| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US07920925B2 |
Optimizing pitch and other speech stimuli allocation in a cochlear implant
Errors in pitch (frequency) allocation within a cochlear implant are corrected in order to provide a significant and profound improvement in the quality of sound perceived by the cochlear implant user. In one embodiment, the user is stimulated with a reference signal, e.g., the tone “A” (440 Hz) and then the user is stimulated with a probe signal, separated from the reference signal by an octave, e.g., high “A” (880 Hz). The user adjusts the location where the probe signal is applied, using current steering, until the pitch of the probe signal, as perceived by the user, matches the pitch of the reference signal, as perceived by the user. In this manner, the user maps frequencies to stimulation locations in order to tune his or her implant system to his or her unique cochlea. |
| US07920924B2 |
Estimating flap thickness for cochlear implants
A flap thickness measurement system includes a reference cochlear stimulation system. The reference cochlear stimulation system includes a sound processor, a transmitter that transmits a telemetric signal, and a cochlear stimulator having a receiver that receives the telemetric signal and transmits a signal back to the transmitter. The system further includes one or more flap simulators having one or more known thicknesses that is positioned between the transmitter and receiver. Also included is a microprocessor that receives and processes data representative of tank voltage from the reference cochlear stimulation system. |
| US07920923B2 |
Binaural stimulation in neural auditory prostheses or hearing aids
The present invention discloses of binaural stimulation in a neural auditory prosthesis. Binaural acoustic signals are generated that represent sound associated with a user's left and right ears respectively. Based on the binaural acoustic signals, corresponding binaural stimulation signals are generated for electrical stimulation of auditory nerve tissue of the user, wherein the binaural stimulation signals each include a fine structure component with periodic characteristics and interaural time difference (ITD) information. A phase jitter component is added to the binaural stimulation signals to reduce the periodic characteristics of the fine structure component while preserving the interaural time difference (ITD) information. |
| US07920922B2 |
System and methods for determining nerve proximity, direction, and pathology during surgery
The present invention involves systems and methods for determining nerve proximity, nerve direction, and pathology relative to a surgical instrument based on an identified relationship between neuromuscular responses and the stimulation signal that caused the neuromuscular responses. |
| US07920921B2 |
Endoscopic device delivery system
A system and method are disclosed for an implantable gastric stimulation system within the stomach. The stimulation system includes an electronics anchor, electrode lead anchor, implantable pulse generator and external programmer. The electronics anchor is configured to attach to the stomach wall at a first location and the electrode lead anchor configured to attach to the stomach wall at a second location. The electrode lead anchor includes one or more electrodes configured to contact the stomach wall and a flexible lead portion coupled to the one or more electrodes at one end with an the electrical connector portion at the other end. The implantable pulse generator has electronic circuitry and is attached to the electronics anchor; the electronic circuitry is connected to the electrical connector of the electrode lead anchor and can communicate with the one or more electrodes. The external programmer is used to communicate with the electronic circuitry of the pulse generator via a telemetry device to provide stimulation instructions to the pulse generator. |
| US07920920B1 |
Algorithm for capture detection
An exemplary method includes receiving a signal of cardiac electrical activity after delivery of electrical energy to the heart, rectifying the signal to produce a rectified signal, comparing the rectified signal to the signal and, based at least in part on the comparing, deciding whether the delivered electrical energy resulted in non-capture, capture or fusion. Various other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed. |
| US07920919B1 |
Morphology based motion detection for sensors sensitive to motion induced noise
Provided herein are implantable systems, and methods for use therewith, for estimating a level of noise in a signal produced by an implantable sensor that is sensitive to motion induced noise. Sample data is obtained that is representative of a signal produced by the implantable sensor that is sensitive to motion induced noise. Such a sensor signal has a corresponding morphology. The morphology of a portion of the sensor signal is compared to a template, and a level of motion induced noise in the sensor signal is estimated, based on results of the morphology comparison. |
| US07920917B2 |
External defibrillator and methods for operating the external defibrillator
Methods and apparatus are provided for minimizing the inherent time delays within external defibrillators. The methods and apparatuses utilize timing schemes for initiation and completion of charging of an energy storage device of an external defibrillator, measuring one or physical parameters of the patient and conducting a physiology analysis of the patient. The initiation and completion of one or more of these activities are arranged so that the energy storage device is charged to a desired level and available for a defibrillation shock to the patient with minimal delay after activation of the external defibrillator. |
| US07920915B2 |
Implantable stimulator
An implantable stimulator includes a tube assembly that is configured to house a number of components that are configured to apply at least one stimulus to at least one stimulation site within a patient. The tube assembly has a shape that allows the stimulator to be implanted within said patient in a pre-determined orientation. Exemplary methods of stimulating a stimulation site within a patient include applying an electrical stimulation current to a stimulation site via one or more electrodes extending along one or more sides of a stimulator. The stimulator has a shape allowing the stimulator to be implanted within the patient in a pre-determined orientation. |
| US07920914B2 |
Method for monitoring the depth of anesthesia
A method for monitoring the depth of anesthesia is provided for detecting the conscious state of one being anesthetized in the recovery phase or induction phase of anesthesia course in order to facilitate an anesthesiologist to predict exactly the dosage of an anesthetic required. At first, an original electroencephalogram (EEG) is taken from one being tested. Then, the original electroencephalogram is analyzed by approximate entropy to obtain its approximate entropy value. Next, the approximate entropy value is multiplied by 1000/17, and the corrected value is assumed as the predicted value of depth of anesthesia. The predicted value of depth of anesthesia represents degree of the conscious state or the depth of anesthesia for the one being tested. The higher the predicted depth of anesthesia value, the more conscious the one being tested is, i.e., in a shallower depth of anesthesia. On the other hand, the lower the predicted depth of anesthesia value, the less conscious the one being tested is, i.e., in a deeper depth of anesthesia. |
| US07920912B2 |
System and method for triggering a device based on an electrocardiogram signal
A system and method for triggering an external device in response to an electrocardiogram signal. In one embodiment the method includes determining a peak in the electrocardiogram signal, determining if the electrocardiogram signal is rising or falling at the peak in the signal and triggering a device in response to the rising or falling peak. In one embodiment of the invention an external trigger signal is produced only a rising peak is detected. In one embodiment, the system includes a microprocessor, a peak detector and a trigger circuit. The trigger circuit outputs a trigger signal to an external device when signaled by the peak detector and not inhibited by a signal from the microprocessor. |
| US07920910B2 |
System, method and apparatus for surgical patient table
A patient table includes a cradle for slidably receiving a board carrying a patient, a cradle supporting member for slidably receiving the cradle, a locker for preventing the board from sliding off the cradle, and a stopper for preventing the cradle from sliding off the cradle supporting member. A method of transferring a patient to an imaging system from a second table uses the patient table to move the board from the second table to the patient table to the imaging system. An RF coil system usable with the table includes a coil, a coil cable, an intermediate box for receiving the coil cable, and a system cable extending from the intermediate box and connected to the imaging system. |
| US07920909B2 |
Apparatus and method for automatic image guided accuracy verification
A method includes receiving during a first time interval associated with a path of motion of a dynamic body, image data associated with a plurality of images of the dynamic body. The plurality of images include an indication of a position of a first marker coupled to a garment at a first location, and a position of a second marker coupled to the garment at a second location. The garment is coupled to the dynamic body. During a second time interval, an image from the plurality of images is automatically identified that includes a position of the first marker that is substantially the same as a position of a first localization element relative to the dynamic body and a position of the second marker that is substantially the same as a position of the second localization element relative to the dynamic body. |
| US07920908B2 |
Multispectral imaging for quantitative contrast of functional and structural features of layers inside optically dense media such as tissue
A method for the evaluation of target media parameters in the visible and near infrared is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a light source, an illuminator/collector, optional illumination wavelength selector, an optional light gating processor, an imager, detected wavelength selector, controller, analyzer and a display unit. The apparatus illuminates an in situ sample of the target media in the visible through near infrared spectral region using multiple wavelengths and gated light. The sample absorbs some of the light while a large portion of the light is diffusely scattered within the sample. Scattering disperses the light in all directions. A fraction of the deeply penetrating scattered light exits the sample and may be detected in an imaging fashion using wavelength selection and an optical imaging system. The method extends the dynamic range of the optical imager by extracting additional information from the detected light that is used to provide reconstructed contrast of smaller concentrations of chromophores. The light detected from tissue contains unique spectral information related to various components of the tissue. Using a reiterative calibration method, the acquired spectra and images are analyzed and displayed in near real time in such a manner as to characterize functional and structural information of the target tissue. |
| US07920907B2 |
Analyte monitoring system and method
Devices and methods for monitoring an analyte are provided. Embodiments include continuous analyte sensors having a high degree of accuracy. |
| US07920906B2 |
System and methods for processing analyte sensor data for sensor calibration
Systems and methods for processing sensor analyte data are disclosed, including initiating calibration, updating calibration, evaluating clinical acceptability of reference and sensor analyte data, and evaluating the quality of sensor calibration. The sensor can be calibrated using a calibration set of one or more matched sensor and reference analyte data pairs. Reference data resulting from benchtop testing an analyte sensor prior to its insertion can be used to provide initial calibration of the sensor data. Reference data from a short term continuous analyte sensor implanted in a user can be used to initially calibrate or update sensor data from a long term continuous analyte sensor. |
| US07920902B2 |
Mobile personal audio device
A mobile personal audio device including a case maintaining a power source, first and second speakers, a microcontroller, and first and second stem assemblies. The stem assemblies extend from opposite sides of the case, respectively, and each include a tube having a first end adjacent and open to a corresponding one of the speakers and terminating at a second end. The stem assemblies are configured such that the tube is positionable in a user-selected extended state in which the second end of the tube is displaced from the case, and a collapsed state in which the second end is in close proximity to the case. In the extended state, the case is locatable at the back of the user's neck, with the tubes extending along opposite sides of the user's head. The microcontroller operates the speakers to generate audio sounds waves that are delivered to the user's ears. |
| US07920901B2 |
System and method for providing visual indicators in a media application
A method is provided for providing a visual indicator of content existing in a play list while displaying available media items for adding to the play list. The method comprises the steps of: retrieving information related to the available media items; retrieving information related to the content existing in the play list; comparing the available media item information with the play list content information to determine items from the available media that are already included in the play list; displaying a menu showing the available media items; and displaying visual indicators next to the items in the menu of the available media that are already included in the play list. |
| US07920896B2 |
Printing an almanac using a mobile device
A mobile telephone that has a printer module to print the almanac on the print medium; and, a sensor module to sense a print media identifier of the print medium. |
| US07920893B2 |
Method and system for transmission or reception of FM signals utilizing a DDFS clocked by an RFID PLL
Aspects of a method and system for transmission or reception of FM signals utilizing a DDFS clocked by an RFID PLL are provided. In this regard, one or more signals utilized to transmit or receive FM communication may be generated by clocking a DDFS via a signal generated to enable RFID communication. The DDFS may be controlled via a control word from a processor. In this regard, the control word may determine a frequency and/or phase of the signals output by the DDFS. The control word may be switched between two or more values to generate different frequencies and/or phases in different time intervals. Additionally, the control word may be adjusted to maintain a constant phase and/or frequency in spite of changes to the signal clocking the DDFS. |
| US07920892B2 |
Receiving device, rebroadcast content scheduling device, reception state notifying method, rebroadcast content scheduling method, rebroadcast content scheduling system, rebroadcast content scheduling program, and recording medium
A rebroadcast content scheduling device receives reception state information and schedules rebroadcast content, where the reception state information includes content identification information for identifying content represented by the broadcast wave received by the receiving section and indicates that the reception defection occurred in the reception of the content. Thus, the rebroadcast content scheduling device can determine to rebroadcast, as the rebroadcast content, the content that was received with many reception defections. |
| US07920889B2 |
Transmitting apparatus, receiving apparatus and transmission power control method
A transmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus and a transmission power control method wherein even in a case of performing a transmission power control of multi-valued modulated symbols, the degradation of reception characteristic and that of network usage efficiency can be avoided. A power control instructing part (204) adjusts, based on an encoding rate and a modulation scheme in a case of applying a power control value, which maximizes the MIMO channel capacity, to each stream, the power control value of a stream, which is the most likely to be affected by a power estimation error, into a reference value, and then applies the adjustment value used for that adjustment to the other streams, that is, the streams that are not likely to be affected by the power estimation error. A power control part (205) performs a transmission power control in accordance with the power control value as adjusted by the power control instructing part (204). |
| US07920886B1 |
Systems and methods for facilitating dispatch communications
Systems and methods for facilitating dispatch communications are provided. Buttons related to dispatch communications can be displayed when dispatch call addresses are received by a mobile station. Additionally, selection menus with options related to dispatch communications can be displayed in a call history display when a dispatch communication is selected. When a contact with a dispatch communication address is selected, a selection menu with options related to dispatch communications can be displayed. |
| US07920885B2 |
Method and system for establishing a connection on a secondary frequency channel for wireless communication
A method and system for establishing a subnet in a wireless network is provided for wireless transmission of information between two stations in the network. A subnet access process in a wireless communication system establishes a subnet comprising a direct wireless link on a secondary frequency channel for wireless transmission of data between two stations. |
| US07920884B2 |
Frame structures for a wireless communication system with multiple radio technologies
Frame structures and transmission techniques for a wireless communication system are described. In one frame structure, a super-frame includes multiple outer-frames, and each outer-frame includes multiple frames, and each frame includes multiple time slots. The time slots in each super-frame are allocated for downlink and uplink and for different radio technologies (e.g., W-CDMA and OFDM) based on loading. Each physical channel is allocated at least one time slot in at least one frame of each outer-frame in the super-frame. An OFDM waveform is generated for each downlink OFDM slot and multiplexed onto the slot. A W-CDMA waveform is generated for each downlink W-CDMA slot and multiplexed onto the slot. A modulated signal is generated for the multiplexed W-CDMA and OFDM waveforms and transmitted on the downlink. Each physical channel is transmitted in bursts. The slot allocation and coding and modulation for each physical channel can change for each super-frame. |
| US07920883B2 |
Coordination of transmissions in wireless communications devices
Techniques involving network access are disclosed. For instance, an apparatus may include first and second transceivers, a first control module, and a second control module. Each transceiver may send one or more wireless transmissions, which are scheduled by the control modules. For example, the first control module may schedule transmissions of the first transceiver and the second control module may schedule transmissions of the second transceiver. These may be scheduled to avoid transmissions of the first transceiver overlapping in time with transmissions of the second transceiver. |
| US07920880B2 |
Multimedia message center for delivering a multimedia message to a telecommunication device during an established traffic channel connection
The present application discloses an apparatus, system and method for reducing the time required for transmitting a multimedia message from any sender to any addressee and thus generally cut the cost of the multimedia message service. A traffic channel connection is kept to a receiving telecommunication device, which is established by a multimedia message service center that has received a multimedia message designated by a transmitting telecommunication device for said receiving telecommunication device, for example, in order to transmit an information message to the receiving telecommunication device during an SMS session by means of which the multimedia message service center informs the receiving telecommunication device about the arrival of the multimedia message, established for at least the period of time it takes the receiving telecommunication device to evaluate the received information message and hold an MMS session for fetching the message content of the multimedia message designated for the receiving telecommunication device from the multimedia message service center. |
| US07920876B2 |
System and method for evaluating accuracy of an automatic location identification system
A method (38) and system (56) evaluate the accuracy of an Automatic Location Identification (ALI) system (36) deployed within an environment (20) and configured to location a wireless communication device (24) originating an emergency call (22) through a wireless communication network (26). The method (38) includes a subprocesses that identify a validation region (144) in which a service area (106) of a public service answering point (PSAP) (32) and an RF coverage area (129) overlap, classify sub-regions within the validation region (144) according to a predetermined set of test scenarios (148) representing unique calling environments, and select test points (200) within the validation region (144) from which test calls, that simulate emergency calls, will be performed. The method (38) further includes an empirical test call execution subprocess (50) for performing test calls within the validation region (144) and a predictive test call execution subprocess (52) for simulating test calls within a simulated environment (260). |
| US07920875B2 |
Subscriptionless location of wireless devices
Techniques for locating wireless devices involve a wireless device making measurements of signals transmitted by geographically distributed base stations within a wireless network. If some key site information is known about these transmitters, such as the transmitter location, transmit signal power, signal propagation, and transmit signal timing, measurements of these transmit signals by a device to be located can be used to determine the position of the device. In this example, all information exchange between the device and the location node is facilitated by a data link that is not provided by the wireless network providing signals used in the location estimation process. Accordingly, devices may be located based on downlink signal measurements made by the devices, where the devices are not part of the wireless network, are not provided wireless service by the network, and do not possess the ability to transmit signals to the wireless network, and where communication resources of the wireless network are not consumed to facilitate location. |
| US07920873B2 |
Assisted method of locating mobile communications terminals of a cellular network using a USSD transport channel
A mobile communications terminal (T) for a cellular communications network comprises an assisted satellite positioning device (D) connected to a satellite positioning installation connected to an assistance data server, a USSD management module (MGT) for setting up USSD transport channels, and a processor (MT) for coupling the management module (MGT) to the device (D) on request in order for a USSD transport channel to be set up between the device (D) and a location management equipment of the cellular network connected to the assistance data server. The USSD channel is then used to send the device (D) assistance data representative of identifiers of at least three satellites visible in the cell in which the terminal (T) is situated so that it can lock onto said satellites to estimate at least the distances between the satellites and its terminal (T). |
| US07920866B2 |
Method of hard handover in a wireless communication system
The present invention provides a method of wireless communication with a mobile unit and a base station router. The method may include providing, over a first channel, configuration information indicative of a second channel associated with the base station router and the mobile unit. The method may also include providing state information associated with the mobile unit to the base station router. |
| US07920865B2 |
System and method for managing secure registration of a mobile communications device
In one embodiment, a method is provided for managing secure registration of a mobile communications device, the method comprising registering, at a network node, the mobile communications device using a first registration process, the first registration process requiring an authentication key associated with the mobile communications device; processing a request from the mobile communications device, the request including an indication that the mobile communications device is changing to a second registration process; and clearing the authentication key associated with the mobile communications device upon expiration of a time window. |
| US07920860B2 |
System for managing the multiple air-to-ground communications links originating from each aircraft in an air-to-ground cellular communication network
The Multi-Link Aircraft Cellular System makes use of multiple physically separated antennas mounted on the aircraft, as well as the use of additional optional signal isolation and optimization techniques to improve the call handling capacity of the Air-To-Ground cellular communications network. These additional techniques can include polarization domain and ground antenna pattern shaping (in azimuth, in elevation, or in both planes). Further, if code domain separation is added, dramatic increases in capacity are realized. Thus, the Air-To-Ground cellular communications network can increase its capacity on a per aircraft basis by sharing its traffic load among more than one cell or sector and by making use of multiple physically separated antennas mounted on the aircraft, as well as the use of additional optional signal isolation and optimization techniques. |
| US07920852B2 |
Compression of data transmitted between server and mobile device
A remote wireless device receives a compressed message including an application definition file. The application definition file is associated with an application executing at a computing device and contains definitions for: a user interface format; a format for network messages; and a format for storing data. Using these definitions, the wireless device may receive data generated by the application and formatted in accordance with the definitions. The wireless device may then present a user interface for the application. Preferably, the application definition file is an XML file. Similarly, application-specific network messages provided to the device are also formed using XML. Data generated by the application may be presented at the mobile device under control of a virtual machine that uses the application definition file. For efficiency, the network messages received at, and transmitted by, the wireless device may be compressed. |
| US07920841B2 |
Alarm system with two-way voice
Techniques are described for establishing a two-way voice communication session with an alarm system. The alarm system may establish a two-way voice communication session with an operator associated with a monitoring service that provides monitoring services for alarm events detected by the alarm system. The alarm system also may establish a two-way voice communication session with a notification recipient that is interested in receiving notifications associated with events detected by the alarm system. |
| US07920832B2 |
Electrical device comprising analog frequency conversion circuitry and method for deriving characteristics thereof
An electrical device comprises analog conversion circuitry having an input and an output. The electrical device is essentially provided for converting a first input signal within a first frequency range applied to the input to a first output signal within a second frequency range different from the first frequency range at the output. The electrical device further comprises a signal adding means for adding at least a portion of the first output signal as second input signal to the first input signal. The analog conversion circuitry is also capable of converting the second input signal, which is within the second frequency range, back to the first frequency range. Additionally, a characteristic deriving means is provided for deriving at least one characteristic of the electrical device from the frequency converted second input signal, which appears at the output of the analog conversion circuitry. |
| US07920829B2 |
Method and system for locally controlling the distribution of an application on a shared wireless network
A method and system are provided for locally controlling the distribution of an application at an access point to a shared wireless network and of an application to a mobile node which is located using the address thereof. According to the present method and system, for the access point, the data rate per type of application is measured, the charge rate of the access point per type of application is calculated from the access point and the distribution of a novel application at said access point is either authorized or refused according to the internal priority rules associated with each application following any request for the distribution of said novel application. The present method and system are suitable for the management of access points to an IEEE P802.11-type shared wireless network. |
| US07920826B2 |
Method of forming frame in multi-hop relay system and system for implementing the method
A method of forming a frame in a Mobile Multi-hop Relay (MMR) system, and a system for implementing the method are provided. In a multi-hop relay system, when a relay station of a specific layer receives data, the relay station receives data from both a higher layer and a lower layer. When the relay station transmits data, the relay station transmits data to both the higher layer and the lower layer. By doing so, data reception and data transmission are exclusively performed without interfering with each other, and the method and the system are easily applied to the multi-hop MMR system. |
| US07920825B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data using multi-user superposition coding in a wireless relay system
A method and apparatus for joint unicast using multi-user superposition coding in a wireless relay system are provided. A BS superposition-encodes first and second data messages directed to first and second MSs, respectively, scheduled at a current scheduling instant. The first and second data messages carry first and second information bit streams for the first and second MSs, respectively. The first MS has a relatively good direct link to the BS, and the second MS has a relatively bad direct link to the BS. The superposition-coded data is transmitted to the first MS and an RS connected between the BS and the first and second MSs. The RS receives the superposition-coded data from the BS, extracts the second information bit stream by decoding the superposition-coded data, and transmits a third data message carrying the second information bit stream to the first and second MSs. |
| US07920818B2 |
Image forming apparatus which can expand space of discharging unit
An image forming apparatus which can expand the space of a discharging unit includes a scanner rotating unit provided below a scanner unit to rotate the scanner unit, to open the top of a discharging unit, and to expand a space of the discharging unit if the collective height of sheets accumulated in the discharging unit reaches or exceeds a predetermined value, and a control unit arranged to detect whether the collective height of the sheets accumulated in the discharging unit reaches or exceeds the predetermined value to operate the scanner rotating unit in accordance with the detection result. |
| US07920817B2 |
Information processing apparatus and information processing method
An information processing apparatus generates printing image data of a printing image and copy-forgery-inhibited-pattern-image data of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image to be added to the printing image. The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image includes a latent image and a background image. The apparatus includes a selecting unit and a printing-data generating unit. The selecting unit selects either the transparent-printing designation or overlay-printing designation, the transparent-printing designation is used for generating printing data so that the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image is superimposed on the printing image, and the overlay-printing designation is used for generating printing data so that the printing image is superimposed on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image. The printing-data generating unit generates printing data based on the printing designation selected by the selecting unit. |
| US07920815B2 |
Fixing device with easily attachable heater for use in image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the same
A fixing device is provided with a pair of a fixing unit and a pressing unit for performing fixation of a toner image on a recording sheet; a support frame for supporting the fixing unit and the pressing unit; and a heater for generating heat for the fixation, the heater having a cylindrical shape, and being provided with an insulator on at least one of the opposite ends thereof, the insulator having a retaining space operable to fixedly engage with a portion of the support frame. This facilitates the attachment of heaters on the support frame. |
| US07920808B2 |
Belt device and image-forming apparatus
A belt device for use in an image forming apparatus includes two side frames supported by two slide rails disposed at the body of the image forming apparatus on the outside of the outer periphery of the belt member, a rear frame constructed between two sub-frames and having a box-shaped structure, a front frame having a smaller projecting surface than the inner periphery of the belt member as viewed from the front, a support frame that cantilever-supports the front frame with respect to the rear frame, and triangular reinforcing frames constructed across the side frames and the rear frame. |
| US07920806B2 |
Coupling part, photosensitive drum, process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus
A process cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The main assembly includes a motor, a gear receiving a driving force from the motor, a hole defined by twisted surfaces substantially coaxial with the gear and having a grounding contact. The cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a projection engageable with the twisted surfaces. The projection is provided at a longitudinal end of the drum. When the gear rotates with the hole and projection engaged with each other, a rotational driving force is transmitted from the gear to the drum through engagement between the hole and the projection. The cartridge also includes a grounding contact electrically connected with the drum, for electrically grounding the drum when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly, and provided on the projection to be electrically connectable with the main assembly grounding contact. |
| US07920803B2 |
Information processing apparatus and control method thereof, computer program and image forming system
Option unit configuration information indicating a mounting method of option units mounted to an image forming apparatus is acquired. An availability of use of an option unit mounted to the image forming apparatus is determined based on the mounting method of option units indicated by the acquired option unit configuration information and rules for setting the availability of use of an option unit mountable to the image forming apparatus which is stored in a storage medium. In this case, the rules are for setting, based on a mounting order of a plurality of option units mountable to the image forming apparatus, the availability of use of the option unit, and the option unit configuration information further includes information indicating a mounting order of a plurality of option units mounted to the image forming apparatus. |
| US07920799B2 |
Image forming apparatus for controlling replenishing toner into developing device
An image forming apparatus is provided with a photoconductor to have an electrostatic latent image formed thereon, a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image with a toner, a toner replenishing device for replenishing the toner into the developing device, and a controller for controlling an image developing operation by the developing device and a toner replenishing operation by the toner replenishing device. The controller executes a non-replenishment mode for causing the developing device to perform image development without being replenished with the toner from the toner replenishing device, a discharge mode, following the non-replenishment mode, for discharging the toner remaining in the developing device and a refill mode, following the discharge mode, for refilling the toner into the developing device by the toner replenishing device. |
| US07920797B2 |
Receiver having an apparatus for varying decision threshold level and an optical transmission system having the same
The disclosure relates to an optical receiver having an apparatus for varying decision threshold level and an optical transmission system having the same. An optical receiver having an apparatus for varying decision threshold level includes a photo diode (PD) for receiving an optical signal and transforming the received optical signal into an electrical signal; a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) for pre-amplifying the electrical signal transformed by the PD; a limiting amplifier (LA) for deciding the electrical signal amplified by the TIA as either level 0 or level 1 and for amplifying the decision signal; a clock and data recovery (CDR) for generating a clock and data from the amplified decision signal by the LA; and a control circuit for adjusting a decision threshold level depending on the received optical signal power by the PD and for providing the adjusted decision threshold level with the LA. |
| US07920793B2 |
Inline repeater and optical fiber communication system
An inline repeater that uses a forward-pumped DRA that can use a pumping light source such as an FBG pumping light source and a fiber laser, which are the most commonly used, and an optical fiber communication system are realized. The optical fiber communication system comprises silica fiber as a gain medium for Raman amplification to amplify a signal light; a pumping light source that emits a pumping light that co-propagates through the silica fiber in the same direction as the signal light; and a multiplexer disposed between the silica fiber and the pumping light source that multiplexes the signal light and the pumping light, with the multiplexer being provided with a means to multiplex the signal light input thereto having a wavelength longer than the zero-dispersion wavelength of the silica fiber and the pumping light emitted from the pumping light source, and the pumping light source being equipped with a means to emit pumping light, with the longest wavelength of the pumping light being shorter than the shortest wavelength of the signal light by a frequency difference on the low-frequency side of 13.7 to 30 THz. |
| US07920791B2 |
Passive optical network system and method of data transmission in the passive optical network
Regarding the passive optical network (PON) system of the present invention, in an OLT, data of different bit rates is framed, and framed data rows are subjected to FEC encoding processing without changing the line up of the data, and a check bit is added to the end of the frame, and an optical signal that has been modulated in accordance with the data row to which the check bit has been added is transmitted to the optical transmission line. Then in an ONU that corresponds to a high speed bit rate to which an optical signal from the OLT has been applied via a power splitter, forward error correction of the reception data is performed. As a result in a PON system in which data of different bit rates coexist, the minimum reception rate of a high speed ONU can be improved without having an influence on a low speed ONU. |
| US07920790B2 |
Polarization envelope modulation for signaling and labeling in optical networks
The present invention is directed to an in-passband signaling method. The method includes the steps of extracting a control component and a data component from an optical signal. The control component may be used to determine the state of an optical switch in either a packet-switched network or circuit-switched network. The state of the optical switch is switched based on the extracted control signal. The control component may also be used to provide other network functions such as network operations, administration, and management (OA&M), network monitoring, and network control and management (NC&M). The control component is erased by polarization realignment of the optical signal. The control component is updated by remodulating the polarization state of the data component. |
| US07920786B2 |
Single-fiber protection in telecommunications networks
A solution for detecting and recovering from a failure in a protected single-fiber passive optical network. A detector is used to detect the degradation in power level of optical signals. Furthermore, the invention discloses a variable symmetric split ratio approach to improve the number of splits (e.g. the number of ONUs). A single-fiber passive optical network is disclosed that uses a plurality of passive nodes connected in the optical fiber between the interfaces, wherein in the passive nodes 2-by-2 splitters/combiners are used to couple optical power from and into the optical fiber at a predetermined split ratio. |
| US07920785B2 |
System and method of photography using desirable feature recognition
To improve the quality of photographs of people, the disclosure describes a system and method of photography using desirable feature recognition. The system and method recognize when the subject persons in a photograph possess one or more desirable features for a desirable photograph, such as when they are all smiling and/or not blinking. The system and method may be applied either to individual or group photographs. The system and method of the present invention may operate in a “Full Mode”, in which a picture is taken when all subject persons possess the desirable feature(s). The system and method also may operate in a “Proportional Mode”, in which a picture is taken when a set proportion of the subject persons possess the desirable feature(s). The system and method also may operate in a “Best Picture Mode”, in which multiple photographs are imaged, and the best photograph is selected for keeping, as measured by the photograph containing the highest proportion of subject persons who possess the desirable feature(s). The system and method also may operate in a timer mode, which permits the camera user to appear in the photograph. |
| US07920783B2 |
Camera and lens system
A camera assembly, preferably a cinematographic camera assembly, comprises a camera housing and a plurality of interchangeable lenses which can be attached to the camera housing for capturing an image. Each lens has a body and a lens system comprising at least one lens element that is movable relative to the lens body to alter the focus distance of the lens, the lens having a focal length that differs from the focal length of the each other lenses. Each lens has a focus scale on one of the lens system and the lens body that comprises a plurality of focus distance marks, and a focus index mark on the other of the lens system and the lens body. |
| US07920781B2 |
Image capturing apparatus and control method therefor
An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor, composition unit, coupling unit, and arithmetic unit. The image sensor has a plurality of pupil-divided focus detection portions each formed from a first focus detection pixel and second focus detection pixel. The composition unit composites signals output from the first focus detection pixels to obtain a first composite signal, and composites signals output from the second focus detection pixels to obtain a second composite signal in each of sections assigned to the image sensor to include a plurality of focus detection portions. The coupling unit couples first composite signals to obtain a first coupled signal, and couples second composite signals to obtain a second coupled signal in the plurality of sections. The arithmetic unit calculates the defocus amount of an image forming optical system on the basis of the first and second coupled signals. |
| US07920780B2 |
Image stabilization apparatus, imaging apparatus, and optical apparatus
An image stabilization apparatus includes a first lens unit, a second lens unit, a supporting unit configured to support the first lens unit and the second lens unit, a driving unit configured to drive at least one of the first lens unit and the second lens unit in the direction perpendicular to an optical axis, a shake detection unit configured to detect a shake added to the image stabilization apparatus, a shake correction unit configured to supply a drive signal to the driving unit to correct the detected shake, and a connecting unit configured to mechanically connect the first lens unit and the second lens unit, wherein the connecting unit is configured to enable the first lens unit and the second lens unit to move in mutually opposite directions on a plane perpendicular to the optical axis. |
| US07920777B2 |
Capillary force vaporizers
The present invention concerns capillary force vaporizers for use in vaporizing liquids and emitting pressurized vapors. In one embodiment, the inventive capillary force vaporizer includes a porous member, a heater component to convey heat to the porous member, and a vapor containment region. The porous member further includes a capillary network, a surface for receiving liquid and a vaporization area in which vapor is produced from the liquid. The vapor is collected and pressurized within the vapor containment region, which includes one or more openings for the release of vapor at a velocity greater than zero. Several different embodiments for capillary force vaporizers and systems comprising capillary force vaporizers are disclosed along with methods for their use. |
