| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08172084B2 |
Absorbent article packaging
A package containing an article. The article includes a first article texture and a second article texture. The package includes a plastic packaging material having an outer surface. Further the first article texture and the second article texture are non-similar and at least a portion of the outer surface has a packaging texture that is a simulant of the first article texture and at least a portion of the outer surface has a packaging texture that is a simulant of the second article texture. |
| US08172082B2 |
Devices, systems and methods for medicament delivery
An apparatus includes a container defining an internal region configured to contain multiple medicament delivery devices, such as, for example, pen injectors, auto-injectors, inhalers or the like. The container includes an electronic circuit system configured to output a first electronic output associated with a first medicament delivery device contained within the internal region when the first medicament delivery device is removed from the internal region of the container. The electronic circuit system is further configured to output a second electronic output associated with a second medicament delivery device contained within the internal region when the second medicament delivery device is removed from the internal region of the container. The second electronic output is different than the first electronic output. At least one of the first electronic output or the second electronic output is associated with a use instruction. |
| US08172081B2 |
Housing for a disc-shaped information carrier
A housing for storing a disc-shaped information carrier includes a bottom part with a retaining device for the information carrier and a lid part which is connected with hinging possibility to the bottom part via two corner hinges. The corner hinges have two recessed hinge arms of the hinge part and two matching recessed hinge walls. The lid part is provided with protection walls which extend at the outside of the housing substantially parallel to the hinge arms so as to protect the hinge arms from external mechanical influences. The distance between each hinge arm and the facing parallel portion off its opposite protection wall has a value lying in the range between 6.6 mm and 13.1 mm. |
| US08172077B1 |
Portable workstation
A portable container includes a first half-shell pivotally connected to a second half-shell to form at least one releasably sealed compartment, wherein each half-shell includes a substantially flat, rectangular portion having walls extending from each edge of the rectangular portion; an opening substantially centered in the first half-shell sized for a cylindrical rod attached to a tripod, the rod having a base portion larger than its extension portion; and a support assembly within the first half-shell having a substantially flat base portion sized to increase strength and rigidity and including a receptacle to the extension portion of the cylindrical rod, the receptacle and extension including corresponding fastener openings so that a fastener device secures the portable container to the cylindrical rod, whereby the portable container is supported by the base portion, the support assembly provides stability to the portable container, and the portable container is rotatable upon the rod. |
| US08172069B2 |
Diverter ball conveyor
A diverter conveyor system for a modular belt. The modular belt has at least two belt modules disposed in rows. At least two rows of spheres are disposed in the belt modules and extend through the top and bottom surfaces of the modules. The rows of spheres may be supported by a single cylindrical roller. |
| US08172066B2 |
Apparatus for receiving and dispensing documents of value
An apparatus for accepting and for outputting documents of value is provided with a checking device for checking the authenticity of fed documents of value, an entrance transport device for transporting documents of value along a transport path past the checking device or through it, which has a first and a second part, which in operation are located opposite each other and between each other form the transport path, a storage unit, which comprises at least two storages for storing at least two different types of documents of value, so that a document of value of each of the two types, independently of the order of input of the documents of value into the storage unit, can optionally be outputted from the storage unit, as well as a system for transporting documents of value for the transport of checked documents of value to the storage unit or from said storage unit to a device for outputting documents of value, at least the first part of the entrance transport device being held at the apparatus swiveling around a first swivel axis between an operating position, in which a transport of documents of value can be effected, and an open position, in which the transport path is accessible. |
| US08172065B2 |
Bearing assembly
A bearing assembly (1) includes at least one bearing (3) that rotatably supports a cylindrical roller tube (2). A cushioning layer (5) is disposed, directly or indirectly, between a ring (4) of the bearing (3) and the cylindrical roller tube (2). At least one contact surface (6, 7) for the cushioning layer (5) extends over a defined axial distance (L) at an angle (α) to the rotational axis (A) of the bearing assembly (1). |
| US08172064B2 |
Drift conveyor having a bearing element
A drift conveyor (1) has rollers (14) introduced into bearings (13) of a frame (12). An axle (143) of the roller (14) is received in a receptacle (1310) of the bearing (13), and a roller plate (15) presses the bearing (13) so that a first sealing region (1308) of the bearing (13) contacts a sealing region (152) of the roller plate (15). A rotary fastening region of the bearing (13) contacts a fastening region (153a) of the roller plate (15) and a second sealing region of the bearing (13) contacts the frame sealing region. One side of the bearing (13) has the receptacle (1310), the first sealing region (1308) and a rotary fastening region that prevents rotation of the bearing (13) with respect to the roller plate (15). An opposite side of the bearing (13) has a second region for sealing between the bearing (13) and the frame (12). |
| US08172060B2 |
Dynamic pressure control system with solenoid valve command current trimming
A dynamic pressure control system, such as a transmission pressure control system, is provided wherein one or more of electrical current command signals provided to a pressure control solenoid valve, such as a fast response variable force solenoid pressure control valve, are progressively trimmed in a manner to improve overall system pressure control performance by improving the overall commanded current response. The invention permits use of fast response pressure control solenoid valves and obtainment of in a manner to minimize overshoot and improve steady state accuracy, so as to thereby improve precision pressure control. |
| US08172059B2 |
Clutch system
The clutch system relates to an automatic friction clutch with a hydrostatically actuator-controlled clutch withdrawal. In such clutch release systems, a slave cylinder pressurized by a master cylinder in an engaged state is in connection with a reservoir (tank) via a connection opening uncovered by the master cylinder piston. To determine the opening deviations and location of the connection opening, it is proposed that actuation of master cylinder be velocity-dependent and pressure patterns of the hydrostatic clutch release system be evaluated. |
| US08172056B2 |
Disengageable pulley device
Disengageable pulley device comprising a pulley mounted on a shaft by means of a rolling bearing and of a freewheel, the pulley comprising a rim mounted on the periphery of a one-piece outer race of substantially tubular shape comprising, on an inner surface, at least one raceway for rolling elements and at least one contact seat of cylindrical revolution for lock-up elements of the freewheel, a one-piece inner race forming a torque transmission shaft and including, on an outer surface coming opposite the outer race, at least one raceway for the rolling elements and at least one contact seat of cylindrical revolution for the lock-up elements of the freewheel. |
| US08172054B2 |
Clutch arrangement with a clutch drive
A clutch arrangement includes a clutch device for transmitting torque between a clutch housing and a takeoff, wherein a pressure element and an opposing pressure element cooperate to establish and release a working connection between at least one drive-side clutch element and at least one takeoff side clutch element. The opposing pressure element is mounted nonrotatably and without freedom of axial movement on the clutch housing, and is connected to at least one drive-side clutch element by axially acting energy storage devices. A takeoff-side clutch element is located between a drive-side clutch element and the opposing pressure element, and between any adjacent drive-side clutch elements. Alternatively, the axially acting energy storage devices can connect the drive-side clutch elements to the clutch housing. |
| US08172053B2 |
Hydraulic circuit arrangement for operating a hydrodynamic torque converter
A hydraulic circuit arrangement for operating a hydrodynamic torque converter (1, 10) with a converter bridging clutch (11). The circuit arrangement comprises a hydraulic switching unit (3, 14) having at least one valve for controlling an inflow flow and a return flow of oil to the converter (1, 10) and the converter bridging clutch (11), an oil cooler (4, 15), a first line (5, 12) for acting upon the converter bridging clutch (11) with an engagement pressure (PWKzu) and a second line (6, 13) for acting upon the converter bridging clutch (11) with a disengagement pressure (PWKauf). The circuit arrangement comprises a bypass line (8, 17) which is connected directly with the oil cooler (4, 15) so as to bypass the hydraulic switching unit (3, 14). |
| US08172048B2 |
Braking device for a robot drive and method of detecting a braking state
Method of detecting a braking state of a braking device of a robot drive, having a frame device which, if required, applies braking forces to a rotating component of the robot drive by means of a first movable frame element. As a result, the braking device is shifted into at least two operating states, in particular a closed state or an open state. In the process, during the transition of the braking device from one state into the other, at least one measuring signal is recorded and a braking state is determined by comparing the at least one measuring signal with reference values established beforehand. The invention also relates to a braking device on which the above method can be carried out. |
| US08172041B2 |
Machine room-less elevator
A machineroom-less elevator in which a counterweight is vertically moved behind a cage, with the cage and the counterweight being suspended in a jig back manner through a first and second diverting sheaves. In this machineroom-less elevator, a sufficiently large vertical stroke of the counterweight can be secured, while a durability of a hoist rope is improved. In addition, since no tensile difference is generated in respective parts of the hoist rope, vertical vibrations of the cage are prevented when the cage restarts a vertical movement. A traction sheave is disposed on one of right and left sidewalls of an elevator shaft. A first diverting sheave is disposed below and sufficiently apart from the traction sheave, and a second diverting sheave is disposed on a top of a rear wall of the elevator shaft. The traction sheave is disposed to be inclined relative to the sidewall such that a rotational axis thereof extends from the sidewall of the elevator shaft to the rear wall thereof, when viewed vertically from above. |
| US08172039B2 |
Muffler for vehicle
A muffler for a vehicle may include a plurality of baffles to form a plurality of chambers, an exhaust gas inflow pipe having an outlet connected to one of the chambers inside the muffler housing through the baffles, an intermediate pipe disposed in parallel with the exhaust gas inflow pipe in the muffler housing through the baffles to fluid connect at least two chambers and a plurality of exhaust gas outflow pipes having an inlet positioned with an outlet of the intermediate pipe in any one chamber divided by the baffles and an outlet protruding outward through the muffler housing, without passing through the baffles, such that the exhaust gas passing through the intermediated pipe may be discharged outside the muffler housing. |
| US08172036B2 |
Apparatus and method for providing acoustic metamaterial
A method for fabricating an acoustic metamaterial may include providing a planar pattern of springs arranged in columns and rows and separated from each other by interconnection nodes, providing a planar pattern of mass units separated from each other by a distance corresponding to a distance between the interconnection nodes, providing an array of vertically oriented springs separated from each other by the distance between the interconnection nodes, and aligning and joining the planar pattern of springs, the planar pattern of mass units and the array of vertically oriented springs to form a layer of unit cells. |
| US08172032B2 |
Combination drive and suspension system for a vehicle
The invention is a combination drive and suspension system that includes an upper drive assembly and a lower drive assembly pivotally connected. The pivoting drive system provides improved ground clearance for a farm vehicle capable of carrying a large quantity of field application material. |
| US08172031B2 |
Pinch bolt mounting of a shifter assembly
A vehicle has a shifter assembly for shifting a transmission, and a floor pan. The shifter assembly includes a base and an attachment assembly for adjustably attaching the shifter assembly to the floor pan. The attachment assembly includes a bushing that is adjustable in a horizontal direction relative to the floor pan or a vertical direction relative to the base. |
| US08172024B2 |
Airbag control system
An airbag control system may include a sensor unit monitoring status of a vehicle being driven and an object located in front of the vehicle, an interior airbag deployed to an interior of the vehicle being driven, an exterior airbag deployed to an exterior of the vehicle being driven, and a control unit measuring a relative speed between the vehicle being driven and the object located in front of the vehicle from the sensor unit after deploying the exterior airbag, and deploying the interior airbag when it is determined that the measured relative speed exceeds an interior critical speed at which the interior airbag is deployed. |
| US08172022B2 |
Energy recovery systems for vehicles and vehicle wheels comprising the same
A wheel assembly for a vehicle includes a rim and an energy recovery system. The energy recovery system includes a flywheel, a continuously variable planetary (CVP), a first planetary gear set, and a second planetary gear set. The flywheel is substantially concentric with the rim and operable to rotate relative to the rim. The CVP is positioned within the flywheel and is operable to transmit rotational motion between the flywheel and the rim. The first planetary gear set is rotationally coupled to the rim and the CVP such that rotational motion transmitted between the CVP and the rim is transmitted through the first planetary gear set. The second planetary gear set is rotationally coupled to the CVP, the rim and the flywheel such that rotational motion transmitted between the CVP, the rim and the flywheel is transmitted through the second planetary gear set. |
| US08172021B2 |
Vehicle air cleaner mounting structure
A vehicle air cleaner mounting structure is disposed in a space between a shelf portion of a fender apron and a hood. The mounting structure has support portions at at least three points. A protruding portion of the air cleaner protrudes farther inward in a vehicle width direction than a vertical wall of the fender apron. The support portions are disposed outside the protruding portion in the vehicle width direction, the first support portion and the second support portion positioned inside in the vehicle width direction out of the support portions are disposed on a phantom axis line extending in a vehicle front-rear direction in a plan view. The air cleaner is supported to be able to turn about the phantom axis line, and the third support portion is disposed outside the phantom axis line in the vehicle width direction. |
| US08172017B2 |
Circumferential movement device
The invention relates to a circumferential movement field, including all circumferential movement devices such as transport vehicle, toy vehicle, space vehicle, blender etc, especially for energy-saving vehicles utilizing force of gravity. The energy-saving vehicle utilizes force of gravity as driving force, the vehicle body connects with the wheel by swing structure method or eccentric swing structure to utilize force of gravity more efficiently. The invention also provides solutions about two-wheel gravitational vehicle and multi-wheel vehicle and train connected by integrated vehicles or two-wheel vehicles. |
| US08172008B2 |
Drilling apparatus with reduced exposure of cutters and methods of drilling
A rotary drilling apparatus and method for drilling subterranean formations, including a body being provided with at least one cutter thereon exhibiting reduced, or limited, exposure to the formation, so as to control the depth-of-cut of the at least one cutter, so as to control the volume of formation material cut per rotation of the drilling apparatus, as well as to control the amount of torque experienced by the drilling apparatus and an optionally associated bottomhole assembly regardless of the effective weight-on-bit are all disclosed. The exterior of the drilling apparatus may include a plurality of blade structures carrying at least one such cutter thereon and including a sufficient amount of bearing surface area to contact the formation so as to generally distribute an additional weight applied to the drilling apparatus against the bottom of the borehole without exceeding the compressive strength of the formation rock. |
| US08172007B2 |
System and method of monitoring flow in a wellbore
A system and method for releasing a marker within a wellbore. The system and method includes a sensor that detects movement or a position of the marker within the wellbore. The marker may be released in drilling fluid, for example, and may travel from the surface to the drill bit and return to the surface with cuttings. As an example, the markers are used to determine the flow of cuttings within the wellbore. |
| US08172005B2 |
Cement silo structure for mining machine
The invention relates to a cement silo structure for a mining machine comprising a mixer, a cement silo for cement and a feed apparatus for feeding cement to the mixer. The cement silo is a separate unit that may be transferred by means of transfer means between a use position on top of the mining machine and a filling position that differs from the use position. |
| US08172004B2 |
Automatic transmission for a power tool
A transmission assembly for a power tool comprises a first transmission path comprising a high speed transmission path and a second transmission path comprising a low speed transmission path. Driven gears of each transmission path are permanently driven during operation of the transmission. A controller is provided for engaging or disengaging the high speed transmission path in response to monitored operating current of an electric motor providing a driving torque to an input of the transmission. When disengaged, a driven gear of the high speed transmission path continues to be driven, but the driven gear is disengaged from an output of the transmission. Consequently, under these circumstances, the low speed transmission path is the ‘active’ transmission path providing a low speed, high torque drive to the transmission output. A clutch enables the low speed transmission path to operate at a lower speed than an output of the transmission assembly when the high speed transmission path is engaged and is providing a high speed, low torque drive to the transmission output. |
| US08172003B2 |
Overload protection device and machine tool having such overload protection device
A portable device having an overload protection device for motor-operated tools has a drive motor, a drive shaft connected to the drive motor and driven in rotation by the drive motor, and an output shaft for driving a cutting tool, wherein the output shaft is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the drive shaft. A drive pinion is connected to the drive shaft. A drum is supported on the output shaft and driven in rotation by the drive pinion. A coupling is arranged between the drum and the output shaft and engages the drum. The coupling is connected to the output shaft. When the output shaft is blocked, the coupling effects an automatic decoupling between the drum and the output shaft in order to prevent overloading of the drive motor. |
| US08172001B2 |
Pendent residential fire protection sprinklers
A pendent residential fire prevention sprinkler has a frame structure extending from the sprinkler body, and a system for blocking an outlet to prevent fluid from passing through the outlet until occurrence of a predetermined condition and for unblocking the outlet in response to occurrence of the condition. A deflector is supported by the frame structure at a predetermined distance from the outlet, at a position to be impinged upon by the fluid leaving the outlet. The deflector has a central portion and a peripheral portion, and slots formed in the periphery, defining tines therebetween. The slots include a first plurality of slots, each of which extends inward from the deflector periphery with a uniform width, a second plurality of slots, each of which has a first portion and a second portion between the deflector periphery and the slot's closed end, where the first portion has a width that varies at different points, while the second portion has a uniform width. |
| US08171999B2 |
Downhole flow control device and method
A downhole flow control device includes, a first member defining a first portion of a flow path, and a second member defining a second portion of the flow path, the flow path has a cross sectional flow area defined at least partially by the first member and the second member, a length of the flow path is greater than a largest dimension of the cross sectional flow area, and the cross sectional flow area is adjustable by movement of at least a portion of the first member relative to the second member. |
| US08171996B2 |
Wellhead system having a tubular hanger securable to wellhead and method of operation
A technique is provided for installing a tubular hanger and tubular hanger seal in a wellhead. The technique comprises installing the tubular hanger with a setting tool. The tubular hanger may comprise a locking ring that is driven outward into engagement with a profile in the wellhead. The setting tool is adapted to rotate a moveable member of the tubular hanger relative to the tubular hanger body so as to drive the moveable member to expand the locking ring outward to engage a profile in the wellhead. The moveable member may be wedged between the locking ring and the tubular hanger body. The setting tool may be adapted to enable the moveable member and the tubular hanger body to be rotated independently. The annulus between the tubular hanger and the wellhead may be sealed by a seal that has a plurality of sealing elements that are coupled together by a series of catches. |
| US08171995B2 |
Pressure relieving transition joint
A method of completing a wellbore having a branch wellbore extending outwardly from a window in a parent wellbore comprises positioning a tubular string in the window, wherein the positioning comprises deflecting the tubular string from the parent wellbore into the branch wellbore. The method also comprises providing a particulate barrier outside and against the tubular string proximate the window, the particulate barrier substantially excluding transport of particulate matter from the branch wellbore into the parent wellbore outside of the tubular string through the window. The method also comprises the tubular string passing fluid into the tubular string proximate the window from a formation proximate to the window while substantially excluding transport of particulate matter from the formation proximate to the window into the tubular string. |
| US08171989B2 |
Well having a self-contained inter vention system
A system includes a subsea well and a carousel of tools. The carousel of tools is adapted to automatically and selectively deploy the tools in the well to perform an intervention in the well. The flow of fluid in a well is halted, and a tool is deployed from within the well while the fluid is halted. The tool is allowed to free fall while the fluid is halted. The flow is resumed to retrieve the tool. |
| US08171987B2 |
Minichannel heat exchanger header insert for distribution
An inlet header of a microchannel heat exchanger is provided with a first insert disposed within the inlet header and extending substantially the length thereof, and having a plurality of openings for the flow of refrigerant into the internal confines of the inlet header and then to the channels. A second insert, disposed within the first insert, extends substantially the length of the first insert and is of increasing cross sectional area toward its downstream end such that annular cavity is formed between the first and second insert. The annular cavity of decreasing cross sectional area provides for the maintenance of a substantially constant mass flux of the refrigerant along the length of the annulus so as to thereby maintain an annular flow regime of the liquid and thereby promote uniform flow distribution to the channels. |
| US08171984B2 |
Latent heat storage devices
A latent heat storage device including a vessel, a phase change material disposed within the vessel, at least one heat exchange interface in contact with the phase change material, at least one sheet of graphite foil which extends within the bulk of the phase change material. |
| US08171981B2 |
Method of casting metal articles
During casting of metal articles, a mold is moved into a body or bath of molten metal. The mold is moved into a container which contains a portion of the body of molten metal. Heat is transferred at a first rate from the mold to a first portion of the body of molten metal disposed above the container. Heat is transferred at a second rate from the mold to the second portion of the body of molten metal at least part of which is disposed in the container. The container retards movement of molten metal relative to the mold to effect an increase in the temperature of the molten metal in the container and thereby retards transfer of heat from a portion of the mold disposed in the container to the body of molten metal. The mold enters the container through an opening at the upper end portion of the container. One or more additional openings may be provided at the lower end portion of the container. |
| US08171975B2 |
Apparatus for causing planar parts to be bonded onto a seat pad
An apparatus for mounting planar components onto a pad for a seat is disclosed. The apparatus includes a lower die for allowing the pad to be carried thereon in a condition where a section of the pad onto which the planar components are to be mounted faces upward, a support frame for supporting the planar components, the support frame having both side portions, the support frame being configured as a handling jig which is separatably combined with the lower die means from an upward direction of the pad carried on the lower die means when the planar components are to be mounted onto the section of the pad, and an upper die means for causing the planar components supported by the support frame to be thermal press-bonded onto the section of the pad, the lower die having spaced apart guide pins for engaging the both side portions of the support frame and causing the support frame to be guided in a condition where the support frame is parallel relative to the section of the pad carried on the lower die, and hook arms for causing the support frame to be hooked with respect to the lower die. |
| US08171974B2 |
Film laminating apparatus
A conveyor conveys glass sheets horizontally, while holding them in an upright orientation. Film feed units are provided on both sides of a conveyance path of the glass sheets. Nip rollers press against both surfaces of the glass sheets via films fed from the film feed units so as to sandwich the glass sheets, while the glass sheets are being conveyed by the conveyor. |
| US08171972B2 |
Strip guide for high-speed continuous application of a strip material to a moving sheet-like substrate material at laterally shifting locations
Disclosed are examples of a strip guide for laterally shifting a longitudinally moving strip material as it enters a joining mechanism that urges the strip material into contact with a moving sheet material, the strip guide comprising a surface over which the strip material passes longitudinally, the surface defining a U-shape. |
| US08171969B2 |
Pneumatic tire
A sipe is formed in a block provided in a tread surface, wide portions extending in a sipe length direction are formed in each of a kick-out side and a step-in side of the sipe, and a total of heights of the wide portions in the kick-out side of the sipe is made larger than a total of heights of the wide portions in the step-in side of the sipe. |
| US08171964B2 |
Apparatus and method for opening/closing lid of closed container, gas replacement apparatus using same, and load port apparatus
The invention provides a purge apparatus that purges the gas in the interior of a FOUP with a high purging efficiency and an apparatus for opening/closing the lid of a FOUP for use in the purge apparatus. The purge apparatus has a cabinet having an opening portion through with the lid of the FOUP can pass, a door that can close the opening portion and hold the lid, and a gas supply nozzle provide in the cabinet. In this apparatus, a seal member is provided in such a way as to surround an element that is provided on the surface of the door and adapted to actuate a latch mechanism of the lid. The seal member spatially separates the element that is adapted to actuate the latch mechanism from the external space in a state in which the door is holding the lid. |
| US08171961B2 |
Plug structure
A plug structure for sealing an opening end portion of a circular fluid passage formed in a housing comprises a plug being equal in resistance against deformation to, or smaller than, the housing and having an annular flange portion formed on an end portion of a circular column portion; a flange pressure-contacting portion of the opening end portion deformed to be pressure-contacted with a lower surface of the annular flange portion by being caulked with a caulking tool; a contracted diameter portion of a shape gradually narrow in the middle to which the circular column portion is deformed as a result that the fluid passage is deformed by the caulking to be contracted in diameter; and a deformed circumferential portion to which the circumferential edge of the annular flange portion of the plug is deformed by the caulking to be pressure-contacted with the flange pressure-contacting portion of the opening end portion. |
| US08171954B2 |
Reclosable vacuum-tight pressure-relief device having a deformable seal member
A pressure-relief valve assembly is improved in that sealing surfaces on both the valve seat and valve head are confrontationally disposed annular planar surfaces oriented substantially perpendicular to the valve axis. A resilient valve seal is formed of a material which deforms to a predetermined extent into sealing engagement against both sealing surfaces when compressed by the spring biasing force. When a vacuum exists the combination of the spring force and a holding force created by a pressure differential acts to increase the extent of compression between the resilient valve seal and both sealing surfaces sufficient to create a vacuum-tight seal. The magnitude of the spring biasing force in discrete increments may be adjusted by varying the degree of threaded engagement between members forming the valve housing. |
| US08171946B2 |
Probe washing cups and methods
The invention provides probe washing cups and methods. A probe washing cup has a washing well and a waste cup. A drying section is disposed between an open end of the probe washing cup and an inlet plane of the washing well. The drying section has a channel that is aligned with the washing well. The channel has an opening for receiving the probe therethrough. |
| US08171945B2 |
Vehicle wash system comprising a plurality of treatment units
The invention relates to a vehicle wash system comprising a first treatment unit (2) arranged on a frame (1) so as to be height-adjustable and at least one second treatment unit (3) arranged on the frame (1) so as to be height-adjustable. In order to reduce the components required for driving and controlling the treatment units (2, 3) the latter are coupled to a common drive motor (11) via a traction mechanism drive (12, 13, 14, 15) for their mutual adjustment. |
| US08171944B1 |
Hair retainer
A hair retainer includes an annular body having a receiving through-hole through which a section of hair of a user is adapted to be extended. The annular body is flexible, bendable, and twistable so as to so create a variety of hair styles. Two clamping frames extend outwardly from first and second end portions of the annular body respectively. A plurality of teeth projects from an inner end of each clamping frame and extends toward an outer end of each clamping frame. A hair clipping space is defined between the plurality of teeth and one of the two clamping frames for further retaining the variety of hair styles in place. |
| US08171942B2 |
Apparatus for receiving interchangeable grooming units
An apparatus for receiving operationally powering units interchangeable grooming units. The apparatus comprising a casing, a motor, attachment means for allowing the grooming units to be releasably attached to the casing and mounting means for allowing the grooming units to be driven by the motor. The mounting means comprise a shaft with an end portion having a protrusion located eccentrically on the end portion. The mounting means are adapted to enable the grooming units with accordingly adapted receiving means to carry out a rotational movement and/or a linear movement without gear arrangements in the receiving means of the grooming unit. |
| US08171940B2 |
Rotary cutter assembly for a lighter
A rotary cutter assembly for a lighter comprises a lighter body which is defined with a receiving groove in an outer periphery thereof. A rotary plate is pivoted to the receiving groove in such a manner that the rotary plate can be rotated within the receiving groove. In the receiving groove is disposed a push pole, and on the rotary plate is provided an annular cutter. When the rotary plate is closed, the push pole is inserted in the annular cutter. |
| US08171937B2 |
Method and apparatus for precision working of material
A method for precise working of material, particularly organic tissue, comprises the step of providing laser pulses with a pulse length between 50 fs and 1 ps and with a pulse frequency from 50 kHz to 1 MHz and with a wavelength between 600 and 2000 nm for acting on the material to be worked. Apparatus, in accordance with the invention, for precise working of material, particularly organic tissue comprising a pulsed laser, wherein the laser has a pulse length between 50 fs and 1 ps and with a pulse frequency of from 50 kHz to 1 MHz is also described. |
| US08171929B2 |
Delivery device and method
A delivery device for and method of delivering substance to a nasal airway of a subject, the delivery device comprising: at least one nosepiece unit (21) for insertion into one nasal cavity of a subject and comprising a nosepiece (25) for fitting to the respective nostril of the subject; and at least one delivery unit (23) which is operative to deliver a substance through the at least one nosepiece unit into the one nasal cavity of the subject, wherein the at least one delivery unit includes a substance supply unit (27) for delivering a substance and an actuation unit (29) which is operable to actuate the substance supply unit, either automatically or manually, in response to nasal exhalation or at least attempted nasal exhalation by the subject. |
| US08171927B2 |
Burner cap flame stabilization chamber
A gas burner cap for a cooking appliance includes a top side and a bottom side. The bottom side of the cap is configured to face a corresponding burner body. One or more flame-stabilization chambers are located on the bottom side of the cap. |
| US08171925B2 |
Paintball loader
A paintball loader, more specifically a paintball loader which rapidly and forcibly feeds paintballs to a paintball marker, comprises a rotor body having at least one rotor fin, and a drive motor for rotating the rotor body in a first direction. The paintball loader has a central outlet located radially inwards of the tip of the rotor fin and an abutment body arranged to interact with the at least one rotor fin. When the rotor body is rotated, a paintball, located in a space formed between the at least one rotor fin and the abutment body, is pushed out of the paintball loader through the central outlet. |
| US08171922B2 |
Blow-by gas recirculation system for internal combustion engine
The invention relates to a blow-by gas recirculation system for an internal combustion engine. An oil separation cover 10 has a surge-tank mounting portion 400 integrally formed therewith in a columnar shape having a cam-shaped cross-section and a height approximately equal to that of an oil separation space OS. The surge-tank mounting portion 400 has a flat upper surface serving as a mounting seat surface 401 capable of coming into surface contact with an attaching seat surface 7a of a surge tank 7. A first opening 403 of a gas passage from a chamber 300 is opened in a vicinity of an opening of a support through-hole 402 on the mounting seat surface 401. Through an operation of joining the seat surface 7a of the surge tank 7 to the mounting seat surface 401 of the surge-tank mounting portion 400 while communicating the first opening 403 with a second opening 7b opened on the attaching seat surface 7a of the surge tank 7, a third gas passage 15 for supplying blow-by gas to an inside of the surge tank 7 is formed in such a manner as to penetrate through the oil separation cover 10 and the surge tank 7. |
| US08171921B2 |
Crankcase venting system
Crankcase venting system comprising an oil separator arranged in a housing that separates the housing into an unfiltered air side and a filtered air side, wherein in the area of the unfiltered air side a valve is arranged that is comprised of a valve plate, a pressure spring resting against the valve plate, as well as a valve seat that is closed or opened by means of the valve plate, and wherein the valve is closed off by a lid that is locked or snapped in place. |
| US08171916B2 |
Fuel supply systems
A fuel supply system includes a fuel pump for supplying fuel in a fuel tank to an engine, a pressure regulator and a three-way valve disposed in a valve chamber. The pressure regulator includes a pressure regulating chamber and a control pressure chamber and adjusts a fuel pressure in the pressure regulating chamber depending on a fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber. A control pressure passage for flowing the fuel to the control pressure chamber and the valve chamber is formed in a unit case. |
| US08171908B2 |
Engine start system for use in idle stop system for automotive vehicle
An engine start system which may be employed in automotive idle stop systems. The engine start system includes a pinion gear to be pushed to a ring gear coupled to an engine for achieving meshing engagement with the ring gear. After the pinion gear engages the ring gear, the engine start system starts to rotate the pinion gear using a starter motor to crank the engine. Specifically, when an engine restart request is made following an engine stop request, the engine start system waits until after the speed of the engine drops below a preselected gear engagable speed and then moves the pinion gear toward the ring gear without rotating the pinion gear. This minimizes the consumption of fuel in the vehicle in supplying electric power to the starter motor and a maximum level of mechanical noise arising from the engagement of the pinion gear with the ring gear. |
| US08171897B2 |
Cooling structure of internal combustion engine
A cooling structure of an internal combustion engine includes a cylinder block having a plurality of cylinder bores; a cylinder head disposed on an upper portion of the cylinder block; two camshafts disposed on the cylinder head so as to be juxtaposed to each other in parallel to a crankshaft; camshaft housing chambers formed on the cylinder head to house the respective camshafts; a recessed portion provided between the camshaft housing chambers; a plug seat formed between the camshafts and in the recessed portion; a cooling air passage formed between the cylinder bores; and cooling air introduction passages communicating from the cooling air passage to the recessed portion of the cylinder head. |
| US08171896B2 |
Cooling structure of internal combustion engine
A cooling structure of an internal combustion engine includes: a cooling water introducing port provided on one end side of a cylinder block; and a water jacket provided so as to surround a cylinder bore wall, wherein cooling water is introduced from the cooling water introducing port into the water jacket, the cooling water is branched to flow to a portion on an intake side and a portion on an exhaust side of the water jacket of the cylinder block of the internal combustion engine, and the cooling water is supplied from a cylinder block side to a cylinder head side, the cooling structure of the internal combustion engine, further comprising a first regulation portion that regulates a flow of the cooling water supplied to the cylinder head side. |
| US08171894B2 |
Engine system
An engine system in which hydrogen is employed as a fuel, including a reactor configured to cause a reaction using a catalyst, in which the reactor is constituted by alternately disposing plural exhaust passages and plural fuel passageways of the engine system with a wall interposed therebetween; at least one carrier configured to carry the catalyst and to be formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape is fitted in at least one of fuel passageways; and the carrier is provided with a plate portion which has a surface disposed in a fuel flowing direction and is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape and at least one slit portion which divides the surface of the plate portion in the fuel flowing direction. |
| US08171892B1 |
Motion control harness for a medium to large dog
A restraint harness for a dog, particularly a dog of medium size and larger, including a conventional adjustable dog harness or collar and an attached control extension member. The control extension member includes a plurality of straps configured to extend to the hind end of the dog and a motion control cord that is interlaced in and between the conventional adjustable dog harness and the control extension member. The motion control cord encircles the dog's hind legs and can be tightened around the thighs with minimal force, where such tightening substantially restrains the dog without causing injury to the dog. |
| US08171891B2 |
Animal support harness and method of supporting and restraining movement of the animal
An animal support harness and method of supporting and restraining movement of an animal is provided. The apparatus includes a sling that can be routed around the abdomen of the animal, and a plurality of primary support straps extend and are joined at a handle. A leash strap is integrated with the handle, and extends to connect to the collar of the animal. The integral leash strap along with the primary support straps enables an owner to control not only an upward supporting force for the animal, but also provides an inherent restraint to prevent an animal from walking too quickly or lunging, which might otherwise harm the animal. |
| US08171888B2 |
Enhanced pet carrier
A detachable pet carrier for housing a pet that allows the pet to rest on one or more of its interior surfaces. The pet carrier may include a roof that provides shelter for the rest area in the pet carrier's deployed configuration. The pet carrier may also include one or more bolsters on one or more of its interior surfaces to better define the boundaries of the rest area in the pet carrier's deployed configuration. The pet carrier may also include one or more pockets on its interior and or exterior surfaces. |
| US08171884B2 |
Method and system for feeding aquatic animals
Method and system for feeding aquatic animals. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including submerging, at least partially, a chamber in a water reservoir, the chamber comprising a bladder comprising food for aquatic animals, periodically pumping water from the water reservoir into the chamber, exterting, by the pumping, a force on the bladder, and thereby dispensing the food into the water reservoir. |
| US08171878B2 |
Coating instrument
The coating instrument is provided with a coating head which has a plurality of head members, and in which a groove-like slot is formed, an adjustment unit accommodated in a recessed groove installed on a leading end face continuing to an outer face opposite to an inner face or to the inner face in the head member to adjust the width of the slot by pressing a side wall face of the recessed groove, and a controller for controlling a pressing force to the side wall face of the recessed groove by the adjustment unit. The adjustment unit is provided with a fluid pressure chamber into which a fluid is sealed, a pressing portion for pressing the side wall face of the recessed groove by the fluid pressure of the fluid pressure chamber, and an operating portion for allowing the fluid pressure of the fluid pressure chamber to change. The controller is provided with a pressure detecting portion for detecting the fluid pressure of the fluid pressure chamber and an instruction portion for comparing the fluid pressure detected by the pressure detecting portion with a previously-set pressure range to give instructions to the operating portion. |
| US08171875B1 |
Owl with intermittent powered movement
An owl replica for deterring pests, having a plastic owl body; a plastic owl head; an unstable mount disposed between the body and head for free movement of the head relative to the body; and a powered assembly supported by the mount and operable to move with the mount relative to the body and enable intermittent powered movement of the head relative to the body without interfering with free movement of the head. |
| US08171870B2 |
Method and apparatus for dampening rudder vibration
An apparatus is provided for dampening rudder vibration of a motorboat. The apparatus may include a tiller assembly rotatable about a pivot point adjacent the stern of the motorboat, the tiller assembly including a tiller arm extending in a first direction from the pivot point and configured to be rotated about the pivot point by a user, and/or a damper mounted on the tiller assembly extending in a second direction from the pivot point. The damper may be configured to rotate integrally with the tiller arm, and the damper may include a mass that is sufficient to dampen vibrations of the tiller. A method of using the apparatus for dampening rudder vibration is also disclosed. |
| US08171866B2 |
Safe construction for swing and slide door
A safe of the swing and slide type has a closing stile which has a landing surface for the safe door and a pocket for housing the closing edge of the door. That edge is outwardly turned to prevent the insertion of a pry bar between the door and the hook of the closing stile. The pocket has a ramp face which guides the closing edge of the door during the slide open and slide closed phases. In different variants, a ramp face is provided on the door also; a second ramp face is provided on the hook of the closing stile; a door seat is incorporated into ramp. |
| US08171864B2 |
