in the optical disc drive to drive the loading/ejecting apparatus to eject the disc. |
| US07908609B2 |
Information processing apparatus with device driver installation control
When a device on a network is detected with network plug and play and its driver is installed, a function installed by the device information is uniquely decided. The high priority device function is selected based on information of client and the device function is automatically decided with network plug and play based on the selection of the high priority device function to install the driver. In this situation, a criterion can be selected by a user among most installed criterion, recently installed criterion, currently installed criterion, etc. |
| US07908608B2 |
Method and system for performing bulk operations on transactional items
Bulk operations on a large number of items may be processed by a computer with a reduced likelihood of exceeding a timing or hardware limitation of a system. An instruction or its related information can be examined to determine if the instruction may potentially involve a large number of items. If so, the instruction may be passed to a bulk operations manager software component to determine the number of items involved. The bulk operations manager software component can break down the operation into smaller groups of items. Operations can be performed on each of the smaller groups of objects. The changes can be transparent to a developer writing code or a computer generating code to perform a specific operation. |
| US07908607B2 |
Efficient marshalling between soap and business-process messages
A business process adapter converts a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) message into a business process message. A body path and a node encoding type are defined for the business process adapter. And, when the SOAP message is received, the business process adaptor extracts the node of the SOAP message at the location defined by the body path and encodes the node according to the defined node encoding type. Additionally, the business process adapter converts a business process message into a SOAP message using a defined content encoding type and a defined format of the SOAP message. When the business process message is received from the business process management server, the business process adapter encodes the body of the business process message according to the defined content encoding type and generates the SOAP message from the encoded body according to the defined format. |
| US07908606B2 |
Usage metering system
A usage metering system for determining computer resource utilization is described herein. Computer resource utilization is determined by accumulating instances of computer resource utilization based on array of counters. This enables an accurate determination of instances of when a predetermined threshold baseline of computer resource utilization is exceeded over an accumulated period of time. By using an array of counters to collect data rather than averaging values over time, a more accurate indication of computer resource utilization is determined. The usage metering system has little impact on computer system resources, because snapshots can be taken on a fairly infrequent basis, and any computer resource utilization calculations can be performed on computer platforms separated from the system being monitored. |
| US07908604B2 |
Synchronization method and program for a parallel computer
Barrier synchronization between multiprocessors is performed at high speed while reducing overhead of parallel processing without adding any special hardware mechanism. A parallel computer synchronization method is provided to synchronize threads through barrier synchronization for parallel execution of plural threads on plural processor modules. The parallel computer has plural processor modules (P0 and P1) equipped with plural processor cores (cpu0 to cpu3). The processor cores are each assigned plural threads (Th0 to Th7) to execute multithread processing. The plural threads (Th0 to Th7) are set in hierarchical groups (Gr), and barrier synchronization is performed on each group separately. |
| US07908594B2 |
External programmatic interface for IOS CLI compliant routers
A method of receiving and translating data within an external programmatic interface (EPI) is described. The method calls for receiving input into the EPI. The input is traversed. Where the input is presented in a prescribed format other than CLI, it is translated into a corresponding CLI statement, with reference to a representation of the CLI syntax. Where the input is presented in CLI, it is translated into a corresponding prescribed output format, with reference to a model of the prescribed output format derived from the CLI syntax. The translated input is output. |
| US07908591B1 |
Memory profiling
A memory profiler is provided in a programming environment. The memory profiler records memory usage information at a point of a program that runs in the programming environment. The memory profiler may record information on the amount of allocated memory, the amount of freed memory and the amount of peak memory usage. The memory profiler may also record the number of allocations and frees. The memory usage information is associated with individual points in the program so that a user can utilize this information to change the program to use less memory. With the memory usage information, the present invention enables a user to recognize how much memory is being allocated and used on behalf of a program and to track down what code is actually causing a problem in the program. |
| US07908590B1 |
System and method for automatically creating test cases through a remote client
A system and method for generating test cases for a computer program. The method and system include invoking execution of the computer program via a remote client and monitoring the execution of the computer program. Information about execution path of the computer program is collected and then the execution of the computer program is stopped via the remote client. One or more test cases are then generated utilizing the collected information. In one embodiment, the remote client is a computer test tool and the computer program is a web application. |
| US07908589B2 |
Deployment
The inventive subject mater relates to software application configuration and, more particularly, deployment of a software application configuration. Various embodiments provide systems, methods, and software that configure an application in an application configuration environment and deploying configuration settings from the configuration environment to an application execution environment. |
| US07908586B1 |
Collapse on content property
A content collapse feature is described that allows a user to designate what should be collapsed by designating a content property, such as attributes, identifications (IDs), tag classes, and the like. Input of one or more content properties come in from a user desiring to collapse various sections of content displayed in an IDE. One or more portions of the content corresponding to the content properties is identified by the IDE and then collapsed wherein the content in the collapsed portions are removed from the IDE display. The collapsed portions of content may either be replaced with a collapse indicator visible to users in the IDE display or hidden from view altogether in the IDE. |
| US07908585B2 |
Computer readable recording medium recorded with graphics editing program, and graphics editing apparatus
When an element is interactively arranged in cooperative with an input device and a display device, if the arranged element is overlapped with a line segment which connects the already arranged two elements to each other, the relation is provided among these three elements, to be displayed, so that the arranged element is interrupted in the relation between the already arranged two elements, which is specified by the line segment. Therefore, it becomes possible to interrupt the element in the relation which relates the already arranged two elements to each other. Hence, it is possible to easily provide the relation between elements while reflecting the intention of user as much as possible. |
| US07908577B2 |
Apparatus and method for analyzing circuit specification description design
An apparatus for analyzing circuit specification description design has a circuit specification description inputting section that analyzes and obtains information of a related signal, information of the maximum number of cycles in the related signal, and a definite value in a site defined in the circuit specification description for the related signal contained in a circuit specification description, a data base generating section that generates signal variation data indicating time-series signal variation, wherein a definitive value is set in the site defined in the circuit specification description and a predetermined flag is set in a site where the value is not defined in the signal variation data, and a waveform diagram data outputting section that outputs waveform diagram data for displaying the time-series signal variation in a form of a waveform diagram on the basis of the definite value and the predetermined flag set in the data. |
| US07908575B2 |
Enhanced verification through binary decision diagram-based target decomposition using state analysis extraction
A method, system and computer program product for performing verification of an electronic design is disclosed. The method includes receiving a design, including a first target set, a primary input set, and a first register set comprising one or more registers. A binary decision diagram analysis of the design is generated. A recursive extraction of one or more next states of selected registers is generated using the binary decision diagram analysis of the first target set and the primary input set. The recursive extraction is decomposed to generate a second target set, and the second target set is verified. |
| US07908570B2 |
Method and system for displaying a cursor on a trading screen
A method, system, and computer program products are provided for updating the location of a cursor in a display window on a trading screen when certain events occurs. In a preferred embodiment, as market conditions change, the market information may be rearranged on a screen. To reduce the chances of missing a market opportunity by sending orders or managing them, the cursor moves in association with the market information such that the cursor appears fixed to the market information until a user moves the pointer device. |
| US07908562B2 |
System and a method for presenting items to a user with a contextual presentation
A system and method for presenting a plurality of items to a user with a contextual display. A computer system is provided which includes a data store. At least a portion of the items in the data store include one or more field entries. An explorer interacts with the data store, selects items having one or more desired field entries, and displays the selected items according to an explorer display schema. An application may select the items from the data store and may interact with a shell browser to present the selected items. A method for establishing an explorer for presenting items in a data store to a user. |
| US07908560B2 |
Method and system for cross-screen component communication in dynamically created composite applications
A method and system for cross-screen component communication in dynamically created composite applications. Meta-data in the mark-up for a source component (e.g. eXtensible Markup Language—XML information) in a dynamically created composite application includes indications of which screens target components are located on. These indications are contained in definitions of logical connections established between components referred to as “cross-page wire” definitions. Executable objects, referred to as “cross-page wire” executable objects, are generated based on the cross-page wire definitions in the source component mark-up. The cross-page wire executable objects are executed by a run-time entity, such as a “property broker” or the like, in response to a change in a property value for which the cross-page wire has been defined, in order to deliver a new value of that property to one or more target components located on screens different from the screen on which the source component is located. |
| US07908558B2 |
Method and system for automatically selecting images from among multiple images
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method for automatically selecting images, from among multiple images, for sequential display, comprising: establishing a total time for a sequential display of a set of selected images; clustering images into groups; ordering the images based on image quality; and selecting at least one of the images within a selected group based on the image quality and total time for inclusion in the set of selected images. |
| US07908557B2 |
Presenting message detectable by screen reader application
A method of visually presenting a message includes detecting that a screen reader application is being used in a computer system having a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI presents messages of a first type by displaying a popup window and presents messages of a second type in a predefined field of the GUI. The screen reader application is configured to detect display of the popup window but not configured to detect presentation of the messages of the second type in the predefined field. The method includes detecting a system event that causes a first message to be presented in the predefined field, the system event resulting from evaluating user input information. The method includes presenting, in response to detecting the system event, a second message in the popup window, the second message being associated with the first message. The predefined field may relate to a message log. |
| US07908556B2 |
Method and system for media landmark identification
Methods and systems are described for allowing a user to quickly determine parts of a media item in which the user will be interested. In the methods and systems described, a timeline is provided for the media item and semantic icons are used as media landmarks along the timeline. The semantic icons are related to the content or a description of the content at the location in the media item corresponding to the semantic icon's location on the timeline. The semantic icons, in addition to providing some immediate contextual information at a glance, also allow a user access to annotations of the media item. Semantic icons can represent tags, users who have created or modified annotations for the segment of the media item, or other relevant information. The semantic icons may also be used to determine a relative level of interest in different parts of the media item both with respect to the user and with respect to other users. |
| US07908552B2 |
Mere-parsing with boundary and semantic driven scoping
Methods, systems and computer program products for implementing a mere-parser are disclosed. Text data is processed to generate one or more parse items. A boundary based attribute associated with one of the parse items is identified, and the identified mere attribute is associated with one or more of the remaining parse items that is not blocked from being associated with the boundary based attribute. |
| US07908550B1 |
Dynamic tree control system
A dynamic tree control system includes a scripted program sent from a server, to be interpreted by a client browser. The program uses dynamic HTML and includes program code for displaying, under the control of the browser, a tree structure having one or more tree nodes in which at least a portion of data retrieved from the server is represented. The program also includes program code for dynamically altering, in response to some event, the tree structure without further accessing the server. The program also includes an event manager that registers with the browser to be notified upon the occurrence one or more events. The event manager receives notification of the event from the browser, and notifies the layer in which the event originated or took place. A notified layer response to the event, for example, by dynamically altering the tree structure. |
| US07908546B2 |
Methods and apparatus for detection of performance conditions in processing system
Techniques are disclosed for detection of performance conditions in processing systems. For example, a method of detecting a performance condition in at least one particular processing device of a processing system having a plurality of processing devices includes the following steps. Data is input to a data structure associated with the particular processing device, over a given time period. The input data may be a buffer or a bucket. The input data represents data associated with the execution of at least one function performed by the particular processing device. The given time period includes the time period between consecutive heartbeat signals transmitted by the particular processing device. At least a portion of the input data is removed from the data structure associated with the particular processing device, near the end of the given time period. The removed input data is compared to an expected function execution level. An alarm signal is generated, when warranted, based on the comparison of the removed input data to the expected function execution level such that a performance condition in the particular processing device is determinable. |
| US07908543B2 |
Reading method of a memory device with embedded error-correcting code and memory device with embedded error-correcting code
A reading method for a memory device with error-correcting encoding envisages the steps of: carrying out a first reading of a plurality of memory locations (A0, A1, . . . , ALS−1) to generate a first recovered string (S1), and performing a first decoding attempt using the first recovered string (S1). When the first decoding attempt fails, the memory locations are read at least one second time, and at least one second recovered string (S2-SN) is generated. On the basis of a comparison between the first recovered string (S1) and the second recovered string (S2-SN), a modified string (SM) is generated, in which erasures (X) are located, and at least one second decoding attempt is carried out using the modified string (SM). |
| US07908542B2 |
Method of and apparatus for implementing a reconfigurable trellis-type decoding
A chip architectural core is described for use in decoding one or more vectors received by the core in accordance with one or more recursive and/or non-recursive systematic trellis codes of varying sizes and constraints K, as well as generator polynomials. The core comprises: a decoder including (a) a reconfigurable network of ACS blocks, BMU generators and trace-back mechanisms for both recursive and non-recursive systematic forms, and (b) reconfigurable connections between the ACS blocks, BMU generators and trace-back mechanisms, arranged so that the precise number of network components can be continuously rearranged and interconnected in a network as a function of size and the constraint K and generator polynomial of each code used for encoding the vectors received by the core. |
| US07908541B2 |
Apparatus and method for transmitting/receiving signal in a communication system
A signal transmission apparatus in a communication system is disclosed. A channel interleaver generates an interleaved vector by channel-interleaving a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codeword according to a channel interleaving rule, and a modulator generates a modulation symbol by modulating the interleaved vector according to a modulation scheme. The channel interleaving rule is one of a first channel interleaving rule and a second channel interleaving rule. The first channel interleaving rule is a rule for setting degree distribution for nodes in a factor graph of the LDPC codeword separately for individual levels supported by the modulation scheme. The second channel interleaving rule is a rule for allowing coded bits included in the LDPC codeword to be interleaved according to an unequal error characteristic of the modulation scheme. |
| US07908539B2 |
Parity check matrix generation method, data transmission system, encoding device, decoding device, and a parity check matrix generation program
A method that allows the easy generation of low-density parity-check codes that can realize superior error-correcting characteristics. A processor (50) of a transmission line encoder constructs parity check matrix H from partial matrix H1 of m rows and k columns on the left side and partial matrix H2 of m rows and m columns on the right side. The processor (50) generates partial matrix H2 as a unit matrix. The processor (50) generates partial matrix H1 to satisfy the conditions that, when any two rows contained in partial matrix H1 are selected, the two rows have periods that are relatively prime, or when the periods are identical, the two rows have different phases. The processor (50) then joins partial matrix H1 and partial matrix H2 to generate parity check matrix H. |
| US07908538B2 |
Failure prediction circuit and method, and semiconductor integrated circuit
Disclosed is a semiconductor integrated circuit including a first storage circuit and a second storage circuit that respectively store logic levels of an input to the delay circuit and an output of the delay circuit when a logic level of a clock line is changed, and a determination circuit that determines whether or not the results of the first storage circuit and the second storage circuit coincide or not. Even if a transistor or a wiring that constitutes the semiconductor integrated circuit has been degraded due to secular change or the like, a possibility of an anomaly or a failure in one of the operation circuits caused by the degradation can be predicted before the anomaly or the failure occurs. |
| US07908537B2 |
Boundary scan path method and system with functional and non-functional scan cell memories
An integrated circuit or circuit board includes functional circuitry and a scan path. The scan path includes a test data input lead, a test data output lead, a multiplexer, and scan cells. A dedicated scan cell has a functional data output separate from a test data output. Shared scan cells each have a combined output for functional data and test data. The shared scan cells are coupled in series. The test data input of the first shared scan cell is connected to the test data output of the dedicated scan cell. The combined output of one shared scan cell is coupled to the test data input lead of another shared scan cell. The multiplexer has an input coupled to the test data output, an input connected to the combined output lead of the last shared scan cell in the series, and an output connected in the scan path. |
| US07908536B2 |
Testing functional boundary logic at asynchronous clock boundaries of an integrated circuit device