| US07920773B2 |
Video reproducing device
The present invention provides a video reproducing device which provides a function of reproducing a still image file and a moving image file recorded onto a recording medium in plural formats so that a user can easily identify a matched statuses of the files in the video reproducing device and can select and operate a target file as well as a control method therefor. The present invention displays an index screen in which thumbnails of a still image file and a moving image file in plural formats read from a recording medium are arrayed and further displays icons for clarifying a match relation between the video reproducing device and the files. |
| US07920769B2 |
Optical element, integrated optic device and optical information transmission system
In a compact formed by subjecting an ultrafine particle brittle material supplied on a substrate to mechanical impact force as a load, whereby the ultrafine particle brittle material is crushed and joined to each other, manganese is added into the ultrafine particle brittle material to form the compact. |
| US07920768B2 |
Single mode optical fiber as well as optical communication system
The present invention relates to a single mode optical fiber comprising a first central region having a radius r1, a maximum refractive index value n1 and at least one second ring surrounding said first central region, which second ring has a radius r2 and a minimum refractive index value n2, wherein n2 |
| US07920767B2 |
Suppression of higher-order modes by resonant coupling in bend-compensated optical fibers
The effect of bending is anticipated in an optical fiber design, so that resonant coupling remains an effective strategy for suppressing HOMs. The index profile of the fiber and its bend radius are configured so that there is selective resonant coupling of at least one HOM, but not the fundamental mode, in the bent segment of the fiber. In an illustrative embodiment, the core and cladding regions are configured to support the propagation of signal light in a fundamental transverse mode and at least one higher-order transverse mode in the core region. The cladding region includes an outer cladding region and an annular trench region. The trench region includes at least one axially extending, raised-index pedestal (waveguide) region having a refractive index higher than that of the outer cladding region. |
| US07920764B2 |
Electrically traceable and identifiable fiber optic cables and connectors
Composite fiber optic cables having exposed, conductive traces external to the cable jacket enable non-invasive, wireless electrical tone tracing of fiber optic cables. The cross sectional geometry of the fiber optic cable prevents conductive traces from short circuiting when abutting other cables or grounded conductive elements. Moreover, the structure allows convenient electrical contact to the conductive traces at any location along the longitudinal extent of the cable without requiring penetration of the cable jacket or removal of fiber optic connectors. Traceable fiber optic cables of various types are disclosed, including simplex, duplex and ribbon cables. Systems of traceable cables utilizing connectors with integrated electrical antenna elements attached to the conductive elements of cable and RFID tags for remote connector port identification are further disclosed. |
| US07920761B2 |
Multimodal identification and tracking of speakers in video
A computer program product includes machine readable instructions for providing enhanced video output by: receiving footage including likeness information in a plurality of modalities; demultiplexing the plurality of modalities to provide information for each modality; comparing information from at least two of the modalities for determining a correlation in the likeness information; using the correlation, obtaining semantic information for association with the likeness; and combining the semantic information with the likeness information for providing the enhanced video output. A system for implementing the computer program product includes resources for receiving the footage. |
| US07920760B2 |
Image organizing device and method, and computer-readable recording medium storing image organizing program
An organizing condition for organizing a plurality of inputted images based on at least one of a content of each inputted image and an associated attribute of each inputted image is stored for each user. When a plurality of newly inputted images are organized, the stored organizing condition associated with the user who carries out the organization is acquired, and the newly inputted images are organized based on the acquired organizing condition. |
| US07920758B2 |
Measurement apparatus and method of measurement of video spatial scale, offset and cropping
A method and apparatus are provided to measure spatial distortion. Measure and remove borders; and rescale the active test image, the active reference image, or both, such that they are the same size. A representative line is obtained, or selected, from each image providing a reference representative line (ReferenceRL) and a test representative line (TestRL). A local Pearson' cross-correlation coefficient (LPCCC) image is created from both the ReferenceRL and the TestRL at different horizontal shifts. The highest average intensity line across the LPCCC image is found as the coordinates of the corresponding Hough Transform image pixel with maximum intensity is determined. The Hough Transform Theta and R are converted to spatial scale and offset. The crude and refined offsets and scale values are combined to produce total horizontal and vertical scale offset values. These spatial measurements can then be provided. |
| US07920753B2 |
Preprocessing for information pattern analysis
Pre-processing techniques for processing an image to improve the distinctiveness of an information pattern captured in the image before the information pattern is analyzed in a decoding process. The brightness of an image first is normalized by dividing the image into blocks of areas, such as pixels. A brightness distribution value then is determined for each area of the image by fitting the brightness of its surrounding blocks using bilinear interpolation and extrapolation, and a normalized brightness value for each area can then be obtained by dividing the original brightness value by the brightness distribution value. Next, masks are created to distinguish the information pattern from content captured in the image. The masks may be generated based upon contrast differences between the brightness of pixels representing the information pattern, the brightness of pixels representing content, and the brightness of pixels representing the background of the writing medium. |
| US07920751B2 |
Adaptive gradient weighting technique for detector bad cell correction
An imaging system includes a two-dimensional detector having a plurality of cells wherein each cell is configured to detect energy or signal passing through an object. The imaging system includes a computer programmed to acquire imaging data for the plurality of cells, identify a cell to be corrected, based on the imaging data, interpolate Ix and Iy for the identified cell based on neighbor cells, and calculate local gradients gx and gy between the identified cell and its neighbor cells based on the interpolation. The computer is further programmed to calculate weighting factors wx and wy based on the local gradients, calculate a corrected final value I(0,0) for the identified cell, and correct the identified cell with the corrected final value. |
| US07920749B1 |
Modified high dynamic range color decompression
Systems and methods for representing high dynamic range data in compressed formats with a fixed size block allow high dynamic range data to be stored in less memory. The compressed formats use 8 bits per pixel. A first compressed format includes two endpoint values and compressed indices for the pixels in the block. A second compressed format includes four endpoint values, a partition index that specifies a mask for each pair of the four endpoint values, and compressed indices for the pixels in the block. The two formats may be used for various blocks within a single compressed image and mode bits are included to distinguish between the two formats. Furthermore, each endpoint value may be encoded using an endpoint compression mode that is also specified by the mode bits. Compressed high dynamic range values represented in either format may be efficiently decompressed in hardware. |
| US07920747B2 |
Pre-distribution image scaling for screen size
Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to video scaling and compression and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for pre-distribution image scaling for screen size. In one embodiment of the invention, a compressed video delivery method can be provided. The method can include determining a display size for a target computing platform, pre-scaling video imagery to comport with the display size of the target computing platform, compressing the pre-scaled video imagery, and transmitting the compressed, pre-scaled video imagery to the target computing platform over a computer communications network. |
| US07920738B2 |
Establishing correspondence and traceability between wafers and solar cells
The invention regards a method and a system for establishing correspondence between wafers and solar cells produced from said wafers. The method comprises for each wafer and each solar cell, providing an image of the wafer, providing an image of the cell, comparing the wafer image to the cell image, upon match between a cell image and a wafer image, assigning the current cell to the current wafer. The system comprises at least one imaging device for providing images of the wafers and the cells, a processing unit for comparing a wafer image to a cell image, and upon match between a cell image and a wafer image, assigning the current cell to the current wafer, and a memory unit. |
| US07920737B2 |
Code image processing method and code image processing apparatus
The present invention relates to methods of automatically determining and recognizing a code included in image data, and, more particularly, to a method capable of determining not only a one-dimensional code and a two-dimensional code but also a steganographic code with certainty.A code image processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a block extracting step of extracting a rectangular block unit area from image data; a block feature value calculating step of calculating the feature value of a code included in the rectangular block unit area; a block determining step of determining the type of the code included in the rectangular block unit area on the basis of the feature value of the code; and a code processing selecting step of selecting processing to be performed on the basis of the determined code type. According to the image processing method, it can be accurately determined whether a rectangular block unit area includes a steganographic code by using a steganographic feature value to determine the type of a code included in the rectangular block unit area. |
| US07920732B2 |
Capsule endoscope system and endoscopic image filing method
A capsule endoscope system includes a capsule endoscope, swallowable in a body, for forming an image. A receiver is positioned on the body, for wirelessly receiving the image from the capsule endoscope, to store the image. A workstation as information manager operates for image filing of the image from the receiver. A first wireless interface is incorporated in the receiver, for wirelessly transmitting the image during imaging with the capsule endoscope. A second wireless interface is positioned on the workstation, for wirelessly receiving the image from the first wireless interface. Furthermore, an image selector selects the image for image filing in the workstation among plural images received by the receiver. The first wireless interface transmits the selected image to the workstation. The receiver includes an image compressor for reducing a data size of the image received from the capsule endoscope before transmission in the first wireless interface. |
| US07920727B2 |
Image evaluation system and method
An image evaluation system and method are provided. The system includes an image register, an evaluation window, an image feature generator, and an evaluation unit. In addition, the image evaluation method includes the steps of in case that the image is a human figure, the image is analyzed based on a basic rule of image composition, and an evaluation score is calculated according to the position of the face feature in the image as analyzed and obtained from the image; in case that the image is a landscape, first if a horizontal line exists in the image is determined, if the answer is affirmative, the evaluation score is calculated based on the inclination of a horizontal line in the image; and the evaluation score is reported to the user as a reference. As such, the user may determine the quality of the image based on the evaluation score. |
| US07920715B2 |
Apparatus and method for embedding electronic watermark
An electronic watermark embedding apparatus for embedding watermark information as digital information into a document image includes a background eliminating unit that determines whether pixels on an input image are pixels composing a background image and eliminates the pixels determined as the pixels composing the background image from the input image, and a watermark embedding unit that embeds a watermark into a background eliminated image from which the background is eliminated by the background eliminating unit so as to form a watermark image. A readable watermark can be embedded into a multi-valued image including a halftone/gradation portion on the background of the input image. |
| US07920714B2 |
Method and apparatus for comparing document features using texture analysis
Systems and methods for assisting in the determination of the authenticity of security documents based on known characteristics of similar but authentic security documents. The system and methods use digital processing to capture a digital image of the document being examined and they use a feature localization or detection technique to search for a specific feature in the document based on a stored image of a similar feature from an authentic document. Once the feature on the subject document has been found, the digital image of the localized feature is transformed, by applying mathematical transforms or other image/mathematical operators, such that the result will have distinguishing characteristics that can be derived or analyzed. When the distinguishing characteristics have been analyzed, these are then compared to the stored distinguishing characteristics of similar features from known authentic documents. Based on the comparison, a score is then generated that is indicative of how similar or how different the distinguishing characteristics of the feature being examined are from the features from known authentic documents. The system may also be used such that multiple features from a single document are assessed and scored separately from one another with a final aggregate or weighted score being provided to the user for the whole document. |
| US07920713B2 |
Recorded video broadcast, streaming, download, and disk distribution with watermarking instructions
An apparatus comprising a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may be configured to analyze an audio-video data stream to determine watermark appropriate information for the audio-video data stream. The second circuit may be configured to communicate the watermark appropriate information either in-band with or out-of-band from a bit stream communicating the audio-video data. |
| US07920712B2 |
Coaxial mid-frequency and high-frequency loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is provided for receiving an electrical signal and transmitting an acoustic signal through a transmission medium. The system includes generally two elements: a coaxial transducer and an acoustic transformer. The coaxial transducer includes a high-frequency driver and a mid-frequency driver that are coaxially arranged. The acoustic transformer is acoustically coupled to the coaxial transducer and includes an initial horn section that expands from a first end to a second end in a direction away from the coaxial transducer. The initial horn section defines a plurality of openings therethrough, such that the initial horn section is acoustically opaque to high-frequency acoustic signals to thereby function as a waveguide for the high-frequency acoustic signals, while it is acoustically transparent to mid-frequency acoustic signals. |
| US07920711B2 |
Audio device and method for generating surround sound having first and second surround signal generation units
An audio device capable of easily generating two or more sets of surround signals based on 2-channel stereo signals and a method for generating surround sound are provided. The audio device 100 includes: an SL signal generation section 20 and a BL signal generation section 40 as first surround signal generation units for receiving an L signal and an R signal as 2-channel stereo signals, extracting a component of the R signal having high correlation with the L signal, subtracting the component from the L signal, thereby generating a first surround signal; and an SR signal generation section 30 and a BR signal generation section 50 as second surround signal generation units for extracting a component of the L signal having high correlation with the R signal, subtracting the component from the R signal, thereby generating a second surround signal. The level of subtracting a component from the L signal or the R signal for generating the first or second surround signal is differentiated each other between the plural sets. |
| US07920710B2 |
Loudspeaker apparatus
An array loudspeaker is constructed by stacking loudspeaker rows in a plurality of stages, each of the loudspeaker rows being formed by arranging loudspeaker elements in the form of a horizontal line. The loudspeaker rows are arranged in a zigzag form by, for example, offsetting the positions of the loudspeakers in the left and right direction for each stage. As for a high range signal, a two-stage portion of halves of the loudspeaker rows is used to narrow the pitch of the loudspeaker elements so as to prevent the grating lobe. As for a low range signal, the entire single-stage loudspeaker row is used to alleviate the deviation with respect to the directivity characteristics of the high range. |
| US07920708B2 |
Low computation mono to stereo conversion using intra-aural differences
A method of converting single channel audio (mono) signals to two channel audio (stereo) signals using simple filters and an Intra-aural Time Difference (ITD) is presented. This method does not distort the spectral content of the original signal very much, and has low computation requirements. A variation is proposed which also uses Intra-aural Intensity Difference (IID). |
| US07920705B1 |
System and method for convert channel detection
A communication system comprises a covert channel detector. The covert channel detector can be used in a multi-level security system (MLS) or multiple single levels of security (MSLS). The covert channel detector detects covert channels in a cryptographic system. The cryptographic system can be used in a military radio system. |
| US07920704B2 |
Systems and methods for obtaining information on a key in BB84 protocol of quantum key distribution
Systems and methods for obtaining information on a key in the BB84 (Bennett-Brassard 1984) protocol of quantum key distribution are provided. A representative system comprises a quantum cryptographic entangling probe, comprising a single-photon source configured to produce a probe photon, a polarization filter configured to determine an initial probe photon polarization state for a set error rate induced by the quantum cryptographic entangling probe, a quantum controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate configured to provide entanglement of a signal with the probe photon polarization state and produce a gated probe photon so as to obtain information on a key, a Wollaston prism configured to separate the gated probe photon with polarization correlated to a signal measured by a receiver, and two single-photon photodetectors configured to measure the polarization state of the gated probe photon. |
| US07920703B2 |
Descrambler
According to one embodiment of the invention, the descrambler IC comprises a local memory to store a unique key and a plurality of process blocks. A first process block performs cryptographic operations on a first mating key generator using the unique key in order to produce a first key. A second process block uses the first key to perform cryptographic operations on a second mating key generator in order to produce a second key. Using the first key and the second key, a third process block decrypts a first encrypted descrambling key in order to recover a first descrambling key and a fourth process block decrypts a second encrypted descrambling key to recover a second descrambling key. The descrambler IC includes a descrambler to descramble the scrambled digital content using both the first descrambling key and the second descrambling key in order to produce digital content in a clear format. |
| US07920698B1 |
Microphone systems for telephones
A microphone system that may be used in a mobile telephone is disclosed. In one embodiment, a microphone is housed within a first housing portion and is extended therefrom when a second portion of the housing is pivoted to an open position relative to the first housing portion. The microphone is retracted back into the first housing portion when the second housing portion is slidably affixed to the first housing portion and the microphone is extended from the first housing portion when the second housing portion is moved relative to an open position relative to the first housing portion and the microphone is retracted into the first housing portion when the second housing portion is moved into a closed position relative to the first housing portion. In another embodiment, a manually actuated scroll gear is used to extend and retract the microphone. In yet another embodiment, a motor is used to extend and retract the microphone. |
| US07920697B2 |
Interaction between echo canceller and packet voice processing
System and method for processing communication signals in a communication system having a detector for detecting a parameter of a communication signal. A communication signal is provided to a non-linear processor (NLP) adapted to examine the signal and to decide whether or not to enter an active state based upon a parameter of the signal. If the NLP enters an active state, the NLP performs non-linear processing on the signal. The NLP communicates to the detector whether the NLP is active or inactive. If the NLP is active, a processing step of the detector is disabled. |
| US07920691B2 |
Method and apparatus for configuring an automatic cross connect system at a remote wiring hub
A method and apparatus for configuring connectivity at a hub having a plurality of subscriber lines from a plurality of subscriber premises and a plurality of feeder lines from a central office. The hub provides connectivity between the plurality of subscriber premises and the central office. The method and apparatus include categorizing the plurality of subscriber lines into a plurality of groups based on penetration rates and churn rates of the plurality subscriber lines. Each group of subscriber lines are connected to feeder lines based on the penetration and churn rates for POTS and/or DSL services. Subscriber line groups with high penetration rates and high/low churn rates are coupled directly to feeder lines. Subscriber line groups with low penetration rates and high/low churn rates are terminated at the hub. Subscriber lines with an intermediate penetration rate are candidates for being connected to the feeder lines via an automatic switch. |
| US07920689B2 |
Ringback replacement insertion system
A ringback replacement insertion system for replacing certain communications network signals and tones is disclosed. Communications devices activate and interact with the ringback replacement system to allow for modification of the network service. |
| US07920686B2 |
Method and system for providing calling name identification requery
A method for determining the name of a calling party where the calling party's name and corresponding telephone number are found in a remote database. The method first identifies whether the calling party's telephone number is contained within the local database. When it is determined that the telephone number is not within the local database, the method attempts to locate the telephone number in a remote database. A query is formed according to a basic signal transmission protocol to ensure that a database which receives the query will be able to respond to it. The query requesting the name associated with the telephone number is sent across a network. The method receives a response to the inquiry and checks to ensure that a name was returned to the local database before delivering the name to the called party. |
| US07920684B2 |
Method and system for processing call setup messages using call attributes
A system for processing calls based on call attributes includes a call screening processor arranged for receiving a call setup message for placing a call between an originating switch and a dialed number. The call setup message contains basic network information including at least the number dialed and information related to the originating switch. The call screening processor matches the basic network information with data in a database in response to receiving a call setup message. The data in the database identifies call attributes of the call setup message based on the data matched to basic network information. The identified call attributes comprise call attributes comprise at least one of trunk ID, member ID, and destination. The call screening processor then processes the call setup message in accordance with the call attributes by appending data to the call setup message or altering the call setup message. |
| US07920682B2 |
Dynamic interactive voice interface
A dynamic voice user interface system is provided. The dynamic voice user interface system interacts with a user at a first level of formality. The voice user interface system then monitors history of user interaction and adjusts the voice user interface to interact with the user with a second level of formality based on the history of user interaction. |
| US07920681B2 |
System, apparatus, and methods for creating alternate-mode applications
A system, apparatus, and method for creating alternate-mode interactive applications is provided. A system for creating an alternate-mode interactive application includes a selection module for selecting a voice-mode element from a set of voice-mode elements defining a voice-mode interactive application for accomplishing a predetermined user-directed task The system also includes a generation module for generating an alternate-mode element corresponding to the selected voice-mode element, the alternate-mode element having a modality different than the voice-mode element. The system further includes a construction module for constructing an alternate-mode interactive application based upon the generated alternate-mode element. |
| US07920677B2 |
Automated DSL performance adjustment
The present application discloses an automated digital subscriber line performance control system comprising a computer system including a logic module to evaluate performance of a plurality of DSL lines and to automatically select a set of DSL lines from the plurality of DSL lines, a line profile database responsive to the computer system, the line profile database providing a plurality of line profiles in response to a request from the computer system, and a digital subscriber line access multiplexer coupled to the computer system. |
| US07920671B2 |
X-ray CT apparatus and control method of X-ray CT apparatus
An X-ray CT apparatus has a setting unit, a generating unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. The setting unit sets a required width of a group of X-ray detection elements in a row direction, which is relatively insusceptible to an influence of a cone angle of a cone-beam X-ray. The generating unit generates accumulation data by accumulating first projection data, based on first X-ray detection elements within the required width included in the group, with same channel in the row direction in preference to second projection data based on second X-ray detection elements outside the required width included in the group. The calculation unit obtains a motion amount for each heartbeat phase based on the accumulation data. The determination unit determines a specific heartbeat phase based on the motion amount for the each heartbeat phase. |
| US07920670B2 |
Keyhole computed tomography
A method of acquiring and reconstructing a computed tomography (CT) image is provided. A first scan of the full field of view (FOV) is acquired. A second scan of a smaller target FOV is then acquired by using a collimator to narrow the X-ray beam width. The CT image is iteratively reconstructed by replacing a key-hole region of the full FOV projection data with the target FOV projection data. An exemplary embodiment comprises imaging a heart (target FOV) within a torso (full FOV) over multiple heart beat cycles. A computer readable medium is further provided, including a program configured to reconstruct a CT image using the key-hole method. |
| US07920666B2 |
Safety injection tank with gravity driven fluidic device
A safety injection tank, used for quickly injecting emergency core cooling water (ECCW) to a reactor vessel in the case of a cold leg large break accident (CLLBA) in a pressurized water reactor (PWR), is disclosed. The safety injection tank has a gravity-driven fluidic device configured to efficiently change the ECCW injection mode from a high flow injection mode to a low flow injection mode. The gravity-driven fluidic device includes a spring placed in the upper end of the vertical pipe, and a vertically movable water tub placed on the spring so as to be movable in a vertical direction. When ECCW contained in the pressure vessel is discharged and the water level is reduced lower than the height of the tub, the tub is moved downwards such that the lower surface thereof comes into contact with the vertical pipe and closes the high flow inlet port. |
| US07920665B1 |
Symmetrical range controller circuit and method
A symmetrical range controller for phase-locked loop circuits includes a first counter coupled to a first signal line, where the first counter is configured to count state transition edges of the first signal, inhibit logic coupled to the first counter, where the inhibit logic is configured to inhibit an output signal of a second counter in response to a predetermined count of the first counter, and reset logic coupled to the first counter, where the reset logic is configured to reset the second counter in response to a full count of the first counter. |
| US07920661B2 |
Decision feedback equalizer for code division multiplexed signals
A decision feedback equalizer (DFE) processes a signal having multiple code channels by filtering an error signal based on a difference between a received signal and an estimated received signal. The received signal is processed to recover data on each of the code channels and to generate an estimate of a transmitted signal corresponding to the received signal. A channel estimate is applied to the resulting estimated transmitted signal to generate the estimated received signal. After the filter filters the error signal, a combiner combines the filtered error signal and the estimated transmitted signal. |
| US07920660B2 |
Method and arrangement for removing DC offset from data symbols
To remove DC offset from received data symbols having cyclic prefixes in a data communication system, means (5) are provided for determining the location of the cyclic prefixes, means (3) are provided for calculating the DC offset by calculating a mean value of at least one data symbol without its cyclic prefix and means (4) are provided for subtracting the calculated DC offset from said at least one data symbol with its cyclic prefix. |
| US07920656B2 |
Searching method for maximum-likelihood (ML) detection
The present invention relates to a method for searching a solution point of maximum-likelihood detection. The solution point locates at a symbol constellation. The method includes the following steps: determining a central point and a norm by a zero-forcing detection method; determining a searching range according to the central point and the norm; determining at least one qualified solution point according to the searching range; and determining the solution point of maximum-likelihood detection from the qualified solution points. |
| US07920651B2 |
Joint symbol, amplitude, and rate estimator
The system in one embodiment relates to tightly integrating parameter estimation, symbol hypothesis testing, decoding, and rate identification. The present invention provides Turbo-decoding for joint signal demodulation based on an iterative decoding solution that exploits error correction codes. The system iteratively couples an initial amplitude estimator, a symbol estimator, a bank of decoders, and a joint amplitude estimator to produce the symbol estimates. |
| US07920649B2 |
Recovering precoded data using a Mueller-Müller recovery mechanism
In one embodiment, the present invention includes an apparatus having a digital signal processor (DSP) coupled to receive a digitized signal. The DSP may be controlled to perform a timing recovery mechanism that implements a Mueller and Müller (MM)-based algorithm to generate a sensor output responsive to the digitized signal, where the incoming signal is non-linearly precoded in a transmitter from which the signal is received. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US07920645B2 |
Data transmissions in a mobile communication system employing diversity and constellation rearrangement of a 16 QAM scheme
The invention relates to methods for transmitting and receiving a data bit stream in a communication system using 16-QAM constellations. Further, an apparatus for performing the methods is provided. To improve the bit-error rate performance of the communication using the 16-QAM constellations the invention suggests the use 16-QAM constellations with specially selected mapping rules together with a special constellation rearrangement for creating different versions of the 16-QAM constellations. Further, the data stream is transmitted according to a diversity scheme employing different versions of the 16-QAM constellations obtained adhering the mapping rules and rearrangement rules defined by the invention. |
| US07920644B2 |
Predistortion apparatus and predistortion method
A predistortion apparatus for compensating for a distortion arising from a non linear property in input to output characteristics of an amplifier, by processing calculation of a plurality of coefficients for a plurality of power series defining the predistortion characteristics for a plurality of power ranges, respectively, the predistortion apparatus includes: a coefficient update unit for setting and updating coefficients of the power series to provide the predistortion characteristics for the plurality of power ranges in accordance with a comparison between the input and output of the amplifier; and a determination unit for determining at least one threshold value defining the plurality of power ranges by shifting the threshold value and operating the coefficient update unit for updating the coefficients for each of the power series corresponding to each of the power ranges defined by the shifted threshold value. |
| US07920643B2 |
Maximizing power and spectral efficiencies for layered and conventional modulations
Methods and apparatuses for maximizing power and spectral efficiencies in a wireless communication system are disclosed. The invention is particularly useful for layered modulation applications because power levels for such applications are relatively high. A layered modulation signal comprises an upper and a lower layer signal that interfere with each other within the same frequency band such that the upper layer signal can be demodulated directly from the layered modulation signal, and the lower layer signal can be demodulated after subtracting the first layer signal from the layered modulation signal. The invention applies one or more of the following four signal schemes in a communication signal including varying the symbol rate (rather than the code rate), reducing or eliminating the guard band, reducing excess signal bandwidth and employing layered modulation within the guard band of the legacy signal. |
| US07920642B1 |
Very high data rate conversion in FPGAs
Methods, circuits, and apparatus for providing an RF up-converter using digital circuits. One exemplary'embodiment provides an up-converter that uses multiple channels of parallel digital processing, then serializes individual bits from these channels to achieve higher frequencies. Specifically, I and Q components of a signal to be transmitted are decomposed into multiple components, each phase shifted from another. Quadrature versions of an oscillator signal are similarly decomposed and multiplied with corresponding I and Q signal components. The products are combined and serialized on a bit-by-bit basis to generate an RF signal. |
| US07920640B2 |
Transmission method and transmission apparatus used in multiantenna wireless communication system
A transmission bit and transmission power distributing method that can reduce the arithmetic amount in a multiantenna-input/multiantenna-output (MIMO) wireless communication system. This method comprises steps of calculating a signal-to-interference-noise ratio (SINR) gain after MIMO detection of each of transport substreams (S601, S602); optimizing, based on the acquired SINR gain, a transmission bit and transmission power distribution in the space domain for all transport substreams on a particular subcarrier in the frequency domain, thereby deciding a transmission bit and transmission power distribution parameters (S603, S604); and optimizing a transmission bit and transmission power distribution for adjacent subcarriers, by sequentially using the transmission bit and transmission power distribution parameters distributed on the subcarrier for which the transmission bit and transmission power distribution parameters have been decided (S605 to S610). |
| US07920636B2 |
Signal space expansion for a 16 QAM scheme
The invention relates to methods for transmitting and receiving a data bit stream in a communication system using a 16-QAM constellation. Further, an apparatus for performing the methods is provided. To provide a modulation and coding scheme using a signal space expansion and 16-QAM which improves the bit-error rate in comparison to QPSK modulated signals and still provides the possibility to implement coders and decoders with low complexity the invention suggests the use a 16-QAM constellation with specially selected mapping rules together with repetition coding (signal space expansion) and interleaving of the data stream to be transmitted. |
| US07920634B2 |
Editing system, editing controlling apparatus, and editing controlling method
A splicer/transcoder device that interfaces with a material archiver/server using a stream. The splicer/transcoder device interfaces with an editor and switcher using a base band signal. In a predetermined region including at least an edit point, a transcoding process is performed. In an input stream, two programs to be edited have been multiplexed. The editor and switcher receives base band signals Sa and Sb of which respective programs have been encoded. As with a conventional editing device, the editor and switcher edits the base band signals and returns the edited result as a base band signal Sc to the splicer/transcoder device. The splicer/transcoder device re-encodes the base band signal Sc into an output stream using codec information obtained in the decoding process. |
| US07920629B2 |
Context-adaptive VLC video transform coefficients encoding/decoding methods and apparatuses
Transform coefficients of sample blocks of a macroblock of a video picture are encoded by adaptively encoding a combination, the number of non-zero coefficients before the trailing one coefficients and the number of trailing one coefficients. The transform coefficients may be further encoded by adaptively encoding one or more of the signs of the trailing one coefficients, the level measures of the interposed in the non-zero coefficients. Adaptive encoding of the number and trailing one coefficients may be performed in view of one or more neighboring sample blocks, whereas adaptive encoding of level measure may be performed in view of quantization parameters of a macroblock and previously encoded level measures. Decoding may be performed in an inverse manner. |
| US07920626B2 |
Video surveillance visual recognition
Integrated imaging and GPS network monitors remote object movement. Browser interface displays objects and detectors. Database stores object position movement. Cameras detect objects and generate image signal. Internet provides selectable connection between system controller and various cameras according to object positions. |
| US07920624B2 |
Inverse quantizer supporting multiple decoding processes
The present invention provides an apparatus for performing inverse quantization for multiple decoding standards, where the functional operations that comprise the inverse quantizer are modularly implemented and can be selectably performed. Each operation can be represented via a table entry in an associated memory area, with the functional operation being performed via reference to that table entry. Functional operations can be bypassed as needed if inverse quantization does not need to be performed on a set of data. Certain other processing operations can be performed between steps as needed to accommodate different coding standards. Macroblock data can be read from and written back to a common storage area, or a direct path is provided for writing the data directly to a subsequent inverse transform device. |
| US07920623B2 |
Method and apparatus for simultaneous display of multiple audio/video programs transmitted over a digital link
Simultaneous display of multiple audio/video (AV) programs transmitted over a digital link is described. At a source device, at least one non-composited digital transport stream is generated from the plurality of AV programs. The at least one non-composited digital transport stream is augmented with control information. The control information is operative to invoke simultaneous display of the plurality of AV programs on a display device. The at least one non-composited digital transport stream is then transmitted as augmented over the digital link. At a sink device, at least one non-composited digital transport stream having the plurality of AV programs is received over the digital link. Control information is extracted from the at least one non-composited digital transport stream. The plurality of AV programs are identified within said non-composited digital transport stream in response to the control information. The identified AV programs are then simultaneously displayed on the display device. |
| US07920622B2 |
Digital broadcasting transmitter, turbo stream processing method thereof, and digital broadcasting system having the same
A digital broadcasting transmitter, a turbo stream processing method thereof, and a digital broadcasting system having the same. The digital broadcasting transmitter includes a first compressor, forming a normal stream by compressing audio and video signals in a first compression format, a second compressor, forming a turbo stream by compressing the audio and video signals in a second compression format, a transport stream (TS) constructor, compressing the turbo stream in an H.264 format and forming the dual transfer stream by multiplexing the normal stream and the turbo stream, and a TS processor, robustly processing the dual transfer stream transmitted from the TS constructor, thus enhancing the transmission efficiency. |
| US07920620B1 |
Method for reducing the calculation complexity for code acquisition and correlation
The present invention determines those mathematical processes that are repeated in the standard search schema, and uses this information to simplify the process by eliminating repetition of processes that have already been performed. The present information can be implemented in standard circuitry and with fewer instructions than the standard approach. As such, the present invention allows for receiver implementations that are of lower cost and lower power consumption, while achieving the same functionality as the standard receiver topology. The present invention achieves these goals by forming a lookup table of partial accumulations, and presents a method to efficiently address these partial accumulations for use during the accumulation and correlation processes performed by the receiver. These partial accumulations are in turn added together, or accumulated, to form the total accumulation over the desired time period. This eliminates the need of a specific operation of multiplication, or equivalent, on the incoming data. The present invention details a method for grouping similar operations, and presents a series of operations to utilize these groups for replacing a portion of the correlations and additions that would be carried out in the classical approach. |
| US07920615B2 |
Surface-emitting laser diode and method of manufacturing the same
A surface-emitting laser diode capable of being manufactured easily at low cost, and capable of stabilizing the polarization direction of laser light in one direction and achieving higher output is provided. A light emission section 20 in which a lower first DBR mirror layer 12, a lower second DBR mirror layer 13, a lower spacer layer 14, an active layer 15 including a light emission region 15A, an upper spacer layer 16, a current confinement layer 17, an upper DBR mirror layer 18 and a contact layer 19 are laminated in this order is included on a substrate 10. The lower first DBR mirror layer 12 includes an oxidation section 30 nonuniformly distributed in a direction rotating around the light emission region 15A in a periphery of a region corresponding to the light emission region 15A. The oxidation section 30 includes a pair of multilayer films 31 and 32, and is formed by oxidizing a low refractive index layer 12A. Thereby, an anisotropic stress according to nonuniform distributions of the multilayer films 31 and 32 is generated in the active layer 15. |
