| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08069492B2 |
Spin-torque probe microscope
A spin-torque probe microscope and methods of using the same are described. The spin-torque probe microscope includes a cantilever probe body, a magnetic tip disposed at a distal end of the cantilever probe body, an electrically conductive sample disposed proximate to the magnetic tip, an electrical circuit providing a spin-polarized electron current to the electrically conductive sample, and a vibration detection element configured to sense vibration frequency of the cantilever probe body. The spin-polarized electron current is sufficient to alter a local electron spin or magnetic moment within the electrically conductive sample and be sensed by the magnetic tip. |
| US08069490B2 |
Detecting counterfeit electronic components using EMI telemetric fingerprints
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that non-intrusively detects counterfeit components in a target computer system. During operation, the system collects target electromagnetic interference (EMI) signals generated by the target computer system using one or more antennas positioned in close proximity to the target computer system. The system then generates a target EMI fingerprint for the target computer system from the target EMI signals. Next, the system compares the target EMI fingerprint against a reference EMI fingerprint to determine whether the target computer system contains a counterfeit component. |
| US08069486B1 |
Identifying the origin of hard-copy documents
Capturing information associated with a document is disclosed. An indication that a request to print a document is being transmitted is observed in network traffic associated with a printer. At a node other than the printer, data associated with the observed network traffic is processed to determine information associated with the request to print the document. |
| US08069484B2 |
System and method for determining data entropy to identify malware
Systems and methods for performing malware detection for determining suspicious data based on data entropy are provided. The method includes acquiring a block of data, calculating an entropy value for the block of data, comparing the entropy value to a threshold value, and recording the block of data as suspicious when the entropy value exceeds the threshold value. An administrator may then investigate suspicious data. |
| US08069483B1 |
Device for and method of wireless intrusion detection
A device for and method of detecting intrusion into a wireless network that includes a configuration file, a rules files, a main processor, a set packet processor, an initialize preprocessor, a parse rules file, an interface thread unit, a process packet unit, a decoder, a preprocess unit connected to the process packet unit; at least one preprocessor consisting of a rogue access point and transmit channel preprocessor, a NETSTUMBLER preprocessor, a MAC spoofing preprocessor, a DEAUTH flood preprocessor, an AUTH flood preprocessor, a rogue client preprocessor, a bridged network preprocessor, a rogue client valid access point preprocessor, valid client rogue access point preprocessor, an ad-hoc network preprocessor, a wrong channel preprocessor, a cloaking policy violation preprocessor, an encryption policy violation preprocessor, and a null SSID association policy violation preprocessor; and a detector. |
| US08069482B2 |
Device, system and method of database security
Some demonstrative embodiments of the invention relate to a method, device and system of database security. One demonstrative embodiment of the invention includes an intrusion detection sensor to scan transactions on a database, and generate an event based on a detection profile. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08069481B2 |
Systems and methods for message threat management
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for detecting unsolicited and threatening communications and communicating threat information related thereto. Threat information is received from one or more sources; such sources can include external security databases and threat information data from one or more application and/or network layer security systems. The received threat information is reduced into a canonical form. Features are extracted from the reduced threat information; these features in conjuntion with configuration data such as goals are used to produce rules. In some embodiments, these rules are tested against one or more sets of test data and compared against the same or different goals; if one or more tests fail, the rules are refined until the tests succeed within an acceptable margin of error. The rules are then propagated to one or more application layer security systems. |
| US08069475B2 |
Distributed authentication functionality
A Passive Optical Network (PON) includes an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and an Optical Line Terminal (OLT). The ONT is configured for providing controlled port operations of authenticator Port Access Entity (PAE) functionality and the OLT is configured for providing entity authentication operations of the authenticator PAE functionality. The controlled port operations of authenticator PAE functionality includes inhibiting transmission of non-authentication messages from the ONT, transmitting a supplicant authentication request to the OLT and enabling transmission of non-authentication messages from the ONT in response to receiving supplicant authentication confirmation. The entity authentication operations of the authenticator PAE functionality include facilitating authentication of an identity of the supplicant and facilitating transmission of supplicant authentication confirmation for reception by the ONT in response to the identity being authenticated. |
| US08069473B2 |
Method to grant access to a data communication network and related devices
A method to grant a supplicant access to a data communication network and related devices is claimed. The supplicant is associated to a Medium Access Control address and is coupled to a port of an authenticator of the data communication network. The method includes: transmitting an authentication request by the authenticator to an authentication server being coupled thereto; making by the authentication server an authentication decision based upon predefined rules and conditions; and transmitting by the authentication server to the authenticator an authentication reply that comprises a result of the authentication decision. |
| US08069470B1 |
Identity and authentication in a wireless network
A sensor system includes a controller and sensors, the system configured to ensure unique identity for each device. Methods are provided to generate new identities for those devices having duplicate addresses, and to transmit the new identity information to those devices. |
| US08069464B2 |
Architecture for scaling just-in-time placement of advertising content
In one embodiment, a method comprises determining ad placement times for each of a plurality of associated streams. The method also comprises determining an ad selection request time for each of a plurality of ad selection requests based on a cumulative effect of any other ad selection requests occurring at substantially the same time as the determined ad selection time. Each of the plurality of ad selection requests corresponds to one of the plurality of ad placement times. |
| US08069463B2 |
Digital broadcasting system and method of processing data in digital broadcasting system
A digital broadcasting system and a data processing method are disclosed. The digital broadcast receiving system includes a baseband processor, a management processor, and a presentation processor. The baseband processor receives a broadcast signal including mobile service data and main service data. Herein, the mobile service data configure a Reed-Solomon (RS) frame, and the RS frame includes mobile service data and at least one channel configuration information on the mobile service data. The management processor acquires simple guide information on at least one of a current program and a next program of a corresponding channel from the channel configuration information and stores the acquired simple guide information. The presentation processor receives simple guide information of any one of the current program and the next program, wherein the programs are provided as mobile service through a user-selected channel, from the management processor and displays the received simple guide information on a portion of a display screen of the corresponding channel. |
| US08069449B2 |
Method and system for enabling a device to support enhanced features
A method and system for enabling an auxiliary system, such as a WINDOWS® SIDESHOW™ device, to support enhanced features is provided. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method, which includes the steps of emulating a physical communication channel to establish a virtual communication channel, encapsulating data associated with a first function defined by a first Application Programming Interface (API) and utilized to implement an enhanced feature, and sending the encapsulated data through the virtual communication channel for an embedded operation system (OS) to manage hardware resources of the auxiliary system to perform the enhanced feature. |
| US08069446B2 |
Parallel programming and execution systems and techniques
Parallel programming and execution systems and techniques are discussed herein. In accordance with one technique, a parallel programming model is used to decompose a complex process into parallelizable tasks with proper dependencies set by data objects as interfaces. Another technique features a scheduling mechanism that provides thread affinity and automatic load-balance management among an assortment of processing units such as CPUSs/CPU cores, GPUs/GPU cores, and/or hardware threads in a scalable manner. The models and techniques are applied in an exemplary manner to a digital media encoding process. |
| US08069445B2 |
Method and apparatus for detecting lock acquisition hierarchy violations and unsafe lock releases
A thread analysis tool records a set of currently-held synchronization objects and currently-acquired objects when a thread acquires one or more objects, then searches for a lock acquisition hierarchy violation that may cause program deadlock. If a violation is found, it is reported to the user. Software to implement the methods of the analysis tool, and systems using the methods, are also described and claimed. |
| US08069441B2 |
Method for constructing job operation environment
To construct an operation environment for a job by deploying in a computer an operating system and various programs as a premise of operation of a job program of the job of which operation is to be started in a job system, there is selected an optimized construction procedure requiring the shortest construction time. Various application programs and patch programs for the deployment included in the saved disk images are compared with the various programs as a premise of the job operation to obtain a period of time to uninstall unnecessary programs, a period of time to install lacking programs, and a period of time to deploy the disk image on the computer. An estimated construction time is obtained by adding the periods of time to each other. By optimizing the uninstallation and installation procedure, the estimated construction time is reduced to the maximum extent. |
| US08069428B1 |
Techniques for generating microcontroller configuration information
A method and apparatus for configuring a microcontroller. An XML description of the microcontroller's hardware resources may be accessed. A user may select from available hardware resources and pre-defined user modules to select a configuration. Configuration information, which may include register bit patterns and microprocessor instructions, may be automatically generated. Additionally, application programming interface calls and structure, as well as interrupt vector tables may be automatically generated. Embodiments of the present invention provide improved ease of use and the ability to manage greater complexity in the configuration of configurable microcontrollers. |
| US08069426B2 |
Method and mechanism for identifying and tracking shape connectivity
A method and mechanism is disclosed for identifying and tracking nets in an electrical design. A hierarchical design does not have to be flattened to perform the operation of identifying and tracking nets. To identify sets of connected shapes, instead of having to unfold the entire design hierarchy, only the specific instances of shapes falling within the geometric bounds of shapes identified as being part of a net needs to be unfolded to perform the search. When composing the list of nets for a hierarchical design, the unfolded shapes at other hierarchical levels of the design can be derived based upon virtual terminal structures that implicitly references nets and objects at other levels. |
| US08069425B2 |
Translating a user design in a configurable IC for debugging the user design
Some embodiments provide a method of monitoring the implementation of a user design in a configurable integrated circuit (IC). The method receives a user design for an IC and optimizes the user design to produce a second IC design. The optimization results in the elimination of circuit elements(s). The method defines the second IC design for the configurable IC and generates output data for the eliminated circuit element(s) to allow for monitoring the user design. |
| US08069424B2 |
Generating a base curve database to reduce storage cost
An enhanced library accessible by an EDA tool can include a base curve database and a plurality of curve data sets. Each curve data set refers to a standard cell having certain timing characteristics. To determine those timing characteristics, each curve data set identifies at least one base curve (in the base curve database) as well as a starting current, a peak current, a peak voltage, and a peak time. In one embodiment, each base curve can be normalized. The base curve(s), the starting current, peak current, peak voltage, and peak time can accurately model the functioning of the IC device, e.g. represented by an I(V) curve. |
| US08069422B2 |
Contextual task recommendation system and method for determining user's context and suggesting tasks
A system and method in a network of devices, which ascertains the user's context to suggest the most preferred task for the user to perform. User's context includes his/her location, the content he/she is interested in, the devices which are being used by him/her, and the devices and content allowed to be used by the user. Using this context, the system suggests tasks to the user that are appropriate to that context. The determination of context and the suggestion of tasks are performed by keeping track of the content and the devices available to the user at any given time. The suggestion of tasks is performed in accordance with certain policies. For example, the user can control the behavior of the system by changing the rules in the policy. Tasks are in the form of simple sentences that can be easily understood by the user. If, based on certain context, more than one task is possible, the system suggests the task with the highest priority to the user. |
| US08069421B2 |
Methods and apparatus for graphical object implementation
A system displays a graphical element in a graphical user interface, and receives a command to display the at least one graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element. The system replaces the display of the graphical element with a display of at least one graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element, and implements the graphical sub-element such that execution of the graphical element invokes execution of the graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element. |
| US08069420B2 |
System for controlling the communication of medical imaging data
A system for controlling the communication of medical imaging data is disclosed generally comprising a computer, a plurality of sources of medical imaging data and a plurality of destinations of medical imaging data in communication with the computer, and a touchscreen for simultaneously displaying a plurality of source icons and a plurality of destination icons controlled by the computer. The source icons correspond to the plurality of sources to allow a user to select a particular source of imaging data, and the destination icons correspond to the plurality of destinations to allow the user to select at least one particular destination for the imaging data. In certain embodiments, the touchscreen includes a display window for displaying medical images generated from the imaging data supplied by the presently selected source. In some embodiments, the touchscreen includes a set of controls associated with the presently selected source. |
| US08069417B2 |
Bifocal view: a novel calendar user interface
The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates creating a calendar that enables optimized awareness of at least one event. An interface component can receive data related to an event. An enhanced scheduler component can create a calendar that enables a bifocal calendar view to display an event correlated to a first date with a first time-scale and an event correlated to a second date with a second time-scale. |
| US08069416B2 |
Learning computer-generated screens based on user key selections
As a user navigates through a sequence of screens by selecting certain “aid” keys, a graph will be built reflecting the navigation history of the user. When a user requests a certain screen by selecting a particular key, screen data is received from a host on a web server. The screen data for the requested screen is compared to the screen data for the screen(s) in the graph associated with the selected key. If a match is established, the user has visited this screen before and its data has already been converted (e.g., scraped). As such, the screen can be retrieved from storage and served to the user. If, however, a match cannot be established, the requested screen will be converted and stored, and the graph will be updated. |
| US08069415B2 |
System and method for generating perspectives of a SAN topology
A SAN management system including the ability to generate perspectives of a SAN topology is provided. The SAN management system includes a SAN manager program to monitor a SAN. The SAN management system further includes a SAN management database linked with the SAN manager program, wherein the SAN management database maintains information identifying devices included within the SAN and connections between the devices. In addition, the SAN management system includes a plurality of sensor agents positioned within the devices included within the SAN, wherein the sensor agents gather information pertaining to the connections between the devices and provide the gathered information to the SAN manager program for inclusion within the SAN management database. Moreover, the SAN management system includes a topology viewer linked to the SAN manager to generate a user requested topology perspective according to data included within the SAN management database and data associated with a previously requested topology perspective. |
| US08069413B2 |
Systems for providing extensible help
Extensible online help systems and methods are described. There can be at least two parts to the extensible help facility, such as may include a help system and a help display. A help system can be integrated with runtime extensibility mechanisms to process documentation content upon import of an extension. A help display can support help display operations, such as providing search capabilities and a table of contents.This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims. |
| US08069412B2 |
Methods, systems, and products for mapping facilities data
Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for mapping facilities data. A graphical mapping of facilities information, overlaid onto a map of roads, is generated and displayed. An outer perimeter of a geographic area is defined, and the outer perimeter is displayed in the graphical mapping. A bill of materials that corresponds to the outer perimeter is then generated. |
| US08069410B2 |
System and method of retrieving and presenting partial (skipped) document content
Systems and methods of retrieving and presenting partial (skipped) document content are provided. A typical system includes a document parsing stage, a device request for content stage and a delivery of requested content stage. A target device can include a device presentation of the requested content stage. The system parses the content of an electronic document and generates a document object model (DOM) representation of the electronic document, where each source and destination target is assigned a document object model identifier (DOM ID). In some instances, upon completion of parsing, the document object model is then paginated in computer memory into segments of a certain size called chunks; in such instances the pagination operation can update each DOM ID with an additional information attribute containing the chunk index with the purpose of establishing a relationship between a document object model identifier and the corresponding chunk index. Thus, when a device requests specific content corresponding to the DOM ID the chunk index value indicates the correct chunk to be returned to the device. The device initiates a document viewing experience by requesting, parsing and displaying an initial chunk of document content as delivered by the corresponding server. The device can, upon parsing the data chunk, record navigational information provided in the form of link information containing corresponding DOM ID and Chunk Index information. The link information can in certain instances be presented visually by a dotted underline. |
| US08069409B2 |
Customized remote access to imaging node front panels
Methods and systems for customized remote access to imaging node front panels offer improvements in the areas of unified access, on-screen viewing and comprehension of front panels delivered by diverse imaging nodes to remote client nodes. The imaging nodes may be diverse, for example, in terms of message formats used to deliver front panel data, screen resolution assumptions implicit in front panel data and languages in which front panel data are delivered. Customization is provided, in some embodiments, by a server node that intermediates between the imaging nodes and the client nodes. |
| US08069406B2 |
Method and system for improving user experience while browsing
The rendering of markup language based files is accelerated by employing an apparatus to capture requests for markup language pages. The requested pages are retrieved and then examined to identify additional links that are contained therein. The markup language page is then modified by adding a trigger or tag into the page. The trigger or tag is basically a mechanism to automate a request for additional markup language information or pages. The trigger or tag, when received by the device requesting the markup language page, will invoke a request to obtain the markup language information or file represented by the tag. The tag can be a browser activated link or a JavaScript. A predictive module is used to review the additional links in the requested pages to identify a predicted next page to be downloaded or requested. This predicted next page or link can be a most likely candidate for what a user viewing the current page would request. |
| US08069404B2 |
Method of managing expected documents and system providing same
A method for organizing documents is hereby provided, the method comprising providing a plurality of documents, displaying the plurality of documents in a substantially linear arrangement, establishing a link between one of the plurality of documents and an expected document and displaying an identification of the expected document on the substantially linear arrangement of documents. The expected document being associated with other documents in order to represent future workflow events. A system, a user interface and a computer-readable medium providing same are also provided. |
| US08069402B2 |
Error detection system
This disclosure relates to method, device and system for detecting errors in a communication system. A signal is received from a transmitter at a receiver wherein the signal includes a data portion and a result of a hash function. The hash function is computed in part from a transmitter identification code. The receiver determines if the result of the hash function matches both the data portion and the transmitter identification code. The receiver discards the signal if the result of the hash function does not match both the data portion and the transmitter identification code of the transmitter. |
| US08069400B2 |
Optimal circular buffer rate matching for turbo code
Optimal circular buffer rate matching for turbo code. An offset index, δ, of 3 and a skipping index, σ, of 3 is employed in accordance with circular buffer rate matching. This allows less puncturing of information bits and more puncturing of redundancy/parity bits (e.g., which can provide for a higher rate). Multiple turbo codes may be generated from a mother code such that each generated turbo code can be employed to encode information bits. For example, a first turbo coded signal can be generated using a first turbo code generated from the mother code, and a second turbo coded signal can be generated using a second turbo code generated from the mother code. Any of these turbo coded signal can be decoded using parallel decoding processing or a single turbo decoder (when each turbo coded signal undergoes processing to transform it back to the mother code format). |
| US08069399B2 |
Method and system for decoding signals, corresponding receiver and computer program product
A method and system for decoding signals includes a transmitter configured for transmitting signals encoded with a mapping, with different and separable configurations in a real part and an imaginary part of the signal. The signals may be encoded according to a Gray or QAM mapping, and may be transmitted on a selective MIMO channel and/or multiplexed with an OFDM technique. The corresponding receiver is configured for decoding the real part and the imaginary part of the signals separately, and may include a filter for subjecting the encoded signals to a Wiener filtering and a MMSE detector for minimizing the mean-square error between the encoded signals and the result of the Wiener filtering. The receiver may also include a soft decoder for performing a soft estimation of the signals and cancelling, using the results of the soft estimation, an interference produced on the signals. |
| US08069397B2 |
Use of ECC with iterative decoding for iterative and non-iterative decoding in a read channel for a disk drive
A scheme in which a first decoder provides first decoding of a signal read from a disk. A second decoder, coupled to an output of the first decoder, combines with the first decoder to provide iterative decoding to recover data stored on the disk when in an iterative mode of operation. However, when in a non-iterative mode of operation, the output of the first decoder is coupled to an error correction code module to apply error correction code (ECC) to the output of the first decoder to recover data stored on the disk by non-iterative decoding. |
| US08069394B2 |
Semiconductor memory device and method of controlling the same
A semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of detecting code generators configured to generate a plurality of detecting codes to detect errors in a plurality of data items, respectively, a plurality of first correcting code generators configured to generate a plurality of first correcting codes to correct errors in a plurality of first data blocks, respectively, each of the first data blocks containing one of the data items and a corresponding detecting code, a second correcting code generators configured to generate a second correcting code to correct errors in a second data block, the second data block containing the first data blocks, and a semiconductor memory configured to nonvolatilely store the second data block, the first correcting codes, and the second correcting code. |
| US08069392B1 |
Error correction code system and method
An error correction code system includes an error correction code generator for generating an error correction code based on a data unit and an error detector for detecting at least one bit error in the data unit based on the error correction code. The error correction code generator includes logic circuits for generating check bits in the error correction code. The error detector includes logic circuits for identifying any data bits of the data unit having a bit error based on the error correction code. The logic circuits in the error correction code generator and the error detector are derived from group codes separated from each other by a hamming distance and having a same population count. The error correction code system may also include an error corrector for correcting error bits in the data unit. |
| US08069390B2 |
Universal error control coding scheme for digital communication and data storage systems
The universal forward error-correction coding system provides adjustable code rates and coding gains to greatly benefit the design of many modern digital communications (data storage) systems. The channel encoding and decoding methods are universal such that a single encoder and a single decoder can be used to implement all the forward error-correction codes of different code rates. This universal forward error-correction coding system also includes a novel systematic code generation procedure that has the capability of generating many classes of codes that provide the best balance between coding gain performance and implementation complexity. |
| US08069388B2 |
Distributed block coding (DBC)
Various embodiments implement distributed block coding (DBC). DBC can be used for, among other things, distributed forward error correction (DFEC) of source data in communication systems or parity backup for error correction of source data in storage systems where the source data may be corrupted by burst errors. A distributed block encoder (DBE) encodes sequential source data symbols with a plurality of sequential block encoders to produce interleaved parity codewords. The interleaved parity codewords enable decoding of error-corrected source data symbols with a distributed block decoder (DBD) that utilizes a plurality of sequential block decoders to produce the error-corrected source data symbols. A distributed register block encoder (DRBE) and a distributed register block decoder (DRBD) can each be implemented in a single block encoder and a single block decoder, respectively, by using a distributed register arrangement. |
| US08069387B2 |
Turbo coding having combined turbo de-padding and rate matching de-padding
Turbo coding having combined turbo de-padding and rate matching de-padding. An approach is presented by which a singular module is operable to perform both zero bit de-padding and dummy bit de-padding in accordance with turbo encoding. Zero padding can be performed on an input information stream before undergoing turbo encoding. One or more of the 3 outputs from the turbo encoding module (e.g., systematic bits, parity 1 bits, and parity 2 bits) may then undergo dummy bit padding as well. Thereafter, these 3 streams (some or all of which may have undergone dummy bit padding) undergo sub-block interleaving. After all of these operations have taken place, a singular combined de-padding module that can be employed to perform de-padding any zero padded bits and any dummy padded bits from each of the three streams that have undergone the sub-block interleaving. |
| US08069384B2 |
Scanning reassigned data storage locations
An aspect of the present disclosure relates to scanning reassigned data storage locations. In one example, a reassignment table is accessed to identify a deallocated data storage location and scan the deallocated data storage location for media defects. |
| US08069375B2 |
Cover lover
The present invention relates to a method, device, and system for managing verification of configurable hardware and software. The solution according to the present invention solves this by applying a matrix-like method of handling test and verification parameter combinations and interacting with a user using a browser like interface for simple and fast selection of coverage. |
| US08069373B2 |
Method for debugging reconfigurable architectures
A method for debugging reconfigurable hardware is described. According to this method, all necessary debug information is written in each configuration cycle into a memory, which is then analyzed by the debugger. |
| US08069372B2 |
Simulated computer system for monitoring of software performance
A system S is defined which is capable of simulating a computer (virtual computer, VC) for the purpose of software performance monitoring. The system is implemented as a set of software modules (SM) that can be exchanged to change the behavior of the VC. The VC is driven by a CPU emulator, and can run any operating system (virtual operating system, VOS) that is supported by the available SM's. The system is designed to log accesses to system resources and the nature of these accesses. The system is particularly useful for determining whether an executable or file contains an unknown virus, with a very low risk of false positives. Detected viruses include encrypted, polymorphic, metamorphic and other virus types. |
| US08069363B2 |
Double data rate output latch for static RAM device has edge-triggered flip-flop to output DDR signal to synchronize with a second clock signal
A synchronization circuit for re-synchronizing data from an input clock to an output clock is presented. The first transparent latch receives data synchronized to an input clock. A second transparent latch receives data from the first transparent latch and outputs data dependent on a delayed output clock which is the output clock delayed by an insertion delay. An output latch receives data from the second transparent latch and synchronizes data to the output clock. |
| US08069354B2 |
Power management for system having one or more integrated circuits
Power management control software including power management policies is provided with those policies divided into observation code and response code. When predetermined execution points within the operating system 2 are reached or an application specific task is executed, registered observation code is triggered and executed to store event data within an event data store. The operating system subsequently executes the response code to read the event data from the event data store and generates power control predictions and control signals therefrom. |
| US08069349B1 |
Method of secure file transfer
A method of securely transferring files from an un-trusted to a trusted network is disclosed. A file that is an archive file of many component files is separated into constituent files. Each file is stored on a server connected to an un-trusted network, and a series of initial checks, such as virus, file size, and file extension are performed. If the files pass, additional, file format specific security rules are applied. An open format transform is performed on proprietary format type files, and embedded file components are separated out. A user-definable security rule set is performed on each open format transform component. If all security tests pass, the file is reassembled and saved as a trusted file in the same format as the original file. |
| US08069340B2 |
Microprocessor with microarchitecture for efficiently executing read/modify/write memory operand instructions
A microprocessor instruction translator translates a macroinstruction into three microinstructions to perform a read/modify/write operation on a memory operand. A first microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to calculate a source address and to load the memory operand into the microprocessor from memory at the source address and to calculate a destination address. The second microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to perform an arithmetic or logical operation on the loaded memory operand to generate a result. The third microinstruction instructs the microprocessor to write the result to memory at the destination address calculated by the first microinstruction. A first execution unit receives the first microinstruction and responsively calculates the source address and loads the memory operand into the microprocessor from memory at the source address. A second execution unit also receives the first microinstruction and calculates the destination address. The first and second execution units are distinct execution units within the microprocessor. |
| US08069339B2 |
Microprocessor with microinstruction-specifiable non-architectural condition code flag register
A microprocessor includes an architectural register and a non-architectural register, each having a plurality of condition code flags. A first instruction of the microarchitectural instruction set of the microprocessor instructs the microprocessor to update the plurality of condition code flags based on a result of the first instruction. The first instruction includes a field for indicating whether to update the plurality of condition code flags of the architectural or non-architectural register. A second instruction of the microarchitectural instruction set instructs the microprocessor to conditionally perform an operation based on one of the plurality of condition code flags. The second instruction includes a field for indicating whether to use the one of the plurality of condition code flags of the architectural or non-architectural register to determine whether to perform the operation. |
| US08069336B2 |
Transitioning from instruction cache to trace cache on label boundaries
Various embodiments of methods and systems for implementing a microprocessor that includes a trace cache and attempts to transition fetching from instruction cache to trace cache only on label boundaries are disclosed. In one embodiment, a microprocessor may include an instruction cache, a branch prediction unit, and a trace cache. The prefetch unit may fetch instructions from the instruction cache until the branch prediction unit outputs a predicted target address for a branch instruction. When the branch prediction unit outputs a predicted target address, the prefetch unit may check for an entry matching the predicted target address in the trace cache. If a match is found, the prefetch unit may fetch one or more traces from the trace cache in lieu of fetching instructions from the instruction cache. |
| US08069333B2 |
Converting logical to real number to access shared configuration information in event driven state transiting reconfigurable system
A data processing device comprises a state manager for determining a logic number of configurational information to be used in a next state, the logic number representing information on a mutual relationship between items of configurational information included in an object code, based on a present operational state, a group of candidates for a state to transit to next, and an event signal issued from arithmetic units, a configuration number converter for outputting a real number corresponding to the logic number determined by the state manager, the configuration number converter having conversion information for converting the logic number into a real number representing a location where the corresponding configurational information is actually stored, and a configurational information storage for storing the configurational information and indicating configurational information corresponding to the real number output from the configuration number converter, to the arithmetic units and an interconnector. |
| US08069331B2 |
Storage system, storage extent release method and storage apparatus
This storage system has an allocation unit for allocating a storage extent in prescribed units to the dynamic logical volume upon storing the data sent from the host computer in the dynamic logical volume; a management unit for managing the storage extent recognized as being currently used by the file system among the storage extents allocated to the dynamic logical volume by the allocation unit; and a release unit for releasing the storage extent that is not being managed by the management unit from the dynamic logical volume. |
| US08069328B2 |
Daisy chain cascade configuration recognition technique
Methods and systems provide recognition of a device in a daisy chain cascade configuration. Input circuitry at a device receives an input signal that indicates device configuration following a power-up, reset or other operation of the device. A pulse generator generates a pulse in response to the operation, the pulse occurring while the input signal indicates device configuration. A state latch register stores the state of the input signal in response to the received pulse, thereby storing a state indicating configuration of the respective device. Following this operation, the input circuitry may receive signals unrelated to the device configuration, thereby obviating the need for additional pin assignment. |
| US08069323B2 |
Storage system and remote copy control method
A storage system is provided which is capable of realizing a remote copy function for speeding up lines virtually by satisfying such demand to distribute copy data into a plurality of lines. In a storage system for connecting a local storage device and a remote storage device via a plurality of lines, the local storage device includes a remote copy program for distributing data of a plurality of logical volumes accessed from a host computer into a plurality of paths on the basis of status of the plurality of paths interposing the plurality of lines, to perform a remote copy from the local storage device to the remote storage device. Accordingly, the local storage device distributes data of the logical volumes into the plurality of lines to copy the data to the remote storage device, resulting in speeding up the lines virtually. |
| US08069322B2 |
Active-active remote configuration of a storage system
A method for data storage, including configuring a first logical volume on a first storage system and a second logical volume on a second storage system. The second logical volume is configured as a mirror of the first logical volume, so that the first and second logical volumes form a single logical mirrored volume. The method also includes receiving at the second storage system a command submitted by a host to write data to the logical mirrored volume, and transferring the command from the second storage system to the first storage system without writing the data to the second logical volume. On receipt of the command at the first storage system, the data is written to the first logical volume. Subsequent to writing the data to the first logical volume, the data is mirrored on the second logical volume. |
| US08069321B2 |
Secondary pools
Methods and apparatus for generating a secondary pool of data are disclosed. A primary pool of data is obtained or identified, where the primary pool of data includes a primary seed and one or more generations of data, wherein each of the generations of data in the primary pool of data includes one or more data blocks that have changed with reference to a safeset corresponding to a previous backup, the safeset corresponding to the previous backup including (e.g., referencing) the primary seed. A secondary pool of data is generated and at least a portion of the data in the primary pool of data is transferred to the secondary pool of data. |
| US08069319B2 |
Sharing memory resources of wireless portable electronic devices
It is not uncommon for two or more wireless-enabled devices to spend most of their time in close proximity to one another. For example, a person may routinely carry a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a portable digital audio/video player, or a cellphone and a PDA, or a smartphone and a gaming device. When it is desirable to increase the memory storage capacity of a first such device, it may be possible to use memory on one or more of the other devices to temporarily store data from the first device. |
| US08069317B2 |
Providing and utilizing high performance block storage metadata
An enhanced mechanism for the allocation, organization and utilization of high performance block storage metadata provides a stream of data (e.g., in a server system, storage system, DASD, etc.) that includes a sequence of fixed-size blocks which together define a page. Each of the fixed-size blocks includes a data block and a footer. A high performance block storage metadata unit associated with the page is created from a confluence of the footers. Each footer in the confluence of footers has space available for application metadata, which are provided as one or more information units. At least one of the footers includes a Checksum field containing a checksum that covers at least the confluence of footers. This approach is advantageous in that it provides data integrity protection, protects against stale data, and significantly increases the amount of metadata space available for application use. |
| US08069316B2 |
Computer system, control method thereof and data processing apparatus
A computer system and a method of controlling a computer system, the computer system including: a first memory corresponding to a first channel and a second memory corresponding to a second channel; a data processor to process the data of the first and second channels in a time division manner; and a controller to inactivate the second channel if an amount of the data processed by the data processor is less than or equal to a predetermined value. |
| US08069315B2 |
System and method for parallel scanning
A system and method for parallel scanning among multiple scanning entities. According to various embodiments of the present invention, buffers are allocated from a pool of memory pages, with one packet being located on each page. Each of the pages is mapped such that unprivileged scanners, privileged scanners, and hardware-based scanners are all capable of accessing the pages. By having the packets located on separate pages, additional data other than the packets at issue do not have to be shared, and copying is not necessary to complete the scanning process. |
| US08069314B2 |
Shared memory architecture in GPS signal processing
A shared memory architecture for a GPS receiver, wherein a processing memory is shared among the different processing functions, such as the correlator signal processing, tracking processing, and other applications processing. The shared memory architecture within the GPS receiver provides the memory necessary for signal processing operations, such as the massively parallel processing, while conserving memory cost by re-using that same memory for other GPS and non-GPS applications. The shared memory architecture for a GPS receiver provided in accordance with the principles of this invention thereby significantly minimize the costly memory requirement often required of extremely fast signal acquisition of a GPS receiver. |
| US08069312B2 |
Apparatus, circuit and method of controlling memory initialization
An apparatus includes a first memory which includes a plurality of memory regions, a second memory which stores initializing information indicating whether each of the memory regions is initialized, the second memory controlling a coherency between the first memory and a cache memory, and a control circuit which initializes a memory region based on the initializing information when accessing the memory region. |
| US08069310B1 |
Methods and systems for incorporating sequential stream read requests into prefetch management for data storage having a cache memory
Data units are prefetched into a cache memory by executing a first prefetch task to prefetch a first prefetch series of data units from off-cache. A first prefetch operation is executed to prefetch and store a first selected set of data units. Decisions are made about the first prefetch task, subsequent prefetch operations and prefetch tasks based on in-cache data units associated with the first prefetch task and on other data units that are read from off-cache but that are not associated with the first prefetch task. A determination is made whether an additional data unit that is read from an off-cache logical location is a first prefetch series member. If so, it is associated with the first prefetch task, and, for decision making, is treated as having been prefetched into cache in accordance with the first prefetch task. |
| US08069301B2 |
Apparatus, storage system, and computer program product for prevention of data loss
A data control apparatus includes a mapping-table managing unit that manages a mapping table that is associated with a corrupted-data recovery function of recording data and error correcting code data as redundant data that is given separately from the data, distributed and stored in units of stripe blocks in the plural nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, the mapping table containing arrangement information of the data and the error correcting code data; a determining unit that determines whether to differentiate frequencies of writing the data into the semiconductor memory devices; and a changing unit that changes the arrangement information by switching the data stored in units of the stripe blocks managed using the mapping table to differentiate the frequencies of writing the data into the semiconductor memory devices, when the determining unit determines that the frequencies of writing the data into the semiconductor memory devices are to be differentiated. |
| US08069300B2 |
Solid state storage device controller with expansion mode
Solid state storage device controllers, solid state storage devices, and methods for operation of solid state storage device controllers are disclosed. In one such solid state storage device, the controller can operate in either an expansion DRAM mode or a non-volatile memory mode. In the DRAM expansion mode, one or more of the memory communication channels normally used to communicate with non-volatile memory devices is used to communicate with an expansion DRAM device. |
| US08069296B2 |
Semiconductor memory device including control means and memory system
A semiconductor memory device includes a first nonvolatile memory which has a first external interface and is capable of recording 1-bit data in one memory cell, a second nonvolatile memory which has a test terminal interface and is capable of recording a plurality of data in one memory cell, and a control unit which has a second external interface and is configured to control a physical state of an inside of the second nonvolatile memory. |
