最新美国发明专利第2012-09-04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
US08259788B2	Multimedia stream compression A computer may be remotely accessed. At a first location, display commands are generated. The display commands are covered into a compressed video data stream. Each display element (5) is checked if it is encoded (52). If object is encoded, it is transcribed into MPEG (54). The image is adjusted for display (56) and compression (58). Additional steps of motion determination (60), change detection (62), compression depth and frame determination (66, 68) are executed. Then the data is transmitted to a second location. The display commands are decompressed and displayed as an image at the second location.
US08259787B2	High-speed decoder for a multi-pair gigabit transceiver A method and a system for providing an input signal from a multiple decision feedback equalizer to a decoder based on a tail value and a subset of coefficient values received from a decision-feedback equalizer. A set of pre-computed values based on the subset of coefficient values is generated. Each of the pre-computed values is combined with the tail value to generate a tentative sample. One of the tentative samples is selected as the input signal to the decoder. In one aspect of the system, tentative samples are saturated and then stored in a set of registers before being outputted to a multiplexer which selects one of the tentative samples as the input signal to the decoder. This operation of storing the tentative samples in the registers before providing the tentative samples to the multiplexer facilitates high-speed operation by breaking up a critical path of computations into substantially balanced first and second portions, the first portion including computations in the decision-feedback equalizer and the multiple decision feedback equalizer, the second portion including computations in the decoder.
US08259785B2	Adaptive equalizer with function of stopping adaptive equalization processing and receiver An adaptive equalizer includes: an adaptive filter; and a control unit. The adaptive filter performs an adaptive equalization processing for an input signal modulated by a modulation method that produces a modulation signal with constant amplitude characteristics so as to make an amplitude of an equalized output signal constant. The control unit controls stop and execution of the adaptive equalization processing of the adaptive filter in accordance with characteristics of at least one of the input signal and the output signal.
US08259783B2	Method of determining as to whether a received signal includes an information signal A method of determining as to whether a received signal includes an information signal is provided. The method provided includes determining a covariance matrix from a received signal and transforming the covariance matrix into a transformed covariance matrix, wherein the transformation is configured such that the transformed covariance matrix is a non-diagonal matrix in case the received signal includes the information signal, wherein the non-diagonal matrix includes non-zero non-diagonal matrix elements. The method provided further includes determining a first function using at least one of the non-zero non-diagonal matrix elements of the transformed covariance matrix, determining a second function using at least one matrix element of the transformed covariance matrix, wherein the second function is different from the first function, and determining as to whether a received signal includes an information signal based on a comparison of a value of the first function and a value of the second function.
US08259775B1	System, apparatus and method for managing message communications in systems employing frequency hopping Systems, apparatuses and methods for managing message communications in systems employing frequency hopping. One method according to the invention involves transmitting a message via a frequency of a frequency hopping sequence, and determining when the same frequency will reoccur in the frequency hopping sequence. Relevant portions of the device enter a sleep mode, and the device emerges from the sleep mode when the frequency at which the message was transmitted reoccurs in the frequency hopping sequence. The device monitors for a response to the message via the frequency at which the message was transmitted when the frequency reoccurs in the frequency hopping sequence.
US08259774B2	Spread spectrum clock signal generator A spread spectrum clock signal generator for spreading an input clock signal into an output clock signal includes a clock signal delay chain for delaying the input clock signal into a delay clock signal group having a plurality of delay clock signals, a modulation controller for outputting a counter clock signal control signal, a clock signal selection circuit for selecting, from the delay clock signal group, a modulation clock signal group having a plurality of modulation clock signals, a programmable counter for generating a counting value according to a counter clock signal, and a clock signal output unit for combining the modulation clock signals into the output clock signal according to the counting value, and further generating the counter clock signal, outputted to the programmable counter, according to the counter clock signal control signal.
US08259773B2	Method and apparatus for multiplexing code division multiple access and single carrier frequency division multiple access transmissions The present invention provides a method and apparatus for multiplexing code division and frequency division transmissions. One embodiment of the method includes accessing at least one first symbol and at least one second symbol, encoding the at least one first symbol according to a frequency division protocol, and encoding the at least one second symbol using a coding sequence having a cyclic correlation property. The method also includes transmitting a radiofrequency signal indicative of the at least one encoded first symbol and the at least one encoded second symbol.
US08259764B2	Bandwidth control device A method and apparatus is disclosed for operating a laser output light beam pulse line narrowing mechanism that may comprise a nominal center wavelength and bandwidth selection optic; a static wavefront compensation mechanism shaping the curvature of the selection optic; an active wavefront compensation mechanism shaping the curvature of the selection optic and operating independently of the static wavefront compensation mechanism. The method and apparatus may comprise the nominal center wavelength and bandwidth selection optic comprises a grating; the static wavefront compensation mechanism applies a pre-selected bending moment to the grating; the active wavefront compensation mechanism applies a separate selected bending moment to the grating responsive to the control of a bending moment controller based on bandwidth feedback from a bandwidth monitor monitoring the bandwidth of the laser output light beam pulses. The active wavefront compensation mechanism may comprise a pneumatic drive mechanism.
US08259759B2	System and method for frame synchronization A system and method for calculating and applying a metric that is calculated over a binary interval that corresponds in length to a preamble. The value of the metric reflects the likelihood that the interval is the preamble. A lower value for the metric suggests that the interval is more likely to be the preamble. In an embodiment, the metric is calculated beginning at an initial location in the bitstream, and then recalculated beginning at each of several successive locations in the bitstream. This results in a set of calculated metrics. The start of the preamble is considered likely to be the initial location of the interval that corresponds to the metric having the lowest value.
US08259749B2	System, method and apparatus of time information synchronization A system and a method of time information synchronization as well as related apparatuses are disclosed to improve precision of frequency synchronization or time synchronization. The application port subsystem in the information synchronization system is configured to: generate at least one local clock according to a locally running real-time clock, and provide the local clock for a core subsystem; and the core subsystem is configured to: select a best system clock according to attributes of the clock provided by the application port subsystem, and send the best system clock to the application port subsystem, where: the application port subsystem calibrates the real-time clock according to the best system clock provided by the core subsystem in order to perform frequency synchronization and/or time synchronization. The embodiments of the present invention improve the precision of frequency synchronization or time synchronization effectively.
US08259747B2	Effective idle mode for advanced wireless system A wireless communication network comprising a plurality of paging controllers capable of communication with a plurality of base stations within a coverage area of the network, wherein at least one of the plurality of paging controllers is capable of, if a mobile station within a paging area requests to enter idle mode, assigning a temporary paging identification to the mobile station, and transmitting the temporary paging identification to a base station in communication with the mobile station, wherein the temporary paging identification is used by the base station to determine an index of a paging opportunity or frame in a paging cycle to transmit a paging message for the mobile station.
US08259745B2	Enhanced carrier sensing for multi-channel operation In various embodiments, a multi-channel request-to-send and a multi-channel clear-to-send may be used in a wireless communications network to assure that a subsequent multi-channel communications exchange between two devices takes place only over channels that are sensed by both devices as being free.
US08259744B2	Use of orthogonal or near orthogonal codes in reverse link An apparatus for use with a shared access communication channel is disclosed. The chipping rate of a first group of terminals is determined. Transmissions on the shared access communication channel are encoded using first pseudorandom noise (PN) code and a phase shift at the first chipping rate and an orthogonal spreading code having a chipping rate less than the first chipping rate. The apparatus may receive a feedback channel assignment and may receive an indication of a change in timing on the assigned feedback channel.
US08259738B2	Channel service manager with priority queuing A system and method are provided for prioritizing network processor information flow in a channel service manager (CSM). The method receives a plurality of information streams on a plurality of input channels, and selectively links input channels to CSM channels. The information streams are stored, and the stored the information streams are mapped to a processor queue in a group of processor queues. Information streams are supplied from the group of processor queues to a network processor in an order responsive to a ranking of the processor queues inside the group. More explicitly, selectively linking input channels to CSM channels includes creating a fixed linkage between each input port and an arbiter in a group of arbiters, and scheduling information streams in response to the ranking of the arbiter inside the group. Finally, a CSM channel is selected for each information stream scheduled by an arbiter.
US08259735B2	Constant bit rate video stream A method of media transmission. The method includes providing at least one variable bit rate (VBR) video stream and multiplexing the at least one VBR video stream together with auxiliary data related to the at least one VBR video stream, in a constant bit rate (CBR) stream. The stream is transmitted to a first receiving unit, which is adapted to discard the auxiliary data as padding and use the at least one VBR stream and to a second receiving unit, which is adapted to extract the auxiliary data and use it in further handling of the at least one VBR stream.
US08259729B2	Wavefront detection and disambiguation of acknowledgements One or more flow control modules, implemented on various types of network topologies, provide a number of functionalities for controlling the flow of IP packets (such as TCP/IP packets) over a network connection. The flow control modules may be implemented within a sender and/or receiver or may be deployed into a network as a separate device without requiring significant additional resources.
US08259723B2	Device and method for generating statistical information for VoIP traffic analysis and abnormal VoIP detection A statistical information generator for VoIP traffic analysis is provided, which comprises a packet collection module collecting packets from a network; and a statistical information generation module analyzing information of a call setup packet or a media packet among the packets collected by the packet collection module, and generating statistical information of the network; wherein if the packet collected by the packet collection module is the call setup packet, the statistical information generation module generates the statistical information of the network using at least one of transmitter identification information, receiver identification information, and call identification information among information of the call setup packet as a key value, while if the packet collected by the packet collection module is the media packet, the statistical information generation module generates the statistical information of the network using media session identification information among information of the media packet as a key value.
US08259722B1	Integrated packet inspection and modification system and network device for internet service provider market research and influence A network router includes interfaces to receive packets, a routing engine that executes a routing protocol to maintain routing information specifying routes through a network, a packet forwarding engine forward the packets to the interfaces in accordance with the routing information, one or more advertising engine service cards comprising a packet inspection engine and an advertising engine control unit, and a set of dynamic filters that identify packets for inspection by the packet inspection engine based on characteristics of the packet. The filters direct any matching ones of the packets from the packet forwarding engine to the packet inspection engine within the advertising engine service card, and the packet inspection engine analyzes the packets to extract information from the packets based on configured advertising engine policies. The advertising engine control unit outputs commands to dynamically add and delete filters from the set of dynamic filters.
US08259720B2	Triple-tier anycast addressing In one embodiment, a solution is provided wherein redundant routers are treated as a single emulated switch. When a packet is received at a layer 2 edge switch from a host, the layer 2 edge switch may determine a switch identifier for the emulated switch using a destination anycast hardware address contained in the packet. The anycast hardware address may identify an emulated switch comprising a plurality of routers. Then a header may be added to the packet, the header including the switch identifier. Following that, the packet may be forwarded to another layer 2 switch along a shortest path from the layer 2 edge switch to the emulated switch.
US08259718B2	Network relay apparatus Network relay arrangements including: multiple ports; MAC address storage; flooding indication storage; plane number management storage; table manager; and frame processor. The table manager: utilizes the plane number management storage to specify current identification information being currently used and next identification information to be used next, with regard to a preset element of the key item for identifying a target of deletion of the information of correlating the transmit port to the MAC address from the MAC address storage; sets the requirement of the flooding operation in registry of a certain information group in the flooding indication storage having the preset element and being correlated to the current identification information; and sets the non-requirement of the flooding operation in registry of a certain information group in the flooding indication storage having the preset element and being correlated to the next identification information.
US08259717B2	Transparent network service enhancement Embodiments of the disclosure may be used to optimize communications between a first routing device and a second routing device. The first routing device may receive a packet for forwarding towards a destination. The first routing device may modify the packet to announce the presence of the first routing device to other routing devices. Thereafter, a second routing device may receive the modified packet and recognize the presence of the first routing device. In turn, when sending a packet back towards a source address identified in the modified packet, the second routing device may modify such a packet to announce the presence of the second routing device to the first routing device. Thereafter, the first and second routing device may optimize traffic between the first and second routing device.
US08259716B2	Method and system for physical signaling between a higher layer and a PHY to manage energy efficient network devices and/or protocols In an Ethernet network comprising link partners coupled via an Ethernet link, an energy efficient Ethernet network communication control policy may specify a power level mode. Power level control data may be communicated between a PHY and a MAC via an MII, MDIO or a bus that is not specified by 802.3. A device above a MAC layer device may comprise hardware, software and/or firmware that may communicate the control policy to the PHY layer device and/or MAC layer device. Control data may be inserted within an inter-packet gap, a data packet preamble and/or a Q ordered set and/or may be sent via an out-of-band signal. A response to the control data may be sent via an in band path and/or out of band path. Link partners may enter and/or exit a power mode, for example, a low power idle and/or a sub-rate mode based on the communicated control data.
US08259703B2	Communication network with skew determination Embodiments of the present invention determine skew relative to a plurality of communication paths on a network system. The network is a wavelength division multiplexed optical transport network. The plurality of communication paths involves different signal and path attributes such as a plurality of carrier wavelengths, optical carrier groups, physical communication paths (different nodes, different fibers along a same path, or any combination of the foregoing), or any other differentiating factors between two paths.
US08259697B2	Transmission method of mobile station for random access channel diversity A transmission method performed by a mobile station for random access channel (RACH) burst transmission diversity gain is provided. According to the method, a variety of combinations of a time switching transmit diversity (TSTD) technique, a frequency hopping technique, and a power ramping technique that are robust against fading channel environments are applied to transmission of an RACH burst, thereby increasing the probability of detecting an RACH signature of a base station. Also, by using the transmission parameters (subband frequencies, transmission antennas, power, etc.) which are used for successful transmission of an RACH burst, for transmission of a successive user packet data, reliable transmission of the successive user packet data can be performed.
US08259687B2	Dynamic bandwidth allocation for multiple access communications using buffer urgency factor A code division multiple access (CDMA) user device configured to dynamically allocating at least at least one wireless communication channel to permit a more efficient allocation of wireless communication channels when providing high speed data service. The CDMA user device is configured to receive data traffic from at least one data buffer in a base station. The CDMA user device is dynamically allocated at least one wireless communication channel based on an urgency factor. The urgency factor indicates the urgency of traffic data to be transmitted from the at least one data buffer in the base station to the CDMA user device.
US08259686B2	Array antenna system and transmit/receive module thereof There is provided one exemplary array antenna system having a plurality of arrayed element antennas and transmit/receive modules that are respectively connected with those element antennas and that apply a predetermined phase shift amount to transmitting signals to be supplied to the element antennas and to received signals received by the element antennas, wherein the transmit/receive module has one transmitting path that is connected to first and second element antennas and that amplifies and distributes the transmitting signal to the first and second element antennas after applying a predetermined transmitting phase shift amount and two receiving paths that amplify and apply respectively a receiving phase shift amount to the received signals received from the first and second element antennas.
US08259685B2	Wireless communication method, wireless base station, wireless terminal, and wireless communication system A first wireless base station providing a first wireless zone encodes a first signal to be transmitted to the first wireless zone at a first coding rate, and transmits the signal at a first transmitting power to the first wireless zone. A second wireless base station belonging to the first wireless zone and providing a second radio zone encodes a second signal common with the first signal at a second coding rate, and transmits the signal at a second transmitting power to the second wireless zone.
US08259681B2	Method of DCR operation in a broadband wireless communication system The present invention relates to a broadband wireless access system, and more particularly, to a method for a mobile station to save power for prescribed duration without performing a paging procedure and apparatus therefor. According to one embodiment of the invention, a method of operating a DCR (deregistration with content retention) mode of a mobile station in a broadband wireless access system includes the steps of transmitting a registration request (AAI_REG-REQ) message to a base station and receiving a registration response (AAI_REG-RSP) message including an identifier for identifying the mobile station in association with connection information (AMS context) of the mobile station in a network including a base station from the base station.
US08259680B2	Apparatus and method for facilitating efficient handover A method and apparatus facilitating efficient handover by a wireless communications device is provided. The method may comprise obtaining at least two handover metrics for a target cell and for a serving cell, wherein the at least two handover metrics are determined by a request received from the serving cell, determining if all the obtained handover metrics for the target cell are greater than or equal to corresponding threshold values, wherein the corresponding threshold values for the at least two handover metrics are determined by the request received from the serving cell, determining if at least one of the obtained handover metrics for the serving cell is less than the corresponding threshold value, and generating a measurement report indicating the target cell as a handover candidate cell.
US08259677B2	Method and system for intra E-utran handover The invention regards a handover method for a data packet based wireless mobile communications network. The network comprises a core network (CN) and a radio area network (RAN). The core network (CN) comprises a control plane node (MME) intercommunicating with a user plane node (UPE). The radio area network comprises a mobile user equipment (UE) intercommunicating with a source radio base transceiver station, eNOdeB, (source eNodeB), wherein payload data is routed via a tunnel between the user plane node (UPE) and the source eNodeB (source eNodeB), wherein the handover comprises the step of establishing a temporary tunnel between the user plane node (UPE) and a target eNodeB (target eNodeB), the handover being initiated by the target eNodeB (target eNodeB) transmitting an unreliable uplink data signal to the user plane node (UPE) comprising handover information.
US08259675B2	Method and system for mobile communications When a network pages the temporary user mobile identifier of a mobile station, the mobile station sends a response to the network. Next, the network checks the authenticity of the user using a ciphering key, corresponding to the temporary user mobile identifier and a random number. If the temporary user mobile identifier is authenticated, a normal incoming call acceptance procedure is executed. If the mobile station is authenticated although the temporary user mobile identifier is wrong, the network reassigns a new temporary user mobile identifier to the mobile station and stops the current communication. In communication, the network and the mobile station mutually notify encipherment-onset time and negotiate about encipherment manner with each other. In addition, diversity handover is commenced upon a call attempt. Furthermore, if a branch replacement is necessary, the current branch is replaced by new branches capable of executing the diversity handover. Additionally, when a new call occurs to or from the mobile station capable of treating a plurality of calls simultaneously, the mobile station uses the same branch structure and the same communication frequency band for all of calls. Additionally, when a new call occurs to or from the mobile station capable of treating a plurality of calls simultaneously, a branch structure and a communication frequency band, which can continue all of the calls, are selected and used. Therefore, the mobile communications system is suitable for transmission of various sorts of data in accordance with the development of multimedia.
US08259672B2	Method of aiding uplink beamforming transmission A method and apparatus of aiding uplink beamforming transmission is disclosed. One method includes a base station downlink transmitting beamformed signals to at least a first terminal, the beam formed signals directed and conveying data to at least the first terminal. The method further includes a second terminal eavesdropping the transmitted beamformed signals, and measuring a signal quality. The second terminal estimates uplink channel information based on the measured signal quality, for aiding uplink transmission. Based at least in part on the estimated transmission channel, the second terminal transmits beamformed uplink signals to the base station.
US08259667B2	Method and apparatus for providing service in a communication system A method for providing a service in a communication system is provided. A Base Station (BS) supporting a plurality of communication service modes allocates communication resources for each of the plurality of communication service modes according to a ratio determined in accordance with a communication service mode preferred by a terminal. The BS transmits a combination of resources allocated for each of the plurality of communication service modes to the terminal. The communication service mode preferred by the terminal is determined using at least one of channel condition of the terminal, moving velocity, preferred communication mode, required performance, billing system, and user preference.
US08259663B2	Methods and systems using efficient ranging message transmission during initial ranging Techniques for efficient transmission of messages in a ranging procedure between a mobile station (MS) and a base station (BS) are provided. The techniques may allow efficient bandwidth allocation for the ranging procedure.
US08259662B2	Method and apparatus for assigning persistent resources dynamically in a wireless communication system A method and apparatus for dynamically assigning persistent resources in a wireless communications system is provided. A method comprises transmitting a first boundary indication to a mobile station, and transmitting a position indication to the mobile station, wherein the position indication corresponds to a network resource assigned based on a network resource request, the position indication is relative to the first boundary indication. The method also comprises transmitting a second boundary indication to the mobile station in response to detecting a change in a position of a boundary, and transmitting a first transmission to the mobile station using a network resource corresponding to the position indication or receiving a second transmission from the mobile station using a network resource corresponding to the position indication, wherein the position indication is relative to the second boundary indication. The first boundary indication is based on a position of the boundary.
US08259659B2	Apparatus and methods for managing access and update requests in a wireless network Methods and apparatus that enable a wireless network to detect and manage impending congestion events caused by a plurality of mobile devices attempting to access the network in a brief space of time. In one embodiment, the network comprises a 3g (UMTS) cellular network, and includes a congestion management and avoidance entity that preemptively triggers a collision mode upon detecting an impending congestion event. This mode advantageously reduces processing burden on the base station by causing the mobile devices (UEs) to halt current access attempts, and invoke a multiple access scheme (e.g., wait a random amount of time before attempting further access attempts). The comparatively early detection and avoidance of collisions reduces the mobile device's power consumption, while addressing congestion events early in the wireless communication process so as to maintain optimal network conditions.
US08259656B2	Method of transmitting/receiving control information of data channel for enhanced uplink data transmission A method of transmitting/receiving control information of a data channel for enhanced uplink data transmission is disclosed, by which efficient radio resource allocation is enabled. The present invention includes the acquiring control information of data channel for enhanced uplink data transmission; composing a Medium Access control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) including the control information; and transmitting the MAC PDU via a first physical channel for user data transmission.
US08259648B2	Enhanced communication of data in wireless control area networks A method for communicating data in a wireless control area network, where the wireless control area network includes one or more sensor nodes configured to facilitate acquisition of patient data and an access coordinator configured to facilitate acquisition of the patient data from the one or more sensor nodes, is presented. The method includes creating a correlation between one or more poll packets from an access coordinator and time of arrival of data at one or more sensor nodes. Systems and computer-readable medium that afford functionality of the type defined by this method is also contemplated in conjunction with the present technique.
US08259647B2	System and method for wireless communication of uncompressed video having a link control and bandwidth reservation scheme for control/management message exchanges and asynchronous traffic A system and method for performing medium access control in a system for wireless communication of uncompressed video is disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes communicating a control initiation request message during a contention based period of a superframe period. The control initiation request message contains information allowing a device coordinator to determine a reserved time slot for communication of the requested message exchange. The requested message exchange is then performed in a non-contentious environment, thereby limiting collisions of contention based messages. The control initiation procedure and subsequent message exchanges take place on a low-rate channel. Transmission on the low-rate channel is time division duplexed with a high-rate channel, where transmission at any one time can take place on either the high-rate or the low-rate channel.
US08259645B2	Method of operating random access channel in mobile communication system A random access channel operating method in a mobile communication system is provided. The random access channel operating method includes: (a) selecting a transmission mode according to a load of random access channel and performing transmission to a mobile terminal; (b) receiving a message having a format corresponding to the selected transmission mode from the mobile terminal; (c) determining whether or not a preamble or data is included in the message received in (b) receiving of the message; and (d) if the data is determined to be included in the (c) determining, transmitting a response message for data reception to the mobile terminal. Accordingly, use efficiency of a random access channel can be increased by measuring a system load of the random access channel in a base station and changing a transmission format of a burst transmitted through the random access channel according to the measured load level.
US08259642B2	Method and apparatus for realizing space division multiplexing A method for realizing space division multiplexing is provided. The method comprises steps as follows: A. acquiring space information of users, and calculating space division isolation between the users based on the acquired space information; B. generating a set of user groups for the space division multiplexing based on the space division isolation between users calculated in step A; C. selecting a user group from the set of user groups for the space division multiplexing generated in step B and allocating the same physical resource to two users among the selected user group when conducting the space division multiplexing. An apparatus for realizing space division multiplexing is further provided. Using said method and apparatus, the space division isolation can be realized reasonably with accuracy.
US08259639B2	Wireless connection method and device A wireless connection method is applicable to establishing a wireless connection device between an uplink device and a downlink device, and includes obtaining uplink wireless configuration information, and configuring a downlink with the obtained uplink wireless configuration information. A wireless connection is established with the uplink device based on the uplink wireless configuration information and, after successful connection establishment, a wireless connection is established with the downlink device based on the uplink wireless configuration information.
US08259638B2	Wireless connection method and device A wireless connection method is applicable to establishing a wireless connection device between an uplink device and a downlink device, and includes obtaining uplink wireless configuration information, and configuring a downlink with the obtained uplink wireless configuration information. A wireless connection is established with the uplink device based on the uplink wireless configuration information and, after successful connection establishment, a wireless connection is established with the downlink device based on the uplink wireless configuration information.
US08259636B2	Method for communicating The present invention relates to a method for communicating data in a telecommunication network comprising at least one primary station, and a plurality of secondary stations, comprising at a secondary station the step of transmitting a feedback signal to the primary station on a random access channel, wherein the feedback signal being of—a dedicated type related to at least one point to point link between the considered secondary station and the primary station, or—a common type related to multicast links, wherein, depending on the transmission, the second part being related to a first type of multicast link or to a second type of multicast link.
US08259634B2	Sleep-mode wireless cell reselection apparatus, systems, and methods Embodiments herein may receive a ranging request message with a sleep-mode indication from a mobile node at a destination base station in a wireless packet-switched network. System paging information may be accessed to determine a base station identifier associated with an originating base station that last served the mobile node. The originating base station may be contacted to retrieve a service context associated with the mobile node and any downlink packets buffered for the mobile node by the originating base station. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US08259632B2	Peer power save mode in tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) wireless network A protocol for a peer power save mode (PPSM) in a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) wireless network and a system therefor are provided. A station (STA) set up a TDLS link can send a frame having a power management bit set to a peer STA to enter into a power save mode (PSM). In this case, the station entering into the PSM operates in a PPSM client mode. When the peer STA operates in the PPSM client mode, the STA can operate in the PPSM access point (AP) mode or can enter into the PPSM client mode. The STA operating in the PPSM AP mode buffers data for the STA operating in the PPSM client mode and informs the peer STA of information indicating that there is buffered data by the use of a peer traffic indication frame or the like. In principle, a U-APSD procedure can be applied to the transmission of data through a direct link from the STA operating in the PPSM AP mode to the STA operating in the PPSM client mode.
US08259631B2	Apparatus and method for time-varying cyclic delay diversity in a wireless communication system An apparatus and method for Time-Varying Cyclic Delay Diversity (TV-CDD) in a wireless communication system are provided. The method includes, if there is a signal of an antenna path to be transmitted, determining if a current time corresponds to a preamble zone within a frame and, if the current time corresponds to the preamble zone within the frame, shifting a partial antenna path signal forward compared to a reference timing and shifting a remaining partial antenna path signal equally or backward compared to the reference timing.
US08259624B2	Dynamic picture layout for video conferencing based on properties derived from received conferencing signals A method and apparatus for conferencing dynamically determines composite image layout based on properties of received conferencing signals that include video signals and control signals. Video signals received from connected sites are processed to provide a composite video signal according to the defined composite image layout and the composite video signal is transmitted to the connected sites. Upon a change in properties of one or more received video signals, the composite image layout may be redefined. The received video signals are processed according to the redefined composite image layout to provide a second composite video signal that is transmitted to the connected sites.
US08259621B2	Method and system for supporting network sharing and data synchronization simultaneously A method and a system for simultaneously supporting network sharing and data synchronization are provided for a first operating system (OS) and a second OS, wherein the first OS is connected to a network. The present method establishes a virtual network between the first OS and the second OS. Then, the second OS is connected to the first OS through the virtual network, so as to connect to the network through the first OS. The virtual network can also be used for synchronizing data of the first and second OS. As a result, the convenience of using different OS at the same time can be improved.
US08259620B2	Self-healing communication trees Systems, methods, and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing protocols for building and maintaining multiple trees in a network and using the trees to route messages through the network. A node in the network initiates the building of a tree having itself as the root, and nodes in the network generally maintain representations of multiple trees, each tree having a distinct node as its root. A node can use the trees to route messages to the root nodes by sending the messages through root-ward ports for the respective trees.
US08259619B2	Topology specifying method and topology specifying apparatus A topology specifying apparatus 10 according to this invention includes, in a network having a tree type network topology, a route overlap determining section 4 configured to determine existence or non-existence of an overlap between a first route to a terminal having an unknown connection node and a second route between terminals having known connection nodes; and a topology specifying section 5 configured to determine a network topology based on the existence or non-existence of the overlap of the first route and the second route.
US08259614B2	Personal network, and method to secure a personal network A personal network, being associated with a user, and a method for securing it are disclosed. The personal network has a plurality of personal devices associated with the user, wherein the personal devices are configured to be interconnected with each other via one or more communication connections, to allow data communication there between; and at least one personal network control unit and/or service configured to control access to the personal network. The control unit and/or service is operable to be in a first mode that allows all of the personal devices to access the personal network, and a second mode wherein at least one of the personal devices has restricted or no access to the personal network.
US08259609B2	Modem and packet processing method A modem communicates with a data source over multiple signal channels. The modem receives multiple data packets originally sent by the data source and at least one correcting packet loading reassembly information over the signal channels, and determines if one or more of the data packets originally sent by the data source are lost. The modem determines if the received data packets are enough to recover the one or more lost data packets, and recovers the one or more lost data packets using the received data packets and the reassembly information if the received data packets are enough to recover the one or more lost data packets. The modem removes the correcting packet loading the reassembly information and sends out the received data packets and the one or more recovered data packets.
US08259605B2	Packet header structure The present invention relates to a data packet header comprising a first bit field consisting of a first sequence of bits with identical values and a second bit field consisting of a second sequence of bits, the second sequence of bits being subject to a run-length restriction, and located immediately after the first sequence of bits in the order of transmission. The number of bits in the first sequence is equal to or exceeding the run-length restriction and the bits of the second sequence have opposite identical values to the value of the first bit of the second sequence of bits. The invention equally relates to a correlator for detecting a data stream and arranged to determine a correct clock phase for the data stream.
US08259599B2	Systems and methods for distributed beamforming based on carrier-to-caused interference In accordance with a method for distributed beamforming based on carrier to caused interference, a base station may receive channel state information from users. The base station may select a codeword from a codebook. The codeword may be selected so as to maximize a utility function that is based on a signal-to-caused-interference-plus-noise ratio. The base station may use the codeword for beamforming.
US08259595B2	Method and system for diagnosing external signal input/output units Each of the host transmitting/receiving blocks of a plurality of I/O units connected to a CNC reads the destination specification data and a diagnostic result bit each time the host transmitting/receiving block receives a signal packet from the CNC. When the diagnostic result bit indicates the execution of a diagnosis, the signal packet contains diagnostic DO data, and the relevant DO signal output terminal is short-circuited to the relevant DI signal input terminal to form a diagnostic loop. The diagnostic packet signal passes through the diagnostic loop, the external signal transmitting/receiving block, and the host transmitting/receiving block and returns to the CNC through the host transmitting/receiving block of an adjacent I/O unit closer to the CNC. The CNC analyzes the packet signal to determine whether each of the I/O units is operating normally or not.
US08259594B2	Method for detecting video tiling A method for detecting errors on an audio/video (A/V) data stream in a data service network includes providing multicast components operably coupled to each other via respective links for transmitting the A/V data stream to a user and for defining at least one multicast tree. The method further includes generating a state information signal indicative of a number of errors on the A/V data stream for at least one of the links and at least one of the plurality of multicast components. The method further includes determining the cumulative number of errors on the A/V data stream that are indicative of the number of errors for the at least one of the links and the at least one of the plurality of multicast components in the multicast tree in response to the state information signal.
US08259592B2	IP mobility for devices with multiple radios A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) includes a mobility management function and a multihoming function. The mobility management function may implement the Media Independent Handover (MIH) protocol and the multihoming function may implement the Shim6 protocol. The mobility management function may communicate link status information to the multihoming function. Based on the link status information, the multihoming function may accelerate or decelerate a link failure detection procedure, may modify a list of possible paths for consideration for a path exploration procedure, and/or may determine to initiate a path exploration procedure. The multihoming function may communicate to the mobility management function that additional communications resources are required. In response, the mobility management function may activate an inactive radio interface. Subsequent path exploration procedures may include the exploration of paths that may be established over the activated radio interface.
US08259589B2	Network relay device, network connection confirmation method, and network A network relay device is for receiving, from an external network relay device, connection confirmation information indicative of being in communication connection with the external network relay device. When the connection confirmation information is particular connection confirmation information indicative of being transmitted from a predetermined external network relay device, the network relay device provides return confirmation information to the predetermined external network relay device.
US08259587B2	Pool-based network diagnostic systems and methods A networking system may include one or more nodes communicating with each other. The nodes may communicate via one or more links, which a switch or other structure may provide. The networking system may include one or more pools of at least one network diagnostic module. A network diagnostic module may test one or more links and may be configured to rove among a plurality of links. The networking system may include an alarm module.
US08259581B2	Apparatus and method for moving a receive window in a radio access network A method of moving a receiving window in a wireless mobile communication system, wherein the AM RLC of the transmitting side sends information of the last discarded SDU regardless of continuity of the discarded SDUs. The AM RLC of the receiving side checks whether all SDUs from the start point of the receiving window up to the last discarded SDU are successfully received, delivers the SDUs that are successfully received to an upper layer, and discard only those SDUs that are not successfully received.
US08259578B2	Monitoring networks Methods and systems for determining a correction factor for use in monitoring network traffic, said network traffic comprising a plurality of flows of data units, each flow having associated therewith a flow identifier, said data units having associated therewith a path characterization metric; the method comprising the steps of: selecting a subset of flow identifiers from the overall set of flow identifiers; determining, in respect of flows having associated therewith flow identifiers from said selected subset of flow identifiers, which flows if any are persistently irregular flows; determining a first measure of the total of the accumulated path characterization metrics associated with data units of said selected subset of flows; determining a second measure indicative of the proportion of said total measure contributed by said persistently irregular flows; and determining a correction factor in dependence on the first and second measures.
US08259573B2	Contents providing system, server device and contents transmission device A user management server device (a) registers a contents transmission request when receiving the contents transmission request to an electronic device from a terminal device, (b) determines whether the contents transmission request to the electronic device is registered when there is an inquiry from the electronic device, and (c) transmits the contents transmission request to the electronic device as a response to the inquiry when the contents transmission request to the electronic device is registered. The electronic device makes an inquiry to the user management server device of whether the contents transmission request to the device itself is registered, and when receiving the contents transmission request as the response to the inquiry, transmits the contents specified by the contents transmission request.
US08259571B1	Handling overlapping IP addresses in multi-tenant architecture Systems, methods and apparatus for tunneling in a cloud based security system. A multi-tenant cloud-based security system that can distinguish between client computing devices with overlapping private IP addresses is disclosed. Client devices communicate through a processing node to which a tunnel is established. The processing node is able to detect the client devices and apply security policies to the device.