| US07920613B2 |
Optical semiconductor device and method of manufacturing same
The reliability of a buried hetero-structure semiconductor laser is improved by preventing an increase in oscillation threshold current and a decrease in external differential quantum efficiency in cases where the semiconductor laser is energized continuously under conditions of high temperature and high optical output. An optical semiconductor laser has an optical waveguide structure comprising an n-type cladding layer, an active layer and p-type cladding layers, and a current narrowing/blocking structure comprising a p-type blocking layer and an n-type blocking layer, wherein concentration of hydrogen contained in the p-type cladding layers is higher than concentration of hydrogen contained in the p-type blocking layer. |
| US07920612B2 |
Light emitting semiconductor device having an electrical confinement barrier near the active region
Light emitting semiconductor devices such as VCSELs, SELs, and LEDs are manufactured to have a thin electrical confinement barrier in a confining layer near the active region of the device. The thin confinement barrier comprises a III-V semiconductor material having a high aluminum content (e.g. 80%-100% of the type III material). The aluminum content of the adjacent spacer layer is lower than that of the confinement barrier. In one embodiment the spacer layer has an aluminum content of less than 40% and a direct bandgap. The aluminum profile reduces series resistance and improves the efficiency of the semiconductor device. |
| US07920608B2 |
Quantum cascade laser suitable for portable applications
A highly portable, high-powered infrared laser source is produced by intermittent operation of a quantum cascade laser power regulated to a predetermined operating range that permits passive cooling. The regulation process may boost battery voltage allowing the use of more compact, low-voltage batteries. |
| US07920607B2 |
Wavelength conversion apparatus, laser light generating apparatus and wavelength conversion method
A wavelength conversion apparatus capable of keeping high wavelength conversion efficiency for a longer time than ever before is provided. A wavelength conversion apparatus includes: a wavelength conversion section including a nonlinear optical crystal, and performing wavelength conversion of incident laser light by allowing the incident laser light to pass through the nonlinear optical crystal; and a relative position control section, when wavelength conversion is performed by the wavelength conversion section, relatively displacing the incident position of the incident laser light in an incident plane into which the incident laser light enters of the nonlinear optical crystal in a direction including a projection direction component of a +C axis to the incident plane in the nonlinear optical crystal or a direction orthogonal to the projection direction component. |
| US07920606B2 |
Frequency-tripled fiber MOPA
Fundamental-wavelength pulses from a fiber a laser are divided into two portions and the two portions are separately amplified. One of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions is frequency-doubled. The frequency doubled portion is sum-frequency mixed with the other amplified fundamental wavelength pulse-portions to provide third-harmonic radiation pulses. |
| US07920603B2 |
Method and system for switching elementary streams on a decoder with zero delay
Presented herein are system(s), method(s), and apparatus for rapid switching between streams of data. In one embodiment, there is described a circuit for providing media. The circuit comprises a multiplexed stream processor, a queue, and a decoder. The multiplexed stream processor receives a multiplexed stream and filtering at least one elementary stream. The queue queues the at least one elementary stream. The decoder decodes the at least one elementary stream. The multiplexed stream processor filters at least another elementary stream instead of at least one elementary stream after issuance of a command to switch from the at least one elementary stream to the at least another elementary stream. The queue stores a portion of the at least one elementary stream after issuance of the command, said portion of the at least one elementary stream being written into the queue before issuance of the command. The decoder decodes the portion of the at least one elementary stream and the at least another elementary stream. |
| US07920602B2 |
Method for formatting digital broadcast transport stream packet for improved receiving performance, digital broadcast transmitter, and signal processing method thereof
A method of formatting a digital broadcast transport stream packet, a digital broadcast transmitter, and a signal processing method thereof, includes constructing a transport stream packet that includes a stuffing region for an insertion of a known supplementary reference signal (SRS) data therein, randomizing the packet that includes the stuffing region is randomized, and the SRS data is inserted into the stuffing region of the randomized packet. Adding a parity for an error correction to the packet into which the SRS data has been inserted, the packet to which the parity has been added is interleaved, and a trellis encoding of the interleaved packet is performed. Inserting a segment sync signal and a field sync signal into the trellis-encoded packet, and a vestigial side band (VSB) modulation and an RF conversion of the packet are performed to transmit the VSB-modulated and RF-converted packet. |
| US07920600B2 |
Information processing apparatus
In an information processing apparatus such as digital cellular phone with a camera, a frame extracting portion extracts audio data in frames in accordance with a codec scheme. A packet creating portion creates an RTP packets based on the audio data in frames. A post-packetizing buffer holds the created RTP packets. A packet transmitting portion stores the RTP packets in a baseband packet and transmits the baseband packet to a headset. A streaming transfer managing portion determines whether any RTP packet is held in the post-packetizing buffer or not. A transmission stop controller controls to temporarily stop the transmission of the RTP packets in the packet transmitting portion. |
| US07920598B2 |
Scrambling methods for synchronization channels
Systems and methods are provided that facilitate generation and detection of synchronization channels in a wireless communication system. A one-to-one relationship is established among a set of scrambling codes (SCs) and a set of primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) sequences which are determined by a reusable sector identifier that is determined through detection of the P-SCH channel. The set of scrambling codes are utilized to (i) scramble a secondary synchronization channel sequence which facilitates detection of the S-SCH sequence once the reusable sector identifier is detected, or (ii) compose an unscrambled S-SCH sequence through a sequential or interleaved concatenation of SCs wherein a concatenation indication is received in a mobile terminal. Cyclic shifts and sign-flip operations applied to a base sequence are employed to generate SCs. A lookup table and a library of SCs facilitate scrambling code determination in a mobile terminal that receives associated P-SCH and S-SCH sequences. |
| US07920597B2 |
Method and system for low power idle signal transmission in ethernet networks
Aspects of a method and system for low power IDLE signal transmission in Ethernet networks are provided. In this regard, during time periods between transmissions of actual data by a local Ethernet link partner, the local Ethernet Link partner may generate one or more signals, in place of a standard Ethernet IDLE signal, that enable synchronization between Ethernet link partners. In this manner, the generated signals may enable reducing power consumption as compared to standard Ethernet IDLE signals. Accordingly, link activity may be monitored to enable detecting periods when there may be no actual data for transmission and the generated signals may be transmitted. The generated signals may be transmitted at a reduced symbol rate as compared to standard Ethernet IDLE signals. The generated signals may be transmitted via fewer network links as compared to standard Ethernet IDLE signals. |
| US07920595B2 |
Radio protocol for mobile communication system and method
Radio protocol for a next generation mobile communication system is disclosed including a radio link control layer for connecting to an upper layer through a service access point provided in advance and for connecting to a lower layer through a plurality of logic channels provided in advance. The radio link control layer includes at least one radio link control entity for transmission/reception of data to/from up-link or down-link according to a form of a data transmission mode. |
| US07920593B2 |
Methods for dynamic bandwidth allocation and queue management in Ethernet passive optical networks
In a passive optical network, dynamic bandwidth allocation and queue management methods and algorithms, designed to avoid fragmentation loss, guarantee that a length of a grant issued by an OLT will match precisely the count for bytes to be transmitted to an ONU. The methods include determining an ONU uplink transmission egress based on a three-stage test, and various embodiments of methods for ONU report 700 threshold setting. |
| US07920590B2 |
Wireless communications system having built-in packet data compression and support for enabling non-standard features between network elements
A mobile station (100) and a compression/decompression node in a wireless network (5), preferably the GGSN 30 (30), agree on whether to apply compression/decompression, and what compression/decompression scheme to use either by pre-configuration (when the GGSN 30 is in the home network of the mobile terminal) or by signalling (when the GGSN 30 is in a visited or a roamed-to network). Additional information, such as a profile-specific dictionary, may be used to increase the compression efficiency, particularly during start-up. Dynamic data can also be accommodated. The compression/decompression may be turned on and off on a packet-by-packet basis, depending on whether the compression actually results in a smaller packet. A compressed/uncompressed indicator bit or bits can be inserted explicitly on a per packet basis, and/or the compressed/uncompressed indication can be derived implicitly. A desired data compression/decompression algorithm, or any desired Proprietary Feature, can be signaled, possible without requiring standardization changes, by using a Packet Data Protocol PDP Context Activation message with a predetermined Access Point Name (APN) message information element that is sent from a first network element to a second network element for at least identifying the desired compression/decompression algorithm. It another embodiment, for the case where Proprietary Feature capability is exchanged between a RAN and a UE network element, a transmission of an extension to a UE Capability Enquiry message is sent to the UE for identifying the Proprietary Feature. |
| US07920588B2 |
Data communications system and method of data transmission
A 1553 data communication system having a primary data bus, a redundant data bus and a non-1553 data communication overlay system is provided. The non-1553 data communication overlay system comprises a non-1553 bus controller terminal and a non-1553 remote terminal. Each non-1553 terminal includes a non-1553 transmitter block connected to the primary bus and the redundant bus for sending non-1553 signals, a non-1553 receiver block for receiving non-1553 signals and a non-1553 receive path selection block. The non-1553 receive path selection block selectively establishes a receive path between the primary data bus or the redundant data bus and the non-1553 receiver block according to predefined receive path selection criteria. A 1553 data communication method is also provided. |
| US07920587B2 |
Method for establishing a global time base in a time-controlled communications system and communications system
A method for establishing a global time base in a time-controlled communications system comprising a network and multiple subscribers connected to it. At least one of the subscribers of the communications system is defined as a time master with which the remaining subscribers are synchronized. In order to allow for a synchronization of the communications system that is on the one hand as simple as possible and realizable at low cost and on the other hand is secure and reliable, the present invention provides for one subscriber to be defined as the main time master and at least one further subscriber to be defined as a reserve time master. The order of the reserve time masters is predefined in the event that more than one subscriber is defined as a reserve time master. First an attempt is made to synchronize all subscribers of the communications system with the main time master. If this fails, then in each case the next reserve time master in the predefined order is selected and the attempt is made to synchronize all subscribers of the communications system with the selected reserve time master until either the synchronization of the subscribers of the communications system is successful or a synchronization of the subscribers with the last reserve time master fails as well. |
| US07920580B2 |
Coordinated multi-network data services
Content and/or services are provided for a session to a user by controlling use of at least two different networks to deliver the content and/or services for the session to the user. The at least two different networks have different data transfer characteristics. Control of use of the at least two different networks is based on the data transfer characteristics of the at least two different networks and characteristics of the content and/or services for the session to the user. |
| US07920579B2 |
Method, system and apparatus for media gateway to transmit and receive multicast data
The present invention provides a method, system and apparatus for an MG to transmit and receive multicast data. A method for an MG to receive multicast data in embodiments of the present invention include the following: the MG receives a multicast-related indication from the MGC, reports the relevant information to the router in the network at the multicast source side according to the indication, and requests to join the multicast group. The MG receives the multicast data transmitted by the multicast source. A method for an MG to transmit multicast data in embodiments of the present invention include the following: the MG receives the multicast-related indication from the MGC; and the MG transmits the corresponding multicast data to the users in the network at the receiver side in the form of multicast according to the indication. |
| US07920577B2 |
Power saving in wireless packet based networks
A method of handling broadcast packets, which are for a single network unit. The method includes receiving, by a network device, a packet, having a broadcast address, but directed to a single network unit and forwarding the packet through a plurality of ports of the network device, but not through at least one port of the device through which the packet was not received. |
| US07920576B2 |
Packet ring network system, packet forwarding method and node
Nodes 901 and 902 have the same address. Upon reception of a broadcast packet whose TTL value is not zero from a ringlet 910a, a forwarding circuit 51 of each of the nodes 901 and 902 copies and transits the packet, and an address table 60 of each node learns the address based on the copied broadcast packet. Upon reception of a unicast packet whose destination is an address common to the two nodes from the ringlet 910a, the forwarding circuit 51 of one node 901 copies and transits the packet, while the forwarding circuit 51 of the other node 902 strips the packet, and each address tables learns the address. A filter circuit of the node 902 prohibits the passage of the packet from the ringlet 910a. |
| US07920575B2 |
Address acquisition
In a GPRS system, a method of a mobile station acquiring an IP network address. The method comprises the steps of:the mobile station generating a link identifier and sending it to a gateway over a wireless link in a network address request together with a request to check if the link identifier is unique;the gateway receiving the network address request and checking if the link identifier is unique;the gateway responding with a network address request response including either the sending a unique link identifier confirmed as being unique or a different unique link identifier;the gateway sending a network prefix to the mobile station;the mobile station combining the interface identifier and the network prefix to generate the IP network address. |
| US07920573B2 |
Data relay device, data relay method, and computer product
A data relay device includes a plurality of transmission ports that constitutes a logical port, and stores therein a MAC learning table and a CoS distribution table. The data relay device reads a MAC address and a CoS value from a frame, and reads a logical-port ID corresponding to the MAC address from the MAC learning table. The data relay device reads a transmission-port ID corresponding to the logical-port ID and the CoS value from the CoS distribution table, and outputs the frame to a transmission port indicated by the transmission-port ID. On the transmission port, the frame is stored in a transmission queue corresponding to the CoS value, and the frame is transmitted at a shaping rate assigned to the transmission queue. |
| US07920570B2 |
Communication control apparatus and communication terminal
A communication control apparatus for controlling communication by repeatedly sending a control signal to other apparatuses at a given time interval, the communication using a protocol that regulates transmissions of an acknowledgement as a receipt for one or more communication packets, and the control signal allocating, within the given time interval, two types of communication periods which are (i) a one-way communication period in which a one-way communication is performed and (ii) a two-way communication period in which a two-way communication is performed. The communication control apparatus determines, based on an occurrence ratio of the transmissions of the acknowledgement, a length of the one-way communication period, and sends the control signal that allocates a plurality of the one-way communication periods each of which has the determined length. |
| US07920561B2 |
Method for supporting Ethernet MAC circuits
An Ethernet MAC sublayer is provided for supporting Ethernet MAC circuits in an Ethernet Network. In accordance with one embodiment, an Ethernet MAC sublayer is provided for processing and setting up circuits. The MAC sublayer provides support for higher level signaling and routing applications to implement Ethernet MAC circuit functionality. The MAC sublayer provides interrupts for WAN learning and circuit setup. The MAC sublayer also provides address table entry extension to allow for usage of multiple links between nodes. The routing application is used to manage routing information, maintain a MAC to port mapping database, and manage port resources. The signaling application is used to set up and manage circuits. In accordance to various embodiments, circuits of various types and properties can be managed in the Ethernet Network. |
| US07920560B2 |
Method for detecting topology of computer systems
One embodiment is a method that transmits a packet having a bit field with a Time-to-live (TTL) value from a requesting node to a plurality of receiving nodes. The TTL value is decreased at each of the receiving nodes, and the packet is sent back to the requesting node that compares a value in the bit field with the TTL value to determine a topology of the receiving nodes connected to the requesting node. |
| US07920558B2 |
Method of operating a network
A data network has a number of inter-connected router devices forward received packets of data towards a destination node in accordance with a routing table associated with each router. A trust value is assigned to one or more other router devices, or links between router devices, in the network. A route metric is calculated in respect of one or more paths for forwarding on received data packets for onward transmission towards a specified destination. A next hop destination is selected for onward transmission of each such received packet to be forwarded on the basis of the calculated route metric for each applicable path. Each route metric is calculated in dependence upon the trust value assigned to one or more of the router or routers within each such path. |
| US07920557B2 |
Apparatus and method for soft media processing within a routing switcher
A routing switcher performs various soft signaling processing within the router using one or more internal soft media processors (central processing units) to enable flexible solutions. The routing switcher includes a plurality of inputs and outputs operably connected by a cross-point matrix where the inputs are dynamically coupled to one or more of the outputs. The routing switcher also includes a soft media processor connected to the cross-point matrix as well as being dynamically coupled between some inputs and outputs. The soft media processor receives a signal from an input via the cross-point matrix and performs one of at least two signaling processing functions resident on the soft media processor and outputs a processed signal from one or more of the routing switcher's outputs. |
| US07920553B2 |
Hierarchical data collection network supporting packetized voice communications among wireless terminals and telephones
A packet-based, hierarchical communication system, arranged in a spanning tree configuration, is described in which wired and wireless communication networks exhibiting substantially different characteristics are employed in an overall scheme to link portable or mobile computing devices. The network accommodates real time voice transmission both through dedicated, scheduled bandwidth and through a packet-based routing within the confines and constraints of a data network. Conversion and call processing circuitry is also disclosed which enables access devices and personal computers to adapt voice information between analog voice stream and digital voice packet formats as proves necessary. Routing pathways include wireless spanning tree networks, wide area networks, telephone switching networks, internet, etc., in a manner virtually transparent to the user. A voice session and associate call setup simulates that of conventional telephone switching network, providing well-understood functionality common to any mobile, remote or stationary terminal, phone, computer, etc. |
| US07920550B2 |
Voice communication system and voice communication method
A voice communication system, which is connected to a LAN to which communication terminals are connected and to a public network to which telephones are connected, is provided with a communication server between the LAN and public network having different protocols from each other. The communication server enables a voice communication between a telephone on the public network and a communication terminal connected to the LAN by performing processing similar to that for a voice communication between two communication terminals connected to the LAN. The communication server determines whether an address of the other party inputted by a user is a communication terminal address or a telephone number, and transmits a voice communication request to a communication terminal of the other party when the address is a communication terminal address. When the address is a telephone number, the user acquires the communication terminal address of the communication server, and transmits a voice communication request to the communication server. Thereafter, the voice communication processing is performed through the communication server. |
| US07920549B2 |
Method and system for providing secure media gateways to support interdomain traversal
An approach provides interdomain traversal to support packetized voice transmissions. A signaling message is received for establishing a voice call from a first endpoint associated with a first domain to a second endpoint associated with a second domain. The first endpoint queries a STUN (Simple Traversal of UDP (User Datagram Protocol)) server to determine information relating to a firewall and network address translator that the first endpoint is behind, and to log into a TURN (Traversal Using Relay NAT (Network Address Translation)) server configured to establish a media path between the first endpoint and the second endpoint. A first proxy server serving the first endpoint communicates with an ENUM (Electronic Number) server to convert a directory number corresponding to the second endpoint to a network address. The first proxy server communicates with a second proxy server serving the second endpoint to establish the voice call. The STUN server, the TURN server and the ENUM server are maintained by service provider. The first endpoint is authenticated to permit exchange of a media stream over the media path. The media stream is relayed, if the first endpoint is successfully authenticated. |
| US07920547B2 |
Voice service system and method of accessing the same
A VoIP-UMS accessed via a private branch exchange or an IP-phone using a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). More particularly, the method has access the VoIP-UMS in which an initial call setup message is sent which includes call information upon accessing the VoIP-UMS for the purpose of using functions, such as voice mail or the like. When a user accesses a voice service system over a network directly from a terminal, the user accesses via an SIP server, or the user accesses via a switching system, the VoIP-UMS can discriminate connected calls easily, and determinate and respond to the calls rapidly because an INVITE message, which is a Session Initiation Protocol message attempting to access the VoIP-UMS, includes an INFO message that is a message on call information. |
| US07920545B2 |
Communication apparatus, control method for controlling communication apparatus, program for controlling communication apparatus, and storage medium storing such program
A communication apparatus determines a hibernation period on the basis of the amount of an offset in beacon period start timing among multiple beacon groups. The communication apparatus is placed in a hibernation status in accordance with the determined hibernation period. Thus, an offset in beacon period start timing among the beacon groups that would occur while the device is in hibernation can be prevented and the need for merging beacon groups and decrease in data rate during such merging are prevented. |
| US07920543B2 |
Wireless broadband communications network using message diffusion architecture
A broadband terrestrial message delivery system includes a plurality of wireless communication devices (WCDs), each including a receiver and transmitter, the WCDs capable of not only receiving messages destined for a subscriber associated with a particular WCD, but further capable of acting as a relay point to move messages to and from other subscribers. Message diffusion includes relaying the messages in accordance with all earmark that specifies both the total number of times (N) a message is to be repeated, and the number of times (i) the received message has already been repeated. Methods of improving the spectral efficiency of such a message diffusion architecture include adding a propagation ring width control parameter (J) to the earmark such that a WCD acting in relay mode transmits no more than J repetitions of the message; and providing sectorization such that several sectorized message pathways in a cell may be simultaneously active. |
| US07920541B2 |
Resource allocation in a radio access network
In a radio access network, techniques for enabling the network to provide a service availability guarantee to a user of a premium service without requiring the network to identify a priority level of a connection with an access terminal associated with the premium service user prior to connection establishment. |
| US07920540B2 |
Method and system for reliable broadcast or multicast communication in wireless networks
A method and system for communicating information over a wireless channel in a communication system including a coordinator and receivers, involves controlling channel access by dividing a contention-free period (CFP) into one or more schedules, wherein each schedule includes one or more periodical channel time blocks (CTBs) for wireless communication, reserving a CTB for reliable broadcast or multicast (ReBoM) communication of a data packet over the channel, transmitting the data packet from the coordinator over the channel during the reserved CTB, and receiving one or more acknowledgments for the data packet from one or more of the receivers. The data packet includes a header comprising ReBoM information indicating a multi-CTB ReBoM communication sequence for the data packet or a single-CTB ReBoM communication sequence for the data packet. |
| US07920538B2 |
Spectral reuse transceiver-based aggregation of disjoint, relatively narrow bandwidth (voice) channel segments of radio spectrum for wideband RF communication applications
A bandwidth usage control methodology uses the clear channel detection and frequency agile functionality of a spectral reuse transceiver to effectively ‘aggregate’ disjoint user channels into an overall bandwidth, the spectral extent of which is at least sufficient to meet a high bandwidth requirement (such as, but not limited to the transmission of data/video), that cannot be realized by a conventional, single channel radio. |
| US07920530B2 |
WLAN TDM IFS time selection protocol
A first wireless network device in a wireless network that includes a plurality of wireless network devices comprises an RF transceiver that transmits and receives data packets and that periodically transmits or receives a beacon. A control module communicates with the RF transceiver, determines a transmission position m and a default IFS time based on the beacon, selects a second IFS time when the RF transceiver receives a data packet from a second wireless network device having a transmission position m−1, and selects the default IFS time when the RF transceiver does not receive a data packet from the second wireless network device. |
| US07920526B2 |
Long training sequence method and device for wireless communications
A method and device for transmitting a frame of a wireless communication begins by generating a preamble of the frame that includes a short training sequence and at least one long training sequence. The at least one long training sequence includes non-zero energy on each of a plurality of subcarriers except a DC subcarrier. The at least one long training sequence corresponds to the number of antennas and applicable wireless communication standards. A matrix is defined to represent the at least one long training sequence. The preamble is compatible with legacy and current standards. A channel is defined with a set of sub carriers to transmit the frame. |
| US07920522B2 |
Method and apparatus for system interoperability in wireless communications
In a method and apparatus for providing system interoperability in wireless communications an IP based client-server application maintains a proper set of PDP contexts while a mobile is connected via an IP based system. The application client resides in the mobile and the server resides within the network at a common anchor point between the IP based system and a PDP contexts based system. The PDP contexts are kept up to date but on hold until a handover occurs for the mobile from the IP based system to the PDP contexts based system. |
| US07920521B2 |
Method and system for foreign agent relocation in wireless network
Method and system for foreign agent relocation in wireless network. According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a system for providing wireless access. The system includes a service network that include a database for storing information associated with providing network connection. The system also includes a first access network that is configured to provide a first wireless access in a first location. The system further includes a mobile station that is associated with the first access network, the mobile station being configured to send location update messages in an idle mode. The method also includes a second access network that is configured to provide access for the mobile station. The second access network is configured to provide a second wireless access in a second location. The system also includes a third access network that is configured to receive a first location update message from the mobile station in the idle mode. |
| US07920520B2 |
Handoff between a SIP network and a cellular communication system
Handoff between a wireless SIP network and a cellular communication system is provided. A system is designed to provide nomadic cellular services including voice to a SIP-enabled device. |
| US07920519B2 |
Transferring context information to facilitate node mobility
Facilitating node mobility includes facilitating a communication session for a mobile node communicated along a first communication path. A first anchor point manages context information for the communication session, where the context information comprises information for supporting the communication session. A command to transfer the context information to a second anchor point is received from a home agent. The second anchor point is operable to facilitate communication of the communication session along a second communication path. The context information is transferred in response to the command. |
| US07920513B2 |
Reestablishing communication by a mobile node upon recovery from an abrupt shut down
When a mobile node suffers an abrupt shut down while operating in a foreign network and recovers in its home network, the present invention enables the mobile node to reestablish communication capability, without time delay, with the nodes that had established one or more communication sessions with the mobile node prior to the abrupt shut down. The mobile node of the present invention includes an update module that determines whether additional information needs to be sent to the nodes in communication with the mobile node prior to the mobile node suffering an abrupt shut down. Based on that determination, the update module may provide additional information to such nodes. |
| US07920509B2 |
Remote node access in wireless telecommunication systems
A system and method that provides remote access to nodes in a wireless telecommunication system comprises sending a first message from an operations node in the wireless telecommunication system to a packet interface. The first message may be dynamically directed to a first of the nodes in the wireless telecommunication system. This may be accomplished by dynamically directing the first message using an unallocated channel, using an allocated but inactive channel, using an active channel, or prioritizing the first message in the active channel. |
| US07920508B2 |
Apparatus and method for generating synchronization channel for relay station in wireless communication system
An apparatus and method for generating an RS SCH in a wireless communication system are provided, in which a base station checks a BS SCH sequence and a mask sequence, and generates an RS SCH sequence by XOR-operating the BS SCH sequence and the mask sequence. |
| US07920503B2 |
Apparatus and method for transmitting packet in forward link of multibeam satellite communication system
Provided are a packet transmission method for transmitting packets in a forward link of a multibeam satellite communication system and a computer-readable recording medium for recording a program that implements the method. The packet transmission method transmitting packets to mobile stations in a forward link of a multibeam satellite communication system, comprising the steps of: wherein downlink beams of a satellite share an orthogonal spreading code set for transmitting packets to the mobile stations, a) generating downlink beam signals by using an identical structure for the radio frames transmitted through the downlink beams and an identical pseudo-noise (PN) scrambling code for generating downlink beam signals; and b) synchronizing transmission timings of frames, symbols and spread chips on the downlink beam signals. |
| US07920502B2 |
Satellite telephony packetization techniques
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to packetization techniques for satellite transmission of data, such as telephony data. Some embodiments use the MPEG2 standard in connection with the ETSI DVB data piping profile for arranging the data. Embodiments also relate to method for receiving, demultiplexing and managing incoming telephony data to support a variety of telephony applications including voice, facsimile, Internet and other data. |
| US07920499B2 |
Activation of services in a communication system
A method in a communication system, a communication system and an application server embodying the method are disclosed. The method is for communication of information during establishment of a communication session. In the method, additional information is included in a message carrying information regarding a data communication media for a communication session. The additional information regards a floor status of the data communication media in relation to a party of the communication session. The message is sent from the communication system to a user equipment. |
| US07920497B2 |
System and method for multicast/broadcast reliability enhancement over wireless LANs
A system comprises a communication engine for transmitting at least one groupcast packet to wireless stations on a wireless network; an ACK leader selection engine for identifying at least one of the wireless stations as a current ACK leader responsible for generating any ACK in response to the at least one groupcast packet, and for shifting the current ACK leader among a group of the wireless stations; and an ACK management engine for managing any ACK received from the current ACK leader. |
| US07920492B1 |
Devices, softwares and methods for redundantly encoding a data stream for network transmission with adjustable redundant-coding delay
Devices, softwares and methods are provided for redundantly encoding a data stream into frames for network transmission as packets. A main encoder encodes a data stream into main frames, while a redundant encoder encodes it into redundant frames. The redundant frames have a redundant-coding delay from the main frames that is adjustable to accommodate many different sets of network conditions. |
| US07920489B1 |
Simultaneous receiving and transmitting of data over a network
Embodiments herein provide full duplex operation (i.e., simultaneous receiving and transmitting of data over a network) of a network device of a computer system. Receiving and transmitting threads are used for receiving and transmitting data using the network device, the threads requiring access to an associated data structure to use the network device. Conventionally, the data structure is locked to allow access to only one thread at a time to protect against information inconsistencies in the data structure. Some embodiments remove the locking feature of the data structure to provide simultaneous access to the data structure by the receiving and transmitting threads, and thus allow full duplex operation of the network device. Protections against information inconsistencies in the data structure may be provided, including providing separate receiving and transmitting information sections in the data structure and assurances that only one transmitting thread accesses the data structure at any time. |
| US07920485B2 |
Unsupervised traffic estimation for low-power media streaming
A method and system for processing data streams is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes establishing a plurality of initial sample zones; establishing a plurality of wakeup zones; sampling a plurality of data packets based on the plurality of initial sample zones; estimating the traffic based on the sampling of the plurality of data packets; and modifying the wakeup zones based on the estimated traffic. According to the method and system disclosed herein, the traffic estimation enables a mobile station to optimize wakeup periods. |
| US07920482B2 |
Systems and methods for monitoring information corresponding to communication sessions
Systems and methods for monitoring information corresponding to communication sessions are provided. A representative method includes: receiving information corresponding to the communication session; storing the information in long term storage; extracting a first portion of the information from the long term storage; populating a database with the first portion of the information such that the portion of the information is stored in the database in addition to being stored in the long term storage; determining that additional information corresponding to the communication session is required for use; and extracting an additional portion of the information from the long term storage. |
| US07920481B2 |
Path maximum transmission unit determination
Disclosed are techniques for determining a path maximum transmission unit (MTU) of a communication path connecting two or more nodes of a network. A node initiates a connection with a remote node by repeatedly transmitting increasingly-larger path MTU discovery messages until the size of a path MTU discovery message exceeds the link MTU of a link within the communication path. This results in the generation and transmission of an MTU error message back to the initiating node. The edge router linked to the initiating node generates a MTU change message in response to receiving the MTU error message and multicasts the MTU change message to all local nodes to which it is linked. The MTU change message directs the receiving nodes to update their destination caches to reflect the path MTU discovered through the use of the increasing-size path MTU discovery messages and the resulting MTU error message. |
| US07920473B1 |
Method and system for managing transmit descriptors in a networking system
Method and system for managing transmit descriptors (TDs) for transmitting information over a network connection is provided. The method includes, allocating a minimum number of TDs to plural network connections at any given time; and determining an additional number of TDs for allocation to plural network connections, wherein the additional number of TDs is based on network traffic. The system includes a computing system with an operating system, a system memory and a network device driver; and a network adapter coupled to the computing system, wherein the operating system checks for availability of data for transmission over a plurality of network connections; and the network device driver allocates a minimum number of transmit descriptors (TDs) to the plural network connections at any given time; and determines an additional number of TDs for allocation to the plural network connections, wherein the additional number of TDs is based on network traffic. |
| US07920468B2 |
Method and system for constraint-based traffic flow optimisation system
A method of calculating traffic values in a communications network (1), the communications network comprising a plurality of nodes (2,4), the nodes being connected to one another by links (24), the method comprising: (a) obtaining traffic data measurements (102) through said nodes and/or links in an initial scenario as input data; (b) deriving a traffic flow model for a modified scenario using a plurality of constraints describing the interdependency of said initial to said modified scenario (116); and (c) calculating values and/or upper and lower bounds of traffic values for said modified scenario from said traffic flow model using said input data (118). |
| US07920467B2 |
System and method for monitoring a plurality of network devices
A system for monitoring a plurality of network devices within a network comprises a network monitor embedded within one of the network devices for automatically discovering and requesting status information from other network devices. The network monitor, in the event that another network monitor is discovered, initiates cooperation with the other network monitor to share discovering and requesting. |
| US07920463B2 |
Method and network control unit for deactivating a network component
The invention relates to a method and to a network control unit for deactivating a network component for example, one or several connections or an entire network node, the method being used to carry out deactivation in simple manner without impairing the traffic and optionally, the reliability. The invention also relates to a method for deactivating a network component, in particular one or several connections and/or a network node in a communication network including a plurality of network components. The method includes: a) the network components which are to be deactivated are identified; b) a new metric set (M1) for the remaining network components is calculated c) the new metric set is configured in the network and the network is rerouted; and d) the network components which are to be deactivated are removed. |
| US07920460B2 |
Information recording medium, and recording method and reproducing method thereof
An information recording medium in which bottoms of a guide groove and a pit array formed on a disc substrate are allocated on a same flat plane and shaped in flat. Further, in a transition area from a pit array to a guide groove or from a guide groove to a pit array, the information recording medium is provided with an intermediate area composed of a pit array of which height changes from a height between a bottom and a side of a groove to another height between the bottom and a side of the pit array. |
| US07920459B2 |
Optical disc including a learning area having first and second regions, and methods for reproducing and recording data on the optical disc