| US08069295B2 |
Processing system with RF data bus and method for use therewith
A processing system includes a plurality of first circuit modules. A plurality of second circuit modules are coupled to an RF data bus via a 60 GHz communications. The RF data bus receives first data from at least one of the plurality of first circuit modules, and transmits the first data via 60 GHz communications to at least one of the plurality of second circuit modules. |
| US08069293B1 |
Flexible server network connection upgrade systems and methods
In some embodiments, a system allowing a flexible upgrade of a computer system (e.g. server) to a high-speed network connection comprises base configuration motherboard or network card including a set of low-speed (e.g. 1 Gbps Ethernet) media access controllers (MACs) each connected to a low-speed physical controller (PHY), and a set of high-speed (e.g. 10 Gbps Ethernet) MACs. An expansion card including high-speed PHYs of choice can be connected by an end user to the base configuration motherboard or network card. A flow classifier classifies data sent/received over both high-speed and low-speed ports, and a single driver may control both high- and low-speed ports. One or both of the motherboard and/or expansion card are configured according to a detected type (e.g. physical layer standard, vendor) of expansion card connected to the motherboard and/or type of physical medium connected to the expansion card. |
| US08069292B2 |
Apparatus and method for packet based storage virtualization
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for data processing and virtualization. The method and apparatus are configured to receive communications, separate a command communication from a data communication, parallel process the command communication and the data communication, generate at least one virtual command based on the command communication, and generate virtual data according to the at least one virtual command. The apparatus can comprise a parallel virtualization subsystem configured to separate data communications from command communications and to parallel process the command communications and the data communications, to generate virtual commands and to generate virtual data according to a virtual command, and a physical volume driver coupled with the parallel virtualization subsystem, wherein the physical volume driver receives the virtual data and configures the virtual data. |
| US08069291B2 |
Method and computer program product for event detection
A method to detect an event between a data source and a data sink using a trigger core is described herein. The method comprises monitoring control lines and an associated data stream for a programmable pattern, wherein the pattern is one or more of a condition, state or event. The method further comprises generating an indication by updating a status register, sending an interrupt or asserting a control line upon a pattern match. |
| US08069288B2 |
Mechanism to flexibly support multiple device numbers on point-to-point interconnect upstream ports
A method and apparatus for supporting multiple device numbers on point-to-point interconnect upstream ports. In one embodiment, the method includes a downstream component (DC) that performs discovery of internal device components of the DC during initialization of the DC. Subsequent to the discovery of internal devices of the DC, the DC may issue a multiple device number (MDN) request to an upstream component (UC) of the DC. In one embodiment, the MDN request may include an indication that the DC supports a “multiple device number capability,” as well as a quantity of the internal device components of the DC. The DC may receive an acknowledgement MDN from the UC to indicate a quantity of device numbers allocated to the DC. Subsequently, the DC may assign device numbers to the internal device components of the DC according to configuration requests received from the UC. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08069287B2 |
Universal serial bus device and method for controlling universal serial bus device
An SE0 timer detects that an SE0 state of a universal serial bus continues for 3 ms or more, and asserts an SE03ms detected signal to a suspending/reset discriminating circuit. The suspending/reset discriminating circuit connects a pull-up resistor to a D+ data line, detects that the universal serial bus is in the SE0 state, and asserts a reset detected signal to a reset control circuit. The reset control circuit asserts a threshold level changing signal to a receiver for a high-speed mode. The receiver changes the threshold into 250 mV. When the reset control circuit detects a K state of the universal serial bus after chirp driving K is executed and ended, the reset control circuit negates the threshold level changing signal to the receiver. The receiver changes the threshold back to 125 mV. |
| US08069285B2 |
Methods and systems for improving communication throughput of storage links
Methods and systems for improving communication throughput of a link between SAS/SATA devices. The link, initially established at a first signal rate, is one of a SATA link and a SAS link. A SAS/SATA device increments one of the at least one counter based on an error sensed on the link. Based on the at least one counter, the SAS/SATA device determines whether to maintain the first signal rate. The link is re-established at a second signal rate based on the determination such that the second signal rate is lower than the first signal rate. |
| US08069283B2 |
Method of processing and prioritizing at least one logical data stream for transmission over at least one physical data stream
Method of processing data of at lease one data stream, data processing module for processing at a of at least one data stream, data processing system comprising such module, computer program product, data storage system and method of use thereof. For a time-based transfer of data to or from a device, data streams may be given a system ID and it is proposed to dynamically distribute available stream IDs. The proposed concept provides for indicating a type of data stream, providing and/or handling a set of stream IDs comprising a number of stream IDs and issuing a stream ID from the set of stream IDs to the data stream depending on the type of data stream. In a preferred embodiment, it is proposed to reserve one stream ID for an audio-video request, characterized by having no error handling time available. A further stream ID may be reserved for best effort requests. Still further streams IDs may not be reserved but are freely available for pending error handling procedures, such as time-sliced error handling procedures. |
| US08069282B2 |
SD switch box in a cellular handset
A method for arbitrating between a host device and a cellular base band mode for use of a shared SD storage, including requesting, by a cellular base band modem from a host device, access to an SD storage, including writing an access request message, notifying the host device of the access request message, reading, by the host device, the access request message, granting, by the host device, the access request, including writing an access grant message, notifying the cellular base band modem of the access grant message, reading, by the cellular base band mode, the access grant message, holding an SD host bus in a busy state, thereby forcing the host device to hold and not access the bus, accessing, by the cellular base band modem, the SD storage, and upon completion of the accessing, removing the busy state from the SD host bus. |
| US08069274B2 |
System and method for serial data communications between host and communications devices, and communications device employed in the system and method
A communications device includes a communications circuit, a memory, an identifier generator, and a latency controller. The communications circuit exchanges serial data with a host computer and a downstream device, and includes a first input, a first output, a second input, and a second output. The first input receives data from the host computer. The first output transmits data to the host computer. The second input receives data from the downstream device. The second output transmits data to the downstream device. The memory is accessible through the communications circuit. The identifier generator generates an identifier number unique to the communications device in response to an identifier setup request received at the first input. The latency controller determines, based on the generated identifier number, a period of latency required to access the memory through the communications circuit. |
| US08069270B1 |
Accelerated tape backup restoration
According to the present invention, methods and apparatus are provided improving reading of a remote tape device by a host through multiple fibre channel switches. A fibre channel switch preemptively sends read requests to a tape device before read requests are received from a host. Flow control, buffer management, and error handling mechanisms are implemented to allow accelerated tape back up restoration while working to prevent buffer overflow and underflow. |
| US08069266B2 |
Integrated static and dynamic content delivery
Systems and methods of the present invention provide for returning website content after being requested by a client. A static component may be requested, which may be updated and a dynamic component may be requested. The combination of static and dynamic website content may be returned to the client. |
| US08069265B2 |
Method and system for network rotameter station and service
Methods and systems for controlling network traffic in a network are disclosed herein and may include monitoring network traffic characteristics for a plurality of communication channels in a home network, by at least one processor within the home network. The at least one processor may re-route network traffic for at least a portion of the plurality of communication channels in the home network, based on analysis by the at least one processor of at least the monitored network traffic characteristics. Network traffic can be estimated for at least a portion of the plurality of communication channels in the home network by the at least one processor within the home network, based on the monitored network traffic characteristics. The at least one processor may re-route network traffic for a portion of the plurality of communication channels in the home network, based on the estimated network traffic. |
| US08069264B2 |
System for processing raw financial data streams to produce and distribute structured and validated product offering data to subscribing clients
A method and system is disclosed for processing information provided from various content providers in the form objects having states subject to periodic updates. Formatted information indicating a current state of the objects are delivered to subscribing clients in substantially real-time. An information manager module is configured to receiving raw data objects from the content providers, format the information, and broadcast current state information on various broadcast data stream. A client manager module supports multiple client communication sessions and connects to at least one broadcast data stream. Current state information received on a broadcast data stream is processed and transmitted to specific clients in accordance with processing rules specified in the client profiles. |
| US08069262B2 |
Method, system and apparatus for playing advertisements
Embodiments of the present invention provide method, system and apparatus for playing advertisements during buffering time in network living broadcasting. The method includes: obtaining, by a network living broadcasting client, streaming media data of a channel currently watched by a user, obtaining an advertisement content file corresponding to the channel, triggering to play the advertisement content file; stopping play the advertisement content file when the amount of the streaming media data retrieved by the network living broadcasting client reaches a pre-determined quantity, and starting to play the streaming media data retrieved. The system includes an advertisement server and a network living broadcasting client. |
| US08069257B1 |
Universal serial bus system interface for intelligent platform management interface communications
Methods, systems, and apparatus are disclosed for utilizing a universal serial bus (“USB”) transport as a system interface to transmit and receive IPMI commands and responses. An intelligent platform management interface (“IPMI”) transport library is provided that receives IPMI commands from IPMI client applications executing on a host. The IPMI commands are encapsulated into vendor specific small computer systems interface (“SCSI”) commands and transmitted over the USB transport to a virtual mass storage device provided by a management device. In response to receiving the vendor specific commands, IPMI firmware executing on the management device extracts the IPMI commands and executes them. A response may be returned to the host by encapsulating the IPMI response into a vendor specific SCSI response and transmitting the response to the host. |
| US08069255B2 |
Apparatus and method for aggregating disparate storage on consumer electronics devices
A media management module maintains and uses device profile data stored on a computer-readable medium. The device profile data includes, for each of at least one device in a user premise, a respective first data element to indicate whether a device is to remain in or be removable from the user premise, and a respective second data element to indicate whether a memory associated with the device is resident or removable from the device. |
| US08069253B2 |
IP link establishment across a data network
Methods of establishing an IP link between first and second applications running at respective first and second nodes are provided. The first and second applications are arranged to initiate link establishment over a transport layer by issuing a call to their respective operating system socket Application Programming Interfaces. The methods include at said first node, intercepting a socket call generated by said first application and redirecting the socket call to a SIP-based application resident at said first node; and initiating an IP session with said second node using the SIP protocol. |
| US08069250B2 |
One-way proxy system
A one-way proxy system is provided that supports one-way analysis of a transport control protocol (TCP) data stream. The one-way proxy system is used to intercept a TCP data link between two respective TCP endpoints. A one-way analyzer such as a one-way content filter, virus scanner, or firewall may be used to analyze a TCP data stream that is intercepted by the one-way proxy system. The one way proxy system preserves TCP options and TCP properties associated with the TCP packets in the TCP data stream, so that an existing TCP session between the TCP endpoints can survive in the event of a hardware bypass operation. The one-way proxy has a low overhead because significant TCP processing of the TCP data stream is only required in one direction. |
| US08069249B2 |
Method, control device and network node for maintaining a connection when a request is pending
A method and a device in a communication apparatus for maintaining an established connection between said apparatus and a network node. The connection is established by a mobility management unit for providing a mobility management procedure. An acceptance message is issued by the node in response to a request relating to a first mobility management procedure. If any request relating to a second mobility management procedure issued by an upper layer is received by the mobility management unit after the request relating to the first procedure is transmitted and before the acceptance message is received, a maintaining request to maintain the connection is transmitted to the node in response to the acceptance message. |
| US08069248B2 |
Interference suppression methods for 802.11
An 802.11 source station transmits a signal with the duration field other than that required for the transmission to prevent transmission by other stations during known sequences. Thus, the source station uses the duration field to spoof the actual time the medium will be occupied, to stations within range of the signal. A station within range of the transmitted signal will check the duration field of the transmitted signal, and update the station's network allocation vector. Thus, the station will not transmit because the station's network allocation vector indicates that the medium is in use, even though the station maybe unable to hear the carrier. Accordingly, spoofed stations may, for example, 1) delay transmission until a more critical transmission has completed, 2) allow unknown or foreign protocol to have preferential use of the medium, 3) prevent interference from hidden stations, and 4) allow sharing of the medium by overlapping basic service sets. |
| US08069246B2 |
Relay server and relay communication system including a relay group information registration unit, a shared resource information registration unit, and a control unit
A process of automatically transferring a file can be performed via an external network without using a VPN. A plurality of client terminals is separately connected with a relay server and can share a resource. The client terminal monitors the addition of a resource to a specified transfer source folder. When the resource is added, the client terminal adds information regarding the resource to the shared resource information. The updated shared resource information is shared with other client terminals via the relay server. When the client terminal detects the update, the client terminal transmits a resource transfer request to the client terminal via the relay server. When data of the resource is received via the relay server, the client terminal stores the resource in a specified transfer destination folder. |
| US08069245B2 |
Method and computer network for operation of medical technical computer applications at respective networked computers
In a method for operation of medical-technical computer applications in a computer network with a central computer and a number of peripheral computers, the central computer allocates resources among the respective peripheral computers for usage of the computer applications. For this purpose, a priority level is associated with each of the peripheral computers and/or the users of the peripheral computers. The central computer then provides the individual peripheral computers with the specific resources in an allocation that is dependent on their associated priority level. A computer network has a central computer and a number of peripheral computers and implements the foregoing. |
| US08069244B2 |
Method for defining a set of rules for a packet forwarding device
There are methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for defining a policy including a set of rules for a packet forwarding device by receiving information sufficient to enable a first rule related to one of security or traffic management to be defined, and based on the received information, enabling a corresponding second rule related to the other one of security or traffic management to be defined. |
| US08069242B2 |
System, method, and software for integrating cloud computing systems
A method for integrating cloud computing systems includes establishing a connection between a cloud computing system architecture and cloud computing systems. Each of the cloud computing systems includes computing resources. The method further includes integrating the computing resources with an external integration architecture by establishing a second connection between the cloud computing system architecture and the external integration architecture. The external integration architecture includes IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) software components. The cloud computing system architecture includes management components that provide integration points to connect the ITIL software components with the computing resources. |
| US08069240B1 |
Performance tuning of IT services
Methods and systems are disclosed for modeling the performance of an IT service. The methods and systems take a holistic approach by treating the entire IT service instead of the individual nodes. In one implementation, the methods and systems provide a tool for mapping the performance of the IT service based on throughput and response time data. The tool may then be used to develop a mathematical model for the performance of the IT service. System parameters that may impact the performance of the IT service may be correlated to variables in the model. The model may then be used to predict the impact changes may have on the performance of the IT service. Performance maps for the same IT service may be compared over time to discern any departure from a norm. A database of performance maps may be established for a particular industry to facilitate intra-industry comparisons. |
| US08069238B2 |
Device management system and device management command scheduling method thereof
A device management system and device management scheduling method thereof, in which a server transmits to a client a scheduling context including a device management command and a schedule for the performing of the device management command, and the client generates a device management tree using the device management scheduling context, performs the command when a specific scheduling condition is satisfied, and, if necessary, reports the command performance result to the server, whereby the server performs a device management such as requesting a command to be performed under a specific condition, dynamically varying the scheduling condition, and the like. |
| US08069237B2 |
Network system, information management server, and information management method
To reduce the load on a management server in a load distributed system, a server list manager 16 of a management server 10 selects servers 4, 6, 20, and 30 to be accessed by a client terminal management server 43 by referencing an operation status or a load status of the servers 4, 6, 20, and 30, generates a server list, and sends the generated server list to the client terminal management server 43. An inquiry unit 47 of the client terminal management server 43 regularly sends an inquiry to the network monitoring server 30, which is included in the server list 45, to ascertain whether or not information has been updated. If the information has been updated, an information collection unit 48 acquires a corresponding latest module and a rule base from the information providing server 20 included in the server list 45 based on information from the network monitoring server 30. |
| US08069234B2 |
Web service execution method, processing method and apparatus
A web service execution apparatus that sequentially executes a plurality of web services develops a first information for invoking a first web service in a memory, and deletes the first information that is developed in the memory. The apparatus then develops a second information for invoking a second web service in the memory from which the first information is deleted, and executes a plurality of web services in accordance with the first or the second information that is developed in the memory. |
| US08069233B2 |
Switch management system and method
A system and method of managing a switch includes installing a switch having a plurality of processor elements, installing an operating system on each processor element, creating a system virtual router and configuring the processor elements from the system virtual router. |
| US08069232B2 |
Wireless synchronization of media content and subscription content
Arrangements are provided which use a host computer to configure a wireless portable device's network connection parameters. The radio on the portable device may be used to help locate nearby accessible wireless networks. Once a synchronization relationship between the portable device and a media library on a host computer is established, periodically updated content, such as podcasts, may be discovered and subscribed to using software on the host computer, and the content synchronized with the host computer. A portable device may manage episodic content, such as podcasts, using the device's own wireless connection, and may further send such content to other portable devices. A central user profile may be set up on a web server to synchronize multiple wireless or wired devices. |
| US08069227B2 |
Configuring hosts of a secondary data storage and recovery system
A software suite, a method and a system of configuring hosts of a secondary data storage and recovery system are disclosed. In an embodiment, a system includes hosts saving data in primary storage devices, a software suite to provide secondary storage and a recovery service to one or more networked node includes a portion to configure at least one network node to perform a service, a portion to order a service and to generate metadata about data generated to store in secondary storage using a processor and a non-volatile memory, and a portion to perform data write validation and a portion to receive and prepare data to store in secondary storage. The portion to perform service configuration, the portion to perform ordering, and the portion to perform metadata generation are part of a client instance may be provided one instance per to the one or more networked node. |
| US08069224B2 |
Method, equipment and system for resource acquisition
A resource acquisition method uses a customer terminal to load a resource list defined in a uniform resource description file, where the resource list contains resource identifications and corresponding path information of the resources required by the customer terminal. The customer terminal obtains the path information of the required resource from the resource list according to the resource identification of the resource, and sends a request message to acquire the resource according to the path information. The customer terminal is thus able to accurately and rapidly obtain the required resources over a network, greatly improving the success rate and work efficiency of resource acquisition. This disclosure also discloses a network system for data communication and communication equipment that utilize the resource acquisition method. |
| US08069223B2 |
Transferring data between applications
In one embodiment, a method for transferring web browser data between web browsers includes collecting browser data pertaining to a first web browser, packaging the browser data into an intermediate format, and storing the packaged data for a subsequent import into a second web browser. |
| US08069220B2 |
System and method for providing a web-based operating system
A system and method for providing a web-based operating system is disclosed. A web-based operating system is downloaded from a server to a network-enabled device. The web-based operating system provides a platform from which to run web-based computer applications. Web-based computer applications are downloaded from the server onto the network-enabled device, and executed in conjunction with the web-based operating system. Those portions of the web-based operating system software and web-based computer application software are downloaded to the network-enabled device as needed. A component-based environment for the development and deployment of a web-based operating system and web-based computer applications is also provided. Components are deployed within library files as part of a component-based development model. The web-based operating system downloads those library files needed to execute the web-based computer applications. |
| US08069219B2 |
Method and apparatus for implementing a mobile web server based system
A method and apparatus for facilitating access to mobile Web servers by any requesting entity from within a network. The mobile Web servers are allocated Uniform Resource Locators (URL), which are discoverable by the requesting entities through conventional use of search engines, service discovery mechanisms, registries, etc. A direct communication link exists between the mobile Web servers and the gateway to allow specific information to be obtained from the mobile Web servers and subsequently advertised by the gateway in the form of an indexed list. The indexed list allows the requesting entities to browse the mobile Web servers sponsored by the gateway for any location specific content/data that may be of interest to the requesting entities. The mobile Web servers facilitate the ability for the requesting entities to influence the content/data that is offered by the mobile Web servers. |
| US08069212B2 |
System and method for notification of digital images to be shared via a service provider
A method and system for organizing and sharing digital images over a communication network wherein an image server at a service provider stores digital images for a customer which may have more two more electronic addresses which may receive e-mail. The server automatically forwarding all electronic mail having an address from one of the registered two or more electronic addresses to the primary electronic address that is received over a communication network. The e-mail includes a link to the share images and/or images folder. |
| US08069209B1 |
Method for activating and deactivating client-side services from a distant server
A system, apparatus, and method for controlling the operation of a service in a client device. The invention uses an existing protocol which is used for communications between an application resident in the device and a remote server to convey information about the service to the application. The information may be relevant to a service specific function, such as configuration or provisioning, or an activation or de-activation instruction, for example. The application receives the service related information, processes the information and then provides the information to the service via a notification channel. The service related information may be incorporated into a message sent from the remote server to the client device by using an element of the protocol, for example, by appending a text string to a header. |
| US08069207B2 |
Apparatus, method, and program for communication
A communication apparatus according to the present invention includes: upper limit setting unit, adapted to set a transmission upper limit which defines an upper limit of data size of mail data to be transmitted in a single e-mail; image data acquiring unit, adapted to acquire image data to be attached to the e-mail; transmission upper limit updating unit, adapted to update the transmission upper limit by subtracting a predetermined margin from the transmission upper limit; data dividing unit, adapted to divide the image data acquired by said image data acquiring means into pieces of image data corresponding to the transmission upper limit updated by the transmission upper limit updating means; divided mail data generating unit, adapted to generate divided mail data containing each of the pieces of image data divided by said data dividing means; and transmission unit, adapted to repeatedly transmit the divided mail data so as to transmit the e-mail to which the image data is attached. |
| US08069205B1 |
Communications controller and method therefor
The present invention is directed to IP telephony communications control. A user-interface device is communicatively coupled to an IP communications link and adapted to provide communications control selections to a user via a display. A plurality of IP telephony devices are coupled to the IP communications link. Selections from the display are used for providing communications control including control of communications for at least one of the plurality of IP telephony devices. The user-interface device is adaptable for use by various types of users, such as system administrators, office administrators, and individual telephony device users. In this manner, efficient and flexible user control of IP telephony applications is effected using a portable operations platform that is adaptable for use by different users at various locations. |
| US08069203B2 |
Method for controlling digitally storable and predefinable events on a computer system
A method for controlling digitally storable events on a computer system that can be accessed via the Internet, the events being predefinable by a user, includes receiving movement information of a user. Route information is recorded digitally in a user-specific manner so as to save a starting point and an end point. A digitally stored event is associated user-specifically with at least one item of the route information that determines a digitally controlled process. The route information is used at an early point in time to determine which of a plurality of routes is being traveled so as to determine the digitally stored event and start the digitally controlled process. |
| US08069202B1 |
Creating a projection of a situational network
A method of creating a projection of a situational network includes creating, by an event node server, an event node in a multi-dimensional personal information network, where the event node corresponds to a situation. A projection of nodes of the situational network is formed using geographic locations of a plurality of devices corresponding to nodes in the multi-dimensional personal information network. An invitation is transmitted to establish a link with the event node server to the devices corresponding to each node in the projection. A response is received from at least one of the devices accepting the invitation to establish a link with the event node server. A link with each device accepting the invitation is established. |
| US08069201B2 |
8×8 transform and quantization
Low complexity (16 bit arithmetic) video compression has 8×8 block with transforms using 8×8 integer matrices and quantization with look up table scalar plus constant right shift for all quantization steps. Inverse quantization also a look up table scalar plus right shift dependent upon the quantization step and inverse transform using the 8×8 integer matrices. |
| US08069197B2 |
Method and apparatus for periodic noise suppression in transient signals
A system for cyclical noise removal from a transient signal is employed with a transient sensor for a signal. A signal conditioner is connected to the transient sensor for processing the signal. A transient digitizer captures the processed signal including capture of a sufficient period of time before the transient to accurately analyze the cyclic noise, capture of a period of time to be sure the transient is not effecting the ambient and capture of the period of the transient. A signal processor is employed for filtering of a non-cyclic transient signal. An embedded computer with associated software performs an analysis of the ambient background just prior to the time that the transient signal of interest is detected, performs an analysis of the signal of interest, extends the analyzed ambient background signal through the period of time during which the transient signal is occurring and subtracts the background from the transient signal. |
| US08069196B2 |
Method and device for creating a starting value for a pseudorandom number generator
Method and device for creating a starting value for a pseudorandom number generator, having a reader configured to unstably read out an output value from a memory cell and a determiner configured to determine the starting value on the basis of the output value of the memory cell. |
| US08069195B2 |
Method and system for a wiring-efficient permute unit
A method of providing wiring efficiency in a permute unit. Multiple selectors receive input data and shared control signals from multiple register files. The permute unit includes multiple multiplexors (MUXs) coupled to multiple logical AND gates. The multiple logical AND gates are coupled to multiple logical OR gates. The logical AND gates are physically separated from the logical OR gates. The logical AND gates receive input from one or more output data signals from the selectors. The logical OR gates combine the one or more output signals from the logical AND gates and provide output data from the permute unit. |
| US08069193B2 |
Method and system for utilizing a generic scalar function to allow a column function to operate on row data
A method and system for utilizing a column function for a relational database in a structure query language (SQL) environment is disclosed. The column function is capable of performing an operation on an indeterminate number of entries. The relational database utilizes data including a plurality of entries capable of being organized into at least one column and at least one row. The method and system include allowing a user to specify the at least one row as an argument for a generalized scalar function and simulating a column environment for the at least one row using the generalized scalar function to allow the at least one row to be provided to the column function as though the at least one row was a column. The method and system also include performing the column function on the at least one row to provide at least one output. |
| US08069184B2 |
Systems and methods to implement extensibility of tenant content in a provider-tenant environment
The present invention discloses methods and systems for hosting tenants over a network in a computer-based environment in which a provider may store a shared data structure having shared data. A tenant receives a request for a shared data structure and retrieves the shared data structure from the provider based on shared metadata identifying the locations of shared data structures stored at the provider. In addition, based on extension metadata, the tenant retrieves an extended data structure including tenant-specific elements unique to the first tenant. The tenant server then combines the shared and extended data structures into a combined data structure including the tenant-specific elements. |
| US08069183B2 |
Fast identification of complex strings in a data stream
A method of examining a data stream to detect presence of a complex string belonging to a complex dictionary is provided. The method includes associating an array of state variables and an array of reference states with the complex dictionary; detecting a simple string in the data stream, the simple string being a constituent string in the complex string in the complex dictionary; updating a state variable associated with the complex string according to all relative positions of the simple string within the complex string; and determining that the complex string is present in the data stream when the state variable attains a corresponding reference state. A corresponding system is also provided. |
| US08069182B2 |
Relevancy-based domain classification
A domain classifier develops and maintains relevance data about specific domains based on historical relevance data and source context data. Such data may be used to classify the user's interest in attempting to visit a specific domain and thereby redirect the user to a website expected to be aligned with the user's interest. In various implementations, the historical relevance data is derived from source context data and/or post-visit user behavior collected from previous attempts to visit a specific domain. The source context data collected from the current visit may also be used as source context-factors to influence domain classification. Based on such historical and current source context factors, as well as the domain address provided in the user's navigation request, a domain classifier consults the historical relevance data and provides the user with Web content that is identified as likely to be relevant to the user's interests. |
| US08069177B2 |
Information selecting method, information selecting device and so on
An information selection method and an information selection apparatus are provided. The information selection method includes continuously selecting arbitrary program information out of a plurality of program information, extracting selection candidate program information to be selected after predetermined program information based on a previous selection order of the plurality of program information, and determining one of the extracted selection candidate program information as program information to be selected after the predetermined program information. |
| US08069173B2 |
Information processing apparatus and method of controlling the same, information processing method, and computer program
An information processing apparatus comprises, a storage unit configured to store image data and metadata of the image data, a reception unit configured to receive designation of at least two of the image data stored in the storage unit and designation of metadata to be newly added to the designated image data, a first selection unit configured to select, from the image data stored in the storage unit, other image data which has the same metadata as all metadata common to the designated image data, and a control unit configured to add the metadata to be newly added to the metadata of each of the designated image data and the selected other image data and storing the image data in the storage unit. |
| US08069172B2 |
Re-executing query objects without affecting transaction data in an application development framework not providing for creation of multiple instances of the same query object
Re-executing query objects without affecting transaction data in an application development framework (ADF) not providing for creation of multiple instances of the same query object. In an embodiment, a query associated with a query object is executed to retrieve a transaction data from a data store, which can be further modified based on user interactions. In response to an indication that the query object is to be re-executed for retrieving the transaction data, a new query object is created using the query (along with any required parameters) retrieved from the original query object. The new query object is executed to retrieve a copy of the transaction data from the data store. According to another aspect, a comparison result is generated for the modified transaction data and the copy. |
| US08069171B2 |
Method and system for correlating information
A method and system for correlating input data that includes configuration data. The configuration data describes at least one hierarchy including a first hierarchy. Each hierarchy includes at least two nodes. Each node includes a value and is designated as an ontology end point consisting of a unique positive integer. For each hierarchy, a unique relationship number RN is stored in a medium for each pair of parent-child nodes of each hierarchy. RN is a function of X and Y which respectively denote the ontology end point of the parent and child node of each pair of parent-child nodes. Responsive to a query that identifies a measure of correlation between the first hierarchy and other information, the measure of correlation is computed by retrieving and utilizing each stored relationship number of the first hierarchy. Information relating to the measure of correlation is outputted. |
| US08069169B2 |
Apparatuses, methods and systems for information querying and serving on the internet based on profiles
The disclosure details the implementation of apparatuses, methods, and systems for information querying and serving on the internet based on profiles. Information and/or advertisement providers may use a code triggered information server to serve context, demographic, and behavior targeted information to users on the internet. Users, in turn, trigger the provision of information by scanning or observing codes or information, or by selecting web links. The triggers, together with geographic, temporal, and user-specific information, are obtained by the server that receives, processes, and records the message. Based on these messages and a user profile—which may include continuously updated user-specific behavior information, situational and ambient information, an accumulated history of trigger messages, and integration with outside database information—the server selects information to serve to a user on the internet from an information base. For example, a user with a recorded history of interest in coffee products may be served an advertisement for a nearby coffeeshop while browsing the web on his/her PDA. In one embodiment, information may also be served to users on the internet based solely on the user profiles, and without any initiating trigger. This is based on user trajectories or web-surfing habits deduced from the accumulated history of triggers. For example, a user known to routinely visit a music vendor website near the same time each day may be served an advertisement for the latest top-selling CD shortly before that time. |
| US08069168B2 |
Apparatuses, methods and systems for information querying and serving in a virtual world based on profiles
The disclosure details the implementation of apparatuses, methods, and systems for information querying and serving in a virtual world based on profiles. Such virtual worlds may include, for example, massively multiplayer online games like The Sims Online, Everquest, World of Warcraft, Second Life, and/or the like. Information and/or advertisement providers may use a code triggered information server to serve context, demographic, and behavior targeted information to users in a virtual world. Users, in turn, trigger the provision of information by scanning or observing codes or information, or by making decisions within a virtual world such as attempting a mission within a game. The triggers, together with virtual world geographic, temporal, and user-specific information, are obtained by the server that receives, processes, and records the message. Based on these messages and a user profile—which may include continuously updated user-specific behavior information, situational and ambient information, an accumulated history of triggers, and integration with outside database information—the server selects information to serve to the user in a virtual world from an information base. For example, a user in Second Life who likes modern clothing for his/her avatar may be presented with ads on virtual billboards from advertisers of virtual in-game clothing stores that are near his/her virtual position. In another example, an advertisement tailored to a user's particular interests or behavioral patterns may be placed at a location within a virtual world that the user is known to routinely pass. |
| US08069166B2 |
Managing user-to-user contact with inferred presence information
Means for allowing users to manage and make productive use of PIM data are provided. User status is determined by certain contextual indicia whereby other parties may contact the user through the most appropriate means as reflected by that contextual indicia. Information concerning presence, status, location, availability and so forth are aggregated from various PIM sources and communicated to other parties who initiate contact with the user in light of the aggregated information. Various groups and permissions may be implemented with regard to the collection and sharing of information. |
| US08069165B2 |
Nearest-neighbor geographic search
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for use in searching a geographic database to retrieve geographic objects one cell from a neighborhood of cells at a time. A cell neighborhood can be defined using a grid of cells and an initial, or center, point. A first neighborhood is identified based on its proximity to the initial search point, and corresponds to a first geographic area defined using the initial point and a distance from the initial search point in a number of directions. In a case that more than one cell neighborhood is used, each subsequent cell neighborhood is defined so that it excludes cells belonging to a previously-searched cell neighborhood. A subsequent neighborhood corresponds to a geographic area that is a distance from the initial point greater than the distance associated with a previously-searched neighborhood. |
| US08069164B2 |
Media validation system
A media validation system including a plurality of media storage devices which contain a quantity of content thereon, a user computer processor assembly structured to operatively access a select media storage device, a verification module, and a communicative link between the verification module and the user computer processor assembly. Each of the media storage devices includes a unique unit identifier, the verification module identifying the unique unit identifier of the select media storage device and receiving user information associated therewith. The verification module is also structured to apply a reward credit in association with only a first user whose user information is associated with the unique unit identifier for the select media storage device. |
| US08069161B2 |
System, program product, and methods to enhance content management
Embodiments of systems, program products, and methods to enhance and more effectively manage media content are provided. An embodiment of a system, for example, can include a first preselected network framework defining a first network stage and a second preselected network framework responsive to the first network stage and defining a second network stage. The system can also include a code generator responsive to the second network stage to generate program code, a framework stage responsive to the code generator to establish a content management framework and defining a content search engine, a media content services core responsive to the content search engine to enhance digital file management and allow a plurality of media content management services to be performed, and a set of media content service modules each responsive to the media content services core to perform content management services to media. |
| US08069155B2 |
Securing DBMS event notifications
One embodiment of the present invention provides a database server for securing database event notifications. The server includes a session key creation mechanism configured to create a session key when a client registers for an event, a storage mechanism configured to store the session key on the database server, a data accessing mechanism configured to access registration metadata to obtain the session key when the event occurs, a connection mechanism configured to establish a communication channel between the database server and the client, a mutual authenticating mechanism configured to using the session key to mutually authenticate the client and the database server during event notification, and an event notifying mechanism configured to send the event notification to the client. |