Mechanisms for testing functional boundary logic at an asynchronous clock boundary of an integrated circuit device are provided. With these mechanisms, each clock domain has its own scan paths that do not cross domain boundaries. By eliminating the scanning across the boundaries, the requirement to have two clock grids in the asynchronously clocked domains may be eliminated. As a result, circuit area and design time with regard to the clock distribution design are reduced. In addition, removing the second clock grid, i.e. the high speed core or system clock, in the asynchronously clocked domains removes the requirement to have a multiplexing scheme for selection of clocking signals in the asynchronous domain. In addition to the above, the system and method provide boundary built-in-self-test logic for testing the functional crossing logic of boundaries between the clock domains in a functional mode of operation. |
| US07908535B2 |
Scan testable register file
Memory compiler engineers often focus on the efficient implementation of the largest possible memory configurations for each memory type. The overhead of test and control circuitry within memory implementations is usually amortized across a large number of storage bits. Unfortunately, test structures generally do not scale down with decreasing memory sizes, creating a large area penalty for a design with numerous small memories. One solution is a scannable register file (SRF) architecture using scannable latch bit-cells laid out using a standard cell layout/power template. All sub-cells can be placed in standard cell rows and utilize standard cell power straps. Non-SRF standard cells can be abutted on all sides, placement keep-out regions are not needed. Metal utilization is usually limited to first three metallization layers. The bit-cell is much larger than standard compiled memory bit cells, but has no overhead beyond address decode, word-line drivers, and read-write data latches. |
| US07908534B2 |
Diagnosable general purpose test registers scan chain design
A structural design-for-test for diagnosing broken scan chain defects of long non-scannable register chains (GPTR) The GPTR and the system for testing and diagnosing the broken LSSD scan-only chains rapidly localize defects to the failing Shift Register Latch (SRL) pair. The GPTR modifies the latches used in the GPTR scan chain to standard LSSD L1/L2 master-slave SRL type latch pairs; connects all the system ports of the L1 latches to the Shift Register Input (SRI) and clocked by the system C1-clk while the L1 scan port is clocked by the A-clk and L2 scan port is clocked only by the B-clk. The L1 latches are connected to at least one multiplexer having a first output connected to an input of each odd SRL, and a second output connected to an input port of each even SRL. In another embodiment, the GPTR includes a plurality of multiplexers respectively coupled to the master-slave latch pairs, wherein a first set of multiplexers have their respective output attached to an input of the odd L1 latches, and a second set of the multiplexers have their respective output attached to an input port of the even L1 latches. |
| US07908530B2 |
Memory module and on-line build-in self-test method thereof for enhancing memory system reliability
A memory module including a plurality of memory banks, a memory control unit, and a built-in self-test (BIST) control unit is provided. The memory banks store data. The memory control unit accesses the data in accordance with a system command. The BIST control unit generates a BIST command to the memory control unit when a BIST function is enabled in the memory module. While the system command accessing the data in a specific memory bank exists, the memory command control unit has the priority to execute the system command instead of the BIST command testing the specific memory bank. Memory reliability of a system including the memory module is enhanced without reducing the system effectiveness. |
| US07908524B2 |
Storage medium readable by a machine tangible embodying event notification management program and event notification management apparatus
An event notification management program 110 makes a computer function as processing means for controlling notification, given to a predetermined system 200, of information about an event occurred within the system 100 that is acquired from notification information provided from a component (20, 30, 40) within the system 100. The processing means has a function of determining a content of a notification process corresponding to the event acquired from the provided notification information on the basis of management information (FIG. 19) in which event identifying information specifying the event is associated with the content of the notification process (S102), and controlling the notification, given to the predetermined system, of the information about the event in accordance with the content of the notification process (S104, S105). |
| US07908521B2 |
Process reflection
Process reflection techniques are described in which a reflected process is created to facilitate analysis of a process. Events are detected to initiate reflection of a target process. Process reflection of a target process may be initiated by an external process or by the target process itself. A reflected process of the target process is created. In an implementation, data defining the target process is replicated, copied, or otherwise collected from the target process to create the reflected process. Then, analysis may be performed on the reflected process while execution of the target process continues. |
| US07908514B2 |
Minimizing data loss in asynchronous replication solution using distributed redundancy
Architecture that reduces data loss resulting from failover in an asynchronous log shipping deployment, but leveraging mid-tier and frontend servers to fill in lost data. In an asynchronous log shipping operation, a replication component asynchronously replicates messaging data to a backend server in accordance with one or more replication operations, which can be updates to databases on the backend server. These databases can include messaging data, such as email address books, mailboxes, etc. A history component maintains a history of replication operations on a frontend server. In the event of a lossy failover, a replay component is used for replaying the replication operations from the history to the backend server. |
| US07908496B2 |
Systems and methods for communicating voltage regulation information between a voltage regulator and an integrated circuit
Systems and method for providing a regulated voltage supply to an integrated circuit. In an embodiment of the invention, a voltage regulator in a system provides an integrated circuit in the system with information related to the voltage regulator providing a supply voltage to the integrated circuit. In another embodiment of the invention, the integrated circuit makes determinations about the operating characteristic of the system using information from the voltage regulator. |
| US07908493B2 |
Unified management of power, performance, and thermals in computer systems
A mechanism is provided for unified management of power, performance, and thermals in computer systems. This mechanism incorporates elements to effectively address all aspects of managing computing systems in an integrated manner, instead of independently. The mechanism employs an infrastructure for real-time measurements feedback, an infrastructure for regulating system activity, component operating levels, and environmental control, a dedicated control structure for guaranteed response/preemptive action, and interaction and integration components. The mechanism provides interfaces for user-level interaction. The mechanism also employs methods to address power/thermal concerns at multiple timescales. In addition, the mechanism improves efficiency by adopting an integrated approach, rather than treating different aspects of the power/thermal problem as individual issues to be addressed in a piecemeal fashion. |
| US07908492B2 |
Method for using a compact disk as a smart key device
A data processing method accepts a removable storage media, which becomes electrically engaged with a system unit within the data processing system, after which the removable storage media and the hardware security unit mutually authenticate themselves. The removable storage media stores a private key of a first asymmetric cryptographic key pair and a public key of a second asymmetric cryptographic key pair that is associated with the hardware security unit, and the hardware security unit stores a private key of the second asymmetric cryptographic key pair and a public key of the first asymmetric cryptographic key pair that is associated with the removable storage media. In response to successfully performing the mutual authentication operation between the removable storage media and the hardware security unit, the system unit is enabled to invoke cryptographic functions on the hardware security unit while the removable storage media remains engaged with the system unit. |
| US07908491B2 |
Method and device for controlling access to encrypted data
The invention concerns a method for controlling access to encrypted data by control words (CW), said control words being received by a security module in control messages (ECM) and returned to a unit operating on (STB) the encrypted data. The method includes the following steps: receiving a first control message (ECM) comprising at least one control word (CW) and a time stamp (TS), receiving a second control message (ECM2) consecutive to the first control message (ECM1), said second message comprising at least one control word (CW) and a time stamp (TS), determining a duration corresponding to the difference between the time stamps (TS) of the two consecutive control messages (ECM1, ECM2), if said duration is less than a predefined duration (CP), incrementing an error counter (CE), and if said duration is not less than said predefined duration, decrementing said error counter (CE), returning the control word (CW) to the operating unit (STB) after a waiting time depending on the value of the error counter (CE). |
| US07908490B2 |
Techniques for synchronizing and archive-versioning of encrypted files
Techniques are presented for synchronizing and archive-versioning encrypted files. Blocks of encrypted data are managed and metadata is maintained for the blocks. The metadata identifies a maximum number of blocks and an index or parameter string. The string includes transaction identifiers and relative block numbers. The metadata is used as parameter information to a hash algorithm along with a hash key to acquire a unique initialization vector for each block. Each initialization vector when supplied to a cipher service along with a particular block of data produces an encrypted version of the data supplied or supplies a decrypted version of the data supplied. The techniques are also applied to files being archived and versioned from a storage volume. |
| US07908487B2 |
Systems and methods for public-key encryption for transmission of medical information
The invention is directed to systems and methods for communicating sensitive and/or confidential medical information with the use of encryption. Specifically, the invention is directed to transmitting a request for sensitive medical data, where the request includes a public key for encryption as an XML node. The public key may be used by the responding party to encrypt at least a portion of the response and respond to the request. The only party in the network path that is able to decrypt the message is the originator of the request because the requestor will have a private keys which is required to decrypt the response data. |
| US07908486B2 |
Dynamic configuration of a gaming system
A method to enable dynamic configuration of gaming terminals installed in one or a plurality of gaming premises whereby certified games, certified data files and certified support software components are activated in accordance with a predetermined schedule or automatically in response to the observed gaming activity. The method may include allocating an individual PKI certificate to each executable software component and each of its versions, binding the PKI certificate to the executable software, associating a distinctive policy for each certificate and then enforcing the software execution policies in accordance with the desired authorized game configuration and schedule. The PKI certificate's “Subject Name” (or “Issued to” field or “CommonName” field) may be a concatenation of the software component identification, its version number and optionally other identification characters. The method applies equally to other network connected gaming subsystems. The method enables a fine-grained and secure control of the authorized software components and thus the flexibility to securely configure the gaming system in accordance with a schedule or in a close-loop fashion in order to meet business objectives. In addition, a method to enable the certification authority to bind the certificates to the tested code is described. |
| US07908484B2 |
Method of protecting digest authentication and key agreement (AKA) against man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack
Disclosed is a method and system to discourage a MITM attacker in a data communications system that includes client and a server. The method includes, in a Digest Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) challenge sent to the client from the server, setting an “algorithm” field to ‘algorithm=“AKAv1-HMAC-MD5”’ for directing the client to use the HMAC-MD5 keyed hash function when producing Digest credentials; and using at least one of an AKA Integrity Key (IK) or an AKA Cipher Key (CK) in the keyed hash function. |
| US07908482B2 |
Key confirmed authenticated key exchange with derived ephemeral keys
Key confirmed (KC) authenticated key exchange (AKE) with derived ephemeral keys protocol using a mathematical group is described. In one aspect, a first party, using the mathematical group, determines whether a second party has received information to compute an agreed session key value for exchanging information securely with the first party. At least a subset of the received information is computed using derived ephemeral keys of the first and second parties. The first party generates the agreed session key value only when the second party has demonstrated receipt of the information. |
| US07908481B1 |
Routing data to one or more entities in a network
A communications system includes a first network that includes a plurality of entities and a router. The router includes a network address translator. A node is capable of communicating data units with entities in the first network. Each data unit includes security information, such as information according to the Internet Security Association and Key Management protocol (ISAKMP) and the Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) protocol. The network address translator is adapted to convert a destination address in a received data unit from the node to an address of one of the entities based on the security information in the received data unit. |
| US07908478B2 |
Data processing method and data reading method
An object of the present invention is to prevent illegal use of data (digital contents), and a second object is to provide a method for processing data which ensures the collection of charges for secondary use of the data, a data reading method for reading the data processed by this processing method, and a recording medium storing programs implementing these methods.The method for processing data is such that in a method for processing a data body b which is encrypted and is decrypted on a decryption bit length basis, and thereby is reproduced, the data body b is encrypted, a part of this data body b with a bit length different from the decryption bit length is omitted, and the omitted part is closed so as to make the data continuous. |
| US07908469B2 |
Method for executing power on self test on a computer system and updating SMBIOS information partially
A method for executing the power on self test (POST) on the computer system and a method for updating the SMBIOS information partially are provided for a computer system with a first memory and a second memory, wherein the first memory comprises a first storage block and a second storage block. A user can previously set the specific SMBIOS information in the second storage block. And during the POST stage, the default SMBIOS information in the BIOS code loaded from the first storage block to the second memory will be partially updated according to the specific SMBIOS information set by the user. As a result, the purpose of using the appropriated SMBIOS information to initiate the computer system can be achieved. |
| US07908464B2 |
Functional-level instruction-set computer architecture for processing application-layer content-service requests such as file-access requests
A functional-level instruction-set computing (FLIC) architecture executes higher-level functional instructions such as lookups and bit-compares of variable-length operands. Each FLIC processing-engine slice has specialized processing units including a lookup unit that searches for a matching entry in a lookup cache. Variable-length operands are stored in execution buffers. The operand length and location in the execution buffer are stored in fixed-length general-purpose registers (GPRs) that also store fixed-length operands. A copy/move unit moves data between input and output buffers and one or more FLIC processing-engine slices. Multiple contexts can each have a set of GPRs and execution buffers. An expansion buffer in a FLIC slice can be allocated to a context to expand that context's execution buffer for storing longer operands. The FLIC engine is optimized to parse, lookup, and process long strings common in content-service requests and can offload file-server requests by looking up meta-data and pointers. |
| US07908463B2 |
Immediate and displacement extraction and decode mechanism
An extraction and decode mechanism for acquiring and processing instructions and the corresponding constant(s) embedded within the instructions. The extraction and decode mechanism may be included within a processing unit, and may comprise an instruction decode unit and at least one constant steer network. During operation, the instruction decode unit may obtain and decode instructions which are to be executed by the processing unit. For each instruction, the instruction decode unit may also determine the location of one or more constants embedded within the instruction. The constant steer network may receive the location information from the instruction decode unit. While the instruction decode unit decodes the instruction, the constant steer network may obtain the constant(s) embedded within the instruction based on the location information and store the constant(s). The constant(s) embedded within the instruction may be immediate or displacement (imm/disp) constant(s). |
| US07908460B2 |
Method and apparatus for obtaining a scalar value directly from a vector register
A method and apparatus for obtaining a scalar value from a vector register for use in a mixed vector and scalar instruction, including providing a vector in a vector register file, and embedding a location identifier of the scalar value within the vector in the bits defining the mixed vector and scalar instruction. The scalar value can be used directly from the vector register without the need to load the scalar to a scalar register prior to executing the instruction. The scalar location identifier may be embedded in the secondary op code of the instruction, or the instruction may have dedicated bits for providing the location of the scalar within the vector. |
| US07908456B2 |
System and method for allocating and deallocating memory within transactional code
Methods and systems are provided for managing memory allocations and deallocations while in transactional code, including nested transactional code. The methods and systems manage transactional memory operations by using identifiers, such as sequence numbers, to handle memory management in transactions. The methods and systems also maintain lists of deferred actions to be performed at transaction abort and commit times. A number of memory management routines associated with one or more transactions examine the transaction sequence number of the current transaction, manipulate commit and/or undo logs, and set/use the transaction sequence number of an associated object, but are not so limited. The methods and systems provide for memory allocation and deallocations within transactional code while preserving transactional semantics. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US07908455B2 |
Low overhead memory management system and method
A block of contiguous data storage locations of a memory is divided into pools of memory chunks. The memory chunks in same ones of the pools have equal chunk sizes. The memory chunks in different ones of the pools have different chunk sizes. In each of the pools, the memory chunks are addressable by respective chunk base physical addresses in a respective linear contiguous sequence that starts from a respective pool base physical address. The physical addresses of the memory chunks are translated into corresponding internal handles and vice versa, where each of the internal handles is smaller in size than its corresponding physical address. For each of the pools, an associated pool queue comprising respective ones of the internal handles to allocatable ones of the memory chunks in the pool is maintained. |
| US07908454B2 |
Application-specific heap management
Tools and techniques for application-specific heap management are described herein. The tools may provide machine-readable storage media containing machine-readable instructions for profiling an application to facilitate managing heap memory associated with the application, and for managing requests from the application to allocate or deallocate from the heap memory based on the profiling. The tools may also receive requests from the application to allocate buffers, and may determine whether an instance-level memory pool, which is associated with a portion of the application, contains enough free buffers to satisfy the request. Finally, the tools may receive requests from the application to deallocate buffers, and in response to the request, may deallocate the requested buffers into the instance-level memory pool. The tools may also determine whether the instance-level memory pool contains a number of free buffers that exceeds a threshold. |
| US07908445B2 |
Redundant controller dynamic logical media unit reassignment
A redundant controller storage virtualization subsystem performing host-side IO rerouting and dynamic logical media unit reassignment. In one embodiment, the assignment of logical media unit owner can be dynamically reassigned to the receiving storage virtualization controller which was originally not the logical media unit owner such that the receiving storage virtualization controller becomes new logical media unit owner to execute the IO request. In another embodiment, the dynamic logical media unit reassignment can be performed according to the operating condition(s) of the storage virtualization system so as to improve the performance of the storage virtualization system. In a further embodiment, the controller storage virtualization subsystem can perform host-side IO rerouting when the timing for performing dynamic logical media unit reassignment is not reached. |