When recording or reading an optical disc having plural data recording layers, which data recording layer the light spot is focused on is detected to improve playback signal quality and signals written to the layer on which the light spot is focused are read more reliably. A convergent lens converges the laser beam on the optical disc, and a focus controller controls the focal point of the laser beam on the data layer. A tracking controller positions and tracks the focal point of the laser beam converged by the convergent lens on a track of the optical disc. A photodetector detects the reflected laser beam from the disc. A convergence detector then detects the convergence state of the laser beam emitted to the plural data recording layers. Based on output from the convergence detector, the laser driver is controlled to separately set beam power appropriately for each of the plural data layers of the disc during playback. |
| US07920457B2 |
Device for recording data comprising microdots with free ends forming a convex surface and method for the production thereof
Device for recording data comprising microdots with free ends forming a convex surface and method for the production thereofThe data recording device comprises a storage medium arranged facing a two dimensional array of microdots, of nanometric dimensions, formed directly on a substrate. An electronic circuit for addressing and controlling the microdots is integrated in the substrate. The microdots and/or substrate are shaped in such a way that the set of free ends of the microdots defines a convex surface, which enables a contact to be ensured in all cases between each of the microdots and the corresponding storage medium. The radius of curvature of the surface convex is preferably comprised between 1 m and 5 m. |
| US07920455B2 |
Complex optical element and optical pickup
A complex optical element includes a first optical portion and a second optical portion which are made of materials different from each other. The second optical portion is bonded to an optical functional face of the first optical portion. A concavoconvex face part is formed at the central part of the bond area between the first optical portion and the second optical portion. |
| US07920452B2 |
Recording/reproducing apparatus and method
Provided are a recording/reproducing apparatus and method for optimizing data recording. The recording/reproducing apparatus sets a predetermined length which is an integer multiple of a unit recording length and sets a plurality of recording parameters, with reference to mark/space combinations which can be configured within the predetermined length ahead of a start point of a mark for recording data and mark/space combinations which can be configured within the predetermined length behind an end point of the mark for recording data. Accordingly, by setting a predetermined length and limiting conditions for optimizing recording parameters, and considering run-length combinations which can be configured within the predetermined length, it is possible to quickly and efficiently optimize parameters. |
| US07920446B2 |
Optimizing focus point for optical disc
An apparatus includes a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may be configured to generate status signals and an error signal in response to accessing a storage medium. The error signal provides a first value based on an accuracy of accessing the storage medium. The second circuit may be configured to offset the first value of the error signal to a second value to increase the accuracy of accessing said storage medium. The status signals include one or more of a data signal and a differential signal. In a first mode, an offset signal is generated in response to the data signal. In a second mode, the offset signal is generated in response to the differential signal. |
| US07920442B2 |
Objective lens, optical pick-up device, and optical disk device
An optical pickup device includes light sources for respectively emitting a plurality of different wavelengths of light, a unit structured for causing at least a part of the light emitted from the light sources to pass a same optical path; and a focusing unit for focusing the light. The focusing unit includes at least first and second focusing parts, the first focusing part being to focus mainly a wavelength of light different from a wavelength of light to be mainly focused by the second focusing part. The optical pickup device and optical disk device are capable of realizing at least one of thickness reduction, size reduction and suppression against characteristic deterioration even where coping with various wavelengths of laser including a blue laser. |
| US07920436B2 |
Sense amplifier
A sense amplifier includes a first cascode transistor, a second cascode transistor, a first feedback circuit, a second feedback circuit, and a comparator. The drain of the first cascode transistor is connected directly to a first voltage source. The gate of the first cascode transistor is connected to the first feedback circuit and a first input of the comparator, and the source of the first cascode transistor is connected to the first feedback circuit and a first column decoder. The drain of the second cascode transistor is connected directly to a second voltage source. The gate of the second cascode transistor is connected to the second feedback circuit and a second input of the comparator, and the source of the second cascode transistor is connected to the second feedback circuit and a second column decoder. |
| US07920432B2 |
Semiconductor device having resistance based memory array, method of reading, and systems associated therewith
One embodiment includes a non-volatile memory cell array, and a read unit configured to disable read operation for the non-volatile memory cell array for a time period following writing of data in the non-volatile memory cell array. |
| US07920429B2 |
Semiconductor memory device for reducing power consumption
A semiconductor memory device which includes: a voltage supplying unit for outputting a power source voltage as a driving source signal during a predetermined time, and then outputting a high voltage as the driving source signal in response to a driving control signal activated in response to an address signal; and a word line control unit for activating a word line at a voltage level of the driving source signal in response to the driving control signal. |
| US07920427B2 |
Dynamic soft program trims
Systems and methods are disclosed for modifying soft-programming trims of a non-volatile memory device, such as a flash memory device. The soft-programming trims may be modified based on a count of erase pulses applied to memory cells of the memory device. The number of erase pulses used to erase memory cells may be indicative of accumulated charge in the memory cell. The start voltage, step size, pulse width, number of pulses, pulse ramp, ramp rate, or any other trim of the soft-programming operation may be modified in response to the number of erase pulses. |
| US07920426B2 |
Non-volatile memory programmable through areal capacitive coupling
A programmable non-volatile device is made which uses a floating gate that functions as a FET gate that overlaps a portion of a source/drain region. This allows a programming voltage for the device to be imparted to the floating gate through capacitive coupling, thus changing the state of the device. The invention can be used in environments such as data encryption, reference trimming, manufacturing ID, security ID, and many other applications. |
| US07920425B2 |
Differential flash memory programming technique
The invention relates flash memory programming techniques. An object of the invention is to provide a flash memory programming technique avoiding problems of the known state of the art and in particular, saving a significant amount of time during the development and/or production phases of any equipment containing flash memory devices and also saving time during an updating or upgrading procedure of such an equipment already being in use. Accordingly, the invention proposes for programming a flash memory device to program only differences in information between data already stored in the flash memory device and new data to be stored. |
| US07920417B2 |
Semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory cell includes a plurality of memory cells configured to store data having polarity corresponding to a direction of current flowing in first and second driving lines, a current generator configured to generate a predetermined read current, apply the predetermined read current to the plurality of memory cells, and generate a data current corresponding variation of the read current according to the data and a current controller connected to a current path of the read current and configured to control a current amount of the read current. |
| US07920415B2 |
Memory cell device and programming methods
A memory device including a memory cell comprising phase change material is described along with methods for programming the memory device. A method for programming disclosed herein includes determining a data value for the memory cell, and applying a pulse pair to store the data value. The pulse pair includes an initial pulse having a pulse shape adapted to preset the phase change material in the memory cell to a normalizing resistance state, and a subsequent pulse having a pulse shape adapted to set the phase change material from the normalizing resistance state to a resistance corresponding to the determined data value. |
| US07920411B2 |
Converting SRAM cells to ROM cells
A method of converting a static random access memory cell to a read only memory cell and the cell thus converted is disclosed. The cell to be converted comprises a data retention portion powered by a higher and lower voltage supply line and four transistors arranged as two cross coupled inverters. It is converted to a read only memory cell by severing a connection between at least one of said transistors within a first of said two inverters and one of said voltage supply lines such that when powered said first inverter outputs a predetermined value. |
| US07920406B2 |
Increasing effective transistor width in memory arrays with dual bitlines
A method for forming a memory structure, includes: forming an array of individual memory cells arranged in a network of bit lines and word lines, each individual memory cell further comprising a resistive memory device that is capable of being programmed to a plurality of resistance states, each of the resistive memory devices coupled to one of the bit lines at a first end thereof; configuring a rectifying element in series with each of the resistive memory devices at a second end thereof; configuring an access transistor associated with each of the individual memory cells, the access transistors activated by a signal applied to a corresponding one of the word lines, with each access transistor connected in series with a corresponding rectifying element; and forming a common connection configured to short neighboring rectifying devices together along a word line direction, in groups of two or more. |
| US07920398B1 |
Adaptive match line charging
A content addressable memory (CAM) device having any number of rows, each of the rows including a match line connected to a plurality of CAM cells, a match line detector circuit, and a pre-charge circuit. The detector circuit detects a voltage of the match line and generates a feedback signal based on the detected match line voltage. The pre-charge circuit adaptively charges the match line in response to the feedback signal. |
| US07920397B1 |
Memory device having bit line leakage compensation
A memory device operates in a calibration mode during which the effects of bit line leakage current are measured and to operate in a normal mode during which the bit line current is adjusted to compensate for leakage according to the results of the calibration mode. In the calibration mode, a leakage-free sense operation is performed to determine the differential voltage generated on the bit lines in response to a data value. Then, a leakage-susceptible test read operation is performed to determine the differential voltage generated on the bit lines in response to the data value. A detection circuit measures the difference between the differential voltages generated in the leakage-free and leakage-susceptible test read operations to generate a compensation signal, which subsequently adjusts the bit line compensation current during the normal mode. |
| US07920394B2 |
Method to create PWM switching with near zero common mode noise
A method for controlling a three-level inverter with a two-level inverter controller uses a conversion circuit to process the two-level control signals and output a set of three-level control signals. |
| US07920393B2 |
Four pole neutral-point clamped three phase converter with low common mode voltage output
A four pole, three-phase, NPC converter that produces virtually no common mode voltage. The low common mode voltage output is achieved by constraining the switch states of the NPC converter. A fourth pole and associated control balance the upper and lower DC link voltages. The converter may be an inverter or a rectifier. |
| US07920388B2 |
Fastening structure for expansion card
A fastening structure for an expansion card has a pair of blocks disposed in a case. Each block has a slit, and each slit is facing and parallel to the slit on the other block. When fastening the expansion card, two opposite sides of the expansion card may be engaged into the opening of the pair of slits. At least a locking tab having a dent is disposed on one block and may rotate around the block. When the locking tab rotates, the dent and the slit may be selectively aligned or misaligned. When the dent and the slit are aligned, they may form a continuous passage for a side of the expansion card slitting into. Or when they are misaligned, the sidewall of the dent may block up the slit. |
| US07920384B2 |
Fan cage for computer systems
Fan cage assemblies for computer systems are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment a method may comprise providing a single-enclosure fan cage to house a plurality of fan assemblies in a chassis of a computer system. The method may also comprise fastening the fan cage to the chassis of the computer system with a quick-connect latch system. |
| US07920376B2 |
Electronic apparatus and guiding member
A first card slot extends along a first imaginary plane. A second card slot extends along a second imaginary plane parallel to the first imaginary plane. A printed wiring board is placed between the first and second imaginary planes. A first connector is mounted on the front surface of the printed wiring board. The first connector receives a first card coming through the first card slot. A second connector is mounted on the back surface of the printed wiring board. The second connector receives a second card coming through the second card slot. A guiding member defines a first guiding surface extending along the first imaginary plane and a second guiding surface extending along the second imaginary plane. A space is efficiently utilized at the back surface of the printed wiring board. The first and second cards are enclosed in the enclosure in a layered manner. |
| US07920374B2 |
Anti-oscillation device for a notebook display
An anti-oscillation device for a notebook display can include a clutch housing and a dampening device connected to the shaft extension. The clutch housing can be configured to be connected to the display of the notebook and to a base of the notebook. The clutch housing can include a body and a shaft extension that extends from the body of the clutch housing. |
| US07920373B2 |
Cover unit, electronic device, and image forming apparatus
A cover unit to open and close an opening formed in a main body includes a cover including a hinged first end portion, a second end portion including an engagement portion provided on a side facing the opening, and a deformable portion deformable toward the main body, provided in the second end portion, a rotation stopper disposed between the cover and the opening, to inhibit the cover from rotating excessively, and a push latch unit disposed in the main body to lock and unlock the cover, including an engagement pawl to contact the engagement portion of the cover when the rotation stopper prohibits the cover from rotating further to the main body. When the second end portion is pressed while the rotation stopper prohibits the cover from rotating, the engagement portion of the cover is engaged or disengaged from the engagement pawl of the push latch unit. |
| US07920372B2 |
Electronic handheld device with user interface
A handheld electronic device has a body that is substantially less thick than wide and long. The body has a user side with a user interface and which body defines an aperture through the body substantially perpendicular to the user side so as to provide a grip for holding the device. Also a method is disclosed in which a rod is inserted to the aperture so as to support the handheld electronic device in a backward tilted angle. |
| US07920370B2 |
Multilayer chip capacitor
A multilayer chip capacitor includes: a capacitor body having first and second side surfaces and a bottom surface; a plurality of first and second internal electrodes in the capacitor body; first and second external electrodes having a first polarity and formed on the first and second side surfaces, respectively, to cover a respective lower edge of the side surfaces and to partially extend to the bottom surface; and a third external electrode having a second polarity and formed on the bottom surface. The internal electrodes are disposed in perpendicular to the bottom surface. Each of the first internal electrodes has a first lead drawn to the first side and bottom surfaces and a second lead drawn to the second side and bottom surfaces. Each of the second internal electrodes has a third lead drawn to the bottom surface. |
| US07920366B2 |
ESD configuration for low parasitic capacitance I/O
An integrated circuit can include an I/O pad, an internal circuit, an inductor, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, and an ESD clamp. The internal circuit can be biased with a first voltage supply and a second voltage supply, where the internal circuit is connected to the I/O pad at a first node. The ESD protection circuit can be connected between the first node and a second node. The inductor can be connected between the second node and a third voltage supply. Further, the ESD clamp can be connected between the second node and the second voltage supply. |
| US07920362B2 |
Magnetio-resistive device including a multi-layer spacer which includes a semiconductor oxide layer
A giant magneto-resistive effect device having a CPP structure including a spacer layer, and a fixed magnetization layer and a free layer stacked one upon another with said spacer layer interposed between them. The free layer functions such that its magnetization direction changes depending on an external magnetic field. The spacer layer comprises a first nonmagnetic metal layer and a second nonmagnetic metal layer, each formed of a nonmagnetic metal material. A semiconductor oxide layer is interposed between them. The semiconductor oxide layer forming a part of the spacer layer comprises zinc oxide as a main ingredient. |
| US07920361B2 |
Magnetoresistive effect element with intermediate oxide layer containing boron and an element selected from Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba, Ti, and Sc
It is made possible to provide a magnetoresistive effect element that can reverse magnetization direction with a low current, having low areal resistance (RA) and a high TMR ratio. A magnetoresistive effect element includes: a film stack that includes a magnetization free layer including a magnetic layer in which magnetization direction is changeable, a magnetization pinned layer including a magnetic layer in which magnetization direction is pinned, and an intermediate layer provided between the magnetization free layer and the magnetization pinned layer, the intermediate layer being an oxide containing boron (B) and an element selected from the group consisting of Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba, Ti, and Sc. Current is applied bidirectionally between the magnetization pinned layer and the magnetization free layer through the intermediate layer, so that the magnetization of the magnetization free layer is reversible. |
| US07920360B2 |
Torsion compensation coil for voice coil motor of disk drive device, and method of making the same
Certain example embodiments relate to torsion compensation coils that cooperate with primary coils in voice coil motors of disk drive devices, and methods of making the same. In certain example embodiments, a voice coil motor is provided which may include a single external magnet. A primary coil may be located above the external magnet, with the primary coil being capable of receiving a first current. At least one torsion compensation coil may be connected to the primary coil. The at least one torsion compensation coil may be capable of receiving a second current. The at least one torsion compensation coil may be configured to reduce torsion and/or bending forces introduced by the first current passing through primary coil and/or magnetic field leakage from the external magnet. |
| US07920353B2 |
Disk drive configured to calculate head rebound distance
According to one embodiment, a search module searches for a timing when a moving direction of a head changes in order to detect a first timing when the head collides against a stopper of a ramp during a head unload operation and a second timing when the head rebounds as a result of the collision. A calculation module calculates a rebound distance that the head has rebounded based on the first timing and the second timing. |
| US07920350B2 |
Adaptive data recovery procedure based on radial positioning
Data recovery information characterizes data recovery procedure (DRP) steps to be performed within a hard disk drive (HDD) in response to a miss. Particular data recovery information corresponds to a radial position of the actuator and, therefore, the position of the magnetic recording read/write head relative to the associated storage media at the location at which the miss occurred. The data recovery information is based on the physical shape of a write pole and on how the physical shape of the pole inherently affects operational data error associated with the head. Because of the foregoing characteristics of such data recovery information, a more efficient and performant data recovery procedure is performed based thereon. |
| US07920341B2 |
Optical system, imaging apparatus, and method for forming image by the optical system
Providing an optical system having excellent optical performance, an imaging apparatus, and a method for forming an image by the optical system. The optical system includes, in order from an object, a first lens group G1 having negative refractive power, a second lens group G2 having positive refractive power, a third lens group G3 having negative refractive power, and a fourth lens group G4 having positive refractive power. At least one of the first lens group G1, the second lens group G2, the third lens group G3, and the fourth lens group G4 has at least one A lens satisfying given conditional expressions. |
| US07920340B2 |
Optical lens system for taking image
An optical lens system for taking image comprises: in order from the object side to the image side: an aperture stop; a first lens element with positive refractive power having a convex object-side surface, a second lens element with negative refractive power; a third lens element with positive refractive power having a concave object-side surface and a convex image-side surface; a plastic fourth lens element with negative refractive power having a concave image-side surface, the object-side and the image-side surfaces of the fourth lens element being aspheric. A focal length of the optical lens system for taking image is f, a focal length of the first lens element and the second lens element combined is f12, and they satisfy the relation: 0.98 |
| US07920339B2 |
Method and apparatus providing singlet wafer lens system with field flattener
Methods and apparatus to correct a curved Petzval focusing surface to a plane using a convex lens, a concave lens, and a space arranged between the curved side of the convex lens and the curved side of the concave lens. The method and apparatus may also include a Fresnel lens arranged between the concave lens and a pixel array. |
| US07920338B2 |
Reduction projection objective and projection exposure apparatus including the same
A reduction projection objective for projection lithography has a plurality of optical elements arranged along an optical axis and designed for imaging an effective object field arranged in an object surface of the projection objective into an effective image field arranged in an image surface of the projection objective at a reducing magnification ratio. The optical elements include at least one concave mirror. The optical elements are designed to provide an image-side numerical aperture NA>0.6 in a large effective image field having a maximum image field height Y′>25 mm. A compact, low mass projection objective enabling high throughput of exposed substrates is thereby obtained. |
| US07920337B2 |
Wide angle surface generator and target
An axicon is disclosed comprising a generally cylindrical body having an exterior surface 31, preferably a cylindrical surface. A first outwardly reflective lens surface 32 and a second inwardly reflective lens surface 35 are formed at opposite ends of the body. A light input beam from a suitable source is directed into one of those surfaces and through the axicon to the other of those surfaces, and the beam is transformed by the axicon into a beam(s) exiting such other surface. The shape and angular extent of the exit beam will depend, in part, on the selected position of the first surface with respect to the optical axis of the axicon and/or the second surface. The axicon is an optical grade unit, preferably unitary, which can receive light of a specified pattern through a first surface, redirect and modify the light, and output light of a different pattern though a second surface. In one configuration a concentrated light beam can be input to the axicon and output as a differently shaped beam, such as defining a predetermined plane or geometric surface. In another configuration, light surrounding the axicon can be input to the first surface 32, concentrated and then output through the second surface 35 as a beam of predetermined size and shape, such as may be be sensed by a photodiode supported at or near the focal point of the lens. |
| US07920336B2 |
Barrier mechanism and camera
A barrel includes a through-hole through which an interlocking lever passes, the interlocking lever provided on a barrier drive member to receive a rotational force. The barrier drive member includes a flange portion in a circumferential direction. The flange portion is positioned at the same phase as the interlocking lever and covers the through-hole from an optical axis direction during a rotation of the barrier blades from an open state to a closed state. |
| US07920332B2 |
Variable-focal-length lens system and imaging apparatus
A variable-focal-length lens system includes first to fifth lens groups having positive, negative, positive, negative, and positive refractive powers, respectively, from the object side. As the lens-position state changes from wide-angle to telephoto, the air space between the first and second lens groups increases, the air space between the second and third lens groups decreases, the air space between the third and fourth lens groups changes, the air space between the fourth and fifth lens groups increases, the first lens group moves monotonously toward the object, the second lens group is fixed in the optical-axis direction, and the third and fourth lens groups move toward the object. Conditions 0.2 |
| US07920331B2 |
Anamorphic converter and image projection system
An anamorphic converter includes, from a projected-surface side, a first group and a second group. The first group includes one or more lens elements and has a negative power at least in a main magnification direction. The second group includes one or more lens elements and has a positive power at least in the main magnification direction. Of optical surfaces, a last surface of the first group and a first surface of the second group: [1] have a power in both main magnification and sub-magnification directions; [2] are convex toward the projected-surface side in both main magnification and sub-magnification directions in a region having an area that is ¼ or more of an optical effective region area including a center portion of each of the last and first optical surfaces; and [3] at least one of the last and first optical surfaces is a free curved surface. |
| US07920329B2 |
Embedded lens for achromatic wafer-level optical module and methods of forming the same
A wafer-level optical lens module including one or more embedded lenses and two outer lenses on an outer side of two outermost glass wafers. The embedded lenses may be formed of air or of any material with desired refractive index and dispersion characteristics. The outer lenses may be formed of any material with desired refractive index and dispersion characteristics. This arrangement, with various lenses of the optical module having different refractive indices and dispersions, allows for the formation of a wafer-level optical lens system which corrects for chromatic aberration and astigmatism. |
| US07920325B2 |
Single prism aberration compensation
System and method for utilizing two prisms spatially separated is provided. The two prisms spatially separated allows the two prisms typically found in a TIR optical relay system to be spatially separated. In an embodiment, one or more optical relay lenses are interposed between the two prisms. The prism positioned on the object side may be integrated into one or more of the optical relay lenses, thereby further simplifying the optical relay design. In another embodiment, the one or more optical relay lenses may have an optical axis that is offset from the optical axis of incoming light to cause a pupil shift. An aspherical lens may be included to correct for the pupil shift and create a more uniform illumination image. |
| US07920310B2 |
Complex objective lens for an optical head and optical information apparatus
A complex objective lens composed of a hologram and an objective lens, capable of realizing stable and high-precision compatible reproducing/recording of a BD with a base thickness of about 0.1 mm for a blue light beam (wavelength λ1) and a DVD with a base thickness of about 0.6 mm for a red light beam (wavelength λ2). In an inner circumferential portion of the hologram, a grating is formed. The hologram transmits a blue light beam as 0th-order diffracted light without diffracting it, and disperses a red light beam passing through an inner circumferential portion as +1st-order diffracted light and allows it to be condensed by an objective lens. Because of this, the focal length of the red light beam becomes longer than that of the blue light beam, whereby a working distance is enlarged. |
| US07920308B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method
A rendering of objects described by description language into bitmap data is performed. As color space compression, the bitmap data in which the rendering has been performed is compressed in a color reproduction range. |
| US07920305B2 |
Optical scanning device, optical scanning method, computer program product for executing optical scanning method, recording medium with computer program recorded thereon, image forming apparatus, and color image forming apparatus using the same
An optical scanning device of the invention includes: n-odd (n≧2) light sources disposed at different positions at least in a sub scanning direction; a light source driving control part configured to control a light emitting state of the light source; and a sub-scanning pixel position detecting part configured to depict one pixel with m-odd (n≧m≧2) light sources of the n-odd (n≧2) light sources and to detect a deviation in position of the one pixel in a sub scanning direction, wherein the light source driving control part is configured to correct the deviation in position of the one pixel in the sub scanning direction at a resolution equal to or higher than a density of the pixel, depicted with the m-odd light sources, by controlling the light emitting state of the m-odd light sources on the basis of a result of detection with the sub-scanning pixel position detecting part. |
| US07920302B2 |
Discrimination sensor and discrimination machine
A discrimination machine optically senses an object having a surface with a planar structure while scanning the planar structure along the surface. The machine includes a discrimination sensor including optical devices detecting light generated from the planar structure. The optical devices are disposed at an interval in a transverse direction, perpendicular to a scanning direction, to ensure a sufficiently wide sensing area for the object. A deviation detector detects deviation of the planar structure from a plane based on electrical signals output from the respective optical devices detecting the light generated by the object while the discrimination sensor is scanning the object. An optical device selector selects an optical device, from among the optical devices, based on the deviation detected. A determination is made as to whether the electrical signal output from the optical device selected is within an allowable margin. |
| US07920296B2 |
Automatic determining image and non-image sides of scanned hardcopy media
A system and method for determining the image and ancillary image sides of scanned hardcopy media. Hardcopy prints typically provide ancillary data to supply additional information for an area of interest and can enhance the analysis of key data in the print. Postcards, for example, provide a unique form of ancillary data. On the back of a postcard image, ancillary data information such as stamps, user notes, dates, addresses, and other types of annotation can be found. This data typically provides additional information to a reader of the postcard. Dual sided scanners provide both the image and ancillary (i.e., non-image) scans simultaneously. In addition, ancillary data can be in a variety of formats, such as audio, video and the like. When a hardcopy print is scanned the scanner provides two image files that represent the image and ancillary image sides of the print. However, given two image files that represent a hardcopy print scan, the front and back need to be automatically identified as to which is of primary interest to a user. |
| US07920287B2 |
Layout apparatus, layout method, and program product
A layout apparatus lays out a document by referencing personal information registered on a per user basis. Even if no particular print setting is input for a print job by a user, excellent prints customized for each user are thus provided. |
| US07920284B2 |
Image-providing apparatus, image-printing apparatus and image-printing system comprised thereof
A procedure that confirms the presence or absence of support for standardized capabilities is present in transmissions to an image-providing apparatus having a photo-direct print capability and an image-printing apparatus, for example. The procedure is used to exchange information relating to the presence or absence of support for a service that provides a cooperative capability separate from the standardized capabilities, making it possible to use non-standard capabilities while maintaining compatibility with devices that do not support the service that provides the cooperative capability separate from the standardized capabilities. |
| US07920283B2 |
Printing apparatus and print control method and print system
When print data described in structured language is received from a transmitter, the print data is analyzed by an analysis unit and a determination is made as to whether or not there is unprintable data in the print data. A condition table stores print conditions for determining printability by a print unit, these print conditions being associated with print settings information that has been set with respect to the print data, and a condition determination unit controls printing by the print unit by referencing the condition table based on an analysis result of the analysis unit and the print settings information. |
| US07920281B2 |
Imaging job monitoring with reduced content image
A reduced content image generator generates a reduced content image representing an imaging job. The reduced content image is generated from imaging data that is part of the imaging job. The reduced content image may be generated from the original imaging data or from the imaging data as processed at any step in the process of completing the imaging job. The reduced content image or a pointer to the reduced content image may be stored with other information regarding the imaging job and displayed with the other information to help identify the imaging job. |
| US07920279B2 |
Apparatus and methods for improved printing in a tandem LED printhead engine
Apparatus and methods for adjusting a skew angle of an LED array in the second of dual/tandem print engine systems to compensate for shrinkage of the printable medium exiting the first print engine. Features and aspects hereof provide for manually and/or automatically measuring the shrinkage of the printable medium as it exits the first print engine and for automatically and/or manually adjusting the skew angle of the mounting of the LED array in the second print engine. The image data applied through the LED to the corresponding photoconductor of the second print engine is similarly skewed to match the skew angle of the LED array. Thus a substantially normal bitmap image is applied through the skewed LED to the photoconductor of the second print engine shrunk in the width dimension. Visual artifacts and anomalies from the mathematical approximations and rounding are visually imperceptible at sufficiently high resolutions. |
| US07920278B2 |
Non-contact method and system for inspecting parts
A non-contact method and system for inspecting parts using two different types of machine vision methodologies are provided. The system has enhanced versatility and includes a triangulation-based subsystem to obtain triangulation-based sensor data, a radiation plane-based profile inspection subsystem to obtain shadowed radiation plane-based sensor data and a data processor for processing or fusing the triangulation-based sensor data and the shadowed radiation plane-based sensor data to obtain dimensional information related to the part. |
| US07920275B2 |
Optical system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus
In a method for improving imaging properties of an illumination system or a projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, which comprises an optical element having a surface, the shape of the surface is measured directly at various points. To this end, a measuring beam is directed on the points, and the reflected or refracted beam is measured, e.g. using an interferometer. Based on deviations of the measured shape from a target shape, corrective measures are derived so that the imaging errors of the optical system are improved. The corrective measures may comprise a change in the position or the shape of the optical element being analyzed, or another optical element of the optical system. The target shape of the surface may, for example, be determined so that the optical element at least partially corrects imaging errors caused by other optical elements. |
| US07920266B2 |
Detection element, detection apparatus for detecting target substance, method of detecting target substance and metal-containing member
There is provided a detection apparatus detecting target substance in a sample by utilizing plasmon resonance including a substrate and a plurality of metal-containing members arranged on the substrate, wherein the metal-containing members are shaped tubular and the metal-containing members are arranged on the substrate with a given orientation. By use hereof, a detection apparatus and a detection method enabling highly sensitive detection on target substance are provided. |
| US07920258B2 |
Optical analysis system and elements to isolate spectral region
A method of selecting components for a multivariate optical computing and analysis system to isolate a spectral region includes selecting a spectral region of interest; selecting a spectral element with a predetermined transmission characteristic to control a spectral range of an illumination source; illuminating a sample with the illumination source; and analyzing an optical frequency returned by the sample relative to the spectral region of interest. |
| US07920256B2 |
Printing medium detecting device, image forming apparatus having the same, and method to detect printing medium
A printing medium detecting device capable of accurately detecting an amount of printing media in a paper cassette, an image forming apparatus including the printing medium detecting device, and a method to detect a printing medium. The printing medium detecting device of the image forming apparatus includes a light source to emit a light beam to one side of a stack of printing media housed in a paper cassette, a scanning unit to scan the light beam reflected from the stack and generate a signal based on the light beam, and a computing unit to compute information related to the stack based on the signal, wherein the information includes a number of printing media sheets in the stack. |
| US07920249B2 |
Device and method for measuring relative movement
A device for measuring movement of an object (15) and the device relative to each other. The device comprises a laser (3) for generating a measuring beam (13), which is converged by a lens (10) in an action plane. Radiation reflected by the object (15) is converged to re-enter the laser cavity to generate a self-mixing effect in the laser (3). Measuring means (4) are provided to receive the reflected measuring beam radiation and enable the frequency difference between the measuring beam (13) and the reflected measuring beam radiation to be determined, which is representative of the relative movement. |
| US07920248B2 |
Method and apparatus for optoelectronic contactless range finding using the transit time principle
The invention relates to a method for optoelectronic contactless distance or range measurement or finding according to the transit time principle, in which a distance of an object from a sensor unit is determined from a time difference between a starting signal and an echo signal, which is derived from an optical measurement pulse reflected by the object and where for determining the time difference the following steps are performed: a) by comparing the starting signal and echo signal with a digital clock a digital raw value is obtained, b) with the aid of at least two fine interpolators an initial time difference between the starting signal and the beginning of the digital raw value as well as a final time difference between the echo signal and the end of the digital raw value is determined, c) to the fine interpolators are in each case supplied analog signals corresponding to the initial time difference or final time difference, respectively, and converted into a digital initial time difference or digital final time difference, respectively. The method is characterized in that for the automatic calibration of the fine interpolators a plurality of measurements according to steps a) to c) are carried out and, assuming an equal distribution for the probability with which the values in a given value interval for the initial time difference and final time difference are measured, corrections for nonlinearities and/or drifts of the characteristics of the fine interpolators are calculated. The invention also relates to an apparatus for optoelectronic contactless distance or range measurement according to the transit time principle. |
| US07920247B2 |
Distance measurement system and distance measurement method
A distance measurement system includes: an projection apparatus (1) which projects measurement beams (PL1, PL2) at least at first and second projection angles (α3, α15, α, β) towards a detection area; an image pick-up apparatus (2) which picks up an image of a first reflected light (LB1) and an image of a second reflected light (LB2) from the detection area. The system further includes: a distance calculation unit (32) which calculates a first distance (d1) to a first measurement point (P2, P5) and a second distance (d2) to a second measurement point (P4, P7); a judgment unit (33) which judges that specular reflection is caused; and an operation unit (34) which, when it is judged by the judgment unit (33) that the specular reflection is caused, calculates a distance (d4) to a detection object (MB1, MB2) causing the specular reflection. |
| US07920238B2 |
Polarizer and liquid-crystal display apparatus having reduced polarization state in oblique viewing angles
A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a first polarizer located on one side of a first substrate, a second polarizer located on the opposite side of a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer formed of liquid crystal molecules and between the first and the second substrates so that the liquid crystal molecules may be aligned in parallel to the first or the second substrate and to which an electric field is applied in parallel to the first substrate, and a lighting device. The first or the second polarizer includes a polarization layer and supporting materials located on both sides of the polarization layer, reducing light leakage and a colour shift in a black display state when viewed from the oblique direction. |
| US07920233B2 |
Transflective vertically aligned liquid crystal display with in-cell patterned quarter-wave retarder
The invention relates to a transflective vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising a patterned quarter wave foil (QWF). The display (10) comprises, in a particular, front and back electrodes (14a, 14b, 14c) provided on transparent substrates (11a, 11b) and sandwiching a LC medium (12), so as to define reflective (10a) and transmissive sub-pixels (10b). The patterned QWF (16), which is preferably provided inside the LC cell (in-cell application), has regions (16a) which provide a defined retardation and cover the reflective sub-pixels (10a), and regions (16b) having no on-axis retardation and covering the transmissive sub-pixels (10a). |
| US07920230B2 |