| US08069154B2 |
Autonomic rule generation in a content management system
A content management system (CMS) includes an autonomic rule generation mechanism that autonomically analyzes existing content and generates rules according to a defined rule generation policy. Autonomically generated rules may include bursting rules, synchronization rules and linking rules. By autonomically generating rules based on the characteristics of content in the repository, the CMS can dramatically improve the ease and efficiency of managing a CMS. |
| US08069153B2 |
Systems and methods for securing customer data in a multi-tenant environment
Network security is enhanced in a multi-tenant database network environment using a query plan detection module to continually poll the database system to locate and raise an alert for suspect query plans. Security also can be enhanced using a firewall system sitting between the application servers and the client systems that records user and organization information for each client request received, compares this with information included in a response from an application server, and verifies that the response is being sent to the appropriate user. Security also can be enhanced using a client-side firewall system with logic executing on the client system that verifies whether a response from an application server is being sent to the appropriate user system by comparing user and organization id information stored at the client with similar information in the response. |
| US08069149B1 |
System and method for redirecting access to a remote mirrored snapshot
In a system and method for updating a remote replicated destination file system snapshot with changes in a source file system snapshot, users and processes are redirected to a local exported snapshot of the replicated snapshot on the active file system on the destination before beginning the next update of the active file system's replicated snapshot. In this manner, an unstable replicated snapshot is not accessed. Indirection is introduced into inode lookup at the destination as the destination's active file system is being updated. The indirection can be based upon a snapshot ID that conforms to a latest exported snapshot ID. |
| US08069146B2 |
Methods and apparatus for maintaining consistency during analysis of large data sets
Methods and apparatus for updating a database using a multi-dimensional data model in which data corresponding to the database are organized in multi-dimensional data blocks. Each data block has summary information associated therewith corresponding to a current state of evolution of the associated data block. Dependency information is maintained in the data model which identifies data dependencies within and among the data blocks. A list of change entries identifies changes made to the data blocks and times at which the changes were made. A request to apply a change entry to a data block is received. The change entry is applied to the data block, including generating a dependency list of data blocks whose data depends directly or indirectly from the updated data block. The data blocks in the dependency list are processed in accordance with a dependency update algorithm to update the data blocks in the dependency list. |
| US08069143B2 |
Systems and methods for remote deletion of contact information
An exemplary system for providing remote deletion of contact information includes a first device associated with a first user. The first device is configured to generate and send a delete request message to a second device. In some embodiments, the delete request message includes a request to delete contact information for the first user from the second device. The second device can be configured to receive the delete request message and delete the first user's contact information. A method for providing remote deletion of contact information includes a delete request message being generated at a first device, associated with a first user. The delete request message can include a request to delete contact information for the first user. The first device can send the delete request message to a second device. The delete request message can instruct the second device to delete the first user's contact information. |
| US08069142B2 |
System and method for synchronizing data on a network
The disclosure describes systems and methods for synchronizing data on a network based on temporal, spatial, social and logical data available to the network. The method includes receiving a first information object (IO) containing attributes for a first real-world entity (RWE), the first IO associated with a second RWE; identifying one or more second IOs, each second IO containing one or more attributes for the first RWE and each second IO independently associated with a third RWE; generating a different probability for each IO based on a comparison of contents of the first and second IOs and their associated RWEs; and replacing one or more of the attributes in at least one IO with at least one attribute from a different IO based on the probabilities for each IO. |
| US08069137B2 |
Methods, systems, and storage mediums for implementing intelligent agent services
Methods, systems, and storage mediums for implementing intelligent agent services are provided. A method includes generating an ontological domain for an individual based upon information elements. A set of information elements represents a behavior of the individual at a point in time. Generating the ontological domain includes creating subdomains of contextually organized collections of sets of information elements, where the subdomains include any orthogonally related data identified among behaviors. The method also includes determining relevance of relationships among the information elements in the ontological domain. The relevance is determined based upon measurable aspects, whereby a relationship determined to be relevant is identified as an interest of the individual. The method also includes identifying sources of information topically related to the interest, and searching the sources of information using the information elements determined to be relevant to identify a solution for satisfying the interest. |
| US08069134B2 |
Rapid knowledge transfer among workers
A system and method enable rapid knowledge transfer, for example between a plurality of experts and a plurality of apprentices located remotely from the experts. The system makes use of unique tools to facilitate transfer of knowledge and collaboration between individuals, even among remotely located individuals. An input to the system is a Knowledge Transfer Plan which has been designed to orchestrate the knowledge transfer. The knowledge transfer system integrates a shared repository and collaboration tools for use by the expert and apprentice. The collaboration tools may be accessed through role-specific portals which are automatically created from the Knowledge Transfer Plan. In one embodiment, the system is configured with a World Wide Web-based interface and an integrated suite of tools to support knowledge transfer activities on a global basis to facilitate knowledge transfer among workers engaged in an outsourcing business process. |
| US08069132B2 |
Efficient processing in an auto-adaptive network
Feature values, which may be multi-dimensional, collected over successive time slices, are efficiently processed for use, for example, in known adaptive learning functions and event detection. A Markov chain in a recursive function to calculate imputed values for data points by use of a “nearest neighbor” matrix. Only data for the time slices currently required to perform computations must be stored. Earlier data need not be retained. A data selector, referred to herein for convenience as a window driver, selects successive cells of appropriate adjacent values in one or more dimensions to comprise an estimation set. The window driver effectively indexes tables of data to efficiently deliver input data to the matrix. In one form, feature inputs are divided into subgroups for parallel, pipelined processing. |
| US08069126B2 |
Method of ranking politically exposed persons and other heightened risk persons and entities
A method for ranking politically exposed persons and/or other persons and entities that pose a heightened risk based on their importance wherein an exposure index is determined for each person in the population as a function of the existence or absence of a relationship with each of the other members of the population and each of one or more exposure factors such as position held by the person, country in which the position is held, and source of information about the person. The politically exposed persons in the population are ranked in accordance with their respective exposure indexes. The population is sorted and a subset of the population containing those politically exposed persons having exposure indexes indicative or the highest likelihood of illicit financial activity is thereby identified. |
| US08069124B2 |
Combining speculative physics modeling with goal-based artificial intelligence
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for identifying a deformable object of a scene of a computer game that is visible by an artificial intelligence (AI) character of the game, requesting a speculative physics simulation associated with the deformable object to determine a result of an action to the deformable object by the AI character, and selecting an action to be performed by the AI character, where the selection is based at least in part on the speculative physics simulation. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08069120B2 |
Electronic purchasing method and apparatus
A computer-assisted method includes hardware, software and telecommunications components that cooperatively achieve the technical effect of an improved electronic purchasing transaction system. In various embodiments of the invention, at least one master account is established for a client. A pool of limited use account identifiers or secondary account identifiers, that are separate and distinct from the master account, is associated with the master account by a purchasing system or account management system. Each of the limited use account identifiers may be used by the client to purchase items from merchants. |
| US08069116B2 |
System and method for supplying and managing usage rights associated with an item repository
A system and method for enforcing rights expressions, include specifying a repository rights expression indicating a manner of use of an item at a repository; and associating the repository rights expression with the repository. In a further embodiment, the system includes one or more repositories having associated therewith rights expressions further indicating a condition of use of the item at the repository. In a further embodiment, a repository for use in the system, includes a processor module configured to process the rights expression associated with the repository; and a determination module configured to determine based on the rights expression associated with the repository what action the repository is to take when the repository processes or receives a request for the item. The manner of use or condition of use indicates what action the repository is to take when the repository processes or receives a request for the item. |
| US08069109B2 |
System and method for using diversification spreading for risk offset
A computer-implemented method for analyzing a risk offset associated with a portfolio including a plurality of products traded on an exchange is disclosed. The method includes analyzing, by a processor, a first product in a portfolio, wherein the first product has a first market response in response to market data, analyzing, by a processor, a second product in a portfolio, wherein the second product has a second market response in response to the market data, determining, by a processor, a diversification spread, the diversification spread representative of an offsetting effect between the first product and the second product, wherein the offsetting effect results from the first market response being substantially different than the second market response in response to similar market data, determining, by the processor, a diversification spread credit based on the diversification spread of the plurality of products, and adjusting, by the processor, a margin requirement for the portfolio based on the diversification spread credit. |
| US08069105B2 |
Hedge fund risk management
A computerized method and system for managing risk associated with a Hedge Fund is disclosed. Information relating to Hedge Funds is gathered and stored as data in preparation for a risk inquiry search relating to a Hedge Fund. Documents and sources of information can also be stored. A subscriber, such as a Financial Institution, can submit a Hedge Fund descriptor for which a risk inquiry search can be performed. The risk assessment or inquiry search can include data retrieved resultant to augmented retrieval methods. Scrubbed data as well as augmented data can be transmitted from a risk management clearinghouse to a subscriber or to a proprietary risk system utilized by a subscriber, such as a risk management system maintained in-house. Risk inquiry searches can be automated and made a part of standard operating procedure for any transaction conducted by the subscriber in which a Hedge Fund is involved. |
| US08069103B1 |
Retirement and financial planning calculator apparatus and methods
Systems, devices, apparatus and methods of allowing one to use a handheld type calculator and/or computer based program having factory pre-set and preprogrammed color indicia buttons/keys to allow the user to easily and quickly do a variety of specialized calculations for financial planning results that include retirement planning, wealth accumulation, pension analysis, mortgage comparison shopping and funding future education. |
| US08069101B1 |
Financial methodology to valuate and predict the news impact of major events on financial instruments
A financial methodology for the analysis of events' impact on media coverage and business, and predictive indications of movements of stock prices (or other financial instruments) triggered by media and business impact is described. The methodology is based on a numerical approach suitable for processing by a computer. It takes into account data outside the traditional realm of finance, such as public sensitivity to certain classes of events, and the correlation between media coverage and stock price performance during the course of an event. |
| US08069098B2 |
Input device for allowing interface to a web site in association with a unique input code
An input device for allowing interface to a web site in association with a unique input code. A method for interconnecting a first location on a global communication network with a second location thereon is disclosed. An input device is provided at the first location on the global communication network having associated therewith a unique input device ID. A product code disposed on a product is scanned with the input device, which product code is representative of the product in commercial transactions, the operation of scanning operable to extract the information contained in the product code to provide a unique value as an output. The unique value is then associated with the unique input device ID. In response to the operation of scanning and associating, the first location is connected to the second location. |
| US08069097B2 |
Media inventory service
One embodiment relates to a computer-implemented media inventory service that includes instructions for performing a method. The method can include selectively extracting inventory data from at least one media management system based on an agency identifier that defines a subset of the inventory data in the at least one media management system made available for a given agency. Agency inventory data is provided based on the extracted inventory data for use by the given agency, the agency inventory data enumerating at least one inventory spot available for the given agency. At least one request from the given agency is received for the at least one inventory spot a portion of the inventory data in the at least one media management system is caused to be modified according to the at least one request. |
| US08069094B2 |
Computer generated broadcast video stream for multiple product sale display
An apparatus for a virtual turntable system for computer generated broadcast video streams for a multiple product sales display. The virtual turntable system collects data, including images and status information, and generates a video stream for presenting product information sequentially on a video monitor. In one embodiment, the virtual turntable system reads the data, including the turntable list, formats and updates the data, and then outputs the data in a video stream. In one embodiment, the virtual turntable system includes a data storage device for storing the data for the virtual turntable system, a computer system for accessing the data and creating item containers for the items on the current item list that are to be displayed on a monitor, and a video imager for creating a video stream for displaying a plurality of current items in a rotating or other sequential manner. |
| US08069083B2 |
Pay-per-action system for selling advertisements
A system is disclosed for a pay-per-action (PPA) advertising model. An advertiser reports actions and pays an advertising provider for each action that is reported. The payment may be based on the rate at which the actions are reported. The action rate may be updated based on each reported action, which may modify the payment for that action and may modify the payment for previous actions. A one-time premium may be charged to advertisers and a minimum action rate may be established to encourage advertisers to accurately report actions. |
| US08069080B2 |
Methods for generating healthcare provider quality and cost rating data
A method for generating healthcare provider quality rating data includes grouping claim records into one or more claim groups, assigning each claim group to a responsible provider, assessing the claim records in each claim group using guidelines for the particular disease or condition, and generating a compliance score for the claim group, wherein the compliance score indicates the extent to which the claim records in the claim group match the guidelines, and generating normalized provider quality rating data. A method for generating healthcare provider cost rating data includes grouping claim records into one or more claim groups, assigning each claim group to a responsible provider, calculating the total cost of each claim group, aggregating the total cost for each claim group, and comparing the total aggregate cost of each claim group assigned to each provider to an expected cost value. |
| US08069077B2 |
Electric-power-generating-facility operation management support system, electric-power-generating-facility operation management support method, and program for executing support method, and program for executing operation management support method on computer
An electric-power-generating-facility operation management support system includes a condition-input unit inputting costs of electric power generation in electric power generating facilities, probability distribution of predicted values of the demand for electric power, and probability distribution of predicted values of the transaction price of power on the market. An optimal-operational-condition calculating unit calculates the performance of power generation of the power generating facilities based upon the costs of power generation, the probability distribution of predicted values of the demand for power and the probability distribution of predicted values of the transaction price of power on the market, input from the condition-input unit so as to obtain the optimal operational conditions which exhibit the maximum performance of power generation A risk estimating unit calculates and estimates a risk value of damage of the optimal operation under the optimal operational conditions. A calculation-result display unit displays the optimal operational conditions and the risk-estimation results. |
| US08069073B2 |
System and method for facilitating bilateral and multilateral decision-making
Techniques for facilitating evaluation, in connection with the procurement or delivery of products or services, in a context of at least one of (i) a financial transaction and (ii) operation of an enterprise, are disclosed. The techniques involve retrieving party and counterparty preference data from digital storage media; performing multilateral analyses of the combined preference data by computing a closeness-of-fit value; and delivering a list matching the at least one party and the at least one counterparty using the computed closeness-of-fit values. |
| US08069072B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for providing an indication of hightime
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media provide for providing an indication of hightime. According to embodiments, a method for providing an indication of hightime is provided. According to the method, whether at least one of a plurality of technicians exceeds an allotted time with which to complete a job is determined. In response to determining that at least one of the plurality of technicians exceeds the allotted time, an indication that at least one of the plurality of technicians exceeds the allotted time is provided. |
| US08069061B2 |
Computer software program for mental health professionals
A computer software program that will allow mental health practitioners to enter data into portable files and send information to various professional organizations, institutions, businesses, and/or entities through a direct, secure, and electronic linkage created by registering with said professional organizations, institutions, businesses, and/or entities. Mental health professionals using the software program will be able to create portable files containing information about clients, notes, credentials, licenses, certifications, specializations, accreditations, professional memberships, professional trainings, Continuing Education Units, professional activities, supervision hours, education, insurance board memberships. A plethora of relevant professional mental health information will be accessible through the software program. Professional organizations, institutions, businesses, and/or entities will be able to advertise and/or send information pertaining to products and services. The software program is a “one-stop shopping” platform for mental health professionals to create portable files and send information in a streamlined and efficient manner. |
| US08069060B2 |
System and method for managing medical facility procedures and records
The invention facilitates the efficient administration of medical offices and patient records including visual coordination of room, patient, and task status indicators. The invention also enables improved document review and transcription management. |
| US08069058B2 |
Obtaining, posting and managing healthcare-related liens
A system and method for health providers to assert their rights of fair trade and financial interest in optimizing revenue and full fee collection for bills relating to their rendered services in cases of patients, who receive treatment and subsequently utilize related health provider's billings as a part of an injury related to a tort or injury claim.A healthcare-related lien network, which is comprised of a computer network, various lien-network members and an owning entity of the network, whom all work together to establish, monitor, recognize and effect payment of a contingency-based, health provider—patient lien, where the patient or a patient's legal representative has billed the health provider's billings to a payer, other than a health insurer, as part of a patient's injury claim.The system and method relating to the healthcare-related lien network has business-to-business and business-to-consumer variations, offering health providers the ability to recover monies, which would have normally been written-off or otherwise uncollected.Additionally, there are payment methods associated with the healthcare-related lien network, allowing the owning entity of the lien network as well as non-health provider members of the lien network, to profit by properly recognizing and dispersing monies relating to satisfying an existing health provider—patient lien, held within the healthcare-related lien network. |
| US08069052B2 |
Quantization and inverse quantization for audio
An audio encoder and decoder use architectures and techniques that improve the efficiency of quantization (e.g., weighting) and inverse quantization (e.g., inverse weighting) in audio coding and decoding. The described strategies include various techniques and tools, which can be used in combination or independently. For example, an audio encoder quantizes audio data in multiple channels, applying multiple channel-specific quantizer step modifiers, which give the encoder more control over balancing reconstruction quality between channels. The encoder also applies multiple quantization matrices and varies the resolution of the quantization matrices, which allows the encoder to use more resolution if overall quality is good and use less resolution if overall quality is poor. Finally, the encoder compresses one or more quantization matrices using temporal prediction to reduce the bitrate associated with the quantization matrices. An audio decoder performs corresponding inverse processing and decoding. |
| US08069051B2 |
Zero-gap playback using predictive mixing
Circuits and methods for providing zero-gap playback of consecutive data streams in portable electronic devices, such as media players, are described. In some embodiments, a circuit includes a decoder circuit configured to receive encoded audio data and to output decoded audio data including data streams associated with a data file and a subsequent data file. Moreover, a predictive circuit, which is electrically coupled to the decoder circuit, is configured to selectively generate additional samples based on samples in the data file, where the additional samples correspond to times after the end of a data stream associated with the data file. Additionally, a filter circuit, which is electrically coupled to the decoder circuit and selectively electrically coupled to the predictive circuit, is configured to selectively combine or blend samples at a beginning of the subsequent data file with the additional samples. Note that the circuit may be included in an integrated circuit. |
| US08069050B2 |
Multi-channel audio encoding and decoding
An audio encoder and decoder use architectures and techniques that improve the efficiency of multi-channel audio coding and decoding. The described strategies include various techniques and tools, which can be used in combination or independently. For example, an audio encoder performs a pre-processing multi-channel transform on multi-channel audio data, varying the transform so as to control quality. The encoder groups multiple windows from different channels into one or more tiles and outputs tile configuration information, which allows the encoder to isolate transients that appear in a particular channel with small windows, but use large windows in other channels. Using a variety of techniques, the encoder performs flexible multi-channel transforms that effectively take advantage of inter-channel correlation. An audio decoder performs corresponding processing and decoding. In addition, the decoder performs a post-processing multi-channel transform for any of multiple different purposes. |
| US08069047B2 |
Dynamically defining a VoiceXML grammar in an X+V page of a multimodal application
Dynamically defining a VoiceXML grammar of a multimodal application, implemented with the multimodal application operating on a multimodal device supporting multiple modes of interaction including a voice mode and one or more non-voice modes, the multimodal application operatively coupled to a VoiceXML interpreter, and the method includes loading the X+V page by the multimodal application, from a web server into the multimodal device for execution, the X+V page including one or more VoiceXML grammars in one or more VoiceXML dialogs, including at least one in-line grammar that is declared but undefined; retrieving by the multimodal application a grammar definition for the in-line grammar from the web server without reloading the X+V page; and defining by the multimodal application the in-line grammar with the retrieved grammar definition before executing the VoiceXML dialog containing the in-line grammar. |
| US08069044B1 |
Content matching using phoneme comparison and scoring
Content matching using phoneme comparison and scoring is described, including extracting phonemes from a file, comparing the phonemes to other phonemes, associating a first score with the phonemes based on a probability of the other phonemes matching the phonemes, and providing the file with another file when a request is received to access one or more files having a second score that is substantially similar to the first score. |
| US08069033B2 |
Document based character ambiguity resolution
Methods and apparatus for document based ambiguous character resolution. An application searches a document for words that do not contain ambiguous characters and adds them to a dictionary, then searches the document for words that do contain ambiguous characters. For each ambiguous word, a set of candidate solutions is created by resolving the ambiguous characters in all possible ways. The dictionary is searched for words matching members of the candidate solution set. When a single member is matched, the ambiguous characters are resolved accordingly. When no member or more than one member is matched, a user is prompted to resolve the ambiguous characters. Alternatively, when more than one member is matched, the ambiguous characters are resolved to obtain the largest word, the smallest word, the most words, or the fewest words. |
| US08069032B2 |
Lightweight windowing method for screening harvested data for novelty
Biasing of language model customization due to repetitious data is substantially reduced by introducing novelty screening to data harvesting process. Novelty detection based filtering is added to ensure that an adaptation system gives more weight to representative adaptation data that is not repetitious. The value of the adaptation data is preserved and the process prevented from being polluted when the same data is seen multiple times, such as the original posting in an email thread, various versions of the same document, and the like. The screening technique may be built on top of existing data harvesting mechanisms as already seen data is used to determine the novelty of a particular portion of the data. A window into the new data, fixed or variable size, is compared against the already collected data to determine the likelihood that the data is novel. |
| US08069020B2 |
Generating simulated diffraction signal using a dispersion function relating process parameter to dispersion
A first wafer is fabricated using a first value for a process parameter specifying a process condition in fabricating the structure. A first value of a dispersion is measured from the first wafer. A second wafer is fabricated using a second value for the process parameter. A second value of the dispersion is measured from the second wafer. A third wafer is fabricated using a third value for the process parameter. The first, second, and third values for the process parameter are different from each other. A third value of the dispersion is measured from the third wafer. A dispersion function is defined to relate the process parameter to the dispersion using the first, second, and third values for the process parameter and the measured first, second, and third values of the dispersion. The simulated diffraction signal is generated using the defined dispersion function. The simulated diffraction signal is stored. |
| US08069017B2 |
Method of initializing bolt pretension in a finite element analysis
In one aspect of the invention, each bolt is modeled using a beam element in a FEA model. To apply desired pretension to one or more bolts, at least one pretension-versus-time curve is specified. Each pretension-versus-time curve includes ramp portion, desired pretension portion and optional unloading portion. Duration of the pretension-versus-time curve generally covers first 0.5-1% of total simulation time of a car crashworthiness analysis. Ramp portion starts from zero to desired pretension in a substantially linear manner, and hence being configured for applying desired pretension to a bolt gradually with smaller increments. Desired pretension portion is configured for ensuring the desired pretension can actually be applied to the beam element during an initialization process—a series of quasi-static analyses. Since the method is independent of the deformation of the beam, the method completely avoids the need to iteratively determine an axial strain or displacement that gives the desired pretension. |
| US08069015B2 |
Pseudo noise sequence acquisition in spread spectrum systems
Systems and methods for signal analysis are described. The method can include digitizing a signal modulated by a pseudo noise (PN) sequence, dividing the digitized signal into a plurality of sample blocks, and estimating a PN phase embedded in a sample block of the plurality of sample blocks using an iterative message passing algorithm (iMPA) executed on a redundant graphical model. |
| US08069013B2 |
Water heater monitor/diagnostic display apparatus
A water heater is provided with monitor/diagnostic display apparatus that selectively provides a user with visual or other type of indicia of the recovery time for the water heater. The apparatus includes a monitoring unit that may be mounted on the water heater, and a display unit that may be mounted either on the water heater or remotely therefrom. |
| US08069008B2 |
Depth measurement apparatus and depth measurement method
A via hole depth measurement apparatus generates a light beam of white light, divides the light beam into a measurement and reference beams, focuses the measurement beam and projects it onto a sample, reflects the reference beam and advances it along the original optical path, continuously changes a relative optical path length difference between optical path lengths of the measurement and reference beams, combining reflected light from the sample and from the reflected reference beam and generates an interference beam, changes a relative distance between an objective lens which focuses the measurement beam and the sample, detects a relative position between the objective lens and the sample, receives the interference beam and outputs an interference signal, and, and outputs recessed portion depth information based on displacement information based on the interference signal and the relative position between the objective lens and the sample. |
| US08069007B2 |
Light scanning photoelectric switch
This invention provides a light scanning photoelectric switch with which various settings of the light scanning photoelectric switch such as setting of a protection area can be easily set. The light scanning photoelectric switch includes: a display unit having a display screen that displays information including at least one of a status of a safety function of the light scanning photoelectric switch, and information of a failure status; and an operating unit provided in vicinity of the display unit, and for switching the information displayed in the display screen to different one of the safety signal, the result of the determination, setting contents of the light scanning photoelectric switch, the status of the safety function of the light scanning photoelectric switch, and the information of the failure status. |
| US08069006B1 |
System for positioning a wire using sensor information
A system for determining coordinates for nodes on a wire secured to tow lines of a floating vessel for analyzing geological formations is provided. The system can include sensors in communication with a processor to determine the coordinates of nodes and provide azimuths tangential to the wire. A library of nominal values for third, fourth, or fifth order polynomial coefficients, a library of known distances along the wire, and a library of preset limits can be stored in a data storage. The system can include computer instructions to receive sensor information, compute bearing, reorient the coordinates, rotate the azimuth, construct a third, fourth, or fifth order polynomial algorithm, compute the azimuth, form a residual, compute updated differences until the residual is within preset limits, calculate local coordinates for nodes, and rotate the local coordinates from the local coordinate system to the projected coordinate system. |
| US08069004B2 |
System comprising a generating device and a comparing device
Systems comprising generating devices comprising sensors for generating sensor signals representing orientations of the generating devices are provided with comparing devices comprising comparators for comparing the sensor signals with reference signals for interpreting the orientations, to increase the number of possible applications. The generating devices and the comparing devices may form parts of one apparatus or of different apparatuses and then communicate wiredly or wirelessly via radio or infrared. Reference sensors for generating the reference signals and/or reference memories for storing the reference signals may be located in the comparing devices and/or in sources and then communicate wiredly or wirelessly via radio or infrared. Further comparators in the comparing devices may introduce adjustable sensitivities. |
| US08069002B2 |
Apparatus for monitoring a system with time in space and method therefor
Apparatus and method for monitoring a system in which a fluid flows and which is characterized by a change in the system with time in space. A preselected place in the system is monitored to collect data at two or more time points correlated to a system event. The data is indicative of a system parameter that varies with time as a function of at least two variables related to system wash-in and wash-out behavior. A calibration map is made on a calculated basis with each pixel or voxel representative of a color hue indicative of wash-out behavior and a color intensity indicative of wash-in behavior. The calibration map serves as a criteria for selecting the time points. Software and a data processing system are provided to develop a color coded output map. The calibration map, the color coded output map and image of the preselected place are also novel implementations. |
| US08068997B2 |
Continuous performance analysis system and method
A system and method of conducting a continuous performance analysis for a system includes collecting transient performance data for a first parameter of the system and a second parameter of the system. Transfer functions are applied to the transient performance data for at least one of the first and second parameters to thereby generate phase compensated performance data representative of a steady state relationship between the first and second parameter. For each phase compensated performance datum, an estimate of the first parameter is calculated at a predetermined value of the second parameter using the phase compensated performance datum and a previously stored performance characteristic curve representative of the steady state relationship between the first and second parameters in a deterioration model extrapolation method. A very efficient binning method is used for storing phase compensated performance data and converting them into steady state performance characteristic curves of any non-linear shape. |
| US08068993B2 |
Diagnosing inapparent diseases from common clinical tests using Bayesian analysis
A system and method of diagnosing diseases from biological data is disclosed. A system for automated disease diagnostics prediction can be generated using a database of clinical test data. The diagnostics prediction can also be used to develop screening tests to screen for one or more inapparent diseases. The prediction method can be implemented with Bayesian probability estimation techniques. The system and method permit clinical test data to be analyzed and mined for improved disease diagnosis. |
| US08068992B2 |
Melting curve analysis with exponential background subtraction
A system and methods are provided for melting curve genotyping analysis of nucleic acids. Melting curves are generated by plotting fluorescence of a sample as a function of temperature. In one illustrative example, an exponential algorithm is employed to remove the background from generated melting curves and thereby perform comparative analysis to other melting curves. Additional illustrative examples provide for measuring the differences between two or more melting curves and clustering the genotypes of the provided sample nucleic acids. |
| US08068990B2 |
Diagnosis of intra-uterine infection by proteomic analysis of cervical-vaginal fluids
The invention concerns the identification of proteomes of biological fluids and their use in determining the state of maternal/fetal conditions, including maternal conditions of fetal origin, chromosomal aneuploidies, and fetal diseases associated with fetal growth and maturation. In particular, the invention concerns a comprehensive proteomic analysis of human amniotic fluid (AF) and cervical vaginal fluid (CVF), and the correlation of characteristic changes in the normal proteome with various pathologic maternal/fetal conditions, such as intra-amniotic infection, pre-term labor, and/or chromosomal defects. The invention further concerns the identification of biomarkers and groups of biomarkers that can be used for non-invasive diagnosis of various pregnancy-related disorders, and diagnostic assays using such biomarkers. |
| US08068989B2 |
Accessing predictive data for determining a range of possible outcomes of treatment
An apparatus, device, methods, computer program product, and system are described that access a first dataset in response to a first request associated with a treatment parameter and a first predictive basis, determine a graphical illustration of a first possible outcome of a use of the treatment parameter with respect to at least one body portion, based on the first dataset, access a second dataset in response to a second request associated with the treatment parameter and a second predictive basis, and determine a modified graphical illustration of a second possible outcome of the use of the treatment parameter with respect to the at least one body portion, based on the second dataset. |
| US08068985B1 |
Method of precise earthquake prediction and prevention of mysterious air and sea accidents
The disclosed earthquake vapor theory, statistically significant in practice, overcomes two difficulties: the dependency on cold weather to pinpoint an earthquake epicenter and the time window not being short enough for evacuation. Finding a vapor nozzle based on boiling temperature can solve the former. Isolating the nozzle to find the next peak of daily maximum after vapor eruption can solve the latter by narrowing the time window to 1-2 days. The embodiments may also be utilized to prevent mysterious air and sea accidents. |
| US08068984B2 |
Triply redundant integrated navigation and asset visibility system
Methods and apparatus are described for a navigation system. A method includes providing a global positioning system fix having a plurality of tracking parameters; providing a theater positioning system fix; monitoring the plurality of tracking parameters for predetermined conditions; and, when the predetermined conditions are met, sending a notifying signal and switching to the theater positioning system fix as a primary fix. An apparatus includes a system controller; a global positioning system receiver coupled to the system controller; a radio frequency locating receiver coupled to the system controller; and an operator interface coupled to the system controller. |
| US08068982B2 |
On-vehicle navigation system
An on-vehicle navigation system reliably performs guidance of a necessary exiting authorized section while avoiding the guidance of a needless exiting authorized section on a plural-lane road having a normal lane and a special lane where advancing from the normal lane in a predetermined advancing authorized section and exiting to the normal lane in a predetermined exiting authorized section are authorized. After discriminating whether the vehicle is driving in the special lane of the plural-lane road based on whether a characteristic object has been detected by a characteristic object detecting section, the guidance of an exiting authorized section is avoided in the case where the vehicle deviated from a recommended route including a special lane, and the guidance of an exiting authorized section is performed in the case where the vehicle deviated from a recommended route not including a special lane and drives in a special lane. |
| US08068972B2 |
Abnormal combustion detection method for internal-combustion engines
The invention is an abnormal combustion detection method for spark-ignition internal-combustion engines. For each engine cycle, a parameter characterizing a distribution of N combustion indicator values, CA10 for example, acquired over N cycles preceding the cycle in progress, is determined while ignoring extreme values. A threshold is defined from this parameter for the combustion indicator. The start of an abnormal combustion is then detected by comparing the combustion indicator with this threshold and the course of the abnormal combustion detected in the combustion chamber is controlled. |
| US08068969B2 |
Power distribution system
A power distribution system is provided having a power source configured to generate a power output. The power distribution system also has an available power module configured to determine a total available power generated by the power source. In addition, the power distribution system has one or more parasitic power request modules configured to receive a request for power from an associated parasitic device and one or more non-parasitic power request modules configured to receive a request for power from an associated non-parasitic device. The power distribution system further has a power distribution module configured to cause the distribution of power among the parasitic and non-parasitic devices. The power distributed among the non-parasitic devices is the power remaining after the parasitic devices receive their requested power. |
| US08068968B2 |
Vehicle travel control system
A vehicle travel control system includes a cruise control ECU, an engine control ECU and a brake control ECU. The cruise control ECU checks whether a driver's actual concentration degree is insufficient relative to a required concentration degree in terms of safety in surrounding environments of the subject vehicle. When such possibility arises, even during the cruise control, the speed of the subject vehicle is controlled to match a control vehicle speed lower than a set vehicle speed or a control distance to a preceding vehicle. |
| US08068962B2 |
3D control system for construction machines
A construction system utilizing 3D control includes a fixed base station of known location; a self-propelled construction machine located in the general vicinity of the fixed base station; and a rotating mobile unit assembly mounted on the self-propelled construction machine and having a location-determination device arranged to rotate around an axis. The location-determination device is adapted to operate in conjunction with the fixed base station to determine geodetic information about the self-propelled construction machine. |
| US08068961B2 |
Snow plow position-controlled vehicle headlight operation system and method
A headlight control system for use on a snow plow mounted on the front of a vehicle and a related method are disclosed that automatically, selectively illuminate the headlights of the vehicle in addition to the headlights of the snow plow only when the snow plow blade is in a down position such that it is not physically obstructing the headlights of the vehicle. The headlight control system and method only operate to turn on the vehicle headlights when the snow plow lights are turned on. The headlight control system and method are capable of operating both the low beam headlights and the high beam headlights of the vehicle in conjunction with the low beam headlights and the high beam headlights of the snow plow when the snow plow blade is lowered. |
| US08068958B2 |
Method for monitoring the adjustment movement of a component driven by a drive device
A method for monitoring the adjustment movement of a component, in particular a window pane or a sunroof in motor vehicles, which is driven by a drive device and can be adjusted in a translatory or rotary fashion. A plurality of input signals which can be derived from the drive device and which represent a deceleration of the adjustment movement of the drive device are input at input neurons of an input layer of a neural network with at least one hidden layer having hidden neurons. Said network outputting, at at least one output neuron of an output layer, an output value which corresponds to the adjusting force or to a trapped state or nontrapped state. |
| US08068948B2 |
Method for controlling multiple EVT shifts in a multi-mode hybrid transmission
A method of performing shifts includes determining whether a multiple-shift maneuver is needed, whether a single-staged input profile is needed, and creating the single-staged input speed profile. The profile is matched to first or second multiple-shift patterns, neither of which utilizes fixed-gear propulsion. The patterns utilize a quasi-asynchronous transitional shift event and an electric torque converter transitional shift event. The quasi-asynchronous event induces controlled slip to an offgoing clutch while providing reaction torque from the electric machines, and offloads torque from the offgoing clutch proportionally to reaction torque. The oncoming clutch begins slipping-engagement prior to completing offloading of the offgoing clutch. At least one of the offgoing and oncoming clutches has non-zero slip speed throughout the quasi-asynchronous event. The electric torque converter event utilizes oncoming and offgoing clutches, completely offloads the offgoing clutch while controlling output torque with the electric machines, and synchronizes and engages the oncoming clutch. |