US08259567B2	Mobile communication system, mobile communication method, mobile station, and exchange An object of the present invention is to avoid congestion, by restricting only processing which causes the congestion without affecting processing which essentially should not be restricted. In a mobile communication system according to the present invention, an exchange MSC/SGSN includes: a congestion factor detector configured to detect a congestion occurrence factor in the switching exchange MSC/SGSN, and a restriction indication transmitter configured to transmit, a restriction indication, to a radio network controller, based on the detected congestion occurrence factor, the restriction indication instructing a processing type that should be restricted in the switching exchange MSC/SGSN congestion occurrence factor. The radio network controller RNC is provided with a broadcast information transmitter configured to transmit broadcast information including the received restriction indication to a mobile station UE.
US08259565B2	Call setup in a video telephony network This disclosure is directed to techniques for video call setup in a mobile video telephony network. In general, the call setup techniques reduce call setup delays by preemptively retransmitting NSRP packets before expiration of the timeout period ordinarily required for receipt of an NSRP ACK packet from the remote terminal. The retransmitted NSRP packets may be retransmitted during idle periods in which the modem layer in the sending mobile terminal has received no other data for transmission of the remote mobile terminal, thereby taking advantage of idle bandwidth. Multiplex data received by the modem can be locally buffered at the modem layer for retransmission. In this manner, retransmission does not require regeneration of the original call setup messages nor multiplexing. Instead, the previously generated and multiplexed data is buffered at the modem layer for retransmission to reduce processing overhead within the mobile terminal.
US08259563B1	Fast restoration for provider edge node and access link failures A first network device creates a protection path to a second network device associated with a first service site, and creates a pseudowire between the first service site and a second service site via the first network device and the second network device. The first network device also detects a failure between the first network device and the first service site, and forwards traffic, provided by the pseudowire between the first service site and the second service site, via the protection path. The second network device uses the traffic on the protection path as a trigger to activate a link between the second network device and the first service site.
US08259561B2	System and method for the placement of rank information in a physical uplink shared channel A wireless communication network includes a plurality of base stations capable of wireless communication with a plurality of subscriber stations within a coverage area of the network. At least one of the plurality of base stations is capable of selecting up to four orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a subframe of a physical uplink shared channel. The up to four OFDM symbols are selected starting from the bottom a resource grid of the physical uplink shared channel in a bottom-up manner, and one or more rank information (RI) coded bits are repeated in each of the selected up to four OFDM symbols.
US08259558B2	Optical storage medium and apparatus for reading of respective data The optical storage medium comprises tracks with a mark/space data structure, wherein the tracks comprise alternately partitioned marks and not partitioned marks. The partitioned marks are partitioned in particular in tracking direction and are partitioned in two parts, advantageously in two equal parts. The partitions are arranged advantageously such that one track comprises not partitioned marks and a neighboring track comprises partitioned marks, for reducing the track pitch of the optical storage medium and for providing an increased data capacity. The optical storage medium is in a preferred embodiment an optical disc comprising a mask layer with a suitable material for providing a super resolution near field effect, and the data structure of the optical disc comprises two spirals which have either partitioned marks or not partitioned marks. An apparatus for reading the data of a respective optical storage medium comprises a pick-up unit with a laser and a first optical element for providing a TM polarized beam and a TE polarized beam, a second optical element for separating the reflected TM and TE polarized beams, and a first and a second detector.
US08259553B2	Optical pickup and optical disc device An optical pickup includes: a light source outputting a light beam; an objective lens collecting the light beam on a target recording layer as a target of plural recording layers provided in an optical disc; a lens moving unit moving the objective lens in a tracking direction nearly orthogonal to track grooves helically or coaxially formed in the target recording layer; a collective lens collecting a reflected light beam formed when the light beam is reflected by the optical disc; a diffraction optical element diffracting part of the reflected first-order light beam in predetermined directions as first, second, third and fourth beams; and a photodetector receiving the first and second beams using first and second light receiving areas, and generating light reception signals, and receiving the third and fourth beams using third and fourth light receiving areas, and generates light reception signals.
US08259547B2	Information storage medium and method of recording and/or reproducing with respect to the medium An information storage medium includes an area in which updated disc-related information and recording-related information updated with a change in at least one of a disc version number and a recording speed is recorded along with existing disc-related information and recording-related information. The existing disc-related information and recording-related information are recorded, and the updated disc-related information and recording-related information is recorded in an area in which the existing disc-related information and recording-related information is recorded. Accordingly, data can be recorded/reproduced on/from a new version of information storage medium even using an existing drive.
US08259545B2	Controller for recovering disc management information of a recording medium A controller for recovering disc management information is provided. The controller controls a pickup head unit to search the TDMAs for readable disc management information which is included in an in-use TDMA of the TDMAs; then determines whether a piece of information associated with an inconsistency flag of the readable disc management information is reliable. When the controller detects that the piece of information is unreliable, the controller determines at least a detection condition according to the information which is included in the readable disc management information and the in-use TDMA, and controls the pickup head unit to detect the recording medium to determine an update on the piece of information associated with the inconsistency flag under at least a detection condition. The controller generates update disc management information according to the readable disc management information and the update on the piece of information associated with the inconsistency flag.
US08259543B2	Data recording/reproduction method and data recording/reproduction apparatus A data recording/reproduction method for performing a data recording/reproduction process on a flexible optical disk by rotating the flexible optical disk while controlling an axial runout of the flexible optical disk with a stabilizing member that applies an aerodynamic force to the flexible optical disk, and irradiating an optical beam and focusing the optical beam to the flexible optical disk is disclosed that includes the steps of a) generating a first axial runout, b) generating a focus error signal forming an S-curve when the first axial runout is generated, c) determining a position of the optical beam according to the focus error signal, d) generating a second axial runout that is smaller than the first axial runout after step c), and e) conducting at least one of the data recording process and the data reproduction process after step d).
US08259542B1	Plant gain calibration for an optical storage servo system A gain calibration method for optical storage servo systems in which, plant gain calibration is used by injecting a reference sine wave r into an optical storage servo system, obtaining an effort signal m at the input of the servo plant and an error signal y at the output of the servo plant, using a DFT (Discrete Fourier Transformation) to translate the time domain signals m and y into frequency responses M and Y, calculating a Y-to-M ratio, and using the magnitude of the Y-to-M ratio as the plant gain K of the servo system. The servo system's sensor gain K1 at the outermost layer of a disk may be calibrated by, e.g., the conventional peak-to-peak measurement. Since K=K1·K2, the servo system's actuator gain K2 at the outermost layer of the disk may be obtained. Because the actuator gain K2 is the same for all layers of a disk, the variation of the sensor gain K1 at an inner layer may follow that of the plant gain K at that layer. Accordingly, the sensor gain K1 may be calibrated for each layer of a multilayer disk, and the calibration is independent from the compensator C.
US08259534B2	Generator device for marine geophysical research The generator device is proposed for seabed survey, comprising a generator line, including electrodes, a hoist, hydraulic pump, air compressor, and at least one hose joined to the generator line, situated optionally inside or outside the line. The hose includes a through hydro-channel therein, a stationary end connected to the pump or alternatively to the compressor, and a running end furnished with a discharge valve. Connecting to the compressor ensures positive floatation of the generator line, whereas connecting to the pump ensures negative floatation thereof. In preferred embodiments, the device comprises a hydraulic clutch and a faucet. The hose communicates with the pump and compressor through the clutch and faucet, ensuring alternative communication of the hose's hydro-channel with water or air for filling thereof. The generator line comprises a dipole including one power braiding, and an initial part including two power braidings, the braidings are connected to the electrodes.
US08259526B2	Semiconductor device performing serial parallel conversion A first transfer circuit includes pipeline circuits having different number of stages, and switch circuits that exclusively supply the pipeline circuits with first and second read data. A second transfer circuit includes pipeline circuits having different number of stages, and switch circuits that exclusively supply the pipeline circuits with third and fourth read data. Outputs of the first and second transfer circuits are sequentially output from a multiplex circuit. When a first operation mode is selected, all the pipeline circuits are activated. When a second operation mode is selected, one of the pipeline circuits in the first transfer circuit and one of the pipeline circuits in the second transfer circuit are activated, whereas the others of the pipeline circuits are inactivated.
US08259525B2	Using a bit specific reference level to read a memory A voltage derived from accessing a selected bit using one read current may be utilized to read a selected bit of an untriggered phase change memory after the read current is changed. As a result, different reference voltages may be used to sense the state of more resistive versus a less resistive selected cells. The resulting read window or margin may be improved in some embodiments.
US08259524B2	Semiconductor device The present invention is directed to provide a semiconductor device having a dual-port memory circuit in which influence of placement of replica cells exerted on enlargement of chip area is reduced. A memory cell array of a dual-port memory circuit has: a first replica cell array used to respond to an instruction of reading operation from one of dual ports; and a second replica cell array used to respond to an instruction of reading operation from the other dual port. Each of the replica cell arrays has: replica bit lines obtained by mutually short-circuiting parallel lines having a length obtained by cutting, in half, an inversion bit line and a non-inversion bit line of complementary bit lines to which data input/output terminals of a memory cell are coupled; and replica cells coupled to the replica bit lines and having transistor placement equivalent to that of the memory cells.
US08259522B1	Area-efficient memory built-in-self-test circuitry with advanced debug capabilities for distributed memory blocks An integrated circuit is provided with built-in-self test circuitry. The integrated circuit may have multiple blocks of memory. The memory may be tested using the built-in-self test circuitry. Each memory block may include a satellite address generator that is used in generating test addresses for the memory blocks. Each memory block may also include failure analysis logic and output response analyzer logic. Stalling logic may be used to individually stall memory block testing on a block-by-block basis during memory tests. Address buffer circuitry such as first-in-first-out buffers may be used to provide randomized memory addresses during testing.
US08259516B2	Memory circuit including row and column selection for writing information Provided is a memory circuit including: memory cells (A) arranged in columns and rows; memory cells (B) each provided for each of the rows for storing information indicative of whether writing into the memory cells (A) of the each of the rows has been completed or not; and a circuit for selecting one of the rows by utilizing the information stored in the memory cells (B). The memory circuit writes information into the memory cell (B) upon completion of writing into the memory cells (A) of a given one of the rows. By utilizing a change in the information stored in the memory cell (B), the given one of the rows is switched from a selected state to a non-selected state, and a next row is switched from the non-selected state to the selected state so that writing is enabled. The operation is repeated to thereby sequentially select a row to be written.
US08259514B2	Sense amplifier and method of sensing data using the same Some embodiments regard a circuit comprising a pre-charge circuit and a latch circuit. The pre-charge circuit charges a voltage node to a pre-determined voltage level based on which the latch circuit generates a feedback signal to stop the pre-charge circuit from charging.
US08259512B2	Low voltage sensing scheme having reduced active power down standby current A low voltage sensing scheme reduces active power down standby leakage current in a memory device. A clamping device or diode is used between a Psense amplifier control line (e.g. ACT) and Vcc and/or between an Nsense amplifier control line (e.g. RNL) and Vss (ground potential). The clamping diode is not enabled during normal memory operations, but is turned on during active power down mode to reduce leakage current through ACT and/or RNL nodes. The clamping device connected to the ACT node may reduce the voltage on the ACT line during power down mode, whereas the clamping device connected to the RNL* node may increase the voltage on the RNL* line during power down mode to reduce sense amplifier leakage current through these nodes. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.
US08259507B2	Word line booster for flash memory device A nonvolatile memory device includes an array of rows and columns of memory cells and a plurality of word lines and bit lines associated with the memory cells. The memory device further includes a word line booster circuit coupled with the word lines for supplying a selected word line with a specific voltage as a drive voltage during an operation of the memory device. The word line booster circuit includes a first boosting capacitor and a second boosting capacitor connected in parallel to generate a boosting voltage and a first precharge circuit for precharging the first and second boosting capacitors. The word line booster circuit further includes a third boosting capacitor operatively connected to the first and second boosting capacitors via a charge-sharing transistor, the third boosting capacitor being connected to one end of a load resistor to generate an output signal at the other end of the load resistor when the charge sharing transistor is enabled.
US08259506B1	Database of memory read thresholds A method for data storage includes storing multiple sets each including one or more read thresholds for use in reading data from a plurality of analog memory cells. The memory cells are arranged in multiple erasure blocks each including multiple pages, and each set of read thresholds is associated with a respective page in one of the erasure blocks. A first page, which belongs to a given erasure block and is not associated with any of the stored sets of read thresholds, is read by retrieving a stored set of read thresholds that is associated with a second page in the given erasure block, adapting the retrieved set of read thresholds to match the first page, and reading the first page using the adapted set of read thresholds.
US08259503B2	Semiconductor device having a field effect source/drain region A semiconductor device includes an active region defined in a semiconductor substrate, and gate electrodes crossing over the active region. Source/drain regions are defined in the active region on two sides of the gate electrode. At least one of the source/drain regions is a field effect source/drain region generated by a fringe field of the gate. The other source/drain region is a PN-junction source/drain region having different impurity fields and different conductivity than the substrate. At least one of the source/drain regions is a field effect source/drain region. Accordingly, a short channel effect is reduced or eliminated in the device.
US08259498B2	Continuous address space in non-volatile-memories (NVM) using efficient management methods for array deficiencies The invention provides a method of managing bad block in a data storage device having an OTP memory die in order to present a continues address space toward the user, by using some of the OTP memory space for the management and maintaining address replacement table. Fast and efficient programming and reading algorithms are presented.
US08259494B2	Semiconductor memory device capable of realizing a chip with high operation reliability and high yield A semiconductor memory device capable of preventing a defect caused by lowering the etching precision in an end area of the memory cell array is provided. A first block is constructed by first memory cell units each having of memory cells, a second block is constructed by second memory cell units each having a plurality of memory cells, and the memory cell array is constructed by arranging the first blocks on both end portions thereof and arranging the second blocks on other portions thereof. The structure of the first memory cell unit on the end side of the memory cell array is different from that of the second memory cell unit. Wirings for connecting the selection gate lines of the memory cell array to corresponding transistors in a row decoder are formed of wiring layers formed above wirings for connecting control gate lines of the memory cell array to the transistors in the row decoder.
US08259485B2	Multilayer structures having memory elements with varied resistance of switching layers A multilayer structure is provided that includes a base and a multilayer circuit disposed above the base. The multilayer circuit includes memory elements, each including a switching layer, and conductive lines leading from the base to the memory element. The total resistance of the switching layer of a memory element is varied based on the total resistance of conductive lines leading from the base to the memory element.
US08259484B2	3D chip selection for shared input packages A multi-chip package with die having shared input and unique access IDs. A unique first ID is assigned and stored on die in a die lot. A set of die is mounted in a multi-chip package. Free access IDs are assigned by applying a sequence of scan IDs on the shared input. On each die, the scan ID on the shared input is compared with the unique first ID stored on the die. Upon detecting a match, circuitry on the die is enabled for a period of time to write an access ID in nonvolatile memory, whereby one of the die in the multi-chip package is enabled at a time. Also, the shared input is used to write a free access ID in nonvolatile memory on the one enabled die in the set. The unique first IDs can be stored during a wafer level sort process.
US08259482B2	Power adapter apparatus and power management method A power adapter apparatus and a power management method thereof are disclosed in the invention. The power adapter includes an output interface and a power modulation unit. The power adapter can be electrically connected with an electronic device through the output interface. There is a detective structure disposed on the output interface. The power management method includes steps of: 1) detecting whether the power adapter apparatus is electrically connected with the electronic device by the detective structure; and 2) when the output interface is detected to be disconnected from the electronic device, switching the power modulation unit to a standby state, so as to reduce a total power consumption of the power modulation unit.
US08259471B2	Converter that actuates a switch corresponding to a detected valley of a resonance waveform A converter is provided including: a first switch; an energy transmitting element for converting input energy into output energy according to the switching of the first switch; and a switching controller for detecting a time when a voltage between a first terminal and a second terminal of the first switch reaches a valley of a resonance waveform, and actuating the first switch corresponding to one of the detected valleys of the resonance waveform. The switching controller includes: a valley detector for changing the state of the output signal whenever a voltage between a first terminal and a second terminal of the first switch reaches a valley of the resonance waveform; and a PWM controller for actuating the first switch corresponding to an output signal of the valley detector.
US08259461B2	Apparatus for bypassing faulty connections Apparatus are disclosed, such as those involving a 3-D integrated circuit. One such apparatus includes a first die including a plurality of vertical connectors formed therethrough. The apparatus also includes a first circuit configured to encode multiple data bits into a multi-bit symbol, and provide the multi-bit symbol to two or more of the vertical connectors. The apparatus further includes a second circuit configured to receive the multi-bit symbol from at least one of the two or more vertical connectors, and decode the multi-bit symbol into the multiple data bits. The apparatus provides enhanced repairability with no or less redundant vertical connectors, thus avoiding the need for “on the fly” or field repair of defective vertical connectors.
US08259460B2	Submount for electronic components A submount for arranging electronic components on a substrate is provided. The submount comprises a head member and at least one substrate-engaging member protruding from the head member. The head member comprises at least two, from each other isolated, electrically conductive portions, where each electrically conductive portion comprises a component contact, adapted for connection of electronic components thereto, and a substrate contact on arranged on said substrate side, adapted for bringing said electrically conductive portions in contact with a circuitry comprised in said substrate. The submount of the present invention may be used to attach electronic components, such as light-emitting diodes, to a textile substrate, without the need for soldering the electronic component directly on the substrate.
US08259459B2	Electronic device An electronic device includes a substrate, a coil that has a spiral shape and is provided on the substrate, and a conductive pattern that is provided inside of the coil, has optical reflectivity higher than that of a surface of the coil, and is divided into pieces.
US08259455B2	Device for protecting the pins of an electronic component The invention relates to a protective device for an electronic component including at least one pin to be electrically connected to an electronic system. The device includes at least one flexible printed circuit including first and second opposite surfaces, a central portion including a through opening for receiving the pin, and flaps connected to the central portion. The printed circuit is made of two insulation layers and includes at least one first conducting track between the two insulating layers, connecting the pin to the electronic system, a second conducting track extending on the first surface, and a third conducting track extending on the second surface. The flaps are folded back at least partially onto each other in order to encapsulate the pin and to electrically connect the second and third conducting tracks.
US08259451B2	Metal injection molded heat dissipation device A heat dissipation device is provided. The heat dissipation device includes an integrated heat spreader and a base plate coupled to the integrated heat spreader, wherein tile base plate comprises a plurality of metal pellets to dissipate heat from the integrated heat spreader.
US08259449B2	Sidecar in-row cooling apparatus and method for equipment within an enclosure A system and method for integrating sidecar liquid cooling components in-row with associated computer equipment enclosures is disclosed. It includes a fail-safe baffle to exhaust air, a transition frame and containment plenum. It uses standard hose configurations and includes a thermo-mechanical switch, not requiring power to open the component door.
US08259448B2	Image display device An image display device is provided with a chassis supporting a display panel on its front surface, circuit boards arranged within a specific region of the back surface of the chassis, a back cover having an edge portion that covers the outside of the specific region of the back surface of the chassis and a projecting portion that accommodates the circuit boards, and a fan arranged inside the space defined by projecting portion. The projecting portion includes a main wall and a peripheral wall, and the peripheral wall is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet. The edge portion is provided with a sound absorbing material on its outer wall surface in the vicinity of the air outlet.
US08259447B2	Display apparatus and adjustment mechanism The present invention provides a display apparatus including a display panel, and a plurality of adjustment mechanisms respectively arranged for a plurality of areas on a rear surface of the display panel and configured to adjust a temperature of the display panel for each of the areas, each of the plurality of adjustment mechanisms including a heat radiating unit mounted on a rear surface of the display panel and configured to form a gas flow passage on the rear surface of the display panel, and a changing unit configured to change a flow rate of a gas flowing into the gas flow passage in accordance with a temperature of an area on the rear surface of the display panel which corresponds to the heat radiating unit.
US08259446B2	Latching assembly and electronic device using the same An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first casing, a second casing, and at least one latching assembly. The second casing defines a through hole. Each latching assembly includes an operating member, a latching block, and at least one positioning member. The operating member includes a first plate and a second plate secured to the first plate. The first plate extends through the through hole, the second plate is external to the through hole. The latching block protrudes from the first casing. When the second plate is driven to move from the first position to the second position, the first plate engages the latching block and the positioning member to secure the second casing to the first casing. When the second casing is driven to move from the second position to the first position, the first plate disengages from the latching block and the positioning member.
US08259441B2	Extracting and installing structure for electrical device An extracting and installing structure for electrical device is disclosed, which comprises: a base for receiving an electrical device; a first chute; a linkage rod, configured with a first protrusion and capable of sliding inside the first chute in a first direction; and a rotatable tenon, configured with a second chute and an interlocking end as the second chute is provided for the first protrusion of the linkage rod to inset therein and the interlocking end is fitted inside an interlocking element of the base; wherein, when the linkage rod is driven to rotate the rotatable tenon, the rotatable tenon is going to force the electrical device to move in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
US08259438B2	Button locking mechanism for preventing a button from being pressed down and electronic device thereof A button locking mechanism includes a latch for being pushed in a first direction by a driving component, and a blocking component connected to the latch. A first incline structure is formed on the blocking component for contacting against a button when the blocking component moves in the first direction so that the blocking component moves in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The button locking mechanism further includes a first elastic component connected to the blocking component for pushing the blocking component to move in a third direction opposite to the second direction so as to prevent the button from being pressed down.
US08259434B2	Multilayer ceramic capacitor and method of fabricating the same There is provided a multilayer ceramic capacitor including: a capacitor main body formed by stacking a dielectric layer having a thickness of td and alternately stacking more than one opposing pair of a first internal electrode having a thickness of te and a second internal electrode having the same thickness as the first internal electrode, and having the dielectric layer therebetween; and a protective layer formed by stacking a second dielectric layer on at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the capacitor main body so that a dielectric material layer has a thickness of tc, wherein when a thickness from an end of a region where the first internal electrode and the second internal electrode oppose each other to side and end surfaces of the capacitor main body is a, it satisfies the following Equation 1 and a method of fabricating a multilayer ceramic capacitor are provided. 10
US08259432B2	Capacitors using preformed dielectric Devices for storing energy at a high density are described. The devices include a solid dielectric that is preformed to present a high exposed area onto which an electrode is formed. The dielectric material has a high dielectric constant (high relative permittivity) and a high breakdown voltage, allowing a high voltage difference between paired electrodes to effect a high stored energy density.
US08259431B2	Variable capacitor array, variable capacitor array device and circuit module The invention relates to a variable capacitor array which has excellent controllability on a capacitance value and has variable and high tunability. The variable capacitor array includes a first variable capacitor (C1) having a capacitance which is varied according to application of voltage; a first terminal (O1) connected to one side of the first variable capacitor; a second variable capacitor (C2) having a capacitance which is varied by application of voltage; a second terminal (O2) connected to one side of the second variable capacitor; and a third terminal (I) connected to both of the other side of the first variable capacitor and the other side of the second variable capacitor, wherein a state can be selected by switching between at least two selection states among three selection states of a first selection state that the first terminal (O1) and the third terminal (I) are selected, a second selection state that the second terminal (O2) and the third terminal (I) are selected, and a third selection state that the first selection state and the second selection state are selected simultaneously.
US08259430B2	Surge protection device for isolating premise devices A surge protector comprises an internal circuitry configured to isolate a premise device from a surge input. In one embodiment, the internal circuitry can comprise a first signal path and a second signal path that is inductively coupled to the first signal path. Each of the first signal path and the second signal path can comprise windings, such as the windings that are found in an RF transformer. The internal circuitry can also comprise a blocking element, which is coupled to the second signal path so that the blocking element receives the surge input before the premise device.
US08259428B2	Input protection circuit A voltage clamp protection circuit to protect against overvoltage conditions where there is insufficient current to blow a fuse. The voltage clamp protection circuit includes a voltage clamp and a thermal cutoff. The voltage clamp clamps any overvoltage to a clamping voltage. If an overvoltage condition persists for too long the voltage clamp dissipates a sufficient amount of heat to activate the thermal cutoff creating an open circuit that protects the rest of the circuit. The voltage clamp protection circuit may be used in combination with a variety of other protection circuits to provide increased protection.
US08259426B2	Variable frequency drive and methods for filter capacitor fault detection Variable frequency motor drives and control techniques are presented in which filter capacitor faults are detected by measuring filter neutral node current and/or voltages and detecting changes in the fundamental frequency component of the measured neutral condition at the fundamental frequency of the input power and/or based on input current unbalance.
US08259425B2	Protection circuit A protection circuit is coupled between a chipset and an I/O port. The protection circuit comprises at least two protection devices and a control device. The protection devices are coupled in parallel with each other, and coupled between the I/O port and the chipset. The protection devices receive an input signal from the I/O port. When the I/O port has a surge current thereon, the protection devices perform a discharge operation for the surge current. The control device selects one of the protection devices to transmit the input signal t the chipset.
US08259421B2	Abnormal current preventive circuit of DC-DC converter The voltage of a detection resistor connected to the drain of a low-side switching device is normally a negative voltage, but a positive voltage appears when a countercurrent occurs in an abnormal state. A current comparator monitors the voltage of the detection resistor, transmits high output to an AND circuit whole the voltage of the detection resistor is a negative voltage to maintain the output voltage of the current comparator in a low state when an output signal of a driver can be transmitted to the low-side switching device, and allows the output voltage of the current comparator in a low state when the voltage of the detection resistor becomes a positive voltage, thereby forcibly turning off the low-side switching device.
US08259417B1	Disk drive head stack assembly having a flexible printed circuit with stiffener bend axis normal to the actuator pivot axis A disk drive head stack assembly has a flexible printed circuit (FPC) including a flex cable and a flex stiffener. The flex stiffener includes a terminal region support portion that is attached to the actuator body, a flex cable guide portion, and a stiffener bend. The stiffener bend is between and connects the terminal region support portion and the flex cable guide portion. The flex cable includes a guided portion that is in contact with the flex cable guide portion. A flex cable terminal region is attached to the terminal region support portion. The stiffener bend is about a stiffener bend axis that is perpendicular to the actuator pivot axis.
US08259416B1	Head suspension having viscoelastic load point A disk drive head suspension including a load beam having a load beam load point region and a flexure, attached to the load beam, having a flexure load point region. A mass of viscoelastic material is fixedly attached to both load beam load point region and flexure load point region to form a pinned load point. A method for manufacturing a disk drive head suspension of the type having a flexure with a flexure load point region on a load beam with a load beam load point region. The flexure load point region is spaced apart from the load beam load point region. A load point is formed by applying a mass of viscoelastic material to the load point region of at least one of the flexure and the load beam.
US08259413B2	Write head with self-align layer and a method for making the same A system according to one embodiment includes a write pole having an end region positioned towards an air bearing surface, a first flare point, and a second flare point positioned between the air bearing surface and the first flare point; and a shield positioned above the write pole, wherein a cross sectional area of the write pole at a point between the first and second flare points along a plane passing through the write pole and oriented about parallel to the air bearing surface is greater than a cross sectional area of the end region of the write pole along a plane oriented parallel to the plane passing through the second flare point. Additional systems and methods are also presented.
US08259412B2	Thermal fly height control magnetic recording head having a novel heating element geometry A heating element for use in a thermal fly height control magnetic recording head of a magnetic data recording system. The heating element has a centrally disposed portion with a straight front edge that is recessed by a substantially constant distance, and has first and second side portions that taper away from the air bearing surface. The side portions preferably taper away from the air bearing surface by an angle of 20 to 45 degrees. The center portion of the front edge is spaced from the air bearing surface by a distance D and has a width W, such that W is 1.5 to 2.5 (or about 2) times D. D is typically 2-6 um to have good heater efficiency while being large enough to not over heat the heater. The heating element has an overall width WW and a overall depth HH from the air bearing surface such that WW is 1.5-2.5 (or about 2) times HH.
US08259405B2	Rewriting codeword objects to magnetic data tape upon detection of an error During a read-after-write operation on magnetic tape, a first SCO is formed which includes two encoded processed user data units and is one of T SCOs in a first SCO set. The user data units are each one of T user data units in first and second user data unit sets, respectively, within the first SCO set. The first SCO set is written to the magnetic tape and is immediately read. When an error is detected in one of the user data units, a second SCO is formed to include the first user data unit and, only if an error is not detected in a user data unit in the other user data unit set, to not include the other user data unit, the second SCO being one of T SCOs in a second SCO set. Then, the second SCO set is rewritten to a later position on the tape later.
US08259399B2	Lens optical system and digital camera module including the same A lens optical system includes a first optical system which includes, in order from an object side to an image side along an optical axis, a first lens group having a positive refractive power and including a first reflection member to redirect an optical path of light representing an object from a first direction toward an image sensor, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, a third lens group having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens group having a positive refractive power, and a fifth lens group having a positive refractive power. During zooming from a wide mode to a tele mode, the first lens group and the fifth lens group are fixed, the second lens group moves toward the image side, the third lens group and the fourth lens group move toward the object side, and the fourth lens group performs focusing.
US08259397B2	Wide angle zoom lens A wide angle zoom lens system in a three lens group N-P-P configuration wherein the first lens group, the second lens group, and the third lens group are arranged in an order from an object side to an image side, and wherein, when variable power operation is performed from a wide angle to a telephoto position, the distance between the first lens group and the second lens group is reduced, and the second lens group is moved toward the object side, and the distance between the second lens group and the third lens group is increased, and wherein the zoom lens has a large view angle at the wide angle position.
US08259396B2	Laser system and laser beam shaping and homogenizing device thereof A double-sided microlens array is applied to a laser beam shaping and homogenizing device of a laser system. The double-sided microlens array is able to shape the energy distribution of an incident laser beam to a square and flat-top beam with the average uniformity of energy and comprises a base plate, a plurality of first micro lenslets and a plurality of second micro lenslets. The first micro lenslet and the second micro lenslet have the convexes with the same figures and comply with the classification of an optical diffractive element, the first micro lenslets and the second micro lenslets are disposed on the first surface and the second surface of the base plate, which are corresponding to each other in order to tightly line up the arrangements of arrays. The first micro lenslets and the second micro lenslets are correspondingly misalignment.
US08259394B2	Antireflection structure and optical device including the same A diffusing plate is formed so as to have a surface having a larger surface roughness than a predetermined wavelength and having an aperiodic roughness shape. A plurality of fine concave/convex portions are formed on the surface so as to be arranged within a cycle equal to and smaller than a predetermined wavelength.
US08259391B2	Amplification device comprising a laser amplifying medium of parallelepiped shape and pumping means comprising lamps The present invention relates to an amplification device comprising an amplifying medium (2) of parallelepiped shape and pumping means comprising lamps (5) emitting first radiation in a frequency range useful for the amplification and second radiation capable of degrading the amplifying medium. It is characterized in that lamps (5) are integrated into a jacket (3) that absorbs at least some of the second radiation.
US08259389B2	Amplifying optical fiber and method of manufacturing Disclosed is an amplifying optical fiber having a central core and an optical cladding surrounding the central core. The central core is based on a silica matrix that includes nanoparticles, which are composed of a matrix material that includes doping ions of at least one rare earth element. The amplifying optical fiber can be employed, for example, in an optical amplifier and an optical laser.
US08259388B2	Optical fiber amplifier An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber amplifier capable of suppressing oscillation of ASE. The optical fiber amplifier includes a second amplifier fiber 30 doped with a rare earth element; a second pumping source 26 that supplies pump light to the second amplifier fiber 30; a storage unit 40 for storing a relationship between oscillation threshold pump power and temperature of the second amplifier fiber 30, the oscillation threshold pump power being power of the pump light which causes oscillation of ASE in a different wavelength range from a signal wavelength range produced by the second amplifier fiber 30; and a temperature controller 38 for controlling the temperature of the second amplifier fiber 30 so that the oscillation threshold pump power is higher than the power of the pump light outputted by the second pumping source 26, by referring to the relationship stored in the storage unit 40.
US08259386B2	Wavelength conversion element and method for manufacturing wavelength conversion element A wavelength conversion element having an improved property-maintaining life and a method for manufacturing the wavelength conversion element are provided. A wavelength conversion element 10a has an optical waveguide 13. The wavelength of incoming light 101 input from one end 13a of the optical waveguide 13 is converted and outgoing light 102 is output from the other end 13b of the optical waveguide 13. The wavelength conversion element includes a first crystal 11 composed of AlxGa(1-x)N (0.5≦x≦1); and a second crystal 12 having the same composition as that of the first crystal. The first and second crystals 11 and 12 form a domain-inverted structure in which a polarization direction is periodically reversed along the optical waveguide 13, and the domain-inverted structure satisfies quasi phase matching conditions with respect to the incoming light 101. At least one of the first and second crystals has a dislocation density of 1×103 cm−2 or more and less than 1×107 cm−2.
US08259385B2	Methods for controlling wavelength-converted light sources to reduce speckle A method for operating a wavelength-converted light source includes directing a pump beam having a fundamental wavelength from the laser source into an input facet of the wavelength conversion device such that a wavelength-converted output beam is emitted from an output facet of the wavelength conversion device in the field of view of an optical detector. A physical property of the wavelength conversion device is varied within individual ones of a succession of consecutive speckle reduction intervals having durations less than the integration time of the optical detector. The physical property of the wavelength conversion device is varied by an amount that is sufficient to change in a phase-matched (PM) wavelength of the wavelength conversion device. The fundamental wavelength of the pump beam is thereafter adjusted based on the change in the PM wavelength to maintain an efficiency of the wavelength conversion in the wavelength conversion device.
US08259381B2	Phase-change materials and optical limiting devices utilizing phase-change materials An optical limiting structure includes a metal layer with a single metal particle or a plurality of metal particles spaced from each other so as to form an array, where the metal particles have sizes no greater than about 1000 nanometers. A phase-change material layer is disposed adjacent at least a portion of the metal layer, where the phase-change material layer includes a phase-change material. The optical limiting structure is configured to transition from a first optical state to a second optical state, where the optical limiting structure substantially limits transmittance of light of at least one wavelength through the optical limiting structure at the second optical state, and the at least one wavelength at which the optical limiting structure substantially limits transmittance of light is different from any wavelength of light at which transmittance is substantially limited through the phase-change material prior to integration into the optical limiting structure.
US08259375B2	Crystallization apparatus, crystallization method, device and phase modulation element The present invention comprises a light modulation optical system having a first element which forms a desired light intensity gradient distribution to an incident light beam and a second element which forms a desired light intensity minimum distribution with an inverse peak shape to the same, and an image formation optical system which is provided between the light modulation optical system and a substrate having a polycrystal semiconductor film or an amorphous semiconductor film, wherein the incident light beam to which the light intensity gradient distribution and the light intensity minimum distribution are formed is applied to the polycrystal semiconductor film or the amorphous semiconductor film through the image formation optical system, thereby crystallizing a non-crystal semiconductor film. The pattern of the first element is opposed to the pattern of the second element.
US08259369B2	Color characterization or calibration targets with noise-dependent patch size or number A calibration or characterization system is provided wherein the number of repeated patches or the size of a patch of a given color is printed to be approximately proportional to the square of the expected noise level. In that way, when multiple measurements for a given patch are averaged, all patch averages have approximately the same reliability.