Security, monitoring and control system for preventing unauthorized entry into a bank or other building
A series of doors, locks, walls and signage present a vestibule room or safety enclosure for use in controlling access into a secured space. Exterior signage regarding weapon detection equipment and the appearance of a mantrap enclosure is used to dissuade visitors from bringing weapons into the secured area. A person within the safety enclosure may always exit through the exterior door and thus avoid harm in the event of a natural disaster. |
| US08171862B2 |
Folding table
A table for attaching to the wall of an aircraft. The table has a table top comprising at least two table top segments which are moveable relative to each other. At least one table top segment has a screen on one side. Two table top segments are pivotable or rotatable in relation to each other about at least two axes. The first axis runs parallel to an edge of a table top segment. The second axis runs substantially perpendicularly to the first axis in the plane of a table top segment. |
| US08171861B2 |
Railway vehicle power bogie having a semi-suspended motor
A bogie includes two pairs of wheels (2), the wheels (2) of one pair being connected to one another by a shaft to form an axle (4), the axles (4) being connected to one another by a chassis (6) having at least two side members (10) resting on axle boxes (14, 14′) of each axle (4). The boxes (14, 14′) are arranged between the wheels (2) of the axle (4), and a motor (24) fixed to the chassis (6) extends between the wheels (2) of the axle (4) and drives the axle (4) in rotation by way of a coupling (42) and a reducing gear (28). One of the axle boxes (14) accommodates the reducing gear (28) of the motor (24). |
| US08171858B2 |
Transit system vehicle guideway constructed from modular elements and using magnetic levitation for suspension and propulsion vehicles
The networked guideway transit system uses materials and methods of constructing guideway elements. The materials and methods are designed to reduce the static weight, cost and physical size of the guideway structure. Installation cost is also significantly reduced by the modular nature of the guideway components, which can be manufactured in a controlled factory environment using mass production methods. As a result, the supporting structure of the guideway can be quickly erected and the modular blocks inserted with simple equipment. In addition, complex alignment procedures are not required. In particular, the guideway component includes motor coils having the shapes and configurations that facilitate the easy insertion of the guideway component without the need for interleaving coils in adjacent guideway components and without creating dead spots in the magnetic fields between guideway components. |
| US08171855B2 |
Rail plate inserter
A workhead assembly for use with a rail maintenance machine having a workhead assembly for use with a rail maintenance machine having a rail lifter and configured for movement relative to a railroad track having a pair of rails, the workhead assembly constructed and arranged for positioning a tie plate predisposed on a rail tie, including a workhead body connected to the machine; a centering apparatus on the body constructed and arranged for centering the workhead over the rail tie; a squaring apparatus on the body constructed and arranged for squaring the tie plate on the rail tie; and a pusher assembly on the body for positioning the tie plate under a selected one of the rails being lifted by the rail lifter, and including at least one plate engaging finger constructed and arranged for engaging the tie plate. |
| US08171854B2 |
Cartridge
A cartridge (1) is provided comprising a cartridge case (2) and a projectile arrangement (3; 3′) with an arrow projectile (5; 5′) with a sub-caliber control unit (7), wherein the projectile arrangement (3; 3′) is connected to the cartridge case (2) via a case cover (4), wherein, after firing of the projectile arrangement (3; 3′), a precise guiding of the arrow projectile (5; 5′) in the corresponding weapon barrel is ensured due to a receptacle device (28; 28′) that centers the control unit (7) of the arrow projectile (5; 5′), and that can be separated from the control unit (7) when the projectile arrangement (3; 3′) is fired. The receptacle device is connected to the case cover (4) on the projectile side, wherein the receptacle device grasps a ring-shaped rear flange (29; 29′) whose outer diameter corresponds to the projectile caliber of the respective cartridge (1). |
| US08171852B1 |
Expanding projectile
An improved projectile having a penetrator and a body is disclosed. The penetrator is secured to the body. Upon impacting a target, the pentrator travels into the body and deforms the body. The body optionally has one or more portions, such as slots in the body, to promote deformation of the body upon the penetrator impacting the target. The body optionally has a bore extending at least partially therethrough that permits attachment of the penetrator at a second end of the body opposite the first end. |
| US08171851B2 |
Kinetic energy penetrator
A kinetic energy penetrator is provided comprising a consolidated body of a metal nanoparticles phase comprising metal nanoparticles and a metal carbide nanoparticles phase comprising metal carbide nanoparticles. Methods for making a kinetic energy penetrator as well as material compositions comprising a consolidated body of a metal nanoparticles phase comprising metal nanoparticles and a metal carbide nanoparticles phase comprising metal carbide nanoparticles are also provided. |
| US08171847B2 |
Printing press including fold formers of different widths and at least one fold former that is movable in a direction transverse to web travel
A superstructure of a printing press includes a turning tower with at least one turner bar that is usable to deflect a web section from a transport direction by 90°. A second turner bar, that is shorter than the first turner bar, is also used to deflect a web section from the transport direction by 90° in the same direction as the first web section. These first and second turner bars are offset vertically in relation to one another in the same turning tower. The first turner bar is supported at both ends on at least one first lateral support and at least one second lateral support. The second turner bar is supported only on one end on the lateral support in a floating manner. The second support side of the second turner bar is provided with access from that support side into the interior of the turning tower. |
| US08171844B2 |
Griddle for a cooking appliance
A griddle for a cooking appliance is disclosed. The griddle includes a main body having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a recessed area formed on the second surface, the recessed area having a center, a periphery, and a thickness which diminishes from the periphery toward the center. |
| US08171840B2 |
Firearm silencer and methods for manufacturing and fastening a silencer onto a firearm
A firearm suppressor includes a hollow outer can having an interior-threaded proximal end and a radially closed distal end with a bore, a barrel nut having a barrel bore and an outer-threaded distal threading to the can, and a baffle. The baffle has an intermediate wall with a bore and extends outward to the can interior to prevent fluid passing across other than through the bore. A proximal baffle wall has a bore aligned with the other bores and is shaped to secure to the barrel and extends outward not as far as the outer can interior to permit fluid passage. The baffle is shorter than the can's interior length to have the can, the nut, and the baffle define a plenum extending from the proximal end portion to the nut so that the proximal baffle wall directs fluid from the barrel backwards as a muzzle brake. |
| US08171839B2 |
Reusable explosive bolt
An axial loaded explosive bolt that can repeatedly be used for the purpose of remotely or automatically activating a timely separation of adjoining walls separated by a finite distance by the means of either an explosive charge or activation of a pressurized gas line. The fastener includes two bolts with internal bores that are attached by the means of a two-piece encapsulation connected by an inter-connecting clasp. The fastener assembly employs the use of either a combination of a thermal igniter and a pyrotechnic charge or a pressurized gas line attached to a solenoid valve and pressurized gas storage unit to supply a force sufficient to properly separate the said mechanical fastener assembly. |
| US08171838B2 |
Method for inserting predetermined breaking points in a ring-shaped holding- and sealing band of a sabot cage projectile and a work tool for carrying out the method
A method and work tool for inserting predetermined breaking points in a ring-shaped holding- and sealing band of a sabot cage projectile with an impact sabot cage are provided, wherein the band is arranged on a partial area of a receptacle device segmented through at least two longitudinal slits. The receptacle device connects the propelling element to the guiding cage of the impact sabot cage, and the guiding cage is segmented through at least two longitudinal slits. After mounting the band on the receptacle device, but before installation of the guiding cage in the area of the holding- and sealing band covering the longitudinal slits of the receptacle device, notch-shaped predetermined breaking points are inserted in the holding- and sealing band from inside of the band with the aid of a work tool, wherein longitudinal slits of the receptacle device are used for lateral guiding of the work tool. |
| US08171837B2 |
Pressure container
It is intended to provide a pressure container which can prevent dispersion of a hazardous substance or the like to the exterior and ensure a high level of safety with a simple structure. To achieve this object, a pressure container (10) comprises an outer vessel (30) and an inner vessel (40) which receives an impact load produced at the time of blasting disposal operation. The inner vessel (40) is disposed inside the outer vessel (30). The inner vessel (40) has a pressure relieving part (50) which can discharge part of high-pressure gas produced in the inner vessel (40) at the time of the blasting disposal operation into a gap formed between the inner vessel (40) and the outer vessel (30). |
| US08171833B2 |
Rail system cheese cutter
The present invention is a rail system cheese cutter comprised of an arched cutting surface, rail and cutting arm with a removable cutting wire and tension adjustment component which allows the user to adjust the tension of the wire. The rail has a milled portion where the cutting arm is to be attached to the rail. One end of the cutting arm has a rotational bearing with a slot and opening. The slot is slid around the milled portion of the rail until the rail rests in the opening of the rotational bearing. Once attached, the cutting arm can be pivoted around the rail and moved laterally along the rail allowing the user to uniformly cut or slice a food item without moving it. |
| US08171831B2 |
Manually fed machine for working on materials, objects and the like, and protective means for such a machine
A manually fed working machine including a working tool, a feeding area in front of the tool, a detector covering at least a section of the feeding area for a contactless detection of human skin, the detector comprising at least one radiation unit and at least one receiver unit. The at least one radiation unit emitting radiation towards said section of the feeding area, said radiation being emitted with at least two different wavelengths in the wavelength range between 900 nm and 1500 nm, whereas the at least one receiver unit receives the radiation reflected from the section of the feeding area, and a signal evaluation unit connected with the detector calculating the quotients or differences of the intensities of the reflected radiations received by the receiver unit and the at least two different wavelengths emitted from the radiation unit. |
| US08171830B2 |
Machine tool
According to one embodiment, a machine tool for machining a workpiece includes: a main spindle that holds the workpiece to rotate the workpiece around a axis; a tool that is configured to machine the workpiece by working together with the main spindle; a headstock that rotatably supports the main spindle and includes a leading-edge portion and a base-end portion; and a bed that supports the headstock by a sliding bearing at the leading-edge portion and rolling bearings at two points of the base-end portion so that the headstock is movable along an axial line of the main spindle, wherein the two points of the base-end portion are spaced apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the axial line of the main spindle. |
| US08171828B2 |
Electromechanical wrench
An electromechanical wrench has a housing that has a working end and a gripping end, with a driver positioned at the working end, and a handle positioned at the gripping end. The wrench further includes a click wrench emulator mechanism provided at the handle. A method of using an electromechanical wrench to secure a fastener using angular measurement without the need for establishing a zero reference point, and allowing for ratcheting, is also provided. A method of counting the number of fasteners secured by an electromechanical wrench during a wrenching job is further provided. |
| US08171819B2 |
Tilt steering apparatus
A tilt steering apparatus comprises a tilt adjusting mechanism in which a tilt lock release is established only when an oscillation-free end of an operating arm portion of a tilt operating lever is positioned toward a steering wheel side. Even when the tilt operating lever is oscillated to the steering wheel side, the tilt operating lever is prevented from returning under its own weight, thereby preventing it from being difficult to operate. The tilt steering apparatus is configured from an oscillation latch portion formed on the circumference of an oscillation center portion of an oscillation base portion of the tilt operating lever to move reciprocally in the circumferential direction, a hook portion formed in the movable bracket, and a spring that extends between the oscillation latch portion and the hook portion elastically urged in the direction of contraction. The centerline of the spring is able to pass through the oscillation center portion of the tilt operating lever as appropriate. |
| US08171814B2 |
Transmission system and method for performing a gearshift
A transmission system and method for operating the transmission system, where the transmission system includes a selector assembly arranged to select between gear ratios instantaneously without substantial power interruption. The selector assembly includes first and second sets of engagement members and an actuator system. The actuator system may have a first actuator member for moving the first set of engagement members, a second actuator member for moving the second set of engagement members, a first actuator device for actuating the first actuator member and a second actuator device for actuating the second actuator member independently of the first actuator device. |
| US08171811B2 |
Connecting component for a breathing tube with a sensor for measuring the gas flow
A breathing tube for a sensor (9) with a horizontally extending grip element (11) shall be improved such that the sensor (9) assumes a preferred position in relation to the connecting component (1). To accomplish the object, a wall section (7), which extends flush and at the level of grip element (11), is provided at the connecting component. |
| US08171806B2 |
Force detection element
A temperature compensated force detection element is provided with a substrate, an insulation layer disposed above the substrate, and a p-type semiconductor layer disposed above the insulation layer, and a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed apart from each other above the p-type semiconductor layer. A gauge portion being electrically connected to the positive electrode and having a higher impurity concentration than the p-type semiconductor layer, and an n-type region electrically connected to the negative electrode are formed in the p-type semiconductor layer. |
| US08171804B2 |
Motion conversion system
A motion conversion system is described. The motion conversion system comprises a first torsional member operative for rotating in a first direction. A second torsional member is offset a distance from the first torsional member, wherein the second torsional member is operative for rotating in a direction opposite from the first direction. And, a lateral member has a lower surface connected to the first and second torsional members. Wherein, translational movement of the lateral member results from rotational movement of the first and second torsional members. |
| US08171800B1 |
Differential pressure sensor using dual backside absolute pressure sensing
A MEMS differential pressure sensing element is provided by two separate silicon dies attached to opposite sides of a silicon or glass spacer, the sides of which are recessed and the recesses formed therein at least partially evacuated. The dies are attached to the spacer using silicon-to-silicon bonding provided in part by silicon oxide layers if a silicon spacer is used. The dies can be also attached to the spacer using anodic bonding if a glass spacer is used. Conductive vias extend through the layers and provide electrical connections between Wheatstone bridge circuits formed from piezoresistors in the silicon dies. |
| US08171798B2 |
Acoustic liquid dispensing apparatus
A liquid dispensing apparatus for dispensing droplets of a liquid, and methods for measuring various fluid parameters of the liquid are described. The liquid dispensing apparatus comprises a container having a chamber for holding a liquid. An orifice is positioned at an end of the chamber for dispensing droplets of the liquid, the orifice being configured to retain the liquid in the container if the container is positioned with the orifice facing in a downward direction. An acoustic transducer means is at least partially positioned in the chamber for periodically propagating a focused acoustic beam toward the orifice and through at least some of the liquid while the liquid is contained in the chamber, with the focused acoustic beam being capable of causing a droplet of the liquid to be ejected from the orifice when a free surface of the liquid is within the depth of field of the acoustic transducer means. Fluid parameters that can be measured include the sound velocity in the liquid, liquid level and liquid concentration, liquid acoustic impedance, liquid density ultrasonic attenuation and ultrasonic viscosity. |
| US08171796B2 |
Acoustic emission detector and controller
An AE detector has an AE sensor and a destruction judging section. The destruction judging section judges it as a warning of destruction of a bearing when there are a predetermined number or more of points defined by parameters calculated based on signals from the AE sensor in a predetermined region of a parameter space defined by a plurality of parameters which can be created based on the signals from the AE sensor. |
| US08171792B2 |
Inertia sensor and inertia detector device
A detector device includes a drive circuit for outputting a drive pulse signal for displacing the variable block, a detection pulse signal applying unit by which the variable capacitance elements and the fixed capacitance element whose one end is connected in common are respectively applied, at their other ends, with detection pulse signals with a plurality of phases each having a predetermined phase difference at a timing synchronized with the drive pulse signal, and an inertia detection unit for detecting a difference in capacitance value between the variable capacitance elements to which the detection pulse signal having the phase difference is applied, or between the fixed capacitance element and the variable capacitance element, and detecting the applied inertial force based on the difference. |
| US08171791B2 |
Rotation sensor with onboard power generation
A rotation sensor configured to be mounted on a rim of a wheel. The rotation sensor includes a band sized and shaped to fit around the rim of the wheel, a first element mounted on the band that generates a first time-varying electrical signal in response to a rotational movement, a second element mounted on the band that generates a second time-varying electrical signal in response to the rotational movement, a processor mounted on the band that receives the first and second time-varying electrical signals and processes the first and second time-varying electrical signals to determine a rotational speed, and a rechargeable power source that receives the first and second time-varying electrical signals, consumes at least a portion of the first and second time-varying electrical signals to recharge the rechargeable power source, and generates a power signal. The processor is connected to the rechargeable power source to receive the power signal. |
| US08171788B2 |
Barometric portable electronic device
The invention relates to a device and method for measuring atmospheric pressure and processing atmospheric-pressure information. The invention is based on the idea that the atmospheric pressure is measured at several moments in time, the atmospheric-pressure data is stored in a memory and, and the measured atmospheric-pressure data is displayed on a display unit with the aid of special atmospheric-pressure indicators (12) using a graph, one axis of which corresponds to time and the other axis to atmospheric pressure. In addition, a reference indicator (14), which comprises at least one sloping line, is arranged on the display unit. According to the invention, the atmospheric-pressure indicators are scaled in such a way that a temporal change in atmospheric pressure of the magnitude of a specific predefined constant causes the consecutive atmospheric-pressure indicators (12) to be set in the graph parallel to the said sloping line. |
| US08171784B2 |
Gas cylinder residual gas volume indicator
A gas cylinder residual gas volume indicator includes a carrier having a weight-receiving part and a pressure-applying part, a hydraulic cylinder having a cylinder body holding a hydraulic fluid and a cylinder piston stopped against the pressure-applying part of the carrier and movable with the pressure-applying part relative to the cylinder body to force the hydraulic fluid out of the cylinder body according to the weight received from a gas cylinder by the weight-receiving part, a hydraulic mechanical type meter having an index rotatable by a hydraulic fluid, and an oil pipe for guiding the hydraulic fluid out of the hydraulic cylinder into the meter to rotate the index. |
| US08171783B2 |
Tire tread scanner drive-over unit
A tire tread scanner drive-over unit is used to measure the tread depth and tire wear condition of a vehicle with two or four wheels on the axle. The unit includes a surface with two tire position area areas, each between an elevated rearward area and an elevated forward area to define a trough therebetween. Scanners are located behind scanner windows in the rearward area under scanner covers. When a vehicle is driven onto the surface so that the tires of one of its axels are on the tire position areas between the rearward and forward areas, the tires self-center against the scanner windows so that the tire profile may be measured to determine wear and wear characteristics. |
| US08171782B2 |
Test bench
A test bench for simulating oscillations with at least one roller that has a running face on at least part of which a roadway covering is applied. The roller is rotatably mounted and supported by an axle. At least one excitation device is provided, which additionally moves the roller in at least one spatial direction, in particular in the vertical direction of the vehicle. |
| US08171779B2 |
Method and device for monitoring an ozone-oxygen conversion means, especially for vehicles
A method of monitoring a heat exchanger of a vehicle, coated with an ozone-oxygen conversion material, including detecting the heat exchange medium temperature (tka) and heat exchange temperature (tprem) and plotting the values as a function of time, determining the area value (atka) of the heat exchange medium temperature, comparing the value of the heat exchange medium temperature with a setpoint value, repeating the foregoing steps if the sensed value is negative relative to the setpoint value, devising a quotient of the area values of such temperature, comparing the devised quotient with a defined setpoint range (RA) and determining whether such devised quotient falls within or without such defined setpoint range. |
| US08171775B2 |
Material permeance measurement system and method
A system for measuring the permeance of a material. The permeability of the material may also be derived. The system provides a liquid or high concentration fluid bath on one side of a material test sample, and a gas flow across the opposing side of the material test sample. The mass flow rate of permeated fluid as a fraction of the combined mass flow rate of gas and permeated fluid is used to calculate the permeance of the material. The material test sample may be a sheet, a tube, or a solid shape. Operational test conditions may be varied, including concentration of the fluid, temperature of the fluid, strain profile of the material test sample, and differential pressure across the material test sample. |
| US08171774B2 |
Hydrocarbon liquid-seal device and a hydrocarbon vapor testing system having the hydrocarbon liquid-seal device
A hydrocarbon liquid-seal device is provided. The device includes first and second conduits in fluid communication with each other such that the first and second conduits define a flow path therethrough configured to pass a hydrocarbon vapor. The first and second conduits are in a spaced relationship and are not rigidly coupled to one another for isolating a vibration or movement respectively therein. The device further includes a liquid disposed within a space between first and second end portions of the first and second conduits, respectively, such that the liquid blocks the space between the first and second end portions and seals the hydrocarbon vapor in the flow path. |
| US08171769B2 |
Method of forming a flanged tubular member in hydroforming
A method of forming a flanged tubular member includes the steps of: positioning a tubular blank in a die; applying nominal pressure; closing the dies; and increasing pressure within the blank, thereby converting the tubular blank to a hydroformed member having the flange and a hem with a cavity therein. The die halves define: a die tubular cavity portion; a die hem cavity portion; and a die flange cavity portion. Upon closing the die halves with nominal pressure and then increasing pressure, (1) the blank is deformed within the die tubular cavity portion; (2) the flange is defined from a portion of the blank in the die flange cavity portion; and (3) at least an intermediate hem is defined in the die hem cavity portion. |
| US08171767B2 |
Modular rolling mill
A modular rolling mill has a mill pass line along which products are rolled in a rolling direction. The rolling mill comprises first gear units arranged along a first line parallel to the mill pass mill line. Each first gear unit is driven individually by a motor and has a pair of mechanically interconnected output shafts. Second gear units are arranged along a second line between and parallel to both the first line and the mill pass line. Each second gear unit has a pair of mechanically interconnected input shafts driving a pair of output shafts. Rolling units are arranged in succession along the mill pass line. Each rolling unit is driven by an input shaft and has a pair of mechanically interconnected roll shafts carrying work rolls. First couplings connect the output shafts of each first gear unit to input shafts of two successive gear units, and second couplings releasably connect the output shafts of the second gear units to the input shafts of two successive rolling units. |
| US08171762B2 |
Anti-theft device for the security
An anti-theft device for a portable device is disclosed, wherein the portable device includes an aperture. The anti-theft device includes a coupler, an engaging/disengaging device, and a localizer. The localizer couples the engaging/disengaging device with an immovable object. The coupler includes a bridge portion and a leg, wherein the bridge portion and the leg are disposed on two different sides of the portable device. The engaging/disengaging device engages with the aperture of the portable device and also couples with the coupler to clamp the portable device. |
| US08171760B2 |
Padlock with open indication function
A padlock having an open indication function is provided. The padlock includes a first lock, a driving device, and an indication device. A portion of the driving device is movably disposed within a key hole of the first lock. The indication device moves in combination with the driving device. A bottom end of the indication device is connected to a top end of the driving device. In addition, the indication device is selectively disposed between a first position and a second position. When a key is inserted into the key hole of the first lock, the key pushes the driving device to force the indication device moving from the first position to the second position. |
| US08171758B2 |
Drum type washing machine having single rear balancer
A drum type washing machine including a balancer capable of rapidly reducing vibration of a spin tub. The drum type washing machine includes a spin tub which is rotated by receiving rotational force from a driving motor through a rotating shaft, a rear balancer having an annular shape and being coupled to the spin tub, and a shaft flange provided at a center portion thereof with the rotating shaft and coupled to the spin tub so as to uniformly transfer the rotational force to the spin tub. The rear balancer is supported on a rear surface of a rear cover by the shaft flange. Thus, the balls accommodated in the balancer are prevented from moving out of the balancer, even if the balancer is broken due to long-period use. |
| US08171752B2 |
Device for electrically grounding a float glass production apparatus
The float glass apparatus has a glass melt producing unit including a melting tank and a refining tank for the glass melt, a float tank including a metallic basin and metal bath contained in the basin, conducting devices for conducting the glass melt from the glass melt producing unit to the metal bath and auxiliary devices as needed. In order to minimize bubble defects and extend service life of apparatus parts made from platinum or a platinum alloy, the apparatus includes a device for minimizing direct current flowing between the glass melt producing unit and the float tank, which includes an auxiliary electrode connected with ground and located in the glass melt producing unit in electrical contact with the glass melt and a direct electrical connection between the metallic basin of the float tank and ground. |
| US08171751B1 |
Foamed glass composite material and a method of producing same
A method of making a foamed glass composite, including crushing a vitreous precursor material, such as waste glass, frit, metallurgical slag or the like, sizing the crushed vitreous precursor to segregate an amount of crushed particles of a predetermined size and pelletizing the crushed particles. The pellets are preheated and passed through a high-temperature zone to foam the pellets. The foamed pellets are rapidly quenched to a temperature below their dilatometric softening point and then cooled to room temperature. The high temperature zone is at least about 1200° C. and the pellets are preheated to within no more than about 25° C. of their dilatometric softening point. The pellets are quenched to partially or completely avoid annealing and have increased hardness and compressive strength as a consequence, as well as a preferred failure mode under compression and torsional loads of crushing/shattering. |
| US08171749B2 |
Ultra small air chiller for aircraft galley
An aircraft-galley chiller, enclosed in a housing, including an evaporator condensate drying device. The galley chiller may operate on DC power and may be transported from one cart to another to provide chilled air to a particular cart. |
| US08171748B2 |
Indoor unit of air conditioner
It is an object of the present invention to provide an indoor unit of an air conditioner including a front opening and closing panel with a structure wherein a sink is difficult to occur in a design surface. The indoor unit of the air conditioner according to the present invention, the indoor unit of the air conditioner being a wall-hung type indoor unit, including a main body having a front frame of a main body and a back frame of a main body, a front opening and closing panel 1 that is mounted on the front frame of the main body in a freely openable and closable manner, an arm 25 that is provided on a rear surface of the front opening and closing panel 1 and held in a freely rotating manner at the front frame of the main body, a lug 26 that is provided on the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel 1 and latched to the front frame of the main body with the front opening and closing panel 1 being in a closed state, a base, whereon the arm 25 or the lug 26 is disposed upright, that is provided on the rear surface of the front opening and closing panel 1 in a manner spaced apart from the front opening and closing panel, and a thin-walled leg that links the front opening and closing panel 1 with the base. |
| US08171745B2 |
Compartment cooling loss identification for efficient system operation
A galley cooling system comprises a plurality of galley cooling units each to be associated with separate galleys. A sensor senses a condition within each of the galleys. A control determines whether a sensed condition is indicative of efficient operation of a particular galley cooling unit, and the control is operable to decrease cooling capacity delivered to a galley cooling unit which is experiencing inefficient operation. An aircraft galley system incorporating the above cooling unit, and a method of operating a galley cooling unit are also disclosed and claimed. |
| US08171744B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling temperature for forming ice within an icemaker compartment of a refrigerator
A method of controlling temperature for forming ice within an icemaker compartment of a refrigerator is disclosed. The method includes the steps of activating at least one of the compressor and the coolant pump during an icemaking cycle to provide cooling to the icemaker compartment sufficient to make ice at a first rate, and increasing operation of at least one of the compressor and the coolant pump to provide cooling to the icemaker compartment sufficient to make ice at a second rate, which is faster than the first rate. A related refrigerator is also disclosed. |
| US08171743B2 |
Cooling apparatus and method for liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing liquid crystal display device
A cooling apparatus for a liquid crystal display device includes a cooling chamber; a stage in the cooling chamber, a liquid crystal cell placed on the stage; a plurality of cooling coils generating a cooled air; first and second fans blowing the cooled air on opposing plane surfaces of the liquid crystal cell; and a chiller supplying a refrigerant to the plurality of cooling coils. |
| US08171742B2 |
Pressure wave generator
A pressure wave generator (40) for driving one or more cryogenic refrigerator systems. The pressure wave generator (40) comprises a housing with one or more inlet/outlet ports (57,58) through which generated pressure waves of gas may pass through to drive a cryogenic refrigerator system or systems connected to the inlet/outlet ports (57,58). The pressure waves are generated by at least on pair of opposed diaphragms (41,42) located in the housing that are moveable in a reciprocating motion within the housing to create pressure waves in gas spaces (55,56) associated with each diaphragm (41,42). The gas spaces (55,56) each having associated inlet/outlet ports (57,58) through which the pressure waves may pass. An operable drive system is also provided to move the pair of diaphragms (41,42) in a reciprocating motion. |
| US08171739B2 |
Internally mounted fuel manifold with support pins
An apparatus for internally mounting a fuel manifold within a surrounding casing in a gas turbine engine which includes a fuel manifold and support pins which are displaceable relative to mounting portions on the fuel manifold between a retracted position, wherein the fuel manifold is able to be inserted within a casing of the engine, and an extended position, wherein the support pins project outwardly from the fuel manifold for engagement with the casing. |
| US08171737B2 |
Combustor assembly and cap for a turbine engine
A combustor assembly for a turbine engine includes a cap assembly which gradually increases the volume of compressed air provided to the combustor assembly, and which slows the compressed air in a controlled manner before delivering the compressed air into a combustor area. The cap assembly includes inner and outer sleeves which are mounted in a concentric fashion. The annular space formed between the inner and outer sleeves gradually increases from an aft end to a forward end. A stepped portion is formed on the inner sleeve of the cap assembly, and this stepped portion is joined to a corresponding combustor liner. |
| US08171735B2 |
Mixer assembly for gas turbine engine combustor
A mixer for a gas turbine engine combustor includes: (a) a primary fuel injector with upstream and downstream ends, the primary fuel injector including: (1) a hollow central portion configured to pass a first air stream; (2) an annular fuel passage at the downstream end, configured to discharge an annular first fuel stream surrounding the first air stream; (b) an annular splitter surrounding the primary fuel injector, configured to pass a second air stream surrounding the first fuel stream; (c) an annular first housing surrounding the splitter, and having an exit positioned axially downstream of the primary fuel injector and the splitter; and (d) fuel injection ports disposed in an array outside the first housing, and disposed in communication with a fuel supply and positioned to discharge a second fuel stream into a third air stream at a position axially upstream of the exit of the first housing. |
| US08171727B2 |
Device for reducing dibenzodioxin emissions, dibenzofuran emissions and particle emissions
A transition metal-containing catalyzer is arranged on a particle filter installed in the exhaust gas line of an internal combustion engine and cannot be separated therefrom without being destroyed. To reduce emissions, at least one molecular sieve which retains polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans is arranged between the transition metal-containing catalyzer and the exhaust gas outlet. Further, the input side of the molecular sieve and/or the output side of the catalyzer has an oxidation activity for hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans upstream of the molecular sieve. |
| US08171725B2 |
Method of controlling exhaust gas purification system, and exhaust gas purification system
In an exhaust gas temperature raising control for recovering purification ability of an exhaust gas purification device of an internal combustion engine, the exhaust gas temperature is efficiently raised to a target level without producing white smoke. In recovery control of the exhaust gas purification device, when the temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the exhaust gas purification device is lower than a predetermined judgment value, a first exhaust gas temperature raising control that does not include post injection but includes intake air restriction is performed, and when equal to or higher than the predetermined judgment value, a second exhaust gas temperature raising control that includes both the post injection and the intake air restriction is performed to set an intake air restriction amount in the first exhaust gas temperature raising control greater than an intake air restriction amount in the second exhaust gas temperature raising control. |
| US08171724B2 |
Vehicle-based strategy for removing urea deposits from an SCR catalyst
A method is provided for controlling regeneration of an SCR catalyst. The method includes coordinating the regeneration duration and temperature (e.g., longer/shorter regenerations and/or lower/higher temperatures) to the urea deposit loading. In this way, improved regeneration may be achieved due to the particular nature of urea deposits on SCR catalysts. |
| US08171723B2 |
Abnormality detection system and abnormality detection method for internal combustion engine
When the NOx SCR catalyst (15) deteriorates, the NOx removal efficiency increases with an increase in the catalyst temperature as indicated by the curves B1 and B2. When there is an irregularity in the amount or quality of aqueous urea solution that is supplied to the NOx SCR catalyst, the NOx removal efficiency decreases at a constant rate as indicated by the curve C. When the NOx removal efficiency is first within the region X2 and then brought into the region Y1, it is determined that the NOx SCR catalyst deteriorates. When the NOx removal efficiency is first within the region X2 and then brought into the region Y2, it is determined that there is an irregularity in the amount or quality of the aqueous urea solution that is supplied to the NOx SCR catalyst. |
| US08171721B2 |
Closed loop control of exhaust system fluid dosing
An exhaust line fuel injection system and associated methods of operation and control are disclosed. The fuel passes through a regulating valve connected to a pressurized fuel source and an outlet connected to an exhaust system fuel supply line. The exhaust system fuel supply line is connected to a nozzle, which generally comprises a check-valve and is configured to inject the fuel into the exhaust line. Using a pressure measuring device, an indication of the exhaust system fuel supply line pressure is obtained. A controller provides control over the flow regulating valve using feedback from the pressure indication and a predetermined relationship between the flow rate through the nozzle and one of the exhaust system fuel supply line pressure and the pressure drop across the nozzle. The method can be implemented with a single pressure measuring device. The same pressure measurements, especially their frequency spectrum, can be used to detect system faults. |
| US08171718B2 |
Methods and systems involving carbon sequestration and engines
A system for power generation comprises an engine operative to output an exhaust gas, a carbon capture means operative to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the exhaust gas and output the CO2, and a compressor operative to receive the CO2 and output compressed CO2 that cools a component of the engine. |
| US08171717B2 |
Model-based coordinated air-fuel control for a gas turbine
A coordinated air-fuel controller and associated method provide a fuel controller, a combustion air controller and a steady-state air versus fuel model. The fuel controller generates a fuel control output signal and the combustion air controller generates a combustion air control output signal. The fuel controller determines a preliminary fuel control signal based on at least one of first and second loop control signals, and determines the fuel control output signal based on the preliminary fuel control signal. The steady-state air versus fuel model processes the preliminary fuel control signal to determine an expected steady-state combustion air control signal. The combustion air controller determines a preliminary combustion air control signal based on at least one of a third loop control signal and a fourth loop control signal, and determines the combustion air control output signal based on the preliminary combustion air control signal and the expected steady-state combustion air control signal. |
| US08171705B2 |
Method for filling into multilayer bottle
There is provided a method for filling a multilayer bottle including outermost and innermost layers and at least one barrier layer interposed between the outermost and innermost layers, with a material to be stored therein. In the filling method, the material to be stored is filled in the multilayer bottle having the barrier layer satisfying a specific glass transition point (Tg) and a specific water content as measured by a Carl-Fisher method at 230° C. for 30 min. The multilayer bottle obtained by the filling method of the present invention hardly undergoes delamination between the layers owing to dropping or impact, and is applicable to a filling method such as hot filling. |
| US08171704B2 |
Method and device for finishing packets having respective overwrappings of heat-shrink material
A method and device for finishing packets having respective overwrappings of heat-shrink material, whereby the overwrappings are sealed about the respective packets and then heated to shrink and adapt to the configuration of the packets; after being heated, the overwrappings are cooled to set and so reduce the risk of damage to the overwrappings at subsequent processing stages. |
| US08171699B2 |
Anti-fatigue flooring system
An anti-fatigue flooring system includes at least one anti-fatigue area adjacent a work station in a room. The anti-fatigue area includes an anti-fatigue member of a resilient foam material and transition members located about the anti-fatigue member. Flooring extends over the anti-fatigue member and the transition members so that the anti-fatigue member and the transition members are located between the flooring and the subfloor. The transition members transition the flooring from the top of the anti-fatigue member down to the subfloor located about the transition members. The flooring is preferably secured to the top of the anti-fatigue member, the top of the transition members, and the subfloor about the anti-fatigue area. |
| US08171696B2 |
Metal stud
A metal stud including first and second metal panels defining first and second flat surfaces with longitudinal edges each turned inwardly away from the flat surfaces. The first and second panels are positioned in parallel spaced apart relationship with the first flat surface and the second flat surface being outwardly directed relative to each other. An angular metal coupling element includes a continuous length of metal material periodically bent in opposite directions. The coupling element is positioned between the first and second panels and bent to periodically and alternately contact the first and second panels at contact points. The coupling element is fixed to the first and second panels at the contact points by spot welding or the like. |
| US08171694B2 |
Building blocks
A cementitious mix for preparing a building block wherein the mix includes the ingredients; sand, cement, sawdust and water; wherein said sawdust comprises the greater proportion of the mix constituents; and wherein the dry density of the mix ranges between 700 kg/m3 and 1500 kg/m3. |
| US08171691B1 |
Floor member with cork substrate
The floor member is a laminated structure of flexible compressible cork sheet material and flexible plastic sheet material in the form of a floor tile or a floor plank. The cork sheet material and plastic sheet material are offset, from each other and have respective predetermined thicknesses to enable the floor member to be bendable to facilitate assembly of a plurality of the floor members into a floor covering. The compressible cork sheet material provides sound and heat insulation and the flexible plastic sheet material is yieldable to surface irregularities of a floor base. The cork sheet material is sandwiched between two layers of clear plastic material to provide a distinct sight of the structural presence and thickness of the cork sheet at an edge of the floor member. |
| US08171689B2 |
Roofing system
A roofing system formed of a plurality of support members secured to a load bearing roof deck. A plurality of roofing panels are positioned on the support members and are oriented to form overlapping joints between the panels. Sealant is positioned within the overlapping joints of the panels. A compression bar is positioned over the overlapping joints and is secured to the overlapping joints and support member by a fastener arrangement. |