| US08068946B2 |
Hybrid vehicle and control method thereof
A hybrid vehicle is provided with means for setting a four-wheel drive condition which is a condition for switching from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive, and an EV switch which, when turned on by an occupant of the vehicle, places the vehicle in an EV driving mode in which only an electric motor is used as the power source. The four-wheel drive condition setting means changes the four-wheel drive condition to reduce a region in which the vehicle operates in four-wheel drive when the EV switch is on as compared to when the EV switch is off. As a result, the vehicle operates in two-wheel drive more frequently, thus reducing power consumption. |
| US08068941B2 |
User-controllable power-assisted system and method for the application of pressure
A system and a method for a controllable power-assisted application of pressure includes a force sensor capable of sensing a user-applied force; and a force generator responsive to the sensed user-applied force and capable of generating a force that is applied to a pressure-applying device. A force magnitude of the force applied to the pressure-applying device is based on a magnitude of the sensed user-applied force. One embodiment provides that the force applied to the pressure-applying device by the force generator exerts a predetermined amount of pressure against a surface. Another embodiment provides that the force magnitude is greater than a magnitude of the sensed user-applied force. Yet another embodiment provides that the force magnitude is proportional to a magnitude of the sensed user-applied force. |
| US08068939B2 |
Method for the operation of a wind energy plant
A method for the operation of a wind energy plant, with an operation management, which can preset a desired value for an electric variable of the wind energy plant to be generated; a wind measurement device, which can capture the wind direction and the wind velocity, and a control unit, on which the measured values for the wind velocity and the wind direction are present, and in which a maximum value for the turbulence intensity is filed, the following procedural steps proceed in the method: from a turbulence intensity depending on the wind direction, the control unit determines one or more sectors of critical wind directions, in which the turbulence intensity exceeds the maximum value for the turbulence intensity, the control unit generates a control signal for the operation management, in order to reduce the desired value of the electric variable to be generated when the measured wind direction is in a sector of the critical wind directions, and a determined characteristic value exceeds a predetermined maximum value for the characteristic value. |
| US08068930B2 |
Method and system for performing a package pre-load operation in accordance with a dispatch plan
The present invention provides systems and methods for electronically-capturing a destination address of a package and for using the destination address to automate a package pre-load operation. An embodiment of the invention includes a compression system for compressing the destination address as a compressed MaxiCode symbol, a smart shipping label system for generating a shipping label with a compressed MaxiCode and a pre-load assist system for generating package handling instructions from the electronically-captured destination address. |
| US08068920B2 |
Transcoronary sinus pacing system, LV summit pacing, early mitral closure pacing, and methods therefor
A transcoronary sinus pacing system comprising a sheath having a lumen, a pacing catheter having a pacing needle, wherein the catheter can be advanced within the lumen and placed in the LV summit, and a right ventricular pacing device. A LV summit pacing device. An early mitral valve closure pacing device configured to operate with a right ventricular apex pacing device. A method for implanting a pacing device at a target coronary sinus tissue location, wherein the target can be the posterior LV summit. A method for achieving early closure of a mitral valve. A method for using visualization devices such as fluoroscopy or ultrasound and/or catheter features such as a radiopaque marker to locate a target location for LV pacing and to avoid piercing an artery or the pericardium when anchoring the LV pacing electrode. |
| US08068905B2 |
Method and apparatus for continuous electrode impedance monitoring
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a test signal generator capable of producing an impedance test signal comprising of a sine wave having a known frequency. The test signal generator may include a crystal oscillator, a counter, and a lookup table. The lookup table output is applied to a digital to analog converter and is then low pass filtered using a conventional analog filter to produce a sine wave of a known frequency and voltage amplitude. The test signal flows through the electrode and combines with an electrophysiological signal to form a combined signal. A signal processor is used to isolate the combined signal into the test signal component and the electrophysiological component. The signal processor digitally low pass filters the combined signal and the output of the low pass filter is the electrophysiological signal. The signal processor then digitally bandpass filters the combined signal using a filter with a center frequency which is the same as the test frequency. The output of this filter is then used to calculate the electrode impedance. |
| US08068900B2 |
Method and apparatus for determining alternans data of an ECG signal
Method and apparatus for determining alternans data of an ECG signal. The method can include determining at least one value representing at least one morphology feature of each beat of the ECG signal and generating a set of data points based on a total quantity of values and a total quantity of beats. The method can also include separating the data points into a first group of points and a second group of points and generating a feature map by plotting the first group of points and the second group of points in order to assess an alternans pattern of variation. The feature map can be analyzed by statistical tests to determine the significance difference between groups and clusters. |
| US08068898B2 |
Fluorescence lifetime spectrometer (FLS) and methods of detecting diseased tissues
This invention relates to method and apparatus for collection of the complete fluorescence emission spectrum and the transient decay of a selected spectral band simultaneously with data acquisition times of less that one second. This invention is useful for studying human tissues and cells in vivo. |
| US08068896B2 |
Detection of radiation labeled sites using a radiation detection probe or camera incorporating a solid state photo-multiplier
Intraoperative radiation detection probes and cameras for use in surgical or transcutaneous procedures or procedures incorporating probes inserted through body orifices to aid in the location, detection and removal of radiation labeled cells, abnormal tissue or deposits thereon incorporate solid state or silicon photomultiplier (SSPM, or SiPM) devices to provide safe, highly sensitive and compact beta and gamma probes or cameras for use in locating the radiation labeled sites within the human body or abnormal labeled sites within the body. The probes may include both gamma and beta detecting components as well as means for enhancing the accuracy and sensitivity of the beta detectors. |
| US08068895B2 |
Biopsy site marker deployment instrument
An instrument for deploying a marker at a site within a patient may include an elongate cannula, an elongate pusher, and a marker disposed within the cannula. The cannula may have a tip at its distal end and a transverse opening. The pusher may be disposed within the cannula, and may be moved longitudinally within the cannula. The pusher may have a ramped distal end. The marker may be configured to exit the transverse opening upon urging by the ramped distal end of the pusher. In some versions, the tip of the cannula has a flat proximal face, and the marker has a recessed region that is configured to buckle in response to longitudinal compression, such that the marker will pop out of the cannula upon buckling. In other versions, the cannula has an external sheath, an open and curved distal end, or a leaf spring. |
| US08068890B2 |
Pulse oximetry sensor switchover
Switchover of a filtered and unfiltered pulse oximetry sensor is provided with gain controlled amplifiers controlled by separate gain control voltages that may change in opposite directions over a period of time. The outputs of the gain controlled amplifiers may be coupled to voltage-to-current converters whose outputs may be coupled in parallel. The parallel coupled outputs of the voltage-to-current converters may produce a current signal representative of the output of the gain controlled amplifier having the highest gain/signal. |
| US08068889B2 |
Oximeter sensor with digital memory encoding sensor data
Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods that relate to a sensor with memory. Specifically, one embodiment includes a method of sensor operation, comprising a light emitting element configured to emit light, a light detecting element configured to detect the light, and a memory storing a language code or country code, the memory providing access to an oximeter monitor to read the language code or country code. |
| US08068886B2 |
Apparatus and method for providing an electronic device having adaptively responsive displaying of information
An apparatus and method for providing an electronic device having adaptively responsive displaying of information is disclosed. The electronic device is adaptively responsive to display information based on in part to bending, motion, rotation, and/or any sensor based feedback. |
| US08068884B2 |
Acoustic echo reduction circuit for a “hands-free” device usable with a cell phone
A device comprising a circuit for picking up acoustic signals with the microphone; a circuit for playing back audio signals with an amplifier and a loudspeaker; an interface circuit for interfacing with a telephone network or a cell phone; and a circuit for digitally processing audio signals and reducing the acoustic echo that results from interaction of the loudspeaker with the microphone. The circuit for digitally processing audio signals comprises: an echo cancellation stage with an adaptive linear filter suitable for subtracting from the signal picked up by the microphone a reference signal that is derived from the signal received at the output from the interface; a gain control stage for suppressing the residual echo, and a stage for selectively reducing the background noise present in the signal received at the output from the echo suppression stage. |
| US08068872B2 |
Signaling support for antenna selection using subset lists and subset masks
A mobile phone is described herein that has control (or at least partial control) over which virtual antenna(s) in one or more base stations should be used for transmissions. In one embodiment, the mobile phone performs the following steps: (1) receives an antenna subset list (from the scheduling unit) which identifies a configuration of virtual antennas that is associated with the base station(s); (2) uses the antenna subset list to select which virtual antenna(s) in the configuration of virtual antennas should be used for transmissions; and (3) sends an antenna selection signal (to the scheduling unit) which contains information that instructs/requests the base station(s)/scheduling unit to use the selected virtual antenna(s) for transmissions. |
| US08068869B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing transmit power control (TPC) commands in a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network based on a sign metric
Method and apparatus for processing transmit power control (TPC) commands in a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network based on a sign metric are disclosed and may include calculating a sign metric of a downlink dedicated physical channel (DPCH) based on a plurality of TPC bits received via the downlink DPCH. A value of at least one of the plurality of TPC bits may not be known when the at least one of the plurality of TPC bits is received. The sign metric may specify an error associated with the plurality of TPC bits. Transmit power may be adjusted for a signal transmitted via at least one uplink communication channel based on the calculated sign metric. At least one reliability weight value may be calculated for at least a portion of the received TCP bits, based on the calculated sign metric. |
| US08068868B2 |
Uplink power alignment estimation in a communication system
A method and apparatus for uplink power alignment estimation in a communication system includes a step 600 of defining an upper threshold and a lower threshold for a transmit power correction (TPC) level. A next step 602 includes keeping a total of accumulated TPC commands. A next step 604 includes determining that a power correction is needed. A next step 608 includes generating a TPC command to be sent to a user equipment per the needed power correction. A next step 610 includes adjusting the total according to one of the following conditions: if the total is between the upper and lower thresholds then the total is changed per the needed power correction, if the total is at either of the thresholds and the needed power correction would not exceed either of the thresholds then the total is changed per the needed power correction, and if the total is at either of the thresholds and the needed power correction would exceed either of the thresholds then total is kept the same. |
| US08068866B2 |
Group communication server
It is an object of the present invention to ensure readily communication between subgroups with reduced trouble to the user in the group communication in terms of subgroup formation and so on. A group communication server according to an embodiment of the present invention provides terminals with an intercommunication function between a plurality of terminals belonging to the same group, specifically a group communication function. The group communication server comprises a group information database for storing subgroup information that specifies terminals belonging to subgroups comprising a plurality of terminals of the terminals belonging to the group, and timing information that indicates a timing for establishing connection for intercommunication between the terminals belonging to these subgroups, and a group management unit and connection control unit which constitute control means for executing a control to establish connection between the terminals belonging to the subgroups specified by the subgroup information at a timing specified by the timing information stored in the group information database. |
| US08068865B1 |
System and method for transmitting tones in a push-to-talk (PTT) system
Systems and methods for allowing transmission of tones by a push-to-talk (PTT) communication station are provided. The communication station can decouple the PTT button of the PTT communication station, allowing the transmission of the tones without actuating the PTT button. The decoupling can be performed in response to receipt of an unsolicited floor grant message. The communication station can also receive an input selection and automatically transmit a floor request message, a tone corresponding to the input selection and a floor release message. |
| US08068864B2 |
Advanced user interface operations in a dual-mode wireless device
A system and method are provided for mobile stations for enhancing the ease of use of a mobile station. Through the system and method, a user may more easily view the phone number of a caller identification card. The user may be alerted when the user tries to send messages while out of GPRS coverage, or the mobile station may recognize extension numbers in address book user interface applications to assist with a dialling operation. |
| US08068863B2 |
Message transmission method for a mobile communication terminal
A message transmission method for a mobile communication terminal is includes the steps of: inputting a message including a plurality of unit messages; matching a unit message to a receiver address; and transmitting the matched unit message to a mobile communication terminal having the particular receiver address identified by an identification symbol. The method may transmit a message pre-stored in a mobile communication terminal. The method reduces the time required for group transmission because the mobile communication terminal transmits different messages individually to a plurality of receivers by using unit messages newly input or pre-stored in the mobile communication terminal. |
| US08068861B1 |
MMS brew message delivery hybridization architecture
Techniques and equipment are provided to allow Multimedia Message Service (MMS) communication between applications on a platform on a mobile station and third party websites or web servers by using a hybridized architectural design of MMS and BREW services. The following communications are provided: communication from a BREW application on a first mobile station to a BREW application on a second mobile station, communication from a BREW application on a mobile station to an application server or website, and communication from an application server or website to a BREW application on a mobile station. |
| US08068858B2 |
Methods and computer program products for providing information about a user during a physical activity
In at least one embodiment, a method for execution on a portable fitness device of providing information about a first user engaged in a physical activity with the portable fitness device includes determining user performance data while the first user is engaged in the physical activity and determining whether or not to transmit the user performance data to a remotely located server computer system via a wide-area wireless network while the first user is engaged in the physical activity, wherein the determination of whether or not to transmit the user performance data is based on an indication of whether or not a remotely located second user is currently monitoring the first user. |
| US08068856B2 |
Mobile communication terminal equipped with location-based short message service system, location-based message generation method and location-based message display method
Disclosed herein are a mobile communication terminal equipped with a location-based short message service (SMS) system, a location-based message generation method and a location-based message display method. The mobile communication terminal having a location-based SMS (short message service) system includes a message sending module which receives from the message sender a message content, a telephone number of a mobile communication terminal of a designated message recipient, and a message mode, generates from location information received from the sender an SMS message containing the message content, mode identification information based on the message mode, and the location information if the message mode selected by the message sender is a location-based message mode rather than a general message mode, and sends to an SMS server the generated SMS message which is set to be forwarded to the telephone number of the message recipient's mobile communication terminal as a destination. |
| US08068852B2 |
Method and system for detecting position of mobile communication terminal by using pilot strength measurement message
There is provided a system for detecting a location of a mobile station (MS) by using a pilot strength measurement message (PSMM) in a mobile communication system providing a location-based service in a mobile communication network, comprising: a position determination entity (PDE) for detecting the location of the mobile station, collecting PSMM information from the mobile station, the location detection of which is required, and obtaining the location of the mobile station by using collected PSMM information. |
| US08068847B1 |
Method and apparatus for notifying a user of separation from a mobile device
Disclosed herein is a system and method for notifying a person that they have become separated from their mobile communication device. A comparison between location information for the device and presence information for the person is used to determine whether or not a separation exists. Certain corrective actions are possible in order to mitigate the consequences of the separation. A separation may be allowed to exist within a certain maximum allowable distance of separation without the system or method notifying the person. |
| US08068844B2 |
Arrangements for beam refinement in a wireless network
In some embodiments a beamforming method is disclosed. The method can include transmitting a beam having a channel defined by a maximum ration transmission vector (MRT) and receiving a first response from a receiver, where the first response has first information such as parameters related to the transmitted beam. Using the parameters and the initial MRT another directional transmission can be made. A similar process can determine a maximum combining ratio for a receiver. Set up communications between the transmitter and the receiver can be reduced by omitting data from transmission that can be acquired by other means such as from memory or calculations. Additional embodiments are also disclosed. |
| US08068841B2 |
Multi-carrier communications methods and apparatus
Methods and apparatus for implementing a multi-carrier communications system are described. Various approaches to a phased system deployment and system configurations resulting from different levels of deployment are described. In addition mobile node and methods of operating mobile nodes in communications systems that may have different levels of deployment in different cells are described. |
| US08068840B2 |
Methods and apparatus for achieving route optimization and location privacy in an IPv6 network
Methods and apparatus for performing proxy registration on behalf of a node with a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP are disclosed. A first registration request is composed on behalf of the node and transmitted to the Home Agent via a first Local Mobility Anchor, wherein the first Local Mobility Anchor is a regional controller via which registration is performed when the node moves within a region associated with the first Local Mobility Anchor. When the node moves within a region or between regions, the node is re-registered. Specifically, a second registration request is composed and transmitted to the first Local Mobility Anchor when the node moves within the region associated with the first Local Mobility Anchor. When the node moves into a second region associated with a second Local Mobility Anchor and outside the first region associated with the first Local Mobility Anchor, a second registration request is composed and transmitted to the Home Agent via the second Local Mobility Anchor, wherein the second Local Mobility Anchor is a regional controller via which registration is performed when the node moves within a region associated with second first Local Mobility Anchor. |
| US08068837B2 |
Wireless communications handoff method and system employing such
A method for reducing a delay in a wireless communications system resulting from a handoff while mitigating a risk of premature termination of wireless communications, the method includes comparing data indicative of actual use of the wireless communications systems to at least one predetermined criteria. If the comparing determines a sector pairing in the wireless communications system to be statistically significant for purposes of recommending at least one search window setting, at least one value related with a distance associated with the sector pairing may be used to automatically determine a corresponding signal delay. If the corresponding signal delay exceeds a prior determined signal delay, a recommended search window setting may be determined using the corresponding signal delay. |
| US08068832B2 |
Multicast session handover
A method and system for performing multicast broadcast handover in a wireless data network are disclosed. Each cell broadcasts administrative announcements over a logical channel to mobile terminals. The announcements indicate which multicast broadcasts are available in specified cells, as well as connection information for each cell. The mobile terminals may tune to a multicast broadcast as defined by the administrative announcements. While tuned to the multicast, the mobile terminal continues to receive administrative announcements. As the broadcast fades out or is otherwise interrupted, the mobile terminal can retune to the same multicast broadcast in another cell, based on the cell connection information included in the previously received administrative announcements. |
| US08068831B2 |
Digital personal assistance via a broadband access gateway
A system and method supporting access, coordination, modification, updating, and management of multiple sources of multimedia information resident on a plurality of access device is disclosed. A broadband access gateway may support applications that perform user services involving multiple sources of multimedia information across a network by acting as a focal point for access to multimedia information related to the applications. Using information that identifies such sources, the broadband access gateway may coordinate modification of one or more multimedia information sources based upon the content of other related sources of multimedia information. One such application may include the coordination of calendars for the planning of a meeting involving multiple participants. A representative embodiment of the present invention may identify available meeting dates and times, and the placement of reservations for appropriate travel accommodations using services accessible to the broadband access gateway via a broadband network. |
| US08068828B2 |
Systems and methods for terrestrial reuse of cellular satellite frequency spectrum in a time-division duplex mode
A space-based component, such as a satellite, is configured to receive wireless communications from radiotelephones in a satellite footprint over an uplink satellite radiotelephone frequency, and to transmit wireless communications to the radiotelephones over a downlink radiotelephone frequency. An ancillary terrestrial network, that may include one or more ancillary terrestrial components, is configured to transmit wireless communications to, and receive wireless communications from, the radiotelephones over the downlink satellite radiotelephone frequency in a time-division duplex mode. By terrestrially transmitting and receiving wireless communications over the downlink satellite radiotelephone frequency in a time-division duplex mode, interference at the space-based component and/or at the gateway, by the ancillary terrestrial network and/or the radiotelephones due to terrestrial reuse of cellular satellite frequency spectrum, may be reduced or eliminated. |
| US08068822B2 |
Information exchange method between mobile terminal devices
An information exchange system includes a first mobile terminal device having publication notification request unit to request a publication notification, and information notification unit to transmit, upon receiving a publication request, the particular information to a mobile terminal device that sent the request; a second mobile terminal device having publication notification unit to send a publication notification to a mobile terminal device registered in a registration information storing unit; and a third mobile terminal device having information obtaining unit to send a publication request for the particular information to the first mobile terminal device to obtain the specific information from the first mobile terminal device. |
| US08068821B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing content to users using unicast and broadcast wireless networks
The invention includes a method and apparatus for providing content to user terminals. A method includes identifying a request for content from a user terminal, obtaining a network selection parameter for the content request, selecting, using the network selection parameter, a wireless network over which to propagate the requested content, and propagating the requested content toward the user terminal using the selected wireless network. The selected wireless network may be a unicast wireless network or a broadcast wireless network. |
| US08068820B1 |
Systems and methods for providing data to mobile stations
Systems and methods for providing data to mobile stations are provided. An administrator can select one or more mobile stations and different types of data. The administrator can also set a priority level for the selected data. The selected data is then formed into a package of data, which is then provided to the selected mobile stations. The selected mobile stations can then store the data in memory along with any previously stored data, using the priority level of the selected data to determine whether to overwrite or discard particular data. |
| US08068814B2 |
Phone to phone data exchange
An information management system for operation over a network includes a first mobile device having a first application module, the first mobile device operating over the network and in communication with a second mobile device having a second application module, a first operating system residing on the first mobile device configured to detect a communication event between the first mobile device and the second mobile device, and an address book module residing on the second mobile device. The first application module is configured to send information associated with the first mobile device to the second mobile device in association with a detection of the communication event. |
| US08068807B2 |
System for supplying container security
A system for monitoring the contents of a closed container includes one or more sensors for monitoring the container contents, a signal receiving element positioned, and a processing system. The signal receiving element receives sensor data from the sensors. The processing system has a memory for storing predetermined conditions and a control element for analyzing received sensor data by comparing the received sensor data to stored predetermined conditions. The control element includes capabilities for declaring a security alert based on the comparison. The communications system includes a first transceiver inside the closed container for receiving signals containing sensor data from within the container and for transmitting those signals outside of the container, and a satellite transceiver, physically linked to the first transceiver and disposed outside the closed container, for receiving signals from the first transceiver and for forwarding the received signals via satellite uplink to a remote location. |
| US08068805B2 |
RF selection diversity module
An integrated circuit radio transceiver and method therefor includes circuitry and logic for transmitting outgoing or ingoing communication signals as well as one of a digital data signal or a digital clock on the same antenna signal paths between a radio and a switch fabric. The switch fabric is operable to selectively couple any of a plurality of antennas to antenna signal paths based upon the digital data and the digital clock extracted from at least one of the antenna signal paths conducting RF signals. The switch fabric is further operable to extract all required power from at least one antenna signal path that may be used to conduct RF. |
| US08068803B2 |
Method and apparatus for optimizing signal processing
An booster/amplifier receives a plurality of RF signals, including a subject RF signal. A location-based signal spectrum is determined by performing either a frequency scan or an information lookup operation. An initial filter bandwidth for the booster/amplifier is set based at least in part on the determined signal spectrum and a target time delay interference. In one embodiment, the initial filter bandwidth is set such that both the TDI and ACI are optimized/minimized. The initial filter bandwidth subsequently may be adjusted from its initial value based on actual measured ACI and/or TDI values. |
| US08068801B2 |
Electric wave receiving apparatus
An electric wave receiving apparatus comprises: an antenna; an amplifier; filter circuits that extract signals in different frequency bands from an output of the amplifier; detector circuits that demodulate time codes from outputs of the filter circuits; automatic gain control circuits that generate gain control signals from the detector circuits; a selector that selects one gain control signal indicating a maximum signal level among the gain control signals; and an arithmetic processing section to be able to analyze the time codes of outputs of the plurality of detector circuits, wherein the one gain control signal is supplied to the amplifier to control an amplification factor of the amplifier so that signal levels output from detector circuits do not become excessive, and the arithmetic processing section selects an output to enable the analysis of the time code among the outputs of detector circuits to perform the analysis of the time code. |
| US08068797B2 |
Gain control methods for wireless devices and transmitters
A gain control process (1102) executed at a transmitter (500) generates (1314) a gain ramp signal (1206) having a delay component (1224) and a gain component (1226). The process (1102) further generates (1304) and incorporates (1306) a gain arc (1202) into a digital signal to form a digital gain signal (1204) having a digital gain change (1218). A combiner (502) combines a digital input signal (512) with the digital gain signal (1204) to generate a pre-compensated digital signal (516). A variable gain amplifier (508) applies a sequence of gains (1234,1236,1238,1240,1242) in the gain component (1126) of the gain ramp signal (1206) to a pre-adjusted analog signal (520) in order to generate a gain-adjusted analog signal (524). Application of the gain component (1126) and the digital gain change (1218) occurs when a portion (1212) of the gain arc (1202) indicates a low instantaneous signal power at an antenna (106) in order to reduce ACLR degradation. |
| US08068796B2 |
Power divider and dual-output radio transmitter
A power divider includes a substrate, a signal reception terminal formed in a first layer of the substrate for receiving signals, a first output terminal formed in the first layer for outputting radio-frequency (RF) signals, a matching terminal formed in a third layer of the substrate, a second output terminal formed in the third layer for outputting RF signals, a grounding plate formed in a second layer of the substrate, surrounding a hole and forming a circular shape, a first block transmission line formed at a position corresponding to the hole in the first layer and coupled to the signal reception terminal and the first output terminal, and a second block transmission line formed at a position corresponding to the hole in the third layer, coupled to the matching terminal and the second output terminal, and having a shape identical to a shape of the first block transmission line. |
| US08068793B2 |
Method and system for enhancing efficiency by modulating power amplifier gain
Aspects of a method and system for enhancing efficiency by modulating power amplifier (PA) gain are presented. Aspects of the system may comprise a PA gain modulator that enables modification of an amplitude of a digital baseband signal. A baseband processor may enable computation of a first gain value based on the modification. The baseband processor may enable computation of a second gain value based on the first gain value. A PA may enable generation of an RF output signal based on the modified digital baseband signal and the second gain value. |
| US08068788B2 |
Communication method in mobile communication system, and mobile station and base station in the same system
The present method adds uplink data to a transmission request sent to the base station from the mobile station for obtaining permission for data transmission, or to a channel establishment request sent from the mobile station to the base station for establishing a channel in order to send the transmission request therethrough. This makes it possible to suppress delay caused by negotiation prior to actual uplink data transmission as much as possible, thereby realizing efficient uplink data transmission, that is, improved throughput of uplink communication. |
| US08068787B2 |
Power supply device and wireless communication system
A power supply device and a wireless communication system are provided. The power supply device includes a data input port, a power over Ethernet control module, a network port, a decoder circuit and a signal strength indicator unit. The power over Ethernet control module is configured for receiving a data signal from the data input port to generate a data signal with power. The network port is configured for transmitting the data signal with power to the main board and receiving a signal in relation to a signal receiving strength state of the wireless communication device. The decoder circuit is connected to the network port and configured for generating a signal strength indicator signal. The signal strength indicator unit is connected to the decoder circuit and configured for receiving the signal strength indicator signal to display the signal receiving strength state of the wireless communication device. |
| US08068784B2 |
Communication system and communication device
A communication apparatus includes a short-range communication unit and a long-range communication unit that communicates via electromagnetic waves in a range wider than a communication area of the short-range communication unit. The communication apparatus further includes a session key generating unit that generates a random number and uses the random number to generate a session key. In addition, the communication apparatus includes an encrypting unit that encrypts the session key. The communication apparatus uses an encryption key transmitted from an external communication apparatus to encrypt the session key into an encrypted session key, transmits the encrypted session key to the external communication apparatus, and receives from the external communication apparatus a communication switching request signal to request a switching from a short-range communication by the short-range communication unit to a long-range communication, with the session key, the long-range communication unit. |
| US08068783B2 |
Adaptive echo cancellation for an on-frequency RF repeater using a weighted power spectrum
A wireless repeater includes an input antenna for receiving an input signal, an output antenna for outputting an amplified signal, and an amplifier for amplifying the received input signal and providing the output amplified signal to the output antenna. Radiated coupling between the input and output antennas causes echoes to be transmitted by the repeater. A filter is used for applying a weighting function to a power spectrum of a measured signal in the wireless repeater thereby obtaining a weighted power spectrum of the measured signal. An internal feedback path is employed for adaptively canceling the echo by implementing an adaptive algorithm based on a autocorrelation of the input signal employing the weighted power spectrum of the measured signal. |
| US08068781B2 |
Systems and methods for distributing information through broadcast media
There are disclosed systems, methods and processes for the distribution of information, typically digital information that is distributed actively, through broadcast media such as television and radio, displays, such as signage, etc., or passively, through displays such as signage or the like. The information can be captured from broadcasted transmissions, scanned from a display, or obtained by being transmitted to the user, who responded to a broadcast with a transmission to a receiving point during a period synchronized with the broadcast, requesting the information sent to his transmitted address. The captured or obtained information may include coupons or the like, that may be redeemed after being successfully captured or obtained. Redemption may be either on-line, where a transmission of coupon information is transmitted to a call center, that places a product order with a supplier and handles payment details, or off-line, where the user takes to coupon to the retailer, for redemption at the point of sale. |
| US08068779B2 |
Coated-core cleaner blades
A coated-core cleaner blade has a core comprising a first material and a coating surrounding the core. The coating comprises a second material that is different than the first material. Further, the core (first material) is rigid compared to the coating (second material). Therefore, the first material has a first flexibility that is much less than a second flexibility of the second material. |
| US08068772B2 |
Development device and image forming apparatus
A development device includes a developer carrier supplying developer to an electrostatic latent image carrier which is rotatable. The developer carrier includes a conductive metal core and a conductive elastic layer that is disposed outside a circumference of the conductive metal core and includes a surface having a roughness formed thereon. The surface of the conductive elastic layer satisfies a relationship 1.0 |
| US08068771B2 |
Image forming apparatus
A developing unit includes a developing hopper for storing a dual-component developer. In the developing hopper, an opening portion is formed at the position opposing the outer peripheral surface of a photoreceptor drum. A developing roller for supplying the developer to the photoreceptor drum to develop an electrostatic latent image is provided inside the developing hopper. The developing roller has a multi-pole magnetic member having a multiple magnetic poles and a non-magnetic sleeve. The multi-pole magnetic member has a multiple number of magnetic poles radially arranged apart from each other. The photoreceptor drum incorporates an opposing magnetic pole formed of a bar magnet having a rectangular section, disposed at a position opposing the magnetic pole across a photosensitive layer. The opposing magnetic pole has a polarity dissimilar to that of the main magnetic pole. |
| US08068770B2 |
Toner cartridge, image forming apparatus, method of recycling toner cartridge
An insertion passage 104Y for inserting a suction nozzle 73Y fixed to an image forming apparatus is provided on a holder 102Y, and a connecting passage 114Y that connects the insertion passage 104Y and a toner storage section 106Y of the holder 102Y is provided. After the toner sent from bottle 101Y to the holder 102Y falls towards the connecting passage 104Y, the toner flows into the suction nozzle 73Y through the connecting passage 114Y and is then discharged out of the holder 102Y. An airtightness between the insertion passage 114Y and the suction nozzle 73Y inserted into the insertion passage 114 Y is superior than an airtightness between the bottle 101Y and the holder 102Y engaged with the bottle 101Y. |
| US08068764B2 |
Image forming device
An image forming includes a main body, an exposing unit, a process cartridge, and a positioning unit. The exposing unit is fixed to the main body and includes an exposing member. The process cartridge is attachable to an attaching portion provided on at least one of the main body and the exposing unit, and includes a photosensitive drum. The positioning unit positions the process cartridge with respect to the exposing unit so that the photosensitive drum faces the exposing member in a first direction when the process cartridge is attached to the attaching portion, allowing the photosensitive drum to be exposed by the exposing member. |
| US08068762B2 |
Image forming device having a positioning mechanism for positioning an exposure unit
An image forming device includes an exposure unit having an exposure surface, an opposed surface facing the exposure surface, a first side surface connecting the exposure surface with the opposed surface, and a second side surface facing the first side surface, a positioning mechanism positioning the exposure unit with respect to a photoconductive body, the positioning mechanism including a first contact member contacting the exposure unit in a first contact point at a side of the first side surface, a second contact member contacting the exposure unit in a second contact point at the side of the first side surface, and a third contact member contacting the exposure unit in a third contact point at a side of the second side surface, the third contact point being located between the first contact point and the second contact point in a predetermined direction from the exposure surface toward the opposed surface. |
| US08068761B2 |
Image forming apparatus having a cleaning unit
An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit including a plurality of photoconductor drums arranged in tandem; a conveyor belt arranged opposite to the photoconductor drums and configured to convey a recording sheet; and a cleaning unit including a cleaning member positioned in contact with the conveyor belt and configured to collect substance adhering to the conveyor belt, and a receptacle configured to store the substance collected by the cleaning member. The cleaning member is arranged on the same side as the image forming unit with respect to the conveyor belt and upstream from the image forming unit as viewed in a sheet conveyance direction along which the recording sheet is conveyed on the conveyor belt, and the image forming unit and the cleaning unit are pulled out together from a main body of the image forming apparatus toward an upstream side of the sheet conveyance direction. |
| US08068758B2 |
Belt conveyance apparatus and image heating apparatus
The image heating apparatus has a plurality of heat generators which are capable of forming a plurality of heat generating distributions in the longitudinal direction for supplying heat to a heating member. Unevenness in temperature is decreased by changing the heat generating distribution when cooling by a fan for the heating member starts. The heat generating distribution is changed so that heat generating amount at an area in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the cooling area cooled by the fan is to be larger than the heat generating amount before starting the cooling. |
| US08068752B2 |
Image forming apparatus and method for controlling image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus is provided that reduces the occurrence of downtime in the case in which the interval between sheets needs to be expanded, and also suppresses the degradation of a photosensitive drum and a developing roller, when continuously forming images. The image forming apparatus of the present invention predicts the start timing of image formation onto the next printing material, and performs control of the positional relationship between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller without decreasing productivity, based on a result of the prediction. Further, the image forming apparatus performs control of the rotating operation of the photosensitive drum, based on the above prediction result. |
| US08068750B2 |
Image forming apparatus with waste toner collecting device
An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning portion for collecting waste toner from various locations within the image forming apparatus. Waste toner collected by the cleaning portion is routed to a waste toner collecting container. The waste toner collecting container includes a waste toner receptacle for storing the waste toner, a waste toner collector for leading the waste toner collected by the cleaning portion into the waste toner receptacle, and a flexible joint that couples the waste toner collector and the waste toner receptacle. The waste toner collecting container is removably mounted to the image forming apparatus. The flexible joint has the function of extending and contracting itself to enable the waste toner receptacle to move relative to the waste toner collector. A detector may be provided to detect an amount of waste toner collected in the container. |
| US08068747B2 |
Device and method for detecting position of unit mounted in image forming apparatus
A device and a method for detecting the position of a developing unit mounted in an image forming apparatus are provided. The device includes an image forming controller outputting a clock signal for accessing first to Nth (N is a positive integer greater than 1) developing units, a switching unit performing a switching operation for connecting the image forming controller to a Kth (K is a positive integer greater than 1 and equal to or smaller than N) mounting slot in order to transmit the clock signal to the Kth mounting slot among first to Nth mounting slots in which the first to Nth developing units are mounted, respectively, first to Nth clock signal lines connecting the switching unit to the first to Nth mounting slots, and a data line commonly connecting the image forming controller to the first to Nth mounting slots, wherein the switching unit performs the switching operation in accordance with a switching signal for connecting the image forming controller to the Kth mounting slot and the image forming controller determines whether the Kth developing unit is mounted on the Kth mounting slot in response to reception of an access signal from the Kth mounting slot. |
| US08068745B2 |
RF signal power regulation in optical transmitters
A circuit controlling the gain of an amplifier in an optical transmitter used for optical communication, including a detection circuit for measuring the power of the RF input to a laser; a gain controller or controlling a gain of an amplifier, and a switch connected to the gain controller, wherein the gain controller is adapted, in response to an activation of a switch, to: (i) automatically vary gain of the amplifier, and (ii) set the gain of the amplifier at a level corresponding to a reduction in the noise and/or distortion associated with the transmitter. |
| US08068743B2 |
System and method for precise, accurate and stable optical timing information definition