US08259368B2	Image processing apparatus and its method When attribute information cannot be generated from received data, image processing methods and image processing parameters are set unequivocally independently of the received data. If the same image processing methods and image processing parameters are set, processing that does not match the purpose of output or user's favor in terms of image quality may be executed. Hence, if the received data is not PDL data and does not include any interpretable attribute information, a reception print mode is checked. If “character priority” is selected for the reception print mode, attribute flag data of a character attribute is generated. If “photo priority” is selected, attribute flag data of a photo attribute is generated. If “auto” is set, automatic generation of attribute flag data is performed. When attribute flag data cannot be generated, detailed settings are checked to generate attribute flag data of a character attribute or photo attribute.
US08259365B2	Original scanning apparatus and control method thereof An original scanning apparatus is described that scans an original placed on an original placing plane line by line by moving a scanning unit including a plurality of light-receiving elements that are arranged in a prescribed direction in a direction perpendicular to the prescribed direction. The original scanning apparatus includes: a pattern unit that is provided in a vicinity of a side of the rectangular original placing plane extending along a moving direction of the scanning unit; a control unit configured to calculate drive information in the moving direction per line-scanning cycle of the scanning unit based on a result of scanning the pattern unit; and a driving circuit configured to feed back the calculated drive information so as to control the scanning unit to thereby drive the scanning unit in the moving direction.
US08259364B2	Image sensor An image sensor includes: a light transmissive member extending in a direction orthogonal to a direction of conveying the document; a reference portion provided outside the conveying region where a document is conveyed with respect to the orthogonal direction and having a transmittance lower than a transmittance of in the conveying region of the light transmissive member; and a light source unit. The image sensor further includes: a lens unit converging the light transmitting through the document and the reference portion; a light receiving unit that receives the light transmitted through the lens unit and outputs an electric signal; an amplifying unit that amplifies the electric signal of the document corresponding to the conveying region and outputs an image signal of the document; and a controlling unit configured to control an amplification factor of the amplifying unit based on the electric signal corresponding to the reference portion.
US08259361B2	Glossmark-enabled photo product composition station A photo composition system applies digital watermarks such as glossmarks and correlation marks to a user's image to produce a marked version of the image. A compatibility measure is computed and presented to the user as an aid in mark selection or the decision to even apply a mark to the image. Compatibility measures can be improved by automated image enhancement processes that adjust the image to be more compatible with the mark.
US08259360B2	Method and apparatus for correcting geometric errors while preserving defined information A method and an apparatus are provided for correcting geometric errors during a transfer of a printing image to a printing material. For the purpose of correction, a raster bitmap is fed to a matrix manipulation device, which distorts the raster bitmap. The problem with the distortion is that areas such as edge marks are also distorted. In order to avoid those undesired distortions, a protected area determining device for determining a protected area within the raster bitmap and/or the master print, and a protective element for preserving the content of a protected area within a raster bitmap, are provided.
US08259356B2	Apparatus and method of image processing for selective color determination An image processing apparatus includes a first color determining device, a storage device, a second color determining device, an output image processing device, and a controller. The controller compares between a first area of input image data and a second area of the input image data to generate a comparison result. When the comparison result indicates that the second area of the input image data does not match the first area of the input image data, the controller causes the second color determining device to generate the second determination result and causes the output image data to be generated based on the second determination result. When the comparison result indicates that the second area of the input image data matches the first area of the input image data, the controller causes the output image processing device to apply image processing determined based on the first determination result.
US08259355B2	Image processing device, image processing method, image forming apparatus, and storage medium A device for converting a color image including multiple character images into a monochrome image is disclosed. The device includes a color conversion unit configured to reduce the image density of black character images included in the color image to a level lower than the image density of specific color character images included in the color image and having a specific color other than black during the conversion of the color image into the monochrome image.
US08259351B2	Electronic device system and control method of electronic device system A system, method and apparatus for controlling a device to operate to an operation position specified by a value of a first coordinate on a target, even if a target is misaligned. The system includes a first printer driver in a host apparatus that generates a command with an operation position of a color measurement carriage of a color measurement driving device specified as a value of a logical coordinate system on paper and a second printer driver in the printer that converts the value in the command from the logical coordinate system to a real coordinate system, incorporates the command with the value of the real coordinate system specified into print data, and transmits print data to the color measurement driving device.
US08259348B2	Image processing apparatus and method, image output apparatus, image processing system, recording medium in which image processing program is stored, and recording medium in which image output program is stored An image processing apparatus includes a first print information receiving unit for receiving first print information including image data and color information, a color conversion parameter generating unit that generates a color conversion parameter for converting a color signal of the image data to a color signal of a color space fixed in advance, based on the color information included in the first print information, and a second print information transmitting unit that generates second print information by adding the color conversion parameter to the first print information. Also disclosed is an image processing method.
US08259343B2	Image processing device and image processing method The present invention provides an image processing device which is capable of avoiding disappearance of print data such as thin lines by increasing probability in which an original image is stored even after resolution conversion processing is executed to a binary image. In order to achieve this, the present invention may leave the pixels in any of the two lines halftone-processed with same threshold value row after the resolution conversion in a given ratio.
US08259342B2	System, method and program for generating data for printing invisible information, and method of manufacturing physical medium whereupon invisible information is printed A method of manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. A layout design of visible and invisible information to be printed in a book with visible and invisible ink, respectively, is generated. The visible information includes an article. The invisible information includes a URL of an address of a web server at which additional information associated with the article is located. Print data of the visible and invisible information based on the generated layout design of the visible and invisible information are generated. The generated print data of the visible and invisible information are stored on the physical medium. A book containing the article in visible ink and the invisible information in invisible ink is produced. A cellular phone is used to obtain the additional information by identifying the URL via illuminating and photographing the invisible information in the book using a light-emitting element in the cellular phone.
US08259335B2	Method for sorting print jobs in a printing system, computer program product and printing system for carrying out said method In a method or printing system for sorting of print jobs, a check of specific directories as to whether a file belonging to a new print job has been generated is repeatedly implemented. A job identification number is associated with each new print job, the job identification numbers for print jobs stored in a specific group of directories being respectively generated chronologically. A plurality of print jobs are sorted corresponding to the job identification numbers.
US08259334B2	Data pump for printing Systems and techniques for printing on a workpiece. In one implementation, a data pump is used to create a packet of image data for a print head assembly. The data pump includes multiple state machines to receive image data from an image buffer on a computer, and a serializer to gather image data from each of the state machines. Each of the state machines is configured to send image data to the serializer at a different instance in time. The serializer is configured to arrange the gathered image data according to when the serializer received the image data from each of the state machines. The data pump also includes an optical fiber communication interface to connect with a communication channel.
US08259333B2	Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and program thereof An information processing apparatus according to this invention acquires function restriction information used to restrict the use of functions of an image processing apparatus. The apparatus acquires job log data of a job which is processed using the functions of the image processing apparatus. The apparatus changes the acquired function restriction information. The apparatus calculates a cost incurred upon using the functions of the image processing apparatus within a designated period, based on unit price information indicating the unit prices of the resources consumed upon using the functions of the image processing apparatus, the job log data, and the changed function restriction information. The apparatus outputs the calculation result.
US08259331B2	Creating workflows for a job shop, assigning the workflows to cells of devices, and splitting the workflows within complex cells A system for designing cells in a document production environment may include a computing device and a computer-readable medium in communication with the computing device. The computer-readable medium may include one or more programming instructions for identifying a plurality of jobs associated with the document production environment. Each job may include one or more functions. The computer-readable medium may include one or more programming instructions for generating a representation for each unique job, creating one or more workflows, assigning the workflow to one of a plurality of cells, determining whether one or more of the cells is complex, and splitting at least one workflow within a complex cell. Each cell may include one or more devices.
US08259330B2	Output efficiency of printer forming image by interpreting PDL and performing output by using print engine A printer according to the present invention receives a PDL via a network. Thereafter, the printer creates metadata by interpreting the received PDL and extracting rendering attribute information used in each page. The printer generates vector data from the PDL. Based on setting information on the printer, the printer generates a display list from the vector data. The generated vector data, display list and metadata are stored in a storage device in the printer in association with each other. Thus, output efficiency is improved.
US08259327B2	Printing system and printing method A printing system having: an order management terminal for instructing to create a printed matter, the order management terminal including; a communication interface section which obtains a list of destinations including a plurality of destination information and a distribution image information; and a printing instruction section which forms a printing instruction information including the destination information, the distribution image information and a print setting information and sends the printing instruction information to an image forming apparatus for creating the printed matter according to an instruction of the order management terminal; and the image forming apparatus including; an image forming section which executes printing of the destination information onto a cover sheet for each destination and printing of the distribution image information onto a distribution sheet continuously according to the printing instruction information; and a finishing section forming a printed.
US08259322B2	Printing system, printing program, information collection method, information search method and information search system In a client PC, after receiving drawing data, the log information generation unit (400) of a printer driver (203) refers to the current time, and collects a keyword, print job attribute item, and the like which satisfy an extraction condition corresponding to a time period including the current time. The log information generation unit groups the collected pieces of information into a log information file (320), and saves it in a log information storage server (1000). A search unit can read saved log information from the log information file in accordance with a desired search condition. The system administrator or the like inspects the read log information, and if information may leak, investigates it.
US08259320B2	Image management system, image output apparatus, and computer readable medium for outputting image data to various types of media Disclosed herein is an image management system including an image output apparatus and a server. The image output apparatus includes an obtaining unit to obtain user information when the image data is output, a history storage unit to accumulate and store the user information which is obtained by the obtaining unit and the image data which is output as history information, a history transfer unit to transfer the history information which is stored in the history storage unit to the server, and a deletion unit to delete the history information which is transferred by the history transfer unit from the history storage unit. The server includes a receiving unit to receive the history information which is transferred from the image output apparatus, and a history management unit to accumulate and store the history information which is received by the receiving unit.
US08259317B2	Image processing system and image processing condition setting program In an image processing system including an image processing portion configured to process an image according to a plurality of processing conditions which are individually settable to a set value, a control portion displays a first setting screen on a display portion, so that the set value of at least one processing condition can be changed on the first setting screen according to an external input. The control portion additionally displays a second setting screen on the display portion in response to change of the set value of a processing condition on the first setting screen, so that the second setting screen includes information on at least one relevant processing condition associated with the changed processing condition, and the set value of the at least one relevant processing condition can be changed on the second setting screen according to an external input.
US08259312B2	Information processing apparatus having a capability of halting a printing process for off-line processing, and method and program for controlling printing process including halting the printing process for off-line processing A printing process is preset for each page of a print job such that the printing process is halted when a page needs off-line processing, and the printing process is resumed in response to an operation to resume the printing process. After the print job is started, a CPU determines for each page whether off-line processing is specified to be performed. If the current page is specified to be subjected to off-line processing, the printing process is halted. If an operation to resume the print processing is detected, the printing process is resumed. Thus, after the print job is started, a user can make a confirmation in terms of the printing state of the printer before printing for the particular page is started.
US08259308B2	Sensor system and method for detecting misaligned trays and/or mis-positioned utensils in a direct recirculating oven A system and method for diagnosing a misalignment condition during operation of a continuous oven, which includes a conveyor system conveying and positioning trays carrying panned baked goods within an oven bake chamber defined at least in part by two side panels extending parallel to one another. The system includes an optical sensor arrangement having a transmitter and a receiver disposed along a line of sight, the line of sight extending across a location of the oven bake chamber such that a misaligned tray or mis-positioned utensil moving on the conveyor system disposed within the oven cavity interrupts the line of sight, which in accordance with the method causes the optical sensor system to provide a signal indicative of the misalignment condition.
US08259306B2	Single-lens, single-aperture, single-sensor 3-D imaging device A device and method for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging using a defocusing technique is disclosed. The device comprises a lens having a substantially oblong aperture, a sensor operable for capturing light transmitted from an object through the lens and the substantially oblong aperture, and a processor communicatively connected with the sensor for processing the sensor information and producing a 3-D image of the object. The aperture may have an asymmetrical shape for distinguishing objects in front of versus in back of the focal plane. The aperture may also be rotatable, where the orientation of the observed pattern relative to the oblong aperture is varied with time thereby removing the ambiguity generated by image overlap. The disclosed device further comprises a light projection system configured to project a predetermined pattern onto a surface of the desired object thereby allowing for mapping of unmarked surfaces in three dimensions.
US08259303B2	OCT combining probes and integrated systems Optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe and system designs are disclosed that minimize the effects of mechanical movement and strain to the probe to the OCT analysis. It also concerns optical designs that are robust against noise from the OCT laser source. Also integrated OCT system-probes are included that yield compact and robust electro-opto-mechanical systems along with polarization sensitive OCT systems.
US08259302B2	Variable path length control modulation frequency A gyroscope system comprises a gyroscope block having a plurality of cavities and a plurality of passages that define a path; a plurality of mirrors each located in one of the plurality of cavities; at least one mirror drive coupled to one of the plurality of mirrors and configured to change a position of the respective mirror, wherein the path's length is changed by the change in the position of the respective mirror; a dither system coupled to the gyroscope block and configured to induce an angular rotation of the gyroscope block; and a controller configured to provide a dither signal indicative of a dither frequency to the dither system and a path length control (PLC) signal indicative of a PLC frequency to the at least one mirror drive. The controller is configured to calculate the PLC frequency as a function of the dither frequency.
US08259300B2	Interferometer actuator The invention relates the movement of at least one movable means of an interferometer relative to the body of the interferometer. The system according to the invention, comprises at least two interferometer actuators, that can be operated individually, so that the at least two actuators are capable of moving the at least one movable means of the interferometer. When activating at least one of the at least two interferometer actuators the at least one movable means of the interferometer is moved with a minimum need for correcting for e.g. tilt. In a preferred configuration the system and the method according to the invention comprises three interferometer actuators that can be operated individually.
US08259298B2	Sorting device with a broad spectrum light source and according method The invention relates to a system comprising a broadband optical light source and a sorting device and more specifically to laser sorting devices. The object of the present invention is to provide a system comprising a sorting device with a light-source offering all wavelengths for the sorting process. This is solved by using an all fiber supercontinuum light source.
US08259294B2	Method and device for measuring optical characteristic variables of transparent, scattering measurement objects A method and device are provided for measurement of various transmission and reflection values of transparent measurement objects having transparent layers in an inline coating system, and particularly the turbidity of the measurement object during a relative movement between the measurement object and measuring device. Transmission fractions are measured in two different radiation directions of a lighting source emitting diffuse light by two photodetectors, by which a fraction of diffuse light of the lighting source is suppressed in one direction.
US08259291B2	Multi-band seeker with tiltable optical/receiver portion A seeker/receiver system for a moving body, such as for guiding the moving body to a target, includes an optics/receiver portion that tilts as a unit relative to other parts of the moving body. The optics/receiver portion includes a window which may be used to enclose and protect one or both of a pair of receivers or detectors, such as a laser energy detector or receiver, and an infrared energy detector or receiver. By moving the window and the receivers as a unit a set positional relationship is maintained between all of the elements of the optics/receiver portion. This simplifies the optics by obviating the need for all aspects of the window to present the same properties to energy detectors that tilt relative to it. The optics/receiver portion may be tilted using a tilt mechanism such as a gimbal.
US08259285B2	Lithographic system, device manufacturing method, setpoint data optimization method, and apparatus for producing optimized setpoint data An iterative method of producing optimized setpoint data for controlling the actuation of elements of an array of individually controllable elements in a maskless system and systems therefore. The optimization is based on estimation of a device structure that can utilizes one or more of the following factors: the low-pass characteristics of the projection system, the configuration of the illumination system, and the process window properties.
US08259283B2	Immersion lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method An immersion lithographic apparatus is described in which a droplet removal device removes droplets from the substrate, e.g. during exposures, using an angled flow of gas from a gas knife.
US08259282B2	Method of repairing short or potential short circuits during resizing of an electronic flat panel display Electronic flat panel displays (FPDs) including liquid crystal displays (LCDs) may be resized to meet custom size requirements for applications in aerospace and elsewhere. During the resizing process, pixel line defects may occur in the image due to electrical short circuits at the resized cut edge. Methods for repairing such short circuits are described, including use of mechanical, electrical, chemical, thermal, and/or other means, and any combination thereof, to open the short circuits. The method may be applied to the sealed cut edge to ruggedize the seal, even if image defects are not exhibited initially. The repaired short circuits may be stress tested to ensure the defects will not recur during the life of the display, and the repaired areas may be resealed.
US08259281B2	LCD backlight unit having a heat sink and a heat receiving member A LCD device includes color LEDs, a light-mixing optical guide plate and a main optical guide plate for guiding lights from the color LEDs, a LCD panel for receiving lights from the main optical guide plate, a housing for supporting the LCD panel, light-mixing optical guide plate and main optical guide plate in block, and a heat sink for dissipating the heat transferred from the LEDs. On the rear surface side of the light-mixing optical guide plate, a heat receiving member is provided having a higher heat receiving capability than the rest of the housing.
US08259279B2	Liquid crystal display panel, liquid crystal display device, and television receiver The present invention provides a liquid crystal display panel, a liquid crystal display device, and a television receiver, each of which permits shortening of production time, simplification of inventory management of the CF substrate, and reduction in production costs. The present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including: a first substrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first and second substrates, the first substrate including a first insulating substrate, a first wiring, and a flattening layer, the first wiring being formed on a liquid crystal layer side of the first insulating substrate, the flattening layer being arranged between the liquid crystal layer and the first wiring, the second substrate including a second insulating substrate and a column spacer, the column spacer being arranged on a liquid crystal layer side of the second insulating substrate to face a region where the first wiring overlaps with the flattening layer, wherein the first substrate includes a height adjustment layer, the height adjustment layer being arranged to face the column spacer.
US08259277B2	Liquid crystal display device and method for fabricating the same A liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes a first substrate having a plurality of pixels defined by crossing gate lines and data lines; a second substrate facing the first substrate; a thin film transistor formed at each crossing between the gate line and the data line on each pixel and having a gate electrode connected to the gate line and a source electrode connected to the data line; a pixel electrode formed at each pixel and connected to a drain electrode of the thin film transistor; a plurality of column spacers formed between the first and second substrates and configured to maintain a gap therebetween; and a protrusion formed on the first substrate and overlapped with one or more of the plurality of column spacers, wherein the protrusion includes a first layer made of the same material as an active layer of the thin film transistor and formed on the same layer as the active layer; a second layer made of the same material as the source and drain electrodes of the thin film transistor and formed on the same layer as the electrodes; and a third layer made of the same material as the pixel electrode and formed on the same layer as the pixel electrode.
US08259275B2	Liquid crystal display device and process of manufacture Provided is a liquid crystal display device capable of significantly reducing occurrence of a failure such as an interlayer short-circuit. In the liquid crystal device, a first layer formed of a copper film having a purity of 99.5% or more and a second layer formed of an alloy film containing copper as a main component are successively formed on a glass substrate or a substrate on which a transparent conductive film containing indium is formed. The alloy film serving as the second layer is made of an alloy containing copper as a main component, which has a higher etching rate in a wet etching process compared with that of copper. Accordingly, a patterned cross-section of the copper film having a large film thickness can be etched in a tapered shape, to thereby improve coverage of an insulating film or the like laminated on a wiring pattern.
US08259274B2	Liquid crystal display device Disclosed is a liquid crystal display device including a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed there between. The first substrate is provided with gate lines and data lines thereon. The gate lines and data lines cross with each other and are insulated from each other. Pixel electrodes are stacked on the gate lines and data lines. Each pixel electrode includes first and second sub-pixel electrodes spaced apart from each other and a connection electrode, which connects the first sub-pixel electrode to the second sub-pixel electrode. The second substrate is provided with a common electrode thereon. The common electrode includes a first domain divider formed on the center of the first sub-pixel electrode and a second domain divider formed on the center of the second sub-pixel electrode.
US08259267B2	Display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof A manufacturing method of the present invention is a manufacturing method of a display device with a functional film that is adhered to a principal plane of a display panel provided with a display part. A first resin layer is formed outside the display part on the principal plane to surround the display part, a communication part which allows an inner area surrounded by the first resin layer and an outer area outside of the first resin layer to communicate with each other in an in-plane direction of the principal plane is formed, the inner area is coated with a second resin, the functional film is superimposed on the principal plane, and the second resin is pressed and spread throughout the inner area and the communication part by pressing the functional film.
US08259262B2	Liquid crystal display apparatus having particular polarizers Provided is a liquid crystal display apparatus including: a liquid crystal panel including a pair of substrates; a liquid crystal layer sandwiched by the pair of substrates; plural electrodes formed on at least one of the pair of substrates; and a pair of polarizers provided in respective outsides of the pair of substrates; and a back light unit provided in a rear of the liquid crystal panel, in which one of the pair of polarizers, which is provided at a side of the back light unit, includes at least two types of layers which cause polarization, and in which the two types of layers include a first layer provided on a side of the liquid crystal layer and a second layer provided on a side of the back light unit, the first layer being a negative uniaxial polarizer layer, the second layer being a positive uniaxial polarizer layer.
US08259253B2	Backlight unit and display apparatus A backlight unit and a display apparatus are provided, the display apparatus including: a display panel on which an image is displayed; and a backlight unit which provides backlight to the display panel, the backlight unit including a plurality of light guide plates, a plurality of substrates which are respectively disposed on at least two surfaces of the corresponding plurality of light guide plates, and a plurality of light emitting units which are respectively disposed between the plurality of light guide plates, and respectively disposed on a surface of the corresponding plurality of substrates. Therefore, a heat radiating surface of a backlight unit is broadened, thereby improving a heat radiating effect and causing the backlight unit to be assembled easily.
US08259251B2	Backlight module and liquid crystal display A backlight module includes a back plate having a through opening area, a carrying element disposed on the back plate, a circuit board disposed on the carrying element and at least one light emitting element disposed on the circuit board and corresponding to the through opening area. An LCD includes an LCD panel having a display area and a non-display area opposite to each other, a backlight module including a back plate, a circuit board and at least one light emitting element and a cover disposed at the LCD panel. The back plate disposed at the non-display area has a through opening area corresponding to the non-display area. The light emitting element is disposed on the circuit board and corresponding to the through opening area. The cover has a surface and covers the through opening area. The surface of the cover faces the through opening area and the non-display area.
US08259249B2	Display substrate, method of manufacturing the display substrate and display device having the display substrate A display substrate includes a first pixel electrode and a second pixel electrode. The first pixel electrode includes a plurality of first electrode bars. A data line provides a data voltage to the first pixel electrode. The second pixel electrode includes a plurality of second electrode bars alternately disposed with the first electrode bars. A first power line is formed adjacent to a gate line to provide a first voltage to the second pixel electrode. A second power line crosses the first power line and is electrically connected to the first power line. A first switching element is electrically connected to the data line, the gate line and the first pixel electrode. A second switching element is electrically connected to the first power line, the gate line and the second pixel electrode.
US08259248B2	Electrooptic device and electronic device An electrooptic device includes first insulating layer between a semiconductor layer of a transistor and scanning line. The first insulating layer has a contact hole for electrically connecting the gate electrode and the scanning line, the contact hole having a first portion located beside the semiconductor layer of the corresponding transistor in plan view and that extends in the direction in which one of the scanning lines or the data lines extend and a second portion that overlaps with part of the corresponding data line and that extends in a direction in which the other of the scanning lines data lines extend.
US08259246B2	Active matrix substrate, liquid crystal panel, liquid crystal display apparatus, television receiver, and a method for manufacturing active matrix substrate Each retention capacitor line has retention capacitor line extension (18s) extending from an intersection of a retention capacitor line (18A) and a data signal line (15a) toward each of two intersections of the data signal line (15a) and two scanning signal lines (16a and 16b) adjacent to the retention capacitor line. The retention capacitor line extension (18s) has a part (M3) where the retention capacitor line extension (18s) and the data signal line (15a) overlap each other. A retention capacitor line sub-extension (18c) further extended from the retention capacitor line extension (18s) has a part (M4) where the retention capacitor line sub-extension (18c) and a drain drawing line (19a) overlap each other. On at least one side of an opening (K) of the scanning signal line (16b), the scanning signal line (16b) functions as a gate electrode (10a) of a transistor (12a).
US08259245B2	Liquid crystal display and photomask for manufacturing the same Disclosed are a liquid crystal display and a photomask for manufacturing the liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display includes a substrate, a pixel electrode disposed on the substrate and including first and second sub-pixel electrodes, a first thin film transistor having first gate and source electrodes and a first drain electrode connected to the first sub-pixel electrode, a second thin film transistor having second gate and source electrodes and a second drain electrode connected to the second sub-pixel electrode, and a third thin film transistor having third gate and drain electrodes and a third source electrode connected to the second sub-pixel electrode. A first gate signal is applied to the first and second gate electrodes, a second gate signal is applied to the third gate electrode, the same data signal is applied to the first and second source electrodes, and the second drain electrode and the third source electrode are connected to each other.
US08259244B2	Display substrate and method of manufacturing the same A display substrate in accordance with one or more embodiments includes a first line pattern, a first insulation layer, a second line pattern, a color filter layer and a pixel electrode, which are formed on a substrate. The first line pattern includes a gate line and a light-blocking layer. The light-blocking layer has a first opening portion formed in a storage capacitor region. The first insulation layer is formed on the substrate having the first line pattern. The second line pattern is formed on the first insulation layer. The color filter layer is formed on the substrate having the second line pattern, and has a second opening portion overlapping with the storage electrode. The pixel electrode is formed on the substrate having the color filter layer. Thus, short circuits between the storage electrode and the pixel electrode may be prevented.
US08259233B2	System and method for processing a television picture-out-picture A system for processing a television (TV) picture-out-picture (POP) includes a line buffer, a first multiplexer, an image processing engine, a scaling engine and a timing generator. The line buffer receives partial pixels of a first picture and partial pixels of a second picture. The first multiplexer selects the partial pixels of the first and second picture as an output. The image processing engine performs an image processing on the partial pixels output by the first multiplexer to thereby produce processed pixels. The scaling engine performs a scaling operation on the processed pixels to thereby produce scaled pixels. The timing generator produces a timing signal for the image processing engine and the scaling engine and produces enable signals respectively for the first picture and the second picture. The image processing engine and the scaling engine process the partial pixels of the first or second picture in multiplexing.
US08259229B2	Video signal processing apparatus and method thereof A motion amount at a pixel position to be interpolated of a field of interest is calculated. A difference coefficient between frames is calculated based on video signals of two fields which are adjacent to the field of interest and are separated by one frame. A motion intensity between fields is calculated based on video signals of the field of interest and a field after the field of interest. The motion amount is corrected using a predetermined function. The corrected motion amount is corrected again based on the difference coefficient and motion intensity.
US08259226B2	Image display device In one embodiment of the present application, a frame interpolation circuit performs frame interpolation on an input video signal, and outputs a drive video signal containing original and interpolation frames. A motion determination circuit outputs a control signal in accordance with the amount of motion, based on a motion vector obtained by a motion detection circuit. In accordance with the control signal, the frame interpolation circuit increases the proportion of interpolation frames contained in the drive video signal as motion in an image increases, while increasing the proportion of original frames contained in the drive video signal as the motion in the image decreases. As a result, any moving image blur due to following line of sight and noise generated in the interpolation frames are reduced.
US08259225B2	System and method for reducing visible halo in digital video with dual motion estimation Embodiments include systems and methods for interpolating frames. In one embodiment, a system and method provides reduced halo and consequently a higher degree of accuracy/fidelity. In one embodiment, a method of video frame interpolation includes receiving forward and backward motion estimation data based on a first video frame and a second, subsequent, video frame. Each block in a plurality of blocks of pixels in an intermediate frame between the first and second frames is classified according to measures of covering and uncovering associated with the forward and backward motion estimation data. A block to be constructed is estimated based on the classification results of proximal ones of the plurality of blocks to the block to be constructed.
US08259223B2	Imaging module An imaging module includes an imaging substrate mounting an imaging device thereon, a substrate holding plate, a holder. The substrate holding plate includes four substrate securing portions for securing the imaging substrate that are located opposing to four corners of the imaging substrate, respectively, an opening portion surrounded by the four substrate securing portions, and four holder securing portions that are located outwardly from the four substrate securing portions in a longitudinal direction thereof, respectively. The holder is formed integrally with a lens support barrel configured to support a lens unit at an inside thereof, and has plate securing portions configured to secure the holder securing portions at positions opposed to the holder securing portions of the substrate holding plate, respectively. The imaging module causes little residual compressive stress left in the imaging substrate, so that it can acquire high-resolution images.
US08259220B2	Imaging device containing a rotary shutter for frame rate controlling Disclosed herein is an imaging device including: an imaging element configured to carry out photoelectric conversion of subject image light incident through a lens and produce a video signal; an imaging element controller configured to control timing of readout of the video signal from the imaging element; a circular disk shutter configured to have a light-blocking part and a passage part, the shutter being driven to rotate by a motor; a shutter position detector configured to detect a rotational position of the shutter; and a shutter controller configured to control a rotational speed of the shutter and cause the imaging element controller to start readout of a video signal from the imaging element when the light-blocking part of the shutter is located in front of the imaging element based on information on the rotational position of the shutter, detected by the shutter position detector.
US08259219B2	Detection system for autofocus function of image capture device and control method thereof A detection system for an image capture device includes an image detecting unit, a calculation unit, a selection unit and a switching unit. The image detecting unit provides a plurality of focus modes suitable for different ambient light conditions, and acquires image parameters. The calculation unit determines exposure time suitable for the current ambient light conditions based on the acquired parameters. The selection unit selects a suitable detection mode based on the determined exposure time. The switching unit switches the image capture device to the selected suitable detection mode.
US08259216B2	Interchangeable lens camera system having autofocusing function To provide an interchangeable lens camera system for shooting with the best in-focus position, no matter how a group of two or more interchangeable lenses to produce different degrees of spherical aberrations and a group of cameras of different types with different evaluated autofocus frequencies are combined. The camera system of this invention includes a lens unit and a camera body to be removable and attachable from/to each other. The lens unit includes a first computing section for acquiring shooting parameters during a focusing operation and a storage section that stores reference data for changing focus positions according to the contrast of image. The camera body includes an imaging device to output a video signal representing subject's image and a second computing section for measuring the contrast of the image based on its own predetermined evaluated AF frequency during the focusing operation and calculating a correction value based on the shooting parameter and the reference data associated with the highest contrast, thereby changing the focus positions according to the correction value calculated.
US08259214B2	Image pickup apparatus and auto-focus detection method An image pickup apparatus capable of focusing on an object with stability based on a recognized object area. A video camera includes an image pickup device for picking up an image formed by an image-pickup optical system including a focus lens, a face detection processing circuit for detecting, based on a video signal output from the image pickup device, an object area on an imaging screen and the likelihood of an object being present in the object area, and a computer for controlling a focus adjustment based on the object area when determining that the likelihood detected by the face detection processing circuit satisfies a predetermined condition, which is varied according to an imaging state.
US08259207B2	CCD image sensor A CCD image sensor includes a photo-diode region segmented by an element separation region; and a CCD register connected with the photo-diode region through a transfer gate. The photo-diode region includes a plurality of tapered portions, and each of the plurality of tapered portions is formed to become wider in a direction of the transfer gate.
US08259206B1	Solid-state imaging apparatus A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a plurality of pixels for converting analog image signals from the pixels into digital signals including a higher digit bit and a lower digit bit in time series. The A/D converter includes a first holding unit for holding the higher digit bit of the digital signal, a second holding unit for holding the lower digit bit of the digital signal, a third holding unit for holding the digital signal from the first holding unit, and a fourth holding unit for holding the digital signal from the second holding unit. A first pair including the first and third holding units, and a second pair including the second and fourth holding units are arranged in a direction along the column of the two-dimensional array of pixels.
US08259204B2	Solid-state imaging device and method of driving the same A solid-state imaging device includes a unit cell, a first power supply which supplies a drain voltage to the amplifying transistor, and a second power supply which supplies a drain voltage to the reset transistor. The unit cell includes a photodiode which accumulates a signal charge obtained by photoelectric conversion of incident light, an amplifying transistor which has a control electrode capacitively coupled to a vertical signal line, and which amplifies the signal charge outputted from the photodiode and outputs the amplified signal charge to the vertical signal line, and a reset transistor which resets a voltage at the control electrode of the amplifying transistor.
US08259200B2	Imaging apparatus and imaging method An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging section receiving color light and interpolation light including at least a part of a wavelength range of the color light in order to interpolate the brightness of the color light and converting the received color light and interpolation light into a signal; a control section controlling a first exposure time of the color light and a second exposure time of the interpolation light separately according to the brightness of an object to be imaged; and an image creating section creating an image on the basis of a color signal, which is output when the imaging section receives the color light, during the first exposure time controlled by the control section and on the basis of an interpolation signal, which is output when the imaging section receives the interpolation light, during the second exposure time controlled by the control section.
US08259199B2	Pixel array with reduced sensitivity to defects An array of active pixels comprises rows of pixels and row select lines for selecting rows of pixels. Each active pixel comprises a buffer amplifier for buffering an output of a photo-sensitive element. An output of the buffer amplifier can be selectively put into a high impedance state, by control of the input of the buffer amplifier, when there is a defect in the row select line for that pixel. This allows other rows, which are defect-free, to remain operating as normal. A disable line can be provided for a row of pixels and each pixel can have a switch connected to the disable line. Alternatively, a first supply line powers a row of pixels. Each pixel comprises a reset switch connected between a photo-sensitive element and the first supply line for resetting the photo-sensitive element. The array is configured such that, in the event of a defect in a row select line, the first supply line is set to ground, or a low voltage, and the reset switch is turned on to put the buffer amplifier into the high impedance state.
US08259187B2	Method and system for combining images in camera device A method for combining images in a camera device, includes following steps. The camera device takes a first image. A first inclination angle of the camera device at the time of taking the first image is saved. A view finder of the camera device finds a next view, and compares the current inclination angle of the camera device with the first inclination angle. If the angles are not the same, the view finder inclines to adjust the current inclination angle of the camera device until the angles are the same. The camera device takes a second image. The first image and the second image are combined to generate a new image.
US08259181B2	Image quality assessment method and image quality assessment apparatus for display apparatus An image quality assessment method and an image quality assessment apparatus are provided. In the image quality assessment method, the contrast of a measurement pattern displayed on the display apparatus, the brightness of the background, and the resolution are adjusted, and thereby the luminance characteristic of the measurement pattern is detected. Accordingly, the image quality of a display apparatus can be assessed using the number of waves determined from the luminance characteristic and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the waves. Therefore, image quality assessment can be performed objectively by the display apparatus.
US08259177B2	Video fingerprint systems and methods A method that provides identification information for a portion of a video stream includes receiving a video stream, wherein the video stream includes one or more successive video scenes, wherein the one or more successive video scenes respectively corresponds to one or more sets of visual information, wherein each of the one or more successive video scenes includes plural successive pictures, wherein a first visual object is included in a first video scene, wherein the one or more successive video scenes includes the first video scene, detecting the first visual object over a first plurality of pictures of the first video scene, deriving information corresponding to one or more measured transitions of the first visual object over the first plurality of pictures of the first video scene, and providing identification information corresponding to the derived information.