| US08171688B2 |
Wooden building element for constructing the walls of a building
A wooden building element for producing planar constructions, especially for constructing the upright walls of a building. Also, a corner building element adapted to the wooden building element and to a building constructed using the elements. The wooden building elements have two approximately rectangular support bases and two wall panels that are approximately equal in area. The support bases are maintained at a distance from each other by a plurality of supports that are aligned vertically in relation to the finished building and that delimit an interior compartment for the insertion of insulating material and building installations. The wall panels are fastened to the outer surfaces of the support bases and are set off therefrom in relation to longitudinal edges that are aligned approximately horizontally to the finished building and high edges that are aligned approximately vertically. |
| US08171687B2 |
Water vapor barrier for a concrete flooring system
A water vapor barrier material for a building structure includes a base entangled net material and a composite nonwoven. The composite nonwoven includes a film layer with a nonwoven layer on each side of the film layer. The film layer has a water vapor transmission rate of less than 10.0 g-MIL/100-in2/day at a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 percent relative humidity. |
| US08171681B2 |
Inflatable shutter
An inflatable shutter is provided. The shutter comprises a protective layer and at least one air bladder, and is attached to the outside of a building structure. The shutter is positioned outside the building structure adjacent a window or other opening in order to protect the window or other opening from high velocity winds and flying debris during storms. The shutter may be removed from the outside of the building and compactly stored during periods of nonuse. |
| US08171675B2 |
Roofing element such as the one used in particular as swimming pool low-shelter component
The invention concerns a roofing element (E) of the type of the one consisting of a material board (100) maintained inside a frame (200), characterized in that it consists of a single-walled solid material board and of at least one tensioning means (300) linked to the frame (200) tending to space apart certain parts constituting the frame (200) so as to stress said board (100), the frame consisting of two transverse profiled sections (210 and 220) fixed to two opposite sides of the board (100), the tensioning means (300) tending to space apart said profiled sections (210 and 220), the edges of the board (100) subjected to a tensile stress and slid into the profiled sections being provided with at least one projection (110) facilitating the transmission of said stress, the profiled section being itself preformed to retain said projection in the direction of the tensile stress. The invention is applicable to swimming pool low shelter, veranda and the like. |
| US08171671B2 |
Security gate
The invention relates to an access lock for cyclically permitting people to pass through. The access lock has at least two locking elements (12, 14), with each of the locking elements (12, 14) being movable, independently of the respective other locking element (14, 12), on a closed path between a locked position which locks the passage at a locking point and an open position which opens the passage. |
| US08171670B2 |
Compressed packaged articles and methods of making, transporting, shipping and using same
The present invention relates, in general, to articles that are packaged in a compressed state relative to an uncompressed fully articulated state and methods of making and using same. In a specific embodiment, but not to be considered as limiting, the articles so packaged in a compressed state are plant covers that are either substantially rigid and/or substantially flexible. |
| US08171662B2 |
Method for processing separation and rupture portion of display label, display label-attached product, and display label attachment structure
A method for processing a separation and rupture portion of a display label is a method for forming, on the display label attached to an attachment target object, the separation and rupture portion for rupturing the display label upon separation of the display label from the attachment target object. This method includes attaching, to the attachment target object, the display label having a back side on which an adhesive layer is formed, and then forming a slit serving as the separation and rupture portion on the display label. |
| US08171661B2 |
Label assembly for applying a label to and around a portion of an object
A label assembly that includes a face sheet with at least one label shape defined by one or more tearable lines of separation, a back sheet adjacent to the face sheet, and an adhesive material disposed between the face sheet and the back sheet. The back sheet has a multi-portion removable panel disposed over the label shape adhesive material and a registration structure in one of the portions of the removable panel and aligned with an other portion and the label shape. The registration structure is raised or raisable above the back sheet to allow an object for labeling to be positioned against the registration structure for proper alignment with a first portion of the label. |
| US08171656B2 |
Sole structure of a sports shoe
A sole structure of a sports shoe includes an outsole and an intermediate sole having a number of portions that is flexible and supports the foot during running. The intermediate sole includes a flexible body element extending along the entire length of the shoe, and a flexible heel absorption element extending to the heel area, and a support element fitted between them extending from the heel area to the ball area which is of a less flexible material than the body element or the heel absorption element. The support element includes a substantially plate-like heel portion and a shaped front portion, which are separated from each other by a substantially cross-directional support ridge protruding from the lower surface of the support element. The intermediate sole also includes an hourglass-shaped ball absorption element, a carbon fiber plate increasing the torsional rigidity of the support element and an arch support. |
| US08171647B2 |
Cutting device with actuating mechansim
A device for cutting media is provided. The device includes a cover having a sidewall extending therefrom; a guide disposed substantially beneath the cover and comprising a blade; an actuating mechanism disposed in at least one of the cover and the guide; and an actuating wall disposed between the cover and the guide. Engagement of the actuating mechanism creates a cutting action between the blade and the actuating wall. |
| US08171646B2 |
Scraper
A scraper includes a shell, a first controlling mechanism moveably installed within the shell for carrying a razor. The first controlling mechanism is moveable between a first position that the razor is exposed outside the shell and a second position that the razor is concealed in the shell. The scraper also includes a second controlling mechanism being independent of the first controlling mechanism and being utilized to selectively lock the razor therein. The razor is adapted to be removed from the first controlling mechanism when the second controlling mechanism is in an unlocked position. In addition, the scraper includes a compartment defined in the shell for storing unused razor(s). |
| US08171645B2 |
Knife blade opening mechanism
A folding knife incorporates an opening assist mechanism that functions to drive the blade from the closed to the open position. A pair of torsion springs held axially on the blade axis pin and within a pair of bushings are stationary relative to the knife handle. One leg of each spring is fixed to a bushing. The opposite leg of the spring rides in a pocket formed in the surface on the blade axially around the opening through which the blade axis pin is inserted. As the blade rotates from the closed position toward the open position, the legs of the springs rotate through and cooperate with structures formed on the bushings to transfer the spring pressure instantly to the blade to drive the blade open. |
| US08171644B1 |
Method for making a door with a decorative security panel
A method for making a door with a decorative polymer panel assembly. The method can include forming a polymer grille by cutting a design into a polymer with a low-moisture content. The polymer grille can have a frame portion and a design portion. A seal can be contiguously disposed about a perimeter of the frame portion. A grille assembly can be formed by disposing a translucent panel on each side of the seal, forming an air space with the polymer grille disposed within the air space. The grille assembly can be pressed, heated and cooled, forming the decorative polymer panel assembly. The decorative polymer panel assembly can be disposed within an opening of a door, and the door can be disposed within an opening of a structure. |
| US08171642B2 |
Method for forming a flexible single rail drilling system
A method for manufacturing a mobile platform component that may involve attaching only a single rail to the mobile platform component, and positioning a carriage system having a main carriage and a secondary carriage on the rail. The main carriage may be positioned along a first axis of movement on the rail. The secondary carriage may be positioned along a second axis of movement perpendicular to the first axis of movement on the main carriage. The main carriage may be releasably secured to the secondary carriage, and the carriage system may be releasably secured to the mobile platform component. |
| US08171640B2 |
Apparatus and method for making a window covering having operable vanes
An apparatus and associated method for manufacturing a window covering 50 for an architectural opening. The apparatus includes a support structure handling assembly 92, an operating element handling assembly 94, and a vane handling assembly 96. The handling assemblies process the respective materials to an assembly station 100 to attach one portion of a vane 54 to the operating elements 56, and another portion of the vane 54 to the support structure 52, allowing movement of one portion of the vane 54 relative to other portion of the vane. |
| US08171639B2 |
Decorative bracelet and method of fabrication
A decorative article such as a bracelet is formed from one or more elastomeric cords and one or more braiding cords. Generally, the elastomeric cords provide a structure around which one or more braiding cords may by arranged, and upon which one or more decorative elements may be threaded. The elastomeric cords allow decorative elements, such as buttons, to be secured to the top surface of a decorative bracelet. In addition, the elastomeric cords allow the bracelet to have a more customized fit and increased durability. The braiding cords are woven around the elastomeric cords, such as in knots. A clasp may be formed from the elastomeric cords. The clasp may accept one or more decorative elements to secure the bracelet in a loop configuration. |
| US08171636B2 |
Method of manufacturing a stator of a cage for a continuously variable transmission (CVT)
A continuously variable transmission has a number of tiltable ball-leg assemblies configured angularly about a longitudinal axis. Each ball-leg assembly is in contact with, and guided through a tilting motion by an axially translating shift cam having a convex shape. The convex shape of the shift cam can have a profile defined by a set of parametric equations. The profile of the shift cam can vary according to the location of the contact point between an idler and the ball-leg assembly as well as the amount of relative axial motion between the ball-leg assembly and the idler. The profile of the shift cam can be configured to control the axial translation of the idler relative to the change in tilt angle of the ball-leg assembly. A roll-slide factor can be used to characterize the axial translation of the idler relative to the tilt angle of the ball-leg assembly. |
| US08171635B2 |
Method of manufacturing liquid ejecting head
A method of manufacturing a liquid ejecting head is disclosed. The head includes first and second supply members forming parts of a liquid supply passage. The liquid ejecting head includes a filter disposed between the first and second supply members so as to cross the liquid supply passage, and an integrally molded member fixing the first and second supply members by a resin in a state where the filter is nipped between the first and second supply members. The method includes: disposing the filter in one of the first and second supply members; nipping the filter by the first and second supply members in a state where the filter is sucked, adsorbed, and positioned via a suction hole of the first or second supply member; and forming the integrally molded member in the state where the filter is nipped between the first and second supply members. |
| US08171633B2 |
Method for assembling a multi-segment wind turbine blade
A multi segment wind turbine blade comprises at least two blade segments. A first blade segment comprises an outer skin, a bulkhead, and first alignment brackets removably coupled to the outer skin of the first blade segment. A first portion of a flange of the bulkhead is bonded to the first blade segment and a second portion of the flange of the bulkhead projects out from the first blade segment. A second blade segment comprises an outer skin and second alignment brackets removably coupled to the outer skin of the first blade segment. The first and second alignment brackets are alignable upon the outer side of the second blade segment being inserted over the second portion of the flange of the bulkhead. |
| US08171632B2 |
Method of manufacturing integrally designed rotor wheels to exhibit an essentially identical natural frequency and mass using chemical etch machining
In the manufacture of integrally designed rotor wheels (BLISKs), the natural frequency of each blade is measured after forming by conventional shaping methods and the respective blade mass and its divergence from the smallest blade mass is calculated therefrom. The mass of each blade exceeding the smallest blade mass is removed by means of an etchant, so that all blades have essentially corresponding thickness, chord length, mass and natural frequency and are evenly loaded in operation. BLISKs manufactured in this way feature a long service life. |
| US08171630B2 |
Method of producing a land grid array interposer
A method of producing a land grid array (LGA) interposer structure includes mounting at least one interposer on a first surface of an electrically insulating carrier plane. The interposer selectively having a hemi-toroidal, conical, dome-shaped conic section, generally cylindrical or hemi-spherical configuration in transverse cross-section and being constituted of a dielectric elastomeric material. The method includes positioning a plurality of electrically-conductive elements about the surface of the hemi-toroidal interposer that extend radially inwardly and downwardly from an uppermost end thereof. The method further includes mounting said at least one component comprising at least one hemi-toroidal interposer mounted on said opposite side of said carrier plane. Additionally the method includes forming at least one through-extending via in said electrically-insulating carrier plane, and forming electrical connections between said first-mentioned at least one hemi-toroidal interposer and said further at least one inverted hemi-toroidal interposer. |
| US08171627B2 |
Method of forming an electronic device
A process of forming an electronic device including forming a first ultraviolet (“UV”) blocking layer over a conductive feature, wherein the first UV blocking layer lies within 90 nm of the conductive structure; forming a first insulating layer over the first UV blocking layer; and patterning the first insulating layer and the first UV blocking layer to form a first opening extending to the conductive feature, wherein during the process, the first UV blocking layer is exposed to UV radiation. |
| US08171623B2 |
Method of manufacturing a printed circuit board
A methodology for connecting device components with circuitry located at different levels and orientations relative to one another is described. First circuitry can be located on a multi-plane rigid circuit board where the multi-plane rigid circuit board can include at least one flexible member sharing a common substrate with the multi-plane rigid circuit board that extends from a body portion of the multi-plane rigid circuit board. The flexible member can include traces used to convey power and/or data and an interface coupled to the power and/or data traces. The flexible member can be deflected or twisted to connect first circuitry on the body portion of the multi-plane rigid circuit board to second circuitry associated with another device component. |
| US08171617B2 |
Method of making a waveguide
A method of making a ceramic waveguide delay line includes the step of providing several slices or slabs of dielectric material, each including a layer of metal material applied to respective opposed side surfaces thereof. The slices are then fired in an oven to fuse the layers of metal material to the slices. The slices are then stacked together to form a core which is then dried and subsequently fired. An area of metal material is applied to the outer surface of the core. The core is subsequently dried and fired in an oven. |
| US08171616B2 |
Method of making an armature
An armature for an electric motor has a lamination stack on a shaft with a commutator mounted on one end of the shaft. Magnet wires wound in slots in the lamination stack, the commutator and armature shaft are at least partially encapsulated in thermoset. The commutator has a commutator ring divided into a plurality of segments with slots between the segments that are filled with a second plastic when the commutator is made by molding a core of the second plastic, such as phenolic, in the commutator ring before the commutator ring is mounted on the armature shaft. Prior to molding the thermoset, the commutator ring is sealed. The seal prevents the thermoset from flowing into the slots between the commutator ring segments or over the commutator ring. |
| US08171614B2 |
Systems and method of assembling a tower section
An assembly system for use in assembling a lattice tower section is provided. The system comprises a platform, a first mounting assembly coupled to the platform, and, a second mounting assembly coupled to the platform, the first and second mounting assemblies are configured to secure opposite ends of a plurality of leg members used in assembling the lattice tower section such that each of the plurality of leg members is suspended a distance from the platform, at least one of the first and second mounting assemblies is configured to selectively rotate a leg member of the plurality of leg members suspended therefrom. |
| US08171611B2 |
Method for implementing a component positioning device
A method for implementing a component positioning device is provided and includes obtaining a component, a component measuring device and a component positioning device, the component including a component head and a component base, the component measuring device including a first arbor and a second arbor and the component positioning device including a first support device, a second support device and an adapter device, connecting the first support device and the adapter device to the component measuring device, wherein the first support device is associated with the first arbor and the adapter device is associated with the second arbor, associating the second support device with the adapter device, wherein the second support device is adjacent to and separated from the first support device by a component cavity and positioning the component within the component cavity. |
| US08171607B2 |
Method of manufacturing ceramic capacitor
In a method of manufacturing ceramic capacitor according to the present invention, a pair of interdigitated internal electrodes are arranged perpendicularly to the surface of the substrate, subsequent to which the respective end faces of this pair of internal electrodes are exposed, and a pair of external electrodes are formed at these exposed end faces. In this method of manufacturing ceramic capacitor, formation of the external electrodes on the end faces of the respective internal electrodes, with these internal electrodes being interdigitately integrally-formed and the end faces thereof being exposed, it possible to reliably and easily form the external electrodes. |
| US08171603B2 |
Hose clamps
A hose clamp has a clamp body, operation pieces, an engaging claw, a receiving portion, an arch shaped opening and a slide guide portion. The clamp body is composed of a plate spring member bent into a ring shape. The operation piece has two legs at one end of the clamp body, and has an operation portion at ends of the legs. The operation piece has a leg at the other end of the clamp body, and has an operation portion at an end portion of the leg. The receiving portion is formed on the operation portion and can engage with the engaging claw. The arch shaped opening is formed on the operation portion, and allows the engaging claw to pass therethrough. The engaging claw and the slide guide portion are disposed on one side of the leg of the operation piece. The slide guide portion contacts with the leg in order to make the engaging claw be opposed to the arch shaped opening. |
| US08171602B1 |
Attachable pipe accessory
A pipe or purse accessory for attachment to and around the barrel of a pipe (or a wrist or ankle) is disclosed having a collar wherein the collar is sized for cooperative engagement with the pipe barrel or wrist/ankle. A strap having a first end is attached to the collar and a pocket is attached to the second end of the strap; a clasp allowing detachable engagement with the strap, in proximity with the collar is also included. The collar may be made of an elastic material for a conformable fit around the pipe. The collar size may be adjustable. The clasp to secure the pocket in proximity to the collar may be magnetic, use hooks and loops, buttons and combinations thereof. A band may be affixed to the strap allowing insertion and engagement with an object, such as a key. A slot may be positioned within the pocket to allow conformable insertion and engagement with an object, such as a key. |
| US08171598B1 |
Dual port cleaning and extraction apparatus
An apparatus for cleaning and extracting water from carpet, comprising a vacuum head including a vacuum chamber configured to be connected to a vacuum source and two downward facing elongate vacuum ports extending downwardly from the vacuum chamber and an elongate solution manifold mounted between the vacuum ports and configured to discharge cleaning liquid in a space between the vacuum ports. The vacuum ports are configured to extract waste liquid from carpet when the vacuum head is moved in both a forward motion and a backward motion of the vacuum head. Further, the vacuum head includes elongate glides sealingly fitted in lower openings of the vacuum ports, the glides having suction openings formed therein through which fluids may be drawing into the vacuum ports, and the glides project below the bottom face of the vacuum head. |
| US08171594B2 |
Paint brush with protective polymer coating
A paint brush includes a plurality of filaments that form a brush head. A handle, having a brush attachment end, can be coupled to the brush head. The handle can have a grip that extends away from the brush head. A coating can cover the brush attachment end and at least a portion of the grip. The coating can form a seal around the handle to resist absorption of chemicals by the handle. |
| US08171587B1 |
Swivel lift grab bar
A swivel lift grab bar includes an angled support member and an adjustable bottom leg. The adjustable bottom leg allows angular adjustment of the angled lift member. The adjustable bottom leg includes a top leg, a bottom leg and a clamping knob with plunger. One end of the top leg is pivotally retained by a support device and the clamping knob is retained in the other end. The bottom leg includes a plurality of holes to receive the plunger of the clamping knob. One end of the bottom leg is attached to a bottom of the angled support member. A top attachment bracket is secured to a top of the angled support member for pivotal retention on a pivot post secured to a wall, a floor mounted pole, a double flange pole or a moveable support pole. Rotation of the angled support member may be braked. |
| US08171586B2 |
Bedside storage system
A storage system stores and easily locates common items, such as reading glasses, remote controls, cell phones, magazines, books, and the like, while a person is in a room or in bed. In an emergency, a person may be able to easily locate these items. The storage system may replace a cluttered nightstand and may provide immediate location of necessary items. The storage system may include a pillow that may span a length of a bed, along the head end of a mattress. The pillow may prevent people, such as children or infants, and items from falling between the head of the mattress and either the wall or headboard. The pillow may also provide an elevated surface to prop up a user's pillow for reading or watching television. |
| US08171579B2 |
Device for mounting a glass or glass-ceramic vessel-style washbasin
The invention relates to a device for mounting a glass or glass-ceramic vessel-style washbasin (1). The inventive device is characterised in that it essentially takes the form of an adapter (3) which is disposed between the lower face of the glass or glass-ceramic vessel-style washbasin and a support (2) at the drain hole (1′), said adapter (3) being connected to the lower face of the washbasin (1) with a layer of glue (6) or an adhesive and fixed to the support (2) by means of a flow element (4). The invention is particularly suitable for household equipment, in particular vessel-style washbasins and vessel-style washbasins that are made from glass or glass-ceramic. |
| US08171578B2 |
Water discharge system
There is provided a water discharge system. A water discharge system includes a water discharge portion; a sensor unit which acquires movement information about an object based on a radiated electric wave, and outputs a detecting signal; and a control unit which controls water discharge of the water discharge portion based on the detecting signal. When it is detected that the object is decelerated to a first threshold velocity or less, the control unit controls the water discharge portion to start the water discharge. |
| US08171574B2 |
Flexible sink strainer
A flexible sink strainer having a cupped body completely comprised of a flexible material including a plurality of apertures to allow fluid to pass therethrough, wherein the body is capable of attaining first and second configurations, the first configuration being suitable for capturing material entrained within fluid as it passes through the apertures and the second configuration being suitable for removing material captured on the body as fluid passes through the apertures, is disclosed. |
| US08171569B2 |
Multiaxial fabric with strain-responsive viscous liquid polymers
The invention concerns multiaxial fabrics comprising a first layer comprising a plurality of first yarns being substantially parallel in a first direction, a second layer comprising a plurality of second yarns being substantially parallel in a second direction and skew or off-set with respect to the first yarns, transverse yarn interlaced transversely within the layers; wherein each layer is coated with a high viscosity polymer that has a Tg in the range of about −40 to about 0° C., and a zero shear viscosity of about 2×106 to about 1013 poise at 20° C. |
| US08176564B2 |
Special PC mode entered upon detection of undesired state
A system and method for monitoring a computer, particularly a pay-per-use computer, uses an isolated computing environment or supervisor. The isolated computing environment boots prior to any boot device associated with an operating system, runs concurrently with the operating system and monitors and measures the computer in operation. Once the isolated computing environment determines the computer is not in compliance with the required policies, the isolated computing environment may either impose an impediment to use such as slowing clock speed or completely disable the operating system. The user may have to return the computer to a service provider to restore it from the offending condition and reset the computer to an operational state. |
| US08176563B2 |
Data security system and method with editor
The method, program and system secures sensitive data/objects found in a data source document with an editor. The simple editor identifies and displays, in situ, the sensitive words/objects per each security level. Level tags are inserted and adjunctive words/objects are marked/displayed per the level's protocol. The precursor document is processed to extract sensitive and adjunctive words/objects. The stripped data is either separately stored or partial versions of the secured document are stored per protocol. A comprehensive editor secures content data and meta data contained in a data document object model (DOM). The editor maps the source document root, branch and leaf components as binary files populated with content data and meta data. Security introns, earlier identified based upon the level's informational attributes, are excluded. Security exons are copied from the source content and meta data binary files into a security safe document (template). Filtration, extraction, dispersal and storage follow. |
| US08176560B2 |
Evaluation of tamper resistant software system implementations
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for evaluating a software system includes defining a rating of the tamper resistance of a software system and breaking down the rating into a plurality of metrics relevant to the tamper resistance of the software system. A score may then be calculated for each metric and the scores may be combined into a composite score for the rating. |
| US08176559B2 |
Obfuscated malware detection
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for obfuscated malware. In one aspect, a method includes executing from a binary executable a call instruction and a plurality of instruction subsequent to a target of the call instruction, determining if the value identified by the stack pointer of the call stack is equal to a default value stored in the call stack prior to emulation, determining if there is a non-obfuscation signal resulting from the execution of the call instructions and the plurality of instructions, and if the value identified by the stack pointer is the default value and there is no obfuscation signal, identifying the call instruction as a possibly obfuscated call instruction; Additionally, the method includes determining that if the number of call instructions identified as possibly obfuscated call instructions exceeds a threshold number, identifying the binary executable as an obfuscated executable. |
| US08176555B1 |
Systems and methods for detecting malicious processes by analyzing process names and process characteristics
A computer-implemented method for detecting a malicious process using file-name heuristics may comprise: 1) identifying a process, 2) identifying a process name for the process, 3) identifying a list of process names for non-malicious processes, and 4) determining, by comparing the process name for the process with the list of process names for non-malicious processes, whether to allow the process to execute. A method for maintaining a database containing information about non-malicious processes is also disclosed. Corresponding systems and computer-readable media are also disclosed. |
| US08176552B2 |
Computer system, computer program product and method for assessing a profile of a computer system
A method for maintaining a computer system on the basis of an access profile and a change profile is disclosed. The computer system includes at least one workstation computer and a maintenance computer. The invention further relates to a method for providing an access profile and a method for assessing a software correction. |
| US08176551B1 |
Detection of observer programs and countermeasures against observer programs
A system for detecting an observing program on a computer system is disclosed as including accessing instructions that access observer data. The observer data includes data descriptive of the observer program. The observer program is programmed to observe a user's activities on the computer system and also operates to create data from its observations. The system also includes reading instructions that read memory of the computer system to obtain memory data. Further, the system includes comparing instructions that compare the observer data with memory data read in from memory to determine whether the observer program is present on the computer system. The system may also include generating instructions that generate results from the reading and comparing. The results generated indicate whether the observer program is present on the computer system. In addition, the system includes outputting instructions that obtain the results and provide the results for a user. |
| US08176550B2 |
Authentication-capable apparatus and security system
The place where a user performs personal authentication includes a room into which entry is authenticated, and an apparatus for use of which authentication input (login and logout) is performed. In such situation, it will take at least a moving time for a user to perform authentication input at a certain location and thereafter to perform authentication input at another apparatus of a different location. Therefore, the present invention provides an authentication-capable apparatus whereby the authentication input by the aforementioned user (the same user) at a different place is inhibited within the aforementioned moving time, thereby preventing “spoofing” by an unauthorized user. |
| US08176549B2 |
Unit using OS and image forming apparatus using the same
A chip mountable on a customer replaceable unit monitory (CRUM) unit used in an image forming job includes a central processing unit (CPU) to perform cryptographic data communication with a main body of an image forming apparatus, using an operating system (OS) of the CPU. The security of a unit on which the chip is mounted can thereby be reinforced and random changes of data of the unit can be prevented. |
| US08176548B2 |
Protection system for display apparatus and method thereof
A protection system for a display apparatus and a method thereof are provided. The protection system includes an electronic key and a protection module. The protection system performs security identification with a plurality of passwords and updates the passwords every time after the security identification is completed to improve the security of the display apparatus. The display apparatus is allowed to be turned on when one of the passwords is correct, and the passwords are separately updated after the security identification is completed. The protection system is highly secure and provides greater convenience to users. |
| US08176547B2 |
System and method for controlling user access to an electronic device
A system requires a user to enter a geometric pattern on an interface device to gain access to the system. After the correct geometric pattern is entered, a timer times a duration before an authenticating password is subsequently entered by the user. If the duration exceeds a predetermined length of time, access to a set of one or more files is at least temporarily prevented. If the user enters the authenticating password before the duration exceeds the predetermined length of time, access to the set of one or more files is granted. |
| US08176541B1 |
Leveraging a persistent connection to access a secured service
Leveraging a persistent connection to provide a client access to a secured service may include establishing a persistent connection with a client in response to a first request from the client, and brokering a connection between the client and a secured service based on a second request from the client by leveraging the persistent connection with the client. The brokering may occur before the client attempts to connect to the secured service directly and the connection may be established between the client and the secured service without provision by the client of authentication information duplicative or additional to authentication information provided by the client to establish the persistent connection. |
| US08176539B2 |
Methods for protecting against cookie-poisoning attacks in networked-communication applications
The present invention discloses methods, media, and gateways for protecting against cookie-poisoning attacks in networked-communication applications. Methods include the steps of: creating a protected gateway cookie, generated by a gateway, for a server cookie, generated by a server, wherein the server cookie is received by the gateway in an HTTP response message; and validating, by the gateway, that a client cookie from a client request has a corresponding gateway cookie with expected field values. Preferably, the field values include at least one field value selected from the group consisting of: a name, a hash value computed over the server cookie, a hash-function index, a timestamp, a nonce, a hash value computed over newly-generated values, a path, a domain, an expiration, and an HTTP-only value. Preferably, the gateway cookie is signed with a secret key. Most preferably, the secret key is generated by a secret seed. |
| US08176538B2 |
Information processing system, recording medium storing control program, and computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave
An information processing system, which includes: an information distribution server; a client apparatus; and a plurality of service providing servers that provide service to a user of the client apparatus, and the information distribution server including: a user authentication information memory that stores user authentication information; a receiving section that receives authentication information from the plurality of service providing servers; and an authentication proxy information distributing section that distributes authentication proxy information prepared based on the user authentication information and the authentication information, and the client apparatus including: a user authentication section that carries out authentication of the user, and an authentication proxy section that, if the authentication is carried out by the user authentication section, executes a proxy authentication when the user accesses at least one of the plurality of service providing servers on the basis of the distributed authentication proxy information. |
| US08176537B2 |
Image formation apparatus, function extension method, and a computer readable storage medium having function extension program stored therein
An image formation apparatus: previously stores first information allowing functions that a plurality of users are authorized to use, respectively, to be determined; receives second information input to determine a user, the second information allowing that user to be determined; determines from the previously stored first information a normal function that the determined user is authorized to use; is set to make the determined normal function available; receives third information input from a first storage medium having the third information stored therein, to determine an extended function, the third information allowing the extended function to be determined; and is set to make the determined extended function available in addition to the normal function set available. |
| US08176533B1 |
Complementary client and user authentication scheme
An authentication mechanism is provided to authenticate both client and user of a portable computing device when the user causes a client to request a protected resource on the portable computing device. Upon receiving a request a protected resource by the client, the authentication mechanism determines which authentication method is specified for authentication of the client, and authenticates the client accordingly. Upon a determination that the client is authentic, the authentication mechanism invokes a user interface that is separate and distinct from the client to solicit input from the user. Based on the input solicited from the user, the authentication mechanism determines whether the user is an authentic user of the portable computing device. If it is determined that the user is an authentic user, the authentication mechanism determines based on an indication from the user whether the client should be authorized to access the protected resource requested. |
| US08176527B1 |
Correlation engine with support for time-based rules
A rules engine with support for time-based rules is disclosed. A method performed by the rules engine, comprises receiving security events generated by a number of network devices. The security events are aggregated. One or more time-based rules are provided to a RETE engine. The aggregated security events are provided to the RETE engine at specific times associated with the time-based rules. The security events are cross-correlated with the one or more time-based rules; and one or more first stage meta-events are reported. |
| US08176526B1 |
Configurable redundant security device failover
Techniques are described for managing failover in redundant network devices. In particular, each device in a set of redundant network devices includes redundant processing modules. Each module provides a separate operating environment for a set of network services. Each network device includes a control unit that receives configuration information that specifies individual weight values for each of the modules and a threshold value for the network device. The control unit detects failures of the modules and transfers primary responsibility for performing the network service to a second network device when the threshold value is exceeded by a weighted sum of the weight values for the failed modules. |
| US08176524B2 |
System and method for wireless communication of video data having partial data compression
A system and method for wireless communication of video data are disclosed. One embodiment of the system transmits partially compressed video data from a transmitter to a receiver over a wireless channel. The transmitter is configured to send a plurality of groups of data bits over a wireless channel. The data bits, in an uncompressed form, together form one or more displayable elements representing at least a portion of a video image. The plurality of groups have different degrees of significance to the quality of the video image. The plurality of groups include a first group of uncompressed data bits, and a second group of compressed data bits, wherein the first group has a higher degree of significance to the quality of the video image than the second group. The receiver is configured to receive the plurality of groups of data bits over the wireless channel. The system allows transmission of a large amount of video data over a wireless channel having a limited capacity or a varying condition. |
| US08176517B2 |
Automatic display of new program information during current program viewing
A method and apparatus for automatic display of next or future television program information when tuned to a television channel. Acquired or received program information for a television program to be shown next or later on the currently tuned television channel is automatically displayed on the currently tuned channel. In this manner, a viewer is provided with information regarding a next or future television program on the television channel currently being watched without active intervention by the viewer. According to an aspect of the invention, if a new or next television program guide or program information (update) is received before the end of a current television program, the television apparatus automatically updates the display of program information according to the information included in the newly received program guide. |
| US08176514B2 |
Expanded playlist for TV video player
An Internet TV video guide shows thumbnails of video assets available from one or more providers, and one or more of the assets may represent a playlist with two or more associated video clips. When a viewer selects a playlist asset, the thumbnail is expanded to show the individual clips so that a viewer can select a desired clip for play on the TV. |
| US08176512B2 |
Method for enhancing digital video recorder television advertising viewership
A method for enhancing digital video recorder television advertising viewership provides a method wherein the first or last number of seconds of a commercial break are carefully authored to provide a “teaser” to entice the viewer to watch multiple commercials during the commercial break instead of skipping the commercial break using the fast forward or jump functions of the DVR. A bookending function displays an advertisement before and/or after a program that has been recorded on the DVR's storage device is played to the viewer. The viewer selects a recorded program from the DVR's storage device to playback. Before the program is played back, an advertisement is retrieved from the storage device and is displayed before the program is run. Another advertisement is retrieved and then played after the program is over. |
| US08176511B2 |
Method for providing user information and broadcast receiving apparatus using the same
A broadcast receiving apparatus and a method for providing user information are provided. The broadcast receiving apparatus transmits user information stored in a storage medium to a broadcast station. Therefore, a user may participate in data broadcasting more conveniently. |
| US08176509B2 |
Post processing video to identify interests based on clustered user interactions
Methods and systems for post-processing video to identify interests based on clustered user interactions are provided. A client application program running on a set-top box is provided to enable a user to interactively select a point of interest within video content being played via the set-top box. The selected points of interest of multiple users is aggregated, and clusters of the points of interest are determined. Objects associated with the clusters are determined by analyzing video segments containing the clustered points of interest. Messages related to the objects are created and sent to the relevant users that indicated selection of points of interest which correlate to the objects. |
| US08176508B2 |
Method and apparatus to provide verification of data using a fingerprint
The present invention verifies the transmission of a data stream, such as an advertisement, to a receiver in a data network, such as a television set in a cable television network. In particular, the present invention develops and stores a data stream fingerprint prior to transmission of the data stream. During transmission of the data stream, a verifier compiles the fingerprint from the transmitted data stream and compares it to the pre-developed and stored fingerprint. If the fingerprint signal characteristics are within predetermined parameters, the transmission is considered successful. |
| US08176507B2 |
Advertisement-section detecting apparatus and advertisement-section detecting program
An advertisement-section detecting apparatus includes: a captioned-section acquisition unit (12) configured to acquire a captioned section including a caption generated by caption data, on the basis of a temporal position of the caption data; a non-captioned-section acquisition unit (13) configured to acquire a pattern of a non-captioned section that do not include the caption, on the basis of the captioned section; a memory (14) configured to store a broadcasting-program template which is a template corresponding to a broadcasting-program format including a main-section format and a peripheral-section format, and which is used for identifying a pattern of a non-captioned section format including the peripheral-section format; an identifying unit (15) configured to compare the pattern of the non-captioned section and the pattern of the non-captioned section format, and thus to identify the non-captioned section corresponding to the non-captioned section format; and a detector (16) configured to detect a section corresponding to the peripheral-section format as the peripheral section, from the non-captioned section corresponding to the non-captioned section format. |