Laminate polarizing plate, a method of producing the same and a liquid crystal display
The object of the present invention is to provide a laminate polarizing plate of which application to liquid crystal displays is able to simplify constitutions and production procedures of the displays, and to reduce cost thereof; and to provide an industrially advantageous method of producing the compound polarizing plate, and a liquid crystal display using the same. The object is achieved by a laminate polarizing plate comprising a polarizing film, an adhesive layer and a phase retarder film which being laminated in this order, wherein said phase retarder film comprises at least one coating layer having refractive index anisotropy of which an in-plane retardation value (R0) is 0 to 10 nm and a retardation value in the thickness direction (R′) is 40 to 300 nm, wherein said coating layer is formed on a transfer substrate, followed by being transferred on a surface of the adhesive layer of the polarizing film. |
| US07920225B2 |
Electronic apparatus with protective panel
An electronic apparatus with a protective panel, includes a display device 3 having a display section 3A, an enclosure 2 having a display window 2A which is open in one direction and mounts therein the display device 3 so as to expose the display section 5A to the outside, a protective panel 4 disposed at the display window 2A so as to cover the display section 3A from the outside; and a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 14 interposed between a movable portion M including at least the protective panel 4 of the protective panel 4 and the display device 3 and a frame-like support portion 2b defined by a surface of the enclosure 2 within the display window 2A, so as to prevent intrusion of foreign substance to the interior of the enclosure 2 through the display window 2A, the rubber detecting a depressing operation on the movable portion M. |
| US07920221B2 |
Backlight assembly and liquid crystal display having the same
A backlight assembly which includes a first mold comprising a frame including a plurality of side portions defining an opening; and a light source disposed in the opening, wherein an external surface of the side portions includes a reverse-inclined surface extending downwardly and inwardly from an upper portion of the external surface and a width of the side portions is smaller at the upper portion and becomes larger downwardly. |
| US07920213B2 |
Method for maintaining the phase difference of a positioning mirror as a constant with respect to a high speed resonant mirror to generate high quality images
System and method for synchronizing the low speed mirror movement of a mirror display system with incoming frame or video signals, and synchronizing buffered lines of video data to the independently oscillating scanning mirror. According to one embodiment of the invention, the peak portions of the low speed cyclic drive signal are synchronized with the incoming frames of video by compressing or expanding the peak portion or turn around portion so that each video frame begins at the same location on the display screen. The actual position of the high frequency mirror is determined by sensors and a “trigger” signal is generated to distribute the signals for each scan line such that the scan lines are properly positioned on the display. |
| US07920209B2 |
Delay matching in audio/video systems
An audio/video system comprises an audio signal processing path having an audio path delay and a video signal processing path having a video path delay. The audio path delay may be different from the video path delay. The audio path delay and/or the video path delay may change, for example because of replacement of a component within the audio signal processing path or the video signal processing path. Delay matching (synchronization) in the audio/video system comprises adjusting the audio path delay to be substantially equal to the video path delay. Matching the audio path delay to the video path delay generally includes adding delay to the signal processing path with the lesser delay. |
| US07920207B2 |
Video apparatus
A video apparatus has a digital encoder which receives a first analogue video signal with ancillary information in a given time window and generates on an output a digital stream based on the first analogue video signal. A digital decoder is connectable to this output to generate a second analogue video signal. A switch selects between the first analogue video signal and the second analogue video signal as an output depending on a control signal based on the occurrence of said time window. |
| US07920203B2 |
Image pickup apparatus and method of controlling the same
An image pickup apparatus is provided which has an exposure correction function and which determines a correction measure of exposure correction based on a parameter for determining an exposure amount, and performs the exposure correction by the determined correction measure so as to provide an image in a suitable exposure state intended by a person who shot the image. |
| US07920200B2 |
Image pickup device with two cylindrical lenses
An image pickup device may include an optical system having a distortion that captures a distortion-containing optical image, a conversion unit that converts the distortion-containing optical image into distortion-containing image data, a storage unit that stores the distortion-containing image data and additional data related to a distortion of the distortion-containing image data, and a distortion correction unit that corrects the distortion of the distortion-containing image data with reference to the additional data. |
| US07920199B2 |
Information processing apparatus that overlays image information with line-drawing information
An information processing apparatus provides improved expressive capability during presentations. Image, sound, memo information and other related input data that are recorded in an electronic camera are set to be reproduced in a predetermined order. When reproducing information that is set, images are displayed on a liquid crystal display that is part of an electronic camera and, in addition, similar images can be displayed on a separate monitor connected to the electronic camera. If it is desired to provide supplementary information during a presentation with the electronic camera, such supplementary information may be overlaid on any arbitrary section of the image being displayed using a pen type pointing device, for example. Furthermore, the supplementary overlaid information may be erased independently from other recorded information as needed because the supplementary information is stored in a different area of memory from the image and memo information. |
| US07920198B2 |
Methods and apparatus for variable mode drivers
A method of transferring charge from a photosensitive array using a plurality of vertical shift registers, each having a plurality of vertical elements including first and last vertical element is disclosed The vertical shift registers are capable of transferring charge in a first direction from the first to the last vertical element The method also includes using at least one horizontal shift register having a plurality of horizontal elements. Each of the horizontal elements is arranged to receive charge transferred from the last vertical element of a respective one of the plurality of vertical shift registers, and shift the charge in a horizontal direction. The method includes operating the horizontal shift register during a plurality of horizontal operating intervals and operating the plurality of vertical shift registers during at least a portion of the plurality of horizontal operating intervals. |
| US07920197B2 |
Image pickup apparatus
An image pickup apparatus includes the following units. An image pickup unit captures an image and outputs an analog image signal. A conversion unit converts the analog image signal into a digital image signal. A synchronization signal generation unit generates a synchronization signal to be supplied to the image pickup unit and the conversion unit, and supplies the synchronization signal to the image pickup unit. An adjustment unit adjusts the timing at which the synchronization signal generated by the synchronization signal generation unit is supplied to the conversion unit, and supplies the synchronization signal to the conversion unit. The adjustment unit is disposed in a position such that the adjustment unit is affected by the self-heating of the image pickup unit. |
| US07920191B2 |
Image capturing apparatus in which pixel charge signals are divided and output in a different order than an arrangement of pixels on an image capturing element and then rearranged and stored in a same order as the arrangement of the pixels on the image capturing element, and method thereof
When driven in an all-pixel read mode, a CCD (1) outputs, with each horizontal sync timing signal, captured image signals including signal charges arranged in a different order from that in which the pixels are actually arranged on a photosensitive surface of the CCD. During this time, the respective pixel signals are digitized sequentially by an A/D converter (5) to corresponding image data, which are then temporarily stored in units of a line in a line buffer (7) via a data distributor (6). In this case, an address generator (8) generates, for the respective image data, write addresses to store the respective image data in the line buffer (7) in the same order as the pixels of the photosensitive surface are actually arranged. In accordance with these write addresses, the data distributor (6) distributes the respective image data to appropriate addresses in the line buffer (7), thereby storing the image data there (FIG. 1). |
| US07920185B2 |
Shielding black reference pixels in image sensors
An image sensor having an array of pixel cells, each including a photo-conversion device. The array has first, second, and third groups of pixel cells. The first group of pixel cells receives light and the second and third groups are shielded from light. Each pixel cell of the second group is configured to output a black reference signal for determining a black level of the array. Each pixel cell of the third group has at least one first transistor coupled to the photo-conversion device, and each transistor coupled to the photo-conversion device has a gate coupled to a power supply voltage. |
| US07920184B2 |
CMOS active pixel sensor with a sample and hold circuit having multiple injection capacitors and a fully differential charge mode linear synthesizer with skew control
An CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) imaging system include circuitry to compensate for different analog offset levels from the CMOS pixel array. More specifically, the compensation is performed in the analog (charge) domain. A digital correction value, which may be measured as part of the operation or testing of the CMOS APS system, is provided to a offset correction block circuit, to generate an analog electrical signal. The analog electrical signal is supplied to a sample-and-hold circuit including a charge amplifier. The signal read from the pixel array, after conditioning through an analog signal chain, is also supplied to the charge amplifier, which has a linear transfer function and outputs the compensated signal. |
| US07920183B2 |
Image processing device and digital camera
A visual processing section 120 is provided which performs visual processing on a pixel-by-pixel basis according to a predetermined function defining a relation between a pixel value of a target pixel which is a pixel under visual processing and a pixel value of the target pixel after subjected to the visual processing. An input signal processing section 150 is further provided which performs, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, at least one of signal processing to restore resolution of an image data input to the visual processing section 120 and signal processing to correct signal deterioration due to the visual processing. In the input signal processing section 150, the at least one signal processing is performed according to a gain determined by using the function. |
| US07920180B2 |
Imaging device with burst zoom mode
A method of capturing images in an imaging device in a burst zoom operation includes zooming the imaging device from a first zoom setting to a second zoom setting, and automatically capturing a plurality of still images during the zooming, each of the plurality of still images being captured at a different zoom setting. |
| US07920179B2 |
Shadow and reflection identification in image capturing devices
A device may include an image capturing assembly to frame an image of a subject for capturing; and a processor to automatically identify a shadow or a reflection corresponding to a user of the device in the framed image. The image capturing assembly is configured to capture the image following the automatic identification of the shadow or the reflection. The processor is configured to perform one of: adjusting the image capturing assembly based on the automatic identification of the shadow or the reflection prior to the capturing of the image, or modifying the captured image based on the automatic identification of the shadow or the reflection. |
| US07920178B2 |
Image storage system
An image storage system effectively stores image data captured by an image capture device in a plurality of image storage devices. Each of the image storage devices includes a storage unit for storing image data. An image storage device performing as a master among the image storage devices includes an image reception unit for receiving the image data captured by the image capture device. A storage unit provided in each of the image storage devices distributes the image data received by the image reception unit provided in the image storage device performing as the master to the respective image storage devices so as to be stored there. |
| US07920176B2 |
Image generating apparatus and image regenerating apparatus
An image generating apparatus generating image data of a plurality of different viewpoints, comprises: a file converting device which records the image data of each viewpoint in a general-purpose image file format, and records moving image regeneration information including a regeneration time interval for regenerating each image as a moving image, and viewpoint information for regenerating each image as a three-dimensional image in a file header portion at the beginning of the general-purpose image file. By recording an image of a plurality of viewpoints along with the viewpoint information in a general-purpose moving image format, the exclusive-use regenerating apparatus becomes able to regenerate and display a three-dimensional image and a moving image, and the general-purpose regenerating apparatus becomes able to regenerate as a moving image. |
| US07920174B2 |
Method and device for outputting pixel data with appended data
A method and an apparatus for outputting pixel data with appended data are disclosed. An imaging device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes an image sensor, which outputs raw data corresponding to an external image, a memory, which stores the raw data inputted from the image sensor; an output control unit, which adds appended data to the raw data stored in the memory and outputs the added raw data, and an image signal processor, which performs image processing corresponding to at least one of filtering and interpolation of the raw data or the raw data to which the appended data are added. With the present invention, a loss of image data to be displayed can be prevented. |
| US07920172B2 |
Method of controlling an action, such as a sharpness modification, using a colour digital image
A method for activating a function by using a measurement taken from at least one digital image having at least two colors and originating from an image-capturing apparatus, wherein a relative sharpness is measured between at least two colors on at least one region of the digital image, and at least one function is activated depending on the measured relative sharpness. |
| US07920166B2 |
Camera having coded data interactive printer
A camera is provided having a camera module, a network interface module and printing module. The camera module receives user input and captures the image with an image sensor in response to the user input. The interface module transfers the captured image to a computer system. The printing module prints an interface onto a surface including the image and coded data at least partially indicative of an identity of the image. This allows the identity of the image to be obtained from the interface. The coded data is also at least partially indicative of at least one of a plurality of locations of the interface and a region of the interface. A sensing device generates indicating data at least partially indicative of at least one of a location of the sensing device relative to the interface and an identity of the region. |
| US07920163B1 |
Sealed, waterproof digital electronic camera system and method of fabricating same
A hermetically sealed digital electronic camera that is designed to operate both on land and underwater to great depths, and method of making same. The present invention is a camera which is hermetically sealed by being totally encapsulated, preferably by being cast in plastic, with no seals, holes, joints, penetrating pins, wires or other objects. Wireless means are used for communicating information, electrical power and control signals. The invention is impervious to atmospheric contamination and absolutely incapable of leaking under water to great depths and pressures. In an alternate embodiment camera optics are not encapsulated but are immersed in water when the encapsulated digital camera is placed in water. |
| US07920160B2 |
Electronic conference assistance method, and information terminal device in electronic conference system
There is provided an information terminal device in an electronic conference system, including a reception unit that receives information on a state of attendance of participants in a conference, who are present in a plurality of conference holding spaces; a disadvantageous degree calculation processor that calculates a disadvantageous degree indicating a degree of disadvantage which each participant has when participating in the conference, based on the received information; and a disadvantageous degree output processor that outputs the calculated disadvantageous degree. |
| US07920159B2 |
Electronic conference system, electronic conference controller, information terminal device, and electronic conference support method
There is provided an electronic conference system, including a display controller that arranges and displays a marker for specifying a display position on a display screen of a display apparatus which placed in a conference room, a unit that obtains information concerning the display position of each marker included in an image capturing range obtained by capturing an image of a portion of the display screen by a conference participant using an information terminal device and that specifies an image capturing region on the display screen based on the information concerning the display position of each marker that is obtained, and a unit that combines image data displayed on the display apparatus at the time of image capturing performed using the information terminal device having an image capturing function with display data, to be displayed in the image capturing region that is specified, to generate a screen image. |
| US07920152B2 |
Systems and methods for viewing medical 3D imaging volumes
A method of automatically tracking the portions of a 3D medical imaging volume, such as the voxels, that have already been displayed according to use-defined display parameters, notating those portions, and providing the user with information indicating what portions of the imaging volume have been displayed at full resolution. |
| US07920151B2 |
Graphics display system with video scaler
A video processing device may comprise one or more processors and/or circuits for use in a video processing device, in which the one or more processors and/or circuits may comprise a video scaler, a memory, a scaler engine, a clock selection circuit. The one or more processors and/or circuits are operable to receive a video image and select a video input clock or a display output clock for upscaling the received video image, or select the video input clock or the display output clock for downscaling the received video image based on a determination of whether the video image is to be downscaled or upscaled. The one or more circuits may be operable to downscale the received video image to generate a first scaled video image, and/or upscale the received video image to generate a second scaled video image, based on the selection. |
| US07920149B2 |
Rollback in a browser
Methods, apparatus, computer program products and systems are provided for editing an image. One method includes editing, by a processor, an image including maintaining a list of transformations applied to the image including a last transformation; receiving a selection from a user to rollback a transformation, the selection not including the last transformation, where receiving a selection includes receiving a selection from the list of transformations that include plural selections that are not contiguous in an order in which the transformations were applied; generating, by the processor, a unique identifier associated with the edited image without the selection, the unique identifier including data identifying the image and all transformations to be applied to the image; and after receiving a request for an edited image, the request including the unique identifier, transmitting the edited image to a requesting device. |
| US07920147B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing process, and recording medium
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that performs predetermined conversion processing with keeping the color of an original image and eliminating processing time necessary for color space conversion, when applying special effects on video signals. The image processing apparatus includes a video signal input section for receiving a video signal having a value represented in a first color space, a signal converting section for performing predetermined conversion processing on a signal having a value represented in a second color space that is different from the first color space, and a signal interface section for supplying the signal converting section with the video signal, received by the video signal input section, that has a value represented in the first color space as a substitute for the signal having a value represented in the second color space. |
| US07920140B2 |
System for controlling deformation
A system or tool kit is provided that allows a user to specify a deformation for a model. When the deformation produces anomalies the user can select functions or solutions from the tool kit to be executed that correct the anomalies. When the effect of a warp or deformation extends into a region outside a user specified constraint, a clamp function can be selected from the kit to stop the effect outside of the constraint. When a constraint causes the transition from a warp to a non-warp region to result in a sharp transition a tangent continuous transition function can be applied from the kit. When contradictory modifiers and constraints cause unexpected excursions in the warped model, samples with outlier Laplacians can be culled. When the model includes rigid objects, the motion of the rigid objects can be used as a modifier to allow the rigid objects to move with the deformed model without being deformed. |
| US07920137B2 |
RGV display system
A color display system includes a sensor assembly having a plurality of sensor pixels for sensing incident light. Each of the sensor pixels generates a photocurrent in response to sensing the incident light. An image processor being in communication with the sensor assembly receives each of the photocurrents and computes a plurality of photocurrent values with each of the photocurrent values corresponding to one of the photocurrents. A display processor receives each of the photocurrent values and calculates a plurality of power values based on the photocurrent values. The color display system further includes a display driver that receives each of the power values and that generates a plurality of power signals having a power corresponding to one of the power values. A display device includes a plurality of light emitting devices being powered by the power signals for emitting light. The light emitting devices include at least one deep-violet light emitting device for emitting deep-violet light. |
| US07920135B2 |
Method and system for driving a bi-stable display
Methods and systems are disclosed for providing video data and display signals. In one embodiment, a system is configured to display video data on an array of bi-stable display elements, where the system includes a processor, a display comprising an array of bi-stable display elements, a driver controller connected to the processor and configured to receive video data from the processor, and an array driver configured to receive video data from the driver controller and display signals from the processor, and to display the video data on the array of bi-stable display elements using the display signals. In another embodiment, a method of displaying data on a bi-stable display includes transmitting display signals from a processor to a driver of an array of bi-stable display elements, and updating an image displayed on the array of bi-stable display elements, wherein the updating is based on signals from the driver and performed on a periodic basis that is based at least in part upon the transmitted display signals. |
| US07920131B2 |
Keystroke tactility arrangement on a smooth touch surface
Disclosed are four arrangements for providing tactility on a touch surface keyboard. One approach is to provide tactile feedback mechanisms, such as dots, bars, or other shapes on all or many keys. In another embodiment, an articulating frame may be provided that extends when the surface is being used in a typing mode and retracts when the surface is used in some other mode, e.g., a pointing mode. The articulating frame may provide key edge ridges that define the boundaries of the key regions or may provide tactile feedback mechanisms within the key regions. The articulating frame may also be configured to cause concave depressions similar to mechanical key caps in the surface. In another embodiment, a rigid, non-articulating frame may be provided beneath the surface. A user will then feel higher resistance when pressing away from the key centers, but will feel a softer resistance at the key center. |
| US07920130B2 |
Electronic apparatus equipped with touch panel capable of identifying fingerprint
The invention discloses a touch panel capable of identifying fingerprints. The touch panel includes a touch layer and a fingerprint sensing layer. The touch layer is used for sensing a specific location touched by a finger. The fingerprint sensing layer is disposed under the touch layer and includes a storage unit, multiple receiving modules, multiple transmitting modules, and a control module. The storage unit stores a first fingerprint data corresponding to the finger. Each receiving module respectively corresponds to one of the transmission modules. According to the specific location, one of the transmission modules transmits a signal, and the signal is then reflected by the finger to the corresponding receiving module. The control module converts the signal received by the receiving module into a second fingerprint data and then determines whether the second fingerprint data conforms to the first fingerprint data. |
| US07920128B2 |
Touch sensitive display device and driving apparatus thereof, and method of detecting a touch
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a display device may include a display panel, a plurality of pixels disposed on the display panel, a plurality of first sensing units disposed on the display panel and generating first sensing signals in response to a touch exerted on the display panel, and a sensing signal processor configured to process the first sensing signals and generate second sensing signals for a plurality of frames, the sensing signal processor determining whether a touch occurs based on the second sensing signals for the plurality of frames. |
| US07920124B2 |
Force sense presentation device, mixed reality system, information processing method, and information processing apparatus
A force sense presentation device for presenting a sense of force in virtual space to a user, comprises: a fixed unit which is gripped by the user; a force sense presentation unit which presents a sense of force; an actuator which supplies a driving force and operates the force sense presentation unit relative to the fixed unit; a joint unit which is provided between the fixed unit and the force sense presentation unit, and guides the relative operation of the force sense presentation unit; and a force sense rendering unit which controls the relative operation of the force sense presentation unit by the actuator, wherein the force sense presentation device simulates a device which is gripped and used by the user, and the force sense rendering unit controls the relative operation of the force sense presentation unit based on a position and orientation of the device in the virtual space. |
| US07920121B2 |
Driving method of liquid crystal display device having dynamic backlight control unit
A dynamic control method for controlling backlight module of liquid crystal display (LCD) comprises steps of: receiving a frame data which is transferred to the LCD and consists a plurality of raw grayscale level; processing a statistical analysis for distribution of the plurality of raw grayscale level; and transferring a plurality of corrected grayscale level which is resulted from the statistical analysis corresponding to the raw grayscale level to the backlight control unit and a data modification simultaneously, wherein the backlight control unit uses the plurality of corrected grayscale level to modify brightness of backlight module and the data modification uses the plurality of corrected grayscale level to compare with the plurality of raw grayscale level for accurate display performance, so that the electrical power consumption is reduced and image quality is enhanced. |
| US07920117B2 |
Liquid crystal display apparatus
Two storage capacitor lines are provided corresponding to a single pixel, and each of pixels arranged in a row direction uses either one of the storage capacitor lines to form a storage capacitor. The storage capacitor of a certain pixel is formed to extend to an adjacent pixel which does not use the same storage capacitor line as the certain pixel. Further, the two storage capacitor lines are formed below a reflective layer in the thickness direction of the reflective layer. |
| US07920113B2 |
Array panel and method of driving the same
An additional capacitor (“sharing capacitor”) is provided for each pixel of a liquid crystal display to store the previous voltage on the pixel electrode (i.e. the voltage obtained in the previous frame). At an opportune time after the pixel electrode has begun to charge for the current frame, the sharing capacitor's electrode is coupled to the pixel electrode to combine the pixel electrode's voltage with the sharing capacitor's voltage. As a result, the pixel electrode's voltage is changed to take into account the previous voltage so as to increase the liquid crystal's response speed. More particularly, the sharing capacitor's voltage changes the pixel voltage to provide a greater voltage overshoot or undershoot when the pixel color is changed a lot, so as to increase the liquid crystal response time. Therefore, greater response speed is provided at low power. |
| US07920112B2 |
Electronic paper system, image processing apparatus for electronic paper system storage medium storing image processing program, and image writing method using image processing apparatus
An electronic paper system includes: electronic paper having a display unit that can display and retain an image in a no-power state; image generation means for generating a displaying image by combining a scale-down image of at least a part of a document and an image of at least part of related information of the document; and write means for writing the generated displaying image into the display unit of the electronic paper so that the display unit displays and retains the generated displaying image. |
| US07920106B2 |
Method of driving plasma display panel and apparatus thereof
Disclosed is a method of driving a plasma display panel and apparatus thereof enabling to minimize power consumption for driving the plasma display panel 1. The present invention includes the steps of generating a reset discharge by supplying ramp waves so as to equalize cells in the plasma display panel in a reset period, supplying selected specific ones of the cells with a scan voltage pulse swinging between a lowest voltage levels of the reset discharge and a data pulse of a voltage level lowered as much as a negative voltage level of the scan voltage pulse, generating an address discharge by the scan voltage pulse and data pulse applied to the selected cells in an address period, and maintaining the address discharge for a sustain period. |
| US07920102B2 |
Vehicular heads-up display system
Vehicular heads-up display control techniques wherein content of a virtual display generated by the heads-up display system is controlled by actions of an occupant of the vehicle. The control device can be a voice-reception system which receives vocal commands from the occupant and/or a gesture-detection system which detects gestures by the occupant. One such gesture-detection system includes a camera having a field of view of hands or an upper body region of an occupant expected to exercise control of the heads-up display and a processor arranged to receive images from the camera, detect movement of a head, hand or arm of the occupant in one of predetermined number of areas and perform a function based on the detection of movement in the predetermined area. The function may be to alter the content of the heads-up display or adjustment of a vehicle component. |
| US07920101B2 |
Methods and systems for imaging device display standardization
Aspects of the present invention relate to systems, methods and devices for imaging device display standardization. Some aspects relate to the integration of imaging-device-independent display information with imaging-device-dependent formatting information that may be resident on the imaging device. Some aspects relate to integration of application-specific template data with imaging-device-specific formatting data. |
| US07920096B2 |
Radio frequency identification tagging
A RFID tag or label comprises a RFID tag module (comprising an electronic identification circuit and a coupling means) and an antenna structure coupled to the coupling means. The RFID tag module is separate from, separable or arranged to be severable from, the antenna structure. The tag module can be placed in or on an object and the antenna structure in or on packaging material for use with the object. A patch antenna type RFID tag antenna structure has a ground plane spaced from the patch antenna so as to increase the range of the tag. The ground plane is not substantially larger than, and electrically insulated from, the patch antenna. The ground plane is flexible, so the RFID tag structure can be worn by a human, and can be incorporated into a piece of clothing. A RFID antenna structure for use with a tag reader is made flat and robust so that it can be mounted on the ground to be walked upon or driven over. A bi-directional YAGI type RFID tag antenna structure has director elements on two opposite sides so that the YAGI antenna radiates in two opposite directions. An object includes a gain increasing metallic structure for increasing the gain of a RFID tag when placed near the object so as to form a RFID tag antenna structure. |
| US07920094B2 |
Antenna structure having patch elements
In an antenna structure having a plurality of serially fed patch elements, at least one of the patch elements has a slot coupling to the continuation of the feed line for influencing the radiation of this patch element. |
| US07920089B2 |
Variable ratio power divider for a dual polarization radar system with automatic built-in test equipment and calibration
A variable ratio power divider (VRPD) used for adjusting a calibration signal for a dual polarization radar system has been developed. The VRPD includes an input line that receives a calibration signal and splits the calibration signal into two separate test signals that have a 0° phase shift between them. The VRPD also includes a horizontal polarization output port for a horizontal calibration signal and a vertical polarization output port for a vertical calibration signal. A waveguide switch receives one of the test signals. If the waveguide switch is operating in a first position, it passes the test signal through a variable 0°-180° phase shifter. This evenly divides the power of the test signals between the horizontal and vertical output ports. If the waveguide switch is operating in a second position, it causes the test signal to bypass the phase shifter so that the entire power of the both test signals is directed entirely to either the horizontal phase output port or the vertical phase output port. |
| US07920086B2 |
Display for displaying compressed video
A display is configured to display transformed video. The display includes a display unit comprising pixels. The display also includes a set of filter elements positioned adjacent to the display unit. The set of filter elements enable the display unit to display transformed video. |
| US07920083B2 |
Column-parallel sigma-delta analog-to-digital conversion with gain and offset control
A sigma-delta modulation sensing circuit and an analog-to-digital converter for an imager that eliminate the erroneous conversion of non-zero analog voltages to zero digital voltages is provided. The sensing circuit includes an offset branch that allows input of an offset voltage that is at least as large as a negative channel-specific offset found in a pixel signal voltage. The sensing circuit also includes a regulation branch based on a reference voltage common across multiple columns of an imager. The regulation branch has an adjustable resistance that is modulated during the sensing operation, which creates an adjustment current that is applied during the sensing operation to a reset signal. The sensing circuit and analog-to-digital converter generate digital code based on the difference between the reset voltage and the summed offset and pixel signal voltage. |
| US07920078B2 |
Systems and methods for variable rate conversion
Poly-phase filters are used to offer an efficient and low complexity solution to rate conversion. However, they suffer from inflexibility and are not easily reconfigured. A novel design for rate converters employ poly-phase filters but utilize interpolation between filter coefficients to add flexibility to rate conversion. This interpolation can be implemented as an interpolation of the poly-phase filter results. Additional approximations can be made to further reduce the amount of calculations required to implement a flexible rate converter. |
| US07920075B2 |
Regulation control device with an encoder and its encoder mechanism
A regulation control device comprises an encoder mechanism and a shell set. The encoder mechanism includes a base, a PCB, and an encoder, the PCB being arranged on a side of the substrate and a fixed shaft on an opposite side of the PCB being arranged in the base. The encoder connects the base and electrically connects the PCB. The shell set includes a press shell, a connecting seat, a rotating seat, and a supporter, the press shell being at a side of the base, the connecting seat being on the other side of the base, connecting the encoder, and being in the rotating seat connecting the connecting seat so that the connecting seat and the rotating seat can be rotatably assembled with the encoder. With the encoder mechanism, the device may provide a better effect of repeated clockwise/counter-clockwise rotation at the angle of 360. |
| US07920070B2 |
Parking guidance device and method thereof
A parking guidance device storing the information of length and width of a car is disclosed, which comprises: a central controller, a distance detector electrically connecting to said central controller for detecting the distances from obstacles, an image detector electrically connecting to said central controller for detecting the shape of a parking space, a two-axis rotating detector electrically connecting to said central controller for detecting the direction of said car, a human-machine operation interface electrically connecting to said central controller for inputting signals, and a car controller area network bus interface electrically connecting to said central controller for controlling wheel, engine and braking system, wherein said central controller integrates the information of distances and shape of said parking space, compares the same to the information of length and width of said car to gain a parking track, and makes the moving track of said car correspond with said parking track by controlling wheel, engine and braking system through the car controller area network bus interface. |
| US07920063B2 |
RFID theft prevention system
Systems, apparatuses and methods for deterring product theft and preventing the fraudulent return or exchange of products. Products are associated with a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. Tag readers located at store access points can detect the presence of the RFID tag and can be used to help determine a direction of travel of the RFID tag. When a product is determined to be leaving the store, the transaction history of the product can be accessed, as well as the supply chain history of the product, to confirm the product has been validly purchased and therefore authorized for removal from the store. When a product is determined to be entering a store, the supply chain history and transaction history of the product can be consulted to determine if the product can be validly exchanged or returned. |
| US07920061B2 |
Controlling an alarm state based on the presence or absence of a caregiver in a patient's room
Systems and methods for controlling an alarm state, such as volume, based on the presence or absence of a caregiver in a patient's room. More specifically, a local sound producing device provides an audible alarm within a room when a caregiver is in the room, while a remote sound producing device provides an audible alarm external of the room when the caregiver is not in the room. Accordingly, volume levels of the sound producing devices depend on the sensed presence or absence of the caregiver within the room. For example, when the caregiver leaves the room, the local sound producing device is deactivated and/or the remote sound producing device is activated, thereby allowing the patient to enjoy a more relaxed environment within the room, yet still continue to be monitored. Conversely, when the caregiver enters the room, the local sound producing device is activated and/or the remote sound producing device is deactivated, thereby allowing the caregiver to monitor the patient when within the room, yet allow decreased monitoring external of the room. |
| US07920058B2 |
Trailer tire pressure monitoring system
A system and method that, upon connection of a trailer to a tow vehicle, a trailer brake controller informs a tire pressure monitoring system to begin monitoring information at the TPMS and at the same time, activates the initiators, i.e., the electromagnets. Sensors respond to the electromagnetic field that is generated by electric brake magnets. As a result, the sensors transmit RF signals that are received by the tire pressure monitoring system. Transmissions from the sensors are decoded in a controller and processed as necessary for tire pressure monitoring automatically calibrated to the tire pressure monitoring system and the system can request the pressure data from the sensors by way of the low frequency field generated by the electric brakes. |
| US07920054B2 |
Bicycle meter assembly with positioning function
A bicycle meter assembly with locating function includes a sensor module and a receiver module. The sensor module includes a microprocessor, a sensing unit, a display unit, a keypad, an encoder, and a wireless transceiver. The receiver module includes a wireless receiver, a decoder, and a warning unit. The sensor module and the receiver module are separately installed on a bicycle at two selected positions. The sensor module senses and displays traveling information and user's body signals that are generated when the bicycle is moving. When the user wants to locate the bicycle being parked at a selected place, the keypad can be pressed to generate a call signal, which is sent to the receiver module for the warning unit to emit a warning signal. |
| US07920051B2 |
Information providing system and image forming apparatus
The present invention provides information providing system including: a wireless sheet attached to an article; and an information notifying apparatus which notifies information on the article in response to a radio signal sent from the wireless sheet, wherein, the wireless sheet includes a wireless measuring unit which, when receiving a radio signal, generates and sends a radio signal having identification data and data of physical quantity measured in the wireless sheet, and the information notifying apparatus includes: a transmitter/receiver which exchanges radio signals with the wireless sheet; a storage unit which stores the identification data and the article information in association with each other; and a notifying unit which extracts from the received radio signal, the identification data and the physical quantity data, and reads the article information stored in association with the identification data in the storage unit, and notifies the article information and the physical quantity data. |
| US07920050B2 |
Proxy device for enhanced privacy in an RFID system