US08259170B2	Integrated calibration sample bay for fluorescence readers A stage assembly, an imaging system that uses the stage assembly, and methods for using the stage assembly in a high content screening system. The stage assembly includes a stage having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface and an opening extending between the top and bottom surfaces to receive a specimen plate. The stage assembly also includes a calibration sample bay formed in the stage. A calibration sample can also be secured within the calibration sample bay.
US08259168B2	Optical fingerprint recognition system An optical fingerprint recognition system has a finger board. The finger board has a plurality of micro-structures, and a plate face of the finger board is to be in contact with a finger, and the other plate face of the finger board has an image capturing element and at least one light emitting element disposed thereon. The image capturing element and the light emitting element are separated from the finger board for a distance. When the light emitting element emits a light ray towards the finger board, the light ray is guided by the plurality of micro-structures to be uniformly distributed in the finger board, so as to facilitate the image capturing element to capture the light ray applied on the finger, thus improving the recognition rate of the fingerprint.
US08259167B2	Scattering medium internal observation apparatus, image pickup system, image pickup method and endoscope apparatus A scattering medium internal observation apparatus according to the present invention includes: a light source; an illuminating apparatus that guides light from the light source to an observation object that is a scattering body; and an observation optical system for observing the observation object illuminated by the illuminating apparatus, wherein the illuminating apparatus has a light-guiding member that guides light from the light source to a surface of the observation object, and a light-shielding member that covers the surface of the observation object and which shields light reflected or scattered in the vicinity of the light-guiding member of the observation object is disposed in the vicinity of an end portion of the light-guiding member on an observation object-side.
US08259162B2	Method and apparatus for generating stereoscopic image data stream for temporally partial three-dimensional (3D) data, and method and apparatus for displaying temporally partial 3D data of stereoscopic image Provided is a method of decoding a stereoscopic image data stream. In the method, a plurality of monoscopic image data regions are determined from among image data regions of a stereoscopic image data stream; a composition time stamp (CTS) of each of the monoscopic image data regions is extracted; and, if there are colliding image data regions having the same CTS from among the monoscopic image data regions, monoscopic image data is extracted from a monoscopic image data region of a main stream of the colliding image data regions.
US08259161B1	Method and system for automatic 3-D image creation Disclosed herein are methods, devices, and non-transitory computer readable media that relate to stereoscopic image creation. A camera captures an initial image at an initial position. A target displacement from the initial position is determined for a desired stereoscopic effect, and an instruction is provided that specifies a direction in which to move the camera from the initial position. While the camera is in motion, an estimated displacement from the initial position is calculated. When the estimated displacement corresponds to the target displacement, the camera automatically captures a candidate image. An acceptability analysis is performed to determine whether the candidate image has acceptable image quality and acceptable similarity to the initial image. If the candidate image passes the acceptability analysis, a stereoscopic image is created based on the initial and candidate images.
US08259160B2	Method for generating free viewpoint video image in three-dimensional movement and recording medium The present invention provides a method for generating free viewpoint video image in three-dimensional movement capable of synthesizing the free viewpoint video image from a viewpoint which looks down on an object from above. This method includes a process of taking multi-viewpoint video images using a plurality of cameras located on an identical plane and a camera not located on the identical plane, a process of generating video image at a viewpoint having the same azimuth as a desired viewpoint and located on the plane from the multi-viewpoint video images of the cameras on the plane, and a process of generating video image at the desired viewpoint from video image of the camera not located on the plane and video image at the viewpoint having the same azimuth as the desired viewpoint and located on the plane.
US08259159B2	Integrative spectacle-shaped stereoscopic video multimedia device An integrative spectacle-shaped stereoscopic video multimedia device includes a blinder and a video device disposed in the blinder. The video device includes two digital camera modules, an adjusting device for adjusting an axle distance and included angle between the digital camera modules, a binocular stereoscopic viewing module, a viewing module hole distance adjusting mechanism, sound pickups, loudspeakers, a memory, a plurality of analog/digital converters, a processor, a power source, and process control software coordinating the above members. The invention has advantages of a simple structure, a low cost, and a vivid stereoscopic effect, and is suitable for personal use.
US08259153B1	Video phone kiosk with attractor and proximity sensing A Video Phone Kiosk system for providing audio and video phone calls, video mail, greeting cards, and custom, targeted, income generating advertising as well as establishing a platform for the deployment of additional pay and enhanced services that can be added to the video phone kiosk or customize with expanded service delivery of the video phone kiosk to address specific vertical markets, such as senior citizens, shopping, cultural, social, travel, medical, financial and investments. The advantage over public pay phones and kiosks lies in the fact that the video phone kiosk can generate income on a near continuous basis through the use of additional non-telephony specific pay services and an attractor that displays forms of advertising and entertainment which can be updated remotely and targeted to specific market or demographic.
US08259151B2	Dual mode imaging system A dual mode imaging system includes a dual wavelength ROS suitable for imaging xerographic media and erasable media. When included in an imaging system this includes media transport for selectively conveying non-erasable and erasable media to corresponding imaging positions in the dual mode imaging system. The system further includes a photoreceptor and a raster scanned light beam positioned to selectively image one of the photoreceptor and the erasable media. The media transport includes a non-erasable media transport path and an erasable media transport path, the erasable media transport path diverted from the non-erasable media transport path. An erasable medium in the diverted erasable media transport path intercepts a UV imaging raster scanned light beam, and in the absence of an erasable medium, the photoreceptor intercepts an IR raster scanned light beam.
US08259149B2	Method and apparatus for image forming, and computer program product An image forming apparatus includes a light source, a polygon mirror, and a plurality of photosensitive elements. The polygon mirror has a plurality of reflection surfaces that reflect a light beam at different angles. The light beams deflected by the reflection surfaces travel along different optical paths and impinge on different photosensitive elements. A light-beam control unit controls emission of the light beam from the light source depending on a distance between the deflecting unit and the photosensitive elements thereby performing an fθ correction of the light beam.
US08259147B2	Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the same An image forming apparatus in which a BD signal, which is a main-scanning reference signal, and image data are input to an image signal generating unit. Using a converting unit, main-scanning coordinate information, output from a main scanning coordinate measuring counter, and correction amounts, recorded in a correction amount LUT, are referred to, to convert a proper amount of image data. Here, the converting unit performs calculations in accordance with the main-scanning coordinate information, to obtain the image data of correction amounts that differ in accordance with coordinates. The correction amounts are in correspondence with different amounts of driving current in a main-scanning direction. Therefore, laser light emission, which provides a light quantity in accordance with the image data, is controlled.
US08259141B2	Image forming device based on direct recording method and image forming apparatus including the same An image creating apparatus includes a casing that stores therein an agent, an agent carrier rotatably supported by the casing, a hole defining member defining a plurality of holes therein and opposed to the agent carrier, a plurality of spray electrodes provided on the hole defining member respectively corresponding to the holes and forming an electric field for selectively causing the agent to be sprayed from the agent carrier towards the holes, and a positioning member provided on the casing to cover the agent carrier and positioning the hole defining member with respect to the agent carrier so that the agent carrier and the hole defining member are in a predetermined positional relationship. The angle of the positioning member is adjustable relative to the casing about a rotation shaft that is coaxial with the agent carrier.
US08259138B2	Image display method and image display device An image display method and an image display device in which one field is constructed by plural subfields weighted in brightness, and coding for controlling light emission and light non-emission of a pixel every each subfield is performed to display gradation, and coding with respect to a pixel of a dynamic image area and coding with respect to a pixel of a static image area are different; wherein a transition area is arranged between the dynamic image area and the static image area; and pixel A coded with respect to the pixel of the dynamic image area and pixel B coded with respect to the pixel of the static image area mixedly exist in the transition area.
US08259137B2	Electronic device and method of browsing images in a loop A method of browsing images in a loop on an electronic device includes displaying a scroll interface. The scroll interface defines coordinates with a scale in pixels by a display. An initial coordinate value is located at a middle portion of the scroll interface. The scroll interface defines 2F index views. The index views have at least one row, and an interval of two adjacent index views is defined as S. Each index view has an index number. The display displays G images. The index number corresponds to the image number. The scroll interface is moved along a first direction. The scroll interface is adjusted by M, a natural number, multiplied by S pixels to reposition the display for being adjacent to the initial coordinate value, and the display displays images with the image numbers corresponding to the index numbers from X to X+G−1.
US08259132B2	Rotationally dependent information in a three dimensional graphical user interface A method for presenting digital objects in a electronic space that corresponds to a physical analog having N sides along a directional axis. The digital object can be rotated in an electronic space along the directional axis. A visual rendering of the rotated object is presented within a display, with a number of sides different than N. Accordingly, digital objects can be overloaded with information in a rotationally dependent manner.
US08259125B2	Method for color signal gamut mapping and saturation boosting Methods for gamut mapping and boosting a color saturation of a color signal having multiple colors and a color value for each color. An example method includes mapping each color from a first to a second color space, adjusting each color in the mapped color signal including boosting a color saturation; determining a maximum color value of the color signal; and, in response to a determining that the maximum color value exceeds a maximum displayable color value, setting the color value of the color having the maximum color value to be equal to the maximum displayable color value and scaling color values of colors not having the maximum color value.
US08259124B2	Dynamic search result highlighting A dynamic highlighting system initially applies a high-level highlight to occurrences of one or more keywords in a search result that fades to a low-level highlight effect. The system receives search results from a search engine and identifies occurrences of keywords in the search results. The system applies a first highlight effect to identified occurrences of the keywords and displays the search results incorporating the highlighted keywords. Upon detecting the occurrence of a highlighting change event, such as the expiration of a timer, the system applies a second highlight effect to the displayed search results. The second highlight effect may include removing the highlight or displaying a muted highlight effect. Thus, the dynamic highlighting system provides an initial noticeable highlight that fades to a level that is still noticeable but is less likely to distract the user from other elements of the user interface.
US08259116B2	Image creating device, image creating method, information recording medium, and program In an image creating device (201) for creating an image viewably showing the distribution of an environment parameter of the environment around a character in a virtual space, a parameter acquiring unit (202) acquires an environment parameter of the environment around a character in each direction from the character, a reference curve setting unit (203) sets a reference curve surrounding the character, a trajectory point setting unit (204) sets a trajectory point in a position moved in a predetermined direction from each reference point in the reference curve by an amount of move associated with the value of the environment parameter at the reference point acquired in the direction from the character toward the reference point, and an image creating unit (205) creates an image showing the trajectory curve passing through the set trajectory points and the character viewed from the point of view placed in the virtual space.
US08259115B2	Graph display apparatus, graph display method, and storage medium storing program There is provided a graph display apparatus. An image display control unit causes a display unit to display the image data stored by the image and graph formula storage unit. An formula input unit inputs a graph formula according to a user operation. An input graph display control unit causes the display unit to display a graph corresponding to a graph formula input by the formula input unit, on the image data displayed on the display unit by the image display control unit as a background image. A model graph display control unit causes the display unit to display, in a different display mode, a graph corresponding to a model graph formula stored by the image and graph formula storage unit, together with the graph displayed on the image data as the background image on the display unit by the input graph display control unit, according to a user operation.
US08259111B2	Merged shader for primitive amplification A method, computer program product, and system are provided for processing data in a graphics pipeline. An embodiment of the method includes processing one or more vertices of a geometric primitive with a vertex shader function and generating new primitive information for the one or more processed vertices with a geometry shader function. The geometry shader function receives one or more processed vertices from the vertex shader function and emits a single vertex associated with the new primitive information. Each emitted vertex from the geometry shader function can be stored in a memory device. Unlike conventional graphic pipelines that require a memory device for data storage during the vertex and geometry shading processes, the present invention increases efficiency in the graphics pipeline by eliminating the need to access memory when the vertex and geometry shaders process vertex information.
US08259109B2	Method and system for vision-based interaction in a virtual environment Method, computer program and system for tracking movement of a subject. The method includes receiving data from a distributed network of camera sensors employing one or more emitted light sources associated with one or more of the one or more camera sensors to generate a volumetric three-dimensional representation of the subject, identifying a plurality of clusters within the volumetric three-dimensional representation that correspond to motion features indicative of movement of the motion features of the subject, presenting one or more objects on one or more three dimensional display screens, and using the plurality of fixed position sensors to track motion of the motion features of the subject and track manipulation of the motion features of the volumetric three-dimensional representation to determine interaction of one or more of the motion features of the subject and one or more of the one or more objects on the three dimensional display.
US08259108B2	Method and apparatus for visualizing an image data record of an organ enclosing a cavity, in particular a CT image data record of a colon A visualization of an image data record of an organ enclosing a cavity, in particular a CT image data record of a colon, that is reliable and has a low level of computational complexity, is performed according to a method. In at least one embodiment of the method a virtual viewer position outside the organ tissue is defined; an interface between the organ tissue and the cavity is defined with the aid of the image data record; from the middle of the cavity local gradients, that specify the rise in the absorption behavior between a gas contained in the cavity and the organ tissue, are determined; starting from the viewer position, a search beam is defined and an angle between the search beam and the gradients is determined; and a transparency value is allocated to the organ tissue as a function of the angle during visualization.
US08259106B2	Low-dimensional rank-1 lattices in computer image synthesis Methods, systems and computer program code (software) products executable in a digital processor operable to generate a synthetic image include (1) selecting a rank-1 lattice in accordance with a maximized minimum distance function (max-min-dist lattice) corresponding to points in the synthetic image to be generated; (2) generating a data structure for efficient access of data stored in points of the rank-1 lattice, the data structure including the number n of lattice points, generator vector g, s basis vectors, and indices of the basis vectors, wherein the basis vectors are lattice points, and (3) generating, using the rank-1 lattice, digital output representative of a synthetic image, wherein the generating includes using the layout of rank-1 lattice points to represent textures of arbitrary dimension.
US08259103B2	Position pegs for a three-dimensional reference grid One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for providing position pegs between objects and a three-dimensional reference grid that is displayed in design software application programs. The reference grid appears infinite in space and scale. A position peg that includes a stalk and base is drawn between each object and the reference grid. The stalk indicates the height of the object above or below the reference grid, and the base is positioned on the reference grid. An inside radius of the base indicates the distance between the object and the reference grid. The position pegs are independent of the viewing projection and allow an end user to sense how objects in workspace relate to each other in terms of position and scale. The reference grid and position pegs provide an end user with reference imagery for camera-operation visualization and scene content understanding.
US08259102B2	Method and system for producing 3D facial animation A method for producing a 3D facial animation using a single facial video stream, includes producing a representative joint focused on a major expression producing element in a 3D standard facial model, producing a statistical feature-point model of various facial expressions of different people in the 3D standard facial model, moving each feature-point of the statistical feature-point model by tracking a change in facial expressions of the video stream, calculating a transformation coefficient of the representative joint corresponding to a variation of the feature-point of the 3D standard facial model, and producing a 3D facial animation by applying the calculated transformation coefficient to transform the representative joint.
US08259097B2	Backlight assembly, display comprising the same and control method thereof A backlight assembly, a display device including the backlight assembly and a control method thereof are provided. The backlight assembly includes: a DC converter which converts input alternating current (AC) power into direct current (DC) power at various levels; a light source unit which has at least one point light source; and a power supply unit which receives the DC power output by the DC converter, converts the DC power into output power having a preset reference current level and supplies the output power to the light source unit.
US08259095B2	Optically testing chiplets in display device A method of making a display includes providing a display substrate having a plurality of control electrodes in a display area; locating a plurality of chiplets responsive to a controller to provide current to the control electrodes, each chiplet having a separate substrate, at least one pixel connection pad electrically connected to a control electrode, and one or more test light emitters formed in the chiplet responsive to the current provided on the control electrodes to emit light; controlling the chiplets to pass current through one or more of the test light emitters formed in the chiplet to emit light; detecting the light emitted by the test light emitters to determine faulty chiplets or chiplet interconnections; replacing or repairing the faulty chiplets or chiplet interconnections; and forming an organic light emitting diode over the substrate in the display area connected to the control electrodes.
US08259091B2	Handheld electronic device A handheld electronic device including a main body, a first magnetic member and a stylus is provided. The main body has a containing slot and the first magnetic member is disposed at one side of the containing slot. The stylus is suitable for being inserted in the containing slot and includes a stylus body and a second magnetic member. The second magnetic member is disposed on the stylus body or embedded in the stylus body. When the stylus is contained within the containing slot, the stylus is kept within the containing slot due to magnetic force generated by the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member.
US08259090B2	3-dimension non-bias electrets multi-touch device Disclosed is a 3-dimension non-bias electrets multi-touch device, comprising a first electrets thin film providing a first bias electric charge to form an electrostatic field, a first electrode, a second electrode and a controller. The first electrode is attached to the first electrets thin film and outputs a first signal when the electrostatic field is changed by a deformation of the first electrets thin film due to contact pressures of external forces. The second electrode outputs a second signal when the electrostatic field is changed. The first and second electrodes transmit the first and second signals to the controller. The controller is capable to detect and analyze positions where the contact pressures of the external forces are applied and normal vector shifts of the first electrets thin film at the positions.
US08259089B2	Electronic device and touch sensor film An electronic device includes a light-emitting board, a touch sensor film and a signal connection part. The light-emitting board includes a driving substrate, and a semiconductor device disposed on a surface of the driving substrate. The touch sensor film includes a film disposed over the light-emitting board, and a touch conductor pattern formed on the film to sense an external touch event for generating a touch signal to drive the semiconductor device. The signal connection part electrically connects the touch sensor film and the light-emitting board to each other to transmit the touch signal from the touch sensor film to the light-emitting board.
US08259086B2	Touch panel and display device comprising the same A touch panel capable of calculating touch position coordinates of an indicator with high accuracy in a desired detection time even if a large number of detection wire groups are provided. An oscillator circuit selects one of detection wires and selected by a circuit or the like according to a command from a detection control circuit and oscillates. A circuit counts an output signal from the oscillator circuit up to a first count value. A circuit measures a period of the count. A circuit determines that there is a touch when it detects the detection wire of which the measured period is equal to or higher than a threshold value and sends the detection wire giving a maximum value equal to or higher than the threshold value to a circuit as a touch detection wire. The circuit causes the circuit or the like to select the touch detection wire and the detection wires adjacent thereto on both sides, the circuit counts up until the count value becomes a second count value larger than the first count value, and the circuit measures the count period. The circuit performs interpolation on the basis of the count value obtained by subtracting a background capacitance value from a measured value obtained by the circuit, to thereby determine the touch coordinates.
US08259081B2	Low-power touch screen controller While taking X-Y coordinate measurements to determine the location of a point of contact on a touch screen, a controller circuit drives the touch screen with a selectable voltage. Voltages output from the touch screen are converted by an ADC into the X-coordinate and Y-coordinate values. The ADC has a convertible input voltage range. If only a low touch screen detection resolution is required, then the voltage with which the touch screen is driven is made to be substantially less than the convertible input voltage range. Only a portion of the convertible input range is usable, but this is adequate for the application and power consumption is reduced. If a higher touch screen detection resolution is required, then the touch screen is driven with a higher voltage. Power consumption is increased, but more or all of the convertible input voltage range of the ADC is then usable.
US08259080B2	Information handling system display device and methods thereof An information handling system includes two touch screens. In one embodiment, one of the touch screens is incorporated in a base of the information handling system and the other is incorporated in a lid of the information handling system. An application can display different informational views in each touch screen, allowing a user to interact with the data in each screen independently.
US08259079B2	Input panel having flexible circuit board inserted into passage through base and input device having the input panel A thin input device with a flat input side surface is provided in which a flexible circuit board is disposed inside a chassis so as to extend to the outside or inside of the chassis while preventing the flexible circuit board from bending awkwardly. An opening for exposing a portion of a bottom surface of an input panel is formed on a bottom wall of the chassis. A through-hole for guiding the flexible circuit board to the anti-input side of the input panel is formed on a second base disposed on the anti-input side so that the through-hole is inside a first base disposed on the input side at a position corresponding to the opening. The flexible circuit board is disposed to extend to the outside or inside of the chassis through the through-hole.
US08259078B2	Touch screen liquid crystal display Disclosed herein are liquid-crystal display (LCD) touch screens that integrate the touch sensing elements with the display circuitry. The integration may take a variety of forms. Touch sensing elements can be completely implemented within the LCD stackup but outside the not between the color filter plate and the array plate. Alternatively, some touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates with other touch sensing elements not between the plates. In another alternative, all touch sensing elements can be between the color filter and array plates. The latter alternative can include both conventional and in-plane-switching (IPS) LCDs. In some forms, one or more display structures can also have a touch sensing function. Techniques for manufacturing and operating such displays, as well as various devices embodying such displays are also disclosed.
US08259075B2	Secondary key group layout for keyboard A configuration for layout of keys of a keyboard is provided. The keyboard configuration includes a set of keys having a first character value and a second character value. The set of keys is configured in a layout in which a row of keys has consecutive characters corresponding to the first character value, for example, ‘Q’, ‘W’, ‘E’, ‘R’, ‘T’, and ‘Y.’ The second character values on the keys are grouped according to one of a plurality of groupings. Each grouping of the plurality of groupings comprises adjacent keys of the plurality of keys. The plurality of groupings is distributed across the keyboard, for example, in different zones. The groupings include, for example, mathematical operands, punctuations, and numerals. A symbol key can toggle a key between the first character value and the second character value.
US08259073B2	Display for multi-function keypad and electronic device having the same A display for a multi-function keypad and an electronic device including the display. The display for a multi-function keypad includes: a display panel having a plurality of display regions arranged in a matrix pattern and a non-display region surrounding the plurality of display regions; a circuit board on the display panel and including a plurality of openings corresponding to the display regions, and a plurality of keys near peripheral edges of the openings and corresponding to the non-display region; and a pad on the circuit board and including a plurality of transparent windows corresponding to the openings, and a plurality of pressing units near peripheral edges of the transparent windows and corresponding to the plurality of keys.
US08259071B2	Handheld electronic device providing feedback to facilitate navigation and the entry of information, and associated method A method of facilitating the input of information in a handheld electronic device having a plurality of input elements such as, without limitation, keys. The method includes receiving a signal indicating that a particular one of the input elements is being touched in a first manner, providing a feedback signal, such as a sound or graphic, that identifies the particular input element after the signal is received, and performing a function associated with the particular input element when it is being touched in a second manner. Also, a handheld electronic device that includes an input apparatus having a plurality of input elements, a processor, and a memory in electronic communication with the processor. The memory stores one or more routines executable by the processor for implementing the method described above.
US08259069B1	Speckle-based optical navigation on curved tracking surface A speckle-based trackball apparatus with an optical architecture employing curved-wavefront illumination beam or a modified imaging lens and aperture configuration is provided. The apparatus includes a trackball configured to be rotated by a user. In the curved-wavefront embodiment, an illuminator is configured to illuminate a spot area of the curved surface of the trackball with a curved-wavefront illumination beam so that an ensemble of optical features used for motion sensing interact with the illumination beam at different phase points as a function of a location within the illuminated spot area on the curved surface of the trackball. In the modified imaging lens and aperture configuration, the aperture is positioned between the back focal plane and the image plane of the imaging lens, and the illuminator may be configured to illuminate a portion of the trackball with a planar-wavefront illumination beam. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.
US08259068B2	Light beam shaping element for an optical navigation input device An optical navigation input device with a light guide which acts as a beam shaping element. The optical navigation input device includes a light source and the light guide. The light source emits a light beam having a substantially elliptical or substantially circular cross section. The light guide is positioned relative to the light source to receive the light beam from the light source in a first direction. The light guide also redirects the light beam in a second direction toward an illumination surface at a non-zero angle of incidence. The light guide directs the light beam through a refraction interface in order to illuminate a substantially circular area on the illumination surface.
US08259066B2	Impact force feedback device and interactive system using the same An impact force feedback device and an interactive system using the same are provided, wherein a large impact force feedback is generated to provide a real force feedback sensation to the user. The impact force feedback device includes a housing, a magnet, and at least one actuator assembly. The housing carries the actuator assembly. The actuator assembly includes a guide rod device, a mass, and a coil. The guide rod device is disposed on the housing. The mass is disposed on the guide rod device in a sliding manner. The coil generates an electric field when a current is conducted through it. An electromagnetic force is generated by supplying the current in a direction orthogonal to a magnetic field. The electromagnetic force is supplied to the mass such that the mass moves on the guide rod device and impacts the housing to generate the unidirectional impact force feedback.
US08259063B2	Input method of pointer input system The present invention relates to an input method of a pointer input system. A setting procedure and a correcting procedure having been performed on the pointer input system to obtain a space conversion relationship and an over-bright position. The input method includes steps of inputting at least a light spot into a projection screen, capturing the light spot by a photosensing system to obtain a light-spot image, recognizing at least a relevant light spot of the light-spot image by checking whether the light-spot image excluding the over-bright position complies with a light-spot characteristic situation so as to obtain at least a light-spot data, and converting the at least a light-spot data into at least an input data of a data processing system according to the space conversion relationship.
US08259060B2	Drive current of light source by color sequential method The present invention relates to a drive circuit of light source by color sequential method for generating a full-color image based on sequential switching between red, green and blue illuminations. The drive circuit of light source by color sequential method includes a color-sequential control circuit and a plurality of radiating areas coupled to multiple light units. The color-sequential control circuit is connected to those radiating areas to control the operation thereof by the color sequential method.
US08259054B2	Liquid crystal display device and method of controlling the same for removing excitation voltage A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal panel, a driver that drives the liquid crystal panel, an input unit that inputs an option signal from outside the liquid crystal device, a controller that controls the driver and performs an option function corresponding to the option signal, and a buffer disposed between the input unit and the controller that removes an excitation voltage from the option signal output from the input unit.
US08259053B2	Array substrate and liquid crystal display device having the same An array substrate and a liquid crystal display (LCD) device having the array substrate are provided in one or more embodiments. For example, the array substrate may include a pixel electrode, a coupling electrode and an opposite electrode. The pixel electrode may include a first sub-electrode having a plurality of first electrode bars receiving a first voltage and a second sub-electrode having a plurality of second electrode bars. The plurality of first electrode bars and the plurality of second electrode bars may be spaced apart from each other. The coupling electrode may be electrically connected to a portion of the plurality of first electrode bars, may have a plurality of opposite electrode bars and may overlap a portion of the plurality of second electrode bars to form coupling capacitor. The opposite electrode may be disposed between the plurality of first electrode bars and the plurality of second electrode bars to receive a second voltage different from the first voltage.
US08259048B2	Field sequential liquid crystal display device and driving method thereof, and head mounted display A display with high resolution and reduced flicker of image. The driving method of this invention, or the field sequential driving method, divides one frame of image into a plurality of subframes, i.e., divides the period of one image frame into a plurality of subframe periods; displays red, green and blue images during the corresponding subframe periods; and, when these color images are to be displayed, turns on the corresponding red, green and blue backlights successively to feed light to the display section.
US08259047B2	Horizontal stripe liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device for improving picture quality includes a common electrode formed on a first substrate, gate lines and data lines formed on a second substrate bonded to the first substrate by a sealing member with liquid crystals disposed therebetween, thin film transistors connected to the gate lines and to the data lines, pixel electrodes formed in subpixel regions, each pixel electrode having a long side in a direction of the gate lines and having a short side in a direction of the data lines fanout lines for supplying a driving signals from the driving chips to the data lines, first conductive spacers formed between the fanout lines connected to different driving chips, for supplying a common voltage to the common electrode, and second conductive spacers formed between the fanout lines connected to the same driving chip, for supplying the common voltage to the common electrode.
US08259040B2	Organic light emitting display and driving method thereof Disclosed is an organic light emitting display of improved an image quality. The organic light emitting display includes a frame memory for storing a data to correspond to a write clock and outputting the data stored according to a read clock; a signal generation unit for supplying the read clock; a data driver for converting the data, supplied from the frame memory, into a data signal and supplying the converted data signal to data lines; a scan driver for supplying a scan signal to scan lines; and pixels arranged near crossing points between the scan lines and the data lines, wherein the read clock has a higher frequency than the write clock.
US08259026B2	Counterpoise to mitigate near field radiation generated by wireless communication devices A method (1400) and an RF circuit (100, 400, 700, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300) for a wireless communication device that mitigates near field radiation generated by the wireless communication device. At least one counterpoise (104, 404, 1304) can be configured to resonate at or near at least one operating frequency of an antenna (102) of the wireless communication device. The antenna can be a component of the RF circuit. The counterpoise can be electromagnetically coupled to the antenna to mitigate near field radiation of the antenna at the at least one operating frequency of the antenna in order to comply with an applicable hearing aid compatibility (HAC) specification.
US08259025B2	Multi-band antenna assemblies A multi-band antenna assembly that is operable to receive and/or transmit signals at one or more frequencies generally includes at least two radiating elements, a transmission line coupled to each of the at least two radiating elements, and a tunable match resonator coupled to the transmission line. The tunable match resonator is operable to vary input impedance of a signal received and/or transmitted by the antenna assembly by changing an electrical field within the tunable match resonator.
US08259017B2	Hybrid antennas for electronic devices A portable electronic device is provided that has a hybrid antenna. The hybrid antenna may include a slot antenna structure and a planar inverted-F antenna structure. The planar inverted-F antenna structure may be formed from traces on a flex circuit substrate. A backside trace may form a series capacitance for the planar inverted-F antenna structure. The antenna slot may have a perimeter that is defined by the location of conductive structures such as flex circuits, metal housing structures, a conductive bezel, printed circuit board ground conductors, and electrical components. Springs may be used in electrically connecting these conductive elements. A spring-loaded pin may be used as part of an antenna feed conductor. The pin may connect a transmission line path on a printed circuit board to the planar inverted-F antenna structure while allowing the planar inverted-F antenna structure to be removed from the device for rework or repair.
US08259014B2	Multi-loop antenna structure and hand-held electronic device using the same A multi-loop antenna structure and a hand-held electronic device using the same are provided. The multi-loop antenna structure includes a high-frequency radiating body, a low-frequency radiating body, a feeding connecting part and a grounding connecting part. The feeding connecting part electrically connects one terminal of the high-frequency and the low-frequency radiating body to a feeding point. The grounding connecting part grounds the other terminal of the high-frequency and the low-frequency radiating body. The feeding connecting part forms a first folded loop antenna with the high-frequency radiating body and the grounding connecting part for resonating at a first frequency band. The feeding connecting part forms a second folded loop antenna with the low-frequency radiating body and the grounding connecting part for resonating at a second, a third and a fourth frequency band. The first folded loop antenna and the second folded loop antenna are folded for forming a three-dimensional structure.
US08259012B2	Software GNSS receiver for high-altitude spacecraft applications A system that provides GPS-based navigation/orbit determination capabilities for high-altitude spacecraft. The system uses an existing spacecraft processor and an easy-to-space-qualify minimum-hardware front end to minimize the need for new space-qualified hardware. The system also uses coherent integration to acquire and track the very weak GPS signals at high altitudes. The system also uses diurnal thermal modeling of a spacecraft clock and precision orbit propagation to enable longer coherent integration, a special Kalman filter to allow weak signal tracking by integrated operation of orbit determination and GPS signal tracking, and a segment-by-segment, post-processing, delayed-time approach to allow a low-speed spacecraft processor to provide the software GPS capability.
US08259009B2	Relative position detecting apparatus, and relative position detecting system In a case in which three or more movable objects, each of those detecting the relative position with respect to another movable object, are able to communicate with each other: a reference movable object obtains observation data and transmits the observation data to non-reference movable objects; one non-reference movable object calculates the relative position with respect to the reference movable object by performing interferometric positioning using the observation data obtained by the observation data obtaining means and data including observation data received from the reference movable object, and also transmits data including an integer bias calculated as interferometric positioning results to another non-reference movable object and receives reliability determination results regarding the interferometric positioning; and the another non-reference movable object receives data including the integer bias from the one non-reference movable object and determines the reliability of the interferometric positioning.
US08258999B2	System and method for roll angle indication and measurement in flying objects A method for onboard determination of a roll angle of a projectile. The method including: transmitting a polarized RF signal from a reference source, with a predetermined polarization plane; receiving the signal at a pair of polarized RF sensor cavities positioned symmetrical on the projectile with respect to the predetermined polarization plane; receiving the signal at a third polarized RF sensor cavity positioned such that it receives a maximum signal at zero roll angle positioning; differentiating between up or down positioning of the desired roll angle position based on an output from a fourth sensor on the projectile; analyzing an output of the pair of polarized RF sensor cavities and the third RF sensor cavity resulting from the received signal and an output of the fourth sensor; generating a curve based on the output of the pair of polarized RF sensor cavities and the third RF sensor cavity indicating a relationship between roll angle and the third sensor output; and determining a roll angle positioning of the projectile based on the curve.
US08258998B2	Device, system and method of protecting aircrafts against incoming threats Device, system and method of protecting aircrafts against incoming threats. For example, a system for protecting an aircraft against an incoming threat includes: one or more electro-optic sensors to substantially continuously search for the incoming threat, and to generate a signal indicating that a possible incoming threat is detected; one or more radar sensors to be activated in response to the signal, and to search for the incoming threat; and a central computer to determine whether or not the incoming threat exists, based on a sensor fusion algorithm able to fuse data received from the one or more electro-optic sensors and data received from the one or more radar sensors.
US08258995B2	Holographic imaging based on time-domain data of natural-fiber-containing materials Methods and apparatuses for imaging material properties in natural-fiber-containing materials can utilize time-domain data. In particular, images can be constructed that provide quantified measures of localized moisture content. For example, one or more antennas and at least one transceiver can be configured to collect time-domain data from radiation interacting with the natural-fiber-containing materials. The antennas and the transceivers are configured to transmit and receive electromagnetic radiation at one or more frequencies, which are between 50 MHz and 1 THz, according to a time-domain impulse function. A computing device is configured to transform the time-domain data to frequency-domain data, to apply a synthetic imaging algorithm for constructing a three-dimensional image of the natural-fiber-containing materials, and to provide a quantified measure of localized moisture content based on a pre-determined correlation of moisture content to frequency-domain data.
US08258991B2	Low power comparator for use in SAR ADCs Successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) generally use one or more comparators to convert an analog signal to a digital signal. These comparators, however, can consume a great deal of power, so it is desirable to have a comparator configuration that consumes less power. Here, a multi-bandwidth comparator is provided, which can be switched between different coarse resolution and fine resolution. By using this single multi-bandwidth comparator, lower power consumption with a small amount of area can be achieved.
US08258990B2	Integrator, resonator, and oversampling A/D converter An integrator includes an operational amplifier, a first filter connected to an inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier, and a second filter connected between the inverting input terminal and an output terminal of the operational amplifier. The first filter includes n resistive elements connected in series, and (n−1) capacitive elements each having one end connected to an interconnecting node of the resistive elements and the other end connected to ground. The second filter includes n capacitive elements connected in series, and (n−1) resistive elements each having one end connected to an interconnecting node of the capacitive elements and the other end connected to ground.