| US08176506B2 |
Predictive content presentation
A system may automatically send a request for a list of programs over a network, obtain, in response to the request, a user profile that includes a list of programs that a viewer has accessed, send information identifying at least one of the programs over the network, and output the at least one of the programs to a preview window of a display. |
| US08176504B2 |
Clamping device for disk
Disclosed herein is a disk clamping device capable of preventing the slipping or eccentricity of an optical disk when it rotates at high speeds. The disk clamping device includes a turntable having a hub which is integrally provided in a central portion thereof and inserted into a central hole of an optical disk. A guide unit is accommodated in the turntable in such a way as to move linearly, and at least portion of the guide unit protrudes outwards from the hub and is supported 0by the optical disk. The guide unit is moved linearly by mounting force of the optical disk. A spring is provided in the turntable to elastically bias the guide unit in a direction opposite to a direction of insertion of the optical disk. A chucking plate presses the upper surface of the optical disk, thus securing the optical disk to the turntable. |
| US08176503B2 |
Device driver selection
Methods, systems, and devices are provided for device driver selection. One embodiment of a management station includes a processor, memory in communication with the processor, and program instructions stored in memory and executable on the processor. The program instructions are executable to initiate execution of a particular device function that will use a driver, select a set of drivers based upon defined device information, and call a routine in a particular driver from the selected set of drivers which executes to determine whether the particular driver is most appropriate to perform the particular device function for a particular device. |
| US08176500B2 |
Closing a video stream object
Techniques are provided for facilitating processing of interlaced video images for progressive video displays. A method receives from a renderer a query for a graphics device driver to a graphics processing capability that can be performed by an associated graphics device in de-interlacing video data, communicating the query to the graphics device driver, receiving from the graphics device driver a response to the query that identifies the graphics processing capabilities to the renderer, and communicating the response to the renderer. The method includes receiving from the renderer a further query for the graphics device driver to at least one input requirement associated with the identified graphics processing capability, communicating the further query to the graphics device driver, receiving from the graphics device driver a further response to the further query that identifies the input requirement(s) associated with the graphics processing capability, and communicating the further response to the renderer. |
| US08176498B2 |
Power setting adjustments by mission operating system in response to requests from platform manager
A computer system includes software running on a hardware platform. The hardware platform provides a platform manager having an user interface that is independent of that for a mission operating system running on said platform. The platform manager issues platform requests for power-setting adjustments. The software includes a mission operating system with a power controller incorporated in or running on the mission operating system. The power controller adjusts power settings for hardware devices at least in part as a function of the platform requests. |
| US08176493B1 |
Detecting and responding to skew between coscheduled contexts
Management of contexts that execute on a computer system is described. More specifically, context scheduling in a virtual machine environment is described. A set of coscheduled contexts is monitored. If a skew metric associated with a first context of the coscheduled contexts fails to satisfy a condition, then a subset of the coscheduled contexts is descheduled although the first context remains scheduled. |
| US08176490B1 |
System and method of interfacing a workload manager and scheduler with an identity manager
A system, method and computer-readable media for managing a compute environment are disclosed. The method includes importing identity information from an identity manager into a module performs workload management and scheduling for a compute environment and, unless a conflict exists, modifying the behavior of the workload management and scheduling module to incorporate the imported identity information such that access to and use of the compute environment occurs according to the imported identity information. The compute environment may be a cluster or a grid wherein multiple compute environments communicate with multiple identity managers. |
| US08176489B2 |
Use of rollback RCU with read-side modifications to RCU-protected data structures
A method, apparatus and program storage device for performing a return/rollback process for RCU-protected data structures is provided that includes checking a user-level state of a preempted thread having a RCU read-side critical section, and executing the critical section of the thread after preemption when the user-level state of the thread indicates execution, otherwise returning to a point of preemption, resuming execution of the thread and disabling checking the user-level state when the user-level state of the thread indicates return. |
| US08176488B1 |
Methods and systems for determining potentially unsafe instructions in a virtual machine context and activating a software debugger to process the potentially unsafe instructions
Methods and systems for safe execution of guest code in virtual machine context are presented. A method for running a virtual machine in a computing system includes (a) launching a virtual machine monitor (VMM) that uses a software debugger; (b) launching a virtual machine (VM) that can natively run safe instructions; (c) determining, at runtime, if the instruction is safe or potentially unsafe; (d) executing safe instructions in a native mode; and (e) activating control logic to process potentially unsafe instructions in the software debugger. The software debugger can bypass at least one of the potentially unsafe instructions. The potentially unsafe instructions include instructions that cannot be safely executed in the context of the VM, and instructions that can cause unpredictable results in the context of the VM. |
| US08176486B2 |
Maintaining a pool of free virtual machines on a server computer
Various embodiments of a system and method for managing virtual machines on a server computer are described. According to one embodiment of the method, a pool of free virtual machines may be maintained on the server computer, e.g., where the number of virtual machines in the pool is specified by an administrator. In response to receiving a request to assign a virtual machine to a first user, the server computer may assign a first virtual machine from the pool to the first user and add a new virtual machine to the pool to replace the first virtual machine. In some embodiments the server computer may be one of a plurality of server computers in a server computer system. An administrator may be able to configure different pool sizes for different server computers in the system through a central user interface. |
| US08176484B2 |
One click deployment
Techniques are provided for deploying applications hosted by an application service provider. An application in a first environment is automatically deployed to a second environment in response to receiving a request over a network from the party for whom the second environment is being hosted. The first environment may be an environment where applications are developed by the party over the network. Deployment of the application may entail provisioning of an environment for the application. |
| US08176483B2 |
Software maintenance management
A data collection and/or monitoring service residing at a client system collects and sends client system information to a backend system. The client system information is used to update a maintained repository of client system information that is associated with software installed at the client system. The maintained repository is used to determine one or more software update recommendations which are sent to the client system. In response to a trigger event, one or more software updates associated with the update recommendations are automatically downloaded and deployed at the client system. The download and deployment of software updates can be scheduled at the client system. |
| US08176478B2 |
Process for running programs on processors and corresponding processor system
Programs having a given instruction-set architecture are executed on a multiprocessor system comprising a plurality of processors, for example of a VLIW type, each of said processors being able to execute, at each processing cycle, a respective maximum number of instructions. The instructions are compiled as instruction words of given length executable on a first processor. At least some of the instruction words of given length are converted into modified-instruction words executable on a second processor. The operation of modifying comprises in turn at least one operation chosen in the group consisting of: splitting the instruction words into modified-instruction words; and entering no-operation instructions in the modified-instruction words. |
| US08176473B2 |
Transformations for software obfuscation and individualization
Methods and systems for software obfuscation are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the obfuscation includes integrating the checker code with product code to form integrated code. The product code includes a first portion that provides desired functionalities to a software product, while the checker code includes a second portion that protects the product code from unlicensed use. A generated pseudorandom value is used to select one or more instruction sequences of the integrated code. Following the selection, the instruction sequences may be replaced with equivalent instruction sequences to form a new integrated code. Alternatively, the original integrated code is transformed into new integrated code when the selected instruction sequences are optimized. Additionally, the new integrated code may be compared to the original integrated code by generating output states from each integrated code. The new integrated code is functionally equivalent to the original integrated code if the respective output states match. |
| US08176472B2 |
System and method for developing software based on business operating system
A software development system according to the present invention comprises a business component storage layer for storing at least one business standard component of a program; a business component setting layer for setting attribute information of each business standard object, including object type, operating method, execution condition, execution sequence and database (DB) connection information; an application program execution layer for operating and controlling the object in the business component storage layer by the attribute information of the objects set by the user, and performing comparison, execution or calculation according to logic defined in script language; and an environment abstraction layer for controlling information technology (IT) infrastructure including an operating system of a computer, a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, a database management system (DBMS), network and display apparatus. |
| US08176470B2 |
Collaborative derivation of an interface and partial implementation of programming code
A method, system and computer program product provide an implementation of software. A control flow of a software component is constructed based on a specification model. In various embodiments, the specification model comprises at least one input and at least one requirement referencing the at least one input. At least a partial implementation of the software component is generated based on the control flow and the at least one input and the at least one requirement of the specification model. In some embodiments, the specification model further comprises at least one output, and the at least a partial implementation of the software component is also based on the at least one output. |
| US08176463B2 |
Modeling and simulating device mismatch for designing integrated circuits
A user specifies layout styles for devices in a circuit schematic, where the layout styles capture features of device arrangements and device correlations. The resulting layout can be simulated by using a computer so that one or more performance metrics can be evaluated for the circuit. In some cases, test chips may be used to determine device correlations for arrangements corresponding to different layout styles. |
| US08176461B1 |
Design-specific performance specification based on a yield for programmable integrated circuits
A method for generating a design-specific timing specification includes inputting a first timing specification of a target device corresponding to a first timing yield. The first timing specification contains timing delays of elements located in at least first and second regions of the target device. A circuit design is placed and routed. With a programmed processor, the timing delay of the first timing specification is increased for one or more elements implementing the circuit design in the first region to produce a second timing specification, and a second timing yield of target device is determined from the second timing specification. In response to the second timing yield being larger than a target timing yield, the programmed processor decreases the timing delay of the second timing specification for one or more elements in the second region to compensate for a difference between the second timing yield and the target timing yield to produce a design-specific timing specification. |
| US08176460B2 |
Method of optimizing ESD protection for an IC, an ESD protection optimizer and an ESD protection optimization system
An ESD protection optimizer, a method of optimizing ESD protection for an IC and an ESD protection optimization system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the ESD protection optimizer includes: (1) a circuit analyzer configured to identify ESD cells and circuitry of the IC by comparing component information of the IC with predefined ESD protection elements and predefined circuit topologies and (2) an ESD resistance determiner configured to calculate a resistance value to couple in series with the circuitry, the resistance value based on protection cell physical attributes associated with the identified ESD cells and circuitry physical attributes associated with the identified circuitry. |
| US08176459B2 |
System and method for selecting gates in a logic block
For each of a plurality of interconnected gates forming one or more non-critical timing paths through a logic block, a gate size may be selected based on (i) a gate delay, (ii) a change in gate delay and gate power associated with downsizing the gate to a next available gate size, and (iii) signal arrival times at one or more inputs and outputs of the gate to minimize power consumed by the logic block while maintaining a specified cycle time. |
| US08176455B2 |
Semiconductor device design support apparatus and substrate netlist generation method
A semiconductor device design support apparatus for generating a substrate netlist so as to be able to perform substrate noise analysis with high accuracy in a short time. The semiconductor device design support apparatus comprises a unit that divides a semiconductor device layout into a plurality of segments and generates a macro-model of the segments by using a current waveform of an instance included in the divided segments; a unit that replaces a pattern (termed as “substrate interface”) that is designed to be an interface with a substrate with respect to the segments, by a prescribed substrate interface diagram; and a unit that generates a substrate netlist, based on the substrate interface diagram of the plurality of segments. |
| US08176454B2 |
Non-invasive timing characterization of integrated circuits using sensitizable signal paths and sparse equations
Techniques for non-invasive, post-silicon characterization of signal propagation delay/timing of devices in an integrated circuit (IC) are generally disclosed. A system of equations may be developed based on a plurality of sensitizable signal paths (SSPs) of the IC for characterizing signal propagation delay or timing of devices within the SSPs. Input Vectors (IVs) may be selected and consecutively applied at one or more input sequential element devices of the IC associated with the SSPs with to produce corresponding output values at one or more output sequential element devices of the IC associated with the SSPs. Various pre-processing and post-processing techniques may be practiced to further improve accuracy of solution of the equations to enable efficient determination of solutions. Example techniques may include variable splitting, device clustering, IV and equation selection, and boosting, among others. Other aspects may also be disclosed and claimed. |
| US08176449B1 |
Inference of hardware components from logic patterns
The present invention provides a simplified process for inference using a generic logic pattern corresponding to one or more generic functions provided by the hardware component. A circuit design is mapped into a plurality of interconnected hardware components, and a subset of the hardware components that matches a logic pattern are identified. Components of the subset are replaced with an inferred hardware component associated with the logic pattern. After matching the pattern, additional components connected to the inferred hardware component are iteratively analyzed to determine whether those additional connected components can be implemented using additional logic of the inferred hardware component. |
| US08176448B2 |
Method for N-variant integrated circuit (IC) design, and IC having N-variant circuits implemented therein
Techniques are generally described for designing an integrated circuit (IC). In various embodiments, the techniques include designing, at a functional specification level, N-variants of a particular circuit. The various embodiments may then implement the designed N-variants as hardware in the IC. Additional variants and embodiments may also be disclosed. |
| US08176446B2 |
Method for compensating for variations in structures of an integrated circuit
A method of for compensating for variations in structures of an integrated circuit. The method includes (a) selecting a mask design shape and selecting a region of the mask design shape; (b) applying a model-based optical proximity correction to all of the mask design shape; and after (b), (c) applying a rules-based optical proximity correction to the selected region of the mask design shape. |
| US08176444B2 |
Analyzing multiple induced systematic and statistical layout dependent effects on circuit performance
A method for implementing systematic, variation-aware integrated circuit extraction includes inputting a set of processing conditions to a plurality of variation models, each model corresponding to a separate systematic, parametric variation associated with semiconductor manufacturing of an integrated circuit layout; generating, for each variation model, a netlist update attributable to the associated variation, wherein the netlist update is an update with respect to an original netlist extracted from the integrated circuit layout; and storing the netlist updates generated for each of the processing conditions. |
| US08176442B2 |
Living cursor control mechanics
Disclosed herein are systems and methods for controlling a cursor. A user may control a cursor displayed by a computing environment such as a game console, a computer, or the like by performing one or more gestures. An activity of a cursor on an audiovisual display may be controlled based on one or more gestures of the user, a profile of the user, other inputs, or combinations thereof. Further, an appearance of a cursor on an audiovisual display may also be controlled based on one or more gestures of the user, a profile of the user, other inputs, or combinations thereof. User gestures may be detected by, for example, a capture device. For example, the capture device may capture a depth image of a scene including a user. |
| US08176441B2 |
Information display device
An information display device includes a monitor, an operator, a display processor for displaying, on the monitor, identification information of item groups and items in the lower hierarchy of an item group, an item group selector for selecting one item group in response to an item group selecting operation on the operator, a display controller for making the display processor display, on the monitor, items in the lower hierarchy of the one item group selected by the item group selector, a first item selector for selecting an item from items currently displayed on the monitor in response to a first item selecting operation on the operator, and a second item selector for making the display processor sequentially display, on the monitor, items in the lower hierarchy of the item groups in response to a second item selecting operation on the operator, and for selecting an item from the displayed items. |
| US08176439B2 |
Navigating content
One embodiment of the invention involves a computer-implemented method in which information obtained from a uniform resource locator is converted into at least one texture. The texture is mapped onto a surface of a three-dimensional object located in the virtual three-dimensional space thereby forming a three-dimensional navigation mechanism. |
| US08176438B2 |
Multi-modal interaction for a screen magnifier
A multi-model magnification system is described that can be used with multiple forms of input, including natural input such as touch-based devices. Users can zoom in/out and pan with their preferred mode of interaction, including mouse, keyboard, pen, and touch interactions. The system provides dedicated features for some modes, such as pinch/scroll gestures for touch input, that allow users to easily zoom in/out and pan the magnified area (e.g., on a touch laptop). The system provides an interactive panning mode in which the user the user can interact with the desktop or applications (e.g., clicking on icons) and pan using special gestures. When the system is in the panning mode, the system consumes received gestures or other input, otherwise the system passes received input to a magnified application. |
| US08176434B2 |
Virtual desktop view scrolling
Example embodiments of the present disclosure are related to scrolling the view of a virtual desktop on a client. The client can be in communication with a server that has a display driver. The server can be configured to transmit signals indicative of images to the client and the client can be configured draw the images in a virtual desktop. The client can be configured to render a view of the virtual desktop that includes a portion of the virtual desktop; track user input; and pan the view in response to the user input. |
| US08176433B2 |
Application window area change surveillance
A method and system for monitoring a computer program window define an area of a computer program window and compute a hash value for the defined area. The computed hash value is stored and the hash value is recomputed for the defined area after a predetermined time period. The recomputed hash value is compared with the stored. If the stored hash value and the recomputed hash value are different, the method and system overwrite the stored hash value with the recomputed hash value, and generate a notification. Recomputing, comparing, overwriting and generating are performed periodically to monitor the changes in the defined area. |
| US08176430B1 |
Identifying URL target hostnames
Techniques are provided for displaying a uniform resource locator (URL) to assist a user in determining whether a URL destination is what the user expects. A link is presented for selection to a user, and a URL corresponding to the link is accessed. A portion of the URL that corresponds to a hostname component of the URL may be identified, and the URL may be displayed. The hostname component of the URL is visually distinguished from other components of the URL. In addition to or as an alternative to displaying the URL and visually distinguishing the hostname component, a warning message relating to the hostname portion of the URL may be displayed. The techniques may be implemented as a software plug-in or in any type of software application that is capable of recognizing URLs. |
| US08176427B2 |
Method for configuring a device using simple pictograms
A method for a user to easily securely configure a device is provided. The method includes displaying a user interface including a plurality of symbols available for user selection, accepting user inputs including an indication of any symbols selected by the user, converting the symbols selected by the user into numeric data, and assigning the numeric data to configuration parameters for the device. |
| US08176426B2 |
Image reproduction apparatus and image reproduction program product
An image reproduction apparatus that sequentially reproduces and displays a plurality of images, includes: a display effect setting unit that sets a display effect for each image based upon image data of the image stored in a storage means; and a display unit that reproduces and displays the image with the display effect set by the display effect setting unit when sequentially reproducing and displaying the plurality of images. |
| US08176422B2 |
Method for aligning demonstrated user actions with existing documentation
There is provided an apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions. The apparatus includes an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric. |
| US08176419B2 |
Self learning contextual spell corrector
A group of keywords are received, wherein each keyword includes one or more words. A word list is formed from the group of keywords, where the word list includes a list of each word in the group of keywords. A misspelled keyword is corrected using analysis of the words in the word list. The corrected keyword is output. |
| US08176416B1 |
System and method for delivering a device-independent web page
A method and system for presenting a document to a plurality of media device types optimized for the display medium. A document is generated in a markup language, and a plurality of style sheets are provided for formatting the document for a requesting device, with each style sheet accommodating a distinct display environment. The markup elements that reference two separate cascading style sheets (CSS) are configured differently such that they isolate the CSS reference for either high-resolution graphical display devices or small screen, low-resolution graphical display devices. A third style sheet is used as an intermediary to pass a CSS reference to small screen browsers while at the same time, shielding the CSS reference from certain high resolution browsers incapable of parsing the syntax of the reference. When a request for the document is received, the display environment of the requesting device is determined and a plurality of document presentation attributes are automatically transformed for the determined display environment. The formatted document is then delivered to the requesting device. |
| US08176413B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing a parseable document
A data processing method comprises receiving an electronically parseable document, scanning the document according to at least one predefined rule to determine if the document is suspicious, and, if the document is determined not to be suspicious, parsing the document with a first parser, and, if the document is determined to be suspicious, parsing the document with a second parser. |
| US08176412B2 |
Generating formatted documents
Techniques for generating one or more formatted documents are provided. The techniques include receiving content from one or more data sources, enabling specification of one or more formatting elements to be used in one or more generated formatted documents, enabling specification of a structure to be used in the one or more generated formatted documents, enabling specification of a style of the one or more formatting elements to be used in the one or more generated formatted documents, and generating one or more formatted documents based on the specifications. |
| US08176409B2 |
System and method for electronic publication of scientific data and analysis
Electronic publication systems are disclosed that enable the analysis and publication of layout files, which contain an analysis strategy and embedded raw data. The published layout files can be accessed by reader applications that are able to read the layout files and modify the analysis strategy within the layout file using the embedded raw data. In many embodiments, the reader applications are unable to access the embedded raw data. In several embodiments, the reader applications prevent the saving or printing of layout files. |
| US08176408B2 |
Modularized web provisioning
A system and method for modularized Web provisioning. Functionalities available for Web provisioning are modularized into individual feature files. A site template may reference one or more of such features. A site provisioned using the site template activates the referenced features by default. Features may be added to or removed from the site. A feature may include atomic Web provisioning elements, custom code, metadata specifying properties of the features, and/or activation dependency information specifying precedent features that need to be activated before the feature can be activated. Feature provisioning can be processed through a command-line tool, an object model, and/or a graphic user interface. |
| US08176406B2 |
Hard error detection
An error detection system is provided. The system includes a data array that includes one or more data entries. A copy datastore selectively stores a copy of a first single data entry of the data array. An index generator selectively increments an index that references the data array. A first comparator compares the copy with a second single data entry from the data array based on the index. An error generator generates an error signal based on a result from the first comparator. |
| US08176404B2 |
Systems and methods for stepped data retry in a storage system
Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for data processing retries. As an example, a data processing retry circuit is discussed that includes a stepped erasure window register, and an erasure flag set circuit. The stepped erasure window register includes: an erasure flag location, an erasure flag length, and a step size. The erasure flag set circuit is operable to assert a first erasure flag beginning at the erasure flag location and having the erasure flag length at a first time. In addition, the erasure flag set circuit is operable to assert a second erasure flag beginning at the erasure flag location plus the step size, and having the erasure flag length at a second time. |
| US08176401B1 |
Decoding methods and apparatus for fractional multidimensional trellis coded modulation systems
Systems and methods for encoding user information and decoding signal vectors using fractional encoding/decoding and set partitioning. A fractional encoder can select a coset for transmitting or storing user information based on one or more deterministic bits and on encoded user information. The deterministic bits limit the encoder to using only a subset of the available signal vectors in a modulation scheme. A fractional decoder can receive a signal vector, and can find at least two nearest neighbors in each dimension. The fractional decoder can form a set of potential signal vectors using only the at least two nearest neighbors. The decoder may determine which of these potential signal vectors are valid within the fractional signaling scheme, and can decode the received signal vector based on the valid potential signal vectors. |
| US08176398B2 |
DSL trellis encoding
A method is used that substantially simultaneously trellis encodes data to be modulated onto multiple tones. The embodiments of the present invention comprise the steps of: (a) using a first input operand comprising state bits for a first trellis stage; (b) using a second input operand comprising a plurality of input data bits; and (c) generating an output comprising output data bits and output state bits from a first or later trellis stage. |
| US08176393B2 |
Encoding device for error correction, encoding method for error correction and encoding program for error correction
The present invention aims at providing an encoding device for error correction, encoding method for error correction and encoding program for error correction wherein countermeasures against eavesdropping are taken into account. To achieve this, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided an encoding device for error correction, the device comprises a generation means for generating randomly a vector u=(xk+1, . . . , xm) composed of m-k digit(s); a creation means for creating an x′=[xu]=(x1, . . . , xm) by concatenating the vector u=(xk+1, . . . , xm) composed of m-k digit(s) randomly created by the creation means to data x=(x1, . . . , xk) to send; and an output means for outputting a vector of length n by carrying out [n, m] encoding of the x′ created by the creation means. |
| US08176392B2 |
Method of decoding content data blocks, corresponding computer program product and decoding device
When decoding a set of symbols to be decoded, several data blocks representative of the set of symbols to be decoded are received by a decoding node of a communications network. The data blocks are encoded using an error correction code enabling a decoding by erasure. The decoding node performs the following steps: first selecting at least one of the data blocks, first determining first erasures, and checking whether the number of the first erasures is below a given threshold. In a case the check is positive, the decoding node performs first decoding by erasure of the set of symbols to be decoded. In a case the check is negative, the decoding node performs second selecting of at least one of the data blocks, second determining second erasures, and second decoding by erasure of the set of symbols to be decoded from the second erasures. |
| US08176390B2 |
Single XOR operation WEAVER reconstruction of a failed drive of a RAID
Several methods and apparatus to single XOR operation weaver reconstruction of a failed drive of a raid are disclosed. A failed drive of the drive group implemented in a WEAVER code with an (n,t,t) layout is determined. A set of scatter/gather lists is produced from a number of the other drives of the drive group. A scatter/gather list is created by modifying a pointer data of the set of scatter/gather lists. An additional scatter/gather list is generated from the set of scatter/gather lists. A single XOR operation is performed on the data segment, the parity segment, the additional data segment and the additional parity segment to form a resulting scatter/gather list including a resulting data segment and a resulting parity segment. The resulting data segment and the resulting parity segment are written as sequenced in the resulting scatter/gather list to a replacement drive. |
| US08176389B2 |
Decoder device and method for decoding data stored in storage medium
A decoder device includes: a decoder that decodes data stored in a storage medium by performing error correction on the data, the error correction being capable of correcting code error and code erasure included in the data; a memory that stores a history of an address in the storage medium of a code included in the data, the code being detected to have the code error by the decoding unit; and a controller that controls the decoder to change a detail of the error correction based on the history stored in the memory. |
| US08176388B1 |
System and method for soft error scrubbing
A data processing system includes a memory configured to store data in a plurality of addressable storage spaces thereof, wherein the memory includes a first data port and a second data port, a first functional block configured to access the memory via the first data port to perform a logic operation, and a second functional block configured to access the memory via the second data port to perform soft error scrubbing in the data stored in the memory. |
| US08176386B1 |
Systems and methods for processing streaming data
A disk drive system-on-chip (SOC) includes a read-channel module and a processor. The read-channel module reads data, includes a first error-correcting module for correcting errors in the data, corrects errors in a first portion of the data using the first error-correcting module, and is unable to correct errors in a second portion of the data using the first error-correcting module. The processor includes a processor core and processor memory, receives the second portion of the data in the processor memory, and corrects errors in the second portion of the data using a second error-correcting module that is different than the first error-correcting module. |
| US08176385B2 |
Apparatus and method for performing cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on partial protocol data units (PDUs)
The present invention discloses an apparatus and method for performing cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on partial protocol data units (PDUs). The disclosed apparatus is designed to off-load the CRC calculation for transmit or receive from a host computer. According to the disclosed method, when generating CRC for partial PDUs, for each such PDUs a decision is made to determine whether a CRC action is required, i.e., if CRC should be calculated, checked or placed in the outgoing byte stream. When partial CRC calculation is performed the intermediate value is saved into memory and later is used for calculating the CRC for a consecutive partial PDU. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the need to re-calculate the CRC in a case of a re-transmit request is eliminated. |
| US08176381B2 |
Multidimensional turbo product codes and generalized low-density parity-check codes with component reed-solomon codes for optical transmission
A transmitter, a receiver, and corresponding methods are provided. The transmitter includes encoders configured to encode source bit streams from L information sources into bytes of codewords. Each encoder includes different (n, k) multidimensional turbo-product codes of code rate R=k/n, where k is a number of information bytes, and n is code word length. The encoders operate in at least two phases. A first phase involves operating ky column-encoders in parallel on kx bytes per column to generate the code words for a current dimension. A second phase involves operating nx row-encoders in parallel on ky memory locations per rows to generate the code words for the current dimension. The first and second phases are repeated for remaining layers of the current dimension and layers of other dimensions. |
| US08176375B2 |
DTV transmitter and method of coding data in DTV transmitter
A DTV transmitter includes a pre-processor which pre-processes enhanced data by coding the enhanced data for forward error correction (FEC) and expanding the FEC-coded enhanced data, a data formatter which generates enhanced data packets having the pre-processed enhanced data and known data, and a multiplexer which multiplexes the enhanced data packets with main data packets. The DTV transmitter further includes an RS encoder which adds systematic parity data to each main data packet and adds RS parity place holders to each enhanced data packet, and a data interleaver which interleaves the RS-coded main and enhanced data packets and outputs a group of interleaved data packets having a head, a body, and a tail. The body includes a plurality of consecutive enhanced data packets, to which a known data sequence is periodically inserted. |
| US08176370B2 |
Method and system for direct access memory testing of an integrated circuit
Aspects of the invention may be found in a method and system for testing an integrated circuit and may comprise an address selector, data selector and staging register coupled to a signal generator. The address selector may comprise a direct access memory test (DAMT) mode address control input and one or more output address pins coupled to an embedded memory device under test (DUT). The data selector may be coupled to at least one data pin and control pin of the signal generator and may comprise a DAMT mode data control input and at least one data output coupled to embedded memory DUT. A staging register comprising a first output clock rate which is one-quarter (¼) its input clock rate and matches a DUT burst write frequency may be coupled to an input of the data selector. A DAMT mode control may configure the memory DUT for DAMT operation. |
| US08176363B2 |
Efficient method and apparatus for keeping track of in flight data in a dual node storage controller
A storage unit adapted for use in a processing system includes a controller including at least two compute nodes, each of the compute nodes including a read/write cache and a persistent cache; and machine executable instructions stored within machine readable media, the instructions including instructions for tracking in-flight data in the persistent cache and composing a list of the in-flight data segments after a failure of the controller. A processing system and a method are also provided. |
| US08176362B2 |
Online multiprocessor system reliability defect testing
A multiprocessor system comprising a plurality of processors is disclosed. The plurality of processors includes a first processor including first monitor on-chip and a second processor including a including a second monitor on-chip. The first monitor on-chip is configured to measure load on the second processor and the second monitor on-chip is configured to measure load on the first processor. The first monitor on-chip is configured to cause the second monitor on-chip to perform a self-test on the second processor if the load on the second processor is below a second processor load threshold value and the second monitor on-chip is configured to cause the first monitor on-chip to perform a self-test on the first processor if the load on the first processor is below first processor load threshold value. |
| US08176359B2 |
Disk array system and control method thereof
A disk array system, upon detecting a failure in any data disk from among a plurality of data disks providing one or more RAID groups, conducting a correction copy to any spare disk, using one or more other data disks belonging to the same RAID group as the data disk causing the failure. When the data disk causing the failure has been replaced with a new data disk, the disk array system alters the management so that the data disk can be managed as a spare disk, and the spare disk can be managed as a data disk. |
| US08176358B2 |
Data transfer and recovery process
A backup image generator can create a primary image and periodic delta images of all or part of a primary server. The images can be sent to a network attached storage device and a remote storage server. In the event of a failure of the primary server, the failure can be diagnosed to develop a recovery strategy. Based on the diagnosis, at least one delta image may be applied to a copy of the primary image to generate an updated primary image at either the network attached storage or the remote storage server. The updated primary image may be converted to a virtual server in a physical to virtual conversion at either the network attached storage device or remote storage server and users may be redirected to the virtual server. The updated primary image may also be restored to the primary server in a virtual to physical conversion. As a result, the primary data storage may be timely backed-up, recovered and restored with the possibility of providing server and business continuity in the event of a failure. |
| US08176351B2 |
Sampling mechanism for data acquisition counters
One or more counter units of a data acquisition device used to perform sampling operations. Each of the counter units is configurable to operate in a selected one of a plurality of modes. During operation, at least one of the counter units may receive a measurement signal (or input signal) acquired by the data acquisition device and also a sample clock signal. The counter unit may sample the measurement signal based on the selected operational mode and timing of the sample clock, and at a rate that is independent of the frequency of the measurement signal. Furthermore, the counter unit may sample the measurement signal based on a selected one of a plurality of timing modes associated with the sample clock signal. The counter units may take samples of the measurement signal to perform at least one of the following types of measurements: period, frequency, pulse-width, semi-period, time separation, or event counting. |
| US08176346B2 |
Information processing apparatus with power saving mode and method for controlling information processing apparatus
An information processing apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store data, a supply unit configured to supply electric power to the storage unit, a determination unit configured to determine whether to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, a measuring unit configured to measure an elapsed time after a power source of the information processing apparatus is turned on and until the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode, and a control unit configured to control the supply unit to decrease electric power supplied from the supply unit to the storage unit at a timing determined based on the elapsed time and a predetermined reference time, in case that the determination unit determines to cause the information processing apparatus to operate in a power saving mode. |
| US08176345B2 |
Power saving operation for a media drive
According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a media drive having a normal operation mode and a power saving operation mode in which less power is consumed than in the normal operation mode, a control module configured to control the media drive, and a determination module configured to shift, when it is determined that the control module does not execute data access to the media drive for a predetermined period, the media drive from the normal operation mode to the power saving operation mode. |
| US08176344B2 |
Information processing apparatus and control method thereof
An information processing apparatus used to reduce power supply to nonvolatile memory when in power saving mode. To accomplish this, the information processing apparatus stores data in the nonvolatile memory that can be used in power saving mode to a volatile memory to which power will still be supplied while in power saving mode. Further, the information processing apparatus enables the operating system to recognize the storage area in which the data is stored as a replacement for the nonvolatile memory. |
| US08176342B2 |
Real-time inference of power efficiency metrics for a computer system
Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that measures a power efficiency of a computer system. During operation, the system collects telemetry data from a set of sensors within the computer system. Next, the system determines a power consumption of the computer system from the telemetry data and determines a number of input/output operations per second (IOPS) for the computer system from the telemetry data. Finally, the system computes an IOPS per watt metric from the power consumption and the number of IOPS. |
| US08176340B2 |
Method and system for initializing an interface between two circuits of a communication device while a processor of the first circuit is inactive and waking up the processor thereafter
