| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08156562B2 |
Information processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, image forming system, information processing method, and image forming method
An information processing apparatus determines whether an authentication portion on an image forming apparatus side can authenticate user authentication information input on the information processing apparatus side. If it is determined that the authentication portion on the image forming apparatus side can authenticate the user authentication information input on the information processing apparatus side, transmission of image data from the information processing apparatus to the image forming apparatus is controlled. |
| US08156561B2 |
Method and apparatus for setting access restriction information
Access restriction information that an old storage device has is transferred to a new storage device. A management server 2200 obtains a port management TL 2445 that the old storage device 2400 has, through a LAN 2600 which is separated from a Fiber Channel network which is utilized for data communication. Also, through the LAN 2600, a port list TL 2555 is obtained from the new storage device 2500. And, then, on the basis of the port list TL 2555, a port of the new storage device 2500, which is utilized for an access to a volume of the old storage device, is selected. And, on the basis of the port management TL 2445, on a port of the selected new storage device 2500, it is set up that access restriction information of a port of the old storage device 2400 to which a volume, of which the port is utilized for an access, is assigned. |
| US08156560B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing a border guard between security domains
The present invention discloses an apparatus and method for defining and enforcing rules of transition between two security domains, e.g., a transport domain and a persistent security domain. In turn, a border guard, e.g., a security device, is provided between these two domains that enforce rules for transition between the two security domains. This novel approach of defining a transport domain and a persistent security domain simplifies the classification of the digital content and its movement through the system. Namely, the border guard once established between the two systems can enforce DRM rules associated with how contents are moved between the two domains. |
| US08156559B2 |
Systematic approach to uncover GUI logic flaws
To achieve end-to-end security, traditional machine-to-machine security measures are insufficient if the integrity of the graphical user interface (GUI) is compromised. GUI logic flaws are a category of software vulnerabilities that result from logic flaws in GUI implementation. The invention described here is a technology for uncovering these flaws using a systematic reasoning approach. Major steps in the technology include: (1) mapping a visual invariant to a program invariant; (2) formally modeling the program logic, the user actions and the execution context, and systematically exploring the possibilities of violations of the program invariant; (3) finding real spoofing attacks based on the exploration. |
| US08156554B2 |
Method and system for verifying identification of an electronic mail message
A method and system for verifying identification of an electronic mail message. An electronic mail message including a signature and a key is received, the signature identifying a domain from which the electronic mail message originated and the key for verifying the signature. A key registration server of the domain is accessed to verify the key. The key registration server provides for verifying that a key used to sign an electronic mail message is valid and that the sender is authorized by the domain to send the electronic mail message from the return address. |
| US08156545B2 |
Method and apparatus for authorizing a communication interface
A method and system for authorizing a communication interface between a first and second module comprises detecting a coupling between a first module and a second module, certifying a first pairing certificate is valid between the first module and the second module, and issuing a first operating certificate and storing the first operating certificate on at least one of the first module and the second module. |
| US08156543B2 |
Method and system for authenticating a party to a transaction
One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method including receiving an alias identifier associated with an account associated with a presenter, determining an associated trusted party using the alias identifier, sending a verification request message to the trusted party after determining the associated trusted party, and receiving a verification response message. |
| US08156542B2 |
Conditional data delivery to remote devices
In one embodiment a method comprises enrolling a mobile device in a local area network by setting a variable to a mobile device identifier and authenticating the mobile device using a network gateway and the mobile device identifier. A request for data is received from the mobile device and the data is delivered from a service provider to the mobile device. |
| US08156540B2 |
System and method for managing feature enablement in an information handling system
A system to manage a key license includes an information handling system having non-volatile memory accessible to a processor. The non-volatile memory stores feature enablement information related to a feature that the information handling system is adapted to provide. The non-volatile memory stores instructions that are accessible to the processor and executable by the processor to send the feature enablement information related to the feature to an external system after the information handling system is deployed, and to request the feature enablement information, or other feature enablement information related to the feature, from the external system in response to receiving a request for the information handling system to provide the feature. |
| US08156539B1 |
Method and system for protecting a wireless network
A method and system for protecting a wireless network by establishing virtual walls to confine wireless connection to devices located within a three-dimensional region. A network of wireless monitoring nodes is established at physical locations. The monitoring nodes are arranged in a frame of reference and determine locations of one another and of mobile nodes by conducting measurements of either roundtrip travel time of signals sent and received or of differences in the times of receiving a signal at different known locations. Initially mobile nodes are placed, sequentially, in a triangle at a boundary to be established as a virtual wall for confining communication within the wireless network. The mobile node locations are then stored. The position of a device requesting admission to the wireless network is similarly determined and, if within the established virtual walls, the device may be admitted to the network. Admission is otherwise denied. |
| US08156535B2 |
Data rate compression device for cable television return path using bandpass puncturing
An apparatus for and a method of transmitting analog return signals in a digital return path of a cable television system (CATV) is disclosed. In one embodiment, at a node of the CATV system, an analog CATV return signal is converted to a stream of digital samples at approximately 100 MHz. Signals outside of a desired frequency band are removed with a digital filter having predetermined filter coefficients. The resulting stream of digital samples is up-sampled to generate another stream of digital samples at a rate that is four times the center frequency of a predetermined frequency band. The resulting stream is then punctured to generate yet another stream with a data rate that is lower than 100 MHz. Zero samples are removed, and the remaining digital samples are serialized and converted to optical signals for transmission via an optical medium of the CATV return path. A reverse process at a hub or head end of the CATV return system restores the signals of the desired frequency band. |
| US08156534B2 |
Seamless digital channel changing
Seamless channel changing in a digital-television-based entertainment network can be implemented, for example, by providing an intra frame to a client device upon a change to a new channel even when the broadcast video data is previously compressed. In an exemplary implementation, a method includes: receiving a stream of broadcast video data that is encoded; continuously decoding the stream of broadcast video data into successive decoded images; and transmitting, responsive to a channel change message received from a client device, an intra frame that has been encoded from a decoded image of the successive decoded images. Other exemplary implementations are described herein. |
| US08156529B2 |
System and method for preprogrammed purchasing of television offered products
In one embodiment, the present invention is an improved interactive television system and method for t-commerce. The data for upcoming products is pre-loaded into the system's memory. When a product becomes available, a “trigger” appears on the Vertical Blanking Interval (“VBI”) of the shopping channel that causes the system to display special graphics with which the user can interact to order a product. The displayed special graphics may include text, graphics, and/or video about the product. A user can browse a list of upcoming products and select items that he or she wishes to purchase, as soon as the products become available. The system then monitors the VBI of the shopping channel and when a trigger for a selected product appears in the VBI, the system immediately sends a message (the order form) to the order center of the shopping channel and orders the product. The system can accomplish this function unattended while the user is asleep or otherwise occupied. |
| US08156525B2 |
Information-processing system, information-processing device, and information-processing method
In an information-processing system shown in FIG. 1, a server (106) for delivering remote-operation control information in accordance with an audio/video instrument (110) and an information-processing apparatus (103) with a remote-operation screen display function for remote-controlling the audio/video instrument (110) based on control information acquired from this server (106) are connected to each other through the Internet (105) etc. The information-processing apparatus (103) makes a request to the server (106) to deliver the remote-operation control information in accordance with this audio/video instrument (110) and, based on the control information delivered from the server (106) owing to this delivery request, performs display processing of a remote-operation screen and, based on remote-operation information input by operations on the remote-operation screen, remote-controls the audio/video instrument (110). |
| US08156524B2 |
Content preference calculation method and content reception apparatus
A content preference degree calculating method and system that calculates preference degrees of viewers to contents such as broadcast programs in conformity with the actual viewing pattern. In a preference degree calculating unit, the value of a function which is based on at least the rate Ru (=Dw/Lu) of a viewing time (Dw) of the content concerned to a unit time (Lu) and the rate Rc (=Dw/Lc) of the viewing time (Dw) of the content concerned to the time length (Lc) of the content concerned. When the preference degree (Pr) increases as the rate (Ru) is increased and the preference degree (Pr) increases as the rate (Rc) is increased is calculated as a preference degree (Pr) of a viewer to the program concerned from program viewing record data. A formula is Pr=Ru+Rc=(Dw/Lu)+(Dw/Lc). In a preference degree renewing unit, the preference degree (Pr) is added to a pre-renewal preference degree (Po) recorded in a preference data base by some rate, and the preference degree (Pn) after the addition is recorded as a post-renewal preference degree into the preference data base. |
| US08156523B2 |
System and method of providing television program sharing service
Disclosed is a system and method of providing a TV program sharing service that enables sharing of a TV program among EPG-based TV sets and/or set top boxes, and thus enables recording of the already broadcast program whenever a user desires to do so. The system includes a TV client for directly uploading a program stored in its own storage device to another TV client, or for directly downloading a program stored in a storage device of another TV client to itself, and a shared program management center for storing record information of the programs stored in the TV clients in its own database, and enabling a mutual transfer of the programs among the TV clients using its database. |
| US08156521B2 |
Receiver
A receiver has a tuner for receiving a TV broadcast program and a modem for receiving an e-mail. Also, the receiver outputs a message if there exists any unopened e-mail. In addition, the receiver has a camera for sending a videophone image. A viewer in front of the receiver is recognized, and it is determined whether or not the recognized viewer matches the addressee of the unopened e-mail. If a result of the determination is negative, a message output operation is prohibited. |
| US08156510B2 |
Process retext for dynamically loaded modules
A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for dynamically loading a module into an application address space. In response to receiving a checkpoint signal by a plurality of threads associated with an application running in a software partition, the plurality of threads rendezvous to a point outside an application text associated with the application. Rendezvousing the plurality of threads suspends execution of application text by the plurality of threads. The application text is moved out of an application address space for the application to form an available application address space. The available application address space is an address space that was occupied by the application text. A software module is moved into the available application address space. |
| US08156505B2 |
Protocol processing including converting messages between SOAP and application specific formats
The SPD according to exemplary embodiments of the invention may interface with different buses and computer system architectures to enable deployment in a wide variety of devices. Heterogeneous network (300) using SPDs in various computing devices. Desktop computers (302), mobile systems (such as cell phones) (304), mainframes (306), workstations (308), PDA systems (310) and other devices may be operatively connected to a network (such as the Internet or an Intranet). These devices may include SPDs (312) to enable web services to be provided among these devices. They may also communicate with some devices that do not include SPDs (such as the PC Desktop System (302) and Mobile System (304) in FIG. 3). These devices would require the use of a SOAP software toolkit for the particular platform, because they do not include an SPD. The SPDs could have different designs in different systems, while they share a common SOAP engine to provide a consistent and efficient SOAP processing capability. |
| US08156504B2 |
Scalable resources in a virtualized load balancer
In one embodiment, a load balancing system may include a first physical device that provides a resource. The first physical device may have a first virtual device running actively thereon. The first virtual device may have the resource allocated to it on the physical device. The first physical device may also have a virtual server load balancer running actively thereon. The server load balancer may be adapted to balance a workload associated with the resource between the first virtual device and a second virtual device. The second virtual device may be running in active mode on a second physical device, and in standby mode on the first physical device. The first virtual device may be in standby mode on the second physical device. |
| US08156501B2 |
Implementing dynamic authority to perform tasks on a resource
A method, apparatus and computer program product implement dynamic authority for a user to perform tasks on a resource. A user selected task on a resource is identified and analyzed to determine whether the task changes a state of the resource. When determined that the task changes a state of the resource, then a relationship of the resource to related resources is analyzed. Access to tasks on the resource is dynamically determined for the user based upon the identified relationship of the resource to related resources. Based on the analysis performed, access is denied or a summary of side effects with confirmation is presented. |
| US08156499B2 |
Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for scheduling execution of programs on computers having different operating systems
A distributed computing system includes at least first and second distinct computers each having a different operating system. First processes are compatible with the first operating system and second processes are compatible with the second operating system. A third scheduling computer, coupled to the first and second computer via a communication network, includes a scheduler for scheduling the first processes and the second processes to execute respectively on the first and second computers. The scheduler accesses a master schedule that defines an executing sequence of the first processes and the second processes. The master schedule can define conditional inter-relationships between the first processes and the second processes. |
| US08156497B2 |
Providing shared tasks amongst a plurality of individuals
A mechanism for sharing tasks is provided in which individuals in a share group may signal their intent to complete individual shared tasks and communicate that intent to other individuals in the share group. A required time for completion of the shared tasks may be associated with an individual's signaling of the intent to complete the shared task. The completion of the shared task by the individual signaling intent to complete may be monitored and, if not completed within the associated required time, the performance of the shared task may again be shared with the individuals of the share group. In this way, another individual may signal that individual's intent to perform the shared task and the process may be repeated until the shared task is completed. |
| US08156495B2 |
Scheduling threads on processors
A device, system, and method are directed towards managing threads and components in computer system with one or more processing units. A processor group has an associated hierarchical structure containing nodes that may correspond to processing units, hardware components, or abstractions. The processor group hierarchy may be used to assign one or more threads to one or more processing units, by traversing the hierarchy based on various factors. The factor may include load balancing, affinity, sharing of components, loads, capacities, or other characteristics of components or threads. A processor group hierarchy may be used in conjunction with a designated processor set. |
| US08156487B2 |
Efficient patching
A facility for automatically processing software patches is described. The facility receives in a computing system a distinguished patch package for modifying the behavior of a programmatic entity. The facility automatically extracts from the distinguished patch package (1) patch application information that identifies a distinguished programmatic entity against which the patches to be applied, and (2) patch behavior information that specifies a manner in which to modify the behavior of the distinguished programmatic entity. The facility automatically adds to a patch table a distinguished entry containing the extracted patch application information and patch behavior information. |
| US08156484B2 |
LDAP server performance object creation and use thereof
A system in which a plurality of performance objects are stored in computer memory, where each performance objects contains at least one input template and a corresponding optimized code path program product. A template matcher intercepts an input set destined to a directory server, and then determines a match between the intercepted input set and one of the templates. A code path selector then retrieves the corresponding optimized code path program product stored in a performance object associated with the matched template. Finally, a code processor executes the retrieved optimized code path program product on the intercepted input set, and stores the result in a tangible computer media through alteration of a physical property of the media. |
| US08156479B2 |
System and method of monitoring dynamic scopes in synchronous and asynchronous calls
A system and method for monitoring dynamic scopes in a runtime environment is disclosed. The system and method utilizes an algorithm which may be applied to both synchronous and asynchronous invocations. The method comprises determining an initial scope of a source component, the initial scope being a scope of the source component upon providing a synchronous call to invoke a target component. The scope declaration specified by the target component is determined. A resultant scope present upon invocation of the target component is then determined. The resultant scope is determined based on the initial scope of the source component and the scope declaration specified by the target component. A record is stored in a centralized location identifying the resultant scope, and the target component as a participant in the resultant scope. |
| US08156478B2 |
Optimized program analysis
The present invention generally relates to computer software, and more specifically, to a computerized utility for analysis of optimized program files. A method and apparatus for optimized program analysis is disclosed. |
| US08156477B2 |
Method and system for assessing virtualization capability of a software application
A method for assessing virtualization capability of a software application involves monitoring execution of the software application to obtain performance data associated with the software application, analyzing the performance data to determine whether the software application satisfies virtualization requirements, and generating a virtualization score indicating virtualization capability of the software application based on the analyzing. |
| US08156471B2 |
Multi-language execution method
A data processing representation is expressed in the form of code sections, which may be nested, using multiple programming languages. The representation is read by an execution engine. The execution engine identifies the language of each code section, and a corresponding language specific processing unit is invoked to process the code section. The processing unit reads that section, identifying sub-sections specified in it's associated language and other sub-sections specified in unknown languages. It executes the sub-sections specified in its associated language with the intended semantics and in the appropriate order. When a sub-section specified in an unknown language is encountered, it delegates processing of that sub-section back to the execution engine, which repeats this process for the unknown sub-section. The execution result is returned back to the requesting language specific processing unit, which continues processing from where it left off. |
| US08156465B2 |
Layout method and layout program for semiconductor integrated circuit device
A plurality of cells are disposed in a chip region and wires are disposed between the cells in order to connect the cells over a plurality of layout steps. The layout method comprises (1) a placement restricted region placement step for disposing, in the chip region, a placement restricted region in which placement of predetermined cell types is prohibited or permitted in accordance with different layout steps, (2) a first layout step for disposing a desired cell in the chip region in conformity with the cell types that are prohibited or permitted in accordance with the first layout step of the disposed placement restricted region, and (3) a second layout step for disposing a desired cell in the chip region in conformity with the cell types that are prohibited or permitted in accordance with the second layout step of the disposed placement restricted region. |
| US08156459B1 |
Detecting differences between high level block diagram models
A method of detecting differences between high level block diagram models using text based analysis. Previous methods of determining differences between high level block diagram models derive differences through traversal of the block hierarchy which is complex and cannot compare differences between models created with third party design environments. The present invention increases interoperability and capabilities of existing circuit design environments, and achieves an advance in the art, by converting high level block diagram models to a user readable text-based format and performing a text-based differential analysis on the converted models to determine differences. |
| US08156456B1 |
Unified design methodology for multi-die integrated circuits
A method of designing an integrated circuit (IC) having multiple dies can include identifying a unified design library having a first process node specific (PNS) library for a first IC process technology and a second PNS library for a second IC process technology. The first PNS library can be correlated with a first die of the IC. The second PNS library can be correlated with the second die of the IC. Via a processor, a circuit element can be defined within a circuit design implemented within the IC according to the PNS library correlated to the die in which the circuit element is located. |
| US08156455B2 |
Methods and apparatus for implementing parameterizable processors and peripherals
Methods and apparatus are provided for implementing parameterizable processor cores and peripherals on a programmable chip. An input interface such as a wizard allows selection and parameterization of processor cores, peripherals, as well as other modules. The logic description for implementing the modules on a programmable chip can be dynamically generated, allowing extensive parameterization of various modules. Dynamic generation also allows the delivery of device driver logic onto a programmable chip. The logic description can include information for configuring a dynamically generated bus module to allow connectivity between the modules as well as connectivity with other on-chip and off-chip components. The logic description, possibly comprising HDL files, can then be automatically synthesized and provided to tools for downloading the logic description onto a programmable chip. |
| US08156454B2 |
Virtual data representation through selective bidirectional translation
A computer-aided circuit design application has a virtual node feature and a design tool. The virtual node feature is adapted to access design specification information in a first data format and to represent the accessed design specification information as a virtual data node object within a list of node objects in a second data format. The design tool is operable on the list of node objects and the virtual data node object. |
| US08156453B1 |
Method and system identifying and locating IP blocks and block suppliers for an electronic design
An improved approach for locating and identifying IP for an electronic design is described. The present approach addresses the situation in which an IP catalog does not contain any IP which matches the exact requirements of an electronic design for which the IP is to be used or integrated. |
| US08156448B2 |
Site navigation and site navigation data source
A concept for providing hierarchical navigation information relative to one or more databases within a distributed computer system is described. In one aspect, this includes a process for hierarchically organizing bodies of information that includes: receiving a query from a user, abstracting a list of descriptors from one or more sources of information selected based on the query, organizing the list according to an hierarchy of nodes referenced in the one or more sources of information and providing information configured to facilitate displaying a graphical user interface illustrating the hierarchy and having user programmable server control classes for accession of nodes in the hierarchy. |
| US08156442B2 |
Life recorder and sharing
A system and method that includes capturing content active in a device, identifying at least one target device to which the captured content is to be uploaded, and automatically uploading the content to the at least one other target device if a content sharing module in the device is active. |
| US08156440B2 |
User interface for a DICOM transfer configuration
A graphic user interface as well as related methods and logic for a DICOM transfer configuration are provided. For example, a first image object corresponding to an origin node is provided. A second image object corresponding to a destination node is provided. The second image object includes an indicator associated with a DICOM transfer. At least one link image object is between the first image object and the second image object. The link image object is indicative of a potential DICOM transfer. The first, second, and link image objects are displayed in a user interface. The potential DICOM transfer is operable to be configured via the user interface. |
| US08156434B2 |
Methods and arrangements for managing computer messages
An arrangement for determining those optimal times to permit an important pop-up message to be displayed by way of garnering a user's attention, while permitting less important messages to be displayed at times when a user's attention is unlikely to be garnered. In accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment, an arrangement is provided to recognize whether a user is looking towards a computer monitor and, at such times, to determine whether a blink rate of the user's eyes corresponds to a degree of focus and concentration that would ensure a strong likelihood of the user seeing or “catching” a message that may then appear. If such likelihood is thus determined to be strong, then a critical message may preferably then be displayed. |
| US08156433B2 |
Embodied music system
An embodied music system. The system creates an interactive interface between a listener and the external environment. The system includes a physical device located in the environment that provides sensory input to the listener. An audio signal of the system is adapted to be heard by the listener. An encoder embeds inaudible control data into the audio signal. A decoder extracts the control data from the audio signal and transmits the control data to the physical device, thereby controlling operation of the device. Finally, an audio reproduction device is connected to the decoder and plays the audio signal for the listener. The embodied music system allows the listener to experience multi-sensory compositions. |
| US08156430B2 |
System and method for clustering nodes of a tree structure
A system and method for clustering nodes of a tree structure is provided. A plurality of messages is maintained. Each message is represented as a node in a tree structure. A word vector is assigned to each message. Pairs of the nodes are identified based on relationships in the tree structure. The nodes of one or more of the pairs are combined into clusters. Boundaries of each cluster are adjusted, including at least one of placing a root node into one such duster having a closest related child node, separating children nodes into distinct groups and retaining a relationship between a parent node and one such group including a nearest child node, and transferring a parent node to one such cluster having all children of the parent node. A digest of the messages, including one or more of the clusters is formed. |
| US08156424B2 |
Methods and systems for imaging device dynamic document creation and organization
Aspects of the present invention relate to systems, methods and devices for imaging device dynamic document creation and organization. Some aspects relate to imaging device dynamic document creation and organization, wherein a document format, a dynamic field structure and document static content are selected on an imaging device user interface and combined to form a dynamic document on the imaging device. Some aspects of the present invention relate to imaging device dynamic document creation and organization, wherein dynamic document menu options are sent to an imaging device from a remote computing device. |
| US08156420B2 |
Form validation with table driven error handling
Various embodiments provide a validation framework to validate whether data entered in a web application is valid. The framework includes a validation resource that contains a validation rule for the web application. The framework also includes a validation group web control that can generate client validation script that is useable by a client to validate whether the entered data is valid. In at least some embodiments, an event table that specifies the validation rules is used to present an error message when the entered data is not valid. |
| US08156418B2 |
Image acquisition from dynamic content for delivery to network-enabled static display devices
An image service uses a uniform resource locator (URL) or other location identifier to retrieve static images embedded in dynamic content presentations from the Internet. The image service uses a set of imaging parameters to extract one or more static images embedded in the dynamic content presentation that can be consumed by the static display device. URLs to existing web pages are entered into a configuration interface on the image service. The image service parses the web pages, identifies a direct location identifier for the embedded image, and passes the direct location identifier to the static display device for direct retrieval of the embedded image. In another implementation, the image service dynamically pulls the selected embedded images from the identified web sites, and downloads the static image files for display on the static display device. |
| US08156414B2 |
String reconstruction using multiple strings
Disclosed are systems and methods for reconstructing a string comprising characters given multiple strings that may contain one or more errors. In embodiments, pairwise comparisons of strings within a set of candidate strings that may contain errors is performed so that measures related to similarity between the strings in each pair may be calculated. In embodiments, an alignment and voting method using at least some of the similarity measures may be employed to generate a reconstructed string. In embodiments, the reconstructed string may be validated, and in embodiments, its characters may be converted to another encoding, if necessary. |
| US08156407B2 |
Method and system for memory management in a HARQ communications system
A method is provided for memory management in a communications system using a HARQ error control mechanism, in which a transmitter establishes a plurality of HARQ channels with a receiver. The method includes determining whether each received encoded HARQ packet needs to be combined with an encoded HARQ packet already stored in HARQ memory. In case a received encoded HARQ packet does not need to be combined, the method determines whether there is a free memory space available in the HARQ memory for storing that received encoded HARQ packet, and if so, allocating that free memory space for storage of that received encoded HARQ packet. If not, the method determines whether a certain amount of memory space can be forced to be freed, and if so, de-allocates it and then allocates it for storage of that received encoded HARQ packet, that packet is sent to an FEC decoder. |
| US08156402B2 |
Memory device with error correction capability and efficient partial word write operation
A memory device comprises a memory array and error correction circuitry coupled to the memory array. The memory device is configured to perform at least a partial word write operation and a read operation, with the partial word write operation comprising a read phase and a write phase. The write phase of the partial word write operation occurs in the same clock cycle of the memory device as the read operation by, for example, time multiplexing bitlines of the memory array within the clock cycle between the write phase of the partial word write operation and the read operation. Thus, the partial word write operation appears to a higher-level system incorporating or otherwise utilizing the memory device as if that operation requires only a single clock cycle of the memory device. |
| US08156400B1 |
Embedded parity coding for data storage
A decoder memory system comprises a first memory comprising at least a portion of a parity check matrix H. A second memory receives the portion from the first memory and that is associated with a previous decoding iteration. A third memory communicates with the first memory, receives the parity check matrix H and is associated with a current decoding iteration. A fourth memory comprises likelihood ratios. A control module generates a LDPC decoded signal based on the parity check matrix H, the previous decoded iteration and the likelihood ratios. |
| US08156398B2 |
Parameter estimation based on error correction code parity check equations
A method for operating a memory, which includes analog memory cells, includes encoding data with an Error Correction Code (ECC) that is representable by a plurality of equations. The encoded data is stored in a group of the analog memory cells by writing respective input storage values to the memory cells in the group. Multiple sets of output storage values are read from the memory cells in the group using one or more different, respective read parameters for each set. Numbers of the equations, which are satisfied by the respective sets of the output storage values, are determined. A preferred setting of the read parameters is identified responsively to the respective numbers of the satisfied equations. The memory is operated on using the preferred setting of the read parameters. |
| US08156389B2 |
Pruned bit-reversal interleaver
A pruned bit-reversal interleaver supports different packet sizes and variable code rates and provides good spreading and puncturing properties. To interleave data, a packet of input data of a first size is received. The packet is extended to a second size that is a power of two, e.g., by appending padding or properly generating write addresses. The extended packet is interleaved in accordance with a bit-reversal interleaver of the second size, which reorders the bits in the extended packet based on their indices. A packet of interleaved data is formed by pruning the output of the bit-reversal interleaver e.g., by removing the padding or properly generating read addresses. The pruned bit-reversal interleaver may be used in combination with various types of FEC codes such as a Turbo code, a convolutional code, or a low density parity check (LDPC) code. |
| US08156387B2 |
Method and system for error manipulation
A system and method for manipulation of event data, such as errors, in a networked environment. The method includes receiving event signal data indicative of an event, and associating descriptive data with the event signal data. The descriptive data is then mapped to one or more associated connections. A determination is made whether to post identifier data corresponding to the event signal data. This determination is made as a function of predetermined criteria. If a determination is made to post the identifier data, the particular identifier data is posted. The posted identifier data may be selectively retrieved and output in a specified format. The identifier data may be stored in a memory. Descriptive data may be accumulated for a plurality of events subsequent to the mapping step. An alert condition may be established based on the type of event that has occurred. |
| US08156383B2 |
Notification method and apparatus in a data processing system
An method of, apparatus for, or storage device medium having instructions for publishing a first notification within a data processing system where the data processing system comprises a first source generating the first notification, a first destination device, and a second destination device. The source may be a storage unit, a printer, a processing unit, or any other device which is a component of the data processing system. The destination device is typically a monitor, a workstation, a computer, a PC, or other input/output type workstation. The method comprises of having the first destination device subscribe to receive notifications from the first source. In addition, the second destination device subscribes to receive the notifications serially republished from the first destination device. Upon the publication of a notification from the first source to the first destination device, the first destination device will publish the notification to the second destination device. |
| US08156382B1 |
System and method for counting storage device-related errors utilizing a sliding window
A system and method are provided for counting storage-related error events using a sliding window. This is accomplished by counting error events that occur within a sliding window of time and triggering a reaction based on such count. By this feature, the error events are counted with additional accuracy so that a reaction will be appropriately triggered. To this end, in various embodiments, more accurate error counting is afforded to avoid a situation, such as in fixed sampling window frameworks, where an appropriate reaction is not triggered due to a failure to count an appropriate number error events in close proximity. |
| US08156379B2 |
Assessing computer programs using stack frame signatures
A method of assessing a computer program under actual working conditions according to one embodiment comprises executing the computer program multiple times under actual working conditions, in response to each unhandled exception encountered during execution of the computer program, creating a corresponding stack frame signature to characterize the state of the program, and comparing the stack frame signatures to determine which unhandled exceptions are likely to have resulted from similar features. |
| US08156377B2 |
Method and apparatus for determining ranked causal paths for faults in a complex multi-host system with probabilistic inference in a time series
A method and apparatus are provided for determining that problems have occurred within a complex multi-host system and for identifying for each problem, sequences of causes and effects called a fault cause path, starting with a root cause. A probabilistic model representing the cause/effect relationships among potential system problems identifies the probability that a problem occurred in the system. Such failure probabilities may be determined based on aggregating, over a recent time interval, probability of failure values determined by the probabilistic model. Each fault cause path may have an associated probability of accuracy value reflecting the expected accuracy of the fault cause path relative to other fault cause paths. When more than one fault cause path is identified, the number and order of the fault cause paths may be ranked and displayed based on their probability of accuracy value. |
| US08156376B2 |
Method, device and system for storing data in cache in case of power failure
A method, device and system for storing data in a cache in case of power failure are disclosed. The method includes: in case of power failure of a storage system, receiving configuration information from a central processing unit (CPU); establishing a mapping relationship between an address of data in the cache and an address in a storage device according to the configuration information; sending a signaling message that carries the mapping relationship to the cache, so that the cache migrates the data to the storage device according to the signaling message. |
| US08156374B1 |
Problem management for outsized queues
A system is provided for problem management for outsized queues. The system includes a computer readable storage medium comprising a management component stored as a set of computer instructions executable by a processor. The management component stops transmission of inbound messages for a queue managed by a first queue manager. The management component provides a copy of the queue to a second queue manager and recreates the queue as an empty queue for the first queue manager. The management component restarts the inbound messages for the recreated queue and enables the second queue manager to manage the copy of the queue. The management component enables an application that retrieved messages from the queue to retrieve messages from at least one of the recreated queue and the copy of the queue and to promote outputting data for a requesting user application to a user interface. |
| US08156372B2 |
Power outage operation of a cable modem
A method, system and computer program product for operation of a cable modem in response to Alternating Current (AC) power outage is described herein. When a loss of AC power is detected, the cable modem is switched to battery backup mode of operation using a single upstream and a single downstream channel. This switch occurs prior to receiving instructions from a cable modem termination system to use a single upstream and a single downstream channel. The cable modem notifies the cable modem termination system of the switch to battery backup mode of operation. |
| US08156370B2 |
Computer system and method of control thereof
A computer system is described having a plurality of hardware resources, a plurality of virtual partitions having allocated thereto some of those of hardware resources or parts thereof, said virtual partitions having an operating system loaded thereon, a partition monitoring application layer, which is capable of determining whether one or more of the partitions has failed, wherein said partition monitoring application layer also includes at least one hardware resource diagnostic function which is capable of interrogating at least one of the hardware resources allocated to a partition after failure of said partition, and a hardware resource reallocation function which is triggered when the hardware diagnostic function determines that one or more particular hardware resources associated with a failed partition is healthy, and which reallocates that healthy resource to an alternate healthy partition. A method of reallocating such hardware resources is also disclosed. |
| US08156368B2 |
Rebuilding lost data in a distributed redundancy data storage system
Rebuilding lost data in a distributed redundancy data storage system including multiple nodes, is provided. User data is stored as a collection of stripes, each stripe comprising a collection of data strips and associated parity strips, the stripes distributed across multiple corresponding data owner nodes and multiple corresponding parity owner nodes. A data owner node maintains the associated data strip holding a first copy of data, and a parity owner node maintains a parity strip holding a parity for the collection of data strips. Upon detecting a failure condition, the owner node initiates a rebuilding protocol for recovery of lost data and/or parity it owns. The protocol includes reconstruction of lost data or parity by a computation involving data and/or parity from a recovery strip set in a stripe, wherein a recovery strip set contains at least one surviving data or parity strip. The recovery strip set for a lost data strip contains at least one surviving parity strip. |
| US08156360B2 |
Systems and methods for waking wireless LAN devices
A system and method for wireless waking computing devices over a computer network is provided. A signal is broadcast over the network that includes one or more device specific wake-up data sequences. Each device specific wake-up data sequence includes multiple iterations of the hardware address of the wireless network card associated with that device. While in a reduced power or “sleep mode”, the wireless network card monitors wireless channels for packets containing a wake-up data sequence. If a wake-up data sequence is received, the sequence is matched against the hardware address information for that network card. If a match is determined, the network card sends a signal to the computing device causing full system power to be restored. A signal is sent to the network confirming that the device has been successfully woken from the sleep mode. |
| US08156358B2 |
System and method for dynamic modular information handling system power distribution
Infrastructure power resources of a chassis information handling system are made available to run chassis information handling system modules when infrastructure devices are not using the power resources. For example, cooling fans that cool information handling system modules supported by an information handling system chassis run at variable speeds having variable power consumption. A power reserve maintained to run the cooling fans at full speed if needed is made available to information handling system modules when under power management by a chassis manager. |
| US08156354B2 |
Power-saving system and method for computer
An exemplary power-saving system for a computer includes a sensor connected between a standby power pin and ground, an amplifier, two resistors connected in series between the standby power pin and ground, a comparator, an electronic switch, and an MPU. The amplifier has two amplifier input terminals respectively connected to an output of the sensor and ground, and an amplifier output terminal grounded via an integrator. The comparator has two comparator input terminals respectively connected to the integrator and a node between the two resistors, and a comparator output terminal connected to a first terminal of the electronic switch. A first pin of the MPU is connected to a second terminal of the electronic switch, and connected to the standby power pin via a third resistor. The MPU has second and third pins connected to a system power pin and the BIOS of the computer respectively. |
| US08156345B2 |
Method and system for memory attack protection to achieve a secure interface
A slave device may receive commands from a host device communicatively coupled to the slave device, via a secure interface configured between the slave device and the host device over that coupling. An integrated memory within the slave device may be configured into a plurality of memory portions or regions based on the received commands. The memory regions may be utilized during operations associated with authentication of subsequent commands from the host device. A first memory region may enable storage of encrypted host commands and data. A second region may enable storage of decrypted host commands and data. A third region may enable storage of internal variables and/or intermediate results from operations performed by the slave device. Another region may comprise internal registers that enable storage of information only accessible to the slave device. Access to some of the memory regions may be controlled and/or restricted by the slave device. |