US08258989B2	Data demodulator, data demodulation method and program thereof A data demodulator includes: a conversion means for converting an RLL code obtained by converting data in which information bits including specific bits are inserted at fixed intervals which is included in an input signal in accordance with a modulation table having variable-length conversion rules into data in accordance with a demodulation table corresponding to the modulation table; a determination means for determining control segments for performing calculation intended by the information bits from the converted data; a calculation means for executing calculation intended by the specific bit inserted in the control segment different from a calculation target with respect to the data of the control segment as the calculation target; and a correction output means for selecting one of first data converted by the conversion means and second data obtained by converting the RLL code of the input signal corrected based on the calculation result in accordance with the demodulation table and outputting the data.
US08258986B2	Capacitive-matrix keyboard with multiple touch detection An apparatus and method for detecting activation of one or more capacitive keys when presences of the one or more touches are detected on unique combinations of three or more sensor elements at the respective locations of the capacitive keys on which the one or more touches are detected. In one embodiment, the method correctly detects the activations of multiple keys when multiple substantially simultaneous touches are detected.
US08258985B2	Scanning circuit and scanning method for keyboard A scanning circuit includes n input ports K1˜Kn arranged in n rows L1˜Ln; and m−2 output ports W2˜(m−1) arranged in m columns P1˜Pm. The n rows and the m columns define a switch matrix including n*m switches. Ends of the switches in the same row are connected to one of the n input ports K1˜Kn, respectively. The ends of the switches in the column P1 are connected to ground. The ends of the switches in the same column of the columns P2˜P(m−1) are connected to a power supply VCC via resistors R2˜R(m−1) and the m−2 output ports W2˜W(m−1), respectively. The ends of the switches in the columns Pm are connected to ground via a resistor Rs and the power supply VCC via the resistors R2˜R(m−1) and diodes D2˜D(m−1), respectively.
US08258983B2	Systems and methods for real-time data logging of an enhanced ground proximity system Systems and methods for performing efficient, inexpensive data logging of aircraft sensor data. An example system on board an aircraft includes a plurality of data sources that provide sensor data associated with a plurality of avionic components, a line replaceable processing unit that is in signal communication with the plurality of data sources via one or more databuses, a wireless router connected to the line replaceable processing unit via a data cable and a portable data unit in wireless data communication with the wireless router. The wireless router receives at least a portion of the sensor data from the line replaceable processing unit and sends the received sensor data to the portable data unit.
US08258981B2	Warning apparatus and method A warning apparatus for installation on a vehicle is disclosed. The warning apparatus may include a detector for detecting a road hazard and a display that is activated to transmit an alert in response to detection of the hazard.
US08258979B2	Emergency vehicle alarm system and method The emergency vehicle alarm system and method allows a user to select an emergency vehicle alert as a telematics service in a mobile vehicle. Once the user selects the alert service, a telematics operations center determines a service fee, bills the user, and debits the user's account accordingly. The emergency vehicle alert telematics service warns a civilian vehicle of an approaching emergency vehicle. The system includes a transmitter located in the emergency vehicle that transmits a signal adapted for reception by a receiving module of a telematics system located in the civilian vehicle. When the emergency vehicle signal is received by the receiving module in the civilian vehicle, an audio and/or visual alert is generated to alert the occupants of the civilian vehicle that an emergency vehicle is nearby. The civilian vehicle's telematics system may also display relative positioning of the emergency vehicle and the civilian vehicle.
US08258976B2	Electric field communication for short range data transmission in a borehole The present invention concerns application of a unique conductive electrode geometry used to form an efficient wideband, one- or two-way wireless data link between autonomous systems separated by some distance along a bore hole drill string. One objective is the establishment of an efficient, high bandwidth communication link between such separated systems, using a unique electrode configuration that also aids in maintaining a physically robust drill string. Insulated or floating electrodes of various selected geometries provide a means for sustaining or maintaining a modulated electric potential adapted for injecting modulated electrical current into the surrounding sub-surface medium. Such modulated current conveys information to the systems located along the drill string by establishing a potential across a receiving insulated or floating electrode.
US08258970B2	Detection of the presence of a contactless communication element within the range of a terminal A method of detection of the presence of a contactless communication element by a terminal emitting an electromagnetic field, in which an oscillating circuit of the terminal is excited at a frequency which is made variable between two values surrounding a nominal tuning frequency of the oscillating circuit; a signal representative of the load of the oscillating circuit being interpreted to detect that a reference voltage has not been exceeded, which indicates the presence of an element in the field. A presence-detection circuit and a corresponding terminal.
US08258963B2	Body position monitoring system A bed includes a frame, a controller coupled to the frame, and a patient position detection system coupled to the frame and coupled to the controller. The patient position detection system has at least three modes of operation of varying sensitivities for determining whether a person supported on the frame has moved by a sufficient amount to activate an alarm.
US08258959B2	Activation circuit for sealed electronic device An environmentally sealed electronic device with an internal activation circuit that does not require a constant interrogation signal to maintain power to its internal circuitry. The electronic device includes sensor circuitry for gathering or sensing data; an internal battery for powering the sensor circuitry; and an internal activation circuit for activating the sensor circuitry. The sensor circuitry may include a temperature sensor, a location sensor, a signal sensor, a sound detector, a motion sensor, or any other device that senses or gathers data. The battery may be any type of energy storage device such as a lithium or alkaline battery. The activation circuit includes a receiver for receiving a radio frequency signal from an external source and a switch for connecting the battery to the sensor circuitry in response to the receiver. The switch is operable to maintain connection of the battery to the sensor circuitry after the radio frequency signal ceases.
US08258957B2	Methods and apparatus for switching a transponder to an active state, and asset management systems employing same A transponder that may be used as an RFID tag includes a passive circuit to eliminate the need for an “always on” active RF receiving element to anticipate a wake-up signal for the balance of the transponder electronics. This solution allows the entire active transponder to have all circuit elements in a sleep (standby) state, thus drastically extending battery life or other charge storage device life. Also, a wake-up solution that reduces total energy consumption of an active transponder system by allowing all non-addressed transponders to remain in a sleep (standby) state, thereby reducing total system or collection energy. Also, the transponder and wake-up solution are employed in an asset tracking system.
US08258950B2	Method and apparatus for control or monitoring of a container An apparatus includes a carrier, and a system that is responsive to wireless signals transmitted by tags on items carried by the carrier for maintaining a local inventory of items carried by the carrier. A different apparatus involves a carrier having a container with an interior, a sensor for detecting a condition externally of the container that can be related to an environment within the container, and a system that handles information from the sensor in a manner facilitating an evaluation of the likelihood that a problem exists within the container. Another apparatus involves a carrier for a plurality of items, and a system that is responsive to wireless signals received from a remote location for determining a current location of the carrier and for evaluating whether the carrier is proceeding along an intended route.
US08258945B2	Systems and methods for verification of wireless terminals on board vehicles using country-of-origin information A security method and system for accepting identity information regarding a vehicle. The system intercepts communications between wireless communication terminals located on board a vehicle and a wireless communication network, and processes the intercepted communication so as to identify respective countries of origin of the terminals on the vehicle. A comparison is made between the countries of origin of the terminals and identity information of the vehicle to invoke an action. For example, the comparison may include detecting an inconsistency between the identity information of the vehicle and one or more of the countries of origin of the terminals.
US08258944B2	Hospital bed obstacle detection device and method A hospital bed obstacle detection device and related method for detecting an obstacle between first and second components of a hospital bed is provided.
US08258941B2	Footwear products including data transmission capabilities Footwear systems include an article of footwear and a data transmission system engaged with the article of footwear. The transmission system transmits data to a remote system, such as a display system, another data transmission system, a processing system, etc. Such footwear systems further may include activation systems for activating the transmission and/or display systems. The transmitted data may be used for various purposes, such as: (a) identifying a user of the article of footwear; (b) activating targeted advertising or product information; (c) confirming the user's presence at a specific location and/or at a specific time; (d) determining start, finish, and/or intermediate split times for specific user; (e) confirming athletic equipment usage; (f) providing data for a game or reward program; (g) registering the user for an event or competition; or the like.
US08258934B2	Vehicle and method of advising a driver therein A vehicle may include a driver interface and at least once controller operatively arranged with the interface. The at least one controller may be configured to categorize a driver's dynamic control of the vehicle by type, determine a target speed of a road curvature, and determine a speed of the vehicle. The at least one controller may be further configured to determine a threshold distance based on the type, determine a distance between the vehicle and the curvature, and generate an alert for the driver if the distance is less than the threshold and the speed is greater than the target.
US08258933B2	Parking guidance method for vehicle The present invention provides parking guidance methods for a vehicle, which comprises: calculating an estimated backward track of the vehicle from a current steering angle detected by a steering angle sensor; calculating an estimated parking space from the estimated backward track and a relative angle inputted by a driver through an input means; converting coordinates of the calculated estimated backward track and estimated parking space into image coordinates; synthesizing the converted image coordinates with an image acquired by a camera provided at the rear of the vehicle; and displaying the synthesized image on a monitor of the vehicle. The methods enhances driver's convenience and safety in the event of back-in perpendicular parking.
US08258929B2	Encoding a RFID record member on a moving web A system and method for encoding and printing RFID record members with a continuous moving web is provided. In particular, a printer such as a RFID printer is capable of encoding an inlay or multiple inlays within a record member while the web is continuously moving. While a record member is being encoded on a moving web, the record member may be printed upon when a leading edge of a record member reaches the print position.
US08258928B2	RFID system and RFID tag thereof An RFID tag is provided. The RFID tag includes an emitting module, a temperature detecting circuit and a tag chip. The temperature detecting circuit produces a time signal according to a surrounding temperature, wherein the time signal changes with the surrounding temperature. The tag chip is electrically connected to the temperature detecting circuit and the emitting module, wherein the time signal is transmitted via the emitting module.
US08258917B2	Intuitive multiple degrees of freedom portable control device A control device for a vehicle or mechanism includes a portable displacement controller which permits a non-technical user to achieve effective control of the vehicle or mechanism, by moving the portable displacement controller intuitively with little learning effort. A first sensing device, attached to the displacement controller, detects the user's controlling motion. A second sensing device, attached to the object being controlled, detects motion thereof. An interface device receives signals from the sensing devices, processes those signals to determine relative motion of the controlling motion and the object's motion and outputs a control signal in accordance with the processed signals. The sensing devices each detect motion in six degrees of freedom; the sensing devices each include a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis magnetometer. In specific embodiments, the accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers include micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices.
US08258913B2	Fuse element and method of manufacturing the same A fuse element includes a first conductive part and a second conductive part, and a fusible body which electrically connect the first conductive part and the second conductive part, and fuses when an overcurrent flows itself. The fusible body is formed in a plate shape. The fusible body has a first connection portion, a second connection portion and a fusing member, both ends of the fusing member being connected to the first connection portion and the second connection portion respectively. The fusing member is displaced from the first connection portion and the second connection portion in a first direction being intersect with a second direction in which the first and second connection portions are arranged.
US08258909B2	Foldable polymer-based coil structure and method for fabricating the same A foldable polymer-based coil structure and a method for fabricating the same are disclosed. The coil structure has metal wirings and interconnections between the wirings. The wirings and connections are embedded by a polymer. The coil structure is foldable in two or more layers. In the folded condition, coils of one layer overlap the coils of another layer. A stackable structure and jigs for aligning the foldable and stackable structures are also disclosed.
US08258902B2	Sealed magnetically controlled electric switch assembly A sealed magnetically controlled electric switch assembly comprising an electric switch having an on/off operating means, an active magnet means, a follower magnet means, and a sealable insulating housing. The electric switch and the follower magnet means both are sealed in the housing in such a way that the on/off operating means of the switch is coupled with the follower magnet means for motion therewith. The active magnet means is disposed outside the housing in such a way that a resulting magnetic force is formed between the active magnet means and the follower magnet means to switch the on/off operating means of said switch back and forth between the on and off positions.
US08258900B2	Miniaturized switch device The present invention provides a switch suitable for efficient microfabrication. The switch elements are disposed in several layers. Various embodiments provide various switching capabilities and operational characteristics. The switches can be protected by suitable packaging, and can be efficiently fabricated in groups or arrays.
US08258898B2	Low cost multi-pole circuit breakers with shared components A multi-pole circuit breaker comprising a single main housing containing multiple circuit breakers for protecting multiple branch circuits. Each of the circuit breakers comprises a single line terminal for receiving electrical current from a utility line, a plurality of load terminals for supplying electrical current from the single line terminal to a plurality of branch circuits via load lines, and a plurality of neutral terminals for receiving electrical current returned from the branch circuits via neutral lines Line conductors inside the main housing connect the line terminal to the plurality of load terminals. Sensors inside the main housing generate signals representing characteristics of the electrical current flow in the branch circuits, and a signal processor uses the signals generated by the sensors for detecting abnormal conditions in the branch circuits and generating trip signals in response to the detection of an abnormal condition. A single tripping mechanism between the line terminal and the load terminals receives the trip signals and interrupts the flow of current to the branch circuits in response to a trip signal.
US08258897B2	Ground structures in resonators for planar and folded distributed electromagnetic wave filters Coupling between non-adjacent resonators and wave propagation through the waveguide structure in distributed EM filters are reduced by forming one or more holes in one or more of the resonators (planar or folded) and by passing a conductive structure through each hole normal to the resonator. The conductive structures (vertical vias or horizontal strips) are preferably grounded, either by direct connection or capacitive coupling to one or more ground planes or by creation of a virtual ground. The holes are spaced apart from the edges of the resonator so as to minimize any interference with the current and fields concentrated at the edges of each resonator. These conductive structures narrow the effective cavity width “aeff” for the waveguide as a whole and between non-adjacent resonators without affecting the cavity width “a” between adjacent resonators. Consequently the conductive structures have no effect on the desired coupling between adjacent resonators and the desired filter response of parallel-coupled filters while increasing the attenuation of the wave propagating in the waveguide and the attenuation of the wave coupled between non-adjacent resonators.
US08258893B2	Out-of-plane MEMS resonator with static out-of-plane deflection A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device includes a tuning electrode, a drive electrode, and a resonator. The resonator is anchored to a substrate and is configured to resonate in response to a signal on the drive electrode. The MEMS device includes a tuning plate coupled to the resonator and positioned above the tuning electrode. The tuning plate is configured to adjust a resonant frequency of the resonator in response to a voltage difference between the resonator and the tuning electrode. In at least one embodiment of the MEMS device, the tuning plate and the tuning electrode are configured to adjust the resonant frequency of the resonator substantially independent of the signal on the drive electrode.
US08258892B2	High-speed bandpass serial data link The present invention relates to a method and system for high-speed bandpass serial data communication. A driver receives at least one data signal and generates a bandpass data signal for transmission through a bandpass waveguide interconnect. The bandpass data signal is launched into the bandpass waveguide interconnect using a first adaptor and extracted therefrom after transmission using a second adaptor. A receiver connected to the second adaptor recovers the at least one data signal from the extracted bandpass data signal. A dispersion compensation circuit receives one of the at least one data signal and the bandpass data signal and information indicative of a phase response of the bandpass waveguide interconnect and dispersion compensates the one of the at least one data signal and the bandpass data signal by compensating the phase response of the bandpass waveguide interconnect.
US08258888B2	Substrate device with a transmission line connected to a connector pad and method of manufacture A substrate device includes: a substrate; a ground layer disposed on one of two opposing surfaces of the substrate; a transmission line disposed on the other of the two opposing surfaces of the substrate; a pad which is disposed on the other of the two opposing surfaces of the substrate and connected to the transmission line; and a connector connected to the pad via a contact point. The pad has a part on the transmission line side and a part positioned on the opposite side of the transmission line with respect to the contact point with the connector which are electrically insulated from each other.
US08258887B1	Delay-coupled LCVCO In one embodiment, a circuit comprises a first inductor-capacitor based voltage-controlled oscillator (LCVCO) generating a first periodic signal with a first frequency and a first phase and a second LCVCO generating a second periodic signal with a second frequency and a second phase, and the second phase is offset relative to the first phase by a 90 degrees offset.
US08258883B2	System and method for characterizing process variations A system and method for characterizing process variations are provided. A circuit comprises a plurality of inverters arranged in a sequential loop, and a plurality of transmission gates, with each transmission gate coupled between a pair of serially arranged inverters. Each transmission gate comprises a first field effect transistor (FET) having a first channel, and a second FET having a second channel. The first channel and the second channel are coupled in parallel and a gate terminal of the first FET and a gate terminal of the second FET are coupled to a first control signal and a second control signal, respectively.
US08258878B2	Phase locked loop and method thereof A phase locked loop (PLL) includes a clock generating circuit, a first phase detecting circuit, a first loop filter, a first VCO, a first mixer and a control circuit. The clock generating circuit generates a first clock signal. The first phase detecting circuit detects a phase difference between an input data signal and a feedback signal and generates a detection output signal according to the phase difference. The first loop filter, coupled to the first phase detecting circuit, generates a first VCO control signal according to the detection output signal. The first mixer, coupled to the first VCO and the clock generating circuit, mixes the output data signal and the first clock signal to generate the feedback data signal. The control circuit, coupled to the clock generating circuit and the first loop filter, for adjusting the first clock signal according to the first VCO control signal to calculate a gain of the first VCO.
US08258877B2	Feed-back and feed-forward systems and methods to reduce oscillator phase-noise Systems, methods, and apparatus are described that provide for low phase-noise, spectrally-pure, and low-jitter signals from electrical oscillators. An aspect of the present disclosure includes utilization of an open-loop feed-forward phase-noise cancellation scheme to cancel phase noise, or jitter, of an electrical oscillator. Phase noise can be measured and then subtracted, with the phase noise measurement and subtraction being performed at a speed faster than phase noise variations of the oscillator. Another aspect of the present disclosure includes use of a feedback scheme for phase noise reduction. A feedback scheme can be used alone or in conjunction with a feed-forward scheme. Related phase-noise cancellation and/or reduction methods are described. Notch filter and RF amplifier circuits are also described.
US08258875B1	DC-DC conversion for a power amplifier using the RF input A power amplifier system is provided that includes a power amplifier configured to receive an RF input. A DC-DC converter is coupled to the power amplifier. Clocking circuits drive the DC-DC converter. The clocking circuits use the RF input to generate a clock. The clock acts with the DC-DC converter to provide an output voltage used in the power amplifier.
US08258874B2	Dual-mode control of a power generator An improved method and apparatus for managing an application of power with a power generator to a load, the apparatus comprising a power generator configured to apply power to the load; a controller coupled to the power generator, the controller configured to control a plurality of parameters to optimize operational performance of the power system in response to indicia of operational performance of the power system; and a performance assessor, coupled to the power generator and coupled to the controller, the performance assessor configured to provide the indicia of operational performance of the power system to the controller, where the indicia of the operational performance are relative to a plurality of metrics indicative of operational efficiency of the power system.
US08258872B1	Multi-tier power supply for audio amplifiers Techniques for providing multiple power supplies in electronic devices are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, an appropriate power supply is provided only to accommodate a volume setting. In other words, there are at least two power supplies, one with a low voltage and the other with a high voltage. The high voltage power supply is only applied when there is a need to accommodate a volume setting. Thus the power consumption of the amplifiers is well controlled. As a result, the designs of the device and heat dissipation therein can be simplified and lowered in cost.
US08258870B2	System and method for digital control of amplifier gain with reduced zipper noise A digitally-controlled analog gain circuit supports at plurality of gain settings in which gain changes are made from a first setting to a new setting in response to a clocking signal of a non-uniform rate. The non-uniform rate clocking signal can be created pseudo randomly by applying a periodic sequence of clock pulses to a linear feedback shift register. Alternatively, the non-uniform rate clock signal can be created by applying a noise source to a phase detector input of a phase locked loop. The clocking signal can be generated by an oscillator, or as a sequence of pulses output by a zero crossing detector. Finally, the gain circuit can apply positive gain to the signal. Alternatively, the gain circuit can apply a negative gain (attenuation) to the signal.
US08258869B2	Low noise amplifier with current bleeding branch An LNA circuit for providing a wide range of gain while maintaining the output headroom. In a radio frequency (RF) receiver, the signal received by the receiver may be extremely small. For a transmitter in a short distance, the received signal may be relatively strong. A low power amplifier usually is used to amplify the input signal. The LNA has to be designed to accommodate a wide range of gain. A convention LNA circuit supporting a wide range of gain often suffers from reduced output headroom due to increased current through the load resistor. The present invention discloses the use of current bleeding branch to allow a portion of current to flow through the current bleeding branch and consequently reduces the current that would have flown through the load resistor. Consequently, the voltage across the load resistor may be maintained low to allow adequate output headroom.
US08258868B2	Differential input for ambipolar devices Differential input pairs have been used in analog electronics with both CMOS and bipolar transistors for many years. Conventional designs for differential input pairs, though, may not be suitable for emerging technology transistors, such as graphene transistors, carbon nanotube (CNT) transistors, or other ambipolar transistors. Here, a differential input pair has been provided that uses ambipolar transistors, which accounts for the more unusual I-V (drain current to gate-source voltage) characteristics of ambipolar transistors.
US08258867B2	Front-end equalizer and amplifier circuit A front-end equalizer and amplifier circuit includes two pairs of fully differential pair transistors, wherein the tail currents of one pair of transistors are connected with ground and connected with each other through the capacitive component to realize the connection between the pair of transistors and the feedback capacitor, the tail currents of the other pair of transistors are connected with ground and connected with each other through the resistive component to realize the connection between the other pair of transistors and the feedback resistor, the output positive and negative ends of each pair of transistors are connected with each other through the inductive component, thus forming the load for connecting the voltage source. The circuit increases the high frequency gain. Its single-stage gain is equivalent to the multi-stage gain. Compared with the traditional multi-stage structure, the present invention decreases the power consumption and area, and improves the reliability.
US08258861B2	Systems and methods for minimizing power consumption A system for reducing power consumption in a transistor-based system includes a measurement circuit and a comparator. The measurement circuit measures a delay of a transistor-based device and produces a control signal corresponding to the measured delay. The comparator compares the control signal to a predetermined threshold. Adjusting a power supply voltage of the transistor-based system based at least in part on a result of the comparison reduces the power consumed by the system.
US08258859B2	Voltage reducing circuit A voltage reducing circuit includes an internal power supply section configured to reduce an external power supply voltage supplied from an external power supply to an internal power supply voltage which is lower than the external power supply voltage based on a reference voltage. A first current control section is configured to control a current flowing through the internal power supply section when the internal power supply voltage is lower than a setting voltage. A second current control section is configured to control the current flowing through the internal power supply section when the internal power supply voltage exceeds the setting voltage.
US08258858B2	Circuit for generating a control current A circuit includes a supply voltage and a control current line including two resistors. A sink current line branches off from the control current line between the resistors. A current sink transistor has an emitter that is connected to the sink current line and a collector that is connected to ground via a first further resistor. At least one reference transistor has an emitter that is connected to its base, to the supply voltage via a second further resistor and to the base of the current sink transistor. The collector of the reference transistor is connected to ground or to an emitter of a further reference transistor, which is switched in a manner similar to the first reference transistor.
US08258853B2	Power switch circuit for tracing a higher supply voltage without a voltage drop A power switch circuit includes a voltage selecting circuit, an auxiliary transistor and a control circuit. The control circuit includes an inverter, or a first inverter and a second inverter forming a latch. The power switch circuit is capable of tracing a higher supply voltage and outputting the voltage level of the higher supply voltage without a voltage drop, so the junction leakage can be eliminated and the drive capability of the power switch circuit is ensured.
US08258849B2	Method and an apparatus for processing a signal A method of processing a signal is disclosed. The present invention includes receiving (a) a downmix signal being generated from plural-channel signal and (b) spatial information indicating attribute of the plural-channel signal, in order to upmix the downmix signal; obtaining inter-channel phase difference(IPD) coding flag indicating whether IPD value is used to the spatial information from a header of the spatial information; obtaining IPD mode flag indicating whether the IPD is used to frame of the spatial information from the frame based on the IPD coding flag; obtaining the IPD value from a parameter band in the frame based on the IPD mode flag; generating plural-channel signal by applying the IPD value to the downmix signal, wherein the spatial information is divided by header and a plurality of the frame and wherein the IPD value indicates phase difference between two channels of the plural-channel signal and wherein the parameter band is at least one sub-band of frequency domain including the IPD value.
US08258844B2	System-wide reset of multiple electronic devices In general, this disclosure describes techniques for implementing a system-wide reset of multiple devices. The techniques ensure that when any one of the devices of the system is reset, all the devices are reset. For example, a system includes a master reset device and a plurality of slave reset devices that are interconnected by a single reset line to provide improved robustness against electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electromagnetic pulse events. The master reset device detects a reset signal on the reset line and retransmits a true reset signal on the reset line in response to detecting the reset signal. Additionally, the master reset device may enter a blocking state after retransmitting the true reset signal to prevent detecting the reset signal that it transmitted on the reset line to avoid reset lockup.
US08258842B2	Dead-time detecting circuit for inductive load and modulation circuit using the same Dead-time detector includes an N-type power switch and a resistor. The N-type power switch includes a first end coupled to the output end of the output-stage circuit for receiving an output voltage, a second end for outputting a dead-time detecting signal, and a control end for receiving a gate-controlling voltage. The resistor is coupled between the second end of the N-type power switch and a voltage source providing a high voltage for keeping the voltage of the dead-time detecting signal when the N-type power switch does not output the dead-time detecting signal representing “ON”. When the output voltage is so lower than the gate-controlling voltage that the N-type power switch is turned on, the N-type power switch outputs the dead-time detecting signal representing “ON”. When the dead-time detecting signal represents “ON”, the output-stage circuit leaves the dead-time state.
US08258841B2	PLL circuit and optical disc apparatus A PLL circuit includes a polyphase reference clock output circuit that outputs reference clocks, a polyphase frequency divider circuit that outputs divided clocks, which is obtained by dividing frequencies of the reference clocks, a selection switch circuit that selects one of the reference clocks or one of the divided clocks, and outputs the selected clock as a selected clock, a digital VCO that uses the selected clock as an operating clock, and outputs delay amount data indicating a phase difference between an output clock and an ideal phase, where the output clock has a frequency that fluctuates according to a value of frequency control input data, and the ideal phase is calculated according to the output clock and the value of the frequency control input data, and a selection circuit that selects and outputs the output clock synchronized with the divided clocks according to the delay amount data.
US08258839B2	1 to 2N-1 fractional divider circuit with fine fractional resolution A fractional divider has been provided that allows for division ratios of 1:1 to 1:2N-1 with fine fractional resolution. To accomplish this, a phase blender (which is under the control of a state machine) is used to “blend” or interpolate consecutive phases of a clock signal from a delay locked loop to achieve a low deterministic jitter, while a sigma delta modulator can also be used to maintain low deterministic jitter while achieving the desired frequency resolution.
US08258838B2	Delay locked loop for expanding a delay range A delay locked loop includes a delay amount setting unit configured to set a delay amount of an external clock signal, a coarse delay unit configured to primarily delay the external clock signal by the set delay amount based on a first unit duration which is a unit delay amount of the coarse delay unit; and a fine delay unit configured to secondarily finely delay the primarily delayed clock signal based on a second unit duration, which is a unit delay amount of the fine delay unit and smaller than the first unit duration.
US08258837B2	Controlled clock phase generation Methods and systems to generate multiple phases of a clock may include a delay locked loop (DLL) to generate a bias signal to control a delay time through DLL delay elements in response to a first clock, and a plurality of a quadrature slave delay lines (SDLs), each to generate a plurality of successively phase shifted clocks over a quadrant of a corresponding selected phase of a second clock. The SDLs may be biased with the DLL bias signal to control phase differences between the generated clocks. One or more phase interpolators, such as contention based phase interpolators, may be coupled to outputs of each SDL. A frequency of the second clock may be equal to or greater than a frequency of the first clock. The SDLs may be implemented with fewer delay elements than the DLL.
US08258831B1	Method and apparatus for clock generator lock detector A clock generator is disclosed that includes a lock detector. The lock detector is configured to generate a lock signal based on control signals of a phase lock loop circuit that generates an output clock of a desired frequency that is phase locked to a reference clock. The lock detector generates a mismatch signal based on a comparison between the phases of the reference clock and the output clock to generate a compare result. The lock detector delays the compare result by a time period Td and AND the delayed compare result with the compare result to generate the mismatch signal. The lock detector includes a lock-counter that counts a number of reference clock cycles when the mismatch signal remains at 0. The lock signal indicates that a lock-state is achieved when the number of counted reference clock cycles equals a set-value.
US08258829B2	Power switch circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit device A power switch circuit that ensures suppression of an increase in a transient current. The power switch circuit includes a first transistor, which generates an output voltage in response to a control signal, and a time difference generation circuit, which delays the control signal by performing a logical process with the output voltage of the first transistor and the control signal.
US08258826B2	Automatic frequency control circuit The present invention realizes low power consumption at the time of an automatic frequency control circuit operation. An automatic frequency control circuit includes a mixing unit that generates a modulated signal from a reception signal according to a frequency of a local signal, a demodulation unit that demodulates the modulated signal supplied by the mixing unit, an error evaluation unit that generates a frequency error signal according to a duty of the demodulated signal supplied by the demodulation unit, a holding unit that holds a frequency setting of the local signal and updates the frequency setting according to the frequency error signal supplied by the error evaluation unit, and an oscillation unit that controls a frequency of the local signal according to the frequency setting supplied by the holding unit.
US08258823B2	Method of and driver circuit for operating a semiconductor power switch To operate a semiconductor power switch having a control electrode and a reference electrode in response to first and second switching commands, a control voltage between a first electric pole and a second electric pole is provided. Upon each first switching command, the control electrode is coupled to the first electric pole, and the reference electrode is coupled to the second electric pole; and upon each second switching command, the control electrode is coupled to the second electric pole, and the reference electrode is coupled to the first electric pole. Upon each switching command, continuously transitioning an electric potential of the one of the control and reference electrodes during a first transition period, and continuously transitioning an electric potential of the respective other of the control and reference electrodes during a second transition period occurs, wherein the first transition period beginning before and ending after the second transition period.
US08258822B2	Driver circuit and method for reducing electromagnetic interference An apparatus and a method switch a load through a power transistor. The apparatus includes: a first current generator for generating a current to charge a capacitance of a control terminal of the power transistor during power on of the power transistor; a second current generator for generating a current to discharge the capacitance during power off of the power transistor. The apparatus is equipped with control circuitry having a storage element for storing a voltage value representative of the potential difference between the control terminal and a conduction terminal of the power transistor when the power transistor operates in the saturation region and a discharge circuit for generating an additional current to discharge the capacitance during the power-off process. The additional current is a function of the potential difference of the control terminal and the stored voltage value from the conduction terminal.
US08258821B2	Multi-voltage input buffer In hard disc drive (HDD) applications, there is often a need for input buffers that can operate at a variety of voltages (i.e., 1.8V, 2.5V, and 3.3V) as well as tolerate high voltages (i.e., 5V). Traditional buffers, however, usually lack the ability to operate at these varying voltages and lack the ability to tolerate high voltages. Here, a buffer is provided that fits this criteria through the use of a switching circuit and an anti-saturation circuit (as well as other circuitry).
US08258819B2	Latched comparator having isolation inductors Traditionally, latched comparators have suffered from performance problems related to exposure of the latch to load capacitances. Even attempts to isolate the latch from the load capacitances by way of resistors has resulted in performance problems (namely, voltage swing degradation). Here, however, a latched comparator is provided that employs inductors to generally provide isolation from load capacitances, which generally improves performance. Moreover, the latch has been modified to accommodate the inductors during a track period (namely, provision of grounding paths).
US08258812B2	Software programmable logic using spin transfer torque magnetoresistive devices Systems, circuits and methods for software programmable logic using Spin Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) technology are disclosed. Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) storage elements can be formed into input planes and output planes. The input planes and output planes can be coupled together to form complex arrays that allow for the realization of logic functions.
US08258810B2	3D semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a first transistor layer and a second transistor layer overlaying the first transistor layer, wherein said first transistor layer comprises a plurality of flip-flops each having a selectively coupleable additional input generated by said second transistor layer.
US08258807B2	Computer system on and off test apparatus A computer system on/off test apparatus includes a parameter setting and test control circuit, a test indicating circuit, a voltage converting circuit, and an on/off signal switch circuit. The parameter setting and test control circuit includes a micro control unit (MCU) to set a number of test times and control an on/off test of a motherboard. The test indicating circuit is operable to display the number set by the parameter setting and test control circuit, and display a successful number of test times of the on/off test. The voltage converting circuit is operable to convert a first voltage received from a first standby power connector to a second voltage. The on/off signal switch circuit is operable to switch the first and second voltages according the control by the MCU.
US08258805B2	Test device and semiconductor integrated circuit device A test device and a semiconductor integrated circuit are provided. The test device may include a first test region and a second test region defined on a semiconductor substrate. The first test region may include a first test element and the second region may include a second test element. The first test element may include a pair of first secondary test regions in the semiconductor substrate extending in a first direction. The second test element may include structures corresponding to the first test element except the second test element does not include structures corresponding to the pair of first secondary test regions.
US08258804B2	Test tray for test handler A test tray for a test handler is disclosed that is loaded with semiconductor devices and then carries them along a predetermined circulation route. The test tray allows one fixing unit to fix a plurality of adjacent insert modules to the receiving spaces of the frame, thereby efficiently using the space of the frame and allowing a relatively large number of insert modules to be installed in the same area, in comparison to the conventional test tray.
US08258801B2	Nanoscale multiplexer In one embodiment of the present invention, a microscale or sub-microscale signal line, interconnected with one set of parallel nanowires of a nanowire crossbar, serves as a multiplexer. The multiplexer is used to detect the conductivity state of a nanowire junction within the nanowire crossbar. In one method embodiment of the present invention, a first signal is output to the two nanowires interconnected by the nanowire junction, while a second signal is output to the remaining nanowires of the nanowire crossbar. Then, the second signal is output to the two nanowires interconnected by the nanowire junction, while the first signal is output to the remaining nanowires of the nanowire crossbar. The resulting signal detected on the multiplexer is reflective of the conductivity state of the nanowire junction.
US08258793B2	Method for use when charging a vehicle battery pack A method for use with a vehicle battery pack, where the method determines a voltage threshold that may prevent the vehicle battery pack from being overcharged. The voltage threshold may be a dynamic threshold that changes or adjusts over time in order to accommodate changing conditions in the vehicle battery pack, the vehicle and/or the surrounding environment. The method may consider one or more battery readings when determining the voltage threshold, including temperature, voltage and/or current readings. According to one embodiment, the method is designed to accommodate high-current, short-duration charging events, like regenerative breaking.
