最新美国发明专利第2012-08-28期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US08256013B1	Method and apparatus for dynamic creation of persona A method and apparatus for dynamically generating a persona is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving an identity policy, determining a required identity information data set based on the policy, requesting a site reputation, receiving the site reputation, determining a set of site reputation parameters, and generating a persona based on the required identity information data set and the site reputation parameters.
US08256012B2	System and method of security function activation for a mobile electronic device A system and a method are provided for activating one or more security functions of a mobile electronic device. The system and method provide for the activation of one or more security functions when the mobile electronic device is stored in a mobile electronic device holder. Security functions include, for example, closing a data item currently being displayed on the mobile electronic device, erasing decrypted information stored on the mobile electronic device, locking the mobile electronic device, and performing a secure garbage collection operation.
US08256006B2	System and method for providing identity theft security A system and method of providing identity theft security is provided. The system and method utilizes a computer program that identifies, locates, secures, and/or removes from computers, computer systems and/or computer networks personally identifying and/or other sensitive information in different data formats. The computer program utilizes a multi-tiered escalation model of searching/identifying sensitive information. The computer program of the instant invention utilizes a self-learning process for fine-tuning a level of scrutiny for identifying potentially sensitive information.
US08256005B2	Protection of audio or video data in a playback device Method and apparatus to prevent hacking of encrypted audio or video content during playback. Hackers, using a debugging attachment or other tools, can illicitly access encrypted data in memory in a playback device when the data is decrypted during playback and momentarily stored in digital form. This hacking is defeated here by methodically “poisoning” the encrypted data so that it is no longer playable by a standard decoder. The poisoning involves deliberate alteration of certain bit values. On playback, the player invokes a special secure routine that provides correction of the poisoned bit values, for successful playback.
US08256003B2	Real-time network malware protection A Network State Database (NSD) can comprise information regarding the network-centric state of one or more computing devices connected to a network. The information contained in the NSD can be passively received by the NSD, or it can be actively obtained by the NSD. Additionally the NSD can comprise either a centralized collection of information, or a distributed collection of information independently maintained and conceptualized as a single entity. The information of the NSD can be used by a Network Risk Management Service (NRMS) to appropriately respond and protect the network. The NRMS can provide relevant information from the NSD to subscribers, which can independently act to protect the network. The NRMS can likewise itself instruct computing devices regarding an appropriate action, or it can itself instruct the performance of such action.
US08256000B1	Method and system for identifying icons A method and apparatus for indentifying Icons whereby a known/clean file Icon database is created that includes Icon image data and/or .ico files associated with known icons of selected applications. The resource section of any file being transferred to, or through, a given user computing system is then stripped and scanned for .ico files and any .ico files identified are extracted. Then for each directory extracted from the identified .ico files, the relevant image data is extracted. The known/clean Icon image data is obtained from the known/clean file Icon database. The extracted relevant image data is then compared with known/clean Icon image data and, if the extracted relevant image data matches with the known/clean Icon image data to a desired level of accuracy, a status of the extracted .ico files, and/or given file, is transformed indicate a status of Icon match.
US08255999B2	Anti-virus scanning of partially available content A client device transmits requests via a gateway to a server in a network environment. The requests indicate specific portions of a file on a server to be transmitted as part of the download process. The gateway receives into its memory the requested portions of the file and assembles the received portions into an assembly file. The gateway continuously scans the largest contiguous sequence of the portions in the assembly file for viruses while the requested portions of the file are being received and become available before feeding the received portions to the client computer. By scanning the largest consecutive sequence while new portions become available, the time to complete the scan is reduced thereby increasing the throughput of the gateway.
US08255996B2	Network threat detection and mitigation A network switch automatically detects undesired network traffic and mirrors the undesired traffic to a security management device. The security management device determines the source of the undesired traffic and redirects traffic from the source to itself. The security management device also automatically sends a policy to a switch to block traffic from the source.
US08255994B2	Detection and suppression of short message service denial of service attacks A method, system, and medium are provided for suppressing a Short Message Service (SMS) induced Denial of Service (DoS) attack on a telecommunications network. A register is updated to include information relevant to SMS messages that are requested to be communicated by way of a wireless telecommunications network. The register includes information of the location where the target devices of SMS messages are located. The register is utilized to detect an SMS induced DoS attack. A trigger is communicated to an SMS router to enable a DoS mode that restricts the communication of SMS messages. In an exemplary embodiment, only those SMS messages identified as part of the DoS attack are restricted.
US08255990B2	Identification and computer login of an operator of a vehicle A method for identifying and performing a vehicle operator computer login to a vehicle computer provided in a vehicle. A device is arranged to request and receive vehicle operator data stored on a data carrier provided for a tachograph comprising a reader for reading the data carrier. The device controls communication of vehicle operator related data to the vehicle computer, wherein the device is arranged to initiate a vehicle operator login procedure of the vehicle computer, in dependence on the data carrier inserted in the tachograph. The invention is also related to a vehicle arrangement, a computer program and a computer program product. The invention solves the problem of providing identification and login of an operator of a vehicle to the vehicle computer in a simplified and secure way. The invention also enables shortened start up/stop times of a vehicle by reducing systems login/logoff time for an operator.
US08255989B2	Access control and key management system for streaming media A session rights object and authorization data are used for defining a consumer's access right to a media content stream. The access rights are determined at a caching server remotely located from the consumer rather than locally at the end user site. In a first aspect, in a computing network having a content provider, a key distribution center, a caching server and a client, a method for controlling client access to a real-time data stream from the caching server, is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by the client, a session rights object from a content provider, the session rights object defining access rules for accessing the real-time data stream; receiving, by the client, authorization data from the key distribution center, the authorization data defining the client's access rights to the real-time data stream; forwarding to the caching server the session rights object and the authorization data; comparing, by the caching server, the session rights object with the authorization data to determine client authorization; and if the client is authorized, streaming, by the caching server, the real-time data stream to the client.
US08255985B2	Methods, network services, and computer program products for recommending security policies to firewalls Recommending a security policy to a firewall, includes receiving a request from a firewall for a recommendation as to whether the firewall should allow or block a detected present communication for which the firewall does not have an existing security policy. Information about past blocked and allowed communications at other firewalls on a network is searched to identify past communications that are similar to the present communication. The identified past communications are assigned a respective positive or negative vote. A positive vote indicates a past communication was allowed and a negative vote indicates a past communication was not allowed. A positive recommendation is sent to the requesting firewall to allow the present communication if the positive votes outnumber the negative votes, and a negative recommendation is sent to the requesting firewall to block the present communication if the negative votes outnumber the positive votes.
US08255984B1	Single sign-on system for shared resource environments Systems and methods for enhancing security of single sign-on are described. These systems and methods can reduce the amount of sensitive information stored on a client device while still providing single sign-on access to shared resources such as virtual desktops or Terminal Servers. For example, storage of authentication information on client devices can be avoided while still allowing client devices to connect to the shared resources. Instead, such information can be stored at a broker server that brokers connections from client devices to the shared resources. The broker server can facilitate more secure single sign-on by providing a single-use ticket to a client device that authenticates with the broker server. The client device can use this single-use ticket to authenticate with a shared resource.
US08255982B2	Method and apparatus for enabling a user to select an authentication method The present invention facilitates access to a restricted service related to secure transactions via a network. The present invention allows a user to select a minimum security level of authentication for its own login to a restricted service. The user's selected minimum security level of authentication may be registered in an authentication method system, so that the user must use the selected minimum security level for authentication in order to gain access to the restricted service. Alternatively, the user may specify that the selected minimum security level for authentication may be over-turned by the user, or optionally re-set to a new authentication method depending on the needs of the user. As such, the present invention allows the user the flexibility to select its own authentication method for accessing a restricted service.
US08255981B2	System and method of authentication A method of resetting authentication token prompts a user of a computing device to transmit a first authentication token associated with an Internet account. The method also prompts the user to transmit a second token associated with the Internet account. The method receives the second authentication token via the computing device and transmitting a temporary authentication token to a set-top box device of the user.
US08255979B2	Image data processing system, image data generating apparatus, terminal equipment and program product In each of personal computers, information concerning an application software to process image data sent to a scanner is received. A dialog box is displayed and a user entry is made as to whether transmission is permitted or not. When transmission is rejected by the user, a notice of the rejection of transmission is given to the scanner. When transmission is permitted by the user, the application software is started and a notice of the permission of transmission is given to the scanner. Then, image data is received from the scanner and processed by the started application software.
US08255975B2	Method and apparatus for a community-based trust Machine-readable media, methods, apparatus and system for a community-based trust are provided. In an embodiment, it may be determined whether a requesting node obtains a trust from a targeting node through an endorsement from an intermediate node. If the requesting node obtains the trust through the endorsement from the intermediate node, an intermediate trust level that indicates how much the targeting node trusts the intermediate node may be obtained; and a new trust level that indicates how much the targeting node trusts the requesting node may be calculated based upon the intermediate trust level.
US08255966B2	Method and apparatus for internet-based interactive programming A method and system for the creation of interactive programming incorporating viewer interactions. An interactive program includes moderator content generated by the moderator and edited participant commentary, such as interactive messages, and is served by a moderator server. Moderators create and manage interactive programs using a Web site. Viewers register to be participants in interactive programs using the Web site as well. The interactive programs can be distributed as electronic documents written in a markup language such as HTML or XML over a communications network such as the Internet. The interactive programs can also be converted to conventional interactive television content for distribution over an interactive television network. The interactive programs can also be distributed over a virtual private network for use as a collaboration tool by an enterprise such as a business concern. The interactive programs require few processing resources so the interactive programs can be embedded within other Web processes such as electronic commerce and television commerce transactions.
US08255965B2	URL access method and mobile terminal thereof A method, mobile terminal and computer program product for automatically accessing a specific URL, and a mobile terminal thereof. The method comprises outputting a broadcasting screen by receiving a broadcasting signal; when the broadcasting screen is not displayed, automatically accessing a preset specific URL; displaying a broadcasting list including one or more URL lists; selecting one or more URLs included in each item of the broadcasting list; and accessing a web site or a server of the selected URL.
US08255964B2	Method and system for distributing media content A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set-top box operating from an interactive television (iTV) communication system having a controller to receive from the iTV communication system media content with metadata, record the media content, detect in the metadata a description of the media content correlating with one or more preferences in a preference profile, present at a media presentation device a first prompt requesting an acceptance or rejection of the media content, present at the media presentation device a second prompt requesting a selection of one or more communication devices to direct in whole or in part the media content thereto, detect the selection of at least one of the one or more communication devices, and transmit in whole or in part the media content to the at least one communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08255963B2	System and method for monitoring video data A system and method for real-time monitoring of programming content transmission over a broadcast network. The identification and analysis of data embedded within a broadcast signal allows a broadcaster to determine whether or not their content is actually being broadcast over the network as intended. The embedded data may include various information and indicators, such as proprietary tags, included in the signal. Real-time monitoring may occur across single or multiple channels, narrow or wide geographic areas, be based on various demographic or other characteristics, and may be monitored by content providers or others.
US08255957B1	Method and apparatus for synchronizing local and remote audio and video program sources A method and apparatus for eliminating the apparent delays in a televised presentation between local program content and delayed program content received from a remote location, e.g., via satellite. Local and remote program signals are delayed by the system and method and then combined to provide an output program signal where there is no apparent delay between the content from the different program sources. The delay of the input signals is preferably automatically adjusted such that the start of the program output is not delayed and may be obtained by imperceptibly altering the input program content, e.g., using delay buffers.
US08255951B2	User input for access to television services The present invention provides a method and system for accessing services in a television system. In one implementation, a DHCT presents a user a menu containing a plurality of selectable link representations corresponding to separate services or applications offered by the cable television system. The user navigates the menu with a remote device and selects a desired service by choosing the selectable link representation corresponding to the desired service or application. The DHCT receives the user input, translates the selectable link command into an executable call, and activates the service or application corresponding to the selected link representation from the menu chosen by the user.
US08255949B1	Television program targeting for advertising Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products are provided for television advertisement bidding that allows advertisers to target and/or exclude specific television programs. Advertisers can search for television programs and in response be provided with a list of scheduled air times for television programs. Additional programs can also be identified for advertising based on similar targeting criteria, such as demographics, ratings, and genre.
US08255947B2	Broadcast area authentication Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for authenticating local and remote devices associated with a broadcast area. In one embodiment, an authentication server can transmit a unique broadcast identifier to a broadcast system and a local device. The broadcast system can then transmit a broadcast that includes the unique broadcast identifier. Once the local device receives the unique broadcast identifier from the broadcast and the authentication server, it can be authenticated as being in the broadcast area.
US08255946B2	Broadcast area authentication Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for authenticating local and remote devices associated with a broadcast area. In one embodiment, an authentication server can transmit a unique broadcast identifier to a broadcast system and a local device. The broadcast system can then transmit a broadcast that includes the unique broadcast identifier. Once the local device receives the unique broadcast identifier from the broadcast and the authentication server, it can be authenticated as being in the broadcast area.
US08255945B2	Broadcast area authentication Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for authenticating local and remote devices associated with a broadcast area. In one embodiment, an authentication server can transmit a unique broadcast identifier to a broadcast system and a local device. The broadcast system can then transmit a broadcast that includes the unique broadcast identifier. Once the local device receives the unique broadcast identifier from the broadcast and the authentication server, it can be authenticated as being in the broadcast area.
US08255942B2	Broadcast area authentication Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for authenticating local and remote devices associated with a broadcast area. For example, in one embodiment, a broadcast station can broadcast a first over-the-air broadcast that includes a token. A local device can scan for and identify the token in the first over-the-air broadcast it receives. The local device can then transmit the received token and user registration to an authentication server. The authentication server can use the token and user registration information to create a unique broadcast identifier. The authentication server can then transmit the unique broadcast identifier to the broadcast station and the local device. The broadcast station then broadcasts a second over-the-air broadcast that includes a unique broadcast identifier. Once the local device receives the unique broadcast identifier from the second over-the-air broadcast and the authentication server, it can be authenticated as being in the broadcast area.
US08255936B2	Objective lens drive apparatus where interaction of drive magnets and drive coils drive a holding member that holds the objective lens and optical pickup and optical disk apparatus including the same An objective lens drive apparatus configured to drive an objective lens that focuses a laser beam on an optical disk is disclosed, the apparatus including a holding member that holds the objective lens; at least one pair of drive magnets arranged to face each other at opposite sides of the holding member with respect a tangential direction that is parallel to a tangential line of the optical disk, the drive magnets having protruding end portions that protrude from each side of the holding member with respect to a tracking direction that is parallel to a radial direction of the optical disk; and plural drive coils configured to drive the holding member through interaction with the drive magnets, at least one of the drive coils being arranged on each side of the drive magnets with respect to the tangential direction.
US08255932B1	Application of an embedded instrumentation interface definition language In one example embodiment, a system and method are illustrated that includes defining an interface that is independent of a management interface associated with a management agent. This interface is configured to instrument a network device component. The system and method also includes generating an API from the interface. The system and method further includes binding the management agent and the API to implement the management interface associated with the management agent.
US08255931B2	Method for implementing ejection-safe API interception A DLL that includes an API hook is injected into the address space of a target computer process called by an application program. Upon termination of the application program, computer-readable instructions describing a process for filtering exceptions returned from the target computer process are stored in memory locations accessible to the target computer process and the DLL is ejected from the address space.
US08255929B2	Method and server for providing content to a handset A system and method for providing time-sensitive information to a handset using a scrolling ticker. The method includes receiving the time-sensitive information at a server, determining the time period before the next update for a second set of information, and if less than a pre-determined value, then streaming the time sensitive information at the end of the time period to the handset. If the time period is greater that than the pre-determined value, then streaming the time-sensitive information immediately. In an alternative embodiment, a method is provided which includes determining a base schedule for periodically streaming the information to a handset via a scrolling ticker, receiving time-sensitive information relating to an event, determining a second schedule for periodically streaming time-sensitive information related to the event, and streaming the time-sensitive information in accordance with the second schedule during a time period associated with the event.
US08255926B2	Virus notification based on social groups Virus notifications based on social groups are provided. When an anti-virus program is updated, the anti-virus program informs its peers within the social group of the update. When a particular peer computing device is infected, it notifies the other anti-virus programs in the social group. The notification to the other anti-virus programs may identify which particular patches/updates are required for that particular peer computing device's anti-virus program based on the data structure that maintains the update status of the anti-virus software on each of the peer computing devices. The anti-virus programs in the social group, based on the notification of the infection from the infected computing device, may automatically perform operations for downloading any required patches and performing a scan of the peer computing device in order to isolate and remove the virus if the peer computing device has become infected.
US08255919B2	Distributed processing system and method A method is disclosed that receives a function call at an application program interface. The method selects a first processor of a plurality of processors to execute the function call. The method further executes a first transmit function associated with a bus coupled to the first processor. The first transmit function includes a function parameter associated with the function call.
US08255913B2	Notification to task of completion of GSM operations by initiator node In a global shared memory (GSM) environment, a method provides local notification of completion of a global shared memory (GSM) operation processed by a first task executing at a local node of the distributed system. The system includes multiple nodes on which different tasks of a single job execute and perform GSM operations that are received from a second task via a via host fabric interface (HFI) and associated HFR window assigned to the first tasks. The local task initiates execution of a GSM operation on the local node. The task then monitors for and detects a completion of the execution of the GSM operation on the local node. When the task detects completion of the execution of the GSM operation, the task issues an internal notification to inform the locally-executing tasks of the completion of the GSM operation.
US08255910B2	Fair weighted proportional-share virtual time scheduler A method comprises scheduling, by a weighted proportional-share virtual time processor scheduler, processor access to a first consumer during a time period in which a second consumer is blocked from processor access. When the second consumer becomes unblocked from processor access, the weighted proportional-share virtual time processor scheduler determines whether the length of the time period over which the second consumer was blocked from processor access exceeds a predefined time threshold. When determined that the length of the time period over which the second consumer was blocked from processor access does not exceed the predefined time threshold, then scheduler does not update the virtual time of the second consumer before scheduling processor access for the second consumer.
US08255908B2	Managing tasks in a distributed system Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer program products for facilitating the management of tasks in a distributed system with modular service architecture and distributed control functions are provided. The system includes an Application Manager, an Application Node, a Service Manager, and a number of Service Nodes that are capable of executing certain services. Upon receiving a task request from the Application Manager, the Application Node generates a task identifier associated with the particular task. The Application Node may then communicate with the Service Manager using the task identifier to receive a designation of a Service Node capable of executing the service required to complete the requested task. The Application Node can then communicate the service to the designated Service Node, including the task identifier. Once completed services are received from the various Service Nodes involved, they are assembled into a completed task using the common task identifier.
US08255904B2	System and method for generating a distributable software package A system, method, and computer program product for generating a distributable software package, including loading a template/profile; loading at least one module; receiving configuration options over a network connection; and assembling a distributable software package according to the profile, template(s), modules, and the configuration options.
US08255900B2	Virtual computer server apparatus, and update image detection method A virtual computer server apparatus includes an image information memory to store image information upon dividing into pages, the page being a memory of a predetermined size, an update unit configured to update the image information stored in the image information memory in accordance with operation of the application program, an update page detection unit configured to detect an update page from the pages storing image information transmitted to the terminal and displayed by the terminal as a display area, an update image detection unit configured to detect the image information updated by the update unit from image information in the update page before updated and image information in the update page after updated.
US08255899B2	Techniques for upgrade dependency management Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for managing dependencies between data upgrade files included in an application upgrade. According to one set of embodiments, the data upgrade files are grouped into functional upgrade groups. A dependency hierarchy for the functional upgrade groups is then created based on dependencies between the data upgrade files. The dependency hierarchy provides a high-level, functional view of the overall dependency flow of an upgrade. In various embodiments, this allows for greater insight into existing and potential dependency issues, leading to more robust and efficient upgrades. In further embodiments, an upgrade tracking system is provided. The upgrade tracking system is configured to track and report detailed analytics related to an upgrade run. In various embodiments, the upgrade tracking system may leverage the grouping of data upgrade files into functional upgrade groups to provide intelligent reporting at a functional level.
US08255896B2	Network software normalization and installation in a fire detection system A fire detection system includes at least one existing fire detection unit, at least one replacement fire detection unit, control circuitry associated with the at least one existing fire detection unit, control circuitry associated with the at least one replacement fire detection unit, a graphical user interface associated with the at least one replacement fire detection unit, and communication media connecting the at least one existing fire detection unit and the at least one replacement fire detection unit. The replacement unit is configured to be compatible with the at least one existing unit, and the graphical user interface controls the configuration of the replacement panel. The control circuitry associated with the replacement unit and the control circuitry associated with the existing unit execute the configuration of the replacement panel.
US08255893B2	Software management process, software management apparatus, and computer-readable medium storing software management program In a software management process, a software management apparatus, and a computer-readable medium storing a software management program for managing software installed in clients: a profile for a client is updated in accordance with a change notice on receipt of the change notice from the client; settings of the software in other clients which belong to the same group as the above client are determined to be synchronized with the settings of the software in the above client by reference to group information when the above profile for the above client is updated; and a synchronization notice indicating that the update of the above profile is to be reflected in the settings of the software in the other clients is sent to the other clients, and each of one or more profiles for the other clients is updated in accordance with the synchronization notice.
US08255892B2	Flash memory programming Disclosed is a method for updating program code stored in a memory, which memory comprises a plurality of memory sectors. The method comprises transforming an updated input code into an updated program code version to be stored in a memory, which memory has stored thereon a current program code version occupying a first set of the memory sectors of the memory, wherein the updated program code version occupies a second set of memory sectors when stored in the memory. The transforming step further comprises receiving a representation of the current program code version; and performing at least one optimization step adapted to decrease the number of memory sectors of the second set of memory sectors occupied by the updated code version that are different from the corresponding memory sectors of the first set of memory sectors occupied by the current program code version.
US08255889B2	Method of using parallel processing constructs and dynamically allocating program portions A device, for performing parallel processing, includes a processor to receive one or more portions of an inner context of a program created for a technical computing environment, and allocate one or more portions of the inner context of the program to two or more labs for parallel execution. The processor is also configured to receive one or more results associated with the parallel execution of the one or more portions from the two or more labs, and provide the one or more results to an outer context of the program.
US08255888B2	API derivation and XML schema derivation for developing applications Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for developing an application. The development includes the use of a data model (e.g., a metamodel represented using UML) from which an API is derived. The API can include features derived from customizable extensions within the data model.
US08255885B2	Detecting copied computer source code by examining computer object code Methods and systems for detecting copied program code are described. The detection may be performed by comparing source code of a first program to object code of a second program. Alternatively, the detection may be performed by comparing object code of a first program to object code of a second program.
US08255877B2	Method for managing the triggering of an application in a service terminal, particularly in a telecommunication terminal The disclosure relates to a method for managing the triggering of an application in a terminal place in an environment consisting of several access technologies. The disclosure also relates to a mobile telephone type terminal that implements the method. A test mechanism is implemented for at least one application on the basis of information contained in the tested application when a triggering event occurs for an application, thereby making it possible to recognize or deduce the network access technologies supported by the application.
US08255873B2	Handling external content in web applications A media and method for detecting third-party content in web pages is provided. Computer software operates on a server or a client-side computer to identify and analyze third-party links and contents in web pages to determine if a third-party content sill exists, is available, has changed, or disrupts a web browser. A third-party link or content can be removed, changed, or replaced. A user can be notified or given an option to handle changed third-party content. The server may remove the third-party link or content by changing an HTML file for the web page. The client-side computer may remove the third-party link or content by dynamically changing the rendered web page before it is displayed to the user.
US08255872B2	Editor with commands for automatically disabling and enabling program code portions A method (300) of editing program code is proposed. The program code consists of main instructions written in a high-level language. Typically, the program code further includes one or more sets of service instructions, which are not directly connected to a desired algorithm (such as tracing instructions for debugging purposes, performance measuring instructions, and the like). In the solution of the invention, each set of service instructions is enclosed (321-322) between a pair of predefined comments defining a starting tag and an ending tag. An editor of the program code is provided with commands for automatically disabling (341) the service instructions (converting them into corresponding comments); at the same time, the disabled instructions are condensed (340) on the monitor. Additional commands are available for automatically enabling (368) and restoring (367) the service instructions.
US08255869B2	Industry template customization and transclusion for use in industrial automation and information solutions The invention relates to a system and/or methodology for the customization and transclusion of design templates/patterns for use in industrial automation. The system provides for the de-abstraction of one or more design templates, and generating engineering specifications via customization of the de-abstracted design templates. Additionally, the invention provides a user interface for modification of the template de-abstraction and/or customization process.
US08255867B1	Methods and systems for use in splitting wiring diagrams Methods and systems are provided for generating a wiring diagram based on a wiring configuration stored in a memory device. The wiring configuration is deconstructed, a new wiring configuration is constructed on a grid that includes a plurality of fields. The new wiring configuration is based on the wiring configuration. The wiring diagram is generated based on the plurality of fields.
US08255865B2	Signal tracing through boards and chips Signal tracing across boards and chips can be used to greatly enhance failure analysis of the boards and chips. Concepts are disclosed for tracing one or more signal lines across a board, across a chip boundary, and across a chip. Signals may be traced through active circuitry on a chip along with paths through various logic cones. The result can be graphically and interactively presented.
US08255864B2	Computing device and method for checking signal transmission lines A computing device and a method selects a signal transmission line from a circuit board, computes an actual length of each line segment of the selected signal transmission line, and computes an actual distance between each line segment of the selected signal transmission line and a corresponding line segment of each neighboring signal transmission line. If each actual length is less than or equal to a corresponding reference length and each actual distance is more than or equal to a corresponding reference distance, the device and method determines a design of the selected signal transmission line satisfies the design standards. Otherwise, if any actual length is more than a corresponding reference length, or if any actual distance is less than a corresponding reference distance, the device and method determines the design of the signal transmission line does not satisfy the design standards.
US08255863B2	Printed circuit board layout system and method thereof A printed circuit board layout system and a method thereof are provided. The method includes the following steps: obtaining the outline information, the boundary information, and the auxiliary line information, when a command for recording position information of points within each of the boundaries is input; obtaining position information of the points within each of the boundaries; setting corresponding height values as height limit of height restriction areas corresponding to the points within each of the boundaries.
US08255856B1	DC path checking in a hierarchical circuit design A computer implemented method is provided for use in evaluating a hierarchical representation of a circuit design encoded in a computer readable medium comprising: traversing a circuit path within a higher level circuit that includes a reference potential connection, to identify a port of a call to a first lower level circuit that is DC path connected to the reference potential; identifying a first DC port group that includes each port of the call to the first lower level circuit that is DC path connected to the identified port of the call to the first lower level circuit; automatically marking as DC path connected to the reference potential, each port of the call to the first lower level circuit that is a member of the first DC port group; and traversing a circuit path within the first lower level circuit to identify a circuit path within the first lower level circuit that is DC path connected to a marked port of the first lower level circuit.
US08255855B2	Routing nets over circuit blocks in a hierarchical circuit design Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that routes nets over circuit blocks in a hierarchical circuit design. During operation, the system can receive a set of circuit blocks. At least some terminals of the circuit blocks may be desired to be electrically linked together using a net which is expected to be routed over one or more circuit blocks. The system may divide an area associated with a block (e.g., an area in a metal layer which is situated above the block) into a set of tiles. Next, the system may assign costs to at least some of the tiles in the set of tiles. The system can then use the costs during routing. Note that using the costs of the tiles during routing makes it more likely that buffers can be used wherever required to meet slew and timing requirements.
US08255853B2	Circuit emulation systems and methods An apparatus for circuit emulation may include a first circuit board, one or more circuit emulation resource on the first circuit board, a first interconnection interface on the first circuit board, and a second interconnection interface on the first circuit board. The first circuit board may include conductive wiring paths. The circuit emulation resource is on the first circuit board and coupled with a portion of the conductive wiring paths, with each circuit emulation resource being configured to emulate a portion of an electronic circuit by receiving input signals and producing output signals in response to the input signals. The first interconnection interface is on the first circuit board and coupled with at least a first portion of the circuit emulation resource, The first interconnection interface may be configured to couple with an interconnection interface of a second circuit board having a second group of conductive wiring paths and having a second group of circuit emulation resources. The second interconnection interface is on the first circuit board and coupled with at least a second portion of the at least one circuit emulation resource. The second interconnection interface may be configured to couple with an interconnection interface of a third circuit board having a third group of conductive wiring paths and having a third group of circuit emulation resources.
US08255848B2	Logic design verification techniques for liveness checking with retiming A technique for verification of a retimed logic design using liveness checking includes assigning a liveness gate to a liveness property for an original netlist and assigning a fairness gate to a fairness constraint for the original netlist. In this case, the fairness gate is associated with the liveness gate and is asserted for at least one time-step during any valid behavioral loop associated with the liveness gate. The original netlist is retimed, using a retiming engine, to provide a retimed netlist. The liveness and fairness gates of the retimed netlist are retimed such that a lag of the fairness gate is no greater than a lag of the liveness gate. Verification analysis is then performed on the retimed netlist. Finally, when the verification analysis yields a valid counter-example trace for the retimed netlist, a liveness violation for the original netlist is returned.
US08255844B2	Coordinated-design supporting apparatus, coordinated-design supporting method, computer product, printed-circuit-board manufacturing method, circuit-design supporting apparatus, circuit-design supporting method, computer product, and printed-circuit-board manufacturing method An FPGA-design-CAD interface unit retrieves pin assignment information created by an FPGA-designing CAD apparatus. An FPGA-pin-information managing unit manages the pin assignment information as FPGA pin information. A temporary-library creating unit creates a temporary component shape type library by using the FPGA pin information and outputs the temporary component shape type library in a form capable of being read by a package-designing CAD apparatus to a file.
US08255840B2	Silicon tolerance specification using shapes as design intent markers Design-specific attributes of a circuit (such as timing, power, electro-migration, and signal integrity) are used to automatically identify one or more regions of one or more layers in a layout of the circuit. The automatically identified regions may be provided to a manufacturing tool in GDSII by use of overlapping shapes in, or alternatively by moving existing shapes to, a different layer/datatype pair. For example, information about the automatically identified regions may be stored using a conventional datatype (e.g. value 0) with a new layer, or alternatively using a conventional layer (e.g. metal 3) with a new datatype (e.g. value 1), depending on the embodiment. The automatically identified regions contain cells and/or features (e.g. groups of shapes and/or individual shapes) whose tolerance in silicon (to be fabricated) is automatically changed from default, based on the design-specific attribute(s) and sensitivity thereto, expressed as design intent by a circuit designer.
US08255839B2	Securing authenticity of integrated circuit chip A system and method are provided for securely manufacturing a device at a foundry. For example, an integrated circuit chip may be securely fabricated at an untrusted foundry by later verifying authenticity of the integrated circuit chip based on a valid usage of an original source code file associated with a semiconductor manufacturing process of the integrated circuit chip. The integrated circuit chip may be authenticated by matching a first set of unique daughter codes generated during fabrication with a second set of unique daughter codes generated independently by some entity other than the foundry. In this way, a trusted electronics integrator may compare the first and second unique daughter codes to nondestructively determine whether the integrated circuit chip is a trusted device or a tampered device.
US08255836B1	Hover-over gesturing on mobile devices Aspects of the disclosure may relate to detecting, by a computing device, a first user input comprising a first gesture to interact with a touch-sensitive screen of the computing device. Aspects may also include detecting a second user input comprising a second gesture using the touch-sensitive screen of the computing device. Aspects may also include, responsive to detecting the first user input, initiating a hover mode of interaction in a graphical user interface.
US08255835B2	Method and system for managing unread electronic messages The presence of new unread electronic messages received, that is, messages received since unread messages were last reviewed, is provided by indicia presented to the user. These indicia can take various forms, such as by bolding, flashing, changing the size or color of a count of unread messages, and/or the unread message icon. Alternatively, a separate indication, such as a second count representing the number of new unread electronic messages received, or some other symbol, such as an explanation point, can be displayed.
US08255834B2	Displaying a set of data elements A set of elements, such as, for example, a path, a directory list, a playlist, and a listing of information associated with a file or a song, may be truncated so that a partial set may be generated and displayed. The truncation may be performed in an intelligent manner to produce a meaningful truncated portion. Such a partial set may be beneficial when the space allotted for display of the set is small to begin with or is reduced. In one implementation, a display size of a set is compared with a size of a display area. A data element is selected based on the comparison, and a display space size is determined for the selected data element. A truncated, yet meaningful, portion is determined for the selected data element, the portion fitting within the display space size.
US08255830B2	Methods and graphical user interfaces for editing on a multifunction device with a touch screen display In some embodiments, a device displays content on a touch screen display and detects input by finger gestures. In response to the finger gestures, the device selects content, visually distinguishes the selected content, and/or updates the selected content based on detected input. In some embodiments, the device displays a command display area that includes one or more command icons; detects activation of a command icon in the command display area; and, in response to detecting activation of the command icon in the command display area, performs a corresponding action with respect to the selected content. Exemplary actions include cutting, copying, and pasting content.
US08255824B2	Toolbar/sidebar browser extension Methods and other embodiments associated with a web browser extension are described. One example browser extension includes a toolbar logic to provide a toolbar. The toolbar may include, for example, a set of graphical user interface elements displayed in connection with a browser window. The browser extension may also include a sidebar logic to provide a sidebar. The browser extension may also include a coordination logic to coordinate the presentation and functionality of a combination of the toolbar and the sidebar to be provided to a browser. The presentation and functionality may be based, at least in part, on a selectable presentation mode and a selectable attachment mode.