| US08156337B2 |
Systems and methods for authenticating communications in a network medium
Pre-authentication information of devices is used to securely authenticate arbitrary peer-to-peer ad-hoc interactions. In one embodiment, public key cryptography is used in the main wireless link with location-limited channels being initially used to pre-authenticate devices. Use of public keys in the pre-authentication data allows for the broadening of types of media suitable for use as location-limited channels to include, for example, audio and infrared. Also, it allows a range of key exchange protocols which can be authenticated in this manner to include most public-key-based protocols. As a result, a large range of devices, protocols can be used in various applications. Further, an eavesdropper is forced to mount an active attack on the location-limited channel itself in order to access an ad-hoc exchange. However, this results in the discovery of the eavesdropper. |
| US08156336B2 |
Device authentication
Authentication of two devices in communication with a third device is achieved where the first and second devices each possess a shared secret value. The authentication includes communication of authentication values from the first device to the second device using the third device. Similarly, there is communication of values from the second device to the first device using the third device. The third device retains the communicated values. The values are calculated to permit the third device to authenticate the first and second devices without the third device receiving the shared secret value. The authentication may be used to establish a communications channel between the first and the second devices. |
| US08156335B2 |
IP address secure multi-channel authentication for online transactions
A method for multi-factor authenticating of a user using an application server and an authentication server is disclosed. The method includes receiving from the application server a first source IP address associated with a request for authenticating from the user browser program to the application server. The method also includes receiving from the user browser program a request to perform additional authentication between the user browser program and the authentication server using a separate communication channel. The method additionally includes comparing the first source IP address with a second source IP address associated with the request to perform the additional authentication and failing, if the first source IP address does not match the second source IP address, authentication of the user. |
| US08156333B2 |
Username based authentication security
An apparatus and a method for an authentication protocol. In one embodiment, a client requests for an authentication challenge from a server. The server generates the authentication challenge and sends it to the client. The authentication challenge includes the authentication context identifier, a random string, a timestamp, and a signature value. The client computes a salt value based on a username and the authentication context identifier from the authentication challenge. The signature value is computed based on the authentication context identifier, the random string, and the timestamp. The client computes a hashed password value based on the computed salt value, and a message authentication code based on the hashed password value and the random string. The client sends a response to the server. The response includes the username, the message authentication code, the random string, the timestamp, and the signature value. |
| US08156332B2 |
Peer-to-peer security authentication protocol
A salt transmitted by a second node is received at a first node. The received salt is used to decrypt encrypted data. Optionally, authorization to access a service provided by the second node is received by the first node. In some cases the service includes access to one or more files. |
| US08156330B2 |
Terminal for exchanging electronic business cards
A terminal and a method for exchanging electronic business cards that can guarantee privacy and guarantee complete and consistent communications to the user are provided. The terminal for exchanging electronic business cards with a device connected via a communications network stores the first public key and the first secret key, the first electronic certificate that includes the first public key and components of an electronic business card. The terminal prepares a first electronic business card from the components of an electronic business card that have been read from the memory, transmits the first electronic business card, together with the first electronic certificate that has been read from the memory, receives data encrypted by using the first public key, and decodes the encrypted data that has been received by using the first secret key that has been read from the memory. |
| US08156329B2 |
Network device management apparatus and control method thereof
A network device management apparatus includes a search unit configured to search for a network device supporting a first communication protocol, an authentication information input unit configured to input authentication information used in communication with the network device using the first communication protocol, an authentication executing unit configured to execute authentication of the network device by using the authentication information, a first checking unit configured to, when the authentication by the authentication executing unit is successful, check whether a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol is enabled in the network device, and a setting changing unit configured to change a setting of the second communication protocol depending on a result of the checking performed by the first checking unit. |
| US08156326B2 |
Method to search for affinities between subjects and relative apparatus
A method to search for affinities between subjects comprises registering a user with a certification authority, receiving first information relating to the user, memorizing the first information in a portable electronic device of the user, and synthesizing the first information by transmitting it to a user interface which processes the first information memorized. The method also comprises encrypting the first information and memorizing the first information encrypted in the portable electronic device, disseminating the first encrypted information to other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity, collecting second encrypted information relating to other users, sent from other portable electronic devices in geographical proximity and decrypting the first and second information encrypted at the certification authority. Finally, the method provides for processing and analyzing the first and second decrypted information, in order to identify affinities between them, at the certification authority, and notifying the affinities, by the certification authority. |
| US08156325B2 |
Role aware network security enforcement
Generating a binding between a source address and one or more roles of a user accessing the network and distributing the binding to a filter node. The source address is currently assigned to the device. The binding may be generated by one or more nodes on an ingress path used during authentication of the user. The binding may be distributed to the filter node on demand or without any request from the filter node. Responsive to a determination that the user is associated with a new source address, a new binding is generated to associate a new source address with the one or more roles for the user. The new binding is distributed to the filter node. Another aspect is a method of enforcing a role based security policy at a filter node, using bindings of source addresses to roles. |
| US08156323B1 |
Secured online financial transaction voice chat
Systems, methods, and computer program products are defined that provide for secure online financial transaction voice chat. According to present embodiments, the security provided to the voice chat stream is less likely to be intercepted by a network attacker during communication. In addition to providing heightened security to voice chat transmissions, methods, systems and computer program products provide for an alternate platform for delivering the voice chat application in the form of a game console. In this regard, the methods, systems and the like provide for voice chat/calls on platforms other than personal computers, laptops and/or telephones. |
| US08156322B2 |
Critical security parameter generation and exchange system and method for smart-card memory modules
A storage device contains a smart-card device and a memory device, which is connected to a controller. The storage device may be used in the same manner as a conventional smart-card device, or it may be used to store a relatively large amount of data. The memory device may also be used to store data or instructions for use by the smart-card device. The controller includes a security engine that uses critical security parameters stored in, and received from, the smart-card device. The critical security parameters may be sent to the controller in a manner that protects them from being discovered. The critical security parameters may be encryption and/or decryption keys that may encrypt data written to the memory device and/or decrypt data read from the memory device, respectively. Data and instructions used by the smart-card device may therefore stored in the memory device in encrypted form. |
| US08156318B2 |
Storing a device management encryption key in a network interface controller
A device management system for securely storing an encryption key associated with a device management session. The device management system includes an encryption key generator to generate an encryption key, a client device to receive an encrypted bootstrap data file transmitted by a base station, and a network interface controller coupled to the client device, the network interface controller to store the encryption key separate from a system memory of the client device. Embodiments of the device management system ensure user credentials do not exist in the client device in plaintext form outside of the network interface controller, thus preventing software and/or malware executed on the host from extracting such credentials. |
| US08156317B2 |
Integrated circuit with secure boot from a debug access port and method therefor
An integrated circuit (100) may receive a boot loader code (114) via a debug access port (105), wherein a boot logic is operative to block, upon a reset (123) of the programmable processor (103) from the debug access port (105), commands and to the programmable processor from the debug access port, while still allowing the reset (123) command and while allowing write access to memory (112) to receive the boot loader code image (114) written to memory (112). The boot logic also blocks commands to the memory subsystem (109) from the debug access port and turns off write access to memory (112) after allowing the boot loader code image (114) to be written. The boot logic validates the boot loader code image (114) by performing a security check and jumps to the boot loader code image (114) if it is valid, thereby allowing it to run on the programmable processor (103). The boot logic may be logic circuits, software or a combination thereof. |
| US08156312B2 |
Processor chip for reconfigurable data processing, for processing numeric and logic operations and including function and interconnection control units
An expanded arithmetic and logic unit (EALU) with special extra functions is integrated into a configurable unit for performing data processing operations. The EALU is configured by a function register, which greatly reduces the volume of data required for configuration. The cell can be cascaded freely over a bus system, the EALU being decoupled from the bus system over input and output registers. The output registers are connected to the input of the EALU to permit serial operations. A bus control unit is responsible for the connection to the bus, which it connects according to the bus register. The unit is designed so that distribution of data to multiple receivers (broadcasting) is possible. A synchronization circuit controls the data exchange between multiple cells over the bus system. The EALU, the synchronization circuit, the bus control unit, and registers are designed so that a cell can be reconfigured on site independently of the cells surrounding it. A power-saving mode which shuts down the cell can be configured through the function register; clock rate dividers which reduce the working frequency can also be set. |
| US08156308B1 |
Supporting multiple byte order formats in a computer system
Method and system for supporting multiple byte order formats, separately or simultaneously, are provided and described. In one embodiment, a page attribute table (PAT), which is programmable, is utilized to indicate byte order format. In another embodiment, a memory type range register (MTRR), which is programmable, is utilized to indicate byte order format. |
| US08156306B1 |
Systems and methods for using thin provisioning to reclaim space identified by data reduction processes
The invention provides a system to reclaim space identified as no longer in use and comprises a vLUN, a thinly provisioned mapped LUN, a mapping layer, and a data reduction engine. Chunks of data are stored at logical chunk addresses (LCAs) in the vLUN and are mapped to corresponding physical chunk addresses (PCAs) in the thinly provisioned mapped LUN. The data reduction engine performs a data reduction process on a first logical chunk of data stored at a first LCA in the vLUN, where the first logical chunk has a size that is a nonzero integer multiple of the size of the storage extent of the thinly provisioned mapped LUN. After the data reduction process, the PCA associated with the first logical chunk is no longer needed, and the thinly provisioned mapped LUN is instructed to deallocate the PCA associated with the first logical chunk that is no longer needed. |
| US08156303B2 |
Storage system condition indicator and method
A storage system condition indicator and method provides a visual display representing the operating condition of a set of storage devices. Various operating conditions may be defined based on available storage capacity and capacity to store data redundantly. One or more indicators may be used to represent the operating condition of the set of storage devices. The indicator(s) may be used to indicate whether additional storage capacity is recommended and, in a storage array, which slot in the array should be updated with additional storage capacity. |
| US08156293B2 |
Method and apparatus for a unified storage system
A unified storage system for executing a variety of types of storage control software using a single standardized hardware platform includes multiple storage control modules connected to storage devices for storing data related to input/output (I/O) operations. A first type of storage control software is initially installed and executed on a first storage control module for processing a first type of I/O operations. A management module replaces the first type of storage control software by installing a second type of storage control software onto the first storage control module. When the second type of storage control software is installed and executed, the first storage control module processes a second type of I/O operation, different from the first type of I/O operation. Control of volumes originally accessed by the first storage control module may be transferred to a second storage control module having the first type of storage control software installed. |
| US08156289B2 |
Hardware support for work queue management
The claimed matter provides systems and/or methods that effectuate utilization of fine-grained concurrency in parallel processing and efficient management of established memory structures. The system can include devices that establish memory structures associated with individual processors that can comprise a parallel processing phalanx. The system can thereafter utilize various enqueuing and/or dequeuing directives to add or remove work descriptors to or from the memory structures individually associated with each of the individual processors thereby providing improved work flow synchronization amongst the processors that comprise the parallel processing complex. |
| US08156288B2 |
Asymmetric memory migration in hybrid main memory
Main memory is managed by receiving a command from an application to read data associated with a virtual address that is mapped to the main memory. A memory controller determines that the virtual address is mapped to one of the symmetric memory components of the main memory, and accesses memory use characteristics indicating how the data associated with the virtual address has been accessed, The memory controller determines that the data associated with the virtual address has access characteristics suited to an asymmetric memory component of the main memory and loads the data associated with the virtual address to the asymmetric memory component of the main memory. After the loading and using the memory management unit, a command is received from the application to read the data associated with the virtual address, and the data associated with the virtual address is retrieved from the asymmetric memory component. |
| US08156287B2 |
Adaptive data prefetch
A data processing system includes a processor, a unit that includes a multi-level cache, a prefetch system and a memory. The data processing system can operate in a first mode and a second mode. The prefetch system can change behavior in response to a desired power consumption policy set by an external agent or automatically via hardware based on on-chip power/performance thresholds. |
| US08156280B2 |
Data protection for non-volatile semiconductor memory using block protection
Receiving a request for canceling setting, a control circuit erases data stored in a corresponding block, changes a value of a protection flag, and cancels protection setting. When an overall protection is set for any block, the control circuit prohibits access to all blocks, except when it is an operation mode for activating a memory program contained in the microcomputer. Further, control circuit permits an access to a block M only when partial protection is set, CPU is in the mode for activating a memory program contained in the microcomputer and the access is for reading an instruction code in accordance with an instruction fetch. |
| US08156279B2 |
Storage device and deduplication method
This storage device performs deduplication of eliminating duplicated data by storing a logical address of one or more corresponding logical unit memory areas in a prescribed management information storage area of a physical unit memory area defined in the storage area provided by the flash memory chip, and executes a reclamation process of managing a use degree as the total number of the logical addresses used stored in the management information storage area and a duplication degree as the number of valid logical addresses corresponding to the physical unit memory area for each of the physical unit memory areas, and returning the physical unit memory area to an unused status when the difference of the use degree and the duplication degree exceeds a default value in the physical unit memory area. |
| US08156277B2 |
Flash memory module and storage system
A storage controller manages address conversion information denoting the correspondence relationship between a logical address and a physical address of storage area (for example, a physical block) inside a flash memory. The storage controller uses the above-mentioned address conversion information to specify a physical address corresponding to a logical address specified by an I/O request from a higher-level device, and sends an I/O command including I/O-destination information based on the specified physical address to a memory controller inside a flash memory module. The memory controller carries out the I/O with respect to a storage area inside a flash memory specified from the I/O-destination information of the I/O command from the storage controller. |
| US08156276B2 |
Method and apparatus for data transfer
A method and apparatus for data transfer includes receiving a first data packet across a first bi-directional bus and receiving a second data packet across a second bi-directional bus. Next, the first data packet is written to a first register operably coupled to the first bi-directional bus and the second bi-directional bus. The second data packet is written to a second register operably coupled to the first bi-directional bus and the second bi-directional bus. The second data packet is then transferred across the first bi-directional bus and the first data packet is transferred across the second bi-directional bus, thereby providing data transfer across a plurality of bi-directional buses and providing for data to be transferred across those buses to be stored at an intermediate register so that the data may be transferred in the next clock cycle, overcoming any latency requirements. |
| US08156275B2 |
Power managed lock optimization
In an embodiment, a timer unit may be provided that may be programmed to a selected time interval, or wakeup interval. A processor may execute a wait for event instruction, and enter a low power state for the thread that includes the instruction. The timer unit may signal a timer event at the expiration of the wakeup interval, and the processor may exit the low power state in response to the timer event. The thread may continue executing with the instruction following the wait for event instruction. In an embodiment, the processor/timer unit may be used to implement a power-managed lock acquisition mechanism, in which the processor is awakened a number of times to check the lock and execute the wait for event instruction if the lock is not free, after which the thread may block until the lock is free. |
| US08156271B2 |
Systems and methods for storage management in a data processing device
Methods and systems for storage management in a data processing device. The data processing device may be connected to a host computer and it can be in one of two states: disk mode (e.g., docked) or device mode (e.g., undocked). According to an embodiment, a mass storage device associated with a data processing device is divided into two or more segments or virtual volumes, and at least one volume is managed by the device even in a disk mode. In some cases, this makes the device usable while in the docked state and hence it improves the user experience. In some embodiments, an extra software component other than the file system is employed on the device to manage the storage device. Certain volumes may be dynamically increased or decreased while the data processing device is in a disk mode. |
| US08156264B2 |
Digital output sensor FIFO buffer with single port memory
A digital output sensor includes a sensor module for providing digital data representative of a sensed parameter, a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) memory having a single port memory, and an output port for transmitting the digital data. The digital data from the sensor module is pushed into the FIFO memory buffer via the single memory port, and the digital data is popped out of the FIFO memory buffer via the single memory port for receipt by the output port. |
| US08156260B2 |
Data transfer device and method for selecting instructions retained in channel unit based on determined priorities due to the number of waiting commands/instructions
A data transfer device for performing direct memory access (DMA) transfer of data stored in a storage unit to a plurality of other devices includes: a plurality of channel units arranged to correspond to the other devices, the channel units retaining DMA transfer instructions, and outputting number of the DMA transfer instructions retained; a plurality of priority controllers for determining priorities of the channel units on the basis of the number of the DMA transfer instructions retained in the channel units, respectively; an arbiter for selecting one of the DMA transfer instructions retained in one of the channel units on the basis of the priorities determined by the priority controller; and a data transfer processor for performing DMA transfer of data stored in the storage unit to one of the other devices in accordance with the DMA transfer instruction selected by the arbiter. |
| US08156257B2 |
Removeable medium, formatting device, formatting system, formatting method, and formatting program
A removable medium capable of performing formatting conforming to the standard if a host machine does not include a special formatting command is provided.A removable medium has an information storage section 20 having a first storage area for storing first management information and a second storage area for storing second management information; a formatting information storage section 30 for storing formatting information to format the first storage area and the second storage area; a formatting start detection section 11 for detecting update access to update the first management information from an external machine; and a format processing section 12 for performing format processing of storing the formatting information stored in the formatting information storage section 30 in the first storage area and the second storage area as the first management information and the second management information when the update access is detected. |
| US08156255B2 |
Portable mass storage device with virtual machine activation
A portable mass storage device is used to store large files such as digital pictures, movies and music. The mass storage device has firmware with security mechanisms that limit access to read write operations to ensure reliable operation of the device to prevent unwanted copying or storing of secure content such a copyrighted material. Although the security mechanisms generally limit access, the firmware is operable to work with a virtual machine and allows the virtual machine to access the secure content and work in conjunction with the firmware to read and write data to the mass storage memory, if the virtual machine is present. The virtual machine is either loaded but not activated at the time of manufacture, or is downloaded and activated post manufacture. Any royalty for the virtual machine is paid for only if and when the virtual machine is both present and activated in the device. |
| US08156254B2 |
Data exchange between an electronic payment terminal and a maintenance tool through a USB link
The invention relates to an electronic payment terminal (30) comprising a first USB connection port (13) comprising at least one first wire (D+″) for data transfer. The payment terminal comprises, furthermore, a first resistor (24) linking the first wire to a first source (VDD) of a first potential and a switch (38) between the first wire and the first resistor or between the first resistor and the first source. |
| US08156251B1 |
Advanced logic system
The Advanced Logic System (ALS) is a complete control system architecture, based on a hardware platform rather than a software-based microprocessor system. It is significantly different from other PLC-type control system architectures, by implementing a FPGA in the central control unit. Standard FPGA logic circuits are used rather than a software-based microprocessor which eliminate problems with software based microprocessor systems, such as software common-mode failures. It provides a highly reliable system suitable for safety critical control systems, including nuclear plant protection systems. The system samples process inputs, provides for digital bus communications, applies a control logic function, and provides for controlled outputs. The architecture incorporates advanced features such as diagnostics, testability, and redundancy on multiple levels. It additionally provides significant improvements in failure detection, isolation, and mitigation for the highest level of integrity and reliability. |
| US08156247B2 |
Systems and methods for reducing network performance degradation
Systems and methods for reducing network performance degradation by assigning caching priorities to one or more states of a state machine are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method comprises storing, in a memory, a state machine corresponding to one or more patterns to be detected in a data stream, wherein the state machine comprises a plurality of states, generating a test data stream based on the one or more patterns, traversing the state machine with the test data stream, determining a respective hit quantities associated with each of the plurality of states, the hit quantities each indicating a number of accesses to a corresponding state by the traversing, and associating a caching priority to at least some of the plurality of states based on the hit quantities of the respective states. |
| US08156245B2 |
Method and system for verifying modem status
A system for verifying modem status for a telecommunications service provider in a broadband network serviced by a central office. The system comprising an interne interface for receiving a modem status request from the telecommunications service provider via a telecommunications network and an integrator capable of retrieving subscriber information and a server connected to the internet interface for receiving the modem status request and transmitting the modem status request to the integrator. The integrator interprets the modem status request and retrieves corresponding subscriber information and transmits the corresponding subscriber information to the server, the server thereby converting the corresponding subscriber information to a central office request and sending the central office request to the central office. The central office responding to the request and transmitting a status signal to the server and the server transmitting the signal to the interne interface which converts the status signal to a readable format for the telecommunications service provider. |
| US08156238B2 |
Wireless multimedia transport method and apparatus
Apparatus and methods for wireless data transmission in a multimedia network are disclosed. Disclosed is a network having a source coupled to a sink using a virtual channel that includes a wireless communication channel. A source end of the system provides a packetizing data stream having a stream of payloads such that each payload is associated with its respective originating source stream. The system configured to encode the packetized data stream for wireless transport. A non-wireless source end of the system receives quality of service information from downstream. Thereby enabling adjustments to the source content and packetized data streams. |
| US08156237B2 |
Method of processing non-real time service and broadcast receiver
A method of receiving and process a broadcast signal including a Non-Real Time (NRT) service and a broadcast receiver are disclosed herein. A method of processing a broadcast signal including a Non-Real Time (NRT) service, the method comprises receiving and processing a signaling information table including access information of the NRT service, receiving and storing data of the NRT service based on the signaling information table in non-real time, extracting access information of additional information relating to the NRT service from the signaling information table, and downloading the additional information relating to the NRT service based on the extracted access information. |
| US08156234B1 |
Multicast distribution of computer virus pattern files with fail over mechanism
Components of an antivirus program may be updated by multicasting fragments of the update and unicasting missed fragments. The components may include a virus pattern file. The virus pattern file may be divided into several file fragments, with each file fragment being multicast to several client computers. The client computers may receive the file fragments and assemble them into the virus pattern file. The file fragments may be multicast in several rounds. When a client computer misses a file fragment, that client computer may request the missing file fragment from a server computer, which may unicast the missing file fragment to the client computer. An announcement indicating the name of the virus pattern file, the number of file fragments that form the virus pattern file, and the designated server from which to request and receive missed file fragments may be multicast to the client computers prior to the file fragments. |
| US08156232B2 |
Network communications in an industrial automation environment
An industrial automation device comprises a reception component that receives a request for data resident within the industrial automation device. An encoding component communicatively coupled to the reception component that receives a binary bit stream associated with the request and encodes a payload of the bit stream as XML data, the encoding component further communicates the encoded payload by way of an industrial automation protocol. Furthermore, the industrial automation device can include a compression component that compresses the XML data. |
| US08156231B2 |
Remote access system and method for enabling a user to remotely access terminal equipment from a subscriber terminal
A method for enabling a subscriber terminal to remotely access terminal equipment, the terminal equipment storing identification data of the subscriber terminal, and the subscriber terminal being subscribed to a communication network and to a remote access service, wherein the method includes: receiving a request for authentication from the terminal equipment, the request for authentication including identification data of the subscriber terminal; receiving a request for access to the terminal equipment from the subscriber terminal; authenticating the subscriber terminal based on information from the communications network; forwarding the request for authentication from the terminal equipment to the subscriber terminal upon authenticating the subscriber terminal, the subscriber terminal processing the request for authentication to authenticate the terminal equipment; receiving an authentication notification from the subscriber terminal; forwarding the authentication notification from the subscriber terminal to the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment processing the authentication notification to authenticate said subscriber terminal; receiving an authentication notification from the terminal equipment; and enabling the subscriber terminal to remotely access the terminal equipment upon receiving the authentication notification from the terminal equipment. |
| US08156221B2 |
Performance information collection method, apparatus and recording medium
In order to collect performance information of a computer capable of executing more than one application software, collection information indicating a timing at which the performance information is to be collected is prepared by the unit of application software. This collects the performance information by referring to the collection information corresponding to the application software currently being executed by the computer. Such a manner collects the performance information at an appropriate timing suitable to the application software currently being executed. |
| US08156220B1 |
Data storage system
A method is provided for transmitting user data from a selected one of a plurality of data pipes. The method includes having a ring manager select one of the data pipes from a pool of the data pipes for transmission of the user data. The data is transmitted from the selected one of the data pipes at least one packet switching network. The data pipe detects whether there was an error in the transmission. If there an error detected, the data pipe generates an error interrupt for the ring manager. The ring manager detects the error interrupt and generates an error interrupt for a CPU. The ring manager removes the selected one of the data pipes from the pool of data pipes for a predetermined period of time while the ring manager continues to work on other tasks until the time has expired. During pipe retirement, the physical pipe removed from the pool of pipes is disabled and the router will then direct orphan packets to the error ring. When the time has expired, the ring manager returns the selected data pipe to the pool of available data pipes. |
| US08156219B2 |
System and method of health monitoring and fault monitoring in a network system
A method of monitoring a network is disclosed and includes receiving an enrollment message at a heartbeat manager from a heartbeat agent associated with a first application stored at a first network entity. The method also includes automatically associating a heartbeat interval with the first application based at least partially on the enrollment message. In another embodiment, a system of monitoring a network is disclosed and includes a network entity having processing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic. The memory stores an application including a heartbeat agent portion having instructions executable by the processing logic to enroll with a heartbeat management server communicating with the network entity and including a heartbeat monitor including instructions to subscribe to notifications indicating an operational status of an application residing at a second network entity. |
| US08156218B2 |
Method and system for tracking a cumulative number of identifiable visitors to different objects
A computer-implemented method and system is provided for tracking a cumulative number of identifiable visitors to different objects (S1, S2 . . . SN), each of which may be visited by multiple visitors. A data structure is adapted to contain records relating to each object (S1, S2 . . . SN) and to each combination of two or more objects (S1S2, S1S3, . . . S1SN, S2S3, S2S4, . . . S2SN, S1S2S3, S1S3S4, . . . S1SN-1SN etc.). For each visitor visiting an object (SM) for the first time there is determined a current combination of objects previously visited by the visitor. If no objects have been previously visited by the visitor, a respective record relating to the object (SM) is incremented; and if objects have been visited by the visitor, the record relating to the current combination is decremented and the record relating to the combination of the object (SM) with the current combination is incremented. |
| US08156216B1 |
Distributed data collection and aggregation
A distributed, redundant, multi-homed system collects and aggregates website usage information. Two or more data collection nodes, preferably situated in diverse locations, efficiently collect and time-stamp information from users in a wide variety of geographic locations. Data collected by the individual data collection nodes is aggregated at a master processing center, sorted according to time stamps, and subjected to statistical analysis in order to generate complete and accurate reports regarding website traffic. |
| US08156213B1 |
Merging network device configuration schemas
Techniques are described for merging device schemas to manage different versions of network devices in the same device family. In one example, a computing device includes an interface to receive a first schema to be used for managing a first version of a device in a device family and a second, different schema to be used for managing a second version of the device, a computer-readable medium encoded with instructions for a schema merger module, and a processor to execute the schema merger module to merge the first schema and the second schema to produce a resulting merged schema to be used for managing both the first version of the device and the second version of the device, wherein the resulting merged schema expresses differences between the first schema and the second schema and includes a single instance of each common portion between the first schema and the second schema. |
| US08156204B2 |
Method for enabling bandwidth management for mobile content delivery
A system, method and device are disclosed for managing bandwidth in content delivery from a push content server to a wireless device. The system may include: a content server configurable to deliver content to the wireless device; a processor for controlling operation of the server; a communications subsystem coupled to the processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and a storage device coupled to the processor. The content server may include a module for managing bandwidth in content delivery from the content server to the wireless device, the module being configured to cause the content server to: record a policy for the delivery of content to the wireless device; initiate content delivery to the wireless device; evaluate the policy to determine whether new content for delivery is deliverable to the wireless device; deliver content when the policy is satisfied; and decline delivery of content when the policy is not satisfied. |
| US08156201B2 |
Unifying discoverability of a website's services
Various embodiments provide a unified discovery control that can be incorporated as part of a web browser. The unified discovery control provides a central location that describes various services that a website has to offer. In addition, the unified discovery control can allow the user to interact with the individual services that the website has to offer as by providing the user with the ability to add, update, uninstall and/or otherwise manage the various services that are described in the unified discovery control. Thus, the unified discovery control provides a centralized management system that provides the user with a common, predictable and repeatable user experience for interacting with various services that a website can offer. |
| US08156200B2 |
System and method for building an information web with pages addressed by phone numbers, which enables phone users and computer users to create, administer, publish and access web pages addressed by phone numbers
A method and system for creating an information network in which web pages are addressed by phone numbers, which enables phone users and computer users to create web pages with phone numbers as the basis of URLs, and enables computers and phone terminals, including fixed phones, IP phones and mobile phones to have the capability to access and display the phone number addressed web pages. The current invention designs system architectures which consist of centralized and embedded page servers, phone number to page server network address lookup services, proxy servers, and phone terminals with browser capability to access and display phone number addressed web pages. In this system, the browser sends access requests via a proxy server or directly to the page server which hosts the pages, the page server's network address is resolved by querying the phone number—page server address lookup service. |
| US08156195B2 |
Systems and methods for obtaining ultra-high data availability and geographic disaster tolerance
Network data storage systems and methods allow computers reading and writing data at a plurality of data centers separated by, potentially, large distances to replicate data between sites such that the data is protected from failures, including complete Site failures, while not allowing network latency to significantly impede the performance of read or write operations. Continued access to all data is provided even after a single failure of any component of the system or after any complete failure of all equipment located at any single geographic region or any failure that isolates access to any single geographic region. Write data is replicated synchronously from Active Sites, e.g., sites where servers are writing data to storage resources, to Protection Sites located sufficiently close to Active Sites such that network latency will not significantly impact performance, but sufficiently far apart such that a regional disaster is unlikely to affect both sites. Write data is then asynchronously copied to other sites, potentially including one or more Active sites, located at greater distances. |
| US08156193B1 |
Enhanced buddy list using mobile device identifiers
A graphical user interface on a display device of a computer enables communications using a computer service. The graphical user interface includes a list of potential message recipients selected by a user as significant to the user. The graphical user interface also includes a mobile device identifier associated with one or more of the listed potential message recipients and a user account identifier associated with one or more of the listed potential message recipients. At least one of the listed potential recipients includes a mobile device identifier as the only available conduit for data delivery to the potential message recipient using the computer service. |
| US08156192B2 |
E-mail messaging system and method for enhanced rich media delivery
A multi-user e-mail messaging system is described that is interfaced through the Internet and includes a first user group sharing a first server, which first server is interfaced to the Internet. In this system, after an e-mail message has been originated by an originating user of the first user group, the e-mail message is directed onto an e-mail enhancement path, and additional content is added to the e-mail message using the e-mail enhancement path to produce an enhanced e-mail message. Thereafter, the enhanced e-mail message from the e-mail enhancement path to the intended recipient. In one feature, the path taken by an incoming e-mail message is different from an outgoing path taken by an e-mail message sent from the first user group. The outgoing path defined to the intended recipient includes the enhancement path. |
| US08156186B2 |
Method and system for organizing electronic messages using eye-gaze technology
A method for organizing messages received and transmitted between at least two computer systems over a network and a system configured to implement the method are described. In one aspect, the method includes tracking where a user is gazing as the user is composing an outgoing message on a first computer system. During a composition time period in which the user is composing the outgoing message, a relevance rating for each of a plurality of gaze areas is determined. Each gaze area is associated with one of a plurality of messages displayed by the first computer system, and the relevance rating of a gaze area is based on a number of times the user's gaze dwells on the displayed message associated with the gaze area after the user's gaze is directed away from the displayed message. The method further includes identifying at least one displayed message that is related to the outgoing message based on the relevance ratings of each gaze area, and associating an identifier for each related message with the outgoing message. |
| US08156183B2 |
Mobile phone aggregation system
An aggregation machine including: a smart phone including a display, and networking hardware connecting the smart phone to the Internet, the smart phone programmed so that the aggregation machine connects to a plurality of servers via the Internet, and then authenticates itself with each of the plurality of servers, and then retrieves information from each of the plurality of servers, and then parses the information from each of the plurality of servers so as to produce an aggregation of the parsed information, and then renders the aggregation as output via the display. |
| US08156181B2 |
Communication apparatus and storage medium storing program
A communication apparatus which obtains a content on the basis of a content URL associated with image data displayed on a display portion, including: a feed information obtaining section which obtains feed information including content informations each including a title, an image URL, and a content URL and which stores the obtained feed information into a storage device; an image data obtaining section which obtains the image data on the basis of the image URL; a display judging section which judges whether all the image data is displayable on an image display area; a small-display-image-data producing section which produces small display image data; and a display controller which displays, instead of the image data, the small display image data in association with the content URL, where the display judging section has judged that all the obtained image data is not displayable on the image display area. |
| US08156178B2 |
Method and system for enhancing a home page
URL or address associated with a user's home page is modified in such manner as to cause a web browser application to direct a request to a server that hosts a highlighting service, which service is invoked to display highlights on the version of the home page returned to the user. In one embodiment this is accomplished without requiring a user to download client-side application software. In another embodiment this is accomplished without requiring the user to register for the new service. In a third embodiment, the user has to neither download application software, nor register for the service. |
| US08156175B2 |
System and method for searching for specific types of people or information on a peer-to-peer network
The present invention provides a system and a method for searching for specific types of people or specific types of information on a Peer-to-Peer network, and in particular, using specific types of search terms as a means of profiling to find specific types of information or specific types of people on a Peer-to-Peer network. When a specific type of person or specific type of information is needed, a specific type of search term is issued on the Peer-to-Peer network. If that specific type of person or specific type of information is available a response will be received. |
| US08156165B2 |
Transaction-safe FAT files system
In one aspect, the present disclosure describes a process for maintaining file allocation tables (FATs) for a volume of storage medium. The process includes triggering, by a write operation, modification of data in an existing sector of a data file by writing of data to a new sector of the storage medium. The process also includes writing revised used/unused sector information into one FAT and setting a variable indicative of a number of FATs (NOF) to a first value. The process additionally includes copying the one FAT to another FAT and re-setting the variable to a second value. |
| US08156163B1 |
Storage server cluster implemented in and operating concurrently with a set of non-clustered storage servers
A storage controller is operable concurrently as an independent storage server and as at least a portion of a node of a storage server cluster. A network storage system comprises multiple storage controllers and multiple independent storage servers, each storage server implemented in a separate storage controller, each of the storage server configured to present to users a separate system image of stored data. The storage servers are independently operable and manageable. The system further includes a storage server cluster that includes cooperating storage server nodes, distributed among the storage controllers. The storage server cluster presents to users a single system image of data stored in the server cluster independently of the node or nodes in which said data resides. The storage server cluster is operable independently of the independent storage servers and is operable concurrently with operation of at least one of the independent storage servers. |