A method and system for managing communications between sub-systems of a communication device. The sub-systems include a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) and a Baseband Integrated Circuit (BBIC). The BBIC includes a processing engine, a state machine module and an interface module. The method includes initializing a Digital Radio Frequency Third Generation (DigRF3G) interface between the RFIC and the BBIC. The processing engine is kept functionally inactive during the initialization process of the DigRF3G interface. Further, the method includes exchanging one or more packets between the RFIC and the BBIC. |
| US08176338B1 |
Hash-based data block processing with intermittently-connected systems
Methods are provided for detecting the processing status of data blocks in systems having intermittent connections. A hash value is used at times in place of a block's data content, thereby reducing processing of the block. Hash values may be maintained locally. Blocks collected locally may be stored locally at least until a connection to a server becomes available again. Systems and configured storage media are also provided. |
| US08176336B1 |
Software trusted computing base
A software trusted platform module (sTPM) operates in a hypervisor, receives trust assurances from specialized hardware, and extends this trust such that the hypervisor performs trust attestation. The hypervisor receives a startup sequence validation from a TPM, or Trusted Platform Module. The TPM performs bus monitoring during a boot sequence of the computer system, records the startup sequence from the bus, and performs a hash on the sequence. The TPM performs an authentication exchange with the hypervisor such that the hypervisor authenticates the attestation of the computer system from the TPM, and the hypervisor, now delegated with trust assurances from the TPM, provides assurances to users via an authentication chain. The ATCB then performs the attestation of the computer system according to the attestation protocol much faster than the TPM. In this manner, the hypervisor operates as a software delegate of the TPM for providing user assurances of trust. |
| US08176334B2 |
Document security system that permits external users to gain access to secured files
An improved system and approaches for exchanging secured files (e.g., documents) between internal users of an organization and external users are disclosed. A file security system of the organization operates to protect the files of the organization and thus prevents or limits external users from accessing internal documents. Although the external users are unaffiliated with the organization (i.e., not employees or contractors), the external users often have working relationships with internal users. These working relationships (also referred to herein as partner relationships) often present the need for file (document) exchange. According to one aspect, external users having working relationships with internal users are able to be given limited user privileges within the file security system, such that restricted file (document) exchange is permitted between such internal and external users. |
| US08176332B2 |
Computer security using visual authentication
A physical token to the user in the form of a unique card having a grid of images thereon. Each column and row of images has a unique text string of text. In addition, each user knows a special image, not necessarily present on the token card, on which one particular point or zone functions as an extra authentication feature. Users may be queried for a username, then shown a random one of the images on their card, and asked for the row text string plus column text string identifying the image. Users are also prompted to select their particular point or zone within their known special image, which is displayed, among a jumble of other images, by the computer system requesting authorization, such display serving to authenticate the computer system to the user. The system may be combined with password protection and methods to identify a user's machine. |
| US08176330B2 |
Method, apparatus and article for off-line certification in mobile applications
A tamper-resistant certification device receives a certified digital time stamp from a trusted third party, resets a time function and produces a time stamp receipt in an on-line mode; The tamper-resistant certification device receives a digital file from a mobile computing device, and produces a certified digitally signed digital file including a copy of the digital file, time stamp receipt and temporal offset in an off-line mode to evidence the content of the digital file within a defined tolerance of a day and/or time. A processor may be portioned into tamper and non-tamper resistant portions. |
| US08176329B2 |
Scanned image disclosure apparatus, method and storage medium; electronic mail transmission apparatus, method and storage medium; and internet facsimile transmission apparatus
A scanned image disclosure apparatus has a disclosure unit that encrypts and discloses to a disclosure destination a scanned image by using a public key or a private key relating to a public key certificate that has been verified to be valid, a re-verification unit that judges whether or not re-verification of the validity of the public key certificate is necessary during execution for the disclosure unit and performs re-verification if it is judged to be necessary, a termination unit that terminates the execution for the disclosure unit if the public key certificate was judged to be invalid by the re-verification unit. |
| US08176328B2 |
Authentication of access points in wireless local area networks
A method for authenticating an operator of an AP includes: registering the operator's identity with a CA, by providing the operator's identification information and public key; creating a certificate including the foregoing; signing the certificate with the CA's private key; provisioning the AP with the signed certificate; provisioning a client with the CA's public key; sending a request from the client to the AP; generating a signature with the operator's private key; returning a reply to the client, including the AP provisioned certificate signed with the generated signature; using the client provisioned CA's public key to obtain the operator's public key from the certificate received in the reply; and, using the operator's public key obtained from the certificate received in the reply to verify the signature generated with the operator's private key and used by the AP to sign the certificate received in the reply. |
| US08176323B2 |
Radio frequency identification (RFID) based authentication methodology using standard and private frequency RFID tags
Disclosed is a self-contained hardware-based authentication system that incorporates different authentication protocols for access to soft and/or hard assets with different security levels. The system embodiments include the use of a RFID device that comprises dual RFID tags operating under different frequencies. Specifically, one RFID tag operates on a public frequency and, when activated, transmits an identifier encrypted using a public key. The other RFID tag operates on a private frequency and, when activated, transmits a private key that can be used to decrypt the encrypted identifier. Upon receipt by a processor (e.g., a local processor or security server) of a request for access to a specific asset, a security level for the specific asset is determined. Then, depending upon the particular security level (e.g., low, medium or high) different authentication protocols are instituted using the RFID device. Also disclosed are embodiments of an associated authentication methodology. |
| US08176321B1 |
Safe installation of browser extensions
Methods and apparatus for installing browser extensions using sandboxed processes are disclosed. An example method includes receiving a browser extension installation package in a main browser process, placing the browser extension installation package in a temporary directory and launching a sandboxed sub-process of the browser application, where the sandboxed sub-process has access to the temporary directory. The example method includes, in the sandboxed sub-process: unpacking a compressed, archived file of the installation package into the plurality of constituent files of the browser extension and transcoding or recoding at least one of the plurality of constituent files, where the transcoded and recoded files replace their corresponding original constituent files. The example method includes, after the transcoding and/or recoding, passing the constituent files back to a main browser process and installing the browser extension to the browser application using the transcoded and recoded constituent files. |
| US08176313B2 |
Executable software security system
A computer system which is configured to load executable programs. This configuration first accepts an operator defined key; withdraws an encrypted executable program from memory; and, using the operator defined key, decrypts the encrypted executable program into a functional executable program. It is this functional executable program which is used by the processing unit. During shutdown, each executable program is checked to see if it was derived from an encrypted executable program; those that aren't, are verified as being legitimate by the operator prior to their storage into the memory. |
| US08176312B2 |
System and method for surely but conveniently causing reset of a computerized device
Enhanced reset logic is included in a user's computerized device so that the device owner (e.g., the user's employer) can assure prompt reset (e.g., to insure device use of newly downloaded software versions or other control or security data) while still allowing user convenience (e.g., some limited continued normal use of the device before reset is forced upon the user thus permitting the user to avoid possibly aggravating losses of data and/or ongoing usage). |
| US08176311B1 |
Initializing platform-specific features of a platform during early stages of booting the kernel
Techniques are described for providing a kernel with the ability to execute functions from a kernel module during processor initialization and initializing a platform using platform-specific modules. An initialization function of the platform-specific module is executed before a platform-independent phase of the kernel of the operating system is executed. In one example, a device includes a computer-readable medium that stores instructions for a platform-specific module comprising an initialization function, and instructions for an operating system comprising a kernel, wherein the kernel comprises a boot sequence comprising a platform-dependent phase and a platform-independent phase, and a processor to execute instructions stored in the computer-readable medium. The processor executes the initialization function of the platform-specific module to initialize the device during the platform-dependent phase of the kernel boot sequence, and wherein the processor executes the platform-independent phase of the kernel boot sequence after executing the initialization function of the platform-specific module. |
| US08176310B2 |
Debugger application configured to communicate with a debugger module via a GPIO
Methods, systems, apparatuses and program products are disclosed for communications such as may be used for debugging computers and similar electronic products at a level suitable for low level firmware. This may find application, for example, in environments after cache initialization around the time of memory bring up or motherboard device enumeration but including durability into and beyond software loading.GPIO (General Purpose input/output) connections may be used for communication that may, for some purposes, be regarded as half-duplex but without necessarily being anisochronous. |
| US08176309B2 |
Boot system has BIOS that reads rescue operating system from memory device via input/output chip based on detecting a temperature of a hard disk
Boot systems and methods are provided. The boot system includes an IO (Input/Output) chip, a memory device, and a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The memory device is coupled to the IO chip, and includes at least a rescue OS (Operating System). The BIOS reads the rescue OS from the memory device via the IO chip, and boots an electronic device based on the rescue OS. |
| US08176305B2 |
Information processing apparatus, activation method, and program
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an activation method, and a program which allow activation to be performed more quickly so as to enter a state according to a user's operation. A host CPU (11) causes a state to transition to an initial state, which is an initial state of a working state and in which execution of application processing is inhibited, before entering a suspend state. An embedded controller (33) acquires from an input unit (11) a signal indicating an activating factor that serves as an activation trigger. When activating from the suspend state, the host CPU (11) executes return processing to the initial state, and upon returning to the initial state by activation, causes a state to transition to an application execution state in which the application processing according to the activating factor is executed. The present invention can be applied to a digital still camera. |
| US08176302B2 |
Data processing arrangement comprising a reset facility
A data processing arrangement (MPS) comprises a plurality of data processors (SPR, PM1, . . . , PM4) that can be reset individually. A reset module (RSM) handles various reset request signals (HRG, SRG, SRP1, . . . , SRP4) in accordance with a prioritization and timing scheme so as to obtain respective reset signals (GRS, PRS1, . . . , PRS4) for respective data processors (SPR, PM1, . . . , PM4). The reset module (RSM) preferably comprises a reset request register, which stores respective reset requests that the respective reset request signals convey, and a request execute register, which stores respective granted reset requests that the reset signals convey. |
| US08176300B2 |
Method and apparatus for content based searching
The scheduling of multiple request to be processed by a number of deterministic finite automata-based graph thread engine (DTE) workstations is processed by a novel scheduler. The scheduler may select an entry from an instruction in a content search apparatus. Using attribute information from the selected entry, the scheduler may thereafter analyze a dynamic scheduling table to obtain placement information. The scheduler may determine an assignment of the entry, using the placement information, that may limit cache thrashing and head of line blocking occurrences. Each DTE workstation may including normalization capabilities. Additionally, the content searching apparatus may employ an address memory scheme that may prevent memory bottle neck issues. |
| US08176299B2 |
Generating stop indicators based on conditional data dependency in vector processors
Described is a method for performing parallel operations in a computer system when one or more conditional dependencies may be present, where a given conditional dependency includes a dependency associated with at least two data elements based on a pair of conditions. During operation, a processor receives instructions for generating one or more stop indicators based on actual dependencies, where a given stop indicator indicates the position of a given actual dependency that can lead to different results when the data elements are processed in parallel than when the data elements are processed sequentially, and where the given actual dependency occurs when the pair of conditions matches one or more criteria. Then, the processor executes the instructions for generating the one or more stop indicators. |
| US08176298B2 |
Multi-core multi-threaded processing systems with instruction reordering in an in-order pipeline
An advanced processor comprises a plurality of multithreaded processor cores each having a data cache and instruction cache. A data switch interconnect is coupled to each of the processor cores and configured to pass information among the processor cores. A messaging network is coupled to each of the processor cores and a plurality of communication ports. In one aspect of an embodiment of the invention, the data switch interconnect is coupled to each of the processor cores by its respective data cache, and the messaging network is coupled to each of the processor cores by its respective message station. Advantages of the invention include the ability to provide high bandwidth communications between computer systems and memory in an efficient and cost-effective manner. |
| US08176296B2 |
Programmable microcontroller architecture
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a microcontroller device having a microprocessor, programmable memory components, and programmable analog and digital blocks. The programmable analog and digital blocks are configurable based on programming information stored in the memory components. Programmable interconnect logic, also programmable from the memory components, is used to couple the programmable analog and digital blocks as needed. The advanced microcontroller design also includes programmable input/output blocks for coupling selected signals to external pins. The memory components also include user programs that the embedded microprocessor executes. These programs may include instructions for programming the digital and analog blocks “on-the-fly,” e.g., dynamically. In one implementation, there are a plurality of programmable digital blocks and a plurality of programmable analog blocks. |
| US08176295B2 |
Logical-to-physical address translation for a removable data storage device
A method for making memory more reliable involves accessing data stored in a removable storage device by translating a logical memory address provided by a host digital device to a physical memory address in the device. A logical memory address is received from the host digital device. The logical memory address corresponds to a location of data stored on the removable storage device. A physical memory address corresponding to the local address is determined by accessing a lookup table corresponding to the logical zone. |
| US08176293B2 |
Method and system for moving active virtual partitions between computers
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to enhancing VPAR monitors to allow an active VPAR to be moved from one machine to another, as well as to enhancing virtual-machine monitors to move active VPARs from one machine to another. Because traditional VPAR monitors lack access to many computational resources and to executing-operating-system state, VPAR movement is carried out primarily by specialized routines executing within active VPARs, unlike the movement of guest operating systems between machines carried out by virtual-machine-monitor routines. |
| US08176292B2 |
Controlling configurable variable data reduction
Example apparatus, methods, and computers control configurable, variable data reduction. One example method includes identifying data reduction controlling attributes in an object to be data reduced by a configurable variable data reducer. The attributes provide information upon which decisions concerning whether and/or how to data reduce the object can be based. The example method also includes controlling a configurable variable data reducer to selectively data reduce the object based, at least in part, on the data reduction controlling attributes. The control exercised can determine whether, where, when, and/or how data reduction will proceed. |
| US08176291B1 |
Buffer management architecture
Systems and apparatus for managing buffers in a buffer memory are described. In at least one aspect, a system includes a buffer memory including a plurality of buffers; an allocation memory including a plurality of allocation data elements associated with the plurality of buffers; an allocation clear register coupled with the allocation memory; a reclaim memory including a plurality of reclaim data elements each associated with an allocation data element and corresponding buffer; a reclaim clear register coupled with the reclaim memory; an allocation register configured to receive one or more allocation data elements from the allocation memory; and a buffer manager. |
| US08176284B2 |
FLASH-based memory system with variable length page stripes including data protection information
Methods and apparatuses for enhanced protection of data stored in a FLASH memory system involve a controller capable of protecting data using different size page stripes. The controller is configured to store data in FLASH memory devices in the form of page stripes, each page stripe comprising a plurality of pages of information, each page of information being stored in a different FLASH memory chip. The controller stores the data in a manner such that the pages making up each page stripe includes a plurality of data pages and at least one data protection page. In one implementation, the page stripes stored by the controller include a first page stripe having N data pages and one data protection page, and a second page stripe having M data pages and one data protection page, where N is an integer greater than three and M is an integer less than N. |
| US08176282B2 |
Multi-domain management of a cache in a processor system
A system and method are provided for managing cache memory in a computer system. A cache controller portions a cache memory into a plurality of partitions, where each partition includes a plurality of physical cache addresses. Then, the method accepts a memory access message from the processor. The memory access message includes an address in physical memory and a domain identification (ID). A determination is made if the address in physical memory is cacheable. If cacheable, the domain ID is cross-referenced to a cache partition identified by partition bits. An index is derived from the physical memory address, and a partition index is created by combining the partition bits with the index. A processor is granted access (read or write) to an address in cache defined by partition index. |
| US08176280B2 |
Use of test protection instruction in computing environments that support pageable guests
Management of storage used by pageable guests of a computing environment is facilitated. A query instruction is provided that details information regarding the storage location indicated in the query. It specifies whether the storage location, if protected, is protected by host-level protection or guest-level protection. |
| US08176277B2 |
Replication of deduplicated storage system
A method of replicating a deduplicated storage system is disclosed. The method comprises storing a stream of data on an originator deduplicating system by storing deduplicated segments and information on how to reconstruct the stream of data. The method further comprises replicating the originator deduplicating system by receiving a copy of the deduplicated segments, information regarding containers for the deduplicated segments, and information on how to reconstruct the stream of data transferred from the originator deduplicating system to the replica system. |
| US08176275B2 |
Method and apparatus for de-duplication after mirror operation
De-duplication operations are applied to mirror volumes. Data stored to a first volume is mirrored to a second volume. The second volume is a virtual volume having a plurality of logical addresses, such that segments of physical storage capacity are allocated for a specified logical address as needed when data is stored to the specified logical address. A de-duplication operation is carried out on the second volume following a split from the first volume. A particular segment of the second volume is identified as having data that is the same as another segment in the second volume or in the same consistency group. A link is created from the particular segment to the other segment and the particular segment is released from the second volume so that physical storage capacity required for the second volume is reduced. |
| US08176272B2 |
Incremental backup using snapshot delta views
A backup method that uses snapshot delta views to create backups of a data collection is provided. The method comprises taking a first snapshot of the data collection, in response to determining that a previous snapshot used to create a backup does not exist; creating a backup of the data collection using the first snapshot, in response to determining that the previous snapshot does not exist; recording that the first snapshot was used as a source for the creation of a backup; and taking a second snapshot of the data collection, in response to determining that the previous snapshot that was used as a source for a backup does exist. |
| US08176269B2 |
Managing metadata for data blocks used in a deduplication system
Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for managing metadata for data blocks used in a deduplication system. File metadata is maintained for files having data blocks in a computer readable device. Data block metadata is maintained for each data block in the computer readable device. The data block metadata for one data block includes a data block reference and content identifier identifying content of the data block. The file metadata for each file includes the data block reference to each data block in the file. A determination is made of an unreferenced data block in the computer readable device that has become unreferenced. Indication is made that the data block metadata for the determined unreferenced data block as unreferenced metadata. The data block reference of the unreferenced metadata is maintained in the computer readable device in response to determining that a includes the data block indicated in the unreferenced metadata. |
| US08176268B2 |
Systems and methods for performing storage operations in a computer network
Methods and systems are described for performing storage operations on electronic data in a network. In response to the initiation of a storage operation and according to a first set of selection logic, a media management component is selected to manage the storage operation. In response to the initiation of a storage operation and according to a second set of selection logic, a network storage device to associate with the storage operation. The selected media management component and the selected network storage device perform the storage operation on the electronic data. |
| US08176267B2 |
Data accessing method for flash memory storage device having data perturbation module, and storage system and controller using the same
A data accessing method, and a storage system and a controller using the same are provided. The data accessing method is suitable for a flash memory storage system having a data perturbation module. The data accessing method includes receiving a read command from a host and obtaining a logical block to be read and a page to be read from the read command. The data accessing method also includes determining whether a physical block in a data area corresponding to the logical block to be read is a new block and transmitting a predetermined data to the host when the physical block corresponding to the logical block to be read is a new block. Thereby, the host is prevented from reading garbled code from the flash memory storage system having the data perturbation module. |
| US08176264B2 |
Software transactional memory for dynamically sizable shared data structures
We propose a new form of software transactional memory (STM) designed to support dynamic-sized data structures, and we describe a novel non-blocking implementation. The non-blocking property we consider is obstruction-freedom. Obstruction-freedom is weaker than lock-freedom; as a result, it admits substantially simpler and more efficient implementations. An interesting feature of our obstruction-free STM implementation is its ability to use of modular contention managers to ensure progress in practice. |
| US08176263B2 |
Memory management apparatus and method for same
A memory management apparatus uses a link list memory to manage a use area and a vacant area of a data memory. The use of the use area of the data memory by each of plural ports is restricted, and the use area of the data memory is configured to be always provided for each of the plural ports. In this manner, monopolized use of the data memory by a specific port is prevented and each of the plural ports is securely provided with the use area of the data memory under control of the memory management apparatus. |
| US08176261B2 |
Information processing apparatus and data transfer method
One aspect of the embodiments utilizes an information processing apparatus having a plurality of system boards connected via a bus, each system board including a CPU having a cache memory, a main memory that forms a shared memory, and a system controller that manages the CPU and the main memory as well as controls a data transfer of at least one of the cache memory and the main memory by a memory access request, wherein each system controller including a snoop controller that selects a transfer source CPU from transfer source candidate CPUs each having cache memory including a data requested by the memory access request when the data is available in a plurality of cache memories. |
| US08176256B2 |
Cache regions
A cache region can be created in a cache in response to receiving a cache region creation request from an application. A storage request from the application can identify the cache region and one or more objects to be stored in the cache region. Those objects can be stored in the cache region in response to receiving the storage request. |
| US08176254B2 |
Specifying an access hint for prefetching limited use data in a cache hierarchy
A system and method for specifying an access hint for prefetching limited use data. A processing unit receives a data cache block touch (DCBT) instruction having an access hint indicating to the processing unit that a program executing on the data processing system may soon access a cache block addressed within the DCBT instruction. The access hint is contained in a code point stored in a subfield of the DCBT instruction. In response to detecting that the code point is set to a specific value, the data addressed in the DCBT instruction is prefetched into an entry in the lower level cache. The entry may then be updated as a least recently used entry of a plurality of entries in the lower level cache. In response to a new cache block being fetched to the cache, the prefetched cache block is cast out of the cache. |
| US08176253B2 |
Leveraging transactional memory hardware to accelerate virtualization and emulation
Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for using transactional memory hardware to accelerate virtualization or emulation. A central processing unit is provided with the transactional memory hardware. Code backpatching can be facilitated by providing transactional memory hardware that supports a facility to maintain private memory state and an atomic commit feature. Changes made to certain code are stored in the private state facility. Backpatching changes are enacted by attempting to commit all the changes to memory at once using the atomic commit feature. An efficient call return stack can be provided by using transactional memory hardware. A call return cache stored in the private state facility captures a host address to return to after execution of a guest function completes. A direct-lookup hardware-based hash table is used for the call return cache. |
| US08176249B2 |
Methods for embedding session secrets, within application instances
Method for embedding a session secret, within an application instance, comprising the steps of generating an ephemeral session secret by a master application. Embedding, by master application, secret bytes, within application bytes of a slave application. Calculating said ephemeral session secret, by slave application, from said embedded secret bytes, when slave application is executed. |
| US08176246B1 |
Distributing lookup operations in a striped storage system
The present invention provides a mechanism for storing and accessing attributes of a data container (e.g., characteristics such as a name of a data container used to perform a lookup operation against the data container) in cache memory within storage systems in a cluster of storage systems. Further, a mechanism is provided so that an attribute of a data container is inserted into a cache memory of preferably one storage system (in the cluster) that caches metadata of the data container (e.g., information describing the data container). As a result, a lookup operation for a data container is directed to and served by the storage system that caches the metadata and the attribute of the data container. The lookup request is not relayed to a storage system that maintains a central directory of attributes of all data containers in the cluster. |
| US08176243B2 |
Tape recording apparatus and method
A tape recording apparatus is configured for sequentially recording files when receiving a command to write the files from an external host. The tape recording apparatus includes a buffer for temporarily storing the files, a tape on which the files are recorded, a writing device for writing the files stored in the buffer on the tape, and a writing control device for performing control of sequentially writing the files stored in the buffer on the tape one by one. The writing control device memorizes designated delimiter positions when delimiter position designation commands are received from the external host, the delimiter position designation commands designating the delimiter positions of the files to be sequentially written. |
| US08176241B2 |
System and method for optimizing DRAM refreshes in a multi-channel memory controller
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method for optimizing DRAM refreshes in a multi-channel memory controller are provided. In a particular embodiment, the method includes receiving, at a router in a light modulation system, a signal from one of a plurality of channels operable to read or write to a plurality of DRAM banks, the signal indicating that the channel does not need to access the plurality of DRAM banks during predetermined time period. The method also includes indicating the receipt of the signal to a refresh channel including a plurality of counters, wherein each counter is operable to track refreshes of a respective one of the plurality of DRAM banks. The method further includes receiving, from the refresh channel, an indication of one of the plurality of DRAM banks to refresh in response to the receipt of the signal, and refreshing the indicated DRAM bank. |
| US08176240B2 |
Method and apparatus for reducing power consumption in a memory bus interface by selectively disabling and enabling sense amplifiers
A technique includes amplifying data signals from a memory bus interface. The amplified data signals are sampled, and the amplifier is selectively disabled in response to the absence of a predetermined operation occurring over the memory bus. In some embodiments of the invention, the amplification may be selectively enabled in response to the beginning of the predetermined operation over the memory bus. |
| US08176233B1 |
Using non-volatile memory resources to enable a virtual buffer pool for a database application
A buffer pool for a database application is maintained in a volatile main memory component. A control portion that corresponds to a block of application data residing on a non-volatile, asymmetric memory component and that includes a reference to a location of the block of application data on the non-volatile, asymmetric memory component is added to the buffer pool maintained in the volatile main memory component. The control portion from the buffer pool maintained in the volatile main memory component that corresponds to the block of application data is accessed and the location of the block of application data on the non-volatile, asymmetric memory component is identified. Based on identifying the location of the block of application data on the non-volatile, asymmetric memory component, the database application is enabled to access the block of application data directly from the non-volatile, asymmetric memory component. |
| US08176231B2 |
Methods for handling data updating of flash memory and related memory cards
A method for handling data updating of a flash memory is disclosed, in which the flash memory comprises a mother block with a plurality of pages to be updated, and each page comprises a plurality of sectors. In such method, a first data for updating a target page in the mother block is obtained, and then whether the first data comprises data for updating an ending sector in the target page is determined. The first data is written into a replacing page in a first FAT block when the first data does not comprise data for updating the ending sector in the target page. The first data is written into a corresponding page in a second FAT block when the first data comprises the data for updating the ending sector, in which the corresponding page in the second FAT block and the target page in the mother block have the same page indexes. |
| US08176228B2 |
Quick port-switching method and associated apparatus
A quick port-switching method and associated apparatus are provided. A quick port-switching display control circuit includes a display controller, a first TMDS port, a second TMDS port and an analog video port. The display controller has a first GPIO pin and a second GPIO pin. The first TMDS port, second TMDS port and analog video port are coupled to the display controller for receiving a first TMDS input, a second TMDS input and an analog video signal, respectively. The first TMDS input and second TMDS input include a first hot-plugging signal and a second hot-plugging signal to be received by the first GPIO pin and second GPIO pin, respectively. The display controller determines whether the first TMDS input is valid by detecting whether the first hot-plugging signal is asserted, and determines whether the second TMDS input is valid by detecting whether the second hot-plugging signal is asserted. |
| US08176225B2 |
Microcontroller peripheral event distribution bus
A method and apparatus for distributing events. In one embodiment, the method includes a bus concurrently transmitting a first event-signal and a first event-identification (event-ID); wherein the first event-signal, when active, indicates that a first event has occurred, is occurring, or should occur. The first event-ID corresponds to the first event-signal. |
| US08176222B2 |
Early termination of an I/O operation in an I/O processing system
A computer program product, apparatus, and method for handling early termination of an I/O operation at a channel subsystem in an I/O processing system are provided. The computer program product includes a tangible storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method. The method includes receiving a request to terminate an I/O operation, and transmitting an abort command to a control unit in communication with the channel subsystem in response to receiving the request to terminate the I/O operation. The method also includes transmitting a purge path command to purge a path associated with the I/O operation, where the purge path command includes an error code identifying the request to terminate the I/O operation. |
| US08176221B2 |
DMA controller
A DMA controller achieving real-time control of a DMA transfer relating to periodically operated peripheral devices at a low cost and with low power consumption. A typical embodiment of the invention is a DMA controller having: a counter for counting time; a counter comparator comparing a value of the counter and a counter value indicating an expected time of a DMA transfer; a peripheral device read unit reading a register of the peripheral device to acquire a state of a peripheral device by; and a state comparator comparing a value of the register read by the peripheral device read unit and a start condition of the DMA transfer, in which, with being triggered by establishment of a comparison result by the counter comparator, in accordance with a specified order, a processing of updating the counter value indicating the expected time of a DMA transfer to a value indicating a next expected time, a read of the register of the peripheral device by the peripheral device read unit, a comparison by the state comparator, and a DMA transfer on the condition that the comparison result by the state comparator is established are executed. |
| US08176220B2 |
Processor-bus-connected flash storage nodes with caching to support concurrent DMA accesses from multiple processors
A system includes multiple nodes coupled using a network of processor buses. The multiple nodes include a first processor node, including one or more processing cores and main memory, and a flash memory node coupled to the first processor node via a first processor bus of the network of processor buses. The flash memory node includes a flash memory including flash pages, a first memory including a cache partition for storing cached flash pages for the flash pages in the flash memory and a control partition for storing cache control data and contexts of requests to access the flash pages, and a logic module including a direct memory access (DMA) register and configured to receive a first request from the first processor node via the first processor bus to access the flash pages. |
| US08176218B2 |
Apparatus and methods for real-time routing of received commands in a split-path architecture storage controller
Apparatus and methods for real-time routing of received frames in a split-path architecture storage controller. In one exemplary embodiment, a split-path storage controller comprises a soft-path I/O processor for processing of any received frames and comprises a fast-path I/O processor for efficient processing of common read and write command. A content parsing circuit of the storage controller parses each frame substantially concurrent with reception of the frame and selects an I/O processor for processing of an initial frame and subsequent related frames. Received frames are then routed concurrently as they are received for processing by the selected I/O processor of the multiple I/O processors of the split-path storage controller. |
| US08176214B2 |
Transmission of alternative content over standard device connectors
Transmission of alternative content over standard device connectors. An embodiment of a method includes connecting a first device to a second device utilizing a standard connector, the connector including multiple pins, and detecting whether the second device is operating in a standard mode or an alternative mode. If the second device is operating in the alternative mode, then switching one or more pins of the standard connector for the alternative mode and transmitting or receiving signals for the alternative mode via the plurality of pins of the standard connector. |
| US08176210B2 |
Unified host application and associated methodology of integrating local service of a multi-function printer
A method of invoking a set of services corresponding to a plug-in application installed on an image handling device. The method including launching a host application of the image handling device, accessing a configuration file of the image handling device, the configuration file including an identification of at least one plug-in and a corresponding set of services, launching the identified at least one plug-in, the plug-in providing the corresponding set of service in an integral fashion to the host application and presenting a unified graphical interface including host application services and the corresponding set of service of the plug-in. |
| US08176207B2 |
System debug of input/output virtualization device
An adapter card for testing the functionality of a particular interface configuration may include an interface core. The interface core may comprise an electric circuit including electronic components and control logic for interfacing with an information handling system device. The adapter card may include a front end data channel coupled with the interface core for transmitting data between the electronic components and the information handling system device. The adapter card may include firmware for setting an indicator and causing the control logic to report a memory requirement to the information handling system device larger than a programmed memory space expected by the control logic. |
| US08176201B1 |
Controlling the signaling of label-switched paths using a label distribution protocol employing messages which facilitate the use of external prefixes
Label distribution protocol (LDP) signaled label-switched paths (LSPs) are supported without requiring information about remote autonomous systems (ASs) to be injected into the local interior gateway protocol (IGP). This may be done by (i) decoupling a forwarding equivalency class (FEC) element from the routing information, and (ii) specifying a next hop on which the FEC relies. An LDP messaging structure (e.g., an LDP type-length-value (TLV)) that includes a label, FEC information (e.g., a host address or prefix of an egress LSR of the LSP) and a next hop (e.g., a host address or prefix of a border node, such as an AS border router (ASBR)) may be provided. This messaging structure may be included in one or more of (a) label mapping messages, (b) label withdraw messages, and (c) label release messages. If an LDP message including the expanded LDP messaging structure is received at a node, the node may determine whether or not to propagate the LSP using the next hop information, rather than the FEC information. If, on the other hand, the LDP message includes a normal LDP messaging structure, the node may determine whether or not to propagate the LSP as usual. |
| US08176199B2 |
Content delivery system, communicating apparatus, communicating method, and program
A content delivery system includes a client and a server, the client requesting deliveries of content from the server which transforms the content into layered-encoded data for transmission to the client over a network. The client includes: an inputting device inputting a time limit within which the content is to be delivered; a requesting device requesting a delivery of the content from the server within the time limit; and a receiving device receiving layered-encoded data constituting the content of which the delivery has been requested by the requesting device and which is transmitted from the server. The server includes: an acquiring device acquiring the time limit; a determining device determining the layered-encoded data constituting the content which can be transmitted to the client within the time limit, the determination being based on the time limit, on a bandwidth applicable to the client, and on size information about the layered-encoded data constituting the content which can be transmitted; and a transmitting device transmitting to the client the layered-encoded data determined by the determining device. |
| US08176198B2 |
Configurable download timing and reward system in a data network
A system and method are provided for determining whether a transaction between a subscriber and a merchant website requires downloading and/or streaming digital objects. In response to a determination that the transaction does require downloading and/or streaming of digital objects, a subscriber is provided with various options for delaying such downloading and/or streaming in return for incentives of varying value. |
| US08176197B2 |
Server device in contents transmitting system and contents transmitting method
When the content data recorded in the server device 100 is reproduced in the client device 200 through communication, the contents transmitting system shorten the time to reproduction of content data in reply to a reproduction request from the client device 200. In order to shorten the time up to the reproduction, in the server device 100, a start portion of the content data for an arbitrary time is prepared, which is encoded at a different rate from the encode rate of the content data as for the transmission bandwidth at the previous reproduction of the content data, and it is transmitted to the client device 200 and reproduced at the reproduction starting time. At the time of transmitting the content data, the server device 100 transmits the initial portion of the content data while encoding it for an arbitrary time at real time at a different encode rate as mentioned above, and client device 200 reproduces it. |