US08255811B2	Providing auto-sorting of collaborative partners or components based on frequency of communication and/or access in a collaboration system user interface A system for auto-sorting of lists based on most frequent component access or partner collaboration. The elements in the lists may represent collaboration partners (e.g. instant messaging contacts), and/or collaboration components such as Web addresses, events, collaborative documents, activity objects, and/or desktop applications. The system monitors component accesses and/or partner collaborations over a configurable time period to determine the frequency of collaborations with specific collaboration partners, and/or the frequency of accesses to collaboration components. The disclosed system then determines a set of collaboration partners and/or components that are most frequently collaborated with and/or accessed, and moves the list elements representing those collaboration partners and/or components into a top-located sub-list within a list of elements representing a larger number of collaboration partners and/or components in a user interface provided to a local user. The size of the top-located sub-list is user configurable, and the user may further indicate that certain collaboration partners and/or components are to be added to the sub-list, removed from the sub-list, always excluded from the sub-list, or always included in the sub-list. The local user may also be provided with a configurable set of alert notifications through the user interface communicating when collaboration partners and/or components have been added to and/or removed from the sub-list.
US08255810B2	Portable touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for using emoji characters while in a locked mode In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method performed at a portable electronic device with a touch screen display includes simultaneously displaying a character input area operable to display text character input and emoji character input selected by a user, a keyboard display area, and a plurality of emoji category icons. In response to detecting a gesture on a respective emoji category icon, the method also includes simultaneously displaying: a first subset of emoji character keys for the respective emoji category in the keyboard display area and a plurality of subset-sequence-indicia icons for the respective emoji category. The method also includes detecting a gesture in the keyboard display area and, in response: replacing display of the first subset of emoji character keys with display of a second subset of emoji character keys for the respective emoji category, and updating the information provided by the subset-sequence-indicia icons.
US08255804B2	Resource controlled user interface resource management A system and method for managing the allocation and utilization of user interface resources in a communication system. Various aspects of the present invention comprise establishing a wireless communication link between a user interface resource and a system with which the user interface resource may be used. It may be determined that at least a portion of the user interface resource may be used with the system. Various aspects of the present invention may communicate that at least a portion of the user interface resource may be used with the system. A request may be made that at least a portion of the user interface resource be allocated for use with the system. The allocation request may be received, and at least a portion of the user interface resource may be allocated for use with the system. The allocated user interface resource may be utilized with the system.
US08255801B2	Web based video enhancement apparatus, method, and article of manufacture Controlling an event in a virtual environment is disclosed. A video image from one or more video cameras is received. A video enhanced script is executed to display the virtual environment in a video display within a web browser. An event in the virtual environment is controlled based on the video image. The video enhanced script is configured to communicate with a web browser extension module.
US08255794B2	Methods and apparatus for creating markup language documents A method for generating markup language documents, e.g., XML documents, uses a code generator that creates programs configured to create dynamic XML documents at run time, avoiding many of the complexities arising from the use of conventional “XML GENERATE” statements. In one embodiment, this process involves (1) creating a template document using a markup language, wherein the template document includes a set of tags associated with the markup language documents; (2) parsing the template document to determine a working storage structure corresponding to the tags in the template document; and (3) generating an application program in the programming language (e.g., COBOL), wherein the application program includes a definition of the working storage structure, and is configured to generate, during run-time, a markup language document corresponding to the original template document.
US08255792B2	Techniques for binding scalable vector graphics to associated information Techniques for providing information about an object through a graphical interface include providing in a document scalable vector graphics (SVG) statements associated with a graphical representation of the object. The SVG statements are bound to a pointer to a resource that includes information pertaining to the object. The pointer to the resource associated with the SVG statements may then be extracted from the document. Information is then retrieved from the resource based on the pointer. The SVG statements may then be modified based on the information. Then a second graphical representation of the object is presented based on the SVG statements after the modifying. The presentation provides information, or control, or both, for the object.
US08255788B2	Method and apparatus for facilitating substitution of digital images with line drawings One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates substitution of a full bitmap version of a graphical image with a line drawing version of the graphical image in a graphical presentation. The system operates by displaying a page in the graphical presentation, which includes the line drawing version of the graphical image. Next, the system allows a user to input a command to display the full bitmap version of the graphical image. If the user inputs the command, the system retrieves the full bitmap version of the graphical image, and displays the full bitmap version of the graphical image. Note that displaying the line drawing version of the graphical image requires less data to be retrieved than displaying the full bitmap version of graphical image. Consequently, loading the line drawing version of the graphical image takes less time than loading the full bitmap version. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates substitution of a full bitmap version of a graphical image with a line drawing version of the graphical image in a graphical presentation. The system receives the full bitmap version of the graphical image, and then produces the line drawing version of the graphical image from the full bitmap version of the graphical image. Next, the system inserts the line drawing version of the graphical image into a page in the graphical presentation, and then links the full bitmap version of the graphical image into the graphical presentation so that selecting the line drawing version of the graphical image causes the full bitmap version of the graphical image to be displayed.
US08255787B2	Automated configuration of location-specific page anchors A request is received via an input device of a computing device for a hypertext link to an item of web content rendered on a display of the computing device. It is determined whether a markup language (ML) document used to render the web content includes an existing page anchor proximate to an item reference within the ML document. The hypertext link is configured based upon the determination of whether the ML document includes the existing page anchor proximate to the item reference within the ML document. The configured hypertext link is returned in response to the request.
US08255785B2	Dynamically mediating multimedia content and devices Embodiments of the invention provide a communication network having a plurality of communication devices capable of transferring content wirelessly. The communication network comprises at least two communication devices and a mediator. The first communication device receives streaming content. The second communication device receives content different from the content streaming to the first communication device. In turn, the mediator determines whether the streaming content should take precedence over the content different from the content streaming on the first communication device.
US08255783B2	Apparatus, system and method for providing error protection for data-masking bits An apparatus, system, and method for providing error protection for data-masking bits in a memory device of a memory system are provided. The memory device includes a memory core to store data, and a data interface to receive the data and data-masking bits associated with a write command. The memory device also includes a gating block to control writing the data to the memory core, where the writing of the data to the memory core is inhibited upon detecting an error with one or more of the data-masking bits.
US08255781B2	Method for generating codeword in wireless communication system A method for generating a codeword that is insensitive to variations of a channel and easily extensible is provided. The method includes obtaining a primary unit by taking a row vector from an N(E(N−1) simplex code and mapping a control signal to the codeword. The simplex code is obtained by removing a first row from an N(ENorthogonal matrix. The codeword is obtained by combining a plurality of primary units.
US08255777B2	Systems and methods for locating error bits in encoded data Systems and methods for identifying error bits in encoded data are disclosed. As a part of identifying error bits, encoded data that is provided from a data source and that includes data and parity check portions is accessed. Based on the encoded data, syndromes are calculated, and based on the calculated syndromes, an equation is determined. The roots of the equation are determined and based on the determined roots of the equation, one or more error bits are identified. The error bits are identified using a circuit that presents a binary representation of the roots. The error bits are corrected based on the error bits that are identified.
US08255770B2	Multi-level cell memory device and method thereof A Multi-Level Cell (MLC) memory device and method thereof are provided. The example MLC memory device may be configured to perform data operations, and may include an MLC memory cell, a first coding device performing a first coding function, the first coding function being one of an encoding function and a decoding function, a second coding device performing a second coding function, the second coding function being one of an encoding function and a decoding function and a signal module configured to perform at least one of instructing the MLC memory cell to store data output by the second coding device if the first and second coding functions are encoding functions, and generating a demapped bit stream based on data retrieved from the MLC memory cell if the first and second coding functions are decoding functions.
US08255769B2	Control apparatus and control method A failure is detected immediately and certainly, and continuation of processing in an unstable state is prevented. A first error detection code is generated from first information which is output as a result of execution of a predetermined program conducted by a first processor. A second error detection code is generated from second information which is output as a result of execution of the program conducted by a second processor which is configured so as to output the same computation result as that of the first processor. It is detected whether the first information is the same as the second information, and it is detected whether the first error detection code is the same as the second error detection code. Writing the first information or the second information into a main memory is controlled on the basis of a result of the detection.
US08255757B2	Apparatus and method for error correction in mobile wireless applications incorporating erasure table data A receiver (120) is configured to receive data over a communications link. A decapsulator (122) is coupled to the receiver and configured to create datagrams and erasure attributes associated with the datagrams. A decoder (124) is coupled to the decapsulator and configured to store the datagrams in a frame table (400) and to create codewords, the decoder storing the datagrams in table columns to create codewords in table rows, correcting the codewords, and configured to store the erasure attributes in an erasure table (552). The erasure table is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of entries (560), each of which is associated with a column of the frame table. Each entry is comprised of a plurality of elements (570).
US08255752B2	Clock domain check method, clock domain check program, and recording medium To reduce pseudo errors, a stationary signal is propagated through the circuit to be checked. A combination is extracted in which different asynchronous transfers occur between a transmitting side register and a receiving side register. From the extracted combination of asynchronous transfers, a circuit to be checked is extracted, and a synchronization circuit of a plurality of signals is excluded from the circuit to be checked. A stationary signal is propagated through the circuit to be checked, for each combination among all combinations of logic values “1” and “0” of the stationary signal. It is checked whether or not there exists one asynchronous transmitting side register to which signal change can logically reach, in the combination of logic values of the stationary signal propagated. Based on the result, it is determined whether or not the circuit is appropriate as a synchronization circuit for a single-signal transfer, thereby reducing pseudo errors.
US08255751B2	Scan router connected with TAM core and test circuitry A device test architecture and interface is provided to enable efficient testing embedded cores within devices. The test architecture interfaces to standard IEEE 1500 core test wrappers and provides high test data bandwidth to the wrappers from an external tester. The test architecture includes compare circuits that allow for comparison of test response data to be performed within the device. The test architecture further includes a memory for storing the results of the test response comparisons. The test architecture includes a programmable test controller to allow for various test control operations by simply inputting an instruction to the programmable test controller from the external tester. The test architecture includes a selector circuit for selecting a core for testing. Additional features and embodiments of the device test architectures are also disclosed.
US08255750B2	TAP linking module TDI multiplexer circuitry to plural TAPs An architecture for testing a plurality of circuits on an integrated circuit is described. The architecture includes a TAP Linking Module located between test pins on the integrated circuit and 1149.1 Test Access Ports (TAP) of the plurality of circuits to be tested. The TAP Linking Module operates in response to 1149.1 scan operations from a tester connected to the test pins to selectively switch between 1149.1 TAPs to enable test access between the tester and plurality of circuits. The TAP Linking Module's 1149.1 TAP switching operation is based upon augmenting 1149.1 instruction patterns to affix an additional bit or bits of information which is used by the TAP Linking Module for performing the TAP switching operation.
US08255746B2	Computer system and method employing separate storage area for computer program recovery A computer system, a control method thereof and a recording medium storing a computer program thereof are provided to recover a program efficiently and be resistant to viruses, worms, and user error. The control method of computer system receives a user's request for a recovery of a program which is installed in a first storage unit. A file system of a second storage unit is determined which stores therein a recovery program corresponding to the program for which the recovery is requested. The recovery program is read from the second storage unit with reference to the determined file system, and the program in the first storage unit is recovered by using the read recovery program.
US08255745B2	Hardware-error tolerant computing Embodiments include a computing system, a device, and a method. A computing system includes a processor subsystem having an adjustable operating parameter. The computing system also includes an information store operable to save a sequence of instructions. The computing system further includes a controller module. The controller module includes a monitor circuit for detecting an incidence of an operating-parameter-caused error corresponding to an execution of an instruction of the sequence of instructions by the processor subsystem. The controller further includes a control circuit for adjusting the adjustable operating parameter based upon an error-tolerant performance criterion.
US08255736B2	Consistent and fault tolerant distributed hash table (DHT) overlay network A peer-to-peer (P2P) system is described herein which has a distributed hash table (DHT) overlay network containing multiple DHT nodes each of which has a complete distributed DHT hash table which contains information identifying a specific range of hashes for each of the DHT nodes such that when anyone of the DHT nodes receives a query asking for a specific key then the queried DHT node interacts with their respective DHT table to determine which one of the DHT nodes is storing the specific key and to forward ‘the query in one network hop to the particular DHT node which is storing the specific key. The P2P system can also implement one or more data-related mechanisms including a bootstrap mechanism, a replication mechanism, an update mechanism and a recover mechanism which enable fault-tolerant DHT nodes.
US08255735B2	System and method for failover of guest operating systems in a virtual machine environment A system and method provides for failover of guest operating systems in a virtual machine environment. During initialization of a computer executing a virtual machine operating system, a first guest operating system allocates a first memory region within a first domain and notifies a second guest operating system operating in a second domain of the allocated first memory region. Similarly, the second guest operating system allocates a second region of memory within the second domain and notifies the first operating system of the allocated second memory region. In the event of a software failure affecting one of the guest operating systems, the surviving guest operating system assumes the identity of the failed operating system and utilizes data stored within the shared memory region to replay to storage devices to render them consistent.
US08255731B1	Methods and apparatus for power state based backup Methods and apparatus that receive, at a wireless device, power through wire or inductive pad are described. The received power is monitored to back up data from the device to a server in a network through an OTA (over the air) wireless interface. The data is transmitted to the server to back up the data on the device. While backing up the data, whether the power has been removed from the device is determined. The backing up of the data in the device can be terminated automatically and without user request, in response to the determination that the power has been removed.
US08255727B2	Interface card, network device having the same and control method thereof An interface card is capable of communicating with an external device and includes a power supplier; a non-volatile memory which stores executable instructions to operate in an active-mode and a sleep-mode; a small-capacity volatile memory which is supplied with power in the sleep mode; a transmitter-receiver which transmits and receives packet data to/from the external device; and a controller which retrieves sleep-mode instructions stored in the non-volatile memory and loads the sleep mode instructions in the small-capacity volatile memory to transition the interface card into the sleep mode if the transmitter-receiver does not receive the packet data for predetermined time period in an active mode. The interface card processes certain packet data in the sleep mode and transitions back into the active mode when sleep mode operations determine that the packet data cannot be processed in the sleep mode. The non-volatile memory, and other components of an external circuit, is powered down when the interface card is in the sleep mode.
US08255718B2	Power saving system and method employed in computer A power saving system for a computer incorporating a standby power source includes a setting module, a detecting module and a controlling module. The setting module communicates with the BIOS of the computer and is configured for setting power saving modes on an interface provided by the BIOS for at least one function circuit, during the time the computer powered on. The detecting module is configured for detecting “enable” and/or “disable” signals output from the BIOS. The controlling module includes at least one switching circuit configured for correspondingly interrupting the power supply from the standby power source to one or more of the at least one function circuit after the computer is shut down and the detecting module receives “enable” signals.
US08255713B2	Management of link states using plateform and device latencies A method, apparatus, and system for coordinated link power management. Some embodiments of a method include receiving an exit latency for each of a group of link states for a link, with a device being coupled to an interconnect via the first link. A latency tolerance value is determined and communicated, and a platform latency is received. The method further provides for determining a link budget for the device, the link budget indicating an amount of time available for an exit from a link state for the device; and selecting one of the link states based at least in part on the link budget.
US08255706B2	Dual usage smart card of CPU and logical encryption and its data synchronization method A dual usage smart card of CPU and logical encryption and its data synchronization method. Said method comprises that a CPU command processing module controls an accessing control module for the logical encryption storage region to read the data in the logical encryption storage region to a data format conversion module; said data format conversion module transmits the data to the CPU control storage region; the CPU command processing module controls the CPU control storage region again to transmit the data of CPU card to the accessing control module for the logical encryption storage region through the data format conversion module; and said accessing control module for the logical encryption storage region writes the data of CPU card into the logical encryption storage region.
US08255704B1	Pool encryption with automatic detection The invention provides a mechanism for selectively encrypting media within a consolidation of storage devices into a shared configuration, i.e. a media pool. The invention also provides a mechanism by which more than one key can be used for encrypting media. The invention accomplishes tape encryption by media parsing. An encryption key is determined based on the backup application's grouping of data sets. This is accomplished by examining the volume header of the tape and, from the header, deciding if pools are supported by the application. If they are, the invention auto-creates a pool key. In the case where the pools are known in advance, a user with appropriate administrative privileges can create the pools and assign keys to them. The invention thus allows mirroring of the logical groupings in the backup application with encryption keys.
US08255703B2	Atomic hash instruction A method for performing a hash operation, including providing an atomic hash instruction that directs a microprocessor to perform a the hash operation and to indicate whether the hash operation has been interrupted by an interrupting event; translating the atomic hash instruction into first and second micro instructions; via a hash unit, first executing the first micro instructions to accomplish the hash operation according to the hash mode; and via an integer unit, second executing the second micro instructions in parallel with the first executing to test a bit in a flags register, to update text pointer registers, and to process interrupts during execution of the hash operation. The atomic hash instruction has an opcode field, configured to prescribe the hash operation, and a hash mode field, configured to prescribe that the microprocessor accomplish the hash operation according to a one of a plurality of hash modes.
US08255702B1	Programmable logic device with improved security Techniques of the present invention impede power consumption measurements of an encryption engine on a logic device by running the encryption engine with an independent clock. This clock produces a signal that is decoupled from and asynchronous to clock signals feeding other circuits on the device. The clock feeding the encryption engine is not accessible externally to the device. Circuits may be employed to intentionally slow down or add jitter to one or more of the clock signals.
US08255701B2	File encryption method A file encryption method is provided. A first constant and a second constant are set. First one character of the first file is converted in a predetermined order to a first binary ASC code consisting of a high level and a low level. A logical exclusive OR is performed between the high level and the first constant to obtain a first result, and a logical exclusive OR is performed between the high level and the second constant to obtain a second result. A second binary ASC code is obtained. The second binary ASC code is converted to a second character. A second file is obtained.
US08255698B2	Context aware biometric authentication A biometric sample of the user is received at a biometric interface of a device as part of a biometric authentication request by the user, with the biometric sample characterized by a match score when the biometric sample matches at least one stored template that uniquely identifies the user. The presence of a context usage override condition of the biometric authentication request causes a context usage factor to be updated based upon the context usage override condition. A biometric recognition threshold required for the user to access the application and indicative of a threshold security level required for biometric authentication is calculated based on the context usage factor. The user is permitted to access the application when the match score of the biometric sample is at least equal to the biometric recognition threshold.
US08255696B2	One-time password access to password-protected accounts Systems and methods facilitate secure one-time-password access to an account in a remote server from an untrusted client. The system consists of an intermediary component whose salient components are a proxy component, a webserver component, and an encryption/decryption component, and it preserves the characteristics of both the server and client. In a man-in-the-middle fashion, the proxy substitutes a one-time password entered at a login interface with a true password, and forwards it to the remote login server. True passwords are encrypted using a seed associated with user identifiers, and a list of one-time passwords is generated/updated and stored on media or transmitted to an electronic device. Substitution takes place by decrypting the one-time password with the seed used for encryption, ensuring the proxy avoids storing the true password.
US08255688B2	Systems and methods for mutual authentication using one time codes Methods and systems for mutual authentication and personalizing a transaction device, such as a payment, transaction, or identity card. Successively generated one time codes are calculated by a first and second entity. One of the codes is transmitted to the second entity, which verifies the code is proper, then encrypts a second one time code using a third one time code and transmits the encrypted data to the first entity. The first entity decrypts the data using the third one time code, verifies the encrypted second one time code is proper, thereby mutually authenticating, and establishing a shared encryption key for subsequent communications, including transmission of personalization data.
US08255687B1	Enabling users to select between secure service providers using a key escrow service Systems and methods are described herein for enabling users to select from available secure service providers (each having a Trusted Service Manager (“TSM”)) for provisioning applications and services on a secure element installed on a device of the user. The device includes a service provider selector (“SPS”) module that provides a user interface for selecting the secure service provider. In one embodiment, the SPS communicates with a key escrow service that maintains cryptographic keys for the secure element and distributes the keys to the user selected secure service provider. The key escrow service also revokes the keys from deselected secure service providers. In another embodiment, the SPS communicates with a central TSM that provisions applications and service on behalf of the user selected secure service provider. The central TSM serves as a proxy between the secure service providers and the secure element.
US08255680B1	Layer-independent security for communication channels A method and apparatus for providing layer-independent secure network communication is provided. According to an embodiment of the invention, a transmission medium is provided between a first network node and a second network node. Both the first network node and the second network node support at least one common communication protocol. A Java output stream is established between a first process executing on the first network node and the transmission medium. Also, a Java input stream is established between a second process executing on the second multi-layered node and the transmission medium. Data to be transmitted from the first process to the second process is encrypted by the first process and written to the Java output stream. The data is transmitted to the second network node. Then the data is read from the Java input stream by the second process and decrypted.
US08255677B2	Initializing femtocells A femtocell may be initialized on a network by automatically contacting a network service provider. The access point then automatically downloads an initial configuration from a bootstrap server belonging to the network service provider. In some cases, a femtocell access point may automatically determine, after boot up, whether it was pre-provisioned with credentials to authenticate itself with the network service provider. If so, it may use a domain name service to obtain an address of a bootstrap server. Otherwise, it may use dynamic host configuration protocol to discover the bootstrap server's Internet Protocol address.
US08255676B2	Non-disruptive methods for updating a controller of a storage system A non-disruptive method for updating firmware in a first controller 210 of a redundant controller 200 in a storage subsystem 120 is disclosed. This updating occurs while the storage subsystem 120 presents data to a host system 130 in response to a host request 132. During the non-disruptive updating, the updating first controller 210 redirects the host request 132 for data, e.g., drive-A volume 252 normally owned by the first controller 210, to second controller 220 of the redundant controller 200. After the second controller 220 obtains data 134 identified in the host request 132, the operating second controller 220 transfers the data 134 to the updating first controller 210 via an inter-controller channel 202. Once the updating first controller 210 receives the data 134, the first controller 210 presents the data 134 to the host system 130. The host system 130 does not detect that the first controller 210 is updating because the updating process is invisible to the host system 130. The above process is also applied when the updating is simply a reboot command for the first controller 210.
US08255672B2	Single instruction decode circuit for decoding instruction from memory and instructions from an instruction generation circuit A processor includes: a plurality of registers; an instruction readout circuit configured to read out an instruction from a memory; an instruction generation circuit configured to generate instructions for saving data into a predetermined storage area, for the respective registers, if the instruction read out by the instruction readout circuit is an instruction causing the data stored in each of the plurality of registers to be saved; and an instruction execution circuit configured to execute the instruction read out from the memory and the instructions generated by the instruction generation circuit.
US08255670B2	Replay reduction for power saving In one embodiment, a processor comprises a scheduler configured to issue a first instruction operation to be executed and an execution core coupled to the scheduler. Configured to execute the first instruction operation, the execution core comprises a plurality of replay sources configured to cause a replay of the first instruction operation responsive to detecting at least one of a plurality of replay cases. The scheduler is configured to inhibit issuance of the first instruction operation subsequent to the replay for a subset of the plurality of replay cases. The scheduler is coupled to receive an acknowledgement indication corresponding to each of the plurality of replay cases in the subset, and is configured to inhibit issuance of the first instruction operation until the acknowledgement indication is asserted that corresponds to an identified replay case of the subset.
US08255667B2	System for managing memory Systems and methods that manage memory are provided. In one embodiment, a system for communications may include, for example, a memory management system that may handle a first application employing a virtual address based tagged offset and a second application employing a zero based tagged offset with a common set of memory algorithms.
US08255666B2	Storage system for a storage pool and virtual volumes This invention provides a storage system to store data used by computers. A storage system coupled to a computer and a management apparatus, includes storage devices accessed by the computer and a control unit that controls the storage devices, in which the control unit performs the following operations: setting, in the storage devices, a first virtual device including a first logical device; setting a second virtual device which including a second logical device, which is a virtual volume accessed by the computer; allocating an address of the first logical device to the second logical device; and changing the allocation to change storage areas of the virtual volume.
US08255657B2	Digital broadcasting contents move function To provide a move function that can restore copy-once contents even if the contents are failed to be moved midway, an information storage device 10 comprises data moving unit 14 for making program data 12 stored on a first storage medium 11 unreproducible and for moving the program data 12 to a second storage medium 13, abnormality detecting unit 15 for monitoring an abnormal termination of the data moving unit 14, storage medium verifying unit 16 for verifying whether or not the second storage medium 13 is the same as the second storage medium 13 used when the abnormality detecting unit 15 detects the abnormal termination of the data moving unit 14, medium initializing unit 17 for initializing the second storage medium 13, and reactivating unit 18 for making the program data 12, which is made unreproducible by the data moving unit 14, reproducible.
US08255653B2	System and method for adding a storage device to a cluster as a shared resource A system and method are described for adding a disk to a cluster as a shared resource. In one embodiment, a request is received to add a disk to a cluster as a shared disk resource. The disk may share a disk identifier with a second disk currently connected to the cluster as a shared resource. A determination is made as to which partition format is used by the disk. A unique disk identifier is retrieved and written to the disk in accordance with the determined partition format. The disk is then connected to the node as a shared disk resource. The disk may be a snapshot, mirror, or backup of the second disk currently connected to the cluster.
US08255649B2	Remote copy control method and system in storage cluster environment The present invention causes an asynchronous remote copy to work together with storage clustering technology. A host computer program for controlling the asynchronous remote copy carries out an asynchronous remote copy pair operation by asynchronously working together with a switchover instruction of a storage clustering control program that performs a host write-destination volume switchover in a storage clustering environment.
US08255644B2	Network communications processor architecture with memory load balancing Described embodiments provide a memory system including a plurality of addressable memory arrays. Data in the arrays is accessed by receiving a logical address of data in the addressable memory array and computing a hash value based on at least a part of the logical address. One of the addressable memory arrays is selected based on the hash value. Data in the selected addressable memory array is accessed using a physical address based on at least part of the logical address not used to compute the hash value. The hash value is generated by a hash function to provide essentially random selection of each of the addressable memory arrays.
US08255636B2	Two-hop source snoop based messaging protocol A messaging protocol that facilitates a distributed cache coherency conflict resolution in a multi-node system that resolves conflicts at a home node. The protocol may perform a method including supporting at least three protocol classes for the messaging protocol, via at least three virtual channels provided by a link layer of a network fabric coupled to the caching agents, wherein the virtual channels include a first virtual channel to support a probe message class, a second virtual channel to support an acknowledgment message class, and a third virtual channel to support a response message class.
US08255634B2	Apparatus and methods for look-ahead virtual volume meta-data processing in a storage controller Apparatus and methods for improved efficiency in accessing meta-data in a storage controller of a virtualized storage system. Features and aspects hereof walk/retrieve meta-data for one or more other I/O requests when retrieving meta-data for a first I/O request. The meta-data may include mapping information for mapping logical addresses of the virtual volume. Meta-data may also include meta-data associated with higher level, enhanced data services provide by or in conjunction with the storage system. Enhanced data services may include features for synchronous mirroring of a volume and/or management of time-based snapshots of the content of a virtual volume.
US08255626B2	Atomic commit predicated on consistency of watches Mechanisms for performing predicated atomic commits based on consistency of watches is provided. These mechanisms include executing, by a thread executing on a processor of the data processing system, an atomic release instruction. A determination is made as to whether a speculative store has been lost, due to an eviction of a memory block to which the speculative store is performed, since a previous atomic release instruction was processed. In response to the speculative store having been lost, invalidating, by the processor, speculative stores that have been performed since the previous atomic release instruction was processed. In addition, the method comprises, in response to the speculative store not having been lost, committing, by the processor, speculative stores that have been performed since the previous atomic release instruction was processed.
US08255625B2	Method and system for placement of data on a storage device Embodiments of systems and methods for a storage system are disclosed. More particularly, in certain embodiments locations of storage devices may be allocated to store data when commands pertaining to that data are received. Specifically, in one embodiment a distributed RAID system comprising a set of data banks may be provided where the different performance characteristics associated with different areas of disks in the data bank may be taken into account when allocating physical segments to corresponding logical segments of a volume by allocating certain physical segments to a particular logical segment based upon a location of the physical segment or criteria associated with the logical segment.
US08255624B2	Storage apparatus and its control method A storage apparatus and its control method capable of shortening data save time at the time of power shutdown are suggested.The storage apparatus includes a processor for controlling reading/writing user data from/to a disk device(s), and a cache memory for storing user data sent and received between a channel adapter and a the disk adapter and control data used by the processor, wherein the control data is sorted into and stored in the nonvolatile memory or the volatile memory according to its update frequency.
US08255621B2	Multiprocessor system and portable terminal using the same [PROBLEMS] To provide a portable terminal designated for speeding up the startup time of a multiprocessor system which is configured to be started up by a program being transferred from a specific processor to another processor. [MEANS OF SOLVING PROBLEMS] As a storing pattern of a program to a memory (ROM) transferred to another processor, a header is given to each code section. The header stores information as to whether or not the section needs to be transferred in each startup mode and size information of the corresponding code section. The startup time for each mode is shortened by enabling to transfer only the necessary portion from the transfer source processor to the transfer destination processor for each startup mode.
US08255620B2	Secure Flash-based memory system with fast wipe feature A Flash-based storage system, card, and/or module comprises a Flash controller configured to encrypt the data pages of a page stripe by shuffling the data pages, including loading each data page into a data shuffling buffer in a sequential order relative to other data pages in the page stripe, and thereafter unloading each data page in a non-sequential order relative to other data pages in the page stripe. The Flash controller is also configured to scramble the data pages of the page stripe by performing a bitwise logical operation on the data pages that are unloaded from the data shuffling buffer. A user key and one or more system keys are used to perform the shuffling and scrambling. The Flash controller is further configured to flush the user key by bypassing the system's backup power supply and performing an emergency system shutdown without backing up system data.
US08255619B2	Memory device with vertically embedded non flash non volatile memory for emulation of NAND flash memory A system and a method for emulating a NAND memory system are disclosed. In the method, a command associated with a NAND memory is received. After receipt of the command, a vertically configured non-volatile memory array is accessed based on the command. In the system, a vertically configured non-volatile memory array is connected with an input/output controller and a memory controller. The memory controller is also connected with the input/output controller. The memory controller is operative to interface with a command associated with a NAND memory and based on the command, to access the vertically configured non-volatile memory array for a data operation, such as a read operation or write operation. An erase operation on the vertically configured non-volatile memory array is not required prior to the write operation. The vertically configured non-volatile memory array can be partitioned into planes, blocks, and sub-planes, for example.
US08255618B1	Performance isolation in a shared memory device Shared memory device apparatus and related methods are disclosed. An example method includes obtaining memory operation commands. The memory operation commands are received by a command dispatcher in a same order as obtained by the queue arbiter from the host device. The example method further includes separately and respectively queuing the memory operation commands for each of a plurality of memory devices and dispatching the memory operation commands for execution. The example method also includes receiving the dispatched memory operation commands at a plurality of command queues, where each command queue is associated with a respective one of the plurality of memory devices. Each command queue is configured to receive its respective dispatched memory operation commands from the command dispatcher in a same order as received by the dispatcher and provide the received memory operation commands to its respective memory device in a first-in-first-out order.
US08255617B2	Maintaining data integrity in a data storage device Method and apparatus for maintaining data integrity in a data storage device. In accordance with some embodiments, a memory space has a plurality of garbage collection units (GCUs) each arranged to store user data identified by logical addresses. Each GCU has a metadata region that stores metadata that correlates the logical addresses LBAs with physical addresses and a header region that stores descriptor data that identifies LBAs stored in the associated GCU. A control circuit identifies an error in the metadata from the descriptor data of a selected GCU and rebuilds the metadata to indicate a storage location of a most current version of data associated with a selected logical address.
US08255613B2	Wear-leveling and bad block management of limited lifetime memory devices Performing wear-leveling and bad block management of limited lifetime memory devices. A method for performing wear-leveling in a memory includes receiving logical memory addresses and applying a randomizing function to the logical memory addresses to generate intermediate addresses within a range of intermediate addresses. The intermediate addresses are mapped into physical addresses of a memory using an algebraic mapping. The physical addresses are within a range of physical addresses that include at least one more location than the range of intermediate addresses. The physical addresses are output for use in accessing the memory. The mapping between the intermediate addresses and the physical addresses is periodically shifted. In addition, contents of bad blocks are replaced with redundantly encoded redirection addresses.
US08255606B2	Remote access gateway for semiconductor processing equipment An apparatus for providing an interface for semiconductor processing equipment is disclosed. In some embodiments, an apparatus for providing an interface for semiconductor processing equipment having an interface card includes a display logic subsystem to provide an interface to one or more devices such as video and information displays, light pens, keyboards, computer mice, and warning light networks and alarms via a data and control bus; a bridge to provide access to the data and control bus; and a local computer subsystem coupled to the bridge and the display logic subsystem, wherein the local computer subsystem provides access to one or more remote devices.
US08255605B2	Scalable distributed memory and I/O multiprocessor system A multiprocessor system comprises at least one processing module, at least one I/O module, and an interconnect network to connect the at least one processing module with the at least one input/output module. In an example embodiment, the interconnect network comprises at least two bridges to send and receive transactions between the input/output modules and the processing module. The interconnect network further comprises at least two crossbar switches to route the transactions over a high bandwidth switch connection. Using embodiments of the interconnect network allows high bandwidth communication between processing modules and I/O modules. Standard processing module hardware can be used with the interconnect network without modifying the BICS or the operating system. Furthermore, using the interconnect network of embodiments of the present invention is non-invasive to the processor motherboard. The processor memory bus, clock, and reset logic all remain intact.