A proxy device is disclosed for use in an RFID system comprising a plurality of RFID devices and at least one reader which communicates with the proxy device and one or more of the RFID devices. The proxy device acquires information characterizing at least a given one of the RFID devices, controls the given RFID device so as to at least partially prevent the given RFID device from being read by the reader, and communicates with the reader in a manner which simulates the given RFID device. This advantageously allows the proxy device to implement privacy policies of arbitrary sophistication on behalf of the given RFID device. The proxy device subsequently releases control of the given RFID device so as to permit the given RFID device to again be read by the reader. |
| US07920047B2 |
Wireless communications devices, wireless communications systems, and methods of performing wireless communications with a portable device
In one aspect, a method of wireless communications includes: storing identification information of a portable wireless communications device in memory coupled to a processing unit of the portable wireless communications device; determining a current location of the wireless communications device using a global positioning system (GPS); performing wireless communications with a cellular communications system using a cellular receiver controlled by the processing unit; generating a random number using an identification device controlled by the processing unit; and modulating a carrier provided from an interrogator wirelessly coupled to the identification device to provide the identification information, including the random number. |
| US07920046B1 |
RFID readers and systems initializing after antenna switch and methods
RFID readers, reader systems, and methods are provided for processing RFID tags through interruptions for antenna change or other reasons. If the reason for the interruption is an antenna change, the reader restarts processing the tags initializing any operational parameters. If the reason is other than an antenna change, the reader determines whether the operation is to be continued or to be restarted upon power up and proceeds accordingly. |
| US07920036B2 |
Frequency tuning circuit for lattice filter
A lattice tunable filtering circuit includes a first input and a second input, and a first output and a second output. The circuit includes two series branches and two parallel branches. The first and second series branches include a Tunable Resonator Component (TRC) which presents a first series resonance frequency whereas the third and fourth parallel branches present a second series resonance frequency which has a value being lower than that of the first series resonance frequency. The first and second series resonance frequencies are tunable by one analog control quantity. The filtering circuit further includes a feedback control loop for the control of the analog quantity, which feedback is based on a criterion of equality between the modulus of impedances Zs and Zp. |
| US07920031B2 |
Crystal device for surface mounting
A surface-mounted device includes a ceramic case, which has a concave portion formed by a bottom wall layer, a frame wall intermediate layer and a frame wall upper layer, and which houses at least a crystal element inside the concave portion. The ceramic case includes: arc-formed notched parts at outer circumference four corners thereof; and mounting terminals, which are extended to notched parts in the bottom wall layer among the notched parts, on an outer bottom face thereof. A radius of curvature of the notched parts in the frame wall intermediate layer is made identical to or greater than a radius of curvature of the notched parts in the bottom wall layer, and a radius of curvature of the notched parts in the frame wall upper layer is less than the radii of curvature of the notched parts in the bottom wall layer and the frame wall intermediate layer. |
| US07920030B2 |
Multi-phase voltage-control oscillator
A multi-phase voltage-control oscillator including a first voltage-control oscillator circuit and a second voltage-control oscillator circuit is provided. The second voltage-control oscillator circuit and the first voltage-control oscillator circuit have a plurality of inductors, and the inductors in the second voltage-control oscillator circuit are respectively cross-coupled with the inductors in the first voltage-control oscillator circuit to generate a mutual inductance effect, so as to output a plurality of oscillating signals with different phases. |
| US07920026B2 |
Amplifier output stage with extended operating range and reduced quiescent current
An output stage of an amplifier circuit includes one or more output transistors that are selectively driven by a boosted drive circuit, where the boosted drive circuit is arranged such that the output range of the amplifier circuit is increased while maintaining reduced quiescent current. The drive signal to each output transistor is selectively increased only when demanded by the output load conditions. The threshold for boosting the drive signal can be adjusted for optimized performance. In one example, a class AB output stage includes a separate drive boost circuit for each output transistor. For this example, each drive boost circuit has a separate threshold for boosting each of the drive signals to the output transistors. The boosting can also be adjusted to optimize the differential input stage and current mirror maximum current requirement while maintaining minimum required bias currents. |
| US07920024B2 |
Apparatus and methods providing dynamic biasing of cascode transistors in class AB amplifiers
An amplifier and method of fabricating and operating it are disclosed in which dynamically biased cascode transistors are provided in an output stage along with output transistors which are dynamically biased by differential control circuits to provide an output signal. |
| US07920023B2 |
Switching amplifier
A switching amplifier includes a modulator, which includes a pulse generator. The pulse generator generates positive and negative pulses, in response to an input signal, and the frequency of the negative pulses can be controlled independently of the frequency of the positive pulses. The positive pulses and negative pulses are combined to form a composite pulse stream, which can be low-pass filtered such that the filter output is an amplified version of the input signal. |
| US07920021B2 |
Method of applying wire voltage to semiconductor device
A method of applying a wire voltage to a semiconductor device including a plurality of active regions and a field region insulating the plurality of active regions, wherein the field region includes a plurality of wires. The method includes applying an operating voltage required for an operation of the semiconductor device to at least one of the plurality of wires, and applying a voltage lower than the operating voltage to a wire adjacent to at least one of the plurality of active regions from among the plurality of wires. Thus, leakage current caused by an imaginary parasitic transistor due to a wire of the field region may be prevented. |
| US07920019B2 |
Microprocessor with substrate bias clamps
A microprocessor including a substrate bias rail providing a bias voltage during a first operating mode, a supply node providing a core voltage, a clamp device coupled between the bias rail and the supply node, and control logic. The control logic turns on the clamp device to clamp the bias rail to the supply node during a second operating mode and turns off the clamp device during the first operating mode. The clamp devices may be implemented with P-channel and N-channel devices. Level shift and buffer circuits may be provided to control the clamp devices based on substrate bias voltage levels. The microprocessor may include a substrate with first and second areas each including separate substrate bias rails. The control logic separately turns on and off clamp devices to selectively clamp the substrate bias rails in the first and second areas based on various power modes. |
| US07920015B2 |
Methods and apparatus to sense a PTAT reference in a fully isolated NPN-based bandgap reference
In a traditional, fully-isolated bandgap reference circuits, it was difficult to detect currents that are proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT). Here, a PTAT reference in a fully isolated NPN-based bandgap references are disclosed. These circuits in particular are able to make detections using various current without the need for stand-along operational amplifiers. |
| US07920013B2 |
Systems and methods for oscillation suppression in switching circuits
A switching circuit configured to reduce the effects of signal oscillation on the operation of the switching circuit is provided. The switching circuit may include signal oscillation and detection circuitry that suppresses control signals during a detected oscillation, allowing stored energy to naturally decay in the switching circuit and thereby prevent unwanted extension of the oscillation that may be caused by the repeated switching of a semiconductor element coupled between the input and output of the switching circuit. |
| US07920009B2 |
Method and device for comparator offset cancellation
A method and a device for canceling an offset voltage in an output of a comparator circuit include sampling a set of offset voltages; applying a set of correction voltages equal in magnitude and opposite in polarity to the set of offset voltages, the set of correction voltages being applied to an output generating arrangement of the comparator circuit; and enabling output of the output generating arrangement after the set of correction voltages is applied. |
| US07920008B2 |
Data output clock generating circuit and method of generating data output clock of semiconductor memory apparatus
A data output clock generating circuit for a semiconductor memory apparatus includes a rising data output clock generating unit configured to combine a rising clock with a rising clock extraction signal generated in response to a rising output enable signal and a falling clock, to generate a rising data output clock; and a falling data output clock generating unit configured to combine the falling clock with a falling clock extraction signal generated in response to a falling output enable signal and the rising clock, to generate a falling data output clock; wherein the rising data output clock generating unit and the falling data output clock generating unit are independently driven in parallel. |
| US07920007B2 |
Apparatus for outputting data of semiconductor integrated circuit
A data outputting apparatus of a semiconductor integrated circuit if presented for use in standardizing output timing brought about by different electrical output path lengths. The apparatus includes a data clock signal generating section and a data output section. The data clock signal generating section is configured to use an external clock signal in order to generate a plurality of data clock signals in which output timings of the data clock signals vary depending on a data output mode. The data output section is configured to be controlled by the plurality of data clock signals to output inputted data to the outside through a plurality of data input/output pads that have different path lengths. |
| US07920006B1 |
Clocking scheme for efficient digital noise reduction in mixed-signal systems-on-chip
In one embodiment of the present invention, a clock generator circuit receives a clock signal having a period. The clock signal is employed by a digital circuit that is resident on the same substrate as an analog circuit, the digital circuit generates disturbance climaxes at clock edges that propagate through the substrate to the analog circuit. A clock generator circuit generates a plurality of clock signals, with each clock signal having a unique rate, wherein during a temporal gap, defined by the time between a last disturbance climax and a next sampling time of the clock signal, clock edges of any of the plurality of clock signals are avoided. |
| US07920005B2 |
Large time constant steering circuit and instrumentation amplifier implementing same
The present invention relates to a large time constant steering circuit for slowly changing a voltage on a node between at least two discrete voltage levels. The present invention further relates to a slow steering current DAC comprising said large time constant steering circuit. The present invention further relates to an instrumentation amplifier device comprising a current balancing instrumentation amplifier for amplifying an input signal to an amplified output signal and a DC servo-loop for removing a DC-component from the input signal. The present invention further relates to an EEG acquisition ASIC comprising said instrumentation amplifier device. |
| US07920001B2 |
Semiconductor memory device and method for operating the same
A semiconductor memory device has a DLL circuit capable of suppressing EMI without distorting a DLL clock required in high-speed operation. The semiconductor memory device includes a delay locked loop (DLL) circuit configured to be responsive to a system clock to output a DLL clock having a phase that is changed when electromagnetic interference (EMI) is detected, for the DLL clock to have frequencies within a delay locking range, and a data output circuit configured to output data in synchronization with the DLL clock. |
| US07919998B2 |
Precision triangle waveform generator
A triangle waveform generator is set forth that comprises a capacitive element, a regulator, and a control circuit. The regulator is configured to charge the capacitive element in responsive to a first control signal and to discharge the capacitive element in response to a second control signal. The control circuit is responsive to a reference waveform to generate the first and second control signals. In one example, the control circuit generates the first and second control signals in response to the amplitude, frequency, phase, and symmetry of the reference waveform. |
| US07919997B2 |
Systems and methods for providing a clock signal
Systems and methods for providing a clock signal are provided. A frequency multiplier circuit is provided that can include a plurality of serially connected delay elements that are configured to generate a plurality of delay tap signals from an input signal. The frequency multiplier circuit can also include a phase detector configured to receive a first selected delay tap signal and the input signal. The phase detector can detect a phase shift between the first selected delay tap signal and the input signal, and can generate a phase detection signal indicative of a value of the phase shift. The frequency multiplier circuit can also include a digital logic gate configured to receive the input signal and a second selected delay tap signal. The digital logic gate can be further configured to generate an output signal responsive to the second selected delay tap signal and the input signal. The frequency multiplier circuit can also include a controller coupled to the phase detector and coupled to an output gate. The controller can be configured to receive the phase detection signal and to enable the output gate when the value of the phase shift corresponds to a predetermined value. The output gate can provide the output signal when enabled. |
| US07919995B2 |
Load controller
A load controller includes: a first input circuit which detects that a drive instruction signal by an operation of a drive instructing unit is less or equal to a first input threshold value; a first constant current source activated in accordance with the detection; a PWM signal supply unit that is activated by the first constant current source and supplies a PWM signal having a prescribed frequency and a duty ratio; a constant control signal supply unit that supplies a constant control signal during failure of the first input circuit or the first constant current source; a drive control unit that generates a PWM drive control signal in accordance with the PWM signal and generates a constant drive control signal in accordance with the constant control signal; and a load driving element that is controlled by the PWM drive or constant drive control signal to drive a load. |
| US07919989B2 |
Circuit architecture for effective compensating the time skew of circuit
A circuit architecture for effective compensating the time skew of circuit is disclosed. The circuit architecture comprises a required compensation circuit, two duplicated circuits, and a time skew detection and compensation circuit, wherein these duplicated circuits are the duplicates of the required compensation circuit. A differential of logic 0 and logic 1 signals are simultaneously inputted into two duplicated circuits to output a first detection signal and a second detection signal, then the time skew detection and compensation circuit detects the time skew between a first detection signal and a second detection signal so as to generate a compensation signal to the required compensation circuit. Accordingly, the time skew existed in the required compensation circuit can be reduced or eliminated. |
| US07919987B1 |
Logic signal transmitting circuit
A logic signal transmitting circuit includes a CMOS inverter, a first transistor switch and an inverter. The CMOS inverter includes a p-type transistor and an n-type transistor and is configured for inverting an input signal. The first transistor switch is connected to an input of the CMOS inverter and controlled by the input signal. The inverter is connected between the p-type transistor and the first transistor switch, in which the inverter turns off the p-type transistor when the first transistor switch is turned on and the inverter turns on the p-type transistor when the first transistor switch is turned off. |
| US07919983B1 |
Multiple output level shifter
A level shifter for integrated circuits includes input stage transistors, reference stage transistors, a cascode stage coupled to the input stage and the reference stage transistors and a pair of comparators. The cascode stage generates a first cascode output and a second cascode output. The input stage transistors selectively conduct a low reference voltage as the first cascode output based on a pair of inputs provided to the input stage transistors. The reference stage transistors selectively conduct a high reference voltage as the second cascode output based on a first comparator output and a second comparator output. The pair of comparators generate the first and the second comparator outputs based on the first and the second cascode outputs. |
| US07919981B2 |
Integrated circuit design based on scan design technology
An integrated circuit is provided with a scan chain including a scan flip-flop and a dummy block. The dummy block has a clock terminal receiving a clock signal, a scan input terminal connected to a scan data line within the scan chain, and a scan output terminal connected to another scan data line within the scan chain. The dummy block is configured to output data on the scan output terminal in response to input data fed to the scan input terminal, not responsively to the clock signal. |
| US07919978B2 |
Control circuit for controlling on-die termination impedance
The present invention relates to an ODT control circuit which is controlled in synchronization with an external clock during power-down mode. An ODT control circuit according to the present invention includes a clock control circuit which receives a synchronized internal clock signal and a DLL clock signal, and selects either one of the internal clock signal or the DLL clock signal according to the power mode to output a plurality of delayed clock signals; and an ODT control signal generation circuit which receives an ODT command, and controls the ODT command with the internal clock signal and a plurality of the delayed clock signals to generate and output an ODT control signal. According to the present invention, an ODT control signal for controlling an on-die termination resistor is synchronized with an external clock even during power-down mode, thereby more effectively controlling the ODT control signal. |
| US07919976B2 |
Transistor diagnostic circuit
In one embodiment, a diagnostic circuit is used to test the on-resistance of a transistor. |
| US07919975B2 |
Differential signaling system and flat panel display with the same
A differential signaling system, wherein a first wiring and a second wiring are coupled between a sending end and a receiving end as a differential signal line. A termination resistor is coupled between the first wiring and the second wiring in the receiving end side. A test circuit is coupled to the termination resistor in parallel, and amplifies and detects a variation of a differential impedance due to the differential signal line. The test circuit includes: a differential test amplifier for amplifying a variation in the differential impedance of the first wiring or the second wiring; a switching unit installed at an input terminal of the differential test amplifier for controlling an operation of the differential test amplifier; and a peak detector for converting an output signal of the differential test amplifier into a direct current component; and a phase detector for detecting a skew, a time delay, and/or a phase difference of a signal inputted to the differential signal line. |
| US07919973B2 |
Method and apparatus for monitoring via's in a semiconductor fab
A method for monitoring a semiconductor fabrication process creates a wafer of semiconductor chips. Each chip has a one or more diodes. Each diode is addressable as part of an array, corresponds to a physical location of the chip, and is connected in series to a stack. The stack is composed of one ore more vertical interconnects and metal contacts. The diode and associated stack of vertical interconnects is addressed, and the current through each of the stacks of vertical interconnects in an array is measured. |
| US07919972B2 |
Integrated substrate transfer module
A system and method for supporting and transferring a substrate relative to a plurality of testing columns are provided. The system includes a testing table adapted to support and move the substrate relative to the plurality of testing columns. The testing table may include an end effector disposed therein to transfer the substrate relative to an upper surface of the testing table. The method includes transferring the substrate to the testing table and moving the substrate relative to the plurality of testing columns. Signals indicative of electronic device performance are sensed to determine operability of the devices on the substrate. |
| US07919971B2 |
Method and device for measuring the condition of steel structures
Method and apparatus for measuring parameters in ferromagnetic steel structures, e.g. railway rails and drill pipes, to detect mechanical stress, damage and deterioration. On the monitored structure, devices for magnetization or demagnetization e.g. an electromagnet, will be installed. Two or more electrodes for feeding of a pulse shaped electrical voltage are installed. Across another pair of electrodes, a voltage response signal is measured, and compared with another response signal measured under known conditions or compared with calibration data for the structure. The deviation between these voltages is analyzed to quantify the relative or absolute deviations, and the condition of the steel structure is estimated. The device can measure the transient voltage curves with reference to one or more of the magnetization curves and includes algorithms for analyzing the voltage response curve for determination of mechanical stress and/or fatigue and/or cracks and/or metal loss in steel materials. |
| US07919963B2 |
Magnetic resonance resonator assembly
A resonator assembly for executing measurements on a sample within a constant magnetic field B0 by means of magnetic resonance is disclosed. It comprises a resonator portion defining a longitudinal axis and an axial direction. The resonator portion has, along the axial direction, a hollow cavity for exciting electron resonance within the sample. A coupling portion is provided adjacent the resonator portion and has, along the longitudinal axis, a stepped through being electrically conductive at its inner surface. A first, middle section of the stepped through configures the hollow cavity. A second and a third, lateral section adjacent axially opposed sides of the hollow cavity are each dimensioned such that a basic mode being resonant within the hollow cavity is unable to propagate within the second and the third section. A coil is wound around the resonator portion for additionally exciting a nuclear resonance within the sample. The resonator portion comprises a toroidal body made from an electrically conductive material within which there is provided the stepped through. The toroidal body is provided with at least one axial slit. |
| US07919962B2 |
Magnet scanning device that scans a cylindrical magnet along a helical path
A magnet scanning device uses a helical scanning technique to scan a cylindrical magnet along a helical path on a cylindrical surface that corresponds to the cylindrical magnet. Based on the magnetic field profile, the device may detect any unacceptable irregularities in the magnetic field and identify a location of the cylindrical magnet associated with the irregularity. |
| US07919958B2 |
Methods and apparatus for controlling a digital power supply
Methods and apparatus for controlling a digital power supply are disclosed. An example method includes storing a first set of coefficients for controlling a digital power supply in a memory of the digital power supply, associating the first set of coefficients with a first set of characteristics of an input voltage for the digital power supply, storing a second set of coefficients for controlling the digital power supply in the memory of the digital power supply, associating the second set of coefficients with a second set of characteristics of the input voltage, receiving a first voltage from a voltage source at the digital power supply, determining that the first voltage has the first set of characteristics, and, in response to determining that the first voltage has the first set of characteristics, applying the first set of coefficients to the digital power supply. |
| US07919956B2 |
Start-up circuit and method for high voltage power distribution circuit
A start-up circuit for a high voltage power distribution circuit includes a transistor, a current source which generates ramped current, an operational amplifier which is connected between the current source and the transistor and controls the transistor, a capacitor which is fed the generated ramped current from the current source and is charged by the generated ramped current, the capacitor being connected to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier, and a feedback capacitor connected from the transistor output to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier, which is fed the generated ramped current from the capacitor and is discharged. The transistor is fully enabled when the feedback capacitor is fully discharged. |
| US07919953B2 |
Solar power capacitor alternative switch circuitry system for enhanced capacitor life
Reliability enhanced systems are shown where an short-lived electrolytic capacitor can be replaced by a much smaller, perhaps film type, longer-lived capacitor to be implemented in circuits for power factor correction, solar power conversion, or otherwise to achieve DC voltage smoothing with circuitry that has solar photovoltaic source (1) a DC photovoltaic input (2) internal to a device (3) and uses an enhanced DC-DC power converter (4) to provide a smoothed DC output (6) with capacitor substitution circuitry (14) that may include interim signal circuitry (28) that creates a large voltage variation for a replaced capacitor (16). Switchmode designs may include first and second switch elements (17) and (18) and an alternative path controller (21) that operates a boost controller (22) and a buck controller (23) perhaps with a switch duty cycle controller (32). |
| US07919946B2 |
Detection method for an electrical polyphase machine
The recognition of a polyphase machine (1) connected to a converter (10) is suggested in order to adapt the converter (10) to the connected machine (1) prior to an active productive operation. The following is arranged for. Connecting of the polyphase machine with its several electric phases to the converter (10). Supplying of at least a first and a second test signal from the converter (10) to at least one of the several electric phases of the connected machine. Measuring of at least two causal sequences of the test signals. Evaluating of the measuring result to obtain measuring values (r1, r2) and allocating of these measuring values to a comparison function (60, 50). Comparing of the comparison function with a reference function (60a, 60b, 50a, 50b) which represents one type of a polyphase machine. |
| US07919942B2 |
Front/rear wiper algorithm
A wiper system for a vehicle includes a first wiper assembly, a second wiper assembly spaced apart from the first wiper assembly, and a controller in communication with at least one of the first wiper assembly and the second wiper assembly. The controller controls at least one of the first wiper assembly and the second wiper assembly based on at least one of an aerodynamic characteristic of the vehicle and a soiling characteristic of the vehicle. |
| US07919941B2 |
Semiconductor power converter
A semiconductor power converter includes a power converter for converting direct current to three-phase alternating current or vice versa; a means for detecting a current in an alternating current side of the power converter; a means for providing a current reference in the alternating current side of the power converter; a current controller for calculating a voltage reference in the alternating current side of the power converter to match the current reference and a value of the detected current; and a pulse width modulation means for controlling the power converter through pulse width modulation based on the voltage reference, wherein the current reference is used in place of the value of the detected current for at least one phase current among three phase currents in the alternating current side. |
| US07919934B2 |
Apparatus and method for driving and adjusting light
An apparatus and method for driving and adjusting light is provided, applicable to the LED lighting environment. Without the necessity to change the existing wiring and lighting devices, the driving and light adjusting apparatus of the present invention can cooperate with LED driver, by counting the number of switch ON/OFF times, to enable the LED driver to adjust light so that the LED lighting device is capable of light adjustment in addition to lighting. |
| US07919932B2 |
Apparatus and method for controlling lighting brightness through digital conversion
Provided is an apparatus for controlling lighting brightness including a light control unit that generates a control signal for controlling the brightness of a plurality of lightings; a digital signal generating unit that converts a signal corresponding to the control signal at each period so as to generate non-periodic digital signals; and a driving voltage generating unit that generate driving voltages by converting the digital signals into analog signals. |
| US07919930B2 |
Coil component and display device using same
The coil component comprises a primary coil, and a first secondary coil and a second secondary coil which are opposed to the primary coil. A first terminal is a terminal of the first secondary coil, that is a terminal for connection to one end of a lamp, and a second terminal is a terminal of the second secondary coil, that is a terminal for connection to the other end of the lamp. The first secondary coil and the second secondary coil are coaxially disposed, and the first terminal and the second terminal are reverse in polarity. |
| US07919919B2 |
Organic electroluminescent display having a specific structure for a pad supplying the drive signal
An organic electro-luminescence display device and a fabricating method thereof for preventing a badness of a pad portion are disclosed. In the organic electro-luminescence display device, a first conductive layer is electrically connected to any at least one of first and second electrodes of the organic electro-luminescence array. A second conductive layer is provided on the first conductive layer. A dummy insulating pattern is provided to cover the first and second conductive layer and has a hole for exposing a portion of the second conductive layer. |
| US07919917B2 |
Reflective liquid crystal display, top-emitting OLED display and fabrication method thereof
A top-emitting OLED display and fabrication method thereof are provided. The top-emitting OLED display includes providing a handling substrate. A composite layer is formed on the handling substrate. An organic light emitting unit is formed on the composite layer. A top electrode is formed on the organic light emitting unit. A reflective type display and fabrication method thereof are provided. The reflective type display includes providing a handling substrate. A composite layer is formed on the handling substrate, a thin film transistor array is formed on the composite layer. |
| US07919909B2 |
Integrated coupling structures
An integrated package provides contactless communication through a coupling mechanism embedded in the package. Package types include Surface Mount Technology (SMT), Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology, and dual-in-line integrated circuit pressed ceramic packages generally. The package can include an acoustic wave device (AWD) sensor such as a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device or a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) device. Coupling includes inductive and capacitive effects through plates, loops, spirals, and coils. Coil inductance and SAW capacitance can be parallel resonant at the desired SAW resonance with the coil impedance higher than the SAW impedance, minimizing load-pull effects. |
| US07919906B2 |
Ultrasound probe, particularly for diagnostic imaging
An ultrasound probe particularly for diagnostic purposes includes a first array of ultrasound transducers that generate ultrasound waves by electric excitation and transforming ultrasound waves impinging on them into electric signals. Each transducer is provided with contact electrodes which are connected respectively to a ground potential and to electric signals feeding lines. The first array of transducers includes emitting transducers and is intended only for generating and transmitting ultrasound waves, while a second array of transducers is provided over the first array of emitting transducer and includes receiving transducers for generating the electric receipt signals. The second array of transducers is formed of a material having piezoelectric behavior. |
| US07919894B2 |
Architecture for electric machine
The invention includes an electric machine having a rotor, stator and at least one winding in the stator adapted to conduct a current, and a secondary winding, electrically isolated from the first winding and inductively coupled to the first winding, which may be used to control at least one of the output voltage and current of the first winding. |
| US07919893B2 |
Permanent magnet rotor with annular rib coupling
A motor rotor includes a hub having a peripheral wall. A metal ring includes an engaging portion. The metal ring is formed by bending a strip of metal plate to form a cylindrical ring. The metal plate includes first and second positioning portions on two ends thereof. The first and second positioning portions are coupled with each other to form the engaging portion. The metal ring is coupled to an inner peripheral face of the peripheral wall of the hub. A magnet ring is coupled to an inner peripheral face of the metal ring. |
| US07919891B2 |
Directed flux motor
A directed flux motor described utilizes the directed magnetic flux of at least one magnet through ferrous material to drive different planetary gear sets to achieve capabilities in six actuated shafts that are grouped three to a side of the motor. The flux motor also utilizes an interwoven magnet configuration which reduces the overall size of the motor. The motor allows for simple changes to modify the torque to speed ratio of the gearing contained within the motor as well as simple configurations for any number of output shafts up to six. The changes allow for improved manufacturability and reliability within the design. |
| US07919888B2 |
Linear drive with a moving, reduced-mass and laterally guided passive unit
The invention relates to a linear drive having a stationary active unit (1), a stationary return flow element (11), a movably mounted passive unit in the form of a thin tooth rack (10) and a bearing unit (15), which allows the relative movement between the active unit and the passive unit. A lateral guidance plate (30) is attached to the tooth rack (10), extends at an angle with respect to the plane of the tooth rack (10) into a guide gap (31) and is guided there, the guide map (31) running in the return flow element (11) or in the active unit (1). |
| US07919873B2 |
Structure of high performance combo chip and processing method
A method for fabricating a chip package is achieved. A seed layer is formed over a silicon wafer. A photoresist layer is formed on the seed layer, an opening in the photoresist layer exposing the seed layer. A first solder bump is formed on the seed layer exposed by the opening. The photoresist layer is removed. The seed layer not under the first solder bump is removed. A second solder bump on a chip is joined to the first solder bump. |
| US07919872B2 |
Integrated circuit (IC) carrier assembly with first and second suspension means
An integrated circuit (IC) carrier assembly comprises a printed circuit board (PCB), a carrier soldered to the PCB, the carrier comprising a plurality of electrical contact islands surrounding a receiving zone for receiving an IC, a first resilient suspension means interconnecting pairs of adjacent islands, and a second resilient suspension means connecting the islands adjacent to the receiving zone with the receiving zone. |
| US07919871B2 |
Integrated circuit package system for stackable devices
An integrated circuit package system includes: providing a lower interposer substrate with lower exposed conductors; attaching a die over the lower interposer substrate; applying a stack encapsulant over the die and the lower interposer substrate having the lower exposed conductors partially exposed adjacent the stack encapsulant; and attaching an upper interposer substrate having upper exposed conductors over the stack encapsulant and with the upper exposed conductors substantially exposed. |
| US07919869B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of visual inspection and apparatus for visual inspection
A semiconductor device having the structure, which is adopted for the highly precise visual inspection with a lower cost, is achieved. A semiconductor device is a semiconductor device having a region for forming an electric circuit, and includes seal rings provided in an interconnect layer and surrounding the region for forming an electric circuit, and a dummy metal via provided in the interconnect layer and located outside of the seal rings. In a cross section perpendicular to an elongating direction of the seal ring, the width of the dummy metal via is smaller than the width of the seal ring. |
| US07919862B2 |
Reducing resistivity in interconnect structures of integrated circuits
An integrated circuit structure having improved resistivity and a method for forming the same are provided. The integrated circuit structure includes a dielectric layer, an opening in the dielectric layer, an oxide-based barrier layer directly on sidewalls of the opening, and conductive materials filling the remaining portion of the opening. |
| US07919861B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
The invention provides a technology for manufacturing a higher performance and higher reliability semiconductor device at low cost and with high yield. The semiconductor device of the invention has a first conductive layer over a first insulating layer; a second insulating layer over the first conductive layer, which includes an opening extending to the first conductive layer; and a signal wiring layer for electrically connecting an integrated circuit portion to an antenna and a second conductive layer adjacent to the signal wiring layer, which are formed over the second insulating layer. The second conductive layer is in contact with the first conductive layer through the opening, and the first conductive layer overlaps the signal wiring layer with the second insulating layer interposed therebetween. |
| US07919860B2 |
Semiconductor device having wafer level chip scale packaging substrate decoupling
One aspect of the invention provides a semiconductor device that includes a microchip having an outermost surface. First and second bond pads are located on the microchip and near the outermost surface. A first UBM contact is located on the outermost surface and between the first and second bond pads. The first UBM contact is offset from the first bond pad. A second UBM contact is located on the outermost surface and between the first and second bond pads. The second UBM contact is offset from the second bond pad, and a capacitor supported by the microchip is located between the first and second UBM contacts. |
| US07919858B2 |
Semiconductor device having lands disposed inward and outward of an area of a wiring board where electrodes are disposed
The present invention provides a technique capable of suppressing variations in the height of each solder ball where an NSMD is used as a structure for each land. Vias that extend through a wiring board are provided. Lands are formed at the back surface of the wiring board so as to be coupled directly to the vias respectively. The lands are respectively formed so as to be internally included in openings defined in a solder resist. Half balls are mounted over the lands respectively. Namely, the present invention has a feature in that the configuration of coupling between each of the lands and its corresponding via both formed at the back surface of the wiring board is taken as a land on via structure and a configuration form of each land is taken as an NSMD. |
| US07919854B2 |
Semiconductor module with two cooling surfaces and method
A semiconductor module with two cooling surfaces and method. One embodiment includes a first carrier with a first cooling surface and a second carrier with a second cooling surface. The first cooling surface is arranged in a first plane, the second cooling surface is arranged in a second plane, at an angle different from 0° relative to the first plane. |
| US07919851B2 |
Laminate substrate and semiconductor package utilizing the substrate
A laminated substrate and the semiconductor package utilizing the substrate are revealed. The laminated substrate primarily comprises a core layer, a first metal layer and a first solder mask disposed on the bottom surface of the core layer, and a second metal layer and a second solder mask disposed on the top surface of the core layer. The two solder masks have different CTEs to compensate potential substrate warpage caused by thermal stresses. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the substrate can be reduced without adding extra stiffeners nor changing thicknesses of semiconductor packages to suppress substrate warpage during packaging processes. Especially, a die-attaching layer partially covers the second solder mask by printing and is planar after pre-curing for zero-gap die-attaching. |
| US07919846B2 |
Stacked semiconductor component having through wire interconnect
A stacked semiconductor component includes a plurality of semiconductor substrates in a stacked array and a continuous wire extending through aligned vias on the semiconductor substrates of the stacked array in electrical contact with contacts on the semiconductor substrates. A method for fabricating the semiconductor component includes the steps of stacking the semiconductor substrates in a stacked array with aligned vias; threading a wire through the aligned vias; and forming a plurality of electrical connections between the wire and the contacts on the semiconductor substrates. |
| US07919843B2 |
Semiconductor device and its manufacturing method
There is provided a semiconductor device 10 including a solder resist 16 for protecting a wiring pattern 14 electrically connected to a semiconductor chip 11 via an internal connection terminal 12, characterized in that the solder resist 16 is arranged to cover the upper surface of the portion of the wiring pattern 14 not corresponding to the arrangement region of the external connection terminal 17 and the side surface 14B of the wiring pattern 14 and that the area of the solder resist 16 assumed when the upper surface 13A of an insulation layer 13 is viewed from above is substantially the same as that of the wiring pattern 14 assumed when the upper surface 13A of the insulation layer 13 is viewed from above. |
| US07919841B2 |
Mounting structures for integrated circuit modules
A structure of an integrated circuit module includes a wiring board, a plurality of integrated circuits and at least one terminating resistance circuit. The wiring board has a mounting region on at least one surface thereof. The plurality of integrated circuits are mounted in the mounting region of the wiring board and spaced from one another in a first direction. The at least one terminating resistance circuit is arranged between at least two adjacent integrated circuits, and coupled to an output of a last of the plurality of integrated circuits. |
| US07919840B2 |
Integrated non-isolated VRM and microprocessor assembly
The present invention provides one single chip solution for a non-isolated DC-DC regulator. The advantage is high reliability, lower cost and smaller space on the motherboard. This integrated solution opens the door for a distributed architecture with few millimeter high 1″×1″ regulator. Such regulators could be populated as QFP ICs are on all system boards. The present invention is based on a single VRM chip, PBGA multilayer board with processor signal pads and power points. The multilayer board periphery has SMD components such as ceramic capacitors, ICs, MOSFETs and a rectangular metal heat sink along with ferrite cores which sandwich the multilayer board and SMDs to form inductors for the multiphase solution. |
| US07919839B2 |
Support structures for on-wafer testing of wafer-level packages and multiple wafer stacked structures