| US08176196B2 |
Stream data processing method and apparatus
A user specifies a group by a user-defined query. An input order is assured among data of a same group. By outputting data belonging to a same group from the same node, an order inputted for a necessary portion is assured. By outputting data belonging to different groups from another node, processing in plural nodes is achieved to avoid reduction in performance. |
| US08176194B2 |
Streaming data playback apparatus
A handsfree apparatus performs an operation for requesting a connection of a Bluetooth connection link to a cellular phone after guaranteeing a continuous playback of music streaming data by an audio player in a time slot that does not have packet transfer of the music streaming data, if the connection request of the Bluetooth connection link to the cellular phone is generated during a time of A2DP connection that defines packet transfer of the music streaming data with the audio player. The connection request of the Bluetooth connection link to the cellular phone is thus handled appropriately without interrupting a continuous playback of the music streaming data. |
| US08176193B2 |
Dynamic media asset delivery
Dynamic media asset delivery is described. In embodiments, a request for a media asset can be received from a client device. A transmission rate of a communication network is determined to deliver the media asset to the client device. The client device can be monitored to determine whether the media asset is initiated for playback at the client device. The media asset is then communicated to the client device in a highest quality display format as can be delivered according to the transmission rate of the communication network and whether the media asset is initiated for playback at the client device. |
| US08176192B2 |
Networked transmission system and method for stream data
Disclosed is a networked transmission system and method for stream data. The system comprises a network, a streaming server and an ordered series of a first up to n-th cooperative-sharing groups. There is a cooperative relationship among all users' terminals in a cooperative-sharing group. The streaming server provides a plurality of programs with stream data, each program being divided into one or more audio/video clips by a time-slot unit. The streaming server transmits the one or more audio/video clips to the leader node of the first cooperative-sharing groups. The leader node of each cooperative-sharing group transmits the currently received audio/video clip to the users' terminals within the same cooperative-sharing group, and passes the received audio/video clip to the leader node of the next cooperative-sharing group after one time slot. |
| US08176191B2 |
Automated identification of high/low value content based on social feedback
Embodiments of the present invention provide an automated scheme for identifying high/low value content. Playback data from users in a social network may be periodically submitted by users of the social network. The playback data indicates segments of content, such as audio or video that the user has skipped over or tagged as low value. The playback data may also indicate segments of content that the user has repeated or tagged as high value. The playback data is then analyzed in aggregate and various clips are identified. In addition, the playback data may be compiled and organized among the users for future use. The playback data may be used to indicate segments of high/low interest to peers in the social network or to arbitrary users. |
| US08176184B2 |
Method and system providing a messaging service
The invention is directed to a instant messaging method and communication system comprising one or more network elements, wherein a connection from one to another network element can be established using a protocol which allows the sending of one or more messages from the one to the another network element as part of one or more protocol words. The protocol includes a protocol portion allowing a network element to specify whether or not the message is to be stored in case it cannot be promptly delivered to the another network element. The protocol portion preferably is part of the protocol header. The protocol may be a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and the message can be contained in an Invite request sent from the sending equipment to the receiving equipment. |
| US08176183B2 |
System and a method for accelerating communication of TCP/IP based content
A technique for downloading multiple objects from at least one server in an accelerated manner. Typically, in a TCP/IP environment, a client is limited in the number of sockets that can be opened for a single server. A spoofer (410) is utilized to intercept traffic between the server and the client and modify the traffic so that from the client's perspective, it appears as though objects from a single server are actually being sourced from multiple servers. Thus, the client is able to open additional sockets to receive objects from the server thereby allowing for a parallel download of the objects. This greatly reduces the amount of time necessary to download the objects. |
| US08176179B2 |
Method and system for data-structure management
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to computationally efficient methods and systems for managing connection-associated and exchange-associated resources within network proxies. In one embodiment of the present invention, a circular connection-switch queue is employed for allocating, de-allocating, and maintaining connection-based or exchange-based data resources within a proxy. The connection-switch queue includes a free pointer that identifies a next connection-switch queue entry for allocation, and an idle pointer that is incremented continuously or at fixed intervals as timers associated with connection-switch entries expire. In an alternate embodiment, the connection-switch queue includes a free pointer, an idle pointer, and a clear pointer. |
| US08176177B2 |
Methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system
Methods and systems for reducing burst usage of a networked computer system are described herein. In an embodiment, resource requesters can request, within a time window, resources over a computer network before the resources are available. The resources can then be allocated in batch mode when the resources are available. Thus, resource requests do not have to be processed in real-time, and resource requests can be received before the resources are available. |
| US08176176B1 |
Scheduling data pushes to a mobile device based on usage and applications thereof
Embodiments relate to pushing data to mobile devices more efficiently. In a first embodiment, a computer-implemented method receives pushed data on a mobile device. The method includes: (a) recording, at a memory of the mobile device, information describing activity occurring on the mobile device during a first time period; (b) sending, from the mobile device to a server, data indicating the first time period and activity data indicating whether the mobile device was active during the first time period; and (c) during a second time period occurring after the recording (a) and sending (b), receiving application data pushed to the mobile device at a first rate determined based at least in part on the activity data sent to the server in (b), wherein the second time period is determined by the server based at least in part on the data indicating the first time period. |
| US08176175B2 |
Network response time measurements in an asymmetric routing environment
In one embodiment, a method can include: (i) receiving flow records from a plurality of network devices on asymmetric paths; (ii) reconstructing a network transaction from the received flow records; and (iii) deriving response times using the reconstructed network transaction. |
| US08176172B2 |
Unified web hosting and content distribution system and method for assuring predetermined performance levels
A service model, integrated system, and method for enabling a service provider to deliver an integrated web hosting and content distribution service offering, which affords assured operational performance service levels, regardless of whether the customer's web site is served by the service provider's hosting center, the service provider's content distribution network (CDN), by a third party web host, or by a third party CDN. A monitoring system of the primary service provider receives detailed capacity and health statistics from any CDN under the operational control of the primary service provider, receives aggregate capacity and health statistics from other CDNs not under the operational control of the primary service provider. A redirection system then decides to which web host, content distribution network, or combination thereof, user requests for content are directed in order that operational performance service levels are maintained. |
| US08176165B2 |
WTA based over the air management (OTAM) method and apparatus
A method is provided for managing the MS over the air (OTA) and at the same time maintaining backward compatibility with existing protocols and standards. The proposed method uses Wireless Telephony application (WTA). |
| US08176162B2 |
Email server system and method
An email system comprises a plurality of email servers connected by a data communications network. The email system avoids single points of failure by employing multiple email servers which self configure, without requiring dedicated servers, through self addressing and discovery and announcement protocols. An email server can act as a primary email server by executing an administration tool allowing an administrator to modify the configuration data set which the email servers utilize, and the primary email server will then announce the resulting change in the version level of the configuration data set to other email servers. Each email server will then determine and request any needed updates to its respective configuration data set from the primary email server or another email server. The resulting email system is: robust, avoiding single points of failure; scalable, as additional email processing capacity can be achieved by adding additional email servers; and is simple to administer as changes to the configuration data set can be made at any email server with a copy of the appropriate administration tool and such changes automatically propagate through the email system. |
| US08176157B2 |
Exceptions grouping
Methods of experience-based exception grouping are described. A number of exceptions are read. The exceptions are intelligently associated with one of a number of exception groups. Each exception group corresponds to a common user experience. |
| US08176155B2 |
Remote network management system
Disclosed is a remote network management system for coupling a series of remote domain servers, file/print servers, headless servers, network appliances, serial IT equipment, switches, routers, firewalls, security interfaces, application servers, load balancers, and environmental controls to one or more user workstations allowing for selective access of the remote devices. The remote devices are all connected to a remote management unit which interfaces each user workstation to the remote devices. The power supply of each remote device is similarly connected to the remote management unit through a controllable power supply. An option menu containing a list of all of the remote devices allows a user to select and operate any of the remote devices from the workstation. The option menu is also utilized to selectively control the power to the remote devices, servers, and computers. |
| US08176152B2 |
System and method for optimizing synchronization
A system and method is provided for optimizing a SyncML slow sync between a proprietary client and server. When a slow sync is detected, the client and server can depart from the normal SyncML protocol and process summary data without having to compare all items on a field-by-field basis. |
| US08176147B2 |
Method and messaging system for managing media contents in uniform storage
A method for managing media contents in a uniform storage includes: storing media contents and media content metadata corresponding to the media contents at a messaging system network side, performing management operations on the media contents by a user client based on the media content metadata. A messaging system for managing media contents in a uniform storage includes a user client and a network uniform storage entity, wherein the user client is configured to send a request for managing media contents to the network uniform storage entity; the network uniform storage entity is configured to store the media contents and media content metadata, and perform operations corresponding to the management request from the user client based on the media content metadata. Therefore, the user client may perform various management operations on the media contents stored at the messaging system network side. Accordingly, the user experience is improved. |
| US08176145B1 |
System and method for providing insurance data processing services via a user interface
A system architecture for providing remote access to insurance applications from a remote location is provided, including: a presentation layer located at the remote location that provides tools for navigating within one of the insurance applications and executing business transactions, wherein the presentation layer is based on web browser technology; an application layer that enforces predetermined rules of business on commands and transactions input from the remote location; a data access layer that manages physical storage of data relating to the insurance applications in databases and provides the application layer with access to application data; and a distributed technical layer separating a presentation logic of the presentation layer from an application logic of the application layer, wherein the distributed technical layer is configured to coordinate an execution of the insurance applications on one or more different platforms. |
| US08176140B2 |
Home network device control service and/or internet service method and apparatus thereof for controlling internet services and home network devices based on a script
Provided are a home network device service and/or Internet service method and apparatus in a home network with a web-based open architecture, the method comprising: receiving script based software for controlling the service from a server using a controller in a home network; reproducing a user interface screen for controlling the service by parsing the script based software using the controller; and controlling the home network device control service and/or the Internet service using the controller according to the selected service when a service is selected based on the UI screen. Accordingly, a home network which can be expanded easily can be obtained. |
| US08176135B2 |
Method and system for enhanced messaging
Techniques for acquiring, sending, receiving or using status information from a remote location over a network are disclosed. The status information is transmitted over the network between or among electronic devices. The status information can be provided by one or more sensors associated with the electronic device that is transmitting the status information. The status information can be transmitted with messages so as to enhance the messages. The electronic devices include at least computing devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants, pagers, and mobile telephones. |
| US08176130B2 |
Processing rules for digital messages
Systems and methods for handling email messages are described. Some embodiments are directed to determining whether an email message meets a predefined condition, and executing an action in an instant messaging (IM) system in response to determining that the email message meets the predefined condition. Other embodiments are directed to providing a programming interface, and storing inputs provided by a user at the programming interface. For those embodiments, the programming interface is adapted to receive user input in the form of a markup language. The inputs include a condition and an action. Yet other embodiments are directed to determining whether a digital message meets a predefined condition, and executing a filtering algorithm on the digital message in response to determining that the digital message does not meet the predefined condition. The digital message may be, for example, an email message or an IM message. |
| US08176127B2 |
System and method for processing securities trading instructions and communicating order status via a messaging interface
A system allowing traders, etc. to use instant messaging (IM) (or other non-FIX based) communications to input trading instructions directly into a broker's Order Management System (OMS) for managing/executing trades. Accordingly, trading instructions may be provided electronically directly from a buy-side trader, and directly to a sell-side broker's/brokerage's OMS, without the need for the sell-side broker to manually re-key the order into the sell-side firm's OMS. Further, trading instructions are provided in electronic format directly to the broker's OMS without the need for the buy-side trader to have an expensive FIX based OMS or associated FIX connection, which is also expensive, thereby allowing relatively smaller investment houses/buy-side organizations to enjoy the benefits of electronic delivery of trading instructions directly to brokers' OMS. |
| US08176119B2 |
System and method for dynamically changing the content of an internet web page
A host Web page includes an evolving interactive dialog box wherein an Internet user may enter user data to be processed. When the user completes entering user data in a first revolution of the interactive dialog box, the first revolution is replaced with a second revolution of the evolving interactive dialog box without disturbing or affecting any other part of the host Web page being displayed. Beneficially, the first and second revolutions may be communicated to a user computer together with and at a same time as the host Web page. Also, the second revolution may include a variety of data which is selected or customized to match the user data submitted in the first revolution. Each revolution of the evolving interactive dialog box may be comprised of any combination of general textual data entry fields, category (pull-down) menus, contact information data entry fields, and opt-in/opt-out buttons. The evolving interactive dialog box may also include dynamically selectable features, such as font type, font size, font color, box shape, box dimension(s), background colors, foreground colors, etc. |
| US08176117B2 |
Accelerator for object-oriented communications and method
A processing system includes a plurality of processing resources capable of executing a plurality of objects. The objects include a client object and one or more server objects. The client object is capable of requesting a service provided by at least one of the one or more server objects. The processing system also includes at least one hardware engine capable of receiving a request for the service from the processing resource executing the client object, formatting one or more messages associated with the requested service, and communicating the one or more messages to the processing resource executing at least one of the one or more server objects that provides the requested service. |
| US08176114B2 |
Distributed cross-application server deployment
A method for a distributed deployment includes selecting a first feature module of an application to be deployed where the application includes multiple feature modules. A second feature module of an application to be deployed is selected. A first server and a second server to which to deploy the first selected feature module and the second selected feature module, respectively, are selected. A first archive file and a second archive file for the first selected feature module and the second selected feature module, respectively, are generated using deployment information, a deployment template for the application, and at least one feature module file. The first archive file contains a feature module not contained in the second archive file. |
| US08176112B2 |
Systems, methods, and products for multimedia applications gateways
Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for a multimedia applications gateway. A home network management application is downloaded to the multimedia applications gateway operating in a home network. An anomaly that occurs in the home network is observed. An alert is sent to an external network controller, and the alert describes the anomaly in the home network. An instruction is received from the external network controller to remedy the anomaly. |
| US08176111B1 |
Low latency floating-point divider
An improved method and apparatus for performing floating-point division is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, fractional operands are pre-scaled and an estimate of a reciprocal of the pre-scaled fractional divisor is obtained from a lookup table using a portion of the bits of the pre-scaled fractional divisor. This value is used to scale the fractional operands and a multiply-add operation is used based on principles of series expansion to compute a final result with an acceptable degree of accuracy. |
| US08176110B2 |
Modular multiplier
Modular multiplication of two elements X(t) and Y(t), over GF(2), where m is a field degree, may utilize field degree to determine, at least in part, the number of iterations. An extra shift operation may be employed when the number of iterations is reduced. Modular multiplication of two elements X(t) and Y(t), over GF(2), may include a shared reduction circuit utilized during multiplication and reduction. In addition, a modular multiplication of binary polynomials X(t) and Y(t), over GF(2), may utilize the Karatsuba algorithm, e.g., by recursively splitting up a multiplication into smaller operands determined according to the Karatsuba algorithm. |
| US08176106B2 |
On-chip estimation of key-extraction parameters for physical tokens
The present invention relates to a method and a device (11) using a physical token (14), which provides measurable parameters, to derive at least one data set. A plurality of values of one or more of the parameters are measured. From these measured values, a measure of variance is calculated. Quantization intervals into which a measured value is to be quantized are then determined. A possible value of a data set, which subsequently can be derived from a measured value provided by the physical token, is associated with each quantization interval. Further, information which subsequently enables determination of these quantization intervals is stored. Hence, an enrolling phase has been completed. When the preparing phase has been completed, a deriving phase may commence. When a data set is to be derived, for example to be used as a cryptographic key, a value of any one of the parameters provided by the PUF is measured. This measured value is quantized into a determined quantization interval, and a data set may be derived from the quantization interval into which the measured value is quantized. |
| US08176097B2 |
Maintaining data coherency within related multi-perspective user interfaces via session-less queries
A contextual data server can provide a contextual data response for a contextual data request. A contextual data response can include at least client-requested data for the contextual data request and contextual differences data. The context-enhanced multi-perspective user interface can present the client-requested data received from the contextual data server in at least two related data viewing areas. Synchronization of the client-requested data presented in the at least two related viewing areas can be maintained using a presentation context, which is a part of the context-enhanced multi-perspective user interface that is not visually rendered. |
| US08176088B2 |
Incremental cardinality estimation for a set of data values
A system, an article, and a computer program product for estimating a cardinality value for a set of data values. In one embodiment, the system includes means for initializing a data structure for representing an array of counts; means for obtaining a data value from said set of data values; means for transforming said data value into a transformed string; means for modifying said data structure with said transformed string; means for obtaining a summary statistic value from said modified data structure, wherein the summary statistic value is based on the array of counts; and means for generating said estimated cardinality value using said summary statistic value. |
| US08176087B2 |
Data processing
Data is stored and data objects are indexed by an index having a tree configuration and the tree is traversed to identify the location of a data object. Data objects are analyzed to assess the extent to which a second data object is related to a first data object, and locations of related data objects within the tree are clustered so as to minimize tree traversal when accessing data objects considered to be related. |
| US08176085B2 |
Modular forest automata
Modular forest automata (MFA) provide a unified description of partially-ordered regular tree patterns. MFAs provide simple methods for determinization, sub-typing, intersection, and complementation of these patterns. MFAs support high-performance pattern analysis and matching. Modular forest transducers, in conjunction with modular forest automata, enable compilers to place semantic actions on any state transition while supporting efficient transformation of labeled, directed graphs. |
| US08176079B1 |
Restricting access to network resources through recursive URL classification
In one example, a server-based system may provide a recursive classification of the contents of a URL by: 1) receiving a request for a URL-classification list associated with a base URL, 2) constructing the URL-classification list, and 3) providing, in response to the request, the URL-classification list. The resulting URL-classification list may comprise: 1) content categories occurring in the base URL and 2) content categories occurring in any URLs embedded in the base URL. In another example, a client-based system may restrict access to network resources, based on the contents of a base URL, by: 1) identifying a request from a user to access a base URL, 2) requesting a URL-classification list associated with the base URL, 3) receiving the URL-classification list, and 4) determining, based on the URL-classification list, that access to the base URL is authorized. Corresponding computer-readable media are also disclosed. |
| US08176078B1 |
Method and apparatus for distributing network security advisory information
In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for distributing network security advisory information. In one embodiment, each user creates a profile describing his or her preferences with regard to the receipt of security advisory information (e.g., types of security advisory information he or she wishes to receive, the channels over which he or she wishes to receive the security advisory information). Incoming security advisory information is then distributed in accordance with the user profiles. |
| US08176075B2 |
Device, data processing method, and program
An image processing apparatus includes a browser which obtains an external resource or internal resource of the apparatus and displays the resource on the display unit, and a storage unit for storing an internal resource that can be displayed on the display unit. The image processing apparatus performs control not to display information by which storage location of the internal resource in the storing unit is identifiable in the case where the resource obtained by the browser unit is an internal resource. |
| US08176067B1 |
Fixed phrase detection for search
A set of search requests may be analyzed to detect fixed phrases suitable for inclusion in a search index. Sets of candidate phrases may be identified among the search requests. Fixed phrases may be detected among the candidate phrases using statistical techniques, for example, by identifying phrases having a relatively high pointwise mutual information (PMI) with respect to component keywords. Fixed phrase detection may include keyword and/or phrase clustering. Clusters may correspond to topics defined using a latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) procedure. Fixed phrase detection may include identifying phrases having relatively high PMI within particular clusters. |
| US08176065B2 |
System and method for automatic selection of digital photo album cover
A photograph in an album of photographs is selected as the cover for the album based on metadata, e.g., most frequently viewed, last viewed, EXIF data, etc. |
| US08176060B2 |
Online tool for registering media
A system and methodology that facilitates online registration of portable electronic media containing sensitive information is provided. The system tracks, collects and logs information associated with the media shipments and generates detailed reports. Furthermore, the system analyzes the information collected and reported to measure accountability and to calculate risk. The system provides consolidated, comprehensive information about media containing sensitive data shipped outside an organization. Additionally, the system facilitates risk management while tracking and reporting compliance around most any media activity. |
| US08176058B2 |
Method and systems for managing playlists
The present invention relates to a computerized method and systems for managing feeds so that a user's playlists may be automatically updated in accordance with a user's desired media preferences. |
| US08176056B1 |
Determining quality of linked documents
A ranking component ranks documents, such as web pages or web sites, to obtain a ranking score that defines a quality judgment of the document. The ranking score of a particular document is based on the ranking score of the documents which link to it and based on affiliation among the documents. |
| US08176054B2 |
Retrieving electronic documents by converting them to synthetic text
The present invention relies on the two-dimensional information in documents and encodes two-dimensional structures into a one-dimensional synthetic language such that two-dimensional documents can be searched at text search speed. The system comprises: an indexing module, a retrieval module, an encoder, a quantization module, a retrieval engine and a control module coupled by a bus. A number of electronic documents are first indexed by the indexing module and stored as a synthetic text library. The retrieval module then converts and input image to synthetic text and searches for matches to the synthetic text in the synthetic text library. The matches can be in turn used to retrieve the corresponding electronic documents. It should be noted that a plurality of matches and corresponding electronic documents may be retrieves ranked by order according the similarity of the synthetic text. In one or more embodiments, the present invention includes a method for indexing documents by converting them to synthetic text, and a method for retrieving documents by converting an image to synthetic text and comparing the synthetic text to documents that have been converted to synthetic text for a match. |
| US08176051B2 |
Search via fast case insensitive ASCII tree
A system and method for searching a bytestream or other string in a case insensitive manner. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes an ASCII tree that associated both upper and lower case letters of an incoming header key (or other symbols) with nodes. When enough nodes are gathered, a target word is found. |
| US08176048B2 |
Method and system for maximum-informativeness information extraction using a domain-specific ontology
A method transforms unstructured text into structured data in a domain-specific ontology. The method includes recording an input block of text using an information extraction module (IEM), accessing a domain-specific ontology and supplemental data in a knowledge source(s) via the IEM, processing the input text block, and using the IEM to generate a plurality of nodes in the domain-specific ontology. Each node classifies the unstructured text to corresponding objects of interest, thereby transforming the unstructured text into the structured data. An IEM is also provided having a computer device and an algorithm executable thereby to transform unstructured text into structured data in a domain-specific ontology. The IEM is adapted for recording a text phrase using the computer device, accessing and retrieving the domain-specific ontology and supplemental data from a knowledge source(s), and processing the text block using the computer device to generate a plurality of nodes in the domain-specific ontology. |
| US08176047B2 |
Methods and systems for locating information in a computer system
A computer system includes a user interface. The user interface includes at least one control for inputting at least one search criterion for searching in a database. The user interface also includes a visual result interface for visually outputting the result, at least one control in the visual result interface for selecting at least one element of a result of the searching, and a visual selection interface for at least visually outputting the selection. The visual result interface and the visual selection interface are positioned beside each other. In addition, the computer system includes a processor device communicatively connected to the user interface and connectable to the database. The processor may execute instructions for searching the database with said at least one search criterion, outputting to the user interface a result of the searching, and outputting to the user interface the selection from the result. |
| US08176046B2 |
System and method for identifying trends in web feeds collected from various content servers
Systems and methods for identifying trends in web feeds collected from various content servers are disclosed. One embodiment includes, selecting a candidate phrase indicative of potential trends in the web feeds, assigning the candidate phrase to trend analysis agents, analyzing the candidate phrase, by each of the one or more trend analysis agents, respectively using the configured type of trending parameter, and/or determining, by each of the trend analysis agents, whether the candidate phrase meets an associated threshold to qualify as a potential trended phrase. |
| US08176045B2 |
Systems and methods for cross-street identification
Aspects of the invention relate to the use of electronic maps and providing information about intersecting streets. A given region of interest on a map may include any number of features. Features of interest, including road segments and intersections, can be filtered to remove non-street data. The results may be analyzed according to individual street segments. Each segment may be identified by a feature ID, and the relationship each segment has with a given intersection is analyzed. Thus, the direction of a segment into or out of an intersection is determined, along with the physical locations of the beginning and end of the segment. This information is used to provide robust map information that may be displayed to a user. Heuristics can be applied to the map information to provide coherent address or direction information to the user for a given point of interest. |
| US08176043B2 |
Ranking search results
Content items and other entities may be ranked or organized according to a relevance to a user. Relevance may take into consideration recency, proximity, popularity, air time (e.g., of television shows) and the like. In one example, the popularity and age of a movie may be used to determine a relevance ranking. Popularity (i.e., entity rank) may be determined based on a variety of factors. In the movie example, popularity may be based on gross earnings, awards, nominations, votes and the like. According to one or more embodiments, entities may initially be categorized into relevance groupings based on popularity and/or other factors. Once categorized, the entities may be sorted within each grouping and later combined into a single ranked list. |
| US08176039B2 |
Abstract classification field specification
One embodiment includes receiving user input specifying a plurality of result fields for an abstract query. Each result field corresponds to a logical field specification of a data abstraction model abstractly describing the data in the database. The method further includes receiving user input selecting one of the plurality of result fields, and receiving user input specifying a classification definition for the selected result field. The classification definition is suitable for dividing data to be returned for the selected result field into a plurality of categories. Then, a classification field for the abstract query is generated on the basis of the selected result field and the classification definition. The classification field is included with the abstract query. The method further includes receiving a user request for execution of the abstract query against the database. |
| US08176036B2 |
Join paths across multiple databases
Methods, systems and computer instructions on computer readable media are disclosed for optimizing a query, including a first join path, a second join path, and an optimizer, to efficiently provide high quality information from large, multiple databases. The methods and systems include evaluating a schema graph identifying the join paths between a field X and a field Y, and a value X=x, to identify the top-few values of Y=y that are reachable from a specified X=x value when using the join paths. Each data path that instantiates the schema join paths can be scored and evaluated as to the quality of the data with respect to specified integrity constraints to alleviate data quality problems. Agglomerative scoring methodologies can be implemented to compute high quality information in the form of a top-few answers to a specified problem as requested by the query. |
| US08176033B2 |
Document processing device and document processing method
A document processing method, including: a collection step of collecting access history of a user; a document similarity computing step of computing a document similarity, which indicates similarity between documents, by one user pattern which indicates a plurality of users who have accessed one document and another user pattern which indicates a plurality of users who have accessed another document, according to the access history collected in the collection step; a keyword weight vector correction step of correcting a keyword weight vector of the one document using the document similarity computed in the document similarity computing step; and an evaluation value calculation step of calculating an evaluation value for input information for searching, based on the keyword weight vector corrected in the keyword weight vector correction step. |
| US08176030B2 |
System and method for providing full-text search integration in XQuery
A system and method for providing full-text search integration in XQuery is presented. A built-in search function defined in an XQuery language is implemented, and a full-text search is initiated. The search function includes one or more search terms and a relation logic. Variants for each search term in the search function are identified. Posting lists are obtained for one or more of the variants. Each posting list includes values offset from elements containing the search term associated with the variant to which the posting list corresponds. The relation logic is applied to the offset values of the posting lists. Those elements with offset values that satisfy the relation logic are selected. The elements that satisfy the relation logic are provided as results of the full-text search. |
| US08176027B1 |
Spatial index for data files
A method and system of managing computer data files are disclosed. Each computer data file on at least one data storage device is associated with at least one physical geographic location. Alternatively, the location may be an actual physical geographic location, a virtual location, a historical location, a fictional location, and so on. A function provides for searching and accessing the computer data files by location. |
| US08176026B2 |
Consolidating file system backend operations with access of data
Mechanisms for performing a backend operation in a file system are provided. A backend operation on a portion of the file system is initiated. At least one indirect transition table data structure is created for performing the backend operation. Metadata corresponding to the portion of the file system is linked to the at least one indirect transition table data structure. The backend operation is performed on data in a sub-portion of the portion of the file system and the at least one indirect transition table data structure is updated with pointers to new locations of the data in the sub-portion as transitions of the data are completed. At least one data access operation is performed to the portion of the file system at substantially a same time as performing the backend operation on the data in the sub-portion of the portion of the file system. |
| US08176023B2 |
Hierarchical locking in B-tree indexes
Portions of a B-tree index in a database are locked for concurrency control. In one example, hierarchical lock modes are provided that permit locking a key, a gap between the key and the next key, and a combination of the key and the gap. In another example, key range locking may be applied to the B-tree index using locks on separator keys of index nodes. In another example, key range locking may be applied to the B-tree index using locks on key prefixes. |
| US08176021B2 |
Optimized reverse key indexes
Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to optimized reverse key indexes. In aspects, a dispersion function disperses index values such that they are distributed across multiple pages of an index. The dispersion function utilizes a dispersion factor that indicates to what extent the index values are dispersed. Because the index values are dispersed, contention regarding inserts may be reduced or eliminated and other advantages realized. |
| US08176019B2 |
Extending the sparcle privacy policy workbench methods to other policy domains
A method and system enable a user to develop domain-specific policy workbench. Domains may include, but are not limited to security, autonomic computing, workload management and systems management. The method and system in one aspect determines syntax of a policy in a selected domain and creates an instance of policy workbench specific to the selected domain. In one aspect, the instance of policy workbench includes at least machine-readable encodings of the selected policy and associated mapping. The instance of policy workbench also includes a compliance auditing tool enabled to check events logged at a target system against the selected policy and associated mapping to determine if one or more policy rules have been complied with. In another aspect, domain-specific policy workbench creation machine is provided that automatically creates an instance of domain-specific policy workbench. |
| US08176014B2 |
System and method for providing a cache that stores entity beans and employs data invalidation
Servers in a network cluster can each store a copy of a data item in local cache, providing read access to these copies through read-only entity beans. The original data item in the database can be updated through a read/write entity bean one of the cluster servers. That cluster server has access to an invalidation target, which contains identification information relating to copies of the data item stored on servers in the cluster. Once the read/write bean updates the data item in the database, an invalidate request can be sent or multicast to all cluster members, or to any read-only bean or server contained in the invalidation target. Each server or read-only bean receiving the request knows to drop any copy of the data item in local cache, and can request a current copy of the data item from the database. |
| US08176010B2 |
Remote copy system
In a system in which data employed by a computer is stored in a storage system, the storage system transfers this data to another storage system and a copy of the data is maintained in the other storage system. The consistency of the copy is maintained even when data is written, to the storage system by a computer, without having a write time applied. A source storage system, when a write time is applied to a write request, records the write time and applies this write time to the received write data and, when no write time is applied, applies the recorded write time to the received write data and transfers the write data with this write time applied thereto, to a target storage system. The target storage system stores the write data in a logical volume in the target storage system in accordance with the write time. |
| US08176008B2 |
Apparatus and method for replicating data in file system
A data replication system comprises a NAS controller and a storage system. In a first embodiment, after a NAS system takes a snapshot of a volume, the NAS system changes the referral information within the volume. Also, as an additional way to ensure the consistency after taking a snapshot, the NAS System returns the changed referral information based on a referral management table when clients access a referral within the snapshot volume so that clients can access an appropriate volume. In a second embodiment, after a volume on a NAS system is replicated by remote copy to a remotely deployed NAS system, the remotely deployed NAS system returns the changed referral information based on a referral management table when clients access a referral within the replicated volume so that clients can access an appropriate volume. |
| US08176007B2 |
Performing an action in response to a file system event
A method and apparatus for performing an action in response to a file system event is provided. According to one aspect, sets of “event listeners” are associated with a file hierarchy and/or the nodes thereof. Each event listener contains a set of “event handlers.” Each event handler corresponds to a separate type of event that may occur relative to the file hierarchy's nodes. When an event is going to occur relative to the hierarchy or a node thereof, all event listeners that are associated with that hierarchy/node are inspected to determine whether those event listeners contain any event handlers that correspond to the event's type. Those event handlers that correspond to the event's type are placed in an ordered list of event handlers to be invoked. As the event handlers in the list are invoked, programmatic mechanisms that correspond to those event handlers are executed to perform customized user-specified actions. |
| US08176005B2 |
Caching infrastructure
Example systems and methods are directed at maintaining and retrieving presence metadata. One example method includes receiving a request from a first client to edit a document file, and sending short-term check out metadata to the first client to begin an editing session. The method also includes writing the transition ID to a transition table stored in a cache, wherein the presence of another transition ID in the cache indicates that a document has switched from a single-client mode to a multi-client mode. An example system includes a processing unit operative to receive a document, the document including short-term check out metadata indicating an editing session has begun, ping a cache to determine if another transition ID is stored in the cache, and send a transition ID to a transition table stored in a cache to switch from a single-client mode to a multi-client mode. |
| US08176001B2 |
System and method for detecting spam over internet telephony (SPIT) in IP telecommunication systems
A method and system for detecting a spam over internet telephony (SPIT) is disclosed. Incoming call requests are received and analyzed using heuristic algorithms. A runtime action is provided based on the analysis using the heuristic algorithms. The heuristic algorithms include zero-touch heuristic algorithms that require no human intervention, one-touch heuristic algorithms that require human intervention one time, and multi-touch heuristic algorithms that require human intervention more than one time. Cumulative probability is calculated for each incoming call request, and the incoming call request is classified as a spam if the cumulative probability exceeds a threshold. |