US08255603B2	User-level interrupt mechanism for multi-core architectures A method includes accepting for a first processor core of a plurality of processor cores in a multi-core system, a user-level interrupt indicated by a user-level interrupt message when an interrupt domain of an application thread executing on the first processor core and a recipient identifier of the application thread executing on the first processor core match corresponding fields in the user-level interrupt message.
US08255599B2	Packets transfer device having data absorbing buffers with elastic buffer capacities In PCI-Express and alike communications systems, data bandwidth per channel can vary as a result of negotiated port bifurcation during network bring-up. Disclosed are systems and methods for adjusting FIFO depths in response to negotiated bandwidth per channel so that data absorbing FIFO's of respective channels are not arbitrarily too deep or too shallow relative to the data bandwidths of the channels the FIFO's serve.
US08255596B2	Multipath-based migration of data across storage controllers Exemplary methods, systems, and computer program product embodiments for migrating existing data from a source storage controller to a target storage controller, each associated with a data processing storage subsystem, using a processor device in communication with a memory device, are provided. The target storage controller is configured with at least one target volume having pass-through support to a source volume of the source storage controller. An input/output (I/O) path to the existing data through the target storage controller is configured. The I/O path is added to an existing I/O path connected to the existing data using an operating system (OS) operational on at least one host in communication between the source and target storage controllers. The OS is adapted for I/O multipath support. Upon completion of data migration, the existing I/O path is removed.
US08255595B2	Enabling access to peripheral resources at a processor A method of enabling access to resources includes detecting an input to access a resource of a multi-mode processing module coupled to a host processor and a control module. The method can further include detecting an operating mode of the host processor and the control module and an availability of independent peripheral resources of the multi-mode processing module. Additionally, the method can enable the multi-mode processing module in response to the detecting the operating mode and the availability of the independent peripheral resources.
US08255593B2	Direct memory access with striding across memory A DMA device may include an offset determination unit configured to determine a first offset for a DMA transfer and a data transfer unit. The data transfer unit may be configured to receive a first buffer starting address identifying a starting location of a first buffer allocated in memory for the DMA transfer and to generate a first buffer offset address by applying the first offset to the first buffer starting address. The data transfer unit may be further configured to use the first buffer offset address as a starting location in the first buffer for data transferred in the DMA transfer. By applying various offsets, such DMA devices may spread memory access workload across multiple memory controllers, thereby achieving better workload balance and performance in the memory system.
US08255590B2	Image file transfer apparatus that detect whether transferred image files to an external device has been aborted or not Even if a write operation onto a storage media on an external storage device is interrupted, consistency of management information on the storage media is improved. An image file transfer device includes a transferor which transfers an image file stored on a storage media to an external device, a retriever which obtains management information in relation to a file system from a storage media included in the external device, before the transfer of the image file by the transferor, a non-volatile storage which stores the management information obtained by the retriever, and a deleter which deletes the management information stored in the non-volatile storage in response to a completion of the transfer of the image file by the transferor.
US08255586B2	Method of transferring data between vehicle and portable terminal and interface device therefor A method of transferring data between a vehicle and a portable terminal and an interface device therefor are provided. According to the method and the device, compatibility can be maintained by normalizing data transfer interface between the vehicle and various portable terminals and an image taken inside or outside the vehicle can be provided to the portable terminal. In addition, interface enabling data communication with a device having an additional function such as an automobile black box can be provided.
US08255584B2	Systems and methods for managing I/O throughput for large scale computing systems System and methods for managing I/O throughput for large scale computing systems are provided. In one embodiment, an operating system for a computer system having a processor, a memory and at least one data storage device is provided. The operating system comprises: an operating system kernel; at least one filesystem controlling access to the at least one data storage device; and a toolkit module installed within the operating system kernel. The toolkit module monitors input/output (I/O) calls communicated via a datapath between at least one software application being executed on the processor and the filesystem. The toolkit module inserts one or more tools into the datapath, the one or more tools each executing a predefined function based on observation of a first set of the I/O calls being communicated in the datapath.
US08255581B2	Electronic device having physical switch to select functionality exposed to host computing device An electronic device has primary and secondary functionalities. The electronic device includes a physical switch to switch between a first mode and a second mode. The electronic device includes logic to, when the electronic device is connected to a host computing device, expose the primary functionality to the host computing device when in the first mode, and expose the secondary functionality to the host computing device when in the second mode. The host computing device typically requires a driver particular to the electronic device when the primary functionality is exposed, and does not typically require a driver particular to the electronic device when the secondary functionality is exposed. The secondary functionality may include acting as a removable storage device storing a text file. The text file may contain information regarding the electronic device, and a user may modify the text file to cause a corresponding action to be performed.
US08255579B2	Device control apparatus and device control method in video image display system including a plurality of connected devices A device control apparatus in a video image display system including a plurality of connected devices. The apparatus includes an obtaining unit which obtains a logical address of a first device connected to the device control apparatus as a control object, a specifying unit which specifies the device type of the first device if the obtained logical address of the first device is not a logical address according to the device type, a selection unit which selects a second device which is connected to the device control apparatus and is of the same device type as the first device, and a control unit which controls a logical address assigned to the selected second device according to the device type thereof so that the first device obtains a logical address.
US08255575B2	Apparatus for constructing ring network As apparatuses which construct a ring network, a structure including a monitoring apparatus and other relay apparatuses is employed. The monitoring apparatus monitors only a ring status of such a ring network to which the own monitoring apparatus belongs. The monitoring apparatus periodically transmits health check frames from ring ports thereof respectively so as to monitor whether or not the transmitted health check frame has been received by the ring port located opposite thereto. Also, in a structure of a multi-ring network having a shared link, auxiliary health check frames are periodically transmitted from two sets of shared apparatuses respectively with respect to a monitoring apparatus of a shared link non-monitored ring network. The monitoring apparatus also monitors the auxiliary health check frames in combination with the health check frames in order to avoid an occurrence of a loop which bridges a plurality of ring networks.
US08255574B2	System for locating computing devices Provided embodiments include a device, a system, an article of manufacture, and a method. A system is provided. The system includes a transmit module, an interface module, and a control module. The transmit module receives first data for transmitting the first data over a network. The interface module interfaces the transmit module to the network. The interface module has a network address that identifies the interface module on the network. The control module receives a control signal to transmit the first data over the network. The control module outputs the network address to the transmit module when the control signal is received. The transmit module transmits the first data that includes the network address over the network.
US08255566B2	System and method for routing messages between applications A system and method for enabling the interchange of enterprise data through an open platform is disclosed. This open platform can be based on a standardized interface that enables parties to easily connect to and use the network. Services operating as senders, recipients, and in-transit parties can therefore leverage a framework that overlays a public network.
US08255565B2	Proxying transaction method for processing function of wireless node in peer-to-peer overlay network A proxying process method for traffic of a wireless node and a system using the method are provided. The proxying process method includes: maintaining a virtual node which stores a communication packet from a server, destined for a first node; and transmitting the stored communication packet from the virtual node to a second node when a transmission request for the communication packet is transmitted to the first node by the second node.
US08255563B2	Method and system for determining overall content values for content elements in a web network and for optimizing internet traffic flow through the web network A method for optimizing traffic flow through a web network including collecting data corresponding to the content elements, determining a revenue value for each content element, calculating an overall content value for each content element based on the corresponding revenue value and revenue generated from subsequent flow of a user during a visit to the network, and modifying the network based on the overall content value and the content data, so as to maximize the value of the network. Also disclosed is a system for determining overall content values for a plurality of content elements including an analytic server for receiving content data corresponding to the content elements, and a processor determining a revenue value for each element and calculating an overall content value for each content element based on the corresponding revenue value and revenue generated from subsequent traffic flow of a user during a visit to the network.
US08255562B2	Adaptive data throttling for storage controllers A method for minimizing latency of data transfer between the redundant storage controllers in a network-based storage controller system that utilizes adaptive data throttling. Each redundant storage controller monitors latency for round trip communications between the redundant controllers by calculating a time required to mirror a write to the other controller and receive a write acknowledge. An average latency for round trip communications between the redundant controllers during a fixed monitoring period is calculated, and at the end of each fixed monitoring period, the average latency is compared to a fixed latency to access the average time latency for mirroring writes is good, acceptable or unacceptable. If the average time latency is good, the one controller reduces or disables throttling for data transfers between the one controller and the server, and between the one controller and back-end storage, increasing a number of this type of data transfer that can be executed in parallel. If the average time latency is acceptable, the one controller does not adjust throttling for data transfers between the one controller and the server, and between the one controller and back-end storage. If the average time latency is unacceptable, the one controller increases data throttling for data transfers between the one controller and the server, and between the controller and the back-end storage, decreasing a number of this type of data transfer that can be executed in parallel.
US08255559B2	Data streaming through time-varying transport media A method of data streaming from an encoder to a decoder through a time-varying connection, is disclosed. The method includes associating an encoding coefficient with said time-varying connection, the encoding coefficient determining a flow rate at an output of said encoder; defining a performance metric of the time-varying connection; defining an acceptance interval of the performance metric having a lower bound and an upper bound; acquiring a set of performance measurements of the time-varying connection over a time window at a current encoding coefficient; determining a current value of the metric of the time-varying connection according to the set of measurements; determining a preferred encoding coefficient according to the current value of the metric; and modifying the current encoding coefficient based on the current value of the metric and the acceptance interval to attain the preferred encoding coefficient. A corresponding streaming server and system for data streaming are also provided.
US08255555B2	Reception apparatus and method for reducing time delay in channel switching A reception apparatus receiving a stream delivered by multicast through a network includes: a stream receiving a stream of a first channel as a viewing stream and one or more streams of second channels as viewing candidate streams; a buffer section storing the streams of the channels received by the stream reception section; a reproduction processing section performing processing for viewing the stream stored as the viewing stream in the buffer section; and a channel causing, when an instruction to switch over, as a viewing target, from the first channel to any one of the second channels of the streams being received as the viewing candidate streams is input, the reproduction processing section to process as the viewing stream the stream corresponding to the second channel and stored in the buffer section, and the stream to receive the stream as the viewing stream.
US08255554B2	Application resource model composition from constituent components Techniques for composing an application resource model in a data stream processing system are disclosed. The application resource model may be used to understand what resources will be consumed by an application when executed by the data stream processing system. For example, a method for composing an application resource model for a data stream processing system comprises the following steps. One or more operator-level metrics are obtained from an execution of a data stream processing application in accordance with a first configuration. The application is executed by one or more nodes of the data stream processing system, and the application is comprised of one or more processing elements that are comprised of one or more operators. One or more operator-level resource functions are generated based on the obtained one or more operator-level metrics. A processing element-level resource function is generated based on the one or more generated operator-level resource functions. The processing element-level resource function represents an application resource model usable for predicting one or more characteristics of the application executed in accordance with a second configuration.
US08255546B2	Peer name resolution protocol simple application program interface An application program interface (API) for sending and receiving endpoint registration data and peer-to-peer network cloud data has a registration call for adding endpoint data to a peer-to-peer network. The API may receive explicit data regarding address information or may be instructed to select and maintain suitable address information as the topology of the peer-to-peer network changes. Blocking and non-blocking calls are exposed for retrieving information peer-to-peer network endpoint data.
US08255544B2	Establishing a split-terminated communication connection through a stateful firewall, with network transparency A method and apparatus are provided for establishing a split-terminated client-server communication connection through a stateful firewall, with network transparency. In an environment in which a pair of network intermediaries is employed to optimize client-server communications, a first intermediary intercepts a client request for a new connection. The first intermediary probes the network for a counterpart near the server, and opens an optimized communication session with a second intermediary that responds affirmatively. Some or all client-server communications that transit the intermediaries' session are accelerated or otherwise optimized. The first intermediary's probe uses the client's source address, but a different port number, while the optimized intermediary session is opened using the client's source address and source port. Therefore, a network monitoring tool can monitor the end-to-end connection, and the stateful firewall will not reject the optimized session.
US08255543B2	Systems and methods for IP session keepalive using BFD protocols A network device may include logic to establish an IP session, establish a BFD session within the established IP session, transmit BFD packets within the established BFD session, and determine that the established IP session is active based upon reception of the BFD packets. In another embodiment, the logic may also determine that an IP session is active using an inactivity timer that may also trigger transmission of BFD packets.
US08255531B2	Method and apparatus for providing mobile device interoperability An apparatus for providing mobile device interoperability with other devices may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least receiving a frame buffer update request from a remote environment, determining a scan interval defining a first portion of the frame buffer over which scanning to determine data changes is to occur and a second portion over which scanning to determine data changes is not to occur, identifying whether a data change occurs in the first portion of the frame buffer by comparing relatively newer data to relatively older data, and updating a selected portion of the frame buffer to the remote environment based on the identifying. A corresponding method and computer program product are also provided.
US08255526B2	Method for collecting human experience analytics data A method for collecting human experience analytics data for visitors browsing a Web site and a web analytics data collection engine are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of registering an action performed by a visitor browsing the Web site, categorizing said registered action as a navigation action between web pages of the Web site and/or as an event action within a web page of the Web site. In the case that the registered action is categorized as an event action, the event is associated with a web page of the Web site, and the action is recorded as an event within the associated web page. In the case that the registered action is categorized as a navigation action, the action is either recorded as a navigation from a current web page to a subsequent web page, or recording of the action is cancelled, based on previously defined criteria. Finally, the recorded events and navigations are stored in a data storage facility.The invention allows the owner of the Web site to collect and store data which reflects the human experience of visitors browsing the Web site. This may be used for adjusting design of the Web site and/or for customizing information presented to the visitor.
US08255525B2	System and method for circuit and path based event correlation A method, system and computer-usable medium are disclosed for the correlation of network events. A port of a network device is monitored at the physical layer interface for the occurrence of a network event. If detected, a repository of circuit path, network device, and device interface data is queried for information related to the network event and each network device at each hop of the circuit path associated with the event. A user selects time intervals for other network events or alarms occurring before or after the target event. A repository of network event and alarm data is then queried to retrieve all network events or alarms occurring during the selected time interval. Information related to the network events or alarms are then compared to interfaces related to devices that are likewise associated with the circuit path associated with the event.
US08255520B2	Condition dependent data processing device The present invention is directed to a server system for supplying differing amounts of data into a database, wherein the system comprises the database and a data tracker device, wherein the data tracker receives data sent by a plurality of functional entities, preferably office machines and in particular devices with a printer, wherein the data tracker device is prepared to transmit data asynchronously to an intermediate buffer storage device with a queue structure, the intermediate buffer storage device storing the data sequentially and transmitting the data sequentially to the database to be stored.
US08255519B2	Network bookmarking based on network traffic A system comprises a packet data processing element; first network resource tracking logic operable to perform monitoring data packets as the packets pass through the network element; detecting network resource identifiers within the data packets; forming network resource identifier report messages that carry the network resource identifiers; forwarding the network resource identifier report messages to a bookmark processing server; storing records of each of the network resource identifiers carried therein; storing counters that identify numbers of times that associated network resource identifiers were requested; determining interesting network resource identifiers based on the records and decision steps; generating and providing a report of the interesting network resource identifiers. As one result, interesting network resource identifiers can be automatically found in network traffic and provided to a social bookmarking site.
US08255517B1	Method and apparatus to determine device mobility history A method, system and computer-readable medium for securing access between a mobile computing device and a network computer is described. The method comprises upon a connection by the mobile computing device to a network or a device, recording the connection in a history database and processing the history database to assign a risk level to the mobile computing device. The system comprises the mobile computing device comprising a connection history collection agent for collecting information about a computing environment and the host computer comprising wireless environment data derived from the collected information where the host computer uses the wireless environment data to grant or deny a connection to the mobile computing device.
US08255516B1	Performance-data based server consolidation A method for server consolidation is provided. The method includes accessing performance data of a plurality of source servers, receiving multiple consolidation parameters for a desired target server, receiving selected configurations for a new target server, computing a minimum number of target servers required to consolidate the plurality of source servers based at least on the performance data, the selected configurations for the desired target server, and the multiple consolidation parameters, and deriving a bin-packing solution to the server consolidation based at least on the performance data, the selected configurations for the new target server, and the minimum number for the one or more performance metrics.
US08255512B2	System and method for tracking user interactions and navigation during rich media presentations A multi-media information system enables tracking of user interactions to media presentations. A content creation phase enables a creator to specify presentation events or user interactions that can be tracked. A token(s) is introduced into the content by the creator to represent each piece of information to be tracked. A deployment delivery phase delivers the presentation to a web page for a user experience phase and interaction. Trackable information is communicated by the user to the tracking server at different instances of time. Each pre-authored trackable information can be flagged to be “real-time” or otherwise at the granularity of the token or at the granularity of each trackable context. When trackable information is not “real-time”, the information is put into one of several information clusters of different priority. When each cluster achieves a critical mass, the cluster moves to a ready state for transmission to the tracking server.
US08255509B2	Network service configuration management The system remotely manages the configuration of one or several network services (20). The management server (10) has access to a database (12) which stores a representation of the configuration of the network service (20). An agent software component (18)—running preferably on the network device providing the managed service (20)—has access to the configuration in the native language of the network service (20). The management server (10) and the agent software component (18) communicate synchronization information to each other and synchronize the representation of the configuration of the network service in the database (12) and the native language configuration of the network service (20) with each other based on the synchronization information. The synchronization information is in a language different from the native language of the configuration of the network service.
US08255505B2	System for intelligent context-based adjustments of coordination and communication between multiple mobile hosts engaging in services A system and method for intelligent, context-sensitive enhancement of transactions among a plurality of mobile hosts, each having a local coordinator, engaging in services comprising an actual coordinator and an intelligence coordinator that determines context regarding the mobile hosts, and leverages the context to enhance the transactions between the local coordinators and the actual coordinator. The context can be leveraged by reducing the number and/or the amount of data of the transactions. The context can comprise a physical location, temporal data, and a network load near and at a network location of the mobile host. The system can also have an application operating on the services, in which the intelligence coordinator can improve performance of the application. The intelligence coordinator can receive and parse a meta-expression piggy-backed on a transaction message to enhance transactions.
US08255503B2	Method and apparatus for communicating text-based commands through a network A network device having text-based command language functions that are accessible via the network, includes a receiver for receiving a network protocol command sent through the network and having a text-based command attached thereto. The receiver determines whether a text-based command is attached to the network protocol command, and an interface extracts the text-based command from the network protocol command.
US08255502B2	Dynamic domain administration utility The Weblogic Tuxedo Connector is used to provide interoperability between Tuxedo and applications such as Weblogic Server. In one embodiment, WTC may implement operations such as list, start, or stop WTC Tuxedo session connections. In WTC, the configuration is set up so that multiple WTC-Tuxedo connections are defined as part of a WTCServerMBean. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a feature for providing WTC with the ability to individually perform actions to connections, such as start or stop a WTC-Tuxedo connection, without affecting other connections defined in the MBean.
US08255495B1	Digital image and content display systems and methods Disclosed herein are systems and methods for displaying images and contextually relevant content on a digital content platform, such as a web page. In one embodiment, for example, the systems and methods include: (1) providing a publisher of the image with a reference script for publication with the image, wherein the reference script is a computer-readable instruction that causes an end-user device to call to a content server; and (2) configuring the content server to (a) receive a request for content from the end-user device, (b) identify content that is contextually relevant to the image, (c) deliver the content to the end-user device, and (d) deliver a computer-readable instruction that causes the end-user device to perform an animation that modifies the image and displays the content in a spatial relationship with respect to the image as originally published.
US08255490B1	Dynamic service-oriented architecture using customization code Systems and methods provide a dynamic multi-tenant service-oriented architecture using customization code. In one implementation, a computer-implemented method provides a service using customization code. A server receives a call to a service from a client. The call includes one or more parameters. The method identifies a control point identifier that is associated with the service and determines, based on the one or more parameters, a mapping table storing data. The data identifies one or more customization code segments. The method loads the determined mapping table into a memory of the server and identifies one of the customization code segments that corresponds to the control point identifier. The method further loads the identified customization code segment into the memory of the server and calls the identified customization code segment inline during execution of the service. A response is transmitted to the client, based on the execution.
US08255489B2	Method of data collection among participating content providers in a distributed network A content delivery network (CDN) service provider extends a content delivery network to gather information on atomically identifiable web clients (called “user agents”) as such computer-implemented entities interact with the CDN across different domains being managed by the CDN service provider. In one embodiment, a set of machines, processes, programs, and data comprise a data system. The data system tracks user agents, preferably via cookies, although one or more passive techniques may be used. A user agent may be a cookie-able device having a cookie store. As the user agent navigates across sites, a CDN-specific unique identifier used by the system to correlate user agents is generated. Preferably, the unique identifier is stored as an encrypted cookie. The unique identifier represents one user agent (and, thus, one cookie-able device's store). The system tracks user agent behavior on and across customer sites that are served by the CDN, and these behaviors are classified into identifiable “segments” that may be used to create a profile. CDN customers use the data system to obtain information that characterizes the user agent.
US08255486B2	Systems and methods for providing resource allocation in a networked environment Systems and methods are described for adjusting an item characteristic. An illustrative system includes a first network interface, a database storing information regarding a plurality of items, a load balancer, a web proxy processor configured to selectively block or route an inbound user browser request, a cache cluster system configured to cache data and states for access by other system components, and program code stored in computer readable memory, which, when executed is configured to receive a plurality of requests for items from corresponding users, wherein the plurality of requests are associated with corresponding offer amounts and determine what the users are to provide for the items based at least in part on how many requests were received, how many items are allocated to users, and/or how many unallocated items are available, wherein at least a portion of the users are to provide an amount different than their corresponding offer amount.
US08255483B2	System and method for providing a web-based operating system A system and method for providing a web-based operating system is disclosed. A web-based operating system is downloaded from a server to a network-enabled device. The web-based operating system provides a platform from which to run web-based computer applications. Web-based computer applications are downloaded from the server onto the network-enabled device, and executed in conjunction with the web-based operating system. Those portions of the web-based operating system software and web-based computer application software are downloaded to the network-enabled device as needed. A component-based environment for the development and deployment of a web-based operating system and web-based computer applications is also provided. Components are deployed within library files as part of a component-based development model. The web-based operating system downloads those library files needed to execute the web-based computer applications.
US08255479B2	Online network and associated methods Computer program products, computer systems and related methods are provided which compare a URL, title and/or content of an online site viewed by a user with a first index of keywords relating to a plurality of subject matter categories, to determine any subject matter categories to which the online site relates; cross-reference any determined subject matter categories with a second index of alternative online sites categorised by subject matter, in order to determine any alternative online sites in the same or similar category; and perform a variety of actions in response including displaying a determined alternative online site to the user.
US08255477B2	Systems and methods for implementing content sensitive routing over a wide area network (WAN) Systems and methods for optimizing storage network functionality. The methods and systems of the present invention are particularly useful for optimizing storage network performance for cases in which some components of the network may be separated by significant distances and/or which include communication links with relatively limited bandwidth. In certain aspects, the present invention provides methods and systems for implementing access to and management of geographically distributed storage resources through multiple peer-to-peer storage network array management functions (AMFs) that may also be geographically distributed. The methods and systems of the present invention, in certain aspects, provide geographically aware cache sharing, cache replication, cache coherence, traffic routing, redundancy group structure, source and destination selection, pre-fetching of data, message gathering and other useful features.
US08255472B2	Tracking of electronic mail messages Electronic mail messages are tracked for the sender by allowing the sender to flag the electronic mail messages. Flagging the electronic mail messages allows for various notifications to be provided to the sender. For example, notification may be provided to the sender by placing an item in a to-do bar for the sender that corresponds to the electronic mail message. As another example, notification may be provided to the sender by firing a reminder at some future time that corresponds to the electronic mail message. As another example, notification may be provided to the sender by including an indication in a related incoming electronic mail message that the incoming electronic mail message is related to the electronic message sent by the sender.
US08255471B2	System and method for message processing and routing A message routing system that allows applications at either end of the system to run as-is without modification. The system functions in a multithreaded environment and is capable of handling complex routing rules and message transformation. It is also capable of learning and executing new routing rules and message transformations in formats previously unrecognized by the system. The system enables precise and reliable logging of messages throughout processing and supports publication of enterprise-wide broadcast messages. The system further preferably employs cooperating inbound and outbound transport processes for consuming, routing, processing, safely storing and publishing messages in batches of logical units of work to ensure that the logical units of work are not lost in system transactions. The system also preferably utilizes a replay server for preserving and replaying messages that might otherwise fail to reach their intended destinations.
US08255469B2	Method and apparatus for locating communities over an ad-hoc mesh network An approach is provided for locating communities over an ad-hoc mesh network. Community identifiers are used to locate communities and community members over an ad-hoc mesh network. The community identifiers are also associated with keys to authenticate members of the community and to protect the privacy and anonymity of information exchanged between the members.
US08255466B2	Intelligent management of application connectivity Network connectivity is selectively established by monitoring, on a client, communications activity incident to accessing a network, the communications activity including a request to access the network. An application associated with the communications activity is be identified. A communications configuration associated with the application is accessed, the communications configuration indicating how the application is configured to access the network. Network connectivity is selectively established based on the communications configuration, and the application may be enabled to access the network to support the communications activity.
US08255464B2	Contact management system and method A computer-implemented contact management method includes creating a contact record in a contact management system, generating a unique serial number corresponding to the contact record, conveying the serial number to a recipient, entering, by the recipient, the serial number into an internet-enabled computer application, requesting, by the application, the record from the contact management system corresponding to the serial number, and receiving data associated with the contact record. The received contact data may be automatically updated through an update function. A contact management system includes a data storage and a contact management server. A plurality of internet-enabled computer applications associated to the same user account may receive the same information using a synchronization function without further user input.
US08255461B1	Efficient transmission of changing images using image caching In one embodiment, a display of a source device is shared with one or more viewer devices, e.g., of an online collaborative computing session, and the display is divided into a plurality of identified blocks. In response to changes in the display, the source device determines an outer boundary of an updated region affected by the change, where the updated region defines a plurality of “update blocks” of the identified blocks within the outer boundary. Images within each update block may then be compared to a previous version of the corresponding update block to determine if that individual update block is affected by the change. Any unchanged update blocks may be converted to an easily compressible image, and the source device may then compress and transmit the updated region to the viewer devices, where the transmitted updated region has instructions to use previous versions of unchanged converted update blocks.
US08255459B2	Pervasive, distributed provision of services such as product brokerage A client-server computing system suited particularly for clients of varying functional capabilities. Information handling capabilities are provided at the client and server on a customized, as-needed basis. When a service is needed by a client, the server determines a number of factors that may be relevant to the manner in which the service is to be provided. Then, the server selects from between two or more services having different executable code, and uploads the selected service to the client. Thus, the code may be tailored to the client's capabilities, or other aspects of its function. Services are not permanently retained by a client; rather, the client performs an analysis to determine whether services should be retained or purged. Also, state information is not permanently retained by a client; the server retains the information and uploads that information to the client. The server also manages its resources by loading service components on an as-needed basis.
US08255455B2	Method and system for message oriented middleware virtual provider distribution A method, apparatus, and system are provided for Message Oriented Middleware virtual provider distribution. In one embodiment, MOM nodes are created. An MOM virtual provider from MOM virtual providers is selected for each of the plurality of MOM nodes. The MOM nodes run the MOM virtual providers.
US08255454B2	Method and apparatus for a multiplexed active data window in a near real-time business intelligence system A method of optimizing a first set of graphical display elements on a client device. The method also includes coupling a first server to the client device by a first connection; coupling a second server to the client device by a second connection; and generating the first set of graphical display elements on a first server, wherein the first set of graphical display elements further comprises a first graphical display element and a second graphical display element. The method further includes generating a second set of graphical display elements on a second server; transmitting the first set of graphical display elements from the first server to the client device; and transmitting the second set of graphical display elements from the second server to the client device, wherein a third set of graphical display elements is created in a first window comprising the first set of graphical display elements and the second set of graphical display elements.
US08255453B2	Public BOT management in private networks A system for managing the use of BOTs by computer network users, the system including a gateway-to-BOT communications manager configured to relay communications to a BOT on behalf of a computer user in a manner that prevents the BOT from associating the communications with the computer user, and a gateway-to-user communications manager configured to relay the communications from the computer user to the gateway-to-BOT communications manager, and relay to the computer user communications received from the gateway-to-BOT communications manager that originate from the BOT.
US08255451B2	Technologies for detecting erroneous resumptions in a continuation based runtime Technologies for enabling a continuation based runtime to accept or reject external stimulus and, in addition, to determine if an external stimulus may be valid for processing at a later point in execution.
US08255447B2	Eigenvalue decomposition apparatus and eigenvalue decomposition method The present invention provides an eigenvalue decomposition apparatus that can perform processing in parallel at high speed and high accuracy. The eigenvalue decomposition apparatus comprises a matrix dividing portion 14 that repeatedly divides a symmetric tridiagonal matrix T into two symmetric tridiagonal matrices, an eigenvalue decomposition portion 15 that performs eigenvalue decomposition on the symmetric tridiagonal matrix after the division, an eigenvalue computing portion 17 that repeatedly computes eigenvalues of the symmetric tridiagonal matrix that is the division origin and matrix elements of the symmetric tridiagonal matrix that is the division origin, based on eigenvalues and matrix elements obtained by eigenvalue decomposition performed by the eigenvalue decomposition portion 15, the matrix elements being part of elements of orthogonal matrices constituted by eigenvectors, until an eigenvalue of the symmetric tridiagonal matrix T is computed, and an eigenvector computing portion 19 that computes an eigenvector of the symmetric tridiagonal matrix T based on the symmetric tridiagonal matrix T and the eigenvalue thereof using twisted factorization.
US08255446B2	Apparatus and method for performing rearrangement and arithmetic operations on data An apparatus and method are provided for performing rearrangement operations and arithmetic operations on data. The data processing apparatus has processing circuitry for performing Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) processing operations and scalar processing operations, a register bank for storing data and control circuitry responsive to program instructions to control the processing circuitry to perform data processing operations. The control circuitry is arranged to responsive to a combined rearrangement arithmetic instruction to control the processing circuitry to perform a rearrangement operation and at least one SIMD arithmetic operation on a plurality of data elements stored in the register bank. The rearrangement operation is configurable by a size parameter derived at least in part from the register bank. The size parameter provides an indication of a number of data elements forming a rearrangement element for the purposes of the rearrangement operation. The associated method involves controlling processing circuitry to perform a rearrangement operation and at least one SIMD arithmetic operation in response to a combined rearrangement arithmetic instruction and providing the scalar logic size parameter to configure the rearrangement operation. A computer program product is also provided comprising at least one combined rearrangement arithmetic instruction.
US08255444B2	Method and device for filtering a multidemensional digital signal and associated methods and devices for encoding and decoding The invention relates to a method of filtering a multidimensional digital signal comprising a plurality of samples, and comprises the following steps applied to each of the samples to filter, simulating the filtering of the sample to filter by applying at least one filter in a plurality of geometric orientations in the digital signal (S52), the simulation resulting in a plurality of simulated filtering values of the sample, and obtaining a filtering value of the filtered sample on the basis of the plurality of simulated filtering values of the sample according to at least one predetermined criterion (S58).
US08255443B2	Execution unit with inline pseudorandom number generator A circuit arrangement and method couple a hardware-based pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) to an execution unit in such a manner that pseudorandom numbers generated by the PRNG may be selectively output to the execution unit for use as an operand during the execution of instructions by the execution unit. A PRNG may be coupled to an input of an operand multiplexer that outputs to an operand input of an execution unit so that operands provided by instructions supplied to the execution unit are selectively overridden with pseudorandom numbers generated by the PRNG. Furthermore, overridden operands provided by instructions supplied to the execution unit may be used as seed values for the PRNG. In many instances, an instruction executed by an execution unit may be able to perform an arithmetic operation using both an operand specified by the instruction and a pseudorandom number generated by the PRNG during the execution of the instruction, so that the generation of the pseudorandom number and the performance of the arithmetic operation occur during a single pass of an execution unit.
US08255440B1	Increasing logic efficiency for exclusive OR (XOR) expressions Methods and apparatus are provided for more efficiently generating logic for implementing Exclusive OR (XOR) expressions. In one example, multiple centroids are generated and associated with main equations. Both the main equations and centroids are XOR expressions. In particular examples, main equations are associated with centroids that are closest in distance. Centroids can be modified to better match an associated subset of main equations. Centroids are generated and associated until the main equations are expressed as centroids and residue.
US08255439B2	Desk-top, stream-based, information management system A steam-based document storage and retrieval system accepts documents that are in diverse formats and come from diverse application, automatically creates document model objects describing these documents in a consistent format and associating time stamps with the documents to automatically create a main stream in chronological order. The stream, or sub-streams meeting selected search criteria, are displayed in a variety of forms, including a receding, partly overlapping stack with aids that facilitate user interaction.
US08255436B2	Per thread garbage collection Per thread garbage collection is disclosed. Objects associated only with a thread that created them are tracked. At a garbage collection time for a particular thread, it is determined which objects associated only with that thread remain reachable from a restricted root set associated with the thread. Any thread-only objects that are not determined to be reachable are garbage collected.
US08255434B2	Method and apparatus for storing data with reduced redundancy using data clusters Method and apparatus for storing data in a reduced redundancy form. Binary Large Objects (BLOBs) are partitioned into subblocks according to a partitioning method, and the subblocks are stored in subblock clusters. Each BLOB is represented as a list of spans of subblocks which identifies a contiguous sequence of subblocks within a cluster. Storage redundancy can be reduced because the spans of two different BLOBs can refer to the same subblocks. An index may be used to map subblock hashes to subblock cluster numbers.