| US08156162B2 |
Storage method and search method for mark event on two-dimensional space
A storage method and a search method for mark events on two-dimensional space are provided. First, an event and a corresponding coordinate thereof are retrieved. Next, calculation on the coordinate of the event is performed to generate an index representing a bucket position in a storage device. Next, whether or not there is any existing search tree stored in the bucket position is judged, and then the event is inserted into a linked list of a node of the search tree stored in the bucket position according to a judgment result. Besides, when a range on the two-dimensional space is designated, corresponding nodes in the search tree are rapidly accessed according to the index obtained by a hash function, and further by application of pointers pointing to the bucket position having the search tree stored therein and by real-time return of search result, the search speed is high. |
| US08156157B2 |
Geospatial modeling system providing windowed geospatial model data inpainting and related methods
A geospatial modeling system may include a geospatial model data storage device, and a processor. The processor may cooperate with the geospatial model data storage device for windowing geospatial model spatial domain data to define a plurality of windowed geospatial model spatial domain data sets, and transforming the plurality of windowed geospatial model spatial domain data sets to define a plurality of corresponding geospatial model frequency domain data sets, each having at least one void therein. The processor may further cooperate with the geospatial model data storage device for inpainting data into the at least one void of each geospatial model frequency domain data set to define a plurality of inpainted geospatial model frequency domain data sets, and reconstructing the plurality of inpainted geospatial model frequency domain data sets into an overall geospatial model frequency domain data set. |
| US08156155B1 |
Method and apparatus for displaying data models and data-model instances
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and techniques for displaying data models and data-model instances. During operation, the system can use a model graph to represent the data model and an instance graph to represent the data-model instance. In the graph representation, a vertex can represent an entity or an entity instance, and an edge can represent a relationship or a relationship instance. The system can display the model graph and the instance graph, either separately or concurrently, thereby enabling the user to visually explore the data model and the data-model instance by exploring the associated graphs. The system can display paths in the graphs to the user, thereby enabling the user to visually explore how entities and entity instances are related to one another. The system can also enable a user to search for entities and relationships using various criteria. |
| US08156152B2 |
Content oriented index and search method and system
This present invention describes an innovative solution in the area of indexing and searching binary files including various binary files such as multimedia files, including image files, mp3 files and other audio/video files from the public Internet. The invention introduces a way to index binary files such as multimedia files according to their content signatures, which uniquely identify themselves, and search for related files by walking through a graph database constructed during the index phase. The present invention can be used in a search engine and a download engine, as well as with text based index and search technologies. As a result, such extended usage will broaden a multimedia file's context and increase relevant accuracy of the keywords describing the context. |
| US08156151B2 |
Apparatus, method and system for tracking information access
An apparatus, method and system to track information access over a communications network. The present disclosure teaches how to associate access credentials with content accesser in a global and persistent manner. Both content and people are registered with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) handle system (1603). Furthermore, security and other information such as certificates, personal records, encryption keys, and all other objects involved in such transactions may also be registered with a DOI in the handle system and/or may be associated with another DOI as one of the multiple-resolution pointers contained in a DOI record. A right clearinghouse (1604) then maintains a rights database associated content rights with content accessers by DOIs. The association of people, i.e., content accessers, with digital object identifiers further ensures that content and accessers may be mapped in a manner allowing for the secure tracking of content access. |
| US08156149B2 |
Composite nested streams
Reshaping of streams is provided to facilitate utilizing the streams without rapidly increasing memory requirements as the size of the stream increases. The streams can be pushed to alternative storage upon being reshaped, for example, such as to a persistent storage. If the streams lose structure, for example if a hierarchical stream is reshaped into a flat structure for storage in a database, structural information can be stored along with the streams and utilized to shape the stream to its original structure upon request for data, for example. Streams can be pulled from an exposing device or application, and portions of the stream can be transformed and stored according to a set of stop elements; the stop elements can be associated with functions that take action on the stream upon reaching a stop element, such as transforming and storing a portion thereof. |
| US08156143B2 |
System and method of reconciling human resource database
A system and method to reconcile Human Resource databases, including payroll, accounting, tax and travel databases, are provided. The system and method may include a database aggregation component that automatically gathers and stores a plurality of databases in a corporation business information system wherein these databases may be logically related to each other and a database reconciliation component that is capable of querying a database for retrieving data entries based on user instructions or on requests automatically generated according to preset conditions. The reconciliation method may further compare data from logically related databases. If discrepancies exist in a comparison result, the method may provide a drill-down step where data at next level of detail may be retrieved according to automatically generated queries. This reconciliation process of comparison and drill-down for more detail may continue until a preset condition is satisfied or there is no further detail to retrieve. The system may produce a report relating to the reconciliation results. |
| US08156140B2 |
Service oriented architecture enterprise service bus with advanced virtualization
A method and apparatus for discovering services in a service registry. When an enterprise service bus receives a service request, the enterprise service bus determines whether the service name in the request exists in a service registry. If not, the enterprise service bus parses the service name into constituent words, obtains synonyms for each constituent word, and constructs new service names using the synonyms in the same word order as the constituent words in the service name. The enterprise service bus determines whether the constructed service names exist in the registry. If so, the enterprise service bus obtains an address of a service provider application associated with the constructed service name in the registry and sends a request for the service matching the constructed service name to the service provider application. |
| US08156138B2 |
System and method for providing targeted content
An arrangement for providing targeted content includes data repositories storing information from which targeted content may be selected. The data repositories store at least one contextual relationship graph. The arrangement also includes an input/output interface through which a request for targeted content is made. The arrangement further includes a controller that receives the request for targeted content and selects targeted content using the contextual relationship graph. The controller further provides the selected targeted content through the input/output interface. An arrangement for determining the relative strength of a classification for a group of words includes memory for storing a contextual relationship graph for a given classification and a processor that receives the contextual relationship graph and a plurality of words to be analyzed by the processor, identifies occurrences of the relationships identified in the contextual relationship graph and determines the relative strength of classification based on the identified occurrences. |
| US08156137B2 |
Data processing systems and methods
Data processing system(s) and methods are disclosed. An enterprise services framework interface is provided for receiving a service request from a service consumer for performing a database access and a database for storing transactional data. Further, repository means may be provided for storing data descriptive of business objects and for storing data descriptive of a buffer object, and processor means may be provided for execution of an application program. In addition, a main memory may be provided for storing an instance of the buffer object, wherein the instance of the buffer object contains at least one instance of one of the business objects. Methods for accessing a database and methods for calling an application program are also disclosed. |
| US08156136B2 |
Revising imagery search results based on user feedback
A method, system, and medium are provided for revising a first set of search results related to high-resolution satellite imagery. One embodiment of the method includes receiving a query that seeks high-resolution, remotely sensed images of geographic areas that have changed consistent with a given change signature; returning indications of the geographic areas; and presenting a first set of images that corresponds to the indications; presenting a set of feedback of options in connection with each of the set of images, wherein the feedback options include one or more of a more-like-this option and a less-like-this option; such that a second set of images can be identified based on receiving input by way of the feedback options. |
| US08156135B2 |
Method and system for progressive disclosure of search results
Method and system for progressive disclosure of search results are disclosed. The method includes receiving a first search query from a user, and presenting a first search result page to the user in response to the first search query, where the first search result page includes a first set of search results categorized into a first set of search result topics related to the first search query. The method further includes receiving a second search query from the user, where the second search query includes the first search query, and presenting a second search result page to the user, where the second search result page includes a second set of search results derived from the first set of search result topics and from the second search query. |
| US08156134B2 |
Using different groups of query graph transform modules to generate execution plans for queries for different database types
Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for using different groups of query graph transform modules to generate execution plans for queries for different database types. A plurality of first type query translator modules include information indicating a first data store type to which the first query translator modules apply and a plurality of second query translator modules include information indicating a second data store type to which the first query translator modules apply. A query is received to query a target data store. A determination is made as to whether the target data store is of the first data store type or the second data store type. The first query translator modules are used to translate the received query to a query execution plan in response to determining that the target data store is of the first data store type. The second query translator modules are used to translate the received query to a query execution plan in response to determining that the target data store is of the second data store type. |
| US08156129B2 |
Substantially similar queries
A system described herein includes analyzer component that analyzes queries submitted by users and corresponding URLs selected by the users, wherein the queries include a first query and a second query, and wherein the analyzer component determines that the first query and the second query are substantially similar queries. The system additionally includes a correlator component that, responsive to the analyzer component determining that the first query and the second query are substantially similar, generates correlation data that indicates that the first and second queries are substantially similar. |
| US08156128B2 |
Contextual mobile content placement on a mobile communication facility
In embodiments of the present invention improved capabilities are described for displaying mobile content in association with a website on a mobile communication facility based at least in part on receiving a website request from a mobile carrier gateway, receiving contextual information relating to the requested website, associating the received contextual information with a mobile content, and, finally, displaying the mobile content with the website on a mobile communication facility. |
| US08156127B1 |
Method and system for data arbitration
A method, system, and machine-readable medium for transforming raw data into business intelligent data that provides a reliable, consistent value and other associated data for the data element is provided. The method includes determining a most frequently occurring value of the data element from a plurality of regulated data sources, determining a value from a highly ranked regulated data source based on a ranking of a plurality of regulated data sources, and determining a value from a highly ranked non-regulated data source based on a ranking of said plurality of non-regulated data sources. The method further arbitrates from among the determined values and stores information regarding the consistency and origin of the arbitrated value. |
| US08156121B2 |
Machine, program product, and computer-implemented method for file management, storage, and display
Embodiments of the present invention provide machines, program products, and computer-implemented methods of file management, storage, and display. A user is displayed an icon palette having a palette boundary and including icons representing a plurality of predetermined categories representing notable events in a life of the user. An unsorted file is assigned to at least one predetermined category through a user action so that dragging and dropping a file across the palette boundary onto an icon on the icon palette assigns the file to a category. The user is prompted to fill out a questionnaire associated with the file. The questionnaire includes any additional categories, album data, a journal entry, event information, and display information. The display device then displays an album of files using pre-selected formats, responsive to the questionnaires. Through the questionnaire, the user can specify the file for inclusion in a randomized slide show of files. |
| US08156115B1 |
Document-based networking with mixed media reality
A Mixed Media Reality (MMR) system and associated techniques are disclosed. The MMR system provides mechanisms for forming a mixed media document that includes media of at least two types (e.g., printed paper as a first medium and digital content and/or web link as a second medium). The present invention provides a system, method, and computer program product for modifying tie strength between members of an existing network using captured digital images of documents. Documents associated with the captured images are recognized and other members associated with the document are determined. Using this information, ties between members or the network are modified. |
| US08156112B2 |
Determining sort order by distance
Included are embodiments for determining sort order. At least one embodiment of a method includes determining a plurality of search results associated with at least one search criteria. Some embodiments of a method include determining a first distance between at least one of the search results and a home page associated with the at least one search result and determining a display order for the plurality of search results. |
| US08156109B2 |
Anticipated query generation and processing in a search engine
A search system monitors the input of a search query by a user. Before the user finishes entering the search query, the search system identifies and sends a portion of the query as a partial query to the search engine. Based on the partial query, the search engine creates a set of predicted queries. This process may take into account prior queries submitted by a community of users, and may take into account a user profile. The predicted queries are be sent back to the user for possible selection. The search system may also cache search results corresponding to one or more of the predicted queries in anticipation of the user selecting one of the predicted queries. The search engine may also return at least a portion of the search results corresponding to one or more of the predicted queries. |
| US08156106B2 |
Methods and systems for managing data
Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata or indexes of content of files. In one exemplary method, notifications to update a metadata database or an index database are combined into a combined notification. According to other aspects, an order among logical locations on a storage device is determined in order to specify a sequence for scanning for files to be indexed. According to another aspect, a method includes determining whether to index a file based on a path name of the file relative to a plurality of predetermined path names. |
| US08156103B2 |
Embedding a media hotspot with a digital media file
A computer-related and/or business type method is presented for embedding one or more media hotspots within a digital media file and, in response to interaction from a separate target entity, such as via an associating request, associating one or more resultant actions with the media hotspot(s). In exchange for associating the one or more resultant actions with the media hotspot(s), an interactive media service entity being affiliated with a web site displaying the digital media file and/or a user being affiliated with the digital media file itself is compensated based upon at least one compensation plan. |
| US08156102B2 |
Inferring search category synonyms
Systems and methods for inferring category synonyms from prior result data may include identifying prior query data including query information and category information relating to the prior result data; determining whether the query information is a synonym for the category information; and using the query information and the category information in subsequent search requests if it is determined that the query information is a synonym for the category information. |
| US08156096B2 |
Supplier identification and locator system and method
A supplier identification and locator system in that allows a user to identify a supplier of goods or services over the Internet; the system includes at least one directory Web site having a domain name that is at least partially descriptive of a class of goods or services. The directory Web site has a plurality of links that access suppliers' Web sites; a supplier descriptive portion located substantially adjacent to the link; a descriptive title portion substantially corresponding to the class of goods or services described in the domain name; a rollover window that displays information about at least one supplier; and an input receiving area where a user inputs data and ranked search results are displayed. |
| US08156095B2 |
Server device, user interface appliance, and media processing network
Components for a control and data processing infrastructure for multiple networked media peripherals are based on chained device connections using a transport-layer independent asymmetric control protocol such as PTP. These components provide a user interface which mirrors the chain of device connections, provides remote access to the media data distributed across said connected devices, can respond to events originating from members of the device chain and enables control and management of the underlying media processing capabilities of the connected devices. |
| US08156093B2 |
Memory object sharing for just in time compiled data
Just in time compiled code and other data within a runtime environment may be shared between multiple applications by identifying common data objects and allowing two or more applications to access the data objects. While at least one application is accessing the objects, the objects may remain in memory. When all applications have stopped accessing an object, the object may be removed from memory. One embodiment may use a server process to manage various operations to facilitate sharing between various applications, such as identifying objects that may be removed from memory and adding newly created data to a database of sharable data. |
| US08156090B1 |
Maintaining file name uniqueness in an application development environment of a computing system
A computer system comprises an operating system that provides a file system for storage of objects. A compile manager creates a repository within the file system in response to a compilation request. A directory stores file names previously generated by the compile manager during a compilation process. In response to the request for compilation of one of the objects, the compile manager automatically creates the repository within the file system with a unique file name based at least in part on an object name associated with the requested object and a number of file names within the directory that match at least a portion of the object name. Each filename may include one or more characters from a filename portion of the name of an object and one or more characters from a version portion of the name of the object. |
| US08156088B2 |
Document encoding apparatus, document encoding method, and computer-readable storage medium
Digit counts c′ after the decimal point of attribute values in a structured document are acquired (S404). The detected attribute values are transformed into value character strings that represent integer values by manipulating the decimal point positions of the attribute values in accordance with a maximum digit count of the acquired digit counts (S406). The transformed value character strings and the maximum digit count C are encoded (S407). |
| US08156087B2 |
Recording medium storing system analysis program, system analysis apparatus and system analysis method
A system analysis apparatus includes a message reconstruction module which reconstructs observed data and data of which the observation has failed, into messages regarding a request and a response which are communicated on a system. The apparatus includes a message candidate extraction module which compares message rules with the reconstructed messages, and extracts messages in the message rules which are identical to the reconstructed messages, from the messages defined in the message rules, as message candidates. The apparatus includes a call relationship extraction module which extracts a call relationship between the message candidates. The apparatus includes a matching module which compares transaction models in which processes in units of transactions on the system have been modeled on the basis of call relationships among the processes on the system, with the extracted call relationship, and selects and determines a transaction model identical to the call relationship. |
| US08156084B2 |
Transfer of data from positional data sources to partitioned databases in restartable environments
Method, computer program product, and system for transferring data from positional data sources to partitioned databases are provided. A record is read from a positional data source. The record is to be written to one of a plurality of partitions of a database. A position of the record in the positional data source is obtained. A transaction is initiated to write the record to the one partition and to store the position of the record in the database. The transaction is committed after the record is successfully written to the one partition and the position of the record is successfully stored in the database. |
| US08156081B2 |
Method and apparatus for updating resource records in a name-server database
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for updating resource records in a name-server database. During system operation, a network node creates an update-request message containing a set of resource-record updates, and a requested lease, which specifies the length of time for which the name server is being requested to store the resource-record updates. Next, the network node sends the update-request message to a name server, which is part of a distributed system that provides a global naming service. The network node then receives a response message from the name server, wherein the response message contains a granted lease, which specifies the length of time for which the name-server database will store the resource-record updates. |
| US08156079B1 |
System and method for index processing
A method, article of manufacture, and apparatus for tracking a plurality of objects being stored are disclosed. In an embodiment, this comprises concatenating at least a portion of the name of each object being stored into a hint; and storing the hint in an index. The portion of the name is the entire name, the first n characters, the last n characters, or every nth character, and this may be selected based on the application associated with the objects. Either the hint or the longest pathname containing the objects can be stored, and this may be selected based on the application. |
| US08156078B2 |
Intelligent client architecture computer system and method
A collision detection and data synchronization mechanism operates to expand the speed and capability of distributed applications. The execution environment employs collision detection and data synchronization to distribute data objects to appropriate network nodes to support local processing. The collision detection and data synchronization mechanism defines the set of processes and algorithms used to track distributed data objects and to manage changes to the distributed objects throughout a network of intelligent computing devices. Data and code are distributed to local computing devices necessitating tracking and synchronizing updates. The system and method ensures that data updates received during the course of a local transaction do not unwillingly affect the results of other transactions by notifying the local computing devices of changes to the data that are subject of the transaction. These conflicts are then resolved in the applications, and notification of the resolution is sent to the remaining intelligent computing devices. |
| US08156076B2 |
Terminal and data distribution system
Disclosed herewith is a terminal for receiving data distributed from a host computer. The terminal includes a database for storing data distributed from the host computer and a schedule manager for managing the schedule of the terminal. Upon receiving an update request for the data stored in the database, the terminal extracts a time band in which the usage frequency of the terminal is kept low as an updatable time through the schedule manager and sends an update request to the host computer in response to the received request. The terminal calculates a processing time required to update object data, as well as a value denoting the usefulness of the object data according to the update information received from the host computer and including the object data, then decides a processing order for the object data according to the processing time and the usefulness value calculated respectively for the object data, thereby updating the data stored in the database according to the decided processing order. Useful data is updated preferentially in the time band in which the usage frequency of the terminal is low. |
| US08156072B2 |
Method for fast reconstruction of content information
A method for the fast reconstruction of content information of a recording medium. The method includes determining a signature of the recording medium, the signature having two or more elements; comparing the signature with two or more signatures stored in a content database; and retrieving associated content information from the content database if the signature matches a signature stored in the content database. |
| US08156070B2 |
Insulin pump programming software with basal profile preview feature
Insulin pump programming software is disclosed that generates thumbnail images of basal rate profile data contained in source files and displays the images to permit an operator to select the desired profile data without opening the source files. The software also permits the operator to verify changes to pump profiles before programming the pump by displaying thumbnail images of the current pump profile and the new pump profile. |
| US08156065B1 |
Data structure based variable rules engine
A system is provided for managing a data structure based variable rules engine. The system includes a processor, a set of questions, a variables data structure comprising values and a set of variables, a results data structure comprising a set of requirements, a user interface, and a rules engine. The user interface outputs the set of questions and receives responses to the set of questions. The rules engine, when executed by the processor, assigns results to the set of variables by combining the responses with the values in the variables data structure, and determines whether the results meet the set of requirements in a results data structure. The set of questions, values, responses, and results are associated with a plurality of time frames. The user interface also outputs the results for the plurality of time frames in response to a determination that the results meet the set of requirements. |
| US08156062B2 |
Method for constructing database to deduce disease and providing U-health service using a subset of ontologies
A method for constructing a database to deduce a disease and constructing a Bayesian network for U-Health application, the method including the steps of analyzing U-Health information, which includes a disease, a symptom, and a treatment, and constructing a plurality of U-Health ontologies required for service provision, setting a meta-model defining cause-and-effect relationships between the constructed U-Health ontologies and selecting at least two specific U-Health ontologies from among the plurality of U-Health ontologies, setting the selected U-Health ontologies as nodes, and generating a Bayesian network by applying the meta-model to the set nodes. |
| US08156056B2 |
Method and system of classifying, ranking and relating information based on weights of network links
What is disclosed is an automatic method of classification, qualification and relation of information that is based on a network built starting from the semantic, numeric, conceptual, etc. relationships between elements of different sets that are structurally alike. Through the topological properties of the network, we generate a vector of relations for each element that allows us to analyze the similarity among them, improve and facilitate the clustering processes, carry out personalized dynamic ranking, analyze conduct patterns as well as maintain the auto evolving dynamic of the network through the interaction and feedback of its elements, among other characteristics. |
| US08156055B2 |
System and method for utility usage, monitoring and management
Systems and methods are provided for collecting waveform data for a plurality of appliances that may be found in a residential or commercial setting using multi-port outlet monitoring devices to obtain power consumption profiles that indicate power consumption on a per-appliance and/or per-location basis and/or per user basis. The plurality of appliances is reliably identified from the power consumption profiles. In accordance with a method embodiment, waveform data transmitted from an unknown appliance is independently metered via a multi-port monitoring device over an elapsed time period. The metered waveform data is wirelessly transmitted from the multi-port monitoring device to a co-located system controller which constructs an appliance signature. The process may be repeated to generate multiple appliance signatures. The one or more appliance signatures are compared to a database of pre-stored canonical signatures to determine if there is a match to identify the appliance. |
| US08156054B2 |
Systems and methods for managing interactions between an individual and an entity
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a synthesis engine having a controller, and a storage medium for storing instructions to be executed by the controller. The instructions, when executed by the controller, can cause the controller to retrieve collected information associated with a behavior of an individual, synthesize from the information a measure of a mood of the individual to interact with others, and transmit the measure to a system associated with the individual to manage requests between the individual and the entity. The measure of the mood of the individual can indicate an availability of the individual and a receptiveness of the individual to accept a request to interact with an entity. The measure can be described by a plurality of dimensions. Other embodiments are disclosed. |
| US08156053B2 |
Automated tagging of documents
An automated technique for tagging documents includes using a semantic tagger to generate an annotation that associates a standard tag with a first text fragment of the user-defined document, wherein the tagger is trained on a standard document annotated with a standard tag, associating the first user-defined tag with a second text fragment of the user-defined document in response to the second text fragment matching a value associated with the first user-defined tag, and establishing a mapping between the standard tag and the first user-defined tag in response to existence of a requisite correlation between the standard tag and the user-defined tag. The technique may further include selecting from the user-defined document a tagged text fragment that is associated with a second user-defined tag, and providing the tagged text fragment and a standard tag associated by the mapping with the second user-defined tag to the tagger as additional training input. |
| US08156052B1 |
Electronic shipping notifications
A broker facilitates customer purchases from merchants. Shippers ship shipments containing the purchases from merchants to the customers. A shipper identifies a shipment using a shipment identifier. The broker uses the shipment identifier to obtain the status information for the shipment from the shipper. The broker analyzes the status information in combination with other information to calculate an estimate of the time that the shipment will arrive at the customer's address. The broker sends an electronic message, such as an email or text message, to the customer prior to the estimated shipment arrival time to inform the customer of the impending arrival. The customer can thus arrange for someone to be at the shipping address to receive the shipment at the estimated arrival time. |
| US08156048B2 |
Adaptive payload monitoring system
A payload monitoring system for an excavation machine is disclosed. The payload monitoring system may have a tool, a first sensor configured to generate a first signal indicative of a velocity of the tool, and a second sensor configured to generate a second signal indicative of a lift force of the tool. The payload monitoring system may also have a controller in communication with the first sensor and the second sensor. The controller may be configured to record the velocity and the lift force of the tool during a work cycle based on the first and second signals, and partition the work cycle into a plurality of segments including a loaded moving segment. The controller may also be configured to determine a period of time within the loaded moving segment during which the velocity of the tool is substantially constant, and calculate a payload of the tool based on the lift force recorded during the period of time. |
| US08156047B1 |
System and method for funding a collective account
A system and method for funding a collective account such as a charitable account includes issuing a plurality of financial instruments, linking the financial instruments to the collective account, aggregating individual financial instrument usage, calculating a bonus or other reward based on the aggregate financial instrument usage and funding or distributing the reward to the collective account. According to the invention, members of a civic, charitable, political or other entity may generate collective rewards or other benefits which may be attributed to the designated organization. |
| US08156046B2 |
Methods of rendering recommended media assets to a user by employing a handheld media player
Methods of rendering of unpaid media assets from an on-line merchandiser to a user are disclosed by the use of handheld media players. One embodiment uses the idle screen to display metadata of an unpaid asset when another paid asset is being played. Another embodiment employs the switching-on screen of the player. Recommended unpaid assets by the merchandiser are delivered and stored in the unused storage capacity of the player. The unpaid assets are invisible to the user except that when they are selected by the processor and are displayed on the mentioned screens. The unpaid assets are organized in a single structure as those media assets owned by the user. The capacity occupied by the unpaid media assets is adjusted dynamically based upon the required capacity by the user at a specific time. The media assets stored are managed based on their assigned priorities. The user can pay the on-line merchandiser after the recommended asset is selected through a method that the assigned credits to the user are deducted and the user pays for the on-line merchandiser when next time he or she is connected to the merchandiser through a general purpose computing device. |
| US08156045B2 |
Methods and systems for associating customized advertising materials with billing statements
The present invention, therefore, provides systems and methods for overcoming certain deficiencies in the prior art. For example, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a system is provided for producing a customized advertising insert for a particular billing statement. The particular billing statement can be associated with a particular customer, and a system for producing the insert in accordance with embodiments of the invention can comprise an industrial printer adapted to produce at least one customized advertising insert from at least one customized advertising insert image. This system can further comprise a collating device configured to receive at least one customized advertising insert from the industrial printer. The collating device can further be configured to associate the at least one customized advertising insert with the particular billing statement. The customized advertising insert and a particular billing statement can each comprise a common identifier. |
| US08156043B1 |
Systems and methods for a prepaid interest credit card account
A system for charging fees to a card holder of a credit card account may comprise at least one subsystem that calculates a prepaid interest amount and at least one subsystem that charges the prepaid interest amount to the credit card account in lieu of charging interest on the actual balance of the account. |
| US08156042B2 |
Method and apparatus for automatically reloading a stored value card
To facilitate the sale of merchandise using a stored value card (SVC), a method and system are provided to automatically reload an SVC in accordance with automatic reload preferences associated with the SVC account. The preferences include the pre-authorized reload amount, payment method, and the circumstances under which to automatically reload the SVC with the pre-authorized reload amount. The preferences are previously specified by a party associated with the SVC when setting up the automatic reload option. The party is notified when the automatic reload occurs. |
| US08156039B2 |
Method and system for managing a mortgage rebate transaction card account
A method and system of managing a mortgage rebate transaction card account in which a transaction card provider computes a mortgage rebate amount based on the amount of charges incurred against the account and periodically arranges for application of the mortgage rebate amount against a mortgage loan balance for the cardholder. The account is provided by the transaction card provider in connection with either a pre-existing mortgage loan of the cardholder or a prospective mortgage loan of the cardholder. Further, the account can be provided in connection with a mortgage loan from any mortgage lender regardless of the existence or non-existence of an affiliation or association between the transaction card provider and the mortgage lender. |
| US08156036B1 |
Methods and systems related to trading engines
At least one aspect comprises a method comprising: (a) receiving electronic data describing a trading order from a market participant; (b) associating the trading order with one or more target brokers, (c) selecting with a processing system one or more first trading algorithms from a plurality of available stored algorithms for execution of the trading order; (d) commencing with the processing system execution of the trading order via the one or more first trading algorithms; (e) evaluating with the processing system quality of execution, during the execution, of the trading order via the one or more first trading algorithms; and (f) if the evaluated quality of execution compares unfavorably to a threshold of acceptability, switching with the processing system the execution of the trading order to one or more second trading algorithms, wherein the processing system comprises one or more processors. |
| US08156035B2 |
Modeling financial instruments using bid and ask prices
A method for modeling an investment significant parameter of a financial instrument, using a computer. At least one series of historical bid prices of the financial instrument or historical ask prices of the financial instrument is provided. A financial model type that has at least one variable parameter is selected. The variable parameter(s) of the selected financial model type is initialized. The series of historical bid prices and/or historical ask prices is applied to the initialized financial model type to estimate the variable parameter(s). The resulting model of the financial instrument may be used to predict future values of the investment significant parameter of the financial instrument. These predicted future values may be used to determine whether to perform automated trades of the financial instrument. |
| US08156033B2 |
Digital print procurement using reverse auction
A method of communicating with different print entities receives a print job and evaluates the print job as either a digital print job and/or an offset print job. The method can perform a live or off-line reverse auction for the digital print job and/or the offset print job by offering the digital print job and the offset print job to printing entities and receiving bids for the digital print job and the offset print job from the printing entities. The bids for the digital print job are based upon the number of images within the digital print job, and the bids for the offset print job are based upon the number of sheets within the offset print job. The bids are evaluated to rank the bids (or to rank the printing entities) into a ranking, which is output. |
| US08156030B2 |
Diversification measurement and analysis system
This disclosure details methods for measuring and analyzing diversification of portfolio of assets. A dimension is a logical and quantitative means to measure diversification. As the number of dimensions increases so does diversification. Strong asset correlations among each other detract from the notion of independence. A positive correlation increases risks and is therefore undesirable. Assets are embedded into a high dimensional Euclidean vector space. The entire portfolio is interpreted as a set of points whose ambient dimension is the number of assets in the portfolio. The Karhunen-Loève expansion is used to quantify the KL dimension of the geometric object induced by a portfolio. The associated dimension is taken as the measure of diversification accounts for both the number of assets and the commonality within them. This ensures that measuring diversification as a dimension accounts for the complete diversification affect of the portfolio and is thus a valuable portfolio management tool. |
| US08156024B1 |
Systems and methods for directing disposition of certificate of deposit
The disposition of funds in a certificate of deposit (CD) may be specified at or near the time the CD is applied for. The depositor may specify disposition of funds such as transferring the funds to an account, paying a bill, donating the funds to charity, rolling over the funds into a new CD. The depositor may specify that a particular portion of the funds are to be rolled over, and that the remainder of funds are to be disposed of in a specified manner. If the depositor elects to roll over some or all of the funds in the CD, the depositor may specify how many times the CD is to be rolled over. Instructions for disposition of funds may be received through a web site, through e-mail, on paper, etc. |
| US08156021B2 |
Data processing system and method for transmitting of payment advice data
Systems and methods for transmitting payment advice data from a payment computer system to a payee computer system are provided. An exemplary method may include generating a payment order and payment advice data. The method may further include generating a unique identifier for the payment order, transmitting the payment order and the unique identifier to a banking computer system, and transmitting the payment advice data and the unique identifier to a central computer system. The method may further include sending bank statement data indicative of an execution of the payment order to the payee computer system, where the bank statement data includes the unique identifier of the payment order. The method may further include storing the payment advice data and the unique identifier in the central computer system, in response to a receipt of the bank statement data by the payee computer system, and requesting the payment advice data from the central computer system using the unique identifier as a key. |
| US08156017B2 |
System and method for real-time activity-based accounting
An accounting method and system is disclosed that provides for real time financial accounting of plant performance at a sub-plant level. A multiplicity of process variable transmitters is utilized to sense, in real time, the current state of the processes and process equipment used in a manufacturing plant. Sub-plant accounting modules utilize the sensed process data to calculate a plurality of sub-plant accounting measures, which are stored in one or more real time plant historian. The accounting measures are typically converted to a suitable format and subsequently stored in a production model accounting database where they are accessible to an accounting module. |
| US08156014B2 |
Communication service method and communication apparatus thereof for transmitting advertisements in a private communication environment
Each user terminal apparatus is connected with a service business enterprise system by a connection business enterprise system in a state that a live image can mutually be transmitted through the service business enterprise system. An user beforehand sets its live image to be appropriately utilized as an advertisement medium, and chooses selling goods to be advertised. A live image transmitted from the user terminal apparatus of the user who performed the aforesaid setting receives a superposed image, for example, by the superposing the T shirt of the user or the like with the image signal of the selling goods as the advertisement object in the service business enterprise system, and then the processed live image signal is transmitted to the user terminal apparatus of a communication companion. When the communication companion clicks this image signal, the user terminal apparatus of the communication companion is further connected with the sponsor system of the selling goods, and can receive a further explanation of the selling goods and can perform the transactions of the selling goods. |
| US08156012B1 |
Method, system and apparatus for e-mail requisitioning
A method of and device for enabling the requisitioning of items over a network. The network is coupled to a server, thereby allowing communication between the server and a generating-user, a requisitioning-user and an initiating-user. The server generates a requisition template in response to input received from the generating-user. The server sends an initial e-mail message to the requisitioning-user's e-mail address in response to direction received from the initiating-user. The initial e-mail message includes the requisition template. The initial e-mail message is configured to result in the creation of a reply e-mail message in response to the requisitioning-user selecting to reply to the initial e-mail message from the e-mail application that is accessing the initial e-mail message, the reply e-mail message including the requisition template. |
| US08156007B1 |
Dynamic determination of item returns
Techniques are described for automatically and dynamically determining, at the time that items are being returned from customers, how to handle the returns of the items. A variety of factors may be considered to determine appropriate item return handling for an item, including by assessing current conditions at the time of the item return. In addition, the dynamic item return handling may include selecting one of a variety of potential return locations for each item being returned and one of a variety of types of return routing for the return. After the item return handling is dynamically determined, information may be provided to the customer to facilitate the item return in the determined manner. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. |