| US07908440B2 |
Simultaneous personal sensing and data storage
A personal sensing device that may be used for storing personal data and sensed data arbitrates and prioritizes competing requests for memory access from sensing, wireless, and wired interfaces. The personal sensing device enables power efficiency with burst-writes to the memory at higher data rates then an incoming sensor data stream without risk of data loss. Sensing operations coordinated by reconfigurable control logic are partitioned from storage operations coordinated by a multi-port memory controller. The interface between the functional partitioning uses message passing, status/control registers and buffering to reduce or eliminate system interdependencies. |
| US07908439B2 |
Method and apparatus for efficient replacement algorithm for pre-fetcher oriented data cache
Disclosed are a method and apparatus for replacing pre-fetched data in a pre-fetch cache. In one embodiment, each line of the pre-fetch cache will be accessed at most M times. A line accessed M times can be evicted from the cache without any performance loss. In this embodiment, a counter is added to each pre-fetch data line to track how many times it has been accessed. In another embodiment, a displacement bit is added to each pre-fetch data line, and when a defined portion of the data line is accessed, this bit is set to a given value, indicating that the line can be evicted. |
| US07908438B2 |
Associative matrix observing methods, systems and computer program products using bit plane representations of selected segments
Associative matrix compression methods, systems, computer program products and data structures compress an association matrix that contains counts that indicate associations among pairs of attributes. Selective bit plane representations of those selected segments of the association matrix that have at least one count is performed, to allow compression. More specifically, a set of segments is generated, a respective one of which defines a subset, greater than one, of the pairs of attributes. Selective identifications of those segments that have at least one count are stored. The at least one count that is associated with a respective identified segment is also stored as at least one bit plane representation. The at least one bit plane representation identifies a value of the at least one associated count for a bit position of the count that corresponds to the associated bit plane. |
| US07908436B1 |
Deduplication of data on disk devices using low-latency random read memory
Deduplication of data using a low-latency random read memory (LLRRM) is described herein. Upon receiving a block, if a matching block stored on a disk device is found, the received block is deduplicated by producing an index to the address location of the matching block. In some embodiments, a matching block having a predetermined threshold number of associated indexes that reference the matching block is transferred to LLRRM, the threshold number being one or greater. Associated indexes may be modified to reflect the new address location in LLRRM. Deduplication may be performed using a mapping mechanism containing mappings of deduplicated blocks to matching blocks, the mappings being used for performing read requests. Deduplication described herein may reduce read latency as LLRRM has relatively low latency in performing random read requests relative to disk devices. |
| US07908434B2 |
Raid apparatus, cache management method, and computer program product
A cache managing unit creates a list of elements corresponding to each data block arranged based on a priority of writing data blocks to a magnetic disk apparatus, and when a group of elements corresponding to data blocks to be written to the same magnetic disk apparatus exists, provides a link connecting elements at both ends of the group. A write control unit searches, upon selecting a data block for writing, elements belonging to the list in descending order of priority, and if a link is set at an element corresponding to a data block to be written to a magnetic disk that cannot perform a writing, follows the link to search a subsequent element. |
| US07908432B2 |
Image processing apparatus with multiple storage devices, and image data storing method executed by image processing apparatus
To reduce power consumption, an MFP includes first to third HDDs of different storage capacities to store data, a writing portion to write received data to one of the first to third HDDs, a mode switching portion to change operating modes including the normal, stand-by, and sleep operating modes, each mode being driven by a different load, and a controller to control driving of the first to third HDDs. The controller includes a selecting portion to select one HDD from the first to third HDDs, which is predetermined in correspondence to the switched operating mode, and a drive controlling portion to drive the selected HDD, while suspending any HDD in operation other than the driven HDD. |
| US07908429B2 |
Apparatus and method of page program operation for memory devices with mirror back-up of data
An apparatus and method of page program operation is provided. When performing a page program operation with a selected memory device, a memory controller loads the data into the page buffer of one selected memory device and also into the page buffer of another selected memory device in order to store a back-up copy of the data. In the event that the data is not successfully programmed into the memory cells of the one selected memory device, then the memory controller recovers the data from the page buffer of the other memory device. Since a copy of the data is stored in the page buffer of the other memory device, the memory controller does not need to locally store the data in its data storage elements. |
| US07908426B2 |
Moving sectors within a block of information in a flash memory mass storage architecture
A device is disclosed for storing mapping information for mapping a logical block address identifying a block being accessed by a host to a physical block address, identifying a free area of nonvolatile memory, the block being selectively erasable and having one or more sectors that may be individually moved. The mapping information including a virtual physical block address for identifying an “original” location, within the nonvolatile memory, wherein a block is stored and a moved virtual physical block address for identifying a “moved” location, within the nonvolatile memory, wherein one or more sectors of the stored block are moved. The mapping information further including status information for use of the “original” physical block address and the “moved” physical block address and for providing information regarding “moved” sectors within the block being accessed. |
| US07908423B2 |
Memory apparatus, and method of averagely using blocks of a flash memory
A flash memory controller for averagely using blocks of a flash memory and the method thereof are provided. The flash memory controller is configured to process wear-leveling by allocating frequently updated data in less-erased blocks, and, allocating less-updated data in frequently erased blocks to achieve dynamic uniformity of times of erasion of blocks. |
| US07908422B2 |
System and method for a distributed crossbar network using a plurality of crossbars
A system and method for single hop, processor-to-processor communication in a multiprocessing system over a plurality of crossbars are disclosed. Briefly described, one embodiment is a multiprocessing system comprising a plurality of processors having a plurality of high-bandwidth point-to-point links; a plurality of processor clusters, each processor cluster having a predefined number of the processors residing therein; and a plurality of crossbars, one of the crossbars coupling each of the processors of one of the plurality of processor clusters to each of the processors of another of the plurality of processor clusters, such that all processors are coupled to each of the other processors, and such that the number of crossbars is equal to [X*(X−1)/2], wherein X equals the number of processor clusters. |
| US07908421B2 |
Universal serial bus endpoint context caching
According to some embodiments, an apparatus may be capable of exchanging information with t potential universal serial bus endpoints, where t is an integer greater than 1. Moreover, x endpoint state machines may be established, where x is an integer greater than 1 and less than t. A first endpoint state machine may then be assigned to a first potential endpoint having a pending work item. Before the apparatus has completed the pending work item associated with the first potential endpoint, the first endpoint state machine may be flushed, and the first endpoint state machine may be re-assigned to a second potential endpoint. |
| US07908420B2 |
Processing system with millimeter wave host interface and method for use therewith
A processing system includes a plurality of first circuit modules and a wired data bus, connected to the plurality of first circuit modules. A plurality of second circuit modules are coupled to an RF data bus via a millimeter wave communication path. A millimeter wave modem receives first data from at least one of the plurality of first circuit modules via the wired data bus, and transmits the first data over the RF data bus to at least one of the plurality of second circuit modules. |
| US07908417B2 |
Motherboard system, storage device for booting up thereof and connector
A motherboard system is provided. The motherboard system includes a central processing unit (CPU), a control unit and an interface connector. The control unit is electrically connected to the CPU. The interface connector is electrically connected to the control unit and has a boot loader interface unit and a peripheral storage device interface unit, wherein the boot loader interface unit is electrically connected to the control unit and is configured for electrically connecting a system read only memory. When the power of the motherboard system is turned on, the CPU sends a read only memory fetch cycle to the control unit and fetches a booting program from the system read only memory configured in an external device via the boot loader interface unit. Accordingly, the system read only memory can be conveniently updated and maintained. |
| US07908401B2 |
Method and device for wireless communication between computing devices
A communication device includes a structural, external interface (e.g., a USB interface) for connecting to a computing device, a wireless interface for making a wireless connection to a second computing device, and a memory or storage component for storing and embedding software for a variety of applications. The communication device provides wireless printing without the need to install a device specific printer driver each time at each new printer and without compromising security or privacy. The communication device also enables transferring of files and data wirelessly from one device to another. |
| US07908400B2 |
Method and device for selecting network access to one or more data networks by means of a telecommunication terminal
The invention relates to a method for selecting network access to one or more data networks by means of a telecommunications terminal. In a first step of said method, network access information, which has been determined by the telecommunications terminal and/or additional telecommunications terminals during network connections established by different network access operations, is analysed. In a second step, network access is selected on the basis of the analysed network access information. |
| US07908396B2 |
Method and system for scheduling requests in a non-first in first out (FIFO) order in a network
A method and a system for scheduling requests generated for a plurality of mobile devices in a communication network (100) has been disclosed. The requests are generated for a transmission opportunity. The method includes computing a sort metric (302) for each request, based on an information update. A lead-time is then computed (304) with respect to a drop-dead time for each request, based on the sort metric for a time slice. The drop-dead time for a given time slice is the time before which scheduling has to be done so that data can be transmitted during the given time slice. Each request may be considered (306) for allocation in the time slice before the beginning of a next time slice, based on the lead-time. |
| US07908391B1 |
Application streaming and network file system optimization via feature popularity
The performance of a remotely originated application is improved by determining the most popular application features, and proactively making the corresponding application content available to local computers on which the application runs. An application streaming or network file system transmits an application to a plurality of endpoints for execution. The server determines the relative popularity of the application features, and maps the features to corresponding application content. The server proactively pushes the application content corresponding to the most popular features to the endpoints. The popularity of application features is dynamically updated on a regular, ongoing basis. The proactive pushing of code pages is kept current with the updated popularity determinations. |
| US07908386B2 |
Large scale mobile network address translation
A method and system for enabling a mobile station (MS) to transfer from one Network Address Translation (NAT) domain to another NAT domain. Dynamic rules created in the first NAT domain are transferred to the second NAT domain via a first Media Policy Routing function. A tunnel is created between the second NAT domain and the first MPR for transferring a MS session. A new session from the MS is created outside the tunnel and once the MS session times out, the MS session, the states existing in the first MPR and the second NAT domain utilizing a new set of dynamic NAT rules created in the second NAT domain are all removed. The tunnel is then removed and communication via a second MPR and the second NAT domain is available. |
| US07908384B2 |
Information processing system, a management apparatus, an information processing method and a management method
An information processing system, a management apparatus, a program, an information processing method, and a management method which make it possible for the management apparatus to distribute contents to clients with high reliability are proposed. An information processing system includes one or a plurality of clients, and a management apparatus which manages the clients and distributes contents to the clients. The management apparatus distributes the contents to each of the clients of distribution subject of the contents at distribution time assigned to the client. The client opens a port at the distribution time on the basis of a script having the distribution time prescribed therein, and closes the port after receiving the contents. |
| US07908383B2 |
Method and apparatus for phone application state management mechanism
A phone application state management mechanism is described. The mechanism adopts the state storage format widely known as “Cookies” to store information in a cross-application standard format. Cookies for multiple users are stored on a single machine that retrieves phone applications using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Suitable state information for a particular user is automatically retrieved in connection with HTTP requests. Further, by phone based applications can set the values of suitable cookies. An enforced access policy can be used to prevent an application provided by a first legal entity from accessing state information stored by an application provided by another legal entity. The approach can also be used to reduce the passing of telephone identifying information between applications for user identification purposes. |
| US07908382B2 |
System and method to optimally manage performance's virtual users and test cases
A method, apparatus and computer-usable medium for improved load testing of subsystems comprising a larger system by intelligently and stochastically distracting virtual users from healthy subsystems such that they collaboratively converge on a subsystem exhibiting operating health problems. Virtual users are progressively targeted at a degraded subsystem to force it to sustain its respective share of a test workload, thereby exacerbating its behavior to facilitate problem determination and resolution. Virtual users that have failed or terminated in an unhealthy subsystem are replaced by selectively and intelligently redistributing virtual users from healthy systems. As virtual users are redistributed to the degraded subsystem and fail or terminate, additional performance and behavior data is generated as the subsystem degrades to an unusable or non-operational state. By accelerating time-to-failure, test cycle intervals are reduced and the number of identified performance defects are maximized. |
| US07908381B2 |
Simultaneous visual and telephonic access to interactive information delivery
The functionality of Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) components and Internet-based resources are integrated to provide simultaneous visual and telephonic access to an interactive information delivery system. The present invention enhances conventional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems by simultaneously providing visual information that corresponds to the voice-based information that is delivered telephonically. A user that contacts a conventional IVR service provider (IVR host) can be provided with the option of a Visual IVR (VIVR) session. The VIVR session can provide visual information to the user in the form of HTML-formatted web pages delivered over an Internet connection and will provide audible message information over a conventional wireless or wireline voice telephone connection. A VIVR session can coordinate the delivery of visual information (e.g., web pages) and the delivery of telephony-based information (e.g., audio file playback) such that the user hears an audible message on the telephone that corresponds to the information displayed on a networking device. The user may provide instructions to a VIVR Server over either the telephone or the networking device. The VIVR Server will respond to instructions received by either the telephone connection or the Internet connection. |
| US07908375B2 |
Transparently externalizing plug-in computation to cluster
External processing of a request directed to an external software program from an invocation source to a cluster of computing devices. A wrapper tool is provided for processing the request from the invocation source. The request includes operations to be performed by the external software program on the host computer. The wrapper tool intercepted the request and extracts information included in the intercepted request. The extracted information is transmitted to a cluster scheduler. The cluster scheduler identifies a set of computing devices in the cluster of computing devices for processing the request. The identified set of computing devices processes the intercepted request as a function of the intercepted request, the information and the invocation source. A result is provided in response to the processed request from the identified set of computing devices to the invocation source. |
| US07908374B2 |
Device, method and program for providing matching service
A computer for a service provider receives from each member of two groups who is a user of a service via a mediating computer, a priority list in which member IDs of the other group is permuted in the priority order of a user and processing information that are encrypted so as not to be decrypted by the mediating computer. The ID of the priority list is encrypted with an encrypting key that is common to all members. The computer for a service provider performs matching, with ID in the priority list being left encrypted when the list is decrypted. The computer for a service provider decrypts the processing information, makes it in a state in which the matching result can be decrypted based on the processing information by only a person concerned, and sends it to each member via the mediating computer. |
| US07908371B2 |
System and method of searching for classifying user activity performed on a computer system
The invention is directed to a system and method of managing information associated with user actions. A monitoring system may gather and store information associated with user actions. Relationships may be inferred between user actions based on time or other criteria. A user may define classifications of user actions. These classifications may be used to retrieve information associated with user actions. |
| US07908366B2 |
Media library monitoring system and method
Embodiments of methods and systems comprise collecting data associated with a library or library components and storing the collected data in repository. By collecting data associated with a library or library components and storing the collected data in a repository, the degradation of library components can be monitored and the reliability of library components determined, allowing unreliable components to be bypassed or replaced, enhancing the reliability of the library and preventing data loss. |
| US07908365B2 |
System using footprints in system log files for monitoring transaction instances in real-time network
Techniques for monitoring one or more transaction instances in a real-time network are provided. The techniques include obtaining one or more system log files, wherein one or more footprints left by one or more transaction instances are recorded in the one or more system log files, obtaining a transaction model, wherein the transaction model comprises one or more transaction steps and a footprint pattern corresponding with each transaction step, and using the one or more system log files and the transaction model to monitor the one or more transaction instances in a real-time network at least one of an individual level and one or more aggregate levels. |
| US07908363B2 |
Call limiter for web services
Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices and systems associated with web services are disclosed. In a particular implementation, web services calls from one or more subscribers to a first server location may be tracked. One or more other server locations may be contacted to determine whether additional web services calls for the at least one of the one or more subscribers are available in response to at least one of the one or more subscribers reaching an established subscriber limit. |