An optoelectronic timing system includes an adaptive frequency generator system in which optical pulses are developed by a semiconductor laser. The pulses are directed into a number of time-quantifiable optical paths. Time quantification for a pulse is based upon the time required for a pulse to travel a particular length at the speed of light. Pulses are recombined at a nodal point and exhibit a numerical relationship with the periodicity of the issued pulse train equal to the numerical relationship between the lengths of the number of optical waveguides. A pulse detector and a regenerator are coupled to the semiconductor laser. A regeneration waveguide having a length equal to the longest of the optical paths is coupled to receive pulses from the laser. A pulse traveling the regeneration waveguide and directed to the pulse detector and regenerator triggers the laser to issue a next pulse, the physical length of the regeneration waveguide defining a fundamental frequency of the system and the number and lengths of the optical paths defining multiples of the fundamental frequency. |
| US08068736B2 |
Tunable dispersion compensator
The tunable dispersion compensator 10 of the present invention comprises: the Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) 21 to 25 cascaded on a planar lightwave circuit; and the tunable couplers 31 to 34 connected to between each corresponding pair of the MZIs respectively. The Y-branch waveguide 15 and 16 are used for connecting to between the MZIs 21, 25 as both end sides and the input/output optical waveguides 13, 14 respectively. The waveguide loop mirror 40 is connected to the final stage MZI 25 among the MZIs 21 to 25 which an incident light is propagated last therethrough. The half-wave plate 50 is inserted to the loop waveguide 41 of the waveguide loop mirror 40. And it becomes able to enhance (double) the amount of tunable dispersion because an input light signal is passed twice through the similar path by the waveguide loop mirror 40. |
| US08068735B2 |
Transient control solution for optical networks
An optically amplified wavelength division multiplexing network has the functionality to add/drop channels at the optical add/drop multiplexing (OADM) nodes. The OADM node includes a receiver amplifier, an OADM module, and a transmitter amplifier. Once the OADM node detects a loss of signal (LOS) due to a fiber cut or network element failure upstream, the receiver amplifier is kept in operation as a noise source. The output of the receiver amplifier is immediately raised by increasing pump power to compensate for the LOS. The noise power received at the transmitter amplifier from the receiver amplifier is substantially equal to the signal power expected before LOS. The transient effect of downstream optical amplifiers is therefore completely suppressed and the inter-channel stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) induced spectrum tilt does not change. After the noise power is raised, the receiver amplifier may be shut down at a speed much slower than the speed of downstream amplifier control circuitry. |
| US08068731B2 |
Dynamic bandwidth allocation method of Ethernet passive optical network
A dynamic bandwidth allocation method of an Ethernet passive optical network, comprises a predictor and a rule of QoS-promoted dynamic bandwidth allocation (PQ-DBA); the predictor predicts a client behavior and numbers of various kinds of packets by using a pipeline scheduling predictor consisted of a pipelined recurrent neural network (PRNN), and a learning rule of the extended recursive least squares (ERLS); the present invention establishes a better QoS traffic management for the OLT-allocated ONU bandwidth and client packets sent by priority. |
| US08068730B2 |
Wavelength division multiplex signal monitoring system and wavelength division multiplex transmission device equipped with the same
A WDM signal monitoring system includes a measuring unit that measures power levels in a plurality of predetermined wavelength bands about a wavelength division multiplex signal, a waveform determination unit that determines an approximate waveform of each channel from each bit rate and modulation system of a plurality of channels which forms a wavelength division multiplex signal, and an approximation unit that determines a power level and a wavelength of each channel by approximating the power level in a plurality of wavelength bands which the measuring unit measured with the approximate waveform of each channel which the waveform determination unit determined. |
| US08068727B2 |
Storage-type water heater having tank condition monitoring features
Methods and systems for evaluating the condition of a water tank having a powered anode protection system. The water heater includes a storage tank to hold water, a powered anode, and a control circuit. The control circuit includes a variable voltage supply, a voltage sensor, and a current sensor. The control circuit is configured to compare a measured parameter to a threshold. In some constructions, the threshold is indicative of a condition of the storage tank at which the powered anode is no longer able to protect the storage tank from corrosion. In other constructions, the threshold is predicative of a potential failure of the storage tank caused by corrosion. In some constructions, the control circuit is configured to estimate a time remaining until the predicted failure of the storage tank. |
| US08068725B2 |
Fragrance emitting apparatus for use with USB port
A fragrance emitting apparatus for connection to a USB port. In one embodiment, the fragrance emitting apparatus comprises a casing having an interior and at least one vent in communication with the interior, a cover removably attached to the casing to provide access to the interior, and a fragrance bottle removably disposed within the interior of the casing and having therein a liquid that provides a desired fragrance. The fragrance bottle further comprises a fragrance member having a first portion within fragrance bottle and a second portion extending from the fragrance bottle. The fragrance member is configured to absorb liquid in the fragrance bottle. The apparatus further comprises a micro-pump device positioned within the interior of the casing and adjacent to the second portion of the fragrance member. The micro-pump device has an oscillating member that contacts the second portion of the fragrance member. The apparatus further includes a control circuit to control the micro-pump device the control circuit generating an electrical wave signal having a predetermined frequency that causes the oscillating member to vibrate so as to diffuse fragrance liquid that contacts the oscillating member. A USB connector is connected to the casing and electrically connected to the control circuit. The diffusion of the fragrance liquid produces a fragrance that exits the casing through the vent. Other embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention are disclosed herein. |
| US08068715B2 |
Scalable and modular automated fiber optic cross-connect systems
This invention discloses highly scalable and modular automated optical cross connect switch devices which exhibit low loss and scalability to high port counts. In particular, a device for the programmable interconnection of large numbers of optical fibers (100's-1000's) is provided, whereby a two-dimensional array of fiber optic connections is mapped in an ordered and rule-based fashion into a one-dimensional array with tensioned fiber optic circuit elements tracing substantially straight lines there between. Fiber optic elements are terminated in a stacked arrangement of flexible fiber optic circuit elements with a capacity to retain excess fiber lengths while maintaining an adequate bend radius. The combination of these elements partitions the switch volume into multiple independent, non-interfering zones, which retain their independence for arbitrary and unlimited numbers of reconfigurations. The separation into spaced-apart zones provides clearance for one or more robotic actuators to enter the free volume substantially adjacent to the two-dimensional array of connectors and mechanically reconfigure connectors without interrupting other circuits. |
| US08068713B2 |
Hybrid connector tool for integrated cleaving
A hybrid optical fiber connector tool is capable of cleaving an optical fiber inserted into the connector tool. The connector tool includes an inner housing, an outer housing that is rotatable with respect to the inner housing, and an optical fiber cutting component. The connector tool is useful for connecting and cutting optical fiber in the field. |
| US08068709B2 |
Transmission gratings designed by computed interference between simulated optical signals and fabricated by reduction lithography
A method comprises computing an interference pattern between a simulated design input optical signal and a simulated design output optical signal, and computationally deriving an arrangement of at least one diffractive element set from the computed interference pattern. The interference pattern is computed in a transmission grating region, with the input and output optical signals each propagating through the transmission grating region as substantially unconfined optical beams. The arrangement of diffractive element set is computationally derived so that when the diffractive element set thus arranged is formed in or on a transmission grating, each diffractive element set would route, between corresponding input and output optical ports, a corresponding diffracted portion of an input optical signal incident on and transmitted by the transmission grating. The method can further comprise forming the set of diffractive elements in or on the transmission grating according to the derived arrangement. |
| US08068707B1 |
Illuminating devices including uniform light distribution, multiple light sources, and multiple types of light sources
A lumenaire for mixing and emitting light from multiple light sources which has at least one first light source of a particular type and at least one second light source of a differing type. There is an optical system which includes at least one individual light collecting optical element at least partially surrounding each light source. There is a substantially planar light guide that receives and transports the light from each of the individual optical elements and optically mixes and emanates the light from both types of light sources simultaneously, through a common surface of the planar light guide. The planar light guide is segmented and the segmented sections are angularly disposed, in section in relationship to each other and the individual optical elements project light into at least one of the segments. |
| US08068698B2 |
System and method for resizing images prior to upload
There is disclosed a system and method for resizing an image on a handheld mobile communication device prior to uploading to an image repository. In an embodiment, the method comprises: determining the size of an original image; determining any upload size restrictions for uploading the image to the image repository; and in dependence upon the upload size restrictions, resizing the original image to a new resized image to meet the upload size restriction. In another embodiment, the method may further comprise specifying at least one user selectable image size for resizing the original image; receiving a user selection of a desired image size; and resizing the original image to the user selected desired image size. In another embodiment, the image size automatically in dependence upon image upload bandwidth. |
| US08068696B2 |
Method of restoring movements of the line of sight of an optical instrument
A method of estimation of the direction of the line of sight comprising forming at least two images representing one and the same portion of the scene (P) at two successive instants using an instrument mounted on a moving carrier, and the determination of the change of orientation of the line of sight by matching homologous points (A1, A2) in the two images of the same portion of scene by calculating the angular variations in attitude between the two instants at which the two successive images are obtained and by correcting on the basis of the deviation, between the estimate of the point (A2) homologous in the image provided by a model, and the actual position of the homologous point, and integrating and time filtering pertaining to a sequence of several successive determinations of attitude variations, leading to an estimate of the direction of the line of sight. |
| US08068694B2 |
Imaging apparatus, method and program
An imaging apparatus displays and records any area in a synthesized image according to user's taste. The synthesized image is displayed based on the set display area and the record area is set to display the synthesized image, so that the display area is compared with the record area to enable easily confirming whether the actually acquired synthesized image satisfies the area desired by the user and assisting recording in an area where a better composition is provided even if the user is unfamiliar with the composition. |
| US08068692B2 |
Methods and apparatuses for pixel transformations
Methods, apparatuses, systems, and machine readable media for pixel transformations. One exemplary method includes: determining a state of a pixel format transformation, wherein a pixel format includes a predetermined number of pixel data components and a predetermined number of bits for each of the pixel data components and wherein the state includes a source pixel format and a destination pixel format and at least one intermediate pixel format; converting pixel data in the source pixel format to pixel data in the intermediate pixel format; and converting the pixel data in the intermediate pixel format to pixel data in the destination pixel format. In certain embodiments, a method includes building and compiling a function, at run-time, for the pixel format transformation based upon the state. |
| US08068685B2 |
Method for resizing images using integer DCT coefficients
The present invention relates to a method of converting the size of an image, i.e., resolution of an image, and more specifically, to a method of reducing or enlarging the size of an image using coefficients of integer discrete cosine transform (Integer DCT), which is a type of block transform. Since the method of reducing and enlarging the size of an image according to the present invention reduces or enlarges the size of an image through an integer operation, hardware can be implemented using shifts and additions, and therefore, complexity of the hardware may be lowered, and the method of the present invention provides images of a good quality that is almost the same as the quality of an image provided according to a conventional method of reducing and enlarging an image using real-number DCT coefficients. The method of reducing and enlarging the size of an image according to the present invention is compatible with a H.264/AVC codec. |
| US08068684B2 |
Compression of digital images of scanned documents
A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for creating a binary mask image from an a inputted digital image of a scanned document, comprising the steps of creating a binarized image by binarizing the inputted digital image, detecting first text regions representing light text on a dark background, and inverting the first text regions, such that the inverted first text regions are interpretable in the same way as dark text on a light background. A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for comparing in a binary image a first pixel blob with a second pixel blob to determine whether they represent matching symbols, comprising the steps of detecting a line in one blob not present in the other and/or determining if one of the blobs represents an italicized symbol where the other does not. |
| US08068683B2 |
Video/audio transmission and display
The invention presents new methods of compression, transmission, and decompression of video signals providing increased speed and image quality and for protecting against camcorder piracy. Methods based on selecting an anchor frame, wavelet transformation with decimation and time stamping can provide one-pass encoding of signals in which the amount of bits of information needed to be transmitted can be substantially reduced, thereby increasing the speed of transmission of digital signals over networks. Decompressing signals, along with interpolation methods to re-create portions of images of lesser importance in visual perception, can provide coordinated video and audio presentations of high quality in real-time over all kinds of networks and frame interpolation resulting in a displayed frame rate significantly higher than 30 fps. The use of randomly selected anchor frames can render reconstructed transmitted images of poor quality for pirates who do not have access to identities of anchor frames. |
| US08068682B2 |
Generating output pixels of an output image from one or more input images using a set of motion vectors having a sub-pixel accuracy
An image processing apparatus in which output pixels of an output image are generated from one or more input images using motion vectors having a sub-pixel accuracy. A motion vector allocator allocates motion vectors in the pixels, and compares a current output pixel with test image areas pointed to by motion vectors in the pixels to detect a most suitable motion vector for the current output pixel. A pixel generator operates in a first mode if the output pixel is within a threshold displacement from an image region having substantially different motion characteristics to those of that output pixel, and in a second mode otherwise. The pixel generator includes a spatial filter generating an output pixel value at a required pixel position to a sub-pixel accuracy. |
| US08068679B2 |
Audio and video signal processing
The present disclosure related generally to audio and video signal processing. Various arrangements are disclosed. One method recites: (a) obtaining data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video; (b) using a programmed electronic processor, determining identifying information from the obtained data by computing a frequency transform to produce frequency transform data, and processing the frequency transform data to derive a pattern, and using the pattern as the identifying information for the audio or video; and (c) using the identifying data to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video. Other arrangements are disclosed as well. |
| US08068668B2 |
Device and method for estimating if an image is blurred
A method for estimating if an image (14) is either blurred or sharp includes the steps of (i) determining an image gradient histogram distribution (410) of at least a portion of the image (14), and (ii) comparing at least a portion of the image gradient histogram distribution (410) to a Gaussian model gradient histogram distribution (414) of at least a portion of the image (14) to estimate if the image (14) is either blurred or sharp. In most cases, a sharp image (14) has a relatively large tailed distribution when compared to the Gaussian model, while a blurred image has a relatively small tailed distribution when compared to the Gaussian model. |
| US08068666B2 |
Method for reading test strips
There is provided a method for identifying the color intensities of red lines on a white test strip. The method comprises the following steps: (A) attaching the white test strip to a card that is larger and darker than the white test strip, (B) scanning the card with the attached white test strip, (C) creating a digital image of the card, in which each pixel in the digital image has a Red value, a Green value, and a Blue value, (D) using the digital image to calculate a color intensity for each red line on the white test strip. |
| US08068665B2 |
3D-image processing apparatus, 3D-image processing method, storage medium, and program
A 3D-image processing apparatus includes a storage unit which stores data of a first 3D image together with data of a second 3D image as a combining target with the first 3D image and data of a third 3D image relevant to the second 3D image, a misregistration calculating unit which calculates a misregistration between the first 3D image and the third 3D image, and an image combining unit which registers and combines the second 3D image with the first 3D image on the basis of the calculated misregistration. |
| US08068662B2 |
Method and system for determining a defect during charged particle beam inspection of a sample
A method for determining a defect during charged particle beam inspection of a sample locates at least one examination region within a charged particle microscopic image of the sample by making reference to a database graphic of the sample corresponding to the charged particle microscopic image. Each located examination region concerns at least one element of the sample, and each element has at least one characteristic in common. At least one point response value is then generated for each point in the located examination regions. The presence of a defect at the location of the concerned point is then determined by applying at least one decision tree operator to the generated point response values of the concerned point. Applications of the proposed method as a computing agent and a charged particle beam inspection system are also disclosed. |
| US08068661B2 |
LED inspection apparatus and LED inspection method using the same
Disclosed are a light emitting diode (LED) inspection apparatus, which can determine whether an LED has a defect such as leakage current, without making physical contact with the LED being inspected, and an LED inspection method thereof. The LED inspection apparatus includes an ultraviolet emission unit emitting UV light to an LED, an image generation unit generating an image of the LED to which the UV light is emitted, and a control unit obtaining color or intensity information of the LED from the image of the LED and determining, based on the color information, whether the LED is defective. |
| US08068659B2 |
Method and system for determining cumulative foreign object characteristics during fabrication of a composite structure
Method and system for determining cumulative foreign object characteristics during fabrication of a composite structure. Images of sequential segments of a composite structure may be recorded during placement of the composite structure. The recorded images may be analyzed for detecting foreign objects on the composite structure. Cumulative foreign object characteristics of the foreign objects detected on the composite structure may be determined, and the cumulative foreign object characteristics may be provided to a user. |
| US08068656B2 |
X-ray inspection apparatus
An x-ray inspection apparatus includes a sample image obtaining unit, an ideal curve generating unit, a curve adjustment unit, and a mass estimation unit as a function block generated by a control computer. The sample image obtaining unit obtains 10 x-ray transmission images of sample inspected products each of whose mass is known in advance. The ideal curve generating unit generates a table based on a formula that indicates a relationship between the brightness of an area included in the x-ray transmission images and the estimated mass of the area. The curve adjustment unit refers to the input actual mass of each x-ray transmission image and adjusts the table such that the estimated mass approximates the actual mass. The mass estimation unit determines the estimated mass per unit area based on the post-adjusted table and adds up these masses to determine the total estimated mass of the product. |
| US08068652B2 |
Semi-automated registration of data based on a hierarchical mesh
A registration image is aligned or registered with a reference image by user interaction. The registration image is segmented into a hierarchy of elements defining a mesh having more than one level. At each level, individual elements may be selected by the user, translated, rotated and scaled with respect to the remainder of the registration image and to the reference image. Refinement of the user registration is facilitated by allowing the user to define further levels in the segmentation where each of the elements at the further levels may be separately manipulated in a similar manner. Interpolation may be performed between the moved or altered elements and between the elements and the remainder of the registration image to obtain a more satisfactorily registered image. The technique may be used with other interpolation and registration processes. |
| US08068650B2 |
Lesion quantification and tracking using multiple modalities
A method for lesion detection includes acquiring pre-therapy medical image data from a first modality. Post-therapy medical image data is acquired from a second modality. A transformation matrix for transforming from an image space of the first modality to an image space of the second modality is calculated. A volume of interest is defined from the medical image data of the first modality. The volume of interest includes one or more lesions. The volume of interest is automatically copied to the medical image data of the second modality using the calculated transformation matrix. Treatment is directed to the lesion using the medical image data of the second modality including the copied volume of interest data. |
| US08068648B2 |
Method and system for registering a bone of a patient with a computer assisted orthopaedic surgery system
A method and system for registering a bone of a patient with a computer assisted orthopaedic surgery system includes retrieving an image of the bone having indicia of the position of a magnetic source coupled thereto, determining first data indicative of the position of the magnetic source in a bone coordinate system, determining second data indicative of a correlation between a coordinate system of the image and the bone coordinate system based on the first data; and displaying an image of the bone based on the second data. |
| US08068644B2 |
System for seeing using auditory feedback
The invention is a system whereby a video image can be converted into an audio signal. A portable apparatus is described which allows a visually blind person to hear the images and thus ‘see’. This does not require expensive equipment nor does it require surgery. It has applications for non-blind people such as with a pilot seeing radar information. It can be performed with an inexpensive video camera, a portable computer, and earphones. It is also readily adapted to a customized and compact system involving a micro camera, specialized computer, and ear buds. |
| US08068642B2 |
System and method for remotely monitoring and/or viewing images from a camera or video device
A system and method are provided for remotely monitoring images from an image capturing device. Image data from an image capturing component is received where image data represents images of a scene in a field of view of the image capturing component. The image data may be analyzed to determine that the scene has changed. A determination may be made that the scene has changed. In response to this determination being made, a communication may be transmitted to a designated device, recipient or network location. The communication may be informative that a scene change or event occurred. The communication may be in the form of a notification or an actual image or series of images of the scene after the change or event. |
| US08068639B2 |
Image pickup apparatus, control method therefor, and computer program for detecting image blur according to movement speed and change in size of face area
An image pickup apparatus includes: a face detection section configured to detect a face area from an image obtained by the image pickup apparatus; and a control section configured to detect at least any one of the amount of change in size of the face area detected by the face detection section and a movement speed of the face area, determine whether there is a possibility of occurrence of subject shake blur, which is blur occurring in a captured image due to the movement of a subject, on the basis of information on the detected amount of change in size of the face area or the detected movement speed of the face area, and output a warning when it is determined that there is a possibility of occurrence of subject shake blur. |
| US08068638B2 |
Apparatus and method for embedding searchable information into a file for transmission, storage and retrieval
An apparatus is disclosed for acquiring information to be transmitted to a receiving facility and for transmitting such thereto. A capture device captures information from a first source. A stamping device is provided for associating with the captured information a representation of the date and time of the capture of the information, such that the representation of the date and time information in association with the captured information forms augmented captured information. A data processing unit is provided for placing the augmented captured information in association with subscriber information in a transmission of the augmented captured information to a receiving facility requiring such subscriber information. A transmitter transmits the transmission including the augmented captured information and the subscriber information to said receiving facility. An encryptor encrypts the augmented captured information for transmission to said receiving facility. |
| US08068636B2 |
Digital watermarking methods, programs and apparatus
The present claims recite various steganographic and digital watermarking methods and apparatus. One claim recites a method of watermarking a representation of a physical object. The method includes: projecting a watermark orientation component onto a physical object; and using a camera or image sensor, capturing an image or video of the physical object including the watermark orientation component as projected thereon. Another claim recites an apparatus including: a light source for projecting a registration component onto a physical object; a camera or sensor for capturing an image or video of the physical object including the registration component as projected thereon; and an electronic processor programmed for encoding a message in the image or video captured by said camera or sensor. Of course, other claims and combinations are provided as well. |
| US08068630B2 |
Precision micro-hole for extended life batteries
Various embodiments of the invention provide an enclosure for a metal-air battery assembly for an extended wear hearing aid. The enclosure includes a diffusion control element having a dimensional property configured for controlling oxygen and moisture diffusion into the metal-air battery assembly to maintain a minimum battery voltage when the hearing aid is operating and worn in an ear canal of a user over an extended period. In an embodiment, the enclosure can comprise a shell with a base end having an opening therein forming a cavity within the shell and a base cap for covering the opening of the base end. A diffusion element is disposed on the base cap. In an embodiment, the diffusion element comprises a laser drilled precision micro hole having an aspect ratio of least about four and a diameter in the range of about 10 to 15 microns. |
| US08068626B2 |
Thermoacoustic device
An apparatus, the apparatus includes an electromagnetic signal device; a medium; and a sound wave generator. The sound wave generator includes a carbon nanotube structure. The carbon nanotube structure includes one or more carbon nanotube films. Each carbon nanotube film includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes substantially parallel to each other and joined side by side via van der Waals attractive force. The electromagnetic signal device transmits an electromagnetic signal to the carbon nanotube structure. The carbon nanotube structure converts the electromagnetic signal into heat. The heat transfers to the medium causing a thermoacoustic effect. |
| US08068621B2 |
Controller of graphic equalizer
An apparatus is provided for controlling a graphic equalizer which is implemented by digital filters, each being assignable to a frequency band for regulating a level of the frequency band. In the apparatus, a set of control devices are provided in correspondence to respective frequency bands, each control device being operable to specify the level of the corresponding frequency band to either of a reference level or other level than the reference level. An assignment section operates when a number of the digital filters is less than a total number of the frequency bands, for assigning the digital filters to the frequency bands which are specified with the levels other than the reference level. A control section controls remaining digital filters which are not assigned to any of the frequency bands in a through state. A disabling section operates when the assignment section assigns all of the digital filters to the frequency bands which are specified with levels other than the reference level, for disabling operation of a control device which currently specifies the reference level. |
| US08068620B2 |
Audio processing apparatus
A signal processing apparatus includes sound collecting elements, a noise detector for detecting a level of noise in a low-frequency band of audio signals output from the sound collecting elements, a noise reduction unit for reducing the noise in the audio signals in accordance with a signal output from the noise detector, a converter for converting the audio signals output from the noise reduction unit into pieces of audio data corresponding to channels including a low-frequency channel and other channels, a low-frequency channel controller for controlling a level of the audio data corresponding to the low-frequency channel in accordance with the level of the noise detected using the noise detector, and a level controller for controlling the level of the audio data of the low-frequency channel output from the low-frequency channel controller and levels of the pieces of audio data corresponding to the other channels output from the converter. |
| US08068617B2 |
Audio playback system
Provided is an audio playback system, which reduces a restriction on a place of installation and which reduces the dispersion of characteristics of sound pressures in a low frequency range due to the seats in a passenger interior of a vehicle so that a comfortable bass sound can be enjoyed at any seat. The audio playback system comprises a first filter (108), to which an audio signal outputted from a playback apparatus (107) is inputted, configured to pass a frequency band lower than a first-order resonance frequency of the passenger interior of the vehicle, a first sub-woofer (104) configured to receive an output signal of the first filter (108), a second filter (109), to which the audio signal from the playback device (107) is inputted, configured to pass a frequency band including the first-order resonance frequency of the interior, and a second sub-woofer (105), to which an output signal of the second filter (109) is inputted, configured to be installed near a node of a first-order resonance mode of the interior. |
| US08068615B2 |
Automatic transformer saturation compensation circuit
A transformer saturation compensation circuit for loudspeakers in embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features: (a) a transformer with a primary winding and a secondary winding electrically coupled to an output, (b) a high pass filter, (c) a current dependent resistive load electrically coupled in parallel with the capacitor and electrically coupled to an input, (d) a switch located at the primary winding electrically coupled to the capacitor and the resistive load, the switch being rotatable to each of the taps, where the current dependent resistive load provides saturation compensation for different loudspeaker configurations without requiring changes to a highpass filter cutoff frequency, and (e) a resistive load electrically coupled in parallel with the current dependent resistive load and the capacitor. |
| US08068606B2 |
Embedding a secret in a bit string for safeguarding the secret
A method and system for embedding a secret in a bit string for safeguarding the secret. In one embodiment, the method comprises computing the length of the overall bit string as a function of q and t, where q and t are determined from the length of the secret. The method further comprises generating a plurality of information pieces based on q and t, the information pieces including a transformed secret and information for extracting the secret from the overall bit string. The method further comprises concatenating the plurality of information pieces to form the overall bit string. |
| US08068602B1 |
Systems and methods for recording using virtual machines
A recording system that includes software configured to enable a first guest operating system to function in a virtual machine operating environment, a first recording software enabled to function by the first guest operating system, at least one processor, and at least one communication interface configured to receive first data corresponding to a first contact corresponding to a first contact center agent. The at least one processor is instructed by the first recording software to cause the first data to be stored in memory. |
| US08068600B2 |
Queue management system and method
A queue management system and method which uses a computer to manage queue priorities and contact customers. The queue management system includes communication circuitry, and a processor for storing contact information of a customer in a list, for establishing a position of the customer in a queue, and for automatically causing the communication circuitry to wirelessly contact a personal communication device carried by the customer using the contact information if the position is first for service in the queue. |
| US08068599B2 |
Call center application data and interoperation architecture for a telecommunication service center
A call center application data and interoperation architecture provides a centralized design for managing applications providing call center functionality. The architecture integrates information flow using a mater data repository for all applications for all aspects of a call center operation. The architecture provides employee information at defined levels through the complete employment life cycle, including the initial hiring and termination. The architecture provides the employee information by integrating human resources information with call center applications such as Employee attendance and Leave management, ID management, Transport management, Commitment logs, and Movement management, or any other application. |
| US08068597B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing customer contacts using a state machine
A method and apparatus are provided for processing a call with a client within an automatic contact distributor system. The method includes the step of providing a user agent application within a terminal of an agent of the automatic contact distributor system that functions as an interface for exchanging SIP commands and providing an agent state machine within the terminal of the agent that controls a plurality of call states of a connection of the call between the client and the agent where the agent state machine is different than the user agent application. The method further includes the steps of receiving a SIP INVITE by the user agent application from an automatic contact distributor of the automatic contact distribution system transferring the call from the automatic contact distributor to the agent and depicting a state of the plurality of states of the call on a display of the terminal based upon a logical state of the state machine. |
| US08068595B2 |
System and method for providing a multi-modal communications infrastructure for automated call center operation
A multi-modal call is accepted from a caller through a telephony interface, which accommodates multi-modal calls including at least one of verbal speech and text messaging. Incoming speech in the multi-modal call is converted into transcribed text. Incoming text messaging is matched with the transcribed text. The multi-modal call is automatically assigned through a session manager to a session under operation of a live agent. The transcribed text and incoming text messaging are progressively processed during the session through an agent application by performing a customer support scenario interactively monitored and controlled by the live agent. |
| US08068594B2 |
Communication center methods and apparatus
A communications center supports sales and/or customer support services corresponding to a plurality of business affiliations. Operator terminals within the communications center are configurable. A management module manages the allocation of the operator terminals between the plurality of different business affiliations being supported by the communications center. The management module loads a set of configuration information into an operator terminal to match a determined business affiliation with a customer's communications device capabilities. At different times, e.g. corresponding to an initial communications session and a follow-on communications session, the same customer may be connected to different physical operator terminals and be communicating with different actual operators; however, from the perspective of the customer, the customer is made to think that the communication is with the same operator terminal and same operator. |
| US08068592B2 |
Intelligent switching system for voice and data
A teleconferencing system for voice and data provides interconnections among user sites via a central station. User stations at user sites each alternate operation between a data mode connecting a user computer and modem to a user telephone communication path and a voice mode connecting a telephony circuit to the communication path. The teleconferencing system is adapted for conducting a voice conference over standard telephone lines while allowing simultaneous viewing of data objects such as slides, graphs, or text. A host computer connected to the central station serves as a central repository for storage and retrieval of data objects for use in teleconferences. |
| US08068588B2 |
Unified rules for voice and messaging
The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates managing an incoming data communication in connection with unified communications. A unified communications component can employ unified communications for a data communication with at least the following data communication modes: an email data communication mode, a voice data communication mode, and a voicemail data communication mode. A unified rules component can automatically redirect the data communication to a delegate for receipt based upon a universal rule, the universal rule is uniformly applicable to at least two of the email data communication mode, the voice data communication mode, or the voicemail data communication mode. |
| US08068586B2 |
Determining a local emergency dial-string
Determining a local emergency dial-string includes determining location information of an endpoint in a network. The location information indicates a current location of the endpoint. An emergency dial-string is received. The emergency dial-string is determined according to the location information, and the emergency dial-string operates to contact an emergency service associated with the current location of the endpoint. |
| US08068584B2 |
System and method for selecting a profile for a digital subscriber line
A method for selecting a profile for a digital subscriber line is disclosed, the method including collecting code violation data for a plurality of digital subscriber lines, identifying a group of problem lines in the plurality of digital subscriber lines, modeling estimated code violations for each of a group profiles for each line in the group of problem lines and selecting one of the group of profiles. A system is disclosed for performing the method. |
| US08068582B2 |
Methods and systems for the directing and energy filtering of X-rays for non-intrusive inspection
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for lenses based on crystal X-ray diffraction and reflection to be used to direct and energy filter X-ray beams. |
| US08068575B2 |
Acoustic load mitigator
A system for reducing an acoustic load of a fluid flow includes a first pipe to carry the fluid flow; a standpipe connected to the first pipe at an opening in the first pipe; and a standpipe flow tripper provided in the standpipe. The flow tripper includes an edge extending through the opening into the flow on a downstream side of the opening. A method of reducing an acoustic load of a standing wave in a standpipe connected to a first pipe configured to carry a flow includes disrupting the flow in the first pipe at a downstream side of an opening in the first pipe to which the standpipe is connected. |
| US08068573B1 |
Phase dithered digital communications system
The present invention is a phase dithered digital communications system that includes a digital receiver, and uses phase dithering to spread the energy of one or more system clocks to minimize receiver de-sensitization. Phase dithering uses a single frequency for each system clock; however, the energy of each system clock is spread over a range of frequencies by changing the duty-cycle of each clock half-cycle. A non-phase dithered clock drives the sampling clock of a receiver analog-to-digital converter to provide accurate correlation with received information, which may allow use of a higher frequency sampling clock than in frequency dithered designs. Phase dithered clocks and non-phase dithered clocks may have constant frequencies that are related to each other by a ratio of two integers; therefore, the time base used for extracting received data is always correlated and accurate. |
| US08068572B2 |
Self-timing method for adjustment of a sampling phase in an oversampling receiver and circuit
This invention discloses a self-timing method for phase adjustment. An analog signal is digitized at a first and second phase with respect to the symbols comprised in an analog signal in order to obtain first and second quantized samples. Then a first counter out of a first plurality of counters is increased if said first quantized sample has a first digital value to which said first counter is associated. Moreover a second counter out of a second plurality of counters is increased if a second quantized sample has a second digital value to which the second counter is associated. Finally the sampling phase is adjusted based on the values of the counters of the first and second plurality of counters. Moreover a digitizing, self-timing circuit is disclosed. |
| US08068570B2 |
Weight generation method for multi-antenna communication systems utilizing RF-based and baseband signal weighting and combining based upon minimum bit error rate
A method for processing communication signals is disclosed and may include, in a receiver and/or a baseband processor coupled to the receiver, the receiver comprising a plurality of antennas, generating a plurality of RF weighting values based on one or more output bit error rates of the receiver. A plurality of spatially-multiplexed RF signals, which are received by the receiver, may be weighted with the one or more of the generated plurality of RF weighting values, to form a plurality of weighted RF signals. Two or more of the generated plurality of weighted RF signals may be combined to form one or more combined RF signals. Each of the one or more combined RF signals may be processed by a different RF processing chain. The one or more output bit error rates of the receiver may be minimized by the generation of the plurality of RF weighting values. |
| US08068567B2 |
Phase and frequency control of an ODFM receiver by means of pilot phase-value estimation
A common phase value of pilot subcarriers of a received data symbol (n) is estimated and used for correcting the phase of all subcarriers of the data symbol, wherein, with a time-variant frequency of the local oscillator (VCO), the estimated noisy phase values (Ψn) are used directly for the phase and frequency correction, whereas with a time-invariant frequency after the VCO, a corrected phase value ({circumflex over (φ)}n) is determined from the estimated phase values of the current data symbol (Ψn) and earlier data symbols (Ψm) in a linear FIR filter arrangement (17-20) and is used for the phase correction. |
| US08068565B2 |
Digital broadcasting trasmission/reception system having improved receiving performance and signal processing method thereof
A digital broadcasting transmission/reception system having improved receiving performance and signal processing method thereof. A digital broadcasting transmitter according to the present invention includes a data pre-processor which processed robust data and generates robust data packet of predetermined format, a TS stream generator which combines robust data packet with a normal data packet to generate a TS stream of a predetermined format, a randomizer which randomizes the TS stream output from the TS stream generator, a convolution encoder which performs convolution encoding with respect to the robust data of the data output from the randomizer, and a RS encoder which performs RS encoding with respect to the data output from the convolution g encoder. Accordingly, digital broadcasting receiving performance can be improved in a poor multipath channel, while maintaining compatibility with existing transmission/reception system. |
| US08068564B2 |
Detection and mitigation of temporary impairments in a communications channel
Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting temporary high level impairments, such as noise or interference, for example, in a communications channel, and subsequently, mitigating the deleterious effects of the dynamic impairments. In one embodiment, the method not only performs dynamic characterization of channel fidelity against impairments, but also uses this dynamic characterization of the channel fidelity to adapt the receiver processing and to affect an improvement in the performance of the receiver. For example, in this embodiment, the method increases the accuracy of the estimation of the transmitted information, or similarly, increases the probability of making the correct estimates of the transmitted information, even in the presence of temporary severe levels of impairment. The channel fidelity history may also be stored and catalogued for use in, for example, future optimization of the transmit waveform. |
| US08068563B2 |
Systems and methods for frequency offset correction in a digital radio broadcast receiver