| US08175998B2 |
Method and expert system with evolutionary algorithm for valuating an object
A method for valuating an object is disclosed, which includes an expert system that determines a value for a rule from the features of the object, weights the value with a weight from [0, 1] and valuates the object based on the value with a rule editor for defining rules for the valuation with one respective weight from [0, 1]; a rule module for determining a value per rule from the features and a valuation module are also disclosed for valuating the object based on the values, wherein the valuation module weights each value determined for a rule with the weight associated with the rule; and in a simplified manner, the expert system determines temporal progressions of the weight in an evolutionary algorithm, commencing with a start value, and selects a limit of the weight as a new weight, when the weight is converging, and the evolution module determines temporal progressions of at least one weight in an evolutionary algorithm selecting a new weight based on a converging behavior of the characteristics. |
| US08175997B2 |
Method of applying user-defined inference rule using function of searching knowledge base and knowledge base management system therefor
The user-defined inference rule is created using a knowledge base search language that is basically provided in a knowledge base management system. Accordingly, the user-defined inference rule is a knowledge base search statement and is processed using a function of searching a knowledge base as a base function of the knowledge base management system. The user-defined inference rule is applied by including a knowledge base search process and a search result in the knowledge base, when the knowledge base is changed. The user-defined inference rule is managed by a user-defined inference rule manager. The user-defined inference rule manager monitors a change in the knowledge base to determine when the user-defined inference rule is applied, executes the user-defined inference rule to obtain the execution result, and includes the execution result in the knowledge base. |
| US08175996B1 |
Prescriptions for nonsupported features of an electronic document
In some embodiments, a method includes receiving an electronic document that comprising a list of one or more features specified for use during processing of the electronic document by an application. The method also includes determining if one or more specified features from the list of specified features is not supported by the application. The method includes executing an operation that is defined by a prescription associated with one or more specified features, in response to a determination that the one or more specified features is not supported by the application, wherein the prescription defines at least one of an operation to be performed or a restriction to be applied by the application as part of subsequent processing of the electronic document. |
| US08175995B2 |
Quantum and digital processor hybrid systems and methods to solve problems
Quantum and digital processors are employed together to solve computational problems. The quantum processor may be configured with a problem via a problem Hamiltonian and operated to perform adiabatic quantum computation and/or quantum annealing on the problem Hamiltonian to return a first solution to the problem that is in the neighborhood of the global minimum of the problem Hamiltonian. The digital processor may then be used to refine the first solution to the problem by casting the first solution to the problem as a starting point for a classical optimization algorithm. The classical optimization algorithm may return a second solution to the problem that corresponds to a lower energy state in the neighborhood of the global minimum, such as a ground state of the problem Hamiltonian. The quantum processor may include a superconducting quantum processor implementing superconducting flux qubits. |
| US08175989B1 |
Music recommendation system using a personalized choice set
A method for recommending items includes forming one or more choice sets of recommendable items. At least one choice set is a personalized choice set of recommendable items formed for a first user based in part on data associated with that user. Recommendable items can be divided into classification groups. Forming a choice set of recommendable items can be based on a user's classification group preferences. The method also includes forming a recommendation set of recommendable items from the choice sets of recommendable items. Forming the recommendation set is based in part on additional data associated with the user. The additional data is not used in forming the personalized choice set. |
| US08175988B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program
An information processing apparatus learning a preference of a user for a content item includes acquiring means for acquiring an operation or expression of the user for a certain content item as feedback information; training data generating means for generating training data for the preference learning from the feedback information acquired by the acquiring means; and learning means for learning the preference of the user and how to attach a meaning to the feedback information in association with the training data by using multiple pieces of training data generated by the training data generating means. |
| US08175987B2 |
Method and apparatus for computing a change plan using genetic programming and parse tree
A method, and computer program product for computing a change plan are presented. A model of a current configuration is identified, the model including modeled system assets and modeled tasks. A request to change the current configuration to a new configuration is received. The request to change the current configuration to generate a plurality of valid strategies to be used in a genetic programming parse tree corresponding to modeled assets and modeled tasks of said model is applied to the model. The request to change the current configuration is applied to at least one of said valid strategies to generate a plurality of potential change plans. The change plans are evolved according to genetic programming principles to a preferred change plan. |
| US08175985B2 |
Plugin infrastructure for hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) system
A system for implementing a hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) network using a plugin infrastructure. The plugin infrastructure registers the plugins to be used in instantiating the HTM network. The plugin may include one or more functions for creating one or more components of the HTM network in a runtime engine. The plugin is associated with a component specification describing the components of the HTM network created by invoking the functions of the plugin. After the plugin is registered, the plugin infrastructure allows functions of the plugin to be invoked to instantiate The HTM network on a runtime engine. After the HTM network is instantiated, the runtime engine may run the instance of the HTM network to learn and infer the causes of input data. The system may also include one or more external programs to provide various supporting operations associated with the runtime engine by referencing the component specification. The supporting operations that can be performed by the external programs include, among others, validating a netlist defining the structure of the HTM network, build help information for the component, and generating a graphical user interface associated with the HTM network. |
| US08175982B2 |
Value function representation method of reinforcement learning and apparatus using this
Reinforcement learning is one of the intellectual operations applied to autonomously moving robots etc. It is a system having excellent sides, for example, enabling operation in unknown environments. However, it has the basic problem called the “incomplete perception problem”. A variety of solution has been proposed, but none has been decisive. The systems also become complex. A simple and effective method of solution has been desired.A complex value function defining a state-action value by a complex number is introduced. Time series information is introduced into a phase part of the complex number value. Due to this, the time series information is introduced into the value function without using a complex algorithm, so the incomplete perception problem is effectively solved by simple loading of the method. |
| US08175971B1 |
Lifetime guaranteed income rider
Apparatus and methods for providing to a bank customer a guaranteed retirement distribution based on a retail bank product. An electronic processing module may be used to identify a value of an asset in a retail banking product and calculate a guaranteed distribution payment amount. The guaranteed distribution payment amount may be based on the asset value. An electronic transmitter may be used to provide to an insurance carrier a data object having an attribute that corresponds to the asset value. A new guaranteed distribution amount may replace a previous guaranteed distribution amount. The new guaranteed distribution amount may be based on a new value of the asset. The asset may be retained in the retail banking product and the insurance carrier may issue a policy that guarantees the distribution payment to the customer. |
| US08175969B2 |
Architecture and method for bill presentment using a web-based tool
An architecture and method for bill presentment using a web-based tool is disclosed. A common architecture collects billing data from multiple business technology systems and present the billing data on a bill. A user-friendly tool allows internal billing personnel and system administrators to configure the content and format of a bill before presenting it to customers. A method provides external customers with drilldown ability, enabling them to view both summary and detailed billing data and related information necessary to understand and pay the bill. |
| US08175968B2 |
Method and system for processing internet payments using the electronic funds transfer network
Embodiments of the invention include a method and system for effectuating an electronic payment between a payor and a payee using an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) network. The method is implemented by a system having multiple processors. The payor may hold a payor account at a payor institution and the payee may have a payee account at a payee institution. The method includes generating a payment authorization identifying the payee institution, the payee account, and an amount of the payment and transmitting the payment authorization to the payor institution. The method further includes debiting the payor account by the amount of the payment; transmitting from the payor institution to the payee institution through the EFT network an EFT credit message representing a credit in the amount of the payment; and crediting the payee account in the amount of the payment in response to the receipt of the EFT credit message. |
| US08175966B2 |
System and method for identifying an alternative provider of telecommunications services
A method for selecting a service provider includes receiving a selection of a provider of telecommunications services, the selection being associated with a buyer. The method further includes determining that the buyer does not meet credit requirements of the provider and selecting at least one of a plurality of alternative providers of telecommunications services in response to determining that the buyer does not meet the credit requirements of the provider. |
| US08175961B2 |
Method and system for using payment history for conducting commercial transactions
A method is disclosed. The method includes receiving transaction data relating to a plurality of commercial transactions conducted by a plurality of buyers and sellers conducting commercial transactions using a transaction processing system, and then receiving a request for transaction information relating to the received transaction data from an entity, wherein the transaction information also relates to a commercial transaction between a buyer and a seller. The method further includes providing the transaction information to an entity, wherein the entity thereafter makes a decision about further interacting with the buyer or the seller. |
| US08175960B2 |
System and method for dynamically regulating order entry in an electronic trading environment
A system and method are provided for trading a trading strategy defined for at least one tradeable object in an electronic trading environment. More specifically, one example method includes using a first pay-up tick value to determine a first acceptable price level for an order associated with the trading strategy, automatically modifying the first pay-up tick to a second pay-up tick value in response to detecting a predefined condition, and using the second pay-up tick value to determine a second acceptable price level for the order associated with the trading strategy. |
| US08175958B2 |
Hybrid trading system for concurrently trading combined orders for financial instruments through both electronic and open-outcry trading mechanisms
A system and method of trading combined orders in an exchange configured for trading by a combination of electronic and open-outcry trading mechanisms is provided. One method includes receiving an incoming order having a first order component and a second order component at an electronic trade engine and routing the first and second order components to a first electronic database. The first and second order components are matched and executed against order components maintained in the first and second electronic databases, respectively. Any unexecuted first and second order components are placed in an electronic book according to a predetermined program if the first or second order component cannot be completely matched against any order components maintained in one of the first or second electronic databases. The system includes a trade engine configured for receiving combined orders from market makers. |
| US08175956B2 |
Method and apparatus for automated trading of equity securities using a real time data analysis
A system and method for buying and selling securities based on volatility and liquidity rather than other fundamentals is demonstrated. The method involves: providing at least one decision model to buy and sell a security; inputting real-time data into the decision model; and automatically generating an order and executing transactions to buy and sell the security based in response to the decision model. The method continues in buying and selling the security based in response to decision model until the method is stopped. |
| US08175949B2 |
Methods and systems for providing a constant maturity commodity index
Methods and systems provide a commodity index for investing. In one implementation, a method selects a commodity component for inclusion in the commodity index and calculates a target weight of the commodity component. The method further selects a time interval for maturity of the commodity component to be fixed at from a current date. Financial instruments may be purchased corresponding to the commodity component. |
| US08175937B2 |
Systems, methods and computer programs for financial data evaluation
Systems and methods are provided for evaluating financial information, including systems and methods with computational/evaluation capability to process data sets comprising financial data. In one of the implementations, the systems and methods may be utilized for asset accounting. A calculation module may be provided that includes an evaluation engine that operates internally on a flat, generic data structure that is independent of the particular application. The externally-defined data structure of the data set may be mapped onto the internal data structure. Further, rules-based modules may provide information related to the client-defined rules. A user interface may enable a user to receive back the evaluated financial information, for a specified time period, the financial information being responsive to an original user request entered via the user interface. As a result, the evaluation engine can be used for a variety of different applications. |
| US08175931B2 |
Product customization system and method
A product customization system and method are provided in which a consumer can insert user content, such as images or text, onto a product, such as a shoe, and then view the customized product before purchasing the customized product. |
| US08175930B2 |
Apparatus for selling shipping services through a mediator's web site
The present invention relates to a computer program product for providing a system for selling shipping services online. The system comprises data recording medium, product selector, shipping service information collector, shipping parameter collector, shipping option computing module, shipping service selector, shipping service notifying module and transaction concluding module. The product selector is for selecting a product by a buyer. The shipping service information collector is for obtaining information about shipping services from carriers. The shipping parameter collector is for obtaining information to specify shipping parameters. The shipping option computing module is for computing available shipping services. The shipping service selector is for selecting a shipping service related to a given carrier. The shipping service notifying module is for generating a shipping service request and transmitting the request to the carrier. The transaction concluding module is for receiving a response to the request and transmitting the response to the buyer. |
| US08175925B1 |
Position-based item identification in a materials handling facility
Positional placement guidelines for storing items in an inventory area may allow determination and tracking of the position of the items in the inventory area. Position information may be associated with each item in a materials handling facility to assist in locating an item in an inventory area. The position information may represent a position relative to the inventory area and/or to the other items therein. Position information may be determined based on a count of items in the inventory area or based on a time stamp corresponding to the time the item was stored in the inventory area. Position information may be presented to an agent to facilitate picking the item with or without descriptive information. Feedback may provide an indication that the position information is incorrect and may trigger a review or a reset of position information for one or more items in the inventory area. |
| US08175922B2 |
Dynamic in-page advertising
Advertisements displayed in a web page are enabled to be changed as a context of the web page changes without reloading the web page. A first set of one or more advertisements may be displayed on a web page. One or more of the displayed advertisements may be replaced with one or more alternative advertisements. Selection of the alternative advertisements is triggered based on the occurrence of one or more events that cause a change in a context of the web page. The display of the alternative advertisements is performed dynamically, without the web page needing to be reloaded. In this manner, the advertisements displayed on a web page may be changed based on the change in web page context, to provide advertisements to users that correspond to the changing context. |
| US08175918B2 |
System and method for automatically determining travel product price rebates
A computer-implemented system and method are provided for automatically determining rebate eligibility for purchased products. In one example, the purchased products may be travel-rebated products such as booked air travel itineraries. A database stores purchase information associated with purchased products purchased at corresponding purchase prices. A product administration system having a computer software-based product administration application interacts with the database and purchase information of a first purchased product is compared with purchase information of subsequently purchased products. The product administration application interacts with the database to determine if the first purchased a product matches a subsequently purchased product based on a set of matching criteria. The first purchased product may be eligible for a rebate if the product administration application determines that the subsequently purchased product was purchased at a lower purchase price than the purchase price for the first purchased product. |
| US08175915B1 |
Computerized auction method for providing a discount off a high bid before a bid is placed
A method and system for conducting an auction. The auction system provides a criteria for a seller to offer an item for sale with a discount off the bid that is displayed before a bid is made by the bidder, and/or a discount that is advertised from a minimum discount up to a maximum discount off the bid amount that is declared and displayed after the auction is closed. The discount(s) apply to the bidders initial bid and each raised bid and are not contingent on or to another condition. The auction system provides a mechanism to conduct an auction that allow persons to pay a bid fee to register as a bidder, register an opening bid with a discount that is stated before a bid is made by the bidder and a means for when the auction opens at a later date, to accept the registered opening bids. |
| US08175914B1 |
Automatic adjustment of advertiser bids to equalize cost-per-conversion among publishers for an advertisement
A learning model is built on a combination of advertiser, publisher and user data. The learning model can be applied to all advertisers in an advertising system. The learning model provides predicted conversion rates for a given advertisement (“ad”) appearing on different publisher networks. A predicted conversion rate represents the probability that a click on a given ad appearing on a given publisher will lead to a conversion. The predicted conversion rates are used to generate a multiplier. The multiplier is used to automatically adjust the advertiser's bid (e.g., maximum cost-per-click (CPC)) for the given ad prior to an auction for the ad. Adjusting the advertiser's bid equalizes a cost-per-conversion among the publishers for the ad. |
| US08175905B2 |
Source allocation system, program and method
The invention relates to a resource allocation method. According to the invention, databases of computer objects are produced solely with properties intrinsic to the physical objects. Data filters are defined in order to sort the different intrinsic properties and to divide same into object classes. Allocation matrices are then used to match the resources with the object classes. During the handling of a process, the allocation method is implemented in order to determine a resource. A database is queried in order to obtain intrinsic information. Subsequently, the intrinsic information passes through a data filter in order to determine a membership class. One or more resources are then determined from the membership class with an allocation matrix. The inventive method is performed with the aid of a computer program. The invention also relates to a processing system which is designed to implement said method. |
| US08175894B2 |
X-ray exposure report system, medical apparatus, and examination protocol distribution system
A radiation report system includes a storage unit for storing a plurality of records including an exposure dose, an examination protocol, an examination part, a patient's age and a patient's weight with regard to the plurality of radiation examinations using a plurality of radiation diagnosis apparatuses. The plurality of records stored in the storage unit is classified into a plurality of groups based on the examination protocol, the examination part or patient information. An exposure report is created for each group based on the plurality of records stored in the storage unit. The data of the exposure report is served with a client side terminal. |
| US08175891B2 |
System for separating and distributing pharmacy order processing for compound medication
An information system and method that provides the ability to reroute portions of prescription order work between a plurality of organizational units in order to leverage capacity, expertise, or other resources to increase network efficiency. |
| US08175889B1 |
Systems and methods for tracking changes of address based on service disconnect/connect data
A computer-implemented system for updating mailing address or other contact information using service disconnect and connect information, such as for telephone, utility, or other service, is described. Electronic information about service disconnect requests and service connection requests is received and compared to identify requests that are linked to the same individual, household, or other entity. A confidence assessment module may produce an indicator, such as a score, of a confidence level in a correct matching of a disconnect and a connect request, based at least in part on similarity of names or other account information, proximity of addresses, and proximity of effective dates associated with potentially matching service connect and disconnect requests. In some embodiments, service disconnect and connect records from a plurality of services are used. |
| US08175888B2 |
Enhanced layered gain factor balancing within a multiple-channel audio coding system
During operation a multiple channel audio input signal is received and coded to generate a coded audio signal. A balance factor having balance factor components each associated with an audio signal of the multiple channel audio signal is generated. A gain value to be applied to the coded audio signal to generate an estimate of the multiple channel audio signal based on the balance factor and the multiple channel audio signal is determined, with the gain value configured to minimize a distortion value between the multiple channel audio signal and the estimate of the multiple channel audio signal. The representation of the gain value may be output for transmission and/or storage. |
| US08175884B1 |
Environmental condition detector with validated personalized verbal messages
An environmental condition detector emits only safe, validated verbal messages recorded in a user's voice to help occupants of a building respond safely to sensed environmental conditions. The message emitted in the user's voice is generally a familiar voice to other building occupants to better capture their attention, and only certain, safe, user messages are validated for use thereby eliminating the chance that the user may unknowingly record an unsafe message to be emitted during a sensed environmental condition. The verbal message is recorded by a user and is analyzed through speech recognition to determine if the user-recorded message can be validated as containing safe content. A user-recorded message found to match manufacturer preprogrammed message content is validated and selected to be audibly emitted in the user's voice when an environmental condition is sensed. Various embodiments include single station units, interconnected units, or centrally controlled security systems. |
| US08175883B2 |
Speech recognition system and method
According to the present invention, a method for integrating processes with a multi-faceted human centered interface is provided. The interface is facilitated to implement a hands free, voice driven environment to control processes and applications. A natural language model is used to parse voice initiated commands and data, and to route those voice initiated inputs to the required applications or processes. The use of an intelligent context based parser allows the system to intelligently determine what processes are required to complete a task which is initiated using natural language. A single window environment provides an interface which is comfortable to the user by preventing the occurrence of distracting windows from appearing. The single window has a plurality of facets which allow distinct viewing areas. Each facet has an independent process routing its outputs thereto. As other processes are activated, each facet can reshape itself to bring a new process into one of the viewing areas. All activated processes are executed simultaneously to provide true multitasking. |
| US08175880B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method and recording medium
An image processing apparatus comprises an image data input portion that inputs image data and a text data input portion that inputs text data. The text data inputted by the text data input portion is converted into voice data by a voice data converter, and this obtained voice data and the image data inputted by the image data input portion are connected to each other by a connector, and then a file including the voice data and the image data connected to each other is created. |
| US08175879B2 |
System-effected text annotation for expressive prosody in speech synthesis and recognition
The inventive system can automatically annotate the relationship of text and acoustic units for the purposes of: (a) predicting how the text is to be pronounced as expressively synthesized speech, and (b) improving the proportion of expressively uttered speech as correctly identified text representing the speaker's message. The system can automatically annotate text corpora for relationships of uttered speech for a particular speaking style and for acoustic units in terms of context and content of the text to the utterances. The inventive system can use kinesthetically defined expressive speech production phonetics that are recognizable and controllable according to kinesensic feedback principles. In speech synthesis embodiments of the invention, the text annotations can specify how the text is to be expressively pronounced as synthesized speech. Also, acoustically-identifying features for dialects or mispronunciations can be identified so as to expressively synthesize alternative dialects or stylistic mispronunciations for a speaker from a given text. In speech recognition embodiments of the invention, each text annotation can be uniquely identified from the corresponding acoustic features of a unit of uttered speech to correctly identify the corresponding text. By employing a method of rules-based text annotation, the invention enables expressiveness to be altered to reflect syntactic, semantic, and/or discourse circumstances found in text to be synthesized or in an uttered message. |
| US08175877B2 |
Method and apparatus for predicting word accuracy in automatic speech recognition systems
The invention comprises a method and apparatus for predicting word accuracy. Specifically, the method comprises obtaining an utterance in speech data where the utterance comprises an actual word string, processing the utterance for generating an interpretation of the actual word string, processing the utterance to identify at least one utterance frame, and predicting a word accuracy associated with the interpretation according to at least one stationary signal-to-noise ratio and at least one non-stationary signal to noise ratio, wherein the at least one stationary signal-to-noise ratio and the at least one non-stationary signal to noise ratio are determined according to a frame energy associated with each of the at least one utterance frame. |
| US08175876B2 |
System and method for an endpoint detection of speech for improved speech recognition in noisy environments
According to a disclosed embodiment, an endpointer determines the background energy of a first portion of a speech signal, and a cepstral computing module extracts one or more features of the first portion. The endpointer calculates an average distance of the first portion based on the features. Subsequently, an energy computing module measures the energy of a second portion of the speech signal, and the cepstral computing module extracts one or more features of the second portion. Based on the features of the second portion, the endpointer calculates a distance of the second portion. Thereafter, the endpointer contrasts the energy of the second portion with the background energy of the first portion, and compares the distance of the second portion with the distance of the first portion. The second portion of the speech signal is classified by the endpointer as speech or non-speech based on the contrast and the comparison. |
| US08175872B2 |
Geotagged and weighted environmental audio for enhanced speech recognition accuracy
Enhancing noisy speech recognition accuracy by receiving geotagged audio signals that correspond to environmental audio recorded by multiple mobile devices in multiple geographic locations, receiving an audio signal that corresponds to an utterance recorded by a particular mobile device, determining a particular geographic location associated with the particular mobile device, selecting a subset of geotagged audio signals and weighting each geotagged audio signal of the subset based on whether the respective audio signal was manually uploaded or automatically updated, generating a noise model for the particular geographic location using the subset of weighted geotagged audio signals, where noise compensation is performed on the audio signal that corresponds to the utterance using the noise model that has been generated for the particular geographic location. |
| US08175871B2 |
Apparatus and method of noise and echo reduction in multiple microphone audio systems
Multiple microphone noise suppression apparatus and methods are described herein. The apparatus and methods implement a variety of noise suppression techniques and apparatus that can be selectively applied to signals received using multiple microphones. The microphone signals received at each of the multiple microphones can be independently processed to cancel echo signal components that can be generated from a local audio source. The echo cancelled signals may be processed by some or all modules within a signal separator that operates to separate or otherwise isolate a speech signal from noise signals. The signal separator can include a pre-processing de-correlator followed by a blind source separator. The output of the blind source separator can be post filtered to provide post separation de-correlation. The separated speech and noise signals can be non-linearly processed for further noise reduction, and additional post processing can be implemented following the non-linear processing. |
| US08175868B2 |
Voice judging system, voice judging method and program for voice judgment
A voice judging system including feature value extraction means that analyzes a sound signal input from a sound signal input device, and extracts a time series of the feature values, sub-word boundary score calculating means that calculates a time series of sub-word boundary scores, by having reference to sound models of voice stored in a voice model storage unit, temporal regularity analyzing means that analyzes temporal regularity of the sub-word boundary scores, and voice judgment means judges whether the input sound signal is voice or non-voice using of the temporal regularity of the sub-word boundary scores. |
| US08175861B2 |
Machining simulation method and machining simulation apparatus
A machining simulation apparatus is arranged in a machine tool having a tool holding mechanism, a workpiece holding mechanism, a drive mechanism and a numerical controller, and provided with: an actual CCD camera for imaging a tool held by the tool holding mechanism and the workpiece holding mechanism not holding a workpiece to generate actual image data; a model data update processing section for generating model data relating to when moving the holding mechanisms based on the operation command received from the numerical controller and the model data of the holding mechanisms, tool and workpiece; a virtual image generation processing section for generating virtual image data of the tool and workpiece based on the generated model data; and a rendering processing section for generating composite image data by superimposing the virtual image on the actual image, and displaying the composite image data on a screen display device. |
| US08175854B2 |
Universal circuit for secure function evaluation
An exemplary method enables implementation of a universal circuit capable of emulating each gate of a circuit designed to calculate a function. A first selection module receives inputs associated with the function. It generates outputs that are an ordered series of the inputs. A universal module receives these outputs and generates another set of outputs. A second selection module receives the outputs from the universal module and generates final function outputs that are an ordered series inputs received from the universal module. The selection modules and universal module themselves are also aspects of the present invention. |
| US08175851B1 |
Using statistical learning methods to fuse parameter estimates
A preferred estimate of a given parameter is made by processing a set of data points representing estimates of the given parameter, such as the angle of arrival of a target signal. The process includes the steps of: (a) obtaining a set of data points representing estimates of a given parameter; (b) using a computer to process said data points with an unsupervised clustering algorithm to select data points for use in making a preferred estimate of the given parameter; and (c) using the selected data points to make a preferred estimate of the given parameter. |
| US08175849B2 |
Predictive failure reporting system, predictive failure reporting method, and method for maintaining image forming apparatus
A determining unit determines whether the printer is in the predictive failure state based on the internal information of the printer acquired by the information acquiring unit. A failure risk computing unit performs a failure risk determination process for determining the size of failure risk of the printer when the printer is in the predictive failure state. The determination result is reported to a maintenance person or a user. In this way, the maintenance person or the user who receives the report can definitely grasp a degree of urgency of maintenance at that point. |
| US08175846B2 |
Fault splitting algorithm
The present application relates to a method of splitting a fault condition including receiving evidence observations of a monitored system from monitors connected in a many-to-many relationship to the failure modes, generating a fault condition, computing a relative probability of failure for each failure mode in the fault condition. When there is more than one failure mode in the fault condition, the method includes computing a relative probability of each pair of failure modes in the fault condition, ranking the computed relative probabilities of the individual failure modes and the computed relative probabilities of the pairs of failure modes. If the highest ranked failure mode is a pair of failure modes, the fault condition is split based on the failure modes in the highest ranked pair of failure modes are split. If the highest ranked failure mode is an individual failure mode, a failure is isolated based on the ranking. |
| US08175843B2 |
Computer-implemented methods for evaluating, summarizing and presenting data on stability of drug substances and drug products and software-modified computers for such methods
Computer-implemented methods for statistical analysis and summarization of a stability study on a pharmaceutical product using of a macro integrated into statistical analysis software. The method includes inputting and summarizing data observed for a stability study on a pharmaceutical product, statistically analyzing the data, including using at least one regression function to characterize the time-response relationship of at least one stability response variable, to estimate a shelf life of the pharmaceutical product or confirm the shelf life of an existing pharmaceutical product, and providing standardized output data and graphical presentations of observed stability response data. Also, a computer loaded with a general statistical analysis software and a macro integrated with the software such that the computer is capable of performing these computer-implemented methods using the software and macro. |
| US08175840B2 |
Apparatus of tracking posture of moving material object, method of tracking posture of moving material object, apparatus of chasing posture of toothbrush and method of tracking posture of toothbrush using the same
An apparatus for tracking an posture of a moving object in a three-dimensional space having a z-axis facing a reference surface of the moving object, an x-axis perpendicular to the z-axis in a virtual vertical plane including the z-axis, and a y-axis perpendicular to the x-axis in a virtual horizontal plane including the x-axis is described. A reference surface direction determination unit detects which direction the reference surface is facing with the x-axis as an axis of rotation. The x-axis deviation determination unit detects how far an x-axis direction of the moving object is relatively deviated from a magnetic north direction. The determination unit determines the posture of the moving object based on how far the x-axis of the moving object is deviated and which direction the reference surface is facing in response to detection signals of the reference surface direction determination unit and the x-axis deviation determination unit. |
| US08175839B2 |
Wireless interface for a plurality of transducers
A wireless interface system can interface with any one of a plurality of transducers of different types, such as pressure sensors, temperature sensors, or current probes. In the system, transducers employ substantially identical connectors with a common connecting scheme. In this manner, any transducer can be connected to a wireless interface which has the same input connection scheme. When the wireless interface is connected to the transducer, a rechargeable battery, which is associated with the wireless interface, is activated. The wireless interface then determines the type of transducer being utilized and provides sufficient circuitry as well as determining the requirements of the connected transducer. In this manner, the wireless interface, can determine the range of the sensor, and depending on the type and range of the sensor, can provide specific circuitry to be activated to supply power and read data from the sensor via common output pins. |
| US08175835B2 |
Flow sensor with conditioning-coefficient memory
A sensor includes one or more sensor transducers coupled with a signal conditioning IC incorporating signal conditioning circuitry and memory devoted to storing end-user downloadable coefficients. In a preferred embodiment, the IC is an ASIC and the end-user downloadable coefficients are pre-selected by the end-user based on its needs, and the coefficients are pre-stored in the ASIC when the sensor is calibrated. This results in a more cost-effective and space-efficient sensor device with improved functionality over that available in the prior art. |
| US08175829B2 |
Analyzer for signal anomalies
A signal analyzer includes a divergence detector for detecting periodic interference in a signal, an information detector for detecting a random event in the signal, and output circuitry for providing compensation for the periodic interference and the random event. |
| US08175826B2 |
Apparatus for estimating open circuit voltage of battery, apparatus for estimating state of charge of battery, and method for controlling the same
An apparatus for estimating an OCV of a battery includes a voltage sensing unit for measuring a battery output voltage; a temperature sensing unit for measuring a battery temperature; a data storing unit for periodically receiving the battery output voltage and temperature data from the sensing units and storing the data in a memory; an OCV variation estimating unit for calculating an OCV variation from a varying pattern of battery output voltages measured in the past and at the present, stored in the memory, by applying a mathematical model defining a correlation between the varying pattern and the OCV variation, and estimating an OCV at a current stage by reflecting a correction factor corresponding to the battery temperature on the calculated OCV variation; and an OCV estimating unit for estimating an OCV at the current stage by reflecting the estimated OCV variation on the OCV estimated at a last stage. |
| US08175825B2 |
Methods and systems for auto-calibrated power metering in portable information handling systems
Accurate power usage for a portable information handling system is provided using input power measurement circuitry. A calibration step is performed when the portable information handling system is powered down and charging. The calibration step includes obtaining a battery charge measurement from a battery, and then using this measurement to calibrate an input power measurement made with respect to power being provided by the AC/DC adapter. Known losses from other sources within the system can also be considered in the auto-calibration of the input power measurement. Subsequently, when the portable information handling system is powered on and operating on power provided by the AC/DC adapter, power usage can be determined and reported using the auto-calibrated input power measurement as an indication of the power usage of the portable information handling system. |
| US08175820B2 |
Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method
An object of the present invention is to quantitatively evaluate a distribution of defects which are generated within an inspection material. In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a defect inspection apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wave probe; an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving device that irradiates ultrasonic waves via the ultrasonic wave probe onto a surface of an inspection material on which a predetermined propagation medium has been provided, and that also receives as noise signals ultrasonic waves that have been scattered by defects present in the interior of the inspection material; a frequency spectrum calculation device that performs time division on the noise signals so as to divide them into time widths that correspond to positions in the depth direction of the inspection material, and calculates a frequency spectrum for each one of the time-divided noise signals; and a defect distribution detection device that, based on the frequency spectrums, calculates values showing a level of defect progression corresponding to a position in the thickness direction of the inspection material. |
| US08175814B2 |
Synthetic microfluidic microvasculature network
A synthetic microfluidic microvasculature network and associated methods mimic the structure, fluid flow characteristics, and physiological behavior of physiological microvasculature networks. Computational methods for simulating flow and particle adherence in synthetic and physiological microvascular systems and methods for determining parameters influencing particle adhesion and drug delivery are described with applications in the optimization of drug delivery and microvascular treatments and in describing disease mechanisms that affect the microvasculature. |
| US08175810B2 |
Sample processing apparatus and sample processing method
A sample processing apparatus prevents samples and reagents from being degraded due to a prolonged waiting time other than for reaction and improves the operation efficiency of the apparatus. The apparatus includes a plurality of processing sections for causing at least two samples to react independently, an input/output terminal 15 for inputting the upper limit of the waiting time and the reaction time for each of the samples, a schedule management section for determining at least the clock time of introducing each of the samples, the processing section to be used for processing the sample and/or the waiting time for the sample, and a general control section for controlling the processing of the samples at the plurality of processing sections according to the determination by the schedule management section. |
| US08175806B2 |
Car navigation system