US08255433B2	Recorder A recorder according to the present invention is designed to record data files, including video data and/or audio data, on a storage medium. The recorder includes: a status detecting section for determining whether or not the recorder is in a non-recording status in which the recorder is performing no recording operations; and a processing section for performing, as soon as the non-recording status is detected, processing to get ready to transmit at least one data file, which was recorded on the storage medium at or after a predetermined reference time, toward a server and generating at least one data file to transmit. The processing section performs at least one of format conversion processing and aggregation processing of aggregating multiple data files together.
US08255432B2	Mechanism for supporting indexed tagged content in a general purpose data store A schema identifies a field in a document as a key field. Using an XML schema, the key field can be identified by attaching a property to the element or attribute to be used as a key field (if the XML schema standard is modified to support properties). Otherwise, attributes can be used to identify the element or attribute that is to be a key field. Fields can be primary keys, secondary keys, or foreign keys, as supported by data stores. The data store can analyze the schema to determine which fields are key fields. The key fields can be duplicated in the native format of the data store for use in indexing, searching, and other data store functions on the documents. The documents themselves can be stored as objects, into which the data store cannot reach, or can be stored in the native format of the data store, as desired.
US08255431B2	Managing memory Methods, systems, and products for managing memory. In one general embodiment, the method includes assigning an isolated virtual heap in a global kernel heap of a global operating system environment to each of a plurality of isolated virtual operating system environments operating in a global operating system environment; and in response to an invocation of kernel heap memory allocation from one of the isolated virtual operating system environments, dynamically allocating memory to the invoking isolated virtual operating system environment from the virtual kernel heap assigned to the invoking isolated virtual operating system environment. The method may also include running the plurality of isolated virtual operating system environments in the global operating system environment. The plurality of isolated virtual operating system environments may share a single common kernel. The isolated virtual operating system environments may run under the same operating system image.
US08255430B2	Shared namespace for storage clusters Any client application uses a namespace application to resolve its pathname in order to reference a computer file. Computer files are stored in a fixed-content storage cluster and are accessed by retrieving a unique identifier for the computer file using the namespace application. Any type of pathname scheme from any client application is supported by the namespace. The namespace application uses a bindings table to record bindings between objects including the start date and end date for each binding, and direction and separator data used in the pathname scheme. An attribute table in the namespace keeps track of each attribute and its value for each object of the namespace including a start date and an end date for each attribute. The namespace provides syntactic generality in that any pathname scheme of a client application can be resolved to identify a unique computer file in the storage cluster. The namespace may be shared between applications because when one application modifies a file or its attributes using the namespace, another application using a different pathname scheme has access to the exact same data and modifications. The namespace provides a near instantaneous continuous backup for computer files in the storage cluster because of the use of start date and end dates for the bindings and attributes.
US08255427B2	Generating modified schemas According to one embodiment, a computer-readable medium has computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, are configured to receive an input schema. The input schema specifies how to represent one or more elements in a document. One or more rules are received. The input schema is analyzed for conformance to the one or more rules. If the input schema does not conform to the one or more rules, a modified schema is generated based on the input schema. The modified schema specifies how to represent the one or more elements in the documents in conformance with the one or more rules.
US08255423B2	Adaptive random trees integer non-linear programming A system and method for building segmented scorecards for a population is presented. A model of the population is built using a model builder computer, and one or more variables used by the model builder to build the model is stored in a repository. A scorecard is generated for each segment of the population based on the model and using an adaptive random tree computer program. Next, the scorecard for each segment is enhanced using a integer non-linear programming computer program to determine optimal score weights associated with the variables used by the model builder to build the model, and to generate an enhanced segmented scorecard for the population.
US08255418B2	Networked computer system providing an integrated suite of web services and a geographic information system (GIS) for real property and land parcels Systems and methods to search for, gather, transform, integrate, and present information representative of real property and land parcels. The systems and methods are web-based and include a spatial database configuration having an input side and an output side. The input side is capable of transforming data gathered from multiple disparate sources in an automated or semi-automated manner. The output side is capable of presenting an intuitive interface for users to search for, access, and view the transformed information.
US08255415B2	Embedded searching system and the method thereof An embedded searching system uses an application name to search for the interface specifications for the application. The interface specifications are used to update default registry information of the operating system. Different applications can thus be embedded with a search field. This increases the convenience of searching for the applications. The mechanism also produces a corresponding method.
US08255412B2	Boosting algorithm for ranking model adaptation Model adaptation may be performed to take a general model trained with a set of training data (possibly large), and adapt the model using a set of domain-specific training data (possibly small). The parameters, structure, or configuration of a model trained in one domain (called the background domain) may be adapted to a different domain (called the adaptation domain), for which there may be a limited amount of training data. The adaption may be performed using the Boosting Algorithm to select an optimal basis function that optimizes a measure of error of the model as it is being iteratively refined, i.e., adapted.
US08255411B1	Dynamic menus for multi-prefix interactive mobile searches The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive multi-prefix, multi-tier and dynamic menu information retrieval techniques that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth.
US08255408B1	System and method for categorizing long documents A system, a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium are provided. Each of a group of documents is segmented. Categories are assigned to each segment of the group of documents. A categorization series for each one of the group of documents is formed, based at least in part, on the categories assigned to each of the segments of respective ones of the plurality of documents. A pattern is found based, at least in part, on the plurality of categorization series corresponding to the plurality of documents. Each of the group of documents is categorized based, at least in part, on the pattern.
US08255407B1	Matching of data center resource capabilities and resource needs by match-overlapping Method and apparatus for matching resource capabilities of data centers to resource needs of data centers. Capability data sets received from one or more of a plurality of data centers are stored by a capability-demand advertising and matching computing arrangement for a certain time. Each capability data set identifies a data center and indicates resources available at the identified data center. Query descriptors are also stored by the computing arrangement for a certain time. Each query descriptor identifies a data center and specifies resource needs of the identified data center. The query descriptors stored at the computing arrangement are applied to each newly received capability data set. To each data center identified in a stored query descriptor that is satisfied by a newly received capability descriptor, the newly received capability data set is provided to the data center identified by the stored query descriptor. Each newly received query descriptor is applied to each capability data set stored at the computing arrangement. Each capability data set that matches the newly received query descriptor is provided to the data center identified in the newly received query descriptor.
US08255406B2	Data management using multi-state bloom filter A data management device includes a memory including a multistage Bloom Filter, a first stage being divided into filter parts of which the number is same as that of data blocks, and a pth stage being divided into filter parts of which a size is a combination of filter parts of a (p−1)th stage; a registration unit registering an entry of data in a filter part of the first stage corresponding to a data block where the data is stored, and the entry of the data to a filter part of the pth stage corresponding to the filter part of the first stage where the entry of the data is registered; and a search unit determining which filter part of the first stage an entry of data being searched is registered in by narrowing down filter parts from the Bloom Filter of which a stage number is large.
US08255403B2	Pangenetic web satisfaction prediction system Computer based systems, methods, software and databases are presented in which correlations between web item preferences and pangenetic (genetic and epigenetic) attributes of individuals are used for pangenetic based web item satisfaction prediction in which a user can request and receive online predictions of their satisfaction with web items that are based on the user's pangenetic makeup. Data masking can be used to maintain privacy of sensitive portions of the pangenetic data.
US08255401B2	Computer information retrieval using latent semantic structure via sketches A method, system and program product for computer information retrieval is disclosed. A matrix A is received. Random sign matrices S and R are generated. Matrix products of S^TA, AR, and S^TAR are computed. A Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse C of S^TAR is computed. A singular value decomposition is computed of the pseudoinverse C. Three matrices ARU, Sigma, and V^TS^TA are outputted as factorization in applications.
US08255400B2	Development of personalized plans based on acquisition of relevant reported aspects A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: acquiring one or more relevant reported aspects associated with one or more source users that are relevant to achieving one or more target outcomes, the acquisition of the one or more relevant reported aspects being based, at least in part, on relevancy of the one or more relevant reported aspects with respect to the achievement of the one or more target outcomes; and developing one or more personalized plans designed to facilitate an end user to achieve the one or more target outcomes when one or more emulatable aspects indicated by the one or more personalized plans are emulated, the development of the one or more personalized plans being based, at least in part, on the acquiring In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08255399B2	Data classifier A document classifier may analyze documents for a search engine and tag the documents. A document classifier system may have several different classifiers, each with a separate algorithm for classification. Some of the data classifiers may learn or change the classification over time with a feedback loop. As those classifiers are modified, updated, replaced, or added, the documents that have already been classified by the classifier may be re-examined to update their classification. The document classifier system may maintain a database of documents with a timestamp that the document was classified that may be used to identify those documents whose classifications may be out of date.
US08255398B2	Compression of sorted value indexes using common prefixes A method, information processing system, and computer program storage product to compress sorted values. At least a first prefix and a second prefix in a plurality of prefixes are compared. Each prefix comprises at least a portion of a plurality of sorted values. A respective prefix comprises a set of consecutive characters including at least a first character of a respective sorted value. The respective sorted value further comprising a respective suffix comprising consecutive characters of the respective sorted value that are after the respective prefix. At least a respective first character of the first prefix and a respective first character of the second prefix are determined to be substantially identical. The first prefix is merged with the second prefix into a single prefix comprising the first character. A set of suffixes associated with the first prefix is updated to reflect an association with the second prefix.
US08255397B2	Method and apparatus for document clustering and document sketching A first embodiment of the invention provides a system that automatically classifies documents in a collection into clusters based on the similarities between documents, that automatically classifies new documents into the right clusters, and that may change the number or parameters of clusters under various circumstances. A second embodiment of the invention provides a technique for comparing two documents, in which a fingerprint or sketch of each document is computed. In particular, this embodiment of the invention uses a specific algorithm to compute the document's fingerprint. One embodiment uses a sentence in the document as a logical delimiter or window from which significant words are extracted and, thereafter, a hash is computed of all pair-wise permutations. Words are extracted based on their weight in the document, which can be computed using measures such as term frequency and the inverse document frequency.
US08255388B1	Providing a progress indicator in a database system A database system is capable of processing a query and providing a progress indicator of the processing of the query based on at least a first cost factor. Initially, an estimate is set for the first cost factor. During processing of the query, the estimate of the first cost factor is updated to enable refinement of the progress indicator.
US08255382B2	Dynamic menus for multi-prefix interactive mobile searches The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive multi-prefix, multi-tier and dynamic menu information retrieval techniques that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth.
US08255379B2	Custom local search A method described herein includes receiving a query that is configured by an issuer of the query to be utilized to retrieve a portion of local search content, wherein the local search content comprises a first dataset and a second data set, wherein the first dataset comprises a first entity and the second dataset comprises a second entity, and wherein the query comprises a first token and a second token. The method also includes parsing the query such that the first token of the query is mapped to the first entity in the first dataset and the second token of the query is mapped to the second entity in the second dataset. The method also includes returning search results based at least in part upon the parsing of the query.
US08255378B2	Network based directory service for terrestrial broadcasts Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for providing access for a networked device to a directory service for terrestrial broadcasts. A networked-based directory service that includes broadcasting data for one or more broadcasting stations within various geographical locations is provided. The broadcasting data includes tuning information that enables receivers to tune in one or more terrestrial broadcasts transmitted by the one or more broadcasting stations. A request is received from a networked device to obtain information about an availability of terrestrial broadcasts at a geographical location of the networked device. The directory service is queried using the geographical location as a query parameter. A response is transmitted to the networked device. The response includes tuning information that enables a receiver to automatically tune to one or more terrestrial broadcasts associated with the geographical location of the networked device.
US08255377B2	Multi-prefix interactive mobile search A system and a method are disclosed for multi-prefix, interactive search capability on a mobile communications device. A keystroke is input into a search query field of a landing page and a multi-prefix search is performed. The landing page is refreshed to display the results. The landing page displays a first tier of search results, which can include channels or links to web pages associated with the user input. If the search result that is selected is a channel, the channel is displayed. If the search result that is selected is a web page, the web page is displayed. The landing page corresponding to the selected channel, or to the web page, may then be searched or explored. If the desired channel is not displayed within the first tier of search results, another keystroke may be input. The landing page refreshes accordingly and additional keystrokes may be entered.
US08255376B2	Augmenting queries with synonyms from synonyms map Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, operable to perform operations including receiving through a user interface with an interface language a search query having query terms; using the interface language to select one or more mappings and using the selected mappings to simplify each query term; and applying each simplified query term to a synonyms map to identify possible synonyms with which to augment the search query. In alternative embodiments, the operations include generating a synonyms map from a corpus of documents; where the synonyms map maps each of multiple keys to one or more corresponding variants, where each variant is associated with one or more of document languages. In alternative embodiments, the operations include generating a synonyms map from documents by applying document language-dependent mappings to words in the documents to generate keys for the map.
US08255374B2	Method and system for selecting amongst a plurality of processes to send a message In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for selecting amongst a plurality of processes to send a message (e.g. a message for updating an endpoint system, etc.). These mechanisms and methods for selecting amongst a plurality of processes to send a message can enable embodiments to utilize more than one queue for sending such message. The ability of embodiments to provide such multi-process feature can, in turn, prevent latency that typically accompanies a mounting number of messages.
US08255373B2	Atomic multiple modification of data in a distributed storage system Atomic multiple modifications of streams is provided. Streams are selected for the application of an atomic multiple modification. A lock is acquired on the meta-data associated with the streams. Each stream is de-coupled from its name. Multiple modifications are applied to the selected streams. After performing the modifications, names are coupled to the streams. The lock on the meta-data associated with each stream is released.
US08255367B2	File management apparatus, method, and program A disclosed method includes acquiring and a forward log and extracting forward file operations applied to files in an order of applying these from the forward log, specifying generation rules for generating backward file operations with reference to the forward file operations, generating the backward file operations by the specified generation rules and recording these, and applying the forward file operations to the files not having the extracted forward file operations applied and also applying the backward file operations to the files having the forward file operations applied to recover the files not having the forward file operations applied.
US08255366B1	Segment-based method for efficient file restoration Various embodiments of a system and method for restoring a file are described herein. A previous version of the file may be split into segments and backed up to a server computer system. In response to a subsequent request to restore the file to the previous version, the current segments of the file may be compared to the backup segments stored on the server computer system. The segments that have changed may be retrieved from the server computer system and used to restore the corresponding segments of the current version of the file to their previous states. Segments that have not changed do not need to be transferred across the network from the server computer system. In further embodiments, one or more of the segments that have changed may be obtained locally from other files, thus further reducing the amount of data transferred across the network.
US08255365B2	Source classification for performing deduplication in a backup operation A system, method, and computer program product for backing up data from a backup source to a central repository using deduplication, where the data comprises source data segments is disclosed. A fingerprint cache comprising fingerprints of data segments stored in the central repository is received, where the data segments were previously backed up from the backup source. Source data fingerprints comprising fingerprints (e.g., hash values) of the source data segments are generated. The source data fingerprints are compared to the fingerprints in the fingerprint cache. The source data segments corresponding to fingerprints not in the fingerprint cache may not be currently stored in the central repository. After further queries to the central repository, one or more of the source data segments are sent to the central repository for storage responsive to comparison.
US08255354B2	Method of determining the probability that data is associated with a source of a plurality of sources The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the probability that sampled data, associated with a source and obtained from a plurality of data input sources, are from a known source, given prior observed data obtained by the plurality of data input sources for one or more known sources. In one embodiment the data input sources are sensors for detecting molecules conveyed though the air and the method comprises identifying a source of the molecules. The present invention also provides a method of determining information about the position of at least one sensor relative to a previously known type of source.
US08255350B2	Instantiating a solution using preconfigured templates Among other disclosed subject matter, a system for instantiating at least one solution includes a plurality of preconfigured templates representing operating systems and business systems and comprising preconfigured system images and data images, each of the preconfigured templates adapted for use in instantiating an instantiation system in any of multiple pools isolated from each other. The system includes an infrastructure service for customizing and configuring the instantiation system in one of the pools as instantiated using any of the preconfigured templates. The system includes a virtualization allocator that allocates the instantiation system to a selection from among physical servers and virtual servers.
US08255349B2	Automated design of computer system architecture In certain embodiments, a method includes accessing a number of target values. Each target value may be associated with a respective design criterion of a computer system. The computer system may be associated with one or more domains. Each domain may be associated with a respective function of the computer system. The method may include determining, based at least in part on a first set of one or more of the number of target values, a respective implementation pattern for each of the one or more domains. The one or more determined implementation patterns may represent a logical architecture for the computer system. The method may include determining a physical architecture for the computer system by determining a respective solution stack for each of the one or more determined implementation patterns based at least in part on a second set of one or more of the plurality of target values.
US08255345B2	Systems and methods for parallel processing with infeasibility checking mechanism Systems and methods may include obtaining an input population of parent chromosome data structures, where each parent chromosome data structure provides having a plurality of genes representative of variables in which associated values are permitted to evolve; selecting pairs of parent chromosome data structures from the input population; allocating the selected pairs of parent chromosome data structures to respective ones of a plurality of slave processors, where each slave processor applies an evolutionary process to genes of the allocated pair to generate a plurality of child chromosome data structures; receiving a portion of the plurality of child chromosome data structures generated by the plurality of slave processors; merging the parent chromosome data structures with at least the received portion of the child chromosome data structures to generate a merged set of chromosome data structures; and identifying a portion of the merged set of chromosome data structures as an elite set of chromosome data structures.
US08255343B1	Scaling machine learning using approximate counting A system may track statistics for a number of features using an approximate counting technique by: subjecting each feature to multiple, different hash functions to generate multiple, different hash values, where each of the hash values may identify a particular location in a memory, and storing statistics for each feature at the particular locations identified by the hash values. The system may generate rules for a model based on the tracked statistics.
US08255341B2	Analyzing a target electromagnetic signal radiating from a computer system One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that characterizes a computer system parameter by analyzing a target electromagnetic signal radiating from the computer system. First, the system monitors the target electromagnetic signal using a first directional antenna located outside of the computer system, wherein the first directional antenna is directed at a location inside the computer system. The system also monitors the target electromagnetic signal using a second directional antenna located outside of the computer system, wherein a receiving axis of the second antenna is oriented non-parallel to a receiving axis of the first antenna, and wherein the second directional antenna is directed at the location inside the computer system. Next, the system characterizes the computer system parameter based on the target electromagnetic signal received from the first antenna and the target electromagnetic signal received from the second antenna. Then, the system generates a request for an action based on the characterization of the computer system.
US08255340B2	Method and apparatus for risk analysis of published logs A method and apparatus for analyzing risk associated with published logs are described. In one embodiment, the method comprises accessing a first log published to one or more logs. In one embodiment, the method may also comprise estimating a probability that an entry within the first log will not be verifiable from a second entry selected from one o the one or more logs.
US08255339B2	System and method for redirecting mail To temporarily redirect a customer's mail from a current mailing address to a temporary mailing address a request to temporary redirect the customer's mail is received. The request specifies at least one type of mail to redirect, the temporary mailing address, how to redirect the mail, and when to redirect the mail. The customer's mail is directed to the temporary mailing address according to the request.
US08255338B1	Method for designing and estimating costs of food service equipment A method for designing and estimating the cost of constructing a food equipment area that uses a computer with a specifically designed software program loaded into its memory that provides a visual interface showing the layout of a food preparation area in which food equipment will be installed. The program allows the user to drag and drop various pieces of food equipment into the layout. As the different pieces of food equipment are added, the layout area is immediately updated along with the accompanying technical and quotation data sheets. The layout can be changed to show many variations of the same project. During use, the rough dimensions and the locations of the existing water, gas, electrical, and drain connections can be imputed enabling the customer to identify what change, if any, must be made in order to install the equipment. The software program also provides a list of additional components that must be used in order for the selected equipment to be use.
US08255337B1	Apparatus, systems and methods for online, multi-carrier, multi-service parcel shipping management The present invention provides apparatus, systems and methods providing a single system available over a global communications network for shipping management for each parcel from a plurality of parcels that each Shipper of a plurality of Shippers ships using any one of a plurality of services offered by any one of a plurality of carriers.
US08255335B1	System and method to establish a PIN Disclosed are systems and methods for establishing a personal identification number (PIN). The systems and methods provide techniques to begin a remote session with a customer, prompt the customer to select a PIN to associate with a financial account card during the remote session, and receive the PIN from the customer during the remote session.
US08255333B2	Method of generating license, and method and apparatus for providing contents using the same A method and apparatus for generating and updating a license for content and for providing content are provided. The method of generating a license includes generating license signature information for authenticating the license; generating use rule information for controlling the use of the content; generating authentication code information for authenticating a coupon for changing at least a portion of the use rule information; and generating key information required for decrypting the content.
US08255331B2	Method for providing curriculum enhancement using a computer-based media access system A method for providing curriculum enhancement using a computer-based media access system according to one embodiment is described. The method comprises accessing a playlist assembly component and creating a playlist indicating at least one instance of media. The playlist is then accessed and the instance of media is selected. A usage compliance mechanism then accesses the instance of media in accordance with a usage restriction.
US08255329B1	Methods and systems for investment of debit card withdrawal fees A debit-card withdrawal-fee payment method includes receiving selection of a first account to which withdrawal-fee payments are to be directed, receiving notification of a debit-card transaction withdrawal-fee amount associated with a second account, and making a withdrawal-fee payment to the first account in the withdrawal-fee amount.
US08255327B2	System and method for issuer originated payments for on-line banking bill payments Techniques for processing on-line banking bill payment requests are provided. A bill payment request is received from an operator of an on-line banking bill payment web site. The operator may be a bank. The request is for payment of a bill using a portable consumer device. A transaction request is then generated for an issuer and sent to the issuer for authorization. The issuer then sends a response indicating whether the transaction request is approved or declined. Remittance information for a biller is generated if the transaction is approved. The remittance information is then forwarded to the operator of the on-line banking bill payment web site for forwarding to a user of the portable consumer device. Additionally, the remittance information is sent to an acquirer or cash management bank, which can forward the information to the biller associated with the bill payment request.
US08255316B2	Integrated business decision-making system and method An integrated business decision-making system is provided. The system comprises a data processing component, a prediction component and an optimization component. The data processing component is configured to process observational data related to one or more members of a target population. The prediction component is configured to predict a business measure based on one or more selected combinations of marketing actions and the observational data related to one or more of the members of the target population. The optimization component is configured to determine an optimal marketing action based on one or more of the selected combinations of marketing actions and the predicted business measure associated with each of the marketing actions. The optimization component is further configured to determine an optimal predicted business measure for the members of the target population, based on the optimal marketing action.
US08255314B2	Electronic completion of cash versus futures basis trades An electronic trading system is described herein. More specifically, the electronic trading system may relate to the substantially simultaneous trading of cash instruments and their related futures contracts for interest-rate related instruments. The electronic trading system may also be used to allow a user (such as a market maker or other suitable participant) to gauge his chance of success at completing both sides of a basis trade within a preferably pre-determined or pre-set interval, while knowing in advance the specific weighting algorithm that will be applied to the basis trade. The electronic trading system may also be used to allow a user to predetermine the exact weighting algorithm to be used on such a basis trade, and to adjust those preferences where necessary or desired.
US08255312B2	Issuing machine and issuing system An issuing system for issuing unmodifiable and/or unforgeable hardcopy documents or securities includes a server and a plurality of issuing machines connected to the server via a network. Each of the issuing machines receives an ID recording medium provided by a potential purchaser, retrieves an identification recoded in the received ID recording medium, requests the potential purchaser to input request for a transaction of the security or fixed rate financing instrument, processes the requested transaction by retrieving information via a network from the server, and prints out on demand a hardcopy of the security or fixed rate financing instrument as purchased by the potential purchaser and a checksum thereon. A method for forming a new market with the issuing system.
US08255306B1	Identification of businesses with potential to achieve superior revenue growth and financial performance A method of identifying target businesses with above-average potential to achieve a selected financial performance target, in accordance with the principles of one embodiment of this invention comprises identifying a plurality of model businesses which have already achieved the selected financial performance target; identifying financial statistics common to the identified model businesses; and screening target businesses for the financial statistics common to the identified businesses. The financial statistics preferably include: at least one of historic annual sales, annual sales growth rates, and time since found to exceed selected annual sales thresholds, gross margins, SG&D, R & D expense, EBIDTA, cash flow from operations, market capitalization.
US08255305B2	Ratio spreads for contracts of different sizes in implied market trading A method for matching orders is provided. The method includes receiving a first order for a product, the first order specifying a first volume, receiving a second order for the product, the second order specifying a second volume, wherein the first volume is different than the second volume, generating an implied order based on a ratio spread defined between the first order and the second order, and matching a third order with the implied order.
US08255303B2	Systems and methods for making payments from selected funding sources Systems and methods for operating a payment service provider include storing information associating the identity of a buyer with a plurality of the buyer's payment source accounts and a plurality of personal identity numbers (PINs) respectively associated therewith in a database of the payment service provider. Upon receipt of an authorization from the buyer that includes a specified payment amount and the associated PIN of the selected buyer's account from which the payment is to be made, a transaction device of the service provider is operable to effect a transfer of the specified payment amount from the selected buyer's account to the designated seller's account.
US08255302B2	System and methods for modeling a multiplicative index Computer-implemented methods for valuing a derivative based on the BMA rate: the methods may comprise generating a model of the BMA/LIBOR ratio as a function of the LIBOR index, a stochastic noise function, and a seasonality process. The methods may also comprise solving the model for at least one value of the LIBOR index, and estimating a value of the derivative given the solution of the model. The value of the derivative may then be stored.
US08255301B1	Debt cancellation mechanism A method of debt cancellation is described. Occurrence data representative of an occurrence of a triggering event on a customer is received. A current benefit amount associated with the customer is determined, and a current amount of debt in the account of the customer is determined. A determination is made as to whether the current amount of debt in the account of the customer is less than the current benefit amount associated with the customer. The current amount of debt in the account of the customer may then be canceled to zero, and a new current benefit amount associated with the customer is maintained as the difference between the current benefit amount and the current amount of debt in the account of the customer prior to canceling.
US08255298B1	Method and apparatus for managing alerts A method and apparatus for managing alerts is described, the method including receiving consumer financial data including at least one financial deadline. Alert level criteria is applied to the data in order to determine an alert level for each of the deadlines. A visual or audible alert indicator is activated which corresponds with at least one alert level. Alert level criteria is periodically reapplied to determine an alert level for each of the deadlines.
US08255294B2	Method and system that monitors supply of physical consumables relative to consumption specifications A method and system for monitoring supply of physical consumables for one or more vehicles receives at an input port supply data associated with a corresponding one of the one or more vehicles. The supply data is originated at a supply device that supplies the physical consumables. Consumption specification data associated with the one or more vehicles are retrieved from a storage device. The consumption specification data is specified by at least one of a vehicle manufacturer or an authority, e.g. a commercial, governmental or military authority. The method and system provides the supply data to a processing unit over a physical transmission medium to determine a variance relative to the consumption specification data.
US08255292B2	Method and system for providing local information over a network A first computer (e.g., a central server) collects information to be presented to one or more users. The information is organized into a plurality of first web-sites where each of these web-sites is addressable by a unique Universal Resource Locator (URL). A physical location is associated with each of the first web-sites. One of the first web-sites may be provided to a user as a user web-site. When the user or other individual seeks to access the user web-site, links to a plurality of the first web-sites are provided based on a relationship between the physical locations associated with the first web-sites and the physical location associated with the user web-site.
US08255288B1	High demand sale processing Item scarcity resulting from a high demand of the item is addressed by providing users a high demand sale process. In some aspects, users may opt-in to purchase the item in a sale by transmitting a mobile message to a host over a mobile device network prior to a sale of the item. If the user is eligible, the host then attempts to purchase the item on behalf of the user once the sale begins.
US08255286B2	Publishing user submissions at a network-based facility According to the present invention, there is provided a method to facilitate propagating a plurality of transaction listings to a network-based transaction facility. An input interface is presented at a seller application to receive from a user, a plurality of transaction listings, each transaction listing including an associated start time. Also, a data file is composed at the seller application to include the plurality of transaction listings. Moreover, the data file is propagated, using the seller application, from the client computer to the network-based transaction facility.
US08255285B1	Proposing a bid value to a user A computer-implemented method for proposing a value to a user includes mapping a plurality of factual cost values for an item type according to amount, each of the factual cost values reflecting an amount that won a bidding process for an item of the item type. The method includes identifying an inflection point in the mapping that represents a first factual cost value. The method includes outputting a proposed value for the bidding process to a user, the proposed value generated using the first factual cost value. The method can be implemented using a computer program product.
US08255279B2	Method and apparatus for permitting stage-door access to on-line vendor information The present invention provides Internet users with access to an on-line vendor that has detailed product information some or all of which is supplied by at least one product supplier. Through selected storage and sharing of data, an on-line store is married to a supplier's product database. The on-line vendor is able to provide greater product information at a vastly reduced cost. The product supplier is provided with a unique company forum in which company activities such as sales training can be consolidated with advertising activities and product information to provide the most economical and up-to-date training information for the company.
US08255278B1	Systems and methods for payment at a point of sale using a virtual check Systems and methods are provided for making purchases at a merchant point-of-sale (POS) device using a mobile device. Transaction information may be communicated from the POS device to the mobile device and an authorization from the purchaser to proceed with the transaction returned to the POS device from the mobile device. After authorization, the POS device may communicate the transaction information together with an identifier of the mobile device to a financial institution to process payment. The financial institution may confirm the transaction with the purchaser at the mobile device using the identifier of the mobile device. Upon receiving a confirmation response from the mobile device, the financial institution may then transfer funds from a purchaser account to a merchant account. A confirmation of the transfer may be provided to the merchant and the purchaser, after which, the transaction may be completed at the merchant POS device where a receipt is printed and provided to the purchaser.
US08255274B2	Integrated qualification and monitoring for customer promotions A device receives, from a user device, a request for qualified offers for a particular customer, and retrieves, based on the request, profile information associated with the particular customer. The device generates a call to a backend database based on the profile information, and receives, from the backend database, offer qualification indicators based on the call. The device determines qualified offers based on the offer qualification indicators, and provides the qualified offers to the user device for display.
US08255273B2	Evaluating online marketing efficiency A method and a system evaluate a company website's online marketing efficiency on various advertising websites by evaluating both access activities and business activities of users originating from the advertising websites. For each user visiting the company website, the method determines the originating website from which the user enters the company website, and obtains the access activities and the business activities of the user on the company website. The method quantifies the access activities and the business activities of the users who enter the present website from the same originating website to generate evaluation data corresponding to the originating website, and evaluates the company website's online marketing efficiency on the originating website based on the evaluation data of the originating website. Using the disclosed method and system, online marketing efficiency can be evaluated more comprehensively and accurately.
US08255270B2	Systems and methods relating to a lead distribution engine that accommodates internal and imported destination relationships Lead distribution systems and methods distribute consumer business leads received from lead sources for routing to one or more destinations that will use the lead and/or will forward the lead to another destination. The system identifies a set of most profitable destinations for each lead, while complying with business rules associated with the lead source and the destinations. For each lead, the system identifies a set of candidate destinations, each with associated business rules. The candidate destinations may include destinations with which the system has established business rules, destinations with which the lead source has established business rules, or both. For leads that may be multi-distributed, different business rules may apply to each time the lead is distributed. When both the lead distribution system and the source have different business rules established with a destination, the rules established by the source may take precedence over those of the lead distribution system.
US08255267B2	System and method for determining relative preferences A method analyzes preferences of one or more participants. Each of the participants may be presented with a plurality of evaluation items that illustrate various marketing options. Response data from the participants that indicates at least an approach, if any, toward the evaluation items is obtained. An approach entropy value may be generated for the marketing options based on the response data for each participant. A relative preference order for each participant for the marketing options may be determined from the generated approach entropy values.
US08255266B1	Forecasting demand for products A global demand forecast is generated for a product group in a computer system, where the product group comprises a plurality of products of a predefined genre. A historical relationship between an aggregate of product level demand forecasts and actual demand for the products in the product group, and the global demand forecast are used to adjust a critical ratio employed to generate a product level demand forecast in the computer system for a product in the product group. The critical ratio expresses a probability that the product level demand forecast will exceed an actual demand for a corresponding product.
US08255264B2	Methods and systems for determining the effectiveness of a dealer's ability to close a sale A method of measuring the sales performance of a dealer may include determining a propensity to buy score associated with each lead received by a dealer and determining an expected close rate associated with the dealer that may be based on the determined propensity to buy scores. The method may also include determining, by a computing device, an effectiveness rate associated with the dealer that may be based on at least the expected close rate and an actual close rate.
US08255262B2	Methods and systems for assessing security risks The assessment of security risks associated with linear corridors, such as transportation corridors and utilities corridors, is provided. Initially, a site is selected for evaluation. Survey data and context sensitive information, such as demographic information, environmental information, corridor asset information, and the like, is collected for the site. Linear corridors are identified within the data, and critical assets within each linear corridor are also identified. Security risks associated with linear corridors may then be assessed using the survey data and context sensitive information. In addition, mitigation strategies, response strategies, and recovery strategies may be developed for the security risks assessed for the linear corridors.
US08255261B2	Dynamic, privacy-aware workforce assignment In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a first activity map. A first mobile client determines first positioning information based on a first position of the first mobile client. The first mobile client generates a second activity map using the first positioning information of the first mobile client as a damping factor for activity in the first activity map. The first mobile client sends the second activity map to a balancing manager. A third activity map is received from the balancing manager. The third activity map is based on the second activity map from the first mobile client and a second activity map from a second mobile client. The second activity map from the second mobile client is generated using second positioning information for a second position of the second mobile client as the damping factor.