| US08156006B1 |
Inventory commingling and reconciliation of inaccuracies
A facility for managing ownership of units of an item is described. The facility defines a commingling zone. For units of the item that are outside the commingling zone, the facility attributes ownership among a plurality of owners individually to each of the units. For units of the item that are inside the commingling zone, the facility attributes ownership among the plurality of owners to particular numbers of the units without attributing ownership individually to each of the units. The facility includes a method for reconciling ownership of units in the event of any discovered innacuracies. |
| US08156004B2 |
Method, system and apparatus for users to build and use digital products and for advertisers to communicate with users in a manner that does not mitigate user experience
Serving targeted advertisements to a user within a virtual environment. The virtual environment is displayed to the user on a client and enables selection of components for use within the virtual environment. Component selections, associated with one or more attributes are obtained from a user, and a custom product, which is interactively navigable and has a set of interactivity characteristics, is constructed by combining the component selections. A condition within the virtual environment triggers a set of events, and an advertisement, concerning a product component, is served to the user in response and in accordance with a comparison of ad-serve parameters and information associated with the component selections. The custom product can be selectively modified in response to any user interaction with the served advertisement, and its interactivity characteristics accordingly modified. Performance ratings and comparisons thereof can be computed based on the customized product or alternatively customized product. |
| US08155997B2 |
Methods and systems for performance tracking
Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a performance tracking tool that receives an identification of a data item (208), associates the data item with one of a group of tracking modes (210) that includes at least two of a LOGICAL mode, a SUM mode, and an AVERAGE mode. |
| US08155994B2 |
System and method for schedule interrupt cost analysis
A system and method for performing cost analysis on airplane schedule interruptions comprises entering data relating to schedule interrupt events. All schedule interrupt events for a specified period of time are then summarized. Partial schedule interrupt event counts are removed when calculating average delay hours associated with a particular schedule interrupt event grouping. An average total delay cost per schedule interrupt event type is calculated wherein the partial schedule interrupt event counts are used in the calculation of average total delay cost per schedule interrupt event type. |
| US08155993B2 |
Apparatus and methods for assessing a pharmaceutical product
A computer implemented tool for assisting in assessment of pharmaceutical products is provided. An input interface is adapted to accept a plurality of attribute descriptors relating to attributes of a product to be assessed, a plurality of attribute weights and a plurality of attribute scores. An assessment element combines the scores and weights to yield one or more assessment measures which are displayed using an output interface. |
| US08155990B2 |
Linear-program formulation for optimizing inventory allocation
Computer-readable media for determining whether to accept a candidate order from a content provider, or advertiser, to display a particular number of advertisements within a specified time segment are provided. Initially, the content provider may include placement criteria that, among other things, identify a leaf node at which impressions of the advertisement are expected to be rendered. Generally, the leaf node refers to a location within a topic graph that describes inventory that is permissible to allocate to satisfy the candidate order. To perform the determination, the inventory of impressions available for accommodating the candidate order and a log of booked orders scheduled to be placed within the time segment are identified. Linear programs are then utilized to determine whether the estimated inventory that satisfies the placement criteria is available by predictively placing the booked orders at the estimated inventory. If estimated inventory remains available, the candidate order is accepted. |
| US08155984B2 |
Computerized method, apparatus and system for issuing surety bonds
A method, system and apparatus for obtaining a bond is disclosed. The Invention employs a computer system that has a work station in communication with a server to provide information on a contractor that is required by a surety over the computer system. The server is provided with owner/obligee information concerning a bond over the network A surety is selected to provide the bond and the identity of the surety is presented over said computer network. The type of bond sought is identified. Approval of the bond is requested over the computer network and a decision on the bond request is obtained over the network. The approval decision includes an authorization code that is presented at a bid letting along with the contractor's bid. The authorization code permits an owner/obligee to view an approved bond through the computer network. |
| US08155980B2 |
Systems and methods for managing medical data
Managing electrocardiogram (ECG) processing is described. ECGs are distributed to a technician system and/or a cardiologist system based on protocol data and one or more factors to promote processing efficiency for the ECGs. A modification to the protocol data can be received. Processed ECGs can be analyzed in view of the modification to identify ECGs for reprocessing. The identified ECGs can be reprocessed in accordance with the modification to the protocol data and, if applicable, the factors. |
| US08155971B2 |
Audio decoding of multi-audio-object signal using upmixing
A method for decoding a multi-audio-object signal having audio signals of first and second types encoded therein, the multi-audio-object signal having a downmix signal and side information having level information of the audio signals of the first and second types in a first predetermined time/frequency resolution, the method including computing a prediction coefficient matrix C based on the level information; and up-mixing the downmix signal based on the prediction coefficients to obtain a first and/or a second up-mix audio signal approximating the audio signals of the first and second types, respectively, wherein up-mixing yields the first and/or second up-mix signals S1 and S2 from the downmix signal d according to a computation representable by ( S 1 S 2 ) = D - 1 { ( 1 C ) d + H } , with “1” denoting—depending on the number of channels of d—a scalar, or an identity matrix, and D−1 being a matrix uniquely determined by a downmix prescription according to which the audio signals of the first and second types are downmixed into the downmix signal, and which is also included by the side information, and H being a term independent from d. |
| US08155967B2 |
Method and system to identify, quantify, and display acoustic transformational structures in speech
The invention for processing speech that is described herein measures the simultaneous periodic changes of multiple acoustic features in a digitized utterance without regard for lexical, sublexical, or prosodic elements. These measurements of periodic, simultaneous changes of multiple acoustic features represent transformational structures contained in speech. Various types of transformational structures are identified, quantified, and displayed by the invention. The invention is useful for the study of such speaker characteristics as cognitive, emotional, linguistic, and behavioral functioning, and may be employed in the study of other phenomena of interest to the user. |
| US08155964B2 |
Voice quality edit device and voice quality edit method
This invention includes: a voice quality feature database (101) holding voice quality features; a speaker attribute database (106) holding, for each voice quality feature, an identifier enabling a user to expect a voice quality of the voice quality feature; a weight setting unit (103) setting a weight for each acoustic feature of a voice quality; a scaling unit (105) calculating display coordinates of each voice quality feature based on the acoustic features in the voice quality feature and the weights set by the weight setting unit (103); a display unit (107) displaying the identifier of each voice quality feature on the calculated display coordinates; a position input unit (108) receiving designated coordinates; and a voice quality mix unit (110) (i) calculating a distance between (1) the received designated coordinates and (2) the display coordinates of each of a part or all of the voice quality features, and (ii) mixing the acoustic features of the part or all of the voice quality features together based on a ratio between the calculated distances in order to generate a new voice quality feature. |
| US08155963B2 |
Autonomous system and method for creating readable scripts for concatenative text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) corpora
A method (and system) which autonomously generates a cohesive script from a text database for creating a speech corpus for concatenative text-to-speech, and more particularly, which generates cohesive scripts having fluency and natural prosody that can be used to generate compact text-to-speech recordings that cover a plurality of phonetic events. |
| US08155956B2 |
Voice query extension method and system
A voice query extension method and system. The voice query extension method includes: detecting voice activity of a user from an input signal and extracting a feature vector from the voice activity; converting the feature vector into at least one phoneme sequence and generating the at least one phoneme sequence; matching the at least one phoneme sequence with words registered in a dictionary, extracting a string of the matched words with a linguistic meaning, and selecting the string of the matched words as a query; determining whether the query is in a predetermined first language, and when the query is not in the first language as a result of the determining, converting the query using a phoneme to grapheme rule, and generating a query in the first language; and searching using the query in the first language. |
| US08155953B2 |
Method and apparatus for discriminating between voice and non-voice using sound model
A method and an apparatus are provided for discriminating between a voice region and a non-voice region in an environment in which diverse types of noises and voices exist. The voice discrimination apparatus includes a domain transform unit for transforming an input sound signal frame into a frame in the frequency domain, a model training/update unit for setting a voice model and a plurality of noise models in the frequency domain and initializing or updating the models, a speech absence probability (SAP) computation unit for obtaining a SAP computation equation for each noise source by using the initialized or updated voice model and noise models and substituting the transformed frame into the equation to compute an SAP for each noise source, a noise source selection unit for selecting the noise source by comparing the SAPs computed for the respective noise sources, and a voice judgment unit for judging whether the input frame corresponds to the voice region in accordance with the SAP level of the selected noise source. |
| US08155947B2 |
Multilingual translation system using character set
A system of communicating over cellular telephones using symbols in place of language parts. The symbols are downloaded as part of the lookup table. A user can enter a message in text, and that message is converted into the symbols. The symbols can then be sent to a different interactive device, which can read those symbols, and convert them into text in a different language. The user sees the symbols and begins to learn meanings of the symbols. In addition, the symbols are language independent. |
| US08155944B2 |
Translation apparatus, translation method and computer readable medium
A translation apparatus includes: an image acquiring unit that acquires an original document image read from an original document including an original sentence in a first language; a translating unit that translates the original sentence into a second language; a line-space specifying unit that specifies a line-space region for each line of the original sentence; a first translation document creating unit that creates a first translation document by arranging a translation sentence in each line-space region of the original document image; a second translation document creating unit that creates a second translation document; a determining unit that determines whether a non-interference condition is satisfied on the basis of each line-space region; and an output unit that outputs the first translation document in a case where the non-interference condition is satisfied, or that outputs the second translation document in a case where the non-interference condition is not satisfied. |
| US08155943B2 |
Systems and methods for automatically converting CAD drawing files into intelligent objects with database connectivity for the design, analysis, and simulation of electrical power systems
A computer system for converting a computer aided design drawing file of an electrical power system into one or more component objects for power analytic analysis and simulation, is disclosed. The computer system can include a processor, a memory, a display device, and an input device. The memory device can be coupled to the processor and configured to maintain a component classification database, an import engine, computer aided design drawing parser, and a symbol classification engine. The display device can be coupled to the processor and configured for displaying the computer aided design drawing file of the electrical power system. The processor can be operative to execute instructions within the import engine to control the import of the computer aided design drawing file to the computer, execute instructions within the computer aided design drawing parser to control the parsing of the computer aided design drawing file into at least one component object containing a component symbol and execute instructions within the symbol classification engine to control the assigning of a component classification to the component symbol. |
| US08155939B2 |
Particle-surface interaction model and method of determining particle-surface interactions
A method and model of predicting particle-surface interactions with a surface, such as the surface of a spacecraft. The method includes the steps of: determining a trajectory path of a plurality of moving particles; predicting whether any of the moving particles will intersect a surface; predicting whether any of the particles will be captured by the surface and/or; predicting a reflected trajectory and velocity of particles reflected from the surface. |
| US08155937B2 |
System and method for summarizing analysis of models in a modeling environment
A system and method for viewing models and model variables within a sophisticated modeling environment is disclosed. The system provides varying levels of insight into a modeling infrastructure to help the user understand model and model variable dependencies, usage, distribution, and/or the like. The method includes storing model and model variable data within a relational database system, receiving a request from a user interfacing with the system via a web interface, extracting search criteria and presentation preferences from the request, formulating and executing one or more queries on the database to retrieve the required data, formatting the data in accordance with the request, and retuning the data to the requesting user in the form of a web page. |
| US08155930B2 |
Simulation apparatus, method and program
A simulation apparatus 10 carries out simulation for associated operation equipment 2 provided with a plurality of mobile devices 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 7a, 7b, and 7c for operating in association with each other, and a control device 9 with a storage unit for storing a control program in which operation procedures are determined for the mobile devices to output control signals to the mobile devices. The simulation apparatus includes a storage device 10a for storing a simulation program to carry out simulation of the associated operation of the mobile devices on the basis of the control signals, and an arithmetic operation device 10c for receiving the control signals to execute the simulation program on the basis of the control signals. |
| US08155929B2 |
Process for computing geometric perturbations for probabilistic analysis
A method for computing geometric perturbations for probabilistic analysis. The probabilistic analysis is based on finite element modeling, in which uncertainties in the modeled system are represented by changes in the nominal geometry of the model, referred to as “perturbations”. These changes are accomplished using displacement vectors, which are computed for each node of a region of interest and are based on mean-value coordinate calculations. |
| US08155923B2 |
System, remote device, and method for validating operation of a wind turbine
A method for validating operation of a wind turbine from a remote device. The remote device communicates with a controller, which is operatively coupled to the wind turbine. The method includes enabling a user through the remote device to submit a request for wind turbine operating data, composing a command corresponding to the request, transmitting the command to the controller, and receiving by the remote device a response from the controller. The response includes wind turbine operating data corresponding to the command. |
| US08155919B2 |
Construction modulus testing apparatus and method
A system and method of determining lift deflection during construction of aggregate columns allows for real time monitoring of construction to ensure meeting defined parameters. The amount of deflection of a tamper head during tamping is determined multiple times for each lift. When the amount of deflection matches a predetermined value, tamping is stopped. |
| US08155918B2 |
Ambulance cot system
The present invention relates to ambulance cots, cot systems and methods of using the same. In particular, the present invention provides an ambulance cot comprising a hydraulic system and a tip angle monitoring, recording and alert system, and methods of using the same (e.g., to transport subjects and/or to detect and/or record operational data related to cot usage). |
| US08155917B2 |
Flow diagnosis apparatus for fuel vapor purge system
A pressure sensor senses a pressure of a fuel vapor system at a fuel vapor passage. An electronic control unit executes a post-depressurization period flow diagnosis to determine whether the fuel vapor passage is clogged based on a behavior of the pressure in the fuel vapor system, which is sensed with the pressure sensor in a sealed state of the fuel vapor system after introduction of a negative pressure into the fuel vapor system. |
| US08155915B2 |
Method for determining the temperature of the delivery fluid of a centrifugal pump
A method is provided for determining the temperature of the delivery fluid of a centrifugal pump driven by a permanent magnet motor, whose rotor runs within a fluid-filled can. The rotor temperature is evaluated by way of electrical variables of the motor, and the temperature of the delivery fluid is determined by way of the rotor. This method permits sensor-free temperature measurement of the delivery fluid with a circulation pump which is driven by a permanent magnet synchronous motor. |
| US08155914B2 |
Measuring phase noise in radio frequency, microwave or millimeter signals based on photonic delay
Techniques and devices for measuring phase noise in radio frequency (RF), microwave, or millimeter signals based on photonic delay. |
| US08155904B2 |
Vector signal measuring system, featuring wide bandwidth, large dynamic range, and high accuracy
A new measurement system, with two receiver channels per measurement port, has been developed that provides absolute magnitude and absolute phase relationship measurements over wide bandwidths. Gain ranging is used at RF to provide optimum noise performance and a swept YIG preselector filter is used to avoid spurious signals. A new absolute vector error correction method is used to calibrate the measurement system in order to allow for absolute vector measurements, and it also removes the time-varying responses caused by the swept YIG preselector filters. A quasi-reciprocal mixer with a characterized non-reciprocal ratio is used to provide the absolute calibration standard. The two receiver channels can be adapted to a wide variety of applications, including wide bandwidth vector signal analyzer measurements, mixer measurements, and harmonic measurements. The two-channels can also be used as an absolute calibrated transmitter/reflectometer. |
| US08155898B2 |
Methods and apparatus for providing an extremely fast response in switching power converters
A method is provided for accomplishing energy changes for a power converter to minimize an impact of a disturbance. The power converter includes energy storage and switches. The method comprises determining a nature of the disturbance, evaluating an amount of energy to be added or removed from the internal storage, and computing operating times of the switches to minimize the impact of the disturbance on outputs of the power converter. |
| US08155895B2 |
Method and system of detecting liquid in an acoustic flow meter
Detecting liquid in an acoustic flow meter. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including flowing a gaseous substance through a central passage of a meter body, sending acoustic signals along respective chordal pathways across the central passage (none of the chordal pathways intersect a lower portion of the central passage where liquid, if present during flow of the gaseous substance, accumulates), calculating a flow velocity of the gaseous substance proximate to each chordal pathway based on transit times of the acoustic signals along the respective chordal pathways, and determining the presence of a liquid accumulated in the lower portion based on the flow velocity proximate to each chordal pathway. |
| US08155891B2 |
Integrated in-line oil monitoring apparatus
Various embodiments of an oil monitoring apparatus are provided. In one embodiment, an oil monitoring apparatus includes a probe and an analyzing module in-line connected to the probe. The probe includes: a first sensor for measuring respective optical intensities of a light passing through the oil at respective red, green and blue wavelength ranges; a second sensor for measuring a water content; and a third sensor for measuring a temperature of the oil. The analyzing module calculates and monitors chemical deterioration of the oil, total contamination of the oil, a relative saturation of the oil by water and temperature of the oil based on the output signals of the first and third sensors. The oil monitoring apparatus monitors various parameters relating to the deterioration of the oil and to the physical properties of the oil. |
| US08155887B2 |
Computer visualized drug interaction information retrieval
Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for computer visualization of drugs for drug interaction information retrieval. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for computer visualization of drugs for drug interaction information retrieval can be provided. The method can include acquiring imagery of multiple different substances and detecting identifying content in each acquired image to determine an identity of each substance corresponding to each acquired image. The method also can include retrieving drug interaction data for each substance using the determined identity and correlating the drug interaction data for at least one of the substances with at least one other of the substances. Finally, the method can include displaying the correlated drug interaction data. |
| US08155886B2 |
Automated clinical system to facilitate secondary review and authentication of clinical laboratory result values
A method in a computer system for the review and authentication of clinical laboratory result values is provided. The method includes receiving patient data. The method also includes accessing review criteria. The method further includes comparing the patient data and the review criteria to determine if the patient data should be routed for review. The method further includes routing qualified patient data to a review hierarchy including at least one review queue defined by at least one user. |
| US08155885B2 |
System and method for providing geographic information in private webpage
A geographic information providing system in a personal webpage is disclosed. The geographic information providing system can include a GPS information storing unit, receiving GPS coordinate information related to a location of a user and additional information from a mobile communication terminal and storing the received GPS coordinate information and additional information; a map data loading unit, loading map data having a location corresponding to the GPS coordinate information if a request to access the stored GPS coordinate information and additional information is received; and a temporary layer generating controlling unit, generating a temporary layer to mark the location corresponding to the GPS coordinate information on a loaded map in a form capable of being identified by the user and providing control information for displaying the location corresponding to the GPS coordinate information. With the present invention, the location information related to a place visited by the user can be easily stored using a mobile communication terminal. |
| US08155883B2 |
Current position information reporting system, information center apparatus, and method thereof
An information center apparatus has a communication section, a motion information calculating section, a communication delay time calculating section, a communication cycle waiting time calculating section, an error estimating section and a correcting section. The communication section acquires reported current position information of a first moving body apparatus and reports a corrected current position information to a second moving body apparatus. The error estimating section estimate an error in the reported current position information with respect to an actual current position of the first moving body apparatus based on motion information calculated by the motion information calculating section, communication delay times calculated by the communication delay time calculating section, and a communication cycle waiting time calculated by the communication cycle waiting time calculating section. The correcting section corrects the reported current position information using the error estimated by the error estimating section to obtain the corrected current position information. |
| US08155882B2 |
Method of collecting information for a geographic database for use with a navigation system
A method for operating a navigation system computes a pedestrian route for travel by a pedestrian. A request for the pedestrian route between a first location inside a building and a second location inside the building is obtained. A geographic database associated with the navigation system is accessed for data representing a plurality of pedestrian paths. A solution pedestrian route from the origin to the destination comprising a series of connected pedestrian paths between the first location and the second location is determined. A guidance message that identifies a feature visible from at least one of the pedestrian paths is provided. |
| US08155881B2 |
Selection item display device, selection item display method, selection item display program, and recording medium in which selection item display program is recorded
A selection item display device allows the user to select a desired selection item in the case where a surrounding situation changes, with improved operability. The device includes: storage element for storing a selection item; retrieval element for retrieving a selection item to be displayed based on a surrounding situation from the storage element; generation element for generating an image of the retrieved selection item; display element for displaying the generated image of the selection item on a display screen; designation element for designating a selection item to be maintained from the displayed selection item; and holding element for holding the designated selection item. Even if the surrounding situation changes, and the retrieval element changes the selection item to be displayed, the generation element leaves the image of the selection item to be maintained on the basis of an instruction from the holding element on the display screen. |
| US08155875B2 |
Method of determining appropriateness of satellite orbit modeling, method of providing long-term predicted orbit data, and device for determining appropriateness of satellite orbit modeling
A method of determining the appropriateness of satellite orbit modeling is provided. The method includes calculating values of parameters, that the predetermined model has, on the basis of predicted position data including a first predicted position at a first point of time and a second predicted position at a second point of time of a positioning satellite in time series, calculating a first and a second calculated positions of the positioning satellite derived from the predetermined model by using the values of the parameters; and determining the appropriateness of the predetermined model using the values of the parameters, on the basis of first difference between the first predicted position and the first calculated position, and seconded difference between the second predicted position and the second calculated position. The predetermined model is used when approximating a satellite orbit of the poisoning satellite. |
| US08155874B2 |
Apparatus for integrated navigation based on multi filter fusion and method for providing navigation information using the same
Provided are an integrated navigation apparatus and a method for providing navigation information using the same. The integrated navigation apparatus includes a first filter, a second filter, a mode probability updating unit, a first navigation information calculating unit, a second navigation information calculating unit, a fusion unit and a navigation information fusion unit. |
| US08155873B2 |
Vehicle-position-recognition apparatuses, methods, and programs
Vehicle-position-recognition apparatuses, methods, and programs acquire current position information indicating a current position of a vehicle and acquire road information indicating at least one road based on a connection relationship between plural links. The apparatuses, methods, and programs determine a link where the vehicle travels based on the current position information and the road information and generate travel-history information indicating a route that the vehicle travels at a point where a link is branched based on the determined link. The apparatuses, methods, and programs acquire an image of an area surrounding the vehicle, recognize a recognition target in the acquired image, and store the generated travel-history information in the memory in association with information indicating the recognition of the recognition target. The apparatuses, methods, and programs generate learning-priority information indicating a priority of each link branched out at the branch point based on the stored travel-history information and the stored recognition information, the generated learning-priority information usable to determine on which of the links branched out at the branch point that the vehicle is traveling. |
| US08155872B2 |
Method and apparatus for indoor navigation
Techniques are provided for providing physical routes to target locations. The techniques include obtaining at least one target location from at least one user; determining at least one physical route to said at least one target location; and displaying said at least one determined physical route through a sequence of at least one sign display, wherein each sign display are configured to display a plurality of physical routes. |
| US08155870B2 |
Method of navigating an agricultural vehicle, and an agricultural vehicle implementing the same
A method of navigating an agricultural vehicle, which is equipped with a 3D imaging device for imaging surroundings of the vehicle, and an image processing device, includes obtaining from the 3D imaging device frames imaging at least a part of the surroundings of the vehicle at different points of time while the vehicle is moving thus providing a chronological sequence of frames, analysing the frames, and establishing a change of pose of the vehicle using results of the analysis of at least two chronologically different frames. |
| US08155867B2 |
System and method for communicating with a vehicle about then-current vehicle operating conditions using a telematics unit
A method for communicating with a vehicle about then-current vehicle operating conditions is disclosed herein. The method includes real-time monitoring, via a telematics unit in a vehicle, of vehicle data when the vehicle is traveling on a road segment, comparing the real-time monitored vehicle data with previously stored data of one or more other vehicles that previously traveled the road segment, and based on the comparison, determining an operation of the vehicle in order to achieve optimal fuel efficiency. The method further includes submitting, to the vehicle, the operation of the vehicle for i) increasing a then-current fuel efficiency of the vehicle or ii) maintaining the then-current fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Also disclosed herein is a system for accomplishing the same. |
| US08155863B2 |
Process and device for controlling an internal combustion engine
In a process for controlling an internal combustion engine (10) having at least one cylinder (Z1 to Z4) in which a combustion chamber (13) is formed, fuel is injected in at least two modes of operation. The process has the following steps: relative to an operating point determined by at least one operating variable (100), an operating mode quality value is calculated for each of at least two operating modes, an operating mode (OPMOD_SEL) is selected from the at least two operating modes depending on the operating mode quality values, and correcting variables are determined and set depending on the at least one operating variable (100) and the selected operating mode (OPMOD_SEL). |
| US08155857B2 |
Method and engine control unit for controlling an internal combustion engine
A method for controlling an internal combustion engine includes: providing a setpoint value of at least one combustion attribute on the basis of a setpoint value characteristics map; determining from a control variable characteristics map a value of a characteristics-map-based control variable for controlling the engine; ascertaining with the aid of a data-based model a value of a modified control variable for controlling the engine, the data-based model specifying a predicted combustion attribute as a function of a real value of the combustion attribute of the preceding combustion, and the value of the modified control variable for controlling the engine being ascertained from the predicted combustion attribute; and providing a real control variable set to a value that is a function of the value of the characteristics-map-based control variable and/or the value of the modified control variable. |
| US08155855B2 |
Vehicle motion control apparatus
A vehicle motion control apparatus includes a motion controlling process operating a pump for supplying brake fluid between a pressure difference control valve and a pressure increasing control valve and controlling the pressure difference control valve and the pressure increasing control valve, thereby pressurizing the wheel cylinder of the wheel to be controlled, a control amount adjusting process reducing a control amount of a motor when a frictional coefficient of a road surface is small, a load judging process judging a load condition of the motor when determining to reduce the control amount of the motor, and a pressure difference controlling process reducing the pressure difference when the load of the motor is in a high load condition. |
| US08155852B2 |
Vehicle control device
A driving/braking force manipulation control input of a k-th wheel, which denotes one or more specific wheels among a plurality of wheels of a vehicle, is determined such that a required condition concerning a relationship among a road surface reaction force that may act from a road surface on the k-th wheel on the basis of the detected values or estimated values of a side slip angle and a friction characteristic of the k-th wheel, a feedback control input related to the driving/braking force of the k-th wheel for bringing a difference between a state amount of the vehicle and a reference state amount close to zero, a driving/braking force feedforward control input based on a drive manipulated variable supplied by a driver of the vehicle, and a k-th wheel driving/braking force manipulation control input is satisfied. This arrangement makes it possible to properly control a motion of an actual vehicle to a desired motion while properly considering the characteristics of a road surface reaction force acting from a road surface on a wheel. |
| US08155841B2 |
Arrangement for detecting a crash
A crash detection arrangement, to be installed in a motor vehicle, for detecting a crash and providing a control signal for controlling a safety device in the event that a crash is detected, the arrangement comprising an accelerometer and a control unit, the accelerometer being arranged to supply a signal to the control unit which is indicative of the acceleration of the vehicle, the control unit being adapted to: calculate a classification parameter based on the value of the signal from the accelerometer during a classification time period, which includes an interval of time before an initiation criterion was fulfilled; modify a crash evaluation algorithm in dependence upon the classification parameter; and perform the crash evaluation algorithm upon fulfillment of the initiation criterion to produce the control signal. |
| US08155836B2 |
System and method for electronically power assisted steering
A system and method for controlling a vehicle steering system, comprising receiving at least one signal corresponding to one or more of a lateral acceleration, a longitudinal acceleration, a vertical acceleration, a suspension travel, and a vehicle speed, calculating or determining an optimum steering rack travel from the at least one signal, and limiting travel of a steering rack of the vehicle based on the optimum steering rack travel. |
| US08155834B2 |
Traveling drive unit for working vehicle
A lubricant circulation pump (46) which is driven by an electric motor (47) is provided in the course of a circulation path (41A, 41B) for circulating lubricant oil to a wheel mounting case (19) which is rotated together with a rear wheel (7). Turning on and off the lubricant circulation pump is controlled according to rotational speed of the rear wheel. When lubricant oil in the wheel mounting case sticks on inner peripheral surfaces thereof under the influence of centrifugal force as a result of the increased vehicle speed, the electric motor is turned off to suspend operation of the lubricant circulation pump. Consequently, the lubricant circulation pump does not suck lubricant oil in the wheel mounting case through an inlet opening (42A) of an intake pipe (42), thereby preventing the lubricant circulation pump from being put in a dry idling operation. |
| US08155828B2 |
Control method of traveling dolly
A control method is proposed for a traveling dolly. The traveling dolly may include wheels driven by motors and a body supported by the wheels. The traveling dolly may further include a control computer commanding control command value to the motors, and a centroid of the body positioning above a rotation axis of the wheels. The control method may include the control computer estimating external force moment, which is a moment of inertia around the rotation axis of the wheels generated by external force applied on the body; a tilt angle of the body, which makes a gravity moment around the rotation axis of the centroid of the body balance with the external force moment, being set as a target body tilt angle; and based on the target body tilt angle, calculating a torque command value for the motors. |
| US08155827B2 |
Keyless entry system
An on-vehicle control unit includes a memory storing a first data group having signal strength information of a plurality of request signals transmitted from a plurality of transmitting antennas before and after movement of a movable object when a portable device is placed along an inner surface of a vehicle and a second data group having signal strength information of the plurality of request signals transmitted from the plurality of transmitting antennas before and after the movement of the movable object when the portable device is placed along an outer surface of the vehicle. The on-vehicle control unit determines which of the first and second data groups request signal strength information received from the portable device closely resembles. |
| US08155824B2 |
Electronic control apparatus for vehicles, which is provided with plural microcomputers
An electric control apparatus for a vehicle is provided. The apparatus comprises at least two microcomputers, an external monitoring unit, and an internal monitoring means. The two microcomputers are composed of a first microcomputer and a second microcomputer, The first microcomputer is assigned to controlling travel functions of a vehicle. The external monitoring unit monitors whether or not the first microcomputer is in a normal operation and is placed outside the first and second microcomputers. The internal monitoring means monitors whether or not the first microcomputer is in a normal operation and is within the first microcomputer. |
| US08155820B2 |
Method, apparatus and computer program product for predicting and avoiding a fault
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided to not only predict an impending fault, but also to avoid the occurrence of the fault such that continued operations are permitted with a reduced likelihood of the occurrence of the fault. In this regard, a plurality of features are provided to at least one model, such as a random forest classification model. The plurality of features include features representative of at least one prior operational sequence as well as features representative of at least one upcoming operational sequence. The plurality of features are then processed with at least one model to determine a likelihood of a fault during the upcoming operational sequence. The method also alters the characteristics of the upcoming operational sequence without requiring maintenance of the equipment to thereby permit the upcoming operational sequence to be conducted with a reduced likelihood of the fault. |
| US08155818B2 |
Vehicle control system
Provided is a vehicle control system which can maintain stability of the vehicle with an inexpensive configuration without bringing discomfort to a driver when control intervenes. The vehicle control system includes: road surface reaction torque detecting means 15 for detecting an actual road surface reaction torque Talign received by a tire 9 of the vehicle from a road surface; steering angle detecting means 5 for detecting a steering angle θ of a handle 2 of the vehicle; vehicle speed detecting means 10 for detecting a vehicle speed V of the vehicle; reference road surface reaction torque computing means 16 for computing a reference road surface reaction torque Tref corresponding to a linear road surface reaction torque based on the steering angle θ and the vehicle speed V; behavior state estimating means 17 for estimating a behavior state of the vehicle based on at least one of a deviation and a ratio between the actual road surface reaction torque Talign and the reference road surface reaction torque Tref; and driving force control means 18 for controlling a driving force of the vehicle according to the behavior state. |
| US08155816B2 |
Method of and system for maintaining operating performance of a transparency
Repair or replacement of a transparency mounted in body of a vehicle, e.g. an aircraft when one or more properties of the transparency is (are) operating outside of an acceptable limit(s) is arranged by monitoring operating performance of a property of the transparency, e.g. by mounted a sensor, e.g. a sensor for detecting moisture; a sensor for detecting impacts and vibrations; a sensor for detecting fractures; a sensor for detecting electric arcing, and a sensor for measuring temperature of an electrically conductive coating, on the transparency. Scheduling repair or replacement of the transparency at a geographical area when the operating performance of the property is outside an acceptable operating performance limit, and forwarding the schedule to the vehicle and to a maintenance location to prepare for the repair or replacement of the transparency at the geographical work area. |
| US08155809B1 |
Data logging, collection, and analysis techniques
A system and method for data logging, collection, and analysis techniques. Logging, collection, and analysis of data relating to the condition of a structure, such as a railway rail. Monitoring the neutral temperature of a railway rail. |
| US08155807B2 |
Fusion for automated target recognition
A method of predicting a target type in a set of target types from at least one image is provided. At least one image is obtained. A first and second set of confidence values and associated azimuth angles are determined for each target type in the set of target types from the at least one image. The first and second set of confidence values are fused for each of the azimuth angles to produce a fused curve for each target type in the set of target types. When multiple images are obtained, first and second set of possible detections are compiled corresponding to regions of interest in the multiple images. The possible detections are associated by regions of interest. The fused curves are produced for every region of interest. In the embodiments, the target type is predicted from the set of target types based on criteria concerning the fused curve. |
| US08155805B2 |
Flight guidance and navigation display for a helicopter
A flight guidance and navigation display (10) for a helicopter, includes a three-dimensional, semicircular flight guidance and navigation tunnel (12) to display a planned flight path of the helicopter; a circular surface (14), which is integrated in the flight guidance and navigation tunnel (12), which circular surface (14) includes a diameter that corresponds to that of the flight guidance and navigation tunnel (12), for displaying a longitudinal position within the flight guidance and navigation tunnel (12); a flight path prediction icon (16) for displaying a position of the helicopter relative to the flight guidance and navigation tunnel (12); and a command signal (18) that relates to the air speed, wherein via the command signal (18) a deviation from a reference speed that has been predetermined by flight planning is displayed. |
| US08155800B2 |
System for displaying required navigation performance on a horizontal situation indicator
A display system is provided that renders a horizontal situation indicator that includes required navigation performance (RNP) and estimated position uncertainty (EPU) values rendered non-numerically and in a fairly intuitive manner. A processor receives at least data representative of a desired course of the aircraft, data representative of the RNP for the aircraft, and data representative of the EPU for the aircraft. The processor renders, on a display device, a horizontal situation indicator that includes an aircraft symbol representative of a top-down view of the aircraft, an RNP boundary graphic representative of at least one RNP boundary for the aircraft, and an EPU graphic representative of the EPU for the aircraft. The aircraft symbol is rendered at a position that is representative of actual aircraft position relative to the desired course, and the RNP boundary graphic is rendered at a position relative to the rendered aircraft symbol and comprises a shaded region that shades a portion of the display device. |
| US08155798B2 |
Method and device for determining the roll angle of a motorcycle
A device and method for determining a roll angle of a motorcycle are disclosed. The method includes the step of acquiring a rolling rate ({dot over (λ)}M) of the motorcycle. A first roll angle variable (λ1) is determined from the rolling rate ({dot over (λ)}M). At least one vehicle movement dynamics characteristic variable is determined from a velocity (v), a rotational speed ({dot over (ψ)}M), and/or an acceleration ({umlaut over (z)}M, ÿM) of the motorcycle. A second roll angle variable (λ2) is determined from one or more vehicle movement dynamics characteristic variables. The roll angle (λE) is calculated on the basis of the roll angle variables (λ1, λ2). |
| US08155797B2 |
Window fan control system and method of controlling a fan unit
In the specification and drawings a window fan control system and a method of controlling a fan unit are described and shown. The window fan control system may comprise an electronic controller, an indoor sensor responsive to at least one characteristic of interior air, and an outdoor sensor responsive to at least one characteristic of exterior air. The electronic controller may cause at least one fan of a window fan to be activated when the interior air meets certain criteria relative to a set point and the exterior air meets certain preselected criteria relative to the interior air. The method of controlling a fan unit may comprise the steps of measuring at least one characteristic of exterior air, measuring at least one characteristic of interior air, and activating an intake fan of the fan unit when the interior air meets certain criteria relative to a set point and the exterior air meets certain preselected criteria relative to the interior air. |
| US08155790B2 |
Robot control apparatus
A robot control apparatus includes: a drive unit (101) driving an actuator (115) based on a torque command value; a drive torque estimation unit (107) estimating a drive torque from a joint shaft angle; an external torque calculation unit (108) calculating a difference between the estimated drive torque and the torque command value as an external torque; a Jacobian matrix calculation unit (105) calculating a Jacobian matrix based on the joint shaft angle; an external force calculation unit (109) calculating an external force from the Jacobian matrix and the external torque; and a correction amount calculation unit (110) calculating a correction amount from the external force. |
| US08155788B2 |