| US07908358B1 |
Method and apparatus for network services metering
Method and apparatus for metering network services, for example Web services. In embodiments, a network services metering system may collect network service usage information via an add usage interface and store the usage information in a database. In one embodiment, the usage information may be partitioned into two or more partitions. Once the usage information has been aggregated and stored, the metering system may be queried to obtain usage statistics such as aggregate usage over specific time intervals. In one embodiment, a pipeline mechanism that generates and processes batches of usage information may be implemented for adding usage information to the database. The pipeline mechanism may help to reduce or eliminate redundancy and loss of usage information, and may make the metering system linearly scalable in multiple dimensions. |
| US07908356B2 |
Name resolution device and name resolution method with automatic node information updating function
In a name resolution device for managing a name of each node connected to a network and an address for identifying each node, a node information containing a name of a node, a network identification information, a prefix indicating a position on the network, and an interface identification information of a node is stored for each node, and the node information of other nodes connected to the network is collected through the network. Then, the stored node information is updated according to the collected node information of the other nodes, by updating the stored prefix by using the interface identification information contained in the collected node information as a key. |
| US07908355B2 |
Method for improving network server load balancing
A method for improving network server load balancing in a system that has a plurality of network servers connected by an Internet access LAN to the Internet, a back-end access LAN connected to several database servers, and a network load balancer for selecting one of the network servers according to weights associated with the network servers. Link connectivity is monitored cyclically from each network server, and a status indicator is set to UP if all of the links associated with the network server are available, or to DOWN if at least one link is unavailable. The network servers send their status indicators to the network load balancer. The network load balancer changes the weight associated with a network server to a non-eligible value if the associated status indicator changes from UP to DOWN. |
| US07908352B2 |
Methods for managing a plurality of localized devices in geographically diverse locations
A communications system provides voice or data services in a plurality of geographically diverse sites. A plurality of localized devices provide portions of voice or data services at each site. The localized devices are managed with a console system. The console system coordinates management activities for the plurality of localized devices. A protectable communications protocol is utilized for communications between the console system and the plurality of localized devices. The console system communicates with an individual device of the plurality of localized devices via the protectable communications protocol to provide software distribution instructions to the individual device. The software distribution instructions provide the individual device with information sufficient to establish a direct link with a software distribution server in order to receive software distribution data without user intervention. |
| US07908351B2 |
Administration system, administration apparatus, relay server, administrated apparatus and administration method
An administration system, including an administrated machine, such as a copying machine, for being administrated; and an administration machine, connected with the administrated machine through communication lines, for administrating the administrated machine. The administrated machine further includes: a) a trouble type judging section for detecting a trouble caused on the administrated machine and for judging a type of the trouble. In the administration system, the administrated machine makes the administration machine, connected to the communication lines, obtain trouble type information corresponding to the trouble type judged by the trouble type judging section; and the administration machine makes the administrated machine to obtain, based on the trouble type information, restoration work information stored in advance to be in connection with the trouble type information. |
| US07908350B2 |
Methods for operating virtual networks, data network system, computer program and computer program product
The invention relates to a method for operating virtual networks. The method comprises providing a first virtual network comprising a first set of network ports assigned to a first virtualization tag (T1) and a second virtual network comprising a second set of network ports assigned to a second virtualization tag (T2), the first and the second virtual network having compatible address ranges and being adapted to only pass data packets within them, providing a first network node having a source address (SA) in the first virtual network and being operationally connected to a first port (P1) assigned to the first virtual network by means of the first virtualization tag (T1), monitoring the first network node in order to detect a predetermined condition, and, on detection of the predetermined condition, reassigning the first port (P1) to the second virtual network by means of assigning the second virtualization tag (T2) to the first port (P1), such that no data packet can be passed from the first network node (N1) to a second network node (N2) connected to a second port (P2) assigned to the first virtual network by means of the first virtualization tag (T1) directly and keeping of the source address (SA) for the first network node (N1) in the second virtual network (104). The invention further relates to a further method for operation virtual networks, a data network system and a computer program product adapted to perform the inventive methods. |
| US07908349B2 |
Resource management with rule based consistency check
A mechanism is provided for implementing an adaptive model. The mechanism allows an authority to define a desired target state of several kinds of resources, which are directly controlled by different subjects. The authority publishes a series of rules in a shared repository; each rule indicates the target state of a resource for a corresponding logic or physic category of the subjects. Each subject retrieves the rules corresponding to its logic category from the shared repository. The rules are then applied by the subject; as a result, the physic category of the subject is updated. The subject now retrieves and applies the rules corresponding to its physic category. In this way, different dependency schemes may be implemented without any explicit definition in the rules. |
| US07908347B2 |
System and method for computer network configuration and operation
A system for simplifying the configuration and administration of computer networks. A the server system first sends a broadcast message out to the other network nodes on the computer network to learn configuration of each other network nodes on the local network. Next, network software within each other network node (not shown) responds to the broadcast message with a response containing configuration information and an identifier key value. In one embodiment, the identifier key value may be a randomly generated number. The server system then builds a table of network nodes using the information received in the response messages sent in response to the broadcast message. The server may then communicate with systems having duplicate addresses using the identifier key value. In some embodiments, the server system may send request messages to one or more network nodes specifying a network configuration change. |
| US07908344B2 |
Methods, apparatus, and systems for providing local and online data services
A system and method for processing content data for one or more reader devices at a server in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving, from one or more end-user devices, content data associated with one or more content resources via a first network, analyzing the content data using one or more online content analysis devices whereby analysis data is generated, formatting the content data using one or more online formatting devices based on the analysis data, and outputting, to the one or more the reader devices, formatted content data via a second network. |
| US07908340B2 |
Methods and apparatus for providing coverage for sender of transmission data
The present invention provides systems and methods which afford a technical application for insuring, bonding, and underwriting a transmission of a data set, streaming data, and/or document over the Internet through TCP/IP and all other electronic media such as WAP, VOIP, fiber optic channels, microwave channels, and through standard electrical switches, electrical outlets and power lines. The present invention includes a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to cause a system perform a method for insuring, bonding, and/or underwriting data transmission. The method includes enabling a first remote client coupled to a communications network to insure, bond, and/or underwrite a transmission of an electronic data set, streaming data, and/or document, with a selected coverage type for a selected coverage amount, from the first remote client to one or more second remote clients. The method includes charging a fee to an appropriate account for the selected coverage type and amount. |
| US07908338B2 |
Content retrieval method and apparatus, communication system and communication method
The present invention is relative to an apparatus for retrieving desired music number data from a large number of music number data recorded on a large capacity recording medium. The apparatus includes memories (11), (12) in which to store a plural number of music number data, a rhythm inputting unit (13) to which a rhythm pattern of a music number is input, a retrieving unit (18) for retrieving music number data stored in the memory (11) based on the input rhythm pattern input at the rhythm inputting unit (13) and a display unit (23) in which to display the information relevant to the music number data as found out by the retrieving unit (18). The retrieving unit (18) detects plural registered rhythm patterns which are stored in the memory (11), (12) and which are similar to the input rhythm pattern, while retrieving plural content data corresponding to the plural registered rhythm patterns. Moreover, the retrieving unit (18) is responsive to the user input to select one of the plural content data. |
| US07908337B2 |
System and method for using network layer uniform resource locator routing to locate the closest server carrying specific content
A request for an information object at an address identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) is received; and the URL is mapped to a corresponding anycast address for the information object. Thereafter, the anycast address for the information object may be resolved to a unicast address for the information object, and the information object sent to the client. The request may be received at an information object repository that is topologically closer to the client than any other information object repository. This closest information object repository may be selected according to specified performance metrics, such as: average delay from the selected information object repository to a source of the request, average processing delay at the selected information object repository, reliability of a path from the selected information object repository, available bandwidth in said path, and loads on the selected information object repository. |
| US07908336B2 |
Dynamically inserting prefetch tags by the web server
Prefetch tags are embedded in the HTML of a user-requested webpage so that, after delivery of the user-requested webpage to the user, the proxy can cache webpages that the user is likely to request. After the browser issues a request for a webpage to the proxy, the proxy passes the request to the web server. The web server obtains the webpage and embeds prefetch tags into the HTML of the webpage. The selection of prefetch tags is determined by a personalization database or log/statistics database in the web server. The web server sends the user-requested webpage back to the user through the proxy. The proxy reads the prefetch tags and prefetches the webpages identified in the prefetch tags. The webpages identified in the prefetch tags are stored in the proxy cache memory so that they can be quickly sent to the user upon request. |
| US07908333B2 |
Self configuring peer to peer inter process messaging system
A method for peer-to-peer messaging between network resources is described. The method includes communicating with a first process by writing a first text file in a first scratch space, where the first text file describes at least one of at least a first set of information that a second process has generated and at least a first action to be performed on the first set of information, detecting, by a first arbiter, the first text file, where the first arbiter is implemented by the first process, and performing at least one of implementing, by the first arbiter, the first action, and applying, by the first arbiter, logic embedded within the first arbiter to determine actions to be performed on the first text file. |
| US07908331B2 |
Efficient presentation of related messages in a computer network-based messaging system
Efficient presentation of related messages in a computer network-based messaging system, including a message parser for parsing related messages into sub-messages, a comparator for comparing each sub-message identified by the parser to each sub-message in a set of unique sub-messages previously identified by the parser within any of the related messages, and adding to the set any of the sub-messages identified by the parser that are not members of the set, and a message presenter for marking with a visual indicator each of the related messages that contributes any sub-messages to the set, where the marked messages are visually distinguishable from all other of the related messages that do not contribute any sub-messages to the set. |
| US07908330B2 |
Message auditing
A system and method are disclosed for registering a email sender for the purpose of sending an email message to an email receiver including receiving a challenge message wherein the challenge message includes a machine answerable question; processing the challenge message to determine that it is a challenge message sent for the purpose of authorizing delivery of the email message; analyzing the question to determine a valid response to the challenge message; and sending the valid response that includes the answer wherein a nontrivial amount of resources are required to send the valid response. |
| US07908329B2 |
Enhanced e-mail folder security
Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that enhance the security of electronic mail messages and folders. Messages that are deemed to be less secure and have a higher security risk, such as unsolicited commercial e-mail (i.e. SPAM) and phishing messages, are reformatted and displayed in plain text with hyperlinks disabled in certain circumstances. For example, messages in a junk e-mail folder may be reformatted and displayed in plain text with hyperlinks disabled to make them safer for the user to interact with. |
| US07908316B2 |
Commercial extensions to web services
A system for providing granular functionality called web services to commercial customers includes among other things a client to issue service requests and receive responses, a web server configured to accept and process service requests, and a means of accounting for usage. The current art specifies standards for functional interactions between web service clients and servers. A set of commercial extensions are defined herein to enable maintenance interactions. This “maintenance protocol” includes operations such as client software that is self-updating in response to server changes and the capability of reconciling client usage logs with service provider invoicing. |
| US07908311B2 |
System and method for providing a distributed workflow through a plurality of handheld devices
A computer implemented distributed workflow system includes a central server containing a management module and a datastore for storing workflow modules each having identifiable allocatable tasks requiring user input to complete. The management module is configured to define the workflow and manage the creation and distribution of the identifiable allocated tasks to one or more remote users, each having an associated handheld device and a locally stored application executable on the handheld device. Processing by the remote user of the identifiable allocated task is in response to a task initiation communication from the central server, which communicates with the remote handheld devices over a communications network. A user interface on the handheld device which facilitates data entry when the user completes the allocated task. |
| US07908309B1 |
Analog wavelet transformer
A method of transforming an analog electrical signal into a wavelet transform. The analog electrical signal is input into a transmission line system as a transmission line input signal. A wavelet transform lifting is performed on the transmission line input signal to provide at least a first sum signal and a first difference signal of the transmission line input signal. The sum signal is designated as a first wavelet transform approximation signal and the difference signal is designated as a first wavelet transform detail signal. |
| US07908305B2 |
Intelligent business object document system
A method, system and computer program product for providing an integrated environment for processing business object documents (BODs). The integrated environment utilizes an IntelliBod system to employ standard business semantics while adapting modified business terms. Applications requesting integration, or mapping, map to common business semantics of the BODs, and the IntelliBOD system manages the business semantic (and technical) integration of the applications. IntelliBOD systems utilize JAVA environments to process requests, thereby reducing cost and space required to maintain general purpose middleware. |
| US07908297B2 |
User interface property mapping
A user interface (UI) property mapping system allows for efficient collaboration between a user experience (UX) team and a technical development team developing the UI. The UI mapping system assigns each component of the UI an identification key and exposes the identification key externally through an XML Schema, wherein such an XML Schema may be used by a UX team to generate an XML file specifying values of various properties of the UI. Subsequently, a UI object model reads the XML file to retrieve the values of various properties of the UI as specified by the UX team. The UI property mapping system may encode the XML file into a resource file that may be shipped with the final software using the UI. Alternatively, the XML file may be exposed for external modifications by end users to make changes to the UI as they desire. |
| US07908296B2 |
Integrating object-oriented design software with record-based CAD software
Implementations of the present invention allow a user to work within a record-based design environment while achieving the advantages provided by an object-oriented database. In particular, the user of components in accordance with the present invention can create designs within a record-based application program, within an object-oriented application program, or within a third application program linked by the object-oriented program, and still have the graphical representation thereof visibly displayed in the record-based application program. |
| US07908294B2 |
Interoperable management of application servers
In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for providing interoperable management of application servers. These mechanisms and methods can enable a software developer to create client applications using one or more programming systems, i.e., .NET, C++, VISUAL C++, etc. that can discover and interact with management resources, such as objects, functions and so forth, deployed on an application server, such as an application server implemented using a disparate programming system, i.e., a J2EE Application server, for example. Embodiments employing interfaces that conform to an implemented standard, i.e., Web Service Description Language (WSDL), for example and conform to an implemented protocol, such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for example, can enable third parties, for example, to create software to monitor managed applications and/or servers. |
| US07908291B2 |
Technique for creating self described data shared across multiple services
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there are provided mechanisms and methods for sharing data across services. These mechanisms and methods for applications to share information even when the applications use different data formats make it possible for business services to operate without any disruption even if the input data stream produced by it's peer business service has been changed. |
| US07908289B2 |
System and method for providing an improved graphical user interface for search
There is provided a system for visually associating a search region containing search criteria with a search category from which the results of a search are found. The system contains a search region containing a user's search criteria, a result region comprising indicia of several search categories, and a connection indicator establishing a visual connection between the search term contained in a search region and a selected one of search category indicia so as to enable a user to make a cognitive connection indicating that the user's search term was found in the particular search category indicated by the connection indicator. |
| US07908285B2 |
User-configurable generic experiment class for combinatorial material research
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implement techniques for processing experimental data in a laboratory data management system. An input specifies a set of variable definitions that define a set of variables for an experiment type to be represented by a pre-defined experiment class. The variables in the set of variables have types selected from a predefined set of data types. Data from an experiment of the experiment type is received. A first representation of the data is stored in a format defined according to the set of variable types. A second representation of the data, derived from the first representation, is presented in a format defined according to the set of variable definitions. |