US08258788B2	Magnetic resonance scanner with wireless transmission of upconverted signals and received sidebands occurring outside of the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band A wireless magnetic resonance imaging scanner has one or more local coils, a microwave antenna array, and a local oscillator, and an upconverter. The local oscillator signal from the local oscillator is transmitted from the microwave antenna array to illuminate the local coils. The local coils generate magnetic resonance signals at a first frequency and the magnetic resonance signals at the first frequency are upconverted in the upconverter to microwave frequencies. The local oscillator operates at a frequency within an unlicensed band, chosen such that desired sidebands for reception of the upconverted local coil magnetic resonance signals fall outside the unlicensed band.
US08258787B2	Magnetic resonance system with transmission of a digitized magnetic resonance signal across an air gap A magnetic resonance system has a patient receptacle and a base body. The patient receptacle has a subframe and a patient bed supported thereon so as to move a patient thereon through the base body. The base body has a basic field magnet system, a gradient system and an RF system that are operable to obtain an analog magnetic resonance signal from the patient. The patient receptacle has a signal conversion device composed of an A/D converter, a modulator, and a transmitter. The base body has a signal conversion device composed of a receiver and a demodulator. The A/D converter receives the magnetic resonance signal and digitizes it. The modulator modulates a carrier signal with the digitized magnetic resonance signal. The transmitter transmits the modulated carrier signal via an air gap to the receive. The receiver receives the transmitted carrier signal. The demodulator extracts the digitized magnetic resonance signal from the received carrier signal by demodulation and supplies it to an evaluation device for continuing evaluation.
US08258783B2	Force hearing value and position detection for magnetic elastic body of magnetic conduction In a method for detecting a force bearing value and position of a magnetostrictive body, the magnetostrictive body is stretched or shrunk by changes of passing magnetic fluxes or by the internal stress or external pushing or pulling force, such that the peripheral magnetic field surrounding the force bearing point is varied according to the stretching push or shrinking push, wherein its force bearing value or position is calculated by comparing the magnetic field distribution before and after the force bearing.
US08258780B2	Self-testing sensor Systems and methods for performing a self-test on a sensing device are described in the present disclosure. One implementation, among others, includes a method of performing a self test. In this implementation, the method includes supplying a periodic magnetic field upon a sensing element that is configured to sense a parameter of an object. The method further includes receiving an output from the sensing element indicating the operability of the sensing element. It should be noted that the output is received independently of the parameter of the object.
US08258779B2	Transmission shift rail position sensor The invention relates to a shift rail position sensing system. There is a need for a rapid and accurate shift rail position sensing system. In a transmission shift mechanism shifts are performed by axially moving a shift rail which is slidable in a rail bore in a housing. A rail position sensing system includes a groove formed in the shift rail and a Hall effect sensor. The groove includes a curved bottom surface, a first ramp surface extending from one side of the bottom surface to an outer peripheral surface of the shift rail, and a second ramp surface extending from a second side of the bottom surface to an outer peripheral surface of the shift rail. The Hall effect sensor has a sensor shaft with an axis normal to an axis of the shift rail. The sensor shaft has a sensing tip which adjacent to and spaced apart from the groove, so that the Hall effect sensor is sensitive an entire range of positions of the shift rail.
US08258777B2	Inductive proximity sensor The present invention relates to an inductive proximity sensor that includes an oscillator having first and second inductor-capacitor circuits arranged such that an inductance of one of the inductor-capacitor circuits has substantially greater sensitivity to an external target than an inductance of the other inductor-capacitor circuit. The sensor also includes an alternating current drive to each of the inductor-capacitor circuits that is in-phase and depends on differences in voltage across the inductor-capacitor circuits. The sensor may be coupled to a calibration device that applies power and triggers a calibration routine within the sensor. In response to the trigger signal, a calibration processor within the sensor executes the calibration routine and adjusts the inductor-capacitor circuits and provides an indication of successful calibration.
US08258771B2	Circuit device, electronic apparatus, and power supply method A circuit device includes: a power supply circuit; and a logic circuit, the power supply circuit supplying a first power supply voltage and a second power supply voltage to the logic circuit, the first power supply voltage supplied by the power supply circuit periodically changing with a first reference voltage as a reference voltage, the second power supply voltage supplied by the power supply circuit periodically changing with a second reference voltage as a reference voltage, the power supply circuit supplying, due to resonance, the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage that repeat a first period during which a voltage difference between the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage is decreasing and a second period during which the voltage difference is increasing, and the logic circuit performing adiabatic circuit operation with the supply of the first and the second power supply voltage.
US08258770B2	Multi-phase voltage regulator module and method controlling the same A multi-phase voltage regulator module connects to a central processing unit and is able to operate in one of a high-load mode and a low-load mode. The multi-phase voltage regulator module comprises: a pulse-width-modulation controller generating a plurality of phase-width-modulation signals; and, a plurality of phase circuits, each of which receives a corresponding one of the phase-width-modulation signals and generates a corresponding output current to the central processing unit; wherein a first portion of the phase circuits are activated when the multi-phase voltage regulator module is operated in the low-load mode at a first time, and, a second portion of the phase circuits are activated when the multi-phase voltage regulator module is operated in the low-load mode at a second time, the first portion being non-identical to the second portion.
US08258767B2	Power conversion system and power control method for reducing cross regulation effect A power conversion system and power control method for reducing cross regulation effect uses a voltage feedback adjustment circuit to modulate an error signal fed back from an output voltage so as to predict the energy of an output corresponding to its load states. While the energy delivered to an output terminal with its load remaining the same does not change, the energy delivered to an output terminal with its load changing is adjusted accordingly. The power conversion system thus effectively reduces the cross regulation effect and obtains excellent steady system output and transient response.
US08258766B1	Power management system with digital low drop out regulator and DC/DC converter A digital low dropout regulator is disclosed. The digital low dropout regulator includes a switch, a resistive element, a capacitive element coupled to the resistive element at a node, and a switch controller. The switch controller is configured to: couple to the node to receive an output voltage, compare the output voltage to a reference voltage, and control the switch based on a comparison of the output voltage and the reference voltage. The switch is configured to selectively provide a supply voltage to the node via the resistive element.
US08258765B2	Switching regulator and semiconductor apparatus including the same A switching regulator is disclosed that includes a switching element; an inductor; a rectifier element; an error amplifier circuit portion; a PWM pulse generating circuit portion; a current sensing circuit portion; an output voltage decrease detecting circuit portion; a current pulse generating circuit portion; a phase detecting circuit portion; a VFM pulse generating circuit portion; and a switching control circuit portion configured to generate a control signal based on a PWM signal or a VFM signal and to switch a control status of the switching element from a PWM control to a VFM control in accordance with a third signal output from the phase detecting circuit portion, and to switch the control status from the VFM control to the PWM control in accordance with a second signal output from the output voltage decrease detecting circuit portion.
US08258761B2	Electrical energy consumption control apparatuses and electrical energy consumption control methods Electrical energy consumption control apparatuses and electrical energy consumption control methods are described. According to one aspect, an electrical energy consumption control apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to receive a signal which is indicative of current of electrical energy which is consumed by a plurality of loads at a site, to compare the signal which is indicative of current of electrical energy which is consumed by the plurality of loads at the site with a desired substantially sinusoidal waveform of current of electrical energy which is received at the site from an electrical power system, and to use the comparison to control an amount of the electrical energy which is consumed by at least one of the loads of the site.
US08258760B2	Exciter assemblies An exciter assembly for supplying a field current to the rotor windings of a superconducting synchronous machine includes a pulse transformer having a stationary primary winding, a secondary winding and a tertiary winding. A switched mode power supply supplies a pulsed voltage to the primary winding of the pulse transformer. The pulsed voltage developed at the secondary winding of the pulse transformer is supplied to the rotor windings through a pair of transfer leads. A controller controls synchronous rectification of the pulsed voltage supplied to the rotor windings based on a signal from the tertiary winding of the pulse transformer.
US08258757B2	Charging method and charging device for charging a rechargeable battery A charging method fit for use with and applicable to a rechargeable battery is provided. The charging method involves charging the rechargeable battery to a first preset voltage and then charging the rechargeable battery to a second preset voltage. The charging method includes the steps of: (a) using the first preset current as a charging current, and performing the constant current charging of the rechargeable battery by the first preset current until the rechargeable battery reaches the first preset voltage for the first instance; (b) subtracting a current difference value from the charging current used by the rechargeable battery to reach the first preset voltage in the preceding instance so as to obtain a new charging current, and performing the constant current charging of the rechargeable battery by the new charging current thus obtained until the rechargeable battery reaches the first preset voltage again; (c) repeating step (b) until the new charging current equals a second preset current; and step (d) using the second preset current of step (c) as another new charging current, and performing the constant current charging of the rechargeable battery by the second preset current until the rechargeable battery reaches a second preset voltage for the first instance.
US08258751B2	Method and system for tracking battery state-of-health based on charging information Methods, systems, and apparatuses for determining battery state of health are provided. A battery that is substantially uncharged is charged with a substantially constant charge current. A time duration of the charging of the battery with the substantially constant charge current is determined. A state of health of the battery is estimated based upon the determined time duration and the constant charge current. The state of health of the battery may be calculated by multiplying the determined time duration with a value of the constant charge current to determine a total accumulated charge, and applying a predetermined factor to the accumulated charge to determine the state of health. The predetermined factor is a fixed percentage of the total charge capacity of the battery that corresponds to the battery type.
US08258750B2	Constant current charging, followed by constant voltage charging, responsive to condition A charging circuit and a charging method by the charging circuit that allow a stable charging operation are provided. The charging method of charging a battery from a charging power supply according to a constant current constant voltage charging system includes the steps of increasing a charging current for each predetermined current level step by step at a time of constant current charging, thereby performing the constant current charging, and stopping the increase of the charging current and continuing the charging maintaining a predetermined minimum chargeable voltage determined by the battery in advance, when it is detected that a supply voltage from the charging power supply has assumed the predetermined minimum chargeable voltage.
US08258746B2	Charger and charging method A charger adapted for charging at least one energy storage device to be charged by means of an electrical charging power provided by an electrical power supply grid is provided. The charger includes a grid parameter detector unit adapted for detecting at least one electrical grid parameter of the electrical power supply grid and for outputting a grid parameter detection signal on the basis of the at least one detected electrical grid parameter. A control unit receives the grid parameter detection signal and determines a control signal, wherein a charging power adjustment unit adjusts the electrical charging power on the basis of the control signal.
US08258742B2	Charging control unit of electric power generation control device for motor vehicle The control device, which is driven by an engine mounted on the vehicle, generates electric power and determines a power generation voltage for supplying the electric power to an electrical load and an electricity storage unit, comprising an electricity storage amount detection unit for detecting an amount of electricity stored in the electricity storage unit, by integrating an input/output current to/from the electricity storage unit a voltage lowering unit for lowering the power generation voltage when a predetermined electricity storage amount is detected by the electricity storage amount detection unit, a time measuring unit for measuring time elapsed after termination of charging/discharging of the electricity storage unit, and a lowering prohibition unit for prohibiting the power generation voltage from being lowered by the voltage lowering unit if the time elapsed after termination of the charging/discharging is longer than or equal to a predetermined time.
US08258739B2	Power converter A power converter includes: a determination section which, prior to an actual operation, determines presence/absence of a common mode filter connected to a line for supplying power to a motor, switching elements being driven with a predetermined PWM on/off drive signal corresponding to a carrier frequency prior to the actual operation; and a PWM control method changing/setting section which, during the actual operation, changes and sets a PWM control method in accordance with a result of the determination of the presence/absence of the common mode filter.
US08258732B2	Drive system of synchronous motor A drive system of a permanent magnet motor is constituted of a mode switching trigger generator which monitors a state of a permanent magnet motor and issues a mode switching trigger, a conduction mode determining unit which receives the mode switching trigger and switches the mode of the permanent magnet motor, and a PWM generator which outputs a PWM signal to an inverter in accordance with the output of the conduction mode determining unit. The mode switching trigger is generated on condition that the speed electromotive force of the permanent magnet motor exceeds a constant or variable threshold value.
US08258726B2	Battery cooling system for vehicle A system for cooling a battery mounted on a vehicle using air within a vehicle, independently of the travelling state of the vehicle. The air within a vehicle compartment is guided to a battery mounted on a vehicle to cool the battery. A controller determines a basic fan speed v of the cooling fan based on a battery temperature and an ambient temperature. Further, the controller calculates an increment Δv of the fan speed in accordance with the vehicle speed and the degree of window opening and determines a final fan speed V according to V=v+Δv, to drive the cooling fan. By controlling the fan speed to increase, it is possible to cool the battery even when the base pressure of the inlet-side static pressure of the cooling fan becomes negative pressure compared to when the windows are closed.
US08258725B2	Hollow beam electron gun for use in a klystron A klystron has a hollow beam electron gun that has a circular planar electron emitting surface. A hollow electron beam is directed from the electron gun through a plurality of drift tubes, resonant chambers and magnetic fields to a collector. The hollow electron beam does not experience significant radial movement and can operate at a lower beam voltage which reduces the required length of the RF interaction circuit and lowers the risks of RF arcing.
US08258721B2	Remotely controllable track lighting system A remotely controllable track lighting system includes a track mountable to a support structure, such as a wall or ceiling, with lamps that are supported on the track that are individually controlled by a wireless remote. Each lamp on the track may be set to respectively different intensity levels (e.g., high, mid, low, off) or the user can uniformly control the lamps to be set to the same intensity level. Advantageously, all of the lamps may be set, upon initially turning on the lamps or at another time as desired, to their respective previously set intensity levels. The track system may also be powered via a wall switch where initially turning on the lamps via the wall switch advantageously causes all of the lamps to return to their respective previously set intensity levels or the user can move the wall switch off then on within a short period of time (e.g., 3 seconds) to cause all of the lamps to be set high. Other features and variations also are provided.
US08258716B2	Driving power supply system of an active type LED with multiple channels An active type multiple channeled LED power driving system which includes seven regions, wherein power is lead-in through the first region with the EMC circuitry and the PWM circuitry, passing through the second region with the transformer, entering the third region with the CC & CV control circuitry, passing through the fourth region with two multiple channeled outputers, lead-in the fifth region having two intermittent modulating circuitries, outputting to the sixth region with the two LED lighting modules, and setting with environment parameters sensors in the seventh region, thereby raising the electronic typed heat dissipation rate and energy efficiency under the system operation to let the LED lamp be able to achieve its maximum performance.
US08258715B2	Fluorescent lamp with balanced lamp tube electric potentials A fluorescent lamp includes three transformers, a power supply, a converter, and four lamp tubes. The converter converts a direct current (DC) provided by the power supply into an alternating current (AC) generated in a first transformer and a second transformer for driving the four lamp tubes to emit light. The third transformer is connected to the four lamp tubes to balance working electric potentials of the four lamp tubes.
US08258713B2	Supplying a signal to a light source Supply circuits for supplying voltage and current signals to light sources (6) comprise switches (22, 32, 42, 52) and controllers (21, 31, 41, 51) to control the switches (22, 32, 42, 52) for reducing values of frequency components of harmonic content of power spectra of the light sources (6). By switching one of the voltage and current signals or by switching signals that result in one of the voltage and current signals, the other one of the voltage and current signals can be adjusted. The power spectrum of the light source (6) may be a function of the voltage and current signals. By adjusting one of them, the power spectrum can be adjusted such that values of frequency components of the harmonic content of the power spectrum are reduced. As a result, visible flicker is reduced in the light originating from the light source (6) without the use of energy storage capacitors for reducing this visible flicker.
US08258710B2	Solid state light source driving and dimming using an AC voltage source Solid state light source driving and dimming systems are provided that enable a plurality of solid state light source (e.g., LED) driver circuits to be coupled to a single AC voltage source. The driver circuits may include constant current circuitry configured to generate a constant AC current from the AC voltage source, and rectifier circuitry configured to generate a DC current to drive the solid state light source (e.g., LEDs). Dimming control includes shunt circuitry operable with a PWM switch to shunt the AC voltage source during certain portions of a PWM signal and to decouple the shunt circuitry from the AC voltage source during other portions of the PWM signal. Shunting the AC voltage source causes the interruption of the DC current to effectively turn off the LEDs. Decoupling the shunt circuitry may improve overall efficiency of power transfer to the LEDs.
US08258706B2	LED drive circuit, LED illumination component, LED illumination device, and LED illumination system An LED drive circuit is an LED dive circuit that receives an alternating voltage to drive an LED, and includes a current remove portion that removes a current from a current supply line that supplies an LED drive current to the LED. If an input current to the LED drive circuit is an unnecessary current, the LED does not light because of current removal by the current remove portion. If the input current to the LED drive circuit turns into the LED drive current from the unnecessary current, the current remove portion decreases the amount of current removed.
US08258703B1	Adapter for trailer lighting control from modulated input signals A trailer light adapter that is adapted to supply signals to operate the lights of a towed vehicle from modulated signals of a lighting circuit of a towing vehicle, includes at least one input that is adapted to receive a modulated signal from the lighting circuit of the towing vehicle and at least one output that is adapted to supply an output signal to operate a light of the towed vehicle. The adapter further includes a decoder that is adapted to decode a modulated signal and to provide a decoded signal indicative of a desired state of the light of the towed vehicle. The adapter further includes a power circuit that is responsive to the decoded signal and is adapted to supply the output signal to operate the light of the towed vehicle. The adapter may be responsive to a variable voltage modulated signal, a pulse-width modulated signal, or the like.
US08258695B2	Capsular micro light-emitting device and method for manufacturing the same A capsular micro light-emitting device, including: a light emitting part having at least a light emitting layer and constituting one pixel; a capsular encapsulation layer for individually encapsulating the light emitting part; and first and second electrodes for applying a voltage to the light emitting part.
US08258689B2	Illuminating device To aim to provide a lighting apparatus that is compact yet easy in lamp replacement. A lighting apparatus 1 comprises: a lamp 6 including an outer tube 13 and an arc tube 15 provided inside the outer tube 13; and an opening-type lighting fixture 3 having a mirror part 11 having a concave reflective surface 9 inside which the lamp 6 is disposed. The mirror part 11 reflects light emitted from the lamp 6 at the reflection surface 9 such that the reflected light is emitted through an opening 10 of the mirror part 11. Relational expressions 22≦r≦28, R≦130, and 3.5≦R/r are satisfied, with r denoting a maximum outer diameter [mm] of the outer tube 13, and R denoting an opening diameter [mm] of the mirror part 11.
US08258686B2	Spark plug for internal combustion engine A spark plug includes a tubular metal shell, an insulator, a cylindrical center electrode, and a ground electrode. The ground electrode has an inclined portion, a straight portion, and a bend between the inclined and straight portions. The inclined portion extends obliquely with respect to the axial direction of the center electrode from a base end of the ground electrode, which is joined to an end of the metal shell, to the bend that is positioned closer to the center electrode in the radial direction of the center electrode than the base end. The straight portion extends substantially parallel to the axial direction of the center electrode from the bend to a tip end of the ground electrode. The straight portion has an inner side surface facing the side surface of an end portion of the center electrode through a spark gap in the radial direction of the center electrode.
US08258681B2	Heat dissipating device for lightings A heat dissipating device for lightings includes a light source module, a heat sink, and a converter. The heat sink has a substrate and a plurality of heat dissipating fins extending outward from the substrate. A plurality of channels is formed between the heat dissipating fins. Insides of the channels respectively have a port open to the center of the heat sink. Thereby, the channels of the heat sink can effectively direct the airflow into the center of the heat sink, enhancing the heat dissipating effect of the heat sink.
US08258680B2	Key bar compression apparatus Solutions for reducing key bar rattle in dynamoelectric machines are disclosed. In one embodiment an apparatus includes: a plurality of key bars operably coupling a stator core to a stator wrapper in which the stator core is at least partially contained; a cable surrounding the plurality of key bars; and at least one anchor device connecting a portion of the cable to the stator wrapper to produce a compressive load on at least one of the plurality of key bars by tightening the cable around the plurality of key bars.
US08258679B2	Piezoelectric ceramic comprising a bismuth layered compound and piezoelectric element The present invention provides a piezoelectric ceramic and a piezoelectric element, which have a large dynamic d33 (dynamic piezoelectric coefficient d33), can be used even under an elevated temperature of 200° C., and exhibit a small variation between the dynamic d33 at room temperature and the dynamic d33 at 200° C. The piezoelectric ceramic of the present invention is characterized by containing 100 parts by mass of a bismuth layered compound as a main component and a total of 0.05 to 1 part by mass, in terms of oxides (MnO2 and Fe2O3), of at least one of Mn and Fe, the bismuth layered compound being represented by a compositional formula of Bi4Ti3O3O12.β[(1-γ)M1TiO3.γM2M3O3], wherein β and γ satisfy the following formulae: 0.405≦β≦0.498 and 0≦γ≦0.3, M1 represents at least one selected from Sr, Ba, Ca, (Bi0.5Na0.5) (Bi0.5Li0.5) and (Bi0.5K0.5), M2 is at least one selected from Bi, Na, K and Li, and M3 is at least one of Fe and Nb.
US08258676B2	Crystal device and method for manufacturing crystal device A crystal device that has stable vibration characteristics and that offers high reliability and high accuracy. The crystal device includes a first major face, which contains a portion of a base and a portion of a vibrating prong within a single plane, formed on the crystal plate, and a second major face, which contains another portion of the base and another portion of the vibrating prong within a single plane, formed on a crystal plate, wherein the first major face and the second major face have different outer shapes. The shapes of the first and second major faces can be produced by first forming mask layer patterns on a crystal substrate by exposure through different mask patterns and then etching the crystal substrate using the thus formed mask layer patterns.
US08258675B2	Detection sensor and resonator of detection sensor A detection sensor (10) includes: plural beam-like resonators (30A, 30B), a vibration characteristic of which changes according to adsorption or sticking of a substance having a mass and one end of each of which is fixed; a driving unit (40) that vibrates the resonators; and a detecting unit (40) that detects a change in the vibration in the resonators to detect the substance. The plural resonators have lengths different from one another. When the length of an arbitrary resonator is represented as L, a difference ΔL between the length L and the length of the other resonators is set to satisfy the following condition: 2(ΔL/L)>1/Q (Q represents a Q factor of the resonators). The driving unit vibrates the respective plural resonators at frequencies corresponding to resonant frequencies of the resonators.
US08258673B2	Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the semiconductor device There are disclosed a semiconductor device in which a short circuit between an oscillator and a semiconductor substrate is prevented, the semiconductor device being capable of suppressing an increase of fabrication steps, and a method of fabricating the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor substrate, in which a recessed portion is formed on an upper surface, and a semiconductor layer is exposed to a bottom surface of the recessed portion; an oscillator that has a beam-type movable electrode arranged in the recessed portion, the movable electrode having insulating films arranged on side surfaces and lower surface thereof, and is fixed to the semiconductor substrate at a position apart from the movable electrode; and a beam-type fixed electrode that is arranged in the recessed portion so as to be opposed to the movable electrode, and is fixed to the semiconductor substrate so as to be electrically isolated from the movable electrode.
US08258672B2	Composite structure gap-diode thermopower generator or heat pump A thermionic or thermotunneling generator or heat pump is disclosed, comprising electrodes substantially facing one another and separated by spacers disposed between the electrodes, wherein the substrate material for the cathode is preferably a single crystalline silicon wafer while the substrate for the anode is an organic wafer, and preferably a polished polyimide (PI) wafer. On the cathode side, standard silicon wafer processes create the 10-1000 nm thin spacers and edge seals from thermally grown oxide. Either wafer is partially covered with a thin film of material that is characterized by high electrical conductivity and low work function. In one embodiment, the cathode is partially covered with a thin film of Ag—Cs—O. In another embodiment, the anode is additionally covered with a thin film of Ag—Cs—O, in which case the work function of the cathode coating material is reduced further utilizing an Avto Metal structure of nanoscale patterned indents. A method for fabricating the composite structure device is further disclosed.
US08258669B2	Motor with stator configuration for increased coil length and coil space factors A motor including a stator and rotor. The stator includes a stator core, slot portions and coils. The stator core includes stator core pieces with teeth portion having a distal end portion and two side portions, a yoke portion, and a claw portion formed at one of the two side portions. At the distal end portion, the stator core pieces are connected so that claw portions protrude in the same circumferential direction to form the stator core into a cylindrical shape. The slot portions are formed between adjacent teeth portions and between the stator core pieces. The coils form three phases which are inserted into the slot portions, are bridged between two of the slot portions and include end portions that protrude from an edge face of the stator core in an axial direction. The coils are arranged so that the end portions are intersected with each other.
US08258665B2	Motor winding The present invention is an electrical rotating apparatus comprising stator coils wound around the inside and outside of the stator. In a further embodiment, the machine contains a high number of phases, greater than three. In a further embodiment, the phases are connected in a mesh connection. In a further embodiment, each half-phase is independently driven to enable second harmonic drive for an impedance effect. Improvements are apparent in efficiency and packing density.
US08258663B2	Magnetic levitation novelty device An apparatus for animating a magnetically levitated object. The apparatus includes a display with an overhead housing. A magnetic levitation and oscillation assembly is included with an electromagnet in the overhead housing. A levitated object with a body in which a magnetic element is embedded is positioned proximate to the electromagnet and levitated within the display. The levitation and oscillation assembly includes a levitation actuator driving the electromagnet with a control signal to generate a levitating magnetic field. The assembly includes an oscillating signal generator that oscillates the levitating magnetic field at an oscillating frequency. During magnetic field oscillation, the object body is levitated by the electromagnet and is concurrently subjected to first oscillating movements while attached elements such as wings are subjected to second oscillating movements near their resonant frequency with larger displacements, whereby the object body appears stationary while attached elements vibrate with a reciprocating or flapping motion.
US08258658B2	Electric motor The electric motor (10) of the rotary type comprises a circular peripheral frame (11) inside of which a stator (12) is mounted, and the stator (12) comprises electrical coils (13) having each an armature (13a) and a winding of conductive wires (13b). The electric motor (10) comprises equipment (14) which is movable in relation to the stator, this mobile equipment is in this case a rotor (15) arranged coaxially in relation to the stator (12). The rotor (15) comprises a set of electric coils (16) which are electromagnets. The armatures (13a) of the electric coils (13) and those of the electric coils (16) comprise advantageously at least one element out of reverse magnetocaloric material arranged so as to contribute to cooling of the electric motor.
US08258656B2	Cover for a secondary part of a linear motor The invention relates to a cover (20) for a secondary part (2) of an electrical linear motor (1), wherein the secondary part (2) includes at least one first and one second secondary partial element (12), and wherein each secondary partial element (12) comprises a toothed profile, and wherein the cover (20) extends over the toothed profiles of the first and second secondary partial elements (12), forming a continuous surface. The invention further relates to a secondary part (2) comprising a cover (20) and a linear motor (1) comprising a secondary part (2) and a cover (20).
US08258655B2	Circuit arrangement and method for driving a load A circuit arrangement includes a drive circuit is adapted to generate a drive signal at the output dependent on a signal received at a control input, and dependent on a signal received at the first enable input. A first supply voltage circuit is adapted to provide a first supply voltage at output terminals, the output terminals being coupled to the supply terminals of the drive circuit. A second supply voltage circuit adapted to provide a second supply voltage at output terminals, the output terminals being coupled to the supply terminals of the drive circuit. The second supply voltage circuit has a second enable input, and is adapted to generate the second supply voltage dependent on a signal received at the second enable input.
US08258647B2	Vertical axis wind turbine A vertical axis wind turbine includes an upstanding support structure, a plurality of generators disposed on the support structure, a central shaft in rotatable communication with the generators and positioned along a central axis of the vertical-axis wind turbine, a plurality of struts extending from the central shaft, and a plurality of blades, each blade positioned at an end of a corresponding strut and oriented substantially vertically. The vertical axis wind turbine optionally includes strut ailerons, blade extension elements, or blade ailerons to increase the efficiency and duty cycle of the wind turbine.
US08258644B2	Apparatus for harvesting energy from flow-induced oscillations and method for the same A device and method for harvesting electrical power from kinetic energy of a flow. The electricity generator includes a vibration assembly and magnetic field source. The external gas or liquid flow causes a vibration of the assembly with an integrated conductive element, producing electricity in proximity of a magnetic field. The vibrating assembly has a set of resonant frequencies that correspond to a set of the frequencies of the flow vortices within a predetermined range of the external flow velocities. An arbitrary number of adjustable generators can be connected into a single circuit, either in-series or in-parallel, to increase an overall power output. It is capable to operate under wide range of flow characteristics and can serve as a virtually maintenance-free source of electrical power.
US08258641B2	Mechanical regulation of electrical frequency in an electrical generation system There is provided an electrical generation system for producing an alternating electric current with a regulated frequency from motive power with variable speed. The rotor of an alternator is mechanically coupled to the motive power and thus rotates with a variable speed. In order to compensate for the rotor speed variation, the alternator stator is rotated about the rotor such that the relative speed between the stator and the rotor is regulated. The stator speed is controlled such that the frequency of the produced alternating current is regulated.
US08258634B2	Contact pad array A contact pad array is provided. The contact pad array includes a plurality of first contact pads and a plurality of second contact pads. The first contact pads are arranged along the first direction. Each first contact pad includes two first lengthwise sides and two widthwise sides. The second contact pads are arranged along the first direction. Each second contact pad includes two second lengthwise sides and two second widthwise sides. The length of the second lengthwise side is substantially shorter than that of the first lengthwise side, and the width of the second widthwise side is substantially larger than that of the first widthwise side. The projection of the first widthwise side of each first contact pad on the first direction is completely within the projection of the second widthwise side of the corresponding second contact pad on the first direction.
US08258627B2	Group II element alloys for protecting metal interconnects A plurality of metal interconnects incorporating a Group II element alloy for protecting the metal interconnects and methods to form and incorporate the Group II element alloy are described. In one embodiment, a Group II element alloy is used as a seed layer, or a portion thereof, which decreases the line resistance and increases the mechanical strength of a metal interconnect. In another embodiment, a Group II element alloy is used to form a barrier layer, which, in addition to decreasing the line resistance and increasing the mechanical integrity, also increases the chemical integrity of a metal interconnect.
US08258626B2	Copper interconnection, method for forming copper interconnection structure, and semiconductor device A copper interconnection structure includes an insulating layer, an interconnection body including copper and a barrier layer surrounding the interconnection body. The barrier layer includes a first barrier layer formed between a first portion of the interconnection body and the insulating layer. The first portion of the interconnection body is part of the interconnection body that faces the insulating layer. The barrier layer also includes a second barrier layer formed on a second portion of the interconnection body. The second portion of the interconnection body is part of the interconnection body not facing the insulating layer. Each of the first and the second barrier layers is formed of an oxide layer including manganese, and each of the first and the second barrier layers has a position where the atomic concentration of manganese is maximized in their thickness direction of the first and the second barrier layers.
US08258617B2	Semiconductor device, semiconductor package, interposer, semiconductor device manufacturing method and interposer manufacturing method A technique which prevents cracking in a solder resist layer covering an interposer surface between external coupling terminals of an interconnection substrate, thereby reducing the possibility of interconnect wire disconnection resulting from such cracking. A semiconductor package is mounted over an interconnection substrate. An underfill resin layer seals the space between the semiconductor package and the interconnection substrate. External coupling terminals, interconnect wires and a solder resist layer are formed over the surface of an interposer (constituent of the semiconductor package) where the semiconductor chip is not mounted. In an area where an interconnect wire passing between two neighboring ones of the external coupling terminals intersects with a line connecting the centers of the two external coupling terminals, the interconnect wire is not covered by the solder resist layer.
US08258616B1	Semiconductor dice having a shielded area created under bond wires connecting pairs of bonding pads An integrated circuit comprises a semiconductor die including N bond pad pairs each including a first bond pad and a second bond pad that is spaced from the first bond pad. N bond wires are associated with a respective one of the N bond pad pairs. Each of the bond wires have opposite ends that communicate with the first and second bond pads of a respective one of the N bond pad pairs. The first and second bond pads of the N bond pad pairs are connected to a reference potential and create a shielded area between the N bond pad pairs.
US08258609B2	Integrated circuit package system with lead support An integrated circuit package system is provided including forming a paddle having an integrated circuit die thereover, an outer lead, and an inner lead between the paddle and the outer lead. The integrated circuit package system is also provided including placing a lead support over the inner lead without traversing to an inner body bottom side of the inner lead, connecting the integrated circuit die and the inner lead, and encapsulating the inner lead having the lead support thereover and the inner lead exposed.
US08258607B2	Apparatus and method for providing bypass capacitance and power routing in QFP package An integrated circuit packaging apparatus includes a first conductive layer disposed between an integrated circuit die and a conductive die paddle. Bond wires connect the first conductive layer to the lead frame package and to the integrated circuit die. A first dielectric layer is disposed between the first conductive layer and the conductive die paddle such that the first conductive layer, the first dielectric layer, and the conductive die paddle provide bypass capacitance. A method for providing bypass capacitance and power routing for an integrated circuit packaging apparatus includes; depositing a first dielectric layer on a conductive die paddle, depositing a first conductive layer on the first dielectric layer, and connecting the first conductive layer to the lead frame package and to the integrated circuit die. The first conductive layer, the first dielectric layer, and the conductive die paddle cooperate to provide bypass capacitance.
US08258606B2	High frequency flip chip package structure of polymer substrate A high frequency flip chip package substrate of a polymer is a one-layer structure packaged by a high frequency flip chip package process to overcome the shortcomings of a conventional two-layer structure packaged by the high frequency flip chip package process. The conventional structure not only incurs additional insertion loss and return loss in its high frequency characteristic, but also brings out a reliability issue. Thus, the manufacturing process of a ceramic substrate in the conventional structure still has the disadvantages of a poor yield rate and a high cost.
US08258604B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing same To provide a technique that can improve the data retention characteristic of an MRAM device by improving the resistance against an external magnetic field in a semiconductor device including the MRAM device.A first magnetic shield material is disposed over a die pad via a first die attach film. Then, a semiconductor chip is mounted over the first magnetic shield material via a second die attach film. Furthermore, a second magnetic shield material is disposed over the semiconductor chip via a third die attach film. That is, the semiconductor chip is disposed so as to be sandwiched by the first magnetic shield material and the second magnetic shield material. At this time, while the planar area of the second magnetic shield material is smaller than that of the first magnetic shield material, the thickness of the second magnetic shield material is thicker than that of the first magnetic shield material.
US08258602B2	Bipolar junction transistors having a fin Design and methods for fabricating bipolar junction transistors are described. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a first fin comprising a first emitter region, a first base region, and a first collector region. The first emitter region, the first base region, and the first collector region form a bipolar junction transistor. A second fin is disposed adjacent and parallel to the first fin. The second fin includes a first contact to the first base region.