Automatic machine system
To provide an automatic machine system for readily and reliably selecting a desired mechanism part from among the automatic machine systems composed of a plurality of mechanism parts and teaching the mechanism part.Each of a plurality of mechanism parts such as robots includes a first communication part. A teaching operation part includes a second communication part with directivity. When the second communication part of the teaching operation part is oriented to the first communication part included in a target mechanism part to select the same, the second communication part transmits selection request information to the first communication part. A controller for controlling the mechanism parts places the target mechanism part in an operable state based on the selection request information thereby operating the target mechanism part with the operation of the worker on the teaching operation part. |
| US08155787B2 |
Intelligent interface device for grasping of an object by a manipulating robot and method of implementing this device
An intelligent interface device for grasping an object includes a manipulating robot comprising a hinged arm provided with a clamp at its free end and equipped with at least one camera, a computer with a display screen and an input unit, means for controlling the clamp, means for displaying the video image of the object taken by a camera on the display screen, means for graphically identifying a selection area surrounding the object in this image using the input unit. |
| US08155785B2 |
System and method for auto-machine menu configuration
A system and method for providing a satellite vend operation. A first (parent) vending machine is operable to dispense a product from a product storage display area located in a second (child) vending machine. The first (parent) vending machine can control or interact with the functions of the second (child) vending machine. A programming menu on the first (parent) vending machine is automatically configured for a satellite vend operation when the first (parent) vending machine pairs with the second (child) vending machine. An operator is provided, in the programming menu located on the parent vending machine, relevant information associated with the child vending machine and relevant information associated with the parent vending machine. |
| US08155781B2 |
Automation system and method for movement control of at least one moveable machine element
In order to improve movement control in an automation system for movement control, profiles for movement control are freely defined via functions. Polynomial interpolations or spline interpolations are used for the defined functions, the interpolations being of a higher degree. The profile for movement control has a command variable and a secondary variable, at least one of which is time-based or position-related. |
| US08155779B2 |
Numerical controller with tabular data for operating arbitrary axes
A numerical controller including a storage device for storing tabular data configured to operate one arbitrary axis, in which a position of a spindle or an axis as a control object is caused to correspond to a reference value composed of time or the position of a reference spindle or axis. A reading device is provided for successively reading a reference value in the tabular data and a position of the spindle or the axis as control object corresponding to the reference value from the storage device, and controls the position of the spindle or the axis as control object based on the reference value read by the reading device. An assignment device is provided for assigning the axis to be operated in accordance with the tabular data, and a starting device for starting the tabular data stored in the storage device, thereby causing the axis assigned by the assigning device to operate. |
| US08155771B2 |
Disk processing apparatus
A disk processing apparatus having a plurality of processing units, a plurality of feed stackers, and a plurality of discharge stackers. The plurality of processing units subject label sides of disks to printing, or the like. A disk is fed from a first prior-to-being-printed stacker to the processing unit, and a processed disk is discharged to a first processed stacker. A disk is fed from a second prior-to-being-printed stacker to the other processing unit, and a processed disk is discharged to a second processed stacker. When the other processing unit is anomalous, the disk is fed from the second prior-to-being-printed stacker to the processing unit, and a processed disk is discharged to the second processed stacker, thereby performing substitute processing. |
| US08155767B2 |
Remote building control data display with automatic updates
A method includes receiving at a first computer at least one interpreted program over the Internet using a web-browser. The method further includes executing at the first computer at least one interpreted software program to display at least a first graphical element, each graphical element having characteristics dependent upon a status of a corresponding building control system device in a remote location. The method also includes transmitting to the first computer first information regarding a change in status of at least one building control system device, and then transmitting to the first computer second information regarding a subsequent change in status of at least one building control system device. The transmission of second information is provided in the absence of a request transmitted by the first computer for updated information. |
| US08155764B2 |
Multivariable model predictive control for coalbed gas production
A multivariable model predictive controller (MPC) for controlling a coalbed methane (CBM) production process. The MPC includes input ports for receiving a plurality of measurement signals including measured process parameters from CBM wells in a well field. A control loop includes a mathematical model that controls the CBM gas production. The model includes individual production characteristics for each CBM well that predicts its behavior for controlled variables (CVs) with respect to changes in manipulated variables (MVs) and disturbance variables (DVs). The control loop calculates future set points for the MVs based on the model and the measured process parameters for CBM production to achieve at least one control objective for the well field. A plurality of output ports provide control signals for implementing the future set points which when coupled to physical process equipment at the plurality of CBM wells control the physical equipment to reach the future set points. |
| US08155760B2 |
Medical lead system utilizing electromagnetic bandstop filters
Medical lead systems utilizing electromagnetic bandstop filters are provide which can be utilized in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment for patients who have implanted medical devices. The medical lead system includes an implanted lead having at least one bandstop filter associated therewith, for attenuating current flow through the lead over a range of frequencies. The bandstop filter has an overall circuit Q wherein the resultant 3 dB bandwidth is at least 10 kHz. The values of capacitance and inductance of the bandstop filter are selected such that the bandstop filter is resonant at a selected center frequency. Preferably, the bandstop filter has an overall circuit Q wherein the resultant 10 dB bandwidth is at least 10 kHz. Such bandstop filters are backwards compatible with known implantable deployment systems and extraction systems. |
| US08155759B2 |
Pacemaker lead and method of making same
An improved pacemaker lead including a lead body supporting at least one flexible conductor element that provides an electrical signal path between a proximal connector element and a distal electrode. The lead body includes an insulating structure that protects the flexible conductor element(s) wherein the insulating structure is realized from a polymer blend of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer and an isobutylene block copolymer. The mole fraction of the isobutylene block copolymer of the polymer blend is in the range of 2-15% (most preferably on the order of 10%). The polymer blend of the insulating structure has a maximum tensile strength in the range of 20-40 MPa (most preferably in a range of 25-35 MPa). In the preferred embodiment, the hardness of the polymer blend can be characterized by a Shore hardness in a range of 70-80 A. The flexible conductor element(s) preferably include a coiled wire conductor defining a central axis with an outer surface facing radially outward away from the central axis and an inner surface facing radially inward toward the central axis, and the insulating structure surrounds at least the outer surface of the coiled wire conductor (and more preferably encapsulates the coiled wire conductor). The polymer blend of the insulating structure has reduced oxygen permeability, and thus provides improved resistance to environmental stress cracking and metal ion induced oxidation while maintaining the flexibility and desired tensile strength of the lead body. |
| US08155757B1 |
Cuff electrode having tubular body with controlled closing force
Nerve cuff electrodes and methods using nerve cuffs. Nerve cuff electrodes are provided which can include a tubular body having a longitudinal slit and a flap curled over the slit. The tubular body interior can have a central cathode formed of two opposed and electrically coupled plates disposed between two anodes each formed of two opposed and electrically coupled plates. The tube interior region opposite the slit can be free of electrode material, such that the flexibility of the polymeric tube significantly determines the flexibility and strength of tube opening and closing. Some cuffs include a hinge region having a non-linear effective spring constant which can be higher at low cuff openings and lower at large opening to provide an effective yet non-damaging closing force over a wide range of cuff openings. In use, the tube body can be pulled apart using attached suture loops, with one loop and flap pulled under the nerve followed by part of the tubular body. The tubular body can be closed over the nerve and the flap closed over the tube slit. The nerve cuff can be placed minimally invasively over the nerve and used for neuromodulation and/or sensing purposes. |
| US08155756B2 |
Motion-based optimization for placement of cardiac stimulation electrodes
An exemplary method includes use of a multielectrode device that can help position a cardiac stimulation lead to an optimal site in the heart based at least in part on cardiac motion information acquired via the multielectrode device and one or more pairs of current delivery electrodes that establish potential fields (e.g., for use as a coordinate system). An exemplary multielectrode device may be a multielectrode catheter or a multifilar, electrode-bearing guidewire. Various other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed. |
| US08155750B2 |
System and method for avoiding, reversing, and managing neurological accommodation to electrical stimulation
A method and programmer for programming a neurostimulation device are provided. The method comprises varying a first stimulation parameter under user control, automatically varying a second stimulation parameter, generating a plurality of stimulation parameter sets from the varied first and second stimulation parameters, outputting a pulsed electrical waveform from the neurostimulation device between a plurality of electrodes in accordance with the stimulation parameter sets, such that neural tissue is stimulated without undergoing neurological accommodation that would otherwise occur if the second stimulation parameter were not varied, and programming the neurostimulation device with a new set of stimulation parameters based on a result of the neural tissue stimulation The programmer comprises a user interface capable of receiving an input from a user, a processor configured for performing the previous steps, and output circuitry configured for transmitting the stimulation parameter sets and the new stimulation parameter set to the neurostimulation device. |
| US08155748B1 |
Methods of converting a behind-the-ear speech processor unit into a body worn speech processor unit
Apparatus and methods for converting one type of speech processor unit into another type of speech processor unit. |
| US08155744B2 |
Neuromodulatory methods for treating pulmonary disorders
A method for treating a pulmonary disorder in a subject includes inserting a therapy delivery device into a vessel of the subject, advancing the therapy delivery device to a point adjacent an intraluminal target site of the autonomic nervous system, and activating the therapy delivery device to delivery a therapy signal to the intraluminal target site to treat the pulmonary disorder. The intraluminal target site is in electrical communication with nervous tissue selected from the group consisting of a spinal nerve, a postganglionic fiber of a spinal nerve, a sympathetic chain ganglion, a thoracic sympathetic chain ganglion, a cervical ganglion, a lower cervical ganglion, an inferior cervical ganglion, an intramural ganglion, a splanchnic nerve, an esophageal plexus, a cardiac plexus, a pulmonary plexus, an anterior pulmonary plexus, a posterior pulmonary plexus, a celiac plexus, a hypogastric plexus, an inferior mesenteric ganglion, a celiac ganglion, and a superior mesenteric ganglion. |
| US08155741B2 |
Retrograde atrial sensing for identifying sub-threshold atrial pacing
Atrial capture threshold testing is performed in accordance with an atrial capture threshold testing schedule. Monitoring for retrograde P-waves occurs at least during times other than times during which scheduled atrial capture threshold testing is performed. In response to detecting a retrograde P-wave indicative of sub-threshold atrial pacing during monitoring, an unscheduled atrial capture threshold test is performed and pacing of the atrium is adjusted based on the unscheduled atrial capture threshold test. |
| US08155739B2 |
Cardiac resynchronization therapy optimization using mechanical dyssynchrony and shortening parameters from realtime electrode motion tracking
Therapy optimization includes tracking electrode motion using an electroanatomic mapping system and generating, based on tracked electrode motion, one or more mechanical dyssynchrony metrics to thereby guide a clinician in therapy optimization (e.g., via optimal electrode sites, optimal therapy parameters, etc.). Such a method may include a vector analysis of electrode motion with respect to factors such as times in cardiac cycle, phases of a cardiac cycle, and therapy conditions, e.g., pacing sites, pacing parameters and pacing or no pacing. Differences in position-with-respect-to-time data for electrodes may also be used to provide measurements of mechanical dyssynchrony. |
| US08155738B2 |
Composition and device structure for iontophoresis
Device structure 100 for iontophoresis provides electrode 101 and electrically conductive layer 102. Electrically conductive layer 102 contains active ingredient D and basic water swelling methacrylate copolymer P1 and/or acidic water swelling methacrylate copolymer P2. Electrode 101 and electrically conductive layer 102 are placed into a hollow of backing 103 and electrode terminal 104 is connected to electrode 101 through backing 103. Adhesive layer 105 is set around backing 103, and liner 106 to be removed when using the device, is placed so as to cover the hollow of backing 103. |
| US08155737B2 |
Pharmacokinetics of iontophoretic sumatriptan administration
Improved pharmacokinetic profiles for the iontophoretic delivery of sumatriptan are described. |
| US08155733B2 |
Lie detection method and system
The present disclosure provides a heart rate variability (HRV) analysis-based method of lie detection, related computer program product, computer readable storage medium and system. Also provided is a method of HRV analysis using strange entropy. |
| US08155729B1 |
Method and apparatus to compensate imaging data with simultaneously acquired motion data
Motion data is acquired simultaneously and in real-time with image data. The motion data provides accurate and near-instant information as to the state and position of an object prone to motion. The present invention is particularly applicable for cardiac CT or MR imaging and other physiologically gated acquisitions. In the context of cardiac imaging, the motion data includes information regarding size and location of the heart during the cardiac phases (diastole, systole, etc.) during each cardiac cycle. |
| US08155722B2 |
Reference electrodes having an extended lifetime for use in long term amperometric sensors
The present application provides Ag/AgCl based reference electrodes having an extended lifetime that are suitable for use in long term amperometric sensors. Electrochemical sensors equipped with reference electrodes described herein demonstrate considerable stability and extended lifetime in a variety of conditions. |
| US08155721B2 |
Method and device for reducing undesirable electromagnetic radiation
The present invention is a method and device for reducing exposure to undesirable electromagnetic radiation. The dissipation device uses a varying angle antenna design to capture radiation from an active emission source, such as a cellular telephone when it is transmitting. The device converts the captured radiation into an electric current and dissipates the collected current by spending it to operate a thermal, mechanical, or electrical device. The varying angle antenna is a printed circuit board trace antenna comprising a microstrip having several serially connected meandering segments. One or more meandering segments include 90-degree bends in the microstrip, and one or more meandering segments include bends of more and less than 90 degrees. Portions of the microstrip that are horizontally oriented are all parallel, while portions of the microstrip that are vertically oriented can be parallel or angled, depending on the bend angle. Additionally, near the center of the varying angel antenna, the microstrip segments are narrower than the microstrip segments near the ends of the antenna. In general, the meandering segments include varying angles, which maximizes the operation of the antenna for absorbing undesirable electromagnetic radiation from cellular telephones. |
| US08155718B2 |
Sliding/hinge apparatus for sliding/rotating type mobile terminals
Disclosed herein is a sliding/hinge apparatus for sliding/rotating type mobile terminals, which can be slid and rotated from a body housing of the sliding/rotating type mobile terminal. The sliding/rotating type mobile terminal includes a body housing and a slide housing slidably mounted on the body housing. The apparatus comprises first and second hinge frames mounted in the body housing by means of screws, first and second plates, one or more slide bars, and a coupling unit inserted through the center parts of the first and second hinge frames so that the first and second hinge frames are rotatably coupled with each other while being opposite to each other. |
| US08155717B1 |
Cellular phone casing and associated method
A combined cellular phone and water-proof casing may include a cellular telephone. The cellular phone may include a display screen and a key pad communicatively coupled thereto. A protective water-proof casing may be connected to the cellular telephone in such a manner that the display screen remains operably responsive to the key pad after the cellular telephone is submerged in water. The water-proof casing may further include a first sheath and a second sheath. The second sheath may further be mated to the first sheath. A gasket may be intermediately intercalated between the first and second sheaths and thereby prevent water from penetrating through the outer edges of the first and second sheaths respectively. A plurality of ports may be formed in the water-proof casing, and a plurality of port covers may be removably interfitted within the ports. |
| US08155711B2 |
Service search based on battery charger
Aspects describe modifying a service search pattern based on whether a device battery is being charged or is not being charged (e.g., is connected to a battery charger or not connected to a battery charger). A power conservative search pattern can be utilized if the battery is not being charges. If the battery is being charged, the search pattern can be an aggressive search pattern. Further, the search pattern can change if there is a change in whether the battery is being charged. The rate of charging the battery, a current battery level, amount of power consumed during the search, and/or the power being input by the battery chargers can be utilized to select and/or modify a network search pattern. Further, a user can select or change a search pattern through interaction with a user interface. |
| US08155703B2 |
Wireless device having a configurable camera interface to support digital image processing
A camera operably coupled to a configurable camera interface within a wireless terminal operable to process images in accordance with multiple data formats. This camera interface has an ARM and an image process accelerator operably coupled to the ARM. The combination receives a captured digital image having a first data format from an image sensor operably coupled to the camera interface. The accelerator is configured based on information contained within the captured digital image. The captured digital image will be processed to produce additional digital images having a differing data formats. The captured digital image and/or additional digital images will be supplied to multiple devices or clients. This configuration allows the compute intensive operations to be offloaded from the processing module onto the image process accelerator within the camera interface in order to improve the overall system efficiency. |
| US08155701B2 |
Uplink radio frames apportioned for plural multiple access technologies
Frames of information are communicated between a base station (28) of a radio access network (RAN) and plural types of wireless terminals (30). Frame handlers of the base station and of certain types of wireless terminals (30-2) process differing portions of the frame according to respective differing multiple access technologies. In differing embodiments and implementations, modulation techniques of the differing multiple access technologies can be apportioned to differing portions of the frame in various manners, such as (for example) to differing subframes of a multi-sub-framed frame or to differing burst fields or sections of an uplink (UL) burst. |
| US08155700B2 |
Apparatus and method of securing private content stored in a memory
Apparatus and a method of securing private content stored in a memory are presented. A terminal includes a memory configured to store a private content identifier associated with private content. The private content identifier includes a mobile station integrated services digital network number of a smart card associated with a user that is authorized to access the private content. A particular smart card includes a smart card identifier associated with the particular smart card. The terminal also includes a security function configured to perform a comparison of the private content identifier to the smart card identifier and to deny access to the private content when a result of the comparison is negative. |
| US08155698B2 |
System and method for storing and displaying data with digital images
A method for storing data with a digital image comprises providing a digital camera for capturing and storing digital images, the digital camera having a controller, a storage medium, a data entry mechanism, and a positioning system. The method further includes the camera receiving direction from a user to capture a digital image and capturing and storing the digital image in response to the user's direction. Additionally, the positioning system determines location information corresponding to the location of the digital camera when the image is captured. The camera receives user-supplied data input to be associated with the captured digital image captured via the data entry mechanism and the controller automatically associates the user-supplied data input and the location information with the digital image and stores the data input, the location information, and the digital image in the storage medium as a combined data file. |
| US08155696B2 |
Devices, systems and methods for scenario based services and intelligent user feedback
Devices, systems and methods are provided to communicate using mobile or wireless devices having a plurality of interactive applications, wherein each application is useable interactively with other applications. Thus, a user is enabled to utilize multiple applications interactively on a single mobile device, with each application providing intelligent feedback to an application server as to the use habits of the user with regard to that application. Further, the applications server provides a level of intelligence back to each mobile device creating an ongoing intelligent feedback loop. |
| US08155690B2 |
Transmission power target value variable control apparatus and method and mobile communication terminal
A T-SIR generation unit (106a) generates, on the basis of an actual reception quality (205) in a mobile communication terminal, a target value T-SIR to be used to control transmission power of a base station from the mobile communication terminal. When the mobile communication terminal exists in the service area of a predetermined specific communication carrier, a T-SIR correction unit (106b) adds a correction value K to the T-SIR generated by the T-SIR generation unit (106a). Even when a reception SIR abruptly deteriorates in a communication carrier with a strong reception field and a low BLER, it does not drop below the SIR limit value of the mobile communication terminal. Hence, the terminal can receive the signal from the base station and continue a service such as speech communication. When a long-term BLER measurement result is used instead of a BER, stable transmission power control can be done normally. |
| US08155685B2 |
Method and apparatus for determining reverse transmission power of mobile station in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system
A mobile station apparatus for determining reverse transmission power in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing system is provided. A reception module receives from a base station a Reverse-Link Assignment Message including a Packet Format (PF) field and a Reverse-Link Power Control (RLPC) field. A power level adjuster determines a nominal reverse transmission power level depending on information of the PF field, and determines a relative final transmission power level shifted by an offset value defined in the RLPC field from the nominal transmission power level. |
| US08155684B2 |
System and method for controlling use of uplink random access channels (RACHS) based on multi-dimensional subscriber classification
Systems and methods are provided for controlling use of uplink random access channels (RACHs) based on multi-dimensional subscriber classification. These systems and methods are useful in cellular communication networks that implement, for example, a public safety cellular system. |
| US08155682B2 |
Handheld electronic device including automatic mobile phone number management, and associated method
A method of updating information included in a handheld device user's contact entry included in a global address list wherein the device stores information of a first type, such as a mobile phone, SMS or MMS number or a PIN. The method includes determining whether the information of a first type has been modified from a first stored piece of information to a second stored piece of information, and generating a message including the second stored piece of information and sending the message to a computer system of the organization if it is determined that the information of a first type has been modified. The computer system stores the second stored piece of information in response to receipt of the message by the computer system for subsequent access by a requesting party. Also provided is an improved handheld electronic device having one or more routines adapted to implement the method. |
| US08155681B2 |
Base station, mobile station, and cell determination method
One feature of the present invention relates to a base station for operating multiple cells each having a predefined bandwidth, including: a load measurement unit configured to measure traffic status in each of the cells; a selection probability computation unit configured to compute a selection probability used to select a preselected cell based on the traffic status, the preselected cell being accessed by a mobile station in transition from an idle state to an active state; a transmission unit configured to transmit the selection probability; and a control plane control unit configured to connect to the preselected cell being accessed by the mobile station. |
| US08155679B2 |
System and method for peer-to peer advertising between mobile communication devices
Disclosed are a method and system for peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices. A subsidy program is set up based on a profile of an advertiser having at least one advertising media. A qualified subscriber is identified for the advertiser based on a profile of a subscriber. One or more advertisers and subsidy programs for the qualified subscriber is selected. In addition, when a communication transmission is received from a source communication device, at least one advertising media is associated with the communication transmission and the communication transmission is transmitted from a source communication device to a destination communication device. |
| US08155677B2 |
Mobile messaging short code translation and routing system and method
Provided herein is a system, method and product for performing address translation and routing of short codes. The embodiment described herein primarily supports the wireless and standardized SMS; however, one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the present invention can also be applied to any mobile messaging technology, e.g., Multimedia Messaging Service (“MMS”), etc. |
| US08155672B2 |
Scalable geo-location event processing
Traditional, server-oriented architectures have focused on providing location-based services by using publish-subscribe, efficient message buses, and filtering mechanisms. However, given an enterprise's unique requirements, these techniques have offered mixed results when used in an enterprise context. The present invention enables an efficient way to provide location-based services to an enterprise, as well as to integrate those location-based services into the enterprise's communications platform. A platform for supporting converged, location-based communications comprises one or more application servers such as a transactional server, a Session Initiation Protocol server, and so forth. In addition, the platform advantageously comprises an event processor for managing arriving location streams that are generated by targets being monitored. Such targets include the cell phones and WiFi handsets of the enterprise users, but can also include location data from various users arriving from multiple, fixed points such as credit card readers in stores. |
| US08155670B2 |
Cell notification
A system and method for enabling an access point to determine that a mobile device has crossed a wireless coverage area boundary associated with the access point and select, for transmission to the mobile device, an audible notification indicating the mobile device has crossed the wireless coverage boundary associated with the access point, wherein the audible notification is stored at the access point in compressed form, prior to determining the mobile device has crossed the wireless coverage area boundary. |
| US08155667B2 |
Mobile terminal and method of transferring or receiving data using the same
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal which transfers or receives data, including location information, in various ways, and a method of transferring or receiving data using the same. |
| US08155666B2 |
Methods and systems for determining location using a cellular and WLAN positioning system by selecting the best cellular positioning system solution
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for determining the location of a WLAN and cellular position system enabled device using a WLAN position estimate to select the best cellular positioning system location. The method can include estimating a position of the WLAN and cellular enabled device using a WLAN positioning system and an expected error estimate for the WLAN based position estimate, determining a set of possible cellular based position estimates for the WLAN and cellular enabled device using cellular measurements obtained from at least one cell tower, determining an uncertainty area around the WLAN location estimate based on the expected error of the WLAN location estimate, and determining the device location by selecting cellular based location estimates located within the uncertainty area. |
| US08155664B2 |
Portable wireless sensor for building control
A network of wireless radios automatically conserves energy, directs the operation of equipment, and locates assets and personnel. The network may identify changes in the occupancy of a building area and automatically alter the building environment according to predetermined settings, personal preferences, or unexpected conditions. The wireless radios also may include sensors that monitor specific parameters, the parameters may relate to building environment conditions or operating equipment. The network may automatically alter the operating building equipment in response to the parameters received. The wireless radios also may be portable and mounted upon movable items, such as personal identification devices, office furniture, equipment, containers, or other assets. The network may locate the movable items within a building based upon signals received from the wireless radios. The network also may track the movement of the movable items within a building. The wireless radios may operable as a mesh network. |
| US08155662B2 |
Self-configuring wireless network location system
Wireless adapters are installed on one or more general purpose computing devices and are connected via a network in an enterprise environment. The adapters are densely deployed at known locations throughout the environment and are configured as air monitors. The air monitors monitor signals transmitted by one or more transceiver devices and records information about these signals. One or more analysis or inference engines may be deployed to obtain the recorded signal information and the air monitor locations to determine a location of the one or more wireless transceivers devices deployed in the environment. |
| US08155660B2 |
MBMS dual receiver
A method for communicating between a network and a dual receiver UE includes receiving first signaling from a first network node at a first frequency, and receiving second signaling via a PtM control channel from a second network node at a second frequency. The method further includes receiving a request from the second network node at the second frequency, such that the request is carried on the PtM control channel, and transmitting to the first network node a response to the request from the second network node. An alternative method includes receiving communications from a first network node, and identifying that the first network node lacks uplink capabilities. This method may further include identifying that the first network node provides a MBMS service, and receiving the MBMS service from the first network node despite the identification of the lack of uplink capabilities. |
| US08155654B2 |
Transmission rate control method, mobile communication system and radio base station
A transmission rate control method including: notifying, from the mobile station UE to the radio base station NodeB, a data amount in a transmission buffer of the mobile station UE; determining, at the radio base station NodeB, a maximum allowable value that can be notified to the mobile station UE, in accordance with the data amount in the transmission buffer; calculating, at the radio base station NodeB, as a granted value to be notified to the mobile station UE, a value that does not exceed the maximum allowable value, notifying, from the radio base station Node B to the mobile station UE, the granted value calculated at the radio base station UE, by using a transmission rate control channel; and transmitting, at the mobile station UE, the uplink user data, at a transmission rate corresponding to the granted value notified from the radio base station NodeB. |
| US08155648B2 |
Method of transmitting and receiving control information in a wireless communication system
A method of transmitting and receiving control information for a specific service in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The method of transmitting control information for a specific service in a wireless communication system which uses multiple carriers includes transmitting notification indication information to at least one user equipment, the notification indication information including information related to a channel resource region through which control information for the specific service is transmitted, and transmitting a notification message to the at least one user equipment through the channel resource region indicated by the information related to the channel resource region, the notification including control information. |
| US08155643B2 |
Mobile terminal and system scan method thereof
A mobile terminal and system scan method thereof is provided for effectively acquiring system information. The system scanning method includes performing a first scanning process on entire channels registered to a Preferred Roaming List (PRL) for acquiring system information, calculating, when the system information is not acquired in the first scanning process, a power saving time and a second scan time on the basis of a first scan time taken for the first scanning process, the second scan time being equal to the first scan time, and performing a second scanning process and a power saving process, on the basis of the power saving time and the second scan time, alternately until the system information is acquired. |
| US08155641B2 |
System and method for preventing lapses of communication in radio voice communications
A system and method are provided for preventing lapses of communication in radio voice communications. The system may include a communications transceiver for transmitting signals through a communications antenna. A protection antenna, which may be isolated from the communications antenna, may obtain a received signal from a remote transmitter. The received signal may contain a signal of interest that may be combined with interference from the communications the communications transceiver. A protection receiver, coupled to the protection antenna, may obtain a sample of a transmit signal from the communications transceiver. Using the sample of this transmit signal, the protection receiver may remove the interference from the received signal to obtain the signal of interest. If it is determined that a communications channel is blocked, the protection receiver may store the transmit signal and later retransmit the stored transmit signal when the communication channel is unblocked. |
| US08155635B2 |
Method for handling incoming call in screen lock state, communication device and recording medium thereof
A method for handling an incoming call in a screen lock state, a communication device and a recording medium thereof are provided. In the present method, when a communication device in a screen lock state receives an incoming call, the communication device exits the screen lock state and displays an incoming call frame. Then, the incoming call is handled according to an input instruction. After the completion of a handling of the incoming call, an idle time of the communication device that receives no operation is counted. When the idle time reaches a predefined value, the communication device returns to the screen lock state. As a result, a user may conveniently inspect and handle the incoming call even if the communication device is in the screen lock state. |
| US08155630B2 |
Communications system providing mobile device notification based upon personal interest information and calendar events
A communications system may include at least one mobile wireless communications device for storing personal interest information for respective contacts and for storing calendar event data. The system may further include a notification server communicating with the at least one mobile wireless communications device via a wireless communications network and configured to access the personal interest information and calendar event data from the at least one mobile wireless communications device, and send notifications to the at least one mobile wireless communications device based upon the personal interest information and the calendar event data. |
| US08155627B2 |
Visual voicemail provisioning and notification
A device receives, from a user device, a request to use a visual voicemail (VVM) application, directs the user device to a self provisioning server based on the request, and receives, from the self provisioning server, a selected VVM subscription plan and information associated with a user of the user device. The device also provides, to a billing system, a feature code associated with the selected VVM subscription plan, receives, from one or more voicemail servers, pre-existing voicemail messages associated with the user, and provides, to the user device, the pre-existing voicemail messages. |
| US08155626B2 |
Method and apparatus for multimedia communication
A method and apparatus for enabling communication of IP multimedia content to a called user during a circuit-switched call between a calling terminal (A) having called a primary communication unit (B1), when the call has been forwarded to a secondary communication unit (B2). The calling terminal receives a connected number during a call set-up procedure, e.g. by subscribing to a called line presentation (COLP) service. The calling terminal stores the received connected number and determines multimedia capabilities of the secondary communication unit based on the connected number. Available multimedia options can then be determined based on the multimedia capabilities of the secondary communication unit. |
| US08155623B2 |
System and method for obtaining information from a wireless modem
Systems and methods for obtaining information from a wireless modem are provided. An information requesting device can send an information request to the wireless modem. The wireless modem authenticates the information request, obtains the requested information and provides the obtained information to the information requesting device. The information can be a current location of the wireless modem, a received signal strength, whether the wireless modem is transmitting or receiving data, whether an external device is coupled to the wireless modem, and/or the like. |
| US08155622B1 |
Systems and methods for providing wireless telecommunications access to authorized wireless service subscribers
A system for providing authorized wireless telecommunication access is provided. The system includes at least one password-protected cellular access (PPCA) node and a database. The database is configured to receive an identifier from a mobile terminal and correlate the identifier with PPCA node data to determine if the mobile terminal is authorized to use a particular PPCA node. A method for providing authorized wireless telecommunication access is also provided. |
| US08155614B2 |
Apparatus and methods for signal processing
Apparatus including a matrix; a plurality of magnetic particles distributed in at least a portion of the matrix; the matrix being configured to enable the plurality of magnetic particles to move position relative to one another, and at least a portion of the plurality of magnetic particles being configured to magnetically repel one or more adjacent magnetic particles. |
| US08155607B2 |
Antenna apparatus of portable terminal
An antenna apparatus of a portable terminal and method for implementing characteristics of the antenna apparatus of the portable terminal are disclosed. The antenna apparatus includes a circuit board including a power feeder and a ground, a radiation unit, a power feeder connecting unit for electrically connecting the power feeder to the radiation unit and for feeding electric power to the radiation unit, and a ground connecting unit including at least two paths which have different lengths for electrically connecting the ground to and disconnecting the ground from the radiation unit selectively. |
| US08155606B2 |
RF power amplifier device and wireless communication terminal device
A RF power amplifying device is constituted by a system of a balanced amplifier including first phase shifters, a first RF power amplifier, a second RF power amplifier, second phase shifters, and a power combiner. Transmitting power Pout is detected by a first power level detector connected to an output of the first RF power amplifier, a second power level detector connected to an output of the second RF power amplifier, and an adder. A level control signal from a level control circuit controls transmitting power in response to a transmitting signal with wanted power level and a detected signal of the adder. |
| US08155605B2 |
Apparatus and method for feedforward-type phase noise elimination in portable terminal
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for feedforward-type phase noise elimination in a portable terminal, which detect and eliminate phase-reversed phase noise by subtracting a GSM transmission signal, passed through the power amplifier of a GSM transmission device, from a GSM transmission signal, extracted from an upstream stage of the power amplifier, so that phase noise signals attributable to high-power transmission signals. |
| US08155600B2 |
Digital communication using an inexpensive reference crystal
Systems and methods for digital communication using an inexpensive reference crystal are described herein. Some illustrative embodiments include a method that includes setting a center frequency of a local oscillator used by a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, sequentially applying each of a plurality of predetermined offsets to the center frequency of the local oscillator, determining a plurality of metrics indicative of the quality of a received signal (each of the plurality of metrics corresponding to a different predetermined offset of the plurality of predetermined offsets), and selecting a predetermined offset of the plurality of predetermined offsets that results in a metric indicating a received signal that is higher in quality than the received signal that results when applying each of the remaining predetermined offsets of the plurality of offsets. |
| US08155594B2 |
Asymmetrical multicarrier interference avoidance
A system and methods for asymmetrical multicarrier interference avoidance in a communication from a network to a subscriber device. The asymmetrical multicarrier interference avoidance technique comprises measuring signal-to-noise ratio interference values and sorting the measured values into two tables for selecting an anchor and a non-anchor frequency carrier pairs. The system is self-tuning based on changes in the network, the subscriber and the surrounding environment. |
| US08155593B2 |
Method for allocating a frequency for a wireless audio communication
A method is provided for allocating a frequency for wireless audio communications. A request is received for a frequency for wireless audio communications. The request contains the location, the time period, the quantity of required wireless communications paths and/or the available equipment for the wireless audio communications. This request is compared with information about frequency use which is stored in databases. Possible frequency ranges are outputted, and the possible frequency ranges are allocated to transmitting and/or receiving units of the requested audio communications. |
| US08155592B2 |
Method for transmitting low-frequency data in a wireless intercom system
A wireless communication system including a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter includes a first mixing module, a phase-locked loop module, reference oscillator, and a second mixing module. The first mixing module is configured to combine a low-frequency data signal and an audio signal, and to generate a first combined signal. The phase-locked loop module is configured to generate a phase error signal based on a reference signal and a frequency modulated signal. The reference oscillator generates the reference signal having a frequency based on the low-frequency data signal. The second mixing module is configured to combine the first combined signal and the phase error signal, and to generate a second combined signal. The transmitter generates the frequency modulated signal based on the second combined signal and transmits the frequency modulated signal. The receiver is configured to receive the frequency modulated signal, and extract the low-frequency data signal and the audio signal. |
| US08155591B2 |
Electronic communication method, electronic communication system, communication terminal, and server
A user information management unit of a terminal generates a management number for respective users. A terminal to terminal communication unit communicates with another terminal through ad hoc communication, acquires a unique user ID set for the other user, and stores the user ID in a friend information storing unit. The data generated in a data generation unit is transmitted to a server from a sending unit along with a destination user ID selected from user IDs stored in a friend information storing unit. A reception unit in the server stores the transmitted data in a data storing unit for each destination user ID. When the server receives a connection request from a terminal, a connecting user information acquisition unit in the server identifies a user ID of a connection origin and a data retrieving unit transmits the data to the terminal by retrieving a data storing unit based on the user ID, indicating the user requested for the connection as a destination. |
| US08155589B2 |
Bluetooth device and bandwidth managing method thereof
A Bluetooth device and a bandwidth managing method thereof are disclosed. The Bluetooth device is connected to a remote device by establishing a synchronous connection oriented (SCO) channel. The intensity of the sound signal is monitored. If the intensity of the sound signal is larger than the default value, the slots of the SCO channel are used to transmit the sound value to the remote device. If the intensity of the sound signal is smaller than the default value, the bandwidth occupied by the slots is dynamically released to avoid the waste of the bandwidth. |
| US08155584B2 |
Innovative combinational closed-loop and open-loop satellite user terminal power control system