Methods and systems for correcting a frequency error in a digital portion of a radio broadcast signal are disclosed. The methods and systems include the steps of receiving a radio broadcast signal having an analog portion and a digital portion, separating the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal and the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal, determining a coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, generating an error signal for adjusting a frequency of the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal, wherein the error signal is based on the coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, and adjusting the frequency of the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal with the error signal that is based on the coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, such that a frequency error in the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal is reduced below a predetermined amount. |
| US08068557B2 |
IQ-modulator pre-distortion
An IQ-modulator pre-distorter includes an iteratively updated digital filter (gQ0, gQ1) for filtering one of the branches of an IQ-signal to compensate for IQ-modulator generated amplitude errors. An iteratively updated digital filter (cQI0, cQI1), cross-connected from one of the branches to the other branch, filters one of the components of an IQ-signal to compensate for IQ-modulator generated inter-modulation between the branches. Iteratively updated compensators (dcI, dcQ) counteract IQ-modulator generated offset errors. |
| US08068554B2 |
Multiple input, multiple output wireless communication system, associated methods and data structures
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, in response to receiving a wireless communication signal, a non-uniform codebook is generated based at least in part on one or more characteristics of the received wireless communication signal for quantization and communication back to a source of the received signal. The non-uniform codebook may be generated by selecting a suitable uniform codebook based at least in part on the one or more characteristics of the received wireless communication signal, and supplementing the uniform codebook with additional codewords to generate the non-uniform codebook. |
| US08068549B2 |
Trellis decoder for decoding data stream including symbols coded with multiple convolutional codes
A trellis decoder decodes a stream of encoded symbols, including symbols of a first type (e.g. symbols encoded with a first trellis code) and symbols of a second type (e.g. encoded with a second, more robust, trellis code), without storing path indicators along a trellis for symbols of the first type. In this way, limited memory may be used to store path indicators along the trellis for symbols of the second type. This allows for more accurate decoding of the symbols of the second type. For transitions from symbols of the second type to symbols of the first type, states of the trellis decoder may be stored. In this way, paths may be traced back along the trellis for trellis decoding, without the path indicators for the symbols of the first type. |
| US08068546B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting video signals
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for transmitting, multicasting, or broadcasting video signals from a video source to one or more remotely located computers and/or video clients. Specifically, the disclosed method and apparatus effectively digitizes and compresses received video signals such that they may be transmitted with other digitized signals directly or via a network, such as the Internet, to a multitude of computers and/or independent video display devices. The video transmission system is also capable of receiving video signals from a non-networked computer that does not require any hardware or software modifications to be compatible with the video transmission system. The disclosed video transmission system operates independently (i.e., does not require a service provider) and is capable of recording video transmissions. |
| US08068544B2 |
Compression with doppler enhancement
Methods, medium, and machines which compress, enhance, encode, transmit, decode, decompress and display digital video images. Real time compression is achieved by sub-sampling each frame of a video signal, filtering the pixel values, and encoding. Real time transmission is achieved due to high levels of effective compression. Real time decompression is achieved by decoding and decompressing the encoded data to display high quality images. A receiver can alter various setting including, but not limited to, the format for the compression, image size, frame rate, brightness and contrast. In a Doppler improvement aspect of the invention, Doppler velocity scales are incorporated into grayscale compression methods using two bits. Variable formats may be selected and Doppler encoding can be turned on and off based on the image content. Frames or sets of pixels may be distinguished by automated analysis of the characteristics of an image, such as the presence of Doppler enhanced pixels. |
| US08068543B2 |
Method and system for determining the reliability of estimated motion vectors
A method and system for determining a measure of reliability of a computed motion estimate based on the histogram of the error block obtained based on the computed motion estimate taking into account some aspects of the image content. |
| US08068542B2 |
Motion picture encoding device and motion picture decoding device
When a prediction is made between fields with different parity, the predicative efficiency of a chrominance vector is improved by adaptively switching the generation of a chrominance motion vector depending on a encoding/decoding field parity (top/bottom) and a reference field parity (top/bottom), and the coding efficiency is improved accordingly. |
| US08068540B2 |
Cartesian modulation system via multi-level pulse width modulation
A system and method for Cartesian modulation achieved via generation of a three-level pulse width modulated signal. The system in overview comprises two binary pulse width modulated signal generators receiving signals related to the in-phase and quadrature components of a base-band signal and a combination and amplification stage that combines the signals provided by the two binary pulse width modulated signal generators. The binary pulse width modulated signal generators contain at least one signal comparator and at least one base-band pre-distortion element. The signals related to the in-phase and quadrature components of the base-band signal may be; the positive or negative parts of the in-phase component, the positive or negative parts of the quadrature component, the absolute value or sign of the in-phase component, or the absolute value or sign of the quadrature component. These signals may be distorted by a base-band pre-distortion element before being coupled to the comparators. |
| US08068539B2 |
Adaptive interference cancellation algorithm using speech mode dependent thresholds
Adaptive interference cancellation algorithm using speech mode dependent thresholds. A method of processing radio frequency (RF) bursts dependent on a speech mode associated with data contained within the RF burst is presented. Different voice modes, full rate, half rate, and adaptive multi-channel rates each may require different signal to noise ratio (SNR) conditions in order to be successfully processed. To improve the equalization, the SNR associated with the burst is estimated. Based on the SNR or other related conditions, a decision can be made as to whether or not an interference cancellation burst process should be implemented. For example, any one or more of SNR of the signal, a measure of colored noise within the signal, an indication whether the signal being noise limited or interference limited, and a channel profile of the signal may indicate the presence of interference requiring the cancellation of such interference. |
| US08068538B2 |
Jitter measuring apparatus, jitter measuring method and test apparatus
There is provided a jitter measuring apparatus for measuring jitter in a signal-under-measurement, having a pulse generator for outputting a pulse signal having a pulse width set in advance corresponding to edges-under-measurement from which the timing jitter is to be measured in the signal-under-measurement, a filter for removing carrier frequency components of the signal-under-measurement from the pulse signal and a jitter calculator for calculating the jitter in the signal-under-measurement based on the signal outputted out of the filter. |
| US08068536B2 |
Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) digital radio frequency (RF) transceiver
A digital radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit comprises circuitry that is adapted to select between a transmitter input signal (148) and a receiver input signal. A plurality of filters are adapted to receive either the transmitter input signal or the receiver input signal and to produce either a filtered transmitter signal or a filtered receiver signal. Circuitry alternatively receives the filtered transmitter signal or the filtered receiver signal and produces a modulated output and a demodulated output. |
| US08068533B2 |
Receiver for GPS-like signals
A module for receiving a plurality of signals that are modulated with a common carrier, where each of the signals includes information that enables a determination of a distance from said receiver to a source that transmits the signal, and outputs to outside the module a digital representation of a downshifted replica of the received signals or, alternatively, outputs a stored and delayed version of the downshifted replica of the received signals together with information about the delay. |
| US08068532B2 |
Scaling in a receiver for coded digital data symbols
Coded digital data symbols sent through a transmission channel of a communications network are received in a receiver. Estimates (y) represented by a first number (a+b) of bits are calculated, and modified estimates (y′) represented by a second number (c) of bits provided therefrom, the second number being lower than the first number. An amplitude value is calculated for each estimate (y), and an averaged amplitude value calculated for a number of amplitude values. A scaling factor (s) is calculated form the averaged amplitude value, and scaled estimates generated in dependence of die scaling factor. The scaling factor is used for a number of scaled estimates corresponding to the number of amplitude values for which the averaged amplitude value was calculated. Thus a better scaling factor is provided for most channel cases, which can still be calculated with the limited computational resources of a terminal for such networks. |
| US08068530B2 |
Signal acquisition in a wireless communication system
Each base station transmits a TDM pilot 1 having multiple instances of a pilot-1 sequence generated with a PN1 sequence and a TDM pilot 2 having at least one instance of a pilot-2 sequence generated with a PN2 sequence. Each base station is assigned a specific PN2 sequence that uniquely identifies that base station. A terminal uses TDM pilot 1 to detect for the presence of a signal and uses TDM pilot 2 to identify base stations and obtain accurate timing. For signal detection, the terminal performs delayed correlation on received samples and determines whether a signal is present. If a signal is detected, the terminal performs direct correlation on the received samples with PN1 sequences for K1 different time offsets and identifies K2 strongest TDM pilot 1 instances. For time synchronization, the terminal performs direct correlation on the received samples with PN2 sequences to detect for TDM pilot 2. |
| US08068525B2 |
Solid-state laser element
To achieve a solid-state laser element capable of outputting a high-power laser, in a planar waveguide type solid-state laser element that causes a plurality of fundamental laser beams to oscillate in a direction of an optic axis within a flat plate-like laser medium, and forms a waveguide structure in a thickness direction of the laser medium, which is a direction perpendicular to a principal surface of the flat plate-like laser medium, the laser medium is separated in a principal-surface width direction of the laser medium, which is a direction perpendicular to the direction of the optic axis and the thickness direction of the laser medium, by a groove extending in the direction of the optic axis within the laser medium. |
| US08068524B1 |
Submounts for Semiconductor Lasers
A submount for a semiconductor laser. The submount has a layer of silicon carbide (SiC) and a layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) deposited on the layer of SiC. The submount is bonded to the InP-based laser by a hard solder applied to the AlN layer. Preferably, the thickness of the AlN layer is ten to twenty microns, the thickness of the SiC layer is two hundred fifty microns, and the solder is a gold-tin (AuSn) eutectic. The semiconductor laser may be a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Similar combinations of submount materials can be found for other semiconductor laser material systems and types. |
| US08068519B2 |
Method and system to use, share and manage digital content by assigning MAC and IP adress to each device and peripheral
The invention shows a method for connecting and sharing content over a plurality of devices, and over a plurality of networks public and private while respecting the content's Digital Rights by implementing a software layer (software alternately integrated into hardware component) that will assign a mac address and an ip address to each device and peripherals and where content can be assign to specific devices inside a network, and can be accessed directly, shared remotely, wireless, or physically connected. The software layer also integrates drivers, players, codec's that can be updated dynamically in order to keep them updated. This software layer can also “virtualizes” peripherals, devices or group of peripherals and devices into single addressable group of components that will act like one. |
| US08068514B2 |
Efficient bandwidth utilization when streaming data over multiple network interfaces
Adjusting utilization of network bandwidth by a non-time critical data stream being sent from a sending endpoint to a receiving endpoint, wherein both of the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint each have multiple physical interfaces connecting the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint to multiple networks. The non-time critical data stream is split and sent over multiple physical interfaces. A determination is made as to whether at least one of the multiple physical interfaces of the sending endpoint is sending or receiving a time critical or a near-time critical data stream, and a notification is received by the sending endpoint in a case that at least one of the multiple physical interfaces of the receiving endpoint is sending or receiving a time critical or a near-time critical data stream. The network bandwidth utilization of at least one of the multiple physical interfaces of the sending endpoint is then adjusted in accordance with the determination and/or the notification. |
| US08068512B2 |
Efficient utilization of cache servers in mobile communication system
A data center includes an individual storage unit having storage areas for respective user apparatuses, a shared storage unit having a storage area for sharing by the user apparatuses, a unit configured to store data received from an external node in one of the individual storage unit and the shared storage unit that is selected according to predetermined criteria, a unit configured to generate a data arrangement list according to statistics of the received data and predetermined cache data arrangement conditions, and a unit configured to transmit an instruction signal to at least one of the shared storage unit and the individual storage unit according to the data arrangement list to cause data stored in the at least one of the shared storage unit and the individual storage unit to be transferred to a cache server provided on a core network or on a radio access network. |
| US08068511B2 |
Method and apparatus for sending feedback for a downlink shared service and estimating a number of wireless transmit/receive units
A method and an apparatus for sending a signal on a contentious feedback channel for a downlink shared service and for estimating a number of wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) are disclosed. When a transmission criterion associated with a physical random access feedback channel (P-RAFCH) is satisfied, a physical resource is randomly selected among a plurality of physical resources assigned for the P-RAFCH and a pre-configured signal is sent using the selected physical resource. A Node-B receives the pre-configured signal from a plurality of WTRUs and calculates a number of the WTRUs based on a number of used physical resources. The transmission criterion is at least one of successful reception of a data packet on a downlink physical channel, successful reception of a data block on a data service, reception of a signaling command, occurrence of a measurement event, and failure to receive a transmission after a specified number of times. |
| US08068500B2 |
Node device, packet control device, radio communication device, and transmission control method
A conventional node 3 divides an IP packet into data fragments and prepares a packet for RAN 9 transmission. There has been a problem that, since a RAN 6 cannot identify an IP packet unit, affinity is low relative to an IP network 1 that serves as a core. A node 3 prepares A10 packets by dividing an IP packet, and adds, to each A10 packet, a concatenation flag that indicates information stored in the A10 packet is the head or the tail of the IP packet. A base station 5 and a packet control device 4 employ the concatenation flag to control transmission for each IP packet unit. For example, a packet control device 4 employs a concatenation flag to discard information for a series of A10 packets received by the node, including information that constitutes the same IP packet. |
| US08068499B2 |
Optimized tunneling methods in a network
A method for minimizing tunnels in a network, apparatus and computer-readable storage medium having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer to perform the method. The method includes the steps of: obtaining state information associated with a first node connected to a mobile network behind a mobile node; receiving a first message sent between the first node and a correspondent node, wherein a first header was removed from the first message prior to sending the first message; recreating, in one of the mobile node and a mobility agent, the first header using the state information; and sending the first message with the first header. |
| US08068498B2 |
Computer readable record medium on which data communication load distribution control program is recorded and data load distribution control method
Highly flexible trunking is actualized by using a switching hub without a trunking function. A computer generates a distribution algorithm notification packet including physical addresses of communication interfaces and a distribution algorithm used for distributing data sent from a computer at the other end to the computer among the communication interfaces (step S1) and sends the distribution algorithm notification packet to the computer at the other end (step S2). The computer at the other end determines a communication interface which is a destination of send data to be sent to the computer in accordance with the distribution algorithm about which the computer at the other end was informed, designates a physical address of the determined communication interface as a destination, and sends the send data. |
| US08068494B2 |
Method and apparatus for robust local mobility management in a mobile network
A method and apparatus for robust mobility management in a network having a mobile node (MN), a mobility anchor point (MAP), a correspondent node (CN1, CN2), a home agent (HA) and an access router (AR1) and operating under a hierarchical protocol. The mobile node (MN) sends the address (102, 104) of the mobility anchor point (MAP) to the correspondent node (CN1, CN2) and sends the address (106, 108) of the mobile node (MN) on the network of the access router (AR) to the home agent (HA) and to the mobility anchor point (MAP). When failure of the mobility anchor point occurs, the mobile node recovers from the failure by selecting a new mobility anchor point or operating under a non-hierarchical protocol. Failure is detected by an intermediate router or by a correspondent node when messages fail to reach the mobility anchor point. The mobile node (MN) detects failure of the mobility anchor point when messages unexpectedly arrive via the home agent. |
| US08068492B1 |
Transport of control and data traffic for multicast virtual private networks
Principles of the invention are described for providing multicast virtual private networks (MVPNs) across a public network that are capable of carrying high-bandwidth multicast traffic with increased scalability. In particular, the MVPNs may transport layer three (L3) multicast traffic, such as Internet Protocol (IP) packets, between remote sites via the public network. The principles described herein may reduce the overhead of protocol independent multicast (PIM) neighbor adjacencies and customer control information maintained for MVPNs. The principles may also reduce the state and the overhead of maintaining the state in the network by removing the need to maintain at least one dedicated multicast tree per each MVPN. |
| US08068490B1 |
Methods and systems for multicast group address translation
Methods and systems for multicast group address translation are disclosed. A method includes receiving a request for data source content from a multicast group data source content requester and retrieving the data source content from the data source, where the data source content that is retrieved has associated destination addresses. Moreover, the method includes providing access to the data source content for translation of the destination addresses associated with the data source content, where the destination addresses fall within a first range of multicast group addresses. The method further includes receiving packets that have translated destination addresses that prior to translation fall within the first range of multicast addresses. The translated destination addresses fall within a second range of multicast group addresses. The packets are forwarded for forwarding to the multicast group data source content requester using the destination addresses that fall within the second range of multicast group addresses. |
| US08068485B2 |
Multimedia interface
A packet based display interface having a video processing unit arranged to couple a multimedia source device to a multimedia sink device is disclosed that includes a transmitter unit coupled to the source device arranged to receive a source packet data stream in accordance with a native stream rate, a receiver unit coupled to the sink device, and a linking unit coupling the transmitter unit and the receiver unit arranged to transfer a multimedia data packet stream formed of a number of multimedia data packets based upon the source packet data stream in accordance with a link rate between the transmitter unit and the receiver unit. |
| US08068483B2 |
Method for migration between a permanent connection and a switched connection in a transmission network
This invention discloses a method for migration between a permanent connection and a switched connection in a transmission network. The method comprises the steps of: the ingress node of the current connection receiving a message of connection migrating request; forwarding the message of connection migrating request node by node starting from the ingress node in the direction of the traffic signal transmission of the current connection till the egress node of the current connection; making migration between the two connection modes until the ingress node after the message of migrating request has been received. By making migration between modes of connection node by node at each node of a transmission network, this invention ensures a smooth transition between a permanent connection and a switched connection, effectively avoiding service disruption while making the implementation of network services more flexible. |
| US08068474B2 |
Variable rate coding for enabling high performance communication
A protocol for optimizing the use of coded transmissions such as over wireless links. In this technique, interframes are split into segments selected to be an optimum size according to transmission characteristics of the radio channel. The inverse process is applied at the receiver. Using this scheme, segments containing erroneous data may be resent. |
| US08068469B2 |
Surrogate registration in internet protocol multimedia subsystem for users indirectly coupled via an end point
An exemplary method implemented by nodes in a telecommunication network includes associating a plurality of public user identities (PUIDs) into groups where each PUID represents a user served by a group of related endpoints, such as a private branch exchange (PBX). The groups are stored at the first node. Each group contains a group address that uniquely identifies the group and the PBX associated the users with PUIDs that are associated with the group. A first registration request is transmitted from the first node to an internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) where the first registration request includes the group address and the PUIDs that are associated with the group. The first registration request seeks to establish implicit registration in the IMS of the PUIDs associated with the group with the group address. A reply from the IMS is received at the first node in response to the first registration request where the reply seeks authentication for the requested implicit registration of the PUIDs. In response to receipt of the reply, authentication information is calculated and transmitted as a second registration request that contains the authentication information and the group address and the PUIDs that are associated with the group. The PUIDs in association with the group address are implicitly registered in the IMS upon a determination that the authentication information is acceptable. |
| US08068467B2 |
Multi-tier WLAN and method for propagating beacons in a multi-tier WLAN thereof
A method for transmitting beacons by nodes in a multi-tier wireless local area network is disclosed. First, a first beacon by a tier 1 node in the multi-tier wireless local area network is transmitted. Then, a second beacon by a tier 2 node is transmitted where the second beacon is transmitted based upon the time that the first beacon is sent by the tier 1 node. |
| US08068465B2 |
Wireless multicast broadcast service methods and apparatus
Embodiments include methods and apparatus associated with wireless multicast and/or broadcast services. A base station (102, FIG. 1) transmits data codes (504, 604, 702, FIGS. 5-7) within a radio frame (300, FIG. 3). The data codes are Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) data codes, in an embodiment. The base station also transmits a Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) synchronization code (502, 608, 706, FIGS. 5-7), in an embodiment. The base station discontinuously transmits (1004, FIG. 10) a portion of a radio frame slot that is coincident in time with a duration of the TDM synchronization code, in various embodiments. The discontinuously transmitted portion of the radio frame slot may include Transport Format Combination Indicator (TFCI) bits (510, FIG. 5), pilot bits (710, FIG. 7), or data bits (612, FIG. 6), in various embodiments. A base station's transmissions may be synchronous in time and frequency with the transmissions of other base stations. |
| US08068464B2 |
Varying scrambling/OVSF codes within a TD-CDMA slot to overcome jamming effect by a dominant interferer
An apparatus and method for varying scrambling codes within a radio frame time slot for a user device in a wireless communication environment including detecting interference of the user device; and varying a scrambling code sequence employed to multiply a Walsh code assigned to the user device at least once within a transmission time slot. |
| US08068463B2 |
Systems and methods for multi-beam optic-wireless vehicle communications
The present invention offers systems and methods for effective multiple-hop routing, multicasting and media access control for vehicle group communications that employ directional wireless radio technology. Multi-beam optic-wireless media and streamlined operations provide low-overhead communications among vehicles. Systems and methods are provided to maintain a quasi-stationary group of neighboring vehicles, enable high-throughput on-demand switching among multiple vehicles, enable group coding in the vehicle group to achieve higher throughput, and enable dynamic adjustment of link to maintain desirable vehicle group. The proposed solution builds upon the conception of a MAC-free wireless operation and quasi-stationary vehicular switched network to achieve ultra-low-overhead and high-throughput vehicle communications. |
| US08068462B2 |
Method and apparatus for retransmitting data based on antenna scheduling in MIMO system
Provided is a method for retransmitting data based on antenna scheduling in a MIMO system to which a spatial multiplexing technique is applied. The method includes the steps of: (a) at a transmitter side, modulating an input packet into transmittable data to transmit to a receiver side; (b) at the receiver side, estimating channel values from the packet transmitted from the transmitter side, and selecting transmitting and receiving antennas for transmitting the next packet from the estimated channel values; (c) detecting whether an error is present in the packet or not, and transmitting a feedback signal to the transmitter side, the feedback signal including information on whether or not to transmit the packet and a list of the selected transmitting antennas; and (d) at the transmitter side, retransmitting the transmitted packet or transmitting the next packet through the transmitting antennas designated by the receiver side depending on the feedback signal. |
| US08068461B2 |
Foreign agent, home agent, mobile node, system of mobile ethernet and method for data transmission
A foreign agent, a home agent, and a mobile node of mobile Ethernet, and a mobile Ethernet system, and a method for data transmission are disclosed. The mobile Ethernet system includes an Ethernet foreign agent, an Ethernet home agent and a mobile node. The method for data transmission includes: relaying, by a mobile node (MN) and a corresponding node (CN) in the mobile Ethernet system, through an Ethernet foreign agent (E-FA) and an Ethernet home agent (E-HA) to which the MN belongs, and performing data transmission by using Ethernet tunnel between the E-HA and the E-FA. The invention provides a switching-based connection-oriented mobile Ethernet system suitable to multimedia communications. |
| US08068456B2 |
System and method for transmitting and receiving signals in a communication system using relay scheme
A system and method for transmitting and receiving a signal in a communication system using a relay scheme. A base station receives a first signal in a first time interval from a first mobile station which is at least one mobile station located in a third region which is a region where a first region which is a region of the base station itself overlaps with a second region which is a region of a relay station. The relay station receives a second signal in the first time interval from a second mobile station which is at least one mobile station located in a fourth region which is a region not overlapping with the first region in the second region, and receives the first signal from the first mobile station. The relay station transmits a third signal including the first signal and the second signal to the base station in a second time interval. The base station receives the third signal in the second time interval, and cancels the first signal from the third signal to detect the second signal. |
| US08068455B2 |
Radio communication apparatus and radio communication method
A radio communication apparatus that performs first radio communication using a first channel among two first channels each having a first channel width, and second radio communication using a second channel having a second channel width that is wider than the first channel width and also having a channel width overlapping with the two first channels. The apparatus includes an interference detection device which detects that interference occurs in the first channel among the two first channels, and a frame generation unit which generates a notification frame that recommends the use of only the first channel width. An instruction unit instructs the frame generation unit to generate the notification frame when the occurrence of interference is detected by the interference detection device. A frame transmission unit transmits the notification frame generated from the frame generation unit in response to the instruction from the instruction unit. |
| US08068454B2 |
System for enabling mobile coverage extension and peer-to-peer communications in an ad hoc network and method of operation therefor
A method for enabling mobile coverage extension and peer-to-peer communications in an ad hoc network is provided. The method includes communicating at least one message among the plurality of nodes, wherein the at least one message comprises: an ad hoc zone, wherein the ad hoc zone comprises at least one channel selected from a group of channels comprising: at least one synchronization channel for synchronizing out of coverage nodes, at least one access channel for peer-to-peer communications, and at least one ad hoc relay data/traffic channel for exchanging data during data sessions between one or more nodes. |
| US08068452B2 |
Synergetic transmitting system for digital broadcast SFN and method thereof
A cooperative transmission system for single frequency digital broadcasting network and method thereof are disclosed, said system includes a first double-layer cooperative transmission structure with same frequency and a second double-layer cooperative transmission structure with same frequency, which are vertically aggregated; wherein each of the double-layer cooperative transmission structures with same frequency is made up of a main transmission layer including several main transmitters with same transmitting frequency and an auxiliary transmission layer including several auxiliary transmitters with same transmitting frequency; the electromagnetic wave transmitted by the main transmitters in the first double-layer cooperative transmission structure with same frequency and the electromagnetic wave transmitted by the main transmitters in the second double-layer cooperative transmission structure with same frequency have different frequencies. The present invention makes up the disadvantage of the single frequency network, and can greatly improve the spectrum efficiency of broadcasting channel, the coverage (especially the indoor coverage) of broadcasting signal and the effect of mobile receiving of broadcasting signal. |
| US08068450B2 |
System and method for providing aggregated wireless communications services
A system and method for enabling users of wireless devices to increase wireless communication bandwidth may include a server in communication with multiple wireless access points. The server may execute software configured to enable a wireless device to communicate with multiple wireless access points of a network during a communications session. The software, in response to determining that the wireless device attempts to communicate with a wireless access point of the network, determines whether the user of the wireless device has a subscription to communicate with multiple wireless access points to aggregate bandwidth from the wireless access points, and enables the wireless device to access the network and communicate with the wireless access points if the user has the subscription agreement. |
| US08068448B1 |
Apparatus, system, and computer program for synchronizing communications
A satellite communication system includes a hub, a repeater, a scheduling unit, and a remote. The scheduling unit is configured to synchronize a communication of the system based on an elapsed time between (i) an arrival at the remote of a downstream reference frame transmitted by the hub and retransmitted by the repeater, and (ii) an arrival at the remote of an upstream frame transmitted by the remote and retransmitted by the repeater. |
| US08068446B2 |
Method of efficiently processing dormant state in packet service and multi-mode terminal for the same
An apparatus and method for efficiently processing a dormant state in a packet service between communication networks providing the packet service using different mobile communication technologies is disclosed. This method includes disconnecting, by a multi-mode terminal, a current packet call and changing to a new serviceable mode, if a multi-mode terminal moves to a poor communication area in a dormant or preservation state occurring during a packet service. In this state, by immediately returning to a packet call reconnection state if a user performs a subsequent operation, an area in which the packet service cannot be provided can be minimized, and a communication mode in which a best communication service can be provided can be established. |
| US08068442B1 |
Spanning tree protocol synchronization within virtual private networks
Loop detection information, such as information associated with the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), is synchronized within virtual private networks. A routing protocol, such as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), is extended in a manner that allows STP information or other loop detection information to be opaquely communicated between routing devices across an intermediate network. These techniques may, for example, be useful in environments where Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) is run through one or more intermediate networks. |
| US08068440B2 |
Systems and methods for intelligent discard in a communication network
Systems and methods for optimizing system performance of capacity and spectrum constrained, multiple-access communication systems by selectively discarding packets are provided. The systems and methods provided herein can drive changes in the communication system using control responses. One such control responses includes the optimal discard (also referred to herein as “intelligent discard”) of network packets under capacity constrained conditions. Some embodiments provide an interactive response by selectively discarding packets to enhance perceived and actual system throughput, other embodiments provide a reactive response by selectively discarding data packets based on their relative impact to service quality to mitigate oversubscription, others provide a proactive response by discarding packets based on predicted oversubscription, and others provide a combination thereof. |
| US08068438B2 |
Method for cooperative relaying within multi-hop wireless communication systems
A method for cooperative relaying within multi hop wireless communication systems includes a base station, in an attempt to decode a data packet, combining hard sliced channel bits and Logarithmic Likelihood Ratio (LLR) quality information received from relay stations who had also received the data packet with stored information about the data packet. |
| US08068436B2 |
Methods and systems for estimating network available bandwidth using packet pairs and spatial filtering
Estimation of available bandwidth on a network uses packet pairs and spatially filtering. Packet pairs are transmitted over the network. The dispersion of the packet pairs is used to generate samples of the available bandwidth, which are then classified into bins to generate a histogram. The bins can have uniform bin widths, and the histogram data can be aged so that older samples are given less weight in the estimation. The histogram data is then spatially filtered. Kernel density algorithms can be used to spatially filter the histogram data. The network available bandwidth is estimated using the spatially filtered histogram data. Alternatively, the spatially filtered histogram data can be temporally filtered before the available bandwidth is estimated. |
| US08068435B2 |
Rate adaptive modem
A communication system transmitting signals over a network using a transmission waveform in which a plurality of data packets are transmitted in a payload field of a transmission frame, the system includes a transmitter, which has a transmitting portion that sends information including user data in the data packets and a user data rate portion that dynamically changes the data rate of the user data to the highest rate possible for current link conditions by changing the waveform. The communication system also includes a receiver, which has a receiving portion that receives the information data packets and a reconfiguration portion that reconfigures the receiving portion based on the waveform parameters. |
| US08068430B2 |
High quality timing distribution over DSL without NTR support
A method and system in which a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) that is part of a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) system is able to provide synchronous services to end user equipment connected to the DSLAM via a DSL link and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). A sniffer device having direct or indirect access to a Primary Reference Clock (PRC) of the DSL system calculates the phase difference between the PRC and the DSLAM's Local Timing Reference (LTR). The phase difference is sent to the CPEs requiring accurate reference clock frequency. The CPEs are able to derive the PRC from the phase difference information transmitted by the sniffer device thus enabling synchronous end user equipment operation. |
| US08068429B2 |
Transmit scheduling
There are disclosed apparatus and methods for scheduling packet transmission. At least one scheduled traffic queue holds a plurality of scheduled packets, each scheduled packet having an associated scheduled transmit time. At least one unscheduled traffic queue holds plurality of unscheduled packets. A packet selector causes transmission of scheduled packets from the scheduled traffic queue at the associated scheduled transmit time, while causing transmission of unscheduled packets from the unscheduled traffic queue during the time intervals between transmissions of scheduled packets. |
| US08068424B2 |
Message transmission in wireless access system
A method for transmitting messages to alter the operating status between a mobile station and a base station in a wireless access system comprises, at the mobile station, transmitting a first message to the base station, setting a first count to a first predetermined value and enabling a first, the first message requesting a alteration in operating status between the mobile station and the base station, whereupon expiration of the first timer before receiving a second message from the base station, the count is decremented and, if the count is above a second predetermined value, the first timer is reset and the first message is retransmitted to the base station. The method also comprises, at a base station, receiving the first message, transmitting a second message to the mobile station and enabling a second timer, whereupon expiration of the second timer, the alteration in operating status is effected. |
| US08068421B2 |
Arrangement and method for session control in wireless communication network
An arrangement and method for session control in a wireless UMTS radio access network (100) by performing creation and deletion of application-specific packet sessions (PDP contexts) in the network, with application-specific QoS parameters, without requiring the explicit cooperation of the application software (either via software API or modem AT command). This allows session set-up and tear-down control of dedicated packet sessions for particular data services, in a UMTS 3G mobile wireless network, with application-specific QoS parameters, with umodified applications operating over the network. |
| US08068419B2 |
System and method for transmitting video, audio, and data content using a fiber optic network
The present invention is directed to a system and method for controlling a data transmission network, and in particular, to a fiber optic broadcast quality video and audio transmission network, that can also provide customers, or users, the feature of accessing and controlling network parameters to set up and customize their own network connection and services, and where the fiber optic network may also be integrated with satellite transmission. |
| US08068416B2 |
System and method of communicating a media stream
In an embodiment, a method of allocating media streams includes measuring real-time port usage data related to each of a plurality of physical ports associated with a link aggregation group. The method further includes selecting at least one, but not all, of the plurality of physical ports based on the real-time port usage data and sending a media stream to a network via the physical port. |
| US08068410B2 |
Bias correction for scrubbing providers
A decision about provider quality based on a quality metric observed says little about the quality of the provider. Further, the decision may be biased by a variation in customer contributions to the quality metric observed or by a variation in a number of completed calls received by a provider. Accordingly, a method and corresponding apparatus are provided to evaluate quality and to correct bias by determining a standard that accounts for at least one source of bias, comparing an observed measure of a provider against the standard to produce an evaluation of the observed measure of the provider, and affecting a decision about the quality of the provider based on the evaluation. As a result, an unbiased decision, for example, to scrub a provider can be made and in some instances, a provider may be rescued from being scrubbed. |
| US08068408B2 |
Softrouter protocol disaggregation
A SoftRouter architecture deconstructs routers by separating the control entities of a router from its forwarding components, enabling dynamic binding between them. In the SoftRouter architecture, control plane functions are aggregated and implemented on a few smart servers which control forwarding elements that are multiple network hops away. A dynamic binding protocol performs network-wide control plane failovers. Network stability is improved by aggregating and remotely hosting routing protocols, such as OSPF and BGP. This results in faster convergence, lower protocol messages processed, and fewer route changes following a failure. The SoftRouter architecture includes a few smart control entities that manage a large number of forwarding elements to provide greater support for network-wide control. In the SoftRouter architecture, routing protocols operate remotely at a control element and control one or more forwarding elements by downloading the forwarding tables, etc. into the forwarding elements. Intra-domain routing and inter-domain routing are also included. |
| US08068407B2 |
Group MMSE-DFD with order and filter computation for reception on a cellular downlink
The present method resides in a user destination receiver to exploit the structure of the transmitted signals to design filters that yield improved performance. Moreover, the computational cost of designing these filters can be reduced and the demodulation complexity can be kept low. Further, the present method enables determining the order of decoding the transmitter sources. The present method provides group MMSE decision feedback decoding for the case when all the sources transmit at fixed pre-determined rates and the MCS employed by each source is known to the destination. The present method includes a filtering technique and an order and filter computation process, both improvements over previous efforts at group MMSE decision feedback decoding. |
| US08068406B2 |
Method and system for crosstalk cancellation
Signals propagating in one communication channel can generate crosstalk interference in another communication channel. A crosstalk cancellation device can process the signals causing the crosstalk interference and generate a crosstalk cancellation signal that can compensate for the crosstalk when applied to the channel receiving crosstalk interference. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a model of the crosstalk effect that generates a signal emulating the actual crosstalk both in form an in timing. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a controller that monitors crosstalk-compensated communication signals and adjusts the model to enhance crosstalk cancellation performance. The crosstalk cancellation device can have a mode of self configuration or calibration in which defined test signals can be transmitted on the crosstalk-generating channel and the crosstalk-receiving channel. |
| US08068405B2 |
Ferroelectric memory and method in which polarity of domain of ferroelectric memory is determined using ratio of currents
Methods and arrangements for data storage are discussed. Embodiments include applying a first voltage between a tip and an electrode, thereby forming a polarized domain in a ferroelectric material between 1 nanometer (nm) and 50 nm in thickness. The embodiments may also include applying another voltage through the tip, thereby generating a current responsive to an orientation of the polarized domain. The embodiments may also include measuring the current and determining the orientation of the polarized domain, based upon the measuring. |
| US08068403B2 |
Optical head
To provide an optical head to produce good servo and read signals by reducing the influence of interference by light reflected from a non-read layer of a multilayer optical disc.The head includes: a first optical system for converging light from a light source on a first or second storage layer; a second optical system for receiving and transmitting light reflected from the first layer and stray light reflected from the second layer when the light is converged on the first layer; a photodetector; and a calculator. The photosensitive areas of the photodetector output signals representing intensities of the light incident there through the second system. The reflected and stray light incident on the second system interfere with each other, and the first and second groups of areas are arranged so as to be equally affected by a variation in intensity caused by the interference. The calculator calculates the difference between sum of a first group of signals supplied from a first group of areas and that of a second group of signals supplied from a second group of areas, thereby generating a focus error signal. |