US08255259B2	Extending constraint satisfaction problem solving A computer-implemented method for resource management includes storing in a memory a set of resource consumers, resources for allocation to the resource consumers, and initial binary constraints applying to the allocation of the resources. Respective variables are associated with the resource consumers, and the resources are identified as values applicable to the variables. A non-binary scoring criterion is applied to generate scores on a graded scale for proposed assignments of one or more of the resources to respective ones of the resource consumers. One or more additional binary constraints are defined based on the graded scale of the scores. An assignment is found of the values to the variables that satisfies the initial and additional binary constraints using a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) solver running on a processor that is coupled to the memory. The resources are assigned to the resource consumers responsively to the assignment of the values to the variables.
US08255258B1	Identifying tasks for task performers based on task subscriptions Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between task requesters who have tasks that are available to be performed and task performers who are available to perform tasks, such as by an intermediary electronic marketplace or other task fulfillment facilitator system. In some situations, task performer users and/or other users may create task subscriptions for use in automatically identifying tasks of interest to the users about which the users desire to receive notification. The users may be notified of the identified tasks in various ways, such as by sending electronic messages of various types to the users that include indications of the tasks identified for those users based on their subscriptions. Tasks of interest may be identified in various ways, such as based on task attributes of interest specified for a subscription that are later matched against tasks that are available at the time of the matching.
US08255257B2	Prioritizing client engagements at accounting practices Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to software for prioritizing client engagements at accounting practices. The disclosure describes various data inputs, a business objectives preference module, an optimization engine, user schedule(s), and, in an embodiment, a database or data warehouse. The optimization engine receives requests for new clients, requests for new projects for existing clients, or the like, receives business objectives, receives a current client engagement schedule and receives various additional input data, preferences, or user settings. The engine outputs an updated client engagement schedule, including, for example, whether undertaking the new client or project is advisable based on some or all of the input data.
US08255256B2	Management of user events scheduled during a user absence period A solution for improved management of user events scheduled during a user absence period a determination module configured to determine a user absence period having a start date and an end date. A detection module configured to detect a new user event scheduled during the user absence period. A reporting module configured to report statistics on the new user events. A response module configured to automatically respond to the new user event scheduled during the user absence period, the new user event scheduled after the user absence period is defined. A definition module configured to define the user absence period having a start date and an end date. A search module configured to search two or more calendaring repositories for a scheduled user event having a start/end date during the user absence period, and a presentation module configured to present to the user the scheduled user event.
US08255253B2	Cross functional area service identification method and system A cross-functional area service identification method and system. The method includes reading by a computing system, processes. The computing system processes process elements associated with the processes. The computing system identifies a first functional area associated with a first current process element of the process elements and a second functional area associated with a first parent process element of the first current process element. The computing system compares the first functional area to the second functional area and determines if the first functional area comprises a same functional area as the second functional area. The computing system generates and stores results indicating if the first functional area comprises a same functional area as the second functional area.
US08255251B2	Determining composite service reliability The reliability of a composite service having service components is determined, where the composite service can fail only where underlying resources fail. The composite service is represented as a plurality of continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC's). Each CTMC corresponds to a resource. A product of the CTMC's is constructed. The product encompasses composite service states. Steady-state probabilities for the product are determined. Each steady-state probability corresponds to a likelihood that a corresponding state will be a steady state. For each state of the composite service, a reward structure is determined. The reward structure corresponds to a likelihood that the state will successfully use the resources without failure. The reward structure is determined for a given state based on the given state's steady-state probability and based on discrete-time Markov chains (DTMC's) corresponding to the service components. The reliability of the composite service is determined based on the reward structure of each state.
US08255248B1	Method and computer program product for obtaining reviews of businesses from customers A method and apparatus for automatically soliciting business reviews includes a process for automatically soliciting business reviews whereby searches made, and/or reviews submitted, by individuals using a community based business listing and review system are monitored and user specific usage data is collected including: the user's identification; the business listing category in which a search was conducted and/or the business listing category in which a review was submitted by the user; and the community in which the user resides, and/or the community in which the search was made, and/or the community in which the business reviewed resides. Once user specific usage data about the user, and the searches the user conducts and/or the reviews the user has submitted, is gathered, the user specific usage data is then used to create user specific review solicitations of various types.
US08255247B2	Transaction tracking, managing, assessment, and auditing data processing system and network An improved processing system for tracking commerce on the Internet provides for subvariable processing and includes web page scanning to discern fraud or improper content to insure proper promotion of select products within the network environment.
US08255244B2	System and method for insurance underwriting and rating An apparatus and method for underwriting and/or rating an insurance policy, and for generating information for underwriting and/or rating an insurance policy, are provided. The system and method may include identifying a vehicle, determining a value of at least one vehicle history data variable or a group of variables, and underwriting and/or rating the policy based on the value of the at least one vehicle history data variable or a group of variables. The system and method may also include generating a score based on the value of the at least one vehicle history data variable or group of variables.
US08255243B2	System and method for insurance underwriting and rating An apparatus and method for underwriting and/or rating an insurance policy, and for generating information for underwriting and/or rating an insurance policy, are provided. The system and method may include identifying a vehicle, determining a value of at least one vehicle history data variable or a group of variables, and underwriting and/or rating the policy based on the value of the at least one vehicle history data variable or a group of variables. The system and method may also include generating a score based on the value of the at least one vehicle history data variable or group of variables.
US08255236B2	Source user based provision of one or more templates A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: receiving one or more requests for one or more particular templates that are associated with one or more source users, the one or more particular templates designed to facilitate one or more end users to achieve one or more target outcomes when one or more emulatable aspects included in the one or more particular templates are emulated; and providing from a plurality of templates the one or more particular templates, the providing being based at least on the association of the one or more particular templates with the one or more source users, the one or more particular templates developed based on one or more reported aspects associated with the one or more source users In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.
US08255229B2	Bitstream syntax for multi-process audio decoding An audio decoder provides a combination of decoding components including components implementing base band decoding, spectral peak decoding, frequency extension decoding and channel extension decoding techniques. The audio decoder decodes a compressed bitstream structured by a bitstream syntax scheme to permit the various decoding components to extract the appropriate parameters for their respective decoding technique.
US08255226B2	Efficient background audio encoding in a real time system Presented herein is efficient background encoding/trancoding in a real time multimedia system. Encoding/trancoding of audio data is achieved by decoding a first audio frame; executing at least one encoding task on a second audio frame, resulting in a partially encoded second audio frame, after decoding the first audio frame; decoding a third audio frame, after executing the at least one encoding task; and executing at least another encoding task on the partially encoded second audio frame, after decoding the third audio frame.
US08255224B2	Voice recognition grammar selection based on context The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes receiving geographical information derived from a non-verbal user action associated with a first computing device. The non-verbal user action implies an interest of a user in a geographic location. The method also includes identifying a grammar associated with the geographic location using the derived geographical information and outputting a grammar indicator for use in selecting the identified grammar for voice recognition processing of vocal input from the user.
US08255220B2	Device, method, and medium for establishing language model for expanding finite state grammar using a general grammar database A device, a method, and a medium for establishing a language model for speech recognition are disclosed. The language-model-establishing device includes: a schema expander for expanding a state schema which is composed of at least one state defined by a finite state grammar using a general grammar database; a grammatical-structure-expander for expanding grammatical structures which can be expressed by each state of the expanded state schema using the general grammar database; and a grammatical-structure-filter for filtering out any incorrect grammatical structure from the expanded grammatical structures using the general grammar database. Since the state schema is expanded using the general grammar database, it is possible to improve recognition of unlearned grammatical structures.
US08255218B1	Directing dictation into input fields In general, this disclosure describes techniques to direct textual characters converted from vocal input into selected graphical user interface input fields. Vocal input may be received. Textual characters may be identified based on the vocal input. A first portion of the textual characters corresponding to a first portion of the vocal input may be graphically inputted into a first input field of a GUI. While receiving the vocal input, a selection by of a second input field in the GUI may be accepted after the first portion of the vocal input has been received. After accepting the selection of the second input field, a second portion of the textual characters corresponding to a second portion of the vocal input received after the selection of the second input field may be inputted into the second input field.
US08255216B2	Speech recognition of character sequences A method of and a system for processing speech. A spoken utterance of a plurality of characters can be received. A plurality of known character sequences that potentially correspond to the spoken utterance can be selected. Each selected known character sequence can be scored based on, at least in part, a weighting of individual characters that comprise the known character sequence.
US08255214B2	Signal processing method and processor A first signal of two signals to be compared for similarity is divided into small areas and one small area is selected for calculating the correlation with a second signal using a correlative method. Then, the quantity of translation, expansion rate and similarity in an area where the similarity, which is the square of the correlation value, reaches its maximum, are found. Values based on the similarity are integrated at a position represented by the quantity of translation and expansion rate. Similar processing is performed with respect to all the small areas, and at a peak where the maximum integral value of the similarity is obtained, its magnitude is compared with a threshold value to evaluate the similarity. The small area voted for that peak can be extracted.
US08255209B2	Noise elimination method, apparatus and medium thereof A noise elimination method and apparatus. The method eliminates noise from an input signal containing a voice signal mixed with a noise signal. The method includes detecting a noise section, in which the noise signal is present, from the input signal; obtaining a weight to be used for the input signal from signals of the noise section; and filtering the input signal using the obtained weight. The method and apparatus enable a mobile robot to eliminate noise in real time and effectively detect and recognize voice.
US08255205B2	Automation of auditing claims Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, for automation of auditing claims. Data indicative of an insurance company name is received, the data comprising one or more words. The data is processed through one or more processing steps to generate processed data comprising one or more processed words. One or more candidate word strings are selected based on the one or more processed words. Matching information is associated with each of the one or more candidate word strings. Analysis information is generated for each of the one or more candidate word strings based on the associated matching information. An insurance company identifier is associated with received data based on the analysis information and one or more matching rules.
US08255200B2	Circuit protection and control device simulator A power circuit protection and control device simulator emulates in real time identical circuit protection and control functions performed by the actual device being simulated and generates real time simulated operational information concerning at least one of the device or the power circuit. A human-machine interface, such as through a web browser, allows a user to input power circuit operational parameters, such as motor current and load, and device variable circuit protection and control operational parameters, such as trip class, ground fault detection or phase unbalance protection. The simulator displays in real time simulated operational information on the human-machine interface. The simulator may be used to simulate operation of an electronic overload relay and an electric motor controlled by the relay.
US08255195B2	N-phasic element method for calculating a fully coupled response of multiphase compositional fluid flow and a system for uncertainty estimation In an exemplary embodiment, a method is disclosed for developing an N-phasic finite element model for performing fully coupled analyses of multi-phase compositional fluid flow and heat flow in nonlinearly deforming porous solid media with time-dependent failure. The method can include formulating a finite element model of the behavior of a coupled solid-fluid formation, having complex geometry and behavior, and applying the model to derive the response of the formation in the form of one or more displacement fields for the solid phases and one or more pressure fields for the fluid phases in a zone of interest in a formation. In an exemplary embodiment, a system is disclosed for estimating the uncertainties in the derived displacement and pressure field solutions for the response of the fully coupled solid-fluid phases.
US08255194B2	Judiciously retreated finite element method for solving lubrication equation A system and method for simulating a physical process in a simulation domain. Dividing the simulation domain into a first sub-domain and a gap region. The gap region defines a region of a specified width between a contact line of a droplet and the first sub-domain. Generating a mesh that represents the first sub-domain as a plurality of elements. The specification of each element includes an integer element number that represents an order of each element. The specified width of the gap region is on the order of half the width of an element in the first sub-domain adjoining the gap region divided by the integer element number. Using the finite element method and the mesh to calculate a state of the droplet at a first point in time. Using a plurality of evolution equations to calculate the state of the droplet at a second point in time.
US08255189B2	System and method for SOA-based wire harness development A method for operating a service oriented architecture (SOA) based wire harness system, a corresponding system, and a machine readable medium. The method includes storing wire harness data in a wire harness data model in a wire harness data processing system, interactively communicating the wire harness data with an electronic computer aided design (ECAD) system and a mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) system through the SOA interface, and storing the wire harness data in the wire harness data model.
US08255185B2	Automated information technology management Systems, articles of manufacture, and associated computer-executed methods determine an optimum temporal segmentation for automated information technology (IT) management. A computer-executed method detects changes in a performance metric in an automated information technology (IT) management system comprising defining a plurality of temporal segments as sets of contiguous time samples wherein time samples within a segment are mutually more similar in terms of performance metric behavior than time samples in previous and subsequent segments, and discovering the segments using an information-theoretical approach. Detecting changes in the performance metric can further comprise associating cost with the segments that is lesser for homogeneous metric behavior and greater for heterogeneous metric behavior within a segment, and finding segmentation that minimizes the cost using dynamic programming.
US08255184B2	Programming system for a coordinate measuring machine and method thereof A programming method of a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) constructs a polygonal mesh model for a manufactured part according to a point cloud of the manufactured part. Basic measurement elements, relational measurement elements, a part coordinate system, and a collision-free inspection path are obtained according to the polygonal mesh model, so as to generate a measurement program of the CMM.
US08255183B1	Communication unit with analog test unit Various devices and techniques for testing an analog portion of communication devices are disclosed. Such devices may include a communication unit and an analog test unit. The analog test unit may be configured to test analog portions of the communication unit and communicate information regarding testing to an external test unit. The analog test unit may also be configured to perform an analysis of a test signal that is output by a transmitter portion, looped back to a receiver portion, and subsequently received by the analog test unit. The analog test unit may also be configured to calibrate a DC offset of a receiver chain of the communication unit. The analog test unit may also be configured to perform a nonlinearity test on one or more ADCs and/or DACs of the communication unit.
US08255175B2	Flow meter A simple, passive and rugged device for measuring the flow rate of liquid. A variable area obstruction valve, a differential pressure sensor and a densitometer are combined in a single housing to provide for a highly accurate and precise measure of mass flow.
US08255170B2	Remote nondestructive inspection systems and methods Systems and methods are disclosed for providing nondestructive inspection (NDI) services. For example in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a system for remote inspection includes a nondestructive inspection (NDI) system configured to examine a structure and provide NDI data related to a damage condition of the structure, the NDI system being configured to communicate the NDI data to a remote location; and a remote computer disposed at the remote location, the remote computer being configured to receive the NDI data and provide the received NDI data for a review, the remote computer being configured to communicate an analytical result based on the review to the NDI system, the analytical result including a repair disposition decision corresponding to the damage condition.
US08255166B2	Method of joint inversion of seismic data represented on different time scales The invention is a method of constructing an image representative of a heterogeneous medium by a procedure of joint inversion of seismic data represented on different time scales having an application for underground reservoir exploration. Sequential inversion of the seismic data is performed so as to determine a first model from the seismic data expressed in a first time scale, and a second model from the seismic data expressed in the second time scale. A scale factor t1(t0) allowing synthetic data described in a first time scale to be expressed in a second time scale is defined by a differential equation relating the traveltime variations of a seismic wave to the models resulting from the sequential inversion. Finally, joint inversion wherein a cost function using the scale factor is minimized is carried out so as to evaluate a difference between the synthetic data and the seismic data expressed in another time scale.
US08255163B2	Downhole drilling vibration analysis Downhole drilling vibration analysis uses acceleration data measured in three orthogonal axes downhole while drilling to determine whether drilling assembly's efficiency has fallen to a point where the assembly needs to be pulled. In real or near real time, a downhole tool calculates impulse in at least one direction using the measured acceleration data over an acquisition period and determines whether the calculated impulse exceeds a predetermined acceleration threshold for the acquisition period. If the impulse exceeds the threshold, the tool pulses the impulse data to the surface where the calculated impulse is correlated to efficiency of the assembly as the drillstring is used to drill in real time. Based on the correlation, operators can determine whether to pull the assembly if excessive impulse occurs continuously over a predetermined penetration depth.
US08255155B1	Methods of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle and supporting apparatus, system, and readable medium A technique of detecting a speed detection of a vehicle using a geographic database (200, 322, 326, 508, 510) of a navigation system (300, 502) has been provided, which obtains a current position of the vehicle (404) and at least one predefined characteristic (418) relating to the current position of the vehicle from the geographic database, sets (420(1)) a sensitivity level to detect a speed detection of the vehicle based, at least in part, on the at least one predefined characteristic.
US08255150B2	Dynamic destination map display for navigation system A map display apparatus and method for a navigation changes a map scale dynamically to help the driver visualize the environment of the destination when the vehicle is approaching the destination. The map scale is changed dynamically to display the destination along with at least one map attribute near the destination to provide more information to the driver. The navigation system includes, among others, a searching unit and a scale changing unit to change the map scale to display the destination along with at least one map attribute when the vehicle is approaching the destination. The navigation system also includes a priority table to prioritize the map attributes and the searching unit searches the map attributes near the destination according to order in the priority table.
US08255146B2	Time slot based roadway traffic management system A traffic management system (31) is described that combines wireless tracking of motorists (32) with scheduling of time slots for travel on roadways (33) during peak hours. Rewards are given to motorists (32) who travel during allotted time slots thus improving the effectiveness of the system over time. Motorists are tracked using their cellular device to check if a reward can be given or not, based on travel undertaken in the allotted time slot.
US08255144B2	Intra-vehicle information conveyance system and method System and method for conveying data between vehicles includes a data generating system arranged on a first vehicle to obtain or generate information about the first vehicle or conditions around the first vehicle, a first communications system arranged on the first vehicle and coupled to the data generating system for communicating with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP) and a second communications system arranged on a second vehicle and communicating with an ISP. The first communications system enables the information obtained or generated by the data generating system to be transmitted via the Internet to the second communications system. The first and second communications systems can communicate with the same ISP or different ISPs linked to one another.
US08255142B2	Enhanced powertrain performance during knock control Various systems and methods are described for controlling combustion stability in an engine driving a transmission. One example method comprises limiting airflow to the engine in response to a spark timing retarded beyond a spark retard threshold, the limiting airflow to the engine reducing engine torque output and compensating for the reduction in engine torque output by adjusting a transmission operating parameter.
US08255137B2	Vehicle and control method thereof In a hybrid vehicle 20, when an ECO switch 88 is “on” when a brake demand operation is performed by a driver, a target regeneration distribution rate d is set using an ECO mode regeneration distribution rate setting map that gives priority to energy efficiency in comparison to a normal regeneration distribution rate setting map that is used when the ECO switch 88 is “off” and a braking force demand BF* that is based on the brake demand operation of the driver (S150), and a motor MG2 and a brake unit 90 are controlled so that the braking force demand BF* is obtained based on the target regeneration distribution rate d (S160 to S230).
US08255135B2	Control method of shifting gear in an automatic manual transmission having a twin-clutch gearbox A control method of shifting gear in an automatic manual transmission having a twin-clutch gearbox to pass from a current gear to a successive gear, the control method including the steps of receiving a command of gear shifting, opening a first clutch associated with current gear, closing a second clutch which is associated with successive gear and starts transmitting a torque after a delay time interval from the start of the closing, and starting the opening of first clutch, thus decreasing the torque transmitted by first clutch itself before second clutch starts transmitting a torque, such that first clutch decreases the torque transmitted to the driving wheels before the second clutch starts transmitting a torque to the driving wheels.
US08255129B2	Multi-stage non-sequential downshift control for an automatic transmission An improved downshift control for an automatic transmission optimized for sequential shifting achieves a non-sequential fifth gear to third gear downshift by reducing the main pressure of the transmission hydraulic control system, allowing a offgoing clutch to slip, disengaging the offgoing clutch, using torque reduction to control engine speed, engaging the oncoming clutch, increasing the main pressure of the transmission hydraulic control system and using torque reduction to synchronize the transmission input speed with the third gear transmission output speed.
US08255128B2	Control device for automatic transmission An exemplary control device includes an input torque detection unit that detects an input torque input to the input shaft; and a controller that: determines torque distribution of two of the friction engagement elements that form the shift speeds; and calculates a transmission torque of the two friction engagement elements based on the input torque and the torque distribution and sets the engagement pressure to obtain a torque capacity that can transmit the transmission torque, wherein the controller sets the engagement pressure such that slippage does not occur in the two friction engagement elements in a state where engagement of the two friction engagement elements forms the shift speeds and such that, even if an additional friction engagement element engages based on the line pressure while the two friction engagement elements are engaged, one of the three friction engagement elements is caused to slip.
US08255127B2	Methods and systems for controlling the engine speed of agricultural vehicles for increasing engine speeds An engine speed control system for an agricultural vehicle includes a variable throttle controller, a mode selector, and a control device. The variable throttle control permits an operator to select a variably adjustable engine speed and the mode selector permits the operator to select between a plurality of pre-set engine speeds. The control device receives output signals from the throttle controller, generates engine speed commands, and delivers the commands to an engine controller for controlling the speed of the agricultural vehicle's engine. The control device is operable to generate a first engine speed command associated with one of the pre-set engine speeds when an operator activates the mode selector and to temporarily or permanently override the first engine speed command with a second engine speed command associated with the throttle controller when the operator activates the throttle controller.
US08255121B2	Autonomous control for vehicle pedal mis-apply situations A method is provided for detecting a likely pedal misapplication event and mitigating the effects of a pedal misapplication. In one embodiment the method comprises determining if likely pedal misapplication has occurred by the steps of: determining if a gear shift has occurred within a threshold time; determining if a vehicle velocity is below a threshold velocity; determining if the accelerator pedal is above a threshold application level; determining if the brake pedal is being applied by the driver; and determining if an obstacle is in the vehicle path and within a threshold distance. If these criteria are found, a likely pedal misapplication is detected.
US08255120B2	Steering apparatus, automotive vehicle with the same, and steering control method An automotive vehicle with a steering apparatus includes a steering wheel, front and rear steerable road wheels, and a steering mechanism for steering the front and rear steerable road wheels. The steering apparatus measures a steering wheel angle of the steering wheel; sets a desired position of a center of rotation about which the vehicle is to rotate for changing a heading angle of the vehicle with respect to a path of the vehicle; sets a desired turning behavior of the vehicle in accordance with the measured steering wheel angle and the desired position of the center of rotation; sets the desired front and rear road wheel steer angles in accordance with the desired turning behavior; and controls the steering mechanism in accordance with the desired front and rear road wheel steer angles.
US08255118B2	Vehicle control system with advanced tire monitoring A control system (11) for a vehicle (10) includes vehicle dynamics sensors (35-47) providing a vehicle dynamics signal. Tire monitoring system sensors (20) in each wheel generate tire signals including temperature, pressure and acceleration data. A controller (26) communicates with the tire monitoring system sensors (20) and at least one vehicle dynamics sensor, and generates a brake signal as a function of the multi-axis acceleration data of the tire signals. The brake signal is transmitted to a brake system (64) to apply a brake torque in response to the brake signal.
US08255116B2	Vehicle control device A vehicle control device has a portable-unit restraining control unit which, when the portable unit is inserted in the slot in the drive-permitted state, irremovably fixed the portable unit, which is inserted in the slot, by the portable-unit restraining unit and, when the portable unit is inserted in the slot in the drive-prohibited state, releases the portable unit from the locking effected by the portable-unit restraining unit to allow removal of the portable unit from the slot.
US08255115B2	Method for controlling external control type fan coupling device In a method for controlling an external control type fan coupling device 3, arithmetic processing to determine the rotation speed of fan 4 with a quick acceleration detection signal used as a parameter is carried out at a high frequency than that in arithmetic processing to determine the rotation speed of fan 4 using signals other than the quick acceleration detection signal as a parameter.
US08255112B2	Remote aircraft maintenance in a networked environment Remotely performed maintenance of a transportation unit such as an aircraft is disclosed, wherein the maintenance is performed utilizing a networked environment. In one implementation, a first network, located within the mobile transportation unit, is accessed from a second network, located externally to the mobile transportation unit. Having remotely assessed the first network, communication with one or more assets of the mobile transportation unit, which are connected to the first network, is possible. Maintenance operations are then performed by exchanging data and commands with the assets of the mobile transportation unit.
US08255111B2	Gravity sensor circuit system for vehicle A gravity sensor (G-sensor) circuit system including a microcontroller that determines whether there is a failure in the G-sensor and, if it is determined that there is a failure in the G-sensor, outputs a failure signal to a controller outside the PCB, or the controller outside the PCB communicates with the G-sensor to determine whether there is a failure in the G-sensor, thus performing the self-diagnosis. The gravity sensor (G-sensor) circuit system performs self-diagnosis, zero-offset, and digital output, thereby using a more accurate sensor signal, improving the vehicle stability, and increasing the control precision and accuracy.
US08255108B2	Dynamic file system creation for scan tools An automotive diagnostic tool and method for accessing user configuration data and retrieving vehicle diagnostic data for read/write mode and storage. The diagnostic tool comprises a processor and a non-volatile memory coupled with the processor for storing data as continuously arranged data. The tool further comprises a main memory coupled with the processor for access and transfer of the data between the main memory and the non-volatile memory. The main memory is configured such that the continuously arranged data can be accessed from the non-volatile memory and stored in the main memory as the read/write data in a file system format. The main memory is further configured such that the read/write data can be transferred from the main memory to the non-volatile memory for storage as continuously arranged data.
US08255105B2	Steering device, boarding type moving body with steering device, and steering method for moving body A steering device for steering a moving body has: an operating part; a detecting part that detects a physical quantity based on a magnitude and direction of a force applied to the operating part; and a controller that drives the moving body based on the physical quantity detected by the detecting part and controls an amount of movement and a direction of movement of the moving body. The controller has a dead zone for controlling the amount of movement without receiving influence of the magnitude of the physical quantity until the physical quantity detected by the detecting part exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and determines the threshold value in accordance with a moving speed of the moving body.
US08255101B2	Method and device for estimating at least one wind characteristic on an aircraft A method and a device for estimating on an aircraft at least one wind characteristic.The device (1) comprises means (7) for determining a corrective term being representative of an apparent wind created upon a rotation of the aircraft and means (4) for determining the wind characteristic taking into account such a corrective term.
US08255099B2	Flight management system vector functions Disclosed is a system and method for diverting from a flight plan without adjusting an autopilot by treating a heading change as the new leg of a flight plan. The present invention allows the pilot of an aircraft to enter a heading to follow into a flight management system, which treats the heading as the current leg of a flight plan otherwise being followed by the flight management system. The present invention graphically displays the heading leg as the predicted track so that the pilot is able to see the airplane's expected path. Such a change allows the autopilot to continue following commands from the flight management system rather than being changed to a mode in which the autopilot follows heading commands directly from the pilot.
US08255098B2	Variably manned aircraft In accordance with an embodiment, a system includes a plurality of subsystems cooperatively configured to control an aircraft in accordance with a plurality of manning modes, the system configured to perform fully automated control of the aircraft while operating in any of the plurality of manning modes, wherein the plurality of manning modes include: two onboard operators; one onboard operator; and no onboard operator, wherein the system receives input from a remotely located operator by way of wireless signals.
US08255094B2	On-demand flight data service A flight data service subscription system allows personnel to subscribe to flight data services using an electronic devices such as a multifunctional display (MFD) onboard an aircraft. The MFD is used to select regional areas of coverage and generate requests for subscriptions to flight data services. Flight data application software running on the MFD manages flight data and the subscription requests. A server operated by a flight data service provider receives the subscription requests from the MFD and dispatches flight data responsive to the requests for the selected region. A wireless local area network on the ground transfers flight data and subscription requests between the MFD and the flight data subscription server.
US08255090B2	System and method for home energy monitor and control The invention generally concerns systems and methods for monitoring and controlling the power consumption of a power-consuming device. The system and method may connect to a power source and a power-consuming device, connecting the power-consuming device to the power source. The power usage of the power-consuming device may then be measured and monitored. This monitoring data may then be stored and optionally sent to a controlling device on a data network. The location of the power-consuming device may also be determined, recorded, and sent to a controlling device. The system may also control the power usage of the power-consuming device. In some cases, a remote server may connect multiple energy monitoring systems in order to gain additional efficiencies and foster a community-based social network.
US08255088B2	Method for dispensing a viscous material A method is provided for dispensing materials (20) with fluctuating viscosity over time, such as liquid adhesives. Using a control algorithm derived from viscosity data or lab testing results, a first pressure or mechanical drive speed is used to force viscous material (20) from a supply syringe (14) during a first dispensing cycle. After a certain amount of time, a correction model is applied to the control algorithm to increase the pressure or drive speed as viscosity of the material (20) increases. A second higher pressure or drive speed is then used to force viscous material (20) from the supply syringe (14) during a second dispensing cycle. The correction model can be based on empirical data about the viscous material (20), or a camera system (30) can be used to periodically adjust the pressure or drive speed as required to maintain a substantially uniform dispensing rate.
US08255087B2	Constant air volume HVAC system with a dehumidification function and discharge air temperature control, an HVAC controller therefor and a method of operation thereof An HVAC controller, a method of operating a constant air volume (CAV) HVAC unit and a CAV HVAC system are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the HVAC controller includes: (1) an interface configured to receive both a latent cooling demand and a sensible cooling demand and (2) a processor configured to direct both a dehumidification function and a discharge air temperature control function for a CAV HVAC system employing the latent cooling demand and the sensible cooling demand.
US08255086B2	System recovery in a heating, ventilation and air conditioning network The disclosure provides various embodiments of systems and methods of generating a heartbeat in an HVAC system and networks. In an embodiment, a method includes a heartbeat message being sent by a first subnet controller upon the first subnet controller taking active control of a subnet of the HVAC network. The active heartbeat message timer is reset. Another heartbeat message is sent if a specified amount of time has elapsed since a previous heartbeat message was sent by said heartbeat generator.
US08255079B2	Human grasp assist device and method of use A grasp assist device includes a glove portion having phalange rings, contact sensors for measuring a grasping force applied by an operator wearing the glove portion, and a tendon drive system (TDS). The device has flexible tendons connected to the phalange rings for moving the rings in response to feedback signals from the sensors. The TDS is connected to each of the tendons, and applies an augmenting tensile force thereto via a microcontroller adapted for determining the augmenting tensile force as a function of the grasping force. A method of augmenting a grasping force of an operator includes measuring the grasping force using the sensors, encoding the grasping force as the feedback signals, and calculating the augmenting tensile force as a function of the feedback signals using the microcontroller. The method includes energizing at least one actuator of a tendon drive system (TDS) to thereby apply the augmenting tensile force.
US08255075B2	Thermal error compensation method for machine tools A thermal error compensation method for machine tools is disclosed, which comprises the steps of: disposing at least a thermal sensor at positions neighboring to the at least one heat source of a machine tool; driving the machine tool to operate under a specific operation condition for enabling the at least one heat source to generate heat; generating a thermal signal according to the temperature detected by the at least one thermal sensor; using a heat conducting calculation unit to access the thermal signal and the information relating to the specific operation condition to be used in a calculation for obtaining and thus outputting at least a node temperature; and using an error compensation unit to access the at least one node temperature to be used in a calculation for obtaining thermal error compensation values for the machine tool.
US08255073B2	Method for assisting at least partially manual control of a metal processing line In a method for assisting at least partially manual control of a metal processing line (1), in which metal (4) in strip or slab form or a pre-profiled state is worked, the proportion of at least one metallurgical phase of the metal is continuously determined with respect to at least one specific location of the metal processing line while taking into account operating parameters of the metal processing line (1) that influence the phase state and/or state parameters of the metal, and the proportion of the least one phase with respect to the specific location of the metal processing line is indicated to an operator.
US08255072B2	Substrate processing apparatus, program, storage medium and conditioning necessity determining method A control unit of a substrate processing apparatus controls a process to be performed in a chamber. The process includes a step of performing a preceding first process; a step of performing a subsequent second process after performing the first process; a step of determining whether to perform an inter-process conditioning, for arranging the environment in the chamber, during a period between the end of the first process and the start of the second process, based on information on the first process and information on the second process; and a step of performing the inter-process conditioning prior to the second process when it is determined in the determining step that the inter-process conditioning is to be performed.
US08255070B2	Method and apparatus for establishing a camera focal length for installing fasteners A method and apparatus for processing a fastener system. A fastener installation tool may be placed on a surface of an object. An elongate structure may be attached to the fastener installation tool and may have a length. A camera may be associated with the fastener installation tool in which the camera may be configured with a focal length corresponding to the length of the elongate structure. The camera also may be configured to capture an image at least a portion of the fastener system when the elongate structure is placed against the surface of the object on which the fastener system is located. The image of the at least a portion of fastener system may be captured.
US08255067B2	Plant operation system An operation device position monitoring apparatus stores operation device position data outputted from the plant operation control system and the backup plant operation control system and further displays the operation device position data on a display device. Moreover, a processing device outputs a switching permission signal (Sk) to a switching device that performs switching from the plant operation control system to the backup plant operation control system when operation device position data outputted from the plant operation control system and operation device position data outputted from the backup plant operation control system are the same as each other, so that the operation device position is prevented from differing from the position upon normal operation when the plant operation control system is replaced by the backup plant operation control system.
US08255066B2	Method and apparatus for tuning a PID controller In tuning a PID controller for a process in a feedback control system, a method is provided for bringing the system into symmetric self-excited oscillations for measuring the frequency and the amplitude of the oscillations, and tuning the controller in dependence on the measurements obtained. A control algorithm referred to as the modified relay feedback test is introduced into a system in series with a process to generate self-excited oscillations. Tuning includes the steps of selecting a desired gain margin or phase margin, generating oscillations with the algorithm parameter corresponding to a selected gain or phase margin, measurements of the amplitude and the frequency of these oscillations, and computing PID controller tuning parameters. Data and formulas are given for the computation of the specific parameter of the modified relay feedback test and for tuning the parameters of the PID controller. An apparatus for performing the method is disclosed.