A semiconductor structure, such as a wafer-level package or a vertically stacked structure. The wafer-level package includes a substrate wafer on which an integrated circuit is formed. A cover wafer is bonded to the substrate wafer to provide a cavity between the substrate wafer and the cover wafer in which the integrated circuit is hermetically sealed. Vias are formed through the substrate wafer and make electrical contact with signal and ground traces formed on the substrate wafer within the cavity, where the traces are electrically coupled to the integrated circuit. Probe pads are formed on the substrate wafer outside of the cavity and are in electrical contact with the vias. A support post is provided directly beneath the probe pad so that when pressure is applied to the probe pad from the probe for testing purposes, the support post prevents the substrate wafer from flexing and being damaged. |
| US07919838B2 |
Integrated circuit package system with encapsulation lock and method of manufacture thereof
A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit package system includes forming a paddle having a paddle top surface, the paddle top surface having a depression provided therein, forming an external interconnect having a lead tip and a lead body with the lead body having a first recess segment along a length-wise dimension of the lead body, connecting a device over the paddle top surface and the external interconnect, and filling a substantially electrically nonconductive material in the depression. |
| US07919827B2 |
Method and structure for reducing noise in CMOS image sensors
A method and device is disclosed for reducing noises in CMOS image sensors. An improved CMOS image sensor includes a light sensing structure surrounded by a support feature section. An active section of the light sensing structure is covered by no more than optically transparent materials. A light blocking portion includes a black light filter layer and an opaque layer covering the support feature section. The light blocking portion may also cover a peripheral portion of the light sensing structure. The method for forming the CMOS image sensors includes using film patterning and etching processes to selectively form the opaque layer where the light blocking portion is desired but not over the active section. |
| US07919826B2 |
Magnetoresistive element and manufacturing method thereof
A magnetoresistive element includes a first stacked structure formed by sequentially stacking a first fixed layer in which a magnetization direction is fixed and a first nonmagnetic layer, a second stacked structure formed on the first stacked structure by sequentially stacking a free layer in which a magnetization direction is changeable, a second nonmagnetic layer, and a second fixed layer in which a magnetization direction is fixed, and a circumferential wall formed in contact with a circumferential surface of the second stacked structure to surround the second stacked structure, and made of an insulator. A circumferential surface of the first stacked structure is substantially perpendicular. The second stacked structure has a tapered shape which narrows upward. |
| US07919823B2 |
EEPROM array with well contacts
A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a cell well, a memory cell array formed on the cell well and having a memory cell area and cell well contact area, first wiring bodies arranged in the memory cell area, and second wiring bodies arranged in the cell well contact area. The layout pattern of the second wiring bodies is the same as the layout pattern of the first wiring bodies. The cell well contact area comprises cell well contacts that have the same dopant type as the cell well and that function as source/drain regions of dummy transistors formed in the cell well contact area. |
| US07919822B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same
A semiconductor device that suppresses variation and a drop in the breakdown voltage of transistors. In the semiconductor device in which a logic transistor and a high-breakdown-voltage transistor are formed on one Si substrate, an insulating film which has an opening region and which is thick around the opening region is formed on a low concentration drain region formed in the Si substrate on one side of a gate electrode of the high-breakdown-voltage transistor. The insulating film around the opening region has a two-layer structure including a gate insulating film and a sidewall insulating film. When ion implantation is performed on the low concentration drain region beneath the opening region to form a high concentration drain region, the insulating film around the opening region prevents impurities from passing through. This eliminates variation in the relative positions of the opening region and a place where the high concentration drain region is formed, and the high concentration drain region can be formed on a self align basis with respect to the low concentration drain region. |
| US07919821B2 |
Method and integrated circuits capable of saving layout areas
An integrated circuit includes a diffusion layer, a first poly-silicon layer, and a second poly-silicon layer. The first poly-silicon layer is located on the diffusion layer to form a transistor. The second poly-silicon includes a first section and a second section. The first section of the second poly-silicon layer is located on the first poly-silicon layer to form a capacitor. The second section of the second poly-silicon layer is located on the diffusion layer to form a resistor. |
| US07919818B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a principal IGBT controllable in accordance with a gate voltage applied to a gate electrode thereof, a current detecting IGBT connected to the principal IGBT in parallel and a current detecting part including a detecting resistor capable of detecting a current passing through the current detecting IGBT. The base region of the current detecting IGBT and the emitter region of the principal IGBT are electrically connected to each other, and the emitter region of the current detecting IGBT and the emitter region of the principal IGBT are electrically connected to each other through the detecting resistor. |
| US07919813B2 |
Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and semiconductor device
Disclosed is a semiconductor device of n-type MOSFET structure, which comprises a semiconductor substrate having a device isolation region, diffusion regions formed in the semiconductor substrate, gate electrodes formed above the semiconductor substrate, and a F-containing NiSi layer formed on the diffusion regions and containing F atoms at a concentration of 3.0×1013 cm−2 or more in areal density, wherein a depth from the junction position formed between the diffusion region and the semiconductor substrate to the bottom of the F-containing NiSi layer is confined within the range of 20 to 100 nm, and the concentration of F atoms at an interface between the F-containing NiSi layer and the semiconductor substrate is 8.0×1018 cm−3 or more. |
| US07919810B2 |
Device with polymer layers and two-step self-aligned source etch with large process window
System and method for self-aligned etching. According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for performing self-aligned source etching process. The method includes a step for providing a substrate material. The method also includes a step for forming a layer of etchable oxide material overlying at least a portion of the substrate material. The layer of etchable oxide material can characterized by a first thickness. The layer of etchable oxide material includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The second portion is positioned between the first portion and the third portion. The method additionally includes a step for forming a plurality of structures overlying the layer of etchable oxide material. The plurality of structures includes a first structure and a second structure. |
| US07919809B2 |
Dielectric layer above floating gate for reducing leakage current
A memory system is disclosed that includes a set of non-volatile storage elements. A given memory cell has a dielectric cap above the floating gate. In one embodiment, the dielectric cap resides between the floating gate and a conformal IPD layer. The dielectric cap reduces the leakage current between the floating gate and a control gate. The dielectric cap achieves this reduction by reducing the strength of the electric field at the top of the floating gate, which is where the electric field would be strongest without the dielectric cap for a floating gate having a narrow stem. |
| US07919803B2 |
Semiconductor memory device having a capacitor structure with a desired capacitance and manufacturing method therefor
A semiconductor memory device in which a plurality of capacitors each including a columnar lower electrode, a capacitor insulation film and an upper electrode are stacked with interlayer films therebetween, a contact plug connects an upper face of each lower electrode of a lower layer with a bottom face of each lower electrode of an upper layer, and another contact plug connects upper electrodes of the capacitors in respective layers with each other. |
| US07919802B2 |
MIM capacitor structure and fabricating method thereof
A method for fabricating an MIM capacitor is disclosed. First, a substrate is provided having a first dielectric layer thereon. Next at least one first damascene conductor is formed within the first dielectric layer, and a second dielectric layer with a capacitor opening is formed on the first dielectric layer, in which the capacitor opening is situated directly above the first damascene conductor. Next, an MIM capacitor having a top plate and a bottom plate is created within the capacitor opening, in which the bottom plate of the MIM capacitor is electrically connected to the first damascene conductor. Next, a third dielectric layer is deposited on the second dielectric layer and the MIM capacitor, and at least one second damascene conductor is formed within part of the third dielectric layer, in which the second damascene conductor is electrically connected to the top plate of the MIM capacitor. |
| US07919801B2 |
RF power transistor structure and a method of forming the same
In various embodiments, semiconductor structures and methods to manufacture these structures are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a portion of the unidirectional transistor and a portion of a bidirectional transistor in or over a semiconductor material simultaneously. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US07919800B2 |
Capacitor-less memory cells and cell arrays
A capacitor-less memory cell, memory device, system and process of forming the capacitor-less memory cell includes forming the memory cell in an active area of a substantially physically isolated portion of the bulk semiconductor substrate. A pass transistor is formed on the active area for coupling with a word line. The capacitor-less memory cell further includes a read/write enable transistor vertically configured along at least one vertical side of the active area and operable during a reading of a logic state with the logic state being stored as charge in a floating body area of the active area, causing different determinable threshold voltages for the pass transistor. |
| US07919798B2 |
Image sensor and fabricating method thereof
An image sensor and fabricating method thereof for preventing cross-talk between neighboring pixels by providing at least three light-shield walls combining to extend vertically above a lateral periphery of a photodiode for deflecting light from a microlens array towards the photodiode. |
| US07919792B2 |
Standard cell architecture and methods with variable design rules
Structures and methods for standard cell layouts having variable rules for spacing of layers to cell boundaries are disclosed. In one embodiment, a first standard cell layout is provided with a conductive layer having at least two portions spaced apart by a minimum spacing distance, the conductive layer having at least one portion spaced from a cell boundary by a first spacing distance of less than half of the minimum spacing distance; a second standard cell disposed adjacent the first standard cell with at least one second portion of the conductive layer in the second cell disposed adjacent the first portion in the first standard cell and spaced apart from a common cell boundary by a second spacing greater than half of the minimum; wherein the sum of the first and second spacings is at least as great as the minimum spacing. A method for forming standard is disclosed. |
| US07919790B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of producing the same
A semiconductor substrate and a method of its manufacture has a semiconductor substrate having a carbon concentration in a range of 6.0×1015 to 2.0×1017 atoms/cm3, both inclusively. One principal surface of the substrate is irradiated with protons and then heat-treated to thereby form a broad buffer structure, namely a region in a first semiconductor layer where a net impurity doping concentration is locally maximized. Due to the broad buffer structure, lifetime values are substantially equalized in a region extending from an interface between the first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer formed on the first semiconductor layer to the region where the net impurity doping concentration is locally maximized. In addition, the local minimum of lifetime values of the first semiconductor layer becomes high. It is thus possible to provide a semiconductor device having soft recovery characteristics, in addition to high-speed and low-loss characteristics, while suppressing a kinked leakage current waveform. |
| US07919789B2 |
Lateral light-emitting diode backlight module
A lateral light-emitting diode backlight module includes a base, a circuit board, and at least a light emitting diode wherein the base having a heat conductor, the circuit board having a conductive pad formed on a surface thereof, and the circuit board disposed on the heat conductor and connected to the heat conductor. Each light emitting diode comprising a substrate, a heat sink fastened to the substrate and connected to the heat conductor, an LED chip disposed on the heat sink and emits light laterally, and a pin mounted on the substrate and extended to the conductive pad of the circuit board. |
| US07919788B2 |
Assembly of a heat dissipating base and a lead frame for a light emitting diode packaging device and method for making the same
A light emitting diode packaging device includes: a heat dissipating base; a light emitting dice mounted on the heat dissipating base; a lead frame coupled electrically to the light emitting dice and having a protruding wall defining a confining space for extension of a protruding part of the heat dissipating base therethrough; at least one retaining member provided on one of the protruding part of the heat dissipating base and the protruding wall of the lead frame to retain the lead frame to the heat dissipating base; and a molding material molded on the heat dissipating base and the lead frame. |
| US07919787B2 |
Semiconductor device with a light emitting semiconductor die
A semiconductor device includes a light emitting semiconductor die mounted on at least one of first and second electrically conductive bonding pads, which are located on a first major surface of a substrate of the device. The light emitting semiconductor die has an anode and a cathode, which are electrically connected to the first and second electrically conductive bonding pads. The semiconductor device further includes first and second electrically conductive connecting pads, which are located on a second major surface of the substrate. The first and second electrically conductive bonding pads are electrically connected to the first and second electrically conductive connecting pads via first and second electrically conductive interconnecting elements. |
| US07919785B2 |
Phosphor for white light-emitting diodes and fabrication of the same
The present invention provides a light-emitting diode-converted phosphor compound having the following chemical formula: (M1-m-nCemEun)2BO3X wherein M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ca, Sr and Ba, X is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Cl and Br, 0≦m≦0.5, and 0≦n≦0.5. |
| US07919782B2 |
Bonding structure of circuit substrate and instant circuit inspection method thereof
The present invention provides a bonding structure of circuit substrates and an instant circuit inspection method thereof. The contact pad design of the bonding structure has an instant inspection ability of circuit connection in bonding two circuit substrates. In two bonded circuit substrates, the signal inputted at the circuit part passes the conductive particles to the first contact pad, and then passes the conductive particles again to the detecting part from the first contact pad. Therefore, measuring the output signal can inspect the reliability of the circuit connection of the bonded circuit substrates. If the output signal is the same as the input signal, the bonding structure between the first contact pad and the circuit part is validated, or, if not, the bonding structure is invalidated. |
| US07919781B2 |
Galvanic isolator having improved high voltage common mode transient immunity
A galvanic isolator having a transmitter die, a receiver die, and a lead frame is disclosed. The transmitter die includes an LED having first and second contacts for powering the LED, and the receiver die includes a photodetector. The lead frame includes first and second transmitter leads, and first and second receiver leads. The transmitter die is bonded to the first lead, the first contact being connected electrically to the first transmitter lead and the second contact being connected to the second transmitter lead. The receiver die is connected to the first and second receiver leads. The LED and the photodetector are positioned such that light generated by the LED is received by the photodetector. The first and second transmitter leads are capacitively coupled to the first receiver lead. The capacitive couplings are characterized by first and second capacitance values that are substantially the same. |
| US07919780B2 |
System for high efficiency solid-state light emissions and method of manufacture
In one embodiment of the invention, a bonding material is used to bond a substitute substrate to the LED, wherein the bonding material does not including gold or tin. The bonding material preferably includes gallium (Ga), such as a combination of Ga and Al or Cu. This bonding material has high thermal conductivity, high strength, high temperature stability and is low cost. In another embodiment of the invention, the substitute substrate is first thinned before it is bonded to the LED structure, so that the substitute substrate is flexible and conforms to the shape of the LED structure. In yet another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus is used for bonding a substitute substrate to a LED which includes a plurality of semiconductor epitaxial layers, said semiconductor epitaxial layers having been grown on the growth substrate so that said semiconductor epitaxial layers are curved in shape. The apparatus includes a conduit for evacuating a region near the substitute substrate on a side of the substitute substrate that is opposite to that of said semiconductor epitaxial layers. Gas pressure is applied on the semiconductor epitaxial layers, and the substitute substrate conforms to the shape of said semiconductor epitaxial layers as a result of pressure applied. A bonding material is used for bonding said substitute substrate to the semiconductor epitaxial layers. |
| US07919776B2 |
High frequency diode and method for producing same
A high frequency diode comprising: a P type region, an N type region, and an I layer as a high resistivity layer interposed between the P type region and the N type region, wherein the I layer is made of a silicon wafer that has a carbon concentration of 5×1015 to 5×1017 atoms/cm3, interstitial oxygen concentration of 6.5×1017 to 13.5×1017 atoms/cm3, and a resistivity of 100 Ωcm or more. |
| US07919766B2 |
Method for making self aligning pillar memory cell device
A method for making a memory cell assembly includes forming a memory cell access layer over a substrate to create an access device with a bottom electrode. A memory material layer is formed over the memory cell access layer in electrical contact with the bottom electrode. A first electrically conductive layer is formed over the memory material layer. A first mask, extending in a first direction, is formed over the first electrically conductive layer and then trimmed so that those portions of the first electrically conductive layer and the memory material layer not covered by the first mask are removed. |
| US07919764B2 |
Method and apparatus for enhanced terahertz radiation from high stacking fault density
A method and device for generating terahertz radiation comprising a polar crystal material layer operative to emit terahertz radiation; the polar crystal material layer comprising a plurality of stacking faults; the stacking faults lying substantially perpendicular to the polar axis and forming boundaries at which the internal electric polarization terminates leading to charges accumulating at the boundaries, and creation of internal electric fields oriented along the polar axis; a pulsed radiation source for creating photogenerated carriers in the polar crystal material; whereby the photogenerated carriers accelerate in the internal electric fields associated with the termination of the internal electric polarization by the stacking faults to thereby generate terahertz radiation. |
| US07919760B2 |
Operation stage for wafer edge inspection and review
The present invention relates to an operation stage of a charged particle beam apparatus which is employed in a scanning electron microscope for substrate (wafer) edge and backside defect inspection or defect review. However, it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability. A system and method in accordance with the present invention provides an operation stage for substrate edge inspection or review. The inspection region includes top near edge, to bevel, apex, and bottom bevel. The operation stage includes a supporting stand, a z-stage, an X-Y stage, an electrostatic chuck, a pendulum stage and a rotation track. The pendulum stage mount with the electrostatic chuck has the ability to swing from 0° to 180° while performing substrate top bevel, apex and bottom bevel inspection or review. In order to keep the substrate in focus and avoid a large position shift during altering the substrate observation angle by rotation the pendulum stage, one embodiment of the present invention discloses a method such that the rotation axis of the pendulum stage consist of the tangent of upper edge of the substrate to be inspected. The electrostatic chuck of the present invention has a diameter smaller than which of the substrate to be inspected. During the inspection process the substrate on the electrostatic chuck may be rotated about the central axis on the electrostatic chuck to a desired position, this design insures all position on the bevel and apex are able to be inspected. |
| US07919759B2 |
Charged particle beam irradiator and rotary gantry
A charged particle beam 2 which enters a final bending electromagnet 7 after traveling through quadrupole electromagnets 4, 5, 6 travels through the final bending electromagnet 7 in an arc shape path by increasing or decreasing a bending magnetic field generated in the final bending electromagnet 7, with a pre-determined period for example and is scanned in an X-direction. The charged particle beam 2 scanned in the X-direction is scanned in a Y-direction while traveling through a Y-direction Wobbler electromagnet 8. Consequently, the charged particle beam 2 is scanned in the X-direction and the Y-direction, and the target 9 is irradiated with the charged particle beam 2 so that a round field is drawn, for example. |
| US07919747B2 |
Mass spectrometer
An ion guide or mass analyser (2) is disclosed comprising a plurality of electrodes (2a) having apertures through which ions are transmitted in use. A pseudo-potential barrier is created at the exit of the ion guide or mass analyser (2). The amplitude or depth of the pseudo-potential barrier is inversely proportional to the mass to charge ratio of an ion. One or more transient DC voltages (4) are applied to the electrodes (2a) of the ion guide or mass analyser (2) in order to urge ions along the length of the ion guides or mass analyser (2). The amplitude of the transient DC voltage (4) applied to the electrode (2a) may be increased with time so that ions are caused to be emitted from the ion guide or mass analyser (2) in reverse order of their mass to charge ratio. |
| US07919746B2 |
Atmospheric pressure ion source performance enhancement
The instant invention deals with species that may be required to enhance an upstream sample preparation or separation process may be less compatible with the downstream ES processes and cause reduction in MS signal. New electrolytes have been found that increase positive and negative polarity analyte ion signal measured in ESMS analysis when compared with analyte ESMS signal achieved using more conventional electrolytes. The new electrolyte species increase ES MS signal when added directly to a sample solution or when added to a second solution flow in an electrospray membrane probe, it has also been found that running the ES membrane probe with specific electrolytes in the second solution of the ES membrane probe have been found to enhance ESMS signal compared to using the same electrolytes directly in the sample solution being electrosprayed. The new electrolytes can be added to a reagent ion source configured in a combination atmospheric pressure ion source to improve ionization efficiency. |
| US07919745B2 |
Methods and systems for background correction in tandem mass spectrometry based quantitation
A corrected reporter ion intensity is calculated in tandem mass spectrometry based quantitation using isobaric labels. An analyte in each of two or more samples of a mixture of samples is labeled with a different isobaric label. The analyte is eluted from the mixture of samples and intensities of the eluting analyte are measured. An analyte intensity is selected at each of at least two times from the measured intensities. Tandem mass spectrometry is performed on the eluting analyte at each of the at least two times. A plurality of reporter ion intensities is produced. A system of linear equations is created expressing each reporter ion intensity of the plurality of reporter ion intensities as a sum of a background noise intensity and the product of a fragmentation efficiency and an analyte intensity. A corrected reporter ion intensity is calculated from a solution of the system of linear equations. |
| US07919739B2 |
Anti-rebound locking device for the deployable fin of a projectile
The invention relates to a locking device for a deployable surface or fin of a projectile characterized in that it incorporates at least one flexible tongue, one end of which protrudes in the groove, a recess to the side of the groove enabling the tongue to bend in a first direction to enable the fin to enter the groove. |
| US07919736B2 |
Heating device
A heating device includes a main body with an opening, a magnetron for generating electromagnetic waves for heating, a door for putting in and taking out an object to be heated, a reader, and a barrier. The magnetron emits electromagnetic waves into the main body. The door covers the opening of the main body. The reader reads information contained in a wireless IC tag attached to the object to be heated. The barrier acts a shield for the reader from the electromagnetic waves emitted by the magnetron when the door is closed, and the shield is broken when the door is opened. |
| US07919735B2 |
High-frequency heating device
In fabricating a door switch for a microwave oven, two switches are incorporated in a single switch case to allow a reduction in the size and to allow common use of switch components, thereby achieving a cost reduction through a reduction in the number of components. Further, a contact switching structure tilted in conjunction with opening and closing of a door is provided to achieve high accuracy in switching the switches. There is provided a first switch whose contact portions are switched by elastically displacing a conductive contact piece in the switch case when a first tilting lever is tilted, a second switch whose contact portions are switched by elastically displacing another conductive contact piece in the switch case at timing that is slightly different from the timing for switching the contact portions of the first switch, and a third switch which is switched when a second tilting lever is tilted. |
| US07919733B2 |
Modular heater systems
A heat trace assembly is provided that includes a heat trace section, an insulation jacket surrounding the heat trace section, and a plurality of standoffs disposed between the heat trace section and the insulation jacket. A corresponding plurality of passageways are formed between the heat trace section and the insulation jacket and between the plurality of standoffs. The standoffs can be a part of the insulation jacket and/or the heat trace section, and the standoffs can furthermore be integrally formed with or separately attached to the insulation jacket and/or the heat trace section. |
| US07919731B2 |
Stirring hot plate
A stirring hot plate for simultaneously heating and stirring a mixture includes a phase controlled motor that spins magnets which couple to, and thereby spin, a stir bar within the mixture. In addition to spinning the magnets, the motor includes an operational mode in which the motor is rapidly braked thereby quickly spinning down the stir bar. The stirring hot plate also includes a visual indicator to the user that the platform is hot-to-the-touch that is especially effective when the stirring hot plate is not in use. |
| US07919727B2 |
Laser processing apparatus and laser processing method
A laser processing apparatus includes: a laser beam radiation part that radiates a laser beam to a target position on a substrate; a liquid supply source; a liquid supply nozzle that is connected to the liquid supply source through a liquid supply channel; a guide member for the ejected liquid; and a movement mechanism that allows a substrate holding part, and the laser beam radiation part, the guide member and the liquid supply nozzle to relatively move in a horizontal direction in a state that a center of a radiation spot of the laser beam is in a projection region on the substrate when the liquid ejection port of the liquid supply nozzle is extended in an ejection direction. |
| US07919725B2 |
Via hole forming method
A method of forming a via hole reaching a bonding pad in a wafer having a plurality of devices on the front surface of a substrate and bonding pads on each of the devices, by applying a laser beam from the rear surface side of the substrate, comprising the steps of forming an annular groove by applying a laser beam to an annular area surrounding a via hole forming area on the rear surface of the substrate; and forming a via hole reaching a bonding pad by applying a laser beam to the via hole forming area surrounded by the annular groove from the rear surface side of the substrate. |
| US07919724B2 |
Cutting device for cutting hard-brittle material
A cutting device for cutting a hard-brittle material along a cutting path is provided. The cutting device includes a cooling source having a first output terminal for providing a first cooling effect along the cutting path, and a heating source having a second output terminal disposed in the first output terminal for providing a heating effect following the first cooling effect along the cutting path. |
| US07919723B2 |
Apparatus and method for cutting lawns using lasers
The laser lawn cutting system of the present invention consists of an array or grid of laser heads distributed across a lawn. The laser heads may be permanently fixed above the surface of the lawn, or preferably mounted underneath the surface of the lawn and designed to pop up at the time of cutting. If mounted underneath the surface of the lawn, solenoids may be used to move the laser heads above the surface. Other mechanical devices could also be used to cause the laser heads to move above the surface of the lawn. Preferably, the laser heads will be distributed across the lawn in a grid or matrix, such that the laser light generated by the rotating laser head sweeps across the lawn in overlapping arcs to cut the vegetation. The system may also be used to melt snow or kill insects. |
| US07919720B2 |
Earthing switch
In an earthing switch a release mechanism releases pressure stored in a puffer type arc cancelling chamber by releasing the chamber at a predetermined area toward a stationary contact unit during a full stroke extent of a movable contact unit so that the puffering operation can be deterred from execution. |
| US07919718B2 |
Acceleration switch
An acceleration switch includes a closed container further including a cylindrical housing and a substantially circular metal header plate, a conductive lead terminal inserted through a hole of the header plate and hermetically fixed in the hole, a contact member secured to a distal end of the lead terminal and having a plurality of elastically deformable movable contacts substantially concentric about the distal end of the lead terminal, a conductive inertia ball accommodated in the container and caused to roll in the housing thereby to contact the movable contact, whereby the housing and the contact member are rendered conductive, and a braking member disposed between the movable contacts so as to be capable of urging the inertia ball in a direction of a center of the closed container. The braking member includes an elastically deformable braking portion which is extended so as to normally contact the inertia ball. |
| US07919715B2 |
Circuit board ready to slot
A circuit substrate ready to slot is revealed, primarily comprising a board base with slot-reserved area. A plurality of bonding fingers, a plating bus loop, and a plurality of plating lines disposed on the bottom surface of the board base. The bonding fingers are located adjacent to but outside the slot-reserved area and the plating bus loop is located inside the slot-reserved area. The plating lines connect the bonding fingers to the plating bus lines. The plating bus loop includes two side bars closer to the long sides of the slot-reserved area than the bonding fingers to the long sides. Accordingly, the lengths of the plating lines within the slot-reserved area are shortened. It is possible to solve the issues of metal burs and shifting of the remaining plating lines when routing a slot along the peripheries of the slot-reserved area. Moreover, the plating current can evenly distribute to improve the plating qualities on the surfaces of the bonding fingers. |
| US07919714B2 |
System and a method for controlling flow of solder
An assembly including a solder wettable surface is provided. The assembly also includes a metal mask configured to restrict solder from flowing outside the solder wettable surface. |
| US07919712B2 |
Electrical device with stabilization structure and method of forming same
An electrical device (100) having a first side (116) supported by a surface (202) and including: (a) a body (112) having the first side and a second side (117); (b) a stabilization structure (130) adjacent to the body and having at least one opening (134) therein; and (c) an electrical component (102) located at least partially within the body and having one or more first electrical connectors (120) at the second side. |
| US07919711B2 |
Utility pole grounding plate
A utility pole grounding plate including a main section and a plurality of flaps. The main section has a general plate shape adapted to be connected around an outer curved surface of a utility pole. The flaps extend outward from an exterior side of the main section. The flaps are formed by material cut and bent from the main section such that the flaps are integral with the main section. The main section has apertures corresponding to the cut and bent material of the flaps. |
| US07919706B2 |
Melody retrieval system
A music retrieval system which take an input melody as the query. In one embodiment, changes or differences in the distribution of energy across the frequency spectrum over time are used to find breakpoints in the input melody in order to separate it into distinct notes. In another embodiment the breakpoints are identified based on changes in pitch over time. A confidence level is preferably associated with each breakpoint and/or note extracted from the input melody. The confidence level is based on one or more of: changes in pitch, absolute values of a spectral energy distribution indicator, relative values of the spectral energy distribution indicator, and the energy level of the input melody. The process of matching the input melody with songs in the music database is based on minimizing a cost computation that takes into account errors in the insertion and deletion of notes, and penalizes these errors in accordance with the confidence levels of the breakpoints and/or notes. |
| US07919698B1 |
Inbred maize line PHAJM
A novel inbred maize variety designated PHAJM and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing inbred maize variety PHAJM with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHAJM through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the inbred variety PHAJM or a trait conversion of PHAJM with another maize variety. Inbred maize varieties derived from inbred maize variety PHAJM, methods for producing other inbred maize varieties derived from inbred maize variety PHAJM and the inbred maize varieties and their parts derived by the use of those methods. |
| US07919696B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH016740
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH016740. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH016740, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH016740 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH016740. |
| US07919695B2 |
Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH610543
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH610543. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH610543, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH610543 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH610543. |
| US07919693B1 |
Maize variety X6N745
A novel maize variety designated X6N745 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing maize variety X6N745 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X6N745 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X6N745, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X6N745. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X6N745 and to the maize varieties derived by the use of those methods. |
| US07919692B1 |
Maize variety X6T596
A novel maize variety designated X6T596 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing maize variety X6T596 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X6T596 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X6T596, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X6T596. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X6T596 and to the maize varieties derived by the use of those methods. |
| US07919686B2 |
Defensin polynucleotides and methods of use
Methods and compositions for modulating development and defense responses are provided. Nucleotide sequences encoding defensin proteins are provided. The sequences can be used in expression cassettes for modulating development, developmental pathways, and defense responses. Transformed plants, plant cells, tissues, and seed are also provided. |
| US07919685B2 |
Fatty acid desaturases from Tetraselmis suecica
The invention relates generally to methods and compositions concerning desaturase enzymes that modulate the number and location of double bonds in long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA's). In particular, the invention relates to methods and compositions for improving omega-3 fatty acid profiles in plant products and parts using desaturase enzymes and nucleic acids encoding for such enzymes. In particular embodiments, the desaturase enzymes are Tetraselmis suecica delta 6 desaturases. Also provided are improved soybean oil compositions having GLA and SDA. |
| US07919682B2 |
Plants with reduced activity of a starch phosphorylating enzyme
The present invention relates to plant cells and plants, which are genetically modified, wherein the genetic modification leads to the reduction of the activity of a starch phosphorylating OK1 protein in comparison with corresponding wild type plant cells or wild type plants that have not been genetically modified. Furthermore, the present invention relates to means and methods for the manufacture of such plant cells and plants. Plant cells and plants of this type synthesise a modified starch. The present invention therefore also relates to the starch synthesised by the plant cells and plants according to the invention, methods for the manufacture of this starch, and the manufacture of starch derivatives of this modified starch, as well as flours containing starches according to the invention.Furthermore, the present invention relates to nucleic acid molecules, which are suitable for manufacturing plants according to the invention. |
| US07919677B2 |
eIF4E gene mutations and potyvirus resistance
The invention concerns a method for obtaining potyvirus resistant plants exhibiting one or several mutations in a preserved region of the eIF4E translation factor, defined by the following general sequence (I):DX1X2X3X4KSX5QX6AWGSSX7RX8X9YTFSX10VEX11FWX12X13YNNIHX14P SKLX15X16GAD wherein: —X1, X2, X3, X4, X6, X7, X8, X9, X10, X12, X13, X15, et X16 represent each a neutral amino acid; X5 and X14 represent a basic amino acid; X11 represents an acid amino acid; D, K, S, Q, A, W, G, R, Y, T, F, V, E, N, I, H, P, and L have their usual one-letter code meaning. |
| US07919674B2 |
Transgenic mammal carrying GANP gene transferred thereinto and utilization thereof
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high affinity antibody effective as a diagnostic or therapeutic for various diseases; a transgenic mammal for producing the high affinity antibody; and a medicine comprising the high affinity antibody or a cell producing the high affinity antibody. According to the present invention, a transgenic mammal carrying a GANP gene transferred thereinto, its progeny, or a part thereof, and a method of producing a high affinity antibody using the same are provided. |
| US07919672B2 |
Suppression of B-cell apoptosis in transgenic animals expressing humanized immunoglobulin
The invention provides a novel approach to increase immunoglobulin expression in non-human transgenic animals. For instance, the invention provides a method to increase humanized immunoglobulin production in animals genetically engineered to express one or several human or humanized immunoglobulin transloci. This can be done by overexpressing the apoptosis inhibitor, i.e. a rabbit bcl-2, whose expression is driven by a B-cell specific promoter specifically in the B-cell of the animal, thereby enhancing the survival of B-cells. This invention further relates to a method for selectively enhancing the survival of exogenous B-cells, that is B-cells expressing any immunoglobulin transgene locus, over the survival of endogenous B-cells that do not express the transgene locus. Selectivity is achieved by expressing the apoptosis-inhibitor only within exogenous B-cells, that is, by coupling exogenous immunoglobulin expression with apoptosis inhibitor expression. This latter method allows for increased expression and production of the transgene encoded product(s) over the endogenously produced immunoglobulin of the transgenic animal. The invention also provides a novel apoptosis-inhibitor, rabbit bcl-2. |
| US07919669B2 |
Disposable absorbent article having side panels with structurally, functionally and visually different regions
A disposable absorbent article worn about the lower torso of a wearer includes at least one pair of side panels connecting a first waist region to a second waist region forming a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. Each side panel includes a waist region, a hip region and a leg region wherein the waist region, the hip region and the leg region differs structurally, functionally and visually to provide an improved initial fit and sustained fit while exhibiting a garment-like appearance. |
| US07919668B2 |
Components of articles including continuous detector materials
The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles including one or more discrete components. Representative discrete components include the nonwoven layer of the outer cover, the barrier film layer of the outer cover, the absorbent core, the bodyside liner, fasteners, ears and attachment panels. The discrete components include a continuous detector material. A representative continuous detector material may be an optical brightener. The discrete components also include a masking block. The masking block may decrease or eliminate the detectable presence of an optical brightener. |
| US07919658B2 |
Purification of biologically-produced 1,3-propanediol
A process for purifying 1,3-propanediol from the fermentation broth of a cultured E. coli that has been bioengineered to synthesize 1,3-propanediol from sugar is provided. The basic process entails filtration, ion exchange and distillation of the fermentation broth product stream, preferably including chemical reduction of the product during the distillation procedure. Also provided are highly purified compositions of 1,3-propanediol. |
| US07919654B2 |
Cyclopentaphenanthrene-based compound and organic electroluminescent device using the same
Provided are a cyclopentaphenanthrene-based compound and an organic EL device using the same. The cyclopentaphenanthrene-based compound is easy to prepare and excellent in solubility, color purity, and color stability. The cyclopentaphenanthrene-based compound is useful as a material for forming an organic layer, in particular, a light-emitting layer in an organic EL device, and as an organic dye or an electronic material such as a nonlinear optical material. |
| US07919653B2 |
Method of inhibiting nonspecific interaction between molecules on solid phase support
The present invention provides a method of suppressing the nonspecific interaction between molecules, characterized in that in a process to immobilize a molecule onto a solid phase carrier and analyze the specific interaction between the molecule and a molecule that specifically interacts with the molecule on the solid phase, the hydrophobic property of the solid phase surface in the solid phase carrier is regulated, particularly a hydrophilic spacer is interlaid at the time of immobilization of the molecule onto the solid phase carrier, which method makes it possible to suppress the nonspecific interaction between the molecules, and to reduce nonspecific adsorption to the solid phase. |