To improve recognition accuracy of a traveling direction of a vehicle by accurately detecting a marking on a road surface which is photographed by a camera while a road environment where a vehicle travels is changing. A car navigation system 100 detects an image of a light-irradiated portion which is unnecessary for the recognition of a road marking, in an image behind a vehicle captured by a camera 6 mounted on the vehicle, clips out image areas in a predetermined shape excluding the detected image area, and sequentially stores the clipped images in a storage unit 7b. Then, the new clipped image and the clipped image already stored in the storage unit 7b are combined, and an image of a road marking is detected and recognized from the composite image. |
| US08175803B2 |
Graphic interface method and apparatus for navigation system for providing parking information
A graphic user interface method and apparatus for a navigation system graphically shows parking information which vary depending on conditions such as time ranges or days, etc. The method includes the steps of: examining a location specified by a user for retrieving data associated with the specified location from data storage medium; displaying a screen of parking information graphic interface upon request by the user; and examining whether there is a time-related parking restriction on the specified location and retrieving the time-related parking information if any. The parking information graphic interface illustrates a map image, a time table of a day, a time range indicator on the time table, and a text message regarding the time-related parking restriction, thereby graphically displaying the parking information on the specified location. |
| US08175802B2 |
Adaptive route guidance based on preferences
Adaptive route guidance can include analyzing route progressions associated with one or more routes based on multiple user preferences. The adaptive route guidance can provide one or more preferred routes based on the user preferences including those derived from historical selection or use, which can be presented to a user for navigation purposes. |
| US08175800B2 |
Route guidance system and route guidance method
A route guidance system includes a current position detection section, a route search section, and a guidance section. The guidance section includes a branch computation section computes the number of branches between a host vehicle location and a guidance location along a specified route. A point guidance section executes route guidance based on the computed number of the branches. The number of branches between the host vehicle location and the guidance location is computed, and the route guidance is executed based on the computed number of the branches, so it is possible to recognize the guidance location simply by counting the number of the branches, regardless of the number of traffic signals that exist between the host vehicle location and the guidance location. |
| US08175799B1 |
Location system
One embodiment of the present invention provides a ground surface location system for identifying an object and its location within a coverage area. The ground surface location system includes a location transmitter and a location identifier. The location transmitter is positioned at a location within the coverage area and has a physical location code corresponding to the location stored therein, and is configured to provide an optical signal representative of the physical location code. The location identifier is adapted to couple to the object and has an object identification code representative of the object stored therein, and is configured to receive the optical signal and to transmit an identification signal representative of the physical location code and the object identification code. |
| US08175797B2 |
Vehicle drive assist system
A form of a travel path of an oncoming vehicle is recognized based on white-line data. A speed component of the oncoming vehicle with respect to the travel path (route) is calculated by weighting a lateral speed component orthogonal to the route and a lateral speed component following the route, with a speed correction coefficient which is set in accordance with a relative distance between a subject vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. A change in behavior of the oncoming vehicle is predicted, and a possibility of collision against the subject vehicle is determined. If it is determined that there is a possibility of collision, an alarm is output to alert a driver to the possibility of collision. |
| US08175795B2 |
Route search apparatus
An apparatus calculates a coefficient b that reflects a road slope condition of each section based on an altitude difference of both ends of each section stored in a memory, and identifies a carbon dioxide discharge amount that changes in proportion to the distance of each section by multiplying a distance D of each section by the coefficient b and another coefficient Ec. Further, the apparatus identifies a discharge amount that changes in proportion to a travel time of each section by multiplying a travel time T of each section and yet another coefficient a, and identifies a discharge amount based on an index that changes in proportion to the number of stops in each section by multiplying an index AEE by the coefficient Ec and still yet another coefficient c for performing a carbon-conscious routing between a start place and a destination. |
| US08175792B2 |
Method and system for measuring traffic information in CDMA network
A method for measuring traffic information, conducted by a traffic information analyzing device interworking with a radio operating device connected to BSS (Base Station Subsystem) of a synchronous CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network or RNC (Radio Network Controller) of an asynchronous WCDMA (Wideband Division Multiple Access) network, includes acquiring a location information message of MS (Mobile Station), which is provided from the BSS or RNC and stored in the radio operating device; analyzing location information of the MS by utilizing the location information message; and calculating traffic information of the MS including a moving speed of each measurement region by using the analyzed location information. |
| US08175789B2 |
Combustion controller for compression-ignition direct-injection engine and engine control system for the same
As a compression-ignition direct-injection engine combustion controller, a program for detecting ignition timing of a main injection Mn (main ignition timing), a program for correcting a command value of main injection execution timing in a direction to the side where a detection value is converged within a predetermined range, a program for determining whether or not the corrected command value is within a predetermined range, and a program for, when it is determined that the command value is not within the range, correcting a command value related to an injection amount of a pilot injection Pt based on whether or not the command value is on a delay side or an advance side of the range. |
| US08175788B2 |
Control unit of diesel engine
A diesel engine is provided with an exhaust fuel addition valve capable of adding fuel from an exhaust passage on an upstream side of an exhaust post-treatment device. An ECU, which is a control unit of the diesel engine, has a function to estimate biofuel concentration in the fuel and a function to obtain an exhaust temperature in the exhaust passage. The ECU sets a minimum operating exhaust temperature, which is a lower limit value of the exhaust temperature to permit operation of the exhaust fuel addition valve, according to the estimated biofuel concentration. The fuel added from the exhaust fuel addition valve is sufficiently vaporized in exhaust gas having temperature not lower than a minimum operation permission exhaust temperature set according to the biofuel concentration and is allowed to flow to the exhaust post-treatment device. |
| US08175787B2 |
Electrical fuel transfer pump diagnostic
An engine control system having primary and secondary fuel tanks comprises a fuel monitoring module and a transfer pump (TP) diagnostic module. The fuel monitoring module determines a measured fuel level of the secondary fuel tank based on a fuel level signal received from a fuel level sensor when a fuel TP is on for greater than a predetermined time period required for the fuel TP to reduce the measured fuel level from a predetermined fuel level to below the predetermined fuel level. The TP diagnostic module diagnoses a condition of the fuel TP based on the measured fuel level. |
| US08175786B2 |
Method for operating a gas turbine and also gas turbine for carrying out the method
A method is provided for operating a gas turbine, which especially feeds power to a local isolated power supply network, and which comprises a compressor for compressing combustion air which is drawn in from the environment, a combustion chamber for combusting supplied fuel by the compressed combustion air, a turbine which is driven by the hot gas from the combustion chamber, and a generator, which is driven by the turbine, for generating electric power. With such a method, an improvement of controlling is achieved by one or more parameters of the gas turbine being measured or determined, by the effective thermal output power of the gas turbine being calculated from the measured or determined parameters, and by the calculated effective thermal output power being used for controlling the gas turbine. |
| US08175785B2 |
System and method for performance launch control of a vehicle
A system and related operating method for performance launch control of a vehicle begins by receiving a user-selected driving condition setting that is indicative of road conditions. The method also collects real-time vehicle status data during operation of the vehicle, and derives a target wheel slip profile from the user-selected driving condition setting and the real-time vehicle status data. The actual propulsion system torque of the vehicle is limited using the target wheel slip profile, resulting in improved performance for standstill launches. |
| US08175780B2 |
Adaptive underspeed control
A machine (100) includes an engine (102) connected to an implement pump (204) operating an actuator and to a propel pump operating a motor (106). An electronic controller (218) is disposed to receive at least one parameter selected from the group of: a pressure of fluid at the at least one motor (106), a pressure of fluid at the at least one implement actuator, a rate of rotation of the engine (102), a rate of rotation of the at least one motor (106), and a torque output of the engine (102). The electronic controller (218) monitors the at least one parameter for a predetermined period, and determines an operating mode of the machine (100). The electronic controller (218) then adjusts an underspeed setting for the engine (102) based on the operating mode. |
| US08175776B2 |
System and method for controlling automatic leveling of heavy equipment
A system and method for controlling automatic leveling heavy construction equipment. The system has a lower frame and an upper frame, the lower frame having a traveling unit, and the upper frame being tiltably and swingably connected to the lower frame. The system comprises a sensor unit, provided in the equipment, including an inclination detecting sensor for measuring twist angles of the lower frame and the upper frame against a reference horizontal surface, a traveling detection sensor for measuring a traveling speed of the equipment, and a working device sensor for detecting working state information of a working device. A control unit receives the twist angles, the traveling speed, and the working state information, calculates a corrected angle at which the upper frame is to be tilted against the lower frame, and generates a control signal for instructing an operation of an actuator. A driving unit performs a leveling control through the actuator in accordance with the received control signal. |
| US08175773B2 |
Electric power steering system with failure detection
In an electric power steering system (10) for use in a vehicle incorporated with a vehicle behavior control system (30), a failure detecting unit (12) detects a failure of the electric power steering system according to the steering torque and actual electric current. A criterion for detecting a failure by the failure detecting unit is changed when the vehicle behavior control system is activated. Thereby, even when the vehicle behavior control system is activated and it causes a corrective current to be supplied to the electric motor, because the failure detection criterion is changed, the failure detecting unit is prevented from confusing the corrective current due to the operation of the vehicle behavior control system with an erroneous current caused by a failure of the electric power steering system. Therefore, an unnecessary interruption of the operation of the electric power steering system can be avoided, and the convenience of the electric power steering system can be enhanced. |
| US08175772B2 |
Vehicle steering system and method of controlling the same
An electronic control unit receives a detection value from each sensor, and determines a familiarity degree coefficient indicating the degree of driver's familiarity with steering characteristics, using the received detection values. When the coefficient has a value near “0”, a desired actual steering angle is calculated to be a small value, and when the coefficient has a value near “1”, a desired actual steering angle is calculated to be a large value. When the coefficient has a value near “0”, a time constant of an actual steering actuator is set to a large value, and when the coefficient has a value near “1”, the time constant is set to a small value. A reaction torque is determined based on the coefficient. |
| US08175770B2 |
Height sensing system for a vehicular suspension assembly
A system is provided for determining a distance between a vehicular suspension assembly and the ground, wherein the suspension assembly has a first member. The system comprises a first transceiver coupled to the first member for emitting a first interrogation signal toward the ground, and for receiving a first reflection of the first interrogation signal from the ground, and a processor coupled to the first transceiver for determining the distance of the first transceiver from the ground. |
| US08175767B2 |
Diagnostic apparatus
A diagnostic apparatus (10) in which a drive circuit (2) is configured of switching means (3) for supplying an electric current to a linear solenoid valve and variably regulating a valve opening degree on the basis of inputted ON-OFF signals, current detection means (4) for detecting an electric current flowing from the switching means (3) to the linear solenoid valve (1), and control means (5) for outputting ON-OFF signals to the switching means (3) on the basis of a detected current value from the current detection means (4) so that the linear solenoid valve has a target opening degree, and which diagnoses a ground short between the drive circuit (2) and the linear solenoid valve (1), the diagnostic apparatus including ground short detection means (5) for detecting a switching of ON-OFF signals inputted in the switching means (3) and determining a ground short fault when the number of ON-OFF switching cycles per a predetermined interval is equal to or less than a predetermined number of cycles. |
| US08175765B2 |
Controlling movement of a vessel traveling through water during a seismic survey operation
To perform control of movement of a marine vessel traveling through water during a seismic survey operation, input information relating to factors that affect a speed of the marine vessel is received. The speed of the marine vessel is adjusted in response to the received information relating to the factors that affect the speed of the marine vessel. |
| US08175762B2 |
Electrically activated aircraft landing gear control system and method
An electrically activated landing gear control system is provided. A processing module of landing gear control system is provided with landing gear control system software that receives data relating to the position of a landing gear lever. Proximity sensors positioned at landing gear and wheel well areas of the aircraft are coupled for communication with the processing module. The proximity sensors provide the landing gear control system software with position data relating to the landing gear. The landing gear control software converts the data received from the landing gear lever and the data received from the proximity sensors to command signals to control electrically activated valves associated with landing gear components. The command signals may be sent simultaneously to remote power distribution units and remote data concentrator units to energize or de-energize solenoid coils of the electrically activated valves. |
| US08175761B2 |
System and method for rendering a synthetic perspective display of a designated object or location
A method for displaying information on a flight deck display element of an aircraft begins by obtaining a user interface command that represents a user-entered selection of a designated target. Relevant data is accessed and processed in response to this command, including aircraft status data for the aircraft, terrain data corresponding to terrain proximate the designated target, and graphics data corresponding to the designated target. Then, a target-focused display is rendered on the flight deck display element. The target-focused display includes a real-time synthetic perspective view of the designated target and the terrain proximate the designated target, wherein content of the target-focused display is influenced by the aircraft status data, the terrain data, and the graphics data. |
| US08175758B2 |
Method and a device for controlling the ground clearance of an aircraft
The present invention relates to a method and to a device for controlling and adjusting the ground clearance (h) of an aircraft (1) provided with at least one undercarriage (30), said undercarriage (30) being provided with a damper-actuator (2) for performing a damping function and a function of retracting said undercarriage (30). The method is remarkable in that control means (10) automatically activate adjustment means (11, 12) for adjusting the length of said damper-actuator (2) so as to maintain said ground clearance (h) at a predetermined value. |
| US08175756B2 |
System and method to manage power consumption
A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code having programming instructions tangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium. The programming instructions are operable to detect an occurrence of at least one of a geoboundary event, a radio frequency identification (RFID) event; and a local area network (LAN) event. Additionally, the programming instructions are operable to adjust one or more power consumption settings of an environment based on the occurrence. |
| US08175752B2 |
Control system methods for networked water heaters
Disclosed is a control system for controlling a plurality of fluidly and operably connected water heaters to meet a hot water demand such that overall efficiency is maximized and usage disparity between water heaters is minimized. There is further disclosed a method for detecting a small system demand in said network by adjusting the setting of each flow limiting valve of each water heater. There is still further disclosed a method for enabling seamless addition or removal of a heater in service and heating load distribution to water heaters. |
| US08175744B2 |
Industrial furnaces and device for performing the method and computer program
In order to plan the performance of heat treatment of metal workpieces before the beginning of the heat treatment in the particular industrial furnace and perform it autonomously thereafter, the invention proposes a method and computer program and an apparatus having a computer (1) for the automatic preparation of technological formulas for the heat treatment, firstly loading parameters of a selected material of the metal workpiece and a formula structure template of a selected treatment method from a material databank (10) and providing data from a user interface and compiling a formula structure, then establishing the parameters of the metal workpiece, the compiled formula structure, and the data from the user interface as values of formula segments, from which the technological formula for heat treatment is finally generated, this technological formula being able to be readjusted, stored in a program databank (12), and retrieved for the heat treatment of metal workpieces in industrial furnaces (5)(FIG. 1). |
| US08175740B2 |
Yarn tension monitoring and setting system
Yarn processing system for simultaneously processing a plurality of yarns in a processing machine, such as a twisting machine, a texturizing machine, or a dyeing machine. A yarn tensioning assembly is provided and has, for each yarn entering the processing machine, at least an individual controlled tensioner and an individual tensiometer. The controlled tensioner and the tensiometer are integrated into a closed yarn tension feedback regulation loop for regulating and maintaining a set yarn tension. The tensiometer is connected in parallel to one superimposed common tension monitoring and setting system for centrally setting and monitoring the yarn tension. |
| US08175738B2 |
Device manufacturing apparatus and device manufacturing method
An apparatus for manufacturing a device comprises a processing unit configured to perform a process for manufacturing the device, a conveying unit configured to convey an article to the processing unit, and a controller configured to control the conveying unit based on a job queue. Information for controlling conveyance of an article for a job next to a job for which the processing unit is performing the process is registered in the job queue. The controller is configured to control the conveying unit so as to convey the article for the next job in advance, based on the information. |
| US08175736B2 |
Method and system for performing a chemical oxide removal process
A processing system and method for chemical oxide removal (COR) is presented, wherein the processing system comprises a first treatment chamber and a second treatment chamber, wherein the first and second treatment chambers are coupled to one another. The first treatment chamber comprises a chemical treatment chamber that provides a temperature controlled chamber, and an independently temperature controlled substrate holder for supporting a substrate for chemical treatment. The substrate is exposed to a gaseous chemistry, such as HF/NH3, under controlled conditions including surface temperature and gas pressure. The second treatment chamber comprises a heat treatment chamber that provides a temperature controlled chamber, thermally insulated from the chemical treatment chamber. The heat treatment chamber provides a substrate holder for controlling the temperature of the substrate to thermally process the chemically treated surfaces on the substrate. |
| US08175735B2 |
System and method of multi-objective capacity planning in TFT-LCD panel manufacturing industry
A system and a method of multi-objective capacity planning in the thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel manufacturing industry are provided. The system includes a capacity planning module and a multi-objective planning module. In the present method, a capacity planning plan corresponding to different objective is evaluated by the capacity planning module. A set of constraints of each objective is established by the multi-objective planning module according to characteristic parameters, so as to optimize the objective. Then, the optimized objectives are drawn into a graph to select an appropriate capacity planning plan. |
| US08175733B2 |
Modeling manufacturing processes to include defined markers
A method, and corresponding computer program product and system, defines and uses marker points within a modeled manufacturing process routing that includes multiple sequenced operations. The method includes receiving user input that defines one or more marker points within the modeled manufacturing process routing and between sequential ones of the operations. The marker points define a user-defined point within a manufacturing process and include one of multiple defined types that each define a different use to be made by the marker point. The method also includes detecting if any marker points of a specified one of the defined types have been defined in the manufacturing process routing. If a marker point having the specified one of the defined types is detected, a predefined computing function is executed that uses the detected marker point. |
| US08175729B2 |
Preserving matrix surround information in encoded audio/video system and method
A method and apparatus for preserving matrix-surround information in encoded audio/video includes a receiver operative to receive matrix-surround encoded audio signals, separate the audio signals into a frequency spectrum having discrete audio frequencies, and determine a cutoff threshold used to encode the matrix-surround encoded audio signals. The method and apparatus further includes a decoder operative to decode a first set of the audio frequencies below the determined cutoff threshold using a first matrix-surround preserving audio encoding method and to decode a second set of audio frequencies above the cutoff threshold using a second non matrix-surround preserving audio encoding method. |
| US08175725B2 |
Adapting move constraints for position based moves in a trajectory generator
Adapting move constraints for position based moves in a trajectory generator. Specification of a trajectory may be received. The specification may include a geometry of the trajectory, where the geometry specifies a desired trajectory length. A plurality of constraints for the trajectory may be received. The plurality of constraints may include one or more of a velocity, acceleration, or jerk constraint. A motion control profile may be generated based on the plurality of constraints. The method may include determining if a distance of the motion control profile exceeds the desired trajectory length. If the distance of the motion control profile exceeds the desired trajectory length, one or more values of the plurality of constraints may be decreased to make the distance of the motion control profile less than or equal to the desired trajectory length. |
| US08175724B2 |
Vascular fixation device
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a cardiac lead device including a fixation mechanism slidably attached to the lead such that when the fixation mechanism is expanded in to contact with a body lumen, the lead may be moved relative to the fixation mechanism if desired. Such lead movement may be limited by complimentary structure on the lead body and the fixation mechanism that prevents the lead from moving unless sufficient force is applied to the lead. |
| US08175723B2 |
Steroid eluting pacing tip electrode
An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) including a set of leads having electrodes disposed therein. The electrodes may include a weld electrode connected to an internal wire of the lead and the ICD and a tip electrode. The tip electrode may have a set of grooves or cut out regions in its outer surface to provide edge effects for currents applied through the tip electrode. The grooves or cut out regions may form gaps in the surface of the tip electrode exposing a medical compound that is housed within the tip electrode. The medical compound may elute through the gaps. |
| US08175719B2 |
Techniques for sensing and adjusting a compliance voltage in an implantable stimulator device
Disclosed herein are methods and circuitry for monitoring and adjusting a compliance voltage in an implantable stimulator devices to an optimal value that is sufficiently high to allow for proper circuit performance (i.e., sufficient current output), but low enough that power is not needlessly wasted via excessive voltage drops across the current output circuitry. The algorithm measures output voltages across the current source and sink circuitry during at least periods of actual stimulation when both the current sources and sinks are operable, and adjusts the compliance voltage so as to reduce these output voltages to within guard band values preferably indicative for operation in transistor saturation. The output voltages can additionally be monitored during periods between stimulation pulses to improve the accuracy of the measurement, and is further beneficial in that such additional measurements are not perceptible to the patient. |
| US08175715B1 |
Frequency agile telemetry system for implantable medical device
A system enables high-frequency communication between an external communication device and one or more implantable medical devices. The system implements a communication protocol in which the external communication device interrogates any implantable medical devices within range to establish one-to-one communication links for purposes of exchanging data and/or programming the medical devices. |
| US08175711B2 |
Methods for treating a condition or disease associated with cardio-renal function
Methods and apparatus are provided for treating congestive heart failure, e.g., via a pulsed electric field, via a stimulation electric field, via localized drug delivery, via high frequency ultrasound, via thermal techniques, etc. Such neuromodulation may effectuate irreversible electroporation or electrofusion, necrosis and/or inducement of apoptosis, alteration of gene expression, action potential attenuation or blockade, changes in cytokine up-regulation and other conditions in target neural fibers. In some embodiments, neuromodulation is applied to neural fibers that contribute to renal function. In some embodiments, such neuromodulation is performed in a bilateral fashion. Bilateral renal neuromodulation may provide enhanced therapeutic effect in some patients as compared to renal neuromodulation performed unilaterally, i.e., as compared to renal neuromodulation performed on neural tissue innervating a single kidney. |
| US08175707B1 |
Enhancement of rate responsive IEGM-based AV/PV and VV delay algorithms
An exemplary method includes delivering a cardiac resynchronization therapy using an atrio-ventricular delay and an interventricular delay, monitoring patient activity, optimizing the atrio-ventricular delay and the interventricular delay for a plurality of patient activity states to generate a plurality of optimal atrio-ventricular delays and a plurality of optimal interventricular delays, storing the optimal atrio-ventricular delays and the optimal interventricular delays in association with corresponding patient activity states, detecting a change in patient activity, adjusting an atrial pacing rate in response to the detected change in patient activity based at least in part on a heart failure status and setting the atrio-ventricular delay and the interventricular delay, in response to the detected change in patient activity, using a stored optimal atrio-ventricular delay that corresponds to the patient activity and a stored optimal interventricular delay that corresponds to the patient activity. Other exemplary technologies are also disclosed. |
| US08175706B2 |
Overlapping pacing and tachyarrhythmia detection zones
An example implantable medical device (IMD), such as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, may be configured to store a ventricular tachycardia zone, wherein the ventricular tachycardia zone specifies ventricular depolarization rates indicative of ventricular tachycardia, and to deliver pacing pulses to at least one ventricle of a heart in response to detecting intrinsic atrial depolarizations at rates within the ventricular tachycardia zone. The IMD may further store a maximum ventricular tracking rate that is greater than a lower bound of the ventricular tachycardia zone, and be further configured to deliver the pacing pulses to the at least one ventricle in response to detecting intrinsic atrial depolarizations at rates up to the maximum ventricular rate. In this manner, the IMD may be configured with overlapping pacing and tachyarrhythmia detection zones. In some examples, the IMD dynamically modifies the maximum ventricular tracking rate for ventricular tracking pacing within the ventricular tachycardia zone. |
| US08175703B2 |
Cardiac resynchronization therapy parameter optimization
Systems and methods involve determination of CRT parameters using a number of CRT optimization processes. Each CRT optimization process attempts to return recommended parameters. The CRT parameters are determined based on the recommended parameters returned by one or more of the CRT optimization processes. The CRT optimization processes may be sequentially implemented and the CRT parameters may be determined based on the recommended parameters returned by a first CRT optimization process to return recommended parameters. The CRT parameters may be determined based on a combination of the recommended parameters returned. The CRT optimization processes implemented may be selected from available CRT optimization processes based on patient conditions. |
| US08175699B2 |
Punctual stimulation apparatus
An apparatus is disclosed for punctually stimulating nerve endings located in the region of the ears, said nerve endings extending to brain stem nuclei. The apparatus (1) has a support (2) which is to be positioned in the region of the neck or the upper arm of a patient, and which is provided with at least some of the electrically active structural components (4, 7, 13) of the apparatus (1) arranged for forming a therapeutic current, and which furthermore accommodates feed batteries (3) that deliver at least part of the operating power for the apparatus. |
| US08175696B2 |
Brain function monitoring and display system
A process for analysing an electroencephalogram signal representative of activity of a brain, including: i) generating coefficient data for a signal representation of a portion of the signal; ii) generating pole data representing positions of one or more poles on a complex plane, the positions being generated based on the coefficient data; and iii) generating, based on a mean position of the poles, brain state data representing functional state of the brain. |
| US08175695B2 |
T-wave alternans train spotter
A method and system for detecting T-wave alternans for use in an implanted medical device uses wave transformation of QT intervals to obtain a reliable measure of TWA. In one embodiment, an array provides alternating sign multiplication factors which are applied respectively to n consecutive QT values. Each successive QT value is high pass filtered and moved sequentially through a queue so that each cycle each of the n QT values is multiplied by one of the factors; the products are summed and made absolute to provide an alternans match value. The alternans match is compared with a noise threshold signal, and alternans is declared when the match exceeds the threshold by a predetermined amount. The array is programmable and can be varied, providing a high degree of flexibility to optimize the test for the patient. |
| US08175690B2 |
Optical device for assessing optical depth in a sample
An optical device for assessing optical depth in a sample illuminated by polarized radiation from a source include two radiation guides having their end portions arranged for capturing reflected radiation from the sample. A detector measures two polarizations of the reflected radiation, and two intensities of the reflected radiation in the two radiation guides, respectively. A processor is configured to calculate two pectral functions, which are indicative of single scattering events in the sample. The processor is further configured to calculate a measure of the correlation between the two spectral functions so as to assess whether the single scattering events originate from substantially the same optical depth within the sample. Thus, the causal relation between the two spectral functions can be used for assessing whether the single scattering events giving rise to the two spectral functions come from substantially the same optical depth within the sample. |
| US08175687B2 |
Light source for fluorescence diagnosis and photodynamic therapy
Disclosed herein is a light source device for fluorescence diagnosis and photodynamic therapy comprising: a plurality of light source means having a wavelength range different from each other and providing selected light; a light path coupling means coupling light emitted from the light source means to the incident direction of a light guide; a filtering means selectively transmitting the emitted light based on the wavelength; and a switching device that is directed to an opening/closing means, established at a long distance to be controlled by a remote control device and selecting the kinds of light sources of the light source means to change the modes of the light. Accordingly, the device simplifies the configuration by excluding elements causing errors in the process of fluorescence diagnosis in the diagnostic region. Moreover, the light source device for fluorescence diagnosis and photodynamic therapy couples the light emitted from a combined light source to provide a sufficient light strength in the visible light region, thus improving the illumination quality to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis and further improving the therapeutic efficiency. |
| US08175685B2 |
Process, arrangements and systems for providing frequency domain imaging of a sample
Apparatus, arrangement and method are provided for obtaining information associated with an anatomical structure or a sample using optical microscopy. For example, a radiation can be provided which includes at least one first electromagnetic radiation directed to be provided to an anatomical sample and at least one second electro-magnetic radiation directed to a reference. A wavelength of the radiation can vary over time, and the wavelength is shorter than approximately 1150 nm. An interference can be detected between at least one third radiation associated with the first radiation and at least one fourth radiation associated with the second radiation. At least one image corresponding to at least one portion of the sample can be generated using data associated with the interference. In addition, at least one source arrangement can be provided which is configured to provide an electromagnetic radiation which has a wavelength that varies over time. A period of a variation of the wavelength of the first electromagnetic radiation can be shorter than 1 millisecond, and the wavelength is shorter than approximately 1150 nm. |
| US08175681B2 |
Combination of electromagnetic and electropotential localization
A navigation system or combination of navigation systems can be used to provide two or more types of navigation or modalities of navigation to navigate a single instrument. The single instrument can be positioned within the patient and tracked. For example, both an Electromagnetic (EM) and Electropotential (EP) navigation system can be used to navigate an instrument within a patient. |
| US08175680B2 |
Systems and methods for guiding catheters using registered images
Systems and methods for imaging a body cavity and for guiding a treatment element within a body cavity are provided. A system may include an imaging subsystem having an imaging device and an image processor that gather image data for the body cavity. A mapping subsystem may be provided, including a mapping device and a map processor, to identify target sites within the body cavity, and provide location data for the sites. The system may also include a location processor coupled to a location element on a treatment device to track the location of the location element. The location of a treatment element is determined by reference to the location element. A treatment subsystem including a treatment device having a treatment element and a treatment delivery source may also be provided. A registration subsystem receives and registers data from the other subsystems, and displays the data. |
| US08175679B2 |
Catheter electrode that can simultaneously emit electrical energy and facilitate visualization by magnetic resonance imaging
An electrode for use on a medical device is disclosed. The electrode may have a main body of electrically conductive material extending along an axis and having a proximal end and a distal end. The body may be configured to emit electrical energy in accordance with a predefined diagnostic or therapeutic function. The body may have a groove disposed over an outermost surface of the body. The electrode may also include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tracking coil disposed in said groove. The MRI tracking coil may comprise electrically insulated wire, for example. A catheter including an electrode, as well as a method for determining the location of an electrode, are also disclosed. |
| US08175676B2 |
Generating gating signals for thermal therapy
A method of inducing thermal effect at a moving target includes receiving a first data characterizing a repeated motion of the moving target; processing the first data to determine a treatment plan, including determining a plan for directing a signal at the moving target; and controlling the signal directed at the moving target according to the treatment plan to induce a thermal effect. |
| US08175674B2 |
Belt device
The belt device comprises a torso portion, a collar portion, sensor elements and at least a first and a second closure element. The first closure element is part of the collar portion on the front side and a second closure element is part of the torso portion on the front side. The closure elements arranged in such a way that they can be opened by a wearer in a comfortable way. The user is able to put on and off the belt system without help of a third person. By the ability to combine different sized collar portions with different sized torso portions a belt device system is provided. |
| US08175672B2 |
Reusable pulse oximeter probe and disposable bandage apparatii
An optical probe is usable to determine at least one physiological parameter. A disposable portion of the optical probe comprises a bandage including adhesive on at least a portion of at least one face thereof. The bandage comprises a first modular housing component attached to a surface of the bandage at a first position. The first modular housing component is configured to receive and removably engage a modular probe emitter. The bandage comprises a second modular housing component attached to the surface of the bandage at a second position. The second position is spaced from the first position. The second modular housing component is configured to receive and removably engage a modular probe detector. The bandage is configured with sufficient flexibility that the first modular housing component attached to the bandage surface at the first position is positioned generally opposite the second modular housing component attached to the bandage surface at the second position when the bandage is positioned on an appendage of a patient for sensing a physiological parameter of the patient. |
| US08175670B2 |
Pulse oximetry signal correction using near infrared absorption by water
A method and system for measuring a physiological parameter, comprising collecting a first absorbance at a first wavelength, chosen to be primarily absorbed by water; collecting a second absorbance at a second wavelength, chosen to be primarily absorbed by hemoglobin; and combining the first signal and the second signal to generate a combined plethysmograph signal which is proportionate lower in noise caused by motion-related interference. |
| US08175668B1 |
Implantable multi-wavelength venous oxygen saturation and hematocrit sensor and method
An intravenous implantable optical sensor assesses the relative absorbance of multiple wavelengths of light in order to determine oxygen saturation. The calculation of oxygen saturation is enhanced by use of a function of hematocrit which is derived from the relative absorbance of light of an isobestic wavelength along two different length paths through the blood. The use of the hematocrit-dependent term and multiple wavelengths of light to calculate oxygen saturation provides results that are less susceptible to noise and variation in hematocrit and thus provides a more accurate measure of oxygen saturation over a wider range of conditions than previously possible. The optical sensor may form part of an implantable system which performs the calculation of oxygen saturation and uses the results for a diagnostic or therapeutic purpose. |
| US08175667B2 |
Symmetric LED array for pulse oximetry
A sensor for pulse oximeter systems is provided which comprises a first source of electromagnetic radiation configured to operate at a first wavelength, a second source of electromagnetic radiation configured to operate at a second wavelength and a third source of electromagnetic radiation configured to operate at a third wavelength. The first and third sources of electromagnetic radiation are symmetrically oriented about an axis. |
| US08175665B2 |
Method and apparatus for spectroscopic tissue analyte measurement
Methods and systems for calculating body fluid metrics are provided. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present technique, there is provided a method for calculating body fluid metrics by acquiring an absorbance spectrum of a subject's tissue over a range of near-infrared light, performing a multi-linear regression of the absorbance spectrum of the subject's tissue in relation to absorbance spectra of tissue constituents, and calculating body fluid metrics based on the results of the multi-linear regression. A system is provided having a sensor for emitting the light into the subject's tissue and detecting reflected, scattered, or transmitted light, a spectrometer for processing the detected light and generating the absorbance spectrum of the subject's tissue, memory for storing absorbance spectra of the tissue constituents and a multi-linear regression model, and a processor for performing the multi-linear regression and calculating the body fluid metrics. |
| US08175661B2 |
Device, system, and method of power saving in wireless network
Device, system, and method of power saving in wireless network. For example, a method includes: receiving from a wireless access point a wireless communication signal indicting wireless network load information represented as a value of a parameter in a Basic Service Set load information element, wherein the parameter comprises a parameter selected from a group consisting of: a station count parameter, a channel utilization ratio parameter, an available admission control parameter, a network congestion parameter, a transmission power suggestion parameter, a reception power suggestion parameter, and a late adaptation suggestion parameter; and modifying a power consumption mode of a communication unit of a wireless communication device based on said parameter. |
| US08175659B2 |
Mobile terminal device and network connection control method
A mobile terminal device includes a wireless communication interface and a wired communication interface. The device further includes a wired communication determination unit configured to determine whether or not communication with a network by the wired communication interface, an external power source supply unit configured so as to be supplied power from the outside for charge or replacement of a built-in battery, a power supply state detection unit configured to detect that a state, in which power is supplied from the outside to the external power source supply unit, is attained, and a control unit configured to set a state in which the wireless communication interface is available regardless a determination result of the wired communication determination unit after the power supply state detection unit detects the state in which the power is supplied from the outside. |
| US08175654B2 |
LCD backlight duration proportional to amount of information on the LCD display screen
This relates to a method for controlling illumination of a display screen on a mobile device. A light source is turned on to illuminate the display screen. An amount of information displayed on the display screen is identified. An amount of time to keep the light source turned on is determined based at least in part on the identified amount of information. The light source is kept turned on at a first intensity level for the amount of time and then turned to a second intensity level. |