| US07908283B2 |
Finding superlatives in an unordered list
The k first elements from an unordered list of n total elements are copied to a result buffer, wherein k is a value smaller than n. The k first elements in the result buffer are sorted. Each subsequent element in the unordered list is compared to elements in the result buffer. If the subsequent element belongs in the result buffer, a current element in the result buffer is replaced with the subsequent element. The elements in the result buffer are then resorted. |
| US07908278B2 |
Recommendation system for assisting mashup developers at build-time
A recommendation system exploits a repository of mashups to provide design-time assistance to the user through relevant suggestions as to what outputs can be generated along with the best plans to generate those outputs. An output ranker ranks the outputs of the system base on their popularity scores, and a planner uses metric planning algorithms and a configurable utility function. The system takes into account popularity and semantic similarity when recommending services and sources. |
| US07908277B1 |
Annotating links in a document based on the ranks of documents pointed to by the links
A method may identify a document that includes a link that points to a linked document, determine a score for the link in the identified document based on a score of the linked document, modify the identified document based on the determined score, and provide the modified document. |
| US07908275B2 |
Method and apparatus for fast audio search
According to embodiments of the subject matter disclosed in this application, a large audio database in a multiprocessor system may be searched for a target audio clip using a robust and parallel search method. The large audio database may be partitioned into a number of smaller groups, which are dynamically scheduled to available processors in the system. Processors may process the scheduled groups in parallel by partitioning each group into smaller segments, extracting acoustic features from the segments; and modeling the segments using a common component Gaussian Mixture model (“CCGMM”). One processor may also extract acoustic features from the target audio clip and model it using the CCGMM. Kullback-Leibler (KL) distance may be further computed between the target audio clip and each segment. Based on the KL distance, a segment may be determined to match the target audio clip; and/or a number of following segments may be skipped. |
| US07908273B2 |
Method and system for media navigation
A method and system for media navigation. A descriptor hierarchy may be accessed. The descriptor hierarchy may include at least one category list. One or more media descriptors may be accessed for a plurality of media items. The plurality of media items may be accessible from a plurality of sources. The one or more media descriptors may be mapped to the at least one category list. The navigation may be processed through a user interface to enable selection of the plurality of media items from the plurality of sources. |
| US07908270B2 |
System and method for managing access to media assets
Methods and systems for managing a library of media assets, such as songs and videos, associated with a particular user are described in this disclosure. Through the systems described, a user will have access via a network to the user's collection of media assets, as well as having local access to the same assets, regardless of where the assets actually reside on the network. Media assets, regardless of their location, may be added to the user's collection by adding them to a master list maintained by a media asset manager on a remote device. The media asset manager can then provide the user access to any listed media asset regardless of the user's location and device. The media asset manager further may update the user's local collection to reflect any changes made to the master list. |
| US07908268B2 |
Predictive database pool preparation
A method, system, and computer program product are provided for operating a relational database management system (RDBMS). In order to operate a RDBMS, information is read from a first execution plan in response to an execution request for a second individual database statement of a second sequence of database statements. The information is processed and pool resource requirements for execution of further individual database statements of the second sequence of database statements are evaluated. A preparation request is sent for pool modification based on the evaluated pool resource requirements to an asynchronous pool preparation queue. Then the second individual database statement of the second sequence of database statements is executed. The information indicative of the progression of execution of the second individual database statement is stored in a position register. |
| US07908267B2 |
Automatic use of a functional index as a primary filter
An approach for using functional indexes as a primary filter is provided. A database query that contains a reference to a column of a table, but does not contain any reference to a functional index based on that column, is received by a database server. The database server adds to the database query a reference to the functional index on the column. The database server determines if the database query should be executed using the functional index. If the database server determines that the database query should be executed using the functional index, then the database query is executed with the functional index. If the database server determines that the database query should not be executed using the functional index, then data that indicates that the functional index is not to be evaluated when the database query is executed is stored. |
| US07908264B2 |
Method for providing the appearance of a single data repository for queries initiated in a system incorporating distributed member server groups
Queries to an enterprise data system based on discrete groups of servers may display the sets of data satisfying a query as if the query results originated from a single data repository. Further, queries within the system may efficiently search through a large set of satisfying records while accounting for data latency or system performance. |
| US07908263B1 |
Search engine optimizer
A search engine optimizer that works independently and in parallel with a browser and search engine supercomputer to gather, analyze, and distill input information interactively. The optimizer reorganizes the input, and providing an optimized version as an output. The optimized version of the input (e.g. output) is sent to the search engine, which responds to the end user with search results. The optimizer recognizes each request as a pattern and stores the pattern in an advanced Glyph format. This permits the optimizer to identify a left and right side checkmate combination required to achieve certitude. |
| US07908258B2 |
Search keyword input device, search keyword input method, and search keyword input program
A search keyword input device includes multiple keyword type selection keys for showing multiple keyword types for the purpose of distinguishing and narrowing down multiple search keywords so as to be selectable, and used for selection of the multiple keyword types, a display unit which corresponds to the multiple keyword type selection keys, and which displays multiple selecting notification display elements for the purpose of notifying that the multiple keyword types are selected, and a control unit for controlling the selecting notification display elements corresponding to the keyword type selection keys to be displayed on the display unit as instructed when the keyword type selection key for selection of the keyword type is instructed. |
| US07908255B2 |
Transactional memory using buffered writes and enforced serialization order
Various technologies and techniques are disclosed that support buffered writes and enforced serialization order in a software transactional memory system. A buffered write process is provided that performs writes to shadow copies of objects and writes content back to the objects after validating a respective transaction during commit. When a write lock is first obtained for a particular transaction, a shadow copy is made of a particular object. Writes are performed to and reads from the shadow copy. After validating the particular transaction during commit, content is written from the shadow copy to the particular object. A transaction ordering process is provided that ensures that an order in which the transactions are committed matches an abstract serialization order of the transactions. Transactions are not allowed to commit until their ticket number matches a global number that tracks the next transaction that should commit. |
| US07908254B2 |
Identifying characteristics in sets of organized items
A system and method is provided for determining characteristics of sets of organized items.In an illustrative implementation, a first set of organized items as a compare-from location is identified, and a second set of organized items as a compare-to location is also identified. In an illustrative operation, a recursive intrinsic reference representing the first set of organized items is determined so that the recursive intrinsic reference is an intrinsic reference to an item containing a second intrinsic reference. A discrepancy is determined between the first set of organized items and the second set of organized items using the recursive intrinsic reference. |
| US07908253B2 |
Polyarchical data indexing and automatically generated hierarchical data indexing paths
Data indexing using polyarchical indexing codes and automatically generated expansion paths. For a piece of data, an indexing code is received relating to a particular categorization or other indexing parameter. Based upon the indexing code, one or more expansion sets of codes are retrieved and applied to the piece of data. The expansion sets of codes may include indexing codes that relate to hierarchical levels of indexing. The expansion sets of codes may also include different expansion paths through the hierarchical levels of indexing. The polyarchical codes may include multiple cross-categorization of the data across the same or different levels of categories. They may also include multiple expansion paths in different directions across hierarchical levels of categories or indexing. |
| US07908252B1 |
System and method for verifying paths to a database
Embodiments provide systems and methods for verifying paths to databases. A method for identifying paths to a database may comprise opening a database in a set of databases utilizing a known path to the database, creating an object in the database and checking for the object utilizing one or more paths in a set of paths to databases, wherein paths in the set of paths corresponding to a database containing the alias are paths to the database. By repeating the above process for multiple databases, paths to multiple databases may be verified. |
| US07908248B2 |
Dynamic meta data
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for using dynamic meta data for an enterprise service framework. There is a meta data element associated with a meta data element attribute. A value for the meta data element attribute is calculated in response to a request associated with the meta data element. |
| US07908245B2 |
Database management method and database management apparatus
Database management involving obtaining a request of update of a record of a database including: (i) pages with records, each including data and transaction identification information (XID) that has a range that is divided by a predetermined range; and (ii) generation identification information (GID) that is increased when the XID's value exceeds the divided range, where the page includes a GID header indicating the earliest GID of the records of the page. Also, reading a page's GID header when switching pages, comparing the GID header with the present GID of the present XID, and performing a freeze process to the record having the XID included in the page's GID header when the GID header's value is less than the difference between the GID's value to which the present XID belongs and a predetermined value. |
| US07908243B2 |
Considering transient data also in reports generated based on data eventually stored in a data-warehouse
A data-warehouse is updated with transaction data from various application databases periodically, and the transient data (the data not yet updated in the data-warehouse) from the application databases is transferred to an intermediary data storage. A report generator may consider the data in both the data-warehouse and the intermediary data storage in generating reports. Due to the use of the intermediary data storage, the reports may be generated on current data as well. |
| US07908242B1 |
Systems and methods for optimizing database queries
A relational database warehouse system with query optimization capabilities is described that allows for speedy identification of sets of records of interest from amongst tens of millions of records. The records of interest may include complex derived attributes, generated, at least in part, by aggregating data from a plurality of records in base data tables. In various embodiments, the query optimization capabilities allow the database warehouse system to identify conditions under which normal query execution may be replaced by one or more optimized execution methods, including, for example, eliminating unnecessary inner join operations on base data tables specified by a query, re-ordering the execution of group-by operations and left-outer join operations to greatly reduce the size of join tables produced while processing a query, and/or consolidating a set of segmentation queries for execution in one pass over the records of the database. |
| US07908241B2 |
Data processing system
A data processing system (20) including a unit (29) producing data elements; data processing members (21) for processing the data elements; and a first data-base (22). A user is provided with at least a part of the content of the data element and the option of selecting the name information of at least one subscriber. The system fetches the address of the subscriber in the telecommunications system; generates metadata based on the address information; and attaches it to the data element. The attachment of person-based metadata to data elements becomes easier, and the processing of metadata during storage is improved. |
| US07908240B1 |
Facilitated use of column and field data for field record universe in a knowledge store
Typically, field names are saved separately from tables as metadata in modern databases. Databases did not traditionally get built into interlocking trees datastores that recorded the data as events. However, in cases where one may wish to do that, thus avoiding the need for saving separate metadata from the table data of the data base, a need was found to establish an identity for particular columns or fields when working with databases or sources of data that provide table data in field/record format. So, to build interlocking trees datastores from such records a mechanism to record such data was created, adding a column ID, preferably to each field within each record or sequence that is to be recorded. Putting the column ID or identifier is inserted into the record during particlization between each column variable. In preferred embodiments a delimiter was included between the column ID or field name and the field variable. Appropriate hardware and software systems were employed to implement the invention. |
| US07908239B2 |
System for storing event data using a sum calculator that sums the cubes and squares of events
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for aggregating event data in order to reduce the amount of storage space necessary to store event data for later use in statistical analyses of the event data. The raw event data is analyzed and, for each event ID within a time period, a specific set of numbers and sums are calculated. This set is then stored instead of the raw event ID and used for all subsequent analyses of the events. The set of numbers and sums reduce the amount of storage required for each event ID within a time period to a set of five data elements, regardless of the number of underlying events in the raw event data. The set of number and sums include a number of events, a sum of the events, a sum of the squares of the events, a sum of the cubes of the events and a sum of the events raised to the fourth power. |
| US07908238B1 |
Prediction engines using probability tree and computing node probabilities for the probability tree
There are methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing a probability tree of nodes in which each node is associated with a tries value and a success value, and at least one node is associated with a computed probability value representative of a predicted response rate for an advertisement creative; and computing a first probability value for a first node of the probability tree based on its associated tries value and success value, and a computed probability value associated with a parent node to the first node. In one exemplary embodiment, the first probability is computed according to the following equation: Probability = ( 1 + Success node - Success Child ) ( tries node + 1 probability Parent - tries child |
| US07908233B2 |
Method and apparatus for implementing digital video modeling to generate an expected behavior model
A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for generating an expected behavior model. The process parses event data derived from video data to identify behavioral patterns, wherein the event data comprises metadata describing events occurring in a selected environment. The process analyzes the behavioral patterns to identify a set of expected behavioral patterns occurring in the environment, and generates the expected behavioral model using the expected behavioral patterns. |
| US07908232B2 |
Training connections in a memory arrangement
A method of training connections in a memory arrangement includes training a connection between a memory section and a receiver portion of a controller for controlling the memory arrangement before or simultaneously with a training of essentially all other connections between elements of the memory arrangement that are to be trained. |
| US07908229B2 |
Method of optimizing an optical filter using a distributed genetic algorithm
An optimization processing method comprises forming a plurality of islands each having a plurality of individuals and repeating crossover, mutation, evaluation and selection on the individuals until the desired condition has been satisfied by applying a genetic algorithm to each of the plurality of islands thereby obtaining an optimized solution, in which the optimized solution is obtained by migrating individuals to other islands. |
| US07908226B2 |
Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork using a virtual payment account
A virtual payment system for ordering and paying for goods, services and content over an internetwork is disclosed. The virtual payment system comprises a commerce gateway component (52) and a credit processing server component (53). The virtual payment system is a secure, closed system comprising registered sellers and buyers. A buyer becomes a registered participant by applying for a virtual payment account. Likewise, a seller becomes registered by applying for a seller account. A buyer can instantly open an account on-line. That is, the credit processing component (53) immediately evaluates the buyer's virtual payment card application and assigns a credit limit to the account. Once an account is established, a digital certificate is stored on the registered participant's computer. The buyer can then order a product, i.e., goods, services or content from a seller and charge it to the virtual payment account. When the product is shipped, the seller notifies the commerce gateway component (52), which in turn notifies the credit processing server that applies the charges to the buyer's virtual payment account. The buyer can settle the charges using a prepaid account, a credit account, or by using reward points earned through use of the virtual payment card. A buyer may create sub-accounts. |
| US07908224B2 |
Information management system
An information management system is described comprising one or more workstations running applications to allow a user of the workstation to connect to a network, such as the Internet. Each application has an analyzer, which monitors transmission data that the application is about to transmit to the network or about to receive from the network and which determines an appropriate action to take regarding that transmission data. Such actions may be extracting data from the transmission data, such as passwords and usernames, digital certificates or eCommerce transaction details for storage in a database; ensuring that the transmission data is transmitted at an encryption strength appropriate to the contents of the transmission data; determining whether a check needs to be made as to whether a digital certificate received in transmission data is in force, and determining whether a transaction about to be made by a user of one of the workstations needs third party approval before it is made. The analyzer may consult a policy data containing a policy to govern the workstations in order to make its determination. The information management system provides many advantages in the eCommerce environment to on-line trading companies, who may benefit by being able to regulate the transactions made by their staff according to their instructions in a policy data, automatically maintain records of passwords and business conducted on-line, avoid paying for unnecessary checks on the validity of digital certificates and ensure that transmissions of data made by their staff are always protected at an agreed strength of encryption. |
| US07908220B1 |
Method of conducting financial transactions
A method of conducting real time, on-line financial transactions includes operating at least one communication network (12) which can communicate with first and second communication devices (14, 16) having first and second electronic addresses respectively, the communication network (12) being in communication with one or more databases (20) which contain details of first and second accounts, receiving information from the first communication device (14), which information includes details of transfer to be made into the second account from the first account, communicating a signal to interrogate the first account to determine if the transfer can be made, and if the transfer can be made, debiting the first account with the amount of the transfer, and crediting the second account with the amount of the transfer. |
| US07908218B2 |
Terminal device, accounting system and data processing method