| US08068395B2 |
Recording device and method of adjusting laser power
A recording device including: an optical head section for irradiating a recording medium with laser to record and reproduce information; a laser driving section for driving the optical head section to output laser; and a control section for, in a process of adjusting recording laser power output from the optical head section, obtaining an evaluation value of a recorded area after a predetermined period of time elapsed since data was recorded as an evaluation value about a reproduction signal during reproduction of the recorded data, and adjusting recording laser power on the basis of the evaluation value after the predetermined period of time elapsed since data was recorded. |
| US08068392B2 |
Recording method, recording apparatus, and recording medium
A recording method is provided, which comprises the steps of (a) generating a plurality of pulse sequences corresponding to a plurality of linear velocities, (b) while rotating a recording medium with a linear velocity selected from the plurality of linear velocities, forming at least one of a recording mark and a space by irradiating the recording medium with a pulse sequence selected from the plurality of pulse sequences, the pulse corresponding to the linear velocity. The step (a) comprises the steps of (a-1) measuring at least one first recording parameter corresponding to at least one linear velocity selected from the plurality of linear velocities, (a-2) determining a second recording parameter corresponding to the plurality of linear velocities based on the at least one first recording parameter measured, and (a-3) generating the plurality of pulse sequences corresponding to the plurality of linear velocities based on the second recording parameter measured. |
| US08068387B2 |
Magneto-optical device
A magneto-optical device is disclosed that includes a non-magnetic support body and a fine particle arrangement layer on the non-magnetic support body. The fine particle arrangement layer includes multiple regularly arranged fine metal magnetic particles. In the magneto-optical device, magnetization is generated by applying an external magnetic field to the fine metal magnetic particles, and linearly polarized light is made incident on the fine metal magnetic particles, so that a magneto-optical effect is increased by the interaction between the incident light on the fine metal magnetic particles and the surface plasmon oscillation of the fine metal magnetic particles. |
| US08068383B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit having address control circuit
A semiconductor IC in which a least significant bit of an external address signal is fixed to a signal level, the semiconductor integrated circuit includes an address control circuit configured to produce a carry signal, when a test mode signal is activated, in response to a column command signal and output an address signal, which is sequentially increased from an initial internal address signal, by latching the external address signal as the initial internal address signal and combining the latched initial internal address signal and the carry signal. |
| US08068381B2 |
Cache memory
Disclosed is a cache memory, and more particularly to a cache memory, in which a word-line voltage control logic unit and a word-line driver are added as a logic circuit between a row decoder and a word line, so that a reinforcement voltage signal having a higher level than a basic voltage signal can be applied when accessing the word line corresponding to an access time failure, thereby decreasing an access time delay in the word line in order to minimize an access failure to the cache memory due to process variation. The cache memory including: a row decoder which decodes and outputs an input address signal; a plurality of word-line voltage control logic units which output a basic voltage signal or a reinforcement voltage signal having a higher voltage level than the basic voltage signal according to whether or not word lines involve a cell having an access time failure; and word-line drivers which are one-to-one connected to output lines of the row decoder and supply the word lines with the basic voltage signal or the reinforcement voltage signal output from the word-line voltage control logic unit only if a signal output through the output line of the row decoder is an activation signal. |
| US08068377B2 |
Semiconductor memory device to reduce off-current in standby mode
A semiconductor memory device capable of reducing off-current in a standby mode is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes an enable signal generating unit configured to receive a plurality of address decoding signals and generate a first enable signal to select a first cell block and a second enable signal to select a second cell block, and an internal voltage generating unit for generating an internal voltage by controlling a supply of a first voltage in accordance with the first or second enable signals. |
| US08068376B1 |
Low leakage high stability memory array system
Systems design and methods are provided for maintaining the memory array stability while reducing power consumption in the form of leakage current in a memory array. One embodiment discloses a memory array system, which comprises a plurality of memory cells, a monitor cell array, a controller, and voltage regulator circuits. The controller receives information from the monitor cell array, determines the state of stability, and adjusts the voltage regulators accordingly to ensure the memory array stability and minimizes leakage. |
| US08068375B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of refreshing the same
A semiconductor device according to the present invention has an address scrambling circuit for performing address scrambling operation of an address and a redundancy judging circuit for judging that redundancy judgment is performed about the address scrambled by the address scrambling circuit. This structure makes it possible to completely refresh operation concerned with normal word lines and redundancy word lines. |
| US08068365B2 |
Non-volatile memory device having configurable page size
A flash memory device having at least one bank, where the each bank has an independently configurable page size. Each bank includes at least two memory planes having corresponding page buffers, where any number and combination of the memory planes are selectively accessed at the same time in response to configuration data and address data. The configuration data can be loaded into the memory device upon power up for a static page configuration of the bank, or the configuration data can be received with each command to allow for dynamic page configuration of the bank. By selectively adjusting a page size the memory bank, the block size is correspondingly adjusted. |
| US08068363B2 |
Flash memory apparatus and read operation control method therefor
A flash memory apparatus of an embodiment is configured to include a flash memory including a plurality of blocks and a read operation control circuit determining whether to replace a block in accordance with the number of times a read process is performed for each block of the plurality of blocks. |
| US08068362B2 |
Non-volatile semiconductor memory device and method of reading the same
A non-volatile semiconductor memory device capable of preventing reading failure during the occurrence of the FG-FG coupling effect is disclosed. The non-volatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, each cell of which stores at least two bits, such as LSB and MSB, using different threshold voltages. In addition, the device includes a control circuit for controlling the data-reading operation of the memory cell array. When the reading operation of the memory cells of a first word line is performed, the memory cells of a second word line adjacent to the first word line are examined to determine whether the writing operation of the MSB is performed. If the writing operation of the MSB is performed, a pre-charge voltage of the bit lines connecting to the memory cells of the first word line is reduced to a predetermined voltage for canceling out the raising of the threshold voltage caused by the coupling effect between gate electrodes. |
| US08068360B2 |
Reading analog memory cells using built-in multi-threshold commands
A method for data storage includes storing data in a memory that includes multi-bit analog memory cells, each of which stores at least first and second data bits by assuming one of a predefined plurality of programming levels associated with respective storage values. The memory has at least a first built-in command for reading the first data bits of the memory cells by comparing the storage values of the memory cells to a first number of first thresholds, and a second built-in command for reading the second data bits of the memory cells by comparing the storage values of the memory cells to a second number of second thresholds, such that the first number is less than the second number. After storing the data, the first data bits are read from the memory cells by executing at least the second built-in command. |
| US08068352B2 |
Power inverter control for grid-tie transition
A control system for a power inverter is disclosed. The power inverter may be configured to supply power to a grid. The control system may include a plurality of output voltage sensors and a plurality of output current sensors configured to measure output line voltages and output line currents of the power inverter. The control system may further include a controller coupled to the power inverter. The controller may be configured to provide a control signal associated with a disturbance frequency to the power inverter. The controller may be further configured to determine an output power of the power inverter based on the output line voltages and output line currents, and determine an amplitude of oscillation in the output power caused by the disturbance frequency. The controller may also be configured to detect an islanding condition, if the amplitude of oscillation is below a threshold. The control system may further include an interface circuit coupled to the controller and configured to disconnect the grid from the power inverter if the islanding condition is detected. |
| US08068351B2 |
Cable management system
A cable management system provides cable management for a switch chassis configured to receive a plurality of line card units. The cable management system comprises a cable guide arrangement configured to guide each of a plurality of cables from a line card such that the cables extend out from the line card unit and lie substantially within a plane. |
| US08068348B2 |
Electrical power distribution unit and electrical punched grid therefor
An electrical power distribution unit (1) for an electrical system has a printed circuit board (200) with a punched grid (100) arranged thereon. An electrical component (300, 310) is arranged on the printed circuit board on a side of the punched grid (100). An electrical contact (350) of the electrical component projects through a passage opening in the printed circuit board. The punched grid is arranged between the electrical component and the printed circuit board, and an opening is formed in the punched grid in an area (130) around the electrical contact. The punched grid has a current infeed (110) which comprises a plurality of tongues (111, 112; 113). At least one of the tongues is bendable out of a plane of the punched grid in such a way that two of the tongues form a mutually adjacent common portion (115), which is electrically contactable by an electrical plug connector. |
| US08068345B2 |
Electronic device
According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a housing, a first substrate having rigidity and including a slit, contained in the housing, a part mount portion provided on the first substrate and adjacent to the slit, an electronic part mounted on the part mount portion and a second substrate having flexibility. The second substrate is stacked on an inside of the first substrate and an inside of the part mount portion, and it crosses the slit, thereby supporting the part mount portion to be displaceable with respect to the first substrate. |
| US08068343B2 |
Semiconductor module, portable device and method for manufacturing semiconductor module
A semiconductor module is provided, which is capable of suppressing the deterioration of reliability and improving heat radiation. The semiconductor module includes: a semiconductor substrate in which electrodes of a circuit element are formed on its surface; a re-wiring pattern connected to the electrodes to ensure large pitch of the electrodes; an electrode integrally formed with the re-wiring pattern; an insulating layer formed on a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate; a radiator formed on the insulating layer; and projections integrally formed with the radiator and penetrating the insulating layer to connect to the rear surface of the semiconductor substrate. |
| US08068336B2 |
Docking station for hand held electronic devices
A docking system is disclosed. The docking system includes a single docking station and a plurality of inserts that are placed in the docking station so that the docking station can accommodate hand held devices with differing sizes and shapes. The docking system is configured with a docking station and insert that matingly engage with one another via a rotating action. The docking system is also configured with a latching retention mechanism that secures the insert to the docking station when the insert is rotated into engagement with the docking station. |
| US08068331B2 |
Enclosure to prevent fluid ingress of a device having a touch screen interface
An electronic device enclosure having an integrated in-mold foil, which prevents fluid ingress around an included display of the electronic device, is disclosed. A portion of the in-mold foil is adapted to the specific contour and profile of the display, thereby allowing a user to use a touch screen interface of the display with no shortcomings. In addition, the in-mold foil protects the display from direct chemical attack, and may provide a liquid-tight seal between a button of the electronic device and the enclosure. |
| US08068328B2 |
Nanolithographic method of manufacturing an embedded passive device for a microelectronic application, and microelectronic device containing same
A method of manufacturing an embedded passive device for a microelectronic application comprises steps of providing a substrate (110, 210, 310), nanolithographically forming a first section (121, 221, 321) of the embedded passive device over the substrate, and nanolithographically forming subsequent sections (122, 222, 322) the embedded passive device adjacent to the first section. The resulting embedded passive device may contain features less than approximately 100 nm in size. |
| US08068324B2 |
Circuit and method for protecting energy-storage device
A protection circuit including an energy-storage device, a fusible element, and an overvoltage modulation unit is provided. The energy-storage device stores a first energy and supplies the first energy. The fusible element connected in series with the energy-storage device for constituting a branch circuit. The overvoltage modulation unit is connected in parallel with the branch circuit, wherein when the branch circuit begins to have an overvoltage, an absolute value of a modulating current flowing through the overvoltage modulation unit is increased instantaneously, so that a second energy instantaneously released from the energy-storage device is applied to cut off the fusible element. |
| US08068317B2 |
Magnetic tunnel transistor with high magnetocurrent
A magnetic tunnel transistor (MTT) having a pinned layer that has no antiferromagnetic material in an active area of the sensor. The MTT can include a layer of antiferromagnetic material that is exchange coupled with the pinned layer in an area outside of the active area of me sensor, such as outside the track-width, beyond the stripe height, or both outside the track-width and beyond the stripe height. The pinned layer can also be pinned without any exchange coupling at all. In that case, pinning can be assisted by shape enhanced magnetic anisotropy, by extending the pinned layer beyond the stripe height. |
| US08068315B2 |
Current perpendicular to plane GMR and TMR sensors with improved magnetic properties using Ru/Si seed layers
A magnetoresisive sensor having a thin seed layer that provides an exceptionally smooth interface between layers of the sensor stack. The exceptionally smooth interface provided by the seed layer reduces interlayer exchange coupling allowing the non-magnetic spacer layer (or barrier layer) to be very thin. The seed layer includes a thin layer of Ru and a thin layer of Si which intermix to form a homogeneous, amorphous thin seed layer of Ru-silicide. |
| US08068313B2 |
Microactuator, head gimbal assembly, and disk drive device
Embodiments of the present invention relate to approaches to effectively let noise on a head slider bonded to a silicon substrate of a microactuator, escape to the ground. A head gimbal assembly (HGA) according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a microactuator bonded to a gimbal tongue. The microactuator comprises a piezoelectric element and a movable part for moving in response to expansion or contraction of the piezoelectric element. The motion of the movable part causes a head slider to slightly move. The microactuator further comprises a conductive path including an impurity-containing silicon layer formed on the silicon substrate. The conductive path transmits electric charge of the head slider to a suspension. The conductivity of the impurity-containing silicon layer is lower than the one of the silicon substrate so that the noise charge of the head slider may escape to the suspension. |
| US08068306B2 |
Write quality of HDD heads experiencing temporary fly-height problems
Approaches for improving the write quality of a hard-disk drive (HDD) head experiencing temporary fly-height problem. When the hard-disk drive is idle and heads are parked on the ramp, fluid, such as a lubricant or the condensation of vapor, may collect between the surface of a platter and the head or a slider, thereby causing the head to temporarily fly higher than normal. An HDD may include electronic component(s) configured to (a) determine whether it is likely that fluid is interposed between the surface of a magnetic-recording disk and the slider or the head, and (b) temporarily adjust one or more of (i) a thermal fly height control setting of the head and (ii) a write parameter of the head to compensate for the head flying higher than normal as a result of the fluid being interposed between the surface of the disk and the slider or the head. |
| US08068304B1 |
Calibrating servos
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products are described for calibrating servos, and in some implementations, calibrating spiral servos for use in self-servo-write (SSW) processes. In one aspect, a method is provided that includes determining timing reference information on a machine readable medium, locking a clock signal to the timing reference information, detecting a spiral on the machine readable medium, determining a location of the spiral using the clock signal, and calibrating a spiral servo according to the location of the spiral. |
| US08068303B2 |
Lateral partitioning for a shingled tape format
Various embodiments for writing data in a tape medium having wraps by a tape drive are provided. The tape drive allocates the wraps in a shingled data band between two or more data partitions. A set of contiguous wraps is allocated to one data partition of the two or more data partitions. An additional set of contiguous wraps is allocated to an additional data partition of the two or more data partitions. A minimum buffer is retained between the set and the additional set of contiguous wraps of at least one wrap per direction written within at least one data band shared between the one and the additional data partitions such that the one and the additional data partitions may be written to by the tape drive independently of each other. |
| US08068301B2 |
Magnetic media formed by a thin film planar arbitrary gap pattern magnetic head
Magnetic media made using planar magnetic heads. A head may comprise a substrate having conductive thru-hole vias extending therethrough, a first magnetic layer deposited and patterned on the substrate, a first insulation layer deposited and patterned on the first magnetic layer, a conductive coil layer deposited and patterned on the first insulation layer and connected to the conductive thru-hole vias, a second insulation layer deposited and patterned on the conductive coil layer, vias patterned into the insulation layer extending to the first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer deposited in the vias, and a third magnetic layer deposited and patterned on the second insulation layer and second magnetic layer. The third magnetic layer may be connected to the first magnetic layer through the second magnetic layer deposited in the vias of the insulation layers. |
| US08068300B2 |
Thin film planar arbitrary gap pattern magnetic head
Planar magnetic heads and methods of making the same using a built-up approach and thru-hole via technology to achieve a true planar head. A head may comprise a substrate having conductive thru-hole vias extending therethrough, a first magnetic layer deposited and patterned on the substrate, a first insulation layer deposited and patterned on the first magnetic layer, a conductive coil layer deposited and patterned on the first insulation layer and connected to the conductive thru-hole vias, a second insulation layer deposited and patterned on the conductive coil layer, vias patterned into the insulation layer extending to the first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer deposited in the vias, and a third magnetic layer deposited and patterned on the second insulation layer and second magnetic layer. The third magnetic layer may be connected to the first magnetic layer through the second magnetic layer deposited in the vias of the insulation layers. |
| US08068298B2 |
Harmonic selection for track following on a hard disk drive
Harmonic selection for track following is described for a hard disk drive comprising at least one magnetic disk capable of storing data and spinning, a controller capable of controlling a read/write head capable of reading and writing data while following a track on a surface of the at least one magnetic disk, and a memory device capable of storing data relating to the operation of the hard disk drive. A drive function test on the hard disk drive is performed, during which harmonic frequencies are identified which cause disturbances for the hard disk drive. Data regarding the harmonic frequencies which cause the greatest disturbances for the hard disk drive is stored in the memory device. The data regarding the harmonic frequencies which cause the greatest disturbances is forwarded to the controller upon the at least one magnetic disk spinning. |
| US08068294B2 |
Lens barrel, image pickup device, and lens barrel manufacturing method
A lens barrel includes a fourth lens, a prism, and a sixth lens. The fourth lens receives a light flux incident along a first optical axis. The prism includes a reflecting surface reflecting the light flux passing through the fourth lens to a direction along a second optical axis intersecting with the first optical axis. The sixth lens receives the light flux reflected by the prism. A second group frame includes an opening portion, a prism retaining frame that is arranged in a more inner position than the opening portion and in which the prism is contained, and a plurality of adhesive pockets arranged on an area around the prism retaining frame and being open to the side of the opening portion. Adhesive agent is filled in the adhesive pockets. |
| US08068288B1 |
Thin stepped tulip lens
A secondary illumination optic, principally directed toward managing light from light emitting diode illumination sources having a primary optical element, is provided comprising a lens combination arranged along the optical axis, a central convex lens portion being centrally positioned on the optical axis, and a surrounding total internal reflection lens portion, with the central optic having a first and incident surface and a second and exiting surface, both comprising refractive faceted optical lens elements, and the total internal reflection optic lens portion having a cylinder shaped aspheric first and incident surface, a second and internal total reflection surface, and a third and exiting surface comprising refractive faceted optic lens elements, wherein, being constructed of resin having optical characteristic, the central and total internal reflection lens portions are molded as an integrated assembly from an optical resin providing a stepped tulip type lens, thinner and higher yielding than prior art lenses. |
| US08068283B2 |
Lenticular card and process for making
A lenticulated sheet including a polymeric backing sheet, an imaged transparent sheet having a first smooth side and a second side with a lenticulated region, the transparent sheet optionally having at least one printed image area on the first smooth side and an adhesive layer over the printed image areas and non-image areas of the first smooth side. Air is removed from between the backing layer and the lenticular layer second side, and the adhesive layer is adapted to join the backing layer and the lenticular layer second side. The invention also provides processes useful for preparing a lenticular card including an optional core sheet, or optional primer layers. |
| US08068281B2 |
Zoom lens system, interchangeable lens apparatus and camera system
A zoom lens system is provided that includes a compactly constructed focusing lens unit and that has a suppressed change in the image magnification at the time of movement of a focusing lens unit. The zoom lens system according to the present invention, in order from an object side to an image side, comprises: a first lens unit having positive optical power; a second lens unit having negative optical power; and at least two subsequent lens units, wherein at the time of zooming, all lens units move in a direction along the optical axis so that intervals between the lens units vary, and at the time of focusing, a second most image-side lens unit moves in a direction along the optical axis. |
| US08068280B2 |
Zoom lens system, interchangeable lens apparatus and camera system
A zoom lens system is provided that includes a compactly constructed focusing lens unit and that has a suppressed change in the image magnification at the time of movement of a focusing lens unit. The zoom lens system according to the present invention, in order from an object side to an image side, comprises: a first lens unit having positive optical power; a second lens unit having negative optical power; and at least two subsequent lens units, wherein the two lens units includes a lens unit A having positive optical power and a lens unit B arranged on the image side relative to the lens unit A, at the time of zooming, all lens units move in a direction along the optical axis so that intervals between the lens units vary, at the time of focusing, the lens unit B moves in a direction along the optical axis, and at the time of compensating image blur caused by vibration in the zoom lens system, either the entirety of a lens unit arranged on the object side relative to the lens unit A or a sub lens unit which is a part of a lens unit arranged on the object side relative to the lens unit A and is arranged on the image side therein moves in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. |
| US08068274B2 |
Wavelength conversion laser device and image display device using the same
A wavelength conversion laser device includes a laser light source which emits a laser beam, two reflective surfaces which reflect therefrom a laser beam, a wavelength converter provided between the two reflective surfaces, which converts a laser beam into a wavelength-converted laser beam, and condensing optics which condense the laser beams to be injected between the two reflective surfaces, wherein at least one of the two reflective surfaces has a curvature for reflecting a laser beam to be re-injected into the wavelength converter between the two reflective surfaces repeatedly while forming multi paths of laser beams injected into the wavelength converter at different incident angles, and the condensing optics are arranged to disperse beam waists of the laser beams in the wavelength converter, which reciprocate between the two reflective surfaces. |
| US08068272B2 |
Components and methods for use in electro-optic displays
A front plane laminate useful in the manufacture of electro-optic displays comprises, in order, a light-transmissive electrically-conductive layer, a layer of an electro-optic medium in electrical contact with the electrically-conductive layer, an adhesive layer and a release sheet. This front plane laminate can be prepared as a continuous web, cut to size, the release sheet removed and the laminate laminated to a backplane to form a display. Methods for providing conductive vias through the electro-optic medium and for testing the front plane laminate are also described. |
| US08068267B2 |
Speckle reduction in display systems that employ coherent light sources
Speckle effect in display system is reduced by utilizing the instability of phase-coherent light and the transmission of the instable phase-coherent light through a multi-mode optical fiber with a suitable length. |
| US08068266B2 |
Display substrate, method of manufacturing the same and electrowetting display panel having the display substrate
A display substrate includes a base substrate, a reflection-polarization member, a first electrode, an insulation layer and a pixel wall. The reflection-polarization member is disposed on the base substrate to reflect and polarize incident light. The first electrode is disposed in a unit pixel area of the reflection-polarization member. The insulation layer is disposed on the first electrode. The pixel wall is disposed on the insulation layer and defines the unit pixel area. Therefore, the entire area of a unit pixel may be used as a reflective area or a transmissive area, and thus an aperture ratio may be improved in a reflection mode or a transmission mode. |
| US08068264B2 |
Method and apparatus for recording holographic stereograms elements using replacable elements
Methods and devices are described for creating and printing holographic stereograms and holographic optical elements using computer rendered images or using computer processed images. Various embodiments of the system may utilize interchangeable band-limited diffusers and reference-beam masking plates. |
| US08068262B2 |
Imaging system for processing a media
An imaging system for processing a media includes a media transport path, an imaging station, a displacement device that controllably displaces the media along the media transport path relative to the imaging station, and a controller assembly. The controller assembly includes a feedback filter, a feedforward filter, a low-pass filter and a memory that stores and time delayed releases control data. During operation, the displacement device is actuated in response to an actuation command generated by the controller assembly. The actuation command has a feedback component based on a filtering by the feedback filter of an error signal including information about the position error between a desired and an actual position of the media and a feedforward component based on a time delayed, low-pass filtered, frequency dependent filtering of the error signal by the feedforward filter. The feedforward filter is configured such that the closed-loop controlled characteristics of the displacement device are compensated. |
| US08068261B2 |
Image reading apparatus, image reading method, and image reading program
An image reading technique is disclosed that involves acquiring document image data including more than one set of page image data, reading an image located at a predetermined page position from the acquired set of page image data, recognizing the read image of the predetermined page position and converting the recognized image into text data, and assigning page number order to the set of page image data according to value information represented by the converted text data. |
| US08068260B2 |
Original document size detection using a line sensor for reading the original document
In an image reading device, a reading unit scans first rectangle regions located within a maximum reading area equivalent to a maximum size of a document that can be scanned and acquires image data from the first rectangle regions. A transporting unit moves the reading unit to the first rectangle regions in a direction of movement opposite to a direction of movement in normal document reading. A document size judging unit detects whether a document exists in each first rectangle region based on the image data acquired by the reading unit and a predetermined threshold, so that a size of the document is judged. The reading unit is arranged to scan second rectangle regions located outside the maximum reading area, the second rectangles being different from the first rectangle regions, and acquire image data from the second rectangle regions. |
| US08068256B2 |
Hypochromatic imaging
Color management constraints on the use of selected hypocolorant(s) and a black colorant in the rendering of a given pixel reduce ink or toner usage and/or reduce pressure on an ink limit. Additionally, the enforcement of this mutual exclusivity between the black and the selected hypocolorant(s) allows screen frequencies and angles to be shared between halftone screens used for the black colorant and a selected hypocolorant. This reduces the likelihood of objectionable moiré associated with the use of hypocolorant colorants in addition to the conventional CMY(K) colorants. In some embodiments, color management constraints prevent the use of black colorant for pixels beyond a threshold lightness or luminance. This constraint allows the use of the selected hypocolorants in the region of color space beyond the threshold. The threshold can be a function of hue and/or chroma. In some embodiments the threshold is a constant. |
| US08068255B2 |
Gamut mapping spectral content to reduce perceptible differences in color appearance
Various embodiments provide for gamut mapping spectral content. Source appearance content is created from source spectral data corresponding to a source color image. The source appearance content is mapped to an appearance delta using a gamut mapping algorithm. Destination spectral data is derived from the source spectral data and the appearance delta by way of a spectral mapping algorithm. The appearance delta corresponds to two potentially different gamuts or color spaces. Humanly perceptible differences in the color appearance of a destination image as compared the source image are reduced by the mapping techniques provided herein. |
| US08068250B2 |
System for allowing handwritten interaction with a computer
A system for enabling user interaction is disclosed. The system includes a printer for printing print data on a form. The print data is indicative of a plurality of marks. Each mark has a predetermined pattern common to all marks and coded data. The predetermined pattern includes a rotationally invariant pattern. A sensing device is also included for sensing the marks when moved relative to the form, for using the rotationally invariant pattern to correct for perspective distortion of the marks, for decoding the coded data of the marks, and for generating indicating data indicative of movement of the sensing device relative to the form. |
| US08068249B2 |
Image forming apparatus and control method thereof
The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that includes a first system and a second system, wherein the permission/prohibition of access to a storage unit provided in the first system is controlled appropriately based on a signal transmitted from the second system, and a control method thereof. To accomplish this, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the first system and the second system, and permits access to the storage unit only when executing a program that includes a predetermined process to activate the apparatus using an external storage apparatus. |
| US08068239B2 |
Image forming apparatus with adaptive automatic layout function
It is determined whether each of objects separated from a plurality of objects arranged in a single page is character object or not, and with respect to an object determined as a character object, a ratio of pixels configuring a character in the determined object to all pixels in said determined object is calculated. A character object in which the ratio crosses a predetermined reference value, when the plurality of objects in the single page are scaled and arranged in accordance with a size of a sheet set by a user, is arranged in a different page. |
| US08068236B2 |
Image forming apparatus
It is an object of this invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of coping suitably with the fluctuation in a used consumption amount at the predetermined period as well as grasping in advance feasibility of a use. To achieve the above, an image forming apparatus according this invention has an entry section for entering image forming data; a using amount storage means for storing a using amount of a consumption used at a predetermined period for purpose of image formation; a setting means for setting a usable consumption amount of the predetermined period; and a usable amount determining means for determining the usable consumption amount of each determined period, the usable amount determining means for determining after the predetermined period the usable amount of a subsequent period corresponding to the using amount. |
| US08068231B2 |
Fiber optic sensor using a Bragg fiber
An optical sensor includes an optical coupler configured to receive a first optical signal and to split the first optical signal into a second optical signal and a third optical signal. The optical sensor further includes a Bragg fiber in optical communication with the optical coupler. The second optical signal and the third optical signal counterpropagate through the Bragg fiber and return to the third port and the second port, respectively. |
| US08068229B2 |
Optofluidic devices
An optofluidic device forming a liquid grating, a liquid detector or a liquid emitter and method(s) of operation. |
| US08068228B2 |
In-plane optical metrology
A structure that is located adjacent to a measurement target on a substrate is used to convert incident radiation from an optical metrology device to be in-plane with the measurement target. The structure may be, e.g., a grating or photonic crystal, and may include a waveguide between the structure and the measurement target. The in-plane light interacts with the measurement target and is reflected back to the structure, which converts the in-plane light to out-of-plane light that is received by the optical metrology device. The optical metrology device then uses the information from the received light to determine one or more desired parameters of the measurement target. Additional structures may be used to receive light that is transmitted through or scattered by the measurement target if desired. |
| US08068225B2 |
Color matching for display system for shops
A color identifying display system having a lighting surface having an alterable apparent surface color, a color capture device to capture a color of an object placed within a detection area, and a processor. The lighting surface and the color capture device are coupled to the processor. The processor analyzes the captured color to determine a prominent color of the object and to control a color of the lighting surface based on the determined prominent color. The color of the lighting surface may be adjusted to match the prominent color, complement the prominent color, or be analogous to the prominent color. |
| US08068216B2 |
Optical air data systems and methods
A method for remotely sensing air outside a moving aircraft includes generating laser radiation within a swept frequency range. A portion of the laser radiation is projected from the aircraft into the air to induce scattered laser radiation. Filtered scattered laser radiation, filtered laser radiation, and unfiltered laser radiation are detected. At least one actual ratio is determined from data corresponding to the filtered scattered laser radiation and the unfiltered laser radiation. One or more air parameters are determined by correlating the actual ratio to at least one reference ratio. |
| US08068212B2 |
Lithographic apparatus configured to compensate for variations in a critical dimension of projected features due to heating of optical elements
A lithographic apparatus configured to apply corrections to the dose, within and/or between fields, to compensate for critical dimension variations due to heating of elements of the projection system is disclosed. |
| US08068210B2 |
Lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method and computer program product
Additional vibrations are added during the exposure of a substrate so that vibrations occurring during exposure of a plurality of areas on the substrate are substantially uniform. This may improve CD uniformity. |
| US08068209B2 |
Nozzle to help reduce the escape of immersion liquid from an immersion lithography tool
An immersion lithography tool with a diverter element, positioned between the immersion element and the substrate, for altering the “footprint” or shape of the meniscus of the body of immersion liquid between the last optical element and an immersion element on one side, and the substrate on the other side when the substrate is moved. The apparatus includes a substrate holder to hold the substrate having an imaging surface and a projection optical system having a last optical element. The projection optical system projects an image onto a target imaging area on the substrate through the immersion liquid filled in a gap between the imaging surface of the substrate and the last optical element. An immersion element maintains the immersion fluid in the gap. The diverter element is positioned between the immersion element and the substrate. The diverter element alters the footprint shape of the meniscus of the body of immersion liquid, thereby preventing or reducing the amount of leakage from a space between the substrate and the immersion element. |
| US08068207B2 |
Intermediate film identifier marking
A method includes impacting at least one identifier on a section of passing film for identifying the film as a source for content copied from the film. |
| US08068204B2 |
Electronic apparatus with a flexible printed circuit and a transparent conductive layer
A height difference under a sealant is reduced in a case where lines are present under the sealant. There is provided a substrate having an active matrix display circuit and peripheral driving circuits, a counter substrate having a counter electrode provided on the substrate in a face-to-face relationship therewith, a sealant provided between the substrate and the counter substrate such that it surrounds the active matrix display circuit and peripheral driving circuits, a liquid crystal material provided inside the sealant, a plurality of external connection lines provided on the substrate under the sealant with a resin inter-layer film interposed therebetween for electrically connecting the active matrix display circuit and peripheral driving circuits to circuits present outside the sealant and an adjustment layer provided in the same layer as the plurality of external connection lines. |
| US08068202B2 |
Liquid crystal device
A liquid crystal device includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposite each other with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween, wherein the first substrate includes a signal line, a switching element electrically connected to the signal line, a first electrode electrically connected to the switching element, a wiring line, a dielectric film covering the first electrode, the switching element, and the wiring line, and a second electrode disposed on the dielectric film so as to be opposite the first electrode, and wherein the second electrode is drawn from the dielectric film toward an area where the dielectric film does not exist and is electrically connected to the wiring line through the area where the dielectric film does not exist. |
| US08068200B2 |
Vertical alignment liquid crystal display device in which a pixel electrode has slits which divide the pixel electrode into electrode portions
A liquid crystal display device has an opposing substrate on which an opposing electrode is formed, a TFT substrate on which pixel electrodes arranged in matrix, thin film transistors connected to the pixel electrodes respectively, and gate lines and data lines for the thin film transistors are formed, vertical alignment films formed on the opposing inner surfaces of these substrates, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the vertical alignment films and having negative dielectric anisotropy. Each pixel electrode has a slit formed for separating each pixel into a plurality of sub-pixels by partially eliminating the pixel electrode with a connecting portion left at which adjoining electrode portions of each pixel electrode is connected with each other. The width W1 of the pixel electrode that runs in a direction in which the slit is formed and width W2 of the connecting portion have a ratio W2/W1 of 0.13 or lower. |
| US08068197B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
A liquid crystal display device including a thin light guide plate and capable of preventing light leakage from light sources is provided. The light guide plate is formed of a sheet. On a back face of the light guide plate, a first projection and a second projection that protrude outwardly and a reflection face provided between the first projection and the second projection are provided. The light sources are disposed on a side face of the light guide plate. A light entering portion is disposed on the side face where the light source is provided. A thin film portion is included between the light sources adjacent to each other in the light entering portion. |
| US08068195B2 |
Portable device including external-light-shielding sheet
A portable device including an external-light-shielding sheet is provided. The portable device includes a display panel; and an external-light-shielding sheet arranged on the display panel, wherein the external-light-shielding sheet includes a base portion and a plurality of wedge shaped portions arranged on the base portion to absorb external light. Therefore, it is possible to absorb and block as much external light as possible. In addition, it is possible to improve bright-room contrast by effectively realizing a black image on a display panel. |
| US08068194B2 |
Line light source device, plane light emission device, plane light source device, and liquid crystal display
In the line light source device and the plane light emission device, first recesses 14 are formed between adjoining light emission elements 5, on surfaces of sealing resin layers 10 opposite to the board 4. The line light source device and the plane light emission device, in which the light emission elements are coated with resin, have a simple configuration and high uniformity in luminous intensity in an emission end face of the device. |
| US08068189B2 |
Liquid crystal display and liquid crystal projector
A plurality of liquid crystal modulation electrodes is arranged in a matrix on a semiconductor substrate 28, a light transmitting substrate 47 with a transparent electrode 23, and a semiconductor substrate are laminated together with liquid crystal interposed therebetween, the semiconductor substrate is connected to a flexible printed board 25 electrically connecting to an external circuit, the transparent electrode is connected to the wiring of the flexible printed board not through the semiconductor substrate, and the wiring is connected to the semiconductor substrate, whereby the transparent electrode is electrically connected to the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate 28 is provided with an anti-electrostatic protection circuit and the transparent electrode is connected to the anti-electrostatic protection circuit through the wiring. |
| US08068188B2 |
Thin film transistor array panel and manufacturing method thereof
A method of manufacturing a thin film transistor array panel is provided, the method includes: forming a gate line on an insulating substrate; forming a gate insulating layer; forming a semiconductor layer; forming a data conductive layer including a data line and a drain electrode; depositing a passivation layer; forming a photoresist including a first portion located on an end portion of the gate line, a second portion thicker than the first portion and located on the drain electrode, and a third portion thicker than the second portion; exposing a portion of the passivation layer under the second portion of the photoresist and a portion of the gate insulating layer under the first portion of the photoresist by etching using the photoresist as an etch mask; forming first and second contact holes exposing the drain electrode and the end portions of the gate line, respectively; and forming a pixel electrode connected to the drain electrode through the first contact hole. |
| US08068184B2 |
Smart remote control
A remote control unit for an entertainment system comprising a television or other display device, and a plurality of peripheral devices connected to the televisions. The remote control unit is adapted to send and receive information signals to and from the television and to the peripheral devices to control the devices. The television and remote control unit both preferably includes a receiver and transmitter and appropriate memory and logic coupled to the transmitter and receiver. Alternatively, the remote control unit preferably includes a receiver and transmitter and a repeater coupled to the receiver and the transmitter. In operation, the remote control unit sends commands to the television, which responds by sending information or a specific command back to the remote control unit. The remote control unit then retrieves and sends a specific command or repeats and sends the command received from the television to the appropriate peripheral device. |
| US08068183B2 |
Control system for network of input devices with automatic audio/video receiver detection and control configuration