Devices and methods are disclosed for reducing power control cushion of a user terminal configured to communicate with a satellite and a gateway station. The present invention provides a power control algorithm implemented in a user terminal that is designed to operate in a satellite communication system. The power control algorithm can recursively calculate a returnlink power to reduce a power control cushion so that an extra link margin is available to the satellite communication system. The present invention also provides a source coding technique that provides an accurate feedback signal for the user terminal. The average metric of input signal frames is coded in a sequence of bits that are carried by contiguous output signal frames. |
| US08155581B2 |
Method and system for exhibiting media segments
A method for exhibiting media segments includes accessing a database including user selection criteria fields associated with media segments and score fields associated with the user selection criteria fields. A directory of media segments is compiled by determining a selection score for each media segment utilizing the score fields. Score fields are modified based on selected media segments, and selected media segments are exhibited. |
| US08155577B1 |
Expert systems recommendations matching consumer profiles to product evaluations
Education management systems and methods that include a server, at least one student computer that is linked, via a distributed network, to the server; and at least one management computer that is linked, via the distributed network, to the server. The server includes at least some of a products database for storing and/or updating a plurality of product profile records, a criteria database for storing and/or updating evaluation criteria by which a product is evaluated, a students database for storing and/or updating a plurality of student profile records or student profile information, a testing database for storing and/or generating testing documents and data, a curriculum database for assessing a student's personal and/or performance information and developing and/or updating an individual student curriculum based on the student's personal and/or performance information, and a reports database for receiving a student's personal and/or performance information and producing report documents and data. |
| US08155576B2 |
Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus
The invention is to provide a miniaturized sheet processing apparatus in that a conveying length a conveying distance need not be increased even though the number of sheets per bundle increases. A glue applying bookbinder that partially glues sheets and performs a pressing process to form a sheet bundle. The glue applying bookbinder includes a processing tray that stacks sheets, a glue applying portion that applies a glue on the sheets on the processing tray, and pressing portions that press the sheets on the processing tray. The glue applying portion is arranged such that the glue applying portion can be moved from a first standby position outside the sheets stacked on the stacking portion to a second standby position, different from the first standby position, outside the sheets through an upper surface of the sheets, and the pressing portions are moved integrally with the glue applying portion. |
| US08155574B2 |
Waste developer collecting device and image forming apparatus
A waste developer collecting device comprising: a collecting container; a collecting opening; a conveying unit; a filter; a partition wall; and an air inlet. |
| US08155573B2 |
Image forming apparatus and fuser apparatus
According to an embodiment of the invention, a heat uniforming member, which has an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of a hollow member and in which thermal deformation generated by thermal expansion remains, is set in the inside of the hollow member having a center axis, support members are set to both ends of the hollow member to enable supporting of ends of the heat uniforming member, and an endless body having a uniform thermal distribution is formed by heating the hollow member, the heat uniforming member and the support member at a specified temperature for a specific time and causing the heat uniforming member to adhere closely to an inner wall of the hollow member. |
| US08155571B2 |
Patterned developing roller
A developing roller for providing a magnetic brush for a printer or copier has a substantially cylindrical outer surface. The outer surface includes a regular or irregular array of a number of isolated areas, each isolated area being provided by a recess in the outer surface. Each recess is completely surrounded on all sides and isolated from any neighbouring isolated area by separation zones being part of the substantially cylindrical outer surface. |
| US08155566B2 |
Toner feed unit with shutter assembly and image forming apparatus equipped with the same
A toner feed unit includes: a first feed portion having a first feed pipe for forming a first toner feed passage having a rectangular section and a first shutter member constructed so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the feed direction of the first toner feed passage and open and close the toner output end of the first toner feed passage; and a second feed portion having a second feed pipe for forming a second toner feed passage having a rectangular section and a second shutter member constructed so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the feed direction of the second toner feed passage and open and close the toner input end of the second toner feed passage. |
| US08155563B2 |
Image forming apparatus having print engine which prints position-coding pattern with specific developing material
An image forming apparatus is capable of printing a position-coding pattern. A first print engine prints a position-coding pattern and holds a first developer material therein. A plurality of second print engines each print a corresponding image in accordance with print data, the image being different from the position-coding pattern, each of the second print engines holding a corresponding second developer material therein. The first developer material is charged to a first average amount of charge and has a first distribution of amount of charge. The second developer material is charged to a second average amount of charge and has a second distribution of amount of charge, such that the first average amount of charge is larger than the second average amount of charge, and that the first distribution of amount of charge has a smaller standard deviation than the second distribution of amount of charge. |
| US08155559B2 |
Image-forming device
An image-forming device includes a body frame having a first contacting part and a second contacting part; and a belt unit detachably mounted in the body frame. The belt unit includes a belt unit main frame, a first roller, a second roller, a belt, a belt unit side frame, a handle part, a first contacted part, and a second contacted part. The belt unit side frame is attached to the belt unit main frame. The handle part is disposed at the belt unit main frame. The first contacted part is provided on the handle part to contact the first contacting part. The second contacted part is provided on one of the belt unit main frame and the belt unit side frame to contact the second contacting part. The second contacted part is closer to the second roller than the first roller. |
| US08155554B2 |
Process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus
A cartridge is detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a main assembly electrical contact. The cartridge includes: an electrophotographic photosensitive member; a memory; a cartridge electrical contact electrically connectable to the main assembly electrical contact; a contact including the cartridge electrical contact; and a support supporting the contact. The support includes first and second regulators of the contact member in widthwise and thickness directions, respectively, with a gap therebetween. Also provided is an opening permitting insertion of the contact into the support that opens in one direction perpendicular to the widthwise and thickness directions. The main assembly electrical contact includes a spring movable by a stroke in the contact thickness direction, and the gap of the second regulator W1, a length W2 of the contact in the thickness direction, the stroke U satisfy, W2 |
| US08155551B2 |
Power supply control method and apparatus
This disclosure provides power supply control methods and apparatus. According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating a power supply operatively connected to a developer unit associated with a printing apparatus is disclosed. The method includes generating a modified output control signal as a function of stored gain and offset values associated with the power supply to generate a desired output voltage to drive the developer unit. |
| US08155549B2 |
Duplex electrophotographic printing using sacrificial sheets
A device and a method for improving the quality of prints using a printing device and system for carrying out a print job with a digital printing machine, preferably with a printing machine that works with a toner, in particular with an electrophotographically operating printing machine, whereby the sheets (1) are preferably printed by recto-printing and verso-printing, whereby the sheets (1) to be printed are divided into batches, and whereby, in the case of batches that are incompletely occupied with sheets (1), the slots of the missing sheets are replaced by an approximately sheet-sized toner field (3) on the transport belt (4) for the sheets. |
| US08155548B2 |
Dynamic process control for printing devices in the presence of reload defects
Methods and systems are provided for controlling a printing device in the presence of reload defects. According to a first embodiment, a controller is provided to manage the printing of scheduled control patches immediately after an image of a print job. Accordingly to a second embodiment, a controller is configured to manage the printing of an image or a print job immediately after a control patch. |
| US08155542B2 |
Image forming apparatus with image creation condition regulation
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, image formation control section, counter, image formation condition regulation section, controlled printed-paper number storage section, and regulation control section. The image forming unit includes a plurality of functional sections. The counter counts a cumulative printed-paper number in a series of image formation processing. The image formation condition regulation section regulates an image formation condition of at least one of the functional sections. The controlled printed-paper number storage section stores a benchmark printed-paper number and first allowable value to determine the timing of regulating the image creation condition. The first allowable value is set to be less than the benchmark printed-paper number. The regulation control section activates the image creation condition regulation section after the series of image formation processing when the cumulative printed-paper number is equal to or greater than the first allowable value after the series of image formation processing. |
| US08155539B2 |
Image forming apparatus with electrostatic capacity detection
An image forming apparatus includes a rotary for changing an attitude of a developing device to a first attitude in which developer in a developer accommodating chamber is feedable to a developer feeding member and to a second attitude in which the developer having been located above a nip between the developer feeding member and a developing roller drops from the nip. In the image attitude of the developing device, an electrostatic latent image is developed. In the second attitude of the developing device, detection of a remaining amount of the developer is carried out. |
| US08155537B2 |
Optical receiver circuit and optical coupling device
An optical receiver circuit and an optical coupling device, which includes: a light-receiving element; TIA operable to output a first voltage signal in response to input of the current signal; a voltage source operable to supply a second voltage signal serving as a reference voltage for determining pulse switching; a voltage source operable to supply a third voltage signal serving as a reference voltage for generating a shift control signal; a level shift circuit operable to output a voltage signal generated by subtracting a level shift voltage from the first voltage signal; a comparator operable to convert the first voltage signal to a pulse, and a controller operable to output the shift control signal outputting the first voltage signal shifted to a low-level side when the first voltage signal exceeds the third voltage signal, and outputting the first voltage signal without shifting after the output of the level shift circuit is lowered below the second voltage signal, are provided. |
| US08155536B2 |
Optical transceiver IC
A power management arrangement for low power optical transceiver such as those that may be integrated into a personal computer or server may periodically put itself into a power conservation or sleep mode which assures the transceiver is available upon wake-up. |
| US08155530B2 |
System and method for increasing spectral efficiency, capacity and/or dispersion-limited reach of modulated signals in communication links
A system and method for increasing spectral efficiency, capacity and/or extending dispersion-limited reach in a communication link employs narrow filtering of a baseband signal to reduce the original bandwidth to a substantially smaller bandwidth for transmission across a transmission medium such as an optical fiber. By restricting the bandwidth, the rate of spreading is reduced significantly. The receiver at the other end of the transmission medium includes an equalizer for returning the received signal to its original bandwidth for retrieval of information contained in the signal. |
| US08155527B2 |
Apparatus and method for sending and receiving free space optical signals
A free space optical communication system incorporates a kinematic sensor, such as an accelerometer, proximate an optical signal generator or emitter, such as a laser. Kinematic information generated using an output signal from the kinematic sensor is encoded along with a time signal and transmitted from the sending node to a receiving node. The receiving node receives the kinematic information and determines a future position and orientation of the sending node. The receiving node makes adjustments to receiving optical component hardware in order to better receive the signal based upon the acceleration data and the time signal. |
| US08155526B2 |
In-wall optical network unit
One embodiment provides an ONU that includes an optical interface coupled to an optical transceiver, which is configured to transmit optical signals to and receive optical signals from an OLT through the optical interface. The ONU also includes an ONU chip coupled to the optical transceiver and configured to communicate with the OLT through the optical transceiver. The ONU further includes an Ethernet interface coupled to the ONU chip and a power management module configured to provide power to the ONU chip and the optical transceiver using power delivered from a CPE through the Ethernet interface. In addition, the ONU includes a circuit board to which the optical transceiver, the ONU chip, and the power management module are attached, and a wall-mountable fixture, wherein the front side of the fixture includes an opening for the Ethernet interface, and wherein the back side of the fixture holds the circuit board. |
| US08155524B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting multiple channels in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical communication system with reduced raman crosstalk and nonlinear distortions
An improved method and apparatus is provided for transmitting a WDM optical signal. The method begins by modulating optical channels that are each located at a different wavelength from one another with (1) a respective one of a plurality of information-bearing electrical signals that all embody the same broadcast information; (2) a respective one of a plurality of RF signals having a common functional broadcast waveform, at least one of the RF signals being out of phase with respect to remaining ones of the plurality of RF signal and (3) at least one of the RF signals being phase adjusted with respect to its original phase. Each of the modulated optical channels is multiplexed to form a WDM optical signal. The WDM optical signal, while maintaining the pre-assigned phase relationships between the modulation signals of the optical channels, is forwarded onto an optical transmission path. |
| US08155522B2 |
System and method for network planning
A method for designing a communication network is provided. Network demand data is gathered and network architecture data is gathered. Based in part on the network demand data and the network architecture data, a network plan is automatically generated. |
| US08155521B2 |
Multi-degree cross-connector system, operating method and optical communication network using the same
Provided are a network node which has a wavelength switching cross-connection function and can thus interconnect paths of a wavelength-division-multiplexed optical signal and convert wavelengths, and an operating method of the network node. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a multi-degree cross-connection system having a simple structure at lower cost by allowing transmission of optical signals supposed not to be added/dropped at a network node without converting them into electrical signals and performing O/E conversion or E/O conversion only on optical signals supposed to be added/dropped at a network node. In addition, it is possible to increase the expandability of networks by regenerating degraded signals and which can effectively utilize bandwidths by grooming low-speed electrical digital hierarchy signals and transmitting them as high-speed optical signals. Moreover, it is possible to increase the availability of network resources by performing wavelength conversion without the need of additional wavelength converters. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent multiplexed optical signals from being degraded by filtering even when the multiplexed optical signals are not demultiplexed into wavelengths. Still furthermore, it is possible to perform a multicast operation on input wavelengths. |
| US08155517B2 |
Optical packet switching apparatus
An optical packet switching apparatus includes plural optical switches, an optical switching section that switches a path of an optical packet transmitted thereto according to the switch control signal to output the optical packet, and a control section that takes out a header portion representing a destination of the optical packet transmitted, photoelectrically converts the header to generate the switch control signal according to the destination to transmit the switch control signal to the optical switching section and controls the optical switch. The apparatus further includes a light monitor section that monitors a light quantity level of the optical packet transmitted and a light quantity level of the optical packet to be sent out, and an abnormality recognizing section that recognizes an effective timing of monitoring of the light quantity levels based on the switching control signal, and recognizes an abnormality based on the light quantity levels at the timing. |
| US08155514B1 |
Light isolating protective cover for small form factor electronic device
A portable device has a rear facing camera assembly and a front facing display assembly that includes at least a protective cover layer, a display stack that includes a plurality of display components arranged in a plurality of interconnected layers, the display stack providing an imaging service, and a flat support chassis arranged to provide support for the display stack. In the described embodiment, a protective cover can wrap around and protect at least the rear portion of the portable device without adversely affecting an image capture process carried out by the rear facing camera assembly. |
| US08155510B2 |
Universal underwater enclosure for cameras and camcorders
A universal underwater enclosure has a spherical shell having a hollow in which a camera, camcorder, or other device can be inserted, a lens attached to the shell that can be opened to insert a device, and glove assemblies extending into the hollow for manipulation of a device placed therein. The glove assemblies have fingers and not full gloves, reducing the dimensions of the enclosure—thereby minimizing buoyancy. A mounting system attaches to a device's tripod mount receptor, fixes the device, and allows it to be adjusted in three dimensions. A pressure equalization system relieves stress on the enclosure, which exhibits neutral buoyancy. A flash mounted on the shell operates independently of any device. Modular lens pods replace the lens to accommodate various other lenses. The glove assemblies have perimeter lips secured to the shell by fasteners and a bezel around teardrop-shaped cut-out holes in the shell. The fingers allow access to all of a device's controls. |
| US08155509B2 |
Method and device for providing a gaseous substance mixture
A device and method for providing a gaseous substance mixture which includes at least one reducing agent and/or at least one reducing agent precursor, includes a reservoir for an aqueous solution which includes at least one reducing agent precursor that can be flow connected to an evaporator chamber, and a device for dosing the aqueous solution in the evaporator chamber. A device can heat the evaporator chamber to a temperature higher than or equal to a critical temperature, in which the aqueous solution is at least partially evaporated. The device and method enable reducing agent to be provided for selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. Preferably, an evaporator unit is configured as the evaporator chamber and a hydrolysis catalytic converter is disposed outside the exhaust system. As a result, the size of the hydrolysis catalytic converter is reduced, allowing compact construction. |
| US08155506B2 |
System and method for transport PID version check
Systems and methods for processing media information are disclosed and may include tracking a number of times that at least one stored identifier that identifies program content for a particular data channel that is received via one of a plurality of multiplexed transport data streams is modified. At least a portion of the received program content for the particular data channel may be discarded based on the tracking. The at least one stored identifier that identifies the program content for the particular data channel may include a packet identifier (PID) and a processor identifier associated with the PID that identifies at least one of a plurality of processors that parses at least a portion of the program content for the particular data channel that is received via one of the plurality of multiplexed transport data streams. |
| US08155504B1 |
Method of disaster recovery for re-writable disk media
A method for media disaster recovery when recording data to re-writable disk media can include defining a sequence of recordable units (RUs) in the re-writable disk media wherein each RU in the sequence has a maximum data capacity. Data can be sequentially recorded in each RU, in sequence. When data has been completely recorded in an RU, RU metrics can be computed. Subsequently, the computed RU metrics can be stored in an RU information file in the re-writable disk media. Significantly, responsive to a media disaster, for example a power outage, a disaster RU can be identified in the RU information file. Specifically, the disaster RU can be an RU in which data had been incompletely recorded during the media disaster. Upon identifying the disaster RU, the sequential recording of data can resume in an RU next in sequence to the disaster RU. |
| US08155502B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer program
An AV stream stored on a recording medium is edited in such a manner as to not conflict with a play-only standard format.When an intermediate portion of a stream file is to be deleted, the original clip AV stream file is divided at a deletion section, and a single ATC is provided for each file. When a play item is to be deleted in an intermediate portion of a playlist, the setting of seamless play with the immediately preceding play item is released in the final play item on the forward side, which is left after deletion is performed, and the setting of seamless play with the immediately preceding play item is released in the clip information file at the beginning on the backward side, which is left after deletion is performed. |
| US08155501B2 |
Reproducing apparatus, reproducing method, and system LSI
A playback apparatus comprises a platform for executing an application, a playback engine for performing AV playback, and a playback control engine. Upon receipt of an instruction from a user, the playback control engine judges the state of the playback apparatus at the moment. If the playback apparatus is in the state of currently performing the AV playback, the playback control engine instructs the playback engine to perform the AV playback at a predetermined speed level. A key event corresponding to the instruction from the user is output to the application on the platform afterwards. |
| US08155493B2 |
Flexible optical waveguide and process for its production
The invention provides a flexible optical waveguide in which an optical waveguide film is directly formed on a substrate without using an adhesive and which is excellent in flexibility of the optical waveguide film, including the substrate, and excellent in adhesiveness between the substrate and the optical waveguide film, as well as a process for producing the flexible optical waveguide in a simple and easy manner. The flexible optical waveguide includes a lower cladding layer, a core layer, and an upper cladding layer successively formed on a substrate and a surface of the substrate, on which surface the lower cladding layer is to be formed, has an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of 0.03 μm or higher. The flexible optical waveguide can be produced by subjecting a surface of the substrate, on which surface the lower cladding layer is to be formed, to physical treatment with a whetstone or chemical treatment with a corona discharge and then successively forming the lower cladding layer, the core layer, and the upper cladding layer on the surface of the substrate. |
| US08155489B2 |
Method for coupling light into a thin planar waveguide
A light distributing device (100) comprises a thin planar waveguide (10) and a waveguiding ridge (20). An incoming light beam (B1) coupled into the ridge (20) forms a second light beam (B2) waveguided in the ridge (20). The ridge (20) and the planar waveguide (10) have a common portion (23) such that light is further coupled from the side of the ridge (20) into the planar waveguide (10) through said common portion (23). Thus, optical power of a broad incoming beam (B1) may be effectively coupled to a relatively thin planar waveguide (10). The planar waveguide (10) may further comprise diffractive out-coupling elements (30) to direct light towards a display (400). |
| US08155485B2 |
Plasmon photocatalysis
Plasmons on a waveguide may deliver energy to photocatalyze a reaction. The waveguide or other energy carrier may be configured to carry electromagnetic energy and generate plasmon energy at one or more locations proximate to the waveguide, where the plasmon energy may react chemically with a medium or interaction material. |
| US08155482B2 |
Selecting wider bandwidth channels in a wireless network
Techniques are provided for selecting channels for a wider bandwidth operation mode of a wireless network, such as wireless network that operates in accordance with the IEEE 802.11n amendment. Alignments of so-called primary and secondary channels are selected to mitigate interference. Interfering sources, such as other transceivers or external interferers, or the energy from their transmissions, are identified and channels are selected. The selected channels are analyzed to determine whether primary-secondary channel assignments for the selected channels are feasible. |
| US08155481B2 |
Systems and methods for creating photobooks
A method for producing a photo album includes providing a library of page layouts, selecting a first group of one or more images to be placed in the first page of the photo album, selecting a second group of one or more images to be placed in the second page of the photo album, graphically displaying the first group of one or more images within a first border that represents a first page, graphically displaying the second group of one or more images within a second border that represents a second page, automatically selecting a first page layout from the library of page layouts, and automatically placing the first group of one or more images into the one or more image receiving areas in the first page layout to produce the first page in the photo album. |
| US08155476B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
An image processing apparatus includes a noise reduction unit configured to nonlinearly convert a signal obtained by subtracting a value of a subtraction image signal, which is read from a memory, from that of a current-frame image signal, to generate a noise-reduced signal by subtracting the nonlinearly converted signal from the current-frame image signal, and to store the noise-reduced signal in the memory, a read unit configured to read the subtraction image signal from the memory at a moment between a moment, at which the subtraction image signal read from the memory is stored in the memory, and a moment at which the subtraction image signal is read from the memory, and a generation unit configured to generate an image based on the subtraction image signal read by the read unit. |
| US08155473B2 |
Method for deciding image data reduction ratio in image processing, pattern model positioning method in image processing, pattern model creating method in image processing, image processing apparatus, image processing program, and computer readable recording medium
There is provided a method for deciding an image data reduction ratio in image processing which enables performance of stable positioning even on an unclear image, the method being a method for deciding an image data reduction ratio in image processing where an object to be searched that is similar to a pre-registered image is searched to be positioned out of the image to be searched by use of a pattern model corresponding to the registered image, the method including the steps of: computing a sharpness of each edge point based on the edge points with reference to an edge image where the edge points are extracted from image date; and deciding an image data reduction ratio based on each edge sharpness such that positional accuracy of the edge points becomes higher than a predetermined value. |
| US08155470B2 |
Device for removing noise in image data
A device for removing noise by using an adjustable threshold. The device for removing noise in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention determines a difference value between a maximum value and a minimum value of elements of inputted image data, determines a method of removing noise of the image data in accordance with the difference value, and removes noise in accordance with the method. With the present invention, improved picture quality can be achieved because noise can be removed as desired by the user. |
| US08155469B2 |
Filter circuit, image processing circuit, and filtering method
A filter circuit includes: an adder/subtractor that performs at least addition; and a shifter that performs multiplication/division by a power of two through a shift operation. The adder/subtractors and the shifter are configured to obtain a first calculation result representing a pixel value of a target pixel included in image data multiplied by a first filter coefficient. At least the adder/subtractors and the shifter is configured to obtain a second calculation result representing pixel values of a plurality of peripheral pixels adjacent to the target pixel, with each of the pixel values being multiplied by a second filter coefficient. The adder/subtractor is configured obtain a third calculation result by adding the first and second calculation results. The shifter configured to divide the third calculation result by a power of two which is equivalent to a sum of the first and second filter coefficients, so as to output the division result. According to this aspect of the present invention, adders and subtractors, which have a lower cost and lower energy consumption than multipliers and dividers, are used along with shifters. It is therefore possible to realize the smoothing of images at low cost and low energy consumption. |
| US08155461B2 |
Methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding multi-view image
Methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding a multi-view image are provided. The method of encoding the multi-view image can use a difference in views between pictures of the multi-view image, add an image area obtained from a picture at one view at a first time to a picture at another view at a second time, thereby generating a reference picture, and perform prediction encoding using the generated reference picture, thereby increasing prediction encoding efficiency. |
| US08155459B2 |
Video processing device with low memory bandwidth requirements
The present invention relates to a video processing device for processing data corresponding to a sequence of pictures according to a predictive block-based encoding technique. Said device comprises a processing unit (20) including a reconstruction circuit (16) for reconstructing pictures from decoded data and an external memory (1) for storing reference pictures delivered by the reconstruction circuit. The processing unit further comprises a memory controller (11) for controlling data exchange between the processing unit and the external memory, a cache memory (17) for temporarily storing data corresponding to a prediction area, said data being read out from the external memory via the memory controller, and a motion compensation circuit (14) for delivering motion compensated data to the reconstruction circuit on the basis of the prediction area read out from the cache memory. |
| US08155458B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method, information processing apparatus and information processing method, information recording apparatus and information recording method, information reproducing apparatus and information reproducing method, recording medium and program
The present invention can code an I-picture that satisfies a predetermined condition using parameter information. When it is determined at step S1 that a picture type is the I-picture, it is determined at step S2 whether or not the phase of a macro block in previous coding agrees with that of the macro block of present coding. When the phases of the macro blocks agree with each other, it is determined at step S3 whether or not amount of generated code in a unit of picture in decoding≦target amount of code×α is satisfied. When the condition is satisfied, it is determined at step S4 whether or not an image frame of previous coding is the same as that of previous coding. When the image frames are not the same, the information of a picture type, motion vector, and a quantized value included in the parameter information is reused, whereas when the image frames are the same, the stream data input to a decoder is output. When the above condition is not satisfied, the parameters are not reused. The present invention can be applied to a coder, a coding apparatus, an information recording apparatus, an information reproducing apparatus, or a transcoder. |
| US08155457B2 |
Robust encoding of metadata in lossy encoded images
Processing an image with embedded metadata by determining an integer value of a byte and separate the integer value into a plurality of digits, converting each of the digits into an encoding value using a predefined conversion function, selecting a pixel block in a metadata container, encoding into the selected pixel block each of the encoding values, and after the pixel block is encoded using a lossy compression scheme and subsequently decoded into raw pixel data, extracting the metadata from the raw pixel data, and performing at least one predefined action using the metadata. |
| US08155455B2 |
Image capturing system and method thereof
An image capturing system comprises a storage device and a transcoder module coupled to the storage device. The storage device stores image data of a captured still image compressed by a first coding format configured. The transcoder module transcodes the image data compressed by the first coding format into output image data compressed by a second coding format and outputting the output image data to an external device when the external device requests the captured still image. |
| US08155449B2 |
Method for comparing computer-generated drawings
A method for comparing a first drawing and a second drawing generated by a shape-based computer system includes: (a) In no particular order: (1) identifying shapes present in the first drawing; and (2) identifying shapes present in the second drawing. (b) In no particular order: (1) identifying deleted shapes; the deleted shapes being present in the first drawing and not present in the second drawing; and (2) identifying new shapes; the new shapes being present in the second drawing and not present in the first drawing. (c) In no particular order: (1) indicating the deleted shapes in the first drawing; and (2) indicating the new shapes in the second drawing. |
| US08155447B2 |
Determining points of parabolic curvature on surfaces of specular objects
Embodiments of the invention disclose a system and a method for determining points of parabolic curvature on a surface of a specular object from a set of images of the object is acquired by a camera under a relative motion between a camera-object pair and the environment. The method determines directions of image gradients at each pixel of each image in the set of images, wherein pixels from different images corresponding to an identical point on the surface of the object form corresponding pixels. The corresponding pixels having substantially constant the direction of the image gradients are selected as pixels representing points of the parabolic curvature. |
| US08155445B2 |
Image processing apparatus, method, and processing program for image inversion with tree structure
The present invention relates to an image processing method, an image processing apparatus and an image processing program for dealing with inverted characters (outlined characters) constituted by white pixels on a black ground in a tree structure same as that of normal characters constituted by black pixels on a white ground.In the present invention, black pixel blocks and white pixel blocks are sampled recursively from a binary image, tree structure data indicating a positional relation between the sampled black pixel blocks and white pixel blocks is created, an inverted image is created by white-black-inverting the insides of black pixel blocks that can include inverted characters, of black pixel blocks included in the tree structure data, white pixel blocks and black pixel blacks are sampled from the created inverted image, and data regarding the sampled white pixel blocks and black pixel blocs is added to corresponding nodes of the tree structure data. |
| US08155443B2 |
Image extracting apparatus, image extracting method and computer readable medium
An image extracting method includes: acquiring a scan image; generating a binary image of the acquired scan image and detects connected pixels in the generated binary image; setting up a circumscribed rectangle for the detected connected pixels; performing, in each side of a circumscribed rectangle, scan in a direction perpendicular to the side so as to detect edge pixels, wherein the scan starts at a plurality of points on a line, and the line extends to one vertex of the side, from a contacting point at which the connected pixels and the side contact; determining whether the detected edge pixels are located in a contour part of the object reproduced in the scan image; setting up a rectangular region based on the edge pixels determined as being located in the contour part of the object; and extracting an image from the set-up rectangular region. |
| US08155442B2 |
Method and apparatus for modifying the histogram of an image
A method and corresponding computing device and computer readable storage media containing instructions for modifying the histogram of a grayscale image to improve contrast by extracting black connected components from the grayscale image that touch at least one of the margins of the grayscale image, computing the histogram of the portion of the grayscale image covered by the extracted black connected components, and updating the histogram of the grayscale image by subtracting the histogram of the portion of the binary image covered by the extracted black connected components from the histogram of the grayscale image or by subtracting a function of number of pixels of the portion of the binary image covered by the extracted black connected components from the histogram of the grayscale image. The function may be a property of a document containing the grayscale image, such as the size of the document. In this case, pixels outside of the document boundaries are removed from the histogram during the updating of the histogram. |
| US08155436B2 |
Systems and methods for color data compression
Systems and methods are provided for reducing data size of at least one bitmap image, wherein the bitmap image comprises a plurality of image components, wherein each image component is associated with a distinct color plane. The plurality of color planes may be ranked using a dominance rank, wherein the dominance rank for a color plane is based on data in its associated image component. The data size of the at least one image component may be reduced based on the dominance rank of the color plane associated with the image component. |
| US08155432B2 |
Photographing apparatus
Photographing apparatus having a plurality of photographic optical systems, comprises: an attitude detecting device which detects an attitude of the apparatus body; a physical relationship information obtaining device which obtains information on physical relationship among the photographic optical systems setting; and a shooting direction information obtaining device which obtains information on the shooting direction of each of the photographic optical systems. The images photographed by each of the photographic optical systems may be corrected based on information on the attitude of the apparatus body, information on the physical relationship among the photographic optical systems, and information on the shooting direction of each of the photographic optical systems. Thereby it enables to easily correct tilt and the like of the images. |
| US08155428B2 |
Memory cell and page break inspection
A method of inspecting an array having memory blocks and page breaks. The array is imaged, and the image is divided into sections. Sections that include the memory blocks are selected into a candidate image. Pixels within a boundary horizontal line of pixels are inspected to determine horizontal edges of the memory blocks. Pixels within a boundary vertical line of pixels are inspected to determine vertical edges of the memory blocks. An image of a first memory block is compared to an image of a second memory block to determine differences. The differences are flagged as potential memory block defects. Images of the page breaks are compared to determine differences, and the differences are flagged as potential page break defects. |
| US08155426B2 |
Inspection of wood surface roughness
The invention relates to a method for optical inspection of the hirsuteness of a surface. The method comprises directing a light beam (B) to the surface (2) of a wooden piece (1) under study in a direction (D), which deviates from the normal to the surface. The surface is imaged with a camera (8) having an image plane (9) formed by several optoelectronic light-sensitive pixels by imaging at predetermined intervals the surface of the wooden piece moving relative to the camera, each image being in the form of electronic image data. The image data of two consecutive electronic images are subtracted from each other, yielding a set of pixel-related difference data describing the wooden surface under study, and the difference data are used for stating varitions in the surface roughness of the surface under study. |
| US08155424B2 |
Coin detecting apparatus
A coin detecting apparatus has: a light source for emitting a light beam onto either of two surfaces of a coin; a half mirror for splitting the light beam reflected on the surface of the coin into a transmitted light beam and a reflected light beam; a full area sensor for obtaining a full image of the surface of the coin in accordance with one of the transmitted light beam and the reflected light beam; and a regional area sensor for obtaining a partial image of the surface of the coin in accordance with the other one of the transmitted light beam and the reflected light beam. By doing this, it is possible to provide a coin detecting apparatus capable of improving accuracy in coin detection and shortening time therein. |
| US08155422B2 |
Dynamic optimization of the signal-to-noise ratio of dual-energy attenuation data for reconstructing images
It is described a method for dynamically optimizing the signal-to-noise ratio of attenuation data related to two different X-ray energies for reconstructing an image of an object under examination. The method comprises (a) estimating the thickness and the material composition of the object at a plurality of different projection angles, (b) for each of the various projection angles calculating for a variety of combinations of different first and second X-ray energies a corresponding common signal-to-noise ratio, (c) for each of the various projection angles choosing the first and the second X-ray energy causing the maximum corresponding common signal-to-noise ratio, and (d) for each of the various projection angles acquiring X-ray attenuation data of the object whereby the two X-ray energies are the X-ray energies causing a maximum signal-to-noise ratio assigned to the respective projection angle. |
| US08155419B2 |
MRI acquisition using sense and highly undersampled fourier space sampling
An MRI system produces a three-dimensional image by acquiring NMR signals that fully sample a central region of k-space and partially sample peripheral region of k-space. Specifically, k-space is arranged as a three-dimensional (3D) Cartesian grid of points that is divided into a central region of k-space and a peripheral region of k-space. Points are selected in k-space within a plurality of radial vanes that extend radially outward from the central region of k-space through the peripheral region of k-space as viewed in a plane sampled by two phase encoding gradients to create a plurality of gaps between the radial vanes that is substantially a factor of N times greater in area than the radial vanes. Using an MRI system having arrays of RF receiver coils, NMR signals are acquired from a subject to fully sample the central region of the 3D k-space and undersample the peripheral region of k-space by only sampling k-space within the plurality of radial vanes. An image of the subject is reconstructed using the acquired NMR signals. |
| US08155418B2 |
Automatic generation of optimal views for computed tomography thoracic diagnosis
Generating at least one view (420) of a portion of a computed tomography image includes selecting (310) a seed point (410) for a structure of interest within the image, pre-processing (320) a region of interest surrounding the seed point, estimating (325) at least one inertia axis for the region of interest, and generating (345) the at least one view from one or more of three planes that include the seed point and are orthogonal to each axis of inertia. |
| US08155417B2 |
Post-acquisition adaptive reconstruction of MRI data
An improved method for reconstruction of medical images includes the acquisition of k-space data through MRI imaging. Subsequently, subsets of the k-space data are transformed into intermediate images by performing an inverse Fourier transform on selected sets. These intermediate images are saved to a PACS or other memory storage, and can be recalled later to reconstruct an image. By selecting various intermediate images, a user can vary both the spatial and temporal resolution of the reconstructed image after acquisition, thereby providing adaptive reconstruction of images without the need to acquire new data. |
| US08155416B2 |
Methods and apparatuses for planning, performing, monitoring and assessing thermal ablation
A thermal ablation system is operable to perform thermal ablation using an x-ray system to measure temperature changes throughout a volume of interest in a patient. Image data sets captured by the x-ray system during a thermal ablation procedure provide temperature change information for the volume being subjected to the thermal ablation. Intermediate image data sets captured during the thermal ablation procedure may be fed into a system controller, which may modify or update a thermal ablation plan to achieve volume coagulation necrosis targets. The thermal ablation may be delivered by a variety of ablation modes including radiofrequency ablation, microwave therapy, high intensity focused ultrasound, laser ablation, and other interstitial heat delivery methods. Methods of performing thermal ablation using x-ray system temperature measurements as a feedback source are also provided. Methods of assessing the post-ablation status of the patient and performance of the system are also provided. |
| US08155408B2 |
Standardized normal database having anatomical phase information
A method for detecting a disease state is presented. In accordance with aspects of the present technique, a method for detecting a disease state is presented. The method includes creating a normal standardized data repository, where the normal standardized data repository includes one or more normal reference surface projections, where the normal reference surface projections include anatomical information obtained from one or more groups at different phases corresponding to one or more regions of interest in a normal organ, where each of the one or more groups includes one or more subjects having normal organs, and where the normal standardized data repository may be configured to aid in the detection of a disease state. Systems and computer-readable medium that afford functionality of the type defined by this method are also contemplated in conjunction with the present technique. |
| US08155405B2 |
System and method for lesion segmentation in whole body magnetic resonance images