US08255060B2	User interface with toolbar for programming electrical stimulation therapy The disclosure is directed to a user interface with a menu that facilitates stimulation therapy programming. The user interface displays a representation of the electrical leads implanted in the patient and at least one menu with icons that the user can use to adjust the stimulation therapy. The user may drag one or more field shapes from a field shape selection menu onto the desired location relative to the electrical leads. A manipulation tool menu may also allow the user to adjust the field shapes placed on the electrical leads, which represent the stimulation region. The programmer that includes the user interface then generates electrical stimulation parameter values for the stimulator to deliver stimulation according to the field shapes or field shape groups defined/located by the user. The field shapes may represent different types of stimulation representations, such as current density, activation functions, and neuron models.
US08255059B2	Using a genetic algorithm to fit a medical implant system to a patient Apparatus and method for at least partially fitting a medical implant system to a patient is described. These apparatuses and methods comprise executing a genetic algorithm to select a set of parameter values for the medical implant system. This genetic algorithm may comprise executing a tabu search wherein value sets that are determined to be bad are added to a tabu list that may be consulted to exclude tabu value sets from successive generations of the genetic algorithm.
US08255056B2	Breathing disorder and precursor predictor and therapy delivery device and method A device and method for sensing breathing disorders, irregularities or insufficiencies is provided. One aspect includes sensing a precursor to an onset of a breathing disorder or episode of a breathing disorder and responding to sensing the precursor. Another aspect includes responding to treat the breathing disorder before manifestation of the disorder. Another aspect includes identifying a likelihood of a breathing disorder and responding using the likelihood and other information indicating onset or occurrence of a breathing disorder.
US08255054B2	MRI compatible implanted electronic medical device An implantable electronic medical device is compatible with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The device has a housing with exterior walls, each formed by a dielectric substrate with electrically conductive layers on interior and exterior surfaces. A series of slots divide each layer into segments. Segmenting the layers provides high impedance to eddy currents produced by fields of the MRI scanner, while capacitive coupling of the segments provides radio frequency shielding for components inside the housing. Electrical leads extending from the housing have a pair of coaxially arranged conductors and traps that attenuate currents induced in the conductors by the fields of the MRI scanner.
US08255041B2	Wireless ECG system A wireless monitoring system and, more particularly, a wireless monitoring system for detecting and transmitting physiological data. The present invention detects physiological data relating to a patient's cardiac activity and respiration rate and transmits the data to a remote base station via telemetry. The base station processes the data so that the data can be display by an ECG monitor.
US08255040B2	Micro vein enhancer The present invention is a Miniature Vein Enhancer that includes a Miniature Projection Head. The Miniature Projection Head may be operated in one of three modes, AFM, DBM, and RTM. The Miniature Projection Head of the present invention projects an image of the veins of a patient, which aids the practitioner in pinpointing a vein for an intravenous drip, blood test, and the like. The Miniature projection head may have a cavity for a power source or it may have a power source located in a body portion of the Miniature Vein Enhancer. The Miniature Vein Enhancer may be attached to one of several improved needle protectors, or the Miniature Vein Enhancer may be attached to a body similar to a flashlight for hand held use. The Miniature Vein Enhancer of the present invention may also be attached to a magnifying glass, a flat panel display, and the like.
US08255039B2	Meibomian gland illuminating and imaging In an illustrative embodiment, an apparatus for imaging a portion of a mammalian eyelid has an eye contact lenspiece configured to direct the light through an eyelid from posterior to anterior surface to thereby trans-illuminate the eyelid, when the light source illuminates the contact lens. An imaging device receives an image of the eyelid as it is trans-illuminated. Other methods and apparatus are presented in various embodiments, hence this abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08255038B2	System and method for non-uniform image scanning and acquisition A system employs non-uniform and nonlinear patient monitoring signals in automatically adaptively varying image resolution, image scanning frequency and acquisition speed and gates and synchronizes the image scanning and acquisition of an imaging system. A system acquires medical images of patient anatomy using a trigger generator. The trigger generator generates a trigger signal comprising a non-periodic sequence of pulses in a first signal portion within individual heart beat cycles. The first signal portion is periodically repeated for multiple sequential individual heart beat cycles. An image acquisition device acquires multiple images of a patient anatomical portion in response to corresponding multiple individual pulses of the non-periodic sequence of pulses. A display processor presents acquired images on a display for review by a user.
US08255036B2	Oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging technique and compartmental model algorithm The present invention relates to a method of characterizing lung function in a subject in need of such characterization. The method comprises performing an imaging technique, on a voxel defined within a lung space of interest. Image data is generated over a time period during which the subject inhales gases with at least two different partial pressures of a paramagnetic gas. A compartmental model algorithm is applied to the image data generated for the voxel to provide information on ventilation, diffusion and perfusion of a lung. The paramagnetic gas is preferably Oxygen. The imaging technique is preferably Oxygen Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (OE-MRI).
US08255030B2	Oxygen enhancing membrane systems for implantable devices The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for increasing oxygen availability to implantable devices. The preferred embodiments provide a membrane system configured to provide protection of the device from the biological environment and/or a catalyst for enabling an enzymatic reaction, wherein the membrane system includes a polymer formed from a high oxygen soluble material. The high oxygen soluble polymer material is disposed adjacent to an oxygen-utilizing source on the implantable device so as to dynamically retain high oxygen availability to the oxygen-utilizing source during oxygen deficits. Membrane systems of the preferred embodiments are useful for implantable devices with oxygen-utilizing sources and/or that function in low oxygen environments, such as enzyme-based electrochemical sensors and cell transplantation devices.
US08255027B2	Multiple wavelength sensor substrate A physiological sensor has emitters configured to transmit optical radiation having multiple wavelengths in response to corresponding drive currents. A thermal mass is disposed proximate the emitters so as to stabilize a bulk temperature for the emitters. A temperature sensor is thermally coupled to the thermal mass. The temperature sensor provides a temperature sensor output responsive to the bulk temperature so that the wavelengths are determinable as a function of the drive currents and the bulk temperature.
US08255026B1	Patient monitor capable of monitoring the quality of attached probes and accessories A system and method to help maintain quality control and reduce cannibalization of accessories and attached probes in a highly sensitive patient monitor, such as a pulse oximetry system. One or more attached components may have information elements designed to designate what quality control mechanisms a patient monitor should look to find on that or another component or designate other components with which the one component may properly work. In a further embodiment, such information elements may also include data indicating the appropriate life of the component.
US08255024B2	Resistive superconducting current-limiter device with bifilar coil winding composed of HTS ribbon conductors and turn separator Between adjacent windings of a bifilar coil made of an HTS strip conductor in a resistive superconductive current limiter device, a spacer is provided which is transparent for a coolant. The spacer includes an electrically insulating support tape for sufficiently massive spacer elements attached thereon. The spacer elements are spaced and made of a material having high thermal conductivity. The spaces between the spacer elements form cooling channels for the coolant.
US08255022B2	Cryostat having a magnet coil system, which comprises an under-cooled LTS section and an HTS section arranged in a separate helium tank A cryostat (1) with a magnet coil system including superconductors for the production of a magnet field B0 in a measuring volume (3) has a plurality of radially nested solenoid-shaped coil sections (4, 5, 6) which are electrically connected in series, at least one of which being an LTS section (5, 6) with a conventional low temperature superconductor (LTS) and at least one of which being an HTS section (4) including a high temperature superconductor (HTS), wherein the LTS section (5, 6) is located in a first helium tank (9) of the cryostat (1) along with liquid helium at a helium temperature TL<4 K. The apparatus is characterized in that the HTS section (4) is disposed radially within the LTS section (5, 6) in a separate helium tank (19) of the cryostat (1) having normal liquid helium and is separated from the LTS section (5, 6) by means of at least one wall disposed between the two helium tanks. An HTS coil section can be maintained in the cryostat in accordance with the invention over a long period of time and in a reliable fashion.
US08255021B2	Rotating mechanism and electronic device using same A rotating mechanism includes a lower plate defining a first guiding groove and a second guiding groove, the first guiding groove including a sliding groove section and a rotating groove section, the sliding groove section mirror-image symmetrical with the second guiding groove, the rotating groove section extending from an end of the sliding groove section toward the second guiding groove; an upper plate defines a first track and a second track; an elastic element assembly having two opposite retaining portions; a first pin located at one of the retaining portions, the first pin slidably received in the first guiding groove and the first track; and a second pin located at the other retaining portion, the second pin slidably received in the second guiding groove and the second track.
US08255018B2	Global positioning system (GPS) enabled apparatus for carrying objects and method therefor An apparatus for holding an object has a holding piece for holding the object. A locating device is coupled to the holding piece.
US08255017B2	Systems, methods and devices for convergent communications Systems, devices and methods for convergence of a variety of communication sources are presented. More particularly, embodiments relate to a radio communications gateway device and associated methods, that is lightweight, small, portable, secure, and useful for converging communications via handheld radios to an internet protocol network having a variety of different available media. The device preferably has a weight under 15 pounds and sufficient interconnectability to be field-useful in a variety of situations.
US08255006B1	Event dependent notification system and method An event dependent notification system and method presents a message to a user of a mobile device suggesting the user to perform an action during and/or after an event is detected. The event is detected by an accelerometer or another sensor. In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to a message being presented, the action is automatically taken. The message is able to encourage users to perform actions they do not typically perform or enroll in programs/services they are not currently utilizing, ultimately providing better and/or more secure functionality of the mobile device.
US08255002B2	Mobile information terminal and cellular phone A mobile information terminal has: an operating position detecting part 37 that detects an operating position of a user on the basis of an output of an electrostatic capacitance sensor 30 that includes a thin film having a plurality of electrodes and detects an electrostatic capacitance of each of the electrodes; a direction input control part 31 that senses movement of the operating position on the basis of an output of the operating position detecting part, and generates a direction input signal; a key input part 32 that detects a pressing operation of the user on a pressing face of an operation key, and generates a key input signal; a display 22 having a display screen; and a display control part 34 that controls a display position of image information in the display screen on the basis of the direction input signal. A part of the thin film of the electrostatic capacitance sensor 30 is formed with overlapping with at least a part of the pressing face of the operation key, and upon sensing of the movement of the operating position, the direction input control part 31 determines whether or not to generate the direction input signal on the basis of an operating position upon start of the movement. Upon operation of the operation key that is arranged with overlapping with an electrostatic pad, a direction input for moving a screen display can be suppressed from being erroneously provided.
US08254998B2	Quantized precoding for 2TX multiple antenna systems A quantized multi-rank beamforming scheme for multiple-antenna systems such as a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless downlink. User equipment (UE) estimates downlink channel and transmit power and determines rank and power allocations. A quantized beamforming matrix is then determined by the UE using successive beamforming. The UE also determines channel quality indices (CQI) which it feeds-back to the wireless downlink base station along with the index of the quantized beamforming matrix. The base station uses the CQI information to select a UE for scheduling of downlink transmission and the quantized beamforming matrix index received from the selected UE to beamform the downlink transmission to the UE. Base station overhead and is minimized while providing near-optimal performance given the constraints of a limited feed-back channel and computational complexity of the UE.
US08254995B2	Method and device for communicating data A wireless device is disclosed. The wireless device includes a wireless communication module, a data storage module, and a controller for controlling the storage and/or retrieval of data from the data storage module. The wireless communication module communicates with each of a plurality of remote devices and the data storage module defines a first storage area and a second storage area. The controller controls the communication of data between the first storage area and the remote device, and the second storage area and the remote device dependent upon access rights associated with the remote device. The first storage area typically defines a public storage area with which data is exchanged in a relatively free manner, and the second storage area typically defines a private storage area with which data is exchanged in a relatively restricted manner.
US08254994B2	Wireless communication receiver A wireless communication receiver includes a main body, a cover detachably assembled to the main body, and an antenna. The cover is slideably connected to the main body by the antenna.
US08254989B2	Method and system for account balance restriction on application of cellular-PBX integration service A method for using an account balance to limit application of cellular-PBX integration service. A cellular wireless communication device (WCD) will be allotted a quantity of cellular-PBX integration service, such as a number of minutes of use per month for instance. The quantity will be decremented a the WCD uses the service, and the WCD may be precluded from benefiting from the cellular-PBX integration service upon exhaustion of the balance. In one embodiment, for instance, when a radio access network (RAN) that serves the WCD receives a call request for the WCD, the account balance can be used as a basis to decide whether to pass the call to an IP PBX server that serves the WCD or whether to have the RAN handle the call.
US08254988B2	Method of controlling wireless communication system and wireless communication system A first device transmits a training signal with a fixed beam pattern, a second device receives the training signal while scanning a beam direction, and then it obtains first AWVs each having a main beam or sub-beam beam direction in an incoming direction in the second device. Next, the first device transmits a training signal while scanning a beam direction, the second device receives the training signal with a fixed beam pattern, and then it obtains second AWVs each having a main beam or sub-beam direction in an emitting direction in the first communication device. The roles of these two devices are interchanged and similar processes are performed in order to obtain third and fourth AWVs, and then one of first AWV combinations from first and second AWVs and one of second AWV combinations from third and fourth AWVs are used for wireless communication between these devices.
US08254986B2	Seamless multistage handoff algorithm to facilitate handoffs between hetergeneous wireless networks A method for automatically adapting a multi-protocol wireless device to facilitate a seamless multistage handoff according to various embodiments can include initiating a seamless multistage handoff process using a multi-protocol wireless device when the multi-protocol wireless device crosses a boundary area into an overlapping region where the multi-protocol wireless device is capable of simultaneously accessing a plurality of networks; and implementing the seamless multistage handoff process by performing at least a two-stage handoff process comprising a homogeneous handoff and a heterogeneous handoff without interrupting a communication call session conducted using the multi-protocol wireless device. A multi-network client device according to various embodiments can include a controller configured to support multiple independent call sessions, wherein the independent call sessions are concurrently conducted on a single wireless device through the use of parallel communication sessions and simultaneously connect the wireless device to a plurality of different networks hosting different content services.
US08254985B2	Methods and apparatus for use in controlling wireless transceiver operation in a mobile communication device A While a mobile device operates for communications in a WWAN, its WLAN transceiver portion may be maintained in a low power state. During the WWAN operation, the mobile device performs one or more scanning operations with use of a WWAN transceiver portion for identifying a current set of cell site identifications corresponding to a currently-serving base station of the WWAN and one or more neighboring base stations. The mobile device compares cell site identifications of the current set with those in a stored set, and identifies if the, number or percentage of matching cell site identifications of the current and stored sets meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the predetermined threshold is met or exceeded, the mobile device exits the WLAN transceiver portion from the low power state and enables its operation for communications.
US08254982B2	Cell type information sharing between neighbor base stations The present invention relates to a method and arrangement for cell type information sharing between neighbor base stations (310, 330) in a telecommunications system (300). One embodiment comprises informing a second radio base station (330) serving a second cell (340) and having a neighbor relation with a first cell served by a first base station (310), of at least the cell type of the first cell. This is accomplished by adding (410) the cell type information to a set of information to be signaled to the second base station, and then signalling (420) the set of information to the second base station.
US08254979B2	Communication system, radio communication apparatus, and communication method A communication system includes a first radio communication apparatus and a second radio communication apparatus that includes multiple antennas. The first radio communication apparatus receives transmission signals transmitted from multiple antennas as reception signals, acquires a predetermined parameter for each antenna based on the reception signals, creates control information for causing the second radio communication apparatus to control transmission signals so that the parameter becomes a predetermined target value for each antenna, compares absolute values of differences between each acquired parameter and the target value, and transmits control information corresponding to the reception signal for which the absolute value is large to the second radio communication apparatus with priority over control information corresponding to the reception signal for which the absolute value is small. The second radio communication apparatus receives control information from the first radio communication apparatus and controls transmission signals for each antenna according to the control information.
US08254977B2	Centralized medium access control algorithm for CDMA reverse link A novel MAC algorithm is disclosed having various features for a modern CDMA interference-shared reverse link, including (a) link quality assurance, (b) individual congestion control, (c) variable data rate transition policy, and/or (d) reverse link partitioning. Link quality assurance is provided by monitoring transmission feedback information (ACK/NACK) to indirectly determine the quality of a communication link. Wireless devices are individually targeted to perform congestion control of the reverse link. Variable data transmission rates and discontinuous transmissions are achieved by individual wireless devices that autonomously adjust their transmission rate and transmit power. The reverse link can also be partitioned among the different wireless devices by individually controlling the transmit power of the wireless devices operating on the reverse link.
US08254975B2	Method for uplink access transmissions in a radio communication system According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for controlling uplink access transmissions in a radio communication system, wherein a user equipment determines a delay time for transmitting a signal on an uplink access channel, wherein the delay time is randomly determined based upon a probability distribution that increases in density with increasing delay. According to a second aspect, there is provided a method for controlling uplink access transmissions in a radio communication system, wherein from a base station of the radio communication system, time variable information is signalled in downlink to user equipments located in an area covered by the base station, wherein the information is used to determine delay times for transmitting signals on an uplink access channel and wherein the information varies based upon a probability distribution which increases in density with increasing time.
US08254973B2	Independent power consumption management in a MIMO transceiver and method for use therewith An integrated circuit (IC) includes a multi-input multi-output transceiver system that includes a plurality of RF transceivers. Each RF transceiver includes an RF transmitter that transmits a transmit signal at a selected transmit power, based on a transmit power control signal and a corresponding RF receiver for receiving a corresponding one of a plurality of received signals from an external device and for generating a signal strength indication corresponding to each of the plurality of received signals. A processing module generates the transmit power control signal for each RF transmitter based on the signal strength indication of the corresponding RF receiver, and that generates a power mode signal for adjusting a power consumption parameter of each RF transmitter in accordance with the selected transmit power for each RF transmitter.
US08254972B2	Device and method for handling messages A device, method and system for handling received messages on a portable electronic device. The device includes a message handling section 12 to handle or route messages on the mobile device based upon whether the message is addressed to a port number assigned to an application on the mobile device. If the destination port number is not addressed to a port that is assigned to an application on the mobile device, and the message includes a link, then the message is opened automatically in a browser. Optionally, the link may be opened if the destination port number is within a range of port numbers or after requesting permission to open the message from the message recipient.
US08254970B1	Systems and methods for communicating with a paging network operations center through wireless cellular devices Systems, methods, and media are provided for facilitating bidirectional communication between a wireless device, such as cellular device, and a paging operator's network operations center (NOC). Messages from the paging NOC are received over a paging network through paging circuitry included in the wireless device. Certain embodiments are directed to systems and methods for transmitting status messages or response messages pertaining to the received messages from the wireless device to the paging NOC through an alternate network, such as a cellular network or the Internet. Other embodiments are directed to systems and methods for displaying the received messages, and for determining and displaying user response actions, based on data included in the messages and/or stored on the wireless device. These systems and methods take advantage of the benefits provided by paging and wireless devices in order to maximize the reliability and minimize the delay associated with the messaging system.
US08254962B2	Scheduling tasks dynamically depending on the location of a mobile user Systems, methods, and computer program products for automatically scheduling and rescheduling tasks based on predictable, observable, or measurable events, and on conditions occurring in the vicinity of the user's location. A plurality of tasks are defined by the user. Events or conditions depending on the user's location and affecting the opportunity or the feasibility of the tasks are associated with these tasks. Task schedules are assigned, merged, or permuted to dynamically provide the user with a feasible and convenient agenda.
US08254960B1	Mobile phone and method for selectively sending location update request to cellular network A method for selectively sending a location update request of a mobile phone is provided. The mobile phone determines whether it has entered a network coverage blind spot. Geographic information of the blind spot is obtained when the mobile phone is determined to have entered a network coverage blind spot, wherein the geographic information includes a length of the blind spot. The mobile phone senses a movement speed of the mobile phone if the network coverage blind spot is one of the predetermined blind spots. The mobile phone further calculates a time the mobile phone is in the blind spot according to the length of the blind spot and the movement speed of the mobile phone, and stop the periodical location update until the calculated time elapsed. The present disclosure further provides a related mobile phone.
US08254955B2	Wireless communication system and base station accommodation server A base station accommodation server can appropriately set a location registration area according to an installation location of a femto base station. The base station accommodation server is coupled to a location management server accommodating at least one first base station coupled to a first communication network, and accommodates at least one second base station connected to a second communication network. The base station is configured to determine a location management group identifier of the second base station based on a location management group identifier of the first base station that is present at a location from which the second base station can receive the location management group identifier broadcast by the first base station.
US08254946B2	Methods and apparatus for flexible spectrum allocation in communication systems The disclosed embodiments provide for methods and systems for flexibly allocating a shared frequency spectrum to a plurality of users, the spectrum may have a first number of segments, each segment having a second number of clusters associated with a certain sector/cell. In one aspect, a method for flexibly allocating a shared frequency spectrum to a plurality of users comprises the acts of fixedly assigning a first group of clusters to a first group of users, such that the first group of users stay fixed to the assigned clusters, and assigning a second group of clusters to a second group of users, such that the second group of users hop within the assigned clusters.
US08254945B2	Apparatus and method for allocating downlink burst in broadband wireless communication system A method of allocating bursts in a broadband wireless communication system is provided. The method includes dividing a downlink period into a plurality of regions according to a burst property, calculating a residual symbol axis size and a residual subchannel axis size of a first region conforming to two-dimensional allocation among the plurality of regions, allocating bursts to be allocated to the first region in a descending order, wherein the bursts are respectively allocated in a rectangular shape having a length corresponding to the number of residual symbols along a time axis or in a rectangular shape having a length corresponding to the number of residual subchannels along a frequency axis, and allocating bursts to be allocated to at least one region conforming to one-dimensional allocation among the plurality of regions to the at least one region conforming to one-dimensional allocation according to a scheduling priority.
US08254939B2	System and method for mid-call merging of multi-protocol call messages on the Iub and Iur interfaces in UTRAN System and method for combining call records for different protocols into a single combined call record during a call. An embodiment comprises correlating messages having multiple protocol formats, comprising correlating messages complying with a first protocol into a first call record using a first correlation key, correlating messages complying with a second protocol into a second call record using a second correlation key, detecting a key message complying with the first protocol, the key message having a fetch key parameter associated with messages complying with the second protocol, combining data from the second call record into the first call record to create a combined call record, and creating a pointer linking the second call record to the first call record.
US08254938B2	Method for coordinated multi-cell transmission, central controller and user equipment Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method for coordinated multi-cell transmission, a central controller and a User Equipment (UE). In one embodiment, the method includes: determining, by a central controller, at least one candidate cooperating set in a super-cell, wherein each cell in the super-cell belongs to at least one candidate cooperating set, and broadcasting information of the at least one candidate cooperating set determined to all UEs in the super-cell; selecting, by each UE, a candidate cooperating set from the at least one candidate cooperating set as a cooperating set of the UE, and feeding back information of the cooperating set selected to the central controller; and determining, by the central controller, all cooperating sets in the super-cell and UEs participating in cooperation in each cooperating set according to the information of the selected cooperating set fed back by each UE.
US08254935B2	Packet transferring/transmitting method and mobile communication system A packet transferring/transmitting method is provided for use in a mobile communication system 50. In this packet transferring/transmitting method, an upper node 1 determines the implementation of handover (determination step), and a handover addressing node 2 transfers, of a plurality of packets, a non-transmitted residual packet to a handover addressed node 3, and the upper node 1 transmits a new packet to the handover addressed node 3 (transfer/transmission step). This enables maintaining the number of users to be accommodated while securing a wide bandwidth, sharing a line with high efficiency at soft handover, avoiding data residual in the case of the employment of variable communication rate, and preventing an increase in retransmission.
US08254930B1	Method and system for changing a media session codec before handoff in a wireless network Methods and systems for a wireless communication device (WCD) to change a media session codec prior to handoff to a new wireless coverage area are presented. In particular, a WCD is served by a first wireless coverage area of a RAN, and is conducting a media session using a first codec. The WCD detects that it is about to be handed off to a second wireless coverage area, and transmits a request to a server to determine the capacity available to the WCD via the second wireless coverage area. If this capacity is less than the capacity request by the first codec, the WCD proactively renegotiates the media session to use a second codec that requires less capacity. The server may take various factors into account when responding to the WCD's query, including the sector loading of the second wireless coverage area, available capacity at a backhaul link between the RAN and a network, and/or a profile of the WCD.
US08254929B2	Mobile communication method and mobile communication apparatus A mobile communication apparatus includes a registration request part (47) requesting a correspondent node to make location registration, a BU list memory (45) keeping a list of the correspondent nodes which have made the location registration, a handover detection part (41) detecting the start of a handover, and a registration cancellation processing part (46) canceling the location registration of the correspondent nodes in the BU list, upon notification of start of handover by the handover detection part (41), thereby reducing loss of packets transmitted from the correspondent nodes during the handover, because the route optimization applied to the correspondent nodes registered in the BU list at the start of the handover is canceled by requesting the cancellation to the correspondent nodes.
US08254925B2	Method for simplifying the process of transmitting message The present invention discloses a method for messages transmission in a simplified way, UE transmitting the messages to the network through the lower layer, the method includes following steps: if the lower layer indicates the message has been transmitted successfully, then starting timer, otherwise, ending the current procedure; if the UE has received response from the network before the timer expires, stopping the timer; otherwise, ending the current procedure. The method can effectively avoid unnecessary operations, and reduce energy consumption of the UE.
US08254918B2	Method and system for providing piggyback roaming for sponsoring split roaming relationships A method for facilitating exchange of one or more signaling messages between a client network and an HSRP network. The method includes identifying by an SPRS router associated with a client network, one or more parameters in the received signaling messages so as to determine from the parameters one or more roaming agreements that are required between the client network and the HSRP network, to allow exchange of the signaling messages. The method further includes facilitating by the SPRS router, exchange of the signaling messages between the client network and the HSRP network via one or more SPRS hubs, when the SPRS router determines absence of the required roaming agreements. The method further includes facilitating by the SPRS router, direct exchange of the signaling messages between the client network and the HSRP network, when the SPRS router determines presence of the required roaming agreements.
US08254917B2	Method and system for managing delivery of communications Method and system for managing delivery of communications such as advertisements to mobile telephone subscribers where delivery to roaming subscribers is prevented or blocked when the subscriber is determined to be using a roaming network and revenue derived from delivery of the advertisements to a roaming subscriber is less than the cost for delivering the advertisements to the roaming subscribers.
US08254915B2	System and method for enabling subscribers of a communications carrier to access a network of other subscribers A system and method for enabling subscribers of a communications carrier to communicate over a network of wireless access points of other consumer subscribers of the communications carrier is provided. In response to a wireless device of a user attempting to access a wireless access point of a subscriber, a database may be queried to determine whether the user of the wireless device is a subscriber of the communications carrier and has a subscription agreement enabling the subscriber to access a communications network via the network of wireless access points of other consumer subscribers. The subscriber may be enabled to access the wireless access point within the network of wireless access points in response to determining that the subscriber has a subscription agreement enabling communication over the communications network via the network of wireless access points of other consumer subscribers.
US08254913B2	Terrestrial based high speed data communications mesh network This present invention is a network for providing high speed data communications. The network includes multiple terrestrial transmission stations that are located within overlapping communications range and a mobile receiver station. The terrestrial transmission stations provide a continuous and uninterrupted high speed data communications link with the mobile receiver station according to Long Term Evolution (LTE) terrestrial radio access network protocol in a mesh network configuration.
US08254910B1	Network management based on mobility agent binding tables Systems and methods provide network management based on mobility agent binding tables. A query component queries mobility agent binding tables to obtain mobile devices' data. The data may identify a group of mobile devices or the mobile devices may be in a geographic location. The query component may send a message to the group of mobile devices via the mobile devices' network access identifiers. A base transceiver station's operational parameter may be adjusted based on a comparison of the data to a threshold. Binding tables' updates may be written in response to receipt of updates, or binding tables may be accessed. Binding tables may be queried to obtain mobile devices' data to promote management action. The data may identify home agent binding tables, foreign agent binding tables, packet data serving nodes, radio network controllers, base transceiver stations, network access identifiers, home addresses, care of addresses, and time to live.
US08254902B2	Apparatus and methods for enforcement of policies upon a wireless device Apparatus and methods for changing one or more functional or operational aspects of a wireless device, such as upon the occurrence of a certain event. In one embodiment, the event comprises detecting that the wireless device is within range of one or more other devices. In another variant, the event comprises the wireless device associating with a certain access point. In this manner, various aspects of device functionality may be enabled or restricted (device “policies”). This policy enforcement capability is useful for a variety of reasons, including for example to disable noise and/or light emanating from wireless devices (such as at a movie theater), for preventing wireless devices from communicating with other wireless devices (such as in academic settings), and for forcing certain electronic devices to enter “sleep mode” when entering a sensitive area.
US08254897B2	Off-hook triggered cellular-landline conference call A method and system for conferencing a landline telephone into a cellular telephone call is disclosed. In response to a landline telephone going off-hook, a cellular telephone corresponding to the landline telephone is identified. When a determination is made that the corresponding cellular telephone is currently engaged in a call, the landline telephone is conferenced into the cellular call. If the cellular telephone is subsequently disengaged from the call, the original cellular call has been effectively transferred to the landline telephone. The inventive method and system may be linked to a cellular-landline conference call service. For example, a user may subscribe to such a service so that the user may automatically transfer a call from the user's cellular telephone to the user's home or office landline telephone when that landline telephone is taken off-hook.
US08254896B2	Implementing a web server on a mobile station A system and method are provided for implementing a web server on a mobile station. A first mobile station may include a database of information. A network address for the first mobile station may be transmitted to a second mobile station to enable the second mobile station to communicate with the first mobile station directly over a wireless network. The second mobile station may then be provided access to the database of information by communicating directly over the wireless network with the first mobile station, wherein the first mobile station operates as the wireless server for the second mobile station.
US08254895B2	Methods and apparatus for generating mobile internet pages for viewing by mobile communication devices A system is provided for generating mobile internet pages for mobile communication devices. The system includes a plurality of data chunks, a page repository containing page structures, the page structures including a list of the data chunks, and a database including data relating to mobile communication devices of different configurations and information on adaptations to be made to data chunks corresponding to the different configurations. On receipt of a page request from an identified type of mobile communication device, the system selects a page structure from the page repository, identifies the data chunks listed in the selected page structure, retrieves specific information from the database corresponding to the identified model, uses the specific information to separately adapt each of the identified chunks according to the specific information, and compiles a mobile internet page by combining the separately adapted data chunks.
US08254891B2	Initiating contact using protected contact data in an electronic directory A client application allows a user of a telecommunication device to retrieve contact data of a particular individual from a server to initiate contact with the particular individual without viewing content designated as private by the particular individual. The retrieved contact data includes encrypted content and non-encrypted content. The telecommunication device sends a directory request to the server requesting contact data from an electronic directory stored on the server. If the directory request is validated by the server, the telecommunication device receives the requested contact data from the server. The telecommunication device also receives a decryption key and a key expiration parameter from the server. The client application executing on the telecommunication device can use the decryption key within a time period defined by the key expiration parameter to decrypt encrypted contacted data on the telecommunication device to initiate contact with the particular individual.
US08254880B2	Access control A monitoring device makes decision on whether a service requested by a consumer is a sponsored service to the specific consumer or not based on sponsoring rules, i.e. the delivery of the requested service to the consumer can be sponsored if a sponsoring value of the consumer is sufficient in relation to a charge of delivery of the requested service. The sponsoring rules contain various pieces of information for recognizing a sponsored service and for determining the sponsoring value and the cost of the delivery. The sponsoring of different services to different consumers can be controlled, created, deleted, maintained or modified by means of the sponsoring rules. The sponsor, such an advertiser is able to control the cost of sponsoring by affecting the sponsoring value.
US08254877B2	Method and apparatus for extended call establishment for IMS emergency calls Apparatus and methods of establishing an emergency voice call include user equipment transmitting, and a first serving core network receiving, a request for an emergency call via a wireless access network. The apparatus and methods further include a determination by the first serving core network of an alternative serving core network. In some aspects, the determination may be made based on a user equipment location from a location retrieval function, which may obtain such information from other network components or from the user equipment. In other aspects, the determination may be based on lack of capability or lack of capacity. Further, the apparatus and methods also include establishment of the emergency call with a second serving core network different from the serving core network based on the determination.
US08254872B2	Simplified method for IMS registration in the event of emergency calls Simplification of IMS registration in the event of emergency calls is made possible by apparatuses and a method for setting up an emergency-call connection from a terminal to an IMS via a network visited by the terminal, where, if the terminal is already registered in the IMS, setup of an emergency-call connection dispenses with IMS registration of the terminal in the IMS for this emergency-call connection if a comparison between a network identification for the visited network, of which the terminal was notified when it registered in the visited network, and a network identification for the terminal's home network reveals a match between these network identifications.
US08254867B2	Method and apparatus for generating data frame Provided are a method and apparatus for generating a data frame. The method includes generating subframes from at least one media access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU); generating a retransmission policy field for recording a policy related to a retransmission request, against an error occurring while the subframes are being transmitted, with regard to each of the subframes; and generating the data frame by using the subframes and the retransmission policy field which is generated with regard to each of the subframes.
US08254866B1	Low noise amplifier gain adaption based on a received signal strength indication of Bluetooth and WLAN signals A method and system for controlling a gain of a low noise amplifier to be applied to i) a first signal from a first communication device, and ii) a second signal from a second communication device, in which i) the first signal conforms to a first communication protocol, and ii) the second signal conforms to a second communication protocol. The method includes determining a first signal strength indicator corresponding to a signal strength of the first signal; determining a second signal strength indicator corresponding to a signal strength of the second signal; and controlling the gain of the low noise amplifier based on at least i) the first signal strength indicator and ii) the second signal strength indicator.