Apparatus, methods, and systems for centrally and uniformly controlling the operation of a variety of devices, such as communication, consumer electronic, audio-video, analog, digital, 1394, and the like, over a variety of protocols within a network system and, more particularly, a control system and uniform user interface for centrally controlling these devices in a manner that appears seamless and transparent to the user. In a one embodiment, the control system will detect the change of state of an audio output sensor coupled to the audio output port. |
| US08068181B1 |
3:2 pulldown detection
Field-based detection of 3:2 pulldown in a sequence of digital video fields using a programmable graphics processor is described. The detection is performed using a threshold value to determine equivalence between a pair of fields of digital video data. Furthermore, additional threshold values may be used to control switching into a mode where duplicated fields of digital video data are identified and not displayed and out of the mode where duplicated fields of digital video data are identified and not displayed. Look ahead can be used to detect when to switch into or out of the mode where duplicated fields of digital video data are identified and not displayed, reducing the occurrence of visual artifacts. |
| US08068178B2 |
Bezel color coordination
A processor, such as a TV processor, determines which one of at least two audio-video components is sending signals to a TV for display. Based on the determining act, the processor establishes a color of a bezel of the TV. |
| US08068177B2 |
Methods and devices for signal synchronization
A signal synchronization device and signal synchronization method are provided. The method comprises determining whether a receiving device can receive data output from an output device synchronously and adjusting the dummy period of the signal, which will be received by the receiving device, when the data output from the output device cannot be received by the receiving device synchronously. |
| US08068170B2 |
Modular digital camera
Provided is a pen-shaped modular camera assembly having a plurality of modules each with at least one connector to link the modules together. The assembly includes a camera module having an image sensor for capturing an image in an RGB (red, green, blue) color space. Also included is a central processing module arranged in communication with the camera module, the central processing module having a central processing unit with program memory for storing program steps for execution by the central processing unit to operate the camera module, along with image storage memory for storing the captured image. The assembly also includes an image processing module arranged in communication with the image storage memory, the image processing module configured to dynamically convert the stored image from a L*a*b* color space to a CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow) color space. Also included is a battery module configured so that electrical energy is supplied to the respective modules via the at least one connector. |
| US08068165B2 |
Imaging apparatus
An imaging apparatus where images of good quality can be obtained without being affected by the diffraction phenomenon and without recourse to any polishing. The imaging apparatus is adapted to form a subject image on an imaging plane having light receptor elements arranged on it via an imaging optical system. The imaging optical system has a molded optical element fabricated through a fabrication process in which a periodic streak is produced on an optical surface. When a high-brightness subject light whose brightness value exceeds the saturation sensitivity of each light receptor element enters the imaging optical system, a nonessential light image resulting from the streak on the optical surface based on the high-brightness subject light is formed on the imaging plane and in an area of a subject image from the high-brightness subject light at the time when the optical plane is supposed to be free of the streak. |
| US08068157B2 |
Image sensor with wide operating range
An image sensor includes a photoelectric converter, a source-follower transistor, and a selection transistor. The photoelectric converter generates electric charge in response to received light, and the electric charge varies a voltage of a detection node. The source-follower transistor is coupled between the detection node and an output node and has a first threshold voltage. The selection transistor is coupled between the source-follower transistor and a voltage node with a power supply voltage or a boosted voltage applied thereon, and has a second threshold voltage with a magnitude that is less than a magnitude of the first threshold voltage such that the source-follower transistor operates in saturation. |
| US08068155B2 |
Solid-state image sensor and driving method thereof, and image sensor
A solid-state image sensor includes: a plurality of pixels, each having a photodiode, a floating diffusion, a transfer transistor, a reset transistor, and an amplifying transistor; vertical signal lines 31 for receiving signals from the plurality of pixels; sampling capacitors 62; circuits 78 for comparing a voltage on a corresponding one of the vertical signal lines 31 with a reference voltage to determine whether the voltage on the corresponding vertical signal line 31 is higher or lower than the reference voltage; and clip circuits 79 for outputting a clip voltage Vclip to a corresponding one of the sampling capacitors 62 based on the output of a corresponding one of the circuits 78. A voltage on each vertical signal line in the state where the signal accumulated in a corresponding photodiode has been transferred to a corresponding floating diffusion, can be used as a comparison voltage of each column. |
| US08068154B2 |
Digital camera with non-uniform image resolution
The invention provides a system for isolating digital data representative of portions of a field of view. The system, which may be provided in the form of a digital camera, includes an array of sensor cells adapted to provide digital representations corresponding to at least a portion of the field of view, and a selector adapted to isolate a non-uniformly distributed subset of the digital representations provided by the array. The isolation may be performed based upon a set of values programmed in a programmable lookup table. A buffer is provided for holding the isolated digital representations. |
| US08068151B2 |
Digital camera with card reader for reading program script
A portable camera with an inbuilt printer device is disclosed. The camera includes a digital image capture device, an inbuilt programming language interpreter internally connected to the digital image capture device for the manipulation of the digital image captured by the capture device and a script input means for inputting a self documenting program script for the manipulation and filtering of the captured digital image to produce visual alterations of the image. A card reader optically reads the script printed as an array of dots on one surface of a portable card, which has a visual example of the likely effect of the script on a second surface of the card. The script is interpreted and executed by the interpreter to modify the captured digital image in accordance with the script to produce a modified digital image. The modification is visually exemplified on the second surface of the card. The modified digital image is then printed out on the inbuilt printer device. |
| US08068150B2 |
Memory access control apparatus and image pickup apparatus
A memory access control apparatus includes a memory controller controlling a memory adopting a DDR format; a DDR-PHY adjusting the timing of an interface signal between the memory controller and the memory; a DDR-PHY controller controlling the DDR-PHY; and a clock controller controlling the frequency of a clock signal. A first request signal for controlling the operation of the memory in a self-refresh mode is supplied to the memory controller, a second request signal for resetting the DDR-PHY is supplied to the DDR-PHY controller, a third request signal for changing the clock frequency is supplied to the clock controller, a fourth request signal for setting a parameter for the DDR-PHY is supplied to the DDR-PHY controller, and a fifth request signal for canceling the operation of the memory in the self-refresh mode is supplied to the memory controller in order to change the clock frequency of the memory. |
| US08068149B2 |
Image processing device, image processing method, and image pickup apparatus
An image processing device includes a corrector for performing an optical correction of correcting a distortion of an image by interpolating image data of the distorted picked-up image resulting from an optical characteristic of an image pickup section, and locally changing a resolution of the image; and a compressor for performing a dynamic range compression of compressing a dynamic range of the image data by extracting an illumination component from the image data based on a space frequency of the image, and compressing the extracted illumination component, wherein the compressor performs the dynamic range compression with respect to image data of an after-correction-image to be obtained after the optical correction is performed by the corrector. |
| US08068142B2 |
Methods, systems and apparatus for setting a recording function of the recording apparatus in a restricted state
A recording apparatus includes a communications device which can receive from another communications apparatus by wireless an image-capturing condition of restricting an image-capturing process or a sound recording condition of restricting a sound recording process, and a device which performs an image-capturing or sound recording process according to the received image-capturing condition or sound recording condition. Thus, a user can automatically set a recording function of a recording apparatus in a restricted state without special care in a position where image-capturing, sound recording, etc. are prohibited, thereby recording on an allowed condition. Since it further includes a communications device which can receive by wireless from another communications apparatus a reproducing condition of restricting a reproducing function of an image, and a reproducing device which reproduces an image according to the received reproducing condition, an available function can be used by easily specifying a user of the communications apparatus. |
| US08068141B2 |
Imaging device
An imaging device ICD, which realizes an image blurring compensation function which achieves image blurring compensation during a framing period and image blurring compensation during releasing, is provided. In the imaging device (ICD), an OIS unit control section (104) compensates image blurring occurring in an optical image by moving an optical axis of an imaging optical system (100), and compensates the image blurring by changing a position of cutout of image data outputted from an image sensor (106). An image shift amount calculation section (39x, 39y) detects image blurring information. A system controller (120) causes the OIS unit control section (104) to mainly move the optical axis during an exposure period based on the detected image blurring information, and to mainly change the position of the cutout of the image data during a period other than the exposure period, thereby compensating image blurring which occurs in a taken image. |
| US08068140B2 |
Still image stabilization suitable for compact camera environments
Still image apparatus and methods that are suitable for compact camera environments are described. In another aspect, image segments are captured during corresponding exposure intervals of a frame exposure period. Respective motion sensor signals are generated during the respective exposure intervals of the image segments. One or more corresponding movement measures are determined from the respective motion sensor signals for each of the exposure intervals. The image segments are combined into an output image based on the one or more corresponding movement measures. |
| US08068138B2 |
Image pickup apparatus for reducing fixed pattern noise
An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup optical system having an optical axis and configured to form a subject image, an image pickup element configured to pick up the subject image and output the picked-up subject image as an image, an optical axis controller configured to displace an optical axis position relative to the image pickup element every time image capturing is performed, an image addition processor configured to correct positional displacement between a plurality of images output from the image pickup element and add the resulting images together, and an operation unit. |
| US08068137B2 |
Image processing apparatus, control method, and storage medium
An image processing apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set a number of prints for image data, a storage unit configured to store identification information for identifying an object in association with transmission target information used for transmitting the image data to an external apparatus, and a collation unit configured to collate the identified object from the image data and the identification information. In the image processing apparatus, the setting unit can set the number of prints for the image data according to a difference between a number of the objects in the image data and a number of the transmission target information associated with a number of the identification information that matches the object in the image data as a result of the collation. |
| US08068134B2 |
Apparatus and method for predicting collision
The present invention is a collision prediction apparatus that comprises a plurality of sensors for detecting an object in front of a vehicle by different mechanism and a control unit for selecting a sensor adequate for an input condition and predicting a collision between the vehicle and the object, based on information obtained from the selected sensor, wherein the plurality of the sensors comprise a radar for scanning front of the vehicle and a camera for taking an image of the front of the vehicle, and when a condition that it is lighter outside the vehicle than a predetermined value is input, it is enabled to configure a control unit so as to predict a collision between the vehicle and the object. |
| US08068128B2 |
Visual communication server and communication system
According to one embodiment, a server includes a control unit which instructs establishment and end of connection for the video data communications between the client computers corresponding to the telephone terminals, in accordance with the call information event received by the call information event receiving unit, and a connection information transmitting unit which transmits connection information between the plurality of client computers for which one of the establishment and the end of connection is executed by the control unit, wherein even if the connection information transmitting unit receives a notification of completion or end of the connection from the client computers, when the connection information transmitting unit receives a notification which accompanies change of connection states of the client computers, the connection information transmitting unit transmits the connection information after waiting for the change of the connection states. |
| US08068124B2 |
Computing device entertainment mode system and method
A computing device entertainment mode system comprises a computing device comprising at least one indicator element disposed thereon, the computing device configured to be placed into an entertainment mode of operation such that, in response to being placed in the entertainment mode of operation, an illumination intensity level associated with the at least one indicator element is automatically decreased. |
| US08068122B2 |
Method of image scaling
A method of image scaling includes the steps of: determining the coordinates of a virtual pixel in an original image, wherein the virtual pixel corresponds to an actual pixel in a scaled image; determining the coordinates of four actual pixels in the original image that are closest to the virtual pixel; determining the weights of the four actual pixels; and determining the pixel value of the virtual pixel in the original image in accordance with the determined weights and the pixel values of the four actual pixels. |
| US08068118B1 |
System and method for modifying a number of texture samples for anisotropic texture filtering
Systems and methods for modifying the number of texture samples used to produce an anisotropically filtered texture mapped pixel may improve texture mapping performance. When the number of texture samples is reduced, fewer texels are read and fewer filtering computations are needed to produce a texture value for an anisotropic footprint. The number of texture samples is reduced based on the mip map level weight. The number of texture samples may also be modified using specific parameters for the coarse and/or fine mip map levels. The spacing between the texture samples along the major axis of anisotropy may be modified to improve image quality or texture cache performance. |
| US08068117B2 |
Parallel texture synthesis by upsampling pixel coordinates
A method and system for synthesizing texture using upsampled pixel coordinates and a multi-resolution approach. The parallel texture synthesis technique, while based on a neighborhood matching technique having order-independent texture synthesis, extends that approach in at least two areas, including efficient parallel synthesis and intuitive user control. Pixel coordinates are upsampled instead of pixel colors, thereby reducing computational complexity and expense. These upsampled pixel coordinates then are jittered to provide texture variation. The jitter is controllable, such that a user has control over several aspects of the jitter. In addition, each neighborhood-matching pass is split into several sub-passes to improve correction. Using sub-passes improves correction speed and quality. The parallel texture synthesis system and method disclosed herein is designed for implementation on a parallel processor, such as a graphics processing unit. |
| US08068113B2 |
Display control semiconductor integrated circuit
The present invention provides a display control semiconductor integrated circuit having therein a RAM, capable of repairing a defective bit included in the RAM and improving the yield without significantly increasing the occupation area. A liquid crystal controller/driver in which a RAM for storing display data is provided in a chip and the storage capacity of the built-in RAM is determined according to the size of a display screen of a liquid crystal panel to be driven, includes a fuse circuit for setting a defect address, and a comparing circuit for comparing the defect address set in the fuse circuit with an input address. The liquid crystal controller/driver also has a redundant circuit, when the addresses match each other, for replacing the input address with an address that instructs the spare memory area and supplying the address to an address decoder. |
| US08068109B2 |
Processor task and data management
Task and data management systems methods and apparatus are disclosed. A processor event that requires more memory space than is available in a local storage of a co-processor is divided into two or more segments. Each segment has a segment size that is less than or the same as an amount of memory space available in the local storage. The segments are processed with one or more co-processors to produce two or more corresponding outputs. The two or more outputs are associated into one or more groups. Each group is less than or equal to a target data size associated with a subsequent process. |
| US08068107B2 |
Method to synchronize audio and graphics in a multimedia presentation
In a multimedia presentation, having speech and graphic contributions, a list of graphic objects is provided. Each graphic is associated to a graphic file capable of being executed by a computer to display a corresponding graphic contribution on a screen. A speech file comprising a sequence of phrases is also created, each phrase comprising a speech contribution explaining at least one graphic contribution associated to a respective graphic object. Then, an arrangement string is created obtained as a sequence of a first graphic object and a respective first phrase, and then a second graphic object and a respective second phrase, and so on up to completion of all graphic objects and phrases of said list and of said speech file respectively. A processing speed for displaying the graphic objects is chosen. |
| US08068105B1 |
Visualizing audio properties
Technologies relating to user interfaces for visualizing audio properties. In some implementations, a method is provided that includes the actions of receiving one or more audio signals including digital audio data; generating one or more audio objects, each of the one or more audio objects representing one or more audio signals; and displaying an interface for representing properties of the audio objects, the interface including a region where each location within the region represents two or more audio properties relative to a virtual listener. |
| US08068104B2 |
Totally integrated intelligent dynamic systems display
An apparatus for graphically displaying analytical data, comprising a generic model to graphically represent a complex set of physical characteristics potentially leading to catastrophic failure of a physical system. A central region represents failure of the physical system; a series of concentric ridges represents level of function. Wedge shaped regions upon the ridges represent predetermined subsystems of the physical system. An icon is displayed with changes in the icon proportional to time, and any one or more of color, position, shape, and rotation of the icon representing prescribed analysis of the physical characteristics. Mappings correlate predetermined characteristics of the system with failure of the physical system, levels of functioning represented by the ridges, subsystems represented by the wedge shaped regions, and/or analysis of the physical characteristics represented in the icon. A sensor interface receives measurements, and a graphics generator prepares a presentation of the model. |
| US08068101B2 |
On a substrate formed or resting display arrangement
A touch screen apparatus, including a display unit including a touch surface, a number of light pulse emitting units, connecting to the display unit, for emitting light pulses over and across the touch surface, a number of light pulse receiving units, connected to the display unit, for measuring amounts of light received from the light pulse emitting units, circuitry, connected to the light pulse emitting units and to the light pulse receiving units, for selectively activating, at any given time, one or more of the light pulse emitting units and the light pulse receiving units, wherein the circuitry activates three or more light pulse emitting units and only one light pulse receiving unit during a designated time interval, and a calculating unit, connected to the light pulse receiving units, to determine the location of an object touching the touch surface, based on the measured amounts of light received at the receiving units. |
| US08068097B2 |
Apparatus for detecting conductive material of a pad layer of a sensing device
An apparatus and method for distinguishing a particular button operation from among multiple button operations on a sensing device having multiple sensor elements that are electrically coupled together. The apparatus may include a sensing device having a first sensor element and a second element that are electrically coupled to detect a presence of a conductive object on the sensing device. The method may include detecting a presence of a conductive object on a sensing device having multiple sensor elements that are electrically coupled, each sensor element corresponding to a button operation, and distinguishing between the multiple button operations. |
| US08068091B2 |
Electrophoretic display device
An electrophoretic display device includes a pair of substrates, a pixel, a first electrode being formed on one of the substrates for the pixel, a second electrode being formed on the other of the substrates, and an electrophoretic element which is held between the first electrode and the second electrode. The pixel includes a pixel switching element which is connected to a scan line and a data line, a memory circuit which is connected to the pixel switching element, and a switch circuit which is interposed between the memory circuit and the first electrode. The memory circuit is connected with a first power source line and a second power source line, and the switch circuit is connected with a first control line and a second control line. The first power source line and the second power source line cross each other at a first position of the pixel, and the first control line and the second control line cross each other at a second position of the pixel. |
| US08068087B2 |
Methods and systems for reduced flickering and blur
Aspects of the present invention relate to systems and methods for detecting motion in frames of a video sequence and for generating and applying a backlight modulation screen comprising at least one modulation pulse width dependent on the motion detection. Some aspects relate to a motion map variable used to determine modulation pulse widths for the backlight modulation screen. |
| US08068080B2 |
Display apparatus, source driver, and display panel driving method
A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal display panel having a data line and a source driver for supplying a data signal to the data line based on a polarity signal. A polarity of the data signal is determined based on the polarity signal. The source driver includes an offset cancel control circuit for generating an offset cancel control signal and an output amplifier used to generate the data signal. The output amplifier is constructed so as to invert a polarity of an offset voltage based on the offset cancel control signal. The offset cancel control signal is generated based on the polarity signal. |
| US08068079B2 |
Liquid crystal display apparatus
A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal modulation element configured to modulate light from a light source, and including a first electrode, a second electrode, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a controller configured to provide a first potential to the first electrode and a second potential to the second electrode. While the light source is turned off, the controller provides a third potential to the first electrode and a fourth potential to the second electrode, such that the difference between the third and fourth potentials has a constant sign but a variable magnitude in an in-plane direction of the liquid crystal layer. |
| US08068078B2 |
Electro-luminescence display device and driving apparatus thereof
The present invention relates to an electro-luminescence display and a driving method thereof wherein a thin film transistor is prevented from the deterioration, to thereby improve a picture quality. An electro-luminescence (EL) display, including: a plurality of drive voltage supply lines; N compensation voltage supply lines; EL cells at each crossing of a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines in a matrix, wherein the EL cells emit light in response to currents applied from the drive voltage supply lines; driving thin film transistors (TFT) connected between the EL cells and compensation voltage supply lines that control the current applied to the EL cells; and a bias switch, connected between the N−1th compensation voltage supply line and a control terminal of the driving TFT connected to the Nth compensation voltage supply line that applies a bias voltage to the driving TFT when a scan pulse is supplied to the N−1th gate line. |
| US08068077B2 |
Contact structure of conductive films and thin film transistor array panel including the same
A thin film transistor array panel is provided, which includes: a display cell array circuit including a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of thin film transistors, and a plurality of pixel electrodes; a gate driving circuit supplying gate signals to the gate lines; and a signal line connected to the gate driving circuit and including first and second line segments separated from each other and a connection member connected to the first and second line segments through at least a contact hole exposing at least one of the first and the second line segments. |
| US08068073B2 |
Circuit and method for driving pixel of organic electroluminescent display
A circuit and method for driving pixels in an organic electroluminescent display that reduces the number of wirings of a compensation circuit for addressing brightness non-uniformity. The pixel driving circuit includes an organic electroluminescent device that emits light corresponding to an amount of a current being applied. A first transistor is connected to a power supply voltage and applies the current corresponding to a data voltage to the organic electroluminescent device. A first capacitor stores the data voltage, and a threshold voltage compensation unit stores a threshold voltage of the first transistor. A second transistor transmits the data voltage from a data line in response to a selection signal from an nth scan line. A switching unit electrically disconnects a second primary electrode of the first transistor from the organic electroluminescent device while the threshold voltage is stored in the threshold voltage compensation unit in response to a control signal. |
| US08068072B2 |
Data driver and organic light emitting diode (OLED) display using the same
A data driver includes a shift register circuit configured to receive a first clock signal, a second clock signal, and a start signal, and to sequentially provide a sampling signal, a conversion circuit configured to receive the first clock signal, the second clock signal, and the sampling signal, and to sequentially provide a conversion signal, a sampling latch circuit configured to store data according to the sampling signal and the conversion signal, and a holding latch circuit configured to receive the data from the sampling latch circuit in response to first and second enable signals, and to provide a first data signal or a second data signal to data lines corresponding to the received data. |
| US08068071B2 |
Pixel circuit and image display apparatus having the pixel circuit
A pixel circuit and an image display apparatus are provided making use of a hysteresis characteristics of a transistor for driving a display element. The pixel circuit comprises: a transistor providing both different first and second relations between a gate voltage value and a drain current value at a transition from off state to an on state, and from the on state transits to the off state respectively; a display element supplied as a drive current with a current controlled by the transistor; and a capacitor element connected to a gate electrode of the transistor. One of the first and second relations is utilized during a first period for setting the drive current to be supplied to the display element. And, the other of the first and second relations is utilized during a second period for supplying the drive current to the display element to effect light emission. |
| US08068069B2 |
Method of driving plasma display panel and plasma display apparatus
Plural subfields are provided in one single field period, where each subfield has an initialization period during which a gradient waveform voltage gently falling is applied to a scan electrode to generate initializing discharge in a discharge cell; a writing period during which a scan pulse voltage is applied to a scan electrode to generate writing discharge in a discharge cell; and a sustain period during which sustain discharge is generated in a discharge cell selected, by the number of times corresponding to a luminance weight. The lowest voltage of a falling gradient waveform voltage in a subfield with the smallest luminance weight is set so as to be lower than that with the largest luminance weight. A method of driving a plasma display panel is provided that generates stable writing discharge without increasing voltage required for generating writing discharge even for a large-screen, high-luminance panel. |
| US08068068B2 |
Coverage antenna apparatus with selectable horizontal and vertical polarization elements
An antenna apparatus comprises selectable antenna elements including a plurality of dipoles and/or a plurality of slot antennas (“slot”). Each dipole and/or each slot provides gain with respect to isotropic. The dipoles may generate vertically polarized radiation and the slots may generate horizontally polarized radiation. Each antenna element may have one or more loading structures configured to decrease the footprint (i.e., the physical dimension) of the antenna element and minimize the size of the antenna apparatus. |
| US08068062B2 |
Portable antenna positioner apparatus and method
A low power, lightweight, collapsible and rugged antenna positioner for use in communicating with geostationary, geosynchronous and low earth orbit satellite. By collapsing, invention may be easily carried or shipped in a compact container. May be used in remote locations with simple or automated setup and orientation. Azimuth is adjusted by rotating an antenna in relation to a positioner base and elevation is adjusted by rotating an elevation motor coupled with the antenna. Manual orientation of antenna for linear polarized satellites yields lower weight and power usage. Updates ephemeris or TLE data via satellite. Algorithms used for search including Clarke Belt fallback, transponder/beacon searching switch, azimuth priority searching and tracking including uneven re-peak scheduling yield lower power usage. Orientation aid via user interface allows for smaller azimuth motor, simplifies wiring and lowers weight. Tilt compensation, bump detection and failure contingency provide robustness. |
| US08068061B2 |
Mobile wireless communications device including an electrically conductive, electrically floating element and related methods
A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable housing having an interior and comprising a removable panel providing access to the interior, a printed circuit board (PCB) carried by the portable housing. The device may further include an antenna connected to the PCB and carried by the bottom portion of the PCB, and at least one electrically floating, electrically conductive, antenna beam shaping element secured to the removable panel. |
| US08068057B2 |
RFID tag
An RFID tag that has a tag antenna and a tag LSI comprising: a power-supply element in which the tag LSI is mounted on a power-supply section; a plurality of patch antennas that function as tag antennas and sizes differs; and a high-frequency coupling section that couples the power-supply element with each of the patch antennas by high-frequency coupling. |
| US08068056B2 |
Location reporting with secure user plane location (SUPL)
Techniques for supporting periodic and other location services with Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) and other location architectures are described. The techniques can provide position estimates for a SUPL enabled terminal (SET) to a SUPL agent periodically and/or based on trigger events. A Home SUPL Location Platform (H-SLP) receives from the SUPL agent a request for position estimates for the SET. The H-SLP starts a SUPL location session with the SET. For each of at least one reporting event during the location session, the H-SLP obtains a position estimate for the SET and sends the position estimate to the SUPL agent. The position estimate may be derived by the SET and sent to the H-SLP. Alternatively, the position estimate may be derived by the H-SLP based on measurements from the SET. |
| US08068054B2 |
Receiver with means for ensuring bona fide of received signals
A receiver that receives a plurality of signals that are modulated with a common carrier, where each signal of said signals originates at a different source and experiences a transit delay and Doppler frequency shift before reaching the receiver, and where the transit delay and Doppler frequency shift are related to position and movement of each of the respective sources. The receiver includes means, such as a directional antenna, to ensure that the received signals are bona fide, or at least not subject to the same bogus signal or signals to which a second receiver may be subjected. |
| US08068052B2 |
Radar apparatus and method for forming reception beam of the same
When an excitation signal is generated from an exciter due to an activation signal generated from a radar control device and is distributed to supply to each antenna sub-module, a combination reception signal is transmitted to a receiver from each antenna sub-module. The receiver takes in the combination reception signal obtained by each sub-module in response to an instruction from the radar control device, a frequency converter converts the combination reception signal into a prescribed frequency band, and a distributed aperture combination circuit performs a beam combination in accordance with a distributed aperture combination algorithm. In this way, a radar apparatus, which is equivalent to an active phased array radar of a large aperture and with high performance, is achieved. |
| US08068051B1 |
Method and apparatus for a body position monitor using radar
A radar system for monitoring a premises in a home or building. The radar system includes transmitter and receiver antennae and a signal processor that processes a reflected signal. Doppler analysis of the reflected signal determines the activity and location of a subject's upper torso, and the subject's presence within the monitored premises. |
| US08068050B2 |
Methods and systems for detection of hazard to aviation due to convective weather
Systems and methods for improving output of weather information. A weather radar system receives weather reflectivity values. A processing device stores the received weather reflectivity values into a three-dimensional buffer, calculates a sum of the reflectivity value stored in a column of cells within the three-dimensional buffer, and assigns a first hazard indication to the cells of the column when the result of the calculation is above a first threshold. A display device generates a weather display based on data stored in the three-dimensional buffer. The weather display includes a display icon associated with the hazard indication when a cell from the three-dimensional buffer has been selected for the weather display. |
| US08068045B2 |
Calibration methods and structures for pipelined converter systems
Calibration methods and structures are provided for pipelined analog-to-digital converter systems. They are arranged to process samples of the digital codes with an algorithm that is preferably configured to repeatedly update an estimate of the transfer function with the difference between one of the input signals and the analog equivalent of the corresponding digital code. The calibration methods and structures are further configured to calibrate the transfer function of the converter stage wherein the samples are selected in accordance with various steps. These steps can include the step of injecting dither signals into a flash portion and an MDAC portion of the converter stage to thereby maintain dynamic range. They can also include the step of limiting the samples to those processed through a selected subrange of the subranges. They can further include the step of limiting the samples to those in which the absolute value of the input signals is less that 0.25 of the selected subrange and the absolute value of the dither signals is less that 0.25 of the selected subrange. If the selected subrange is not a central subrange, the steps can further include the step of shifting the samples by a distance between the selected subrange and the central subrange. |
| US08068044B2 |
Correction circuit for D/A converter
There is provided a correction circuit for a D/A converter, comprising: a constant current source to be connected between high- and low-potential power source lines for supplying a power source voltage to the D/A converter; and a current controller which is adapted to control a current flowing to the constant current source in accordance with an input digital signal to the D/A converter, so as to reduce a variation of a sum of currents which, when the input digital signal to the D/A converter is changed, flows to the low-potential power source line from the high-potential power source line through the D/A converter and the constant current source, respectively. |
| US08068043B2 |
Method and apparatus for video processing in context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding
A method and apparatus of a digital signal processor for coding of a significant map. The method for coding of a significant map includes carrying out a scan of at least a portion of a block of transform coefficients; calculating runs of zeros of the scanned data; and coding runs of zeros with variable length coding. |
| US08068038B2 |
System and method for rendering a primary flight display having a conformal terrain avoidance guidance element
A flight deck display system and related operating methods for an aircraft are provided. The system includes a processor architecture and a display element coupled to the processor architecture. The processor architecture is configured to receive real-time aircraft data and terrain data for the aircraft and, based upon the real-time aircraft data and the terrain data, generate image rendering display commands. The display element receives the image rendering display commands and, in response thereto, renders a primary flight display that includes a conformal view of terrain corresponding to a flight deck viewpoint. The primary flight display also includes a conformal terrain avoidance guidance (TAG) element on the view of terrain. The TAG element includes visual indicia of a desired navigation path that is intended to avoid terrain that obstructs a current flight path of the aircraft. |
| US08068036B2 |
Intersection vehicle collision avoidance system
The present invention discloses a system that alerts the operator of a vehicle, when operator is not in compliance with an intersection signal condition, where the intersection traffic signal conditions does not permit driver of vehicles to cross the intersection. The system comprises of traffic light or stop sign RF transmitter or transceiver units, and plurality of vehicles equipped with vehicle collision avoidance device containing RF transceivers to receive signals from the intersection signal transmitter units, the vehicle collision avoidance device is equipped with vehicle speed comparator CPU and vehicle travel direction sensing circuitry using a compass or GPS receiver to determine vehicle travel direction and monitor vehicle speed. A beeper, LED or vibrator is incorporated for warning the driver. |
| US08068034B2 |
Safety sensor device
A safety sensor device for an appliance detects burning conditions and shuts off power to the appliance. The device includes a sensor unit positioned near an exhaust of the appliance, and a relay unit connected along a power supply path to the appliance. The relay and sensor units are linked. The sensor unit includes a sensor for monitoring exhaust air from the appliance. The relay unit includes a circuit that electrically connects the appliance with a power source while in an ON state and electrically disconnects the appliance from the power source while in an OFF state, the circuit being responsive to the sensor unit to transition from the ON state to the OFF state if the sensor detects burning conditions. |
| US08068028B2 |
Encapsulated RFID device for flexible, non-planar or curvilinear surfaces
An encapsulated device and method for fabricating a radio frequency identification (RFID) device is disclosed herein. The method includes providing a first substrate layer, the first substrate layer including at least one cavity; placing a RFID tag into the cavity; placing a second substrate layer over the first substrate layer, the at least one cavity of the first substrate layer being covered by the second substrate layer; and attaching the second substrate layer to the first substrate layer, the second substrate layer forming a pocket with the first substrate layer. |
| US08068022B2 |
System and method for monitoring objects and people using a mobile device
A system for monitoring the location of persons or objects using a wireless device, comprising at least one tag unit capable of transmitting data signals of a first type identifying said at least one tag; a wireless device capable of receiving data signals of a second type; and a converter unit, that receives the data signals of the first type from said at least one tag unit, converts the data signals of the first type to data signals of a second type, and transmits said data signals of a second type to the wireless device. |
| US08068019B2 |
Trailer identification system
A system and method that, upon connection of a trailer to a tow vehicle, recognizes the trailer and applies a stored trailer configuration in a controller. In one embodiment, tire pressure sensors transmit RF signals that are received by the tire pressure monitoring system. Transmissions from the sensors are decoded in a controller and processed to identify, or create a particular trailer configuration as well as implement tire pressure monitoring automatically calibrated to the particular trailer configuration based on the sensor identifications for the tire pressure sensors. In another embodiment, the trailer configuration includes a pulse width modulated gain control for the trailer brakes. |
| US08068013B2 |
RF communication module and RF communication system
A RF communication system includes a RF communication module capable of controlling either an IR communication system-controlled device or a controlled device not equipped with a reception circuit for receiving IR signals remotely with RF signals. The RF communication module is equipped with an antenna for receiving RF signals, a RF communication circuit for demodulating the remote control data from the RF signal received by the antenna, a UART interface for outputting bit stream remote data to a device-side microcomputer of the controlled device, and a communication control unit having two types of communication interfaces in a pulse signal interface that outputs a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with remote control data, to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, so that remote control data transmitted by RF signals is output freely, as either bit stream or pulse modulated signals, to a device-side microcomputer of the controlled device. |
| US08068010B2 |
Chipless RFID tag and method for communicating with the RFID tag
A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a method and system for communicating with the RFID tag. The RFID tag includes a first and second structure respectively holding first data and second data that is complementary to the first data. The RFID tag does not include a microchip. An electromagnetic radio frequency signal is transmitted from an interrogator to the RFID tag. The interrogator receives, from the RFID tag, a response signal including third data being the first data or a combination of the first data and the second data. The interrogator extracts the third data from the response signal. A default value equal to the combination of the first data and the second data is stored in the interrogator. If the interrogator determines that the third data is unequal/equal to the default value, then a screen of the interrogator displays that the RFID tag is enabled/not enabled. |
| US08068006B2 |
Method of detecting presence and motion for door control devices and door control devices implementing such a demand
A method of detecting presence and motion for door control devices, and a door control device implementing the method. On receipt of a door opening command (24), at least a portion of at least one image captured by a digital camera of the floor area is compressed (28) and the compressed image is compared (32) with at least one active presence criterion to inhibit or not inhibit the door closure command (34). |
| US08068003B2 |
Integrated circuits with series-connected inductors
An integrated circuit inductor may have upper and lower loop-shaped line portions that are connected in series. The upper and lower portions may have 45° bends that form hexagonal or octagonal loops. Each loop portion may have one or more turns. Intervening metal-free regions of metal routing layers may be formed between the two layers to reduce capacitive coupling. Each loop portion may have sets of two or more metal lines shorted in parallel by vias. The upper and lower loops may be laterally offset or nested to reduce capacitive coupling. |
| US08068001B2 |
Saw filter featuring impedance transformation
A surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter includes at least one first electroacoustic transducer, and at least one second electroacoustic transducer. The at least one first electroacoustic transducer and the at least one second electroacoustic transducer are side-by-side inside an acoustic path having an aperture A0. The at least one first electroacoustic transducer is connected to an electrical output of the SAW filter, and the at least one second electroacoustic transducer is connected to an electrical input of the SAW filter. At least one first electroacoustic transducer comprises a series circuit of a number of partial transducers, wherein each partial transducer has an individual aperture that is reduced in relation to the overall aperture A0, and wherein the individual apertures add up to the overall aperture. |
| US08067998B2 |
Communication transceiver having a three-line balun with power amplifier bias
A balun that includes a first conductor, a second conductor, and a third conductor. The first conductor has a first length. The first conductor also has a first end connected to a first balanced power amplifier output port. The second conductor has substantially the same first length. The second conductor also includes a first end connected to a second balanced power amplifier output port and a second end connected to a second end of the first conductor. The third conductor has substantially the same first length. The third conductor has a first end connected to an antenna port and a second end connected to a ground potential. |