This invention relates to a terminal device capable of communicating with an accounting center, an accounting system, and a data processing method. A point memory 45 of a recording/reproducing device 10 stores accounting point information. An HDD 15 stores information distributed from an external source. A CPU 11 updates the accounting point information stored in the point memory 45 and updates attributes of the distributed information when the distributed information is stored onto the HDD 15. Thus, such inconvenience that communication with a distribution/accounting center 1 is carried out every time information is distributed to the recording/reproducing device 10 is avoided. |
| US07908216B1 |
Internet payment, authentication and loading system using virtual smart card
A system loads, authenticates and uses a virtual smart card for payment of goods and/or services purchased on-line over the Internet. An online purchase and load (OPAL) server includes a virtual smart card data base that has a record of information for each smart card that it represents for a user at the behest of an issuer. The server includes a smart card emulator that emulates a smart card by using the card data base and a hardware security module. The emulator interacts with a pseudo card reader module in the server that imitates a physical card reader. The server also includes a client code module that interacts with the pseudo card reader and a remote payment or load server. A pass-through client terminal presents a user interface and passes information between the OPAL server and a merchant server, and between the OPAL server and a bank server. The Internet provides the routing functionality between the client terminal and the various servers. A merchant advertises goods on a web site. A user uses the client terminal to purchase goods and/or services from the remote merchant server. The payment server processes, confirms and replies to the merchant server. The payment server is also used to authenticate the holder of a virtual card who wishes to redeem loyalty points from a merchant. To load value, the client terminal requests a load from a user account at the bank server. The load server processes, confirms and replies to the bank server. |
| US07908212B2 |
Transaction settlement using value exchange systems and methods
A method of settling a purchase transaction includes establishing an account on behalf of a customer. The account relates to a quantity of service and establishing the account includes establishing an exchange ratio that equates the quantity of service to a measure of value. The method also includes thereafter receiving a transaction settlement request from a merchant for a purchase by the customer. The transaction settlement request has associated therewith an amount of value the customer has agreed to pay the merchant. The method also includes, in satisfaction of the transaction settlement request, decrementing the customer's quantity of service in accordance with the exchange ratio and the amount of value and providing the amount of value to the merchant. |
| US07908210B2 |
Systems and method for managing dealer information
Embodiments of systems and methods are disclosed that manage transactions and communication between car dealers and lenders. In one embodiment, the system lessens risks for lenders and makes relationships with dealers safer and easier to administer. In one embodiment, a dealer may utilize the system to manage its inventory, obtain and manage credit history information about potential customers, help customers apply for credit, transact credit applications and credit approvals with various lenders, submit applications to multiple lenders, select from among the accepting lenders, and manage forms used to complete a transaction. |
| US07908208B2 |
Private entity profile network
In private equity and debt funding operations, resource providers define electronic data collection templates to be filled in by prospective resource consumers to form semi-homogeneous profiles. Providers and/or consumers can assign themselves and/or selected third parties various individualized levels of permissions to access and to perform activities on the profiles. Providers can organize profiles into portfolios to further manage the data. All accesses and activities, such as changes to the data, are tracked and recorded in logs useful for audit purposes. |
| US07908206B2 |
Method for directing and executing certified trading interests
Preferred embodiments of the subject invention comprise: (a) electronically receiving securities order-related data regarding a set of securities market participants; (b) electronically storing the received order-related data regarding the set of securities market participants; (c) electronically receiving a securities order-related query (or order parameters) from a first securities market participant; (d) based on the order-related query (or order parameters) received from the first securities market participant and on the securities order-related data regarding the set of securities market participants, computing a dissemination list of securities market participants based on ranking likely contras by probability of execution; and (e) transmitting that dissemination list to an entity who has been granted the privilege of receiving such lists in exchange for being contractually bound to respect confidentiality of the dissemination list and to use the list only for the purpose of sending securities-related information to members of the list. |
| US07908202B2 |
Computer system to generate financial analysis output
An electronic system, the system for selling fixed income instruments, the system including a second computer having an output device and at least one buyer's computer having an electrically coupled input device and a monitor, the buyer's computer and the second computer being respectively located, the computers being used in cooperation in a multiple computer system in electronically communicating data between the computers. |
| US07908201B2 |
Cross and post order
A cross and post order and related market center and process are disclosed which automatically convert any unfilled balance of a cross order that was broken up due to interaction with the posting market center's order book to a limit order at the same price. The process also automatically associates the transactions that are used to fill the generated limit order with the cross and post order that was originally sent to the posting market center for execution. |
| US07908197B2 |
Systems and methods for compound risk factor sampling with integrated market and credit risk
Systems and methods for generating an integrated market and credit loss distribution for the purpose of calculating one or more risk measures associated with a portfolio of instruments are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, compound risk factor sampling is performed that comprises conditionally generating multiple systemic credit driver samples for each market risk factor sample generated per time step of a simulation. There are also disclosed systems and methods for determining an optimal number of sample values for each of the market risk factors, systemic credit drivers, and optionally, idiosyncratic risk factors that would be required in order to obtain an acceptable amount of variability in the calculated risk estimates and/or to satisfy an available computational budget. |
| US07908195B2 |
System for calculating model option settlement prices
A computer implemented system for calculating a cash settlement price for a Model Option Contract, an option contract that confers a contractual right that enables the option holder to force delivery of a cash settlement price that is determined by using a settlement price determination methodology that is specified in the option contract which includes a description of an option pricing model and the input values that will be used to run the option pricing model and determine the contract's cash settlement price. |
| US07908193B2 |
System and method for providing futures contracts in a financial market environment
A method for offering an asset in a financial environment is provided that includes receiving a request to perform a selected one of a purchasing and a selling operation for a futures contract. The futures contract includes a first asset class having a first value associated therewith and a second asset class having a second value associated therewith. A price for the futures contract is determined at least partially by the first and second values. |
| US07908192B2 |
System and method for time recording
A method and system for time recording, in which an event is triggered to start recording one of a set of tasks. Recording of the one task is initiated responsive to triggering the event. The event is terminated and recording of the one task is terminated responsive to terminating the event. |
| US07908190B2 |
Systems and methods for applying tax legislation
Systems and methods are provided for applying tax legislation. In one implementation, a system is provided that includes means for receiving a request for performing a tax calculation, the request including a first mark-up language document containing transaction data. The system also includes means for performing the tax calculation and means for generating a response, wherein the response includes the first mark-up language document and a result of the tax calculation. |
| US07908189B2 |
System, method, and computer program product for automatically posting transactions associated with a transaction account into a general ledger
A system, method, and computer program product are used to automatically post substantially all transactions associated with a transaction account into a general ledger. Recent transaction data associated with the transaction account is received. The recent transaction data is compared (e.g., matched) to stored and categorized transaction data in the general ledger to determine a new transaction data portion of the recent transaction data. The new transaction data portion is categorized. The categorized new transaction data portion is stored in the general ledger. |
| US07908187B2 |
Supporting chargeable subcontracting when outsourcing manufacturing of an assembled unit while supplying components
A digital processing system supporting management of purchase orders according to chargeable subcontracting model in an outsourcing organization. In one embodiment, when a user provides an order for a desired quantity of an assembly type from an external organization, the digital processing system automatically raises a sales order, as originating from the external organization, corresponding to each of a set of components required for manufacturing the assembly type. On receiving a receipt indication indicating the successful delivery of the order, the digital processing system calculates a net payable amount to be paid to the external organization. Additional aspects of the invention facilitate setting up of chargeable contracting model with simulated (within the digital processing system) external organizations, planning of purchase orders, etc. |
| US07908185B2 |
System and method for inventory replenishment
A system and method for replenishing low inventory. A first terminal is associated with a user's site for entering and displaying information. A second terminal associated with a supplier's site for entering and displaying information. A network is connected to said first terminal and said second terminal for exchanging information between said first terminal and said second terminal. A replenishment module executing computer readable instructions stored in memory continuously displays a signal having a first visual characteristic simultaneously to both terminals in response to the user requesting a replenishment of inventory, and subsequently modifies the signal simultaneously to both terminals to continuously display a second visual characteristic different than the first visual characteristic responsive to the supplier sending the requested replenishment of inventory and during the time that the requested replenishment of inventory is in transit to the user. |
| US07908183B2 |
Recommendation system
A computer-implemented service analyzes purchase histories and/or other types of behavioral data of users on an aggregated basis to detect and quantify associations between particular items represented in an electronic catalog. The detected associations are stored in a mapping structure that maps items to related items, and is used to recommend items to users of the electronic catalog. The items may include products and/or categories of products. |
| US07908182B1 |
Personal advisor service and mechanisms for advice and interactions
Methods, systems and business models are provided for an effective personal advisor service. According to one embodiment, a personal advisor service performs a method of identifying and notifying a subscriber of the personal advice service of information regarding potential transactions, potential transaction providers, or transactable information determined to address or alleviate a need of the subscriber. First, a computer system of a personal advice service receives information indicative of one or more needs of the subscriber of the advice service. The personal advice service then generates information regarding one or more offers for the subscriber by identifying and selecting among potential transactions, potential transaction providers, or transactable information that are determined to address or alleviate a need of the one or more needs. Finally, the personal advice service causes the one or more offers to be communicated to the subscriber in accordance with a reachability profile established by the subscriber. |
| US07908180B2 |
Interactive vehicle auction and sale system
An online automobile auction, which allows the consumer to participate by using their home or portable computers and accessing the system via an Internet connection. Before the designated time for an auction, the consumer may access the database of available automobiles. Along with displaying visual depictions of the vehicles, the computer system affords the consumer the ability to access statistics on the current inventory of vehicles. Prior to the auction, using an automated auction feature, a plurality of bidders input their minimum starting bid, the maximum bid and the incrementing value. Bidders are also allowed to bid on vehicles during the auction process. |
| US07908179B2 |
Electronic gift linking
According to the invention, a method for creating an electronic greeting card enclosing an electronic gift is disclosed. In one step, the electronic greeting card selection is received from a sender along with a selection of at least one of a type of electronic gift, an amount for the electronic gift, and an identifier for a receiver of the electronic gift. Payment for the electronic gift is received from a money handler chosen by the sender. A code indicative of the electronic gift is received, whereby the code facilitates redemption of the electronic gift. The code is embedded in the electronic greeting card. |
| US07908175B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer program products that facilitate and enhance personal shopping
Methods, systems, and computer program products that facilitate personal shopping are provided. A shopping list is generated for a customer via a personal shopping system connected to a communications network. The shopping list identifies one or more products the customer wants to purchase. The personal shopping system includes a product usage repository that contains customer information for each of a plurality of customers, including information about products previously purchased by each customer. The shopping list is transmitted to one or more product providers via the communications network with a request for information about each product on the shopping list. Product information is received for each item on the shopping list from one or more product providers via the communications network and communicated to the customer via the communications network. |
| US07908171B2 |
Information providing system and information providing method for providing advertisement information based on keywords associated with content
The present invention provides an information providing system including an information registration unit capable of registering a front keyword for use in relation to content or content information to be provided a user terminal and back keywords set in relation to the front keyword can be registered, an advertisement registration unit capable of registering advertisement information for use in relation to the back keyword and an information providing unit capable of providing the advertisement information to the user terminal. The advertisement registration unit is capable of selecting specific advertisement information through an auction transaction. The information providing unit is capable of displaying keyword buttons enabling keyword selection in a display screen at the user terminal. |
| US07908162B2 |
Method of delegating activity in service oriented architectures using continuations
A computer implemented method of delegating activities in a service oriented architecture of distributed computing systems. An activity specification is defined. The activity specification contains a set of service invocations. The activity specification is transformed into continuation passing style to form an activity. The activity is then executed using an activity execution engine. |
| US07908161B2 |
Method and apparatus for business process transformation wizard
A computer implemented method and a computer system implementing the method of a business process transformation wizard leads a business analyst through a series of steps to invoke business transformation patterns, in order to analyze the results of those processes. The wizard first prompts the business analyst to specify business objectives of process transformation. Required parameters are added to the business process model guided by the business process transformation wizard until the business process model is completed. Once the model is completed, the wizard prompts the business analyst to select transformation techniques or patterns for optimizing process parameters and, for each selected transformation pattern, optimizes process parameters using a selected optimization technique. The wizard also prompts the business analyst to select transformation patterns for optimizing topology of the business process and, for each selected transformation pattern, optimizes topology for the business process using a selected optimization technique. |
| US07908156B2 |
Method of calculating a premium payable by an insured person on a life insurance policy
A method of calculating a premium payable by an insured person on a life insurance policy uses the amount of claims made from a health insurance plan of the insured person and information regarding the general well-being and/or lifestyle of the insured person to calculate the premium payable. The premium is calculated using a base percentage amount which is then either increased or decreased. If the insured person has made few claims to the health insurance plan and they have taken positive steps to look after their health, they will be rewarded by a relatively lower premium on their life insurance policy. |
| US07908153B2 |
Infection control management and workflow system
A system identifies multiple medical conditions, observations, and laboratory test results using active sensors and predetermined rules to identify infected patients. An infection control and workflow management system includes a repository of worker information identifying healthcare workers for performing infection control tasks as well as worker associated communication data for use in informing healthcare workers of infection control tasks to be performed. A detection processor automatically detects infection in patients from multiple different sources including from at least one of, (a) a medical record evaluated upon admission of a patient to a hospital and (b) a laboratory test result. A workflow processor uses the worker information for automatically communicating a message to inform a healthcare worker of a task to be performed to initiate infection control tasks using communication data in response to detection of an infected patient. |
| US07908152B2 |
Blood glucose monitoring system
A blood glucose monitoring system, comprising (i) a blood glucose monitor for monitoring a blood glucose level and for producing digitally encoded blood glucose level signals representative of the blood glucose level, (ii) a programmable microprocessor-based portable unit, (iii) digital data storage media tangibly embodying therein processor-executable program instructions to signal process in response to signals based upon the digitally encoded blood glucose level signals and further to signal process insulin dosage data, and calibration information, (iv) a signal interface connected in signal communication with the programmable microprocessor-based portable unit and the blood glucose monitor for directly coupling the digitally encoded blood glucose level signals supplied by the blood glucose monitor to the programmable microprocessor-based portable unit, and (v) a signal processor for performing signal processing functions in accordance with the program instructions. |
| US07908151B2 |
Get prep questions to ask doctor
The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates dynamically providing a question to ask a medical professional during an appointment. An interface can receive a portion of medical data. A counselor component can generate a question based on the portion of medical data, wherein the question is generated to elicit an answer from a medical professional during an appointment. Moreover, the counselor component can dynamically generate a second question directed toward the medical professional based upon at least one of the answer or a value of information (VOI) computation. |
| US07908150B2 |
System and a method for performing personalised interactive automated electronic marketing of the marketing service provider
The new system and method for performing personalized interactive automated electronic marketing of the marketing service provider being utilized by product vendors and end users. A business-to-business subscription system between the marketing service provider and a plurality of product vendors is established. This system integrates the conventional media, e.g. TV, radio and newspapers, the modern information society tools, e.g. mobile phone technology, personal computers and Internet. Product vendors are now provided with a powerful and effective marketing tool, while end users are provided with personalized desired data acquisition and the tool for purchasing on the safe and timely manner. The new system improves the commercial request response rate by simultaneously avoiding the sales leads' losses and transforming the cold sales leads into the hot sales leads. It ultimately results in that AIDA cycle of the end user with regard to the product will become substantially shortened. |
| US07908145B2 |