| US07919650B2 |
Organofunctional silanes and their mixtures
Organofunctional silanes, inclusive of dimers and oligomers, are provided in which individual silanes possess both free and blocked mercaptan functionality or particular mixtures of the organofunctional silanes possess both free and blocked mercaptan functionality. The organofunctional silanes and silane mixtures are useful, inter alia, as coupling agents for elastomeric compositions, e.g., rubber formulations employed in the manufacture of tires, where they exhibit a desirable balance of low scorch and good performance properties. |
| US07919646B2 |
Hydrocyanation of 2-pentenenitrile
The invention provides a process for hydrocyanation, comprising: contacting 2-pentenenitrile with hydrogen cyanide at a temperature in the range of about 0° C. to about 150° C. in the presence of at least one Lewis acid promoter and a catalyst precursor composition, wherein the catalyst precursor composition comprises a zero-valent nickel and at least one bidentate phosphite ligand selected from a member of the group represented by Formula I and Formula II, in which all like reference characters have the same meaning, except as further explicitly limited: wherein R1 and R5 are independently selected from the group consisting of C1 to C5 hydrocarbyl; and R2, R3, R4, R6, R7 and R8 are independently selected from the group consisting of H and C1 to C4 hydrocarbyl. |
| US07919642B2 |
Silahydrocarbyl esters of 3-chloro-2-trifluoromethylpropionic acid, their preparation and preparation of the corresponding acrylic acid esters
An organic silicon compound represented by the following general formula: ClCH2CH(CF3)COOR3Si(R1)n(R2)3-n (wherein, R1 independently designates the same or different substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, R2 independently designates the same or different groups selected from halogen groups or hydrolysable groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, R3 designates substituted or unsubstituted alkylene groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and “n” is an integer from 0 to 3). The organic silicon compound is suitable for use as a preferable precursor in the manufacture of silanes that contain (2-trifluoromethylacryloxy)alkyl groups. |
| US07919641B2 |
Synthesis of styrene-soluble ionic comonomer
A method for the in-situ preparation of an ionic comonomer, such as zinc dimethacrylate, dissolved in styrene monomer, for use in production of polystyrene is disclosed. The method generally includes adding comonomer chemical precursors to a solution of styrene and nonionic surfactant. The resulting ionic comonomer may be further dissolved in styrene and polymerized to form a product that may have improved properties. |
| US07919640B2 |
Synthesis with metal methacrylates as comonomers
A method for the in-situ preparation of an ionic comonomer from its chemical precursors, prepared in a solution of styrene monomer is disclosed. In one embodiment, the ionic comonomer is zirconium methacrylate, Zr(MA)4 or zirconyl methacrylate, ZrO(MA)2, or a combination thereof, and zirconium carbonate hydroxide oxide, ZrCO3(OH)2.ZrO2, and methacrylic acid, CH2═C(CH3)—COOH, are used as precursors used for its in-situ preparation. |
| US07919638B2 |
Method of preparing organometallic compounds
A method of preparing an ultra-pure metal amidinate compound comprising using a microchannel device for synthesis in reacting a metal halide solution with a lithium amidinate solution to produce an ultra-pure alkylmetal compound for processes such as chemical vapor deposition. |
| US07919635B2 |
Substituted phenylsulfur trifluoride and other like fluorinating agents
Novel substituted phenylsulfur trifluorides that act as fluorinating agents are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for their preparation and methods for their use in introducing one or more fluorine atoms into target substrate compounds. Finally, various intermediate compounds for use in preparing substituted phenylsulfur trifluorides are provided. |
| US07919629B2 |
Sulphonyl-1,2,4-triazole salts
The invention relates to triazole salts, to their preparation and to applications thereof. The salts have at least one anionic triazolium group which carries at least one chlorosulphonyl, fluorosulphonyl or alkoxyfluorosulphonyl group, each of the anionic groups being combined with a proton or a cation that has a valency of less than or equal to 4. The salts are useful as synthesis reagents, as chemical-reaction or polymerization catalysts, and as ion-conducting materials for electrochemical generators, supercapacitors and electrochromic devices. |
| US07919626B2 |
Pyrazole compounds and uses thereof
The invention provides a compound of formula I: wherein R1-R6, X, Y, and B have any of the values described herein, as well as salts of such compounds, compositions comprising such compounds, and therapeutic methods that comprise the administration of such compounds. The compounds are inhibitors of MAO-B enzyme function and are useful for improving cognitive function and for treating psychiatric disorders in animals. |
| US07919622B2 |
Intermediates for fluorinated tetrabenazine carbinol compounds imaging agents and probes
The present invention provides novel fluorophilic compounds having structure VII wherein R1 is a C1-C20 aliphatic, a C2-C20 cycloaliphatic, or a C2-C20 aromatic radical comprising at least one functional group susceptible to reaction with nucleophilic fluoride ion or an electrophilic fluorinating agent; R2 is a C1-C10 aliphatic radical; R3 is hydrogen or a C1-C10 aliphatic radical; R4 is hydrogen or a C1-C10 aliphatic radical; and R5 is hydrogen, a C1-C10 aliphatic radical, a C2-C10 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C2-C20 aromatic radical. The fluorophilic compounds are provided in both racemic and enantiomerically enriched forms and are useful as intermediates in the preparation of novel PET imaging agents and probes useful in the discovery and performance assessment of PET imaging agents. The fluorophilic compounds are particularly useful in the preparation of PET imaging agents and probes having a high affinity for VMAT-2, a biomarker implicated in human diabetes and other illnesses such as Parkinson's disease. |
| US07919619B2 |
Heterocyclical, substituted phenazinamine-type non-linear optic chromophore architectures
NLO chromophores of the following general formula: wherein each R represents a spacer system or substituent moiety as disclosed herein. |
| US07919618B2 |
Synthesis of piperazines, piperidines and related compounds
Novel methods of synthesizing piperazines, piperidines and related compounds are disclosed, as are compounds useful for their preparation. |
| US07919614B2 |
Synthetic polysaccharides, process for their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions containing them
Synthetic polysaccharides are disclosed containing 8-24 monosaccharide units made up of a concatenation of disaccharides consisting of a uronic acid and a hexose, wherein the hydroxyl groups of the polysaccharides are etherified with a C1-6 alkyl group or esterified in the form of a sulpho group, each disaccharide being at least monoetherified; and salts thereof, are disclosed. |
| US07919611B2 |
Nucleotide primer set and nucleotide probe for detecting genotype of N-acetyltransferase-2 (NAT2)
There is provided a nucleotide primer set for LAMP amplification, used for detecting genotypes of single-nucleotide polymorphisms G590A, G857A and T341C of a NAT2 gene. There is also provided a nucleotide probe for detection of an amplification product amplified with the primer set according to the present invention. There is also provided a method of detecting the genotypes of NAT2 gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms G590A, G857A and T341C by using the primer set according to the present invention. |
| US07919603B2 |
Heat shock RNA
The present invention provides a novel RNA, designated herein as the “HSR1” (Heat Shock RNA), and its use together with translation elongation factor eEF1A in activation of heat shock transcription factor HSF. The invention further provides the use of HSR1 for generation of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, inflammation, ischemia, neurodegeneration, age-related diseases, HIV infection, deafness, and related disorders. |
| US07919600B2 |
Compositions that reversibly gel and de-gel
A composition that comprises a first polymer having first functional groups attached as side-chains thereto. The composition further comprises a second polymer having second functional groups attached as side-chains thereto. The first and the second functional groups are capable of reversibly forming a cross-link between the first and the second polymers. |
| US07919598B2 |
Crystal structures of SGLT2 inhibitors and processes for preparing same
The present invention relates to physical crystal structures of a compound of the formula I: wherein R1, R2, R2a, R3 and R4 are as defined herein, especially pharmaceutical compositions containing structures of compound I or II, processes for preparing same, intermediates used in preparing same, and methods of treating diseases such as diabetes using such structures. |
| US07919596B2 |
Method of arranging ferritin and method of arranging inorganic particles
To provide a method of arranging ferritin by which a high rate of the number of the molecular film spots on which sole ferritin molecule was arranged in effect, with respect to total number of the molecular film spots provided for arranging ferritin (sole arrangement rate) is achieved is objected to. Specifically, in Fer8 ferritin having a sequence excluding 7 amino acids of from the second to the eighth, from an amino acid sequence (Fer0 sequence) translated from a naturally occurring DNA sequence, lysine at position 91 is substituted with glutamic acid. |
| US07919586B2 |
Fungamyl-like alpha-amylase variants
The invention relates to a variant of a parent Fungamyl-like fungal alpha-amylase, which exhibits improved thermal stability at acidic pH suitable for, e.g., starch processes. |
| US07919576B2 |
Immunogenic CD19 peptides
The invention provides relatively short immunogenic peptides derived from CD19 antigens, and biologically active variants thereof, which elicit an immune response. Nucleic acids encoding the immunogenic peptides and antibodies specific for the peptides are also provided. The immunogenic peptides can be included in pharmaceutical compositions, such as cancer vaccines, and used for the treatment of cancer. |
| US07919574B2 |
Polymer having thieno[3,2-b] thiophene moieties
A polymer comprising one or more types of repeat units, wherein the polymer includes a substituted thieno[3,2-b]thiophene component A and a different component B in the same type of repeat unit or in different types of repeat units, and wherein the polymer excludes a substituted or unsubstituted thieno[2,3-b]thiophene moiety. The polymer can be used as a semiconductor in electronics such as in organic thin film transistors. |
| US07919572B2 |
Polyamino acids functionalised with at least one hydrophobic group and applications thereof particularly therapeutic applications
The invention relates to novel materials based on biodegradable polyamino acids, particularly useful for the vectorisation of active principals (PA). The invention further relates to novel, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, dietary or phytosanitary compositions. The invention provides novel polymeric raw material, for use in the vectorisation of PA and with an optimal match for all the requirements of the type: biocompatibility, biodegradability, stability, ability to easily associate with numerous active principals or to solubilise the same and to liberate said active principals in vivo. Said aim is achieved with polyamino acids comprising aspartic and/or glutamate units, some of which carry at least one graft, characterised in that at least one of said grafts is bonded to an aspartic or glutamate unit by means of an amino acids spacer based on Leu, and/or Ileu, and/or Val, and/or Phe and a hydrophobic group with C6-C30 is connected by an ester bond to the spacer. |
| US07919569B2 |
Process for the polymerizaion of olefins
The present invention relates to a process for the polymerization of olefins, comprising the steps of introducing at least one olefin, at least one polymerization catalyst, at least one cocatalyst and at least one cocatalyst aid, and optionally a scavenger, into a polymerization reactor, and polymerizing the olefin, wherein the cocatalyst aid is a reaction product prepared separately prior to the introduction into the reactor by reacting at least one metal alkyl compound of group IIA or IIIA of the periodic system of elements and at least one compound (A) of the formula RmXR′n, wherein R is a branched, straight, or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted, hydrocarbon group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, R′ is hydrogen or any functional group with at least one active hydrogen, X is at least one heteroatom selected from the group of O, N, P or S or a combination thereof, and wherein n and m are each at least 1 and are such that the formula has no net charge. |
| US07919561B2 |
Process of producing thermoplastic polymer blends
A process is described for producing a polymer blend comprising (a) a first polymer component comprising a crystalline propylene polymer and (b) a second polymer component comprising a copolymer of propylene with at least one comonomer, wherein the copolymer comprises between about 7 wt % and about 28 wt % of comonomer and the copolymer has a heat of fusion of 0.5 to 70 J/g and an mm triad tacticity of 75% or greater. The process comprises polymerizing propylene under first polymerization conditions in a polymerization reaction zone to produce a first effluent comprising a crystalline propylene polymer containing no more than 10% by weight of other monomers, the first polymerization conditions comprising a first reaction temperature between about 50° C. and about 100° C. Propylene is then copolymerized with at least one comonomer under second polymerization conditions in the presence of a metallocene catalyst and at least part of said first effluent in a slurry polymerization reaction zone to produce the second polymer component as a blend with the first polymer component, the second polymerization conditions comprising a second reaction temperature at least 7° C. less than the first reaction temperature. |
| US07919560B2 |
Rubber composition and studless tire obtained by using the rubber composition
The object of the present invention is to provide a rubber composition suitable for a studless tire, which can inhibit rubber hardness increase with time and reveals excellent performance on ice and snow for a long time. The present invention relates to a rubber composition comprising 1 to 60 parts by weight of hydrogenized liquid polybutadiene based on 100 parts by weight of a rubber component containing at least 80% by weight of a natural rubber and a butadiene rubber, wherein a peak temperature of tan δ is at most 45° C. and rubber hardness at 0° C. is at most 64. |
| US07919556B2 |
Low VOC aqueous compositions of phosphorus acid functional polymers and polyurethanes
The present invention provides compositions that enable excellent hardness in coating applications, the compositions containing one or more copolymer having as copolymerized units one or more acrylic monomer with a phosphorus acid-functional group, a polymeric side chain containing multi-acid functional groups, a salt thereof, or a combination thereof, one or more polyurethane dispersion made from a high molecular weight polyol, and one or more coalescent having a normal boiling point of 190° C. or higher. The compositions may be ambient curable. |
| US07919552B2 |
Polyurethane powder lacquer
The present invention relates to polyurethane powder lacquers with optimized flow behavior, a process for their production, a process for coating substrates with these powder lacquers, as well as substrates coated with these powder lacquers. |
| US07919545B2 |
Pigment dispersion and ink composition using the same
The present invention provides a pigment dispersion containing at least a pigment at a concentration of from 2 to 50 mass % in the pigment dispersion, and a polymer having from 2 to 50 mass % of repeating units represented by the following formula (1) and from 2 to 40 mass % of repeating units represented by the following formula (2), and having a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 to 500,000. In formula (1), R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, I represents —CO—, —COO—, etc., R2 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. In formula (2), R4 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, J represents —CO—, —COO—, etc., R5 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, etc., W represents a single bond or a bivalent linking group, and P represents a heterocyclic residue having a hetero ring contained in an organic pigment. |
| US07919540B2 |
Rigid, low density foam
A foam comprising the reaction product of one or more multifunctional acrylates with one or more multifunctional aceto- or cyano-acetate compounds in the presence of a base and a blowing agent. |
| US07919533B2 |
Diiodothyroacetic acid and method of use
The present invention relates to a method of administering an effective amount of a diiodothyroacetic acid in order to shift the proportion between lean body mass and adipose tissue in favor of lean body mass in human individuals. |
| US07919532B2 |
Hydroxylated aromatic compounds
Pharmaceutical compositions comprising at least one compound of the formula (I) and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier which is useful in a medicine wherein the symbols and substituents have the following meaning —X— is e.g. and Y being e.g. or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters or amides and prodrugs can be applied to modulate the in-vitro and in-vivo binding processes mediated by E-, P- or L-selectin binding. |
| US07919529B2 |
δ-amino-γ-hydroxy-ω-aryl-alkanoic acid amides
Disclosed are δ-amino-γ-hydroxy-ω-aryl-alkanoic acid amide compounds of formula (I) and the salts thereof, having renin-inhibiting properties. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds and methods of administering them for the treatment of hypertension, atherosclerosis, unstable coronary syndrome, congestive heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, cardiomyopathy postinfarction, unstable coronary syndrome, diastolic dysfunction, chronic kidney disease, hepatic fibrosis, complications resulting from diabetes, such as nephropathy, vasculopathy and neuropathy, diseases of the coronary vessels, restenosis following angioplasty, raised intra-ocular pressure, glaucoma, abnormal vascular growth, hyperaldosteronism, cognitive impairment, alzheimers, dementia, anxiety states and cognitive disorders. |
| US07919528B2 |
Peptide deformylase inhibitors
Novel PDF inhibitors and novel methods for their use are provided. |
| US07919527B2 |
Bipolar trans carotenoid salts and their uses
The invention relates to trans carotenoid salt compounds, methods for making them, methods for solubilizing them and uses thereof. These compounds are useful in improving diffusivity of oxygen between red blood cells and body tissues in mammals including humans. |
| US07919526B2 |
Structured triglycerides and emulsions comprising same
The present invention relates to structured triglyceride, to parental nutrition emulsions comprising same, and use thereof. In particular, the invention relates to structured triglycerides comprising at least one medium chain C6-C12 fatty acid and at least one fatty acid selected from the group consisting of long chain C14-C18 or very long chain C20-C22 fatty acids, preferably each fatty acid is present in a predetermined position of the glycerol backbone. The parenteral nutrition emulsions are particularly useful for nourishing preterm- and term-infants, children, critically ill patients, and cancer patients. |
| US07919516B2 |
Deuterium-enriched ondansetron
The present application describes deuterium-enriched ondansetron, pharmaceutically acceptable salt forms thereof, and methods of treating using the same. |
| US07919514B2 |
Thiadiazole compounds and methods of use
The invention relates to thiadiazole compounds useful for treating diseases mediated by protein kinase B (PKB). The invention also relates to the therapeutic use of such thiadiazole compounds and compositions thereof in treating disease states associated with abnormal cell growth, cancer, inflammation, and metabolic disorders. |
| US07919508B2 |
3-piperidinylisochroman-5-ols as dopamine agonists
The present invention provides compounds of formula I: a stereoisomer or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein the variables R1, R2, R3, R4, X and n are defined as defined herein. Additionally, a method for treating dopamine-related neurological disorders selected form the group consisting of neurological, psychological, cardiovascular, cognitive or attention disorders, substance abuse and addictive behavior, or a combination thereof, comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment a therapeutically effective amount of compounds of formula I. |
| US07919505B2 |
Xinafoate salt of a substituted 5-oxazol-2-yl-quinoline compound
The present invention relates to the compound of the formula To methods of treating upper and lower obstructive airway diseases using said compound, to formulations comprising it, and to polymorphs and processes of synthesis of the polymorphic forms. |
| US07919502B2 |
Pyridopyrazines and derivatives thereof as ALK and c-MET inhibitors
The present invention provides a compound of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt form thereof, wherein A, L1, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, and X are as defined herein. The compounds of Formula I have ALK and/or c-Met inhibitory activity, and may be used to treat ALK- or c-Met-mediated disorders or conditions. |
| US07919500B2 |
Bis-carbazole DNA intercalating agents for antitumor therapy
The present invention is a DNA intercalating agent represented by the structure Y—Z—Y, wherein Y is an anti-tumor bis-carbazole and Z is a linear arrangement of multiple aromatic rings, containing at least two aromatic rings, or at least two alicyclic rings, wherein the rings are linked in a 1,4 or 1,3 manner. Methods of inhibiting cancer cells and treating subjects having cancer with these agents are also provided. |
| US07919493B2 |
Anititumoral ecteinascidin derivatives
This invention relates to antitumoral ecteinascidin derivatives that contain a fused ecteinascidin five ring system with a 1,4-bridge having the structure of formula (VIa) or (VIb) as described herein and compounds in which the —NH2 or —OH of the 1,4-bridge is derivatized, and related pharmaceutical compositions and methods. Such ecteinascidin derivatives include, but are not limited to, those compounds having formula (XVIIb): in which R1 and R4 together form a group of formula (VIa) or (VIb) as described herein, and R5, R7, R8, R14a, R14b, R15, and R21 are as defined herein. |
| US07919492B2 |
Compounds
Compounds of formula (I) wherein R1 is 2-indanyl, R2 is 1-methylpropyl, R3 is a group selected from 2,6-dimethyl-3-pyridyl or 4,6-dimethyl-3-pyridyl, R4 represents methyl and R5 represents hydrogen or methyl or, R4 and R5 together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached represent morpholino and pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof are described, as are processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and their use in medicine, particularly their use as oxytocin antagonists. |
| US07919490B2 |
6-substituted 2-(benzimidazolyl)purine and purinone derivatives for immunosuppression
The present invention provides novel purinones and purines useful for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disease, mast cell mediated disease and transplant rejection. The compounds are of the general formulae I and II shown below, in which Q is selected from the group consisting of CX and nitrogen; and A is chosen from the group consisting of H, (C1-C6) alkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl: |
| US07919484B2 |
Combination therapy
This invention is directed to the use of SCD-1 inhibitors of the formula (I): where x, y, V, W, G, J, L, M, R2, R3, R5, R5a, R6, R6a, R7, R7a, R8 and R8a are defined herein, in combination with other drug therapies to treat adverse weight gain. |
| US07919483B2 |
Method for the treatment of acne
A method for treatment of acne with tetracyclines is provided. A lower sustained dose and no loading dose is employed, with an optional once-a-day dosing regimen. |
| US07919482B2 |
Chemically stable, insecticidally active phosphoroamidothioate pellet compositions and methods for their manufacture
Chemically stable, insecticidally active pellets having a low moisture content and at least about 95% active ingredient are described, as well as a method for manufacturing them. The active ingredient is selected from a class of N-hydrocarboyl phosphoroamidothioate and phosphoroamidodithioate compounds as described in the specification. The pellets generally have a moisture content of about 0.5% by weight or less, preferably less than about 0.3% by weight. The pellets can be produced by one of two types of processes as described in detail, including a high pressure axial extrusion process and a low pressure basket extrusion process. |
| US07919476B2 |
Modulation of glucagon receptor expression
Compounds, compositions and methods are provided for modulating the expression of glucagon receptor. The compositions comprise oligonucleotides, targeted to nucleic acid encoding glucagon receptor. Methods of using these compounds for modulation of glucagon receptor expression and for diagnosis and treatment of disease associated with expression of glucagon receptor are provided. |
| US07919475B2 |
Compositions and methods for improving heart function
The present invention relates to treating or ameliorating heart disease associated with poor myocardial performance, e.g., diabetic cardiomyopathy and associated disorders, particularly to treating, preventing or ameliorating such disorders through inhibition of O-GlcNAcylation and/or increased activity of O-GlnNAcase. The invention provides vectors for gene transfer of O-GlnNAcase. In one aspect, the invention provides cells, vectors, formulations comprising them and methods of using them, for the gene transfer of the human O-GlnNAcase gene, e.g., to treat conditions and diseases associated with impaired cardiac contractility, such as that, found associated with diabetic cardiomyopathy. In another aspect, the invention provides non-human transgenic animals and host cells comprising genetically engineered cells having increased activity of O-GlnNAcase. |
| US07919474B2 |
Formulations comprising antisense nucleotides to connexins
A therapeutic and/or cosmetic formulation comprising at least one anti-sense polynucleotide to a connexin protein together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or vehicle is useful in site specific down regulation of connexin protein expression, particularly in reduction of neuronal cells death, wound healing, reduction of inflammation, decrease of scar formation and skin rejuvenation and thickening. |
| US07919471B2 |
Method of modulating cell survival and reagents useful for same
The present invention relates generally to a method for modulating cell survival. Modulation of cell survival includes inducing, enhancing or otherwise promoting cell survival such as the survival of neural cells as well as facilitating cell death such as the death of targeted cancer cells. The modulation of cell survival is mediated by a region identified on the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) required for death signalling. The present invention further provides genetic molecules which encode the death signalling region of p75NTR which are useful in antagonising death signal function as well as promoting cell death when expressed in targeted cells. The present invention also contemplates recombinant peptides, polypeptides and proteins s well as chemical equivalents, derivatives and homologues thereof which comprise the death signalling portion of p75NTR. Particularly useful molecules of the present invention comprise peptides corresponding to soluble forms of the death signalling portion of p75NTR. These molecules antagonise p75NTR-mediated cell death. |
| US07919468B2 |
Compounds useful as modulators of the proteasome activity
Compounds of the following general formula (I): are provided. The compounds can be used as modulators of the proteasome activity, in the preparation of a medicament useful for the prevention or treatment of diseases wherein the proteasome is involved, such as diseases of inflammatory processes, various hematological and solid tumor cancers, immunological and autoimmune diseases, cardiac pathologies, myopathies, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, or in the preparation of cosmetic compositions or phytosanitary compositions. |
| US07919467B2 |
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-inducing immunogens for prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of cancer
The present invention relates to compositions and methods for the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of cancer, especially carcinomas, such as ovarian carcinoma. The invention discloses peptides, polypeptides, and polynucleotides that can be used to stimulate a CTL response against cancer. |
| US07919466B2 |
Lymphatic zip codes in tumors and pre-malignant lesions
Disclosed herein are compositions and methods for and involving selectively targeting tumor lymphatics. |
| US07919460B2 |
Method for prophylaxis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy after stroke
The present invention is intended to provide a novel pharmaceutical agent having an excellent preventive effect on post-stroke RSD. The present invention provides an agent for preventing the onset of post-stroke RSD, comprising natural calcitonin or a calcitonin derivative as an active ingredient. The present invention is also intended to provide a method for preventing the onset of post-stroke RSD, comprising administering natural calcitonin or a calcitonin derivative and use of natural calcitonin or a calcitonin derivative for producing an agent for preventing the onset of post-stroke RSD. |
| US07919458B2 |
Method of inhibiting prostate cancer cell proliferation
The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting or reducing the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, such as androgen independent prostate cancer (AIPC) cells, the method comprising administering to the cells a PLA2 inhibitor. In one embodiment the PLA2 inhibitor is a conformationally constrained molecule derived from a peptide consisting essentially of amino acid residues 70-74 of a human sPLA2-IIA protein, or the equivalent residues in other sPLA2 proteins. |
| US07919457B2 |
Thrombin peptide derivative dimers
Disclosed are thrombin peptide derivative dimers comprising two polypeptides having the amino acid sequence Arg-Gly-Asp-Ala-Cys-Glu-Gly-Asp-Ser-Gly-Gly-Pro-Phe-Val (SEQ ID NO:2), or a C-terminal truncated fragment of the polypeptide having at least six amino acids. Zero, one, two, or three amino acids in the polypeptide or polypeptide fragment differ from the corresponding position of SEQ ID NO:2. Also disclosed are methods of treating a subject in need of treatment with a thrombin receptor agonist. The methods comprise the step of administering an effective amount of the thrombin peptide derivative described above. |
| US07919456B2 |
Connective tissue derived polypeptides
The present invention relates to compositions comprising one or more connective tissue derived polypeptides having a molecular weight of less than 30,000 Da that are capable of tolerising individuals to antigenic components of cartilage and prevent the appearance of and/or treat symptoms of arthritis and other musculoskeletal degenerative conditions. The present invention provides methods for recovering polypeptides having a molecular weight of less than 30,000 Da from connective tissue and having anti-arthritic or anti-inflammatory activity. The present invention further relates to compositions comprising a polypeptide containing an NC4 domain of collagen type IX alpha 1 chain or fragment thereof, having a molecular weight of less than 30,000 Da, where the polypeptide is capable of tolerising individuals to antigenic components of cartilage, preventing the appearance of arthritic symptoms, and/or treating the symptoms of arthritis. |
| US07919453B2 |
Dosage cap assembly for an applicator
A dosage cap assembly is provided for use with an applicator assembly, the dosage cap assembly including a tip including an outer surface, an attachment end, a second end, and an inner surface defining a tip cavity, wherein the attachment end of the tip includes an engagement mechanism. The dosage cap assembly also includes a cap having an inner surface defining a cap cavity, the inner surface generally conforming to the outer surface of the tip; and a dosage form disposed within the tip cavity. |
| US07919452B2 |
Hydro-alcoholic cosmetic compositions with a delayed release
According to the present invention there is provided a use of a cyclic oligosaccharide for delaying the release of a volatile solvent from a composition, preferably a cosmetic composition, which comprises at least 50% volatile solvent.There is also provided a use of a cyclic oligosaccharide for reducing the initial harsh solvent odour impact, for example ethanolic/alcoholic odour impact of alcoholic or hydro-alcoholic compositions. |
| US07919448B2 |
Compositions including hardness ions and gluconate and methods employing them to reduce corrosion and etch
The present invention relates to compositions including a water soluble magnesium salt, water soluble calcium salt, and gluconate, which have a beneficial effect on corrosion during cleaning. The present compositions can reduce corrosion of glass, aluminum, or steel. The present invention also relates to methods employing these compositions. |
| US07919447B1 |
Array of self-adhesive cleaning products
An array of self-adhesive cleaning products, the array having a first self-adhesive cleaning product, the product being a gel, and a second self-adhesive cleaning product, the second product being a solid. |
| US07919446B1 |
Post-CMP cleaning compositions and methods of using same
Compositions comprise a purine compound; an alcohol amine; a quaternary ammonium salt; an amino acid, and optionally an antioxidant. The compositions are useful in post-CMP cleaning processes. One particular advantage of these compositions is that they can effectively remove slurry contamination without increasing the roughness of the copper surface. |
| US07919444B1 |
Hollow cell bath soap
A bath soap bar including outer side and end walls interconnected to form a quadrilateral frame. Top and bottom covers are fixed respectively to the top and bottom edges of the frame and multiple internal cells of varying configurations formed by at least two partition walls disposed within the frame. |
| US07919440B2 |
Lubricating composition containing non-acidic phosphorus compounds
A lubricating composition with improved storage stability comprising a major amount of an oil of lubricating viscosity, at least one alkali metal borate, at least one polysulfide mixture having at least 40% dihydrocarbyl tetrasulfide or higher sulfides, and at least one non-acidic phosphorus compound comprised of a trihydrocarbyl phosphate and a dihydrocarbyl dithiophosphate derivative is disclosed. In addition to improved storage stability, the composition has improved wear performance when the ratio of polysulfides is controlled. |
| US07919439B2 |
Powdered lubricant composition for hot working and method for manufacturing seamless tubes
With a powdered lubricant composition by the invention, in addition to the blending of one of anhydrous, pentahydrate or decahydrate salt in sodium borate and one of sodium or calcium salt of fat acid, mixing calcium or lithium carbonate as an auxiliary lubricant can prevent sodium borate (Na2B4O7), solidified as amorphous after a tube-making process, from moisture absorbance, drying and crystallization to thereby suppress the formation of Na2B4O7.5H2O on inside surfaces of finished-product tubes, thus enabling to circumvent occurrence of the white scales. Concurrently, they provide good diffusivity toward the working surface of workpiece, thus enabling to prolong a life of the mandrel bar and to widely be adopted as the most suitable powdered lubricant for manufacturing seamless tubes by Mandrel Mill rolling. |
| US07919434B2 |
Oxide superconducting film and method of preparing the same
The present invention relates to a method of preparing an oxide superconducting film, the method includes reacting a metal acetate containing metal M selected from the group consisting of lanthanum, neodymium and samarium with fluorocarboxylic acid having not less than three carbon atoms, reacting barium acetate with fluorocarboxylic acid having two carbon atoms, reacting copper acetate with fluorocarboxylic acid having not less than two carbon atoms, respectively, followed by refining reaction products, dissolving the reaction products in methanol such that a molar ratio of the metal M, barium and copper is 1:2:3 to prepare a coating solution, and coating a substrate with the coating solution to form a gel film, followed by calcining and firing the gel film to prepare an oxide superconducting film. |
| US07919431B2 |
Catalyst formulation for hydrogenation
A composition and method for preparation of a catalyst for the liquid phase selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes with high selectivity to alkenes relative to alkanes, high alkyne conversion, and sustained catalytic activity comprising a Group VIII metal and a Group IB, Group IIB, Group IIIA, and/or Group VIIB promoter on a particulate support. |
| US07919427B2 |
Catalyst carrier and fuel cell using the same
A catalyst carrier, being characterized in that a catalyst metal for promoting an oxidation-reduction reaction is carried on a vapor-grown carbon fiber having an average outer diameter of from 2 nm to 500 nm, which has been subjected to a crushing treatment so as to have a BET specific surface area of from 4 m2/g to 100 m2/g and an aspect ratio of from 1 to 200, and exhibiting high activity per unit amount of a catalyst metal, a low reaction resistance and an improved output density, and is useful for a fuel cell; a production method thereof and a fuel cell using the catalyst carrier. |
| US07919423B2 |
Air activated organotin catalysts for polyurethane synthesis
This invention relates to an organotin-based catalyst system for polyurethane synthesis that is useful in coatings applications. The catalyst has low activity in the absence of oxygen. When a coating mixture comprising the catalyst is sprayed and/or applied to a substrate as a thin film in air, the catalyst is activated. For solvent-based refinish systems comprising hydroxyl and isocyanate species at high solids levels, the catalyst system therefore provides extended viscosity stability, i.e., pot life. |
| US07919417B2 |
Hydrophobic and oleophobic material
The present invention relates in general to a method and variations thereof for making an article, such as cloth, water repellent and/or water resistant (i.e., hydrophobic) as well as oil repellent (i.e., oleophobic). In particular, the method involves the process of providing a thin-layer polymer coating on the article thereby rendering the article water repellent and/or water resistant. Articles made according to the method of the present invention are also disclosed and claimed herein as are the treated articles' use. |
| US07919416B2 |
Method of forming conformal dielectric film having Si-N bonds by PECVD
A method of forming a conformal dielectric film having Si—N bonds on a semiconductor substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) includes: introducing a nitrogen- and hydrogen-containing reactive gas and an additive gas into a reaction space inside which a semiconductor substrate is placed; applying RF power to the reaction space; and introducing a hydrogen-containing silicon precursor in pulses into the reaction space wherein a plasma is excited, thereby forming a conformal dielectric film having Si—N bonds on the substrate. |
| US07919414B2 |
Method for forming fine patterns in semiconductor device
A method for forming fine patterns in a semiconductor device includes forming an etch stop layer and a sacrificial layer over an etch target layer, forming photoresist patterns over the sacrificial layer, etching the sacrificial layer by using the photoresist patterns as an etch barrier to form sacrificial patterns, forming spacers on both sidewalls of the sacrificial patterns, removing the sacrificial patterns, and etching the etch stop layer and the etch target layer by using the spacer as an etch barrier. |
| US07919410B2 |
Packaging methods for imager devices
An imager device is disclosed which includes at least one photosensitive element positioned on a front surface of a substrate and a conductive structure extending at least partially through an opening defined in the substrate to conductively couple to an electrical contact or bond pad on the front surface. An insulating material of a conductive laminate film and/or a mold compound material is positioned within the opening between at least a portion of the conductive structure and the substrate. Also disclosed is a device that comprises a substrate and a plurality of openings in the substrate, wherein each of the openings is adapted to be positioned above an imager device when the substrate is positioned above and secured to an imager substrate. A method of forming an imager device is also disclosed. |
| US07919402B2 |
Cluster ion implantation for defect engineering
A method of semiconductor manufacturing is disclosed in which doping is accomplished by the implantation of ion beams formed from ionized molecules, and more particularly to a method in which molecular and cluster dopant ions are implanted into a substrate with and without a co-implant of non-dopant cluster ion, such as a carbon cluster ion, wherein the dopant ion is implanted into the amorphous layer created by the co-implant in order to reduce defects in the crystalline structure, thus reducing the leakage current and improving performance of the semiconductor junctions. These compounds include co-implants of carbon clusters with implants of monomer or cluster dopants or simply implanting cluster dopants. In particular, the invention described herein consists of a method of implanting semiconductor wafers implanting semiconductor wafers with carbon clusters followed by implants of boron, phosphorus, or arsenic, or followed with implants of dopant clusters of boron, phosphorus, or arsenic. |
| US07919400B2 |
Methods for doping nanostructured materials and nanostructured thin films
A method for introducing one or more impurities into nano-structured materials. The method includes providing a nanostructured material having a feature size of about 100 nm and less. The method includes subjecting a surface region of the nanostructured material to one or more impurities to form a first region having a first impurity concentration within a vicinity of the surface region. In a specific embodiment, the method includes applying a driving force to one or more portions of at least the nanostructured material to cause the first region to form a second region having a second impurity concentration. |
| US07919398B2 |
Microcrystalline silicon deposition for thin film solar applications
Embodiments of the invention as recited in the claims relate to thin film multi-junction solar cells and methods and apparatuses for forming the same. In one embodiment a method of forming a thin film multi-junction solar cell over a substrate is provided. The method comprises positioning a substrate in a reaction zone, providing a gas mixture to the reaction zone, wherein the gas mixture comprises a silicon containing compound and hydrogen gas, forming a first region of an intrinsic type microcrystalline silicon layer on the substrate at a first deposition rate, forming a second region of the intrinsic type microcrystalline silicon layer on the substrate at a second deposition rate higher than the first deposition rate, and forming a third region of the intrinsic type microcrystalline silicon layer on the substrate at a third deposition rate lower than the second deposition rate. |
| US07919395B2 |
Method for separating wafer using two laser beams
A wafer separating method including a laminated member removing step for partially removing a laminated member of a wafer along streets by applying a laser beam to the wafer along the streets, and a cutting step for cutting a substrate of the wafer along the streets after the laminated member removing step. The laminated member removing step includes a first laser processing step for applying a first laser beam along two parallel lines spaced apart from each other in each street, the first laser beam being capable of passing through the laminated member and having an absorption wavelength to the substrate, thereby heating the substrate to generate two cracks in the laminated member by thermal shock so that the two cracks extend along the two parallel lines in each street; and a second laser processing step for applying a second laser beam to a region between the two cracks in the laminated member, the second laser beam having an energy density higher than that of the first laser beam, thereby removing the region between the two cracks in the laminated member to expose the substrate along each street. |
| US07919390B2 |
Isolation structure in memory device and method for fabricating the isolation structure
An isolation structure in a memory device and a method for fabricating the isolation structure. In the method, a first trench is formed in a cell region of a semiconductor substrate and a second trench in a peripheral region of the semiconductor substrate. A liner layer comprising a silicon nitride layer is formed on the first and second trenches. A spin on dielectric (SOD) layer comprising polysilazane is formed on the liner layer so as to fill the first and second trenches. A portion of the SOD layer filling the second trench is removed. A portion of the silicon nitride layer, which is disposed on the second trench and is exposed after the removing of the portion of the SOD layer, is oxidized using oxygen plasma and heat generated from the plasma. A high density plasma (HDP) oxide layer is formed to fill the second trench. |