US08254864B1	Decreasing user equipment measurement time A radio frequency (RF) receiver that reduces the total time required to generate communication channel received signal strength estimates, e.g., RSSI, RSRP, etc., for a plurality of communication channels. A received RF signal may be processed in the frequency domain to generate a power density spectrum for an RF spectrum frequency range that encompasses a plurality of communication channels. A communication channel received signal strength estimate may be generated based on the generated power density spectrum for each communication channels within the RF spectrum frequency range. Receiver RF bandwidth limitations may be overcome by dividing the RF spectrum frequency range into segments which may be separately processed by the RF receiver to produce communication channel received signal strength estimates for the communication channels within each RF spectrum segment. The respective RF spectrum segments may be processed in series, and/or in parallel, depending on the RF receiver configuration embodiment employed.
US08254860B2	Transceiver arrangement and method for processing a signal A transceiver arrangement includes a first receive path with a first connection and a first receive amplifier, and a second receive path with a second connection, a second receive amplifier, and a frequency conversion device. A controllable coupling device is configured to couple an output of the first receive amplifier to an input of the frequency conversion device on the second signal path. Furthermore, the transceiver arrangement includes a control circuit configured to deliver a control signal to the coupling device for combining signals delivered by the first and second receive amplifier in the correct phase based on a signal supplied by the receive paths. This achieves receive diversity wherein, on the one hand, additional external components are no longer necessary and, on the other hand, adequate signal quality is ensured even with a simultaneous transmit process of the transceiver arrangement.
US08254859B2	Enhancing MIMO transmission A multi-rank beamforming (MRBF) scheme in which the downlink channel is estimated and an optimal precoding matrix to be used by the MRBF transmitter is determined accordingly. The optimal precoding matrix is selected from a codebook of matrices having a recursive structure which allows for efficient computation of the optimal precoding matrix and corresponding Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR). The codebook also enjoys a small storage footprint. Due to the computational efficiency and modest memory requirements, the optimal precoding determination can be made at user equipment (UE) and communicated to a transmitting base station over a limited uplink channel for implementation over the downlink channel.
US08254857B2	Radio communication device and radio communication method A radio communication device includes a power amplifier to amplify a transmit signal, a control unit to generate a voltage control signal for defining power to be supplied to the power amplifier in accordance with a conversion curve expressed using a polynomial series based on an envelope signal obtained from the transmit signal and determine the polynomial series based on an efficiency of the power amplifier, and a power source unit to supply the power to the power amplifier based on the voltage control signal, wherein the control unit divides an amplitude range of the envelope signal on the conversion curve into a plurality of sections and determines the polynomial series based on at least one of the plurality of sections.
US08254856B2	Method and system for processing imperfections of a radio frequency transmission subsystem and communication appliance incorporating such a transmission subsystem A method processes defects in a radio frequency transmission subsystem due to elements therein. The defects may include mismatch between two channels in phase quadrature in the transmission subsystem and a transposition signal leaking from a first frequency transposition stage of the transmission subsystem. The method may include calibration processing including estimating compensation parameters representative of the defects. The estimating may include delivering, into the transmission subsystem upstream of the elements creating the defects, a reference signal having a reference frequency, obtaining, downstream of the first transposition stage, of a resultant reference signal, and obtaining, from the resultant reference signal, of an approximate value for each compensation parameter. The method also may include compensating for the defects by injecting the approximate values into the transmission subsystem.
US08254852B2	Food/drink container The present invention relates to food/drink containers combined with audio and video capabilities for inducing eating habits as well as for recreational purposes. According to the present invention, there is provided, a food/drink container including: a closure for closing the container; and an audio unit for playing music, which audio unit is responsive to opening the container, said audio unit module including a speaker.
US08254847B2	Distributed wireless communications for tactical network dominance Ad-hoc networks employing cooperative signal processing are configured for detecting, identifying, and visualizing radio communication networks used by an adversary, such as enemy combatants or criminals. These networks are further configured for performing a non-passive tactical response to an adversary's communication capabilities. Such ad-hoc networks are particularly useful for identifying radio communication resources, establishing radio links, and subverting an adversary's communication capabilities in environments lacking available communication infrastructure, including battlefield environments, and locations where communication infrastructure is non-existent or has been compromised by natural disasters or terrorists attacks.
US08254846B2	Connectivity device and method of providing same In some embodiments, a connectivity device is configured to provide electrical power to a first electrical device and facilitate communications between the first electrical device and at least one second electrical device. The connectivity device further is configured to couple to a cigarette lighter and an external electrical power source. The connectivity device can include: (a) a first removable cigarette lighter adapter having: (1) a first electrical output interface; and (2) a power interface configured to removably couple to the cigarette lighter; (b) a base module having: (1) at least one first interface; (2) a second interface configured to removably couple to the first electrical output interface of the first removable cigarette lighter adapter and configured to also couple to the external electrical power source; (3) a third interface configured to removably couple to the first electrical device; and (4) a first control configured to receive operational instructions for the first electrical device. Other embodiments are disclosed herein.
US08254845B2	Combined beamforming and nulling to combat co-channel interference Techniques are provided to improve receive beamforming at a wireless communication device that receives energy in a frequency band at M plurality of antennas, where the received energy includes desired signals and interference signals. The wireless communication device has no knowledge of the spatial signatures of the desired signals and interference signals. A weighted sum signal vector is computed from the received signals and a covariance matrix is computed from the receive signals. Eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance matrix is computed to obtain M eigenvalues of corresponding M eigenvectors of the covariance matrix. A correlation rate is computed between the M eigenvectors and the weighted sum signal vector. A combined receive beamforming and nulling weight vector is computed from the M eigenvectors and the weighted sum signal vector and based further on the correlation rate. The combined receive beamforming and nulling weight vector is applied to the received signals so as to receive beamform the desired signals and null out the interference signals.
US08254839B2	Signal transmitting device for drums A signal transmitting device of the present invention includes a plurality of drums and a sound module. Each drum has a pickup and a wireless signal transceiver, and the sound module includes several wireless signal receivers, each of which corresponds to one of the drums. While the drum is beaten upon, the pickup sends a signal to the wireless signal transceiver, and the signal is then transmitted to the corresponding wireless signal receiver wirelessly. Thereby, the complex wiring process can be significantly simplified or even totally resolved.
US08254838B2	RF wireless device including an infrared beacon for presence detection A portable RF wireless device (41), such as a microphone, is provided with an infrared beacon in order to signal a connection request to a wireless communication access point (48) using a first IR code (401). In response to this first IR code, the wireless communication access point broadcasts an RF inquiry message (101) that is responded (102) to by the portable RF wireless device in order to establish an RF communication link. After the RF communication link is established, the portable RF wireless device conditionally transmits a second IR code to verify that it is still collocated in the local vicinity of the wireless communication access point, such as being in the same room.
US08254836B2	Information exchanging apparatus An information exchanging apparatus capable of exchanging information with a plurality of outside apparatuses has: a first wireless communicator including a telephone transmitter and telephone receiver for wireless telephone communication with one of the outside apparatuses; a second wireless communicator other than the first wireless communicator; a transmitter arranged to transmit original information to the plurality of outside apparatuses through the second wireless communicator; a processor arranged to process response information from the plurality of outside apparatuses to be received through the second wireless communicator in response to the original information; and a distributor arranged to distribute result information from the processor to the plurality of outside apparatuses through the second wireless communicator.
US08254834B2	RFID system with RF bus A radio frequency identification (RF) system includes an RF reader, an RF tag, and a network connection module. The RF reader includes a reader radio frequency (RF) bus transceiver. The network connection module includes a network connection RF bus transceiver, wherein the reader RF bus transceiver exchanges at least one of inbound RF data and outbound RF data with the network RF bus transceiver via an RF bus.
US08254833B2	Near field coupling devices and associated systems and methods A near-field coupling device that may facilitate communications with a transponder is provided. The near-field coupling device may include a ground plane, a dielectric substrate, one or more conductive strips and a terminating load. The conductive strips together with the ground planes form coupling elements. The near-field coupling device further includes one or more switching elements for selectively connecting and disconnecting the coupling elements with a transceiver. The connected coupling elements define a total characteristic impedance. Using the switching element, the ratio between the total characteristic impedance of the connected coupling elements and the terminating load may be changed in order to adjust the distribution of an electromagnetic field along the coupling elements according to the type and position of the transponder to be processed.
US08254831B1	Wireless hotspot billing arrangement for a wide variety of personal communication devices A system for enabling the wireless use and billing for that use of any of a wide variety of different manufacturers personal, ground-position-indicating enabled, wireless electronic rf communication devices in a zone, and a network outside of the zone.
US08254830B2	Data transmission system for forwarding data using a plurality of antennas A data transmission system transmitting data using a relay is provided. The relay selects a transmission terminal from a plurality of terminals connected to a base station. During a first time slot, the base station transmits base station data to the relay and the transmission terminal transmits terminal data to the relay. The relay transmits the terminal data to the base station and transmits the base station data to the transmission terminal during a second time slot.
US08254826B2	Image recording device including moving mechanism for feed unit rotating member An image recording device includes: a tray having a placing surface; a feed unit comprising a rotating member configured to move in a first direction away from the placing surface of the tray and move in a second direction toward the placing surface of the tray; a frictional member disposed on the placing surface; a recording unit; a conveying unit configured to return the sheet, on one side of which the image has been recorded by the recording unit, to the placing surface; and a moving mechanism configured to move the rotating member in the first direction and in the second direction. The moving mechanism is configured to move the rotating member in the first direction before a leading end of the sheet returned by the conveying unit reaches the frictional member in a state where no sheet is placed on the tray.
US08254824B2	Recording medium conveying device and image forming apparatus A recording medium conveying device includes a first conveying unit that feeds a recording medium from a recording medium storage section to a registration roller, the recording medium storage section being located in a main body of an image forming apparatus; and a second conveying unit that feeds a recording medium from a bypass tray to the registration roller. A conveying roller of the first conveying unit and a conveying roller of the second conveying unit are driven by a driving unit.
US08254823B2	Waste toner storage unit and image forming apparatus using same A waste toner storage unit detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus includes a waste toner container and an inner cover integrally attached to the waste toner container. The waste toner container stores waste toner recovered after an image forming process. The inner cover is located at a region of the waste toner storage unit that does not store waste toner.
US08254822B2	Image forming apparatus and process cartridge having inclined partitioning unit According to an aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus includes a removing unit, a conveying unit, a partitioning unit. The removing unit includes an edge portion and removes toner on an image carrier while the tip end contacts the image carrier. The conveying unit conveys, toward an axial direction of the conveying unit, the toner removed from the image carrier and moved above the removing unit, the conveying unit being disposed above the removing unit. The partitioning unit is inclined to a conveying direction of the conveying unit and is disposed above the removing unit through a space.
US08254818B2	Transfer device and image forming apparatus provided with the transfer device A transfer device including a transfer roller including a roller base member which opposes an image carrier carrying an image, the transfer device rotates about an axis of rotation, and has a concaved portion on an outer circumference thereof and is configured to transfer the image carried by the image carrier to a recording medium when the concaved portion is not opposed to the image carrier, the device also including a pressing portion configured to press the transfer roller to the image carrier, and a contact portion provided at either end of the transfer roller, wherein the contact portion includes an outer circumference which comes into contact with a supporting portion disposed on a drive transmitting portion configured to transmit a drive to the image carrier while the concaved portion opposes the image carrier, and an elastic member is provided on the outer circumference of the contact portion.
US08254816B2	Developing device The developing device includes a developing roller, a layer thickness regulating blade, a first supporting member, a second supporting member, and a securing member. The developing roller has a surface on which a developing agent is deposited. The layer thickness regulates blade that slidingly contacts the surface of the developing roller to regulate a thickness of the developing agent thereon. The first supporting member has a first pinching part and a first securing part oriented in different directions to have a first angle formed therebetween. The second supporting member having a second pinching part and a second securing part oriented in different directions to have a second angle formed therebetween, the second pinching part being urged against the first pinching part. The securing member secures the first securing part and the second securing part while pinching the layer thickness regulating blade between the first pinching part and the second pinching part.
US08254812B2	Driving unit for photo conductor drum cartridge A driving unit for a photo conductor drum cartridge is assembled with a shaft of the photo conductor drum cartridge, including a gear and a conducting plate mounted on the gear. The conducting plate is provided with an elastic arm and defines an imaginary axis parallel to the shaft. When the elastic arm of the conducting plate is perpendicular to the imaginary axis, a distance L is defined between a distal end of the elastic arm and the imaginary axis. The distance L is longer than or equal to a radius d of an annular groove portion of the shaft and shorter than a radius D of the shaft. By means of this design, the driving unit can be reusable and provide a convenient detachment of a photo conductor drum.
US08254807B2	Developing unit having guide that stably supports toner cartridge A developing device includes a developer cartridge and a developing unit. The developing unit includes a first guide and a second guide. The second is movable with respect to the developing frame between a first position where the second guide is in continuous with the first guide and a second position where a continuous state of the second guide with the first guide is interrupted. The developer cartridge includes a developer frame that accommodates a developer and a first guided member movable with respect to the developer frame. The first guide and the second guide at the first position guide the first guided member in the course of attaching the developer cartridge to the developing unit. When an attachment of the developer cartridge to the developing unit completes, the first guide receives the first guided member, and the second guide is at the second position.
US08254806B2	Process cartridge and image forming apparatus A process cartridge includes: a frame having an opening that is long in a predetermined direction; a photosensitive drum held in the frame, a portion of a surface of the photosensitive drum being opposite to the opening of the frame, the photosensitive drum extending along a longitudinal direction of the opening; and a protection member that has: a linear body portion extending in the longitudinal direction; and a support portion extending from an end of the linear body portion in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, wherein the support portion is supported on the frame so as to rotate about an axis that extends along the longitudinal direction, and the linear body portion is movable between a protecting position and a retreat position.
US08254804B2	Monolithic sealing member for image forming apparatus and method of manufacturing the same A method for manufacturing a monolithic sealing member for an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus having the monolithic sealing member are provided. The method includes applying a foamable polyurethane liquid in a portion of a housing in which three or more surfaces meet, molding the foamable polyurethane liquid in a mold and foaming the polyurethane liquid to obtain a polyurethane foam, and hardening the polyurethane foam. The foamable polyurethane liquid may be a one-pack foamable polyurethane liquid or a two-pack foamable polyurethane liquid.
US08254802B2	Image heating apparatus An image heating apparatus including: an image heating member for heating an image formed on a sheet at a nip portion; a temperature detector for detecting temperature of a predetermined region of the image heating member; a cooler for cooling the predetermined region; and an activating device for activating the cooler to perform a cooling operation in accordance with an output of the temperature detector, wherein the apparatus has a first mode of stopping a cooling operation in accordance with an output of the temperature detector; and a second mode of stopping the cooling operation in accordance with an end of image heating processing irrespective of the output of the temperature detecting device. The image heating apparatus is capable of suppressing unnecessary energy consumption, and of eliminating uneven glossiness due to a reduced temperature region at a boundary between a sheet passing portion and a non-sheet passing portion.
US08254801B2	Grounding assembly for a drum in an image forming apparatus A flange assembly for a drum of an image forming apparatus. The flange assembly including a flange having a hollow portion that extends from a first end of the flange to a second end of the flange, and a grounding member provided within the hollow portion of the flange. The grounding member is configured to ground the drum by contacting a ground pin of the image forming apparatus when the drum and the flange assembly are mounted to the image forming apparatus. When the grounding member is provided within the hollow portion of the flange, an open space is provided along an entire length from the first end of the flange to the second end of the flange. The driving flange has a generally triangular-shaped drive member at a terminal end thereof, and the drive member is configured to mate with a drum drive assembly of the image forming apparatus.
US08254800B2	Image processing apparatus having a function of detecting a living body and method of controlling the same An image processing apparatus includes a living body detection unit configured to detect approaching of a living body based on a detection output depending on a distance to the living body, an operation unit configured to receive an operation command from a user, a history recording unit configured to record a history of a detection output of the living body detection unit and a history of an operation performed on the operation unit, and a determination unit configured to determine a threshold value of the detection output, the threshold value being used by the living body detection unit as a determination reference value in determining whether a living body is detected, the determination of the threshold value being made based on the history recorded in the history recording unit as to the detection output of the living body detection unit and as to the operation performed on the operation unit.
US08254791B2	Optical transmitting apparatus and optical communication system A light source control section 15 selects a first light emitting device arrangement (color combination device group) in which LEDs 19 make a particular visible light color by color synthesis and form one optical communication channel, and then causes the first light emitting device arrangement to emit light, and selects a second light emitting device arrangement so that a light quantity of a light source 18 as a whole becomes uniform, and then causes the selected second light emitting device arrangement to emit light when the first light emitting device arrangement does not emit light. As a result, upon performing optical communication, an optical transmitting apparatus and an optical communication system that can emit an illumination light at a uniform light quantity without generating a flicker of illumination can be realized.
US08254787B2	PMDC feedback arrangement for APol-DPSK Methods and apparatus are provided for optical polarization mode dispersion compensator (PMDC) feedback control for APol-DPSK signals. A feedback signal generator includes a delay-line-interferometer (DLI), with a differential delay line delay (D) different from one bit period (Tb). In an exemplary embodiment, the DLI delay is in the range of 0.5 Tb
US08254786B2	Method and system for monitoring and servicing devices based on one-wire infrared communication A digital signal is sent by a one-wire digital input/output unit of a one-wire IR communication system at the side of the dedicated device to an IR transmitting element, a working range is established in which the IR signal is sent, which is received at the side of the target device by an IR receiving element of the one-wire IR communication system of the target device, and the IR signal is sent by the one-wire digital input/out of the IR system across the main communication trunk to the modules of the target device. The system has a one-wire infrared communication system installed in a dedicated device and a target device, containing a one-wire digital input/output of the system, connected to a separator/amplifier unit with RxD and TxD lines, while the one-wire input/output of the system at the side with the dedicated device is connected to units of the testing system of the device and at the side with the target device the one-wire digital input/output of the system is connected directly by the main communication trunk to the modules of the target device.
US08254782B2	Optical signal quality monitoring apparatus The present invention relates to the quality monitoring of optical signals, which have different symbol rates and generated by different modulation schemes, used for example in a wavelength division multiplexing network. The apparatus according to the invention includes an optical splitter for outputting the input optical signal to a first optical route and a second optical route, an optical coupler for coupling a optical signal from the first optical route with a optical signal from the second optical route, a delay unit provided on the first optical route, and a phase shift unit provided on the first optical route or the second optical route.
US08254778B2	Method, apparatus and system for handling fiber line fault A method for handling a fiber line fault is provided. The method includes: loading, by a station, an indication signal carrying alarm suppression information onto an optical signal to be output to a downstream fiber of the station upon detection of a fault on upstream fiber line; keeping in a normal working status, by a downstream station upon a receipt of the optical signal with the indication signal. The various embodiments of the present disclosure suppress alarms from downstream amplifier stations which are not adjacent to the failure link and further suppress APR or APSD procedures according to the alarms.
US08254776B2	Motion detector camera A motion detector camera includes a camera mechanism mounted inside a housing, a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing, and a controller for controlling the camera mechanism in response to signals received from the motion detector. The camera can include an activity counter mounted to the housing. The controller activates the camera mechanism when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector, or the controller activates the activity counter and does not activate the camera mechanism when a triggering activity occurs. The camera can include digital camera electronics. A camera support can be used to removably mount the camera to an object such as a tree.
US08254770B2	Lens apparatus A lens apparatus supported by a support member, includes a pan/tilt detection portion for determining whether or not a pan operation and a tilt operation of the support member are performed, based on pan/tilt operation information output from the support member, an image blur correction lens for correcting an image blur, a vibration detection portion for detecting vibration of the lens apparatus, and calculating an amount of the image blur, and an image stabilizing portion for driving the image blur correction lens based on the amount of the image blur. The pan/tilt detection portion resets the vibration detection portion when the pan/tilt detection portion determines that one of the pan operation or the tilt operation is performed, and releases the reset of the vibration detection portion when the pan/tilt detection portion determines that the one of the pan operation or the tilt operation is not performed.
US08254763B2	Apparatus and method for recording content Methods, computer readable media, and apparatuses for switching streams in response to detecting a start trigger are presented. A program's start trigger indicating that the program is upcoming may be detected on a first stream, and in response to detecting the start trigger on the first stream, a second stream containing the program may be switched to. The program may be a video program. Segment triggers may be detected and may be used to selectively record and/or delete segments of the program according to a priority scheme. Multiple start triggers may be detected at decreasing time intervals. The existence of a recording conflict may be determined based on a program's start trigger and a user may be alerted of the recording conflict.
US08254759B2	Broadcasting signal processing apparatus and method thereof for recording and reproducing with respect to hard disc drive A broadcast signal processing apparatus that is capable of recording and reproducing an externally received broadcast signal with respect to a hard disc drive, and which includes a broadcast signal receiving part for receiving a broadcast signal, demodulating and dividing the received broadcast signal into a video and audio signal, a hard disc drive formatted in a file allocation table (FAT) form, and wherein the HDD has a FAT and a data region, and a control part for recording, searching and reproducing the audio and video signals with respect to the HDD based on the FAT file system. When the FAT is updated, the apparatus is further capable of adding a temporary file termination data to an end of the updated data, and converting, corresponding to a recording stop signal, the temporary file termination data into a normal file termination data according to the FAT file system.
US08254752B2	Method and system for replaying a movie from a wanted point by searching specific person included in the movie The present invention relates to a method for making a user easily replay a scene on which a specific person appears included in a movie. The method includes the steps of: (a) distinguishing persons appearing in the movie by recognizing their faces; (b) obtaining identifier of each distinguished person, feature data of the persons, information on time zone in which each person appears, wherein the information on the time zone includes a starting time and an ending time and wherein the ending time for a person is determined as the last time that the person appeared if the person has not appeared for more than a certain critical time; (c) displaying the identifier at a request of replay of the movie; and (d) replaying the movie from the starting time for a specific person who corresponds to a specific identifier if the specific identifier is selected.
US08254750B2	Recording medium capable of interactive reproducing and reproduction system for the same On an optical disk, video object sets (VTST_VOBS) to be reproduced and video title set information (VTSI) serving as management information on the video object sets have been stored. In each video object set (VTST_VOBS), many data cells, each containing video, audio, and sub-picture data, are arranged. Management information on programs chains, which are combinations of programs to be reproduced one after another, has been written in a video title set PGC table (VTS_PGCIT). By referring to the program chain table (VTS_PGCIT) according to the user's input, the playback order of program chains can be changed, enabling the program chains to be reproduced one after another in various modes.
US08254747B2	Recording medium containing moving picture data and additional information thereof and reproducing method and apparatus of the recording medium The present invention relates to a recording medium containing moving picture data and additional information thereof and to reproducing method and apparatus of the recording medium. The present recording medium has script files including additional information about moving picture data, e.g., scene descriptive text and introduction of characters, etc. In addition, information linking each script file with a section of moving picture data to be presented with contents of the script file is included in a link data file or is contained in a filename of the script file. In reproduction of the recording medium, a script file linked with presently reproduced moving picture data section is determined and searched for based on the link data file or every filename of the script files, and contents of the found script file are presented together with the presently reproduced moving picture data. Furthermore, previously presented additional information is removed depending on data or filename of the found script file.
US08254737B2	System and tapered waveguide for improving light coupling efficiency between optical fibers and integrated planar waveguides and method of manufacturing same A tapered waveguide optical mode transformer (20) includes a tapered core formed on a planar substrate structure (16). To vertically taper the core (21), steps (22) are etched into the top surface of the core. The steps have depths and lengths along the optical axis of tapered waveguide that are selected to transform the optical mode characteristics of a desired optical fiber to the optical mode characteristics of a desired planar waveguide. The core can also be tapered horizontally to form a 2-D tapered waveguide. The tapered waveguide can be integrally included in planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) to reduce light coupling losses between optical fibers and the PLC waveguides.
US08254736B2	Prism array A prism array for collecting light is provided. The prism array includes a first prism module and a coupling joint. The first prism module includes a first guiding prism and at least one first reflective prism. The first reflective prism is close to the first guiding prism, wherein light travels from the first guiding prism to the first reflective prism, and is reflected thereby. The coupling joint includes a first light pipe, a second light pipe, a third light pipe and a light transmitting pipe, wherein the first light pipe, the second light pipe and the third light pipe are coupled to an end of the light transmitting pipe, the third light pipe corresponds to the first reflective prism, and the light travels from the first reflective prism, passing through the third light pipe to the light transmitting pipe.
US08254735B2	Optical fiber coupler A coupling device includes a fiber collimator, a wedge window pair and a plane window for coupling a light beam provided by a beam source to optical fiber. The fiber collimator is mounted to a base plate and includes a collimator lens, an end of the optical fiber being positioned at a focal point of the collimator lens. The wedge window pair is mounted to the base plate, and is configured to adjust the light beam to be parallel to an optical axis of the fiber collimator. The plane window is mounted to the base plate between the wedge window pair and the fiber collimator. The plane window is configured to align the parallel direction of the light beam with the optical axis of the fiber collimator.
US08254733B2	Optical chemical detector and method An apparatus and method for optically detecting the presence of an analyte in a solution is presented. An embodiment comprises a waveguide resonator that is optically coupled to a fluid in a fluidic conduit so that the resonant wavelength of the waveguide resonator is based on the refractive index of the fluid.
US08254728B2	Method and apparatus for two dimensional image processing In one embodiment, the present invention is a system for organizing data flow for two dimensional digital image processing. The system includes a memory access module for accessing an external memory containing image data to be processed, and a data flow organizer module for preparing a data stream from the input image data accessed by the memory access module. The data flow organizer module predicts future data needed for processing, and the memory access module pre-fetches the predicted data from the memory. A data processing module processes the pre-fetched data from the data flow organizer module. Address generation for accessing the memory is performed independent and in parallel with processing the pre-fetched data.
US08254723B2	System and method for extracting boundary elements of an object A computer-implemented method for extracting boundary elements of an object includes receiving measurement data of a point cloud of the object and a maximum edge length of a triangle to form a triangular mesh surface of the point cloud, constructing the triangular mesh surface, and extracting boundary points from the triangular mesh surface. The method further includes grouping the boundary points according to a vector relationship between one boundary point and each of the other boundary points, fitting each group of boundary points to an appropriate boundary characteristic. The appropriate boundary characteristic may be output to a storage system.
US08254720B2	Image extracting apparatus, computer program product, and image extracting method Provided are a scene-transition-image extraction unit that extracts a scene transition image from a sequence of successive images using a predetermined extraction condition, a display unit that displays a near image of the scene transition image, an operation history acquiring unit that acquires image information of an image, for which a predetermined viewing operation is performed, among the near image(s) and history information of the operation, an extraction condition changing unit that changes the extraction condition using the image information and the history information of the operation acquired by the operation history acquiring unit. The scene-transition-image extraction unit re-extracts a scene transition image using the extraction condition changed by the extraction condition changing unit.
US08254719B2	Input compensating for imaging distortion Certain aspects can relate to obtaining at least some input compensating information at least partially based on the distortion characterizing imaging information that when applied to an imaging modality used to obtain the at least one image information can limit distortions to the at least the portion of the at least one image information resulting from at least a portion of at least one distorting feature, wherein the at least some input compensating information is characterized based at least in part on the at least one relative orientation of the at least the portion of the at least one distorting feature relative to the at least one image information.
US08254718B2	Multi-channel edge-aware chrominance noise reduction Noise in an image is reduced in a manner that takes into account edge information in one or more channels of the image. A first image is received that is formatted according to a red-green-blue (RGB) color model. The first image is converted from the RGB color model to a second color model that includes at least a luminance channel, a first chrominance channel, and a second chrominance channel that are representative of the first image. The first and second chrominance channels are each denoised in a manner that accounts at least for edge information in the luminance channel, and may also include edge information from other channels in a manner that accounts for per-channel noise characteristics. The luminance channel and denoised first and second chrominance channels are converted to a second image formatted according to the RGB color model that is a noise-reduced version of the first image.
US08254717B2	Picture enhancement by utilizing quantization precision of regions An apparatus for enhancing at least a region of an input picture having input pixel values enabling a reduction of quantization banding artifacts including an estimation unit arranged to estimate a quantization precision of at least the region of the input picture, a pattern analysis unit arranged to determine positions in the input picture of changes in input pixel value of less than or equal to the quantization precision, and to output analysis information representing the positions, and an adaptive filter, arranged to calculate an output picture corresponding to at least the region of the input picture, comprising output pixels being determined on the basis of adaptive combinations of input pixels, and arranged to determine the adaptive combinations in dependence on the analysis information.
US08254716B2	Method for adaptive image enhancement A filtering system and method are disclosed, to perform simultaneous, de-noising, and details enhancement tasks of a video image. The efficient filtering system includes multiple filters, which operate on a portion of the video image that has been partitioned into multiple rings. Using the filtering system, complex mathematical operations are avoided.
US08254714B2	Methods and systems for designing electromagnetic wave filters and electromagnetic wave filters designed using same Methods and systems for designing electromagnetic wave filters and electromagnetic wave filters designed using the methods and systems are disclosed. In one method, functions are selected whose linear combination define the surface of a filter for producing a desired phase-encoded image. Free parameter values are selected for the function and are varied. The values of the free parameters are observed with regard to an optimization function. Final values of the free parameters are selected based on the optimization function having a specific value or range of values.
US08254710B2	Compression method, extension method and image processing apparatus In a compression method of quantizing and compressing image data of an image, the method comprises the steps of: determining a method of quantization for each pixel; quantizing the image data in pixel unit according to the determined quantization method; storing the quantized image data in a same region of a memory in spite of the quantization method; and storing discrimination data for discriminating the quantization method used for quantizing the image data by corresponding to the quantized image data in the memory.
US08254703B2	Image compression apparatus and image compression method An image compression apparatus includes: a dividing section for dividing an image to be compressed into blocks; a discrimination section for determining whether the divided block is a first kind block, in which an outline portion of the image is not included and a difference between the maximum gradation value and the minimum gradation value of the block is equal to or greater than a reference value; and a normalization output section which divides a distribution range of gradation values depending on the discrimination result with respect to the block and outputs compressed data containing code data for showing to which area in the divided distribution rage, each pixel in each block belongs, the maximum value and the minimum value; wherein the normalization output section arranges the maximum value and the minimum value related to the block in a different order depending on whether the first kind block or not.
US08254698B2	Methods for document-to-template matching for data-leak prevention The present invention discloses methods for document-to-template matching for data-leak prevention (DLP), the methods including the steps of: providing a document as a stream of characters; splitting the stream into a plurality of serialized data lines; calculating a hash value for each serialized data line; checking for each hash value in a hash map of a template set; determining a similarity match to a particular template based on a predefined threshold of template hash values, of the template set, being found in the stream; and based on the similarity match, executing a DLP security policy for the document. Preferably, the template set is extracted from documents manually prepared by a security administrator. Preferably, each template in the template set is deduced automatically from a plurality of documents.
US08254697B2	Scalable near duplicate image search with geometric constraints Methods are disclosed for finding images from a large corpus of images that at least partially match a query image. The present method makes use of feature detectors to bundle features into local groups or bundles. These bundled features are repeatable and much more discriminative than an individual SIFT feature. Equally importantly, the bundled features provide a flexible representation that allows simple and robust geometric constraints to be efficiently enforced when querying the index.
US08254692B2	Document comparison method and apparatus The method compares a first document 10 and a second document 20. The documents may be scanned in 110,112 or an electronic image formed in other ways 114,116. Each electronic image is then segmented into basic units 14,24 such as words, lines or paragraphs. Differences between the matched basic units 14, 24 are determined and a document 30 representing the differences is created 130 and output 132.
US08254683B2	Code image processing method When a small block area enters a first two-dimensional code during a scan and features of the image within the area of a position in the first two-dimensional code coincide with a two-dimensional code, the block area is specified as containing a code and a recognition process is performed in the nearby areas. When the recognition of the two-dimensional code has been successful, the area of the first two-dimensional code is further extracted. When the extraction of the area of the first two-dimensional code has been successful, the scan using the small block area is further continued to search for a second two-dimensional code. With an already recognized entrance to the area of the first two-dimensional code, the area is skipped to continue the search. The second two-dimensional code is detected at a high speed by repeating the operation.
US08254681B1	Display of document image optimized for reading Semantically meaningful segments of an image of a document, such as tables of contents, page numbers, footnotes, and the like, are identified. These segments form a model of the document image, which may then be rendered differently for different client devices. The rendering may be based on a display parameter provided by a client device, such as a display resolution of the client device, or a requested display format.
US08254680B2	Apparatus and method of segmenting an image in an image coding and/or decoding system An apparatus usable in an image encoding and/or decoding system includes a segmentation unit to convert a first image of a first resolution into a second image of a second resolution, to segment the second image of the second resolution with one or more blocks of a binary mask layer having a foreground and a background, and to convert the segmented second image into a third image of a third resolution as a segmented image.
US08254675B2	Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus and image processing program A white-balance imaging apparatus includes a first gradation converting unit performing gradation conversion depending on each pixel value of an original image, a second gradation converting unit performing gradation conversion based on pixel values within a predetermined range from each pixel of the original image, a selecting unit selecting a gradation conversion mode, and a determining unit determining second gradation conversion parameters for use by the second gradation converting unit, according to the selected gradation conversion mode, and determining at least one of first gradation conversion parameters for use by the first gradation converting unit and an exposure amount in an exposure amount adjusting part which can adjust the exposure amount, according to the selected gradation conversion mode. Therefore, it is possible to correct the dark area gradation of an image while maintaining brightness of the whole image, and to realize preferable gradation conversion.