US08258596B2	Stacked photoelectric conversion device and method for producing the same To provide a stacked photoelectric conversion device and a method for producing the same, in which an interlayer is provided between photoelectric conversion layers to obtain an effect of controlling the amount of incidence light, and carrier recombination at an interface between the interlayer and a semiconductor layer is decreased to enhance photoelectric conversion efficiency.The stacked photoelectric conversion device of the present invention comprises a plurality of silicon-based photoelectric conversion layers having a p-i-n structure stacked, wherein at least a pair of adjacent photoelectric conversion layers have an interlayer of a silicon nitride therebetween, the pair of the photoelectric conversion layers are electrically connected with each other, and a p-type silicon-based semiconductor layer constituting a part of the photoelectric conversion layer and contacting the interlayer contains a nitrogen atom.
US08258595B2	Image sensor and method for manufacturing the same Provided are an image sensor and a method for manufacturing the same. The image sensor comprises a substrate, a bonding silicon, an interlayer dielectric, a first contact plug, a second contact plug, a second metal interconnection, and a color filter layer and a microlens. The substrate comprises a first metal interconnection. The bonding silicon is formed on the substrate, and comprises a plurality of impurity regions. The interlayer dielectric is formed on the bonding silicon. The first contact plug penetrates the bonding silicon and is electrically connected to the first metal interconnection. The second contact plug penetrates the interlayer dielectric and is connected to a surface of the bonding silicon. The second metal interconnection is formed on the interlayer dielectric, and is connected to the second contact plug. The color filter layer and a microlens are formed over the second metal interconnection.
US08258590B2	Method for the production of a component, and component A method for producing a component, especially a micromechanical, micro-electro-mechanical or micro-opto-electro-mechanical component, as well as such a component which has an active structure that is embedded in a layer structure. Strip conductor bridges are formed by etching first and second depressions having a first and second, different etching depth into a covering layer of a first layer combination that additionally encompasses a substrate and an insulation layer. The deeper depression is used for insulating the strip conductor bridge while the shallower depression provides a moving space for the active structure with the moving space being bridged by the strip conductor bridge.
US08258586B1	Non-volatile anti-fuse with consistent rupture In an embodiment of the invention, a non-volatile anti-fuse memory cell is disclosed. The memory cell consists of a programmable n-channel diode-connectable transistor. The poly-silicon gate of the transistor has two portions. One portion is doped more highly than a second portion. The transistor also has a source with two portions where one portion of the source is doped more highly than a second portion. The portion of the gate that is physically closer to the source is more lightly doped than the other portion of the poly-silicon gate. The portion of the source that is physically closer to the lightly doped portion of the poly-silicone gate is lightly doped with respect to the other portion of the source. When the transistor is programmed, a rupture in the insulator will most likely occur in the portion of the poly-silicone gate that is heavily doped.
US08258582B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same A semiconductor device including a first transistor of a first conductivity type provided on a first active region of a semiconductor region, and a second transistor of a second conductivity type provided on a second active region of the semiconductor region. The first transistor includes a first gate insulating film and a first gate electrode, the first gate insulating film contains a high-k material and a first metal, and the first gate electrode includes a lower conductive film, a first conductive film and a first silicon film. The second transistor includes a second gate insulating film and a second gate electrode, the second gate insulating film contains a high-k material and a second metal, and the second gate electrode includes a second conductive film made of the same material as the first conductive film, and a second silicon film.
US08258577B2	CMOS inverter device with fin structures A CMOS inverter formed with narrowly spaced fins structures including transistors formed on sidewalls of each fin structure. A high-k dielectric material is deposited on the fins to provide mechanical stability to the fins and serve as a gate dielectric material. A mid gap metal gate layer may be formed on the high-k dielectric layer.
US08258574B2	Semiconductor decoupling capacitor device A semiconductor device including a plurality of decoupling capacitors formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a plurality of decoupling capacitor contact plugs disposed between the semiconductor substrate and the plurality of decoupling capacitors, the plurality of decoupling capacitor contact plugs being electrically connected to the plurality of decoupling capacitors and including an array of first decoupling capacitor contact plugs and second decoupling capacitor contact plugs.
US08258573B2	Power semiconductor component with plate capacitor structure and edge termination A semiconductor component includes a body with a drift zone, a source zone, a body zone, and a drain zone. A gate forms a MOS structure with the drift zone, with the source zone and with the body zone. An edge termination between the lateral edge and the MOS structure includes a plurality of field rings which enclose the MOS structure. The lateral edge is at the same potential as the drift zone, and the edge termination reduces voltage between the lateral edge and the source zone. A horizontally extending edge plate is disposed at the front side between the lateral edge and the edge termination. The edge plate is at the same potential as the drift zone and forms a plate capacitor structure including a field plate lying above the edge plate.
US08258567B2	Non-volatile two-transistor programmable logic cell and array layout A two-transistor non-volatile memory cell is formed in a semiconductor body. A memory-transistor well is disposed within the semiconductor body. A switch-transistor well is disposed within the semiconductor body and is electrically isolated from the memory transistor well. A memory transistor including spaced-apart source and drain regions is formed within the memory-transistor well. A switch transistor including spaced-apart source and drain regions is formed within the switch-transistor well region. A floating gate is insulated from and self aligned with the source and drain regions of the memory transistor and switch transistor. A control gate is disposed above and aligned to the floating gate and with the source and drain regions of the memory transistor and the switch transistor.
US08258566B2	EEPROM device and method of manufacturing the same An EEPROM device may have, at the region where the control gate is formed, a gate oxide layer having a relatively smaller thickness than the gate oxide layer of the tunneling region by removing the gate oxide layer, at a predetermined thickness, at the region where the control gate is formed. Thus, integration of an EEPROM device may be maximized as a result of minimizing the area of the control gate.
US08258556B2	Thin film transistor, thin film transistor array panel, and display device A thin film transistor is provided, which includes: a gate electrode (124); a gate insulating layer (140) formed on the gate electrode; a semiconductor layer (154) formed on the gate insulating layer and disposed opposite the gate electrode; a source electrode (173) and a drain electrode (175) that are formed at least in part on the semiconductor layer and face each other, a passivation layer (180) formed on the source electrode, the drain electrode, and a portion of the semiconductor layer that is not covered with the source electrode and the drain electrode; and a shielding electrode (196) formed on the passivation layer and disposed on a region between the source electrode and the drain electrode.
US08258555B2	Semiconductor device having extra capacitor structure A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a conductive type, a source metal layer, a gate metal layer, at least one transistor device, a heavily doped region having the conductive type, a capacitor dielectric layer, a conductive layer. The source metal layer and the gate metal layer are disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The transistor device is disposed in the semiconductor substrate under the source metal layer. The heavily doped region, the capacitor dielectric layer and the conductive layer constitute a capacitor structure, disposed under the gate metal layer, and the capacitor structure is electrically connected between a source and a drain of the transistor device.
US08258546B2	High-k metal gate device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate and a transistor formed in the substrate, the transistor having a gate stack that has an interfacial layer formed on the substrate, a high-k dielectric layer formed over the interfacial layer, a metal layer formed over the high-dielectric layer, a capping layer formed between the interfacial layer and high-k dielectric layer; and a doped layer formed on the metal layer, the doped layer including at least F.
US08258545B1	Integrated circuit including a bipolar transistor and methods of making the same An integrated circuit includes a bipolar transistor disposed over a substrate. The bipolar transistor includes a base electrode disposed around at least one germanium-containing layer. An emitter electrode is disposed over the at least one germanium-containing layer. At least one isolation structure is disposed between the emitter electrode and the at least one germanium-containing layer. A top surface of the at least one isolation structure is disposed between and electrically isolating a top surface of the emitter electrode from a top surface of the at least one germanium-containing layer.
US08258538B2	Light emitting device package A light emitting device package is provided. The light emitting device package may include a package body having a cavity formed therein, a lead frame, and a light emitting device positioned in the cavity and electrically connected to the lead frame. The lead frame may penetrate the package body such that one end of the lead frame is positioned in the cavity and the other end of the lead frame is exposed to an outside of the package body. The lead frame may be partially coated with a thin metal layer.
US08258537B2	Efficient light emitting semiconductor device Provided is a technique of effectively extracting the beams of light excited in an LED light emitter other than the light beams emitted from a light-emitting region in the direction of a light-extraction surface. A pit with a tapered sidewall is formed in a substrate. A thin-film semiconductor element is attached to the pit. Light beams emitted from a side surface of the thin-film semiconductor element are reflected by the sidewall of the thin-film semiconductor element. Achieved thereby is effective extraction of light beams other than the light beams emitted from the light-emitting region in the direction of the light-extraction surface.
US08258532B2	Collimating light emitting apparatus and method Proposed is a light emitting apparatus (1) comprising a light source (5) for emitting light and a collimator (40) for arranging the light emitted in an application specific distribution. The light source comprises (i) a semiconductor device (10) capable of emitting light, (ii) a body (20) having a bottom surface (21) adjacent to the semiconductor device (10) and an opposing top surface (22), and (iii) a reflector (30) positioned adjacent the top surface (22). The light emitting apparatus (1) is characterised in that the reflector (30) has a surface larger than the bottom surface (21) of the body (20). This is especially advantageous for creating a given light beam collimation with a smaller collimator or alternatively for creating a collimator producing a significantly narrower light beam.
US08258529B2	Light-emitting element and method of making the same A light-emitting element includes a semiconductor substrate, a light emitting portion including an active layer sandwiched between a first cladding layer of a first conductivity type and a second cladding layer of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, a reflective portion provided between the semiconductor substrate and the light emitting portion for reflecting light emitted from the active layer, and a current spreading layer provided on the light emitting portion opposite to the reflective portion and including a concavo-convex portion on a surface thereof. The reflective portion includes a plurality of pair layers each including a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer different from the first semiconductor layer, and the first semiconductor layer has a thickness TA1 defined by formulas (1) and (3), and the second semiconductor layer has a thickness TB1 defined by formulas (2) and (4).
US08258526B2	Light emitting diode package including a lead frame with a cavity The present invention provides a light emitting diode package which includes a lead frame with a cavity; a mold exposing the cavity and housing the lead frame; and an LED chip mounted on the cavity, wherein light passing an upper edge of the LED chip passes an upper edge of the cavity.
US08258518B2	Flash memory device having a graded composition, high dielectric constant gate insulator A graded composition, high dielectric constant gate insulator is formed between a substrate and floating gate in a flash memory cell transistor. The gate insulator comprises amorphous germanium or a graded composition of germanium carbide and silicon carbide. If the composition of the gate insulator is closer to silicon carbide near the substrate, the electron barrier for hot electron injection will be lower. If the gate insulator is closer to the silicon carbide near the floating gate, the tunnel barrier can be lower at the floating gate.
US08258516B2	Thin-film transistor substrate, method of manufacturing the same and display panel having the same A thin-film transistor (TFT) substrate includes a gate electrode, a gate insulation pattern, a channel pattern, a first organic insulation pattern, a source electrode and a drain electrode. The gate electrode is formed on a base substrate. The gate insulation pattern is formed on the gate electrode and is smaller than the gate electrode. The channel pattern is formed on the gate insulation pattern and the channel pattern is smaller than the gate electrode. The first organic insulation pattern is formed on the base substrate to cover the channel pattern, the gate insulation pattern and the gate electrode.
US08258513B2	Thin film transistor matrix device including first and second connection lines A thin film transistor matrix device including an insulating substrate and a plurality of lines arranged on the substrate. The lines are defined as odd-number-th lines alternating with even-number-th lines. A first connection line extends in a direction transverse to the plurality of lines. The first connection line and the odd-number-th lines are configured and arranged to be electrically connected to each other. A second connection line extends in a direction transverse to the plurality of lines. The second connection line and the even-number-th lines are configured and arranged to be electrically connected to each other. The first connection line and the second connection line are both formed on the same side of an image display region, when considered in plan view.
US08258512B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof An object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device manufactured in short time by performing the step of forming the thin film transistor and the step of forming the photoelectric conversion layer in parallel, and to provide a manufacturing process thereof. According to the present invention, a semiconductor device is manufactured in such a way that a thin film transistor is formed over a first substrate, a photoelectric conversion element is formed over a second substrate, and the thin film transistor and the photoelectric conversion element are connected electrically by sandwiching a conductive layer between the first and second substrates opposed to each other so that the thin film transistor and the photoelectric conversion element are located between the first and second substrates. Thus, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device which suppresses the increase in the number of steps and which increases the throughput can be provided.
US08258510B2	Thin film transistor, display device including the same, and method of manufacturing the display device A display device including the thin film transistor, and a method of manufacturing the display device are provided. The thin film transistor comprising a first gate electrode, a second gate electrode formed on the first gate electrode, a first semiconductor formed on the first gate electrode and including a polycrystalline semiconductor, a second semiconductor formed on the second gate electrode and including an amorphous semiconductor.
US08258508B2	Anode structure for use in organic EL device, production method thereof and organic EL device The present invention relates to an anode structure for use in a top-emission type organic EL device which comprises a laminated structure comprising an anode layer made of at least one selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum alloys, silver and silver alloys; and a buffer layer directly provided on the anode layer and made of an electrically conductive amorphous carbon having a hydrogen concentration of 15 at. % or less. According to the present invention, there is provided an anode structure which is superior in alkali resistance and can lengthen lifetime of an organic EL device as well as can ensure a high work function suitable for an anode for a high-luminance, high-power-efficient organic EL device.
US08258504B2	Organic field-effect transistor and method of fabricating this transistor This organic field effect transistor comprises a semiconductor layer made of an organic semiconductor material. The mobility μsup of the charge carriers in the first portion of the semiconductor layer is X times greater than the mobility μinf of the charge carriers in the second portion of the semiconductor layer, with the first portion corresponding to 10% of the volume of the semiconductor layer closest to the gate electrode and the second portion corresponding to 10% of the volume of the semiconductor layer closest to the drain and source electrodes.
US08258503B2	Charge generation layer doped with dihalogen ether The presently disclosed embodiments relate generally to layers that are useful in imaging apparatus members and components, for use in electrostatographic, including digital, apparatuses. More particularly, the embodiments pertain to an improved electrostatographic imaging member incorporating dihalogen ether into the charge generating layer which results in increased photosensitivity of the photogenerating pigment.
US08258498B2	Quantum well MOSFET channels having uni-axial strain caused by metal source/drains, and conformal regrowth source/drains Embodiments described include straining transistor quantum well (QW) channel regions with metal source/drains, and conformal regrowth source/drains to impart a uni-axial strain in a MOS channel region. Removed portions of a channel layer may be filled with a junction material having a lattice spacing different than that of the channel material to causes a uni-axial strain in the channel, in addition to a bi-axial strain caused in the channel layer by a top barrier layer and a bottom buffer layer of the quantum well.
US08258494B2	Nonvolatile memory device and method for manufacturing same A nonvolatile memory device, includes: a lower side electrode aligned in a first direction; an upper side electrode positioned above the lower side electrode and aligned in a second direction intersecting the first direction; and a memory unit provided between the lower side electrode and the upper side electrode. At least one selected from the lower side electrode and the upper side electrode includes a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode having a forward-tapered side wall, the second electrode having a reverse-tapered side wall and being adjacent to the first electrode via an insulating layer in substantially identical plane.
US08258492B2	Differential evacuation system [Technical Problem] To provide a differential evacuation system capable of easily maintaining, at a low cost, a large differential pressure between a light generation chamber and an illumination optical chamber in which optical processing, e.g. exposure, is performed by using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generated in the light generation chamber, and yet capable of sufficiently ensuring a desired optical path.[Solution to Problem] The differential evacuation system has a light generation chamber 10 that generates EUV light, an illumination optical chamber 100 in which optical processing is performed by using the EUV light generated in the light generation chamber 10, and a chamber connecting passage 150 that connects together the light generation chamber 10 and the illumination optical chamber 100 to guide the EUV light generated in the light generation chamber 10 into the illumination optical chamber 100. The chamber connecting passage 150 has a flow path constricting portion 151 and is increased in inner diameter in a conical tube shape at portions thereof that are at opposite sides, respectively, of the flow path constricting portion 151. An enlarged-diameter part 160 is provided at a position of the chamber connecting passage 150 that is closer to the light generation chamber 10, which is the higher in pressure of the two chambers 10 and 100, than the flow path constricting portion 151, and vacuum pumps 170 are attached to the enlarged-diameter part 160.
US08258491B2	Pattern writing system and parameters monitoring method for pattern writing apparatus A pattern writing system includes a plurality of control units configured to use different communication standards; a pattern writing unit configured to be controlled by the plurality of control units and write a pattern on a target object by using a charged particle beam; a storage unit configured to receive parameter information from an external slave computer and stores the parameter information; a first interface information circuit group configured to output a received parameter information to at least one of the plurality of control units in conformity with a communication standard on the at least one of plurality of control units; a main computer; and a second interface circuit group configured to receive a request from the main computer, input parameter information been setting in the plurality of control units without passing through the storage unit, convert communication standards of the parameter information input into a communication standard used by the main computer, and output the parameter information whose each communication standard is converted to the main computer.
US08258489B2	Transmission energy contamination detector An energy contamination detection apparatus includes a membrane and a charge collection plate disposed at a distance from the membrane. The membrane is configured to receive an ion beam and allow a portion of the ion beam having energy levels above a desired energy level to pass therethrough toward the charge collection plate and absorb or reflect portions of the ion beam having energy levels at or below the desired energy level. A voltage source is electrically coupled to the charge collection plate for providing a bias voltage to the charge collection plate. A detection circuit is coupled to the charge collection plate and is configured to detect energy contamination based on an amount of charge collected on the charge collection plate.
US08258485B2	Source-collector module with GIC mirror and xenon liquid EUV LPP target system A source-collector module (SOCOMO) for generating a laser-produced plasma (LPP) that emits EUV radiation, and a grazing-incidence collector (GIC) mirror arranged relative to the LPP and having an input end and an output end. The LPP is formed using an LPP target system having a light source portion and a target portion, wherein a pulsed laser beam from the light source portion irradiates Xenon liquid in the target portion. The GIC mirror is arranged relative to the LPP to receive the EUV radiation at its input end and focus the received EUV radiation at an intermediate focus adjacent the output end. A radiation collection enhancement device having at least one funnel element may be used to increase the amount of EUV radiation provided to the intermediate focus and/or directed to a downstream illuminator. An EUV lithography system that utilizes the SOCOMO is also disclosed.
US08258484B2	Beamlet blanker arrangement The invention relates to a charged particle multi-beamlet lithography system for exposing a target using a plurality of beamlets. The system has a beam generator, a beamlet blanker, and a beamlet projector. The beam generator is configured to generate a plurality of charged particle beamlets. The beamlet blanker is configured to pattern the beamlets. The beamlet projector is configured to project the patterned beamlets onto the target surface. The system further has a deflection device. The deflection device has a plurality of memory cells. Each memory cell is provided with a storage element and is connected to a switching electrode of a deflector.
US08258483B1	High spatial resolution particle detectors Disclosed below are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for detecting particles, such as radiation or charged particles. One exemplary embodiment disclosed herein is particle detector comprising an optical fiber with a first end and second end opposite the first end. The optical fiber of this embodiment further comprises a doped region at the first end and a non-doped region adjacent to the doped region. The doped region of the optical fiber is configured to scintillate upon interaction with a target particle, thereby generating one or more photons that propagate through the optical fiber and to the second end. Embodiments of the disclosed technology can be used in a variety of applications, including associated particle imaging and cold neutron scattering.
US08258481B2	System and method for selectively enabling or disabling an optical device A system for selectively enabling or disabling an optical device. In an illustrative embodiment, the system implements an optical-device theft-prevention system. The theft-prevention system includes a material that is selectively positioned on, in, or relative to the optical device so that the transparency of the material affects a desired operation of the optical device. An energy beam is selectively employed to enable or disable the optical device by affecting the transparency of the material. In a specific embodiment, the fist material includes a dye, such as an energy-sensitive dye. The optical device includes an optical disc, such as Compact Disc (CD) or Digital Video Disc (DVD). The energy-sensitive dye is disposed over an entire readable surface of the optical device.
US08258478B2	Lookdown zone mask for intrusion detector An apparatus for enabling and disabling a lookdown zone mask in an intrusion detector unit. The unit may include a passive infrared motion detector, a lens assembly, and a mask or cover which selectively enables and disables a lookdown zone associated with the detector. The lens assembly provides a lens proximate the detector. The lens provides the lookdown zone. When the mask substantially covers the lens, the lookdown zone is disabled because the path of radiant energy to the detector is blocked and prevents the detector from detecting any motion in the lookdown zone. When the mask does not cover the lens, the lookdown zone is enabled because the lens permits the path of radiant energy to the detector through the lens and allows the detector to detect any motion in the lookdown zone.
US08258473B2	Method and apparatus for rapid preparation of multiple specimens for transmission electron microscopy A method and apparatus for in-situ lift-out rapid preparation of TEM samples. The invention uses adhesives and/or spring-loaded locking-clips in order to place multiple TEM-ready sample membranes on a single TEM support grid and eliminates the use of standard FIB-assisted metal deposition as a bonding scheme. Therefore, the invention circumvents the problem of sputtering from metal deposition steps and also increases overall productivity by allowing for multiple samples to be produced without opening the FIB/SEM vacuum chamber.
US08258472B2	Charged particle radiation device and image capturing condition determining method using charged particle radiation device A charged particle radiation device wherein the position or the size of a FOV can be easily determined even if a number of measuring points are provided on a sample, and an image capturing condition determining method using the charged particle radiation device are provided. An image capturing condition determining method wherein the field of view of a charged particle radiation device is determined so as to include a plurality of measuring points, characterized in that whether or not the measuring points are overlapped with four sides of the field of view is judged; the field of view is moved so that the measuring points are moved to the inside or outside of the field of view; and the position of the field of view after being moved is determined as a position of the field of view of the charged particle radiation device, and a device to realize the method are proposed. Further, a method for judging whether or not the measuring points are overlapped with the four sides, and changing the size of the field of view so as not to overlap the measuring points with each side, and a device therefor are proposed.
US08258471B2	Pattern measuring apparatus and pattern measuring method A pattern measurement apparatus and a pattern measurement method are capable of easily distinguishing a line pattern and a space pattern from one another, without being affected by the luminance of the pattern. The pattern measurement apparatus includes: irradiation unit for irradiating a sample with an electron beam; first electron detector and second electron detector arranged with an optical axis of the electron beam in between; image processor for generating image data of the pattern; line profile generator for generating a line profile of the pattern; and controller for causing the image processor to generate the image data of the pattern on the basis of an amount of electrons corresponding to the difference between a signal detected by the first electron detector and a signal detected by the second electron detector.
US08258470B2	Radio frequency lens for introducing ions into a quadrupole mass analyzer An improved ion optical lens designed to increase the amount of ion current delivered into a multi-pole ion detector or transfer device, such as quadrupole mass analyzer, an ion guide, collision cell, etc. A device and method is disclosed that utilizes a tubular entrance lens to introduce ions into or sample ions at a field-free or near field-free region disposed at the junction of two sets of multi-pole assemblies operating with radio frequency potentials shifted 180 degrees out of phase with respect to each other. The method is useful for increasing the transport of ions into as they enter into or exit out of a multi-pole mass analyzer, such as a quadrupole mass analyzer, an ion guide, collision cell, etc.
US08258464B2	Mass spectrometer and methods for detecting large biomolecules A mass spectrometer and methods for obtaining the mass spectrum of a single macromolecular or biomolecular ion in a mass spectrometer. The methods include creating single macromolecular or biomolecular primary ions in an ion trap by ionization of a macromolecule or biomolecule; ejecting half of the primary ions for detection with a first charge detector; ejecting half of the primary ions to impact upon a conversion dynode, thereby creating secondary ions for detection with charge amplification detector such as a channeltron or an electromultiplier or an MCP.
US08258461B2	Apparatus of generating an optical tweezers with momentum and method thereof and photo-image for guiding particles An apparatus of generating an optical tweezers with momentum and method thereof and an optical tweezers photo-image for guiding particles are provided. The apparatus generates at least one optical tweezers on an examined object that carries at least one particle. The apparatus includes a laser source, a diffractive optical element and a convergent lens. The laser beam from the laser source passes through the diffractive optical element to produce a diffractive pattern. The laser beam is then received by the convergent lens and then to be focused on a plane of the examined object. The optic axis of the convergent lens is substantially not perpendicular to the plane of the examined object, so that the laser beam is projected onto the plane of the examined object in a skewed manner for providing a lateral momentum to move the particle.
US08258453B2	Long range proximity and/or motion detector with ambient light detection capabilities Provided herein are optical sensor systems that can be used for ambient light detection, proximity detection and motion detection, as well as to larger systems that include such an optical sensor system, and to related methods. In an embodiment, the optical sensor system includes a front end, an ambient light channel, a proximity channel and a motion channel. In an embodiment, offset and gain of the proximity channel is adjusted based on motion detected by the motion channel.
US08258452B2	Light receiving circuit Provided is a light receiving circuit including: a photodiode; a first amplifier including a feedback resistor connected between an input and an output of an inverting amplifier and having an input connected to a cathode of the photodiode; a second amplifier having a configuration similar to that of the first amplifier and having an input connected to an anode of the photodiode; a capacitor element connected between an output of the first amplifier and the input of the second amplifier; and a bias current control circuit that outputs a bias current to the input of the second amplifier according to a current value of the photocurrent, and controls an output voltage signal of the light receiving circuit according to an output of the second amplifier by using the bias current to adjust the sensitivity. The bias current control circuit changes the sensitivity according to the output of the second amplifier.
US08258449B1	Narrowband solar calibration system for a radiometric system A system for calibrating a broadband detector includes a first narrowband telescope for viewing a celestial body, and an earth viewing telescope. The broadband detector is selectively coupled to the first narrowband telescope or the earth viewing telescope. A first narrowband filter is selectively inserted in an optical path of the first narrowband telescope, or the earth viewing telescope. A processor is configured to calibrate the broadband detector based on viewing the celestial body with the first narrowband telescope or the earth viewing telescope, and selectively inserting the first narrowband filter in the optical path. The first narrowband telescope includes a first narrowband filter inside its optical train. The first narrowband filter, which is selectively inserted in the optical path, is spectrally similar to the first narrowband filter inside the optical train of the first narrowband telescope. In addition, a second narrowband telescope, which receives a different wavelength from the first narrowband telescope includes a second narrowband filter inside its optical train. In addition, a second narrowband filter, which is selectively inserted in the optical path of the second narrowband telescope, is spectrally similar to the second narrowband filter inside the optical train of the second narrowband telescope. By using the first and second narrowband telescopes and the first and second narrowband filters, the broadband detector may be calibrated at two different wavelengths.
US08258447B2	Methods and apparatus for a frangible seal for deployable flight structures A frangible seal includes a first region penetratable by a deployable structure configured to selectably extend through an opening in a housing and extend beyond an outer surface of the housing, and a second region configured to adhere to a portion of the outer surface of the housing surrounding the opening. The first region and the second region includes a polymer layer having a metalized surface (e.g., aluminized polyimide) and a non-metalized surface, and an ablative coating provided on the metalized surface of the polymer layer.
US08258445B2	Induction dryer In an induction heater, preheated, pressurized air is further heated in the heating cabinet and also drawn into the coil tube via a suction fan. The simultaneous pulling and pushing of the twice-heated air through the tube provides superior air flow to pick up more moisture from the can ends being dried. The tube ends rest on upwardly concave collars and are held in place by gravity, with a single screw acting as a stop above to prevent upward movement. Removal requires only removing the single screw at each end then lifting the tube straight up out of the cabinet, which is facilitated by providing a hinged cover on the cabinet.
US08258443B2	Heating unit for warming pallets A heating unit for use in heating buckets or barrels. The heating unit includes a first pliable cover layer and a second pliable cover layer. A pliable electrical heating element is disposed between the first and the second cover layers and configured to convert electrical energy to heat energy and to distribute the heat energy. The pliable electrical heating element includes a heat generating element for converting electrical current to heat energy and a heat spreading element comprising carbon thermally coupled to the heat generating element. The heating unit further includes a thermal insulation layer. The heating unit includes a receiving power connector electrically connected to the heat generating element. The heating unit further includes one or more fasteners allowing the heating unit to be wrapped around a bucket or barrel and secured by the one or more fasteners.
US08258442B2	Apparatus and method for detecting condition of heating element A control for an electric water heater detects a condition of a heating element when the heating element is not being energized. A switching module is operable to interrupt power to the heating element, which de-energizes the heating element. A detector module detects the condition of the heating element when the heating element is de-energized. The detector module senses current flowing through the heating element and generates a detection signal that is indicative of the current.
US08258438B2	Condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system The condensation-free and bacteria-free pan system provides hygienic cover for a food preparation area. The system includes at least one pan having a top cover sheet, a heating element, a layer of thermal insulation and a bottom pan sheet. The top cover sheet is formed from a corrosion resistant material and is adapted for catching contaminants falling from overhead. The layer of thermal insulation is sandwiched between the top cover sheet and the heating element, and the bottom pan sheet is formed from a thermally conductive, corrosion resistant material, the bottom pan sheet having a lower wall and at least one sidewall. The top cover sheet, the layer of thermal insulation and the heating element are disposed above the bottom pan sheet to form a multilayer pan.
US08258434B2	Heating apparatus for heat retaining hair clips Apparatus for heating hair clips having a heatable member comprises a base, a heating structure, and means for providing electricity to the heating structure. The heating structure can comprise an elongated electrical heater having opposed sides, a plurality of thermally conductive heating elements in pairs on each side of the electrical heater, and a thermal insulator between the heating elements separating the heating elements from each other.
US08258431B2	Cardiac lead coil stripping An implantable lead may have a distal assembly including a coupler, a terminal pin and a conductive member rotatably secured to both the coupler and the terminal pin. The conductive member may include a coating that is at least partially removed before securing the conductive member to the coupler and the terminal pin. The coating may be removed in a process combining, in sequence, an IR laser and a UV laser.
US08258425B2	Laser head for irradiation and removal of material from a surface of a structure A laser head for irradiating an interaction region of a structure with laser light to remove material from the structure. The laser head includes a housing, an anchoring mechanism, and a connector coupled to the housing and optically coupled to a laser generator. The anchoring mechanism is reversably coupled to the housing and releasably affixed to the structure by vacuum pressure. The anchoring mechanism releasably holds the laser head at a selected position in relation to the structure. The connector transmits laser light from the laser generator. The laser head further includes a plurality of optical elements contained in the housing. The laser head further includes a containment plenum coupled to the housing. The containment plenum is optically coupled to the plurality of optical elements to receive the laser light. The containment plenum confines the material and removes the material from the interaction region resulting from irradiating the structure with the laser light.
US08258424B2	Plasma torch with electrode wear detection system A plasma arc torch is provided that includes a wear stop designed to detect wear of an electrode and prevent the use of the electrode once the electrode has experienced a certain amount of wear. Either the electrode or the nozzle is movable with respect to the main torch body, and the movable component defines a projection. The wear stop is positioned a predetermined distance from a nozzle of the torch, such that prior to experiencing an excessive amount of wear, the electrode is able to contact the nozzle and initiate a pilot arc for starting a torch operation. Once the length of the electrode becomes shorter than a predetermined length due to wear, the projection of the electrode engages the wear stop, and the wear stop prevents the electrode from contacting the nozzle. In this way, an electrode that is excessively worn cannot be used in subsequent torch operations.
US08258423B2	Retract start plasma torch with reversible coolant flow An improved plasma torch and method of starting the torch are provided. The torch may comprise a main torch body with an electrode assembly coupled to a piston therein. The piston and electrode assembly are moveable between a starting position whereby the electrode assembly contacts a nozzle, and an operating position whereby the electrode assembly does not contact the nozzle. The piston is moveable by directing fluid, which may comprise coolant, through the plasma torch either in a first direction which biases the piston to the starting position, or in an opposite second direction which biases the piston so as to retract the electrode assembly to the operating position. A reversing valve or reversible pump may be used to control the direction of the flow of the fluid. Thereby, the coolant supply may be used to both cool the torch and control the starting and operation of the torch.
US08258420B2	Wire electrical discharge machining apparatus A wire electrical discharge machining apparatus includes a unit capable of separately opening and closing each of a high impedance path and a low impedance path, a unit that sets an open/close pattern in which a combination of closing one of the feeding paths and opening another one of the feeding paths is designated for switching power feeding between the high impedance path and the low impedance path, a unit that changes pulse energy per feeding pulse in a present feeding path to reduce a difference in discharge pulse energy applied to an inter-electrode gap from a machining power supply between at a time of high-impedance-path feeding and at a time of low-impedance-path feeding, and a unit that controls opening and closing of the path open/close unit in accordance with the changed open/close pattern.
US08258418B2	Keyboard dome overlay structure A dome overlay structure for a mobile device keyboard includes a plurality of dome switches, a circuit board disposed beneath the plurality of dome switches with each dome switch electrically coupled to the circuit board, a main overlay disposed over the plurality of dome switches, and a first adhesive dab centrally interposed between the dome switch and the main overlay with a second adhesive dab surrounding the first adhesive dab. Each dome switch has a central portion and a non-central portion. The first adhesive dab can bond the central portion of the dome switch to the main overlay. The second adhesive dab is configured to form a gap between the second adhesive dab and the non-central portion of the dome switch in an unactuated configuration and configured to contact the non-central portion of the dome switch in an actuated configuration.
US08258416B2	Electrical switch and flashlight An electrical switch and a flashlight employing the switch may comprise a base having electrical conductors thereon and an electrically conductive flexible dome. The flexible dome has plural longer legs extending from its dome and in electrical contact with a first conductor, has a shorter leg extending from its dome and overlying a second conductor, and has its dome overlying a third conductor. A pushbutton may be moved to apply actuation force to cause the shorter leg to contact the second conductor and the dome to contact the third conductor.
US08258415B2	Method of monitoring the free mobility of a force-measuring device and force-measuring module for applying method A method, and a device that is operable according to the method, for monitoring the condition of a force-measuring device, particularly a weighing device having a movable force-transmitting portion through which a force that is acting on the force-measuring device is transmitted to a measurement transducer that generates a measurement signal corresponding to the applied force, whereupon the signal is brought into the form of a display indication or passed along for further processing. In the method and device of the invention, at least one parameter is determined, which parameter characterizes the free mobility of the force-transmitting portion, or a change in the free mobility of the force-transmitting portion over time. The parameter is then compared to at least one threshold value, and based on the result of the comparison an action of the force-measuring device may be triggered.
US08258413B2	Vehicle seat load detection device having interspace to receive projecting portion scraped off from press-fitted shaft member A load detection device for a vehicle seat mounted between a floor side mounting mechanism and a seat side mounting mechanism and measuring a load applied by an occupant seated on the vehicle seat, includes a shaft member adapted to be fixed to one of the floor side mounting mechanism and the seat side mounting mechanism, a strain generating member fixed to the shaft member and including a hole into which the shaft member is press-fitted, a strain gauge attached to the strain generating member, the shaft member of which surface hardness is specified to be lower than a surface hardness of the hole and including a scraping projecting portion scraped off by means of the hole in a case where the shaft member is press-fitted to the hole, and an inter space formed between the strain generating member and the shaft member and positioned next to the scraping projecting portion.