A method for lesion segmentation in 3-dimensional (3D) digital images, includes selecting a 2D region of interest (ROI) from a 3D image, the ROI containing a suspected lesion, extending borders of the ROI to 3D forming a volume of interest (VOI), where voxels on the borders of the VOI are initialized as background voxels and voxels in an interior of the VOI are initialized as foreground voxels, propagating a foreground and background voxel competition where for each voxel in the VOI, having each neighbor voxel in a neighborhood of the voxel attack the voxel, and, if the attack is successful, updating a label and strength of the voxel with that of the successful attacking voxel, and evolving a surface between the foreground and background voxels in 3D until an energy functional associated with the surface converges in value, where the surface segments the suspected lesion from the image. |
| US08155404B2 |
Image display apparatus, image display method and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus
An image display apparatus which displays a form image indicative of a form about an imaging area of a subject and a quantitative value image indicative of quantitative values measured with respect to characteristics of the imaging area, said image display apparatus includes a display unit which displays the form image on a display screen thereof and a specific area setting unit which sets a specific area at the form image displayed on the display screen by the display unit. When the specific area is set at the form image by the specific area setting unit, the display unit displays the quantitative value image on the display screen side by side with the form image in such a manner that the quantitative value image indicates the quantitative values measured with respect to a position corresponding to the specific area set at the imaging area. |
| US08155401B2 |
Perfecting the effect of flash within an image acquisition devices using face detection
Within a digital acquisition device with a built in flash unit, the exposure of an acquired digital image is perfected using face detection in the acquired image is provided. Groups of pixels that correspond to plural images of faces are identified within a digitally acquired image, and corresponding image attributes to the group of pixels are determined. An analysis is performed of the corresponding attributes of the groups of pixels. It is then determined to activate the built-in flash unit based on the analysis. An intensity of the built-in flash unit is determined based on the analysis. Alternatively based on similar analysis, a digital simulation of the fill flash is performed on the image. |
| US08155391B1 |
Semi-automatic extraction of linear features from image data
Method for editing a vector set associated with an extracted linear feature in a remotely sensed image, the vector set defining a path and being tied to a geographical location. The method includes displaying the path in a graphical display. Once the user activates a smart editing tool, the user establishes a region of influence centered around a cursor. The region of influence is configured to respond to cursor movements. The user specifies a point near the path and moves the cursor to it, brining the region of influence along. Any error in the vector set of the path is automatically corrected in real time using image-based logic. The user then previews the correction on the graphical display and implements it, updating the path. The updated path is displayed in real time in the graphical display. |
| US08155385B2 |
Image-processing system and image-processing method
A vehicle-periphery-image-providing system may include an image-capturing unit, a viewpoint-change unit, an image-composition unit, an object-decttion unit, a line-width-setting unit, and a line-selection unit. The image-capturing units, such as cameras, capture images outside a vehicle periphery and generate image-data items. The viewpoint-change unit generates a bird's-eye-view image for each image-data item based on the image-data item so that end portions of the real spaces corresponding to two adjacent bird's-eye-view images overlap each other. The image-composition unit generates a bird's-eye-view-composite image by combining the bird's-eye-view images according to a predetermined layout. The object-detection unit detects an object existing in the real space corresponding to a portion where the bird's-eye-view images of the bird's-eye-composite image are joined to each other. The line-width-setting unit sets the width of the line image corresponding to the joining portion. The line-selection unit adds a line image having the set width to an overlap portion of one of the bird's-eye-view images. |
| US08155384B2 |
System and method for automatic exterior and interior inspection of vehicles
A system and method for automatic exterior and interior inspection of vehicles. The system comprises imaging means for capturing an image of the undercarriage of the vehicle as it is being driven into a secure area; imaging means for capturing an image of a luggage compartment of the vehicle as it is being driven into the secure area; database means for storing the captured images; and monitoring means operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on the captured images. |
| US08155382B2 |
Image analysis by object addition and recovery
The invention described herein is generally directed to methods for analyzing an image. In particular, crowded field images may be analyzed for unidentified, unobserved objects based on an iterative analysis of modified images including artificial objects or removed real objects. The results can provide an estimate of the completeness of analysis of the image, an estimate of the number of objects that are unobserved in the image, and an assessment of the quality of other similar images. |
| US08155379B2 |
Automatic reproduction method and apparatus
The present invention provides an automatic reproduction method for automatically sequentially reproducing multiple original images, the method comprising the steps of: determining whether or not the original image to be automatically reproduced is an image including a face image of a person; if it is determined that the original image is an image including a face image of a person, cutting out the image of a face area including the face image from the original image; and adding face reproduction in which the cut out image of the face area is displayed in an enlarged state, to automatic reproduction of the original image. |
| US08155378B2 |
Color image or video processing
The present invention relates generally to color image processing. One claim recites a method comprising: determining a plurality of color attributes associated with video or imagery; determining which samples representing the video or imagery should receive digital watermarking based on the plurality of color attributes; transforming at least some of the samples into a transform domain; and utilizing a programmed electronic processor, modifying transform domain coefficients representing the samples to hide the digital watermarking therein. Of course other claims and combinations are provided as well. |
| US08155373B2 |
Electroacoustic transducer
An electroacoustic transducer of the present invention includes a diaphragm 3 having a periphery as a fixed end, a coil 4 having an axis perpendicular to the diaphragm 3 and 6 attached centrally to the diaphragm 3, and a direct current magnetic field generator fixed in position as spaced apart from the coil 4 by a gap provided axially of the coil 4. The diaphragm 3 is driven by applying to the coil 4 a magnetic flux emitted from a surface of the direct current magnetic field generator that faces the coil 4. The direct current magnetic field generator includes a ring-shaped outer magnet 5 located coaxially with the axis of the coil 4 and magnetized in the direction perpendicular to the axis, and an inner core 6 including a ferromagnet and located in the central hole of the outer magnet 5. |
| US08155372B2 |
Wire suspension for speakers
The present invention relates generally to a compact speaker with secondary wire suspension. The secondary suspension assembly is the speaker has a suspension assembly with preferably 3 wires which provide stability to reduce wobbling while maintaining linear excursion. |
| US08155368B2 |
Shoulder/neck supporting electronic application
A shoulder/neck supporting electronic appliance includes a wireless head set wherein the head set includes a supporting unit adapted for wearing on a user's collar from behind, a wireless audio device comprising a wireless transceiver supported by the supporting unit for receiving an audio signal, and a power source electrically coupled with the wireless transceiver; and a headphone member provided at the supporting unit in vicinity of the user's ear, such that an overall weight of the wireless head set is adapted for being supported and distributed on the collar of the user to minimize stress on the user's head when the user's wears the wireless head set. |
| US08155366B2 |
Transducer package with interior support frame
A surface mountable package for use with an audio transducer is provided. In addition to the audio transducer, the surface mountable package includes a substrate, a cover, and a transducer support frame mounted within, and attached to, the substrate and cover. The support frame includes one or more cavities that, in combination with the audio transducer, substrate and cover, define the front and rear acoustic cavity volumes. |
| US08155364B2 |
Electronic device with microphone array capable of suppressing noise
An electronic device includes a first acoustic opening, a first microphone, a second acoustic opening, a second microphone, two flexible boots, and two chambers. The first microphone receives sound through the first acoustic opening. The second microphone receives the sound through the second acoustic opening. The first and second acoustic openings are spaced at least about 8 cm. The first microphone and the second microphone are identical and disposed in the flexible boots. The flexible boots are identical and disposed in the chambers. The chambers are identical. |
| US08155359B2 |
Hearing system with remote control as a base station and corresponding communication method
Hearing-aid wearers should be able to converse unimpeded even in noisy environments. Provided for this is a hearing system with a first hearing device, a second hearing device and a remote control for the operation of the first and/or second hearing device. The remote control is embodied as a base station to which the first and second hearing device is able to log on to establish a spontaneous communication network. This facilitates a wireless communication using a remote control as a relay station and without the influence of background noise. |
| US08155343B2 |
Engine sound processing system
Microphones are provided at an air inlet of the engine and a vehicle-cabin-side wall surface of an engine room, and engine sounds are picked up. The engine sound is processed by a signal processing section, and the processed engine sound is output from a speaker provided in a vehicle cabin. The signal processing section is provided with a filter which simulates a sound insulation characteristic of the vehicle cabin and a transformation section for processing the engine sound according to driving condition. A spectrum transformation characteristic of the transformation section is determined according to values detected by a vehicle speed sensor, an engine speed sensor, and an accelerator depression sensor, and a spectrum of the engine sound is transformed by means of specification of the spectrum transformation characteristic, thereby enhancing an engine sound. |
| US08155341B2 |
Vehicular audio apparatus, and tone generating method and program therefor
In accordance with a traveling state of a vehicle, a tone indicating, for example, that the vehicle is traveling is generated as a tone of a first performance part. Also, a variation in any of various states of the vehicle, such as an operating condition of a winker or flasher, is detected, and a tone corresponding to the detected state is generated as a tone of a second performance part. For example, ensemble data including the first and second performance parts may be employed. |
| US08155338B2 |
Earplug for insertion into an auditory duct
An earplug is described for insertion in an auditory duct. The earplug includes a loudspeaker for connection to a playback device. When inserted in a user's ear, the loudspeaker is in acoustic communication with the ear's canal. A transmitter is provided that transmits ambient sound to the ear canal with an adjustable damping level. A regulating unit regulates a damping level depending on detection of control signals to the loudspeaker. When the user does not listen to, for instance, music of the playback device, the user can simply observe ambient sounds without removing the earplug from the ear. |
| US08155334B2 |
Feedforward-based ANR talk-through
An ANR circuit, possibly of a personal ANR device, reduces the degree of feedforward-based ANR that it provides in response to receiving an indication of the operation of a manually-operable control. The reduction of degree of feedforward-based ANR may be effected by turning off or otherwise deactivating the provision of feedforward-based ANR, reducing a range of frequencies of environmental noise sounds attenuated by the feedforward-based ANR to provide less attenuation of sounds detected by a feedforward microphone that are in a range of frequencies deemed to be those of human speech, and/or creating a notch in the range of frequencies of environmental noise sounds attenuated by the feedforward-based ANR to provide less attenuation of sounds detected by the feedforward microphone that are in a range of frequencies deemed to be those of human speech. |
| US08155329B1 |
Method for monitoring outside sound through a closed window and device therefor
A device for monitoring outside sound through a closed window includes a housing positioned inside the window. The housing contains a filter, a squelch circuit, an amplifier, and a speaker. A microphone is positioned outside the window and connected to the housing. The housing includes a volume control, a sensitivity control, and a mode control for bypassing the squelch circuit. |
| US08155328B2 |
Sound reproducing apparatus
An sound reproducing apparatus is configured such that a correction amount is calculated on the basis of a masking model, determiner for determining a correction parameter correcting input signal so as to be natural for human ears to hear on the basis of the calculated correction amount is provided, and a characteristic of correction filter is changed on the basis of a result of determiner when inputting vehicle speed information. |
| US08155327B2 |
Tone detector and method used in a robot for detecting a tone
A tone detection device for detecting whether an input signal having a tone. The device includes a volume gain calculation unit performing a volume gain treatment on frame data and outputting the volume-gain-treated frame data and energy in time domain thereof, a threshold calculation unit calculating a threshold value on the basis of the energy of the volume-gain-treated frame data, a filter transforming the volume-gain-treated frame data by an algorithm and outputting a characteristic value in a first period, and a comparator comparing the first characteristic value and the threshold value to generate a result and determining the frame data of the input signal has the tone on the basis of the result. |
| US08155325B2 |
Sound quality display apparatus, sound quality display method, computer readable medium on which sound quality display program is recorded and sound camera
Disclosed are a sound quality display apparatus, a sound quality display method, a computer readable medium on which a sound quality display program is recorded, and a sound camera. The apparatus includes a sound detector detecting sound generated from a sound source, a background photographing unit photographing background where the sound source is positioned, a sound source signal generator creating a sound source signal as a sound signal at a sound source plane where the sound source is positioned by analyzing the sound signal detected by the sound detector, a sound quality data generator creating sound quality data at the sound source plane by processing of the sound source signal, and a display displaying sound quality image data created by overlaying image data of the background photographed by the background photographing unit with the sound quality data. |
| US08155322B2 |
Systems and methods for distributing and securing data
A robust computational secret sharing scheme that provides for the efficient distribution and subsequent recovery of a private data is disclosed. A cryptographic key may be randomly generated and then shared using a secret sharing algorithm to generate a collection of key shares. The private data may be encrypted using the key, resulting in a ciphertext. The ciphertext may then be broken into ciphertext fragments using an Information Dispersal Algorithm. Each key share and a corresponding ciphertext fragment are provided as input to a committal method of a probabilistic commitment scheme, resulting in a committal value and a decommittal value. The share for the robust computational secret sharing scheme may be obtained by combining the key share, the ciphertext fragment, the decommittal value, and the vector of committal values. |
| US08155318B2 |
Quantum cryptography communication system
In a system carrying out cryptography communication using a quantum, it is aimed to correctly verify a quantum state received at the commit phase according to the quantum bit string commitment system, even if not maintaining the quantum state until the open phase but immediately observing the quantum state. According to the present invention, the quantum cryptography communication system includes a sending device 1 and a receiving device 2 connected by a quantum communication channel 11 and a classical communication channel 12. A carrier sending unit 14 of the sending device 1 sends a quantum to the quantum communication channel 11, a carrier receiving unit 17 of the receiving device 2 receives the quantum and observes its quantum state. A receiving device controlling unit 16 computes using the observation result and data sent from a data sending unit 15 of the sending device 1 to a data receiving unit 18 of the receiving device 2 through the classical communication channel 12, and outputs the result of cryptography communication derived from the computation. |
| US08155317B2 |
Encryption processing circuit and encryption processing method
An encryption processing circuit includes: a decoder configured to convert a binary input data used for predetermined encryption computing into a first plurality of bit data of a constant hamming weight independently of a hamming weight of the input data; a wiring network configured to receive the first plurality of bit data converted by the decoder, the wiring network further configured, for the purpose of the predetermined encryption computing, to change a bit pattern of the received first plurality of bit data by replacing bit positions of the first plurality of bit data, and to generate a second plurality of bit data; and an encoder configured to convert the second plurality of bit data generated in the wiring network into a binary output data. |
| US08155316B1 |
Contract based memory management for isochronous streams
A method of displaying an image includes generating a contract in the display engine, transferring the contract to the memory controller before the end of a sweep, generating a contract amendment in response to changes in the display engine, transferring the contract amendment to the memory controller, making a decision whether the contract amendment can be processed, fetching data from the memory controller according to the contract incorporating the contract amendment if the decision is that the contract amendment can be processed, sending the fetched data to the display engine in an isochronous stream; and processing the fetched data using the display engine. |
| US08155313B2 |
Systems and methods for employing duo codes for product authentication
Systems and methods are provided that employ two or more cryptographically linked codes. The codes, when encrypted, become cipher texts that appear unrelated. The codes described herein are characterized by a series of bits including one or more switch bits. The cipher text of a code having a switch bit in one state will appear to be unrelated to the cipher text of another code differing only in that the switch bit is in the opposite state. The cryptographically linked codes can be used in various combinations, such as on a product and its packaging, on a product and a component of the product, on a certificate packaged with the product and on the packaging, or on outer and inner packagings of the product. |
| US08155310B2 |
Key derivation functions to enhance security
Key derivation algorithms are disclosed. In one key derivation application, a segment of the master key is hashed. Two numbers of derived from another segment of the master key. A universal hash function, using the two numbers, is applied to the result of the hash, from which bits are selected as the derived key. In another embodiment, an encoded counter is combined with segments of the master key. The result is then hashed, from which bits are selected as the derived key. |
| US08155303B2 |
System and method for cancelling echo
A system and a method for canceling an echo is disclosed. In accordance with the system and the method, a plurality of independently and variably delayed adaptive algorithm blocks are selectively applied to a delayed feedback signal to generate a plurality of echo components in parallel, thereby canceling the echo component from an input signal. |
| US08155298B2 |
Tandem access controller within the public switched telephone network
In one embodiment, the system includes a processor, referred to herein as a tandem access controller (TAC), coupled to the PSTN, where the TAC allows a subscriber to set-up and make changes to the configuration of his or her phone line or other communications device. Such changes include selective call forwarding. In one embodiment, the TAC is controlled by the subscriber using the web. The TAC is coupled internally to the PSTN in a local service area and is outside the central office of the subscriber. A calling party makes a first call to the subscriber using the subscriber's public telephone number. The TAC receives the first call prior to the call reaching the subscriber's terminating central office, which in some cases avoids a toll. The TAC then carries out the subscriber's instructions for the first call, such as making one or more second calls using telephone numbers different from the subscriber's public telephone number. When the second call is answered, the answering phone is connected by the TAC to the caller. |
| US08155297B1 |
System and method for providing call-back options
A system and method for providing call-back options is disclosed. The method comprises receiving a call in a call routing system, providing at least one call-back option for a caller to receive a call-back, re-allocating resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the at least one call-back option, and calling the caller based on the at least one call-back option. The caller may specify a specific time, a relative time, or a time range when a call-back is preferred. The caller may also specify one or more telephone numbers in combination with the time preferences. The call-back may be initiated by a voice response unit (VRU) and additional call-back options may be presented to the customer who responds to the call-back. |
| US08155291B2 |
Payment system for paying peering partners in a peering arrangement
Peering partners register with a peering grid for direct broadband routing of call offers. The peering grid terminates call offers on behalf of peering partners, collecting call detail records, summarizing termination usage, and calculating a payment to be provided to the peering partner in return for using the services of the peering grid. |
| US08155289B2 |
Remote control system for electric device
A remote control system for at least one electric device, each electric device having device identification data, has a handset comprising a handset transceiver, and a base unit having a telephone function to make a call. The base unit has a base unit transceiver that communicates with the handset wireless transceiver bidirectionally, and a primary remote-controller that communicates the electric device bidirectionally to control the electric device. The primary remote-controller has a remote-control transmitter and a remote-control receiver. The remote-control transmitter transmits control data to the electric device by using the device identification data, the control data being used for controlling the electric device. The remote-control receiver receives response data from the electric device in response to the control data. |
| US08155283B2 |
System, method, and apparatus for facilitating wideband audio over a coil-assisted digital subscriber line loop
An embodiment of a system, method, and apparatus for facilitating wideband audio communication and digital subscriber line data communication includes a filter configured to be coupled to a line conditioning coil. The line conditioning coil includes a frequency response having a first passband extending over a portion of a narrowband voice frequency range, a second passband extending over a portion of a digital subscriber line frequency range. The line conditioning coil further includes a frequency notch having a frequency range between the first passband and the second passband. The frequency notch attenuates signals over a portion of a wideband audio frequency range. The filter has a cut-off frequency below the frequency notch and a passband extending over at least a portion of the frequency notch. The filter is configured to amplify signals within the frequency range of the frequency notch to compensate for the attenuation caused by the frequency notch. |
| US08155278B2 |
Communication method and apparatus for phone having voice recognition function
A method and apparatus for communicating through a phone having a voice recognition function are provided. The method of performing communication using a phone having a voice recognition function includes converting to an incoming call notification and voice recognition mode when a phone call is received; converting to a communication connection and speakerphone mode when voice information related to a communication connection instruction is recognized; performing communication using a speakerphone; and ending communication when voice information related to a communication end instruction is recognized during communication using the speakerphone. Therefore, when a phone call is received, a mode of a phone is converted to a speakerphone mode with a voice instruction using a voice recognition function, and thus communication can be performed without using a hand. |
| US08155273B2 |
Flat panel X-ray source
A radiation source which can emit X-ray flux using electron beam currents from a cathode array formed on the window through which the radiation will exit the source. The source can be made in formats which are compact or flat compared with prior art radiation sources. X-ray flux produced by the source can be used for such purposes as radiation imaging, sterilization, decontamination of biohazards or photolithography. |
| US08155271B2 |
Potential control for high-voltage devices
The present embodiments related to a device having a device element to which a high voltage can be applied. The device is provided with at least one additional conducting element which is disposed, embodied and connected in such a way that the element is assigned a defined potential value and a change to the electric field generated by the high voltage in the sense of a more favorable field distribution is effected by means of position, shape and potential value. According to the invention, maximum loads on switching elements are avoided and undesirable phenomena such as voltage breakdowns or flow voltages are counteracted as a result of the more favorable field distribution. |
| US08155269B2 |
X-ray imaging apparatus
An X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray generation unit configured to irradiate an object with X-rays in a rectangular shape, and an imaging unit which has a rectangular imaging plane and is configured to receive the X-rays transmitted through the object as an X-ray image, wherein the imaging unit is arranged on a plane which is spaced a predetermined distance apart from the X-ray generation unit and perpendicular to an X-ray reference axis such that a center of an irradiation field and a center of the imaging plane match with each other and rotational angles of the irradiation field and the imaging plane around the X-ray reference axis match with each other, by matching at least three visible light beams which have directionality and are irradiated from the X-ray generation unit, with distance indexes provided in the imaging unit. |
| US08155268B2 |
Rapid screening for lead concentration compliance by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis
A method is provided for screening lead concentration compliance of objects, particularly consumer products such as toys, using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. The measured intensity ratio of the characteristic Lα and Lβ x-rays of lead provides an indication of whether the lead is located primarily in a coating (e.g., paint) layer on the object, or in a thin or thick bulk material. If the intensity ratio indicates that the lead is located in a coating layer or distributed in a thin bulk material, an areal density of lead is determined from at least one of the characteristic x-ray intensities, and the measured areal density is compared to specified lower and upper limits to determine whether the object is unambiguously compliant, unambiguously non-compliant, or indeterminate. |
| US08155267B2 |
Device for the X-ray analysis of a specimen, comprising an energy/angle-filtering diffraction analyser system
A device for X-ray analysis of a sample (1), including: a generation system for the generation of an X-ray beam to irradiate an analysis zone of the sample, said analysis zone defining a analysis mean plane, and the X-ray beam being emitted along a direction of incidence; a detection system for the detection, in at least one dimension, of X-rays diffracted by the irradiated analysis zone. An analyser system located between the sample and the detection system and includes an X-ray diffracting surface forming a partial surface of revolution about an axis of revolution being contained in the analysis mean plane, with the axis of revolution being distinct from the direction of incidence and passing through the centre of the analysis zone, and with the diffracting surface being oriented so as to diffract the X-rays toward the detection system. |
| US08155265B2 |
Asymmetric de-populated detector for computed tomography and method of making same
A computed tomography (CT) detector array includes a central region substantially symmetric about a central axis thereof and includes a first plurality of x-ray detector cells configured to acquire CT data from a first number of detector rows during a scan, wherein the central axis is in a channel direction of the CT detector array and transverse to a slice direction of the CT detector array. A first wing is coupled to a first side of the central region, and a second wing is coupled to a second side of the central region opposite the first side. The first and second wings include respective second and third pluralities of x-ray detector cells and are each configured to acquire CT data from a number of detector rows that is less than the first number of detector rows. The CT detector array is asymmetric about the central axis of the central region. |
| US08155260B2 |
Nuclear fuel rod for fast reactors with oxide coating layer on inner surface of cladding, and manufacturing method thereof
Disclosed herein are a nuclear fuel rod for fast reactors, which includes an oxide coating layer formed on the inner surface of a cladding, and a manufacturing method thereof. The nuclear fuel rod for fast reactors, which includes the oxide coating layer formed on the inner surface of the cladding, can increase the maximum permissible burnup and maximum permissible temperature of the metallic fuel slug for fast reactors so as to prolong the its lifecycle in the fast reactors, thus increasing economic efficiency. Also, the fuel rod is manufactured in a simpler manner compared to the existing method, in which a metal liner is formed, and the disclosed method enables the cladding of the fuel rod to be manufactured in an easy and cost-effective way. |
| US08155257B2 |
Synchronizing circuit and controlling method thereof
Disclosed herein is synchronizing circuit including: a numerically controlled oscillating section; a phase rotating section; a phase error estimating section; a loop filter; and a gain controlling section; wherein the gain controlling section controls the gain so as to suppress an effect of a phase error in an immediate main signal section in a known start section from a start of the known section to a predetermined symbol. |
| US08155256B2 |
Method and apparatus for asynchronous clock retiming
A time to digital converter is used to determine which edge of the higher frequency clock (oversampling clock) is farther away from the edge of the lower frequency timing signal. At the same time, the oversampling clock performs sampling of the timing signal by two registers: one on the rising edge and the other on the falling edge. Then, the register of “better quality” retiming, as determined by the fractional phase detector decision, is selected to provide the retimed output. |
| US08155247B2 |
Message decoding with a priori information and soft combining
A method and arrangement for improving channel decoding performance in a radio receiver. Data bits from previously decoded messages are analyzed to provide a priori information to a channel decoder which is decoding a currently received message of the same type. The invention may analyze both the header and data fields of the previously decoded message frames to detect fields that are unchanging or rarely changing from one frame to the next. Probabilistic knowledge (a) of the bits in these unchanging or rarely changing fields is then used to improve the decoding performance for the current message. If a message cannot be successfully decoded, soft values of the bits are stored and then soft-combined with selected bits in the next message received prior to decoding. The invention is applicable to any type of message that has data components that are repeated with varying degrees of probability in successive transmissions. |
| US08155245B2 |
Modulation scheme estimation apparatus and method
A modulation scheme estimation apparatus includes a receiving unit receiving a first signal, a generation unit generating a plurality of first phase amounts, an acquisition unit acquiring a plurality of multiplication signals by multiplying the first signal by each of the first phase amounts, an extraction unit extracting a plurality of second signals corresponding to respective direct-current components of third signals obtained by subjecting the multiplication signals to Fourier transform, a first computation unit computing a plurality of sums, each of which is a sum of each of the multiplication signals and a corresponding one of the second signals, a second computation unit computing a plurality of absolute values of the sums, and a first identifying unit identifying a modulation scheme corresponding to one of the absolute values which has a highest similarity with respect to reference values associated with modulation schemes. |
| US08155244B2 |
Demodulation using blind constellation identification for communication signals
A receiver and a method to demodulate an unknown signal with an unknown linear modulation is described. The method of one of various embodiments comprises: sampling the unknown signal at a sampling rate to produce a sampled signal; applying carrier frequency offset estimation to the sampled signal to match the frequency of the sampled signal to that of the unknown signal and to change constellation rotation of the sampled signal; utilizing symbol period estimation to match the sampling rate of the sampled signal to a sampling rate of the unknown signal; applying blind equalization to the sampled signal to provide an equalized unknown signal; and demodulating the equalized unknown signal by utilizing a multistep windowed histogram clustering algorithm to generate constellation clusters; applying a rotation rate estimation algorithm to the clusters to estimate a phase rotation rate; and utilizing the phase rotation rate estimate to de-rotate the clusters. |
| US08155241B2 |
System for processing common gain values
A method includes receiving data elements representative of constellation points of a modulated signal. Each data element includes a gain. The method also includes identifying a common gain value among the received data elements, and adjusting the data elements to include the common gain value. |
| US08155239B2 |
UWB system employing gaussian minimum shift key modulation, common mode signaling, and beamforming
A multi-mode transmission system supporting OFDM and single-carrier signals is configured to perform interpolation and decimation such that the ratio of the interpolation factor to the decimation factor equals the ratio between the OFDM sampling rate and the single-carrier chip rate. A constant-envelope modulator comprises a π/4 fixed rotator, a π/2 continuous rotator, and in-phase and quadrature-phase analog Bessel filters. Frame formats and signaling protocols are provided for signal acquisition, synchronization, and tracking between wireless devices that employ different antenna configurations. Spreading gains are selected to compensate for different antenna gains such that the total gain (antenna gain plus spreading gain) is substantially equal for transmissions employing different beam patterns. |
| US08155232B2 |
Multiple antennas transmit diversity scheme
A method from transmitting data via multiple antennas. The method contemplates modulating data to be transmitted into a plurality of modulated symbols, encoding each pair of modulated symbols from among said plurality of symbols in accordance with a transmission diversity scheme to result in a plurality of 2 by 2 matrices, with each 2 by 2 matrix corresponding to each pair of modulated symbols, orthogonally spreading the plurality of 2 by 2 matrices to generate an output matrix, and transmitting the symbols in the output matrix via a plurality of antennas by using either a space time transmission diversity scheme, a space frequency transmission diversity scheme, or a combination of a space time transmission diversity scheme and a space frequency transmission diversity scheme. |
| US08155231B2 |
Apparatus and method for selecting antenna in an orthogonalized spatial multiplexing system
A method for selecting an antenna in an orthogonalized spatial multiplexing system. Upon receipt of at least one symbol from a transmitter via multiple receive antennas, a receiver decodes each of the received symbols; determines a rotation angle between the received symbols, and selects an optimal subset of transmit antennas using a distance between vectors of the decoded symbols; generates feedback information including the determined rotation angle and the selected optimal subset, and transmits the generated feedback information to the transmitter. Upon receipt of the feedback information, the transmitter beam-forms an antenna corresponding to the optimal subset depending on the received feedback information, and transmits a data symbol to the receiver. The receiver detects each of data symbols received from the transmitter. |
| US08155224B2 |
Transmission method, transmission apparatus, and reception apparatus
A transmission method for transmitting modulation signals of a plurality of channels to the same frequency band from a plurality of antennas. At the time when a symbol used for demodulation is inserted in a channel, in another channel symbol, the same phase and quadrature signals in the in-phase-quadrature plane are made to be zero signals. Thus, a plurality of modulation signals are multiplexed and transmitted and the transmitted multiplexed modulation signals are demultiplexed and demodulated at a reception apparatus, thereby improving the data transmission rate. |
| US08155223B2 |
Receiving device, receiving method, and program
A receiving device includes a pilot signal extractor, an estimator, an interpolator, a distortion corrector, a calculator, and a determiner. |
| US08155219B2 |
Apparatus and method for peak suppression in wireless communication systems
A method for suppressing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) while limiting deterioration in signal characteristics in wireless communication devices utilizing wireless communication methods (OFDM method, MIMO method) for multiplexing and sending multiple signals. A weight calculator unit sets a large weight for transmit signals whose channel quality is poor, relative to the weight of each base component based on the acquired channel quality. A peak detector unit detects the peak from the signal string after unitary conversion, and extracts a distortion component to apply for suppressing the peak. A peak suppression signal generation unit calculates the peak signal from the distortion component and weight of each base component, to add to each base component, and adds the peak suppression signal to each base component prior to unitary transformation. |
| US08155214B2 |
Asymmetric decision feedback equalization slicing in high speed transceivers
An asymmetric DFE receiver circuit is disclosed. The receiver circuit includes a voltage measuring unit configured to determine a signal voltage of a received signal, and a comparator unit configured to calculate a difference between the signal voltage and an evaluation threshold voltage and to compare the difference to the value of a midpoint voltage. The comparator unit is configured to generate a first control signal if the difference is greater than the midpoint voltage value or a second control signal if the signal voltage is less than the midpoint voltage value. The receiver includes an adjustment circuit configured to adjust the evaluation threshold voltage toward the signal voltage if the first control signal is generated and away from the signal voltage if the second control signal is generated. The rates of adjustment may vary depending upon whether the received signal is a transition bit or a non-transition bit. |
| US08155207B2 |
Processing and managing pictures at the concatenation of two video streams
Systems and methods that receives a video stream in a transport stream, the first video stream comprising a plurality of compressed pictures, and that receives information in the video stream, wherein the information includes plural data fields, the received information comprising: a first data field corresponding to a location in the video stream of a potential splice point in the video stream, wherein the value of the first data field identifies a location in the video stream after the location of the received information in the video stream; a second data field corresponding to decompressed pictures yet to be output (DPYTBO) by a video decoder at the identified potential splice point (IPSP) when the video decoder decompresses the video stream, wherein the value of the second data field is a number corresponding to the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the IPSP; and a third data field corresponding to pictures with contiguous output times (WCOT), wherein the value of the third field corresponds to a set of pictures WCOT of the DPYTBO by the video decoder at the IPSP. |
| US08155205B2 |
Dynamic decoder switch
A method provides for dynamic changes in a software video player. The method includes learning of a dynamic change from an input pin of a decoder filter, recording states of the decoder filter and a renderer filter, stopping the decoder and the renderer filters without changing a state of a source filter, and setting parameters for an output pin of the decoder filter. The parameters include setting a decoding mode. If the decoder filter output pin and a renderer filter input pin remain connected, a ReconnectEX function is used to set a new media type at the decoder filter output pin. Otherwise the method calls a Connect function to connect the pins and set the new media type. The method further includes changing to a decoder core in the decoder filter appropriate for the dynamic change and restoring the decoder and the renderer filters back to their original states. |
| US08155201B2 |
Motion vector coding and decoding methods
A motion vector coding method and apparatus that improves efficiency of coding motion vectors when a current block is coded using a plurality of motion vectors. The apparatus includes a motion vector coding unit that codes a motion vector inputted from a motion vector detecting unit. A motion vector for each current block is coded based on a difference between the motion vector and a predicted vector obtained from motion vectors for previously coded neighboring blocks. The predicted vector is generated by one of the following processes: (A) the motion vectors which refer to the same picture are selected from among the motion vectors for the neighboring blocks so as to generate the predicted vector; (B) the motion vectors for the respective neighboring blocks are ordered in the predetermined order, and the motion vectors of the same order rank are selected from the ordered motion vectors so as to generate the predicted vector; and (C) the predicted vector for the second motion vector of the current block shall be the first motion vector, and if the second motion vector and the first motion vector refer to different pictures, the first motion vector is scaled according to the temporal distance between the pictures so as to generate the predicted vector. |
| US08155199B2 |
Video coding method and apparatus for calculating motion vectors of the vertices of a patch of an image and transmitting information of horizontal and vertical components of the motion vectors
A method and apparatus for coding an image includes calculation of motion vectors of vertices of a patch in an image being encoded and transmitting information of horizontal and vertical components of the motion vectors of the vertices and information specifying that values of the horizontal and vertical components of a motion vector for each pixel in the patch are integral multiples of 1/d of a distance between adjacent pixels, where d is an integer not less than 2. |
| US08155198B2 |
Interpolated frame generating method and interpolated frame generating apparatus
According to one embodiment, interpolated frame generating method of generating a new interpolated frame inserted between sequential frames, by using a plurality of input frame images, comprises first detecting of detecting at least one potential motion vector by block matching between the input frame images, using a first block of a fixed size, second detecting of detecting a motion vector by block matching between the input frame images, using a second block having a size variable within a range larger than that of the first block, and generating the interpolated frame by using the potential motion vector. The generating is generating the interpolated frame by using a potential motion vector closest to the motion vector detected by the second detecting among the potential motion vectors when a plurality of motion vectors are detected by the first detecting. |
| US08155197B2 |
Interframe prediction processor with mechanism for providing locations of reference motion vectors used in macroblock adaptive field/frame mode
An interframe prediction processor designed for high-speed video coding and decoding. The interframe prediction processor has an address selector and a predictor calculator. The address selector receives information about MBAFF type and coding type. When performing motion compensation for a given MBAFF picture with reference to blocks surrounding a current block, the address selector provides memory addresses of reference motion vectors according to the coding type of the current block pair, as well as to the coding type of the reference blocks. The predictor calculator that determines a motion vector predictor for each constituent block of the current block pair based on reference motion vectors read out of the provided memory addresses. |
| US08155195B2 |
Switching distortion metrics during motion estimation
Techniques and tools for switching distortion metrics during motion estimation are described. For example, a video encoder determines a distortion metric selection criterion for motion estimation. The criterion can be based on initial results of the motion estimation. To evaluate the criterion, the encoder can compare the criterion to a threshold that depends on a current quantization parameter. The encoder selects between multiple available distortion metrics, which can include a sample-domain distortion metric (e.g., SAD) and a transform-domain distortion metric (e.g., SAHD). The encoder uses the selected distortion metric in the motion estimation. Selectively switching between SAD and SAHD provides rate-distortion performance superior to using only SAD or only SAHD. Moreover, due to the lower complexity of SAD, the computational complexity of motion estimation with SAD-SAHD switching is typically less than motion estimation that always uses SAHD. |
| US08155193B2 |
Moving picture encoding apparatus, moving picture decoding apparatus, moving picture encoding method, moving picture decoding method, moving picture encoding program, and moving picture decoding program
An object of the present invention is to increase efficiency of information compression in coding and decoding. A moving picture encoding apparatus 10 of the present invention has a motion vector predicting part for performing, based on a temporal relation among adjacent reference frame images 703a, 703b, 703c referred to for detecting motion vectors of adjacent blocks adjacent to a coding target block, a target reference frame image 702 referred to for detecting a motion vector of the target block, and a target frame image 701 being the frame image of the coding target, or based on time information thereof, a correction of scaling the motion vectors 751a, 751b, 751c of the adjacent blocks on the basis of the target reference frame image 702; and a determination of an optimum predicted motion vector based on the motion vectors of the adjacent blocks, and thereby predicting the optimum predicted motion vector after the correction. |
| US08155192B2 |
Scalable encoding and decoding of interlaced digital video data
Fully scalable encoder and decoder for interlaced video. A method for encoding an interlaced sequence of digital video data decomposes the interlaced video sequence into first and second fields, performs digital filtering to get lower frequency and higher frequency component signals of the first fields, and uses spatio-temporal filtering and motion estimation for generating base layer signals being suitable for reconstruction of a progressive mode video sequence in a receiver. Advantageously, both the spatio-temporal filter at the encoder, and the inverse process at the receiver, can perform scaling in spatial and temporal dimension. The second fields are used to generate enhancement signals, which enable a receiver to reproduce an interlaced video sequence of the full, or scaled, spatial and/or temporal resolution. |