Down-line transcription system using automatic tracking and revenue collection
A transcription network having linked computer terminals for a court reporter and for examining, defending, and associate attorneys is disclosed. Real-time transcription text is communicated from the reporter's terminal through the network. Secure message interchange between the examining attorneys and between defending attorneys is provided along independent communication links and using encryption. Off-site terminals for clients, experts, or other associate attorneys may be linked to the network. Communication on the network is hierarchically controlled so as not to bombard the examining attorney, and is managed by a protocol for updating disconnected and non-listening terminals. The terminals provide software routines for automatically delivering proposed objections to the form of a question or answer. Stenographic keystrokes that cannot be directly transcribed are converted to a phoneme form for down-line readability. A synchronization scheme provides for automatic play-back of audio and video recordings corresponding to the transcribed text of a specific question or answer. |
| US07908141B2 |
Extracting and utilizing metadata to improve accuracy in speech to text conversions
A computer-based system and method for speech to text conversion preprocessing of a presentation with a speech audio, useable in real time. The method captures a presentation speech audio input to be converted into text, temporally associates the speech audio input with at least one supporting text source from the same presentation containing common keywords and creates an optimized and prioritized keyword positional index metadata set for inputting into a speech to text conversion processor. |
| US07908139B2 |
Apparatus and method of reducing noise by controlling signal to noise ratio-dependent suppression rate
An apparatus for reducing a noise signal of a speech signal in a speech recognizer, the apparatus estimating a signal to noise ratio for each frequency band of the speech signal, applying a noise suppression rate based on the estimated signal to noise ratio, and reducing the noise signal of the speech signal. |
| US07908134B1 |
Automatic volume control to compensate for speech interference noise
A microphone detects acoustic waves from speakers, or for a two-way voice communication device, a user's voice and background noise, and produces a corresponding signal; a subtractor finds the difference between the microphone signal and a desired audio signal; a transform process produces over a time period a signal corresponding to the amplitude of each frequency component of the difference signal; from the transform process a bandpass filter passes only frequency components within selected bands; a speech interference noise level calculator calculates a combination of the amplitudes of the bandpass filtered frequency components; and a solver uses the combination to produce, according to an algorithm, a signal for controlling the gain of an audio amplifier. Phase and amplitude correlation can be done prior to subtraction. |
| US07908129B2 |
Method, apparatus and computer program for molecular simulation
A method of simulating behaviour of a molecular system with m degrees of freedom over time comprising a partial momentum refreshment step and a molecular dynamics step, wherein the partial momentum refreshment step comprises: given a starting position q and a starting momentum p of the molecular system, partially refreshing the momentum to define refreshed momentum p′ evaluating the shadow Hamiltonian 331 Δt at position q and momentum p′; and accepting or rejecting the refreshed momentum p′ according to a Metropolis-type function and if p′ is accepted using p′ as the resulting momentum p and starting position q as the resulting position q or if it is rejected, using p as the resulting momentum p and starting position q as the resulting position; and wherein the molecular dynamics step comprises: given a starting position q and starting momentum p of the molecular system, running a molecular dynamics simulation over a fixed number of iterations and obtaining new position q′ and new momentum p′; evaluating the shadow Hamiltonian 332 Δt at position q′ and momentum p′ after the molecular dynamics simulation; and accepting or rejecting the new system configuration produced by the molecular dynamics simulation according to a Metropolis-type function and, if the new system configuration is accepted, using q′ as the resulting position q and p′ as the resulting momentum p or, if it is rejected, using the original starting position q as the resulting position q and negating the original starting momentum p to give the resulting momentum p; wherein either the partial momentum refreshment or the molecular dynamics step is the first step of the method, and the resulting position and resulting momentum of the first step provides the starting position q and starting momentum p for the next step. |
| US07908127B2 |
Method and system for scheduling a stream of products in a manufacturing environment by using a simulation process
By simulating a manufacturing environment on the basis of appropriate simulation models, a schedule may be established in which process restrictions, tool availability and product entity status are automatically taken into consideration. Moreover, by estimating the process flow efficiency provided by a simulated time progression of the process flow in the environment, an optimized schedule may be established, which may be accomplished by identifying less efficient product entities and re-scheduling one or more product entities in order to obtain an enhanced process flow efficiency. The technique of the present invention may be advantageously applied to the processing of advanced mass products requiring sophisticated process tools and process sequences, such as the processing of semiconductor devices. |
| US07908116B2 |
System and method for using a network of thermostats as tool to verify peak demand reduction
The invention comprises systems and methods for estimating the rate of change in temperature inside a structure. At least one thermostat located is inside the structure and is used to control an climate control system in the structure. At least one remote processor is in communication with said thermostat and at least one database stores data reported by the thermostat. At least one processor compares the outside temperature at least one location and at least one point in time to information reported to the remote processor from the thermostat. The processor uses the relationship between the inside temperature and the outside temperature over time to derive a first estimation for the rate of change in inside temperature assuming that the operating status of the climate control system is “on”. The processor also uses the relationship between the inside temperature and the outside temperature over time to derive a second estimation for the rate of change in inside temperature assuming that the operating status of the climate control system is “off”. The compares at least one of the first estimation and the second estimation to the actual inside temperature recorded inside the structure to determine whether the actual rate of change in inside temperature is closer to the first estimation or the second estimation. |
| US07908115B2 |
Plasma sensors and related methods
Plasma sensors, systems and related methods are described. An example method for predicting an event includes providing a carrier signal across two electrodes and forming a plasma between the two electrodes. The example method also includes measuring a modulated signal from the plasma, manipulating the modulated signal to produce a value and comparing the value to a threshold. Finally, the example method includes determining the likelihood of the event based on the comparison. |
| US07908114B2 |
System and method for aligning a railroad signaling system
A system is provided for aligning a railroad signal. The system includes at least one tilt device and at least one directional device to measure the respective tilt and direction of the railroad signal, and at least one controller coupled to the tilt device and the directional device. The controller is switchable between a calibration mode and a monitoring mode. Upon switching to the calibration mode, a correct tilt and correct direction of the railroad signal in a proper alignment is respectively measured and recorded in a memory of the controller. More particularly, upon recording the correct tilt and correct direction, the controller switches into the monitoring mode to determine if one of a measured tilt and a measured direction of the railroad signal exceeds a respective tilt threshold and direction threshold stored in the memory of the controller. |
| US07908110B2 |
Test device, test method and computer readable media
Provided is a test apparatus, including a storage section that stores a count value for adjusting a phase of a sampling clock indicating a timing of acquiring an output signal of a DUT; a clock generating section that generates the sampling clock indicating the timing of acquiring the output signal, based on an offset corresponding to the count value and on a reference clock; a first delay section that outputs a first delay clock having a frequency equal to the frequency of the sampling clock and a preset phase difference in relation to the sampling clock, based on the reference clock and the offset; a phase detecting section that detects a phase difference between the first delay clock and a transition point of the output signal, and changes the count value in a direction that decreases the phase difference; a timing comparison section that acquires the output signal according to a transition timing of the sampling clock; and a judging section that judges acceptability of the acquired output signal by comparing the output signal to an expected value. |
| US07908109B2 |
Identifying manufacturing disturbances using preliminary electrical test data
A method includes receiving measured values for a plurality of electrical test parameters associated with integrated circuit devices on at least one wafer measured prior to completion of the wafer. Values of the electrical test parameters are predicted. The measured values are compared to the predicted values to generate residual values associated with the electrical test parameters. At least one performance metric associated with the devices is generated based on the residual values. |
| US07908102B2 |
Voltage measuring device
A base of a pnp transistor Tr1 is connected to an isolation device D1, an emitter thereof is connected to a cathode of a high voltage battery BH, and a collector thereof is connected to an anode of the high voltage battery BH. Npn transistors Tr21 to Tr2n are provided respectively to blocks B1 to Bn. Bases of the npn transistors Tr21 to Tr2n are connected to the collector of the transistor Tr1, emitters thereof are connected to anodes of corresponding blocks B1 to Bn, and collectors are connected to awakening terminals of high voltage measuring circuits 11 to 1n. |
| US07908100B2 |
Power consumption analyzing apparatus and power consumption analyzing method
A power consumption analyzing apparatus has a clock gating cell detector configured to detect a clock gating cell which is not present in RTL data but present in a gate-level netlist, a test bench description generation unit configured to add a description concerning the clock gating cell, a monitor signal generation unit configured to specify a monitor signal used for power consumption analysis from the RTL data, an RTL simulation unit configured to execute operational simulation of the target circuit, a monitor unit configured to detect a logic of the monitor signal during the execution of the operational simulation, and a power consumption analysis unit configured to analyze power consumption. |
| US07908094B2 |
Method for preparing maltogenic alpha-amylase variants
The inventors have modified the amino acid sequence of a maltogenic alpha-amylase to obtain variants with improved properties, based on the three-dimensional structure of the maltogenic alpha-amylase Novamyl. The variants have altered physicochemical properties, e.g. an altered pH optimum, improved thermostability, increased specific activity, an altered cleavage pattern or an increased ability to reduce retrogradation of starch or staling of bread. |
| US07908088B2 |
Method for electronically detecting at least one specific interaction between probe molecules and target biomolecules
The invention concerns a method for detecting at least one specific interaction between probe molecules and target biomiolecules fixed to at least one active zone of a sensor. Said sensor consists of an array of field-effect transistors (T1, T2,), each of which has a gate region constituting an active zone (3) whereon said specific interaction is to be detected. |
| US07908087B2 |
Methods of identifying latent splice sites
A method of identifying latent splice sites, the method comprising identifying at least one intronic in-frame stop codon located upstream of a 5′ splice site sequence being a latent splice site, thereby identifying latent splice sites. |
| US07908084B2 |
System for co-ordinated ground processing
The invention relates to a system for co-ordinated soil cultivation, said system comprising a plurality of soil compacting devices (W1, W2) used to determine location-related relative compacting values (V(W1; TB1, xi, yi;I−1 . . . n)), and a calibrating device (EV) used to determine location-related absolute compacting values. A calculating unit (R), which is connected to the compacting devices (W1, W2) and the calibrating device (EV) in such a way as to transmit messages, is used to correlate the obtained relative and absolute location-related compacting values. A system control (CPU1, . . . , CPU4) is embodied in such a way that the location-related relative compacting values of the compacting devices (W1, W2) and the location-related absolute compacting values are transmitted to the calculating unit (R) in a continuous manner, stored therein, and in the event of the presence of compacting values in the same location, compacting correlation values are calculated and transmitted to the compacting devices where they are stored as correction values. |
| US07908083B2 |
System and method for recording a note with location information derived from rangefinding and/or observer position
A method and system to record a note regarding a target observed by an observer, determine a location of at least one of the observer or the target, and associate and store the note and the location. Optionally, the method and system further measure a distance between the observer and the target, measure a direction relating the observer and the target, and calculate, based on the location of the observer, the measured distance, and the measured direction a location of the target. |
| US07908080B2 |
Transportation routing
A computer-implemented method of providing personalized route information involves gathering a plurality of past location indicators over time for a wireless client device, determining a future driving objective using the plurality of previously-gathered location indicators, obtaining real-time traffic data for an area proximate to the determined driving objective, and generating a suggested route for the driving objective using the near real-time traffic data. |
| US07908077B2 |
Land use compatibility planning software
A land use compatibility software module uses an existing suite of airport management programs to generate exception reports for FAA Part 77 land use compatibly surveys. Land use compatibility management is a manually intensive and time-consuming process. The noise officer may have to compute whether a proposed structure violates FAA's obstruction clearance criteria as set out in FAA's standard for obstacle clearance zones (Part 77). With these three-dimensional zone shapes entered into AirScene™, the user may enter lat/long and height data for potential obstructions, such as cellular telephone towers as mentioned in the above example. The system will plot the potential obstructions on the map and will determine whether or not the height and proposed position of the tower violates the FAA's obstruction criteria for that runway. The system may be used to generate “exception reports” for proposed structures. |
| US07908074B2 |
Abnormality detecting device of vehicle
An ECU executes a program including the steps of detecting an engine speed, determining whether the engine speed is at least a threshold value or not, detecting a VVT advance angle calculation count after restarting the engine, determining whether a VVT advance angle calculation count is at least a threshold value or not, detecting a VVT advance angle amount, determining whether the VVT advance angle amount is at least a threshold value or not, determining whether the engine is in a stop sequence or not, setting a VVT abnormality determination permission flag to detect a VVT displacement amount if the engine speed is at least the threshold value, the VVT advance angle calculation count is at least the threshold value, the VVT advance angle amount is at least the threshold value, and the engine is not in the stop sequence, and determining that the VVT is abnormal if the VVT displacement amount is less than a criterion threshold value. |
| US07908073B2 |
Control apparatus for an internal combustion engine
A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine is provided which, even when a starting time of an alcohol concentration change varies, can accurately detect a starting time of an alcohol concentration estimation, and set a concentration estimation time matched to the behavior of the concentration change after determination of the start of the concentration change. An air fuel ratio correction amount calculation unit calculates an air fuel ratio correction amount based on an air fuel ratio detected by a sensor. An estimation permission determination unit determines that a starting condition for concentration estimation holds, when the correction amount becomes out of a predetermined range, and sets a permission time for concentration estimation in accordance with an accumulated amount of fuel injected after the starting condition for concentration estimation holds. A concentration estimation unit calculates an estimated concentration value based on the correction amount during permission of the concentration estimation. |
| US07908071B2 |
Electric parking brake control system
An electric parking brake control apparatus for controlling an electric actuator for driving a parking brake is provided with: an inclination determination unit for determining an inclination of a road surface based on at least a change of a vehicle speed; and a braking force setting unit. The braking force setting unit sets a braking force of the parking brake to a slope braking force which is larger than a flat ground braking force set when the vehicle is stopped on a flat ground, according to an inclination of the road surface which is determined by the inclination determination unit. Moreover, in the event that the vehicle is stopped again without experiencing a running over a predetermined vehicle speed after braking with the slope braking force has been cancelled, the braking force setting unit sets the braking force to the slop braking force. |
| US07908067B2 |
Hybrid electric vehicle braking downshift control
A hybrid propulsion system for a vehicle is disclosed. In one embodiment an energy conversion device compensates for transmission shifting. The system can improve transmission shifting during at least some conditions. |
| US07908062B2 |
System and method for preparing a worksite based on soil moisture map data
A soil moisture mapping based method for transferring soil for an earthworks construction project includes outputting signals based on soil moisture data and position data indicative of a location within a cut area or a fill area of the soil. The method further includes selecting a location within a cut area for obtaining fill soil or a location within a fill area for depositing fill soil based on the signals. A system for supplying soil for an earthworks construction project includes at least one machine having a sensor configured to sense soil moisture, and a receiver configured to receive position data corresponding with a location of the soil, and a signaling device configured to output signals based on the position data and soil moisture data. A transfer machine is included in the system and configured to selectively transfer fill soil between the cut area and the fill area based on the signals. |
| US07908060B2 |
Method and system for blind spot identification and warning utilizing portable and wearable devices
A method for detecting and alerting a user of objects in their blind spots, includes: tracking movement and relative position of a user to one or more objects; determining a blind spot of the user; determining when at least one of the one or more objects occupies the blind spot of the user; and transmitting a signal to a user mobile device to perform an alarm operation when at least one of the one or more objects occupies the blind spot of the user. |
| US07908054B2 |
Device for managing power supply of a motor vehicle multimedia system
The invention concerns a device for managing power supply of a motor vehicle multimedia system, comprising a number of modules each having at least one function requiring electrical power supply, in particular in standby mode, such that it consists of a module receiving in input: a permanent electrical power supply from the vehicle battery; wake-up/sleep data from the vehicle control computer, based on the contact key in particular and from control means particular to the multimedia system; optionally wake-up and/or sleep control signals from certain modules belonging to the multimedia system itself, for: delivering to said multimedia system modules wake-up/sleep and/or switched power supply signals; saving data in the volatile storage means; keeping time through the metering means. |
| US07908053B2 |
Apparatus and method for troubleshooting a computer system
An apparatus for troubleshooting a computer system of a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus includes a controller for controlling an aspect of operation of the vehicle with at least one process. The apparatus also includes a diagnostic system configured to monitor the at least one process and configured to obtain diagnostic data regarding the at least one process. Additionally, the apparatus includes a wireless device coupled to the diagnostic system and configured to connect to an Internet Protocol (IP) based network, and configured to transmit the diagnostic data over the network. |
| US07908051B2 |
Vehicle maintenance event reporting method