US08254668B2	Method and apparatus for processing three-dimensional images A three-dimensional sense adjusting unit displays three-dimensional images to a user. If a displayed reaches a limit of parallax, the user responds to the three-dimensional sense adjusting unit. According to acquired appropriate parallax information, a parallax control unit generates parallax images to realize the appropriate parallax in the subsequent stereo display. The control of parallaxes is realized by optimally setting camera parameters by going back to three-dimensional data. Functions to realize the appropriate parallax are made into and presented by a library.
US08254667B2	Method, medium, and system implementing 3D model generation based on 2D photographic images A modeling method, medium, and system. The modeling method identifies a object within an image by detecting edges within the image, determines a complexity of the identified object based upon detected surface orientations of the identified object relative to a defined surface of the image, selectively, based upon the determined complexity, generates one or more surfaces for a 3D model by identifying one or more vanishing points for one or more corresponding surfaces, respectively, of the identified object and respectively analyzing the identified one or more vanishing points relative to respective determined points of the one or more corresponding surfaces of the image, and generates the 3D model by combining the one or more surfaces in a 3D space.
US08254665B2	Systems for capturing three-dimensional one or more images and methods thereof Methods and systems for three-dimensional imaging include sampling one or more emissions which are reflected back from a target scene with one or more micro-channel plates. The one or more sampled emissions are processed in one or more frames. Within each frame a phase is extracted and a distance to the target scene and amplitude is determined on a pixel-by-pixel basis. A three dimensional image of the target scene is generated and provided based on the extracted phase and the determined distance and amplitude for the one or more frames.
US08254664B2	System and method for measuring errors of workpieces A method for measuring errors of workpieces by comparing a three-dimensional model and the workpieces manufactured according to the three-dimensional model is provided. The method converts a point cloud of each workpiece to a measured triangular mesh model, and aligns each measured triangular mesh model to the three-dimensional model. The method further compares each measured triangular mesh model with the three-dimensional model to check for differences between two model so as to obtain errors of each workpiece, and generates one or more analysis reports according to the errors of each workpiece.
US08254662B2	System for monitoring foreign particles, process processing apparatus and method of electronic commerce A system for monitoring foreign matter includes a manufacturing line having plural process processing apparatuses, a production management system which manages the processing of workpieces in the manufacturing line, plural optical heads which monitor foreign matter in relation to at least one of the workpieces, and which provide an output signal indicative thereof, and at least one image signal processing unit provided in a lesser number than a number of the plural optical heads for processing the output signal therefrom.
US08254661B2	System and method for generating spatial signatures A system and method for performing spatial signature analysis, the system including a memory unit for storing wafer defect density maps of multiple resolutions, derived from a defect map obtained by an inspection tool; an analyzer for analyzing the wafer defect density maps to identify zones of interest; and a spatial signature generator for generating spatial signatures in response to relations between zones of interest of different density resolution.
US08254659B2	Method and apparatus for visually inspecting an object A method comprises projecting a light and shade pattern defined by preset optic parameters through a body, detecting an image of the light and shade pattern through the body to obtain a detected image, processing the detected image to highlight any irregularities of the light and shade pattern in the detected image; an apparatus comprises a light-source for projecting a light and shade pattern defined by preset optic parameters through a body, an image-detecting device for detecting an image of the light and shade pattern through the body to obtain a detected image and a processing device for processing the detected image in such a way as to highlight any irregularities of the light and shade pattern in the detected image.
US08254657B2	Image recognition and analysis system and software A method of analyzing bubbles, cells, cell viability, or other particles or agglomerates in a process liquid contained in a vessel is provided. Images of bubbles, cells or other particles in the liquid are obtained in-situ with a vision probe extending through a wall of the vessel. The images are analyzed with image recognition software. The software measures at lease one of bubble, cell or particle size, mean diameter, surface area, flow rate, flow pattern, population distribution, viability, agglomerates or clumping, color change, viscosity, Sauter mean, ratio of surface area of bubbles relative to volume of bubbles, gas hold-up ratio of gas volume to volume of liquid, or interfacial area. The software distinguishes valid or viable bubbles, cells or particles that should be included in an analysis from invalid or non-viable bubbles, cells or particles that should not be included. The software can be configured to provide an analysis of the valid bubbles, cells or particles that fall within pre-set size and shape or viability parameters.
US08254649B2	Medical image observation system The report storage stores an interpretation report that includes patient-identifying information, examination-specifying information, and medical image-specifying information that specifies medical image data. The image data storage stores the medical image data that includes image data and additional information for the image data that includes the patient-identifying information, the examination-specifying information, and the medical image-specifying information. The key image-searching part specifies an interpretation report that includes patient-identifying information specified by a display request for the medical image data and specifies the medical image data using the medical image-specifying information included in the specified interpretation report. The image data-searching part reads the medical image data from the image data storage based on the additional information of the specified medical image data and the display request. The displaying part displays a medical image based on the read medical image data.
US08254647B1	Facial image quality assessment In general, this disclosure describes techniques for assessing image quality of captured facial images. An example method includes capturing an image, generating a facial detection confidence score based in part on a likelihood that a representation of at least a portion of a face is included in the image, generating a facial landmark detection confidence score based at least in part on a likelihood that representations of facial landmarks are accurately identified in the image, and generating a geometric consistency score based at least in part on a difference between a point of intersection between a nose base and a line segment that passes through each eye and a midpoint of the line segment. The method also includes generating an image quality score based in part on a combination of the confidence scores, and the consistency score, and classifying an image quality based on the image quality score.
US08254646B2	Image preprocessing A method performed by a software process executing on a computer system, includes obtaining a digital image having a plurality of pixels encoded in a YUV color space. Each pixel has a luma component of value Y, a blue color-difference component of value U and a red color-difference component of value V. For a specified pixel, the method includes calculating whether U is less than a first threshold and V is greater than a second threshold. The method further includes determining whether the specified pixel potentially depicts an orange hue depending on a result of the calculation.
US08254645B2	Image processing apparatus and method, and program An image processing apparatus includes a holding unit configured to hold, for each combination of a first angle indicating a face direction of a first face image which includes a human face and a second angle indicating a face direction of a second face image which includes a human face, a learning dictionary including information related to positions of feature points associating the first and second face images when a similarity degree between the first and second face images is estimated, a selection unit configured to select the learning dictionary held for each combination in accordance with the combination of the first and second angles, and a similarity degree estimation unit configured to estimate a facial similarity degree between the first and second face images on the basis of feature amounts extracted from the face images corresponding to the positions of the feature points included in the selected learning dictionary.
US08254644B2	Method, apparatus, and program for detecting facial characteristic points First, a face within an image, which is a target of detection, is detected. Detection data of the face is employed to detect eyes which are included in the face. Detection data of the eyes are employed to detect the inner and outer corners of the eyes. Detection data of the inner and outer corners of the eyes is employed to detect characteristic points of the upper and lower eyelids that represent the outline of the eyes.
US08254642B2	Personal authentication method and personal authentication device A personal authentication method and device capable of creating iris information enabling personal authentication even if the iris image shows light reflection. The personal authentication device comprises an imaging section for imaging an eye of the user, an iris code generating section for generating an iris code from the captured image, a determining section for comparing the iris code with a registered iris code and determining whether or not the iris code agrees with the registered code, a control section for giving an instruction to retry imaging when there is no match, a guiding section for guiding the user so that the position where there is light reflection in the iris in retry-imaging changes, an average calculation image creating section for extracting an iris image from images, if the iris code generated from the image captured by retry-imaging disagrees with the registered iris code and creating an average calculation image produced by averaging the pixel values of the iris image, and an iris code generation instruction section for instructing the iris code generating section to generate an iris code from the average calculation image.
US08254641B2	Biometrics authentication system A biometrics authentication system includes: a detection section; a light source section including a plurality of unit light sources capable of illuminating independently of one another; an image pickup device being arranged on the same side as a side where the light source section is arranged with respect to the detection section; a driving section driving the light source section so that the unit light sources periodically illuminate by time division, and driving the image pickup device so that while an image pickup operation by a first image pickup cell group positioned near each of illuminating unit light sources is suspended, an image pickup operation by a second image pickup cell group positioned farther from each of illuminating unit light sources than the first image pickup cell group is performed; an image processing section; and an authentication section.
US08254640B2	Automatic age classification of forest lands A false color composite image is created by assigning mid infrared data from three time-spaced images of an area of interest to corresponding RGB color components for the false color composite image. The RGB color components for the false color composite image are then converted into color space data and classified into a number of color classes. An age is assigned to the color classes to create a classified image of age classes of the area of interest.
US08254637B2	Mask fitting system and method Systems and methods for selecting a mask system for a patient are provided. Certain example embodiments include generating 3D contours of patients and selecting mask systems based at least on these contours. These contours may be generated by using, for example, a cushion of translatable pins, a nasal cannular scanning device, and/or a shadow stereopsis sensor. Certain other example embodiments allow images and/or videos to be captured and optionally synchronized. Then, images of various mask systems may be overlaid to determine how well a mask system fits. In still other embodiments, a user can hold a transparency corresponding to a mask design in front of the patient's face to determine how well a mask system fits.
US08254635B2	Bundling of driver assistance systems A traffic sign recognition system including a detection mechanism adapted for detecting a candidate traffic sign and a recognition mechanism adapted for recognizing the candidate traffic sign as being an electronic traffic sign. A partitioning mechanism may be adapted for partitioning the image frames into a first partition and a second partition. The detection mechanism may use the first portion of the image frames and the recognition mechanism may use the second portion of the image frames. When the candidate traffic sign is detected as an electronic traffic sign, the recognition mechanism may use both the first partition of the image frames and the second portion of the image frames.
US08254634B2	Intelligent image segmentation system and method for accurate target detection Methods and apparatus are provided for dividing an image into a plurality of image chips for presentation on a display. Potential objects of interest are detected within an image by detecting features therein that correspond to objects of interest. The image is uniformly divided into a plurality of preliminary image chips. Triage image chips are generated by automatically adjusting each preliminary image chip such that the potential objects of interest detected within each preliminary image chip are at least substantially centered in each preliminary image chip.
US08254633B1	Method and system for finding correspondence between face camera views and behavior camera views The present invention is a method and system to provide correspondences between a face camera track and a behavior camera track, for the purpose of making correspondence between the data obtained from each track. First, multiple learning machines are trained so that each of the machines processes pairwise person images from a specific pose region, and estimates the likelihood of two person images belonging to the same person based on image appearances. Then, the system acquires a person image associated with a behavior camera track, determines the pose of the person image based on its floor position, and corrects the pose of the person image. The system also acquires person images from face camera images associated with a face camera track, and combines the images with corrected person images from the previous step to form pairwise person images. The pairwise person image is fed to the trained pose-dependent pairwise person verification machines according to the pose of the person images, to compute the appearance match scores between the pair of person images. Finally, the combination of the appearance match scores and the spatiotemporal match scores of the pair of person images determines whether or not the person images belong to the same person.
US08254632B2	Detection of motor vehicle lights with a camera A method for detecting front headlights and tail lights of a motor vehicle uses a color camera sensor that has a plurality of red pixels, i.e. image points which are only sensitive in the red spectral range, and a plurality of pixels of other colors. In a first evaluation stage, only the intensity of the red pixels in the image is analyzed in order to select relevant points of light in the image.
US08254623B2	Image display device An image display device includes a housing including a front cabinet and a back cabinet. Inside the housing, arranged are a flat display panel, a speaker which emits voice forward, and a circuit board which displays an image on the flat display panel and transmits an audio signal to the speaker. Here, the flat display panel is attached to the front cabinet while the speaker and the circuit board are attached to the back cabinet. A sound emitting hole through which an acoustic wave from the speaker should pass is formed in at least a part of a region surrounding a display screen of the flat display panel on a front surface of the front cabinet, and the speaker has such a posture that a sound emitting surface thereof is inclined with respect to the display screen of the flat display panel and faces outside of the display screen.
US08254615B2	Loudspeaker with acoustic speaker lens For a loudspeaker with a cabinet and a driver cone, an acoustic speaker lens may be positioned on the driver cone. The acoustic speaker lens may include a center post and a plurality of ribs extending radially outward from the center post. The acoustic speaker lens may reduce turbulence in air in front of the loudspeaker, thereby leading to an improved perception of audio reproduction.
US08254612B2	Sound system for portable electronic device A sound system (30) for a portable electronic device (20) is provided. The sound system includes a sound generator (28), a sound processor (25), and a speaker subsystem (24). The sound generator is configured for generating sound recordings with single sound format. The sound processor electronically connects with the sound generator and is configured for receiving the sound recordings with single sound format transmitted from the sound processor. The sound processor is configured for processing the sound recordings with single sound format into sound recordings with 5.1 surround format. The speaker subsystem electronically connects with the sound processor and is configured for receiving the sound recordings with 5.1 surround format transmitted from the sound processor and playing the sound recordings with 5.1 surround format.
US08254608B2	Hearing aid device and method of producing a hearing aid device The invention relates to a hearing aid device and a method for manufacturing the hearing aid device. The hearing aid device comprises a housing having an inner surface. The housing has an electrical component therein. A conductive layer is attached on at least a portion of the inner surface of the housing. The inner surface acts as a support for the conductive layer. The electrical component is conductively connected to the conductive layer.
US08254601B2	Impedance matching speaker wire system An impedance matched connection is provided between a load and a power source that outputs signals within a predetermined frequency range. A coaxial line has a predetermined characteristic impedance, an inner conductor, an outer conductor, and an insulator between the conductors. Each conductor has a first end electrically connectable to output terminals of the power source. A compensation circuit has an adjustable impedance, a first terminal electrically connected to a second end of the inner conductor and to a first terminal of the load, and a second terminal electrically connected to a second end of the outer conductor and to a second terminal of the load. The compensation circuit is adjustable to attain, for a pulse having a rise time/fall time faster than the rise/fall times associated with the predetermined range of frequencies, a combined impedance and load that is substantially equal to the characteristic impedance of the coaxial line.
US08254598B2	Programmable integrated microphone interface circuit An integrated circuit for providing programmable microphone interface includes an input terminal for receiving an input signal and an output terminal for providing an output audio signal. In an embodiment, the integrated circuit includes a bias circuit, an amplifier circuit and two feedback circuits. The amplifier circuit includes a first input, a second input, and an output. The first input receives either the input signal or a feedback signal, depending upon mode control signals. The second input receives either the feedback signal or the input signal depending upon the mode control signals. The first feedback circuit is in communication with the output and the first input of the amplifier and includes a first resistor and a first capacitor connected in parallel. The second feedback circuit includes an integrator circuit and provides the feedback signal. The mode control signals can be set in a programmable mode control register.
US08254595B2	System and method of companding an input signal of an energy detecting receiver An apparatus configured as a compandor to achieve a defined dynamic range for an output signal in response to an input signal. In particular, the apparatus comprises a first circuit adapted to generate a first signal from the input signal, wherein the first signal includes a first dynamic range (e.g., a first sensitivity and first compression point); and a second circuit adapted to generate a second signal from the input signal, wherein the second signal includes a second dynamic range (e.g., a second sensitivity and second compression point) that is different from the first dynamic range of the first signal. The apparatus may further include a third circuit adapted to generate an output signal related to a sum of the first and second signals. By adjusting the first and second dynamic ranges, an overall dynamic range for the output signal of the companding apparatus may be achieved.
US08254594B2	In-vehicle apparatus Disclosed herein is an in-vehicle apparatus having an apparatus body, a loading slot formed on the front surface of the apparatus body, a front panel arranged in front of the apparatus body, and a drive mechanism for operatively connecting the front panel to the apparatus body so as to move the front panel. The front panel is movable by the drive mechanism to a normal position where the front panel is arranged in parallel to the front surface of the apparatus body, a left projected position where a left side portion of the front panel is projected frontward, a right projected position where a right side portion of the apparatus body is projected frontward, and an open position where the front panel is inclined frontward so as to open a loading slot formed on the front surface of the apparatus body for loading a recording medium.
US08254592B2	Electronic device and external equipment with configurable audio path circuitry Electronic devices and accessories such as headsets are provided. An accessory may include speakers and active noise cancellation circuitry. Microphones may be used to pick up ambient noise signals for implementing noise cancellation for the speakers. The accessory may also include a voice microphone and an ambient noise microphone that picks up ambient noise signals for implementing noise cancellation for the voice microphone. A user input interface may gather user input. Ultrasonic tone generators may transmit data between the device and accessory. The electronic device and accessory may be connected to each other by audio connectors. Hybrid circuits that each include a summer and a transconductance amplifier may be selectively switched into or out of use. When switched into use, paths between the device and accessory can support bidirectional communications such as communications involving the simultaneous flow of analog audio and microphone signals in opposite directions.
US08254589B2	Active noise suppressor A noise suppressor includes a fundamental sound source (121, 122) for generating a fundamental waveform having a predetermined frequency, and suppresses that frequency component of noise which corresponds to the predetermined frequency by generating a control sound from a signal generated by multiplying the fundamental waveform by an adaptive filter coefficient (W0, W1). The noise suppressor further includes a frequency adjusting circuit (210) for increasing or decreasing, by a predetermined amount, the frequency of the fundamental waveform output from the sound source if the phase fluctuation of the control sound detected by using the adaptive filter coefficient is larger than a predetermined threshold value. The noise suppressor has improved ability of tracking the peak frequency fluctuation of periodic noise.
US08254584B2	Method, medium, and system encoding/decoding multi-channel signal A multi-channel signal decoding method is provided. A down-mixed signal representative of a multi-channel signal is decoded, and parameters representing characteristic relations between channels of the multi-channel signal are decoded. An additional parameter is estimated by using the decoded parameters, and the decoded down-mixed signal is up-mixed by using the decoded parameters and the estimated parameter so as to decode the multi-channel signal.
US08254583B2	Method and apparatus to reproduce stereo sound of two channels based on individual auditory properties A method and apparatus to reproduce stereo sound, which generates optimal stereo sound designed for individual auditory properties. The method includes generating a one or more virtual surround filters corresponding to each of a plurality of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) classified according to one or more individual auditory properties, generating stereo sound for the one or more virtual surround filters, and selecting at least one from the one or more virtual surround filters, and reproducing the stereo sound based on a filter value of the selected at least one virtual surround filter.
US08254577B2	Validation of encryption key A label corresponding to a cryptographic key is stored at a first computational device. A user provided label is received at a second computational device. The user provided label is sent from the second computational device to the first computational device. The user provided label is compared to the label stored at the first computational device. The cryptographic key is used to perform cryptographic operations on data, in response to determining that the user provided label matches the label stored at the first computational device.
US08254574B2	Method and system for enhancing cryptographic capabilities of a wireless device using broadcasted random noise A secret stream of bits begins by receiving a public random stream contained in a wireless communication signal at a transmit/receive unit. The public random stream is sampled and specific bits are extracted according to a shared common secret. These extracted bits are used to create a longer secret stream. The shared common secret may be generated using JRNSO techniques, or provided to the transmit/receive units prior to the communication session. Alternatively, one of the transmit/receive unit is assumed to be more powerful than any potential eavesdropper. In this situation, the powerful transmit/receive unit may broadcast and store a public random stream. The weaker transmit/receive unit selects select random bits of the broadcast for creating a key. The weaker transmit/receive unit sends the powerful transmit/receive unit the selected bit numbers, and powerful transmit/receive unit uses the random numbers to produce the key created by the weaker transmit/receive unit.
US08254573B2	System and method for ciphering key forwarding and RRC packet deciphering in a UMTS monitoring system System and method for forwarding a ciphering key to a decipher application comprising capturing a first message carrying the ciphering key from a first network interface, identifying a network node associated with the first network interface, identifying a monitor responsible for processing messages captured from interfaces coupled to the network node, and forwarding the ciphering key to the monitor. In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise capturing second messages carrying encrypted messages from a second network interface, and deciphering the second messages using the ciphering key. The method may also comprise identifying user equipment associated with the first messages, and selecting a deciphering application running on the monitor using a user equipment identity.
US08254568B2	Secure booting a computing device A method and an apparatus for executing codes embedded inside a device to verify a code image loaded in a memory of the device are described. A code image may be executed after being verified as a trusted code image. The embedded codes may be stored in a secure ROM (read only memory) chip of the device. In one embodiment, the verification of the code image is based on a key stored within the secure ROM chip. The key may be unique to each device. Access to the key may be controlled by the associated secure ROM chip. The device may complete establishing an operating environment subsequent to executing the verified code image.
US08254566B2	Sliding mechanism and electronic device having the same A sliding mechanism comprises a sliding plate, a main plate, a sliding enabling member, a biasing member and a stopping member. The sliding plate has sidewalls and the main plate has peripheral walls corresponding to the sidewalls, respectively. The slide enabling member is coupling the sidewalls to the peripheral walls such that the sliding plate is slid relative to the main plate between closed and open position. The biasing member provides a force for biasing the sliding plate to slide relative to the main body. The stopping member is coupled between the sliding plate and the main plate. When the sliding plate is slid from the open position to the closed position, the stopping member provides a mechanism for the sliding plate to steadily slide relative to the main plate and to firmly stop in the closed position.
US08254563B2	System for line powering in communications This invention discloses a system for line powering in communications. The system for line powering includes a power supply at the central office and remote power supply units (PSUs) connected to the power supply, wherein the power supply at the central office comprises at least two central office PSUs, and the central office PSUs provide power for the remote PSUs after being connected in parallel. At least two central office PSUs are set and connected in parallel to provide power for the remote PSUs, which provides redundant power backup for the remote PSUs and ensures reliability of normal communications in the network communication system. This method also helps to reduce the number of PSUs at the central office power supply part, to save space of the equipment room and to facilitate monitoring of central office PSUs. Thereby, this solution achieves reliable communication services, high integration of central office equipment and cost-effective network communication system.
US08254562B2	Port detection and protection circuit and electronic device using the same A port detection and protection circuit utilizes a voltage detection circuits to output a detection signal according to a voltage difference between the tip signal and the ring signal and utilizes a ring detection circuit to output another detection signal according to a voltage difference between a Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (SLIC) tip signal and a SLIC ring signal signaling an incoming call. In addition, the port detection and protection circuit utilizes at least one logic component to output logic signals according to the detection signals. The port detection and protection circuit further switches a loop of a tip wire, a ring wire and the SLIC on or/and off based on logic signals, and issues an alarm according to the logic signals.
US08254559B2	Routing incipient transactions based on experiential data A method of routing a received incipient transaction to an organization entity includes processing experiential data of a fact collection regarding past transactions, including processing experiential data regarding past transactions involving an initiator of the incipient transaction and experiential data regarding transactions handled by organizational entities. At least one routing rule is evaluated in view of the experiential data processing, to make a routing determination. The incipient transaction is routed, for completion, to one of the organizational entities based on the routing determination. Furthermore, experiential data regarding completion of the incipient transaction, may be fed back to the fact collection.
US08254557B2	Supervisor intercept for teleagent voice over internet protocol communications A system for transferring a call from one teleagent to another in response to a loss of voice quality in a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) communication system. Network parameters that affect voice quality over broadband connections are detected manually or automatically and an alert is generated. In response to the alert, a supervisor can transfer the call in progress to a second agent so that a better communication link can be provided and voice quality restored. Such transfer can be seamless to the caller. In different embodiments, transfer, or intercept, can occur manually or automatically (e.g., without supervisor intervention).
US08254556B2	System and method for processing and routing incoming calls to a communication assistance system The present invention is a call routing system for use in directory assistance. The call routing system employs a primary call routing device configured to receive directory assistance calls from callers at a first directory assistance system, and determines, for each of the calls, whether they will be handled by the first directory assistance system, or by a second directory assistance system among a plurality of directory assistance systems.A secondary router is also provided, configured to route the calls within the first directory assistance system to the primary call routing device. The secondary router has a default call distribution logic, such that if the primary call routing device is off-line, the secondary call router routes the calls among the first directory assistance system and the plurality of directory assistance systems according to the default distribution logic.
US08254541B2	Validating caller ID information to protect against caller ID spoofing Caller ID validation system and methods are provided. When a call is placed over a communication network, a validation system receives the call signaling, and processes the call signaling to identify originating node information in the call signaling. The originating node information is inserted by the communication network when handling the call and pertains to a network node that originates the call into the network. The validation system also processes the call signaling to identify caller ID information for the call. The validation system then processes the originating node information and the caller ID information to determine whether the call originated from the originating node. If the call did originate from the originating node, then the validation system determines that the caller ID information is valid.
US08254539B2	Controlling a test load throttle A device includes a traffic load profile containing information for regulating rates of routing calls and a controller. The controller may be configured to access the traffic load profile, obtain network calls from a traffic load producer, and route the network calls to a system under test based on the traffic load profile.
US08254537B2	Method and apparatus for updating a presence attribute A Presence Server receives presence information associated with a Presentity, wherein the presence information comprises one or more presence attributes and the Presentity is associated with a Presence Source and a first Watcher. The Presence Server further receives a request from a second Watcher to view a presence attribute of the one or more presence attributes. The Presence Server may further receive a message from the first Watcher specifying a desire to be notified of who is watching the Presentity, presence attributes being filtered, and/or throttling or deferring of presence attribute updates being implemented by the Presence Server. The Presence Server conveys to the first Watcher watcher notification information that informs of Watchers watching the Presentity, what is being watched, presence attributes being filtered, and/or throttling or deferring of presence attribute updates. The Presentity then determines whether to publish a presence attribute update based on the watcher notification information.
US08254534B2	Method and apparatus for automatic telephone menu navigation Principles of the present invention provide techniques for automatically navigating through a telephone menu system. Illustrative techniques of the invention permit a user of a telephone menu system (e.g., IVR system) to record operations needed to navigate to a particular point in a menu tree of the telephone menu system and to either gather information or perform a transaction at that menu point. The information or transaction status may be reported to the user. Part of the act of training may be the association of a command with the navigation operations, after which the automated telephone menu navigation system of the invention will repeat the procedure, in correct synchrony with the telephone menu service, when the user says the command. In addition, the techniques of the invention detect failure or loss of synchronization or changes in the telephone menu.
US08254529B2	Method and apparatus for emergency services number alerting in an internet protocol network A method and apparatus for identification of emergency conditions present at a given geographic location of an Internet Protocol (IP) based device and the subsequent appropriate alerting of an Emergency Services Notification (ESN) telephone number. The method and apparatus serve to monitor an IP packet flow from an IP telephony device and sense a datagram within the packet flow corresponding to an ESN dialing sequence. Upon sensing the ESN dialing sequence, the normal call packet flow is interrupted while IP-based call set-up information is returned as though a normal IP-based call were placed. An ESN call server is then alerted of the ESN dialing sequence and functions to forward the IP packet flow to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) appropriate to the IP telephony device along with location information corresponding to a civic address at which the IP telephony device is located.
US08254528B2	System and method to push messages indicating status of trouble reports in a telecommunications network A system, method, and media for managing messages, comprising a status push application in communication with a trouble ticket database and a work force administration and control system, the status push application being enabled to detect a status change for a trouble ticket associated with the trouble ticket database and further enabled to selectively push a message to one or more external and potentially non-compatible systems in response to detecting the status change.
US08254525B2	X-ray scanning system performing synchronization using wireless signal The present invention relates to an X-ray scanning system which is used to synchronize the preheating of an X-ray irradiation unit and the initialization of a digital image panel using wireless synchronization signals. The preheating of the X-ray irradiation unit and the initialization of the digital image panel are synchronized with each other using the wireless synchronization signal generated by the user's commands inputted through a hand-held switch unit. This makes it possible to conveniently take an X-ray image of an object.
US08254522B2	Dynamic image capturing control apparatus and dynamic image capturing system A dynamic image, of a quality required for diagnosis that does not increase the radiation dosage of a person being imaged, can be captured by a dynamic imaging system that includes an imaging console which has a control unit. The control unit analyzes at least one of the frame images captured at an initial state of dynamic imaging, calculates an index indicating the quality of the image, and calculates, by using the calculated index, an upper limit frame rate fsup such that the index indicating the quality of the frame image captured by the dynamic imaging is below a determined reference value. The frame rate used for dynamic imaging is determined according to the calculated upper limit frame rate fsup and a lower limit frame rate finf required to diagnose the dynamic state of the imaged region. An imaging device may image the person at the determined frame rate.
US08254521B2	Dedicated breast radiation imaging/therapy system System, apparatus and methods specialized for breast and related tissue radiation therapy and imaging of a prone patient but also usable for supine patient if desired or needed. A special treatment radiation source such as a LINAC unit generates radiation of types and energy ranges specifically matched to breast tissue. Any one or more of several imaging technologies may be used to localize the tissue to be irradiated and to generate information for therapy planning, adjustment, and verification.
US08254508B2	Method and apparatus for frequency tracking in a space time transmit diversity receiver A system and method for obtaining a frequency error estimate representing the difference between a reference frequency and the frequency of a space-time transmit diversity signal is disclosed herein. The method includes taking the correlation of total sums, comprised of partial sums taken in defined first and second intervals, to represent the frequency error as the imaginary component of the correlation function.
US08254506B2	Adaptive electronic transmission signal cancellation apparatus for full duplex communication An adaptive electronic transmission signal cancellation circuit for separating transmit data from receive data in a bidirectional communication system operating in full duplex mode is disclosed. The output of a main transmitter responsive to a first bias current is connected to the output of a receiver through an internal resistor. A first replica transmitter responsive to a second bias current and matched to the main transmitter current gain and rise/fall time characteristics is connected to the input terminal of the receiver, and produces a cancellation voltage between the output terminal of the main transmitter and the input terminal of the receiver as a function of the second bias current and the internal resistor. A second replica transmitter matched to the current gain and rise/fall time characteristics of the main transmitter and the first replica transmitter and responsive to the second bias current is connected to the output terminal of the main transmitter for canceling excess current, developed by the first replica transmitter, at the output terminal of the main transmitter.
US08254501B2	Receiving apparatus, transmitting apparatus, reception method, and transmission method A reception unit receives data from communication apparatuses. A transmission unit transmits data to the communication apparatuses. A control unit determines, in an adaptive way, which modulation and coding schemes to use to transmit and receive data. At a first stage, a modulation and coding scheme with a low transmission rate or a modulation and coding scheme that minimizes power requirements is selected from among a plurality of candidates therefor. At a second stage, the modulation and coding scheme of at least one of the communication apparatuses is changed to another scheme having a higher transmission rate, when it is impossible to allocate sufficient resources for the modulation and coding schemes selected at the first stage.
US08254496B2	Power amplifier and radio wave transmitter having the same A power amplifier (10) comprises: an A/D converter (11) for converting, to a time discrete signal, an envelope signal included in a high-frequency modulated signal and including only an amplitude modulated component of the high-frequency modulated signal; a switching amplifier (12) for amplifying the output signal of the A/D converter (11); a low-pass filter (13) for removing high frequency noise from the output signal of the switching amplifier (12); a plurality of high-frequency power amplifiers (15-1 to 15-n) for receiving the output signal of the low-pass filter (13) as a power supply and for amplifying a carrier signal included in the high-frequency modulated signal; and a power controller (14) for adjusting the average power of the output signal of the power amplifier (10) by controlling the total gains of the plurality of high-frequency power amplifiers (15-1 to 15-n).
US08254493B2	High bandwidth modulation and transmission This disclosure relates systems and methods for a high bandwidth modulation and transmission of communication signals.
US08254491B2	Digital transmitter An equalizer provided in a digital transmitter compensates for attenuation in a signal channel to a digital receiver. The equalizer generates signal levels as a logical function of bit history to emphasize transition signal levels relative to repeated signal levels. The preferred equalizer includes an FIR transition filter using a look-up table. Parallel circuits including FIR filters and digital-to-analog converters provide a high speed equalizer with lower speed circuitry. The equalizer is particularly suited to in-cabinet and local area network transmissions where feedback circuitry facilitates adaptive training of the equalizer.
US08254489B2	Transmission method and multiple input multiple output wireless communication system using the same A transmission method executed in a multiple input multiple output wireless communication system may include the following steps: receiving a transmitting bit sequence; providing an X level pulse amplitude modulation (X-PAM) signal set, wherein distances between any two adjacent signal points in the X-PAM are the same; generating M signal sets according to the X-PAM signal set, wherein the ith signal set is formed by multiplying the X-PAM signal set with a parameter (1/X)(i−1), wherein i is an integer from 1 to M, and generating a X-PAM signal set joint coding/decoding table according a superposition result of the M signal sets; generating M transmitting bit sub-sequences according to the transmitting bit sequence; generating M transmitting signals according to the M transmitting bit sub-sequences and the X-PAM signal set joint coding/decoding table; transmitting the M transmitting signals to a wireless transmission channel via M transmitting antennae.
US08254487B2	Method and apparatus of codebook-based single-user closed-loop transmit beamforming (SU-CLTB) for OFDM wireless systems A method includes broadcasting, at a transmitter, messages comprising antenna configuration, antenna spacing and a number of antenna of the transmitter and reference signals; generating, at a receiver, a codebook comprising a plurality of antenna beams based on the broadcasted messages; receiving, at the receiver, the broadcasted reference signals; selecting, at the receiver, an antenna beam among the plurality of antenna beams within the codebook in dependence upon a predetermined performance criteria of a data communication system and in dependence upon the broadcasted reference signals; feedbacking to the transmitter, at the receiver, information comprising the antenna beam selected by the receiver; optimizing, at the transmitter, a beamforming process by utilizing the feedback information from the receiver; transmitting, at the transmitter, data signals by utilizing the optimized beamforming process; and receiving and processing, at the receiver, the data signals in dependence upon the selected antenna beams within the codebook.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10