| US08155184B2 |
Video coding system using texture analysis and synthesis in a scalable coding framework
An apparatus or method of efficiently coding high resolution video using texture analysis and synthesis techniques in a scalable video coding framework. A high-resolution video signal is spatially downsampled and encoded into a base-layer. Texture and structure information are extracted from the downsampled signal and base-layer for use by a texture synthesizer. The texture synthesizer is structurally and texturally aware utilizing edge information from a base-layer of the synthesizer to improve synthesis. After synthesis, a video quality assessor directs enhancement-layer coding of unacceptably synthesized areas by alternate (non-textural) coding means, such as conventional AVC or MPEG-2 coding. In one mode, the quality assessor iteratively improves synthesis of certain blocks to make them acceptable for enhancement-layer coding. The apparatus or method outputs a bit stream, or bit streams, containing both the coded base-layer and the enhancement-layer. |
| US08155180B2 |
Adaptive equalization methods and apparatus
A system includes a programmable transmitter device (e.g., a PLD) connected to a programmable receiver device (e.g., another PLD) via a transmission medium for transmitting a high-speed data signal from the transmitter to the receiver. During a test mode of operation a low-speed communication link between the transmitter and receiver allows those devices to work together to transmit test signals having known characteristics from the transmitter to the receiver via the transmission medium, to analyze the test signals as received by the receiver, and to adjust at least some aspect of the system (e.g., equalizer circuitry in the receiver) to at least partly compensate for losses in the test signals as received by the receiver. |
| US08155179B2 |
Adaptive cable equalizer
An adaptive cable equalizer includes a data signal input unit, a clock signal input unit, a variable equalizer that inputs a data signal input from the data signal input unit, and a transition time measuring portion that measures a transition time of a data signal output from the variable equalizer, with an equalizer control loop being configured that controls characteristics of the variable equalizer based on the output signal of the transition time measuring portion. The adaptive cable equalizer further includes a control circuit that controls response characteristics of the control loop according to the frequency of a clock signal input from the clock signal input unit. This enables a quick response at fast transfer rates by making the relationship between the response time of the control loop and the number of data bits substantially constant even when the transfer rate changes from a slow transfer rate to a fast transfer rate. |
| US08155175B2 |
Method for measuring multiple parameters of a signal transmitted by a signal generator
A method is disclosed for measuring one or more parameters of a signal generated by a signal generator. The method employs capturing and analyzing a train of data packets or other forms of signals from a single transmission to obtain measured values for the one or more parameters. The obtained measured values may be used in valuing a calibration of a signal generator or in verifying the already calibrated values of the signal generator. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the train of data packets contains packets having different properties. |
| US08155174B2 |
Hardware and method to test phase linearity of phase synthesizer
A circuit to test phase linearity of a phase synthesizer, which synthesizes an output clock having a phase corresponding to a digital phase value input to the phase synthesizer. A digital counter provides the digital phase value to the phase synthesizer. The digital counter receives a counter clock synchronized with an input clock. The digital phase value is stepped by the digital counter, thereby shifting the frequency of the output clock. The output clock is analyzed with respect to phase linearity of the phase synthesizer to produce a phase linearity analysis output. |
| US08155170B2 |
Method and apparatus for achieving channel variability in spread spectrum communication systems
A method and apparatus are disclosed for modulating a communication signal in a code division multiple access (CDMA) environment using orthogonal N by N Hadamard spread spectrum codes Orthogonal spreading codes are used that have lengths that are not a power-of 2 to provide additional channel variability for various multimedia applications and increase the flexibility of the number of channels/bandwidth relationship. The Hadamard codes are multiples of 4 (4n) and demonstrate a good cross-correlation property, making them very useful in the flexible design of code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. A transmitter encodes each of N data streams (N not being a power of 2), to be transmitted using a 4n codeword, Ni. The received signal is passed through a filter matched to the characteristics of the appropriate codeword, Ni, and PN spreading sequence. |
| US08155167B2 |
Low complexity frequency hopping solution for performance testing system and method
A system and method for low complexity frequency hopping simulation for communication device performance testing is disclosed. A baseband and channel model combination in a baseband processing module (602) of a testing system (600) reduces the required number of computations while retaining accuracy. A simulated channel is generated (612) with a bandwidth required for frequency hopping, and the hopping is simulated by shifting (614) the channel (612) instead of the signal (606). Signal attenuation by the shifted channel (615) is modeled in the baseband processing module (602), and the resulting simulated signal (610) is then up-sampled (628) to the proper frequency for output to the test device (634). |
| US08155162B2 |
Nitride semiconductor laser device and method of manufacturing the same
A nitride semiconductor laser device is formed by growing a group III nitride semiconductor multilayer structure on a substrate. The group III nitride semiconductor multilayer structure has a laser resonator including an n-type semiconductor layer, a p-type semiconductor layer and a light emitting layer held between the n-type semiconductor layer and the p-type semiconductor layer. The laser resonator is arranged to be offset from the center with respect to a device width direction orthogonal to a resonator direction toward one side edge of the device. A wire bonding region having a width of not less than twice the diameter of an electrode wire to be bonded to the device is formed between the laser resonator and the other side edge of the device. |
| US08155155B1 |
Computer readable medium with embedded instructions for providing communication services between a broadband network and an enterprise wireless communication platform within a residential or business environment
The present invention sets forth computer-readable non-transitory medium having computer-executable instructions for providing network-centric service distribution method that integrates a wireless access system/service with conventional telecommunications services in the residence, SOHO, business or public environment through the use of a local broadband network, such as a Residential-Business Broadband Network (RBN). The RBN communicates with the service provider's broadband transport network and broadband packet network to facilitate end-to-end packet telecommunication services. Signals from a plurality of wireless devices are accepted and forwarded to an IEEE 802.11b interface for a wireless modem and/or to an Ethernet interface for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP)/Ethernet Processor, where the forwarded signals comprise intranet telephony and data. |
| US08155144B2 |
Apparatus and method of encoding and decoding audio signal
In one embodiment, the method includes receiving audio frame data having at least first and second channel data. The first and second channel data includes a plurality of blocks, where the blocks are classified by a block type. The first and second channel data is provided jointly if the first and second channel data are paired with each other. Block information indicating the block type is obtained. The block information corresponds to the first and second channel data being common when the first and second channel data are paired. The first and second channel data are lossless decoded based on the block information. |
| US08155135B2 |
Network interface device with flow-oriented bus interface
A network interface device includes a bus interface that communicates over a bus with a host processor and memory, and a network interface that sends and receive data packets carrying data over a packet network. A protocol processor conveys the data between the network interface and the memory via the bus interface while performing protocol offload processing on the data packets in accordance with multiple different application flows. The bus interface queues the data for transmission over the bus in a plurality of queues that are respectively assigned to the different application flows, and transmits the data over the bus according to the queues. |
| US08155133B2 |
Method for handling communications over a non-permanent communication link
A method is disclosed for handling communications over a non-permanent communication link. The method comprising centrally receiving a message to transmit from a plurality of applications, checking the availability of the non-permanent communication link, if the non-permanent communication link is not-available, queuing the received message for future transmission, and providing the message to a transport/network layer if the communication link is available. |
| US08155132B2 |
Method for setting up a connection
In methods for setting up communications between digital-subscriber-line terminal modems (13) and internet-service-providers (30) via digital-subscriber-line-access-multiplexers (2,20) and forwarders (3) of asynchronous-transfer-mode-networks (1) further comprising dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-relay-agents (4,40), first messages are sent from the terminal modems (13) to the agents (4,40) via the access multiplexers (2,20), which first messages comprise incoming logical identifiers defining couplings (14) between the terminal modems (13) and the access multiplexers (2,20), second messages are sent from the agents (4,40) to dynamic-host-configuration-protocol-servers (5) for receiving internet-protocol-addresses to be supplied to the terminal modems (13) via the agents (4,40). To be able to locate the agents (4,40) outside the forwarders (3), the agents (4,40) convert the first messages into the second messages at least by inserting outgoing logical identifiers defining couplings (6) between the access multiplexers (2,20) and the forwarders (3), and the forwarders (3) are informed about relationships between the Internet-Protocol-addresses and the outgoing logical identifiers. The forwarders (3) then have sufficient knowlegde to find the right (part of the) access multiplexer (2,20). |
| US08155123B2 |
Method, system, and device of packet routing for localized mobility management network
A method of packet routing for an LMM network includes: by an LMA, determining that both a sending end node and a receiving end node are located in an LMM domain controlled by the LMA, and starting a route optimization; directly forwarding, by an access device attached to the sending end node, a packet to be sent to the receiving end node to an access device attached to the receiving end node without being forwarded by the LMA; and forwarding, by the access device attached to the receiving end node, to the receiving end node. A system of packet routing for an LMM network includes a sending end node, a receiving end node, an access device attached to the sending end node, an access device attached to the receiving end node, and an LMA. |
| US08155121B2 |
Detection of physical movement for document sharing
A system for using accelerometer-based detection of physical movement for document sharing provides easy and intuitive ways to securely share documents, even without passwords, between computing devices. The system of the present invention includes: at least two computing devices that each have a motion detection device capable of detecting sudden movements and generating a unique signature. The unique signature can then be used to generate signatures or shared secrets for controlling the transfer of data between devices. The motion detection device is capable of detecting sudden movement such as the tapping of the two computing devices together, tapping a stack of computing devices, tossing a computing device in the air. The system may optionally include an intermediary device such as a server for transferring the documents or files between computing devices such that only a small decryption key and file pointer is needed to share records between computing devices. The present invention also includes a novel method for accelerometer-based detection of movement for transferring data between computing devices. |
| US08155120B2 |
Software architecture system and method for discovering components within an appliance using fuctionality identifiers
A network comprising a plurality of nodes, and each of the nodes has at least one identifier from pre-determined group of identifiers, with each identifier identifying at least one functionality applicable such node. A method of identifying the nodes comprises at least one node sending over the network a message configured to ask for the presence of at least one identifier from the pre-determined group of identifiers. At least one other node sends a feedback message affirming the existence of the at least one identifier on the at least one other node. |
| US08155117B2 |
Filtering and routing of fragmented datagrams in a data network
Techniques to efficiently filter fragmented datagrams and route fragments are described. For each fragmented datagram, a filtering node obtains filter parameters as fragments for the datagram are received. When all filter parameters are available, the node applies one or more filters on the filter parameters to obtain a filter result for the datagram and stores the filter result in an entry in a routing table. Prior to obtaining the filter result, the node stores all fragments received for the datagram in a memory. When the filter result becomes available, the node processes all fragments already received for the datagram in accordance with the filter result. As each remaining fragment for the datagram is received, the node immediately processes the fragment in accordance with the filter result. When the last fragment is received, the node clears the memory and the routing table entry for the datagram. |
| US08155116B2 |
Control of mobile packet streams
A method, device, and system control mobile packet flows forwarded between IP based networks. Individual packet flows on an IP user plane traverse middlebox functions that are controlled from a midcom agent. Each user flow registers its presence in each middlebox it encounters on its way from its source to its destination at the user plane. In response, each middlebox registers itself and the mobile flows it handles at the midcom agent with which they communicate using a midcom signalling protocol. The midcom agent comprises functionalities that its controlled middleboxes have and can provide control messages for how a middlebox shall handle a registered flow. The registration provides the midcom agent with knowledge of registered flows and middleboxes which allows the midcom agent to send control orders to the middleboxes that registered themselves, the orders pertaining to the handling of the flows at the respective middleboxes. A mechanism for control signalling at the IP control plane is described. |
| US08155114B2 |
Access device and method for communication between master shelf and slave shelf
A method and apparatus for communication between the master shelf and the slave shelf of an access device is provided. The method includes these a main control board of the master shelf configures a Media Access Control (MAC) address for a main control board of the slave shelf, the main control board of the master shelf configures a MAC address for a service board of the master shelf; and the main control board of the slave shelf configures a MAC address for a service board of the slave shelf, and communication is performed between the main control board of the master shelf and the main control board of the slave shelf, and between the main control board of the master shelf and the service board through the configured MAC address, where the MAC address includes information about the location of the main control board or the service board. |
| US08155113B1 |
Processing data in a parallel processing environment
An integrated circuit includes a plurality of tiles, and a plurality of interface modules coupled to the switches of a subset of the tiles. Each tile comprises a processor, and a switch including switching circuitry to forward data over data paths from other tiles to the processor and to switches of other tiles. At least some of the interface modules are configured to multiplex data from one or more parallel communication links of the switch to an multiplexed communication link having reduced parallelization, and mediate between a network protocol of the switch and a communication protocol of the multiplexed communication link. |
| US08155105B2 |
Spread spectrum wireless communication and monitoring arrangement and method
A method and system for wireless monitoring is implemented in a variety of embodiments. In one such embodiment, a monitoring system method is implemented for, wireless communication between a central device and monitoring devices. Each of the devices includes a wireless communication circuit to effect wireless communications. Power consumption from a limited power source is reduced at least one of the wireless communication circuits based upon a communications time interval and a selected channel for communication between the central device and a monitor device to effect wireless communications between the central device and the monitor device. |
| US08155104B2 |
Method for preamble-based bandwidth request in wireless portable internet system
Disclosed is a method for a preamble-based bandwidth request. The present invention enables state control of a subscriber station based on the latest environment in a portable Internet system requesting a bandwidth using a preamble, and hence allows a subsequent more efficient transmission of user data. In addition, the present invention provides information for discrimination of the subscriber station transmitting the preamble as well as state control information of the subscriber station to the base station during a preamble-based bandwidth request by the subscriber station, and enables the base station to discriminate the subscriber station in the next time of data transmission with the subscriber station. |
| US08155099B2 |
Method of operating an event-driven, delay-critical wireless sensor network
A method of operating wireless devices includes providing a plurality of sender nodes each having a respective message to wirelessly send to a receiver node. A probability distribution is assigned to a plurality of frequency channels such that a respective probability of selection is assigned to each frequency channel. At least two of the probabilities of selection are unequal. A respective frequency channel is probabilistically selected for each of the sender nodes according to the probability distribution. The messages are wirelessly sent from the sender nodes to the receiver node in the selected frequency channels. The receiver node is used to sample a first one of the frequency channels and a second one of the frequency channels. The second frequency channel has a higher respective probability of selection than the first frequency channel. If the receiver node sensed a signal in both the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel during the sampling, the receiver node is tuned to the first frequency channel and receives a remainder of the message on the first frequency channel. |
| US08155096B1 |
Antenna control system and method
Each of multiple directional transmissions from an antenna array of a subscriber unit are received at a base unit. Based on the detected quality of received signals at the base unit, directional transmissions from the antenna array that produce a higher quality of received signal at the base unit receiver are identified. Feedback messages can be used to notify the subscriber unit which of the directional transmissions are optimal. Consequently, settings of an antenna array at the subscriber unit can be adjusted to support more efficient directional transmissions from the subscriber unit to the base unit. |
| US08155094B2 |
Method for transmitting/receiving data with transfer obligation delegated in WSN
A method for transmitting/receiving data with transfer obligation delegated in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) reduces the time and power spent by a transmitting apparatus to wait for acknowledgment that a data transfer was successful. The method for transmitting data from a transmitting end to a receiving end through a set transfer route by multiple data transmit/receive apparatuses provided in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), typically includes the steps of: performing temporary storage of data to be transmitted on receiving a request to transmit data; requesting a data transmit/receive apparatus, existing on a next route, to transmit data while transmitting data to a data transmit/receive apparatus which is set as a transfer route; and confirming the delivery of the data to the data transmit/receive apparatus set as the transfer route, and then deleting the temporarily stored data frame. |
| US08155089B1 |
System and method of processing CDMA signals
Methods and apparatus for performing finger de-spreading and MRC combining are provided. A large antenna buffer is used to buffer all the finger signals of the same user so that the receiver can do both de-spreading and MRC at the same time without buffering the de-spreading finger symbols. For each user, a reference time is introduced to align all the finger signals of the same user in the Antenna Buffer. The reference time delay is used to generate the PN codes for de-spreading, as well as to count the number of symbols in a PCG or a frame. Methods for antenna buffer arrangement, interpolating filter implementation, channel estimation and MRC for traffic data channels, timing for the user's finger signal de-spreading and MRC, long code and short code generation for de-spreading, new finger allocation and finger timing adjustment. |
| US08155088B2 |
System and method for opportunistic cell edge selection in multi-cell MIMO OFDMA networks
A method for allocating resources in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, where each cell in the network has a center region and an edge region. The cell center region uses a frequency band orthogonal to the frequency band used by the cell edge region. The frequency band is made up of resource blocks (RBs) or non-overlapping sets of subcarriers. Upon availability of cell-center RBs, cell-center user equipment (UEs) are assigned resource blocks. A fixed number of cell edge regions from a few adjacent cells form a cluster, and only the cell edge regions with the highest achievable throughput rate within each cluster gets to transmit in a given scheduling instance. |
| US08155083B2 |
Technique for configuring link layer entities for a handover
A technique of configuring link layer entities for a handover is described. In a method embodiment, the technique includes receiving from a recipient of protocol data units a supplemental status report for an existing ARQ connection in context with an imminent handover, determining service data units corresponding to buffered protocol data units taking into account information included in the supplemental report, and transferring the determined service data units to a link layer entity which is to establish a new ARQ connection to the recipient. The forced status synchronization that is based on the supplemental report prevents the transfer of service data units that have already been successfully received at the recipient. |
| US08155082B2 |
Master station, candidate for master station and method for use in a communication system
Terminal devices F and G store statistical information related to interference from an external communication system, and notify the stored statistical information to a master station E. The master station E determines the terminal device G as a candidate station for a master station capability handover destination based on collected statistical information. The master station E requests to hand over a master station capability to the terminal device G. If it is determined that the terminal device G accepts handover of the master station capability, the terminal device G starts to act as the master station. |
| US08155081B1 |
Self learning roaming optimization
A self learning roaming optimization approach allows a wireless client device to build signal strength maps that store wireless network access point signal strengths at locations along paths traveled by the wireless client device within an operational environment. The signal strengths collected at locations along a path may be analyzed to determine a recommended wireless network access point at the respective locations to achieve a reliable wireless network connection along the mapped path. The stored recommendations may take into account changes in wireless network access point signal strengths, e.g. due to obstructions and/or electromagnetic shields that may block portions of a wireless network access point signal at subsequent locations along the mapped path. A wireless client device may recognize the wireless client device's location along a previously mapped path based on the unique combination, or signature, of wireless network access point signal strengths measured at the wireless client device's location. |
| US08155080B2 |
Media independent handover-based network system having a vertical handover capability and vertical handover method thereof
A heterogeneous network system performs a vertical handover based on media independent handover (MIH) in different networks in which a WiMAX (Wireless Broadband Internet) network (or a WiBro (Wireless Broadband Internet)) and a WLAN (Wireless LAN) network are coexisted. The heterogeneous network system cyclically acquires neighboring network information in advance through a media independent handover server, and performs new address (NCoA) generation at a handover preliminary time. And then DAD (Duplicate Address Detection) and BU (Binding Update) are performed. Accordingly, the vertical handover between different networks can be performed to receive packets from a switched network while a handover delay time is minimized. |
| US08155079B2 |
Method, measuring system, base station, network element, and measuring device
There is provided a measuring system comprising: a measuring device configured to measure parameters of a serving cell required for camping into the neighbor cells of the serving cell, to camp into the neighbor cells in order to store reception quality and neighbor cell lists from the neighbor cells; and a base station configured to set parameters of the formed virtual cell such that the virtual cell becomes a tempting destination for a cell reselection, to interfere the serving cell in order to cause the one or more user terminals to camp into the virtual cell, and to catch one or more identifiers of the one or more user terminals camping into the virtual cell after the start of virtual cell transmission. |
| US08155076B2 |
Maintaining a global and local session state in an access network
Apparatus, methods, and machine-readable medium wherein a global session state for communications between an access terminal and a plurality of network functions in the access network is maintained, and a local session state for communications between the access terminal and one of the network functions in the access network is also maintained. |
| US08155061B2 |
Method of and system for transmitting signals using frequency hopping
Method of and system for transmitting signals, e.g. control signals, request signals, interrogation signals etc. in a control system comprising at least two units, wherein at least one of said units is designed to operate as a master unit and wherein at least one of said units is designed to operate as a slave unit, whereby a plurality of channels may be used for the transmission, whereby a first unit performs the steps of detecting a vacant channel and transmitting a signal via said vacant channel, and whereby at least one other unit performs the step of scanning the channels for transmitted signals. |
| US08155059B2 |
Wireless communications connection control method
A wireless communications connection control method that enables flexible reconstruction of a wireless communications network system structure. The wireless communications connection control method comprising the steps of retaining in advance a node registration table in which the inter-node distance and node types are associated with each node; issuing a joining notification, together with the inter-node distance, in response to when a new node joins the wireless communications system; refreshing the node registration table according to the joining notification, determining whether it is necessary to change the node type based on the inter-node distance stored in the node registration table, and changing the node type stored in the node registration table when it is determined that the type needs to be refreshed. |
| US08155055B2 |
Automatic re-connection of a previously lost connection in a frequency hopping communication system
This disclosure relates to frequency hopping (FH) communication systems, such as Bluetooth. In particular, it relates to a substantially automatic recovery procedure for re-establishing a previously lost link or connection between a master unit and a slave unit in a frequency hopping communications system. Some embodiments of the disclosed invention relates to methods for recovery of a previously lost link or connection between two Bluetooth units in a Bluetooth Sniff mode. |
| US08155054B2 |
Supporting idle stations in wireless distribution systems
Supporting idle stations in an IEEE 802.11 wireless distribution system. When a station in an IEEE 802.11 wireless distribution system (DS) enters the idle state, it is not associated with any access points (APs) in the DS, Prior to entering the idle state, a station may establish filters indicating what traffic it wishes to receive. These filters are sent to a server in the DS. When a station goes idle, it is associated with a paging server in the DS, which buffers all received for the idle station, and initiates paging of the idle station when such traffic meeting filter criteria is received. When the station exits the idle state by reassociating with an AP in the DS, the server is notified, and forwards the buffered traffic to the station through its AP. The server may be implemented as a process running in a controller or portal in the DS. |
| US08155051B2 |
Apparatus and method for reducing latency in the transmission control protocol layer of a portable communication terminal
Improving a transmission latency of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is provided. The apparatus includes a communicator transmitting a message for measuring power of a transmission signal to a radio access station (RAS) and receiving a response message corresponding to the message from the RAS; a TCP manager instructed by a controller to check and store a round trip time (RTT) required for receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) corresponding to data, which is transmitted from the portable terminal to the RAS; and the controller instructing the TCP manager to measure the RTT for measuring a retransmission timeout (RTO). |
| US08155045B2 |
Supporting mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) and point to multi-point (PMP) communications among nodes in a wireless network
Nodes in a wireless network participate in either point-to-multipoint (PMP) or MANET/mesh communications with other nodes on one or more shared channels of the network. A first or base station node transmits a downlink signal having a time frame structure of determined duration to a number of second or subscriber nodes. Portions of the frame structure establish (i) first time periods during which messages are transmitted from the first node to the second nodes, and (ii) second time periods during which messages are transmitted from the second nodes to the first node, using the PMP protocol on one or more shared channels or subchannels of the network. Other portions of the time frame structure establish third time periods during which nodes communicate with one another using the MANET/mesh protocol on the shared channels or subchannels, while avoiding interference with messages transmitted under the PMP protocol. |
| US08155044B2 |
Method for broadcasting alert message in mobile multi-hop networks using inferred distance prioritization
A method and system broadcasts an alert packet in a wireless multi-hop network of nodes. An event is sensed in a source node of the network, and an alert packet is broadcast in response to sensing the event. The alert packet is received in a set of candidate nodes within a broadcast range of the source node. Each candidate node infers a distance between the candidate node and the source node based on a receive power of the received alert packet, and determines a priority for rebroadcasting the alert packet, wherein the priority is based on the distance to minimizing a probability of collisions while rebroadcasting the alert packet and extend a range of the rebroadcasting. |
| US08155043B2 |
Wireless communication receiver, system, and method for loading firmware
A wireless communication system comprises a plurality of antennas, a plurality of tuners, a plurality of receiver ends, a bus, and a processor. Each of the tuners is connected to one of the antennas and one of the receiver ends. Each of the receiver ends has a corresponding address. A common address code is assigned to the corresponding addresses of part of receiver ends during firmware loading. The processor transmits the firmware to the part of the receiver ends via the bus based on the common address code. The corresponding addresses of the part of the receiver ends are converted back into unique address codes after the firmware is loaded. |
| US08155042B2 |
Method and arrangement relating communication devices
A method for use in controlling transmit power of a radio transceiver for communication with a receiving and/or transmitting node is provided. The method may include transmitting a signal from the radio transmitter, the signal including a Transmit Power Control portion, and altering the TPC re-transmission when the radio transmitter is in a fixed environmental condition. |
| US08155041B2 |
Method for handover between heterogeneous networks using link trigger signal in multi-interface mobile router
Provided is a method for handover between heterogeneous networks using a link trigger signal in a multi-interface mobile router. The method includes: maintaining a state of a second network access interface in a sleep state, activating a first network access interface, receiving and transmitting the first network service to a subordinate node in the mobile router located in a first network; when the mobile router senses a second network link-up trigger signal while moving to the second network, changing the state of the second network access interface into an active state and performing handover; and receiving a second network service through the activated second network access interface in the mobile router performing the handover and transmitting the second network service to the subordinate node. |
| US08155039B2 |
System and apparatus for cascading and redistributing HDTV signals
Redistribution of multimedia signals or the like within a service area is performed by identifying one or more pieces of white space in the VHF/UHF spectrum, selecting a carrier frequency for each piece of white space spectrum, parsing the signal into a like number of components and modulating each component over a carrier frequency. The receiving device performs the reverse operation for reconstructing the signal. |
| US08155036B1 |
Portable multi-level security communications system
A portable multi-level security communications system (system) provides a communications backbone for Internet Protocol (IP) based data at multiple levels of security and allows on-board users to communicate, with each other and an outside network, while maintaining separation from the on-board communication system. The system can connect to an outside network using a fast, reliable connection without impeding or conflicting with current on-board operating systems. The system is able to run multiple security enclaves while maintaining separation between the enclaves and their users. |
| US08155033B2 |
Opportunistic spectrum sensing optimization for a communication system
A combination of subscriber clustering and link interleaving provides a cognitive radio system (CR) 100 with opportunities to sense an incumbent system's spectrum on secondary basis. The CR system (100) uses clustering to identify out-of-band channels. The CR system (100) uses link interleaving during a second mode of operation to sense and detect any incumbent (120) on in-band channels. A list of out-band channels are sensed by clusters (0, 1, 2, 3) sequentially to generate a ranked list of potential channels for future use by the CR system. These out-of-band channels can be used opportunistically in case of in-band incumbent detection. |
| US08155030B2 |
Method and apparatus for network tree management
There is disclosed a manner of managing the active topology, that is the scheme for forwarding data, in a computer network such as an Ethernet local area network. A root bridge is selected from a plurality of bridges in the network; the root bridge calculating at least one spanning tree from a topology database that has been populated by bridge neighbor information gleaned from link state advertising messages. The root bridge may also calculate an alternate topology for implementation in the event a failure condition that affects the primary spanning tree is detected. The root bridge then advertises the spanning tree and remotely configures the port states of the bridges in the spanning tree through tree advertising messages that the bridges are arranged to process and set their ports accordingly. |
| US08155028B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing full logical connectivity in MPLS networks
The invention includes a method and apparatus for configuring logical connectivity for a network comprising a plurality of nodes. A method includes determining a physical topology of the network, determining a set of LSP paths based on the physical topology of the network, and determining a set of LSPs using the set of LSP paths, where the set of LSPs includes a plurality of LSPs adapted for providing full logical connectivity between the nodes of the network. The physical topology is determined using information indicative of physical connectivity between nodes of the network. The set of LSP paths includes, for each pair of nodes in the network, at least two logical paths between the nodes of the node pair. The set of LSPs includes a plurality of LSPs adapted for providing full logical connectivity between the nodes of the network. The full logical connectivity between the nodes of the network may be maintained in response to physical topology change events, such as addition of nodes to the network removal of nodes from the network, and the like. |
| US08155021B2 |
Feature interaction detection during calls with multiple-leg signaling paths
Methods are disclosed for detecting feature interactions during a call that has a signaling path comprising two or more legs. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, feature state information is maintained for each of the legs of the call and is propagated along the signaling path. The illustrative embodiment is capable of detecting interactions between features in different legs of a call, as well as interactions between features in the same leg of a call. Moreover, the illustrative embodiment is capable of accommodating a variety of feature resolution techniques. In one illustrative embodiment specific to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, a Back-to-Back User Agent (B2BUA) stores and propagates the feature state information, and performs address mapping for two specially-defined headers in addition to the usual Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) headers. |
| US08155020B2 |
Policy control and charging (PCC) rules based on mobility protocol
Techniques for supporting policy control and charging (PCC) functions in a wireless communication network are described. In one design, a Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) may receive a request from a first network entity (e.g., a home agent) to establish a PCC session for a user equipment (UE) accessing the first network entity using a mobility protocol (e.g., Mobile IP). The PCRF may determine the mobility protocol used by the UE based on an IP-CAN Type parameter included in the request. The PCRF may determine PCC rules for the PCC session based on the mobility protocol and may send the PCC rules to the first network entity. The first network entity may apply the PCC rules on packets for the PCC session and may count each packet for charging. A second network entity may forward the packets but would not count these packets for charging. |
| US08155016B2 |
System and method for unbalanced relay-based wireless communications
A method and system for wireless communication with a mobile device in which wireless communication is established with the mobile device. A base station is used to transmit directly to the mobile device in a downlink direction. A relay node is used to transmit to the base station communications received in an uplink direction from the mobile station. The relay node relays at least a portion of the uplink traffic received from the mobile station to the base station. |
| US08155011B2 |
Techniques for using dual memory structures for processing failure detection protocol packets
Techniques are provided for assisting in the processing of failure detection protocol (FDP) packets. Techniques are provided that assist a CPU of a network device in processing incoming FDP packets. In one embodiment, only a subset of FDP packets received by the network device is forwarded to the CPU for processing, the other FDP packets are dropped and not forwarded to the CPU. The processing is performed using dual memory structures that enable receipt of FDP packets by the network device to be decoupled from the processing of FDP packets by the CPU of the network device. |
| US08155010B1 |
Regional quality correlation for wireless communications
A quality processing system comprises an interface and a processing system. The interface is configured to receive a first quality message from a wireless end device in the first region wherein the first quality message indicates a first quality metric of the first region during the session, and receive a session quality message indicating a session quality metric for the session. The processing system is configured to process the first quality metric with the session quality metric to determine if the session problem occurred in the first region or the second region, generate an isolation message indicating in which of the first region or second region the problem occurred, and transfer the isolation message. |
| US08155008B2 |
Method for enabling the efficient operation of arbitrarily interconnected mesh networks
Wireless mesh networks (or “meshes”) are enabled for arbitrary interconnection to each other and may provide varying levels of coverage and redundancy as desired. Interoperability between meshes having differing configurations, internal operations, or both, may be freely intermixed and inter-operated in unrestricted combination. Enhanced explicit inter-bridge control protocols operate using pre-existing control packets. Pre-existing broadcast packet floods are used to learn the best paths across interconnected meshes (termed a “multi-mesh”). Enhanced routing protocols operating within each mesh may optionally examine information limited to the respective mesh when forwarding traffic, thus enabling robust multi-mesh scaling with respect to memory and processing time required by the routing protocols. Communication scalability is improved by enabling frequency diversity across the multi-mesh by configuring meshes within interference range of each other for operation at a plurality of frequencies. Each mesh may operate at a respective non-interfering frequency. |
| US08155007B2 |
Path optimization for mesh access points in a wireless mesh network
In one embodiment, a method includes, in each of a plurality of mesh access points, connecting to one of a plurality of mesh controllers in a mesh network and passing connection information to the one mesh controller. The mesh access points include a wired mesh access point having a wired connection to the one mesh controller, and wireless mesh access points having a wireless connection to the one mesh controller via the wired mesh access point. The method also includes generating, in each mesh controller, a corresponding link state table based on the passed connection information from each corresponding connected mesh access point. The method also includes generating in at least one of the mesh controllers a mesh table, identifying all of the connecting links for the mesh access points connected among the mesh controllers, based on the mesh controllers sharing the respective link state tables. |
| US08155003B2 |
Aggregate policing applying max-min fairness for each data source based on probabilistic filtering
In one embodiment, a method comprises calculating a corresponding data packet arrival rate for each of a plurality of data sources supplying data packets destined for a prescribed destination, the prescribed destination within a machine and the prescribed destination having a bandwidth capacity; calculating a guaranteed shared bandwidth rate for each data source based on assigning a corresponding selected portion of the bandwidth capacity relative to the corresponding data packet arrival rate; selectively passing each data packet from the corresponding data source as a passed data packet, or dropping the corresponding data packet, according to a calculated probability that the corresponding data packet arrival rate does not exceed the corresponding guaranteed shared bandwidth rate; and selectively filtering the supply of aggregated passed data packets, aggregated only from among the passed data packets supplied by the data sources, to the prescribed destination according to the bandwidth capacity of the prescribed destination. |
| US08154999B2 |
Packet forwarding apparatus with function of limiting the number of user terminals to be connected to ISP
A packet forwarding apparatus for connecting a plurality of user terminals to an ISP management server has a management table indicating the relationship between a connection port identifier and specific header information in association with the MAC address of each of the user terminals so that, in a communication protocol procedure executed between each of the user terminals and the ISP management server prior to communication with a wide-area network, the packet forwarding apparatus discards a packet for the user terminal when it is determined that the specific header information cannot be assigned to the user terminal based on the management table. |
| US08154998B2 |
Method and apparatus for resizing a trunk in a network
A method and apparatus for resizing a trunk in a network are disclosed. For example, the method sets one or more target utilization levels for one or more trunks, and gathers trunk load data from one or more switches in the network in accordance with a pre-determined time period. The method evaluates the trunk load data in accordance with one or more trigger points for resizing the one or more trunks, wherein the one or more trigger points is based on the one or more target utilization levels. The method then resizes the one or more trunks if the one or more trigger points are reached or exceeded. |
| US08154992B2 |
System and method for graceful restart
A system for maintaining routing capabilities in a router having a failed control plane provides an active control plane in the router in communication with at least one external node, the active control plane running at least one routing process. A backup control plane may be interconnected with the active control plane, so that the active control plane may periodically transmit synchronization signals to the backup control plane. The backup control plane may update its state based on these synchronization signals. Moreover, the backup control plane may be programmed to take over the routing process of the active control plane if the active control plane fails. |
| US08154981B2 |
Record medium, its manufacturing method, mother disc for record medium, and its manufacturing method
Binary information previously recorded in an innermost rim side area is enabled to be stably reproduced. A record medium is formed by sequentially laminating a first information layer 2, an intermediate layer 3, a second information layer 4, and a cover layer 5 onto a substrate 1. First grooves are previously formed in the innermost rim area of the substrate 1. Second grooves are previously formed in an area where data is recorded. The first grooves are set to be shallower and narrower than the second grooves. Thus, such a situation that a BCA signal is modulated by diffraction due to the grooves can be reduced. |
| US08154979B2 |
Objective lens and optical pickup apparatus
Disclosed is an objective lens used for an optical pickup apparatus to perform writing and/or reading of an optical information recording medium, comprising an antireflective film on a surface of a light source side, wherein a light flux of wavelengths including a wavelength λ1 of 380 nm≦λ1≦420 nm and a wavelength λ2 of 630 nm≦λ2≦810 nm, is condensed on the medium, a numerical aperture on the light source side with respect to the wavelength λ1 is within a range of 0.8-0.9, and that with respect to the wavelength λ2 is 0.7 or less, and a band of the antireflective film is within a range of 700 nm-800 nm in a state where a reflectance of a light flux perpendicularly entering a central portion of the surface in a wavelength region from 400 nm to 1200 nm is 3.0% or less. |