A vehicle maintenance event reporting system and method that utilizes a vehicle email notification system in which triggers are used to initiate the generation and transmission of email messages that provide diverse types of dynamic vehicle information to the owner or other authorized subscriber. The email notifications are triggered by different events, some of which are independent of the vehicle (e.g., a monthly trigger), and others of which occur at the vehicle, such as a mileage or low oil life trigger. The notification system builds and sends to the subscriber an email message that contains the dynamic vehicle information. Maintenance service events such as an oil change reset are detected and used to trigger email reporting to the subscriber as well as to transmit the oil change reset event back to a central data system where it is included in a vehicle maintenance record. |
| US07908049B2 |
Fuel cell vehicle
To provide a fuel cell vehicle capable of reducing power consumption during a time of stopping of the vehicle. The fuel cell vehicle includes a scavenging execution determination unit 411 which determines whether or not to carry out scavenging; an ISU 40 including a microcomputer 41 installed on the scavenging execution determination unit 411. The fuel cell vehicle further includes an electrical supply circuit 43, in which, at a time of start-up by an alarm clock 46, the ISU 40 is booted, and in a case in which it is determined by the scavenging execution determination unit 411 that scavenging is to be carried out, the circuit 43 supplies electricity to the relay unit 36; and in a case in which it is determined by the scavenging execution determination unit 411 that scavenging is not to be carried out, it does not supply electricity to the relay unit 36. |
| US07908042B2 |
Methods and apparatus for wireless upload and download of aircraft data
A method for wirelessly communicating data between a plurality of avionics units on an aircraft and a data communication apparatus. The method includes wirelessly communicating download data for one avionics unit from the data communication apparatus to an aircraft data services link in the aircraft; automatically switching a communication path from the aircraft data services link to the avionics unit responsive to the download data; and electronically communicating the download data from the data communication apparatus to the avionics unit via the automatically switched communication path. |
| US07908039B2 |
Cooling storage cabinet and method of operating the same
A cooling device is provided with an inverter compressor. Set speeds of the inverter compressor can be switched to six stages from a first speed to a sixth speed. The relationship between each of the set speeds of the rotational speed is set so that the stages adjacent to each other have gradually larger differences in rotational speed as the rotational speed becomes higher. With this, independently from the level of the rotational speed, a degree of increase in cooling performance between each of the stages can be equalized. In a case of performing a control to increase or decrease the rotational speed of the inverter compressor stage by stage depending whether an actual temperature drop rate is larger or smaller than a target temperature drop rate, the change amounts in cooling performance that can be substantially equalized, and too high or too low cooling performance does not result, i.e. fluctuation in cooling performance can be minimized. Thus, control to drop the internal temperature in accordance with a predetermined cooling characteristic can be stably performed. |
| US07908037B2 |
Pre-programmed energy management ballast or driver
A pre-programmed energy saving ballast or driver is presented, having a pre-defined energy profile to which the output power is controlled in accordance with the current time ascertained from the input power connection via simplex clock information or from received broadcast time signals, and which allows a user to select from a number of pre-programmed profiles and/or to modify and store user-defined energy profiles. |
| US07908036B2 |
Power production control system and method
A control system for an energy production facility includes a plant controller for receiving an indication of a measured power output of the energy production facility that includes power generators and produces output signals. The system also includes a processing unit operably coupled to the plant controller and responsive to executable computer instructions when executed on the processing unit cause the plant controller to: create an output signal that causes an energy storage device to discharge in the event power reserves of the power generators can not met the requested ramp down rate; and create an output signal that causes the energy storage device to charge up in the event that the power capability of the power generators can meet the requested ramp down rate. |
| US07908035B2 |
System and method for wind formulary
A controller for use in monitoring at least one operating wind turbine is communicatively coupled to the at least one operating wind turbine, to a server sub-system, and to a user interface device. The controller is configured to receive operational data from the at least one operating wind turbine and select at least one formula based on the received operational data, wherein at least one of a predetermined formula is selected, a formula is selected via the user interface device, and a formula is selected via the server sub-system. The controller is further configured to determine at least one site level parameter using the at least one selected formula, and transmit at least one of operational data, the at least one selected formula, and the determined parameter to the server sub-system. |
| US07908033B2 |
Built-in swept-sine testing for a computer system to assure vibrational integrity
Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that performs vibration testing in a computer system. The system starts by generating a vibration at a predetermined frequency in a computer system. The system then determines if the computer system has a resonance at the predetermined frequency. If so, the system adjusts an operating parameter of at least one computer system component to prevent the computer system component from vibrating at or near a resonance frequency. |
| US07908029B2 |
Processing storage devices
A storage device processing system that includes at least one automated transporter, at least one rack accessible by the at least one automated transporter, and multiple test slots housed by the at least one rack. Each test slot is configured to receive a storage device for testing. The storage device processing system includes a conveyor arranged in a loop around and being accessible by the at least one automated transporter. The conveyor receives and transports the storage device thereon. The at least one automated transporter is configured to transfer the storage device between the conveyor and one of the test slots of the at least one rack. |
| US07908028B2 |
Machining device and method
A triaxial tool unit includes three actuators 3, 4, 5 which operate in three-axis directions orthogonal to one another, a tool holder 7 provided at an intersection on axial lines in operating directions of the actuators 3, 4 and 5, and sensors 8, 9 and 10 which measure displacement amounts in the operating directions of the actuators 3, 4 and 5, and has a structure in which the sensors 8, 9 and 10 are disposed so that extension lines in respective sensing directions intersect with one another at one point. |
| US07908026B2 |
Apparatus for testing defects of sheet-shaped product having optical film, apparatus for processing test data thereof, apparatus for cutting the same, and production thereof
A defect testing apparatus for testing defects of optical film sheet-shaped product of an optical displaying apparatus, which includes a defect detecting means for detecting defects of a monolayer body and/or a laminate body constituting the sheet-shaped product in a state in which a protective layer on a surface of the sheet-shaped product is not disposed and defect information preparing means for preparing defect information which is information related to the defects detected by the defect detecting means, and the defect information is used for producing the sheet-shaped product provided in a roll form or in separate sheets. |
| US07908021B1 |
Method and apparatus for processing content data
A method and apparatus for processing content data includes processing that begins by receiving modulated data via a channel that couples a content display device to a content processing device. The processing continues by introducing the content data onto the channel and separating the modulated data from the content data. The processing then continues by retrieving data from the modulated data, wherein the content display device modulates the modulated data. The processing continues by processing the data to produce presentation information. The processing then continues by processing the content data for presentation on the external content display device based on the presentation information. |
| US07908020B2 |
Architecture for control systems
An architecture for control systems including multiple control devices. The control devices include standardized software objects having functions, application programs for engaging these functions and thereby defining the operation of the control devices, and an engine for executing the application programs. The standardized software objects implement different types of internal functions for the control devices and feature reference numbering and function calls shared in common with the other software objects of the same type that may be on different control devices across said system. The software application programs include standardized instructions reflecting the reference numbering and function calls shared across the system by the said software objects whose functions are used in building the functionality of the control devices in the application programs. |
| US07908019B2 |
Taxonomy engine and dataset for operating an appliance
A taxonomy engine in a software architecture generates a taxonomy dataset establishing the group of well formed commands, and at least one command generator of the system is adapted to generate a well formed command using the taxonomy dataset. The taxonomy engine is configured to deliver the taxonomy dataset to the command generator, and the command generator is configured to deliver the well formed command to the controller. |
| US07908016B2 |
Fibrous electrode material
A biomimetic electrode material including a fibrous matrix including a conductive polymer and an ion conducting polymeric material is described. The biomimetic electrode material may be used in a number of body-implantable application including cardiac and neuro-stimulation applications. The biomimetic electrode material can be formed using electrospinning and other related processes. The biomimetic electrode may facilitate efficient charge transport from ionically conductive tissue to the electronically conductive electrode and may induce surrounding tissue to attach or interface directly to the implanted device, increasing the biocompatibility of the device. |
| US07908014B2 |
Antenna on ceramic case
The invention is an antenna for use with an implantable microdevice, such as a microstimulator or microsensor, having a dipole antenna that is formed by ceramic processes on the inner or outer surface of the ceramic case of the microdevice. The antenna receives data transmitted from an external device, and transmits data to an external device. A dipole antenna may be formed from two radiating elements separated by an insulating material. A tuning circuit comprising capacitors and/or inductors is used to obtain resonance in the dipole antenna. In a preferred embodiment, the antenna is formed of a biocompatible material by applying a metal-containing paste to the ceramic case of the microdevice and thermally processing it. |
| US07908013B2 |
Collecting activity information to evaluate therapy
A medical device delivers a therapy to a patient. The medical device may periodically determine an activity level of the patient, and associate each determined activity level with a current therapy parameter set. A value of at least one activity metric is determined for each of a plurality of therapy parameter sets based on the activity levels associated with that therapy parameter set. A list of the therapy parameter sets is presented to a user, such as a clinician, for evaluation of the relative efficacy of the therapy parameter sets. The list may be ordered according to the one or more activity metric values to aid in evaluation of the therapy parameter sets. Where values are determined for a plurality of activity metrics, the list may be ordered according to the one of the activity metrics selected by the user. |
| US07908010B2 |
Retinal prosthesis with side mounted inductive coil
The invention is a retinal prosthesis with an inductive coil mounted to the side of the eye by means of a strap around the eye. This allows for close coupling to an external coil and movement of the entire implanted portion with movement of the eye ball. |
| US07908008B2 |
Treatment for disorders by parasympathetic stimulation
A treatment method is provided, including identifying a subject as one who is selected to undergo an interventional medical procedure, and, in response to the identifying, reducing a likelihood of a potential adverse effect of the procedure by applying an electrical current to a parasympathetic site of the subject selected from the group consisting of: a vagus nerve of the subject, an epicardial fat pad of the subject, a pulmonary vein of the subject, a carotid artery of the subject, a carotid sinus of the subject, a coronary sinus of the subject, a vena cava vein of the subject, a jugular vein of the subject, a right ventricle of the subject, a parasympathetic ganglion of the subject, and a parasympathetic nerve of the subject. |
| US07908004B1 |
Considering cardiac ischemia in electrode selection
Exemplary systems, devices, and methods for considering cardiac ischemia in electrode selection are described. One method determines whether an electrode of a multiple-electrode lead is proximate a region of cardiac ischemia or infarct. The method also paces through a different electrode of the multiple-electrode lead in an instance where the electrode is determined to be proximate the region. |
| US07907992B2 |
Method and system for pacemaker pulse detection
A cardiac monitoring system is disclosed herein. The cardiac monitoring system includes a sensor adapted to collect an ECG signal that comprises a pacemaker signal and a cardiac signal. The cardiac monitoring system also includes a data acquisition module adapted to receive the ECG signal from the sensor. The data acquisition module includes a signal path adapted to isolate the pacemaker signal from the remainder of the ECG signal, and a processor adapted to identify a pace pulse on the isolated pacemaker signal. |
| US07907991B2 |
System and method for marking body cavities
Systems and methods for marking a body cavity. In one embodiment, a system includes means for inspecting a body cavity, and means for visibly marking the body cavity so as to convey visual information regarding the body cavity. In one embodiment, a method includes inspecting a body cavity and marking the body cavity with a marking material to provide a visual indication regarding the cavity. In one embodiment, a marking material for marking a body cavity includes a radiopaque contrast agent that is viewable through fluoroscopy and a colored dye that is viewable using an internal viewing device. |
| US07907987B2 |
System for delivering conformal radiation therapy while simultaneously imaging soft tissue
A device and a process for performing high temporal- and spatial-resolution MR imaging of the anatomy of a patient during intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to directly measure and control the highly conformal ionizing radiation dose delivered to the patient for the treatment of diseases caused by proliferative tissue disorders. This invention combines the technologies of open MRI, multileaf-collimator or compensating filter-based IMRT delivery, and cobalt teletherapy into a single co-registered and gantry mounted system. |
| US07907985B2 |
Fluid handling cassette with a fluid control interface and sample separator
A fluid handling module that is removably engageable with a bodily fluid analyzer is provided. The module may comprise a fluid handling element, and a fluid component separator that is accessible via the fluid handling element and configured to separate at least one component of a bodily fluid transported to the fluid component separator. The fluid handling element may have at least one control element interface. |
| US07907979B2 |
Electronic apparatus, display control method and recording medium
An electronic apparatus has a fixed case unit and a movable case unit, and the rotation operability of the movable case unit is improved. The electronic apparatus having the fixed case unit and movable case unit also includes a movable arm, which is fitted openably and closably to the fixed case unit via a hinge. The movable case unit is supported rotatably on the movable arm, and the rotation center of the movable case unit is set at a position near the hinge to be on or near the centerline of the movable case unit. |
| US07907971B2 |
Optimized directional antenna system
A method of operating a wireless access point having a configurable antenna system includes determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a first configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the first configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a second configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the second configuration, determining a viable set of antenna configurations for which the signal quality metric of each of the stations meets a minimum criteria and configuring the configurable antenna system to a configuration in the viable set when the wireless access point is not transmitting. |
| US07907969B2 |
Radio telecommunications network management
Management of a radio telecommunications network, in which a plurality of a radio network controllers (RNCs) are served with a gateway support node having a given configuration. An added RNC connected to the radio telecommunications network is detected and then it is detected the serving gateway support node if the added RNC is a flat radio access node. If the added RNC is detected as a flat radio access node, it is verified whether the configuration allows serving the added RNC and if yes, the added RNC is connected with the serving gateway support node and correspondingly the configuration is modified. Alternatively, if the added RNC is detected as not being a flat radio access node, connecting the added RNC with the serving gateway support node is refused. |
| US07907953B2 |
Access method for conditional access audio/video content
A method that allows the optimization of the consumption of conditional access content in order to guarantee less vulnerable right messages involves three steps: the selection by the user of a content and the indication of this interest to said management center; the sending of a notification message containing or indicating the access authorisation message shortly before the broadcast of said content and storage of this authorisation message; and the sending of the content itself and the use of the data of the authorisation message in order to access the data of the content. There may be a fourth stage, namely the validation of the authorisation message by the user. This validation is executed in general at the time of the reception of the content or alternatively the user confirms their intention to purchase. |
| US07907950B2 |
Method for establishing fast feedback channel and transmitting information in a wireless communication system
A method of transmitting information in a wireless communication system is disclosed. More specifically, the method includes a base station (BS) which receives data from a mobile subscriber station (MSS) via an uplink channel. Using the antennas) received data, the BS determines quality of the uplink channel. Thereafter, the BS transmits feedback information to the MSS. Here, the feedback information is based on the determined quality of the uplink channel. |
| US07907943B2 |
Statistical scaling of soft decisions before decoding
A wireless-communications unit has a receiver chain including a codec decoding the output of a rake receiver. Soft decisions passing from the rake receiver to the codec are scaled. The scaling factor can be tuned by monitoring a function based on the cumulative probability distribution function of the scaled soft decisions. |
| US07907939B2 |
Systems, devices and methods for providing services in a proximity-based environment
A system is provided for delivery of services to at least one mobile device adapted to communicate in a wireless manner including a plurality of communication/detection devices. Each of the communication/detection devices is adapted to detect the presence of the mobile device when the mobile device is within the range thereof. Each communication/detection device is adapted to communicate information between the mobile device and the communication/detection device when the mobile device is within the range thereof. The system includes at least one multiplexer in communication with at least one of the communication/detection devices and at least one server including content stored thereon to provide at least one service to the client program on mobile device. The server is in communication with the multiplexer. The service to be provided to the mobile device depends on which one of the plurality of communication/detection devices is in communication with the mobile device. |
| US07907938B2 |
Apparatus and method for data transmission in a wireless communications network
Non-urgent data messages of an IP based application hosted by a cellular device are only transmitted when a predetermined condition is met. A data message may be: a presence report; a check for new email sent by an email client to a server; and a keep-alive message sent to a server, but this is not an exhaustive list of the relevant types of data message. The predetermined condition, may, for example, be met when the first of the following occurs: the airlink is open; a maximum delay time has elapsed; a store for non-urgent messages is full; and a maximum number of messages is stored. The invention reduces the number of times when the airlink is open, thus preventing the 3 to 10 seconds additional open time for each occurrence. This saves battery life for the cellular device. The invention is also applicable to other types of messaging in which small data messages are periodically transmitted over an airlink. |
| US07907929B2 |
Communication apparatus and system for communication
A communication apparatus uses a short range communication function for displaying a decrease of remaining battery power of a cellular phone that is in communication with the communication apparatus based on a report from the cellular phone when the remaining battery power decreases to a predetermined threshold. |