US08258411B2	Printed circuit board with improved via design A circuit board includes an electrically conductive sheet having an insulative coating surrounding the conductive sheet, with a surface of the insulative coating around an edge of the conductive sheet having an arcuate or rounded shape. At least one electrical conductor is conformally deposited on at least the rounded insulative coating around the edge of the conductive sheet and defined via photolithographic and metallization techniques. Each electrical conductor on the insulative coating thereon around the edge of the conductive sheet conforms to the arcuate or rounded shape of the insulative coating and, therefore, has an arcuate or rounded shape.
US08258410B2	Construction of reliable stacked via in electronic substrates—vertical stiffness control method A stacked via structure for reducing vertical stiffness includes: a plurality of stacked vias, each via disposed on a disc-like structure. The disc-like structure includes a platted through hole landing supporting the plurality of stacked vias. The platted through hole landing includes a compliant center zone; and spring-like stiffness-reducing connectors for connecting the compliant center zone of the platted through hole landing.
US08258403B2	Insulation coating for electric wires and electric insulated wire using same An insulation coating for electric wires has a resin coating made from polyimide resin or polyamide-imide resin as a constituent resin, the insulation coating being formed by dispersing phenyl trialkoxysilane and pure water in the resin coating. The phenyl trialkoxysilane is included 3 to 100 parts by weight for the constituent resin of 100 parts by weight in the resin coating.
US08258401B1	Zero profile while in-use electrical outlet cover An electrical outlet cover assembly with an electrical outlet mounting box having a front edge that does not extend beyond a front surface of a wall. An extendable base is coupled with the electrical outlet mounting box and is slideable between collapsed and extended positions. When collapsed, a leading edge of the extendable base does not extend beyond the front surface of the wall. One or more guides resist decoupling of the extendable base and the electrical outlet mounting box. A lid is pivotably coupled with the extendable base, and one of the lid and the extendable base has a cord port along their respective edges. The lid has a front surface and is positionable between open and closed positions. The lid's front surface is substantially flush with the front surface of the wall when the base is collapsed and the lid is closed with respect to the extendable cover.
US08258400B2	Storage case A storage case (300) includes a case body (320) formed by joining a plurality of members (301, 302) with a joint structure (303a, 303b, 304), an opening (16) formed in the case body (320), a closure member (14) capable of closing the opening (16), a seal structure (17) provided between the case body (320) and the closure member (14), and a foreign-matter guide portion (10) provided on an outer surface of the case body (320), aside from the joint structure (303a, 303b, 304), such that the foreign-matter guide portion is located above the seal structure in the vertical direction of the storage case.
US08258399B2	Thermally tuned coaxial cable for microwave antennas A coaxial cable, including an inner conductor and an outer conductor surrounding the inner conductor and a thermally responsive material positioned between the outer conductor and the inner conductor. The outer conductor is in a generally concentric relationship to the inner conductor and the inner and outer conductors are adapted to connect to an energy source. A thermal change in the thermally responsive material alters the generally concentric relationship between the outer conductor and the inner conductor.
US08258392B2	Stroke sensing device for percussion instruments A percussion instrument striking detection device is configured to minimize time lag from striking the head until detection of head vibrations and for reliable detection of the vibrations in conformance with the striking force without regard to the head condition. A striking member has a vibration sensor. Therefore, the distance from the striking location on the head to the vibration sensor can be short, to minimize time lag. In addition, the effect of the tension or the material of the head on the vibrations detected by the vibration sensor can be minimized and vibrations in conformance with the striking force can be reliably detected.
US08258391B2	Music transcription Methods, systems, and devices are described for automatically converting audio input signal data into musical score representation data. Embodiments of the invention identify a change in frequency information from the audio signal that exceeds a first threshold value; identify a change in amplitude information from the audio signal that exceeds a second threshold value; and generate a note onset event, each note onset event representing a time location in the audio signal of at least one of an identified change in the frequency information that exceeds the first threshold value or an identified change in the amplitude information that exceeds the second threshold value. The generation of note onset events and other information from the audio input signal may be used to extract note pitch, note value, tempo, meter, key, instrumentation, and other score representation information.
US08258388B2	Ocarina kit A kit or puzzle for making an ocarina is provided having six planar pieces representing the top, bottom, front and two sides of a cuboid-shaped chamber, wherein the side pieces have arms that extend past the front of the chamber to support a planar mouthpiece having a windway directed at a labium positioned in the forward edge of the top piece forming the chamber. Finger holes in the top piece allow different notes to be played in the assembled ocarina.
US08258384B1	Maize variety hybrid X8H549 A novel maize variety designated X8H549 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing hybrid maize variety X8H549 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X8H549 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X8H549, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X8H549. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X8H549.
US08258383B1	Maize variety hybrid X08A156 A novel maize variety designated X08A156 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing hybrid maize variety X08A156 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X08A156 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X08A156, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X08A156. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X08A156.
US08258379B1	Inbred corn line NPCI6621 Basically, this invention provides for an inbred corn line designated NPCI6621, methods for producing a corn plant by crossing plants of the inbred line NPCI6621 with plants of another corn plant. The invention relates to the various parts of inbred NPCI6621 including culturable cells. This invention also relates to methods for introducing transgenic transgenes into inbred corn line NPCI6621 and plants produced by said methods.
US08258370B2	Polypeptides having endoglucanase activity and polynucleotides encoding same The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having endoglucanase activity and isolated polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides.
US08258368B2	Reusable diaper compositions A reusable and absorptive mat for the absorption, dispersion and retention of a liquid is disclosed. The absorptive mat comprises a plurality of non-woven layers, of carded and randomly laid viscose rayon fibres having a cross-section of substantially rigid multi-limbed configuration. The layers are stitchbonded in an as laid state, thereby substantially limiting entanglement and breaking of individual fibres. The stitchbonding is performed with a thread under limited tension so as to maintain uniformity of the absorptive mat. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a reusable and washable article for the absorption, dispersion and retention of a liquid comprising providing a plurality of viscose rayon fibres, carding the plurality of fibres, randomly laying the carded fibres into a continuous random web structure and stitchbonding the continuous random web structure in an as laid state.
US08258366B2	Disposable hygiene article A disposable hygiene article has an absorbing element component (12) which is used for storing body liquids and can also contain superabsorbent materials. The absorbing element component (12) is provided with a first area (18, 20), an absorbent material of which has a mass per unit area that increases towards the lateral edges in the transversal direction (16) of the hygiene article. The storage capacity of a section (44) which extends along 40 to 90 percent of the length of the absorbing element component (12) in the longitudinal direction (14) is substantially constant relative to the longitudinal direction (14).
US08258359B2	Alkylation of toluene to form styrene and ethylbenzene A process is disclosed for making styrene and/or ethylbenzene by reacting toluene with a C1 source over a catalyst in one or more reactors to form a product stream comprising styrene and/or ethylbenzene where the catalyst time on stream prior to regeneration is less than 1 hour.
US08258351B2	Method for producing hydrogenolysis product of polyhydric alcohol The present invention relates to a process for producing a hydrogenolysis product of a polyhydric alcohol in the presence of a catalyst in which a conversion rate of the polyhydric alcohol as well as a selectivity to the hydrogenolysis product, in particular, a selectivity of glycerol to propanediols, can be enhanced. The process for producing a hydrogenolysis product of a polyhydric alcohol according to the present invention includes the step of subjecting a polyhydric alcohol solution having a water content of less than 10% by mass to hydrogenolysis by a fixed-bed continuous liquid phase reaction method in the presence of a hydrogenolysis catalyst.
US08258350B2	Process for the manufacture of dichloropropanol Process for manufacturing dichloropropanol via reaction between glycerol and/or monochloropropanediol and a chlorinating agent in a reactor which is supplied with one or more liquid streams, in which the sum of the glycerol and monochloropropanediol contents in all the liquid streams introduced into the reactor is less than 50 wt % and in which all the liquid streams introduced into the reactor comprise at least one liquid recycling stream, the recycling stream forming at least 10 wt % of all the liquid streams introduced into the reactor.
US08258347B2	Cyclopropenones and the photochemical generation of cyclic alkynes therefrom Cyclic alkynes (e.g., cyclooctynes such as dibenzocyclooctynes) can be photochemically generated from cyclopropenones as disclosed herein. The cyclic alkynes can be reacted (e.g., in situ) with materials having alkyne-reactive groups (e.g., azide groups in a “click” reaction). In preferred embodiments, the generation and reaction of the cyclic alkyne can proceed in the absence of a catalyst (e.g., Cu(I)). These reactions can be useful, for example, for the selective labeling of living cells that are metabolically modified with azido-containing surface monosaccharides, or for light-directed surface patterning.
US08258345B2	Hydroxylation of β-dicarbonyls with zirconium catalysts The present invention pertains to a process for preparing a compound of Formula I that is achiral, racemic or enantiomerically enriched at the hydroxylation center indicated by * comprising contacting a compound of Formula II with an oxidant selected from oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, peracids or alkyl hydroperoxides in the presence of a zirconium complex, wherein R1, R2 and R3 are as defined in the disclosure. This invention also pertains to zirconium complexes useful in this procedure comprising zirconium and a ligand of Formula III or its enantiomer wherein J, R6 and n are as defined in the disclosure. This invention further pertains to a compound of Formula III or its enantiomer.
US08258343B1	Prevention of cellular senescence in mammals by natural peptide complexes Preventing skin aging by targeting multiple causes by a single bullet is of primal scientific and consumer interest. A treatment based on compositions of compound (I) for cellular senescence to control cellular degradation offers such a solution to multiple skin ailments including skin degradation from cancer, diabetes, radiation treatments, chemotherapy, and sun-burn; mitochondrial dysfunction, age spots, acne, loss of cellular antioxidants, collagen loss, loss of skin pliability, loss of skin suppleness, skin wrinkles including fine lines, oxidation, damage from radiation, damage from free radicals, damage from UV, dry skin, xerosis, ichthyosis, dandruff, brownish spots, keratoses, melasma, lentigines, liver spots, pigmented spots, dark circles under the eyes, skin pigmentation including darkened skin, blemishes, oily skin, warts, eczema, pruritic skin, psoriasis, inflammatory dermatoses, topical inflammation, disturbed keratinization, skin changes associated with aging, scalp dryness, skin depigmentation, intracellular dehydration, and combinations thereof;
US08258336B2	Process for preparing unsaturated carboxylic esters A process for preparing unsaturated carboxylic esters includes reaction of alkenes having 2 to 6 carbon atoms with alkanecarboxylic acids having 1 to 6 carbon atoms in the presence of an oxygenous gas and in the presence of a heterogeneous noble metal catalyst by means of a continuous homogeneous gas phase process in a reactor. A gaseous phase (cycle gas) is circulated, and the cycle gas is laden with alkanecarboxylic acid in an acid saturator before entry into the reactor. In a presaturator connected upstream of the acid saturator, the cycle gas is laden with a portion of the amount of alkanecarboxylic acid used for saturation, and then it is transferred to the acid saturator and laden there with the remaining amount of alkanecarboxylic acid.
US08258335B2	Process for preparing 2-dihaloacyl-3-aminoacrylic acid derivatives The present invention relates to a process for preparing hydrochloride-free 2-dihaloacyl-3-aminoacrylic esters by reacting acid fluorides with dialkylaminoacrylic acid derivatives.
US08258330B1	Carrier fluid composition comprising fatty acids ethyl esters and process for reducing the concentration of persistent organic pollutants in fish oil Carrier fluid compositions and their use in processes for reducing the concentration of persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzo-p-furans (PCDDF), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and pesticides, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, chlorinated toxaphenes and camphenes, in fish oil are disclosed. The process includes vacuum distillation of the fish oil in the presence of the carrier fluid compositions to provide a fish oil residue having a reduced concentration of persistent organic pollutants.
US08258327B2	Crystalline minocycline base and processes for its preparation The invention provides crystalline minocycline base. In particular, three crystalline polymorphic forms, designated Form I, Form II and Form III, of minocycline base are provided. These are characterized by XRD and IR data. Processes for preparing the new polymorphic forms are also provided. For example, Form I is prepared by dissolving and/or suspending amorphous minocycline base in an organic solvent chosen from ethers followed by crystallization from the mixture.
US08258324B2	Intermediates useful in the preparation of maleimide functionalized polymers Methods for forming maleimide functionalized polymers are provided. In one such embodiment, a maleimide functionalized polymer is prepared in a method that includes a step of carrying out a reverse Diels-Alder reaction. Intermediates useful in the methods, as well as methods for preparing the intermediates, are also provided. Also provided are polymeric reagents, methods of using polymeric reagents, compounds and conjugates.
US08258323B2	Process for preparing nebivolol The present invention relates to a process for preparing nebivolol and, more particularly, to a process for preparing d-nebivolol and its enantiomer l-nebivolol or acid addition salts thereof starting from commercially available or easily obtainable 2,2-dimethyl-1,3 dioxolane-4-carbaldehyde and a vinyl Grignard reagent.
US08258321B2	Beta-lactone compounds The present invention provides compounds having the general structure A, or a pharmaceutically acceptable derivatives thereof: wherein R is an alkyl group, and R1 comprises at least one moiety selected from a group consisting of an alkyl, an alkenyl, an aryl, a heterocycle, hydroxyl, ester, amido, aldehyde, and a halogen.
US08258318B2	Process for production of coumarin dimer compound There is provided a one-step process for producing a dihydroxy-substituted coumarin dimer compound by a photodimerization reaction of a hydroxy-substituted coumarin compound. The process comprises subjecting a hydroxy-substituted coumarin compound to a photodimerization reaction in a solvent selected from aliphatic ketones having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic carboxylic acid esters having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic alcohols having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, aliphatic nitriles having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, ethers having 4 to 10 carbon atoms, amides having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, and a mixture thereof to obtain a dihydroxy-substituted coumarin dimer compound.
US08258317B2	Catalyst for direct conversion of esters of lactic acid to lactide and the method for producing lactide using the same The present disclosure discloses a catalyst for directly producing a lactide which is a cyclic ester used as a monomer for polylactides, and a method for directly producing a lactide using the catalyst, the method including the transesterification reaction between two molecules of an ester of lactic acid or a mixture containing the ester of lactic acid with a small amount of lactic acid and oligomer of lactic acid under an inert environment in the presence of a titanium-based catalyst or a catalyst mixture containing the titanium-based catalyst so as to produce lactide while simultaneously removing an alcohol (ROH) generated as a by-product. As compared to a conventional commercialized process, since the method for producing a lactide in accordance with the present disclosure is a novel process capable of directly producing the lactide from the ester of lactic acid, energy consumption is low and the lactide can be produced through a simple process showing a high yield while maintaining optical property (D-form or L-form optical isomer).
US08258315B2	Process for forming amorphous atorvastatin A process for forming amorphous atorvastatin comprising the steps of dissolving atorvastatin in a non-hydroxylic solvent and removing the solvent by freeze-drying, as well as processes of dissolving atorvastatin in a hydroxylic solvent with a solubilizing agent or an alkalizing agent or an antioxidant and removing the solvent by freeze-drying to afford amorphous atorvastatin.
US08258313B2	Compound having hydantoin ring and method of producing the same A method of selectively producing the syn-isomer of a compound having a hydantoin ring, which is important as an optical material, an electronic material, an active ingredient and an intermediate of medicines and pesticides and an active ingredient and an intermediate of diagnostics, comprising converting a compound having a hydantoin ring (for example, (E,Z)-2-benzyloxy-5,7-diazaspiro[3,4]octan-6,8-dione represented by the following formula (1)) into a t-butyl ester derivative thereof (formula (2)), crystallizing the same to selectively give the syn-monoBoc isomer thereof and then leaving the t-butyloxycarbonyl group.
US08258312B2	Process for preparing pure valsartan An improved process for the preparation of substantially pure valsartan employing suitable reagents such as chelating agent and reaction conditions.
US08258310B2	Oxadiazole derivative, light-emitting element material, light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and electronic device An object is to provide a novel material having a bipolar property. Another object is to provide an oxadiazole derivative having a wide band gap. Another object is to reduce power consumption of a light-emitting element, a light-emitting device, and an electronic device. The present invention provides an oxadiazole derivative represented by General Formula (1). In the formula, Ar1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group having 6 to 10 carbon atoms in a ring, A represents a substituted or unsubstituted phenylene group, R11 to R15 and R21 to R25 are independently any of hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an aryl group having 6 to 10 carbon atoms in a ring, and a substituted or unsubstituted 9H-carbazol-9-yl group.
US08258309B2	Azapeptide derivatives This invention relates to novel compounds that are azapeptides, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to novel azapeptide compounds that are derivatives of the HIV protease inhibitor atazanavir sulfate. This invention also provides pyrogen-free compositions comprising one or more compounds of the invention and a carrier, and the use of the disclosed compounds and compositions in methods of treating diseases and conditions that are treated by administering HIV protease inhibitors. The invention also relates to the use of one or more of the disclosed compounds as reagents in analytical studies involving atazanavir.
US08258296B2	Crystalline antifungal compounds The present subject matter relates to novel crystalline forms of (1R,2R)-7-chloro-3-[2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propyl]quinazolin-4(3H)-one represented by Formula II: , pharmaceutical compositions containing these crystalline forms, methods of using these crystalline forms for treating and/or preventing various microbial and/or fungal infections or disorders, and processes for obtaining these crystalline forms. In particular, the present subject matter relates to the specific crystalline Forms I, II, III, IV V, and VI of (1R,2R)-7-chloro-3-[2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propyl]quinazolin-4(3H)-one.
US08258295B2	Triazine derivatives, compositions containing such derivatives, and methods of treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases using such derivatives We describe compounds of the following general formula (I): wherein X is fluorine or chlorine; Y is oxygen, sulfur, or an amino group; R is an amino, hydroxyl, sulfonamide, or carboxamide group or an N-monomethyl or N-dimethyl analog thereof; m is an integer from 2 to 6, and n is an integer from 0 to 2. The compounds may be used for treating certain cancers and autoimmune diseases.
US08258292B2	Methods of making dyes Chemically reactive carbocyanine dyes that are intramolecularly crosslinked between the 1-position and 3′-position, their bioconjugates and their uses are described. 1,3′-crosslinked carbocyanines are superior to those of conjugates of spectrally similar 1,1′-crosslinked or non-crosslinked dyes. The invention includes derivative compounds having one or more benzo nitrogens.
US08258288B2	RNA interference mediated inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) expression using short interfering nucleic acid (siNA) This invention relates to compounds, compositions, and methods useful for modulating sespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) gene expression using short interfering nucleic acid (siNA) molecules. This invention also relates to compounds, compositions, and methods useful for modulating the expression and activity of other genes involved in pathways of RSV gene expression and/or activity by RNA interference (RNAi) using small nucleic acid molecules. In particular, the instant invention features small nucleic acid molecules, such as short interfering nucleic acid (siNA), short interfering RNA (siRNA), double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), micro-RNA (miRNA), and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules and methods used to modulate the expression of RSV genes, including cocktails of such small nucleic acid molecules and lipid nanoparticle formulations of such small nucleic acid molecules cocktails thereof. The application also relates to methods of treating diseases and conditions associated with RSV gene expression, such as RSV infection, respiratory failure, bronchiolitis and pneumonia, as well as providing dosing regimens and treatment protocols.
US08258281B2	Sex-specific marker for shrimps and prawns The present invention relates to a sex-specific marker for shrimps and prawns. More specifically, it relates to a sex-specific PCR-based molecular marker, derived from Penaeus monodon, that can be used to determine the sex in shrimps and prawns and can be used for any and all requirements for the determination of genetic sex in shrimp and prawn including, but not limited to, sex determination of very young animals, determination of genetic sex on any animals and setting up monosex cultures.
US08258279B2	Isolated nucleic acids encoding soluble corticotropin releasing factor receptor type 2 (sCRFR2) polypeptides The present invention is directed to compositions and methods related to soluble G-protein coupled receptors (sGPCR). In certain aspects the invention includes compositions and methods related to a soluble corticotropin releasing factor receptor related protein, sCRFR2, as well as its effects on CRFR signaling and interaction between CRF family ligand and CRFR receptors, including but not limited to CRFR2, CRFR1 and functional or signaling capable variants thereof.
US08258276B2	Compounds and methods for labeling oligonucleotides A compound having the general formula shown below: where R1-6 are independently selected from the group consisting of an electron withdrawing group, an alkyl group, an aryl group, hydrogen, a heteroaryl group, and a five or six member ring structure formed from the R1 and R2 pair, the R3 and R4 pair, the R4 and R5 pair, or the R5 and R6 pair; R7 is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group; and Y is a nucleophile.
US08258273B1	Isolated genomic polynucleotide fragments from chromosome 10q25.3 that encode human soluble aminopeptidase P The invention is directed to an isolated genomic polynucleotide fragment that encodes human soluble (cytosolic) aminopeptidase P, vectors and hosts containing the fragment and fragments hybridizing to noncoding regions as well as antisense oligonucleotides to these fragments. The invention is further directed to methods of using these fragments to obtain human soluble aminopeptidase P and to diagnose, treat, prevent and/or ameliorate a pathological disorder.
US08258271B2	mTOR kinase-associated proteins The invention describes isolated mTOR-associated proteins (“mTOR-APs”) as well as isolated variants and fragments thereof and the isolated nucleic acids encoding them. The invention also describes vectors and host cells containing nucleic acid encoding an mTOR-AP polypeptide and methods for producing an mTOR-AP polypeptide. Also described are methods for screening for compounds which modulate mTOR-AP activity and methods for treating or preventing a disorder that is responsive to mTOR-AP modulation.
US08258268B2	Dual variable domain immunoglobulin and uses thereof The present invention relates to engineered multivalent and multispecific binding proteins, methods of making, and specifically to their uses in the prevention and/or treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory and other diseases.
US08258267B2	Human anti-IP-10 antibodies uses thereof The invention relates to fully human antibodies, and fragments thereof, that bind to interferon-inducible-protein-10 (IP-IO, CXCL1O), thereby modulating the interaction between IP-IO and its receptor, CXCR3, and/or modulating the biological activities of IP-IO. The invention also relates to the use of such anti-IP-10 antibodies in the prevention or treatment of immune-related disorders and in the amelioration of one or more symptoms associated with an immune-related disorder.
US08258266B2	IP-10 antibodies and their uses The present invention provides isolated monoclonal antibodies, particularly human antibodies, that bind to IP-10 with high affinity, inhibit the binding of IP-10 to its receptor, inhibit IP-10-induced calcium flux and inhibit IP-10-induced cell migration. Nucleic acid molecules encoding the antibodies of the invention, expression vectors, host cells and methods for expressing the antibodies of the invention are also provided. Immunoconjugates, bispecific molecules and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the antibodies of the invention are also provided. The invention also provides methods for inhibiting IP-10 activity using the antibodies of the invention, including methods for treating various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
US08258252B2	Sustained-release composition and process for producing the same Present invention is to provide a sustained-release composition which contains a physiologically active substance in high content even when gelatin is not included, and suppresses its initial excessive release and, thus, can achieve a stable release rate over about one month. A sustained-release composition containing a lactic acid-glycolic acid polymer having a ratio or weight average molecular weight and number average molecular weight of about 1.90 or lower, or a salt thereof, and a physiologically active substance.
US08258251B2	Highly porous ceramic oxide aerogels having improved flexibility Ceramic oxide aerogels having improved flexibility are disclosed. Preferred embodiments exhibit high modulus and other strength properties despite their improved flexibility. The gels may be polymer cross-linked via organic polymer chains to further improve strength properties, without substantially detracting from the improved flexibility. Methods of making such aerogels are also disclosed.
US08258249B2	Water-absorbing polymer structures based on renewable raw materials and process for their production by dehydration The present invention relates to superabsorbent polymer comprising acrylic acid made by the process comprising the steps of heating an aqueous glycerine solution to form glycerine; transporting the glycerine to the dehydration reactor; dehydrating the glycerine to an acrolein-comprising dehydration product; gas phase oxidating of the acrolein-comprising dehydration product to obtain an acrylic acid-comprising monomer gas; bringing into contact of the monomer gas with a quench agent to obtain an acrylic acid-comprising quench phase; working-up the quench phase to obtain an acrylic acid-comprising monomer phase; and polymerizing the acrylic acid-comprising monomer phase; wherein a plurality of gas bubbles is generated and wherein the dehydration occurs at least partially in the liquid phase. The superabsorbent polymer has certain properties for biodegradability and sustainability. Further, at least about 25% of the acrylic acid is based on glycerine. The superabsorbent polymer has a sustainability factor of at least about 80%.
US08258247B2	Catalyst component for polymerization of ethylene and process for producing ethylene polymer (2) The object is to provide a catalyst component for ethylene polymerization which can produce an ethylene polymer of high molecular weight which has substantially only an ethyl branch, and a process for producing the catalyst component for ethylene polymerization which can produce an ethylene polymer of high molecular weight which has substantially only an ethyl branch. A catalyst component for polymerization of ethylene obtained by contacting the following components (A), (B), (C) and (D): component (A): a meso-metallocene compound, component (B): a compound which ionizes a metallocene compound to form an ionic complex, component (C): an organoaluminum compound, and component (D): an electron donating compound, and a process for producing the ethylene polymer by polymerizing ethylene in the presence of the above catalyst component for ethylene polymerization.
US08258246B2	Preparation of supported chromium catalyst and polymerization process A process for the preparation of a chromium-type supported olefin polymerization catalyst. A fluidized bed of support particles in an inert carrier gas is established. A chromium (III) compound is added to the fluidized support particles to provide a supported catalyst component. The supported catalyst component is activated to convert at least a portion of the chromium (III) to Chromium (VI). The chromium (III) containing particles may be recovered from the fluidized bed and then activated or they may be activated in the fluidized bed. Also the support particles can be treated in the fluidized bed with other treatment agents. The support particles may be pretreated with a solution of a boron treating agent prior to incorporation of the support in the fluidized bed.
US08258243B2	Grafted silicone polymer and products made therewith The grafted silicone polymer comprises a polymerization product of (a) a mercapto-modified silicone polymer and (b) a radically polymerizable monomer component comprising (meth)acrylic acid and/or a (meth)acrylic acid alkyl ester selected so that the solubility parameter of a polymer obtained only from the radically polymerizable monomer component is at least 9.14 (cal/cm3)1/2, wherein the grafted silicone polymer has a elastic storage modulus of 1 105 Pa or greater at 37° C., 1 Hz and dissolves in decamethylcyclopentasiloxane by 1 weight percent or greater at 23° C.
US08258242B2	Compatibilizing agent for polymer alloy, polymer alloy, and master batch for preparation of polymer alloy Disclosed are: a compatibilizing agent for a polymer alloy, which can increase the compatibility with a variety of polymers; a polymer alloy using the compatibilizing agent; and master batch for a polymer alloy. Specifically disclosed is a compatibilizing agent which is used for the preparation of a polymer alloy by blending at least one polymer (A) selected from the group consisting of a polyphenylene sulfide, a polyphenylene ether and a polyamide with a polymer (B) of a different type from the polymer (A) at such a ratio that the amount of the polymer (A) blended is the same as or more than that of the polymer (B). The compatibilizing agent comprises a nanosheet-shaped layered titanic acid which is produced by intercalate an organic basic compound between the layers of a layered titanic acid.
US08258241B2	Method for producing modified conjugated diene polymer, modified conjugated diene polymer, and rubber composition A method for producing a modified conjugated diene polymer includes a modification step (A) that subjects a conjugated diene polymer having a cis-1,4-bond content of 98.5% or more and possessing an active end to a modification reaction to introduce an alkoxysilane compound having two or more reactive groups including an alkoxysilyl group into the active end of the conjugated diene polymer, and a condensation step (B) that subjects the residue of the alkoxysilane compound introduced into the active end to a condensation reaction in the presence of a condensation catalyst that includes at least one element among the elements of the groups 4A, 2B, 3B, 4B, and 5B in the periodic table. The method can produce a modified conjugated diene polymer that exhibits low heat build-up and excellent wear resistance.
US08258235B2	Biodegradable cationic polymers Polymers comprising a polyethylenimine, a biodegradable group, and a relatively hydrophobic group are useful for the delivery of bioactive agents to cells.
US08258226B2	Composition for manufacturing heat ray-shielding polyvinyl chloride film and manufacturing method of the same, and heat ray-shielding polyvinyl chloride film A composition for manufacturing a heat ray-shielding polyvinyl chloride film by the steps of obtaining a dispersion liquid by dispersing tungsten oxide nanoparticles expressed by a general formula WOx and/or the composite tungsten oxide nanoparticles expressed by a general formula MyWOz and having a hexaboride crystal structure, and a dispersant, into an organic solvent; obtaining a mixture by mixing a plasticizer for manufacturing a polyvinyl chloride, into this dispersion liquid; and obtaining a composition for manufacturing the heat ray-shielding polyvinyl chloride film by using a vacuum distillation method and removing the organic solvent from this mixture until a concentration of the solvent is 5 wt % or less.
US08258219B2	Coating composition for wiper blade and wiper blade manufactured therefrom Disclosed is a coating composition for a wiper blade, which includes a silicone-based wax, a silicone oil and a solid lubricant so that the silicon-based wax in a liquid phase dissolved in the silicone oil coexists with the solid lubricant for extended time periods. Also, a wiper blade is provided, which has a rib including a coating layer formed from the coating composition, so that upon operation of the wiper blade, components of the coating layer dissolve out of the surface of the coating layer and are then transferred onto a windshield due to friction between the wiper blade and the windshield, thereby forming on the surface of the windshield a water repellent film which is hard and has outstanding durability.
US08258218B2	Method of fabricating an electric insulator with a polymer housing containing antiozonants A method of fabricating a composite insulator with a protective housing made of a polymer material incorporating an antioxidant and an antiozonant includes the step consisting in incorporating said antiozonant at a final concentration by weight lying in the range 0.005% to 1%, and said antioxidant at a final concentration by weight lying in the range 0.005% to 1%, said antiozonant being selected from the family of phenylenediamines, and said antioxidant being selected from the family of multifunctional phenolic antioxidants.
US08258216B2	Thermosetting resin compositions and articles The present invention generally relates to a resin composition, a cured resin, a sheet-like cured resin, a laminated body, a prepreg, electronic parts, single and multilayer circuit boards comprising a cyanate ester polymer and condensed phosphate ester, for use in single and multilayer circuit boards that are especially useful in the high-frequency range of above 100 MHz.
US08258215B2	Mixed alkyl-alkylaryl-phenyl phosphite polymer additive A process to stabilize a polymer is described utilizing the step of adding a phosphite reaction product of a triphenyl phosphite or lower molecular weight trialkyl phosphite (e.g., trimethyl phosphite) or triaryl phosphite, with from approximately 1 to 2 moles of preferably a paracumyl phenol, and with from approximately 1 to 2 moles of at least C12-20 carbon alkyl or C12-20 alkenyl alcohol. In one embodiment of the invention, the phosphite reaction product is formula (I) wherein R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H and C1-2 alkyls; R2 is independently selected from the group defined previously for R1; x is an integral value ranging from 0 to 4 inclusive; y is an integral value ranging from 0 to 4 inclusive; n is an integral value ranging from 1 to 2; R3 is independently selected from the group consisting of C12-20 alkyl or C12-20 alkenyl; R4 is independently selected from the group consisting of C1-10, alkyl and C9-15 arylalkyl; R5 is independently selected from the group defined previously for R4.
US08258208B2	Multifunctional azo initiators for free radical polymerizations: methods of preparation The invention provides compositions of matter, methods of their synthesis, and methods of their use in polymerization reactions. The compositions include polyfunctional initiators used to make star polymers when polymerized with monomers. The polyfunctional initiators are synthesized out of a multifunctional core with at least two functional groups and two or more initiator units bonded to the functional groups. The initiator units have two electron-withdrawing groups bonded to a central carbon atom and an azo group between the central carbon atom and the functional group. The polyfunctional initiators are particularly effective because when they decompose to form the radical core of a star polymer, the electron-withdrawing groups prevent the corresponding radical from forming any linear polymer contamination and only desired star polymers result.
US08258206B2	Hydrophobic coating compositions for drag reduction A hydrophobic coating has been made for use on interior pipe surfaces, exterior boat surfaces, and in many other applications, to reduce drag in fluid flow, thus providing an energy savings. The coating utilizes a blend of organic and/or inorganic polymers with hydrophobic nanoparticles of fumed silica and/or titania in a solvent. The coating solves the problem of poor resistance to UV light and/or abrasion found in previous coatings of similar nature. The coating of the present invention can be made to be translucent and nearly transparent whereas previous coatings of comparable hydrophobicity have all been white or opaque. The coating can be applied in a single application by an easy spraying method and the super hydrophobic property can be achieved by drying the film at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. A preferred coating has good resistance to UV light and some resistance to abrasion. The hydrophobic drag reduction coating composition forms an almost clear, translucent film or coating on painted material, plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, fiberglass or polymer substrate. A preferred coating composition comprising an effective amount of a treated fumed silica in a solvent resulting in a coated surface providing a contact angle of at least 165 degrees as compared to water having a contact angle of from 10 to 15 degrees on a noncoated surface. The composition imparts a degree of hydrophobicity to a surface so that the surface will have a tilt angle of sliding of less than 2 degrees as compared to water on a noncoated surface having a tilt angle of sliding of 90 degrees or higher.
US08258202B2	Antimicrobial coating compositions, related coatings and coated substrates Disclosed are antimicrobial coating compositions. These coating compositions comprise (a) a film-forming resin; (b) a porous solid comprising pores having anti-microbial metal ions disposed therein; and (c) an onium compound.
US08258192B2	Silicone composition emulsion and method for preparing the same A silicone composition emulsion and a method for preparing the same are provided. The method is characterized in that a low-molecular-weight polysiloxane and an emulsifier are added into a high-viscosity silicone composition. The low-molecular-weight polysiloxane has a viscosity of 5-3,000 mPa·s, and the emulsifier is an nonionic surfactant. The amount of the low-molecular-weight polysiloxane is 5-50 parts and the amount of the emulsifier is 40-150 parts, based on 100 parts of the high-viscosity silicone composition.
US08258191B2	Topical skin barriers and methods of evaluation thereof A topical skin barrier for protecting and promoting healing of skin, and for providing comfort to a patient, comprises a semi-solid hydrocarbon and a water-absorbing compound. The topical skin barrier effectively adheres to skin, affords protection from moisture and waste, and provides transparency in use. Methods of in vitro evaluation are for (i) a composition's protection from moisture and waste, and (ii) a composition's adhesion to skin.
US08258189B2	Compounds prepared by adding an oxetane derivative to an alcohol The invention relates to compositions obtained by the reaction of an alcohol having a variable nature and that can be modified beforehand by the addition of alkylene oxide, and of a substrate characterized by an oxetane pattern and at least one hydroxyl function.

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